Þrymskviða

Icelandic literature

Also known as: “Thrymskvida”, “Thrymskvitha”

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Article History

Old Norse:: “Lay of Þrym”

Also spelled:: Thrymskvitha

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Þrymskviða, one of several individual poems of Eddic literature preserved in the Codex Regius. Its ballad structure, end-stopped style, and excellent preservation have led scholars to suggest that it is one of the latest of the Eddic poems.

It describes how the giant Þrym steals Mjǫllnir, the hammer of Thor, and demands marriage to the goddess Freyja if he returns the hammer. Freyja, of course, wants nothing to do with Þrym, so Thor disguises himself and presents himself to Þrym as Freyja. The story’s humour derives largely from the bride’s astonishing behaviour at the wedding feast, where “she” eats an entire ox and eight salmon and drinks three vessels of mead.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Kathleen Kuiper.