![]() The enormous giant challenges Thor and his companions to numerous feats of strength, each of which hides a secret. In the first, Thor encountered a giant king named Skrymir, or Utgarda-Loki. At least two stories featured him, both of which involved Thor. Jormungand would not be totally forgotten beneath the waves, however. The great serpent encompassed the entire world of men and wound his way unseen in the depths of the sea, growing so large that he gripped his own tail to make a complete circle around the sea. The sea was so vast that there was nothing to constrain his size.Įventually, the serpent became so large that his body wrapped all the way around Midgard. Thor picked up the young serpent and tossed him into the sea that surrounded Midgard. Jormungand was given an even less dignified imprisonment. The gods tried to tame Fenrir, the giant wolf, but were eventually forced to bind him with heavy chains. The half-rotten girl Hel was banished to the Underworld, where she became its ruler. When Odin and the other gods discovered Loki’s monstrous children, they immediately recognized them as a threat. He and his siblings, Hel and Fenrir, were born without the knowledge of the gods. Jormungand: The Enemy of ThorĪccording to Norse legends, Jormungand was the middle child of Loki and the giantess Angrboda. From Egypt to Greece, evidence of the themes that influenced Jormungand show that the World Serpent may be one of the oldest figures in Norse mythology. While this story is iconic in Norse literature, scholars believe that its origins lie far from Scandinavia. ![]() When he rose out of the sea, he would bring a wave of destruction and engage in an epic battle of strength and fortitude. He would have his chance at Ragnarok, the battle that was prophesied to be the end of the world and of the gods. One of Loki’s monstrous offspring, he lived in the deepest parts of the sea and waited for his time to rise to the surface once more. This was Jörmungandr, usually Anglicized as Jormungand. ![]() This beast was so enormous that it encircled the entire world, biting its own tail to form a complete ring around the sea. They believed that far beneath the surface, a massive monster lurked. Sailors in the Viking Age had more to fear from the sea than just storms and waves.
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