A. Sutherland - AncientPages.com - In ancient times, the Vikings imagined the world completely encircled and supported by the Great Divine World Serpent, Jörmungandr.
Jormungand is the second oldest child between Loki, the Trickster, and the giantess Angrboda. Like their two other children, Fenrir and Hel, Jörmungandr is not an ordinary child but a hideous, venom-spewing serpent.
Credit: Adobe Stock - Jose
At first, the Aesir gods let it stay in Asgard, but not for long. No room is big enough for this fast-growing creature.
Therefore, the gods decide to throw it into the ocean that surrounds Midgard, the middle world inhabited by men. There, the creature continues to grow, and finally, it is huge enough to embrace the earth and bite its tail.
Jörmungandr, the Midgard serpent, has always been Thor’s eternal rival. Both of them are told to die in a deadly duel when the Aesir come to an end, tells Snorri Sturluson, the Icelandic chronicler.
Both of them will battle, and Thor will finally throw his hammer at Jormungand, smashing his head and killing him. However, the serpent is not totally defenseless in this final encounter. It will spew his fatal poison on Thor, who will only have enough power to take nine steps back before he ends his life, too.
But before it happens, these two meet each other, and for god Thor, it is a great opportunity to fight and destroy the serpent.
Because of his strength and preference for battle, Thor is the protector of Asgard and the whole world against giants and monsters. Therefore, the gods decide that Thor, son of Odin has to slay the Jörmungandr before it poses a serious threat to Asgard.
There is an old Norse tale that tells of Thor fighting with the serpent.
One day, while traveling across Midgard in the disguise of a young boy, Thor visits a giant Hymir, who plans to undertake a fishing expedition. Thor wants to accompany him because it’s an opportunity to confront the serpent.
Hymir looks at Thor up and down and replies:
'You'll catch a cold if I sit as long and as far out to sea as I usually do.' The giant also doesn’t believe that Thor can be much help, as he is a small and young fellow. Thor has to hide his anger because he really needs to take part in this fishing tour.
The giant finally agrees but orders his companion to find his bait, so Thor cuts off the head of the largest ox in Hymir’s herd, and now, they are ready to row to Hymir’s usual fishing ground.
Surprisingly, Thor wants to proceed further out to sea. In vain, Hymir protests and tries to warn Thor that it can be dangerous to proceed any further because of Jörmungandr.
Now, their boat is directly above the monster, and Thor acts quickly. He chooses a strong line with a big hook on the end, to which he fastens the ox-head, and then he throws it overboard.
Deep under the sea, the Midgard serpent successfully swallows the hook, but it pulls away so powerfully that Thor is thrown dangerously against the side of the boat.
Now, he must summon up all his strength to push his feet through the bottom of the boat and brace them quickly against the seabed. Struggling with the monster’s unbelievable strength, Thor pulls up the serpent.
Thor goes fishing for the Midgard Serpent in this picture from an 18th-century Icelandic manuscript.
When he lifts his terrible ax hammer, Mjölnir, to attack the serpent, the giant Hymir suddenly grabs his knife and cuts Thor’s line. In vain, Thor throws his hammer in after the serpent’s head, which quickly disappears into the sea.
The dangerous creature is free again, and Thor is deeply disappointed and very angry. Now, he had no bait and could not try again, so there was nothing more to do but leave the place and return without the creature.
Thor will meet the serpent once again at Ragnarok when the Aesir gods confront Hel and Fenrir, Loki, and others in the last battle.
Thor will kill the Midgard Serpent with a stroke from his hammer, Mjölnir, smashing its head. Walking back nine paces, Thor also falls dead, being poisoned by the serpent's venom pouring from the dying monster’s jaws.
Updated on January 10, 2024
Written by – A. Sutherland AncientPages.com Staff Writer
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