A 10th-century manuscript in Merseburg, Germany, preserves a charm for a horse’s dislocated foot. It calls on Wodan, Sinthgunt, and Donar. Not Thor. Donar. The name matters because it anchors the continental Germanic thunder god in a written record that predates the Icelandic Eddas by two centuries. Donar and Thor are the same god under different names, but the traditions that surrounded them diverged enough that a practitioner today cannot treat them as interchangeable. Donar is the continental Germanic thunder god, Thor his Norse counterpart. The key difference: Donar’s cult was older and less mythologized, while Thor’s stories were shaped by the literary output of 13th-century Iceland.
Where the Two Thunder Gods Come From
The earliest written reference to a Germanic thunder god comes from the Roman historian Tacitus. In his Germania (98 AD), he describes the tribes worshipping a god he calls Hercules. Most scholars agree this is Donar, the thunderer, because the Romans routinely equated foreign gods with their own pantheon. Hercules was a strong, club-wielding hero, a natural parallel for a god who threw a hammer or a stone axe.
The Merseburg Incantations, copied by a scribe in the 10th century, are the first native Germanic text to name Donar directly. The charm is pagan in origin, though the manuscript is Christian. It places Donar alongside Wodan and Sinthgunt, a goddess of uncertain identity. The charm is practical: heal a horse. That tells us something about Donar’s domain. He was invoked for everyday needs, not just cosmic battles.
Thor enters the historical record later. The Poetic Edda and the Prose Edda, compiled in Iceland during the 13th century, give us the stories we know: Thor’s journey to Utgard, his fishing trip with the giant Hymir, his duel with the World Serpent. These were written down by Christian Icelanders, most notably Snorri Sturluson (c. 1220), who systematized the myths for a literate audience. The human consequence: Thor became a character with a personality, a family, and a narrative arc. Donar remained a name in charms and place-names, a god of the field and the storm, not the page.
What Each God Symbolized for the People Who Worshipped Him
For the continental Germanic tribes, Donar was the sky father. His name comes from the Proto-Germanic *Þunraz, meaning “thunder.” He was the one who brought rain for the crops and struck down enemies with his hammer. The oak tree was sacred to him. When the Christian missionary Boniface felled the Donar’s Oak near Geismar in 723 AD, he was not cutting down a tree. He was cutting down the god’s presence in the landscape. The wood was used to build a chapel. That is how seriously the association was taken.
Thor’s symbolism is more elaborate because the Norse sources give us details. His hammer Mjölnir was not just a weapon. It was a tool of consecration. It hallowed marriages, births, and funerals. The hammer was worn as a pendant, a direct counter to the Christian cross during the conversion period. The human consequence: a person wearing a Thor’s hammer in 10th-century Iceland was making a political and religious statement. It meant “I am not baptized.”
Both gods were protectors of the common people. Thor defended Midgard from giants. Donar protected the farmstead from chaos. But Donar’s role was more tied to the agricultural cycle. The name Thursday (Donnerstag in German, Thursday in English) preserves his name in the week, a marker of his importance. Thor’s day is the same day, but the Norse version.
How You Spoke to Each
We know more about Thor’s cult because the sagas and the Eddas describe rituals. The temple at Uppsala, described by Adam of Bremen in the 11th century, had a statue of Thor in the center, flanked by Odin and Freyr. Sacrifices were made every nine years: nine males of every species, including humans. The bodies were hung in a sacred grove. That is the extreme end of the practice.
For Donar, the evidence is thinner but consistent. The Merseburg charm shows he was invoked in spoken formulas. Place-names across Germany and the Netherlands preserve his name: Donnersberg, Thundersley, Tønsberg. These were likely sites of open-air cult, not roofed temples. Offerings would have been poured out on the ground: ale, mead, milk. The fire was central. A lightning strike was seen as the god’s direct presence. The ground where it hit was sacred.
The practical difference: Thor had a priesthood of sorts, with chieftains acting as ritual leaders. Donar’s worship was more domestic. The householder was the priest. The hearth fire was the altar. When the family poured the first cup of ale onto the earth before drinking, they were giving to Donar.
Donar and Thor: One God, Two Traditions
The core identity is the same. Both are thunder gods, both wield a hammer or club, both are associated with the oak, both are protectors. But the traditions diverged because of geography and history.
The continental Germanic tribes were in direct contact with the Roman Empire and later with Frankish Christianity. Their pagan practices were suppressed earlier and more thoroughly. The Norse world, especially Iceland, was Christianized later and with more negotiation. The result: Thor’s mythology was written down and preserved. Donar’s was mostly erased.
There is also a difference in character. Thor in the Eddas is sometimes comic. He eats too much, he gets tricked, he has to dress as a bride to retrieve his hammer. Donar has no such stories. He is the silent thunderer. That may reflect the different functions of the sources. The Eddas were entertainment for a Christian audience. The Merseburg charm was a working tool. You do not make jokes about a god you are asking to heal a horse.
What People Get Wrong
The most common mistake is treating Donar and Thor as separate deities. They are the same god, just as Zeus and Jupiter are the same god under different cultural names. The difference is in the surviving tradition, not the essence.
Another misconception: that the Norse Thor was the only thunder god of the Germanic peoples. The continental tribes had their own version, and it was just as real to them. The lack of stories does not mean lack of worship.
A third error: assuming the hammer Mjölnir was a uniquely Norse invention. The word “hammer” in Germanic languages is related to the word for “stone.” Donar’s weapon was likely a stone hammer or a club. The shape of the Thor’s hammer pendants found in Scandinavia may have been influenced by Christian crosses, but the idea of a divine hammer is older.
FAQ
Is Donar the same as Thor?
Yes. Donar is the continental Germanic name for the same god the Norse called Thor. Both derive from the Proto-Germanic *Þunraz.
What is the difference between Donar and Thor?
The main difference is the surviving tradition. Thor has extensive mythology from 13th-century Iceland. Donar is known mainly from place-names, a few charms, and Roman accounts.
What symbols are associated with Donar?
The oak tree, the hammer or club, and possibly the sun wheel or swastika. Thursday is named after him.
How was Donar worshipped?
Through offerings poured onto the ground, open-air rituals at sacred groves or hilltops, and spoken charms. There is no evidence of a formal priesthood.
The Thunder Remains
The difference between Donar and Thor is not a matter of theology. It is a matter of what survived. One god, two archives. For the practitioner, the choice is not about which god is real. It is about which tradition you have access to. The continental sources are sparse but direct. The Norse sources are rich but filtered through a Christian lens. Both are valid. Both are incomplete. The thunder does not care which name you use.
For more on the broader family of gods, see our guide to mythology. To understand the hammer as a symbol, read the glossary entry on Mjölnir. And for the continental tradition specifically, explore our guide to Germanic paganism.