96 Noj'ivay and the Norwegians 



Some personify the ancient forming powers of the 

 universe ; some the world before it became formed, and 

 was but a chaos, a gaping as of night. They are very 

 ancient these giants, older than the gods ; all human 

 progress is a war upon them, for they are anterior to 

 all human beginnings, and are for ever endeavouring 

 to bring back the world to the state in which it was 

 before change began. 



Man would never alone be able to cope with these 

 monsters — though now and then there arises an indi- 

 vidual hero who, like Beowulf, is able to contend with 

 a giant. But man in the north is under the protection 

 of the great god Thor, the thunderer, whose peculiar 

 mission it is to make war upon giants and wizards, 

 whom he destroys with his wonderful hammer, the 

 thunder-bolt.^ Thor seems to have been the special 

 god of the Scandinavian folk ; and the number of names, 

 both of persons and places, containing his name witness 

 to the estimation in which he was held — Thorgeir, Thor- 

 stein, Thoralf, Thorulf, Thorketil, Thorgrim, Thorarin, 

 Thorfinn, Thorleif, Thorhall, Thorgerda, Thorhild : it 

 would be impossible to give them all. Then of places — 

 Thursby, Thurston, Thurstanton, Thursfield, Thordal, 

 Thorhus, Thorsborg, Thorshalla, Thorsnut, Thorvik, Thor- 

 strand — are some in England and in Scandinavia.^ In 

 England, the place-names of this class occur chiefly in 



1 Mjolnir, the crusher. 



2 It is not always possible to distinsfuish with certainty in place-names 

 between compoimds of the word ' Thor ' and of the word 'thius,' a monster. 

 In personal names, 'tlmrs' is hardly likely to form an ingredient. 

 'Thurso' is an example of a place containing the word 'thurs' (plural 

 'thursar'). It means the monsters' island — some giant, no doubt, having 

 been supposed to have his dwelling there. In some Sagas it is called 

 ' Thursa-skjfer,' giants' rock. 



