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Æsir

Magni

Thor's son by the giantess Járnsaxa. At three nights old he lifted the dead giant Hrungnir's leg off his father; after Ragnarök he and his brother Móði inherit Mjöllnir.

Magni is Thor's son by the giantess Járnsaxa Skáldskaparmál 17, and his name means "the mighty one". He has one scene, and it is a good one.

After Thor killed the giant Hrungnir, the dead giant fell forward and his foot lay across Thor's neck. Neither Thor's servant Þjálfi nor any of the gods could lift it. "Then Magni came up, son of Thor and Járnsaxa: he was then three nights old", and threw the foot aside. He added that it was a pity he had come so late, for he would have killed the giant with his fist. Thor welcomed him and gave him Hrungnir's horse Gold-Mane (Gullfaxi); Odin complained that Thor should have given such a horse to his father rather than "to the son of a giantess" Skáldskaparmál 17.

Thor names himself by his son: in Hárbarðsljóð he is "Magni's father" Hárbarðsljóð 9 Hárbarðsljóð 53, and a skaldic verse calls him "Magni's Sire" Skáldskaparmál 4.

Magni survives Ragnarök. With his brother Móði he will hold Mjöllnir in the new world: "Mothi and Magni shall Mjollnir have when Vingnir falls in fight" Vafþrúðnismál 51 Gylfaginning 53. The names of the two brothers, "Might" and "Wrath", look like personifications of their father's qualities, which may be why they, rather than Thor, are the ones who live on.

In the sources

Quoted from the hosted translations; each line is checked against the text when the site is built. Select a reference to read it in context.

Then Magni came up, son of Thor and Járnsaxa: he was then three nights old; he cast the foot of Hrungnir off Thor
Skáldskaparmál 17 The baby Magni does what none of the gods could.
I am Othin's son, Meili's brother, and Magni's father
Hárbarðsljóð 9 Thor names himself as Magni's father when challenged by the ferryman.
Mothi and Magni shall Mjollnir have When Vingnir falls in fight.
Vafþrúðnismál 51 Thor's sons will inherit his hammer after Ragnarök.

Where the sources disagree or fall silent

  • Járnsaxa, Magni's mother, is named as such only by Snorri (Skáldskaparmál 17). A Jarnsaxa is also one of the nine giant women who bore a mighty god in Hyndluljóð (Hyndluljóð 38), usually taken to be Heimdallr; whether she is the same figure is unknown.

Myths with Magni

Odin's contest of wisdom with Vafþrúðnir Against Frigg's advice, Odin goes in disguise to the wisest of the giants and stakes his head on a contest of questions about the creation, the gods and the end of the world. He wins with a question only he can answer. The world reborn After Ragnarök a green earth rises from the sea. Surviving gods meet on Iðavöllr, Baldr returns from Hel, two humans come out of hiding, and a new sun rides the sky. The sources do not agree on who survives. Thor's duel with Hrungnir A horse race with Odin brings the stone-headed giant Hrungnir drunk and boasting into Asgard. Thor challenges him to the first single combat of his life, kills him with Mjölnir, and carries a piece of the giant's whetstone in his skull for ever after.

Related

Thor Þórr The thunder god, strongest of the Æsir: son of Odin and Earth, husband of Sif, and with his hammer Mjöllnir the gods' defender against the giants, until he dies killing the World Serpent. Móði A son of Thor, named only alongside his brother Magni: the two survive Ragnarök and inherit their father's hammer Mjöllnir. Þrúðr Daughter of Thor and Sif, known only from kennings. Poets called the giant Hrungnir 'Þrúðr's thief', hinting at a lost story of her abduction. Hrungnir The strongest of the giants, with a head, heart and shield of stone. He races Odin into Ásgard, gets drunk there, and dies when Thor's hammer shatters his whetstone and his skull. Gullfaxi The giant Hrungnir's horse, which races Odin's Sleipnir into Ásgard; after Hrungnir's death Thor gives it to his infant son Magni. Mjölnir Mjöllnir Thor's short-handled hammer, forged by the dwarf brothers Brokkr and Sindri: it never misses, always returns to his hand, kills giants, and hallows brides, pyres and the dead goats it brings back to life. Ragnarök The foretold end of the gods' world: wolves swallow sun and moon, Loki and the monsters break loose, the gods fall in battle, Surtr burns the earth, and a new world rises.