Thor's Hammer – Symbol of Christianization and Political Delusion

Abstract

The article deals with the famous pagan symbol of the Viking Age, Thor's hammer. The use of the hammer during the Viking Age, its disappearance during medieval times and its renaissance in modern times are discussed here. It is argued that Thor's hammer during the 8th–11th centuries expressed much more than the first contact with Christianity and the course of the mission than a pagan reaction, as was believed in earlier research. In the Middle Ages the heritage of the pagan belief was transformed into a Christian iconography. It was only during the 18th century that the heathen symbol was rediscovered and became part of a romantic view of history. In the last few decades Thor's hammer has had another revival, this time also being misused by neo-Nazis. But it is not taken into account that the hammer never expressed a violent conflict.