by Graeme Davis
It was apparently a common practice for settlers approaching Iceland to throw their high-seat pillars overboard and claim the land wherever they washed ashore. The Landnamabok tells of one follower of Thor named Thorolf Mostrarskegg (“most-beard”) who packed up a shrine to the god and took it with him to Iceland. Approaching the coast, Thorolf threw the god’s high-seat pillars (or perhaps, pillars carved with the likeness of Thor) into the sea instead of his own, letting the god decide where he would reside in this new land. The shrine was rebuilt next to the house, and is described in the Eyrbyggja Saga.
Thor and Christianity
The worship of the Norse gods – Thor in particular – died hard in the Viking lands. The Danish archeologist Johannes Brondsted reported multiple stones on which the image of Thor’s hammer appeared alongside that of the Christian cross, and images of Thor have been found on carved stone crosses in churchyards in northern England. Many Vikings saw no reason why they should not adopt the worship of “the White Christ” alongside their traditional faith. In the 12th century the Saxon churchman Aelnoth of Canterbury wrote:
As long as things go well, the Swedes seem willing to acknowledge Christ and honor him, but only as a formality. When things go wrong – bad harvests, droughts, storms and bad weather, enemy attacks or fires – they persecute the religion that they pretend to honor with action as well as words.
One Gaukathori, according to the Icelandic Landnamabok, “was very mixed in his faith; he believed in Christ, but invoked Thor in matters of seafaring and dire necessity.” Gaukathori himself is quoted as saying to King (later saint) Olaf II of Norway: “If I must believe in a god, it is no worse to believe in the White Christ than any other.”
Several histories record the efforts of Olaf and various other rulers and churchmen in tearing down the temples of the old religion, including the great pagan temple at Old Uppsala. Christian commentators tried to reconcile the new and old beliefs: the resurrection of Balder was likened to that of Christ, since both marked the beginning of a new age.
There are a few indications that the followers of Thor struck back. Davidson reports that one Icelander told a Christian missionary that Thor had challenged Christ to single combat, while a Norwegian tale tells of Thor taking part in a tug-of-war with Christ’s champion, King Olaf Tryggvason.
Thor in Folklore
Over time, though, Thor and the other Norse gods receded into folklore and fairytales. Jacob Grimm and other 19th-century collectors of folklore recorded that trolls were afraid of lightning, and some tales tell that Thor is still at large, chasing down giants and their kin.
Thor never stopped being a popular personal name, along with compounds like Torsten (“Thor’s stone”), Torvald (“Thor’s ruler”), Torbjorn (“Thor’s bear”), Thordis (“Thor’s goddess”), and Thora (a feminine form of Thor). Place-names throughout the former Viking world begin with Thor-, Tor-, and other elements indicating a connection with the Thunder God.
Thor is also linked to a number of landscape features in northern and western Europe. Here are a few examples, showing the extent of his influence on local folklore.
Thor’s Stone, a house-sized outcrop of red sandstone near the Wirral in Cheshire, England, is surrounded by various local legends which make it everything from the site of a local assembly or thing to a pagan altar (the blood of the victims accounting for the stone’s red color) to a fallen thunderbolt to Mjolnir itself.
Further south, at The Devil’s Jumps near Churt in Surrey, a large boulder by three hills is said to have been thrown by Thor at the Devil, who was annoying him by jumping from one hill to another.
Donderberg (“Thunder Mountain”) near Dieren in the Netherlands is a hill that carries a legend that Donar/Thor crashed his chariot there after being overcome by the Midgard Serpent’s venom at Ragnarok. The crash created two deep lakes, and according to local tradition the hammer Mjolnir surfaced from the depths when the floodwaters receded.
Thor battles the Midgard Serpent in this hand-coloured engraving of Ragnarok. (Charles Walker / Topfoto)
Fighting giants is Thor’s favorite pastime. A kenning (poetic nickname) for him was “the giant slayer.”
THOR’S LEGACY
The spread of Christianity did not spell the end for Thor. Translations and retellings of the myths from the Eddas appeared throughout the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries, but it was in the 19th century that Norse mythology became more than a mere historical curiosity. The reasons were many: among them were rising Norwegian nationalism, archeological discoveries in Scandinavia and Britain, and the first publication of a theory that Vikings had visited North America centuries before Columbus.
The 19th Century
Just as 19th-century Romantics in Britain looked to classical myths and the legends of King Arthur, German Romantics turned to the world of Norse myth to help establish a national identity. Thor was referenced in many 19th-century works, including poems, paintings, and sculptures.
Popular consciousness of Norse-Germanic lore even affected the science of the day. In 1828, Swedish chemist Jons Jakob Berzelius named a newly-discovered radioactive element Thorium in the Thunder God’s honor.
American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, best known today as the author of the epic poem The Song of Hiawatha, was among the 19th-century writers and artists fascinated by Norse culture. His 1839 collection Voices of the Night included several poems translated from Danish, Anglo-Saxon, and German. In 1863 he published Tales of a Wayside Inn, a collection that included 22 Norse-inspired poems collected together under the title The Musician’s Tale: The Saga of King Olaf. The titles of individual poems included “The Challenge of Thor,” “The Wrath of Odin,” and “Thangbrand the Priest.”
In Europe, perhaps the best-known proponent of the Viking revival was the composer Richard Wagner. His four-opera work The Ring of the Nibelung (better known as the Ring Cycle), composed between 1848 and 1874, was based on the Volsung Saga, a Norse epic that tells of Odin’s meddling in the affairs of the Volsung clan. It is best known today for its iconic theme “The Ride of the Valkyries.”
A modern interpretation of Thor by Gordon Wain. (© 2003 Charles Walker / Topfoto)
The 20th Century
Interest in Norse myth and religion continued to grow in the early 20th century, especially in Germany. Under the influence of writers like Guido von List and Karl Maria Wiligut, societies were founded to study and promote Nordic culture, religion and mysticism. One of the most influential was the Thule Society, founded in 1911. As a defeated Germany struggled for a sense of identity in the aftermath of World War I, the Thule Society attracted many founding members of what would become the National Socialist Party.
Thor and Hitler
Adolf Hitler chose the swastika as the symbol for his new party because of its alleged Germanic heritage. Although the design was used by many ancient cultures, most significantly for Hitler it represented Thor and his thunderbolts in Norse tradition.
In 1935, SS chief Heinrich Himmler met with a group of German intellectuals and founded the Ahnenerbe, a society for the study of ancient history whose stated goal was to prove that Nordic peoples had once conquered the world. This was part of a Nazi effort to legitimize the concept of an Aryan race and its alleged right to world dominance.
The question of whether senior members of the SS and other Nazis observed a form of Germanic-Norse paganism is a complex one. Nazi philosophy was influenced by the work of Guido von List and others, but in Mein Kampf and elsewhere Hitler stated his opposition to a return to the worship of Thor and Odin. While some holidays – especially the summer and winter solstices – were celebrated under their Germanic names, Nazi paganism seems to have been more prevalent in postwar fiction and conspiracy theory than in actual fact.
Modern Neopaganism
In the late 1960s and early 1970s, renewed interest in Norse paganism arose in Iceland and elsewhere, apparently from the same kind of spiritual curiosity that led British and American hi
ppies to study eastern, Celtic, and Native American mysticism. The Asatru (“Aesir Faith”) movement began in 1972, and similar groups sprang up in Scandinavia, the USA, Germany, and elsewhere. Norse neopaganism continues to grow and spread. It is a recognized religion in several countries, meaning that its adherents have the power to conduct weddings, funerals, and other legally significant ceremonies. Most Norse neopagans worship Thor alongside Odin, Frey, and other Norse deities.
NEO-NAZISM
The swastika remains a popular symbol among neo-Nazis to the present day. It has been joined in recent decades by the Thor’s-hammer emblem. Both symbols have spread to other far-right and white supremacist groups. The name “Thor’s Hammer” has also been adopted by a Polish black metal band that the Anti-Defamation League accuses of racism. Followers of Asatru and other Norse-Germanic neopagans oppose the use of Thor’s hammer by racist and far-right groups, and these groups have no apparent interest in neo-nazism.
The Comic-Book Thor
In August 1962, Marvel Comics published Journey into Mystery #83, which introduced the world to Thor in his best-known comic-book incarnation. Both alone and as a member of the Avengers, Thor has appeared in Marvel comics in every decade since. He has also appeared in live action and animated TV series (including guest appearances in series headlined by other Marvel characters), as well as movies (most recently 2011’s Thor, 2012’s The Avengers and 2013’s Thor 2: The Dark World) and video games.
A Thor’s Hammer pendant from Bredsättra, Öland, Sweden. (PD-US)
Marvel’s Thor was not the first comic-book interpretation of the Norse god. In 1940, the short-lived Weird Comics featured a storyline about a scientist who gained the powers of the Norse god after being struck by lightning. Thor also appeared in various European comics in the 1970s and played a role in Neil Gaiman’s celebrated Sandman series (published by Marvel’s arch-rival DC Comics) as well as in Gaiman’s novel American Gods and Douglas Adams’ The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul. However, it is the Marvel version of the Norse god that has had the most lasting effect on popular culture.
The Marvel Thor has blond hair instead of red, but otherwise he is very similar to the character portrayed in the Eddas. His hammer and his great physical strength are his main attributes, and he usually takes a direct, often violent approach to any problems he encounters.
Thor did not come alone from the Eddas to the comics. The trickster Loki is a regular foe, appearing in multiple comic storylines as well as all three of the Marvel films that feature Thor. Loki actually made his Marvel debut in 1949, 13 years before Thor.
The Midgard Serpent, the deadliest of Thor’s foes, debuted in 1952, and has appeared as Thor’s nemesis since 1966. Thor #272 (June 1978) wove an almost direct retelling of Thor’s adventures against Utgardaloki into the Marvel continuity. The following month’s issue retells Thor’s fishing expedition with Hymir, in which he hooked the serpent. The Midgard Serpent returned to plague Thor several more times in storylines that are not drawn from Norse sources.
From October 1962, two months after Thor’s debut, Marvel writers began weaving the realm of Asgard and its inhabitants into the world of their comics. Many other characters and creatures were drawn from Norse myth, including Odin (debut October 1962), Surtur (October 1963), Thor’s wife Sif (March 1964), and a Valkyrie named Brunnhilde (December 1970).
Actor Chris Hemsworth as the Marvel Comics Thor in the 2011 movie. (Photos 12 / Alamy)
In the Marvel universe, Asgard is a planetoid and the Asgardians, although not immortal, are extremely long-lived. They are also physically stronger and tougher than humans. In most other respects, though, Marvel departs very little from Norse lore. Given the similarities between the tall tales of the Eddas and the modern superhero genre, it might be argued that there is very little reason to do so.
Thor’s legacy seems destined to endure. As befits a Viking role model, he embodies an old Norse proverb about what is truly important in life:
Cattle die, kinfolk die; everyone dies in the end. Only one thing lives forever, and that is fame.
GLOSSARY
Adam of Bremen (Latin: Adamus Bremensis): An 11th-century German chronicler who describes a temple of Thor at Uppsala in Sweden.
Aegir: A giant or sea god who held a feast for the Aesir.
Aesir: One of two tribes of Norse gods. Odin and Thor were prominent Aesir.
Alvis: A cunning dwarf who tries to woo Thor’s daughter but is outwitted.
Asatru: A revived form of Norse paganism: literally “Aesir faith.”
Asgard: The realm of the Aesir.
Balder: The fairest of the Aesir, killed by a jealous Loki.
Bifrost: A rainbow bridge connecting Asgard and Midgard.
Bilskirnir: “Lightning-crack,” one of Thor’s three residences.
Blot: A pagan Norse festival.
Brokk and Sindri: Two dwarves who made many of the Aesir’s magical treasures.
Codex Regius: A manuscript containing most of the Poetic Edda. See Eddas.
Donar: An early Germanic name for Thor.
Eddas: Two books, one in verse and one in prose, preserving much of surviving Norse mythology.
Einherjar: Warriors who die well in battle and are chosen by the Valkyries to be taken to Valhalla.
Mjolnir by Miguel Coimbra
Elli: A servant of Utgardaloki, actually a personification of age.
Eyrbyggja Saga: An account of a feud in Viking-age Iceland. Includes a description of a Norse temple.
Fenrir: A huge wolf, the offspring of Loki, who kills Odin at Ragnarok. Also called Fenris.
Fimbulvetr: “The Great Winter,” a winter lasting three years that precedes Ragnarok.
Flateyarbok: A late 14th-century account of various Norse kings.
Flyting: A bloodless duel conducted by exchanging insults.
Freyja: The most beautiful of the Norse goddesses, a patron of love and fertility.
Frigga: The wife of Odin and mother of Balder.
Geirrod: A giant who tries to murder Thor.
Gjallarhorn: The horn with which Heimdall raises the alarm when Asgard is attacked at Ragnarok.
Gridarvolr: An iron staff lent to Thor by Gridr.
Gridr: A giantess who helps Thor against Geirrod.
Harbard: A rude ferryman encountered by Thor; possibly Odin in disguise.
Heimdall: An Aesir who kept watch over the rainbow bridge Bifrost.
Heimskringla: A 13th-century collection of Old Norse kings’ sagas.
Hel: The gloomy land of the dead and the goddess who rules over it.
Hod: A blind god whom Loki tricks into killing Balder.
Hrungnir: A boastful giant whom Thor killed in a duel.
Hugi: A servant of Utgardaloki, actually a personification of thought.
Hymir: A giant who was the father of the god Tyr.
Idun: A goddess whose golden apples kept the Aesir from aging.
Jarl: A Norse noble. The name is related to the Anglo-Saxon eorl and modern English earl.
Jarngreipr: Thor’s magical iron gloves.
Jormungand: The name of the Midgard Serpent.
Jotun: Giants.
Jotunheim: The realm of the giants.
Landnamabok: An account of the Viking settlement of Iceland.
Logi: A servant of Utgardaloki, actually a personification of fire.
Loki: The trickster god of the Norse pantheon.
Magni: Thor’s son, the strongest of the Norse gods.
Megingjord: Thor’s magical belt of strength.
Midgard: The realm of mortals. The name can be translated as “Middle-earth.”
Midgard Serpent: A vast serpent that lay under the sea, encircling the realm of Midgard.
Mimir: The wisest of the Aesir, whose severed head is consulted for its wisdom.
Mjolnir: Thor’s mighty hammer. Also spelled Mjölnir, Mjollnir, Mjölner or Mjølner. A few sources describe Mjolnir as an axe or club rather than a hammer.
&nb
sp; Muspelheim: The realm of the Fire Giants.
Naglfari: A ship made of dead men’s nails, which will convey the hordes of Hel or the giants to Asgard at Ragnarok.
Niflheim: The realm of the Frost Giants.
Odin: Thor’s father and the leader of the Aesir.
Old Uppsala (Swedish: Gamla Uppsala): An important political and religious center in Viking-age Sweden, the site of a major pagan temple described by Adam of Bremen.
Ragnarok: The end of the current age according to Norse myth.
The Thor I booster was used by NASA in the 1950s. NASA photograph. (Library of Congress)
Rast: An old Norse measure of distance, equivalent to 7.018 miles.
Rus: Swedish Vikings (the name may be derived from Old Swedish ruotsi: “rowers”) who traveled east up northern Europe’s great rivers, giving their name to Russia, serving the Byzantine Emperor of Constantinople and encountering Muslim travelers in the Black Sea region.
Sald: An old Norse measure of volume, about 22 gallons.
Sif: A goddess, the wife of Thor.
Sigfusson, Saemund: A 12th-century Icelandic priest credited (though not unanimously) with authorship of the Poetic Edda (see Eddas).
Skrymir: A name used by the giant Utgardaloki to trick Thor.
Sleipnir: Odin’s magical eight-legged horse.
Sturluson, Snorri: A 13th-century Icelandic scholar who preserved most of the surviving Norse myths in the Prose Edda (see Eddas).
Surtur: The king of the Fire Giants.
Tanngrisnir and Tanngnjostr: Two goats that pulled Thor’s chariot.
