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Norse Mythology: Difference between revisions
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''From Heimdall's sons <nowiki>|</nowiki> both high and low;''
''Thou wilt, Valfather <nowiki>|</nowiki> that well I relate''
''Old tales I remember <nowiki>|</nowiki> of men long ago.''
|'''The Voluspa, Stanza 1'''}}
The Norse Mythology is a collection of stories derived from Germanic roots, following the lives of the Norse gods—the Æsir and the Vanir—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.
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* '''Frigg''' (Frigga), the mother goddess, protector of women and wife of Odin. She can see the future, but all of her attempts to change it are subverted.
* '''Loki''', a mischievous giant/jotun (tolerated since he's Odin's sworn brother) [[Voluntary Shapeshifting|Shapeshifting]] [[Gender Bender]] [[Trickster Archetype]] who likes to stir up trouble for the gods and then get away with it, though he'll occasionally help out if he feels inclined to. Father of two daughters named Eisa and Einmyria by a jotun wife named Glut, two sons named Narfi and Vali by his Aesir wife Sigyn, and of Fenrir the wolf, Jörmungandr the giant serpent, and Hel the goddess of the Underworld by his jotun lover Angrboda. Also, he's the mother of Odin's eight-legged horse Sleipnir. Loki is credited with being the god of the hearthfire, and also inventing useful tools such as the fishing net. Was eventually tortured and bound by the other gods for his actions, in a fate reminiscent of that of the hero Prometheus from Greek mythology.
* '''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
* '''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—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.
* '''Tyr''' (Týr), Son of Odin, or the giant Hymir in some stories, whose right hand was bitten off by Fenrir while tricking the wolf into being chained with a magic rope. He also presides over the Thing, a Germanic governing assembly, which makes him a god of law and justice. He was the main [[War God]] and was prayed to by warriors before battle. Unlike Thor he didn't go off fighting giants, he instead preferred large battles (even after he lost his hand). He and Thor once had a competition to see who was the strongest of the Aesir, with Tyr falling out at the final test. Confusingly, he (like Thor), is ''also'' a cousin of Zeus and Indra.
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* '''Freya''' (Freyja), the goddess of love and beauty who [[Really Gets Around]]. She is also a goddess of war, and may have started the mega-war between the Aesir and the Vanir. Patron of female fighters. Her most famous cousin is Aphrodite/Venus. Freya owns a magical feathered cloak that can transform the wearer into a falcon; she occasionally lends this cloak to other gods such as Loki.
* '''Heimdall''', watchman and herald of the gods who guards Bifrost, the rainbow bridge, entrance to their kingdom. He possesses incredible sight and hearing, as well as a magic horn, and is of noble character. Son of nine Jötunn sisters.
* '''Idunn''' (Iðunn), wife of the
* '''The Norns''', who somewhat resemble the [[Classical Mythology|Greek Fates/Moirai]], though all three of them see the future. Their names are different tenses of the verb "to be," and [[Meaningful Name|some of their traits can be seen through these tenses]]. Modern scholars believe there was originally an indeterminate number of Norns, but medieval Icelandic scholars were inspired by Roman mythology and modeled a trinity after the Fates' example, as follows:
** '''Verthandi''', the most powerful and the Norn of the Present ("is becoming")
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Incidentally, we still honor some of these gods on a regular basis (though using the Anglo-Saxon versions of the god), on Sunna's Day, Mani/Moni's Day, Tyr's day, Odin's day, Thor's day and Freya's day. Each occurs once a week in Western cultures that use the Germanic root names (in case you don't get it, these days are also known as Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, followed by [[Classical Mythology|Saturn's day]], and then on again to Sun's Day and Moon's Day, at which point the cycle repeats).
By the way, note that this page is called [[Norse Mythology]], not "Viking Mythology". Originally the word ''viking'' meant the act of faring overseas and the sailor participating, while in English it denotes a profession meaning something like "[[Pirate]]." Only a minority of Norsemen were Vikings.
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