The Myth Of Thor's Hammer, Mjölnir, Explained

In Norse mythology, the hammer Mjölnir is every bit as famous as Thor, the thunder god who wields it. The two are so closely tied together that it's hard to find stories about Thor that don't also prominently feature his hammer. And with good reason, too! According to the Online Etymology Dictionary, Thor's name is the same as the Old Norse word for thunder, while Dictionary.com notes that the name Mjölnir relates to an Old Prussian word for lightning. Just as thunder and lightning are inseparable, so too are Thor and Mjölnir in the old Norse legends.

Wielding Mjölnir, Thor is tasked with protecting Asgard, the realm of the gods, and Midgard, the earthly world of humanity. As World History Encyclopedia explains, Mjölnir is just one of three magical items Thor used in his duties, the others being a belt that doubles his strength and a pair of great iron gloves that he needs to wield the hammer. Mjölnir, however, is by far the most famous of these, and it was clearly no less famous in ancient times. The "Prose Edda," a 13th-century compilation of Norse myths, notes how the hammer is particularly well known among the frost giants and mountain giants Thor battles against, explaining, "for with it he has split many a skull." But the stories show Mjölnir as far more than just a weapon. In some tales, it almost seems like a character itself.

The forging of Mjölnir, it turns out, was all a result of Loki and his trickery. The "Prose Edda" recounts the tale "Loki's Wager with the Dwarfs," in which Loki plays a prank on Thor's wife, Sif, by shaving her head. To pacify the enraged Thor, Loki agrees to find a replacement for Sif's hair, and seeks the help of a group of dwarves known as Ivald's Sons. He persuades them to make new hair for Sif, out of gold, as well as a magical ship, Skidbladner, and Gungnir, the spear of Odin. But Loki isn't satisfied without causing some mischief and makes a bet with a dwarf named Brok that his brother, Sindre, can't make another three treasures of the same quality. Taking the bet, Sindre works tirelessly to create three more legendary objects: Freyr's boar Gullinbursti, the magic gold ring Draupnir, and the hammer Mjölnir.

Made of enchanted iron, Mjölnir is given to Thor. It's described as being indestructible, and with the power to always return to its wielder's hand after being thrown. It also has the ability to shrink down small enough to be worn as a pendant against Thor's chest. The only shortcoming, which the dwarves admit, is that it has quite a short handle. The book "The Children of Odin" calls Mjölnir a weapon that only Thor can wield, and mentions that Sindre describes it as "the greatest of the things that I am able to make."

Thor and Mjölnir were essentially inseparable in Norse thought, and to call on Thor for aid was also to call on Mjölnir. One prominent reference is in a protective amulet discovered in Öland, Sweden, known as the Kvinneby amulet. It's a small copper charm bearing the image of a fish, intended to be worn. As "The Routledge History of Medieval Magic" mentions, it has a runic inscription that references the tale of Thor fishing for the Midgard Serpent. Another book, "Runic Amulets and Magic Objects," explains that the inscription is written in decorative runic text, and specifically mentions not just Thor but also Mjölnir. Intended to keep the wearer safe from harm, one line of the amulet reads, "may Thor protect him with that hammer." This shows how these stories found their way into daily life in Ancient Scandinavia, but it also highlights Mjölnir's importance.

It's noteworthy that the Kvinneby Amulet specifically mentions Mjölnir because, while other deities also have famous magical weapons, they aren't usually given the same level of prominence. One example is an artifact described by the blog Irish Archaeology, an amulet to Odin discovered at a site in Denmark. Made from a human skull fragment, it has a runic inscription asking for Odin's protection. This amulet, however, makes no mention of Odin's spear Gungnir.

No story shows Mjölnir's power as a weapon quite like Thor's fight against Hrungnir, a giant, known in Norse mythology as a Jötun. The book "Stories from Northern Myths" recounts the tale, in which Hrungnir finds himself as a guest in Asgard. Protected by the laws of hospitality, Hrungnir joins the gods for a feast and, as he eats and drinks, he starts to become increasingly boastful and unruly. He angers the gods, but he continues to insult them, eventually claiming that he'd kill them all and take the goddesses Freyja and Sif as his wives. Having had enough of the giant's insolence, Thor accepts Hrungnir's challenge to a duel. Needless to say, it does not end well for the giant.

In the confrontation, Hrungnir is wielding a flintstone as a weapon, facing Thor and Mjölnir. A strike from Mjölnir breaks the flint into two, with half of it being large enough to form the flint mountains. Immediately afterward, Mjölnir kills the giant with a single blow to the head. The version of the story in the "Prose Edda" states quite graphically how Mjölnir "crushed [Hrungnir's] skull in small pieces." The dead giant then falls onto Thor, who struggles to free himself. It's a testament to how powerful Mjölnir is, that it so easily defeats Hrungnir, even though he's so large and heavy that Thor, by himself, can't even lift the giant's foot.

In the Viking age, Mjölnir was an important cultural symbol, seen widely across Ancient Scandinavia. A page from the University of Pittsburgh shows a variety of silver Mjölnir pendants found in archaeological sites, ranging from some with simple hammer shapes to others with more ornate patterning. Many are silver, but some are made of iron or even carved from amber. The reason why Mjölnir was such a popular symbol came from the many ways it is used and depicted in the stories. As Britannica notes, Mjölnir was seen as both a weapon and a symbol of life, meaning that people would wear it both as a protection against evil and in hopes of bountiful harvests.

The unusual shape of the pendants caused debate among archeologists for a long time because, as Ancient Origins explains, it was difficult to be completely certain that the pendants depicted hammers. This changed in 2014 with a thousand-year-old message that conclusively settled all arguments. The only Mjölnir pendant ever discovered with a runic inscription has writing which reads, simply, "this is a hammer."

As well as pendants, depictions of Thor and Mjölnir can be found on some runestones, large slabs of rock engraved with runic inscriptions and imagery. One in particular, the Altuna Runestone (via World History Encyclopedia) shows a scene of Thor's fishing trip to fight the Midgard Serpent. On the stone is an engraving of Thor in a boat, holding Mjölnir aloft, while the serpent coils below them.

Since the late 20th century, the old Norse religion has seen a big resurgence in popularity. Known as Asatru, a word that literally means "belief in the gods" in Old Norse, it's a decentralized and non-authoritarian neopagan religion, older than other world religions like Christianity or Buddhism. In adherence to ancient Nordic beliefs, Mjölnir is a prominent symbol of their faith. The Asatru Alliance explains that theirs is the native religion once practiced across Scandinavia, as well as what are now Germany, France, and England.

It should be noted, unfortunately, that recent years have seen white supremacists attempt to appropriate Asatru culture and symbolism, including Mjölnir. As The Atlantic reports, this has caused much distress to genuine practitioners of Asatru, who are understandably horrified at the idea of their religion being used to spread hateful messages. One Asatru high priest described this as "a total perversion" of their culture.

Attempted cultural appropriation notwithstanding, Asatru now has a significant following in Iceland, where it's become the fastest-growing religion, according to Iceland Magazine. When Vikings first arrived in Iceland, Asatru was their dominant religion, but it was slowly replaced by Christianity, and it was abandoned altogether around 1000 B.C. It wouldn't be re-recognized until 1973, and it's continued to grow in popularity ever since, with Asatru naming ceremonies, marriages, and funerals now being performed. Icelandic ceremonies of Asatru are even open to the public, regardless of faith, so that anyone who's interested can attend and participate.