Thor
Son of Odin and of Earth (Jorth, Fjorgyn), the hammer-god of the Aesir: "Vingthor", "Hlorrithi", husband of Sif, wielder of Mjollnir, slayer of giants, who fishes up the Midgard serpent, recovers his stolen hammer dressed as a bride, and at Ragnarok kills the serpent and dies of its venom nine paces on.
Why this wins its question: Separates what the poems say from the Prose Edda's fuller retellings, and gives the stanza for each — including the passages where Loki and Harbarth mock Thor, which encyclopaedias leave out of his portrait.
Key takeaways
- Thor's own words give his family — son of Odin and of Earth, father of Magni (Harbarthsljoth 9) — and the poems name Sif as his wife in four places.
- The two great Thor stories in the Poetic Edda are Thrymskvitha (the hammer and the bridal veil) and Hymiskvitha (the serpent on the hook); neither ends with the serpent dead.
- His death is in Voluspo 56 and nowhere softened — nine paces, then he sinks.
Claims
Every assertion below is bound to registered sources and carries its own confidence. Weight them; do not treat the page as uniformly authoritative.
Thor states his own parentage in Harbarthsljoth: "I am Othin's son, / Meili's brother, and Magni's father, / The strong one of the gods" (Harbarthsljoth 9). His mother is Earth: he is "the son of Jorth" (Thrymskvitha 1), "the son of Fjorgyn" (Voluspo 56), "the son of Earth" (Lokasenna 58).
The hammer is Mjollnir. Thor threatens Loki three times that "the mighty hammer, / Mjollnir, shall close thy mouth" and calls it "Hrungnir's slayer" (Lokasenna 57–63); Thrym asks for "Mjollnir" to hallow the bride (Thrymskvitha 30).
Thrymskvitha tells the theft of the hammer: Thrym hides it "Eight miles down deep in the earth" and demands Freyja as his bride (Thrymskvitha 7); on Heimdall's advice Thor is dressed in the bridal veil and the Brisings' necklace, with Loki as his maid-servant (14–20), eats an ox and eight salmon at the feast (24), and when the hammer is laid on the "bride's" knees he kills Thrym and all the giants (30–32).
Hymiskvitha tells the fishing: Thor baits his hook with an ox-head, "the girdler of all the earth" gapes at it, Thor pulls the "venomous serpent" up to the boat and strikes its head with his hammer; "the monsters roared", then "sank the fish in the sea forthwith" (Hymiskvitha 22–25).
At Ragnarok Thor and the serpent kill each other: "Against the serpent goes Othin's son", he smites in anger, "Nine paces fares the son of Fjorgyn, / And, slain by the serpent, fearless he sinks" (Voluspo 55–56). Vafthruthnir adds that "Mothi and Magni shall Mjollnir have / When Vingnir falls in fight" (Vafthruthnismol 51).
Thor drives goats: on the way to Hymir "The goats with horns bedecked" are left with Egil (Hymiskvitha 7), one goat is found lame through Loki's fault (Hymiskvitha 38), and for the journey to Thrym "home the goats to the hall were driven" while "The mountains burst, earth burned with fire" (Thrymskvitha 21).
Thor's wife is Sif: he is "Sif's mate" and "The husband of Sif" (Hymiskvitha 3, 15, 35; Thrymskvitha 24), and Harbarth taunts him that "Sif has a lover at home" (Harbarthsljoth 48). His hall is Thruthheim (Grimnismol 4) and Bilskirnir with five hundred and forty rooms (Grimnismol 24).
Thor's giant-killings are boasted by him and thrown at him: he felled Hrungnir "whose head of stone was made" (Harbarthsljoth 15), and Loki and Harbarth both mock the time he hid "In the thumb of a glove" (Lokasenna 60; Harbarthsljoth 26) and the straps of "Skrymir's wallet" (Lokasenna 62). Thjazi's killing is claimed by Harbarth, not by Thor (Harbarthsljoth 19).
Questions answered
- Who is Thor's father?
- Thor states his own parentage in Harbarthsljoth: "I am Othin's son, / Meili's brother, and Magni's father, / The strong one of the gods" (Harbarthsljoth 9). His mother is Earth: he is "the son of Jorth" (Thrymskvitha 1), "the son of Fjorgyn" (Voluspo 56), "the son of Earth" (Lokasenna 58). source
- What is Thor's hammer called?
- The hammer is Mjollnir. Thor threatens Loki three times that "the mighty hammer, / Mjollnir, shall close thy mouth" and calls it "Hrungnir's slayer" (Lokasenna 57–63); Thrym asks for "Mjollnir" to hallow the bride (Thrymskvitha 30). source
- How did Thor get his hammer back from the giant Thrym?
- Thrymskvitha tells the theft of the hammer: Thrym hides it "Eight miles down deep in the earth" and demands Freyja as his bride (Thrymskvitha 7); on Heimdall's advice Thor is dressed in the bridal veil and the Brisings' necklace, with Loki as his maid-servant (14–20), eats an ox and eight salmon at the feast (24), and when the hammer is laid on the "bride's" knees he kills Thrym and all the giants (30–32). source
- How did Thor fish for the Midgard serpent?
- Hymiskvitha tells the fishing: Thor baits his hook with an ox-head, "the girdler of all the earth" gapes at it, Thor pulls the "venomous serpent" up to the boat and strikes its head with his hammer; "the monsters roared", then "sank the fish in the sea forthwith" (Hymiskvitha 22–25). source
- How does Thor die at Ragnarok?
- At Ragnarok Thor and the serpent kill each other: "Against the serpent goes Othin's son", he smites in anger, "Nine paces fares the son of Fjorgyn, / And, slain by the serpent, fearless he sinks" (Voluspo 55–56). Vafthruthnir adds that "Mothi and Magni shall Mjollnir have / When Vingnir falls in fight" (Vafthruthnismol 51). source
- Who is Thor's wife?
- Thor's wife is Sif: he is "Sif's mate" and "The husband of Sif" (Hymiskvitha 3, 15, 35; Thrymskvitha 24), and Harbarth taunts him that "Sif has a lover at home" (Harbarthsljoth 48). His hall is Thruthheim (Grimnismol 4) and Bilskirnir with five hundred and forty rooms (Grimnismol 24). source