Norse mythology

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The Tjängvide image stone with illustrations from Norse mythology

Norse, Nordic, or Scandinavian mythology, is the body of myths belonging to the North Germanic peoples, stemming from Old Norse religion and continuing after the Christianization of Scandinavia, and into the Nordic folklore of the modern period. The northernmost extension of Germanic mythology and stemming from Proto-Germanic folklore, Norse mythology consists of tales of various deities, beings, and heroes derived from numerous sources from both before and after the pagan period, including medieval manuscripts, archaeological representations, and folk tradition. The source texts mention numerous gods such as the thunder-god Thor, the raven-flanked god Odin, the goddess Freyja, and numerous other deities.

The god Loki, son of Fárbauti and Laufey

Most of the surviving mythology centers on the plights of the gods and their interaction with several other beings, such as humanity and the

Nine Worlds that flank a central sacred tree, Yggdrasil. Units of time and elements of the cosmology are personified as deities or beings. Various forms of a creation myth are recounted, where the world is created from the flesh of the primordial being Ymir, and the first two humans are Ask and Embla. These worlds are foretold to be reborn after the events of Ragnarök when an immense battle occurs between the gods and their enemies, and the world is enveloped in flames, only to be reborn anew. There the surviving gods will meet, and the land will be fertile and green, and two humans
will repopulate the world.

Norse mythology has been the subject of scholarly discourse since the 17th century when key texts attracted the attention of the intellectual circles of Europe. By way of

Germanic Neopaganism
.

Terminology

The historical religion of the Norse people is commonly referred to as Norse mythology. Other terms are Scandinavian mythology,[1][2][3] North Germanic mythology[4] or Nordic mythology.[5]

Sources

runic inscription
that makes various references to Norse mythology.

Norse mythology is primarily attested in dialects of

Scandinavian languages. The majority of these Old Norse texts were created in Iceland, where the oral tradition stemming from the pre-Christian inhabitants of the island was collected and recorded in manuscripts. This occurred primarily in the 13th century. These texts include the Prose Edda, composed in the 13th century by the Icelandic scholar, lawspeaker, and historian Snorri Sturluson, and the Poetic Edda, a collection of poems from earlier traditional material anonymously compiled in the 13th century.[6]

The Prose Edda was composed as a prose manual for producing skaldic poetry—traditional Old Norse poetry composed by skalds. Originally composed and transmitted orally, skaldic poetry utilizes alliterative verse, kennings, and several metrical forms. The Prose Edda presents numerous examples of works by various skalds from before and after the Christianization process and also frequently refers back to the poems found in the Poetic Edda. The Poetic Edda consists almost entirely of poems, with some prose narrative added, and this poetry—Eddic poetry—utilizes fewer kennings. In comparison to skaldic poetry, Eddic poetry is relatively unadorned.[6]

Heimdallr, Sleipnir
, and other figures from Norse mythology

The Prose Edda features layers of euhemerization, a process in which deities and supernatural beings are presented as having been either actual, magic-wielding human beings who have been deified in time or beings demonized by way of Christian mythology.[7] Texts such as Heimskringla, composed in the 13th century by Snorri and Gesta Danorum, composed in Latin by Saxo Grammaticus in Denmark in the 12th century, are the results of heavy amounts of euhemerization.[8]

Numerous additional texts, such as the

runic alphabet, the indigenous alphabet of the Germanic peoples—that mention figures and events from Norse mythology.[9]

Objects from the archaeological record may also be interpreted as depictions of subjects from Norse mythology, such as amulets of the god Thor's hammer

Merseburg Incantations) may also lend insight.[11] Wider comparisons to the mythology of other Indo-European peoples by scholars has resulted in the potential reconstruction of far earlier myths.[12][13]

Only a tiny amount of poems and tales survive of the many mythical tales and poems that are presumed to have existed during the Middle Ages, Viking Age, Migration Period, and before.[14] Later sources reaching into the modern period, such as a medieval charm recorded as used by the Norwegian woman Ragnhild Tregagås—convicted of witchcraft in Norway in the 14th century—and spells found in the 17th century Icelandic Galdrabók grimoire also sometimes make references to Norse mythology.[15] Other traces, such as place names bearing the names of gods may provide further information about deities, such as a potential association between deities based on the placement of locations bearing their names, their local popularity, and associations with geological features.[16]

Mythology

Gods and other beings

The god Thor wades through a river, while the Æsir ride across the bridge, Bifröst, in an illustration by Lorenz Frølich (1895).

Central to accounts of Norse mythology are the plights of the gods and their interaction with various other beings, such as with the jötnar, who may be friends, lovers, foes, or family members of the gods. Numerous gods are mentioned in the source texts. As evidenced by records of personal names and place names, the most popular god among the Scandinavians during the Viking Age was Thor the thunder god, who is portrayed as unrelentingly pursuing his foes, his mountain-crushing, thunderous hammer Mjölnir in hand. In the mythology, Thor lays waste to numerous jötnar who are foes to the gods or humanity, and is wed to the beautiful, golden-haired goddess Sif.[17]

The god

entity of the same name.[18]

Odin must share half of his share of the dead with a powerful goddess,

While they receive less mention, numerous other gods and goddesses appear in the source material. (For a list of these deities, see

Heimdallr, born of nine mothers; the ancient god Týr, who lost his right hand while binding the great wolf Fenrir; and the goddess Gefjon, who formed modern-day Zealand, Denmark.[23]

Various beings outside of the gods are mentioned.

dísir, and aforementioned valkyries also receive frequent mention. While their functions and roles may overlap and differ, all are collective female beings associated with fate.[26]

Cosmology

The cosmological, central tree Yggdrasil is depicted in The Ash Yggdrasil by Friedrich Wilhelm Heine (1886).
Sól, the Sun, and Máni, the Moon, are chased by the wolves Sköll and Háti in The Wolves Pursuing Sol and Mani by J. C. Dollman (1909).

In

dwarfs. Travel between the worlds is frequently recounted in the myths, where the gods and other beings may interact directly with humanity. 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, female entities associated with fate.[27] 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).[28]

The afterlife is a complex matter in Norse mythology. The dead may go to the murky realm of

Ragnarok—are frequently mentioned in some texts.[33]

Humanity

According to the Prose Edda and the Poetic Edda poem, Völuspá, the first human couple consisted of Ask and Embla; driftwood found by a trio of gods and imbued with life in the form of three gifts. After the cataclysm of Ragnarok, this process is mirrored in the survival of two humans from a wood; Líf and Lífþrasir. From these two humankind is foretold to repopulate the new and green earth.[34]

See also

References

  1. ^ Rooth, Anna Birgitta (1961). Loki in Scandinavian Mythology. C. W. K. Gleerup. Archived from the original on 19 April 2023. Retrieved 7 September 2018.
  2. from the original on 19 April 2023. Retrieved 3 October 2020.
  3. from the original on 19 April 2023. Retrieved 7 September 2018.
  4. ISBN 157113199X. Of even more importance is Snorri Sturluson
    , the Icelandic scholar and politician, who did our knowledge of heathen religion such good service... he offers a scholarly portrayal of Old Norse mythology, which is admittedly heavily influenced by his Christian education and classical education, but remains nonetheless our most important medieval source for North Germanic mythology.
  5. from the original on 19 April 2023. Retrieved 7 September 2018.
  6. ^ a b Faulkes (1995), pp. vi–xxi, and Turville-Petre (1964), pp. 1–34.
  7. ^ Faulkes (1995), pp. xvi–xviii.
  8. ^ Turville-Petre (1964), pp. 27–34.
  9. ^ Lindow (2001), pp. 11–12, Turville-Petre (1964), pp. 17–21, and MacLeod & Mees (2006), pp. 27–28, 216.
  10. ^ Regarding the dísir, valkyries, and figurines (with images), see Lindow (2001), pp. 95–97. For hammers, see Simek (2007), pp. 218–19, and Lindow (2001), pp. 288–89.
  11. ^ Lindow (2001), pp. 29–30, 227–28, and Simek (2007), pp. 84, 278.
  12. ^ Puhvel (1989), pp. 189–221
  13. ^ Mallory (2005), pp. 128–42
  14. ^ Turville-Petre (1964), p. 13.
  15. ^ Regarding Ragnhild Tregagås, see MacLeod & Mees (2006), p. 37. For Galdrabók, see Flowers (1989), p. 29.
  16. ^ Turville-Petre (1964), pp. 2–3, 178.
  17. ^ Lindow (2001), pp. 287–91.
  18. ^ Lindow (2001), pp. 128–29, 247–52.
  19. ^ Lindow (2001), pp. 118, 126–28.
  20. ^ Lindow (2001), pp. 121–22.
  21. ^ Lindow (2001), pp. 241–43.
  22. ^ Lindow (2001), pp. 311–12.
  23. ^ Lindow (2001), pp. 86–88, 135–37, 168–72, 198–99, 297–99.
  24. ^ Lindow (2001), pp. 99–102, 109–10, and Simek (2007), pp. 67–69, 73–74.
  25. ^ Simek (2007), pp. 108–09, 180, 333, 335.
  26. ^ Lindow (2001), pp. 95–97, 243–46. Simek (2007), pp. 62–62, 236–37, 349.
  27. ^ Lindow (2001), pp. 319–32. Simek (2007), pp. 375–76.
  28. ^ Lindow (2001), pp. 91–92, 205–06, 222–23, 278–80.
  29. ^ For Hel, see Lindow (2001), p. 172, and Orchard (1997), p. 79. For Valhalla, see Lindow (2001), pp. 308–09, and Orchard (1997), pp. 171–72. For Fólkvangr, see Lindow (2001), p. 118, and Orchard (1997), p. 45.
  30. ^ For Rán, see Lindow (2001), pp. 258–59, and Orchard (1997), p. 129. For Gefjon, see Orchard (1997), p. 52.
  31. ^ Orchard (1997), p. 131.
  32. ^ Lindow (2001), pp. 42–43.
  33. ^ Lindow (2001), pp. 1–2, 40, 254–58.
  34. ^ Simek (2007), p. 189.

General sources

Further reading

General secondary works

Romanticism

Modern retellings

External links