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Norse, Germanic, Baltic & Slavic · c. 500 BCE – 1900 CE

Thor’s hammers (Mjölnir)

Meaning

Mjölnir is the hammer of Thor, god of thunder, who protected gods and humans against giants and chaos. It meant protection, strength and blessing, and the hammer consecrated marriages, births and funerals in myth.

Intent

Worn around the neck, it put the wearer under Thor's protection, and some scholars think it was a deliberate pagan answer to the Christian cross. Hammers were also placed in graves and hoards.

Significance

Thor's hammers are among the clearest signs of pagan identity at the moment of Christian conversion, and a smith's mould from Trendgården in Denmark casts both crosses and hammers side by side. Today it is a major symbol of Scandinavian heritage.

History

Hammer amulets appear in the 9th century and peak in the 10th–11th centuries in Scandinavia and Viking settlements, with around 1,000 known. Iron hammer rings are earlier (8th century). They disappear with full Christianisation in the 12th century.

Making yours
2–5 cm. Silver with filigree and granulation, or plain iron with a rolled loop. Sometimes an eye-mask is punched on the head.
Norse, Germanic, Baltic & Slavic: the tradition

In pre-Christian Scandinavia and the Germanic world, protection came from the gods and from signs: Thor's hammer, runes, gold bracteates stamped with Odin. Amber from the Baltic shore had been carved into amulets since the Stone Age. Christianisation from the 9th to 11th centuries produced hybrid objects such as crosses cast in the same moulds as hammers. In the Slavic East, Byzantine Orthodoxy met older fever and serpent beliefs to produce the zmeevik. Scandinavian and Finnish peasant culture kept a strong tradition of protective objects against trolls, the evil eye and illness into the 19th and 20th centuries, documented by folklorists and now in the ethnographic museums of Stockholm, Oslo and Helsinki.

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amulett (torshammare) av guld, silveramulett (torshammare) av guld, silverSwedenskopor, mjölskopaskopor, mjölskopaSwedenmjölkflaska, mjölkflaskor, kvinnor, man, kvinna, gata, stadsgata, hörn, flickor, flicka, gator, mänmjölkflaska, mjölkflaskor, kvinnor, man, kvinna, gata, stadsgata, hörn, flickor, flicka, gator, mänSwedenAmulettringAmulettringSwedenTorshammare, avbildning av den fornnordiske guden Tors vapen Mjölner. Känd från vendeltid (550-800 e.Kr.) blev hammaren under 900- och 1000-talen asatrons särskilda symbol, i kontrast till det kristnaTorshammare, avbildning av den fornnordiske guden Tors vapen Mjölner. Känd från vendeltid (550-800 e.Kr.) blev hammaren under 900- och 1000-talen asatrons särskilda symbol, i kontrast till det kristnaSwedenMjölnirs from GnyozdovoMjölnirs from Gnyozdovo10 th century date QS:P,+950-00-00T00:00:00Z/7flaska, brännvinsflaska, mjölkflaskaflaska, brännvinsflaska, mjölkflaskaSwedenAmulet Thor's Hammer 2010-10Amulet Thor's Hammer 2010-10Bryce Canyon National Park - UtahBryce Canyon National Park - UtahBryce Canyon National Park 1989Bryce Canyon National Park 1989Thors Hammer, Garfield County, UT, USA - panoramioThors Hammer, Garfield County, UT, USA - panoramioPlate 5. Folk-Lore, vol.Plate 5. Folk-Lore, vol.Cañón Bryce, panorámicaCañón Bryce, panorámicaA copy of the Thor's hammer from Skåne - Nachbildung des Thorshammers von SkåneA copy of the Thor's hammer from Skåne - Nachbildung des Thorshammers von SkåneAmulet ring (6880524717)Amulet ring (6880524717)Claes Kurck Skåne hammer - HST DIG55488 original (cropped)Claes Kurck Skåne hammer - HST DIG55488 original (cropped)Early Medieval Thor's Hammer Pendant from South FerribyEarly Medieval Thor's Hammer Pendant from South FerribyHistoriska Museet DSC00793Historiska Museet DSC00793JewelleryJewelleryLate Saxon Thor's hammerLate Saxon Thor's hammerObject from the exhibition We call them Vikings produced by The Swedish History Museum (13619600915)Object from the exhibition We call them Vikings produced by The Swedish History Museum (13619600915)Object from the exhibition We call them Vikings produced by The Swedish History Museum (13620022564)Object from the exhibition We call them Vikings produced by The Swedish History Museum (13620022564)Plate 6. Folk-Lore, vol.Plate 6. Folk-Lore, vol.Thor's hammer, Mandemark, MönThor's hammer, Mandemark, MönTorshammare Muller 1888-1895 pl41Torshammare Muller 1888-1895 pl41Torshammare av silver fr Läby, Uppland (Montelius 1877 sid 348 fig 404)Torshammare av silver fr Läby, Uppland (Montelius 1877 sid 348 fig 404)Torshammer fra Mandemark (Muller, Vor oldtid (1897))Torshammer fra Mandemark (Muller, Vor oldtid (1897))Balts jewelleryBalts jewelleryEast Walton silver Thor pendantEast Walton silver Thor pendantThor's hammer from Bredsättra (C628E493-3EE7-491A-9A89-131C63BBE74F)Thor's hammer from Bredsättra (C628E493-3EE7-491A-9A89-131C63BBE74F)Torshammare av järn fr Södermanland (Montelius, Solgudens yxa (1899) figTorshammare av järn fr Södermanland (Montelius, Solgudens yxa (1899) figTorshammare fr Ödeshög (KVHoA Akademiens Månadsblad 1895 s107 fig89) vit bakgrTorshammare fr Ödeshög (KVHoA Akademiens Månadsblad 1895 s107 fig89) vit bakgrViking silver Thors hammer pendantViking silver Thors hammer pendantÖdeshög hammer (494755)Ödeshög hammer (494755)Amulet Ring with 10 Thor's Hammers (Uppland style) 2008-11Amulet Ring with 10 Thor's Hammers (Uppland style) 2008-11Bryce Canyon (15201845738)Bryce Canyon (15201845738)Bryce Canyon - panoramio (4)Bryce Canyon - panoramio (4)Nitrate negative of Thors Hammer and hoodoos from the Navajo Loop Trail in BRCA. ; BRCA Museum and Archives Image BRCA8875_001_126 ; BRCA 8875Nitrate negative of Thors Hammer and hoodoos from the Navajo Loop Trail in BRCA. ; BRCA Museum and Archives Image BRCA8875_001_126 ; BRCA 8875Nitrate negative of Thors Hammer from below the rim in BRCA. Hoodoos in background. ; BRCA Museum and Archives Image BRCA8875_001_298 ; BRCA 8875Nitrate negative of Thors Hammer from below the rim in BRCA. Hoodoos in background. ; BRCA Museum and Archives Image BRCA8875_001_298 ; BRCA 8875Thor's Hammer, Bryce Canyon, UtahThor's Hammer, Bryce Canyon, UtahThor's Hammer, Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah (68933430)Thor's Hammer, Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah (68933430)Thor's Hammer, Rim Trail, Sunset Point, Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah (35531057221)Thor's Hammer, Rim Trail, Sunset Point, Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah (35531057221)Thor's Hammer (Bryce Canyon National Park) (14713013206)Thor's Hammer (Bryce Canyon National Park) (14713013206)Thor's Hammer 1Thor's Hammer 1Thor's Hammer classicThor's Hammer classicThors hammer hoodooThors hammer hoodooKalundborg Museum - udstilling 2Kalundborg Museum - udstilling 2Mjöllnir pendant from Birka graveMjöllnir pendant from Birka graveObject from the exhibition We call them Vikings produced by The Swedish History Museum (13618431554)Object from the exhibition We call them Vikings produced by The Swedish History Museum (13618431554)Pendant, Thor’s hammer decorated with crosses, copy (6880180363)Pendant, Thor’s hammer decorated with crosses, copy (6880180363)Thor's hammer, Erikstorp, East GotlandThor's hammer, Erikstorp, East GotlandThorshammer from Rømersdal (Original Piece)Thorshammer from Rømersdal (Original Piece)Torshammare av silver fr Gärsnäs säteri, Ö Herrestads sn, Skåne (KVHoA Akademiens Månadsblad 1872 s052 fig26) Inv116Torshammare av silver fr Gärsnäs säteri, Ö Herrestads sn, Skåne (KVHoA Akademiens Månadsblad 1872 s052 fig26) Inv116Torshammare av silver fr Slottsmöllan, Halmstad, Halland (KVHoA Akademiens Månadsblad 1872 s052 fig27) Inv1603Torshammare av silver fr Slottsmöllan, Halmstad, Halland (KVHoA Akademiens Månadsblad 1872 s052 fig27) Inv1603Torshammare i silver fr Sandby kyrkogård, Torna hd, Skåne (Antiqvitets Akademiens Månadsblad 1882 s103)Torshammare i silver fr Sandby kyrkogård, Torna hd, Skåne (Antiqvitets Akademiens Månadsblad 1882 s103)Viking silver Thors hammer pendantViking silver Thors hammer pendantAgua Canyon (6367460751)Agua Canyon (6367460751)Amulet Ring with Thor's Hammer, Freyja's Tinder-steel, and Frey's Sickle 2010-10Amulet Ring with Thor's Hammer, Freyja's Tinder-steel, and Frey's Sickle 2010-10Amulet Thor's Hammer 2008-08Amulet Thor's Hammer 2008-08Bryce-Canyon-Nationalpark Thor's HammerBryce-Canyon-Nationalpark Thor's Hammer

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