Most are familiar with Thor, god of thunder, and his war hammer, Mjölnir, but from whence did this mighty, magical mallet materialize?
Mjölnir was forged by two bristly dwarf brothers who lived deep in the caverns of the dwarf homeland, Svartalfheim.
The dwarf brothers, Sindri and Brokkr, were exceptional metal workers, and they are responsible for the creation of several magical items throughout Norse mythology. Unfortunately for the brothers, the notorious trickster god, Loki, paid them a visit and taunted the poor brothers. They were going about their dwarf lives not bothering anyone, and Loki decides to start talking trash about how they can’t make stuff as good as the other dwarves , and the stuff they do make is crap, and on and on. Loki even went so far as to bet his own head on the fact that the brothers could not manufacture a single piece worth a jotun’s dung!
Sindri and Brokkr took great offense to this. The veins in Brokkr’s forehead pulsed. Sindri seethed, and the brothers accepted Loki’s challenge. They set to work in their forge straight away! From gold, the brothers forged three magical items:
• First was the golden hog, Gullinbursti (golden-bristled). A gift to Freyr, this hog could run faster than any horse whether in water or on land. He was the first all-terrain vehicle, and his golden mane could cast light into darkness.
• The golden spear, Gungnir was a gift to Odin, and would be his choice weapon against the great wolf, Fenrir.
• Finally, from the gold, the brothers forged the ring Draupnir (the dripper). Every ninth night, the ring would liquefy and drip out eight new rings of equal size and weight to the original. This was also a gift for Odin. Apparently, the brothers were really trying to butter him up.
For their final work, Sindri threw iron into the fire. Sindri growled at Brokkr to work the bellows with great care. This piece was to become the great war hammer, Mjölnir, and it required great precision and skill; for even the slightest distraction could cause a mistake that would ruin the piece. The brothers toiled; Brokkr in the bellows keeping the flames hot and Sindri hammering away on the anvil.
Loki now feared for his head. The brothers had skill that was beyond reproach. What would he do? How could he distract them so as to ruin their work? Loki transformed himself into a gadfly, and he stung Brokkr in the eye causing him to lose focus on the bellows. The distraction caused the completed Mjölnir to have a short handle, it’s only flaw. This flaw did not impinge upon its magnificence, however, and the gods were greatly pleased with these gifts from the dwarf brothers.
When it came time for the dwarves to collect their prize, the coward Loki insisted that their wager was for his head, but not his neck. And to cut his head off at the neck would be a violation of their wager. The brothers, tired of Loki’s connivance, proceeded to sew the tricksters mouth shut instead! Sindri and Brokkr return to the depths of Svartalfheim having earned a great reputation for themselves amongst the gods, and created one of the most recognizable weapons of mythology, Thor’s hammer, Mjönir.
The artwork representing this story has many of the details from the mythology. If you look closely, you can see all the gifts created by the dwarves scattered around them with the mighty Mjölnir sitting at the center above the anvil. You can see the trickster, Loki in fly form near Brokkr’s eye. Mjölnor has such great weight and importance in mythology and in contemporary culture that I think the back story to its creation is important and interesting. I think this piece captures the many details of the story in a single image. The traditional knot work style with the added effects of cracking stone creates an aged look. Like an artifact that has been uncovered from the tomb of a Viking.
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