Anonymous: Thor fishing for the Jörmungandr (1765-1766)

(Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic Studies, Reykjavík, Iceland)

A page illustrated by an unknown Icelandic artist. This page comes from a copy from the 'Edda', a collection of Old Norse poems on Norse mythology. The original was written by the Icelandic historian and poet Snorri Sturluson (1179 – 1241) but was copied many times. This 18th-century version (Sám 66) has several illustrated pages regarding the stories. This page shows the story of the god Thor and the Jörmungandr. According to the tale, Thor goes fishing with the giant Hymir. After catching two whales, the god demanded to go further out to sea and does so despite Hymir's protest. Thor throws out another line and managed to catch Jörmungandr, the Midgard (World) Serpent and the arch-enemy of Thor. Thor grabs his hammer to kill the serpent but the frightened Hymir cuts the line and Jörmungandr manages to escape. Furious, Thor throws Hymir overboard. Page from 1765-1766.