Thor's Unlucky
Journey to Jotunheim
Thor, god of thunder, was the most ardent enemy of the Giants; yet
he did not always come out the victor in his encounters with them.
Once
upon a time he drove off with his goats, attended by Loki; as
night fell, they
found lodging with a countryman. Here Thor slaughtered his goats,
flayed
them, and caused them to be cooked; then he invited the
countryman, with
his wife, his son, and his daughter, to share the meat with him,
but asked
them to throw all the bones down on the goats’ hides. They did as
he bade
them, all but Thjalfi, the farmer’s son, who broke a thigh bone to
get at the
marrow. At dawn Thor rose, donned his garments, raised Mjollnir
aloft, and
with the hammer consecrated the goats’ hides; at once the goats
sprang to
their feet, as much alive as ever, except that one of them halted
on one
hind leg. Then Thor understood that the countryman or some one in
his
house had been careless enough to break the thigh bone; in anger
he
knitted his eyebrows and gripped the hammer so tightly that his
knuckles
grew white. The countryman, and his whole family with him, begged
for
mercy and offered in recompense all that they possessed. When Thor
saw how frightened they were, his wrath cooled and he allowed
himself
to be appeased. By way of ransom he agreed to take the
countryman’s
two children, the son Thjalfi and the daughter Roskva; and these
two
have followed him ever since.
Leaving his goats with the countryman, Thor continued on his
journey
to Jotunheim. He reached the seashore, crossed the deeps of the
ocean,
and stepped on land once more with his followers. Soon they came
to a
great forest, which they traversed all day until darkness fell.
Thjalfi, swift of
foot, carried Thor’s wallet filled with food, for there was little
to be picked up
on the way. When night came, they looked about for a lodging and
discovered an immense cabin, with a door on one side just as wide
as the
cabin itself. They went inside and lay down to sleep. At midnight
they felt
an earthquake so violent that the whole building shook; Thor
roused his
companions and bade them go into a smaller room through a door in
the
middle of the wall; as for himself, he sat down at the threshold
with Mjollnir
in his hand. A dreadful din and rumbling filled his ears. In the
morning he
went out and saw a gigantic man lying snoring near by in the wood;
then he
understood what had caused all the noise he had heard. He buckled
on his
belt of strength but just at that
moment the man awoke, and for once, so it is said, Thor found
himself little
disposed to strike a blow. Instead, he asked the man his name. The
man
answered: “My name is Skrymir, and small need have I to ask for
your
name; I know you are Asa-Thor. But what have you done with my
glove?”
With these words Skrymir bent down to pick up his glove, and Thor
saw
that what he had taken by night to be a cabin was nothing else
than
Skrymir’s glove, and that the penthouse was the thumb. “Shall we
not travel
together?” asked Skrymir. “Yes,” said Thor. Before starting they
ate their
breakfasts, each party by itself, Skrymir from his own wallet,
Thor and his
companions from theirs; then Skrymir proposed that they put their
food
together in one sack. Thor gave his consent, and so Skrymir tied
both their
victuals and his own in a bag, which he slung on his back. He
walked
before them with tremendous paces during the day and at evening
chose a
night’s lodging for them beneath a huge oak tree. “Here I am going
to lie
down to sleep,” he said; “you may take the wallet and eat your
supper.”
Skrymir fell asleep at once and was soon snoring heavily. Thor set
about
untying the wallet, but with very little success; when he had
struggled a
long while with his task, he grew angry, seized Mjollnir in both
hands, and
struck Skrymir on the head. Skrymir awoke and asked if a leaf had
not
fallen on his head. “Have you had your supper?” he asked. “Yes,”
replied
Thor; “we are just going to bed.” In the middle of the night Thor
again heard
Skrymir snoring so that the whole forest rang with the sound; he
stepped
up to him, lifted the hammer high in the air, and struck the man
such a blow
on the crown that the beak of the hammer sank far into the skull.
Skrymir
woke and asked: “What is up now? Was that an acorn that dropped on
my
head? How are you faring, Thor?” Thor hurried away, saying that he
had
just waked up and that the hour was hardly past midnight. “If I
might only
strike him a third time,” thought Thor to himself, “he should
never see the
light of day again.” He kept watch until Skrymir once more fell
asleep a little
before morning, then ran up to him, and with all his might struck
him in the
temple so that the hammer sank into his skull up to the very
handle.
Skrymir sat up, stroked his cheek with his hand, and said: “There
must be
birds sitting in the tree above me; something dropped from the
branches
upon my head. Are you awake, Thor? It is time to get up now, and
you
have only a little distance to go to reach the stronghold of
Utgard. I have
heard you whispering among yourselves that I am not exactly small
of
stature, but you will see bigger men when you arrive at Utgard.
And by the
way, let me give you a piece of good advice: Do not be too
arrogant;
Utgard-Loki’s men do not put up with much bragging from small
boys. Else
you had better turn back again, and that might be the wiser thing
to do after
all. But if you must and will go farther, walk toward the east; my
way lies
north, toward the mountains you see yonder.” With these words
Skrymir
picked up the bag of food, slung it on his back, and strode off
into
the forest; and the Æsir were very glad to be rid of him.
Thor and his followers walked on until midday. Then they caught
sight
of a castle standing in the plain; but they had to bend their
necks till their
heads touched their backs before they were able to look over the
top of it.
The portals were barred with a gate that they could not unlock;
but they
crept in between the wickets and, seeing a huge hall, bent their
steps
toward it. The door stood open. They walked inside and there saw
many
men, all of immense size, sitting on benches. Among them sat the
king,
Utgard-Loki. They saluted him, but he only laughed scornfully, and
asked if
the little boy was not Riding-Thor. “You are no doubt bigger than
you seem
to be,” he said; “but what kind of manly exercises do you and your
traveling
companions know? No one is allowed to sojourn here with us who is
not
able to do something or other better than any one else.” Loki, who
was
standing behind the rest, spoke up: “There is one sport in which I
am ready
to try conclusions at once; nobody here is able to eat faster than
I.” Utgard-
Loki answered, “We shall soon find out.” Then he commanded a man
named Logi to step forward from the end of the bench to the middle
of the
floor to match his skill in eating against Loki’s. A trencher full
of meat was
carried in and placed on the floor; Loki and Logi sat down, one at
each end
of the trencher, and ate with all their might. They met in the
middle of the
trencher; but while Loki had eaten only the meat, Logi had
consumed the
meat, the bones, and the
trencher to boot. So Loki was beaten at this game. “What is that
young
fellow there able to do?” asked Utgard-Loki. “I will try running a
race with
some one,” answered Thjalfi. “You will need to be swift of foot,”
said
Utgard-Loki; then he went out into the field and asked a little
fellow named
Hugi to run against Thjalfi. In the first race Hugi was so far
ahead that he
turned back at the goal to meet Thjalfi. “You had better stretch
your legs a
bit more if you want to win,” said Utgard-Loki; “for that matter,
no swifter
runner than you has ever visited us.” In the second race Hugi
reached the
goal and turned while Thjalfi still had a long bowshot to run. “A
very pretty
heat,” said Utgard-Loki; “yet I can hardly believe that Thjalfi
would win if
you two ran a third time.” They ran once more; but when Hugi had
reached
the goal and turned around, Thjalfi had not covered half the
course. All
agreed that this contest might very well be regarded as finished.
“What kind
of manly sport are you going to favor us with, Thor?” asked
Utgard-Loki;
“we have heard great things about your prowess.” “I will drink
with any one
that cares to drink,” answered Thor. “Very good,” said
Utgard-Loki; then he
went into the hall and asked his cupbearer to take down the great
horn that
the king’s men were sentenced to drink from when they had done
amiss.
“We consider it well done,” said Utgard-Loki, “if a man is able to
empty this
horn at one draught; some require two; but no one is such a
weakling that
he cannot drain it in three draughts.” Looking at the horn, Thor
did not think
it very large but rather long;
thirsty as he was, he placed it to his lips, drank deep, and
thought to
himself that he should probably not have to bend his head to the
horn
again. But when he stopped and looked to see how much he had
drunk, it
seemed to him that there was left not much less than there was
before.
“You have drunk pretty well,” said Utgard-Loki, “but no great
amount; to be
sure, if any one had told me that Asa-Thor was no better drinker,
I should
not have believed it; but I am sure you will empty the horn at the
second
draught.” Thor answered not a word, but took as long a pull as he
possibly
could; still the other end of the horn had not risen as high as he
might have
wished. When he paused it seemed to him that the level had sunk
even
less than before, yet now it was possible at least to carry the
horn without
spilling any of the liquor. “If you care to drink a third time,
you have left the
greater part till the last,” said Utgard-Loki; “but if you are not
more skilled in
other games than in this, you cannot hope to earn as great a name
among
us as you have among the Æsir.” Thor grew angry and placed the
horn to
his lips once more. He drank with all his might and kept drinking
as long as
ever he was able; when he paused to look, he could see that the
level had
sunk a little, but he did not want to drink any more. “It is easy
to see,” said
Utgard-Loki, “that you are not so great a man as we supposed.
Perhaps
you would like to try your luck at other exercises, since you have
had such
bad luck with this one?” Thor answered, “I am willing to risk it;
but unless I
am much mistaken my drinking would have earned praise
at home among the Æsir.” Utgard-Loki replied “Our young boys
sometimes
find amusement in lifting my cat off the ground; it is only a
small matter, and
I should not have thought of proposing such a thing to Thor if I
had not
seen with my own eyes that you are far from being as mighty as I
had
supposed.” A large gray cat ran out upon the floor of the hall.
Thor stepped
forward, took hold with one hand under her belly, and lifted; but
the more
he pulled, the more the cat bent herself into a bow; and when Thor
had
stretched his hand up as far as he could stretch, the cat raised
only one
foot off the floor. So Thor was worsted at this game too.
Utgard-Loki
declared that he might have known as much beforehand, since Thor
was
small of stature as compared with the big men around him. “Let one
of
them come out and wrestle with me if you think I am so small,”
answered
Thor, “for now I am really in bad humor.” “Not a man in the hall
would
demean himself so far as to take a turn with you,” said
Utgard-Loki, “but I
will call in my old foster mother, Elli.” She accordingly came in
and grappled
with Thor; but the more Thor tightened his hold, the firmer she
stood; at last
she began to use tricks of her own, and in the end Thor perforce
sank
down on one knee. “Perhaps that will do,” said Utgard-Loki; “Thor
will
hardly challenge any one else here to a wrestling match.” With
these words
he showed Thor and his companions to their seats. They remained
there
the rest of the night, and were entertained with the utmost
hospitality.
In the morning they rose and prepared to continue
their journey. Utgard-Loki himself came in and caused a table to
be spread
for them, laden with all kinds of food and drink. Then they set
forth on their
way. Utgard-Loki accompanied them out of the castle and, as they
were
about to depart, asked Thor what he thought of the outcome of his
expedition. Thor answered that he knew he had added nothing to his
fame
and that he felt the keenest disappointment to think that he was
leaving
behind him the reputation of a mere weakling. “Now I will tell you
the truth,”
said Utgard-Loki, “since you are well outside of the castle. Never
with my
consent, so long as I live and rule, shall you be allowed to enter
it again.
And you would never have gained entrance if I had known how strong
you
were; for you came very near bringing the greatest misfortune upon
us. The
fact is, you have all been hoodwinked. It was I that you met in
the forest; I
tied the wallet with troll-iron so that you might not guess how to
open it.
Each single blow that you struck would have killed me outright if,
unknown
to you, I had not interposed for my protection the huge mountain
you
beheld outside the stronghold; there you may see even now three
valleys,
the one deeper than the other, all of them marks of your blows.
The like
happened with the games you played: Loki was hungry and ate very
well,
but Logi (logi = flame) was none other than fire itself turned
loose, which
consumed at one time both meat and trencher. Hugi, the fellow with
whom
Thjalfi ran his races, was my own thought (hugr), which of course
was the
fleeter of the two. When you drank from the horn, the wonder
grew till I could not trust my own eyes; for the other end lay out
in the
ocean itself. If you look closely you can see how the level has
sunk; that is
what we call ebb tide. When you lifted the cat, we were all
alarmed; she is
the Midgard Serpent that encompasses all lands, but you raised her
so
high that head and tail barely touched the floor together. The
wrestling
match with Elli was no less a marvel, for never a man lived, nor
ever shall
live, but must fall before her (elli = old age). Now we are to
part, and it were
best for both of us that you never came back; for the future I
will not fail to
be on my guard against arts of that kind.” Thor lifted his hammer,
meaning
to smite Utgard-Loki, but in a twinkling he had disappeared. Nor
was Thor
able again to catch sight of the castle; and so he had to return
to
Thrudvang. Yet before long he was bound on another expedition,
this time
against the Midgard Serpent itself.
Sources:
Peter
Andreas Munch: Norse Mythology: Legends of Gods
and Heroes. The American-Scandinavian Foundation, New
York. 1926, pp. 56-65.
Rasmus B. Anderson (Ed.): The Elder Eddas of Saemund
Sigfusson and the Younger Eddas of Snorre Sturleson.
Norræna Society, London-New York. 1906, pp 300ff.
E-books
Back to the main page