102 thor
Thrym was overjoyed when he heard that Freya was on her way. He ordered the halls to be swept, new straw laid down, and a gargantuan feast prepared.
Thor was well known for his great appetite, but Thrym was astonished to see what he thought was a maiden eating such huge helpings of fish and meat and downing large goblets of mead. Quick-witted Loki explained that the bride had not eaten or drunk for eight days, so anxious was she to meet her groom.
Delighted, Thrym reached over to lift the bride’ s veil and kiss her, but when he saw Thor’ s flashing, red-rimmed eyes glaring at him through the veil, he fell back in dismay. Once again sly Loki whispered an explanation. The bride had not had a wink of sleep for eight nights, so anxious was she for her wedding night.
At that, Thrym ordered that the hammer be brought to his bride and the wedding ceremony commence at once, as it was the custom of the Norse to invoke the blessing of Thor’ s hammer at their weddings. No sooner was Mjollnir placed upon his lap than Thor leapt up, tore off his veil, and started to kill every giant in sight.
Thor and the Giant Geirrod The tale of how the god Thor destroyed the formidable giant Geirrod and his two fearsome daughters is a popular myth, told several times in Norse literature, including in the Skaldskaparmal in the Prose Edda and in Snorri Sturluson’ s retelling of Thorsdrapa.
One day Loki put on a suit of falcon feathers and flew to the hall of the giant Geirrod, one of the meanest of the Jotuns. Geirrod caught sight of the handsome falcon and ordered the bird to be brought to him.
It took several of the trolls to capture Loki, for he hopped about the wall, always just out of reach. When at last he tried to take flight, he found himself stuck fast to the wall by some evil spell.
He was set before Geirrod, who knew at once that this was not a real falcon. He locked Loki in a cage and kept him without food and water until at last Loki confessed who he was. The giant set Loki free on the condition that he would bring him the thunder god, Thor, without any of his weapons. Faint with hunger, Loki agreed to bring Thor to Geirrod. Off he flew, his trickster’ s mind already devising a plan.
Once safe in Asgard, Loki prattled on to anyone who would listen about the wonders of Geirrod’ s castle and how the giant was eager to meet the
A wooden reproduction of an Icelandic statue of Thor at the Swedish Army Museum( Photo by Peter Isotalo / Used under a Creative Commons license)
mighty Thor, to introduce him to his two beautiful daughters, Gialp and Greip, and to entertain him royally. Of course, Thor heard the gossip and, being a simple soul, could not long resist the temptation to visit Geirrod, his new admirer.
At Loki’ s urging, Thor left his weapons behind, even the magic hammer, Mjollnir, and set forth, with Loki at his side to show the way. As the distance was long, they stayed overnight with the kindly giantess Grid. She was friendly to the Aesir gods and liked Thor. When Loki had gone to sleep, she warned Thor about Geirrod and loaned him her belt of power, iron gloves, and magic staff.
The next day when Thor and Loki were crossing the rushing torrent of the Vimur, the river began to rise higher and higher. Thor hung onto the magic staff, and Loki hung onto Thor, almost drowning in the blood-red river. Up ahead Thor saw the giantess Gialp. It was she who was making the waters rise. Thor threw a rock at her, and she ran off, howling. Then Thor pulled himself to shore with the help of the small rowan tree, or mountain ash.