Jörð (“the Earth”) is a goddess of Norse mythology, the personification of the Earth. A giantess or goddess depending on the source, she is one of Odin's companions and the mother of Thor, the god of thunder.
Jörð
Jörd
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Frequently asked questions
Key Facts
- Jörð, whose name means “Earth” in Old Norse, personifies the Earth in Norse mythology
- She is the mother of Thor, the god of thunder, whom she conceives with Odin
- She is mentioned in the Poetic Edda and the Prose Edda of Snorri Sturluson (written around 1220)
- Often regarded as a giantess (jötunn), she is among the deities associated with primordial nature
- Her traditions go back to pre-Christian Germanic-Scandinavian beliefs, predating the Christianization of Scandinavia (10th–12th centuries)
Works & Achievements
The major “work” attributed to Jörð is having given birth to Thor, the god of thunder, protector of gods and men against the giants.
Jörð embodies the soil, fertility and the inhabited world; she represents the physical foundation on which the Norse worlds rest.
By uniting with Odin, Jörð takes part in establishing the genealogy of the Æsir, placing Thor at the heart of the Norse pantheon.
Her name became a recurring poetic metaphor (kenning) among the skalds to designate the earth, enriching Norse poetry.
Jörð belongs to a long Germanic tradition of worshipping the Mother Earth, to which Tacitus already attests in the 1st century with the goddess Nerthus.
Anecdotes
Jörð, whose name literally means “Earth” in Old Norse, is one of the few Scandinavian deities to bear the very name of what she embodies: when the ancient Scandinavians spoke of the earth beneath their feet, they uttered the name of a goddess.
According to the texts, Jörð was both a giantess (jötunn) and a goddess, daughter of the night, Nótt. This dual nature did not trouble the Scandinavians: in their mythology, the boundaries between giants and gods were often blurred, and unions between the two camps were frequent.
Jörð is the mother of Thor, the famous god of thunder, whom she had with Odin, the lord of the gods. This is why Scandinavian poets sometimes called Thor “the son of Jörð” (Jarðar burr) in their verses.
The word “Jörð” has survived to this day: it is the direct cousin of the English “earth” and the German “Erde.” Hearing these words today, we still catch an echo of the name of the ancient Norse goddess of the Earth.
In skaldic poetry, poets used the name of Jörð as a poetic metaphor known as a “kenning”: to denote dry land or the ground, they invoked the goddess herself, thus blending geography and mythology.
Primary Sources
The Earth (Jörð) was his daughter [Night's] and his wife; by her Odin fathered his first son, who is Asa-Thor.
How should Thor be referred to? He is called the son of Odin and Jörð, father of Magni, Móði and Þrúðr.
Thor, son of Jörð, makes his entrance and orders Loki to put an end to his insults at the gods' feast.
Thor, descendant of the Earth, set out; the ground burned and the mountains split apart at his passing.
Key Places
The earthly realm of humans in Norse cosmology, the very embodiment of Jörð. It is the inhabited land, girdled by the ocean and the serpent Jörmungand.
The celestial realm of the Aesir, where Odin, companion of Jörð, resides and where the divine feasts are held. Jörð is connected to it through her closeness to the gods.
The cosmic ash tree that links the nine Norse worlds and whose roots plunge into the earth. It structures the universe in which the Earth-Jörð is set.
Realm of the jötnar (giants), to which Jörð is connected through her nature as a giantess according to some sources. It is often opposed to the world of the gods.
It was in medieval Iceland that Snorri Sturluson and the anonymous compilers committed to writing the myths mentioning Jörð, thus preserving her memory.
Typical Objects
The hammer of her son Thor, a weapon symbolizing lightning and the protection of the Earth and of mankind against the forces of chaos. Although it belongs to Thor, it extends the protective action of Jörð's lineage.
A concrete symbol of Jörð, the fertile, nourishing soil on which Scandinavian farms and harvests rest. It embodies the fertility of the land.
The middle world, the land of men, is the very embodiment of Jörð in Norse cosmogony. Shaped by the gods, it is the realm over which the Earth-goddess watches.
A central ritual object of the divine feasts (such as the one described in the *Lokasenna*) where the gods, including Thor son of Jörð, gather. It was used to honor the gods and to seal oaths.
Fruits of the Earth personified by Jörð, grain symbolizes the generosity of the nourishing soil that the Scandinavians gave thanks for during the seasonal festivals.
School Curriculum
Vocabulary & Tags
Key Vocabulary
Daily Life
Morning
As the personification of the Earth, Jörð has no human daily routine: her “morning” is the dawn that rises over the Scandinavian fields and fjords. Daughter of the Night (Nótt), she succeeds her mother each day when light returns to the world.
Afternoon
Jörð's “activity” is constant: bearing the forests, the mountains, and the farms of men. The Scandinavians who plowed the fields and led their animals to graze lived literally upon the body of the goddess.
Evening
In the evening, the Earth wraps itself once again in the shadow of Nótt, her mother. The ancient Scandinavians saw in this cycle the eternal alternation of light and darkness across the soil of the world.
Food
A goddess of fertility, Jörð has no need to feed herself: it is she who feeds. She gives the grain, the fruits, and the grass that nourish humans and animals, and her name is tied to the abundance of the harvests.
Clothing
The Earth-goddess is symbolically depicted clothed in vegetation itself: the forests, the meadows, and the fields form her ever-changing attire through the seasons.
Housing
Jörð's “dwelling” is the entire world: Midgard, the middle world, is at once her home and her body. She does not reside in a palace like the other gods, but extends everywhere there is solid ground.
Historical Timeline
Period Vocabulary
Liens externes & ressources
Références
Œuvres
Maternité de Thor
Âge mythique
Personnification de la Terre nourricière
Âge mythique
Lignée divine d'Odin
Âge mythique
Source des kennings poétiques
Époque viking et médiévale
Pont conceptuel avec Nerthus
Antiquité - Moyen Âge
