According to Norse mythology, Odin and his wife frigga lived in the golden palace of fensalir.Their
eldest son was Thor .Thor owned three precious objects .one was an iron hammer. Then he threw it
at the mountain the rocks split wide open and all the frost giants who lived within the rocks an upon
the mountain were killed.The hammer having done its task, would always return to Thor .The second
object was a wonderful belt when he put it on he became twice as strong as before .The third was a
pair of iron gloves when he put on those on ,he could throw his hammer twice as far.
There is is story about how Thor once threw his hammer so far that it could not return. It fell near a
huge giant who seized it and hid it half a mile deep under the rocks .He would not give it up unless
Thor would bring Freya, the loveliest of the goddess, to marry him.But Freya refuse to live with the
giant. At last ,the God of fire ,who had seen this giant ,told Thor to dress himself up like Freya and to
put on a veil.
When the giant saw them, he took them to his house .At suppertime, he wondered how a goddess
could eat so much, for Thor had devoured eight great salmon and a whole roasted ox .He pulled the
heavy veil aside and wondered what made her eyes look like fireballs .The God of fire explained
everything, for Thor would not speak. Then the hammer was asked for .It was laid on the mock
bride’s lap. As soon as Thor held it in his hand, he stood up .He slew the giant and utterly destroyed
the wicked town, and turned home ,triumphant.
1.Who was Thor and where did he live? (2)
2. What were the three precious objects that he owned?(2)
3.What were the two special things abouts Thor’s hammer?(2)
4.How did the belt and gloves help Thor? (2)
5.Whom did the giant want to marry? (1)
6.Who helped Thor to trick the giant? (1)
Answers
Answer :-
Balder, Old Norse Baldr, in Norse mythology, the son of the chief god Odin and his wife Frigg. Beautiful and just, he was the favourite of the gods. Most legends about him concern his death. Icelandic stories tell how the gods amused themselves by throwing objects at him, knowing that he was immune from harm. The blind god Höd, deceived by the evil Loki, killed Balder by hurling mistletoe, the only thing that could hurt him. After Balder’s funeral, the giantess Thökk, probably Loki in disguise, refused to weep the tears that would release Balder from death.
Balder; Nanna
Balder; Nanna
Balder (left) and his wife, Nanna.
Nordic-Germanic gods and heroes by Wilhelm Wägner
Some scholars believe that the passive, suffering figure of Balder was influenced by that of Christ. The Danish historian Saxo Grammaticus (c. 1200), however, depicts him as a warrior engaged in a feud over the hand of a woman.