Editing Jörmungandr

{{Short description|Sea serpent in Norse mythology}}
{{About|the sea serpent in Norse mythology|the [[Marvel Comics]] version|Midgard Serpent (Marvel Comics)|the manga series|Jormungand (manga)|the extinct genus of recumbirostran|Joermungandr bolti|the extinct genus of mosasaur|Jormungandr walhallaensis}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2025}}

[[File:Ragnarok - Louis Moe (17006) - cropped (cropped).png|thumb|300px|Jörmungandr in the sea during [[Ragnarök]], drawn by the Norwegian illustrator [[Louis Moe]] in 1898.]]
In [[Norse mythology]], '''Jörmungandr''' ({{langx|non|Jǫrmungandr|lit=the Vast 'gand'}}, see [[#Etymology|Etymology]]), also known as the '''Midgard Serpent''' or '''World Serpent''' ({{langx|non|Miðgarðsormr}}, "worm of Midgard"), is an unfathomably large and monstrous [[sea serpent]] or [[Germanic dragon|worm]] who dwells in the world sea, encircling the Earth ([[Midgard]]) and biting its own tail, an example of an [[ouroboros]]. As a result of him surrounding Midgard, the beast is referred to as the World Serpent. Jörmungandr releasing his tail is one of the signs of the beginning of [[Ragnarök]].

Jörmungandr is said to be the middle child of the god [[Loki]] and the [[jötunn]] [[Angrboða]]. According to the ''[[Prose Edda]]'', [[Odin]] took Loki's three children by Angrboða – the wolf [[Fenrir]], underworld ruler [[Hel (being)|Hel]], and the serpent Jörmungandr – and removed them from [[Asgard]] (the world of the [[Æsir]]). The serpent Jörmungandr was tossed into the great ocean that encircles Midgard.<ref name="ProseEdda37">[[Snorri Sturluson]]; [[Arthur Gilchrist Brodeur|Brodeur, Arthur Gilchrist]] (trans.) (1916). ''[[Prose Edda|The Prose Edda]]''. New York: [[The American-Scandinavian Foundation]]. ''[[Gylfaginning]]'' ch.LI&nbsp;, p.&nbsp;109.</ref> There the serpent grew so large that he was able to surround the [[Earth]] and grasp his own tail.<ref name="ProseEdda37" /> The old Norse thunder god, [[Thor]], has a lengthy feud with Jörmungandr and the serpent is regarded as his archenemy. During [[Ragnarök]], Thor and Jörmungandr engage in a ferocious battle, culminating in both of their deaths.

== Etymology ==
The name ''Jǫrmungandr'' is a poetic title and consists of the prefix ''jǫrmun-'' and the word ''gandr''. The prefix "jǫrmun-" denotes something huge, vast, or superhuman.<ref name="Jörmun-">{{cite web |title=Jörmun- |url=https://old-icelandic.vercel.app/word/jormun |website=old-icelandic.vercel.app |access-date=16 November 2022 |ref=A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic, by Geir Zoëga |archive-date=16 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221116075708/https://old-icelandic.vercel.app/word/jormun |url-status=live }}</ref> The word "gandr" can mean a variety of things in Old Norse, but mainly refers to elongated entities and or supernatural beings. Gandr can refer to, among other things: snake, fjord, river, staff, cane, mast, stem, branch, penis, bind, and the like (mainly in a "supernatural" or "living" sense).<ref name="Fornvännen 94">{{cite journal |title=Fornvännen 94 |journal=Fornvännen. Journal of Swedish Antiquarian Research |date=1999 |pages=61 |url=http://www.diva-portal.se/smash/get/diva2:1226996/FULLTEXT01.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221114022148/http://www.diva-portal.se/smash/get/diva2:1226996/FULLTEXT01.pdf |archive-date=14 November 2022 |url-status=live |access-date=16 November 2022 |language=sv}}</ref><ref name="Gand, seid og åndevind">{{cite web |title=Gand, seid og åndevind |url=https://eldar-heide.net/onewebmedia/PDFer/Kultur-%20og%20religionshistorie/Heide%202006,%20Gand,%20seid%20og%20%C3%A5ndevind.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200920003151/https://eldar-heide.net/onewebmedia/PDFer/Kultur-%20og%20religionshistorie/Heide%202006,%20Gand,%20seid%20og%20%C3%A5ndevind.pdf |archive-date=20 September 2020 |url-status=live |access-date=16 November 2022}}</ref> The term "Jörmungandr" therefore has several possible meanings in connection with its mythology, such as: "the vast serpent", "the vast river" (a synonym for the sea where he dwells), "the vast staff or branch" (a connection to the world tree [[Yggdrasil]]), as well as "the vast bind" (the serpent's coiling around the world, biting its own tail, symbolising the world's circle of life).<ref name="Fornvännen 94"/><ref name="Gand, seid og åndevind"/>

== Sources ==
The major sources for myths about Jörmungandr are the ''Prose Edda'', the [[skaldic poetry|skaldic poem]] ''[[Húsdrápa]]'', and the [[Eddic poem]]s ''[[Hymiskviða]]'' and ''[[Völuspá]]''. Other sources include the early skaldic poem ''[[Ragnarsdrápa]]'' and [[kennings]] in other skaldic poems; for example, in ''[[Þórsdrápa]]'', ''faðir lögseims'', "father of the sea-thread", is used as a kenning for Loki. There are also several image stones depicting the story of Thor fishing for Jörmungandr.

== Stories ==
There are three preserved myths detailing Thor's encounters with Jörmungandr:

=== Lifting the cat ===
[[File:Thor lifts the cat.jpg|thumb|[[Thor]] lifts Jörmungandr, disguised as a cat. ([[Lorenz Frølich]])]]
In one story, Thor encounters the [[jötunn]] king [[Útgarða-Loki]] and has to perform deeds for him, one of which is a challenge of Thor's strength.  Útgarða-Loki goads Thor into attempting to lift the World Serpent, disguised by magic as a huge cat. Thor grabs the cat around its midsection but manages to raise the cat only high enough for one of its paws to leave the floor. Útgarða-Loki later explains his deception and that Thor's lifting the cat was an impressive deed, as he had stretched the serpent so that it had almost reached the sky. Many watching became fearful when they saw one paw lift off the ground.<ref name="ProseEdda51">Snorri Sturluson (1916) ''Gylfaginning'' ch.&nbsp;xlvi, xlvii, pp.&nbsp;65, 67.</ref> If Thor had managed to lift the cat completely from the ground, he would have altered the boundaries of the universe.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Introduction to Mythology |edition=4th |last1=Thury |first1=Eva M. |last2=Devinney |first2=Margaret K. |publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2017|isbn=978-0-19-026298-3|location=New York |pages=302–03}}</ref>

=== Thor's fishing trip ===
[[File:U1161 Altunastenen Tors fiskafänge 2.jpg|thumb|upright|Thor's fishing trip depicted on the [[Altuna Runestone]], one of the few confirmed [[Viking Age]] depictions of Jörmungandr.]]
Jörmungandr and Thor meet again when Thor goes fishing with the jötunn [[Hymir]]. When Hymir refuses to provide Thor with bait, Thor strikes the head off Hymir's largest ox to use it. They row to a point where Hymir often sat and caught flatfish and where he drew up two whales. Thor demands to go further out to sea and does so despite Hymir's protest. Thor then prepares a strong line and a large hook and baits it with the ox head, which Jörmungandr bites. Thor pulls the serpent from the water, and the two face one another, Jörmungandr blowing [[atter]].<ref name="ProseEdda54" /> Hymir goes pale with fear. As Thor grabs his [[Mjölnir|hammer]] to kill the serpent, the jötunn cuts the line, leaving the serpent to sink beneath the waves and return to its original position encircling the earth.<ref name="ProseEdda54">Snorri Sturluson (1916) ''Gylfaginning'' ch.&nbsp;xlviii, pp.&nbsp;68–70.</ref><ref name=":1">{{cite book |first1=Preben |last1=Meulengracht Sørensen |first2=Kirsten (trans.) |last2=Williams |editor-first=Gro |editor-last=Steinsland |editor-link=Gro Steinsland |contribution=Þorr's Fishing Expedition |title=Words and Objects: Towards a Dialogue Between Archaeology and History of Religion |publisher=The Institute for Comparative Research in Human Culture; Norwegian University Press |location=Oslo |year=1986 |isbn=82-00-07751-9 |pages=270–71 }} {{cite book |first1=Preben |last1=Meulengracht Sørensen |first2=Kirsten (trans.) |last2=Williams |editor1-last=Acker |editor1-first=Paul |editor2-last=Larrington |editor2-first=Carolyne |authorlink=Carolyne Larrington |contribution=Þorr's Fishing Expedition (Hymiskviða) |title=The Poetic Edda: Essays on Old Norse Mythology |location=London / New York |publisher=Routledge |year=2002 |isbn=0-8153-1660-7 |pages=130–31|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=j4bufbA_UpQC&q=decisive+importance }}</ref> The [[Eddic poem]] ''[[Hymiskviða]]'' has a similar ending to the story, but in earlier Scandinavian versions of the myth in [[skaldic poetry]], Thor successfully captures and kills the serpent by striking it on the head.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2">{{Cite journal|last=Clunies Ross|first=Margaret |authorlink=Margaret Clunies Ross |date=1989|title=Two of Þórr's Great Fights according to Hymiskviða|url=http://tango.bol.ucla.edu/nord_myth/gods_giants-readings.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190428023010/http://tango.bol.ucla.edu/nord_myth/gods_giants-readings.pdf |archive-date=28 April 2019 |journal=Leeds Studies in English|volume=20|pages=8–10}}</ref>

Thor's fishing for Jörmungandr was one of the most popular [[Motif (visual arts)|motifs]] in [[Norse art]]. Four [[picture stone]]s that are believed to depict the myth are the [[Altuna Runestone]] and the [[Ardre image stones|Ardre VIII image stone]] in Sweden, the [[Hørdum stone]] in Denmark, and a stone slab at [[Gosforth, Cumbria]] by the same sculptor as the [[Gosforth Cross]].<ref name="Sor123">Meulengracht Sørensen (1986) p.&nbsp;260, (2002) p.&nbsp;123.</ref><ref>{{cite book |first=Lilla |last=Kopár |contribution=Eddic poetry and the imagery of stone monuments |editor1-first=Carolyne |editor1-last=Larrington |editor2-first=Judy |editor2-last=Quinn <!-- NOTE: NOT [[Judy Quinn]] -->|editor3-first=Brittany |editor3-last=Schorn |title=A Handbook to Eddic Poetry: Myths and Legends of Early Scandinavia |location=Cambridge |publisher=Cambridge University Press |orig-year=2016 |year=2018 |isbn=978-1-316-50129-0 |pages=203–08 }}</ref><ref name=Battle>{{Cite book |last1=Fee |first1=Christopher R. |author-link=Christopher R. Fee |last2=Leeming |first2=David A. |title=Gods, Heroes, & Kings: The Battle for Mythic Britain |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2001 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sFlLHEIuVlgC&q=Gosforth+Cross+contains+an+illustration |isbn=0-19-513479-6 |page=36 |access-date=2 December 2021 |archive-date=13 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230413025157/https://books.google.com/books?id=sFlLHEIuVlgC&q=Gosforth+Cross+contains+an+illustration |url-status=live }}</ref> Many of these depictions show the giant cutting the fishing line; on the Altuna stone, Thor is alone, implying he successfully killed the serpent.<ref name=":1" /> The Ardre VIII stone may depict more than one stage in the events: a man entering a house where an ox is standing, two men leaving, one with something on his shoulder, and two men using a spear to fish.<ref name="Sørensen">Meulengracht Sørensen (1986) p.&nbsp;269, (2002) p.&nbsp;130.</ref> The image on this stone has been dated to the 8th<ref name="Sor123" /> to 10th<ref>Kopár, p. 208.</ref> century. If the stone is correctly interpreted as a depiction of this myth, it would indicate that the story was preserved essentially unchanged for several centuries prior to the recording of the version in the ''Prose Edda'' around the year 1220.<ref name="Sørensen" /><ref name=":2" />

=== Ragnarök ===
As recounted in Snorri's ''Gylfaginning'' based on the Eddic poem ''[[Völuspá]]'', one sign of the coming of [[Ragnarök]] is the violent unrest of the sea as Jörmungandr releases its tail from its mouth. The sea will flood and the serpent will thrash onto the land.<ref name="ProseEdda37" /> It will advance, spraying poison to fill the air and water, beside [[Fenrir]], whose eyes and nostrils blaze with fire and whose gape touches the earth and the sky. They will join the sons of [[Muspelheim|Muspell]] to confront the gods on the plain of [[Vígríðr|Vigrid]]. Here is where the last meeting between the serpent and Thor is predicted to occur. He will eventually kill Jörmungandr but will fall dead after walking [[Numbers in Norse mythology|nine]] paces, having been poisoned by the serpent's deadly venom.<ref name="ProseEdda61">Snorri Sturluson (2016) ''Gylfaginning'' ch.&nbsp;li, pp.&nbsp;78–80.</ref> Thor's final battle with Jörmungandr has been identified, with other scenes of Ragnarök, on the Gosforth Cross.<ref name=Battle/>

== Analysis ==
Thor's fishing for Jörmungandr has been taken as one of the similarities between him and the Hindu god [[Indra]], who in [[Vedic mythology]] slays the dragon [[Vritra]],<ref>{{cite book |first=E. O. G. |last=Turville-Petre |author-link=Gabriel Turville-Petre |title=Myth and Religion of the North: The Religion of Ancient Scandinavia |series=History of Religions |publisher=Weidenfeld and Nicolson |year=1964 |oclc=460550410 |page=104 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first=Georges |last=Dumézil |authorlink=Georges Dumézil |title=Les Dieux des Indo-Européens |series=Mythes et religions |volume=29 |publisher=Presses universitaires de France |year=1952 |oclc=459390464 |page=24 |language=fr }}</ref> and has also been related to a Balto-Slavic motif of the storm god combatting a serpent.<ref>{{cite book |first1=Vjaceslav V. |last1=Ivanov |first2=Vladimir N. |last2=Toporov |first3=A. (trans.) |last3=Karvovski |contribution=Le mythe indo-européen du dieu de l'orage poursuivant le serpent: réconstruction du schéma |editor1-first=Jean |editor1-last=Pouillon |editor2-first=Pierre |editor2-last=Maranda |title=Échanges et communications: mélanges offerts à Claude Lévi-Strauss à l'occasion de son 60ème anniversaire |series=Studies in general anthropology |publisher=Mouton |year=1970 |oclc=849278587 |volume=2 |pages=1180–1206 |language=fr }}</ref> An alternative analysis of the episode by Preben Meulengracht Sørensen is that it was a youthful indiscretion on the part of Thor, retold to emphasize the order and balance of the cosmos, in which Jörmungandr played a vital role.<ref>Meulengracht Sørensen (1986) p.&nbsp;272, (2002) p.&nbsp;132.</ref> [[John Lindow]] draws a parallel between Jörmungandr's biting of its own tail and the binding of [[Fenrir]], as part of a recurring theme of the [[bound monster]] in Norse mythology, where an enemy of the gods is bound but destined to break free at Ragnarök.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Norse Mythology: A Guide to the Gods, Heroes, Rituals, and Beliefs |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/norsemythologygu00lind_201/page/n98 |chapter-url-access=limited |last=Lindow |first=John |authorlink=John Lindow |chapter=Bound Monster |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2002 |orig-year=2001 |isbn=0-19-515382-0 |location=New York |pages=82–83 }}</ref>

== Eponym ==
Asteroid [[471926 Jörmungandr]] was named after the mythological sea serpent.<ref>{{cite web |title= 471926 Jormungandr (2013 KN6) |publisher= Minor Planet Center |url= https://www.minorplanetcenter.net/db_search/show_object?object_id=471926 |access-date= 17 October 2018 |archive-date= 8 March 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210308101331/https://www.minorplanetcenter.net/db_search/show_object?object_id=471926 |url-status= live }}</ref> The official {{MoMP|471926|naming citation}} was published by the [[Minor Planet Center]] on 25 September 2018 ({{small|[[Minor Planet Circulars|M.P.C.]] 111804}}).<ref>{{cite web |title= MPC/MPO/MPS Archive |publisher= Minor Planet Center |url= https://www.minorplanetcenter.net/iau/ECS/MPCArchive/MPCArchive_TBL.html |access-date= 17 October 2018 |archive-date= 5 March 2019 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190305034952/https://minorplanetcenter.net/iau/ECS/MPCArchive/MPCArchive_TBL.html |url-status= live }}</ref>

== Popular culture media appearances ==
Jörmungandr has made a variety of appearances in popculture media. Some notable examples include:
*''[[Vikings (TV series)|Vikings]]'' – Jörmungandr makes an appearance in season six of the [[History (American TV network)|History Channel]] television show Vikings.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Tyler |first=Adrienne |date=5 December 2020 |title=Vikings Season 6: What The Giant Serpent Creature Is |url=https://screenrant.com/vikings-season-6-midgard-serpent-monster-jormungandr-explained/ |access-date=26 April 2023 |website=ScreenRant |language=en |archive-date=26 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230426024151/https://screenrant.com/vikings-season-6-midgard-serpent-monster-jormungandr-explained/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
*''[[God of War (franchise)|God of War]]'' – Jörmungandr is a mainstay character in the video games [[God of War (2018 video game)|God of War]] from 2018 and [[God of War Ragnarök]] from 2022.<ref>{{cite web |title=God of War: Ragnarok: Who is Jormungandr? |url=https://www.spieltimes.com/original/guides/gow-ragnarok/god-of-war-ragnarok-who-is-jormungandr/ |website=spieltimes.com |date=9 November 2022 |access-date=19 September 2023 |archive-date=10 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221210235944/https://www.spieltimes.com/original/guides/gow-ragnarok/god-of-war-ragnarok-who-is-jormungandr/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
*''[[For Honor]]'' – Worshipers of Jörmungandr, who are also named after it, are a playable character in the video game series For Honor (2017).<ref>{{Cite web |title=For Honor – New Season, Viking Hero, and Map Coming August 1 |url=https://news.ubisoft.com/en-us/article/4PeEEWlTwwp5YCE38l1uwp/for-honor-new-season-viking-hero-and-map-coming-august-1 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200927232844/https://news.ubisoft.com/en-us/article/4PeEEWlTwwp5YCE38l1uwp/for-honor-new-season-viking-hero-and-map-coming-august-1 |archive-date=27 September 2020 |access-date=17 January 2025 |website=news.ubisoft.com |language=en-us}}</ref>

== Gallery ==
<gallery>
Thor and Hymir.jpg|Thor fishing for the Midgard Serpent in an illustration from an 18th-century Icelandic manuscript
Johann Heinrich Fussli-Tor and Jormundgandr.jpg|''[[Thor Battering the Midgard Serpent]]'' (1790) by [[Henry Fuseli]]
Thor und die Midgardsschlange.jpg|''Thor and the Midgard Serpent'' (1905) by [[Emil Doepler]]
The children of Loki by Willy Pogany.png|''The children of Loki'' (1920) by [[Willy Pogany]]
Jormungandr.jpg|Jörmungandr rising to the ox head bait, from the 17th-century Icelandic manuscript AM&nbsp;738 4to
Thor and Jörmungandr by Frølich.svg|''Thor and Jörmungandr'' by Lorenz Frølich
</gallery>

== See also ==
{{Div col|colwidth=30em}}
* [[Apep]]
* [[Bakunawa]]
* [[European dragon]]
* [[Germanic dragon]]
* [[Horned Serpent]]
* [[Lernaean Hydra]]
* [[Leviathan]]
* [[Níðhöggr]]
* [[Ophiotaurus]]
* [[Ouroboros]]
* [[Python (mythology)]]
* [[Sea monster]]
* [[Shesha]]
* [[Typhon]]
* [[Vritra]]
{{Div col end}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== Bibliography ==
* {{cite book |first1=Rudolf |last1=Simek |authorlink=Rudolf Simek |first2=Angela (trans.) |last2=Hall |chapter=Jǫrmungandr |title=Dictionary of Northern Mythology |location=Woodbridge, Suffolk / Rochester, New York |publisher=D.S. Brewer |year=2000 |orig-year=1993 |isbn=0859915131 |page=179}}

{{Norse mythology}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jormungandr}}
[[Category:World-bearing animals]]
[[Category:Creatures in Norse mythology]]
[[Category:Legendary serpents]]
[[Category:Germanic mythology]]
[[Category:Scandinavian legendary creatures]]
[[Category:Thor]]
[[Category:Loki]]
[[Category:Germanic dragons]]
[[Category:Sea serpents]]