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Þrymskviða
The Poetic Edda poem Þrymskviða tells story of giant Thrym stealing Mjolnir and demanding goddess Freyja as ransom. Thor disguises himself as Freyja to retrieve hammer. When Mjolnir is brought to “consecrate the bride,” Thor seizes it and slaughters all giants present.
This myth demonstrates hammer’s importance—even Thor is powerless without it, even gods resort to trickery to recover it, possession of Mjolnir is worth any humiliation. The myth also shows hammer’s consecration function—even giants recognize its role in blessing marriages, making it proper ritual object for wedding ceremony.
Snorri’s Descriptions
Snorri Sturluson’s Prose Edda provides detailed description of Mjolnir’s creation and properties. While Snorri wrote in Christian period and might have been influenced by Christian perspectives, his account preserves traditions about hammer’s significance, its creation by dwarves, its special properties.
Snorri describes Mjolnir as “best of all treasures” gods possessed, more valuable than Odin’s spear Gungnir or Freyr’s ship Skíðblaðnir. This suggests Thor’s hammer was understood as supremely important divine object, central to gods’ ability to maintain order against chaos.
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