Thunor

Historical Attestation

Þunor, often normalized as Thunor, is the West Germanic God of Thunder. Indeed, his name is derived from the Proto-Germanic *þonaroz or *þunraz, meaning “thunder”. In recently popularized Norse mythology he appears as Thor, son of Óðinn and Hlóðyn, and accordingly we adduce that in Ingwine tradition, he is the son of Woden and Hludana, who is sometimes glossed in Old English texts as Latona (Leto). Thunar is said to ride above the clouds in a mighty chariot pulled by goats, a myth that may have given us the Old English term, (þunnorad, ‘thunder ride’). Thunor is one of the three gods named in the Old Saxon Baptismal Vow as Heathen deities whose worship must be forsworn during the (forced) conversion to Christianity; Wodan, Saxnôte, and Thunaer. 

The Thunder Weapon

His iconography, including that of a divine figure wielding an axe or hammer, appears throughout the areas of Europe settled by Germanic-speaking peoples, from the Bronze-Age through the Viking Age. His hammer, itself a subject of great academic debate, may have been initially conceived of as a doubled-headed axe-like weapon or even a stone projectile (Taggart, 2017) but more recently, from the Migration Age onward, is represented in material culture as a sort of war-hammer. This weapon represents Lightning, and the thunder that accompanies it. In The Dialog of Solomon and Saturn, we see the Devil being stuck or “thrashed” by “Thunder’s Fiery Axe”:

and se ðunor hit ðrysceð mid dǽre fýrenan æcxe…

It is worth noting that the phrase quoted here, se ðunor hit ðrysceð invokes “the thunder” so this is not necessarily intended to mean the proper name Þunor, but it seems the author does know the the Germanic thunder god is called Þunor, as noted in the Kemble translation of 1848, wherein the editor remarks:

That Saturn is Jupiter’s father and Juno his wife, is Roman certainly ; but it is not so, that Jupiter was the father of Venus, or that he lay with Diana (Minerva) and Venus. On the other hand it is Teutonic, although some little confusion lies in the statement. According to the ” Interpretatio Romana,” Jupiter, the thunder-god, is Dunor or Dorr; but Dunor is not the supreme god of the Teutonic, as Jupiter is of the Roman, mythology : following the same interpretation, Venus is Fricge, and in the northern system she is Thorr’s wife ; hence the story unknown to the Romans of Jupiter debauching his own daughter. Again, this poem asserts that Jupiter lay with his daughter Diana, for so we must read instead of Minerva. Here we arrive at another confused blending of traditions.

Clearly, there is an application here, albeit an inconsistent one, of interpretatio Romana, as is clearly the case elsewhere in the same poem when the term Mercurius is used, as the reference cannot be seen as anything but a reference to Woden revealing the runes. Again the editor(s) are cognizant of this, as the notes indicate regarding the above passage:

Page 148, line 6. This is an extraordinary, but very welcome allusion to the heathen attributes of the god Dunor, whom we best know under the Norse name of Thorr, and whose celebrated hammer is here represented as the axe of fire, that is, the battleaxe ; Thorr’s hammer was a war-maul.

The Hallower

While the Hammer of Thor in medieval Icelandic poetry seems to have become more or less divorced from the earlier, heavenly weapon that strikes with thunderbolts, it is wielded by Thor to great effect, protecting men and gods from the threat of monsters, such as the thyrs, or troll. While understated in Norse Heroic Poetry, The hammer of the Norse Thor does still retain it’s connection to lightning to some degree, as assertions that lightning frightens away trolls and jötnar appears in numerous Scandinavian folktales.

In the Netherlands, a body of folklore known as the  The Sagas of Veluwe include a story called Ontstaan van het Uddeler- en Bleeke meer, in which Thor appears, and fights monsters. In one such battle, he confronts a giant snake, and decapitates it. However, he momentarily loses his hammer having dealt the killing blow, and the mighty serpent’s head and hammer fall to Earth together, creating a crater that becomes the lake known as the Uddelermeer. The Thunder God himself, stunned by the snake’s poisonous breath falls to Earth, creating a second lake nearby on the spot where he landed, the Bleeke meer. Thunor rouses himself after the battle, and summons the hammer back to his hand, in an example of a repeating theme found in the literature; that the Hammer will always rise from it’s resting place as if of its own volition, and return to Thunor’s hand when asked.

Interestingly, the reputation of Thor or Thunor as a protector against otherworldly threats is echoed in a manner not common in the surviving lore, in a small runic charm known as the Canterbury Charm, found inserted in the margin of an Anglo-Saxon manuscript from the year 1073 (Macleod and Mees, 2006). In this charm, Thor is invoked to hallow the evil entity causing an ailment, in this case, blood poisoning, that is thought to have been connected with the thurs, Gyril.

Gyril wound-causer, go now! You are found. May Thor bless you, lord of ogres! Gyril wound-causer. Against blood-vessel pus!–Trans. by Mees and Mcleod, 2006

The charm itself is written in Old Norse while the actual text is not, but reflects an understanding common in Anglo-Saxon England, that evil entities were connected with, or in a sense even personified illnesses. Consistent with the methodology of this Old Norse charm, Anglo-Saxon metrical charms also typically seek to “attack” or drive out an ill-meaning wight such as a dwarf, and through sympathetic magic, drive out the ailment itself. In the case of the Canterbury Charm however, it is specifically Thor who is being called upon to hallow the wound, and drive out the thyrs. Mees and Mcleod address this charm in 2006 in their book, Runic Amulets and Magic Objects, noting that while Thor is not revered in other surviving sources for his medical abilities, he was well attested as harboring enmity towards giants and as a protector of mankind. The explicit invocation of Thor in this healing charm casts light on the extent to which this popular deity’s power against evil spirits was thought to have efficacy in the everyday lives of mortals.

He is sometimes referred to in Norse sources using the byname (Véuðr, ‘hallower’), and it seems clear given surviving textual sources both magical and poetic, that he was seen historically as a protector, and sanctifying force. Clearly it would not be inaccurate to characterize him also as a god of healing.

Thunor, Trees, and Sacred Groves

We see numerous instances in surviving sources, of trees, particularly Oak trees, as well as entire sacred groves being consecrated to Thunar. The association of oak trees in particular with Thunor is attributed by some to the fact that oak trees are very strong and enduring, and by others, to the fact that that oak trees are more often struck by lightning than other sorts of trees. Both are very likely to have been factors in the practices of pre-conversion cults of Thunor, centered around trees. In Willibald’s Life of Saint Boniface we see the following account, regarding the Anglo-Saxon missionary Boniface, and particular oak in or near modern day Hesse in Germany, known as Donar’s Oak, which under interpretatio Romana, he insists upon calling “Jupiter’s Oak”, while others have called it “Donar’s Oak” or even “Thor’s Oak”:

Now at that time many of the Hessians, brought under the Catholic faith and confirmed by the grace of the sevenfold spirit, received the laying on of hands; others indeed, not yet strengthened in soul, refused to accept in their entirety the lessons of the inviolate faith. Moreover some were wont secretly, some openly to sacrifice to trees and springs; some in secret, others openly practiced inspections of victims and divinations, legerdemain and incantations; some turned their attention to auguries and auspices and various sacrificial rites; while others, with sounder minds, abandoned all the profanations of heathenism, and committed none of these things. With the advice and counsel of these last, the saint attempted, in the place called Gaesmere, while the servants of God stood by his side, to fell a certain oak of extraordinary size, which is called, by an old name of the pagans, the Oak of Jupiter. And when in the strength of his steadfast heart he had cut the lower notch, there was present a great multitude of pagans, who in their souls were earnestly cursing the enemy of their gods.

Not only single trees, but at times entire groves or meadows would be sanctified in the name of Germanic gods, Thunor among them. Concerning such groves in Anglo-Saxon England, Gale R. Owen says in her 1997 volume, Rites and Religions of the Anglo-Saxons:

English place-names, both current and obsolete, testify to a cult of Thunor, mostly in Saxon areas[and apparently not at all in Anglian areas]. Thunor was probably worshiped in sacred groves or meadows, or was perhaps associated with such landscapes, since the majority of of place-names containing his name link him with the Old English word leah. Thundersley and Thunderley Hall[Essex], Thursley[Surrey], two places once referred to as on thunres lea[Hants.] and one as on tunorslege[Sussex] testify to this, together with Thunorleaw, the only Kentish place-name associated with this god. Thunderfield[Surrey] and to thunresfelda[Wilts.] show the same link, and Thundridge[Herts.] again relates Thunor to a natural feature.

A God of Everyman

Thunar is not only the force behind storms and lightning, but also life-giving rain. As the German historian Adam of Bremen notes in his Eleventh Century work, History of the Archbishops of Hamburg-Bremen:

“Thor, they say, presides over the air, which governs the thunder and lightning, the winds and rains, fair weather and crops.”

A body of evidence gleaned from various sources, from Adam of Bremen to the warrior poetry of the Poetic Edda, seems to agree that Thunor was not only revered by warriors for his steadfast courage and strength, but by farmers who needed the rains to come in Spring to nourish their crops. From housewives to noblemen to travelers at sea, Thunor has been invoked for protection, good weather, courage in battle, and success in agriculture. He has been seen for centuries as a god that mortals can relate to. He is portrayed as plain-spoken, honorable and courageous, quick to anger, but equally quick to forgive. He has been characterized as the defender of mankind, reliable and comprehensible to everyone, in contrast to his sometimes enigmatic father, Woden. Peter Sawyer summarizes his relationship with his worshipers well in The Oxford Illustrated History of the Vikings:

The relationship with the pagan gods had been a sort of friendship, a contract by which man sacrificed to the gods and was entitled to their support in return…The Icelandic Landnamabok (The Book of Settlements) relates that Helgi inn Magri, who settled Iceland in about 900, believed in Christ but invoked Thor when in distress at sea. He also asked Thor to show him where to build his new farm, but he named it after Christ. (Sawyer, 2001)

Ingwine Guidance

Today, we revere Thunor or Thur, as a god of agriculture, defense, physical prowess, and fidelity. He is invoked for protection by those who must undertake a long journey, or who are in some kind of danger. He may also be seen as a god of healing, whose power to drive away evil extends to physical maladies. Thunor is a mighty force against ill-wishing magic, and supernatural threats, as well as tangible ones. His hammer is a powerful symbol of both consecration for religious purposes, and of actual lightning.