THOR

Thor DOWNLOADED 10/14/2023

Thor is a Germanic god associated with thunder.

Name

The Old Norse theonym Þórr (older poetic Þunarr) goes back to an earlier Proto-Norse form reconstructed as Þunraʀ.^[2] It is a cognate (linguistic sibling of the same origin) of the medieval Germanic forms Donar (Old High German), Þunor (Old English), Thuner (Old Frisian), and Thunar (Old Saxon).^[3] They descend from the Proto-Germanic reconstructed theonym *Þun(a)raz ('Thunder'),^[4] which is identical to the name of the ancient Celtic god Taranus (by metathesis–switch of sounds–of an earlier *Tonaros, attested in the dative tanaro and the Gaulish river name Tanarus), and further related to the Latin epithet Tonans (attached to Jupiter), via the common Proto-Indo-European root for 'thunder' *(s)tenh₂-.^[5] According to scholar Peter Jackson, those theonyms may have emerged as the result of the fossilization of an original epithet (or epiclesis, i.e. invocational name) of the Proto-Indo-European thunder-god *Perk^w^unos, since the Vedic weather-god Parjanya is also called stanayitnú- ('Thunderer').^[6]

The perfect match between the thunder-gods *Tonaros and *Þun(a)raz, which both go back to a common form *ton(a)ros ~ *tṇros, is notable in the context of early Celtic–Germanic linguistic contacts, especially when added to other inherited terms with thunder attributes, such as *Meldunjaz–*meldo- (from *meldh- 'lightning, hammer', i.e. *Perk^wunos' weapon) and *Fergunja–*Fercunyā (from *perk^wun-iyā 'wooded mountains', i.e. *Perk^wunos' realm).^[7]

The English weekday name Thursday comes from Old English Þunresdæg, meaning 'day of Þunor'. It is cognate with Old Norse Þórsdagr and with Old High German Donarestag. All of these terms derive from the Late Proto-Germanic weekday *Þonaresdag ('Day of *Þun(a)raz'), a calque of Latin Iovis dies ('Day of Jove'; cf. modern Italian giovedì, French jeudi, Spanish jueves). By employing a practice known as interpretatio germanica during the Roman period, ancient Germanic peoples adopted the Latin weekly calendar and replaced the names of Roman gods with their own.^[8]

Beginning in the Viking Age, personal names containing the theonym Thórr are recorded with great frequency, whereas no examples are known prior to this period. Thórr-based names may have flourished during the Viking Age as a defiant response to attempts at Christianization, similar to the wide scale Viking Age practice of wearing Thor's hammer pendants.^[9]

Thor (from Old Norse: 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, and

fertility.

Besides Old Norse Þórr, the deity occurs in Old English as Þunor,

in Old Frisian as Thuner,

in Old Saxon as Thunar, and

in Old High German as Donar,

all ultimately stemming from the Proto-Germanic theonym Þun(a)raz*, meaning 'Thunder'.

Thor is a prominently mentioned god throughout the recorded history of the Germanic peoples, from the Roman occupation of regions of Germania, to the Germanic expansions of the Migration Period, to his high popularity during the Viking Age, when, in the face of the process of the Christianization of Scandinavia, emblems of his hammer, Mjölnir, were worn and Norse pagan personal names containing the name of the god bear witness to his popularity.

Due to the nature of the Germanic corpus, narratives featuring Thor are only attested in Old Norse, where Thor appears throughout Norse mythology. Norse mythology, largely recorded in Iceland from traditional material stemming from Scandinavia, provides numerous tales featuring the god. In these sources, Thor bears at least fifteen names, and is the husband of the golden-haired goddess Sif and the lover of the jötunn Járnsaxa. With Sif, Thor fathered the goddess (and possible valkyrie) Þrúðr; with Járnsaxa, he fathered Magni; with a mother whose name is not recorded, he fathered Móði, and he is the stepfather of the god Ullr. Thor is the son of Odin and Jörð,^[1] by way of his father Odin, he has numerous brothers, including Baldr. Thor has two servants, Þjálfi and Röskva, rides in a cart or chariot pulled by two goats, Tanngrisnir and Tanngnjóstr (that he eats and resurrects), and is ascribed three dwellings (Bilskirnir, Þrúðheimr, and Þrúðvangr). Thor wields the hammer Mjölnir, wears the belt Megingjörð and the iron gloves Járngreipr, and owns the staff Gríðarvölr. Thor's exploits, including his relentless slaughter of his foes and fierce battles with the monstrous serpent Jörmungandr—and their foretold mutual deaths during the events of Ragnarök—are recorded throughout sources for Norse mythology.

Into the modern period, Thor continued to be acknowledged in rural folklore throughout Germanic-speaking Europe. Thor is frequently referred to in place names, the day of the week Thursday bears his name (modern English Thursday derives from Old English þunresdæġ, 'Þunor's day'), and names stemming from the pagan period containing his own continue to be used today, particularly in Scandinavia. Thor has inspired numerous works of art and references to Thor appear in modern popular culture. Like other Germanic deities, veneration of Thor is revived in the modern period in Heathenry.