Wingthors Hammer [English translation]

Furious was Thor1when he once awoke,

and didn’t see his hammer lie anywhere around him!

“Listen, my hammer has been stolen!”

Which no one yet suspected!

No one suspected…

Far away, in the Realm of the Jötnar, on a hill he sat,

Thrym2the Giant King, Lord of Jötunheim3.

“My Mjölnir4shall merely be acquired by the one

that brings Freyja to me, dressed in wedding linen!”5

Instantly, the Æsir6hurried to a gathering

at Allfather’s7hall,

and they deliberated on this.

“Thor shall go. He shall disguise himself as a woman.”

The embarrassment8for Ásgarð’s9salvation!

Ásgarð’s salvation…

And so he left in a great hurry

to his wedding, far away in Jötunheim!

Wrapped in the oxen and the food,

with flaming red eyes, he drank the honey wine.10

“Bring me the hammer to initiate my wife” he spoke,

Thrym the Giant King, Lord of Jötunheim.

Immediately, Thor started shining with joy beforehand.11

He beat them to death; Thrym’s hall was split in two!

Now, you are familiar with the power of the hammer,

which you praise on your body.

Watch out for false speech,

that Thrym’s fate will not overtake you.

1. Thor (alternatively Þor, Donar or Wingthor) = the hammer-wielding thunder god from Norse/Germanic mythology, the son of Odin (also known as Wodan or Wotan)2. Thrym (Old Norse Þrymr) = the king of the Þursar and the Jötnar, the two most prominent giant species that reside in Jötunheim3. Jötunheim = the homeland of the giants (the Jötnar and the Þursar)4. Mjölnir = Thor’s hammer5. Thrym wants to have Freyja, the goddess of love and fertility, as his wife. In order to encourage the Æsir to fulfil Thrym’s wish, he stole Thor’s hammer.6. Æsir = a family of gods consisting of Odin’s followers, as opposed to the Vanir (the other family of gods)7. Allfather = an alternative name for Odin (Wodan), the Norse/Germanic supreme deity8. It would be embarrassing for Thor to disguise himself as a woman (as Freyja), and to pretend to go marry Thrym. Yet, he does so in order to be able to save Ásgarð.9. Ásgarð (Asgard) = the residence of the Æsir10. Drinking mead (honey wine) was one of the rituals that were part of an Old Germanic (Old Norse) wedding.11. “das Herz im Leibe lachen” is a German proverb for “being happy” or “shining with joy”.

• Artist:Equilibrium
• Album:Turis Fratyr