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.