Norse Mythology: Difference between revisions

The Norse Mythology is a collection of stories derived from Germanic roots, following the lives of the Norse gods -- thegods—the Æsir and the Vanir -- andVanir—and the men whose lives they directly affected. At its height, the mythology covered most of northern Europe, much of modern Germany and Austria, and parts of the British Isles; it lasted longest in Scandinavia and Iceland, however, which produced most of its surviving texts. It is a branch of the Proto-Indo-European mythological tradition, which also spawned the Celtic, Greek, and Vedic pantheons; it's distinguished from those myths, however, by the fact that its gods are not only fallible but also all mortal. They could, and did, die. Like most traditional polytheistic systems, it has no set canon and in some ways resembles a body of customary beliefs more than a set religion. It has been speculated that only chieftains and other wealthy people held faith in the Aesir, while the common farmers believed in land-spirits such as trolls and giants.

* '''Thor''' (Þórr), a sometimes naive, sometimes shrewd, god with a magical hammer which required special gloves to handle. Usually associated with Thunder, which is not too far-fetched considering that this is exactly [[Exactly What It Says on the Tin|what his name means]]. Lightning is said to arise when he throws his hammer (called Mjölnir) after trolls and giants. More generally, he was a weather god and therefore, also a fertility god (because good crops depend on the right weather) and especially worshipped by farmers and seafarers. Though notoriously irascible, he is also one of the gods who are most benign towards the human race, and constantly strives to protect Midgard from monsters and giants. It probably goes well with this profile that Thor is NOT is a war god <ref>He seems to get falsely associated with that domain sometimes in modern descriptions, and in fairness, his Hindu cousin Indra ''is'' a war god</ref> -- that—that office goes primarily to Odin (whose attitude towards humans is much more ambiguous). He does ride in a chariot, though, drawn by his two goats Tooth-grinder and Tooth-gnasher. Interestingly, his other cousin is [[Anything That Moves|Zeus]].

* '''Sif''', Thor's wife, associated with wealth, family, and the harvest. Most notable in the surviving texts for having her famous golden hair cut off by Loki as a joke after he'd slept with her -- dramaher—drama ensued.<ref>It has been suggested by scholar Alice Karlsdottir in her 1991 essay ''Loki, Father of Strife'', that the story of Loki sleeping with the harvest goddess and then cropping her golden hair down to stubble is highly allegorical. He ploughed the field and sowed the seeds, pardon the pun, then cut the golden (ripe) grain, thus ensuring a good harvest. Thor on the other hand was away killing giants, neglecting his marital duties. The story continues with Thor threatening to beat Loki up until Loki offers to persuade the dwarves to spin new golden hair for Sif from living gold.</ref> Her connection with the Earth suggests a link to Gaia or Demeter/Ceres, but she's married to the Zeus-equivalent Thor. Her name (which just means "married,") doesn't help matters.

** To put it this way, he is destined to kill ''Odin''. Meanwhile, Fenrir's two sons - Skoll and Hati - are trying to eat the '''sun''' and the '''moon''' .<ref>(Come Ragnarök, they ''succeed''.)</ref>.

* [[Exact Words]]: In one story, Loki makes a bet with some dwarves and offers them his head as a wager -- anwager—an expression for "my head's weight in gold" -- as—as his part of the bargain. When they win and claim his actual head, he argues that since they can't take that without also cutting his neck, the deal is void. The dwarves content themselves with sewing his lips together -- atogether—a consequence not mentioned in most of his other stories.

* [[Karmic Transformation]]: Fafnir, son of Hreidmar, was affected by the curse laid upon his father's ring and treasure hoard. Consumed by greed, he murdered his father and ran away with the lot, denying his brother Regin the portion of the hoard promised to him. As Fafnir lay on his ill-gotten treasure, the selfishness and villainy in his soul caused him to [[Scaled Up|metamorphose into a loathsome wingless dragon]]. He had become a [[Complete Monster|monster]] -- and—and was eventually slain like one by his nephew Sigurd on a vengeful Regin's instigation.

** Many of which are [[Egopolis|Egopolises]]es, Vanaheim named after the Vanar, Alfheim named after [[The Fair Folk|the elves]], Jotunheim named after [[Our Giants Are Bigger|the Jotun]], Helheim named after Hel, and Muspellheim named after Muspellsurtr.

** And long after the first occurrences of dragons and their slayers: [[The Hobbit (novel)|Smaug]] is a Norse in-joke. It's also worth noting that the name the Norse gave to the world in which they lived, Midgard, literally means [[The Lord of the Rings|"Middle Earth"]].

** Someone -- possiblySomeone—possibly [[Fred Saberhagen]] -- subverted—subverted this with a short story in which Odin's ravens take another look at the murder of Baldur ... and conclude that Loki was framed: the killing was actually by a giant, to cover up that ''the prophecy of Ragnarok is false'', faked by the gods' enemies to demoralize them. The giants are still building up their strength to invade, but it is ''NOT'' truly certain that the gods will be wiped out in the "prophesied" manner. As the story's last line states, they're very, very heartened to learn that "now they need not die!"