This week I am looking at the names we give our weekdays and the links to Norse and Anglo-Saxon mythology. Click the following links to read about Sunday and Monday , Tuesday and Wednesday Today it is the turn of Thursday.
Thursday in old English is Þunresdæg . But don’t go around thinking that is a P at the start. It is actually the “thorn” rune or symbol and represented a “th” sound. It originally meant Thunor’s day. Who was Thunor? Well in the norse dialects they dropped the n and the o to make it Þorsdagr or Thorsday. So yes – Thursday is the day of Thor. The Anglo-Saxons called him Thunor but they are one and the same. The original German name was Donar meaning lightning. In Germany Thurday is Donnerstag.
Thunder is of course one of the main elements associated with Thor. He as he god of thunder and lightning and of strength. He is also associated with oak trees and fertility. He possess two artefacts of great power. One is a belt that makes him even stronger. The other is Mjolnir his great hammer with which he is mighty in battle.
A god of great strength as demonstrated by this image when the other gods cross a river via a bridge but Thor just wades across it.
The Norse and Anglo-Saxons often wore his symbol around their necks. What other symbol than a hammer could represent him?
The sagas are full of tales of his bravery, strength and sometimes cunning. There is one tale when he disguises himself as a woman to infiltrate the kingdom of the Giants.
Thor is supposed to finally die in combat with the great Midgard serpent.
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