The Mythology Book

144

T

he most important of the

Norse gods were often

closely identified with

magical possessions, all crafted

by dwarves, who were skilled

blacksmiths. The gods originally

acquired these treasures with

the help of the trickster Loki.

Unbeknownst to Thor’s wife,

Sif, Loki had cut her beautiful hair

as a joke. When Thor found out, he

threatened to break every bone in

Loki’s body unless Loki asked the

dwarves to craft hair of gold for Sif.

Loki’s contest

Loki went to the group of dwarves

called the sons of Ivaldi, and they

made Sif perfect golden hair. They

also made the spear Gungnir,

which, once thrown, never missed

its mark, and the ship Skidbladnir,

which could carry all the Aesir yet

also be carried in a pocket. Then

Loki bet the dwarf Brokk that his

brother Eitri could not make finer

treasures than the Ivaldis. Whoever

lost the bet, it was agreed, would

forfeit their head.

Eitri went to his forge and,

setting Brokk to work the bellows,

said he must not stop blowing until

the work was finished or it would

be flawed. Loki, a shape-shifter like

Finding Sif asleep, Loki cuts off

her long and beautiful golden hair

in this 1894 illustration by A. Chase.

IN BRIEF

THEME

Magical weapons

SOURCES

The Poetic Edda, Anonymous,

10th–13th century ce; The

Prose Edda, Snorri Sturluson,

ca. 1220 ce.

SETTING

Svartálfheim, the realm of the

dwarves and black elves.

KEY FIGURES

Thor The thunder and

weather god, worshipped

by farmers.

Loki The enigmatic and

mischievous trickster god.

The sons of Ivaldi A group

of dwarf craftsmen; Norse

myth does not specify the

identity of Ivaldi himself.

Brokk and Eitri Dwarf

brothers, and skilled

craftsmen.

THOR MIGHT SMITE AS

HARD AS HE DESIRED

AND THE HAMMER

WOULD NOT FAIL

THE TREASURES OF THE GODS

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145

See also: Odin and the world tree 134–39 ■ War of the gods 140–41 ■ The Mead of Poetry 141–42 ■

The adventures of Thor and Loki in Jötunheim 146–47

NORTHERN EUROPE

Odin, turned himself into a fly and

tried to distract Brokk by biting

him. Despite this, Brokk blew

steadily while Eitri made a golden

boar that could run faster than a

horse, and a golden arm-ring called

Draupnir, from which eight equally

heavy rings dropped every ninth

night. Only when Eitri was forging

the hammer Mjölnir did Loki cause

Brokk to stop blowing for a moment

by biting his eyelids. As a result,

the handle was a little short, but

Mjölnir retained its great power.

The finest work

Loki and Brokk asked the gods in

Asgard whose work was the finest,

Eitri’s or that of the sons of Ivaldi.

Judging Mjölnir the finest of the

treasures, the gods declared Brokk

the winner. After a failed attempt

to bribe Brokk to save his own life,

Loki ran off in his magic shoes, but

Thor caught him. Quick-thinking

Loki declared that his head might

be Brokk’s but his neck was not

part of the bargain. The dwarf saw

he had been outwitted and settled

for sewing Loki’s mouth shut. ■

Dwarves

made the

treasures

of the gods

Gungnir,

Odin’s mighty

spear

Draupnir, Odin’s

golden self-replicating

arm ring

Sif’s golden

hair

Gullinbursti,

Freyr’s golden

boar

Skidbladnir, Freyr’s

folding ship

Brísingamen,

Freyja’s shining

necklace

Mjölnir,

Thor’s magic

hammer

Thor’s hammer

Unlike most of the gods, Thor was

believed to be unambiguously

well-intentioned toward humans.

While Odin was the god of kings,

warriors, and poets, the ordinary

farmers favored Thor. Vikings

commonly invoked his protection

by wearing hammer amulets.

Thanks to its overwhelming

power, Thor’s magic hammer,

Mjölnir, defended the gods and

humans from the hostility of the

giants and created order from

chaos. Mjölnir was able to strike

with as much force as Thor

wished; it never missed its

mark, and no matter how far it

was thrown, it always returned

to Thor’s hand.

Thor delighted in using his

hammer to smash giants’ skulls.

In one myth, the giant Thrym

managed to steal Mjölnir and

hid it deep underground. He

hoped it would be beyond the

reach of the gods, and he used

the hammer to bargain for

Freyja in exchange for its safe

return. A combination of Thor’s

strength and Loki’s cunning,

however, soon recovered it to

restore Asgard’s defenses.

Thor wields his mighty hammer

against the giants in this 1872

painting by Swedish artist Mårten

Eskil Winge.

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