The champion of Asgard, Thor is said to protect both it and Midgard from the likes of the jǫtnar, a race of beings native to Jötunheimr. He is known in Old English as Þunor ("Thunor") and in Old High German as Donar (runic "þonar" ᚦᛟᚾᚨᚱ), all of which stem from the Proto-Germanic "*Þunraz," meaning "thunder".