Overview
A depiction of Thor and his hammer Mjolnir on the Altuna stone
Mjolnir (Old Norse Mjǫllnir. Etymology unclear; potentially meaning “lightning,” "bright one," or “grinder”) is the name of Thor’s hammer, the main weapon Thor uses to fight against malignant spirits.
In Norse Mythology
Mjolnir was forged by the dwarves Sindri and Brokk. Thanks to Loki meddling with their work, the handle of Mjolnir ended up being very short. Nevertheless, it has incredible properties; Thor can throw it as hard as he wishes and it’ll never break, and he can throw it as far as he wants and it’ll always return to his hand. But perhaps most importantly, Mjolnir never misses its target. The hammer burns red-hot and Thor has to wear iron gloves in order to wield it. Jötnar (giants) are afraid to invade Asgard due to Mjolnir’s presence. Just one strike is enough to smite the strongest of them.
In Scandinavian Folklore
Within Scandinavian folklore, Thor typically uses his weapon to fight off trolls and other spirits that try to harm people or meddle in their affairs.
In some folklore, Thor didn’t have a hammer but instead used a different weapon every time, perhaps a fire-starting stone, a stone axe, or even a strangely-shaped rock. Occasionally, farmers would find these sorts of objects deep in the earth when they dug and plowed their fields. People weren’t always aware that many of these were Neolithic artifacts, and instead thought they were weapons Thor threw with such might that they sunk deep underground. Farmers called these finds torshammer, torkilar, torviggar, åskviggar, and similar names, and believed them to be powerful protections against evil (since they once belonged to a god, as the logic goes). They would hang the items above their doors to ward off malignant beings.
Thor's Hammers in Heathenry
Another property Mjolnir has is that it can also shrink down small enough to be worn inside Thor’s tunic. This may have been inspired by the miniature axes and hammers of very early history that used to serve as amulets.
Mjolnir pendants eventually played a widespread and important cultural role during the Viking Age, when pendants made of bronze, silver, wood, and other materials grew to popularity. You can view a database of historical Mjolnir pendants here.
Today, Mjolnir pendants have once again grown to popularity and are typically worn by Norse pagans and Ásatrúar as a token of their beliefs.
Thor's hammer made of amber. Found in Björkö, Adelsö, Uppland, Sweden.
Silver Thor's hammer. Unknown find spot, Scania, Sweden.
A decorative gold and silver Thor's hammer from Ödeshög.
Copy of a Thor's hammer found in Lugnås, Björsäter, Västergötland, Sweden.
