Pagan symbolism: Mjölnir, Thor's hammer

The Viking god Thor is the most revered god in the Old Norse pantheon. More than a thousand Thor's hammers have been found and the god was worshipped throughout the Viking world. Where Odin was primarily the god of the aristocracy, Thor was also revered by other classes. Thor's hammers were worn by both men and women. In this blog, we discuss the extensive history of this popular god and his symbolism. 

Around 3000 BC, the Proto-Indo-Europeans migrated from the Pontic-Caspian steppe to Europe. Thus, they laid the basic for cultures such as the Vikings, Romans, Greeks, and Celts. Based on basic of archaeology, comparative religious studies, and historical linguistics, we know much about the society of the Proto-Indo-European steppe herders. We have even been able to reconstruct part of their pantheon.

*Perkʷūnos is the reconstructed Proto-Indo-European god of lightning and storms. His name likely means 'Lord of the Oaks'. This god is often depicted with a weapon like a hammer, axe, or mace. Lightning and thunder had both a destructive and life-giving significance: lightning could split a tree but also brought fertile rain.

Perkʷūnos was often associated with oaks, as they are frequently struck by lightning. Additionally, he was linked in stories to stones, forests, and mountainous regions.

Gods descending from Perkʷūnos are found throughout European mythologies. Examples include the Norse Fjǫrgyn (the mother of Thor), the Lithuanian Perkūnas, and the Slavic Perun. The name of the Hercynian forest, a primeval forest mentioned in classical sources, possibly also derives from the word *perkʷu- for 'oak'. The Albanian thunder god Perëndi also seems related, with his name derived from words meaning "sky" and "strikes". In the Vedic tradition, Parjánya fulfills a similar role as the god of rain, thunder, and lightning. 

In myths, the motif of Perkūnos as a warrior plays a significant role. He strikes down demons, enemies, and evil forces. 

Another group of thunder gods is connected to the Indo-European root *(s)tenh₂, which means 'thunder.' This group includes Germanic, Celtic, and Roman gods such as Thor, Taranis, Jupiter, Tonans, and Zeus Keraunos.

Some researchers believe that these gods originally emerged from a nickname or title, like the Vedic Parjánya, who is also called "Thunderer" (stanayitnú-).

The Roman god Mars, who originally had a stronger connection with storms and thunder, may also originate from this. His transformation into a war god shows how the image and position of gods can change over time, while many of their original characteristics remained preserved.

In the Proto-Indo-European creation story, the storm god Perkūnos also plays a role. In this myth, the first man, *Manu, and his twin brother *Yemo travel through the universe, accompanied by a primordial cow. To create the world, Manu sacrifices his brother.

With the help of celestial gods, Manu makes the earth and humanity from Yemo's body. Thus, Manu becomes the first priest. From Yemo's body, the social classes emerge: priests from his head, warriors from his chest and arms, and farmers from his legs.

The third man, Trito, receives sacred cattle from the gods as a gift. A three-headed serpent, *Ngwhi, however, steals them. With the help of the Storm God, Trito defeats the serpent. He returns the cattle to a priest so they can be sacrificed. This myth clearly shows that the storm god also fulfilled a martial function. 

Thor is one of the many thunder gods in various mythologies who wield a hammer-like weapon, often associated with lightning, fire, and weather changes.

Rock carvings from the Norse Bronze Age depict figures with hammers or axes. Some scholars consider these images as precursors to Mjölnir. Rudolf Simek suggests that these figures indicate an early use of Mjölnir as a sacred instrument, likely in a fertility cult because many of these motifs are shown in combination with the sun wheel. The premise was possibly that strong warriors were also fertile partners. 

Indo-European thunder gods are often associated with goats or bucks. Tanngrisnir and Tanngnjóstr are the two goats that pull Thor's chariot in Norse mythology. Their names mean "teeth grinder" and "thin teeth," respectively. 

In the Poetic Edda, they are briefly mentioned in the poems Hymiskviða and Þrymskviða, where they support Thor's journey to Jötunheimr. In the Prose Edda, a detailed story is told in which Thor slaughters his goats to feed a peasant family. After eating their meat, they are brought back to life. However, one of the goats becomes lame because the family's daughter, Þjálfi, sucked the marrow from a bone. As a result, she and her brother Röskva become Thor's servants.

The goats are associated with the idea of regeneration, as is also evident in the mythical beast Sæhrímnir, which is eaten every night and restored every day. This theme of self-replenishing food is similar to Scandinavian folk tales about magical food and may have a shamanistic background.

The ibex is seen throughout the Indo-European world as a symbol of fertility. This is likely because the ibex's mating season falls between October and December. This is the Indo-European season of the dead, which ends with the winter solstice, after which life returns to the earth.

The swastika appeared on various objects of ancient Germanic peoples and in the bronze Age. In later Icelandic folklore, the swastika was referred to as 'Thor's hammer'. According to runologists, the term 'Thor's hammer' in the early modern period was associated with swastikass, rather than with hammer symbols from medieval rune inscriptions. 

Some scholars suggest that the swastika symbolized Thor's hammer early on. Folklorist Hilda Ellis Davidson concluded that both the swastika and the hammer symbol were likely associated with Thor, the god of lightning, sunshine, and rain.

Approximately 1000 Thor's hammers have been discovered in areas of Scandinavia, England, Northern Germany, the Baltic states, and Russia. Most are of a simple design, made of iron or silver, while about 100 specimens are more refined and feature decorations.

The Thor's hammers have been found in various contexts, such as urban excavations, treasure finds, and graves. About 10% of the finds come from graves, almost all of which are cremation graves, often identified as women's graves.

The Thor's hammer pendants likely developed from an older tradition of similar pendants worn by Northern Germanic peoples.

Scientists suspect that the hammer may have been inspired by the Hercules club (2nd-3rd century AD), a pendant worn in the late Roman era and the Migration Period. The Romans interpreted Donar, the Germanic thunder god and predecessor of Thor, as Hercules. The amulet was used by the Germanic tribes and Auxilia throughout the Roman Empire. Images of maces during the Migration Period, and possibly also the pendant, were a continuation of this tradition.

The first Thor's hammers were made during the Migration Period. A Merovingian specimen was found in Kent, England, while the Merovingians were already Christian by this time. Similar specimens have been found in Germany.

The first Scandinavian Thor's hammers come from the Vendel Period (540-790 AD), but the use of this symbol increased during the Viking Age, possibly as a counter-response to the cross motif and cross amulets carried by Christians. Some late Thor's hammers, like the wolf cross from Iceland, may represent a hybrid between a Thor's hammer and a cross, suggesting that the old faith continued to be practiced in secret.

In cremation graves from the Viking Age, such as in the Mälaren region, Åland, and Russia, Thor's hammer rings have also been found. These are iron rings with multiple amulets attached, often including hammers. These rings were found in urns with cremated remains and mostly in women's graves. Although their precise function is unknown, researchers suspect these rings played a role in rituals surrounding cremation.

Some specific finds illustrate the diversity of Mjölnir amulets. In Verdal, Norway, a silver hammer with decorations was found, although the dating is unknown. In Hilde, Norway, archaeologists found a ring with nine small hammers in a female cremation in a ship grave, dating from the 10th century. A simple iron hammer from Kaupang, Norway, is dated between 800 and 960, although no additional context is known. In Købelev, Denmark, a 10th-century hammer was found with a rune inscription that reads: "Hmar × is," or "This is a hammer." This latter also serves as evidence that these jewelry items indeed symbolized a Thor's hammer.

In 1999, the German archaeologist Jörn Staecker developed a typology for Thor's hammers, based on decorative styles and materials such as amber, iron, and silver. Twenty years later, Katherine Suzanne Beard, an American researcher, expanded this typology by adding factors such as the shape of the hammer and the type of suspension mechanism. In that same year, she launched the Eitri: The Norse Artifacts Database, an online database that provides detailed information about finds, composition, and context.

The Mjölnir is also depicted on other objects, such as Arabic coins found during excavations in cities.

A notable object that possibly depicts Thor is the Eyrarland statue, a bronze figurine found at the Eyrarland farm near Akureyri, Iceland. This 11th-century statue shows a seated figure holding a hammer, which may indicate a representation of Thor.

Images of Thor's hammers also appear on various runestones. In Denmark, they can be seen on stones like DR 26, DR 48, and DR 120, and in Sweden on VG 113, Sö 86, and Sö 111. On some stones, such as the Altuna runestone in Sweden and an image in Gosforth, England, Thor is depicted catching the serpent Jörmungandr, with Mjölnir clearly visible. Interestingly, Thor seems to be the only god invoked to bless or consecrate runestones, a phenomenon studied by researchers since the 19th century.

Thor's hammer, Mjölnir, had a dual function in Old Norse tradition: it was not only a powerful weapon, but also a symbol of protection, blessing, and consecration. Archaeological findings show that Thor was also invoked for healing, with some objects explicitly using his hammer as a symbol.

According to Hilda Ellis Davidson, the power of Mjölnir represented everything important to the community. It was associated with birth, marriage, death, funeral and cremation ceremonies, weapons, feasts, travel, land acquisition, and the taking of oaths. Mjölnir was both a symbol of destructive storm power and heavenly fire and a protection against evil and violence, reflecting the core of Thor's role in society.

The Kvinneby amulet is a small copper amulet, probably worn around the neck, found in Öland, Sweden. It dates from the 11th century and contains an Old Norse inscription in the younger futhark, invoking Thor and his hammer. Runologists Mindy MacLeod and Bernard Mees translate the text as follows:

'Here I cut for you (runes of) help, Bofi.
Help me! Knowledge (?) is sure for you.
And may the lightning keep all evil away from Bofi.
May Thor protect him with his hammer that came from the sea.
Flee from evil! It (?) gets nothing from Bofi.
The gods are below and above him.'

This inscription refers to stories recorded hundreds of years later in the Poetic Edda and the Prose Edda (see the poems Hymiskviða and Gylfaginning below).

In Old English In texts from the 8th century, Thunor (Þunor), a Saxon version of the god Thor, is mentioned. He is sometimes linked to Jupiter and possibly also to the expression þunorrād ("thunder ride"), referring to a thundering chariot. A 9th-century manuscript mentions Thunaer, along with UUôden (Wodan) and Saxnôte, as gods to be renounced upon conversion to Christianity.

The missionary Saint Boniface felled the sacred Donar Oak, dedicated to Thunor, in Hesse in the 8th century. An 11th-century Kentish legend tells of a man named Thunor who was swallowed by the earth, leading to the name þunores hlæwe ("Thunor's mound"). This possibly indicates the forgetting of Thunor as an ancient god.

In the Poetic Edda, Mjölnir is mentioned in the poems Vafþrúðnismál, Hymiskviða, Lokasenna, and Þrymskviða. In Vafþrúðnismál, the wise jötunn Vafþrúðnir tells the disguised god Odin that after the events of Ragnarök, Móði and Magni, the sons of Thor, will possess Mjölnir.

In Hymiskviða, Thor uses the hammer to defeat hostile jötnar while taking a giant cauldron that Ægir has requested for brewing beer for the gods.

In Lokasenna, the gods threaten Loki with Mjölnir while they insult each other.

The most famous story about Mjölnir can be found in Þrymskviða. Thor discovers one day that his hammer has been stolen by the jötunn Þrymr. To get Mjölnir back, he disguises himself as a bride and travels with Loki to Jötunheim. There he discovers that Þrymr will only return the hammer if he receives Freyja as a wife. Thor is unable to persuade Freyja to marry the jötunn and disguises himself as a woman. Eventually, he succeeds in retrieving the hammer by killing Þrymr and his companions.

In the Prose Edda, Mjölnir is described as one of Thor's three special possessions, along with his iron gloves and his magical belt, Megingjörð. In a story from Gylfaginning, Thor's hammer is mentioned when he is traveling with Loki and encounters the giant Skrýmir, who traps them in an illusion.

Gylfaginning also tells of the death of Baldr and the use of Mjölnir to bless his ship at his funeral. Ultimately, after Ragnarök, Thor's sons, Móði and Magni, will bring the hammer back to Asgard.

In Skáldskaparmál, the second part of the Prose Edda, Mjölnir is also mentioned, for example in a poem by the 9th-century poet Bragi Boddason, in which Thor is described as raising his hammer against the Midgard Serpent. The book also contains a story about the battle between Thor and the jötunn Hrungnir, in which Thor uses Mjölnir to defeat Hrungnir after he throws a whetstone at the hammer, splitting it in two.

The story of Mjölnir ends with an explanation of the hammer's creation by the dwarves Eitri and Brokkr. Loki had wagered his head that Eitri would create three magical objects of equal value. Eitri managed to forge three items, including Mjölnir, despite the disturbance of a fly that bit him three times. The hammer was judged by the gods as the best object, despite the fact that the handle was short.

In these stories, Mjölnir emerges as a symbol of strength and protection, but also of humor and cunning in the adventures of Thor and his companions.

In the 11th century, the chronicler Adam of Bremen described a statue of Thor in the Temple of Uppsala, Sweden, in his Gesta Hammaburgensis Ecclesiae Pontificum. Thor was described by Adam as the "mightiest" of the gods, sitting on a triple throne, flanked by Woden and Fricco. Thor was revered as the ruler of the sky, responsible for thunder, lightning, winds, storms, fertility, and good weather. Adam compared Thor to the Roman god Jupiter and noted that he had a mace as weapon. People offered sacrifices to Thor during impending disasters such as plague or famine. Adam also mentions that in 1030 an English preacher, Wulfred, was lynched by Germanic pagans because he had "insulted" an image of Thor.

In his Gesta Danorum, the Danish author Saxo Grammaticus described a euhemeristic version of Thor in the 12th century and recounted how Magnus the Strong in 1125 removed large bronze hammers from a temple dedicated to Thor (referred to as Jupiter via the interpretatio romana). These hammers, called "Jupiter's hammers" by the island inhabitants, symbolized thunder and lightning and were considered sacred objects. Magnus destroyed these symbols out of zeal for Christianity, which was seen as a blasphemous act by the Swedes.

Additionally, Saxo gave Thor an oak mace as weapon, with a short handle reminiscent of the stories about Mjölnir. In book three, he described how Thor shattered enemy shields, helmets, and armors with his mace. No weapon or muscle strength could withstand his blows until Høther cut off the handle of the mace, after which Thor and the other gods had to retreat.

Various scholars have suggested that the mace from these stories is actually a reference to Mjölnir. However, Katherine Suzanne Beard points out a striking difference: archaeological finds of Thor's hammers from that time do not resemble club-like weapons. She suggests that the descriptions of the mace may be the result of interpretatio romana, where Norse gods were depicted in terms resembling Roman mythology, such as Jupiter's lightning bolts or Hercules' mace.

Beard further notes that there is only one wooden hammer included in the Eitri database, and even that is just a fragment whose function is uncertain. The use of a mace in literature and mythology may also be comparable to the Irish god Dagda, who wielded a similar weapon in Celtic stories.

The Viking god Thor has a clear Proto-Indo-European origin. Various versions of him are venerated throughout the Indo-European world. In other cultures, the Thor's hammer is depicted as mace or axe. Thor represents strength and can be associated with the warrior class. Additionally, he stands for protection, healing, and fertility. Unlike Odin, who was the god of the aristocracy, Thor was the god for the entire society.