What happens in the poem Thrymskvida?
Thrymskvida (the "Lay of Thrym") is a humorous mythological poem from the Poetic Edda, a collection of ancient Icelandic literature preserved in the Codex Regius.12
The story begins when the giant Thrym steals Mjollnir, the powerful hammer of the thunder god Thor. Thrym refuses to return the weapon unless the goddess Freyja is given to him in marriage.13
Because Freyja refuses to marry the giant, Thor disguises himself as a bride to infiltrate Thrym’s home. The poem’s humor centers on the wedding feast, where the disguised Thor displays "astonishing" behavior by eating an entire ox and eight salmon, and drinking three full vessels of mead. When the hammer is finally brought out to consecrate the union, Thor seizes it and uses it to slaughter Thrym and the other giants.123