''Þórsdrápa'' (also ''Thorsdrapa'';

Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and their overseas settlemen ...

: 'The Lay of

Thor Thor (; from non, Þórr ) is a prominent god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred groves and trees, strength, the protection of humankind, hallowing, an ...

') is a

skaldic poem A skald, or skáld ( Old Norse: , later ; , meaning "poet"), is one of the often named poets who composed skaldic poetry, one of the two kinds of Old Norse poetry, the other being Eddic poetry, which is anonymous. Skaldic poems were traditional ...

by Eilífr Goðrúnarson, a poet in the service of Jarl

Hákon Sigurðarson Haakon Sigurdsson ( non, Hákon Sigurðarson , no, Håkon Sigurdsson; 937–995), known as Haakon Jarl (Old Norse: ''Hákon jarl''), was the ''de facto'' ruler of Norway from about 975 to 995. Sometimes he is styled as Haakon the Powerful ( n ...

. The poem is noted for its creative use of

kenning A kenning ( Icelandic: ) is a figure of speech in the type of circumlocution, a compound that employs figurative language in place of a more concrete single-word noun. Kennings are strongly associated with Old Norse-Icelandic and Old English ...

s and other metaphorical devices, as well as its labyrinthine complexity.

Narrative synopsis

The principal subject of the poem is a narrative relating as to how Thor came by his hammer, Mjolnir (''Mjǫlnir''), and, as is usually the case in stories with Thor, how the giants came off worse. Behind it all, of course, is Loki, who gulls Thor into a confrontation with the giant Geirrod (''Geirrǫðr''). With the aid of some magical gifts from the giantess

Grid Grid, The Grid, or GRID may refer to: Common usage * Cattle grid or stock grid, a type of obstacle is used to prevent livestock from crossing the road * Grid reference, used to define a location on a map Arts, entertainment, and media * News ...

(''Gríðr''), Thor, accompanied by Þjálfi, defeats Geirrod and kills a number of other giants. The narrative begins with an account of the trickery of Loki in inciting Thor to make war again against the giants; Þjálfi joins up with Thor but Loki is altogether more reluctant to the point of not going. The narrative then details Thor's (highly metaphorical) crossing of the oceans to

Jötunheimr The terms Jötunheimr (in Old Norse orthography: Jǫtunheimr ; often anglicised as Jotunheim) or Jötunheimar refer to either a land or multiple lands in Nordic mythology inhabited by the jötnar. are typically, but not exclusively, presente ...

, with Þjálfi hanging onto his waist band. Being a

drapa A skald, or skáld (Old Norse: , later ; , meaning "poet"), is one of the often named poets who composed skaldic poetry, one of the two kinds of Old Norse poetry, the other being Eddic poetry, which is anonymous. Skaldic poems were traditionally ...

(''drápa'') the poem is rich in praise of Thor and Þjálfi's valour in making the difficult crossing. They are immediately set upon by a gang of giants from the cave of Geirrod, but Thor and Thjalfi (Þjálfi) quickly put them to flight (although in Snorri's version of the tale Þjálfi is replaced with Loki). Thor is then brought into Geirrod's house whereupon the seat he is sitting in is raised to the ceiling crushing him, however he strikes the ceiling with the stick given to him by Grid and he descends crushing two giantesses, daughters of Geirrod, beneath him. Geirrod then invites Thor to play a game, and throws a lump of molten iron at him which he (Thor) catches in his iron gloves. Geirrod hides behind a pillar and then Thor throws the iron through the pillar and giant.

Analogues

The myth related in the poem is also preserved in prose form by Snorri Sturluson in the ''

Skáldskaparmál ''Skáldskaparmál'' (Old Norse: 'The Language of Poetry'; c. 50,000 words; ; ) is the second part of the ''Prose Edda''. The section consists of a dialogue between Ægir, the divine personification of the sea, and Bragi, the god of poetry, ...

'' and a looser analogue is found in

Saxo Grammaticus Saxo Grammaticus (c. 1150 – c. 1220), also known as Saxo cognomine Longus, was a Danish historian, theologian and author. He is thought to have been a clerk or secretary to Absalon, Archbishop of Lund, the main advisor to Valdemar I of Denmark ...

' ''

Gesta Danorum ''Gesta Danorum'' ("Deeds of the Danes") is a patriotic work of Danish history, by the 12th-century author Saxo Grammaticus ("Saxo the Literate", literally "the Grammarian"). It is the most ambitious literary undertaking of medieval Denmark an ...

''. There are a number of discrepancies between Snorri's and Eilífr's versions of the myth; for example Þjálfi is not present in the story in Snorri's ''Edda'' while he has a prominent role in ''Þórsdrápa''.

Other ''Þórsdrápur''

Two (fragments of) poems are sometimes referred to as ''Þórsdrápa'': * three half-stanzas written by Eysteinn Valdason in the 10th century relating Thor's fishing expedition to kill

Jörmungandr In Norse mythology, Jörmungandr ( non, Jǫrmungandr, lit=the Vast gand, see Etymology), also known as the Midgard Serpent or World Serpent ( non, Miðgarðsormr), is an unfathomably large sea serpent or worm who dwells in the world sea, encir ...

; * one stanza and two verses composed by

Þorbjörn dísarskáld Þorbjörn dísarskáld is a late-10th century Icelandic skald (poet). Only one and a half stanzas of his poetry have been preserved in ''Skáldskaparmál'' (The Language of Poetry). Name ''Dísarskáld'' means "poet of the dísir", which impli ...

in the 10th or 11th century, the stanza consisting of a list of giants and giantesses killed by Thor. Both were preserved only in the ''

'' (4).

References

* Edith Marold with the assistance of Vivian Busch, Jana Krüger, Ann-Dörte Kyas and Katharina Seidel, translated from German by John Foulks 2017, ‘ Eilífr Goðrúnarson, ''Þórsdrápa''’ in

Kari Ellen Gade Kari or KARI may refer to: Places *Kari, Jhunjhunu, a village in Rajasthan, India * , a village in Mouhoun Province, Burkina Faso *Kari, Tikamgarh, a town in Madhya Pradesh, India * Kari, Iran, a village in Bushehr Province, Iran * Kari-ye Bozorg ( ...

and Edith Marold (eds), ''Poetry from Treatises on Poetics''.

Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages is a project which is editing the corpus of Old Norse-Icelandic skaldic poetry., along with all poetry written down in runes Runes are the letters in a set of related alphabets known as runic alp ...

3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 68.
https://skaldic.org/skaldic/m.php?p=text&i=1170
(accessed 3 January 2022)

Old Norse text with English translation and detailed analysis. {{DEFAULTSORT:Thorsdrapa Loki Thor Skaldic poems Sources of Norse mythology 10th-century poems