Midgard Serpent
The Midgard Serpent Vs. Thor, also referred to as the World Serpent
General Info
Mythology	Norse Mythology
Parents	Loki and Angrbooa
Sibling(s)	Fenris Wolf, Hel
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Literature Wiki: Edda Prose Edda

Jörmungandr (sometimes called the Midgard serpent or snake) is a giant beast in Norse Mythology.

Jörmungandr is the middle child of Loki and the giantess Angrboða.

It is said Jörmungandr will be killed by Thor at Ragnarok , but Thor will only walk nine paces before dying himself, of the serpent's poisonous venom.

Contents 1 Stories and Myths 1.1 Loki's Tormentor 1.2 Lifting the cat 1.3 The Fishing Trip 2 See Also 3 References 4 Gallery

Stories and MythsEdit

Loki's TormentorEdit

Loki was punished by the gods as a result of his betrayal; he was placed in the deepest depths of Hel, with Jormungandr dripping poison in his face. He was, however, allowed a respite. His wife stood next to him, and caught the drops of poison in a bowl before they could strike his face. Periodically, however, she would have to empty the bowl over his face, and he would writhe in agony, creating earthquakes. So was Jormungandr caught, stuck to a rock in the deepest pit in Hel, torturing Loki forever.

Lifting the catEdit

In one adventure, Thor encounters Jörmungandr in the form of a colossal cat, disguised by the giant king Útgarða-Loki's illusionary magic. As one of the challenges set by Útgarða-Loki, Thor must lift the cat, and though he is unable to lift such a monstrous creature as the Midgard snake, he manages to lift it far enough that it lets go of the ground with one of its four feet. When Útgarða-Loki later reveals he deceived him it seemed like an incredible heroic feat.

The Fishing Trip Edit

Long ago, Thor decided to catch Jormungandr, and kill him. This would prove difficult as the Midgard Serpent reached almost around the whole world and lay in the deepest depth of the ocean. But Thor did not despair. He took his trusty hammer and went to the giant Hymir, who went fishing. Hymir was friendly, and let Thor sleep in his house, and said he could go fishing with him the next morning. The next morning, Thor, who had to provide his own bait, went to Hymir's cattle pen, and took the largest ox's head with him to use as bait. He got into the boat with Hymir, and started rowing. Soon they had reached where Hymir usually went fishing, and wanted to stop, but Thor rowed on. "This is enough!' the giant soon said. "We may even chance upon the Midgard Serpent here, and we will go no further.' Thor threw out his unbreakable line, and the ox's head sunk to the bottom, right in front of the

Serpent, who greedily devoured it whole. Immediately it pulled so hard on the line that Thor broke his knuckles upon the edge of the boat, and got very angry. He pulled up the Mudgard serpent, thrashing and well, from the bottom of the sea. He had almost reached the surface, and Thor was readying his hammer to strike it, when the scared Hymir cut the line. The serpent sank back to the bottom of the sea, and Thor threw his hammer at it. Then he punched the giant so hard he fell overboard, and waded back through the sea to the far-away shore.

See AlsoEdit

ReferencesEdit

GalleryEdit

Norse mythology articles
Major Deities	Odin | Thor | Freyr | Freya | Frigg | Loki | Balder | Tyr |
Races	Æsir | Vanir | Giants | Elves | Dwarves | Valkyries | Einherjar | Norns
Worlds	Álfheimr | Asgard | Jötunheimr | Midgard | Muspelheim | Niðavellir | Niflheim | Svartálfaheim | Vanaheimr
Locations	Bifröst | Utgard | Valhalla
Topics	Yggdrasil | Ginnungagap | Ragnarök | Poetic Edda | Prose Edda | The Sagas |

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