thursday 107
Thrym( Þrymr) A Hrimthurssar, or rimegiant, sometimes called the king of the giants. He stole Thor’ s hammer and demanded the goddess Freya for his wife if he were to return the hammer. With the help of the trickster Loki, Thor won back the hammer at a wedding ceremony in which the thunder god posed as the bride. Once Mjollnir was in his possession, Thor killed Thrym.
Thrymheim( Noisy Place) The mountain home of the giant Thjazzi and his daughter, Skade. It was a cold and lonely place, noisy with the howling of wind and of wolf. In the story of“ Skade and Njord,” the god Njord hated the place. The god Loki came here to rescue Idunn after she had been kidnapped by Thjazzi.
Thrymskvitha( ÞrymskviÐa; Lay of Thrym) A poem and the only source of the story“ The Theft of Thor’ s Hammer”( see Thor). Thrymskvitha is a part of the Codex Regius of the Poetic Edda. Some scholars believe the poem was originally composed by a very talented poet and survived years of retelling with few changes until it took its final form in about 900 a. d. Others believe it was not composed or written down until the 13th century, when writing had become more common in Iceland.
Thrymskvitha recounts Thor’ s efforts, disguised as the goddess Freya, to rescue his stolen hammer, Mjollnir, from the giant Thrym. Thrymskvitha’ s strong similarities to other works in the Poetic Edda, however, lead most scholars to accept it as a work of true Norse mythology, rather than a poem written in imitation of the other great works in the Poetic Edda.
thulur( Þulur) A list or catalog of names, synonyms, or metaphors used in the poetry of Norse mythology. Some of the surviving lists are very formal, such as the Nafnathulur, a portion of the works of Snorri Sturluson, which are available in manuscripts in their original language but which are rarely translated.
The Codex Regius manuscript contains an important section titled Thulur, which is simply a list of names and contains no prose or poetry. It is, in some instances, the only surviving use of some words associated with Norse mythology.
Snorri’ s primary work containing thulur is Skaldskaparmal, a guide for skalds who began writing skaldic poetry after the coming of Christianity to Iceland and Scandinavia. Skaldskaparmal contains many of the alternative names and kennings for
Odin and Thor, the Aesir and the Asynjur, the dwarfs, the heavens, and the seas. It is often included in translations with Snorri’ s most prominent work,
Gylfaginning.
Rigsthula is perhaps the best-known example of a poem that is mainly a list of names. It is part of the
Poetic Edda. In this poem, the author relates the story of the god Heimdall’ s creation of the three races of man— slave, landowner, and ruler— and includes the names of many of the children of these races. Names for some of the slaves are: Fjosnir,“ cattle man”; Drumb and Drumba, which mean“ log”; Ambott,“ servant.” Examples of the names for the landowners are: Bui,“ dwelling owner”; Boddi,“ farm holder”; and Snot,“ worthy woman.” Names of the wealthy rulers are: Arfi,“ heir”; Nith,“ descendent”; and Kund,“ kinsman.” Each name represents an aspect of the lives of an individual of a particular race.
Some of the thulur are less formal and are simply presented, for example, in the poems that make up the Poetic Edda. The Voluspa contains lists of names for dwarfs, Valkyries, and Norns. Alvissmal, another poem in the Poetic Edda, contains a list of dwarf names and Grimnismal gives many of Odin’ s names.
In some cases, the name of a dwarf, hero, elf, horse, or the alternative name of a god is only mentioned in one of the thulur. These lists help scholars understand and decipher the meanings of the many kennings, or metaphoric phrases, that are so important to skaldic poetry.
Thund( Þhund; Roaring) The torrent or great river that flows just outside valhalla.
thunder Thunder represented the power of nature and was an important part of many mythologies, including that of the Greeks. In Norse myths, Thor was known as the god of thunder, as well as of many other aspects of nature and life. This connection to the roar of thunder gave Thor a strong, powerful image, much like the pounding of the hammer of a blacksmith and the strength a man needed to swing such a hammer.
Thursday In modern English, the fifth day of the week, or the fourth working day. Thursday takes its name from the Norse thunder god Thor.
Some mythologists suggest that when Viking settlers came to northern England, they appropriated the name of a local deity, Thunor, and thus an early version of the day’ s name was Thunresdaeg, or Day of Thunor. Others say that the local god’ s cult was