Thor; the Odinson

Thor is the Norse God of Thunder. He is the son of Odin, the All Father and Jord, the Earth Mother. As a God, Thor is a member of the Aesir, the principal Gods that lived in Asgard from where they ruled Midgard (Earth) and controlled the lives of mortal men.

Thor was the strongest of all the Gods, though his strength was amplified further by his wearing of a magic belt called Megingjard. He also is described as having worn steel gauntlets or gloves with which to carry his magic warhammer Mjolnir.  Thor has also been depicted travelling across the heavens and along the Rainbow Bridge in a chariot pulled by two goats; Tanngrisni (“gap-tooth”) and Tanngnost (“tooth grinder”). By throwing his hammer Thor would create thunder and lightning. In this way he was able to protect his lands.

Thor had a long enmity with the Giants that fought against Asgard but his true enemy is Jormungand, The Midgard Serpent. It is said that at Ragnarok Thor and Jormungand will fight to the death, Thor will prevail but will be poisoned and die from his wounds.

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Beowulf Blog 2

I have been taking the opportunity to enjoy looking at some of the other movies that have been made based on the epic, namely Beowulf and Grendel starring Gerard Butler as Beowulf.

Beowulf and the Grendel takes the original story and uses it as a template to tell a rather interesting story of a man who wishes to do what is best for the community as per the warrior code by destroying the creature that appears to be attacking the community.

With the aid of a local Witch however he begins to realise that there is more to the situation than meets the eye. The Grendel character is a Troll or more like a giant, which explains his great strength. He is attacking Hrothgar’s Hall because his father was killed by Hrothgar and thus he seeks revenge.

He refuses to fight Beowulf as he has no argument with him. As the story develops we learn that the Grendel has also fathered a child with the Witch woman and when eventually Grendel is killed, we see that the cycle is doomed to repeat itself.

Robin Hood Blog

We have recently been reading the early tales of Robin Hood, most notably Robin Hood and the Monk. I found this ballad very interesting mainly because it deals with a Robin that, though familiar to the tales and memories of my childhood, is slightly less than the man I had hoped to find.

Robin is not faithful to his word when he bets Little John that he can beat him in a test of marksmanship. Robin raises the sum proffered by Little John as one might expect from a boastful Hero. This type of boast is seen with Beowulf when he speaks of his intention to beat the Grendel. Robin then changes his mind when he loses and declares that he will not pay.