by Graeme Davis
Harbard: What have you done, Thor?
Thor: I cudgeled the berserkers’ brides on Hlesey. They had committed the worst of crimes, and seduced the whole people.
Hlesey is the Danish island of Læso. The name translates as “Hler’s island”; Hler is another name for Aegir. Aegir had nine daughters with the sea-goddess Ran, each named after a type of wave; however, it is not clear whether there is any connection between them and the women mentioned in this line.
Harbard: That was a dastardly act, Thor, to cudgel women.
Thor: They were she-wolves, and scarcely women. They crushed my ship, which I had secured with props, threatened me with iron clubs, and drove Thjalfi away. What have you done, Harbard?
Harbard: I was in the army that was sent out to raise war-banners and redden spears.
Thor: Tell of that now, since you went out to offer us hard terms.
Harbard: That shall be secured by a hand-ring such as judges use, who wish to reconcile us.
Multiple sources tell us that the temples of Thor contained sacred gold rings upon which the Vikings were accustomed to swearing their most sacred and binding oaths. When Alfred the Great negotiated a peace with the Danish king Guthrum in 876, the Danes swore their peace-oaths on a “holy ring” associated with the worship of Thor.
Thor: Where did you learn such words? I never heard anything so irritating!
Harbard: I learned them from men – ancient men, whose home is in the woods.
Thor: You certainly give a good name to grave-mounds, when you call them homes in the woods.
Harbard: That is how I speak of such a subject.
Thor: You will regret your clever words if I decide to ford the sound. Louder than a wolf you’ll howl, I swear, if you get a touch of my hammer. Harbard: Sif has a gallant at home. You’ll be anxious to find him. You’d do better to pursue that task instead.
This line appears to be nothing more than an insult. There is nothing in the surviving sources to suggest that Sif carried on any affairs while she was married to Thor, although she did give birth to the winter-god Ullr by an unnamed father. Thor is sometimes named as “Ullr’s foster-father.” At Aegir’s feast Loki also accuses Sif of infidelity, claiming to have been intimate with her himself – but Loki is well known as a liar and slanderer, and his word cannot be taken at face value.
Thor: You say whatever comes to mind as long as it will annoy me, you low-minded scoundrel! I believe you are lying.
Harbard: I believe I am telling the truth. You are traveling slowly; you would have arrived long since if you had assumed another form.
Thor: Harbard, you wretch! Rather is it you who have held me up.
Harbard: I would never have thought that a ferryman could delay the travels of the great Aesir Thor.
Thor: I will give you one piece of advice: row your boat over here. Let us cease from threats; approach the sire of Magni.
Harbard: Go away from the sound. Passage across is refused you.
Thor: Show me the way, then, if you won’t ferry me across the water.
Harbard: That’s too little to refuse. It’s a long way: an hour to the stock, another hour to the stone. Then keep to the left-hand way until you reach Verland. There Fiorgyn will find her son Thor and show him his kinsmen’s ways to Odin’s land.
Verland is “the land of men” according to some scholars, making it another name for Midgard. Since Thor is on his way back from “the east” he may not have left Jotunheim by the time he reaches Harbard’s ferry.
Thor: Can I get there today?
Harbard: With some effort you may get there while the sun is up.
Thor: Our talk shall now be short, since you only answer me with mockery. If we meet again, I’ll pay you back for refusing to ferry me.
Harbard: Just go to where all the powers of evil may have you.
The poem ends abruptly at this point. We are left to suppose that Thor was forced to walk around the inlet since Harbard refused to ferry him across.
FENRIR
Fenrir (“Fen-dweller”) is a monstrous wolf that is generally accepted to have been the offspring of Loki and a giantess named Angrboda (“Grief-bringer”) along with Jormungand the Midgard Serpent and Hel, the goddess who ruled a dark realm of the dead that bore her name. A reference in the Voluspa might be interpreted as contradicting this, however: it implies that Fenrir was raised by a witch. It also states that the great wolf that devoured the moon was one of Fenrir’s offspring.
Fenrir was raised among the gods, growing quickly and reaching a prodigious size. Only the law-god Tyr dared go and feed him. When it was prophesied that Fenrir would be the doom of the Aesir, they decided to bind him with a great chain called Laeding. Fenrir snapped this immediately. A second chain was brought, named Dromi. This took Fenrir some effort to break, but he did so.
The Aesir turned to the dwarves, who fashioned a silken bond named Gleipnir out of such impossible things as the footfall of a cat and the breath of a fish. Distrustful, Fenrir refused to let the Aesir place it on him until Tyr agreed to place his hand in the wolf’s mouth as a sign of good faith. Gleipnir was fastened, and when Fenrir found he could not escape, he bit off Tyr’s hand.
Thor (on the left) helps bind the wolf Fenris in this 1930s book illustration by Charles Edmund Brock. (The Bridgeman Art Library)
Although Tyr lost his hand, the wolf was bound and left chained to a rock until Ragnarok came.
According to prophecy, Thor and the Midgard Serpent will kill each other at Ragnarok.
RAGNAROK
Norse mythology is unlike the mythologies of most other cultures in that it contains a detailed description of the end of the world, in which even the gods are killed.
There are two main sources for the events of Ragnarok. The Poetic Edda contains a poem called Voluspa, in which a volva or seeress gives Odin a detailed prophecy about the end of the world. In Gylfaginning, in the Prose Edda, another account is given as part of a general account of the world and the gods: this quotes extensively from the Voluspa.
Ragnarok is mentioned in several other places in the Eddas, but only in passing. Usually a character taunts one of the gods with something from the prophecy, as when Loki taunts Thor with the fact that he will not save Odin from the wolf Fenrir.
The Old Norse word “Ragnarok” can be translated as “the fate of the gods.” In one place in the Lokasenna a slightly different word-form is used, which may be an accidental misspelling or a deliberate variation: ragnarøkkr instead of ragnarok. The translation of ragnarøkkr is “twilight of the gods,” and it was taken by Richard Wagner as the title of the fourth opera in his Ring Cycle, Gotterdämmerung.
Fimbulwinter
Ragnarok will begin with Fimbulvetr (“the great winter,” Fimbulwinter), a harsh and stormy winter that lasts for three years with no intervening summers. During this time, war and discord spread across the whole world. Family loyalty and other social ties break down completely as brothers kill their brothers for material gain:
There are axe-ages, sword-ages,
Shields are cleft in twain,
There are wind-ages, wolf-ages,
Ere the world falls dead.
The Voluspa
Fimbulwinter will destroy all life in Midgard, except for a woman named Lif and a man named Lifthrasir (“Life” and “Lover of Life”) who survive by hiding in a deep forest called Hoddmimis holt. The location of this forest is unclear. Its name translates as “Hoard-Mimir’s Wood.” Mimir was a god of great wisdom who lost his head during a war between the Aesir and the Vanir. Odin consults Mimir’s severed head for advice in this myth and others.
The Breaking of the Heavens
At the end of Fimbulwinter, a number of prodigious events take place. A great wolf swallows the sun, and another the moon. The stars are hurled down from the heavens. The earth is wracked by violent earthquakes that uproot trees and tumble mountains.
Surtur with his flaming sword. John Charles Dollman, 1909. (PD-US)
The Attack on Asgard
Fenrir and the Midgard Serpent advance side by side toward Bifrost, the rainbow bridge that connects the mortal realm of Midgard with the Aesir’s home of Asgard. Fenrir gapes so wide that his jaws span heaven and earth, and fire shoots from his eyes and nostrils. The Midgard Serpent vomits a flood of venom that covers the land and fouls the air. They cause such devastation that the heavens are torn in two.
Through the breach created by Fenrir and Jormungand come the Fire Giants of Muspelheim, led by their king Surtur. Wreathed in fire and wielding a sword brighter than the sun, Surtur destroys the rainbow bridge as his forces ride over it.
Heimdall, the god who watches over the rainbow bridge, sounds the horn Gjallarhorn to raise the alarm. Odin rides to Mimir’s Well to consult the oracular head before returning to lead the Aesir into battle. The world-tree Yggdrasil begins to shake, and fear spreads throughout all creation. The final battle is about to be joined.
The Final Battle
The enemies of Asgard assemble on the field of Vigridr (“Surge of Battle”), which is one hundred rasts (almost 702 miles) on each side. Their forces are named as follows:
The wolf Fenrir and the Midgard Serpent Jormungand;
The Fire Giants, commanded by Surtur;
The hordes of Hel, commanded by Loki;
The Frost Giants, commanded by Thrym.
Against them are ranged the Aesir and the einherjar, those warriors who were chosen by the Valkyries and brought from the battlefield to Odin’s hall at Valhalla, where they have spent the ages fighting all day and feasting all night.
The final battle is described as a series of individual combats, in which the gods fall one by one.
Odin, clad in bright mail and wielding his magical spear Gungnir, fights the wolf Fenrir. Thor stands beside him, but is locked in battle with the Midgard Serpent and unable to prevent Fenrir from slaying Odin.
Frey, the god of peace and fertility, faces the Fire Giant king Surtur, and is overcome after a fierce battle. It is said that Frey might have defeated Surtur if he had had his magical sword, which is capable of fighting on its own. However, he had lent it to his servant Skirnir, and falls before Surtur’s fiery blade.
Thor fights the Midgard Serpent at Ragnarok. Book illustration by Charles Edmund Brock, 1930. (The Bridgeman Art Library)
One-handed Tyr battles Garm, the monstrous dog that guarded the entrance to Hel, and they are both killed in the conflict.
After a hard struggle, Thor succeeds in killing the Midgard Serpent. However, he has little time to enjoy his victory. Overcome by the floods of venom that the dying Jormungand vomits forth, Thor staggers back nine paces and falls dead.
Meanwhile, Fenrir has swallowed Odin. Vidar, Odin’s son by the giantess Gridr, steps forward and pries the wolf’s jaws apart, tearing him to pieces (or, according to the Voluspa, stabbing him in the heart). Heimdall fights with Loki, and they kill each other.
As Fenrir, Loki, and Heimdall fall, Surtur flings fire over the earth, and the whole universe is consumed in the conflagration.
The Midgard Serpent spews forth a flood of venom, poisoning Thor as he kills it. (Mary Evans Picture Library)
The New Age
After the flames subside, a new world, pleasant and fertile, will rise from the sea. Six gods are named as surviving Ragnarok: Vidar and his brother Vali, Thor’s sons Modi and Magni, and the two dead gods Balder and Hod, who are released from Hel in this new age. They dwell peacefully in the plain of Ida, where Asgard formerly stood.
Lif and Lifthrasir emerge from the forest and feed on the morning dew. Their descendants will spread across the earth. A daughter of the sun, more beautiful than her mother, will take her place in the sky and bring light to the world.
It appears that these few are not alone in this new world. The righteous dwell in Gimle, where good and plentiful drink awaits them in the hall of Brimer. Snorri equates this with the Christian heaven. Another hall, made of red gold and called Sindre, stands on the Nida Mountains to the north, in what used to be the cold and gloomy realm of Niflheim.
However, all is not peace and plenty in this new world. The terrible hall of Nastrond (shores of the dead) is the abode of perjurers, adulterers and murderers. Its doors face north, letting in a bitter wind. Its walls are woven of living snakes that continually belch forth venom and those inside are forced to wade through streams of the poison.
Hvergelmir (“bubbling, boiling spring”) is said to be even worse. Set in the former realm of Hel, it is inhabited by the terrible dragon Nidhogg, who sucks on the corpses of the dead.
At a feast in Aegir’s hall, Loki insults all the gods in turn. He only leaves when Thor threatens him. (See p.29)
OTHER LEGENDS
The previous chapters have covered the major legends in which Thor appears, but there are others. For the most part they are shorter, and some consist only of passing mentions of his name and his deeds. They are gathered together in this chapter for the sake of completeness.
The Birth of Sleipnir
Thor plays a peripheral role in the legend that tells how Odin got his magical eight-legged steed Sleipnir, which is told in the Gylfaginning.
When the gods were first building Asgard, a builder came to them and offered to build a wall that would keep the realm safe from the giants. As his payment he demanded Freyja, the beautiful goddess of love and fertility, plus the sun and the moon.
After some discussion the Aesir agreed to his terms, but only if he could complete the work within one winter: if any work remained undone on the first day of the next summer, he would forfeit all payment. The unnamed builder replied that in order to complete the work in such a short time he would need the help of his horse Svadilfari (“unlucky traveler”), and at Loki’s urging, the Aesir agreed.
Work started on the first day of winter, and Svadilfari hauled such immense quantities of stone that the Aesir began to worry. The work progressed rapidly, and with three days left until summer everything was complete except for the gateway. Faced with the prospect of losing Freyja and plunging the world into darkness by giving away the sun and the moon, the Aesir met to discuss their options.
At first they looked for someone to blame. It was decided that since the trickster Loki was well known for giving bad advice – he had, after all, urged the Aesir to agree to the builder’s horse – the situation must be his fault. Threatened with a painful death if the building work was completed on time, Loki promised to make sure the Aesir were not compelled to make good on their bargain.
Turning himself into a mare, Loki distracted Svadilfari from his work and the two ran off together into the woods. The builder chased after them, wasting a great deal of time, but was unable to recover his horse. To make up the lost time, the builder grew to an enormous height. He was no ordinary man, but a giant in disguise. He had only felt safe coming to Asgard because Thor was away on one of his giant-slaying expeditions to the east.
Loki (in the background) distracts the mighty horse Svadilfari. Dorothy Hardy, 1909. (PD-US)
Using his giant-strength, the builder resumed work, determined to finish on time and win the goddess and the two lights of the sky. However, when the Aesir saw the giant’s true nature they decided to disregard their agreement with him. They called upon Thor, who came back to Asgard right away and shattered the giant’s skull with his hammer.
It was from Loki’s dalliance with Svadilfari while in mare-form that Odin’s horse Sleipnir was conceived.
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The Death of Balder
Odin’s second son Balder was the most beautiful of the Aesir, and dearly loved by his mother Frigga. When both were troubled by prophetic dreams of his death, Frigga went to everything in the world and made each thing swear never to harm her son. However, she overlooked mistletoe: according to different sources, it was either too harmless or it was too young to take the oath.
Discovering this, the jealous Loki had a dwarf named Hlebard fashion an arrow (or a spear in some sources) of mistletoe. When Balder was showing off his new-found invulnerability by having the gods take turns trying to kill him, Loki gave the mistletoe weapon to the blind god Hod. Balder was killed.
Balder’s funeral. W. G. Collingwood, 1908. (PD-US)
Thor appears only in the scene describing Balder’s funeral. He blessed the funeral pyre with his hammer Mjolnir. Then, finding a dwarf named Litr was running around his feet, he kicked him into the flames where he was burnt alive. Nothing else is known about Litr; it seems that Thor kicked him purely out of annoyance.
The Binding of Loki
Eventually the Aesir became tired of Loki and his tricks. Seeing this, Loki fled to the mountains, where he built a house with four doors so that he could see anyone who approached from any direction. In the daytime he would often turn himself into a salmon and hide under a waterfall named Franangursfors, where he spent his time in divination and planning to evade whatever snares the Aesir might set for him.
Loki was making a fishing-net when he saw the Aesir approaching his house. Before fleeing to the waterfall he threw it into the fire, but the wise god Kvasir saw the pattern of the net among the embers and directed the Aesir to make another. This is how fishing-nets were invented. The Aesir threw the net into the water, with Thor holding one end and the rest of the gods holding the other, and dragged it downstream.