The Gods of the North: an epic poem

by Adam Oehlenschläger

This adventure of Thor with the serpent and giant Hymir is recounted in the prosaic Edda.

The story of Thor losing his hammer Miölner in the scales of the body of the serpent Jormundgard has a resemblance to the story of Jupiter losing his thunderbolts, and their falling into the hands of the giant Typhon, often represented as a dragon. Typhon, in Greek, means either the giant of that name, or a whirlpool: now Jormundgard typifies the ocean, and Miölner, the thunderbolt. The Grecian mythe is to be found in the first and second Cantos of the Dionysiacs, or triumphs of Bacchus, in the celebrated Greek poem of Nonnus. These two mythes have a still closer resemblance in their denouement, as will be seen by a reference to the Notes of the 29th Canto of this work.

NOTES TO THE TENTH CANTO.

Specimen of the original.

I Valaskialf sad Loke laenge,

Han kieded sig, lod Hovdet haenge,

Ei Valhals Glaeder meer ham smage.

Man seer ham selv Saehrimner vrage;

Han bittert leer og spotter Guder;

and so on in tercets and couplets. I have adopted a free but rhymed metre for my translation.