Jormungandr The Midgard Serpent

in Norse mythology, there are many great beasts and monsters but many of them pale in comparison to Jormungandr. In Old Norse, Jormungandr, meant great beasts and he was commonly referred to as the Midgard serpent because his body was so big that it could circle the entirity of Midgard.

Jormungandr was one of the three children of Loki, and along with his brother and sister, Hela and Fenrir, their fate was decided when they were born. Loki’s daughter Hela was exiled to Nilfenheim where she would rule over the underworld. Fenrir was left in Asgard to be fostered by the gods and Jormungandr was cast into the ocean by Odin where he had hoped the crashing waves would destroy the Beast.

But to Odin’s surprise Jormungandr consumed the ocean until he grew so big, that with his tail in his mouth he could encircle the entire of Midgard. Jormungandr’s physical appearance does vary in some depictions he appears as a monstrous snake and in others as a serpent like dragon. Jormungandr was particularly hated by the god Thor, and there are numerous tales of altercations between the two.

The hatred began when Thor, and a company of other gods, visited the land of the Giants where they came across a huge castle. The gates are so large that the combined force of the gods was not enough to get them open. Luckily for the gods the bars are so big they could squeeze through them. Upon hearing that he had guests the king of the castle told the gods that if they expected his hospitality, they would first have to perform a series of feats to impress him.

Thor was given the very simple task of lifting the Kings pet cat from the ground, a task that was considered so mundane that even the children of the castle could do it. Despite his immense strength Thor could not complete this task, only managing to little one of the cat’s paws above the ground. Back home in Asgard Thor was considered more than capable of handling his drink and so the King challenged him to drain the castles great drinking horn.

Once again, Thor was unable to complete the task as the level of mead barely fell below the rim. After these failures Thor was furious, and demanded to fight one of the Kings fiercest warriors. The King laughed and mocked Thor, telling him the early opponent that would be a fair fight would be the nurse of the castle. Thor begrudgingly accepted the challenge and began to wrestle with the elderly woman, but even in this task he would fail.

The next morning, when leaving the castle, the king confessed the truth to Thor and the rest of the gods. The tasks that he had given them were more than they appeared, the gods of Asgard had been tricked by powerful enchantment and magic. The King’s pet cat that Thor had been asked to lift was in fact Jormungandr in disguise and Thor had nearly pulled the Great Serpent from the ocean bed that he had been exiled to.

The great drinking horn that Thor had drank from was connected to the ocean, and Thor nearly drained the entire sea. The old woman who bested Thor was in fact old age, a feat that no one could conquer. After hearing the truth Thor turned and swung his hammer at the king, but he vanished along with the castle. From that day on Thor swore revenge on the king and Jormungandr but he had no idea where to find either of them. There are those who believe that the giant King was in fact Loki in disguise, attempting to unleash his son Jormungandr upon the world.

After all, Loki was a renowned trickster and a spell that strong that it could fool the gods so easily would require the talents of someone as powerful as Loki. It wasn’t until Thor stumbled across a giant named Hymir who agreed to take him fishing that Thor would stumble across Jormungandr once again. Thor had thrown a great hook attached to a strong line over the side of the boat in the hopes that the bait would attract the attention of Jormungandr, and that it did. Upon seeing the monstrous serpent Thor tugged on the line bringing Jormungandr to the surface and a fierce battle between the two commenced.

The giant was so terrified by Jormungandr and the rapidly sinking boat that he cut the line, returning the serpent to the deep. Thor was so incensed by Hymir’s actions that he swung his hammer with such force the giant fell overboard and drowned. Jormungandr was so terrified after his close encounter with the God that he went into hiding and was rarely seen by humans. Although Thor did not get revenge on the Midgard serpent during their last encounter, the two were destined to meet again while the world burns during Ragnarok.

Read more about the events of Ragnarok here!

Thor would eventually slay Jormungandr, but during the confrontation he suffered multiple bites from the serpent. Jormungandrs poison filled those wounds and would eventually result in the death of Thor. Jormungandr was a monster of such epic proportions that it’s hard to gauge his true size and, just like the rest of Loki’s children, he was prophesized to bring about the end of the world. A sequence of events that he most certainly aided in.