The Prose Edda on Thor

The Younger Edda: > Snorre'S Edda, Or The Prose Edda. > Preface.

• attestation: Thor fells the Midgard-serpent with Mjolner but dies from its venom after retreating nine paces

  "Asa-Thor fells the Midgard-serpent with his Mjolner, but he retreats only nine paces when he himself falls dead, suffocated by the serpent's venom"

The Younger Edda: > Chapter Iv. > Foreword.

• attestation: Thor was fostered in Thrace by Duke Loricos; at twelve he had full strength and lifted ten bear skins at once

  "He was fostered in Thrace by the duke, who is called Loricos. But when he was ten winters old he took his father's weapons"

• attestation: Thor was so fair his appearance was like ivory set in oak, and his hair was fairer than gold

  "So fair of face was he, when he stood by other men, as when ivory is set in oak; his hair was fairer than gold"

• relationship: Thor found the prophetess Sibyl (Sif) in the north region and married her

  "In the north region he found that prophetess who hight Sibyl, whom we call Sif, and married her"

The Younger Edda: > Chapter Viii. > The Asas.

• attestation: Thor is the foremost of the asas, called Asa-Thor or Oku-Thor, strongest of all gods and men, ruling over Thrudvang

  "Thor is the foremost of them. He is called Asa-Thor, or Oku-Thor.[33] He is the strongest of all gods and men, and rules over the realm which is called Thrudvang."

• attestation: Thor's hall Bilskirner has five hundred and forty floors, the largest house men have made

  "His hall is called Bilskirner. Therein are five hundred and forty floors, and it is the largest house that men have made."

• attestation: Thor has two goats Tangnjost and Tangrisner that draw his chariot

  "Thor has two goats, by name Tangnjost and Tangrisner, and a chariot, wherein he drives. The goats draw the chariot"

• attestation: Thor possesses three treasures: the hammer Mjolner, the belt Megingjarder that doubles his strength, and iron gloves for gripping the hammer

  "He possesses three valuable treasures. One of them is the hammer Mjolner, which the frost-giants and mountain-giants well know when it is raised"

• attestation: The belt Megingjarder doubles Thor's strength when he girds himself with it

  "The second treasure he possesses is Megingjarder (belt of strength); when he girds himself with it his strength is doubled."

• attestation: Thor's iron gloves are needed to hold the hammer's haft

  "His third treasure that is of so great value is his iron gloves; these he cannot do without when he lays hold of the hammer's haft."

• attestation: Oku-Thor derives from the Finnish thunder-god Ukko

  "Oku is derived from the Finnish thunder-god, Ukko."

The Younger Edda: > Chapter Xiii. > Odin'S Horse And Frey'S Ship.

• attestation: The giant builder felt unsafe among the Aesir without truce since Thor was away fighting trolls in the east

  "the giant did not deem it safe to be among the asas without truce if Thor should come home, who now was on a journey to the east fighting trolls"

• attestation: Thor killed the builder with a single blow of Mjolner that shattered his skull and sent him to Niflhel

  "He came straightway, swung his hammer, Mjolner, and paid the workman his wages,--not with the sun and moon, but rather by preventing him from dwelling in Jotunheim; and this was easily done with the first blow of the hammer, which broke his skull into small pieces and sent him down to Niflhel"

The Younger Edda: > Chapter Xiv. > Thor'S Adventures.

• attestation: Thor traveled with his goats and chariot, accompanied by Loke

  "Oku-Thor went on a journey with his goats and chariot, and with him went the asa who is called Loke"

• attestation: Thor killed his goats for supper and had them flayed and boiled

  "Thor took his goats and killed them both, whereupon he had them flayed and borne into a kettle"

• attestation: Thor instructed the peasant household to cast the bones onto the goat-skins

  "Thor laid the goat-skins away from the fire-place, and requested the bonde and his household to cast the bones onto the skins"

• attestation: Thor hallowed the goat-skins with Mjolner and the goats arose, but one limped on a hind leg

  "took the hammer Mjolner, lifted it and hallowed the goat-skins. Then the goats arose, but one of them limped on one of its hind legs"

• attestation: Thor's anger was so terrifying that the peasant thought he would fall down from the sight of Thor's eyes alone

  "he saw that Thor let his brows sink down over his eyes. When he saw his eyes he thought he must fall down at the sight of them alone"

• attestation: Thor gripped his hammer so tightly that his knuckles turned white

  "Thor took hold of the handle of his hammer so hard that his knuckles grew white"

• attestation: The peasant family offered everything they owned as atonement and Thor took Thjalfe and Roskva as servants

  "the bonde and all his household cried aloud and sued for peace, offering him as an atonement all that they possessed. When he saw their fear, his wrath left him. He was appeased, and took as a ransom the bonders children, Thjalfe and Roskva"

• attestation: Ganglere challenges whether Thor has ever encountered something superior to him in strength or sorcery

  "Has Thor never come where he has found anything so strong and mighty that it has been superior to him either in strength or in the black art?"

• attestation: Har says there are many proofs that all must accept Thor is mightiest, though he has faced things too mighty to speak of

  "there are many proofs which all must accept that Thor is the mightiest"

• attestation: Thor left his goats behind and traveled east into Jotunheim with Loke, Thjalfe, and Roskva as companions

  "He left his goats there and went on his way east into Jotunheim, clear to the sea, and then he went on across the deep ocean, and went ashore on the other side, together with Loke and Thjalfe and Roskva."

• attestation: The travelers found a large hall for night shelter which turned out to be Skrymer's glove, with the adjoining room being its thumb

  "Then Thor saw that the glove was the hall in which he had spent the night, and that the adjoining room was the thumb of the glove."

• attestation: Thor girded himself with Megingjarder, a belt that increased his divine strength

  "He girded himself with his Megingjarder, whereby his asa-might increased."

• attestation: Thor could not open Skrymer's provision-sack despite all efforts, unable to loosen a single knot

  "that he could not get one knot loosened, nor could he stir a single end of the strings so that it was looser than before."

• attestation: Thor struck Skrymer's head with Mjolner so hard the hammer sank deep, but Skrymer thought a leaf had fallen on him

  "dashed the hammer at his head. Skrymer awoke and asked whether some leaf had fallen upon his head"

• attestation: Thor's second hammer blow to Skrymer's crown sank the hammer deep into his head, but the giant thought an acorn had fallen

  "gave him a blow in the middle of the crown, so that he knew that the head of the hammer sank deep into his head. But just then Skrymer awoke and asked: What is that? Did an acorn fall onto my head?"

• attestation: Thor's third blow drove the hammer up to the handle into Skrymer's temple, but the giant thought moss had fallen from tree branches

  "The hammer sank up to the handle. Skrymer sat up, stroked his temples, and said: Are there any birds sitting in the tree above me? Methought, as I awoke, that some moss from the branches fell on my head."

• relationship: Thor was accompanied by Loke, Thjalfe, and Roskva, establishing the standard traveling party for this adventure

  "together with Loke and Thjalfe and Roskva"

• attestation: About midnight during the first night an earthquake shook the ground and the hall, frightening Thor's companions

  "About midnight there was a great earthquake; the ground trembled beneath them, and the house shook."

• attestation: Thor stood guard at the doorway with his hammer ready while his frightened companions took shelter deeper inside

  "Thor seated himself in the door; the others went farther in and were very much frightened. Thor held his hammer by the handle, ready to defend himself."

• attestation: Thor could not open the burg gate and the party had to creep between the bars to enter

  "Thor finding himself unable to open it, and being anxious to get within the burg, they crept between the bars and so came in."

• attestation: Thor attempted to drain a drinking horn in three draughts but could barely diminish its contents each time

  "when he looked into it its contents had indeed visibly diminished, but he gave back the horn and would not drink any more."

• attestation: Thor tried to lift Utgard-Loke's gray cat but could only raise one of its paws, as the cat arched its back in proportion to his effort

  "Thor went over to it, put his hand under the middle of its body and tried to lift it up, but the cat bent its back in the same degree as Thor raised his hands; and when he had stretched them up as far as he was able the cat lifted one foot, and Thor did not carry the game any further."

• attestation: Thor wrestled the old woman Elle, Utgard-Loke's foster-mother, and was brought down on one knee despite being famed for strength

  "the more Thor tightened his grasp, the firmer she stood. Then the woman began to bestir herself, and Thor lost his footing. They had some very hard tussles, and before long Thor was brought down on one knee."

• attestation: Thor preferred drinking as his competition, and Utgard-Loke had his cup-bearer bring the sconce-horn used by his thanes

  "Thor replied that he preferred to compete with someone in drinking. Utgard-Loke said there would be no objection to this. He went into the hall, called his cup-bearer, and requested him to take the sconce-horn that his thanes were wont to drink from."

• attestation: Thor's three hammer blows would have killed Utgard-Loke, but he interposed a mountain, creating three square dales visible near the burg

  "You saw near my burg a mountain cloven at the top into three square dales, of which one was the deepest,--these were the dints made by your hammer. The mountain I brought before the blows without your seeing it."

• attestation: The drinking horn's end stood in the sea; Thor's draughts caused the ocean tide to ebb

  "One end of the horn stood in the sea, but that you did not see. When you come to the sea-shore you will discover how much the sea has sunk by your drinking; that is now called the ebb."

• attestation: The cat Thor tried to lift was actually the Midgard-serpent encircling all lands; Thor raised it so high his hand nearly reached heaven

  "It was in reality the Midgard-serpent, which surrounds all lands. It was scarcely long enough to touch the earth with its tail and head, and you raised it so high that your hand nearly reached to heaven."

• attestation: When Thor seized his hammer to strike Utgard-Loke after learning the truth, the giant and burg vanished entirely

  "when he was about to strike he saw Utgard-Loke nowhere; and when he turned back to the burg and was going to dash that to pieces, he saw a beautiful and large plain, but no burg."

• attestation: Thor resolved to seek a meeting with the Midgard-serpent after this journey, which afterward took place

  "he then resolved in his own mind to seek that meeting with the Midgard-serpent, which afterward took place."

• attestation: Thor returned to Thrudvang after the burg vanished

  "he turned and went his way back to Thrudvang."

• attestation: Thor traveled alone without chariot, goats, or companions, disguised as a young man

  "he busked himself so suddenly for a new journey, that he took neither chariot, nor goats nor any companions with him. He went out of Midgard in the guise of a young man"

• attestation: Thor came to a giant named Hymer and stayed as guest overnight

  "came in the evening to a giant by name Hymer.[61] Thor tarried there as a guest through the night"

• attestation: Thor took the largest ox called Himinbrjot and twisted its head off for bait

  "He took the largest ox, which was called Himinbrjot, twisted his head off and brought it down to the sea-strand"

• attestation: Thor rowed so powerfully from the stern that Hymer had to acknowledge the boat's speed

  "Thor went on board and seated himself in the stern; he took two oars and rowed so that Hymer had to confess that the boat sped fast from his rowing"

• attestation: Thor stamped so hard his feet went through the boat to the sea floor as he hauled up the serpent

  "Thor became angry, assumed his asa-might and spurned so hard that both his feet went through the boat and he stood on the bottom of the sea"

• attestation: The sight of Thor glaring at the serpent while it spewed venom was the most terrible sight ever seen

  "no one has ever seen a more terrible sight than when Thor whet his eyes on the serpent, and the latter stared at him and spouted venom"

• attestation: Thor punched Hymer overboard with a box on the ear and then waded ashore

  "Thor clenched his fist and gave the giant a box on the ear so that he fell backward into the sea, and he saw his heels last, but Thor waded ashore"

The Younger Edda: > Chapter Xv. > The Death Of Balder.

• attestation: Thor hallowed the funeral pile with Mjolner and kicked a dwarf named Lit into the fire

  "Thor stood by and hallowed the pile with Mjolner. Before his feet ran a dwarf, whose name is Lit. Him Thor kicked with his foot and dashed him into the fire, and he, too, was burned"

• attestation: Thor waded in the middle of the stream while the asas dragged the net; Loke leaped over but Thor caught him by the tail, which is why the salmon has a slim tail

  "Thor grasped after him and caught him, but he slipped in his hand so that Thor did not get a firm hold before he got to the tail, and this is the reason why the salmon has so slim a tail."

The Younger Edda: > Chapter Xvi. > Ragnarok.

• attestation: Thor kills the Midgard-serpent but retreats only nine paces before falling dead from the venom

  "Thor gets great renown by slaying the Midgard-serpent, but retreats only nine paces when he falls to the earth dead, poisoned by the venom that the serpent blows on him"

The Younger Edda: > Chapter Xvii. > Regeneration.

• attestation: Thor's sons Mode and Magne survive and possess Mjolner; Balder and Hoder return from Hel

  "Thither come also the sons of Thor, Mode and Magne, and they have Mjolner. Then come Balder and Hoder from Hel."

The Younger Edda: > Chapter Xvii. > To The Fooling Of Gylfe.

• attestation: The Aesir gave the same names to men and places to ensure later generations would connect them with the mythological figures

  "They gave the very same names that had been named before to the men and places that were there"

• attestation: Thor is identified as Asa-Thor the old and Oku-Thor, with many great deeds attributed to him

  "There was one who is called Thor, and he is Asa-Thor, the old. He is Oku-Thor"

The Younger Edda: > Chapter Iv. > To Brage'S Talk.

• comparison: The euhemerizing afterword equates Thor's fishing of the Midgard-serpent with Hektor being the mightiest warrior

  "Oku-Thor angled with an ox-head and drew on board the Midgard-serpent"

The Younger Edda: > Chapter Iv. > Thor And Hrungner.

• attestation: The thrown flint-stone broke against Mjolner in mid-air: one part became flint-mountains, the other lodged in Thor's head; Mjolner crushed Hrungner's skull

  "the flint-stone broke. One part fell to the earth, and from it have come the flint-mountains; the other part hit Thor's head with such force that he fell forward to the ground. But the hammer Mjolner hit Hrungner right in the head, and crushed his skull in small pieces."

• attestation: Thor gave Goldfax to Magne; Odin criticized giving so fine a horse to a giantess's son instead of his father

  "I will give you the horse Goldfax, that belonged to Hrungner. Odin said that Thor did wrong in giving so fine a horse to the son of a giantess, instead of to his father."

• attestation: Thor created the star Orvandel's toe from the frozen toe he broke from Orvandel's foot after carrying him from Jotunheim in a basket

  "one toe of his had protruded from the basket and had frozen, wherefore Thor had broken it off and had cast it up into the sky, and made of it the star which is called Orvandel's toe."

• attestation: It became forbidden to throw flint-stones across floors because it moves the stone still stuck in Thor's head

  "For this reason it is forbidden to throw a flint-stone across the floor, for then the stone in Thor's head is moved."

• attestation: Multiple skaldic verses describe Thor's journey to fight Hrungner at Grjottungard

  "Of the giant-terrifier's[77] journey To Grjottungard, to the giant Hrungner"

• attestation: Thor is called Meile's brother, Jord's son, and Uller's stepfather in skaldic kennings

  "The courage waxed high in Meile's brother"

• attestation: Thor is described as driving a chariot pulled by goats

  "the span of goats Drew the sublime chariot"

The Younger Edda: > Chapter Iv. > Thor'S Journey To Geirrod'S.

• attestation: Thor went to Geirrodsgard without Mjolner, belt of strength, or steel gloves due to Loke's fault

  "Thor made a journey to Geirrodsgard. He had with him neither the hammer Mjolner, nor his belt of strength, Megingjard, nor his steel gloves"

• attestation: Thor threw a huge stone at Gjalp, declaring a stream must be stemmed at its source -- he never missed his mark

  "Then took he up out of the river a huge stone and threw at her, saying: At its source the stream must be stemmed."

• attestation: The proverb 'a shrub saved Thor' originated from Thor grabbing a shrub to escape the river

  "At the same time he reached the river bank and got hold of a shrub, and so he got out of the river. Hence comes the adage that a shrub saved Thor."

• attestation: Thor used the Gridarvol (Grid's staff) to press against rafters when his seat was lifted toward the ceiling, breaking the backs of Gjalp and Greip who hid underneath

  "He put the Gridarvol against the rafters, and pressed himself down against the seat. Then was heard a great crash, which was followed by a loud screaming. Under the seat were Geirrod's daughters, Gjalp and Greip, and he had broken the backs of both of them."

• attestation: The verse recounts Thor girding Megingjard when setting out from Odin's home to visit Ymer's children in Gandvik

  "When he, who is wont to swing Megingjard, Once set out from Odin's home To visit Ymer's children in Gandvik,"

• attestation: Thor waded across a roaring stream rolling with drenched snow, using a staff to steady himself while stones rang in the riverbed

  "Thor and his companions Put before him the staff; Thereon he rested Whilst over they waded: Nor sleep did the stones,-- The sonorous staff striking the rapid wave Made the river-bed ring,-- The mountain-torrent rang with stones."

• attestation: Thor is called 'the destroyer of troll-children' who let his neck-strength grow heaven-high against the mighty stream

  "The destroyer of troll-children Let his neck-strength Wax heaven high, Till the mighty stream should diminish."

• attestation: The verse refers to Thor's companions as 'oath-bound protectors of Asgard' and 'experienced vikings'

  "The oath-bound protectors of Asgard,-- The experienced vikings,-- Waded fast and the stream sped on."

• attestation: Thor used Grid's staff (Gridarvol) against the giants in the seething river

  "Angry fared Thor with the Gridarvol"

• attestation: Thor's heart and Thjalfe's heart did not tremble from fear during the encounter

  "Neither Thor's nor Thjalfe's heart From fear did tremble"

The Younger Edda: > Chapter Iv. > Idun.

• attribution: Thor threatened Loke with death unless he returned Idun, calling her the 'good joy-increasing maid'

  "You shall, cunning Loke, Spake Thor, die; Unless back you lead, With your tricks, that Good joy-increasing maid."

The Younger Edda: > Chapter Iv. > Loke'S Wager With The Dwarfs.

• attestation: The gods judged the hammer the best treasure and greatest protection against frost-giants; the dwarf won the wager

  "The decision of the gods was, that the hammer was the best of all these treasures and the greatest protection against the frost-giants, and they declared that the dwarf had fairly won the wager."

The Younger Edda: > Chapter Vii.

• attestation: The notes discuss Thor's adventures and the contests at Utgard

  "Our ancestors divided the universe into nine worlds, and these again into three"

The Younger Edda: > Chapter Xiv.

• attestation: Notes discussing Thor and Hrungner, Thor's journey to Geirrodsgard, and other myths

  "The death of Balder is justly regarded as the most beautiful myth in Teutonic my"

The Younger Edda: > Chapter Xv. > Tangrisner. }

• attestation: This section discusses Thor's goats Tangrisner and Tanngnjost and other vocabulary items

  "THEK. A dwarf; also a name of Odin. THJALFE. The name of Thor's man-servant. THJ"