Thor the Bride
Translated by Angela Hall
One morning, Thor awoke to find his hammer Mjollnir missing. This was no small matter; without the thunder God’s
best weapon, Asgard was left
vulnerable to the attacks of the giants.
In a rage, he searched everywhere for
his most prized possession, but it was nowhere to be found.
The Goddess Freya owned falcon feathers, with which one could change one’s
shape into that of a falcon. She lent
these to Thor and Loki so that the hammer could be located. Loki, who knew how to shift his shape, donned
the feathers and flew off in search of the hammer. He quickly surmised that it had probably been
stolen by the giants, so he rode the winds to their homeland, Jotunheim.
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| Jotunheim |
Upon his arrival, he changed back into his God-form and approached the chief of the giants, Thrym. When questioned regarding the hammer, Thrym answered that he had indeed taken it, and that it was buried eight leagues below the ground. And, added the lonely, ugly giant, he had no intention of returning it until Freya was made to be his bride.
Loki flew back to Asgard and told this news to
his fellow Gods, who were alarmed and furious – especially Freya. Thor pressed the Gods to accept the proposal,
but Freya was furious and refused to go. As they sat in counsel, Heimdall put forth the
following solution: that Thor go to Jotunheim disguised as Freya and thereby
win back his hammer and take vengeance on its thieves.
Thor protested, saying that this was a
dishonorable and unmanly thing to do, and that all of the inhabitants of Asgard
would mock him for it for the rest of his days. Loki pointed out, however, that if he didn’t
consent to Heimdall’s plan, Asgard would be ruled by the giants. The Gods thereby obtained Thor’s
acquiescence.
No detail was spared in the assemblage of
Thor’s bridal dress. They dressed Thor
in bridal linen, tied the necklace of Brisings around his neck and housewife’s
keys about his waist. Then they pinned
bridal jewels upon his breast, and dressed him in women’s clothes, with a
dainty hood on his head. After the
humiliated God had donned the costume, Loki offered to go with him as his
maid-servant.
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| Thor and Loki |
The pair climbed into Thor’s goat-drawn chariot
and made their way to Jotunheim. When
they arrived, they were welcomed by the Thrym, who boasted that the Gods had at
last brought him the prize he was due.
Once the bride had arrived Thrym took them
inside and showed them to the high seat for feast. He spoke to his bride and teased her, but
Thor refused to speak. This alarmed Thrym,
and he turned to Loki and asked, "Why does she not talk?"
Loki answered "Oh, my lord, she was so
excited when she heard that she was to be your wife, she shouted for joy for
eight whole days. She has made herself
hoarse."
At dinner, Thor and Loki found themselves again
in trouble. Thor singlehandedly ate an
entire ox, eight salmon, and all of the dainties that had been prepared for the
women – not to mention the many barrels of mead he drank. This made Thrym suspicious, and he declared
that he had never in his whole life seen a woman with such an appetite.
Loki quickly devised a response: “The fair Goddess
has been so lovesick for you,” he claimed, “that she hasn’t been able to eat
for a week.”
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| Thor and his Goats |
Thrym accepted this answer, and was overcome by
a desire to kiss his bride. When he
peeled back the veil, Thor’s eyes glared at him so intently that they seemed to
burn holes right through him.
He exclaimed, “Never have I seen a maiden with
such frightfully piercing eyes!” Loki,
the master of deceit, explained to the giant that while Freya had been unable
to eat, she had also been unable to sleep, so fierce was her longing for him.
The ceremony soon followed. As was customary, Thrym called for the hammer
to hallow their union. When Mjollnir was
laid in Thor’s lap, he grabbed its handle and slew first Thrym, then
all of the guests, before contentedly returning to Asgard and changing back
into his preferred clothes. And Asgard
was safe from giants.
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| Thor and his Hammer |
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