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| Sif's Hair |
Thor loved Sif without limits and was especially proud of her hair. Before he left, he kissed his wife goodbye. That night Sif slept alone in their bedroom,
in Thor’s magnificent hall, Bilskirnir.
No one noticed a lone figure
creeping through and into Bilskirnir that night. The Shape-Changer Loki pulled out a knife and
bent over Sif. She continued to sleep,
breathing deeply, unaware of the evil that the Trickster was about to perform
upon her. He ever so gently took the
strands of hair in one and with the other, he quickly cut the locks from Sif’s
head. By the time he was done, Sif was
bald.
Thor gasped in horror at the sight
of his beloved Sif. Raising his head to
the roof and with arms stretched wide, he let out a cry of anguish so terrible
that all the Gods and Goddesses throughout Asgard could hear it. Her sorrow now pained him more than the lost
of her hair that he loved so much, for he loved his wife more than life itself.
Loki heard Thor’s cries and tried
to hide from him by changing his shape, but no matter what shape he took, there
was no way he could hide from the anger. Thor soon overtook the Evil-doer, and grabbing
him by the throat he lift him off his feet.
With feet dangling in mid-air Loki
begged for forgiveness. "A harmless
prank," Loki cried, as he tried to loosen Thor’s grip around his neck. "Please, Thor, it was only a joke. I meant no harm."
Loki looked at Sif for a moment. His tongue licked his lips and his fertile
mind search for a solution. "I will
replace the hair with hair that is even more noble and graceful," Loki finally said.
Thor loosened his grip. "How?" he asked.
"With the help of my friends,
the dwarfs," Loki said. "If
anyone has the skill to do it, it is the dwarfs."
"I hope so, for your
sake," Thor said, as he dropped Loki to the ground. "If
you don’t make good on your promise," Thor growled, "I’ll hunt you
down and crush every bone in your body with my bare hands."
Loki hid his fear and stood tall
as he straightened his cloths and brushed off the dust. "No need to worry," Loki said and
winked at the Thunder God, and was off before Thor could say another word.
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| Svartalfaheim |
Loki wormed his way into the bowls
of the Earth to Svartalfaheim until he found Ivaldi’s sons hard at work in their
smith-shops. "I immediately knew
that only the sons of Ivaldi had the skill to help poor, dear Sif," Loki
said in the most compassionate voice he could conjure up. "I have come a long way to ask you if you
would be so kind as to use your magical skills as smiths, to make such
hair?" Loki said.
"But what will we get out of
such a deed?" one of the dwarfs asked.
"Why, I’m sure you will
receive the everlasting, undying appreciation of mighty Thor and his beautiful
wife. And, of course, I too will be in
your debt. "Then Loki smiled and
with a twinkle in his eyes he said, "And everyone knows that the
appreciation of three Gods is worth a hundred time more than all the gold in
the nine worlds."
The dwarfs could see that though
Loki was offering only promises, but they accepted to Loki’s request.
"But if you really want to
win the good will of the great Gods of Asgard, you might want to consider a
gift to the All-Father and Freyr as well," Loki said. "It couldn’t hurt."
The dwarfs agreed once more and
immediately went to work piling wood on their furnace deep in their cave. When the dwarfs were finished, they placed the
strands of gold hair over Loki’s outstretched hands. So light and fine they were that even the
slightest breath caused them to shimmer.
But the dwarfs did not stop when
the hair was completed. They continued
to work the bellows and cause the fires to burn even brighter and hotter. Loki was so pleased that he showered the
dwarfs with a storm of thanks that seemed endless, even for the Master of Lies.
He declared the sons of Ivaldi the
greatest smiths in all the nine worlds and promised to let all who he met know
of their great gifts of magic and smith-working.
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| Dwarfs |
As Loki may his way through the
underground passageways of Svartalfaheim a most wondrous idea popped into his
nimble mind. He quickly turned around
and began to make his way through a long passageway that led to the hall of the
two brother-dwarfs, Brokk and Eitri.
When the two dwarfs saw Loki they
could see that he was holding three marvelous treasures, the golden hair, the
ship and spear. Loki could see into
their hearts and knew they were filled with envy and jealousy at the marvelous
craftsmanship with which they were fashioned.
"You have never see such exquisite
workmanship as that which manufactured those items," Loki said,
"because there is none that can come close to matching it."
"Not true," Brokk said.
"Oh? Do you know of anyone who could match the
skill that fashioned those treasures?" Loki asked.
"Yes, I do," Brook said.
"Who?" asked Loki.
"We can," Eitri said
bluntly.
"Really?" Loki said in a slow and methodical way, as if
the thought was just now filling his mind. "If your skill is greater, then you
should be able to fashion treasures to equal - no, surpass these marvelous
devices."
"We could," Brokk said.
"Easily," Eitri said.
"Then do so," Loki
demanded.
"Why should we?" asked
Brokk.
"To prove to the nine worlds
that you two are the master craftsmen," Loki said shrewdly.
"Would you like to make a wager?"
asked Brokk.
"Loki thought for a moment
and then said. "Yes. I’ll wager my head against your heads that you
could not possibly make three treasures the like of these."
The two dwarfs immediately
accepted Loki’s wager. They realized
that if they were as good as their boost, they could not only rid themselves of
Loki once and for all, but the treasures of the sons of Ivaldi would be
their’s.
 |
| Loki |
Brokk began piling wood into the
furnace while Eitri place a lump of gold into the fire. Brokk began pumping the bellows as hard as he
could and the fires grew white hot. Finally,
Eitri finished his task and pulled Gullinbursti out of the forge. Gullinbursti was a boar that possessed bristle
of gold.
Next, Eitri fetched another block
of gold, much larger than the first, and placed it on the forge. Brokk continued to pump the bellows until heat
made the gold was soft and malleable. When
Eitri finally pulled the treasure he was working on out of the fire, he held a
gold arm-ring in his hand.
Finally, Eitri placed a large
chunk of iron on the forge and told his brother to pump the fires until the
iron was white hot. Brokk did as he was
instructed while Eitri hammered and pounded the iron, reshaping it over and
over. When Eitri finally pulled the iron
from the fire he cried out in anger at what he saw.
He held a powerful iron hammer in
his hand, but the handle was obviously too short. He examined it carefully, and though he was
disappointed by the misshapen handle, he was satisfied that the hammer was not
entirely spoiled. He called the hammer
Mjollnir. So massive and powerful it
was, the two dwarfs stared at each other and nodded their approval that the
hammer might be short in the handle, but it was still the most powerful weapon
that anyone had ever created.
 |
| Asgard |
Loki and Brokk reached Asgard. Word of their coming had reached Asgard before
they arrived. Brokk listened to Loki
tell of how he was able to convince the dwarfs to create the gifts and finally
said, "Talk it up, Loki, for soon you will lose your head and the power to
speak."
"What do you mean?"
asked Odin.
Brokk told the All-Father of his
wager with Loki and it was agreed that the Gods, Odin, Thor and Freyr, would
sit in judgement and decide which of the gifts were greater. Loki began describing the gifts that the sons
of Ivaldi created for the Gods.
"This spear is for you,
Odin," Loki said. "It is named
Grungnir and when you throw it, it will always hit its mark." Odin took the spear and examined it carefully.
"You can use the spear to stir up
wars and make men keep their oaths."
Loki then turned to Freyr and gave
him Skidbladnir. "This is the most
remarkable ship," Loki said. "You
can fold it small enough to place it in your pocket, and yet it is big enough
to hold an entire army armed to the teeth. As soon as you hoist its sail, it will sail
over water and sky and never fail to find enough wind to propel it.
Finally, Loki turned to Sif. "My third gift is the fulfillment of my
promise to Sif and Thor." He
presented the long, flowing strands of gold hair to Sif. "Place it to your head and it will take
root and grow as if it were your own hair. Your beauty will be restored and then
some."
After Loki was finished presenting
his gifts, Brokk stepped forward with his gifts. "I have here a gold arm-ring," he
said. "It is a gift for the
all-wise Odin. It is known as Draupnir
and it is not merely a ring made of gold. Every ninth night, eight additional gold rings
will drop from it."
Brokk next turned to Freyr and
presented him with his gift. "This
boar of gold is named Gullinbursti. He
has the power to run faster than any horse or steed and he will never grow
fatigued."
"My third treasure is for the
mighty Thor," Brokk said "It is a hammer and its named is Mjollnir. Within it is the power of the thunderbolt. Nothing can break it and no weapon is as
powerful as this hammer. "The Storm
God took the hammer and raised it. It
took all his strength to lift it. "It
will hit its mark every time you throw it," Brokk said. "And it will always return to your hand,
no matter how far you throw it."
 |
| Thor |
Odin, Thor and Freyr did not need
any time to consider their decision. They
were all of one mind and considered the hammer, Mjollnir, the most important
gift of all. It was more important than
all the other gifts collectively because such a powerful weapon as the hammer
could defend Asgard against any attack by the giants.
"We have decided in favor of
Brokk," Odin said. "Brokk has
won the wager."
"Then I will have Loki’s
head, just as we agreed," Brokk aid.
"Instead of my head, which is
useless to you, I will give you its weight in gold," Loki said.
"I have all the gold I need
and more," Brokk said. "I will
have your head."
"Then you will have to take
it, if you can," Loki said, and he then raced away as fast as he could,
running out of Gladsheim. The Gods
laughed at the way Loki tricked the dwarf.
Brokk turned to Thor. "Where is the honor of the Gods? I have been cheated by Loki and the Gods do
nothing. I thought honor was the essence
of the Gods?"
Thor, who was still not pleased
with Loki over what he did to Sif, agreed to bring Loki back to Asgard and make
him pay the price he agreed to with Brokk.
 |
| Thor |
It was not long after Thor stormed
out of Gladsheim that he returned with Loki, dragging him by the neck.
"Now I will have his
head," Brokk said.
"Wait just a moment,"
Loki said as Brokk reached for his knife. "It’s true I agreed to surrender my head,
and it now belongs to you, but my neck is still mine. You may not touch any part of my neck."
The Gods laughed and nodded at
Loki’s demand. Brokk realized that Loki
had tricked him once more.
"If your head is mine, then I
will do with it as I please without touching you neck," Brokk said. "If I can’t cut it off to stop your lies
then I can as least sew your lying mouth shut."
Loki laughed at Brokk, but the
dwarf was serious. He then grabbed Loki
by the head and began sewing up his lips with an awl.
~
Bilbo's World
Most practitioners of
Germanic Neopagan faiths wear Mjollnir pendants as a symbol of that faith
worldwide. Renditions of Mjollnir
are designed, crafted and sold by some Germanic Neopagan groups and
individuals. In May 2013 the
"Hammer of Thor" was added to the list of United States Department of
Veterans Affairs emblems for headstones and markers.
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