Table of Contents

Acknowledgements Note on proper nouns Introduction 1. The Giant Killer: Thor in Old Norse mythology 2. Theorizing Thor 3. Christ versus Thor 4. Recovering the Past: Scholarship from the Enlightenment to National Romanticism 5. Thor in Denmark: From Klopstock to Grundtvig 6. Thor in Germany: From Grimm to Himmler 7. Thor in America: From Longfellow to Lee Notes Bibliography Index

Promotional Information

An exploration of how the legend of Thor has been adopted, adapted and transformed through history.

About the Author

Martin Arnold is Professor of Scandinavian Literature at Hull University. He is the author of The Vikings (Continuum, 2006).

Reviews

In this clear and lively book, Martin Arnold has demonstrated how closely the changing interpretations of a mythological figure through the generations are intertwined with major socio-political and cultural trends. I can heartily recommend it.
*Folklore*

A Times Literary Supplement Book of the Year, 2011
*Times Literary Supplement*

Like Arnold’s other recent books Thor aims for accessibility, and its style is readable and inclusive, well-pitched to both early students of Norse and a popular readership. The first three chapters of the book alone provide students a valuable critical introduction to the Norse mythological Thor … [T]his study’s intrinsic scholarly value and relevance to contemporary popular culture is without question … Thor: Myth to Marvel expands our viewpoint of this figure which can so casually be dismissed as simplistic in both its original meanings and later portrayals, inviting us to consider wider context and engage again with Thor and the continually recycled mythologies in which he plays a role.
*European History Quarterly*