A Star Made from a Toe
After Thor's great duel with the giant Hrungnir, a shard of the giant's whetstone lay lodged in the thunder god's head. The seeress Gróa was called to heal him, and she began to chant her spells to loosen the stone from his skull.
To thank her and lift her spirits, Thor told Gróa a piece of joyful news about her husband, Aurvandil the Bold. Thor had carried Aurvandil out of the frozen wastes of Jötunheim in a basket upon his back, wading across the icy river Élivágar.
One of Aurvandil's toes had stuck out of the basket and frozen solid, so Thor broke it off and flung it up into the heavens, where it became a bright star known ever after as Aurvandil's Toe. Gróa was so overjoyed that she forgot her healing charm, and the stone stayed in Thor's head.
Key Events of the Tale
Across the Élivágar
Thor carries Aurvandil out of the land of giants in a basket, wading the freezing rivers at the edge of the world.
The Frozen Toe
A toe pokes from the basket and freezes. Thor snaps it off and hurls it into the night sky.
A New Star
The toe becomes the star called Aurvandil's Toe, and Gróa's joy makes her forget the charm that would free Thor of the stone.
Sources and Related Tales
This tale is told by Snorri Sturluson in the Prose Edda, in the Skáldskaparmál, as part of the aftermath of Thor's duel with Hrungnir.
Quick Facts
Key Figures
Aurvandil
The bold, carried from Jötunheim
Gróa
The seeress and Aurvandil's wife
Themes & Symbolism
Myth in the Sky: The Norse read their stories into the very stars above them.
Joy and Distraction: Good news undoes the healing, and the stone remains.
Kindness of Thor: Even the fierce thunder god carries a friend to safety.