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Norse mythology
*** Shopping-Tip: Norse mythology
see
Norse_mythology
{| border="0" cell-spacing="0" width="280" align="right" |
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Image:Idun and the Apples.jpg Iðunn.html" title="Meaning of right right|288px|thumb|The Norse gods were mortal, and only through [[Iðunn's apples could they hope to live until
Ragnarök. Image by J. Penrose, 1890..html" title="Meaning of 288px|thumb|The Norse gods were mortal, and only through [[Iðunn">right|288px|thumb|The Norse gods were mortal, and only through [[Iðunn's apples could they hope to live until
Ragnarök. Image by J. Penrose, 1890.">288px|thumb|The Norse gods were mortal, and only through [[Iðunn">right|288px|thumb|The Norse gods were mortal, and only through [[Iðunn's apples could they hope to live until
Ragnarök. Image by J. Penrose, 1890.
|-
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{| border="0" cell-spacing="1" width="280" align="right"
!align="center" bgcolor="darkorange" colspan="2"|Topics in Norse mythology
|-align="center"
!alig="left" bgcolor="darkseagreen"|
Æsir (gods)
|align="left"|
AndhrÃmnir, Balder Baldr, Borr, Bragi, Búri, Dagr, Delling, Forseti, Heimdall, Hermóðr, Höðr, HÅ“nir, Kvasir, Lóðurr, Loki, Meili, Móði and Magni, Óðr, Odin, RÃg, Thor, Tyr, Váli (son of Odin) Váli, Ve, Vidar, Vili
|-align="center"
!align="left" bgcolor="darkseagreen"|
Ã?synjur'''
(goddesses)
|align="left"|
Bil, Eir, Frigg, Fulla, Gefjun, Gná, HlÃn, Iðunn, Jord, Lofn, Nanna (Norse deity) Nanna, Nótt, Saga (mythology) Saga, Sif, Sigyn, Sjöfn, Snotra, Sol (goddess) Sol, Syn (goddess) Syn, Var (mythology) Var, Vör, Thrud Þrúðr
|-align="center"
!align="left" bgcolor="darkseagreen"|
Vanir'''
(gods and goddesses)
|align="left"|
Freyr (Yngvi), Freya, Gullveig, Nerthus, Njord, Ullr
|-align="center"
!align="left" bgcolor="cornflowerblue"|
Norns (fates)
|align="left"|
Urd (Norse mythology) Urd, Verdandi, Skuld (Norse mythology) Skuld
|-align="center"
!align="left" bgcolor="cornflowerblue"|
Valkyries
|align="left"|
Brynhildr, Göndul, Gunnr, Hildr, Hlaðgunnr, Róta, Skuld (Norse mythology) Skuld, SigrdrÃfa, Sigrún, Skögul, Sváva, Thrud
|-align="center"
!align="left" bgcolor="cornflowerblue"|
Elf Elves (Ã?lfar)
|align="left"|
Beyla, Byggvir, Dokkalfar, Volund
|-align="center"
!align="left" bgcolor="cornflowerblue"|
Jotuns
(giants)
|align="left"|
Ægir, Angrboda, Baugi, Beli (Norse giant) Beli, Bergelmir, Bestla, Billing (giant) Billing, Bolthorn, Byleist, Elli, Fárbauti, Fenja, Fjalar, Fornjót, Geirrod, Gerd, Gjálp and Greip, Gilling, Grid (Jotun) Grid, Gunnlod, Gymir, Hel (being) Hel, Hrym, Hræsvelgr, Hrod, Hrungnir, Hymir, Hyndla, Hyrrokkin, Jarnsaxa, Kari, Laufey, Loki, Mani (god) Mani (moon), Menja, Modgunn, Mundilfari, Muspel, Mökkurkálfi, Narfi, Olvaldi, Ragnhild, Rán, Rind (giantess) Rind, Skaði, Snær, Suttung, Surtur, Thokk, Thiazi, Thrudgelmir, Thrym, Utgardaloki, Vafthruthnir, Ymir
|-align="center"
!align="left" bgcolor="cornflowerblue"|
Norse dwarves Dwarves
|align="left"|
AlvÃss, Andvari, Berling, Brokk, Durin, Dvalin, Eitri, Fafnir, Fjalar and Galar, Gandalf (norse mythology) Gandalf, Hjuki, Hreidmar, Litr, Lofar, Nordri, Sudri, Austri and Vestri, Nyi and Nidi, Otr, Regin, Sindri (dwarf) Sindri
|-align="center"
!align="left" bgcolor="deepskyblue"|Humans
|align="left"|
Adils, Agne, Ask, Aslaug (Kraka), Björn Ironside, Bödvar Bjarki, Berserkers, Dag the Wise, Domalde, Draugr, Dyggve, Egil, Einherjar, Embla, Erik and Alrik, Fjölnir, Frodi, Glam, Grimhild, Gylfi, Haddingjar, Hagbard and Signy, Haki, Halfdan, Halfdan the Old, Harald Hildetand, Hedin, Helgi Hundingsbane, Hjalmar, Hrólf Kraki, Hugleik, Hvitserk, Ingeborg, Ingjald, Jorund, Karl, Krimhild, Lif and Lifthrasir, Marmennill, Nór, Ohthere Ottar, Raum the Old, Röskva, Sigar, Siggeir, Sigmund, Signy, Sigurd, Sigurd Ring, Sinfjötli, Skagul Toste, Skirnir, Sveigder, Svipdag, Thjálfi, Vanlade, Völva, Yngvi and Alf, Yrsa
|-align="center"
!align="left" bgcolor="deepskyblue"|Beasts
|align="left"|
Arvak and Alsvid, Auðumbla, Blóðughófi, Eikþyrnir, Fenrisulfr, Garm, Geri and Freki, Grani, Gullinbursti, Gullinkambi, Gulltopp, Hati, Heiðrún, HildisvÃni, Hófvarpnir, Hræsvelgr, HrÃmfaxi, Hugin and Munin, Jörmungandr, Lindorm, Mánagarmr, NÃðhöggr, Ratatosk, Skinfaxi, Skoll, Sleipnir, Svadilfari, SæhrÃmnir, Tanngrisnir and Tanngnjóstr, Werewolf, Veðrfölnir
|-align="center"
!align="left" bgcolor="dodgerblue"|Locations
|align="left"|
�lfheim, �sgard, Barrey, Bifröst, Bilskirnir, Breidablik, Élivágar, Eliudnir, Fensalir, Fólkvangr, Gimlé, Ginnungagap, Gjallar Bridge, Gjöll, Gladsheim, Glasir, Glitnir, Gnipahellir, Himinbjörg, Hindarfjall, Hörgr, Körmt and Örmt, Idavoll, Jötunheimr, Ironwood, Hlidskjalf, Midgard, Muspelheim, Myrkviðr Mirkwood, Náströnd, Niflheim, Noatun, Sessrúmnir, Singasteinn, Slidr River, Sökkvabekkr, Thrudvang, Thrymheim, Utgard, Valhall, Vanaheim, Hvergelmir, Vigrid, Vimur River Vimur, Vingólf, �dalir, Yggdrasil
|-align="center"
!align="left" bgcolor="dodgerblue"|Artifacts
|align="left"|
Andvarinaut, Brisingamen, Draupnir, EldhrÃmnir, Gand, Gjallarhorn, Gleipnir, Gram (mythology) Gram, Grotte, Gungnir, Helgrind, Helskor, Megingjord, Well of Mimir, Misteltein, Mjölnir, Naglfar, Odrörer, Reginnaglar, Hringhorni, SkÃðblaðnir, Tyrfing, Well of Urd
|-align="center"
!align="left" bgcolor="dodgerblue"|Worship
|align="left"|
Blót, Hörgr, Human sacrifice, Seid, Sumbel, Temple at Uppsala, Thor's Hammer, Völva, Yule
|}
|}
'''Norse''' or '''Scandinavian mythology''' comprises the pre-
Christianity Christian religion, beliefs and
legends of the
North Germanic language Scandinavian people, including those who settled on
Iceland, where the written sources for Norse mythology were assembled. It is the best-preserved version of the older common
Germanic mythology, which also includes the closely related
Anglo-Saxon mythology. Germanic mythology, in its turn, had evolved from an earlier
Indo-European religion Indo-European mythology.
Norse mythology is a collection of beliefs and stories shared by Northern
Germanic tribes. It was not a
revealed religion, in that it was not a truth handed down from the divine to the mortal (although it does have tales of normal persons learning the stories of the gods from a visit to or from the gods), and it had no
scripture. The mythology was
Oral tradition orally transmitted in the form of long, regular poetry. Oral transmission continued through the
Viking Age, and our knowledge about it is mainly based on the
Eddas and other medieval texts written down during and after
Christianisation.
In
Scandinavian folklore, these beliefs held on the longest, and in rural areas some traditions have been maintained until today. Others have recently been revived or reinvented as
Germanic Neopaganism. The mythology also remains as an inspiration in
literature (see
Norse mythological influences on later literature) as well as on stage productions and movies.
Sources
Most of this mythology was passed down orally, and much of it has been lost. However, some of it was captured and recorded by Christian scholars, particularly in the ''
Eddas'' and the ''
Heimskringla'' by
Snorri Sturluson, who believed that pre-Christian deities were men and women rather than devils. There is also the Danish ''
Gesta Danorum'' by
Saxo Grammaticus, where, however, the Norse gods are strongly
Euhemerus Euhemerized.
The ''
Prose Edda Prose or Younger Edda'' was written in the early
13th century by
Snorri Sturluson, who was a leading
poet, chieftain, and
diplomacy diplomat in
Iceland. It may be thought of primarily as a handbook for aspiring
poets. It contains
prose explications of traditional "
kennings," or compressed metaphors found in poetry. These prose retellings make the various tales of the Norse gods systematic and coherent.
The ''
Poetic Edda'' (also known as the ''Elder Edda'') was committed to writing about 50 years after the ''Prose Edda.'' It contains 29 long poems, of which 11 deal with the Germanic deities, the rest with legendary heroes like
Sigurd the Volsung (the
Sigurd Siegfried of the German version ''
Nibelungenlied''). Although scholars think it was transcribed later than the other Edda, the language and poetic forms involved in the tales appear to have been composed centuries earlier than their transcription.
Besides these sources, there are surviving legends in Scandinavian folklore. Some of these can be corroborated with legends appearing in other Germanic literatures e.g. the tale related in the
Anglo-Saxon ''
Finnsburg Fragment Battle of Finnsburgh'' and the many allusions to mythological tales in ''
Deor''. When several partial references and tellings survive, scholars can deduce the underlying tale. Additionally, there are hundreds of place names in Scandinavia named after the gods.
A few runic inscriptions, such as the
Rök Runestone and the
Kvinneby amulet, make references to the mythology. There are also several
runestones and
image stones that depict scenes from Norse mythology, such as
Thor's fishing trip, scenes from the ''
Völsunga saga'',
Odin and
Sleipnir, Odin being devoured by Fenrir, and
Hyrrokkin riding to
Baldr's funeral.
In Denmark, one image stone depicts
Loki with curled dandy-like mustaches and lips that are sewn together and the British
Gosforth cross shows several intriguing images. There are also smaller images, such as figurines depicting the god Odin (with one eye), Thor (with his hammer) and
Freyr (with his erect phallus).
Cosmology
{{main|Norse cosmology}}
In Norse mythology, the earth is represented as a flat disc. This disk is situated in the branches of the world tree, or
Yggdrasil. ''
Asgard'', where the gods lived, was located at the centre of the disc, and could only be reached by walking across the rainbow (the
Bifröst bridge). The Giants lived in an abode called
Jötunheimr (''giant realm'').
A cold, dark abode called
Niflheim was ruled by
Hel (being) Hel, daughter of Loki. According to the
Prose Edda this was the eventual dwelling-place of most of the dead. Located somewhere in the south was the fiery realm of
Muspell, home of the fire giants.
Further otherworldly realms include
�lfheim, home of the light-elves (ljósálfar),
Svartálfaheim, home of the
dark-elves. In between Asgard and Niflheim was
Midgard, the world of men (see also
Middle Earth).
The cosmology of Norse mythology also involves a strong element of
duality: for example the night and the day have their own mythological counterparts
Dagr/
Skinfaxi and
Nótt/
HrÃmfaxi, the sun and the chasing wolf
Sol (goddess) Sol and
Skoll, the moon and its chasing wolf
Mani (god) Mani and
Hati, and the total opposites of
Niflheim and
Muspell is the origin of the world. This might have reflected a deeper
metaphysics metaphysical belief in opposites as the foundation of the world.
Supernatural beings
Image:Thor.jpg Thor.html" title="Meaning of 190px 190px|right|thumb|[[Thor often fought the giants..html" title="Meaning of right|thumb|
190px|right|thumb|[[Thor often fought the giants.">right|thumb|[[Thor">190px|right|thumb|[[Thor often fought the giants.
There are three "clans" of deities, the
Æsir, the
Vanir, and the
Iotnar (referred to as ''giants'' in this article). The distinction between Æsir and Vanir is relative, for the two are said to have made peace, exchanged hostages, intermarried and reigned together after a prolonged war, which the Æsir had finally won. Some gods belong in both camps. Some scholars have speculated that this tale symbolized the way the gods of invading Indo-European tribes supplanted older nature-deities of the aboriginal peoples, although it should be firmly noted that this is conjecture. Other authorities (compare
Mircea Eliade and
J.P. Mallory) consider the Æsir/Vanir division to be simply the Norse expression of a general
Indo-European division of divinities, parallel to that of
Olympians and
Titan (mythology) Titans in
Greek mythology, and in parts of the
Mahabharata.
The Æsir and the Vanir are generally enemies with the Iotnar (singular ''Iotunn'' or ''
Jotuns''; Old English ''Eotenas'' or ''
Entas''). They are comparable to the Titans and
Gigantes of Greek mythology and generally translated as "giants", although "
trolls" and "
demons" have been suggested as suitable alternatives. However, the Æsir are descendants of Iotnar and both Æsir and Vanir intermarry with them. Some of the giants are mentioned by name in the ''Eddas'', and they seem to be representations of natural forces. There are two general types of giant: frost-giants and fire-giants. There were also
elf elves and
Norse dwarves dwarfs, whose role is shadowy but who are generally thought to side with the gods.
In addition, there are many other supernatural beings: Fenrir the gigantic
wolf, and
Jörmungandr the sea-serpent (or "worm") that is coiled around the world. These two monsters are described as the progeny of Loki, the trickster-god, and a giant. More benevolent creatures are
Hugin and Munin (thought and memory), the two ravens who keep Odin, the chief god, apprised of what is happening on earth, and
Ratatosk, the squirrel which scampers in the branches of the world ash,
Yggdrasil, which is central to the conception of this world.
Along with many other
polytheistic religions, this mythology lacks the ''good-evil
dualism'' of the
Middle Eastern tradition. Thus, Loki is not primarily an adversary of the gods, though he is often portrayed in the stories as the nemesis to the
protagonist Thor, and the giants are not so much fundamentally evil, as rude, boisterous, and uncivilized. The dualism that exists is not evil vs good, but order vs chaos. The gods represent order and structure whereas the giants and the monsters represent chaos and disorder.
Völuspá: the origin and end of the world
The origin and eventual fate of the world are described in ''
Völuspá'' ("The
völva's prophecy" or "The sybil's prophecy"), one of the most striking poems in the ''Poetic Edda''. These haunting verses contain one of the most vivid creation accounts in all of religious history and a representation of the eventual destruction of the world that is unique in its attention to detail.
In the ''Völuspá'', Odin, the chief god of the Norse pantheon, has conjured up the spirit of a dead Völva (
Shaman or
sybil) and commanded this spirit to reveal the past and the future. She is reluctant: "What do you ask of me? Why tempt me?"; but since she is already dead, she shows no fear of Odin, and continually taunts him: "Well, would you know more?" But Odin insists: if he is to fulfil his function as king of the gods, he must possess all knowledge. Once the sybil has revealed the secrets of past and future, she falls back into oblivion: "I sink now".
=The beginning
=
Image:Nornorna_spinner_ödets_trådar_vid_Yggdrasil.jpg Norns.html" title="Meaning of thumb thumb|200px|The [[Norns spin the threads of fate at the foot of
Yggdrasil, the tree of the world..html" title="Meaning of 200px|The [[Norns">thumb|200px|The [[Norns spin the threads of fate at the foot of
Yggdrasil, the tree of the world.">200px|The [[Norns">thumb|200px|The [[Norns spin the threads of fate at the foot of
Yggdrasil, the tree of the world.
In the beginning there was the world of ice Niflheim, and the world of fire Muspelheim, and between them was the Ginnungagap, a "grinning (or yawning) gap," in which nothing lived. In
Ginnungagap, the fire and the ice met, and the fire of Muspelheim licked the ice shaping a primordial giant
Ymir and a giant cow,
Auðumbla whose milk fed Ymir. The cow licked the ice, creating the first god,
Búri, who was the father of
Borr, in turn the father of the first Æsir, Odin, and his brothers
Vili and
Ve.
Ymir was a
hermaphrodite and alone procreated the race of giants. Then Borr's sons; Odin, Vili, and Ve; slaughtered Ymir and, from his body, created the world.
The gods regulated the passage of the days and nights, as well as the seasons. The first human beings were
Ask (
ash (tree) ash) and
Embla (
elm), who were carved from wood and brought to life by the gods Odin,
HÅ“nir/Vili, and
Lóðurr/Vé. Sol is the goddess of the sun, a daughter of
Mundilfari, and wife of
Glen. Every day, she rides through the sky on her chariot, pulled by two horses named
Alsvid and
Arvak. This passage is known as
Alfrodull, meaning "glory of elves," which in turn was a common
kennings kenning for the sun. Sol is chased during the day by Skoll, a wolf that wants to devour her.
Solar eclipses signify that Skoll has almost caught up to her. It is fated that Skoll will eventually catch Sol and eat her; however, she will be replaced by her daughter. Sol's brother, the moon, Mani, is chased by Hati, another wolf. The earth is protected from the full heat of the sun by
Svalin, who stands between the earth and Sol. In Norse belief, the sun did not give light, which instead emanated from the manes of
Alsvid and
Arvak.
The sybil describes the great ash tree
Yggdrasil and the three
norns (female symbols of inexorable fate; their names; Urðr (
Urd (Norse Mythology) Urd), Verðandi (
Verdandi), and
Skuld (Norse Mythology) Skuld; indicate the past, present, and future), who spin the threads of fate beneath it. She describes the primeval war between Æsir and Vanir and the murder of Baldr. Then she turns her attention to the future.
=The end times (Eschatology Eschatological beliefs)
=
{{main|Ragnarök}}
The Old Norse vision of the future is bleak. In the end, it was believed, the forces of evil and chaos will outnumber and overcome the divine and human guardians of good and order. Loki and his monstrous children will burst their bonds; the dead will sail from Niflheim to attack the living.
Heimdall, the watchman of the gods, will summon the heavenly host with a blast on his horn. Then will ensue a final battle between order and chaos (Ragnarök), which the gods will lose, as is their fate. The gods, aware of this, will gather the finest warriors, the
Einherjar, to fight on their side when the day comes, but in the end they will be powerless to prevent the world from descending into the chaos out of which it has once emerged; the gods and their world will be destroyed. Odin himself will be swallowed by Fenrir the wolf.
Still, there will be a few survivors, both human and divine, who will populate a new world, to start the cycle anew. Or so the sybil tells us; scholars are divided on the question whether this is a later addition to the myth that betrays Christian influence. If pre-Christian, the eschatology of the ''Völuspá'' may reflect an older Indo-European tradition related with the eschatology of Persian
Zoroastrianism.
Kings and heroes
Image:Sigurd.jpg Ramsund carving.html" title="Meaning of thumbnail thumbnail|250px|The [[Ramsund carving depicting passages from the
Völsunga saga.html" title="Meaning of 250px|The [[Ramsund carving">thumbnail|250px|The [[Ramsund carving depicting passages from the
Völsunga saga">250px|The [[Ramsund carving">thumbnail|250px|The [[Ramsund carving depicting passages from the
Völsunga saga The mythological literature relates the legends of heroes and kings, as well as supernatural creatures. These clan and kingdom founding figures possessed great importance as illustrations of proper action or national origins. The heroic literature may have fulfilled the same function as the
national epic in other European literatures, or it may have been more nearly related to tribal identity. Many of the legendary figures probably existed, and generations of
Scandinavian scholars have tried to extract history from myth in the
sagas.
Sometimes the same hero resurfaces in several forms depending on which part of the Germanic world the epics survived such as
Weyland/
Völund and
Siegfried/
Sigurd, and probably
Beowulf (hero) Beowulf/
Bödvar Bjarki. Other notable heroes are
Hagbard,
Starkad,
Ragnar Lodbrok,
Sigurd Ring,
Ivar Vidfamne and
Harald Hildetand. Notable are also the
shieldmaidens who were "ordinary" women who had chosen the path of the warrior. These women function both as heroines and as obstacles to the heroic journey.
Norse worship
{{main articles|
Norse paganism and
Blót}}
Centres of faith
Image:Gamla uppsala.jpg Gamla_Uppsala.html" title="Meaning of thumb thumb|250px|[[Gamla Uppsala, the centre of worship in Sweden until the temple was destroyed the late 11th century..html" title="Meaning of 250px|[[Gamla Uppsala">thumb|250px|[[Gamla Uppsala, the centre of worship in Sweden until the temple was destroyed the late 11th century.">250px|[[Gamla Uppsala">thumb|250px|[[Gamla Uppsala, the centre of worship in Sweden until the temple was destroyed the late 11th century.
The Germanic tribes rarely or never had temples in a modern sense. The Blót, the form of worship practiced by the ancient Germanic and Scandinavian people resembled that of the
Celtic mythology Celts and
Balts : it could occur in
sacred groves. It could also take place at home and/or at a simple altar of piled stones known as a "
horgr". However, there seems to have been a few more important centres, such as
Kaupang Skiringsal,
Lejre and
Gamla Uppsala Uppsala.
Adam of Bremen claims that there was a temple in Uppsala (see
Temple at Uppsala) with three wooden statues of Thor, Odin and Freyr.
Priests
While a kind of priesthood seems to have existed, it never took on the professional and semi-hereditary character of the Celtic
Druidry druidical class. This was because the
shamanistic tradition was maintained by women, the
Völvas. It is often said that the
Germanic kingship evolved out of a priestly office. This priestly role of the king was in line with the general role of
godi, who was the head of a kindred group of families (for this social structure, see
norse clans), and who administered the sacrifices.
It should be noted, however, that despite the
Shamanistic Völvas, this religion was not a form of
Shamanism.
Human sacrifice
Image:Midvinterblot.jpg Carl_Larsson.html" title="Meaning of right right|250px|thumb|[[Carl Larsson, "Midwinter Sacrifice", 1915: the sacrifice of King
Domalde at
Gamla Uppsala..html" title="Meaning of 250px|thumb|[[Carl Larsson">right|250px|thumb|[[Carl Larsson, "Midwinter Sacrifice", 1915: the sacrifice of King
Domalde at
Gamla Uppsala.">250px|thumb|[[Carl Larsson">right|250px|thumb|[[Carl Larsson, "Midwinter Sacrifice", 1915: the sacrifice of King
Domalde at
Gamla Uppsala.
A unique eye-witness account of Germanic
human sacrifice survives in
Ibn Fadlan's account of a
Rus' (people) Rus ship burial, where a slave-girl had volunteered to accompany her lord to the next world. More indirect accounts are given by
Tacitus,
Saxo Grammaticus and
Adam von Bremen.
It should be noted, however, that the
Ibn Fadlan account is actually a burial ritual. Current understanding of Norse Mythology suggests an alterior motive to the Slave Girl's 'sacrifice'. It is believed that in Norse Mythology a woman who joined the corpse of a man on the funeral pyre would be that man's wife in the next world. For a slave girl to become the wife of a lord was an obvious increase in status. Although both religions are of the Indo-European tradition, the sacrifice described in the
Ibn Fadlan account is not to be confused with the practice of
Sati (practice) Sati.
The ''Heimskringla'' tells of Swedish King
Aun who sacrificed nine of his sons in an effort to prolong his life until his subjects stopped him from killing his last son
Egil. According to Adam of Bremen, the Swedish kings sacrificed male slaves every ninth year during the
Yule sacrifices at the Temple at Uppsala. The Swedes had the right not only to elect kings but also to depose them, and both king
Domalde and king
Olof Trätälja are said to have been sacrificed after years of famine.
Odin was associated with death by hanging, and a possible practice of Odinic sacrifice by strangling has some archeological support in the existence of bodies perfectly preserved by the acid of the
Jutland (later taken over by
Denmark Danish people)
peat peatbogs, into which they were cast after having been strangled. An example is
Tollund Man. However, we possess no written accounts that explicitly interpret the cause of these stranglings, which could obviously have other explanations.
Interactions with Christianity
Image:Ansgar.jpg Ansgar.html" title="Meaning of thumb thumb|250px|An 1830 portrayal of [[Ansgar, a Christian missionary invited to Sweden by its king
Björn at Hauge in
829..html" title="Meaning of 250px|An 1830 portrayal of [[Ansgar">thumb|250px|An 1830 portrayal of [[Ansgar, a Christian missionary invited to Sweden by its king
Björn at Hauge in
829.">250px|An 1830 portrayal of [[Ansgar">thumb|250px|An 1830 portrayal of [[Ansgar, a Christian missionary invited to Sweden by its king
Björn at Hauge in
829.
An important problem in interpreting this mythology is that often the closest accounts that we have to "pre-contact" times were written by Christians. The ''Younger Edda'' and the ''Heimskringla'' were written by Snorri Sturluson in the
13th century, over two hundred years after Iceland became
Christianized. This results in Snorri's works carrying a large amount of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euhemerism#Euhemerism_and_the_Early_Christians Christian Euhemerism].
Virtually all of the saga literature came out of
Iceland, a relatively small and remote island, and even in the climate of religious tolerance there, Snorri was guided by an essentially Christian viewpoint. The ''
Heimskringla'' provides some interesting insights into this issue. Snorri introduces Odin as a mortal warlord in Asia who acquires magical powers, settles in Sweden, and becomes a demi-god following his death. Having undercut Odin's divinity, Snorri then provides the story of a pact of Swedish King
Aun with Odin to prolong his life by sacrificing his sons. Later in the Heimskringla, Snorri records in detail how converts to Christianity such as
Saint Olaf Haraldsson brutally converted Scandinavians to Christianity.
Image:Sejdmen.jpg Execution (legal) left|250px|thumb|One gruesome form of [[Execution (legal)|execution occurred during the christianisation of
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Olaf Trygvasson had male
völvas (sejdmen) tied and left on a
skerry at ebb..html" title="Meaning of execution.html" title="Meaning of left|250px|thumb|One gruesome form of [[Execution (legal)|execution">left|250px|thumb|One gruesome form of [[Execution (legal)|execution occurred during the christianisation of
Norway. King
Olaf Trygvasson had male
völvas (sejdmen) tied and left on a
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Olaf Trygvasson had male
völvas (sejdmen) tied and left on a
skerry at ebb.
In Iceland, trying to avert civil war, the Icelandic parliament voted in Christianity, but tolerated heathenry in the privacy of one's home. Sweden, on the other hand, had a series of civil wars in the
11th century, which ended with the burning of the
Temple at Uppsala. In
England, on the other hand, Christianization occurred earlier and sporadically, rarely by force. Conversion by coercion was sporadic throughout the areas where Norse gods had been worshipped. However, the conversion did not happen overnight. Christian clergy did their utmost to teach the populace that the Norse gods were demons, but their success was limited and the gods never became ''evil'' in the popular mind in most of Scandinavia.
Two centrally located and far from isolated settlements can illustrate how long the Christianization took. Archaeological studies of graves at the Swedish island of
Lovön have shown that the Christianisation took 150-200 years, and this was a location close to the kings and bishops. Likewise in the bustling trading town of Bergen, many runic inscriptions have been found from the
13th century, among the
Bryggen inscriptions. One of them says ''may Thor receive you, may Odin own you'', and a second one is a
galdra which says ''I carve curing runes, I carve salvaging runes, once against the elves, twice against the trolls, thrice against the
thurs''. The second one also mentions the dangerous
Valkyrie Skögul.
Otherwise there are few accounts from the 14th] to the 18th century, but the clergy, such as
Olaus Magnus (1555) wrote about the difficulties of extinguishing the old beliefs. The story related in ''
Þrymskviða'' appears to have been unusually resilient, like the romantic story of
Hagbard and Signy, and versions of both were recorded in the 17th century and as late as the
19th century. In the 19th and early 20th century Swedish folklorists documented what commoners believed, and what surfaced were many surviving traditions of the gods of Norse mythology. However, the traditions were by then far from the cohesive system of Snorri's accounts. Most gods had been forgotten and only the hunting Odin and the giant-slaying Thor figure in numerous legends.
Freya is mentioned a few times and Baldr only survives in legends about place names.
Other elements of Norse mythology survived without being perceived as such, especially concerning supernatural beings in
Scandinavian folklore. Moreover, the Norse belief in destiny has been very firm until modern times. Since the Christian
hell resembled the abode of the dead in Norse mythology one of the names was borrowed from the old faith, ''HelvÃti'' i.e. ''Hel's punishment''. Some elements of the
Yule traditions were preserved, such as the Swedish tradition of slaughtering the pig at Christmas (
Christmas ham), which originally was part of the sacrifice to Freyr.
Modern influences
{| style="float: right; margin: 10px;"
! style="text-align: left;" | Day
! style="text-align: left;" | Origin
|-
|-
|
Monday || Moon's day
|-
|
Tuesday || Tyr's (Tiw's) day
|-
|
Wednesday || Odin's (Woden's) day
|-
|
Thursday || Thor's day
|-
|
Friday || Frigg's or Freya's day
|-
|
Sunday || Sun's day
|}
The Germanic gods have left traces in modern vocabulary. An example of this is some of the names of the days of the week: modelled after the names of the days of the week in
Latin (named after ''Sun, Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, Saturn''), the names for Tuesday through to Friday were replaced with Germanic equivalents of the Roman gods. In English, Saturn was not replaced, while Saturday is named after the
sabbath in German, and is called "washing day" in Scandinavia.
There are also possibilites that the names of several days had other germanic origins, but these were lost due to corruption of speech or these names being mistaken for cognates in latin. These days are possibly:
*Saturday - Sutr's Day: Saturday is the end of the week, while
Sutr is the fire-demon who will herald
Ragnarok
*Monday - Muninn's Day: Muninn is one of Odin's two raven aspects (see
Hugin and Munin)
*Friday - Friggya's Day: after the goddess Friggya (Also called Frigg, or Fria)
Norse mythology also influenced
Richard Wagner's use of literary themes from it to compose the four operas that comprise ''
Der Ring des Nibelungen'' (''The Ring of the Nibelung'').
More recent have been attempts in both
Europe and the
United States to revive the old Germanic religion as
Germanic Neopaganism, variously under the names of
�satrú,
Odinism,
Wotanism,
Forn Sed or
Heathenry. In Iceland �satrú was recognized by the state as an official religion in
1973, which legalized its marriage, child-naming and other ceremonies. It is also an official and legal religion in all the Nordic countries, though it is still fairly new.
Norse mythology has also left a lot of
Norse mythology in popular culture influences in popular culture, in literature and modern fiction, and particularly in
fantasy role-playing games.
J.R.R. Tolkien's
The Lord of the Rings was admitted by its author to be heavily influenced by the myths of the Northern Europeans. As that work became popular, elements of its fantasy world moved steadily into popular perceptions of the fantasy genre. In nearly any modern fantasy novel today can be found such Norse creatures as elves, dwarves, and frost giants.
See also
{{commonscat|Norse mythology}}
''Spelling of names in Norse mythology often varies depending on the nationality of the source material. For more information see
Old Norse orthography''.
*
Alliterative verse
*
Numbers in Norse mythology
*
Tollund Man
External links
-
heimskringla.no.
-
Dedicated to Norse mythology. Detailed re-tellings of the old Norse sagas.
-
A collection of most of the standard texts in (generally) comprehensible English translation
-
Nordische Götter - Götter-Portal (German)
-
Sacred-Texts.com - More source materials
-
Timeless Myths - Norse Mythology - Information and tales from Norse and Germanic literatures
-
Jörmungrund: Skálda- & vÃsnatal Norrœns Miðaldkveðskapar [Index of Old Norse/Icelandic Skaldic Poetry] (in Icelandic)
*
Project Runeberg - a Nordic equivalent to Project Gutenberg
-
Norse Gods, Goddesses, Giants, Dwarves and Wights
-
CyberSamurai Encyclopedia of Norse Mythology
Bibliography
* '''Primary Sources'''
**
Prose Edda The Prose Edda
**
Poetic Edda The Poetic Edda
**
Gesta Danorum
**
Ynglingasaga
* '''Modern retellings''' (''often inventive'')
** Armstrong, Fredrick and Puls, Dave (2004). [http://www.animatusstudio.com/dvd/icmain.html ''It Came From Animatus'']. Rochester, N.Y.: Animatus Studio. DVD UPC: 825346-49479-1. Includes [http://www.animatusstudio.com/derf/index.html The Derf The Viking Trilogy], a cartoon series featuring the Norse gods.
** Colum, Padraic (1920). ''The Children of Odin: A Book of Northern Myths'', illustrated by Willy Pogány. New York, Macmillan. Reprinted 2004 by Aladdin, ISBN 0689868855.
**
-
Sacred Texts: The Children of Odin. (Illustrated.)
** Crossley-Holland, Kevin (1981). ''The Norse Myths''. New York: Pantheon Books. ISBN 0394748468. Also released as ''The Penguin Book of Norse Myths: Gods of the Vikings''. Harmondsworth: Penguin. ISBN 0140258698.
** d'Aulaire, Ingri and Edgar (1967). "d'Aulaire's Book of Norse Myths". New York, New York Review of Books.
** Guerber, H. A. (1909). ''Myths of the Norsemen: From the Eddas and Sagas''. London: George G. Harrap. Reprinted 1992, Mineola, N.Y.: Dover. ISBN 0486273482. (''The scholarly veneer is deceptive. Material from primary sources, scholarly speculation, and secondary invention is indistinguishably mixed.'')
** Keary, A & E (1909), ''The Heroes of Asgard''. New York: Macmillan Company. Reprinted 1982 by Smithmark Pub. ISBN 0831744758. Reprinted 1979 by Pan Macmillan ISBN 0333078020.
**
-
Baldwin Project: The Heroes of Asgard
** Mable, Hanilton Wright (1901). ''Norse Stories Retold from the Eddas''. Mead and Company. Reprinted 1999, New York: Hippocrene Books. ISBN 0781807700.
**
-
Baldwin Project: Norse Stories Retold from the Eddas
** Mackenzie, Donald A. (1912). ''Teutonic Myth and Legend''. New York: W. H. Wise & Co. 1934. Reprinted 2003 by University Press of the Pacific. ISBN 1410207404.
**
-
Sacred Texts: Teutonic Myth and Legend.
** Munch, Peter Andreas (1927). ''Norse Mythology: Legends of Gods and Heroes'', Scandinavian Classics. Trans. Sigurd Bernhard Hustvedt (1963). New York: American-Scandinavian Foundation. ISBN 0404045383.
**
Viktor Rydberg Rydberg, Viktor (1889). ''Teutonic Mythology'', trans. Rasmus B. Anderson. London: Swan Sonnenschein & Co. Reprinted 2001, Elibron Classics. ISBN 1402193912. Reprinted 2004, Kessinger Publishing Company. ISBN 0766188914. (Rydberg's theories, although interesting, are generally not accepted.)
**
-
Rydberg's Teutonic Mythology (Displayed by pages.)
* '''General secondary works'''
** Branston, Brian (1980). ''Gods of the North''. London: Thames and Hudson. (Revised from an earlier hardback edition of 1955). ISBN 0500271771.
**
H. R. Ellis Davidson Davidson, H. R. Ellis (1964). ''Gods and Myths of Northern Europe''. Baltimore: Penguin. New edition 1990 by Penguin Books. ISBN 0140136274. (Several
rune stones)
** —————— (1969). ''Scandinavian Mythology''. London and New York: Hamlyn. ISBN 0872260410. Reissued 1996 as ''Viking and Norse Mythology''. New York: Barnes and Noble.
** de Vries, Jan. ''Altgermanische Religionsgeschichte'', 2 vols., 2nd. ed., Grundriss der germanischen Philogie, 12–13. Berlin: W. de Gruyter. (Generally considered the most authoritative current standard reference.)
** Dumézil, Georges (1973). ''Gods of the Ancient Northmen''. Ed. & trans. Einar Haugen. Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN 0520035070.
** Fleck, Jere (1971). ''The Knowledge-Criterion in the GrÃmnismál: the Case Against Shamanism''. Arkiv för Nordisk Filologi 86:49–65.
** Grimm, Jacob (1888). ''Teutonic Mythology'', 4 vols. Trans. S. Stallybras. London. Reprinted 2003 by Kessinger. ISBN 0766177424, ISBN 0766177432, ISBN 0766177440, ISBN 0766177459. Reprinted 2004 Dover Publications. ISBN 0486436152 (4 vols.), ISBN 0486435466, ISBN 0486435474, ISBN 0486435482, ISBN 0486435490.
**
-
Northvegr: Grimm's Teutonic Mythology
** Lindow, John (1988). ''Scandinavian Mythology: An Annotated Bibliography'', Garland Folklore Bibliographies, 13. New York: Garland. ISBN 0824091736.
** —————— (2001). ''Norse Mythology: A Guide to the Gods, Heroes, Rituals, and Beliefs''. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0195153820. (A dictionary of Norse mythology.)
** Orchard, Andy (1997). ''Cassell's Dictionary of Norse Myth and Legend''. London: Cassell. ISBN 0304363855.
** Page, R. I. (1990). ''Norse Myths (The Legendary Past)''. London: British Museum; and Austin: University of Texas Press. ISBN 0292755465.
** Simek, Rudolf (1993). ''Dictionary of Northern Mythology''. Trans. Angela Hall. Cambridge: D. S. Brewer. ISBN 0859913694. New edition 2000, ISBN 0859915131.
** Simrock, Karl Joseph (1853–1855) ''Handbuch der deutschen Mythologie''.
** Turville-Petre, E. O. Gabriel. (1964). ''Myth and Religion of the North: The Religion of Ancient Scandinavia''. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson. Reprinted 1975, Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press. ISBN 0837174201.
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