Who are the Norns?

In Norse Mythology, three creatures control the destiny of humankind. They are the Norns, and correspond the Greek Moirai and Roman Percae. They are known by the names of "Urd," she who has become, "Verdandi," she who is becoming, and "Skuld," she who shall become. They live amongst the roots of Yggdrasil, the world tree, where they weave the tapestry of Fate. Each person's life is a string in their loom, and the length of that string equals the length of the person's life.

Thence come the maids
Who much do know;
Three from the hall
Beneath the tree;
One they named Was,
And Being next,
The third Shall be.
-The Voluspa quoted in Bulfinch's Mythology

In addition to watering Yggdrasil and placing fresh clay around its roots, the Norns care for two swans swimming over the mirror-like surface of the Urdar (fate/wisdom) fountain. All swans are thought to be descended from this pair. The Norns also sometimes appear in swan plumage to visit the earth and foretell the future.

Sometimes the Norns are referred to as Vala or prophetesses. According to Bulfinch’s Mythology, "one of the weavers stood on a high mountain in the extreme east, while another waded far out into the western sea. The threads of their woof resembled cords, and varied greatly in hue, according to the nature of the events about to occur." Because of this, clouds and the northern lights, or aurora borealis, were thought to be the very strands of the web woven by the Norns.

Nørn, a Swiss vocal trio, image from www.norn.ch.

Ultimate Thor, Quite the Mystery

Marvel Comics' Ultimate Universe Thor is quite the puzzle. Formerly a psychiatric nurse (!) named "Thorlief Golmen," he suffered a nervous breakdown right before his thirtieth birthday. This is when he began to believe he was, in fact, Thor, the Norse God of Thunder. Maybe he's on to something...

Marvel Comics’ Ultimate Universe Thor, image from marvel.com.

Thor Evolves

Marvel Comics' Marvel Universe Thor, he originally portrayed on Superfriends, is now more the stereotypical hero. Thor’s secret identity is that of Donald Blake, MD, and he has worked as physician, an EMS technician, and a construction worker as well. During Ragnarok, Thor died along with his people. However, he is rumored to still be alive.

Marvel Comics' Marvel Universe Thor, image from marvel.com.

Cartoon Thor Makes His First Appearance

I knew I wasn't hallucinating. My first encounter with Thor did indeed involve puple tights (though perhaps the tv needed a bit of a color adjustment). This was on the cartoon show Superfriends. Here, Thor was portrayed as a Hercules-like warrior, curiously with a winged helmet usually associated with Loki.

Thor Comin' Atcha, image from http://m35b.blogspot.com/2004/11/marvel-super-hero-cartoons.html.

Kickin' Ass in Thor's Helmet

This is me dressed in a Thor helmet and armor, in front of an image of the "Thor's Helmet" nebula. I'm entitling the image, Kickin' Ass in Thor's Helmet. But the image is a little more ethereal, spiritual, perhaps a young Thor surveying his wintery Scandinavian realm, with a bit of the aurora borealis in the background (because his stomach's a little upset).

Thor as Obelix

I'd been having a bit of trouble relating to Thor. Then I realized I'd known him (or at least a caricature of him) my entire life. A popular comic book series in France, Astérix, recounts the adventures of the Celtic Gauls as they resist Roman occupation. The main character is named "Astérix," and his sidekick is a character named "Obélix." Obélix is big guy, who, like Thor, can be a bit dim. He has long red hair and wears a horned helmet. He also owns a quarry (necessitating the use of a large hammer to split the rock), and has an insatiable appetite for food and drink. I cannot help but notice that Astérix himself is very much like Loki, the Norse trickster god (note the Hermes-like wings on his helmet!). The Astérix series has benefited a great deal from technology in general. The series has been made into a video game, a TV show, a few films (at least two if which are live-action) and a massive theme park just outside Paris.

Image from tvtropes.org.

Norse Mythology at the Kennedy Center

Last week, my mom and aunt went to see Wagner's Die Walküre put on by the Wahington National Opera, at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. I, of course, could not go as I was attacked by a vicious flu. It turns out, the performance was 5 HOURS LONG! Of course, this was 5 hours of Placido Domingo. Die Walküre (The Valkyrie) is the second portion of the four-part opera entitled Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Ring of the Nibelung). This opera is based on the Norse mythological tale recounted in the Volsunga saga.

Image from dc-opera.org.

In the name of Thor, I now pronounce you...

Belief in the gods of Norse mythology is called "Asatru." This term was coined in Denmark, in the 1800s. Originally, those who believed in the gods of Norse mythology, simply referred to their religion as “forn siðr” or “the old way.” In November 1997, a new congregation of this old religion was founded, and members applied for official recognition by the Danish government in December 1999. Finally, on November 6, 2003, Forn Siðr was officially recognized as a religious community in Denmark. This means, that marriages performed in the name of Odin, Thor, or Freya are sanctioned by the state, and legal!

Nik, Morag, and their son Agnar, from neopax.com.

Looking for Thor in All the Wrong Places

Well, not entirely. In an effort to collect a wide variety of sources for Thor-related material, what I've found the most useful is the original (lengthy) texts that not only contain the stories of the Norse gods, but a host of footnotes that are endlessly fascinating. I have found a couple of the lengthier works online, The Eddas, both Poetic and Prose, and the old standard, Grimm's Teutonic Mythology (a must if you love footnotes like I do). Other materials have come from websites that explore Asatru, and its difference from Wicca, images of Mjolnir charms recovered from archeological digs, and incredibly detailed paintings of Norse and other myths by Stephanie Pui-Mun Law, especially one of Yggdrasil. It's been a fruitful search, now, if I could only decide exactly what aspect to write my paper about!

Because it's Thursday

In case it isn't obvious, Thursday, the fifth day of the week, was named after the Norse god, Thor. This was derived from the Old English "Þunresdæg" (I'm not sure how to pronounce it either), and means "Day of Thunor"(Thunor being another name for Thor). In Germanic languages, Thursday carries the name of Thor: German, Donnerstag, Dutch, Donderdag, Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish, Torsdag, Faroese, Hósdagur. Latin or Romantic languages, instead, have named Thursday in honor of Thor's Roman counterpart, Jupiter or Jove: Italian, giovedì, Spanish, jueves, and French, jeudi.

To quote Douglas Adams' The Long Dark Tea-time of the Soul, "I'm not used to spending the evening with someone who's got a whole day named after them."

The Challenge of Thor

I AM the God Thor,
I am the War God,
I am the Thunderer!
Here in my Northland,
My fastness and fortress,
Reign I forever!
Here amid icebergs
Rule I the nations;
This is my hammer,
Miölner the mighty;
Giants and sorcerers
Cannot withstand it!
These are the gauntlets
Wherewith I wield it,
And hurl it afar off;
This is my girdle;
Whenever I brace it,
Strength is redoubled!
The light thou beholdest
Stream through the heavens,
In flashes of crimson,
Is but my red beard
Blown by the night-wind,
Affrighting the nations!
Jove is my brother;
Mine eyes are the lightning;
The wheels of my chariot
Roll in the thunder,
The blows of my hammer
Ring in the earthquake!
Force rules the world still,
Has ruled it, shall rule it;
Meekness is weakness,
Strength is triumphant,
Over the whole earth
Still is it Thor's-Day!
Thou art a God too,
O Galilean!
And thus singled-handed
Unto the combat,
Gauntlet or Gospel,
Here I defy thee!

-Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Thor and the Execution of Gullveig, a Faroese stamp from 2003, by Anker Eli Petersen, from http://www.tjatsi.fo.

A Brief History of Thor

As the god of thunder, a close parallel to Zeus/Jupiter, Thor defends the world against natural and spiritual disasters. He is the son of Odin, and one of the twelve principal gods or Aesir. He is generally depicted with untamed red hair and beard, and holding his hammer, Mjolnir, through which his thunder and lightening are channeled. He and Mjolnir are associated with destruction and rebirth, virility and fertility, appetite and satiation, and ferocity in battle. Though in ancient lore, Thor is considered a god, tales written in the late Dark Ages portray him as more of a mortal hero, perhaps indicating some attempt to integrate Norse mythology with that of advancing Christianity.

Modern Mjolnir Charm, photo courtesy of Misa Sakuma.

Introduction

This blog will explore different aspects of Thor, the Norse god of thunder. Various representations of him exist, and it is my aim to discover the origins of these representations, as well as the authors/artists responsible for them. I’d especially like to explore Thor’s relevance today; including the naming of Thursday, Thor’s significance in the modern Asatru and Neo-pagan religions, the ancient and modern symbolism of his hammer, Mjolnir, and the other gods in the mythological pantheon with similar characteristics.

Donner [Thor] Calls Upon the Storm Clouds by Arthur Rackham for Wagner's Das Rheingold, from mythology.wikia.com.