Jörmungandr
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Jörmungandr ['jœrmuŋgandr], alternately referred to as the Midgard Serpent or World Serpent, is a sea serpent of the Norse mythology, the middle child of the giantess Angrboða and the god Loki.
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[edit] Overview
According to the Prose Edda, Odin took Loki's three children, Fenrisúlfr, Hel and Jörmungandr. He tossed Jörmungandr into the great ocean that encircles Midgard. The serpent grew so big that he was able to surround the Earth and grasp his own tail, and as a result he earned the alternate name of the Midgard Serpent or World Serpent. Jörmungandr's arch enemy is the god Thor.
[edit] Stories
There are three preserved myths detailing Thor's encounters with Jörmungandr.
[edit] Lifting the cat
In one, Thor encounters the serpent, who is disguised as a colossal cat by the giant king Útgarða-Loki. As one of the tasks set by Útgarða-Loki, Thor must lift the cat; though he is unable to lift such a monstrous creature as Jörmungandr, he manages to lift it far enough that it lets go of the ground with one of its four feet. When Jörmungandr is revealed by Útgarða-Loki, the lifting is counted as an impressive deed.
[edit] Thor's fishing trip
Another encounter came when Thor went fishing with the giant Hymir. When Hymir refused to provide Thor with bait, Thor struck the head off Hymir's largest ox to use as such. They rowed to a point where Hymir often sat and caught flat fish, where he drew up 100 whales and lions. Thor demanded to go farther into the water, and did so despite Hymir's warnings.
Thor then prepared a strong line and a large hook, which Jörmungandr bit. Thor pulled the serpent from the water, whereupon the two faced one another, Jörmungandr dribbling poison and blood. Hymir went pale with fear, and as Thor grabbed his hammer to kill the serpent, the giant cut the line, leaving the serpent to sink beneath the waves.
This encounter seems to have been the most popular motif in Norse art. Four picture stones can be definitely linked with the myth.
[edit] The final battle
The last meeting between the serpent and Thor is predicted to occur at Ragnarök, when Jörmungandr will come out of the ocean and poison the sky. Thor will kill Jörmungandr and then walk nine paces before falling dead, having been intoxicated by the serpent's poison.
[edit] Sources
The major sources for myths about Jörmungandr are the Prose Edda, Húsdrápa, Hymiskviða, and Völuspá.
Less important sources include kennings in skaldic poetry. For example in Þórsdrápa, faðir lögseims, "father of the sea-thread", is used as a kenning for Loki.
There are also image stones from ancient times depicting the fishing encounter.
[edit] Familiar forms
Jörmungandr is also sometimes referred to as the Midgard Serpent (Old Norse: Miðgarðsormr) or the World Serpent. His name is sometimes anglicized as Jormungandr, Jormungand or Iormungand.
[edit] Other appearances
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Jörmungandr, in the Boktai video game series, serves as the second game's final boss. Its prequel's final boss was Hel and Vánargand served as Boktai 2's sequel's.
In Marvel Comics, the serpent Fin Fang Foom has been known to be Jörmungandr or the Midgard Serpent in disguise.
In the Final Fantasy Series, in Final Fantasy 7, the player may run across a Midgardsormr, mistranslated as "Midgar Zolom".In Final Fantasy XI, Jormungand is the name of one of the 5 wyrms, it is a monster that 18+ level 75 characters are needed to kill (alliance), upon defeating the wyrm, the title "World Serpent Slayer" is bestowed upon you. In Final Fantasy XII, the player may encounter a Midgardsormr, which is labeled as such.
Jörmungandr is mentioned in "Black Dragon", a song by Swedish black/death metal band Dissection.
This name also appears as a Zerg brood in the game Starcraft.
The Jörmungandr appears in Oh my Goddess's Lord of Terror story ark as a vaccine against the embodiment of the Ultimate Destruction Program (Fenrir). However the vaccine was infected and it took Fenrir's place as the Ultimate Destruction Program. The vaccine took the shape of a jumble of giant, white snakes. The snakes were referred to as Midgard in the story.
In the Popcap game Bookworm Adventures, Jörmungandr appears as one of the characters from Norse mythology that the player must defeat.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
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