Strength under pressure
Thor’s adventures repeatedly test physical power against circumstances that power cannot immediately master. In Þrymskviða the missing hammer forces him to rely on disguise and Loki’s verbal improvisation. In Hymiskviða he combines immense appetite with strength sufficient to lift a giant’s cauldron. In the fishing scene, however, the object at the end of his line is a creature that encircles the world.
The poems call Thor a protector of the human world while also presenting him as an alarming guest and a violent enemy. Holding these features together gives a fuller picture than treating him either as a flawless champion or as a simple comic strongman.
Source: The Poetic Edda (1923 translation) · Þrymskviða 1–32; Hymiskviða 14–39
A final encounter
Thor and the serpent meet again at the world’s end. Gylfaginning says that he kills the creature, then dies after nine steps because of its venom. Triumph and death occur in the same encounter. His sons Móði and Magni inherit Mjölnir in the renewed world.
The spelling Thor used here corresponds to Old Norse Þórr; English historical translations offer several other forms. The atlas normalizes names for navigation while retaining source titles and passage references. Such normalization should not erase differences in the actual story, including whether Hymir cuts the line or whether Thor travels with Týr.
Sources: The Poetic Edda (1923 translation); The Younger Edda / Prose Edda (1901 printing) · Völuspá 55–56; Vafþrúðnismál 51; Gylfaginning, chapters XVI–XVII, §§56, 58
- Period / witness
- Poetic Edda witnesses chiefly thirteenth century CE; Prose Edda composed c.1220 and preserved in later copies. Mythic events are undated.
- Recording context
- Medieval Icelandic textual preservation; the principal Poetic Edda manuscript, Codex Regius, dates to c.1270. Recording and copying locations do not establish the birthplace of a story.
A recording location is not necessarily a story’s origin. Dates of texts, copies, and translations answer different questions.
Explore time & place →Read the sources
These references support the explanation above. Rights and edition notes are recorded individually.
The Poetic Edda (1923 translation) ↗
Anonymous Old Norse poets; translated by Henry Adams Bellows (1885–1939) · 1923 translation; medieval poems preserved principally in manuscripts of the thirteenth century
Edition & rights noteThe Younger Edda / Prose Edda (1901 printing) ↗
Snorri Sturluson (1179–1241); translated by Rasmus B. Anderson (1846–1936) · 1901 printing of Anderson’s translation (copyright 1879); medieval work composed in Iceland around the 1220s
Edition & rights note