As a pagan, I'm quite glad a lot of people wear them non-religiously. It makes it a lot easier to wear them out in public. Also you were absolutely right at the beginning regarding certain people who wear them. No frith with folkists!
I was deeply hesitant to guess which material, but it seems I was right! Oh, the IRONY!!! Here's one more reason that occurs to me as to why iron pendants were so common in this style: you need a hammer to work iron, which fact makes the necklace a kind of pun.
They have found a hammer in Iceland made out of sandstone, some made out of amber, and some wooden fragments that might possibly be a hammer (inconclusive). So non metallic hammers certainly existed and were at the very least a concept. Given that the Norse were a woodworking culture, especially oak which was the preferred wood for their infamous longships and a tree sacred to Thor, I think wooden pendants are a very plausible idea.
Here in southern Sweden people actually wore Thors hammers well into the 15th and 16th century, despite being Christian. You could also find runes in churches for a long time after christianity came to Scandinavia
I read a book on Stave churches and it seems that Odin became also associated with God, and Thor became like a Christ symbol so they never really lost their roots, it just became incorporated into Christianity.
@@Melys415 I can't speak for Norway, i'm not that familiar with their local history as I am with southern swedish. For as long as I can remember and what my grandparents told me, people here have always said "Thor is out and riding his chariot again" every time it's thunder and lightning. I don't know any surviving stories about Oden or other gods.
The book Runic Amulets and Magic Objects, by Macleod and Mees, has some examples of runic writing in churches- I remember specifically on church bells. (It's a really good book and the only thing that keeps me from buying it is that a lot of it is available on Google Books, definitely worth a look.)
My thought process went "presumably more people could afford wood than metal, so ... waaaaaaaaait, Jimmy asked what the most commonly *found* material is..."
Congrats on being stung twice! If you're not too picky about materials, it's easy to cast your own jewellery with pewter or tin. Make a mold using plaster (or limestone if you feel ultra fancy) and just melt the pewter and pour. Pewter has a low melting point, so it's relatively safe to use. I have casted pewter with 9th graders in science class, and it's really fun!
I'm actually working on a "foam prop" Mjolnir hammer using the more typical irregular convex pentagon shaped head (rather than the weird box in the MCU). Its gonna be part of a Thor outfit for going to Folk/Viking Metal gigs.
Re: The non-gendered spread of Thor's Hammers in graves: My memories of my grad course in Norse mythology are approaching vintage status, but I do recall that the house-pillars (the central supports of a Norse house) were considered sacred to Thor, and the house and domestic sphere were the domain of women, which might be part of the reason why Thor's Hammers show up in so many women's graves.
Iron was believed to ward off the fae, who were thought to be very mischievous and undesirable. Having your religious pendant in iron could be duel purpose?
Also, iron is (can be) magnetic. Magnetism and Electricity are two form of the same force; Thor is the god of (planet sized) electric sparks. So, really, it makes total sense to associate Thor with iron. (Also amber, btw: "Electricity" is from the Greek for "amber")
@@signespencer6887 today, yes. Not so much in early medieval times. 100 pounds of Steel could buy you a resonably large farm in 12th century. In earlier times the price would be much higher.
I also imagine that smiths, who spent all day swinging a hammer next to the fire in the forge might have felt some affinity with the god who wielded lightning and a magic hammer. Seems like the sort of thing they might have enjoyed making in some spare time.
@@spinecho609 considering how wasteful billionaires are I'm pretty sure the one-time additional CO2 from the launch is easily offset by the reduction in lifetime yacht usage. Also, maglev catapults are a semi-serious idea for more economical launches but building one would be rather expensive and CO2 intensive in the first place...
Ah Jimmy, you've really had a rough couple of months. I hope you feel better soon. Thank you for going over n above keeping going and for yet another interesting vid. Take care! ❤ xxx
It is such a shame that this beautiful, traditional symbol has recently been appropriated by those unnamed people who suck. Hopefully it can be restored to its former glory yet. It is always inspiring to see Thor's hammers made of all kinds of different materials, even if they aren't historically accurate. It is just fascinating how some shapes and symbols persist through ages.
Unfortunately that is what happens when "being proud of your history" goes too far. a certain leader was also well documented to be neo pagan which messes things up too. A lot of people had been going in that direction since the romantic movement in the victorian era, the 20s were really big for mystecism. A lot of less desirable people are also neo pagans sincerily (especially ones from the scandinavian metal scene) which gives people like me, a super progressive accepting pagan into metal all sorts of issues. You really end up with no idea what kind of human you are talking to in a bar.
I also have a Rømersdal too! Beautiful design! But the one I wear daily is based on Swedish design (which is shown in this video at 0:42 and 5:35) and was the first Thor's hammer I was given at the age of 5. I don't wear it for religious reasons, merely to remind myself of my family, heritage and close connection to Viking history so I'm glad You've made a video talking about them!
What can I say, we Swedes love our iron. 😆 And that is actually one of my fav type of hammer, one in iron. Also protect you from trolls since it is made from iron. 😁
Ooh, I have a lovely copper version of that Romersdal Thor's hammer that I got at the York Christmas market a few years back. While they had quite the variety available, it jumped out to me as such a pretty little trinket.
Thank you for putting out a video despite feeling the effects of the second shot. Speaking of which, YAY! that's really great news. Here's to being safer from COVID, may you feel back to 100% soonest.
I have a copy of the Rømersdal Hammer that I bought when I was 8 years old, just because the Norse gods were really popular with Danish kids in 1986 after the release of the animated film "Valhalla". Tin, and only with the pattern on the front (the reverse side just has the maker's mark), so it was a good little cheap trinket for a kid, but still accurate *enough*. These days it just lives in a small box of childhood memorabilia, but I thought it was quite nice that you showed it in the video; 8-yo Søren had at least SOME good taste...
I thought lead would be the most common Thor's hammer pendant material because I imagined it would be cheaper to use than iron. Spare iron must have been a lot more accessible than lead in reality. Really love your channel and would like to see you do some kind of collab with Simon Roper. I know you are both likely focused on different time periods, but could be some good content to be made between his linguistic focus on old and middle English and your focus on material culture and reenactment. Peace and love!
You didn't mention bronze at all. I have a 'roughly' two inch/5 centimeters reproduction of a Skane hammer made of bronze. It has a raven's head at the top and a small hole in the middle of the hammer that doesn't go all the way through the hammer. Would love to know what the hole is for. It seems to be a style particular to that area.
@@erikhamann My guess was bronze too. My favorite bronze piece is my Deadly Bronze Jelly Baby. Picked it up at a con many, *many* moons ago; it was cast from an actual Jelly Baby, so it's pretty hefty.
Hello there, I just released a video on making a Thor’s hammer out of slate. I know there was soapstone available, do you know of any stone pendants found?
I made a smith's hammer some time ago and salvaged the bit that got punched out to make the hole for the handle with the intention of making a pendant with it. Which I have yet to do because I never have any round tuits. And I am thinking that a Thor's hammer shape would make a very cool knitted motif.
I have a Forged Iron/steel Mjolnir pendant. It's not very big and has an Ok weight to it, but i prefer a pendant a bit heavier, so i have another one that is slightly bigger and it'll be about half a pound. I also have a steel axe pendant that has the protection mark of odin.
The elaborate model at 5.34 is amazing. I do hope you feel better soon. You’ve had a bit of a rough go of it recently. Thank you for another interesting video.
Good job on getting the 2nd jab! Thor's hammer is actually one of my first forays into historical jewellery, though mine is bronze, rather than iron or silver.
I’d love to go drinking with Thor, he seems like a lovely guy! Thor’s hammers were like that rubber bracelet everyone had in the early aughts, from what I got from this video... lol. Also, your hair is specially cute lately, that haircut really suited you!
Me, a scandinavian historian with roots going all the way back to long before the viking age and whose ancestors were some of the ones who went viking, who grew up on the myths (like all scandinavian children) and whose male family members more or less all wore thors hammers. (My father's is actually one of my favorits, it is a copy of one found at Rømersdal on Bornholm): I am not wearing that, people will either think I am a wannabe, a simp or a neo nazi. Fun fact - Amber washes up on the shores of the nordic countries daily all over the place, but in Denmark the larges quantities actually comes from the North Sea side.
Grimfrost is the best website I have came across, as far as being historically accurate with Scandinavian history. If a lot of you did not know, Johan Hegg from the Viking metal band Amon Amarth, works for Grimfrost as well. Great video my man. ⚔️
Thanks bud. I heartily do NOT recommend Grimfrost in most situations. Many of their products are hugely inaccurate, and their quality and methods in some other areas questionable.
My mom picked up a little silver mjolnir pendant on a trip to Norway, an impulse buy she wore a few times and then not much. Years later I told her the story about Loki and Slepnir. Then a few week's later, Freya's Unusual Wedding. After the second story, she offered the Mjolnir to me if I wanted it since she never wore it. Since she's the most thor-like member of my family and I'm the most Loki-like this was hilarious to me and I said sure. I wore it for years, then thought I lost it in a Korean Spa in Chicago. I was heartbroken and I couldn't find a replacement that was RIGHT. They were all too big, too ornate, too flashy. I started trying to find where my lost mjolnir's design came from, where it was referenced, see if I could find a lookalike. I found it in a museum. My mjolnir was a silver replica of a little gold-foil-decorated one from the Mandemark hoard in Denmark. I found a website in German that sold copies not as nice as my original but with an attractive and not-too-ornate little swirl design on the hammerhead. I now have 2 backup mjolnirs because I don't want to undergo that crisis again if I lose one. If I'm guesstimating right I think that hoard was buried not terribly long after Charlemagne massacres a bunch of pagan Saxons, too, which really set off the mjolnir-pendant manufacturing industry.
Hypothesis re: not being made of copper - since copper is really bad about oxidizing and leaving one's skin green, that may have been why they didn't use it as much.
I see the silver replica of the Icelandic one a lot around here in Iceland (and many of those in my family). But then again it is easy to get, both in some tourist shops and at the National museum. My dad had a beautiful but simple one. I would really like to have that remade (he was buried with his) but need to find good pictures. I don't know if it was based on anything or who made it.
i always wanted one , no matter how tiny, made carved from garnet. I wonder if that could be done? not historical but i have a thing for garnet. Had my second jab a while back, that "cement arm / pool floaty" feeling was just awful. Feel better soon.
I like the Icelandic Thors Hammer because of its ambiguity. It's very similar to the Cross Cnut dedicated to Winchester Cathedral and people can't agree if it is a Cross or a Thors Hammer or both. I know a lot of people wear them but i like a simple Bronze Hammer with no adornments. Or i'll wear my copy of the Aunslev Crucifix.
I have a long sleeved T-shirt with a silhouette of Thor's hammer printed on it (it has the truncated triangle head); does that count? I bought it from Antifa International, and it also has the slogan (In English, but written in the Younger Futhark alphabet): "This hammer smashes [the name for those people who suck redacted]"
My mjölnir pendant is from the Finnish jewellery brand Kalevala. Their pendant is based on a find from Laitila in southern Finland. I got it as a gift when I was a teenager and missed out on wearing it before it became a common symbol among some groups of people who suck. But I'm going to wear it again!
I always thought the hammer pendants were a little too stylized. My theory is that they weren't pendants, but toggle closures for tunics. A little experimentation shows them to be really effective closures. Like anorak buttons.
I got my daughter a silver Thor's hammer of the same style as yours about 15 years ago, its a beautiful piece. I have 2 in copper, one in a raven style similar to the drawing with the granular detail with a raven face, one of a similar shape, but sporting antlers, and a tiny silver one. I don't wear them much these days, but I love them anyway.
Have you considered having some Viking related merch? I would think that with the growth of your channel and the niche market that you have focused on would make for a good place to offer people some attractive wearable and/or decorative items!
This made me think about what gets preserved and found and what doesn't... when archaeologists a thousand years from today think about our fashions will they know the handmade high quality brands, or only the million inexpensive knockoffs? A valuable beloved item is more likely to be protected and preserved across time (like ending up in a burial), but common cheap items are widespread enough that you're more likely to run across them. Interesting thoughts today. (Also I was hand sewing and didn't stop, but I totally guessed iron! My shrimp are the only witnesses but they'll back me up)
I guessed Bronze lol. But I love the comment about the iron pun I found below. This is very interesting, and I hadn’t actually known he was a ginger, though I do remember he was one of several brothers if memory serves…wasn’t one of them called the Golden? I think it’s the one that died via mistletoe, but it has been awhile since I read any of the old literature. That said, thank you for sharing!
I always tell myself that a lovely, evolved, somewhat weedy man is to be preferred. Yet, Thor makes me a little dizzy. *sigh* I am shallow and I know it.
Do you know about the letter complaining the vikings were stealing english/ christian women from england with their "good manners" and "washing" and viking culture having more respect for women. Don't go for the weedy "nice guy" go for the muscular hunk with shiny hair that bathes and respects you.
Hey, you mentioned "finger loop braid" as a way to hang your pendant. Can you give us any more information on them? I learned how to do them (assuming it's the same kind of 5 loop, 10 string braid) years and years ago, but I could never really find a good source on any historical information. The diy/crafting video I learned from said "It was popular in the medieval times" and that was about all I learned. It took forever to learn the name of it. Still, I have several cords I've made laying around my desk right now, and it's something I often do when I'm bored and need to keep my hands busy, but I'd love to know more about anything on the topic.
And here's me as a big metal fan going for a Finnish ukkovasara. Had to go for it with the amount of bands from there I was into at the time and it's stuck. Currently got a nice hammered iron one as my bronze one wore out.
My personal favourite mjölnir is the skåne one 👌🏻 got mine in silver just like the original find is with full back, not one of those empty backs you see all the time and are easy to find.
You mentioned beads. I am just getting into reenactment and I own some African trade beads that are several hundred years old and sand-casted. I have been researching but cannot find if Viking digs have uncovered African beads. I know Viking beads have made it as far as Africa but I cannot find if trade worked the other way as well. If they have, I would love to wear these beads since the sand-casted beads have such an amazing texture.
Having seen Marvel's Mjolnir, and thinking "That doesn't look right", I wondered what an actual Viking age hammer might look like. But no matter how I modified my search terms, Google wouldn't show me anything but pendants! Could you some time post a picture of a hammer that a blacksmith, or carpenter, or shipwright might have used in the Viking age, so we can see how closely the pendants follow an actual hammer shape?
I would like one of silicone's why I drink a lot of carbonated drinks and there is a thin line around my neck and fingers. I've tapered a bit down and drink water more but one has the be careful.
Yet another interesting video, thank you, Jimmy! I'm going to go look for one of those Romersdal hammers. I like that version. Get some rest and feel better!
My first guess was bronze, and second was iron. Iron seems appropriate for a hammer, somehow :p Thanks for the video! Hope the phoney roni wasn't/isn't too bad.
When I was 10 or 11, my stepfather gifted me a small bronze Mjolnir after I've found his wedding ring that he'd dropped in a field. I've never managed to find out whether it's an actual replica or a modern design. It looks like it could be based off of a Viking age find, but I can't find any sources on it. Does anyone have any tips regarding this? The pendant is very dear to me regardless of its origin, but it would be nice to know more about it.
My favourite one I’ve got a few weeks back in Sterling silver is the flekstad hammer found in flekstad Norway. Also my other favourite is the repton hammer but don’t wear as much cause that’s a very popular one among re-enacters lol
I've seen a lot of different ones for sell, with different carvings and designs. They can be really elaborate or simple. I'm glad there's a continued growing interest in the viking age and just the culture around it. As alway great video! Glad you're vaccinated! So many people where I live still think it's a hoax and refuse to get it
My theory for the iron thors hammer is that the metal is associated both with weaponry and building. Which I thought was what Thor was mostly associated with, defense and building. But my memories are from a couple of books a long time ago and google does not agree with me on that.
I have the same one from Denmark, I also saw the original in the Danish national museum along with a few others. Very impressive to see up close and ofcourse have many pictures
I would’ve said silver but never lead. And of course there may have been some wood but given the fact that this was a symbol of greatness, wood might not be appropriate. Thanks for this. It was very interesting
Iron. Edit. I guessed right. My theory on why iron. The Prose Edda says that the dwarf Bokkr made Mjollnir out of iron and capable of being worn under Thor's shirt. The best representation of a sharp knife is a sharp knife.
as an occultist and astrologer I have to point out that the alchemical symbol for Iron is the same as that for male and the planet Mars. it seems counter intuitive to have a symbolic hammer made of softer even fragile materials like silver, copper, gold or amber or jet that were linked to less aggressive / defensive deities. As a practical gardener who was using a lump hammer to smash things appart today I am glad it was made of iron. Copper might be prettier but iron gets the job done. I'm wondering -'cos I'm lazy and have not searched the web yet - if ancient full sized useful hammers made of iron take the Mijolnir shape ?
My favourite hammer would be the Schonen hammer from Sweden, the one with the birds head in front. Why? During my university times i was selling jewellery on medieval fairs and this hammer was both one of my most expensive pieces as well as one of my best sold ones. The times on the medieval fair solidified me love for history and started my reenactment time.
One find I think is interesting is two Arabic coins found in Norway with hammers engraved over the original inscriptions. Unfortunately I can't find any pictures of them.
As a pagan, I'm quite glad a lot of people wear them non-religiously. It makes it a lot easier to wear them out in public. Also you were absolutely right at the beginning regarding certain people who wear them. No frith with folkists!
I was deeply hesitant to guess which material, but it seems I was right! Oh, the IRONY!!!
Here's one more reason that occurs to me as to why iron pendants were so common in this style: you need a hammer to work iron, which fact makes the necklace a kind of pun.
Oh! OH! YES! Of course! Nick, you're a genius. Have a million brain points!
Yes that was my thought too. Thor was a smith. Iron probably is what his hammer is made of and iron is what he is working.
Also, Iron age
@@onerva0001 Yes! Plus the copper age only occurred in some places.
@@lenabreijer1311 Thor wasn't a smith. The Dwarves were smiths and they did make his hammer out of iron however.
I'd love if we found a wooden one. I make a lot of them in all different shapes and sizes and woods, easy pendant to make
Man, me too. One day, maybe, in a nice waterlogged site.
They have found a hammer in Iceland made out of sandstone, some made out of amber, and some wooden fragments that might possibly be a hammer (inconclusive). So non metallic hammers certainly existed and were at the very least a concept. Given that the Norse were a woodworking culture, especially oak which was the preferred wood for their infamous longships and a tree sacred to Thor, I think wooden pendants are a very plausible idea.
I love how the pic of Thor that was chosen was him with his foot pushed through a boat while accidentally fishing up a Jormungandr.
Here in southern Sweden people actually wore Thors hammers well into the 15th and 16th century, despite being Christian. You could also find runes in churches for a long time after christianity came to Scandinavia
I read a book on Stave churches and it seems that Odin became also associated with God, and Thor became like a Christ symbol so they never really lost their roots, it just became incorporated into Christianity.
@@Melys415 I can't speak for Norway, i'm not that familiar with their local history as I am with southern swedish. For as long as I can remember and what my grandparents told me, people here have always said "Thor is out and riding his chariot again" every time it's thunder and lightning. I don't know any surviving stories about Oden or other gods.
The book Runic Amulets and Magic Objects, by Macleod and Mees, has some examples of runic writing in churches- I remember specifically on church bells. (It's a really good book and the only thing that keeps me from buying it is that a lot of it is available on Google Books, definitely worth a look.)
I reckon wood and antler ones were popular they just didn't survive.
My guess was bone or antler as the most common material
My thought process went "presumably more people could afford wood than metal, so ... waaaaaaaaait, Jimmy asked what the most commonly *found* material is..."
My key chain is a replica of the Rømersdal Thor's hammer, bought in the National Museum of Archaeology, Ireland. I love it so much.
I've got one of the MCU's Thor! But I took the keychain off as I liked it much better as a little ornament on my desk :D
Congrats on being stung twice!
If you're not too picky about materials, it's easy to cast your own jewellery with pewter or tin. Make a mold using plaster (or limestone if you feel ultra fancy) and just melt the pewter and pour. Pewter has a low melting point, so it's relatively safe to use. I have casted pewter with 9th graders in science class, and it's really fun!
I would pick pewter over lead.
@@lucie4185 traditional pewter has a high lead content, but more modern is lead free
I cast one in pewter once. Loads of fun
You could also melt down the lead in fishing weights (available for cheep at your local sports store).
- Cathy (&, accidently, Steve), Ottawa/Bytown
aluminum is the way to go. always shiny. I lived in a foreign country where the markets were full of "plata pura" that was just recycled aluminum cans
I'm actually working on a "foam prop" Mjolnir hammer using the more typical irregular convex pentagon shaped head (rather than the weird box in the MCU).
Its gonna be part of a Thor outfit for going to Folk/Viking Metal gigs.
One of my favorite mjolnir pendant finds was the one carved in soapstone that was found in Iceland. Mostly just because of how unique it is.
Highlights of the weeks: New videos from my boy jimmy❤️
Re: The non-gendered spread of Thor's Hammers in graves: My memories of my grad course in Norse mythology are approaching vintage status, but I do recall that the house-pillars (the central supports of a Norse house) were considered sacred to Thor, and the house and domestic sphere were the domain of women, which might be part of the reason why Thor's Hammers show up in so many women's graves.
Iron was believed to ward off the fae, who were thought to be very mischievous and undesirable. Having your religious pendant in iron could be duel purpose?
Also, iron is (can be) magnetic. Magnetism and Electricity are two form of the same force; Thor is the god of (planet sized) electric sparks. So, really, it makes total sense to associate Thor with iron.
(Also amber, btw: "Electricity" is from the Greek for "amber")
Iron is cheap and available
@@signespencer6887 Yes, it is. It's *also* thematically appropriate.
@@signespencer6887 today, yes. Not so much in early medieval times. 100 pounds of Steel could buy you a resonably large farm in 12th century. In earlier times the price would be much higher.
I also imagine that smiths, who spent all day swinging a hammer next to the fire in the forge might have felt some affinity with the god who wielded lightning and a magic hammer. Seems like the sort of thing they might have enjoyed making in some spare time.
To my surprise I guessed right! I didn't type it in because I was watching this while I ate my supper. 😀
"Stop sending billionaires to space", how about instead of that we stop letting them come back to Earth?
Still get the CO2 of the launch that way...
@@spinecho609 good point, we'll need to think of more environmentally friendly way to try getting them into space. How about we try trebuchets?
@@spinecho609 considering how wasteful billionaires are I'm pretty sure the one-time additional CO2 from the launch is easily offset by the reduction in lifetime yacht usage.
Also, maglev catapults are a semi-serious idea for more economical launches but building one would be rather expensive and CO2 intensive in the first place...
We can use stingers to permanently prevent the completion of launches
@@SenorZorros Even if they don't make it to space with a trebuchet I think the end result still achieves the intended goal
Glad you got you second jab, hope you feel better soon! Thanks for telling the masses a truth that need be known :THOR IS GINGER!!!
Ah Jimmy, you've really had a rough couple of months. I hope you feel better soon. Thank you for going over n above keeping going and for yet another interesting vid. Take care! ❤ xxx
I like that some of the hammers look like a face on the end of the hilt wearing a helmet
It is such a shame that this beautiful, traditional symbol has recently been appropriated by those unnamed people who suck. Hopefully it can be restored to its former glory yet. It is always inspiring to see Thor's hammers made of all kinds of different materials, even if they aren't historically accurate. It is just fascinating how some shapes and symbols persist through ages.
Unfortunately that is what happens when "being proud of your history" goes too far. a certain leader was also well documented to be neo pagan which messes things up too. A lot of people had been going in that direction since the romantic movement in the victorian era, the 20s were really big for mystecism. A lot of less desirable people are also neo pagans sincerily (especially ones from the scandinavian metal scene) which gives people like me, a super progressive accepting pagan into metal all sorts of issues. You really end up with no idea what kind of human you are talking to in a bar.
Love the story behind this! I made myself a couple: a wooden as a pendant, and a little one made into an earring carved out of a lamb rib
I also have a Rømersdal too! Beautiful design! But the one I wear daily is based on Swedish design (which is shown in this video at 0:42 and 5:35) and was the first Thor's hammer I was given at the age of 5.
I don't wear it for religious reasons, merely to remind myself of my family, heritage and close connection to Viking history so I'm glad You've made a video talking about them!
What can I say, we Swedes love our iron. 😆
And that is actually one of my fav type of hammer, one in iron. Also protect you from trolls since it is made from iron. 😁
Ooh, I have a lovely copper version of that Romersdal Thor's hammer that I got at the York Christmas market a few years back. While they had quite the variety available, it jumped out to me as such a pretty little trinket.
Thank you for putting out a video despite feeling the effects of the second shot. Speaking of which, YAY! that's really great news. Here's to being safer from COVID, may you feel back to 100% soonest.
My personal favorite hammer is this particular find from Birka. I wear a silver replica with various glass and amber beads.
I have a copy of the Rømersdal Hammer that I bought when I was 8 years old, just because the Norse gods were really popular with Danish kids in 1986 after the release of the animated film "Valhalla". Tin, and only with the pattern on the front (the reverse side just has the maker's mark), so it was a good little cheap trinket for a kid, but still accurate *enough*.
These days it just lives in a small box of childhood memorabilia, but I thought it was quite nice that you showed it in the video; 8-yo Søren had at least SOME good taste...
Hello from Alberta, Canada. Really enjoy your videos.
Also from Alberta
I thought lead would be the most common Thor's hammer pendant material because I imagined it would be cheaper to use than iron. Spare iron must have been a lot more accessible than lead in reality. Really love your channel and would like to see you do some kind of collab with Simon Roper. I know you are both likely focused on different time periods, but could be some good content to be made between his linguistic focus on old and middle English and your focus on material culture and reenactment. Peace and love!
You didn't mention bronze at all. I have a 'roughly' two inch/5 centimeters reproduction of a Skane hammer made of bronze. It has a raven's head at the top and a small hole in the middle of the hammer that doesn't go all the way through the hammer. Would love to know what the hole is for. It seems to be a style particular to that area.
He mentioned copper alloy, wich includes bronze and brass ;) I would have guessed bronze to be most popular.
@@erikhamann My guess was bronze too. My favorite bronze piece is my Deadly Bronze Jelly Baby. Picked it up at a con many, *many* moons ago; it was cast from an actual Jelly Baby, so it's pretty hefty.
Norwich Castle has some lovely examples, found from all over Norfolk, from plain to really pretty ones :).
Skal from a Norse Heathen. Love your videos and it was pretty cool that you shouted us Heathens out, haha.
Also, Ocean Keltoi has a very good video on why Heathens wear the hammer
True!
"some people....... Who suck" pmsl love it
Hello there, I just released a video on making a Thor’s hammer out of slate. I know there was soapstone available, do you know of any stone pendants found?
forged my own last winter still need to engrave something on it, also forged does small axes great fun
I have an iron Thor's hammer bought from Viking descended blacksmiths at the Viking Fair on Arland.
I guessed pewter or iron, those seemed more likely to be widespread to me. I also just think iron fits Thor 😊
I guessed the very specific "cheap metal", lol. Making a Mjolnir out of iron wood would be very snazzy.
I made a smith's hammer some time ago and salvaged the bit that got punched out to make the hole for the handle with the intention of making a pendant with it.
Which I have yet to do because I never have any round tuits.
And I am thinking that a Thor's hammer shape would make a very cool knitted motif.
Side hustle making Thor's hammer
I picked one up at the Viking Ship Museum in Roskilde, based on a find.
Loved the video! Thanks 😊
I have a Forged Iron/steel Mjolnir pendant. It's not very big and has an Ok weight to it, but i prefer a pendant a bit heavier, so i have another one that is slightly bigger and it'll be about half a pound. I also have a steel axe pendant that has the protection mark of odin.
I've got a t shirt with mjolnir and the saying 'if all you've got is a hammer, all problems look like Loki'
Which is pretty much the way Thor is written in Neil Gaiman's version.
Brilliant.
Yet another entertaining and informative video👏. I would love to see a video about viking age crucifixes!😊
The elaborate model at 5.34 is amazing. I do hope you feel better soon. You’ve had a bit of a rough go of it recently. Thank you for another interesting video.
Thank you!
Good job on getting the 2nd jab!
Thor's hammer is actually one of my first forays into historical jewellery, though mine is bronze, rather than iron or silver.
I’d love to go drinking with Thor, he seems like a lovely guy! Thor’s hammers were like that rubber bracelet everyone had in the early aughts, from what I got from this video... lol. Also, your hair is specially cute lately, that haircut really suited you!
Love your hair, Jimmy.
Me, a scandinavian historian with roots going all the way back to long before the viking age and whose ancestors were some of the ones who went viking, who grew up on the myths (like all scandinavian children) and whose male family members more or less all wore thors hammers. (My father's is actually one of my favorits, it is a copy of one found at Rømersdal on Bornholm): I am not wearing that, people will either think I am a wannabe, a simp or a neo nazi.
Fun fact - Amber washes up on the shores of the nordic countries daily all over the place, but in Denmark the larges quantities actually comes from the North Sea side.
Grimfrost is the best website I have came across, as far as being historically accurate with Scandinavian history. If a lot of you did not know, Johan Hegg from the Viking metal band Amon Amarth, works for Grimfrost as well. Great video my man. ⚔️
Thanks bud. I heartily do NOT recommend Grimfrost in most situations. Many of their products are hugely inaccurate, and their quality and methods in some other areas questionable.
My mom picked up a little silver mjolnir pendant on a trip to Norway, an impulse buy she wore a few times and then not much. Years later I told her the story about Loki and Slepnir. Then a few week's later, Freya's Unusual Wedding. After the second story, she offered the Mjolnir to me if I wanted it since she never wore it. Since she's the most thor-like member of my family and I'm the most Loki-like this was hilarious to me and I said sure. I wore it for years, then thought I lost it in a Korean Spa in Chicago. I was heartbroken and I couldn't find a replacement that was RIGHT. They were all too big, too ornate, too flashy.
I started trying to find where my lost mjolnir's design came from, where it was referenced, see if I could find a lookalike. I found it in a museum. My mjolnir was a silver replica of a little gold-foil-decorated one from the Mandemark hoard in Denmark. I found a website in German that sold copies not as nice as my original but with an attractive and not-too-ornate little swirl design on the hammerhead. I now have 2 backup mjolnirs because I don't want to undergo that crisis again if I lose one. If I'm guesstimating right I think that hoard was buried not terribly long after Charlemagne massacres a bunch of pagan Saxons, too, which really set off the mjolnir-pendant manufacturing industry.
Hypothesis re: not being made of copper - since copper is really bad about oxidizing and leaving one's skin green, that may have been why they didn't use it as much.
Wonder if there where ones with the head strung up rather than the handle?
I see the silver replica of the Icelandic one a lot around here in Iceland (and many of those in my family). But then again it is easy to get, both in some tourist shops and at the National museum.
My dad had a beautiful but simple one. I would really like to have that remade (he was buried with his) but need to find good pictures. I don't know if it was based on anything or who made it.
oh.. shield pendants. need to look up those. shields are my favourite weapon of war
i always wanted one , no matter how tiny, made carved from garnet. I wonder if that could be done? not historical but i have a thing for garnet. Had my second jab a while back, that "cement arm / pool floaty" feeling was just awful. Feel better soon.
I like the Icelandic Thors Hammer because of its ambiguity. It's very similar to the Cross Cnut dedicated to Winchester Cathedral and people can't agree if it is a Cross or a Thors Hammer or both. I know a lot of people wear them but i like a simple Bronze Hammer with no adornments. Or i'll wear my copy of the Aunslev Crucifix.
I have heard people speculate that it is on purpose for plausable deniability in front of christians
Always a good day when you drop a video! Have fun at your reenactment and best wishes!
I have a long sleeved T-shirt with a silhouette of Thor's hammer printed on it (it has the truncated triangle head); does that count? I bought it from Antifa International, and it also has the slogan (In English, but written in the Younger Futhark alphabet): "This hammer smashes [the name for those people who suck redacted]"
MAXIMUM POINTS
based
I have a Thor’s hammer from crafty celts that’s made of bronze
My mjölnir pendant is from the Finnish jewellery brand Kalevala. Their pendant is based on a find from Laitila in southern Finland. I got it as a gift when I was a teenager and missed out on wearing it before it became a common symbol among some groups of people who suck. But I'm going to wear it again!
I always thought the hammer pendants were a little too stylized. My theory is that they weren't pendants, but toggle closures for tunics. A little experimentation shows them to be really effective closures. Like anorak buttons.
As always a fin and Informative video Jimmy
Do your have any racomended online shop that make hand made, hysterically accurate viking jewelleries ?
Great as usual. I don't have a Mjollnir, but I do have a small pewter Sleipnir pin and a couple of raven pins made in the same style.
I got my daughter a silver Thor's hammer of the same style as yours about 15 years ago, its a beautiful piece. I have 2 in copper, one in a raven style similar to the drawing with the granular detail with a raven face, one of a similar shape, but sporting antlers, and a tiny silver one. I don't wear them much these days, but I love them anyway.
Have you considered having some Viking related merch? I would think that with the growth of your channel and the niche market that you have focused on would make for a good place to offer people some attractive wearable and/or decorative items!
Thanks for this Jimmy! Good stuff as usual! Hoping to grab a Thor's hammer at some point or some other type of pendant.
This made me think about what gets preserved and found and what doesn't... when archaeologists a thousand years from today think about our fashions will they know the handmade high quality brands, or only the million inexpensive knockoffs? A valuable beloved item is more likely to be protected and preserved across time (like ending up in a burial), but common cheap items are widespread enough that you're more likely to run across them. Interesting thoughts today.
(Also I was hand sewing and didn't stop, but I totally guessed iron! My shrimp are the only witnesses but they'll back me up)
I guessed Bronze lol. But I love the comment about the iron pun I found below. This is very interesting, and I hadn’t actually known he was a ginger, though I do remember he was one of several brothers if memory serves…wasn’t one of them called the Golden? I think it’s the one that died via mistletoe, but it has been awhile since I read any of the old literature. That said, thank you for sharing!
I always tell myself that a lovely, evolved, somewhat weedy man is to be preferred. Yet, Thor makes me a little dizzy. *sigh* I am shallow and I know it.
Do you know about the letter complaining the vikings were stealing english/ christian women from england with their "good manners" and "washing" and viking culture having more respect for women. Don't go for the weedy "nice guy" go for the muscular hunk with shiny hair that bathes and respects you.
Hey, you mentioned "finger loop braid" as a way to hang your pendant. Can you give us any more information on them? I learned how to do them (assuming it's the same kind of 5 loop, 10 string braid) years and years ago, but I could never really find a good source on any historical information. The diy/crafting video I learned from said "It was popular in the medieval times" and that was about all I learned. It took forever to learn the name of it. Still, I have several cords I've made laying around my desk right now, and it's something I often do when I'm bored and need to keep my hands busy, but I'd love to know more about anything on the topic.
And here's me as a big metal fan going for a Finnish ukkovasara.
Had to go for it with the amount of bands from there I was into at the time and it's stuck.
Currently got a nice hammered iron one as my bronze one wore out.
My personal favourite mjölnir is the skåne one 👌🏻 got mine in silver just like the original find is with full back, not one of those empty backs you see all the time and are easy to find.
You mentioned beads. I am just getting into reenactment and I own some African trade beads that are several hundred years old and sand-casted. I have been researching but cannot find if Viking digs have uncovered African beads. I know Viking beads have made it as far as Africa but I cannot find if trade worked the other way as well. If they have, I would love to wear these beads since the sand-casted beads have such an amazing texture.
Models? Hammers? Thor? it's like you're trying to summon the spirit of Games Workshop.
Having seen Marvel's Mjolnir, and thinking "That doesn't look right", I wondered what an actual Viking age hammer might look like. But no matter how I modified my search terms, Google wouldn't show me anything but pendants! Could you some time post a picture of a hammer that a blacksmith, or carpenter, or shipwright might have used in the Viking age, so we can see how closely the pendants follow an actual hammer shape?
Every time my cat hears your videos she comes and watches them with me
I would like one of silicone's why I drink a lot of carbonated drinks and there is a thin line around my neck and fingers. I've tapered a bit down and drink water more but one has the be careful.
Yet another interesting video, thank you, Jimmy! I'm going to go look for one of those Romersdal hammers. I like that version. Get some rest and feel better!
You know you might be Scandi when you forget there's people out there who thinks Thor was not a redhead! :'D
My first guess was bronze, and second was iron. Iron seems appropriate for a hammer, somehow :p
Thanks for the video! Hope the phoney roni wasn't/isn't too bad.
Good luck with your shot!
When I was 10 or 11, my stepfather gifted me a small bronze Mjolnir after I've found his wedding ring that he'd dropped in a field. I've never managed to find out whether it's an actual replica or a modern design. It looks like it could be based off of a Viking age find, but I can't find any sources on it. Does anyone have any tips regarding this? The pendant is very dear to me regardless of its origin, but it would be nice to know more about it.
I wear a pewter Nevern cross, based on a stone Celtic cross in a Welsh church yard. Hopefully it fits in with my Dark Age Dumnonia impression.
My favourite one I’ve got a few weeks back in Sterling silver is the flekstad hammer found in flekstad Norway. Also my other favourite is the repton hammer but don’t wear as much cause that’s a very popular one among re-enacters lol
I've seen a lot of different ones for sell, with different carvings and designs. They can be really elaborate or simple. I'm glad there's a continued growing interest in the viking age and just the culture around it. As alway great video! Glad you're vaccinated! So many people where I live still think it's a hoax and refuse to get it
My theory for the iron thors hammer is that the metal is associated both with weaponry and building. Which I thought was what Thor was mostly associated with, defense and building. But my memories are from a couple of books a long time ago and google does not agree with me on that.
I have the same one from Denmark, I also saw the original in the Danish national museum along with a few others. Very impressive to see up close and ofcourse have many pictures
I would’ve said silver but never lead. And of course there may have been some wood but given the fact that this was a symbol of greatness, wood
might not be appropriate. Thanks for this. It was very interesting
Someone told me yesterday she found a cheese horse in their museum. We didn’t find one in ours. I’m not disappointed.
I want a cheese horse.
Iron.
Edit. I guessed right.
My theory on why iron. The Prose Edda says that the dwarf Bokkr made Mjollnir out of iron and capable of being worn under Thor's shirt. The best representation of a sharp knife is a sharp knife.
Iron was my second guess.
as an occultist and astrologer I have to point out that the alchemical symbol for Iron is the same as that for male and the planet Mars. it seems counter intuitive to have a symbolic hammer made of softer even fragile materials like silver, copper, gold or amber or jet that were linked to less aggressive / defensive deities. As a practical gardener who was using a lump hammer to smash things appart today I am glad it was made of iron. Copper might be prettier but iron gets the job done. I'm wondering -'cos I'm lazy and have not searched the web yet - if ancient full sized useful hammers made of iron take the Mijolnir shape ?
lovely video as always ! :)
So kind, as always! :3
My favourite hammer would be the Schonen hammer from Sweden, the one with the birds head in front.
Why? During my university times i was selling jewellery on medieval fairs and this hammer was both one of my most expensive pieces as well as one of my best sold ones.
The times on the medieval fair solidified me love for history and started my reenactment time.
Do you know why the symbol of Thor was so popular vs Odin or others?
One find I think is interesting is two Arabic coins found in Norway with hammers engraved over the original inscriptions. Unfortunately I can't find any pictures of them.