"You smashed the limbs of Leikn, you bashed Thrivaldi; you knocked down Starkadhr; you trod Gjalp dead under foot."

...a segment of an old Norse prayer to Thor, the god of Thunder who has the hammer of lightning. Why quote this? Because it's Thursday AND we've just experienced yet another panoply of Thor's handywork overnight. "Thors-day" is where we get "Thursday" from...I assume you know that. Today you get a little mythology lesson.

I've always been interested in the Norse culture and its rich mythological explanation for the goings-on of the world. Once you become familiar with all the Gods, Goddesess, and lesser players it actually all makes sense. You've got to remember that the folks of the time didn't understand science. I find it quite impressive that they noticed the little intricacies of nature and were able to twine them all together in tale.

Most of what we know of the Norse beliefs come from a written work Prose Edda. Note that Prose Edda and Poetic Edda are two different works. I really do know what I'm talking about :) Anyway, Prose Edda is a collection of works that were filtered and compounded into one tome of Norse legend. From this we get some tales of Thor.

Some of those tales I will share with you today.

In the beginnings, the god Loki, master of all mischief and chaos, was captured by Geirrod. Geirrod hated Thor and forced Loki to bring Thor to him. This was a ruse so that Geirrod could kill Thor and be done with him.

On the way to Geirrod's castle, as the story goes, Loki and Thor stopped for a rest at the home of Grid. Grid was a giantess and got wind of what was going to happen. When Loki briefly left them alone Grid turned to Thor and explained the trap and Geirrod's plan. To aid him she gave Thor her iron gloves, a magical belt, and a staff. The iron gloves (Jarn Griepr) and magical belt (Megingjord) give Thor the strength to lift his magical hammer, the Mjolnir.

Mjolnir could be cast or thrown as a weapon and because of the belt it would magically reappear in Thor's hand. The belt Megingjord doubles Thor's strength according to tale, making him unstoppable in battle.

With these possessions Thor slaughtered Geirrod and his daughters when he arrived. He also killed as many other Frost Giants as he could in a fit of rage. This is the end of the tale of Thor and Loki.

We are then brought to a Norse tale of romance and a father's desire to protect his daughter. Talk about a tough time when your dad is the god of Thunder!! The Alvissmal, one of the Prose Edda chapters, explains what happened.

Thor's daughter was arranged to marry a dwarf by the name of Alvis. This upset Thor greatly and he formulated a ruse to put a halt to the whole thing. Thor stood up to Alvis and told him that he was too short. He would have to prove his wisdom to Thor before he could wed the daughter by passing a series of tests. Alvis foolishly agreed. What Alvis did not know is that Thor purposely made these tests last until after the sun rose. According to Norse mythology Dwarfish creatures turn to stone in the presence of sunlight.

And so it was that Alvis was turned to stone and Thor's daughter was not wed. (times haven't changed much, have they...)

Finally we have a few tales that explain some of nature's natural goings on. I find these the most fascinating:

There was a god, Útgarða-Loki, that wished to trick Thor just for the fun of it. (Útgarða-Loki is a giant-king, a different character than just plain "Loki"). Útgarða-Loki used a magic chant to trick Thor. Thor's fastest servant was to race thought itself. Nothing can be faster than thought, so Thor lost the contest.

Following this Útgarða-Loki challenged Loki, who was present as Thor's friend, to an eating contest. Loki and Útgarða-Loki's servant Logi ate and ate and ate for what seemed like an eternity. Eventually Loki lost to Logi and it was revealed that Logi was a physical manifestation of fire. Because nothing can consume all that is natural like fire can, Loki lost.

In a contest of strength, Útgarða-Loki challenged Thor to simply lift the paw of a cat. When Thor could barely lift the cat off the ground Útgarða-Loki laughed and called Thor weak. It was revealed that the cat was actually the Midgard Serpent that Útgarða-Loki had disguised using magic; A huge sea serpent that was actually the child of Loki. Nothing could ever possibly lift such a huge beast. (In a twist of fate it is this very serpent that kills Thor at Ragnarok, but that is another story)

To test his stamina Útgarða-Loki then challenged Thor to a drinking contest. What kind of Norse god could refuse a drinking contest? Thor drank and drank out Útgarða-Loki drinking-horn but he could not empty it. It was not filled with mead, however. Útgarða-Loki had used his magic to channel the seas into the horn. No one could drink the seas in their entirety! What Thor did manage tp drink out of the horn is what gives us the tides of the ocean.

Finally Útgarða-Loki invited Thor to wrestle an old woman. The contest ensued for a long time and Thor eventually got the woman down to a knee, but he could not pin her. Thor was stunned and left, saddened. It was then revealed that the old woman was actually Old Age. It was after that Thor learned that those who knew of the contests thought Thor was most impressive as a warrior God. Only someone of such great power could possibly have done this good in hopeless fixed contests. What's the moral? Try try again?

Here is another story told to teach the people not to judge a book by its cover or underestimate a challenge:

Another noted story of Thor was the time when Þrymr, King of the Thurse (Giants), stole his hammer, Mjölnir. Thor went to Loki in hopes to find the culprit responsible for the theft. Loki and Thor went to Freyja for council. She gave Loki the Feather-robe so he could travel to the land of the giants to speak to their king. The king admitted to stealing the hammer and would not give it back unless Freyja gave her hand in marriage.

Freyja refused when she heard the plan so the gods decided to think of a way to trick the King. Heimdall suggested dressing up Thor in a bridal gown so he can take Freyja's place. Thor at first refused to do such a thing as it would portray him as a coward and womanish, but Loki insisted that he do so or the Giants would attack Asgard and win it over if he were not to retrieve the hammer in time. Thor reluctantly agreed in the end and took Freyja's place.

Odin rode Thor to the land of the Giants and a celebration ensued. The king noticed a few odd things that his bride was committing. He noted that she ate and drank more than what he would expect from a bride. Loki, who was in disguise as the false Freyja's servant, commented that she rode for 8 full nights without food eager to take his hand. He then asked why his bride's eyes are so terrifying, they seemed to be aglow with fire, again Loki responded with a lie that she did not sleep for 8 full nights eager for his hand. Then the giant commanded that the hammer be brought to his wife and placed on her lap. Once it was in Thor's possession he threw off his disguise and attacked all the giants in the room. Due to this ruse the giants were careful not to make the same mistake again.