Thor and Loki Go to Utgard, pt 1: The Goat Feast

Part 1 of 4: Thor’s goats, a hungry farm family, and the start of the road to Utgard.

Thor was itching for a fight, and the fiercest giants lived in Utgard. So he asked Loki to come along, and the two set out in Thor’s chariot, pulled by his goats Tanngrisnir (‘Teeth-Barer’) and Tanngnjóstr (‘Teeth-Grinder’).

Thor’s Goats and a Night at the Farm

As evening approached, the two gods stopped at a peasant’s hut and asked for shelter. The man was happy to allow the gods to stay, but he couldn’t offer them any food to eat. In fact, the family had none.

Thor said he’d provide dinner. Then he slaughtered his goats, cooked them, and served the family of four: the farmer, his wife, their son Thialfi, and their daughter Roskva. They could eat all they wanted, on two conditions:

1. Do not break the bones.
2. Throw the bones on the goatskin that he had laid on the floor.

The Broken Bone

But Thialfi couldn’t resist the marrow. (The Poetic Edda poem Hymiskviða blames Loki for putting him up to it.) He split a thighbone with his knife, then tossed the pieces onto the goatskin with the rest.

The next morning, Thor held Mjölnir over the goatskins and bones. Then Tanngrisnir and Tanngnjóstr returned to life as they were before, although one had a limp.

Thor’s face darkened, and the family wailed at the sight. The farmer offered everything they owned. Still, seeing their terror, Thor’s anger cooled. He took Thialfi and Roskva as payment instead, and they served him from that day on.

The travelers left Tanngrisnir, Tanngnjóstr, and the chariot with the parents. So they would walk to Utgard.

The whole journey: Part 1, The Goat Feast · Part 2, The Strange Hall · Part 3, Skrymir · Part 4, The Challenges. New to the gods? Start with Thor, Odin, and Loki.