Midgard serpent
Jörmungandr / Miðgarðsormr
NORSE MYTHOLOGY
Content selection
Introduction
According to Norse Mythology a colossal creature dwells in the ocean. A serpent so large that it encircles the whole of Midgard and bites its own tale. Its name is in Old Norse is Jörmungandr (eng. Jormungand or Jormungandr) or Miðgarðsormr (eng. Midgard serpent or wyrm).
Its parents are Loki and the giantess Angurboða from Jötunheim. Together they had three children, Jörmungandr the world serpent, the great wolf Fenrir and the queen of the world of the dead Hel. Paternal half-sibling to the three is the eight legged horse Sleipnir.
When the Æsir gods heard of the birth of the serpent, Fenrir and Hel they assembled to discuss the matter. Through prophesying they agreed that great harm and misfortune would come from these siblings. Odin then asked for the siblings to be brought him. The wyrm he threw into the ocean, but there it continued to grow until it encircled all the lands.
The rivalry between Thor and the Midgard serpent
The god Thor and Midgard serpent have an on going rivalry. In one tale Thor‘s sets out with the jötunn Hymir to catch the wyrm.
They set out to sea on a boat. To lure the monster out, Thor baits it with the head of Hymir‘s largest ox. The monster eventually bites the hook and for a moment they wrestle, until it wriggles free and slips back into the depths of the ocean.
That is not the only time Thor wrestles with the The Midgard serpent. In another story Thor travels to Jötunheim, to the castle Útgarðr. There he meets the ruler Útgarða-Loki. He questions Thor‘s strength and puts him to the test. One of which is to lift his cat. Thor attempts lift the cat, but it sways and bends so much that only one of it‘s feet leaves the ground. Thor is both furious and baffled. Later it is revealed that trickery was at play in the challenges he faced. When he lifted the cat, it was in reality the Midgard serpent disguised, which Thor was close to lifting.
The fate of the Midgard serpent according to the Ragnarök prophecy
The rivalry between Thor and Jörmungandr doesn‘t end there. According to the prophecy of Ragnarök their fates are interwoven when the world falls into chaos. It is said that one of the signs of the coming of Ragnarök is a violent turmoil of the ocean, when the Midgard serpent releases its tale and makes its way onto land, spewing venom into the water and air. Thor and the Midgard serpent will battle to the death in Ragnarök. Thor kills the serpent but after taking nine paces the god falls himself.
Mentions in the sources
Jörmungandr is mentioned in Prose-Edda in the sections of Gylfaginning and Skáldskaparmál, as well as the poems Hymiskviða and Völuspá found in the Poetic-Edda.
