Thor

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Thor's Fight with the Giants (Tors strid med jättarna) by Template:Lang (1872).

Thor (from Template:Langx) is a prominent god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding god associated with thunder, storms, strength, protection, fertility, farmers, and free people.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=SwedishMuseum>Template:Cite web</ref> Besides Old Norse Template:Lang, the deity occurs in Old English as Template:Lang, in Old Frisian as Template:Lang, in Old Saxon as Template:Lang, and in Old High German as Template:Lang, all ultimately stemming from the Proto-Germanic theonym Template:Lang, meaning 'Thunder'.

Thor is a prominently mentioned god throughout the recorded history of the Germanic peoples, from the Roman occupation of regions of Template:Lang, to the Germanic expansions of the Migration Period, to his high popularity during the Viking Age, when, in the face of the process of the Christianization of Scandinavia, emblems of his hammer, Template:Lang, were worn and Norse pagan personal names containing the name of the god bear witness to his popularity.

Narratives featuring Thor are most prominently attested in Old Norse, where Thor appears throughout Norse mythology. In stories recorded in medieval Iceland, Thor bears at least fifteen names, is the husband of the golden-haired goddess Template:Lang and the lover of the Template:Lang. With Template:Lang, Thor fathered the goddess (and possible valkyrie) Template:Lang; with Template:Lang, he fathered Template:Lang; with a mother whose name is not recorded, he fathered Template:Lang, and he is the stepfather of the god Template:Lang. Thor is the son of Odin and Jörð,Template:Sfn by way of his father Odin, he has numerous brothers, including Template:Lang. Thor has two servants, [[Þjálfi and Röskva|Template:Lang and Template:Lang]], rides in a cart or chariot pulled by two goats, [[Tanngrisnir and Tanngnjóstr|Template:Lang and Template:Lang]] (whom he eats and resurrects), and is ascribed three dwellings (Template:Lang, Template:Lang, and Template:Lang). Thor wields the hammer Template:Lang, wears the belt Template:Lang and the iron gloves Template:Lang, and owns the staff Template:Lang. Thor's exploits, including his relentless slaughter of his foes and fierce battles with the monstrous serpent Template:Lang—and their foretold mutual deaths during the events of Template:Lang—are recorded throughout sources for Norse mythology.

Into the modern period, Thor continued to be acknowledged in folklore throughout Germanic-speaking Europe. Thor is frequently referred to in place names, the day of the week Thursday bears his name (modern English Thursday derives from Old English Template:Lang, 'Thunor's day'), and names stemming from the pagan period containing his own continue to be used today, particularly in Scandinavia. Thor has inspired numerous works of art and references to Thor appear in modern popular culture. Like other Germanic deities, veneration of Thor is revived in the modern period in Heathenry.

Name

The name Thor is derived from Norse mythology. Its medieval Germanic equivalents or cognates are Template:Lang (Old High German), Template:Lang (Old English), Template:Lang (Old Frisian), Template:Lang (Old Saxon), and Template:Lang (Old Norse),<ref>Template:Harvnb; Template:Harvnb</ref> the latter of which inspired the modern English form Thor.<ref>Oxford English Dictionary, s.v. Thor.</ref>

Etymology

Though Old Norse Template:Lang has only one syllable, it comes from an earlier Proto-Norse two-syllable form which can be reconstructed as *Template:Lang (from an earlier *Template:Lang) and/or *Template:Lang (from *Template:Lang), evidenced by the poems Hymiskviða and Þórsdrápa, and modern Elfdalian Template:Lang 'Thursday', through the common Old Norse development of the sequence -unr- to -ór-.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite journal</ref>

All Germanic forms of Thor's name descend from Proto-Germanic, but there is debate as to precisely what form the name took at that early stage. The form Template:Lang is suggested by Elfdalian Template:Lang ('Thursday') and by a runic inscription from around 700 from Hallbjäns in Sundre, Gotland, which includes the sequence þunurþurus.<ref name=":0" />Template:Rp Alternatively, the form Template:Lang is attractive because it is identical to the name of the ancient Celtic god Taranus (by metathesis—switch of sounds—of an earlier Template:Lang, attested in the dative tanaro and the Gaulish river name Tanarus).<ref>Template:Harvnb, Template:Harvnb</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name=":0" /> Finally, the form Template:Lang has also been suggested by Hjalmar Lindroth (1917) and has the attraction of clearly containing the sequence -unr-, needed to explain the later form Þórr, although the similarity with Celtic theonym *Tonaros is lost.<ref name=":0" />Template:Rp According to John T. Koch, the form Template:Lang is from earlier pre-Germanic stage that predates Grimm's law.Template:Sfn

These Proto-Germanic forms are probably further related to the common Proto-Indo-European root for 'thunder' Template:Lang, also attested in the Latin epithet Tonans (attached to Jupiter) and the Vedic stanáyati ("thunders").<ref>Template:Harvnb; Template:Harvnb; Template:Harvnb.</ref> Scholar Peter Jackson argues that those theonyms may have emerged as the result of the fossilization of an original epithet (or epiclesis, i.e. invocational name) of the Proto-Indo-European thunder-god Template:Lang, since the Vedic weather-god Parjanya is also called Template:Transliteration ('Thunderer').<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

The potentially perfect match between the thunder-gods *Tonaros and *Þunaraz, which both go back to a common form *ton(a)ros ~ *tṇros, is notable in the context of early Celtic–Germanic linguistic contacts, especially when added to other inherited terms with thunder attributes, such as *Meldunjaz–*meldo- (from *meldh- 'lightning, hammer', i.e. Template:Lang' weapon) and *Fergunja–*Fercunyā (from Template:Lang 'wooded mountains', i.e. *Perkwunos' realm).Template:Sfn

Name of the weeks

The English weekday name Thursday comes from Old English Template:Lang, meaning 'day of Þunor', with influence from Old Norse Template:Lang. The name is cognate with Old High German Template:Lang. All of these terms derive from a Late Proto-Germanic weekday name along the lines of Template:Lang ('Day of Template:Lang'), a calque of Latin Template:Lang ('Day of Jove'; compare modern Italian Template:Lang, French Template:Lang, Spanish Template:Lang). By employing a practice known as Template:Lang during the Roman period, ancient Germanic peoples adopted the Latin weekly calendar and replaced the names of Roman gods with their own.Template:Sfn<ref>Oxford English Dictionary, s.v. "Thursday (n. & adv.), Etymology," September 2023, Template:Doi.</ref>

Personal names

Beginning in the Viking Age, personal names containing the theonym Template:Lang are recorded with great frequency, whereas no examples are known prior to this period. Template:Lang-based names may have flourished during the Viking Age as a defiant response to attempts at Christianization, similar to the widespread Viking Age practice of wearing Thor's hammer pendants.Template:Sfn

Historical attestations

Roman era

Altar stone for Hercules Magusanus from Bonn, dated 226 AD.Template:Sfn

The earliest records of the Germanic peoples were recorded by the Romans, and in these works Thor is frequently referred to—via a process known as Template:Lang (where characteristics perceived to be similar by Romans result in identification of a non-Roman god as a Roman deity)—as either the Roman god Jupiter (also known as Jove) or the Greco-Roman god Hercules.Template:Cn

The first clear example of this occurs in the Roman historian Tacitus's late first-century work Template:Lang, where, writing about the religion of the Template:Lang (a confederation of Germanic peoples), he comments that "among the gods Mercury is the one they principally worship. They regard it as a religious duty to offer to him, on fixed days, human as well as other sacrificial victims. Hercules and Mars they appease by animal offerings of the permitted kind" and adds that a portion of the Template:Lang also venerate "Isis".<ref name="BIRLEY42">Birley (1999:42).</ref> In this instance, Tacitus refers to the god Odin as "Mercury", Thor as "Hercules", and the god Template:Lang as "Mars", and the identity of the Isis of the Suebi has been debated. In Thor's case, the identification with the god Hercules is likely at least in part due to similarities between Thor's hammer and Hercules' club.<ref name="BIRLEY107">Birley (1999:107).</ref> In his Annals, Tacitus again refers to the veneration of "Hercules" by the Germanic peoples; he records a wood beyond the river Weser (in what is now northwestern Germany) as dedicated to him.<ref name="BIRLEY41">Birley (1999:42 and 106–107).</ref> A deity known as Hercules Magusanus was venerated in Germania Inferior; due to the Roman identification of Thor with Hercules, Rudolf Simek has suggested that Magusanus was originally an epithet attached to the Proto-Germanic deity *Þunraz.Template:Sfn

Post-Roman eraTemplate:Anchor

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Boniface bears his crucifix after felling Thor's Oak in Bonifacius (1905) by Emil Doepler

The first recorded instance of the name of the god appears upon the Nordendorf fibulae, a piece of jewelry created during the Migration Period and found in Bavaria. The item bears an Elder Futhark inscribed with the name Template:Lang (i.e. Template:Lang), the southern Germanic form of Thor's name.<ref name="SIMEK235-236">Simek (2007:235–236).</ref>

Around the second half of the 8th century, Old English texts mention Template:Lang (Template:Lang), which likely refers to a Saxon version of the god. In relation, Template:Lang is sometimes used in Old English texts to gloss Jupiter, the god may be referenced in the poem Solomon and Saturn, where the thunder strikes the devil with a "fiery axe", and the Old English expression Template:Lang ("thunder ride") may refer to the god's thunderous, goat-led chariot.<ref name="TURVILLE99">Turville-Petre (1964:99)</ref><ref name="THUNOR">See North (1998:238–241) for Template:Lang and tales regarding Template:Lang.</ref>

A 9th-century AD codex from Mainz, Germany, known as the Old Saxon Baptismal Vow, records the name of three Old Saxon gods, Template:Lang (Old Saxon "Wodan")Template:Clarify, Template:Lang, and Template:Lang, by way of their renunciation as demons in a formula to be repeated by Germanic pagans formally converting to Christianity.<ref name="SIMEK276">Simek (2007:276).</ref>

According to a near-contemporary account, the Christian missionary Saint Boniface felled an oak tree dedicated to "Jove" in the 8th century, the Donar's Oak in the region of Hesse, Germany.<ref name="SIMEK238">Simek (2007:238) and Robinson (1916:63).</ref>

The Kentish royal legend, probably 11th-century, contains the story of a villainous reeve of Ecgberht of Kent called Thunor, who is swallowed up by the earth at a place from then on known as Template:Lang (Old English 'Thunor's mound'). Gabriel Turville-Petre saw this as an invented origin for the placename demonstrating loss of memory that Thunor had been a god's name.<ref>Turville-Petre (1964:99–100); variant texts in mss. Stowe 944, Cotton Caligula A. xiv, London, Lambeth Palace 427.</ref>

16th-century depiction of Norse gods from Olaus Magnus's A Description of the Northern Peoples; from left to right, Frigg, Thor and Odin

Viking age

In the 11th century, chronicler Adam of Bremen records in his Template:Lang that a statue of Thor, who Adam describes as "mightiest", sits in the Temple at Uppsala in the center of a triple throne (flanked by Woden and "Fricco") located in Template:Lang, Sweden. Adam details that "Thor, they reckon, rules the sky; he governs thunder and lightning, winds and storms, fine weather and fertility" and that "Thor, with his mace, looks like Jupiter". Adam details that the people of Template:Lang had appointed priests to each of the gods, and that the priests were to offer up sacrifices. In Thor's case, he continues, these sacrifices were done when plague or famine threatened.<ref name="ORCHARD168-169">Orchard (1997:168–169).</ref> Earlier in the same work, Adam relays that in 1030 an English preacher, Wulfred, was lynched by assembled Germanic pagans for "profaning" a representation of Thor.<ref name="NORTH236">North (1998:236).</ref>

Two objects with runic inscriptions invoking Thor date from the 11th century, one from England and one from Sweden. The first, the Canterbury Charm from Canterbury, England, calls upon Thor to heal a wound by banishing a Template:Lang.<ref name="MCLEOD-MEES-120">McLeod, Mees (2006:120).</ref> The second, the Kvinneby amulet, invokes protection by both Thor and his hammer.<ref name="MCLEOD-MEES-28">McLeod, Mees (2006:28).</ref>

On four (or possibly five) runestones, an invocation to Thor appears that reads "May Thor hallow (these runes/this monument)!" The invocation appears thrice in Denmark (DR 110, DR 209, and DR 220), and a single time in Template:Lang (VG 150), Sweden. A fifth appearance may possibly occur on a runestone found in Template:Lang, Sweden (Sö 140), but the reading is contested.<ref name="SAWYER128">Sawyer (2003:128).</ref>

Pictorial representations of Thor's hammer appear on a total of five runestones found in Denmark (DR 26 and DR 120) and in the Swedish counties of Template:Lang (VG 113) and Template:Lang (Sö 86 and Sö 111).<ref name="SAWYER128" /> It is also seen on runestone DR 48.Template:Citation needed The design is believed to be a heathen response to Christian runestones, which often have a cross at the centre. One of the stones, Sö 86, shows a face or mask above the hammer. Anders Hultgård has argued that this is the face of Thor.<ref>McKinnell, Simek, Düwel (2004:122–123).</ref> At least three stones depict Thor fishing for the serpent Template:Lang: the [[Hørdum stone|Template:Lang stone]] in Template:Lang, Denmark, the Altuna Runestone in Template:Lang, Sweden and the Gosforth Cross in Gosforth, England. Sune Lindqvist argued in the 1930s that the image stone Ardre VIII on Template:Lang depicts two scenes from the story: Thor ripping the head of Hymir's ox and Thor and Hymir in the boat,<ref>Lindqvist (1933:102–103).</ref> but this has been disputed.<ref>Meulengracht Sørensen (1986:262, 269).</ref>

Post-Viking age

In the 12th century, more than a century after Norway was "officially" Christianized, Thor was still being invoked by the population, as evidenced by a stick bearing a runic message found among the Bryggen inscriptions in Bergen, Norway. On the stick, both Thor and Odin are called upon for help; Thor is asked to "receive" the reader, and Odin to "own" them.<ref name="MCLEOD-MEES-30">McLeod, Mees (2006:30).</ref>

Poetic Edda

In the Poetic Edda, compiled during the 13th century from traditional source material reaching into the pagan period, Thor appears (or is mentioned) in the poems Template:Lang, Template:Lang, Template:Lang, Template:Lang, Template:Lang, Template:Lang, Template:Lang, Template:Lang, and Template:Lang.<ref name="LARRINGTON320">Larrington (1999:320).</ref>

The foretold death of Thor as depicted by Template:Lang (1895)
Thor and the Midgard Serpent (by Template:Lang, 1905)

In the poem Template:Lang, a dead Template:Lang recounts the history of the universe and foretells the future to the disguised god Odin, including the death of Thor. Thor, she foretells, will do battle with the great serpent during the immense mythic war waged at Template:Lang, and there he will slay the monstrous snake, yet after he will only be able to take nine steps before succumbing to the venom of the beast:Template:Cn

<poem>Benjamin Thorpe translation: Then comes the mighty son of Hlôdyn: (Odin's son goes with the monster to fight); Midgârd's Veor in his rage will slay the worm. Nine feet will go Fiörgyn's son, bowed by the serpent, who feared no foe. All men will their homes forsake.<ref name="THORPE7">Thorpe (1907:7).</ref></poem>

<poem>Henry Adams Bellows translation: Hither there comes the son of Hlothyn, The bright snake gapes to heaven above; ... Against the serpent goes Othin's son. In anger smites the warder of earth,— Forth from their homes must all men flee;— Nine paces fares the son of Fjorgyn, And, slain by the serpent, fearless he sinks.<ref name="BELLOWS23">Bellows (1923:23).</ref></poem>

Afterwards, says the Template:Lang, the sky will turn black before fire engulfs the world, the stars will disappear, flames will dance before the sky, steam will rise, the world will be covered in water and then it will be raised again, green and fertile.<ref name="LARRINGTON11-12">Larrington (1999:11–12).</ref>

Thor wades through a river while the Template:Lang ride across the bridge Template:Lang, by Template:Lang (1895)

In the poem Template:Lang, the god Odin, in disguise as Template:Lang, and tortured, starved and thirsty, imparts in the young Template:Lang cosmological lore, including that Thor resides in Template:Lang, and that, every day, Thor wades through the rivers [[Körmt and Örmt|Template:Lang and Template:Lang]], and the two Template:Lang. There, Template:Lang says, Thor sits as judge at the immense cosmological world tree, Template:Lang.<ref name="LARRINGTON57">Larrington (1999:57).</ref>

In Template:Lang, the god Template:Lang's messenger, Template:Lang, threatens the fair Template:Lang, with whom Template:Lang is smitten, with numerous threats and curses, including that Thor, Template:Lang, and Odin will be angry with her, and that she risks their "potent wrath".<ref name="LARRINGTON66">Larrington (1999:66).</ref>

Thor is the main character of Template:Lang, where, after traveling "from the east", he comes to an inlet where he encounters a ferryman who gives his name as Template:Lang (Odin, again in disguise), and attempts to hail a ride from him. The ferryman, shouting from the inlet, is immediately rude and obnoxious to Thor and refuses to ferry him. At first, Thor holds his tongue, but Template:Lang only becomes more aggressive, and the poem soon becomes a Template:Lang match between Thor and Template:Lang, all the while revealing lore about the two, including Thor's killing of several Template:Lang in "the east" and women on Template:Lang (now the Danish island of Template:Lang). In the end, Thor ends up walking instead.<ref name="LARRINGTON69-75">Larrington (1999:69–75).</ref>

Template:Lang looks on as Thor discovers that one of his goats is lame, by Template:Lang (1895)

Thor is again the main character in the poem Template:Lang, where, after the gods have been hunting and have eaten their prey, they have an urge to drink. They "sh[ake] the twigs" and interpret what they say. The gods decide that they would find suitable cauldrons at Template:Lang's home. Thor arrives at Template:Lang's home and finds him to be cheerful, looks into his eyes, and tells him that he must prepare feasts for the gods. Annoyed, Template:Lang tells Thor that the gods must first bring to him a suitable cauldron to brew ale in. The gods search but find no such cauldron anywhere. However, Template:Lang tells Thor that he may have a solution; east of Template:Lang lives Template:Lang, and he owns such a deep kettle.<ref name="LARRINGTON78-79">Larrington (1999:78–79).</ref>

So, after Thor secures his goats at Template:Lang's home, Thor and Template:Lang go to Template:Lang's hall in search of a cauldron large enough to brew ale for them all. They arrive, and Template:Lang sees his nine-hundred-headed grandmother and his gold-clad mother, the latter of which welcomes them with a horn. After Template:Lang—who is not happy to see Thor—comes in from the cold outdoors, Template:Lang's mother helps them find a properly strong cauldron. Thor eats a big meal of two oxen (all the rest eat but one), and then goes to sleep. In the morning, he awakes and informs Template:Lang that he wants to go fishing the following evening, and that he will catch plenty of food, but that he needs bait. Template:Lang tells him to go get some bait from his pasture, which he expects should not be a problem for Thor. Thor goes out, finds Template:Lang's best ox, and rips its head off.<ref name="LARRINGTON78-80">Larrington (1999:79–80).</ref>

After a lacuna in the manuscript of the poem, Template:Lang abruptly picks up again with Thor and Template:Lang in a boat, out at sea. Template:Lang catches a few whales at once, and Thor baits his line with the head of the ox. Thor casts his line and the monstrous serpent Template:Lang bites. Thor pulls the serpent on board, and violently slams him in the head with his hammer. Template:Lang shrieks, and a noisy commotion is heard from underwater before another lacuna appears in the manuscript.<ref name="LARRINGTON81">Larrington (1999:81).</ref>

After the second lacuna, Template:Lang is sitting in the boat, unhappy and totally silent, as they row back to shore. On shore, Template:Lang suggests that Thor should help him carry a whale back to his farm. Thor picks both the boat and the whales up, and carries it all back to Template:Lang's farm. After Thor successfully smashes a crystal goblet by throwing it at Template:Lang's head on Template:Lang's mother's suggestion, Thor and Template:Lang are given the cauldron. Template:Lang cannot lift it, but Thor manages to roll it, and so with it they leave. Some distance from Template:Lang's home, an army of many-headed beings led by Template:Lang attacks the two, but are killed by the hammer of Thor. Although one of his goats is lame in the leg, the two manage to bring the cauldron back, have plenty of ale, and so, from then on, return to Template:Langx's for more every winter.<ref name="LARRINGTON82-83">Larrington (1999:82–83).</ref>

Thor raises his hammer as Loki leaves Template:Lang's hall, by Template:Lang (1895)

In the poem Template:Lang, the half-god Loki angrily flites with the gods in the sea entity Template:Lang's hall. Thor does not attend the event, however, as he is away in the east for unspecified purposes. Towards the end of the poem, the flyting turns to Template:Lang, Thor's wife, whom Loki then claims to have slept with. The god Template:Lang's servant Template:Lang interjects, and says that, since all of the mountains are shaking, she thinks that Thor is on his way home. Template:Lang adds that Thor will bring peace to the quarrel, to which Loki responds with insults.<ref name="LARRINGTON84-94">Larrington (1999:84 and 94).</ref>

Thor arrives and tells Loki to be silent, and threatens to rip Loki's head from his body with his hammer. Loki asks Thor why he is so angry, and comments that Thor will not be so daring to fight "the wolf" (Template:Lang) when it eats Odin (a reference to the foretold events of Template:Lang). Thor again tells him to be silent, and threatens to throw him into the sky, where he will never be seen again. Loki says that Thor should not brag of his time in the east, as he once crouched in fear in the thumb of a glove (a story involving deception by the magic of Template:Lang, recounted in the Prose Edda book Template:Lang)—which, he comments, "was hardly like Thor". Thor again tells him to be silent, threatening to break every bone in Loki's body. Loki responds that he intends to live a while yet, and again insults Thor with references to his encounter with Template:Lang. Thor responds with a fourth call to be silent, and threatens to send Loki to Template:Lang. At Thor's final threat, Loki gives in, commenting that only for Thor will he leave the hall, for "I know alone that you do strike", and the poem continues.<ref name="LARRINGTON94-95">Larrington (1999:94–95).</ref>

Ah, what a lovely maid it is! (1902) by Elmer Boyd Smith: Thor is unhappily dressed by the goddess Template:Lang and her attendants as herself

In the comedic poem Template:Lang, Thor again plays a central role. In the poem, Thor wakes and finds that his powerful hammer, Template:Lang, is missing. Thor turns to Loki, and tells him that nobody knows that the hammer has been stolen. The two go to the dwelling of the goddess Template:Lang, and so that he may attempt to find Template:Lang, Thor asks her if he may borrow her feather cloak. Template:Lang agrees, and says she would lend it to Thor even if it were made of silver or gold, and Loki flies off, the feather cloak whistling.<ref name="LARRINGTON97">Larrington (1999:97).</ref>

In Template:Lang, the Template:Lang Template:Lang sits on a barrow, plaiting golden collars for his female dogs, and trimming the manes of his horses. Template:Lang sees Loki, and asks what could be amiss among the Template:Lang and the elves; why is Loki alone in Template:Lang? Loki responds that he has bad news for both the elves and the Template:Lang—that Thor's hammer, Template:Lang, is gone. Template:Lang says that he has hidden Template:Lang eight leagues beneath the earth, from which it will be retrieved, but only if Template:Lang is brought to him as his wife. Loki flies off, the feather cloak whistling, away from Template:Lang and back to the court of the gods.<ref name="LARRINGTON97-98">Larrington (1999:97–98).</ref>

Thor asks Loki if his efforts were successful, and that Loki should tell him while he is still in the air as "tales often escape a sitting man, and the man lying down often barks out lies." Loki states that it was indeed an effort, and also a success, for he has discovered that Template:Lang has the hammer, but that it cannot be retrieved unless Template:Lang is brought to Template:Lang as his wife. The two return to Template:Lang and tell her to put on a bridal head dress, as they will drive her to Template:Lang. Template:Lang, indignant and angry, goes into a rage, causing all of the halls of the Template:Lang to tremble in her anger, and her necklace, the famed Template:Lang, falls from her. Template:Lang pointedly refuses.<ref name="LARRINGTON98">Larrington (1999:98).</ref>

As a result, the gods and goddesses meet and hold a thing to discuss and debate the matter. At the thing, the god Template:Lang puts forth the suggestion that, in place of Template:Lang, Thor should be dressed as the bride, complete with jewels, women's clothing down to his knees, a bridal head-dress, and the necklace Template:Lang. Thor rejects the idea, yet Loki interjects that this will be the only way to get back Template:Lang. Loki points out that, without Template:Lang, the Template:Lang will be able to invade and settle in Asgard. The gods dress Thor as a bride, and Loki states that he will go with Thor as his maid, and that the two shall drive to Template:Lang together.<ref name="LARRINGTON99">Larrington (1999:99).</ref>

After riding together in Thor's goat-driven chariot, the two, disguised, arrive in Template:Lang. Template:Lang commands the Template:Lang in his hall to spread straw on the benches, for Template:Lang has arrived to be his wife. Template:Lang recounts his treasured animals and objects, stating that Template:Lang was all that he was missing in his wealth.<ref name="LARRINGTON100">Larrington (1999:100).</ref>

Early in the evening, the disguised Loki and Thor meet with Template:Lang and the assembled Template:Lang. Thor eats and drinks ferociously, consuming entire animals and three casks of mead. Template:Lang finds the behavior at odds with his impression of Template:Lang, and Loki, sitting before Template:Lang and appearing as a "very shrewd maid", makes the excuse that "Template:Lang's" behaviour is due to her having not consumed anything for eight entire days before arriving due to her eagerness to arrive. Template:Lang then lifts "Template:Lang's" veil and wants to kiss "her". Terrifying eyes stare back at him, seemingly burning with fire. Loki says that this is because "Template:Lang" has not slept for eight nights in her eagerness.<ref name=LARRINGTON100/>

The "wretched sister" of the Template:Lang appears, asks for a bridal gift from "Template:Lang", and the Template:Lang bring out Template:Lang to "sanctify the bride", to lay it on her lap, and marry the two by "the hand" of the goddess Template:Lang. Thor laughs internally when he sees the hammer, takes hold of it, strikes Template:Lang, beats all of the Template:Lang, kills their "older sister", and so gets his hammer back.<ref name="LARRINGTON101">Larrington (1999:101).</ref>

Sun Shines in the Hall (1908) by W.G. Collingwood: Thor clasps his daughter's hand and chuckles at the "all-wise" dwarf, whom he has outwitted

In the poem Template:Lang, Thor tricks a dwarf, Template:Lang, to his doom upon finding that he seeks to wed his daughter (unnamed, possibly Template:Lang). As the poem starts, Thor meets a dwarf who talks about getting married. Thor finds the dwarf repulsive and, apparently, realizes that the bride is his daughter. Thor comments that the wedding agreement was made among the gods while Thor was gone, and that the dwarf must seek his consent. To do so, Thor says, Template:Lang must tell him what he wants to know about all of the worlds that the dwarf has visited. In a long question and answer session, Template:Lang does exactly that; he describes natural features as they are known in the languages of various races of beings in the world, and gives an amount of cosmological lore.<ref name="ALL-WISE">Larrington (1999:109–113). For Template:Lang hypothesis, see Orchard (1997:164–165).</ref>

However, the question and answer session turns out to be a ploy by Thor, as, although Thor comments that he has truly never seen anyone with more wisdom in their breast, Thor has managed to delay the dwarf enough for the Sun to turn him to stone; "day dawns on you now, dwarf, now sun shines on the hall".<ref name="LARRINGTON113">Larrington (1999:113).</ref>

In the poem Template:Lang, Template:Lang offers to the Template:Lang woman Template:Lang to Template:Lang (sacrifice) to Thor so that she may be protected, and comments that Thor does not care much for Template:Lang women.<ref name="LARRINGTON-254">Larrington (1999:254).</ref>

Prose Edda, Template:Lang, and sagas

The prologue to the Prose Edda euhemerises Thor as a prince of Troy, and the son of Menon by Troana, a daughter of Template:Lang. Thor, also known as Template:Lang, is said to have married the prophetess Sibyl (identified with Template:Lang). Thor is further said here to have been raised in Thrace by a chieftain named Lorikus, whom he later slew to assume the title of "King of Thrace", to have had a pale complexion and hair "fairer than gold", and to have been strong enough to lift ten bearskins.<ref>Template:Cite book Page 120: "He was as fair in appearance, when he came among other men, as when ivory is inlaid in oak. His hair is fairer than gold."</ref> In later sagas he is described as red-bearded,<ref name="HAIR-COLOR">On the red beard and the use of "Redbeard" as an epithet for Thor, see H.R. Ellis Davidson, Gods and Myths of Northern Europe, 1964, repr. Harmondsworth, Middlesex: Penguin, 1990, Template:ISBN, p. 85 Template:Webarchive, citing the Saga of Olaf Tryggvason in Template:Lang, Saga of Erik the Red, and Template:Lang.</ref> but there is no evidence for a red beard in the Eddas.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

The name of the Template:Lang is explained as "men from Asia", Asgard being the "Asian city" (i.e., Troy). Alternatively, Troy is in Template:Lang (Turkey, i.e., Asia Minor), and Asialand is Scythia, where Thor founded a new city named Asgard. Odin is a remote descendant of Thor, removed by twelve generations, who led an expedition across Germany, Denmark and Sweden to Norway.Template:Cn

In the Prose Edda, Thor is mentioned in all four books; Prologue, Template:Lang, Template:Lang, and Template:Lang.Template:Cn

In Template:Lang, composed in the 13th century by Template:Lang, Thor or statues of Thor are mentioned in Template:Lang, Template:Lang, Template:Lang, and Template:Lang. In Template:Lang chapter 5, a heavily euhemerized account of the gods is provided, where Thor is described as having been a Template:Lang—a pagan priest—who was given by Odin (who himself is explained away as having been an exceedingly powerful magic-wielding chieftain from the east) a dwelling in the mythical location of Template:Lang, in what is now Sweden. The saga narrative adds that numerous names—at the time of the narrative, popularly in use—were derived from Thor.<ref name="HOLLANDER10—11">Hollander (2007:10–11).</ref>

Saint Olaf

Medieval depictions of Saint Olaf adopted features from Thor. This wooden statue is from Sankt Olofs kyrka in Scania.

Around the 12th century, folk traditions and iconography of the Christianizing king Olaf II of Norway (Saint Olaf; c. 995 – 1030) absorbed elements of both Thor and Freyr.<ref name="DUMEZIL125">Dumézil (1973:125).</ref> After Olaf's death, his cult had spread quickly all over Scandinavia, where many churches were dedicated to him, as well as to other parts of Northern Europe. His cult distinctively mixed both ecclesiastical and folk elements. From Thor, he inherited the quick temper, physical strength and merits as a giant-slayer. Early depictions portray Olaf as clean-shaven, but after 1200 he appears with a red beard.Template:Sfn For centuries, Olaf figured in folk traditions as a slayer of trolls and giants, and as a protector against malicious forces.Template:Sfn

Modern folklore

Tales about Thor, or influenced by native traditions regarding Thor, continued into the modern period, particularly in Scandinavia. Writing in the 19th century, scholar Jacob Grimm records various phrases surviving into Germanic languages that refer to the god, such as the Norwegian Template:Lang ("Thor's warmth") for lightning and the Swedish Template:Lang ("The good old (fellow) is taking a ride") as well as the word Template:Wikt-lang ("Thor's rumble" or "Thor's thunder") when it thunders. Grimm comments that, at times, Scandinavians often "no longer liked to utter the god's real name, or they wished to extol his fatherly goodness".<ref name="GRIMM166-177">Grimm (1882:166–77).</ref> In Sweden, it was probably as a euphemism that people referred to thunder as "the ride of the god"—*ās-ækia (OWN: *áss-ekja) resulting in the modern Swedish word for thunder—åska.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Thor remained pictured as a red-bearded figure, as evident by the Danish rhyme that yet referred to him as Template:Lang ("Thor with his long beard") and the North-Frisian curse Template:Lang ("let red-haired thunder see to that!").<ref name="GRIMM166-177"/>

A Scandinavian folk belief that lightning frightens away trolls and Template:Lang appears in numerous Scandinavian folktales, and may be a late reflection of Thor's role in fighting such beings. In connection, the lack of trolls and ettins in modern Scandinavia is explained as a result of the "accuracy and efficiency of the lightning strokes".<ref name="LINDOW89">See Lindow (1978:89), but noted as early as Thorpe (1851:154) who states, "The dread entertained by the Trolls for thunder dates from the time of paganism, Thor, the god of thunder, being the deadly foe of their race."</ref>

In the Netherlands, The Sagas of Veluwe has a story called Ontstaan van het Uddeler- en Bleeke meer which features Thor and his fight with the Winter Giants.<ref>Weggelaar, Eva. The Creation of the Uddeler- and Pale Lake – Thunar and the Winter Giants</ref>

Archaeological record

Hammer pendants, hammer coins, and Eyrarland Statue

Template:Main Around 1000 pendants in distinctive shapes representing the hammer of Thor have been unearthed in what are today the Nordic countries, England, northern Germany, the Baltic countries, and Russia. Most have very simple designs in iron or silver. Around 100 have more advanced designs with ornaments. The pendants have been found in a variety of contexts (including at urban sites, and in hoards) and occur in a variety of shapes. Similarly, coins featuring depictions of the hammer have also been discovered.Template:Cn

The Eyrarland Statue, a copper alloy figure found near Template:Lang, Iceland dating from around the 11th century, may depict Thor seated and gripping his hammer.<ref name="ORCHARD161">Orchard (1997:161).</ref>

Swastikas

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Detail of swastika on the 9th century Snoldelev Stone

The swastika symbol has been identified as representing the hammer or lightning of Thor.<ref name="19TH-CENTURY-SCHOLARS">The symbol was identified as such since 19th century scholarship; examples include Worsaae (1882:169) and Greg (1884:6).</ref> Scholar Hilda Ellis Davidson (1965) comments on the usage of the swastika as a symbol of Thor:

The protective sign of the hammer was worn by women, as we know from the fact that it has been found in women's graves. It seems to have been used by the warrior also, in the form of the swastika. ... Primarily it appears to have had connections with light and fire, and to have been linked with the sun-wheel. It may have been on account of Thor's association with lightning that this sign was used as an alternative to the hammer, for it is found on memorial stones in Scandinavia besides inscriptions to Thor. When we find it on the pommel of a warrior's sword and on his sword-belt, the assumption is that the warrior was placing himself under the Thunder God's protection.<ref name="DAVIDSON12-13">Davidson (1965:12–13).</ref>

Swastikas appear on various Germanic objects stretching from the Migration Period to the Viking Age, such as the 3rd century [[Alu (runic)#Værløse Fibula|Template:Lang Fibula]] (DR EM85;123) from Zealand, Denmark; the Gothic spearhead from Brest-Litovsk, Belarus; numerous Migration Period bracteates; cremation urns from early Anglo-Saxon England; the 8th century [[Sæbø sword|Template:Lang sword]] from Template:Lang, Norway; and the 9th century Snoldelev Stone (DR 248) from Template:Lang, Denmark.

Eponymy and toponymy

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Numerous place names in Scandinavia contain the Old Norse name Template:Lang. The identification of these place names as pointing to religious significance is complicated by the aforementioned common usage of Template:Lang as a personal name element. Cultic significance may only be assured in place names containing the elements Template:Lang (signifying the location of a Template:Lang, a type of pagan Germanic shrine), Template:Lang (a structure used for religious purposes, see heathen hofs), and Template:Lang (a holy grove). The place name Template:Lang is recorded with particular frequency in Denmark (and has direct cognates in Norse settlements in Ireland, such as Template:Lang), whereas Template:Lang appears particularly often in southern Norway.<ref name="SIMEK321">Simek (2007:321).</ref> Template:Lang (Thor's Island) appears on the Swedish west coast. Thor also appears in many place names in Uppland.Template:Cn

In English place names, Old English Template:Lang (in contrast with the Old Norse form of the name, later introduced to the Danelaw) left comparatively few traces. Examples include Thundersley, from *Template:Lang and Thurstable (Old English "Thunor's pillar").<ref name="SIMEK321"/> F. M. Stenton noted that such place names were apparently restricted to Saxon and Jutish territory and not found in Anglian areas.<ref name="TURVILLE99"/><ref>Stenton, Frank (1941). "The Historical Bearing of Place-Name Studies: Anglo-Saxon Heathenism". Transactions of the Royal Historical Society, 4th series, XXIII, 1–24, pp. 17– ; (1971). Anglo-Saxon England, Oxford History of England 2, 1943, 3rd ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1971, Template:ISBN, pp. 99–100.</ref>

In what is now Germany, locations named after Thor are sparsely recorded, but a number of locations called Template:Lang (German "Donner's mountain") may derive their name from the deity Template:Lang, the southern Germanic form of the god's name.<ref name="SIMEK321"/> In as late as the 19th century in Iceland, a specific breed of fox was known as Template:Lang ("Thor of the holt"), likely due to the red coat of the breed.<ref name="GRIMM177">Grimm (1882:177).</ref> In Sweden in the 19th century, smooth, wedge-shaped stones found in the earth were called Template:Lang ("Thor's wedges"), according to a folk belief that they were once hurled at a troll by the god Thor. (Compare Thunderstones.) Similarly, meteorites may be considered memorials to Thor in folk tradition due to their sheer weight. On the Swedish island of Gotland, a species of beetle (Scarabæus stercorarius) was named after the god; the Template:Lang. When the beetle is found turned upside down and one flips it over, Thor's favor may be gained. In other regions of Sweden the name of the beetle appears to have been demonized with Christianization, where the insect came to be known as Template:Lang or Template:Lang (both meaning "Thor-devil").<ref name="THORPE-1851-51-54">Thorpe (1851:51–54).</ref>

In the northwest of Spain, there is a river called Torío in the municipality of Cármenes (León) that take name from the god Thor.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Origin, theories, and interpretations

Thor closely resembles other Indo-European deities associated with the thunder: the Celtic Taranis,<ref>De Vries (1957:111).</ref><ref name="SIMEK322">Simek (2007:322).</ref> the Estonian Taara (or Tharapita), the Baltic Template:Lang, the Slavic Perun,<ref>Turville-Petre (1964:96–97).</ref> and particularly the Hindu Template:Lang, whose thunderbolt weapon the Template:Lang is an obvious parallels noted already by Max Müller.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Scholars have compared Indra's slaying of Template:Lang with Thor's battle with Template:Lang.<ref name="SIMEK322"/> Although in the past it was suggested that Thor was an indigenous sky god or a Viking Age import into Scandinavia, these Indo-European parallels make him generally accepted today as ultimately derived from a Proto-Indo-European deity.<ref name="SIMEK322"/><ref>Dumézil (1973:17).</ref><ref>De Vries (1957:151–53)</ref><ref>Turville-Petre (1964:103–05)</ref>

In Template:Lang's trifunctional hypothesis of Indo-European religion, Thor represents the second function, that of strength. Template:Lang notes that as a result of displacements, he does not lead armies; most of the functions of Indra have been in effect taken over by Odin.<ref>Template:Lang. 2nd ed. Flammarion, 1985, p. 168 Template:In lang</ref> Many scholars have noted the association of Thor with fertility, particularly in later folklore and in the reflex of him represented by the Sami Template:Lang ("Good-man Thor"). For Template:Lang, this is the preservation by peasants of only the side-effect of the god's atmospheric battles: the fertilizing rain.<ref>Dumézil (1973:71–72).</ref> Others have emphasized Thor's close connection to humanity, in all its concerns.<ref>De Vries (1957:152–53)</ref> Scholar Hilda Ellis Davidson summarizes:

The cult of Thor was linked with men's habitation and possessions, and with the well-being of the family and community. This included the fruitfulness of the fields, and Thor, although pictured primarily as a storm god in the myths, was also concerned with the fertility and preservation of the seasonal round. In our own times, little stone axes from the distant past have been used as fertility symbols and placed by the farmer in the holes made by the drill to receive the first seed of spring. Thor's marriage with Template:Lang of the golden hair, about which we hear little in the myths, seems to be a memory of the ancient symbol of divine marriage between sky god and earth goddess, when he comes to earth in the thunderstorm and the storm brings the rain which makes the fields fertile. In this way Thor, as well as Odin, may be seen to continue the cult of the sky god which was known in the Bronze Age.<ref name="DAVIDSON-II-72">Davidson (1975:72).</ref>

Modern influence

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Thor Battering the Midgard Serpent (1790) by Henry Fuseli
An early 20th century Danish bicycle head badge depicting Thor

In modern times, Thor continues to be referred to in art and fiction. Starting with Template:Lang's 1776 ode to Thor, Template:Lang, Thor has been the subject of poems in several languages, including Template:Lang's 1807 epic poem Template:Lang and, by the same author, three more poems (Template:Lang, Template:Lang, and Template:Lang) collected in his 1819 Template:Lang; Template:Lang (1859) by Template:Lang; the 1820 satirical poem Template:Lang by Template:Lang; Template:Lang (1832) by Template:Lang; the poem Template:Lang by Template:Lang; Template:Lang (1836) by Template:Lang; Template:Lang (1915) by Template:Lang; Template:Lang's Template:Lang (published in Template:Lang, 1937); and Template:Lang (1977) by Template:Lang.<ref name="SIMEK323">Simek (2007:323).</ref> In English he features for example in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's "The Challenge of Thor" (1863)<ref>Template:Harvcoltxt</ref> and in two works by Rudyard Kipling: Letters of Travel: 1892–1913Template:Cn and "Cold Iron" in Rewards and Fairies.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> L. Sprague de Camp's Harold Shea met with Thor, as with other Norse gods, in the first of Shea's many fantasy adventures.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Artists have also depicted Thor in painting and sculpture, including Henry Fuseli's 1780 painting Thor Battering the Midgard Serpent; Template:Lang's 1821–1822 statue Thor; B. E. Fogelberg's 1844 marble statue Thor; Mårten Eskil Winge's 1872 painting Thor's Fight with the Giants; K. Ehrenberg's 1883 drawing Template:Lang; several illustrations by Template:Lang published in Template:Lang's 1901 Template:Lang (Thor; Template:Lang; Template:Lang; Template:Lang; Template:Lang; Template:Lang; Template:Lang); J. C. Dollman's 1909 drawings Thor and the Mountain and Sif and Thor; G. Poppe's painting Thor; Template:Lang's 1914 drawing Template:Lang; H. Natter's marble statue Thor; and U. Brember's 1977 illustrations to Template:Lang by Template:Lang.<ref name="SIMEK323"/>

In the fields of science and technology, Swedish chemist Template:Lang (1779–1848) discovered a chemical element that he named after Thor – thorium.<ref name="MORRIS-2212">Morris (1992:2212).</ref> Thor is also the namesake of the PGM-17 Thor missile.Template:Cn

In 1962, American comic book artist Jack Kirby, Marvel Comics editor Stan Lee and his brother Larry Lieber created a feature in the comic book Journey Into Mystery, a series featuring Thor as a superhero.<ref name="REYNOLDS-54">Reynolds (1994:54).</ref> This version of Thor is portrayed as a clean-shaven blonde, instead of red-haired and bearded. The magazine soon added the backup feature "Tales of Asgard" in which Kirby illustrated stories from Norse mythology; eventually, the magazine was retitled Thor. Lee and Kirby included Thor as a founding member of their superhero team the Avengers. Thor has been portrayed in the Marvel Cinematic Universe by Australian actor Chris Hemsworth, appearing in Thor, The Avengers, Thor: The Dark World, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Doctor Strange, Team Thor, Thor: Ragnarok, Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame and Thor: Love and Thunder.<ref name="Den of Geek 2022">Template:Cite web</ref> Thor has also been featured in comic books by other publishers. In the Savage Dragon comics, Thor is portrayed as a villain.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In Neil Gaiman's Sandman comic, Thor is portrayed as a buffoon who wields a tiny toffee hammer.

First described in 2013, Thor's hero shrew (Scutisorex thori) is a species of shrew native to the Democratic Republic of Congo. It and its sister species, the hero shrew (Scutisorex somereni), are the only mammal species known to have interlocking vertebrae.<ref name="SHREW">Johnson (2013).</ref> The team named the shrew after Thor due to the god's association with strength.<ref name="SHREW"/>

From 2015 to 2017, a fictionalised version of Thor was a supporting character in Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard, a trilogy<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> of fantasy novels written by American author Rick Riordan and published by Disney-Hyperion, set in the same fictional universe as the Camp Half-Blood Chronicles, and The Kane Chronicles series by the same author. Neil Gaiman's books American Gods and Norse Mythology also feature Thor.Template:Cn

In January 2020, the streaming service Netflix produced Ragnarok. In the show, a high school student, Magne Seier, receives Thor's powers and abilities to fight the giants that are polluting Norway and murdering people. Netflix released the second season on 27 May 2021. Thor/Magne is portrayed by David Stakston.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Thor is also featured in a number of video games. In the 2002 Ensemble Studios game Age of Mythology, Thor is one of three major gods Norse players can worship.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In Santa Monica Studio's 2018 video game God of War, Thor is mentioned throughout and his sons Magni and Modi are secondary antagonists. Thor makes an appearance at the end of the main storyline if certain difficulty conditions are met by the player.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He makes a much more substantial appearance in the game's 2022 sequel God of War Ragnarök as a primary antagonist, played by Ryan Hurst.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Thor is also mentioned in Ubisoft's 2020 game Assassin's Creed Valhalla, where items of his such as Mjölnir can be found and used by the player in combat.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Thor is also one of the playable gods in the third-person multiplayer online battle arena game Smite.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

See also

Notes

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References

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