| “ | Harken to me, all holy races, Sons of Heimdall, high and low, Thou wilt, Valfather, that well I tell of old tales I remember of men long ago | ” |
–Stanza 1, Völuspa | ||
Norse mythology, or Scandinavian mythology, is the body of mythology of the North Germanic peoples stemming from Norse paganism and continuing after the Christianization of Scandinavia and into the Scandinavian folklore of the modern period. The northernmost extension of Germanic mythology, Norse mythology, consists of tales of various deities, beings, heroes, and gods that are mentioned in the source texts derived from numerous sources from both before and after the pagan period, including medieval manuscripts, archaeological representations, and folk tradition. Once, the Germanic gods where known across Northern Europe and southern England, but at the start of the Viking Age the religion had been, often violently, replaced by Christianity, leaving the Norse tribes the last followers. This is still the belief system in Vikings.
Principles[]
| “ | I remember yet the giants of yore, Who gave me bread in the days gone by; Nine worlds I know, the nine in the tree, With mighty roots beneath the earth. | ” |
–Stanza 2, Völuspa | ||
The cosmology of the Nine Worlds in which all beings inhabit centers around a cosmological tree, Yggdrasil. Odin and his brothers Vili and Ve created the tree from the body of Ymir.
Numerous creatures live on Yggdrasil, such as the insulting messenger squirrel Ratatoskr and the perching hawk Veðrfölnir. The tree itself has three major roots, and at the base of one of these roots live the Norns. The Norns are female beings who rule the destiny of gods and men.
The gods inhabit the heavenly realm of Asgard, while mankind inhabits Midgard, a region in the center of the cosmos. At the edge of Midgard lies the Ironwood, where the witch-giant Angrboda breeds the children of Fenrir. The giants dwell in the world around Midgard, Jötunheimr.
Outside of the gods, mankind, and the jötnar, these Nine Worlds are inhabited by a variety beings, such as elves and dwarfs. Travel between the worlds is frequently recounted in the myths, where the gods and other beings may interact directly with mankind.
Elements of the cosmos are personified, such as the Sun (Sól, a goddess), the Moon (Máni, a god), and Earth (Jörð, a goddess), as well as units of time, such as day (Dagr, a god) and night (Nótt, a jötunn). Two wolves, Hatí ("hatred") and Sköll ("treachery" or "mockery"), chase the moon across the heavens.
The afterlife is a complex matter in Norse mythology. The dead may go to the murky realm of Hel. It is a realm ruled over by a female being of the same name. The dead may also be ferried away by Valkyries to Odin's Great Hall called Valhalla, or the dead may be chosen by the goddess Freyja to dwell in her field Fólkvangr. The goddess Rán may claim those that die at sea, and the goddess Gefjon is said to be attended by virgins upon their death. References to reincarnation are also made.
Time itself is presented between cyclic and linear, and some scholars have argued that cyclic time was the original format for the mythology. Various forms of a cosmological creation story are provided in Icelandic sources, and references to a future destruction and rebirth of the world, called Ragnarök, are frequently mentioned in some texts. Ragnarök is a word of many meanings: "ragna" means "the powers" or "the forces" and is a common poetic term for the gods. "Rök" is a complex word since it both refers to fate and development, as well as cause, as in cause and effect, and origin. This means that Ragnarök is simply the end of one story and the beginning of the next.
Odin, Hönr, and Lodurr created mankind. The three found two pieces of wood floating in the water and decided to sculpt figures out of them for decorations. Wishing to take their creation further, the gods decided to create the first humans. Odin gave them breath (spirit), Hönr gave them sense (thought), and Lodurr gave them blood (body). The first humans were called Ask ("ash tree") and Embla ("elm," "water pot," or "vine").
The number nine is a special number in Norse mythology, and appears throughout the sagas. Odin hung from Yggdrasil for nine nights. There are nine worlds. Heimdallr has nine mothers. Odin owns a ring that creates nine new rings every night. Ran has nine daughters. There are nine great lindworms. Every ninth year, nine males of every species are sacrificed to the gods. Freyr had to wait nine nights until her could marry Gerd. The valknut symbol has nine points. Thor will walk nine steps before dying after killing Jormungandr. Odin book free and killed King Geirod on the ninth night of his captivity. Odin knows eighteen, or nine doubled, rune charms.
Gods, Deities, and Beings[]
| “ | Hail to the Aesir and the Vanir. Hail to the gods and goddesses. Hail to Odin, Thor, and Frey. Hail to Vali, Sif, and Heimdallr. Hail to Baldr, Bragi, and Eir. Hail to Freyja, Loki, and Frigg. Hail to Lin, Ifon, and Mimir. Hail to Njord, Ran, and Tyr. Hail to Odin's spear, Thor's hammer. Hail to the mighty fecund earth. All hail. | ” |
There are two groups of gods during this time: the Æsir and the Vanir.
The Aesir are the chief gods dwelling in Asgard. They include many of the major deities, such as Odin, Frigg, Thor, Baldr, and Tyr.
Meanwhile, the Vanir are the group of gods also honored alongside Aesir. Althrough sometimes stated to be more peacefull than the Aesir, this really only applies to Freyr, who is the god of peace and fertility. Freyr and Freyja are the foremost of the Vanir and they reside amongst the Aesir in Asgard. In the beginning, the Aesir and Vanir went to war, but when no one could reign supreme over the other, the tribes made peace and treaties.
Unlike the gods of some other religions, the Aesir and Vanir are not immortal; many will die at Ragnarok with some very few exceptions who will survive and rebuild the glory of Asgard.
The gods also act as role models for how humans should act and behave. However, this is complicated and problematic as the gods themselves do not always see eye to eye with each other's behavior and values. The pondering and dishonest Odin is at odds with the simple and rude yet heroic Thor. The only value all the gods agree upon is that of valour in the face of death.
Æsir[]
- Odin: The chief god in the Norse pantheon, often called "the Allfather." He is the King of the Æsir, and god of wisdom, war, and magic.
- Thor: The son of Odin and Fjorgyn, he is the god of thunder, strength, and storms. Thor is the Loyal Defender of Asgard.
- Loki: A jötunn and the god of mischief, thieves, and deception. Loki is the Trickster God.
- Heimdall: The son of Odin and the Nine Mothers, he is the Protector of Asgard. He is the god of foreknowledge, protection, and purpose.
- Frigg: The wife of Odin, mother of Baldr and Hodr, and the Queen of the Æsir. She is the goddess of marriage, fertility, and motherhood.
- Tyr: The God of War, he is also known as a the One-Handed God. He is the god of law, courage to do difficult things, self-sacrifice, and strategy. He is a son of Odin.
- Vidar: The Silent God of Vengeance, he is a son of Odin. He is the god of vengeance and silence.
- Idun: The Youthful Goddess of Rejuvenation, she is the keeper of the magical apples that give the gods eternal life. She is the goddess of youth, immortality, spring, and rejuvenation. Her husband is Bragi.
- Sif: The Goddess of Earth and the wife of Thor. She is the goddess of wheat, earth, the sun, and harvest.
- Skadi: The Goddess of Winter and wife of Njord. She is the goddess of hunting, skiing, mountains, and strength.
- Baldr: The God of Light and Purity, and the son of Odin and Frigg. He is the god of light, beauty, and summer. He is slain by his brother Hodr who is tricked by Loki.
- Hödr: The Blind God and the son of Odin and Frigg. He is the god of winter, darkness, blindness, and the cold. He is tricked by Loki into killing his brother Baldr.
- Bragi: The Bard God of Asgard and the husband of Idun. He is the god of music, poetry, storytelling, and eloquence.
- Sigyn: The Goddess of Loyalty, she is the wife of Loki. She is the goddess of faithfulness and compassion.
- Gefjon: The Goddess of the Fields and the Plough.
- Gná: The Goddess who rides the winds. She runs errands in other worlds for Frigg, and rides the flying, sea-treading horse Hófvarpnir.
Vanir[]
- Freyja: The Goddess of Fate and Destiny, Queen of the Valkyries, the daughter of Njord, and the sister of Freyr. She is the goddess of love, sex, beauty, magic, and war.
- Freyr: The God of Fertility, the son of Njord, and the brother of Freyja. He is the god of prosperity, good weather, agriculture, and the sun
- Njord: The God of Seas and Wealth, the husband of Skadi, and the father of Freyja and Freyr. He is the god of sailing and fishing.
Other Gods[]
- Hel: The Goddess of the Underworld, and the daughter of Loki and Angrboda. She is the goddess of death, destruction, and the afterlife.
- Ran: The Goddess of the Drowned. She is the sinister aspect of the sea.
- The Norns: The Fates, the three Norns are the caretakers of Yggdrasil. Urd/Wyrd is the past and spins the threads of fate, Verdandi is the present and weaves the threads of fate, and Skuld is the future and cuts the threads of fate.
Giants[]
The jötunn or the giants are primordial, chaotic forces in Norse mythology representing chaos. They are not inherently evil but their chaotic nature is a threat to the order of the gods, which is needed for the worlds of Yggdrasil to be.
- Ymir: The First Being and the ancestor of all the jötunn. He is killed by Odin and his brothers Vili and Ve, who then use his body to build the world.
- Surtr : The father of the fire giants and the lord of Muspelheim.
- Angrboda: The first wife of Loki with whom he fathered Hel, Fenrir, and Jörmungandr.
Other Beings[]
- Valkyries: Beautiful women who ride winged horses and are servants of Freyja. They scout battlefields, selecting the bravest of slain warriors and escorting them to Valhalla. Valkyries are also Odin's messengers.
- Dwarves: Master craftspeople who live underground. Their homeland is called Svartalfheim.
- Vættr: Animistic spirits of the land and lakes.
- Elves (Alfr): Mysterious beings. Their true nature is not fully understood but is theorized to be ancestors. Their homeland is called Alfheim.
- Draugr: The undead. Through the curse of another draug, improper burial, or a life as a greedy and wicked person, a human may rise again after death to torment, kill, and even feed on the living.
- Fylgja: A female spirit that follows every living person from birth to death. They where likely considered to be the ancestral mothers of the family. They whould appear in dreams, sometimes in animal form. Seeing a Fylgja while awake was considered a sign of one's imminant death.
- Nisse/Tomte: The guardians of houses and barns on a farmstead. They are typically associated with the Winter Solstice and the Yol season.
The Nine Worlds[]
The Nine Worlds are realms, and many are home worlds for one of the various races of beings.
- Asgard/Ásgardr: Home of the Æsir. Here most the major gods, like Odin and Thor, dwell. It has many halls like Valhalla, Thrudvang, and Folkvang.
- Vanaheim/Vanaheimr: Home of the Vanir.
- Alfheim/Alfheimr: The world of the elves, it was given to Freyr as a teething gift
- Midgard/Miðgarðr: The middle world, and the world of humans; Earth.
- Jötunnheim/Jötunheimr: Home of the jötnar, or giants. It lies beneath the second of the three roots of Yggdrasil. It is separated from Midgard by various rivers.
- Svartalfheim/Svartálfaheimr: The underground world of the dwarves and the dark elves.
- Muspelheim/Múspellsheimr: The primordial world of fire and the home of the fire giants.
- Nifleheim/Niflheimr: The primordial world of ice. It lies beneath the third of the three roots of Yggdrasil. It became the domain of Hel. Below Niflheimr lies NNiflhel, the lowest level of Hel.
- Hel/Helheimr: The world of the dead and the goddess Hel. It is where those who die of sickness or old age go. Evil men go to Niflhel.