Longfellow

The Challenge of Thor
by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

I am the God Thor,
I am the War God,
I am the Thunderer!
Here in my Northland,
My fastness and fortress,
Reign I forever!
Here amid icebergs
Rule I the nations;
This is my hammer,
Miölner the mighty;
Giants and sorcerers
Cannot withstand it!

These are the gauntlets
Wherewith I wield it,
And hurl it afar off;
This is my girdle;
Whenever I brace it,
Strength is redoubled!

The light thou beholdest
Stream through the heavens,
In flashes of crimson,
Is but my red beard
Blown by the night-wind,
Affrighting the nations!
Jove is my brother;
Mine eyes are the lightning;
The wheels of my chariot
Roll in the thunder,
The blows of my hammer
Ring in the earthquake!

Force rules the world still,
Has ruled it, shall rule it;
Meekness is weakness,
Strength is triumphant,
Over the whole earth
Still is it Thor's Day!

Thou art a God too,
O Galilean!
And thus singled-handed
Unto the combat,
Gauntlet or Gospel,
Here I defy thee!

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Comment by Maris Hellfaerie (Maire) on September 9, 2012 at 2:48pm: Thanks to this poem, there are many horrible misconceptions and Manowar songs, that give a really wrong image of Thorr. he is not a war deity, to begin with, but a farming and fertility deity. *sigh*

Comment by X on September 9, 2012 at 6:23pm: All of the above. He rules both fertility and war. Anything less would shortchange him.

The Thor's Oak was chopped down after 1000 in order to put somebody else's church on the site. So I don't think of it so much as a war thing and a protecting one's own thing.

Comment by Maris Hellfaerie (Maire) on September 9, 2012 at 6:51pm: Thor ruled "war"? In the Marvel Comics, for sure. sources, sources, I accept them in German as well as in Swedish.

Comment by X on September 9, 2012 at 9:16pm: I have never seen a comic book. I also never said "war". On the other hand, I would expect nothing less than for him to do what it takes to protect his own.

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Longfellow

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