Everyone has heard of Thor, the mighty warrior from Norse mythology. But have you heard the
story of the time that Thor lost his famous hammer Mjolnir and the strange method he used
to retrieve it which included popping on a rather fetching dress?
Yes, you did hear correctly. All will be revealed in the tale of Thor and the giant Thrym.
It was a terrible morning when Thor awoke to find his beloved hammer Mjolnir gone. Panic
gripping him, he frantically searched around the room but to no avail, he was unable to
find his most trusted companion. His anger grew and threatened to boil over, rage driving
him to tear up the palace in his fruitless search.
Concluding that the weapon must truly be missing, he rushed to inform the God Loki, who shared
his concern that without the hammer, Asgard was left vulnerable to attack by the giants.
Loki was a clever God, and he surmised that given they had the most to gain, it seemed
likely that the giants themselves were the culprits behind the theft of Thor’s mighty
hammer. He took Thor to see the great Goddess Freya
and upon hearing the situation, she granted magical feathers to Loki which would allow
him to transform into a falcon and fly quickly across the land to locate the hammer.
Taking to the air, Loki decided to follow his instincts and headed directly to the homeland
of the giants. Upon his arrival, he changed back into his normal godly form and approached
the chief of the giants, Thrym. Such was the arrogance of the giant chieftain,
that he didn’t even attempt to deny it. Releasing a laugh like a huge booming thunder,
he happily announced it was indeed he who had stolen Mjolnir and informed Loki that
it was buried 8 miles under the ground. Not to be deterred, Loki attempted to convince
Thrym to release the hammer back to him but was unable to persuade the giant, who made
it very clear that he would give back the hammer only if Freya agreed to marry him.
Amazed at what he had heard and sure there was no way he would be able to make such an
arrangement, Loki flew back to Asgard and informed Thor and the other gods of his meeting
with the giants. They were all enraged by the demand, Freya in particular! Thor dared
to suggest she dress herself in a bridal gown and the halls of Asgard shook violently with
her anger. It was clear Freya was not willing to play along.
It was then that Heimdall suggested that Thor go to Thrym instead, disguised as Freya and
wearing the bridal dress. Thor protested of course, claiming it would be a dishonourable
and unmanly thing to do and that he would be mocked forever more by all of Asgard. Loki
was quick to point out however, that if he refused to attempt it there would be no Asgard
left to mock him anyway. Seeing the wisdom despite his reservations, Thor reluctantly
agreed to the plan. No detail was spared in the preparation of
Thor’s dress and his costume was completed with a beautiful necklace and veil to cover
his face. Loki offered to accompany him as his maid servant in disguise and so it was
that the two Gods masquerading as women set off to the land of the giants.
When they arrived, to their great relief, Thrym was overjoyed that his demand had seemingly
been met. He hosted a great feast to celebrate his marriage to Freya.
Uncomfortable in his new role, Thor almost gave the game away during dinner as he singlehandedly
ate an entire ox, eight salmon and all of the snacks that had been prepared for the
women. Thrym took note and declared that he had never seen a woman with such an appetite.
Luckily Loki was there to rescue the situation and in the role of the wise handmaiden, informed
the giant that the fair goddess had been so lovesick for him that she had been unable
to eat for days. This pleased Thrym greatly and he lent over
to kiss his bride. Getting closer however he now noticed the eyes of Thor disguised
as Freya and was taken aback, declaring never have I seen a maiden with such frightfully
piercing eyes. Loki once again was on hand and informed the
giant that the goddess had also not been able to sleep for many nights, such was her longing
for him. Overjoyed at the words, Thrym ordered that
the great hammer was brought out to hallow their union. At the giants beckoning, the
weapon was placed gently onto the lap of his future bride.
A smile creased across Thor’s lips, its menace hidden only by the veil of his costume.
He felt the warm glow return to him, power coursing through his body once more as he
gripped the weapon tightly. Anger surged as he considered the ordeal he
had been forced to endure and as his rage peaked and reached its apex, the thunder god
was complete again. Ripping back his veil and leaping to his feet,
Thrym had time only to let out a small gasp of surprise before Thor struck him down with
a single blow. Lightning coursed througho the room as he set about his work, slaying
every giant present and exacting his revenge. Content at last and with the balance of the
universe restored, Thor and Loki set off back to Asgard where Thor wasted no time changing
back into his usual clothes. One of the lesser known tales of Thor that
whilst not necessarily one of great heroism or epic battles, somehow adds another dimension
to the legend of the god of thunder.