Thor and Mjolnir: What Thor’s Hammer Meant

Thor is the son of Odin and the earth, Jörð, and the strongest of the gods. He guards Asgard and the world of people against the giants, and the thunder is his chariot, pulled by the goats Tanngrisnir and Tanngnjóstr. In Gylfaginning he eats the goats at a farmer’s table, lays their hides out, and brings them back to life by touching them with his hammer.

Mjolnir was forged by the dwarf brothers Brokkr and Eitri, in a contest that Loki tried to spoil. The handle came out short. Even so it was judged the best treasure the gods held, because it never missed, always returned to the thrower’s hand, and could be made small enough to carry. Thor wears iron gloves to grip it and a belt, Megingjörð, that doubles his strength.

In Þrymskviða the giant Thrym steals the hammer and demands Freyja for its return. Thor goes to the wedding dressed as the bride, and takes the hammer back the moment it is laid in his lap. At Ragnarök he kills the World Serpent, Jörmungandr, and falls dead after nine steps, poisoned by its venom.

Small hammer pendants have turned up in Viking Age graves across Scandinavia, which is why Mjolnir is the symbol most people wear today.

Sources: Poetic Edda (Þrymskviða, Völuspá) and Snorri’s Prose Edda (Gylfaginning, Skáldskaparmál).