Thor is Odin’s son and strongest of all gods and men. When he gets angry, he rides around in his chariot pulled by the goats Tandgnissle and Tandglese among the clouds and fights with his hammer Mjölnir. That’s how thunder occurs. With Mjölnir, Thor fights against giants and the Midgard Serpent. He is the god of thunder, courage, deed power and good harvests.
The tale of Thor’s wedding
One morning Thor awoke and discovered to his horror that Mjölnir was gone. He searched everywhere but without any luck. His beloved hammer had disappeared without a trace and without it the gods and their entire world were threatened. Thor was beside himself and didn’t know what to do. He didn’t dare tell anyone about the loss of the hammer but then he realized that Loki often had ingenious solutions to problems and might be able to help him so he turned to him for help.
When Loki heard about the missing hammer, he suggested that if Thor could arrange for him to borrow Freya’s falcon cloak, he could fly out and scout. Together they went to Freya’s beautiful farms in Folkvang to ask to borrow the cloak. Freya, who understood the gravity of the situation, lent it without hesitation. Loki immediately wrapped himself in the cloak of falcon feathers and flew off towards Jotunheim which was the world of the giants. Loki guessed who was behind the theft of the hammer.
He flew straight to the giant Trym’s farm as he suspected that was where the answers were. Trym laughed out loud when Loki asked him if he knew where Mjölnir was. “I am the one that has Mjölnir now!” he replied proudly. “Eight miles underground I have hidden the hammer and I do not intend to return it voluntarily. But if Freya becomes my bride, then I will give her the hammer as a bridal gift.” Loki had no choice but to return empty-handed to Asgaard with the news.
When Thor heard what Trym demanded, he insisted that Freya immediately put on a wedding dress and come with him to Jotunheim to marry the giant. But Freya was furious, she got so angry that the whole of Asgaard shook. She certainly wasn’t going to marry Trym, that much was clear. Thor realized that he had to find another solution to get his hammer back and gathered all the gods.
Heimdall, being wise and clear-sighted, came up with a bold plan. He suggested that they should pretend to agree to the giant’s demands, but that Thor should instead dress in bridal clothes and pretend to be Freya. Thor protested angrily but the gods all agreed that it was the only way to get Mjölnir back. Reluctantly, Thor finally agreed and eight days later it was time. Thor was dressed in a beautiful wedding dress and a veil-like cloth hid his face. Loki had to act as bridesmaid and accompanyied him on the journey. When they arrived at Trym’s farm, the giant was overjoyed. “Well, look how beautiful my bride is!” he exclaimed when he saw Thor and the party began.
A large feast was laid out in the large hall and guests from near and far filled the beautiful hall. Trym was very pleased and his bride was certainly not bad at partying. She ate like she hadn’t seen food in weeks. With great appetite she devoured a whole ox, eight salmons and emptied a whole barrel of mead. Trym watched in surprise and whispered to Loki, “I have never seen a woman eat and drink so much!” Loki, who was used to talking his way out of most situations, smiled and quickly explained that Freya was so hungry because she had longed so incredibly much for the giant that she hadn’t eaten a bite in eight days.
Trym was flattered by the answer and then tried to kiss Freya but when he saw her wild look he quickly backed away. Again, Loki was quick to answer. “She has longed for this day so much that she hasn’t been able to sleep a wink for eight nights, that’s why her look is a little wild.” Again, Trym was satisfied with the answer and gave orders for Mjölnir to be brought up from the underworld to be handed over to the bride.
When the hammer was placed in Thor’s lap, he tore off the veil, grabbed it, and swung Mjölnir high and hard, killing Trym with a single blow. In his rage he also killed the entire giant’s family and before long Trym’s entire farm was devastated.
Mjölnir was back in his right hands and order was restored and the world of the gods was saved!