Chapter XLIX: Section VI: Thor and Thrym

This is a very beautiful myth, and we will give it complete as it is found in the Elder Edda, in the lay of Thrym. We give our own translation:

Wrathful was Vingthor
As he awaked
And his hammer
Did miss;
His beard shook,
His hair trembled,
The son of earth
Looked around him.

Thus first of all
He spoke:
Mark now Loke
What I say!
What no one knows
Either on earth
Or in high heaven,—
The hammer is stolen.

Went they to Freyja’s
Fair dwelling;

There in these words
Thor first spoke:
Wilt thou, Freyja, lend
Me thy feather-guise,
That I my hammer
Mjolner may fetch?

I gave it thee gladly
Though it were of gold;
I would instantly give it
Though it were of silver.

Flew then Loke—
The feather-guise whizzed;
Out he flew
From home of asas,
In he flew
To home of giants.

On the hill sat Thrym;
The king of giants
Twisted gold-bands
For his dogs,
Smoothed at leisure
The manes of his horses.

THRYM:

How fare the asas?
How fare the elves?
Why comest thou alone
To Jotunheim?

LOKE:

Ill fare the asas,
Ill fare the elves,
Hast thou concealed
The hammer of Thor?

THRYM:

I have concealed
The hammer of Thor
Eight rasts
Beneath the ground;
No man
Brings it back
Unless he gives me
Freyja as my bride.

Flew then Loke—
The feather-guise whizzed;
Out he flew
From home of giants,
In he flew
To home of asas.
Met him Thor
First of all
And thus addressed him:

Hast thou succeeded
In doing thine errand?
Then tell before perching
Long messages;
What one says sitting
Is often of little value,
And falsehood speaks he
Who reclines.

LOKE:

Well have I succeeded
In doing my errand;
Thrym has thy hammer,
The king of the giants.
No man
Brings it back
Unless he gives him
Freyja as bride.

Went they then the fair
Freyja to find,
First then Thor
Thus addressed her:
Dress thyself, Freyja,
In bridal robes,
Together we will ride
To Jotunheim.

Angry grew Freyja,
And she raged
So the hall of the asas
Must shake.
Her heavy necklace,
Brisingamen, broke;
Then would I be
A lovesick maid
If with thee I would ride
To Jotunheim.

Then all the asas
Went to the _Thing_,
To the _Thing_ went
All the asynjes,
The powerful divinities,
And held consult,
How they should get
The hammer back.

Then spake Heimdal
The whitest god—
Foreknowing was he,
As the vans are all:
Dress we Thor
In bridal robes,
Brisingamen
Must he wear.

Let jingle keys
About his waist;
Let a woman’s dress
Cover his knees;
On his bosom we put
Broad broaches,
And artfully we
His hair braid.

Spoke then Thor,
The mighty god:
Mock me all
The asas would,
If in bridal robes
I should be dressed.

Spoke then Loke
Laufeyarson:
Be silent Thor;
Stop such talk.
Soon will giants
Build in Asgard
If thou thy hammer
Bring not back.

Dressed they then Thor
In bridal-robes;
Brisengumen
He had to wear;
Keys let they jingle
About his waist,
And a woman’s dress
Fell over his knees;
On his bosom they placed
Broad broaches,
And artfully they
His hair did braid.

Spoke then Loke
Laufeyarson:
For thee must I
Be servant-maid;
Ride we both
To Jotunheim.

Home were driven
Then the goats,
And hitched to the car;
Hasten they must—
The mountains crashed.
The earth stood in flames,
Odin’s son
Rode to Jotunheim.

Spoke then Thrym,
The king of giants;
Giants! arise
And spread my benches!
Bring to me
Freyja as bride,
Njord’s daughter,
From Noatun.

Cows with golden horns
Go in the yard,
Black oxen
To please the giant;
Much wealth have I,
Many gifts have I;
Freyja, methinks,
Is all I lack.

Early in the evening
Came they all;
Ale was brought
Up for the giant.
One ox Thor ate,
Eight salmon
And all the delicacies
For the women intended;
Sif’s husband besides
Drank three barrels of mead.

Spoke then Thrym,
The king of giants:
Where hast thou seen
Such a hungry bride?
I ne’er saw a bride
Eat so much,
And never a maid
Drink more mead.

Sat there the shrewd
Maid-servant near;[69]
Thus she replied
To the words of Thrym:
Nothing ate Freyja
In eight nights,
So much did she long
For Jotunheim.

Behind the veil
Thrym sought a kiss,
But back he sprang
The length of the hall:
Why are Freyja’s
Eyes so sharp?
From her eyes it seems
That fire doth burn.

Sat there the shrewd
Maid-servant near,
And thus she spake,
Answering the giant:
Slept has not Freyja
For eight nights,
So much did she long
For Jotunheim.

In came the poor
Sister of Thrym;
For bridal gift
She dared to ask:
Give from the hand
The golden rings,
If thou desirest
Friendship of me,
Friendship of me—
And love.

Spoke then Thrym,
The king of giants:
Bring me the hammer
My bride to hallow:
Place the hammer
In the lap of the maid;
Wed us together
In the name of Var.[70]

Laughed then Thor’s
Heart in his breast;
Severe in mind
He knew his hammer,
First slew he Thrym,
Tho king of giants,
Crushed then all
That race of giants;

Slew the old
Sister of Thrym,
She who asked
For a bridal gift;
Slap she got
For shining gold,
Hammer blows
For heaps of rings;
Thus came Odin’s son
Again by his hammer.

Thrym (from _þruma_) is the noisy, thundering imitator of Thor. While the thunder sleeps, the giant forces of nature howl and rage in the storms and winds, they have stolen the hammer from Thor. Thor goes and brings his hammer back and the storms are made to cease. It has been suggested that Thor is the impersonation of truth, and the Younger Edda speaks of him as one _never having yet uttered an_ UNTRUTH. It has also been claimed that the name of his realm _Thrud_-vang contains the same root as our English word _truth_, but this we leave for the reader to examine for himself. Before the Norsemen learned to make the sign of the cross, they made the sign of the hammer upon themselves and upon other things that they thereby wished to secure against evil influences.

Now let us glance at the last appearance of Thor on the stage of this world. The Norse king, Olaf the saint, was eagerly pursuing his work of Christian reform in Norway, and we find him sailing with fit escort along the western shore of that county from haven to haven, dispensing justice or doing other royal work. On leaving a certain haven, it is found that a stranger of grave eyes and aspect, with red beard and of a robust and stately figure, has stepped in. The courtiers address him; his answers surprise by their pertinency and depth. At length he is brought to the king. The strangers conversation here is not less remarkable, as they sail along the beautiful shore; but after awhile he addresses King Olaf thus: Yes, King Olaf, it is all beautiful, with the sun shining on it there; green, fruitful, a right fair home for you; and many a sore day had Thor, many a wild fight with the mountain giants, before he could make it so. And now you seem minded to put away Thor. King Olaf, have a care! said the stranger, knitting his brows; and when they looked again he was nowhere to be found. This is the last myth of Thor, a protest against the advance of Christianity, no doubt reproachfully set forth by some conservative pagan.[71]

Footnote 60:

Thor’s.

Footnote 61:

From _Tales of a Wayside Inn_.

Footnote 62:

_Bil_ is a common word in Norseland, meaning _moment_.

Footnote 63:

But see also Vocabulary, under the word _Mjolner_.

Footnote 64:

Holmgang (literally _isle-gang_) is a duel taking place on a small
island. Each combatant was attended by a second who had to protect him
with a shield. The person challenged had the right to strike the first
blow. When the opponent was wounded, so that his blood stained the
ground, the seconds might interfere and put an end to the combat. He
that was the first wounded had to pay the holmgang fine.

Footnote 65:

A name for Thor.

Footnote 66:

A Orvandel, from _aur_, earth, and _vendill_, the sprout (_vöndr_),
ruler = the seed.

Footnote 67:

This Geirrod must not be confounded with Odin’s foster-son Geirrod,
son of Hraudung (see p. 228).

Footnote 68:

The next best thing is William Edward Frye’s translation of
Œlenschlæger’s work entitled _The Gods of the North_. London, 1845.

Footnote 69:

Loke.

Footnote 70:

The goddess who presides over marriages.

Footnote 71:

Thomas Carlyle, _Heroes and Hero-worship_.