This is a Norse myth about the thunder god Thor, and it is one of the funniest stories the Norse poets left behind. It is also a story about fear. One morning Thor woke and reached for his hammer, Mjöllnir. His hand closed on empty air. His beard bristled and his hair shook with rage. The hammer was the gods' main defense against the giants, and now it was gone. Thor told only one person, the trickster Loki, because he feared the giants would learn the gods were helpless. Loki borrowed a feather cloak that let him fly like a falcon, and he went to find the thief. Who had taken the hammer, and what would it cost to get it back?
Thor Dressed as a Bride
Thor wore a bridal veil and housewife's keys to win back a hammer a giant had buried eight leagues deep.
Chapter 1
Empty Air
0:49
Frequently Asked Questions
Why did Thor have to dress as a bride?
The giant king Thrym had stolen Thor's hammer, Mjöllnir, and buried it eight leagues underground. He promised to return it only if the goddess Freyja became his wife. Heimdall proposed sending Thor in a bridal veil instead, so that the hammer would be brought into the room.
How did Thor nearly give himself away at the wedding feast?
Thor ate an ox, eight salmon and all the women's delicacies, then drank three measures of mead. When Thrym lifted the veil, he saw eyes burning like fire. Loki, posing as the maid-servant, explained that the bride had gone eight nights without eating and without sleeping.
Where does the story of Thor's bridal disguise come from?
It comes from the poem Þrymskviða, preserved in the 13th-century manuscript Codex Regius. Scholars disagree on the poem's age. Some call it a 10th-century pagan relic and others a later parody of the gods.
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