In Norse mythology, the god Thor went fishing with the giant Hymir, used an ox head as bait and hooked Jörmungandr, the serpent that encircles the world. The giant grew afraid and cut the line, and the serpent returned to the bottom of the sea. The story comes from the Prose Edda, by Snorri Sturluson, and from a poem in the Poetic Edda, the Hymiskviða.

The account below follows Snorri, who wrote around 1220, more than two centuries after Iceland’s conversion to Christianity.

The bait and the boat

According to Snorri, Thor arrived at Hymir’s house disguised as a young man. In the morning, the giant got ready to fish, and Thor asked to come along. Hymir answered that such a small lad would be of little use, and that he would be cold out on the open sea.

Thor was angered, but kept his rage. To get bait, he asked for the giant’s biggest ox. Hymir told him to find one himself. Thor then went to the herd, chose the strongest ox, which Snorri calls Himinhrjótr, and tore off its head.

The two rowed out to sea. Hymir stopped where he usually fished, but Thor wanted to go farther and kept rowing. The giant warned that they were too far out: from there on, he said, the Midgard Serpent was dangerous.

What came up the line

Thor paid no heed. He fixed the ox head on the hook and cast the line. The serpent bit the bait, and the hook lodged in the roof of its mouth.

The serpent thrashed with such force that Thor’s fists were driven against the gunwale. The god flew into a rage, braced himself with all his divine strength and planted his feet so violently that, according to Snorri, they went through the hull and touched the sea floor.

Then Thor pulled the serpent up to the side of the boat. They looked at each other, the serpent and the god, and the serpent blew venom. Thor seized his hammer and raised his arm.

The line is cut

At that moment, says Snorri, the giant Hymir turned pale with fear. Seeing the water pour into the boat and the serpent so close, he took his fishing knife and cut the line. The serpent sank into the sea.

Thor still hurled his hammer after it. Some say, Snorri adds, that he cut off the serpent’s head on the sea floor, but the author prefers the version in which it survives and goes on encircling all the lands. Furious, Thor punched Hymir, who fell headfirst into the water, and waded back to shore.

The poem Hymiskviða tells of the same fishing trip and also ends with Hymir cutting the line, but differs from Snorri in other details of the voyage.

The meeting at Ragnarök

According to Snorri and the Völuspá, the two will meet again at Ragnarök, the end of the world. The serpent will rise from the sea, and Thor will face it. He will kill it, but will take only nine steps before falling dead, poisoned.

Want to relive the fishing trip? Play Thor’s fishing trip.

Sources.

• Snorri Sturluson, *Prose Edda*, section Gylfaginning (c. 1220)
• *Poetic Edda*, poem Hymiskviða (13th-century manuscript)