A Quick Overview of Norse Mythology

Norse mythology comes from the northernmost part of Europe, Scandinavia: Sweden,
Norway, Denmark, and Iceland. The mythology of this region is grim, shadowed by
long, sunless winters. But the darkness is laced with gleams of grandeur and sparks of
humor. The myths depict a universe in which gods and giants battle among
themselves in a cosmic conflict fated to end in the destruction of the world.
Background and Sources
Norse mythology developed from the myths and legends of northern peoples who
spoke Germanic languages. It shares many features with the mythology of preChristian Germanic groups. When some of these groups spread into England and
Scandinavia, they carried their myths with them. As they converted to Christianity,
their traditional beliefs faded. But Christianity did not take hold in Scandinavia until a
later date, and the Norse version of Germanic mythology remained vigorous through
the Viking era, from about 800 to 1066 CE. Modern knowledge of Norse mythology
stems from medieval texts, most of them written in Iceland. Descendants of Norse
colonists in that country maintained a strong interest in their heritage even after
becoming Christian.
A major source of information about Norse mythology is a book called the Poetic Edda,
sometimes known as the Elder Edda. It consists of mythological and heroic poems,
including Voluspa, an overview of Norse mythology from the creation to the final
destructive battle of the world, called Ragnarok. The unknown author who compiled
the Poetic Edda in Iceland around 1270 drew on materials dating from between 800
and 1100.
Around 1222, an Icelandic poet and chieftain named Snorri Sturluson wrote the Prose
Edda, or Younger Edda, which interprets traditional Icelandic poetry for the audiences
of Snorri's time. Part of the Prose Edda describes a visit by Gylfi, a Swedish king, to
the home of the gods in Asgard. There the king questioned the gods about their
history adventures, and fate.
Norse mythology is known from other Scandinavian texts as well. Many Norse poems
refer to mythic events or figures. In the early 1200s, Icelanders started writing family
sagas about their ancestors and heroic sagas about their legendary heroes. Many of
these sagas contain references to mythological subjects. Also in the 1200s, a Danish
scholar named Saxo Grammaticus wrote a history of the Danish people that begins
with an account of their pagan gods and ancient heroes. Works by earlier Roman and
medieval historians also include information about Germanic and Norse myths. In 98
CE, for example, the Roman historian Tacitus wrote Germania, a description of the
Germanic tribes that mentions some of their religious beliefs and customs.

Major Deities and Figures

Like the Greek deities, the Norse gods and goddesses have all the characteristics of
larger-than-life human beings. Unlike the Greek deities, however, they seldom interact
with human beings. The world of Norse mythology includes two groups of gods, the
Aesir and the Vanir, as well as giants, trolls, elves, dwarfs, and heroic human warriors.
The Aesir

The Death of Baldur

by Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg
1817

The Aesir were gods of war and of the sky. Chief among them was Odin, god of battle,
wisdom, and poetry, who was regarded by the Vikings as the ruler of the deities and
the creator of humans. The mighty Thor, warrior god of thunder, ranked as the second
most important Norse deity. Tiwaz, an early Germanic sky god who became Tyr in
Norse mythology, appears in some accounts as a son of Odin. Balder, also Odin's son,
was a gentle, beloved god. Murdered, he descended to the underworld, to return after
a new world had been created. Loki, a cunning trickster, sometimes helped the other
gods but more often caused trouble because of his spiteful, destructive nature. The
sky goddess Frigg was Odin's wife and the patron of marriage, children, and
households.

The Vanir

The Vanir were associated with the earth, fertility, and prosperity. In the beginning,
the Aesir and Vanir waged war against each other, perhaps reflecting an actual
historical conflict between two cultures, tribes, or belief systems. Realizing that
neither side could win, the two groups of gods made peace and together fought their
common enemy, the giants. To ensure a lasting peace, some of the Vanir came to
Asgard, the home of the Aesir, as hostages. Among them were Njord, the patron of
the sea and seafaring. His twin children, Freyr and Freyja, were the most important
Vanir and represented love, sexuality, and fertility The giants' desire to capture Freyja
was one cause of strife between the gods and the giants.
Norse Deities and Other Supernatural Beings
Balder:
Bragi:
Fenrir:
Freyja:
Freyr:
Frigg:
Heimdall:
Hel:
Idun:
Jormungand:
Loki:
Mimir:
Njord:
Odin:
Thor:
Tyr:
Valkyries:
Ymir:

Odin's son, gentle and handsome god

god of poetry and music
monstrous wolf, child of Loki
goddess of love and fertility, twin of Freyr
god of fertility and prosperity, twin of Freyja
wife of Odin, goddess of the sky, marriage, and childbirth
god who guards Asgard, the home of the gods
goddess of the dead, child of Loki
goddess of fertility, spring, and rebirth
giant serpent
trickster figure, companion to the gods
giant who guards the well of knowledge
sea god, father of Freyr and Freyja
god of wisdom, battle, and poetry, and ruler of the gods
god of the sky and thunder, associated with the weather, crops,
and warriors
god of war, justice, and order
female spirits, servants of Odin
frost giant whose body was used to form the world

Although human beings appear rarely in Norse myths about the gods, Norse literature
is filled with legends of heroic warriors, kings, and ancestors. The most important is
the Volsunga Saga, written around 1300. The Norse version of the German epic the
Nibelungenlied, it tells the story of Sigurd, a hero who slays a dragon, acquires a
magical ring, awakens a sleeping beauty (the Valkyrie, Brunhilde), and bravely meets
his destiny. Like Beowulf, another Germanic hero, Sigurd triumphs over the forces of
evil and chaos by slaying a monster.

Other Mythological and Legendary Beings.

The supernatural beings who inhabited the Norse mythic world included elves,
creatures related to humans; and dwarfs, skilled crafts workers who made many of
the finest treasures of gods and humans. The most powerful and dreaded
mythological beings were the giants, huge beings associated with ice, snow, and
paralyzing cold. They were descended from Ymir, the frost giant, who was killed by
Odin and his brothers.

Painting of Ymir by Nicolai Abildgaard

1790

Although the giants were generally enemies of the gods, many marriages took place
between deities and giants. Both the mother and the wife of Freyr, for example, were
giantesses.

Major Themes and Myths

Bravery in the face of a harsh fate is one of the main themes of Norse mythology.
Even the gods were ruled by an unalterable fate that doomed everything to eventual
destruction. A hero who strove to accept his destiny with reckless courage, honor, and
generosity might win lasting fame, regarded as the only true life after death.
Creation
Various accounts of the creation of the world and of human beings appear in Norse
mythology All begin in Ginnungagap, a deep empty space between realms of heat and
ice. Frost formed and became a giant, Ymir. A cosmic cow named Audhumla also
appeared. Licking the cliffs of ice, she revealed a man who had three grandsons. One
of them was Odin. With his two brothers, Odin killed the frost giant Ymir and formed
the earth from his body, the seas and rivers from his blood, and the sky from his skull,
which was held suspended above the earth by four strong dwarfs.
The Voluspa says that Odin and his brothers made the first man and first woman out
of an ash tree and an elm tree. They gave the humans life, intelligence, and beauty. A
poem called "The Lay of Vafthrudnir," however, says that the first man and first
woman grew out of Ymir's armpits before he was killed.
The Universe
Once they had killed Ymir, Odin and the other gods created an orderly universe in
three levels. Although journeys between the different levels of the universe were
possible, they were difficult and dangerous, even for the gods. The top or heavenly
level contained Asgard, the home of the Aesir; Vanaheim, the home of the Vanir; and
Alfheim, the place where the light or good elves lived. Valhalla, the hall where Odin
gathered the souls of warriors who had died in battle, was also located on this level.

Asgard, the home of the Aesir

Connected to the upper level by the rainbow bridge Bifrost was the middle or earthly
level. It contained Midgard, the world of men; Jotunheim, the land of the giants;
Svartalfaheim, the land of the dark elves; and Nidavellir, the land of the dwarfs. A
huge serpent called Jormungand encircled the middle world. The bottom level
consisted of the underworld of Niflheim, also known as Hel after Loki's daughter Hel,
who ruled there.

The Last Days

Ragnarok, or the twilight of the gods and end of the earth, began when Loki used
trickery to kill Balder, whose death was a sign that the orderly universe was falling
apart. The gods chained Loki to a rock, but eventually he will break loose and lead the
giants in a last bitter battle against the gods and the greatest heroes from Valhalla.
The bridge Bifrost will shatter, cutting Midgard off from Asgard, and all monsters will
run free. Fenrir will kill Odin, while Thor will perish in the process of slaying the
serpent Jormungard. In the end, all worlds will be consumed by fire and flood. One
man and one woman will survive, sheltering in the World Tree Yggdrasill, to become
the parents of a new human race.

The north portal of the 11th-century Urnes stave

church has been interpreted as containing
depictions of snakes and dragons that represent
Ragnarok.

Yggdrasill
Running through this universe from bottom to top, holding it all together and linking
the three worlds of heaven, earth, and underworld, was a great ash tree called
Yggdrasill.

"The Ash Yggdrasil"by Friedrich Wilhelm Heine

1886
Its branches spread over the heavens, and its roots stretched into all three worlds.
Springs rose from these roots. One, the Well of Urd, was guarded by the Norns, the
three goddesses of fate. A serpent or dragon named Nidhogg gnawed endlessly at the
Yggdrasill's roots, and an eagle perched on its topmost branch. Goats, deer, and other
animals ate the tree's shoots and lived in it, and a squirrel named Ratatosk ran up and
down its trunk, carrying messages and insults between the eagle and Nidhogg.

Legacy
Norse mythology inspired the stirring poems and sagas that were written down during
the late Middle Ages, and it has inspired more recent artists as well. German
composer Richard Wagner used the legend of Sigurd as the basis for his cycle of four
operas, known collectively as Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Ring of the Nibelung).
Some modern writers of fantasy have drawn on Norse stories and creations such as
elves and dwarfs in their work. The best known of these is J.R.R. Tolkien, whose Lord
of the Rings features many themes from Norse mythology, such as dragon slaying and

enchanted rings. High-spirited and muscular Thor, the subject of many of the most
popular myths, has even been the subject of a comic-book series called The Mighty
Thor. In one form or another, the Norse gods have managed to survive Ragnarok.

Source: http://www.mythencyclopedia.com/