The Icelandic connection - 01.06.2010, Blaðsíða 39

Vol. 63 #1
ICELANDIC CONNECTION
37
Importance of Thor in Early Iceland’s
Late Paganism
by Chelsea Bristow
Thor of the TEsir, son of Odinn and Jord,
husband to Sif, father to Magni, Modi and
Thrud, principal deity to men and ruler of
Thrudvangar^ was one of the most important
worshiped figures in Iceland’s late paganism
period.
‘To our ancestors Thor was tall and
strong, handsome and dignified; he had a red
beard, and gripped Mjollnir in his hand’
(Munch 12). Thor is and always has been
known first and foremost as the god of thun-
der, and second as a god of fertility for it was
he ‘who guarded the men and their labours
from the wild forces of nature, personified as
Giants’ (Munch 10). Thor lived amongst the
AEsir gods in Valhalla who were constantly at
war with the giants and on occasion had feuds
with the Vanir~. Though not great with words,
Thor was the chief warrior, defender and
peace keeper for the AEsir. He frequently
traveled to the land of the giants and there is
scarcely a tale told not ending in brawl when
speaking of these adventures.
Thor journeyed to the land of the giants
on his chariot pulled by two male goats
named Tanngnoist and TanngrisnirT These
goats were of great value to him because he
could slaughter them for provisions while
traveling then resurrect them with Mjollnir^
to make use of them again and again. This
magic however only worked if the goat’s
bones and hide were all intact, as told to us by
Snorri Sturluson in Gylfaginning, when Thor
and Loki begin their journey to giant land.
While on this journey Thor generously invites
a farmer and his family to join in on his
evening meal as thanks for lodging him in
their home, asking only that they leave the
bones behind upon the goat’s skins he laid out
before the fire.
The greedy son of the farmer, in spite of
this, decided to crack open a bone and indulge
in the marrow. When morning came and Thor
consecrated the goats with Mjollnir, he
noticed that one of the goat’s legs was flaccid.
This deeply angered Thor and although he
clenched his hammer, he showed mercy and
took with him the farmers two children as ser-
vants thus saving them their lives. These two
children have followed in Thor’s service ever
since.
Thor carried with him three powerful
possessions: a pair of Iron gloves called
Jarngreipr with which he could crush rocks
and grip his hammer; a belt of strength called
Megingjord which doubled his might; and a
hammer called Mjollnir which helped him to
win his battles. Of these three objects of
power, the greatest was his hammer Mjollnir.
It has been said that Mjollnir ‘would hit any-
thing at which it was thrown and return to the
throwers hand' (Davidson, Scandinavian 70).
Snorri tells us in chapter five of his
Skaldskaparmal that it is Loki who tricks the
dwarves Eitri and Brokk into making trea-
sures for the gods, one of which being Thor’s
hammer Mjollnir. The story begins when
Loki, as a prank, cuts off all of Sif’s-^ hair and
when Thor gets word of this, he has the mind
to break every bone in Loki’s body, yet comes
to an understanding when Loki swears to get
the Sons of Ivaldi^ to make hair for Sif out of
gold. After the hair is made (along with
Odinn’s spear Gungnir), Loki wagers his head
in a bet with two dwarves that they cannot
make three treasures as good as the ones made
1 Thrudvangar (Plains of Strength) - Snorri’s Edda. 2 Vanir is the other clan of gods in late Norse paganism.
3 Tanngnoist (Tooth Gnasher), Tanngrisnir (Snarl Tooth). 4 Mjollnir is Thor’s hammer, read more page 2
5 Sif is Thor’s wife, little is known of her except she has hair of gold, is mother to Thors daughter, Thrud, and also to Ullr
who is a stepson to Thor. 6 The Sons of Ivaldi were a group dwarves or dark elves.