ABSTRACT

This chapter scrutinises conventional cosmological imagery of disruption related to the Old Norse god Þórr. Motifs of shaking and fire from two eddic poems (Lokasenna and Þrymskviða) are considered as possible allusions to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. I thereby demonstrate the competing demands of genre, characterisation and environment in the composition of Old Norse myths and elucidate the extent to which the myths mediate responses to the terrains of Iceland and Norway. The chapter concludes by studying the persistent characterisation of Þórr in terms of his strength and as a protector in Old Norse-Icelandic literature.