In Norse mythology, Mjǫllnir (also spelled Mjöllnir or Mjölner, pronounced /ˈmjɔːlnɪər/ or /ˈmjɔːlnər/ in English) is the hammer of Thor, a major god associated with thunder in Norse mythology. Distinctively shaped, Mjöllnir is depicted in Norse mythology as one of the most fearsome weapons, capable of leveling mountains. Though generally recognized and depicted as a hammer, Mjöllnir is sometimes referred to as an axe or club. In the 13th century Prose Edda, Snorri Sturluson relates that the Svartálfar Sindri and Brokkr made Mjöllnir at the command of Loki.
The Prose Edda gives a summary of Mjöllnir’s special qualities in that, with Mjöllnir, Thor:
… would be able to strike as firmly as he wanted, whatever his aim, and the hammer would never fail, and if he threw it at something, it would never miss and never fly so far from his hand that it would not find its way back, and when he wanted, it would be so small that it could be carried inside his tunic
