Study › Runes & Norse › Hymir's Cauldron
The giant Hymir owned a cauldron a mile deep. In the poem Hymiskvida, Thor and Tyr went to fetch it so the gods could feast in Aegir's hall.
Why the gods needed a cauldron
The gods wanted to feast in the hall of Aegir, but Aegir had no cauldron large enough to brew ale for them all. Tyr knew of one: his father, the giant Hymir, owned a cauldron a mile deep. So, in the poem Hymiskviða, Thor and Tyr went east to fetch it.
In Hymir's hall
Hymir's glance was so fierce it split a pillar and shattered the pots hanging from the beam. At supper Thor ate two whole oxen, and the next day he went out fishing with Hymir, and hooked the Midgard Serpent itself.
The cup and the cauldron
Then Hymir set Thor a test: to break his drinking cup. Thor threw it through stone pillars and it did not crack, until Tyr's mother whispered that it would break on Hymir's own skull, which was harder still. It did. Thor then lifted the huge cauldron onto his head, its handles ringing at his heels, and when the giants chased after them he fought them off with his hammer. The gods had their ale, and Aegir had to host their feasts from then on.
Read Thor's fishing for the serpent, Aegir and Tyr.
Questions
Who is Hymir?
A giant, Tyr's father in the poem, who owned a cauldron a mile deep.
How did Thor break Hymir's cup?
He threw it at Hymir's own skull, which was harder than the cup.