Thursday is the fourth day of the week. Thursday is named after the Scandinavian god Thor, and also corresponds to the Roman god Jove - the Roman name for Thursday being Dies Jovis or day of Jove. Research Thursday
The week is the period of seven days now universally adopted. It is of Hebrew or Chaldean origin and is generally regarded as a memorial of the creation of the world according to the Mosaic account. Dion Cassius attributes the invention of the week to the Egyptians. The Ptolemaic arrangement of the heavenly bodies, according to their distances from the earth, is Saturn (the most distant), Jupiter, Mars, the sun, Venus, Mercury and the Moon; and it was a principle of the ancient astrology that these bodies presided in this succession over the hours of the day. If the first hour be assigned to Saturn, the twenty-fifth or first hour of the next day, will fall to the sun; the forty-ninth, or first hour of the second day will fall to the moon and so on. From the names of the planets have been formed the modern names - Saturday (Saturn), Sunday (Sun), Monday (Moon), Tuesday (Tiu, the Saxonequivalent of Mars), Wednesday (Woden the Norseequivalent of Mercury), Thursday (Thor the Norseequivalent of Jupiter) and Friday (Frygga the Norseequivalent of Venus). Research Week
In Norse mythology, Aegir was the god of the sea, seashore and ocean and a son of Mistarblindi. He was a personification of the ocean, both good and bad. He caused storms with his anger and the skalds said a ship went into 'Aegir's wide jaws' when it wrecked.
Aegir was crowned with seaweed and always surrounded by nixies and mermaids while in his hall. Aegir's wife was Ran or Rana and they lived under the sea by the island Hlesey. Ran and Aegir had nine daughters who were the waves.
Aegir brewed ale for the gods after Thor brought him a big enough kettle. Every winter the gods would drink beer at Aegir's home. He was, therefore, famed for his hospitality. Gold was put onto the floor of the hall to provide light, instead of having a fire. Gold is therefore called Aegir's fire. The cups in Aegir's hall were always full, magically refilling themselves. Aegir had two servants in his hall, Fimafeng and Eldir. Sailors feared Aegir, and thought he would sometimes surface to destroy ships. Early Saxons made human sacrifices to a god of the sea, possibly connected with Aegir. Research Aegir
The Aesir were the principal gods in Norse mythology. They lived in Asgard. Four of the gods were common to the Germanic nations: Odin, chief of the Aesir; Frigg Odin's wife; Tyr the god of war; and Thor the god of thunder. Some of the other important Aesir were Balder, Jord, Heimdall, and Loki. Research Aesir
In Norse mythology, Alvis was a dwarf who wanted to marry Thor's daughter, Thrud. Unlike most suitors, Thor didn't challenge Alvis to a test of strength, but instead challenged him to a riddlecontest. He spent the whole night asking Alvis questions until the day dawned and the rising sun turned
Alvis to stone. Research Alvis
In Norse mythology, Geirrod was a giant who lived in an iron castle. He was determined to punish Thor for killing Hrungnir, and to this end he captured Loki and tortured him until he agreed to trick Thor into visiting Geirrod's castle. Loki managed to geThor out of Asgard without his belt of strength, iron gloves and hammer, but on the way to Geirrod's castleThor met and mated with the sorceress Grid who subsequently gave him another belt of strength, a pair of gloves and an unbreakable staff. Geirrod tried several attempts to kill Thor, until finally throwing a lump of red-hot iron at him at breakfast, which Thor caught in his gloves, and hurled back, the red-hot iron searing through the guts of Geirrod and killing him. This incident caused Thor never again to trust his former friend Loki, and is one aspect of the anatgonism between the gods which will one day culminate in the cosmic battle which will end the current cycle of the universe. Research Geirrod
In Norse mythology, Gjalp was a daughter of Geirrod. She was stationed at the head-waters of the fast flowing river Vimur, with her menstraul blood gushing in such quantities that the river doubled its depth from one second to the next, the object being to drown Thor who was making his way to Geirrod's castle. However, Thor noticed what was happening and hurled a boulder which plugged Gjalp's vagina and stopped the flow. Research Gjalp
In Norse mythology, Greip was a daughter of Geirrod. She with her sister Gjalp tried to kill Thor by changing into a cat and, arching her back under Thor's chair, trying to crush Thor against the ceiling. However, Thor wedged his unbreakable staff between the chair and the ceiling and the two sisters broke their backs in the effort and died. Research Greip
The Probert Encyclopaedia was designed, edited and programed by
Matt and Leela Probert
Abbreviations
Research Thursday
