Þórr and Miðgarðsormr,

Beowulf and the Dragon:

Similarities and Discrepancies

***

Medieval Germanic Cultures (Advanced

course), a.a. 2021-2022
Università degli Studi di Bergamo
 Þórr

•God of thunder and strength, son of

Odin and Jörð
•His task is to defend the Gods (Aesir)
and mankind from the forces of chaos
that threaten to subvert the cosmic order
and destroy the whole universe; for this
reason, he was among the most revered
deities in Viking culture
•On the day of Ragnarök (Judgment of
the Gods) he will engage in a fight to
the death against his cosmic nemesis,
the Serpent of Miðgarðr, killing it but
being killed in turn

Bronze statuette of the god Thor, Eyraland,

Eyjafjörður (Iceland, early 11th Century)
 Miðgarðsormr
•Miðgarðsormr («Serpent of the Middle Earth»),
also called Jǫrmungandr («great, mighty
monster»), is a sea-snake that lives in the depths
of the Ocean, tight in a circular grip around the
Earth
•Son of Loki – the trickster-God of Nordic
pantheon – and of the giantess Angrboða, it
aspires to contaminate the universe with its
venom
•It's devoid of wings and doesn't breathe fire, but
spreads poison. It doesn't guard any treasure
•Miðgarðsormr will emerge from the waters on
the day of Ragnarök and will engage in a deadly
fight with Thor. The two archenemies will kill
Illustration of Miðgarðsormr fished by Thor from the 17 th
each other in fierce struggle
century Icelandic manuscript AM 738 4to, now in the
care of the Árni Magnússon Institute in Iceland
 Ties between Þórr and Beowulf
1) Beowulf and Þórr are both travelling heroes and equally endowed with superhuman strength
sē wæs mon-cynnes mægenes strengest (Bwf., v. 196)
«He was of mankind strongest in might»
[…] þæt hē trītiges
manna mægen-cræft […]
hæbbe (Bwf., vv. 379-381)
«That he has thirty men's great strength of might»
[…] mægene strengest
on þǣm dæge þysses līfes (Bwf., vv. 789-790)
«He who of men was strongest
in might in the day then of this mortal life»

In the poem Hymiskviða (§ 23) Þórr is called dáðrakkr → «strong, valiant»

Many sources say about him that he wore a magical belt (Megingjörð) that amplified his
extraordinary physical strength.
2) Both fight sea-monsters and giants
Selfe ofersawon, ða ic of searwum cwōm,
fāh from fēondum, þǣr ic fīfe geband,
yðde eotena cyn, ond on yðum slōg
niceras nihtes. (Bwf., vv. 419-422)
[...] Þæt ic mid sweorde ofslōh
niceras nigene (Bwf., vv. 574-575)
Þórr slaughters entire families of giants as in the Poems of Hymir and Thrym (Hymiskviða and
Þrymskviða). He kills also Hrugnir and Geirrøðr.
«They themselves had looked on when, stained
with the blood of foes, I came back from the
struggle in which I destroyed a race of ogres,
bound five of them, and killed sea-monsters in
the waves by night»
«That I with sword slew nine of the sea-
monsters»
Kenning (metaphorical circumlocution) for Þórr quoted in the Skáldskaparmál (§ 11), last part of Snorri
Sturluson’s Prose Edda:
Dólgr ok bani jǫtna ok trǫllkvinna → «Enemy and slayer of giants and female trolls»

Rowing and fishing contest between Þórr and the giant Hymir at the edge of the Ocean (Hymiskviða
and Gylfaginning) in which the Lord of Thunderbolt catches the Miðgarðsormr but fails in the attempt
to kill it = swimming competition between Beowulf and Breca  encounter with the «sea-monsters»
(«niceras» - Bwf., vv. 499-581).
3) Uniqueness, loneliness in deeds as prerogatives of the hero

[…] Ond nū wið Grendel sceal,

wið þām āglǣcan āna gehēgan
ðing wið þyrse (Bwf., vv. 424-426)

«And now against Grendel, against the dread monster, alone shall decide the fight against the giant.»
 Swǣfon [...]
ealle būton ānum (Bwf., vv. 703-705)
«The warriors slept, […] all except one»

Oferhogode ðā hringa fengel,

þæt hē þone wīd-flogan weorode gesōhte,
sīdan herge; (Bwf., vv. 2345-2347)
«Scorn did he then, the prince of rings, that he the wide-flier with host should seek, with a large army»

Gewāt þā twelfa sum, torne gebolgen,

dryhten Gēata dracan scēawian. (Bwf., 2401-2402)
«He went one of twelve, swollen with rage, the prince of the Geats, the dragon to view»

Strengo […]
ānes mannes (Bwf., v. 2541)
fighting the dragon with «the strength […] of one man alone»
Þórr always faces his massive and monstrous adversaries rigorously alone; for this reason, he is
addressed with the heiti (appellation, poetic nickname):
- Einheri → «lone warrior» (Œgisdrekka, § 60)
- Einriði → «lone rider» (Vellekla, § 15; Haustlöng, § 19; Nafnaþulur, § 17)
- Orms einbani → «the only one killer of the serpent [of Miðgarðr]» (Hymiskviða, § 22)

ON ormr
↕ < Proto-Germanic *WURMIZ < IE * WR̥MIS = LAT vermis
AGS wyrm

4) Incredible courage in battle

Þórr → Harðhugaðr = «powerful soul, brave heart» (Þrymskviða, § 31)

→ Atli = «[the one who] eagerly wants to fight; terrible [in battle]» (Nafnaþulur, § 17;
Þrymlur, I, § 7; Sturlaugsrímur, VI, § 11; Skikkjurímur, III, § 1)
Beowulf → rūm-heort («big-hearted» - Bwf., v. 1799);
→ collen-ferhð («bold of spirit» - Bwf., v. 1806);
→ stearc-heort («strong-hearted» - Bwf., v. 2552);

→ wæl-rēow wiga («the warrior fierce in slaughter» - Bwf., v. 629);

→ heaþo-dēor («battle-brave» - Bwf., v. 688);
→ hilde-dēor («bold in battle» - Bwf., v. 834);
→ ēstum miclum (« [I fought] with great pleasure» - Bwf., v. 958);

5) Beowulf and Þórr are described as guardians, protectors [of mankind, of the World, of the
kingdom, ...]

Þórr → Véurr → «guardian, protector» → Miðgarðs véurr → «the guardian of the World»
(Vǫluspá, § 56);
→ Harðvéurr → «strong, mighty protector»
(Nafnaþulur, § 17);
→ Ǫldum bergr → «[the one who] protect people» (Hymiskviða, § 22).
Beowulf → folces hyrde (Bwf., v. 1832); rices hyrde (Bwf., v. 3080);

6) Totemic bond with bears

Among the alternative names of Þórr registered in Nafnaþulur (§ 17), and Lokrur (III, § 6), there is
Bjørn («bear») → symbol of warlike strength, aggression, primordial fury

The name Beowulf is also a kenning → «wolf of bees» = bear

The legend of Beowulf has many connections with the story of Bödvar Bjarki (Little Bear), a Danish
hero who kills flying-monsters and a troll that has been terrorizing the court of the king of Denmark. He
is also a shape-shifter who can take on the appearance and strength of a bear in battle. (Hrolfs saga
kraka; Gesta Danorum).
The Last Fight of Þórr and Miðgarðsormr at
Ragnarök
«Þórr berr banaorð af Miðgarðsormi ok stígr þaðan
braut níu fet, þá fellr hann dauðr til jarðar fyrir eitri
því er ormrinn blæss á hann».
Gylfaginning, § 51 – SNORRI STURLUSON, Prose Edda (XIIIth
Century)
«Thor will be victorious over the
Midgard Serpent and will step away
from it nine paces. Then he will fall to
the ground dead from the poison which
the serpent will spit at him»
SNORRI STURLUSON, Prose Edda, translated
and edited by Anthony Faulkes, London,
Everyman's Library, 1987, p. 54.

En við Ragnarøkr kom Miðgarðsormr váveifliga at
Þór ok blés á hann eitri ok hjó hann til bana.
Skáldskapármal, § 8 – SNORRI STURLUSON, Prose Edda
(XIIIth Century)
And at Ragnarok, the Midgard Serpent
came with frightening suddenness
against Thor and blew poison on him
and struck him his death-blow.
SNORRI STURLUSON, Prose Edda, translated
and edited by Anthony Faulkes, London,
Everyman's Library, 1987, p. 65.
 Þá kømr enn mæri Then comes the glorious
mǫgr Hlǫðynjar child of Hlǫðyn,
gengr Óðins sonr Óðinn's son strides
ormi mæta. to fight the serpent.
Drepr af móði He smites in fury,
Miðgarðs véurr; shrine-guarder of Miðgarðr
munu halir allir – all heores will abandon
heimstǫð ryðja; the homestead of earth –
gengr fet níu he steps nine paces,
Fjǫrgynjar burr Fiǫrgyn's child,
neppr frá naðri, failing – leaving slain the snake
níðs ókvíðinn. that had not feared its vile act.

Vǫluspá, § 56 – Poetic Edda (XIIIth Century) Voluspá. The Poetic Edda, vol. II, edited and
translated by Ursula Dronke, Oxford, Oxford
University Press, 1969-1997, p. 22.
The Last Fight of Beowulf and the Dragon
Forwrat Wedra helm wyrm on middan.
Feond gefyldan (ferh ellen wræc),
ond hi hyne þa begen abroten hæfdon,
sibæðelingas. Swylc sceolde secg wesan,
þegn æt ðearfe! þæt ðam þeodne wæs
siðast sigehwile sylfes dædum,
worlde geweorces. ða sio wund ongon,
þe him se eorðdraca ær geworhte,
swelan ond swellan; he þæt sona onfand,
þæt him on breostum bealoniðe weoll
attor on innan. (Bwf., vv. 2705-2715)
The Weders' defence cut the serpent in two.
The foe they felled, force drove out life,
and they him then both had destroyed,
kindred princes: such should a man be,
a thane in need. That was to the prince
the last of his victories by his own deeds,
of work in the world. Then began the wound,
which on him the earth-drake before had
inflicted,
to burn and to swell: that soon he perceived
That in his breast deadly ill welled,
poison within.
Similarities:

Both Beowulf and Þórr die shortly after taking down their opponent as a result of poisoning → deferred
death between the two contenders

About a hundred lines after the end of the fight with the dragon, Beowulf dies.
[…] Him of hwæðre gewāt
sāwol sēcean sōð-fæstra dōm (Bwf., vv. 2819-2820)
«From his breast went, his soul to seek the doom of who is resolute in the truth»

Discrepancies:

Beowulf was helped by Wiglaf, Þórr will fight and die alone
Miðgarðsormr does not fly and breathe fire like Beowulf’s Dragon, nor does he guard any treasure.
Kenning for «Miðgarðsormr»
 
Hrøkkviáll Vǫlsunga drekku → «the coiling eel of the drink of the Völsungar[= poison]» (BRAGI
BODDASON, Ragnarsdrapa, § 18, vv. 3-4).
→ According to the Scandinavian epic cycles, some heroes of the Völsungar Sippe – such as Sigmundr,
Sinfjotli and Sigurðr– were totally or partially immune to poison.
 
ON eitr // AGS ator → malignant substance, fluid that corrupts = fight against the evil creatures that
poison the world.
 
[…] Wæs þæt blōd tō þæs hāt,
ættren ellor-gǣst (Bwf., vv. 1616-1617) = Grendel
«the blood was so hot, the strange-spirit poisonous, who therein died.»
 
Ac ic ðǣr heaðu-fȳres hātes wēne,
oreðes ond attres (Bwf., vv. 2522-2523) = Dragon
«But I there expect hot battle-fire, breath and poison»
Heiti for «snake, serpent»
 
«Seimir, […] dalginna ok Miðgarðsormr» (Nafnaþulur)
 

Trans: «Glittering one, […] dale-poisoner and Serpent of the Middle Earth»
 
Seimir → seimir (m.) ‘glittering one’: Or perhaps ‘golden thread’. Thus, the name could refer either to
the shiny skin of a snake or to the function of legendary serpents as guardians of buried treasure.
Relation with the chthonic universe and cult of the dead (haugbuar or draugr)
Níðhǫggr, the «Malice Striker»

Þar kømr inn dimmi There comes the shadowy

dreki fljúgandi, dragon flying,
naðr fránn, neðan glittering serpent, up
frá Niðafjöllum. from Dark of the Moon Hills.
Berr sér í fjöðrum He carries in his pinions
—flýgr völl yfir— —he flies over the field—
Níðhöggr nái— Malice Striker, corpses.
nú mun hon søkkvask. Now will she sink.

Vǫluspá, § 66 – Poetic Edda (XIIIth Voluspá. The Poetic Edda, vol. II, edited and translated by
Century) Ursula Dronke, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 1969-
1997, p. 30.

Picture of Níðhǫggr from the
17th century Icelandic
manuscript AM 738 4to.
Níðhǫggr (Níð, «evil, malice» + hǫggr, «striker»)
→ is the dragon who gnaws at the roots of the
world tree (or cosmic column) Yggdrasil = nið-
draca (Bwf., v. 2273). It’s one of the heralds of
Ragnarök.
Fránn = «gleaming» (because of the shine of the
dragon scales? Or flames?) = līg-draca; gryre-
fāhne (v. 2577)
Fljúgandi = same root of ags. floga, «flyer»
Dreki = ags. draca → from latin draco, -nis,
«dragon»
 Other famous fire-breathing/poison-spitting Dragons set in defense of buried
treasures in Norse literature

1) Gull-Þóris saga (§ 4) → The icelandic hero Thorir Oddrsson fights against many dragons that
breathe «fire […] mixed with a lot of venom» (hautr […] með miklu eitri);
2) Gesta Danorum = Frotho (Froði) → «serpens […] virusque profundens»;
3) Ragnarssaga Loðbrókar → confronts and kills a snake that spitted poisonous and corrosive fluids,
using special clothing and finally recovering a treasure (Ragnar was linked with the Völsungar clan by
marriage = as the legend says, his wife, called Aslaug or Kraka, was the daughter of Sigurðr and
Brynhildr;
4) Völsungasaga and Fafnismal → Sigurðr and Fafnir