Tanngnjostr- Norse CreatureCreature · Beast"Teeth-Grinder"
Also known as: Tanngnjóstr
Titles & Epithets
Description
One of two goats who draw Thor's chariot rumbling across the sky. Each evening the pair may be slaughtered and eaten; each morning Thor hallows their bones with Mjölnir and they rise whole again.
Mythology & Lore
The Chariot of Thunder
Tanngnjóstr and his companion Tanngrisnir pull Thor's chariot across the sky. The Gylfaginning names them alongside Mjölnir and the belt of strength as the god's defining possessions. The rumble of the chariot over the heavens is the sound of thunder, and Thor carries the byname Ǯku-Þórr, "Driving-Thor," because of it.
In the Hymiskviða, Thor drives the pair to a farmstead at the edge of Jötunheimr. He leaves the goats behind and continues on foot to the giant Hymir's hall, where he baits a hook with an ox head and drags Jörmungandr toward the surface.
The Cracked Bone
Thor can slaughter both goats each evening for meat. As long as their bones are collected unbroken on their hides, he hallows the remains with Mjölnir at dawn and they rise whole.
On one journey, Thor stopped at a farmer's house and killed the goats for supper. He told the household to keep every bone intact. The farmer's son Þjálfi cracked a thighbone with his knife to get at the marrow. The next morning, Thor swung Mjölnir over the hides. Tanngnjóstr rose lame in one hind leg. Thor's knuckles went white on the hammer shaft. The farmer offered everything he owned. Thor took Þjálfi and his sister Röskva as servants instead.