Norse mythology, also known as Germanic mythology. Before the Norse (also known as the Vikings) converted to Christianity during the Middle Ages, they had their own vibrant native pagan religion that was as beautiful as the Nordic landscape with which it was intimately connected.
What is the Norse mythology?
The centerpiece of that religion was what we now call “Norse mythology“: the set of religious stories that gave meaning to the lives of the Vikings. These myths involved gods and goddesses with fascinating and highly complex characters, such as Odin, Thor, Freya and Loki.
The Norse religion that contained these myths never had a real name – those who practiced it simply called it “lore.” However, people who continued to follow the old customs after the arrival of Christianity were sometimes called “pagans,” which originally meant simply “people who live on the heath” or elsewhere in the countryside, and the name has stuck.
Religions are mankind’s attempts to reach the numinous, and the Norse religion, of course, was no exception. It provided a means of doing this that was appropriate to the time and place of the Vikings.
Although aspects of it may seem strange to the modern reader, if we approach it with the open mind it deserves, we can recognize in it the common human quest to live life in the presence of transcendent majesty and the joy of the sacred.
Thousand years
And though a thousand years have passed since the last Vikings laid down their swords, people are still inspired by the vitality and wonder of the Norse myths and the gods who inhabit them.
For the Vikings, the world as they found it was enchanted, that is, they did not feel the need to seek the world’s salvation, but delighted and marveled at “the way things are,” including what today we would call both “nature” and “culture.”
Their religion and myths did not sugarcoat the sordidness, struggle and injustice of earthly life, but rather acknowledged it and praised the attempt to master it by doing great deeds for the benefit of themselves and their people. A life filled with such deeds was what “the good life” was to the Vikings.
Origin of Norse mythology
Since Norse myths and texts were suppressed and persecuted under Christian rule, relatively few have survived to the present day.
However, some of these tales were recorded by Christian scholars, particularly in the Prose Edda and the Heimskringla of Snorri Sturluson (1178-1241 C.E.), who believed that the pre-Christian deities were men and women rather than demons (and thus revealed elements of the histories of their respective cultures).
Sturluson, who was a prominent poet, chieftain, and diplomat in Iceland, condensed the extensive sagas into prose accounts that made the various stories of Norse mythology systematic and coherent.
An additional source for modern understanding of Norse mythology is the Poetic Edda (also known as the Old Edda), which contains versions of many tales, some of which are also found in the Prose Edda.
In addition to the Eddas, there is also the Danish Gesta Danorum by Saxo Grammaticus, which unfortunately is of less use due to the author’s more extensive editorial modifications.
Likewise to these sources, there are surviving legends in Scandinavian poetry and folklore. In the former case, mythological reference and allusion abound in traditional Norse poetry (skaldic), some of which survive in runic inscriptions and books (many of which were written after the golden age of this poetic form).
Tutorial on Norse mythology
Some of these poetic and folkloric references can be corroborated by legends appearing in other Germanic literatures, such as the tale related to the Anglo-Saxon battle of Finnsburgh and the numerous allusions to mythological tales in the Old English poem Deor. Where several references and partial accounts survive, scholars can often reconstruct the underlying story.
Finally, the archaeological record can also provide useful clues as to the nature of these beliefs. Likewise, there are also numerous runes and picture stones depicting scenes from Norse mythology.
Such as Thor’s fishing trip, scenes from the Völsunga saga, Odin and Sleipnir, Loki with curled whiskers and sewn lips, Odin being devoured by Fenrir, and Hyrrokkin riding to Balder’s funeral (the last of these scenes is depicted on one of the surviving stones from the Hunnestad monument).
Stage of Norse mythology
Norse mythology comes from the northernmost part of Europe, Scandinavia: Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Iceland. The mythology of this region is gloomy, shadowed by long winters without sun. But the darkness is filled with flashes of grandeur and sparks of humor.
The myths describe a universe in which gods and giants fight each other in a cosmic conflict destined to end in the destruction of the world.
Norse mythology developed from the myths and legends of the northern peoples who spoke Germanic languages.
It shares many features with the mythology of pre-Christian Germanic groups. When some of these groups spread into England and Scandinavia, they brought 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 throughout the Viking Age, from about 750 A.D. to 1050.
Knowledge of Norse Mythology
Modern knowledge of Norse mythology comes from medieval texts, most of them written in Iceland. Descendants of Norse settlers in that country maintained a strong interest in their heritage even after converting to Christianity.
An important source of information on Norse mythology is a book called the Poetic Edda, sometimes known as the Edda of the Elders. It consists of mythological and heroic poems, including Voluspa, an overview of Norse mythology from 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 AD.
Around 1222, an Icelandic poet and chieftain named Snorri Sturluson wrote the Prose Edda, or Younger Edda, which interprets traditional Icelandic poetry for the audience of Snorri’s time. Part of the Prose Edda describes a visit by Gylfi, a Swedish king, to the house of the gods in Asgard.
There the king questioned the gods about his historical adventures and his fate, medieval relating to the Middle Ages in Europe, a period from about 500 to 1500 AD.
The saga story recounting the adventures of historical and legendary heroes; usually associated with Icelandic or Norse tales of the Middle Ages.
Other references to Norse mythology
Norse mythology is also known in other Scandinavian texts. Many Norse poems refer to mythical events or figures.
In the early 13th century, Icelanders began writing family sagas about their ancestors and heroic sagas about their legendary heroes. Many of these sagas contain references to mythological themes.
Also in the 13th century, a Danish scholar named Saxo Grammaticus wrote a history of the Danish people that begins with an account of a story from Norse mythology tells of Sigurd, a hero who used a special sword to slay the dragon Fafnir.
When Sigurd roasted and ate the heart of the beast, he was able to understand the language of birds. They warned him that they were going to kill him.
Their pagan gods and their ancient heroes. The works of earlier Roman and medieval historians also include information on Germanic and Norse myths. In A. D. 98, for example, the Roman historian Tacitus wrote Germania, a description of the Germanic tribes that mentions some of their religious beliefs and customs.
Gods or deities of Norse mythology
The Norse gods are the mythological characters that, as far as we know, came from the northern Germanic tribes of the 9th century AD. These stories were transmitted in the form of poetry until the 11th and 18th centuries, when the Eddas and other texts were written.
Norse mythology comprises the pre-Christian beliefs and legends of the Scandinavian peoples, including those who settled in Iceland, where most of the written sources of Norse mythology were collected. However, many of these sources are said to be tainted by the Christian bias of the writers.
Actors in Norse Mythology
Norse mythology has not only its gods, goddesses, and immortals, but also a myriad of other characters and creatures that populate the stories, including giants, dwarves, monsters, magical animals, and objects.
- Kvasir is known as the “wisest of the gods”.
- Gefion “giver” is a goddess of vegetation and fertility from ancient Scandinavia, especially related to the plow. She was considered the patroness of virgins and bringer of good luck and prosperity.
- Brunhilde (Brynhildr, Brunhilda, Brunhilde, Brünhild) was a warrior, one of the Valkyries, and in some versions the daughter of the chief god Odin.
- Buri primeval god of cows: he is the primeval man of Norse mythology. He had neither father nor mother, but was created by a cow named Audhumla.
- Vili: In Scandinavian myth, one of the primordial gods, brother of Odin and Ve. The three were responsible for the creation of the cosmos, as well as the first humans.
- Bor: a Norse primordial man, the son of Buri. He married the giantess Bestla, daughter of the frost giant Bolthorn. Bor and Bestla had three sons who became the first gods: Odin, Vili, Ve.
- Woden: god of war, and supreme god, father of all gods.
The most powerful and feared mythological beings were the giants, huge beings associated with ice, snow and paralyzing cold. They were descendants of Ymir, the frost giant, who was slain by Odin and his brothers.
Although giants were generally enemies of the gods, many marriages took place between deities and giants. Both Freyr’s mother and wife, for example, were giants.
Animals of Norse mythology
- Alsvin (Old Norse “Alsviðr”) is one of the two horses that pulls the chariot of the Sun, he is driven by Sol.
- Alsvinder: He is the horse that pulls the chariot of the Moon, he is driven by Mani.
- Arvakr: It is one of the two horses that pulls the chariot of the Sun, it is driven by Sun. Dain is a deer that lives among the branches of Yggdrasil and eats the leaves.
- Eikthyrnir is a stag that stands on the roof of Valhalla, and feeds on the leaves of the great oak Laerrad. From the horns drips water, which is where all the rivers of the world come from.
- Fenrir: The wolf is the son of Loki and the giantess Angrboda, Fenrir is the brother of the Goddess of the Underworld and the serpent Midgard. It is predicted that Fenrir will kill Odin, in Ragnarok, but Fenrir’s wolf will be killed soon after by Odin’s son, Vidar.
Fenrir’s wolf was kept at first in Asgard, where Tyr was the only one brave enough to feed him. But when the gods saw how fast and huge Fenrir’s wolf had grown from the present day.
They decided to bind him with an extremely strong leash, so that he could contain Fenrir the wolf. The gods thought it was not safe to have him free in Asgard.
Literature of Norse Mythology
The pre-Christian mythology and religion of the Norse and other Germanic peoples has been carefully compiled from a wide variety of sources in recent centuries.
The most significant category among these sources is undoubtedly the literature on mythological and historical subjects written in the Old Norse language from about 800 to 1400 AD, a period that includes the epochs we now refer to as the Viking Age and the Medieval Period.
The Scandinavians and Icelanders maintained their traditional religion much longer than the more southerly Germanic peoples, and the Icelanders in particular did a remarkable job of preserving their pagan tradition long after Christianity became the official religion of the island in 1000 CE.
Were it not for the body of poems, treatises, and sagas that have been handed down to us, the pre-Christian worldview of the Germanic peoples would now be almost completely lost.
The poetic hedda
The Old Norse-speaking poets have left us innumerable valuable clues regarding their religious outlook, but the collection of poems known today as the “Poetic Edda” or “Elder Edda” contains the most mythologically rich and comprehensive of these.
Of these poems, Völuspá (“The Seer’s Understanding”) and Grímnismál (“The Hooded One’s Song”) are the closest things we have to systematic accounts of pre-Christian Norse cosmology and mythology .
The name “Edda” has been retroactively applied to this set of poems and is a reference to Snorri Sturluson’s Edda (see below).
The authors of the poems are all anonymous. Debates have raged over the dates and locations of the composition of the poems; what we can really be sure of is that, due to the fact that some of the poems are obviously written in a way that puts them in dialogue with Christian ideas (especially the aforementioned Völuspá ), the poems must have been composed sometime between the tenth and thirteenth centuries, when Iceland and Scandinavia were gradually Christianized.
The poetic Edda is probably the most important of all our sources.
The prose edda
Among the Old Norse prose sources, the Prda Edda , or simply the “Edda”, contains the greatest amount of information on our subject. This treatise on Norse poetics was written in the thirteenth century by the Icelandic scholar and politician Snorri Sturluson, long after Christianity had become the official religion of Iceland and the ancient perception of the world and its concomitant practices had faded into an increasingly distant memory.
The etymology and meaning of the title “Edda” have puzzled scholars, and none of the explanations offered so far have met with particularly wide acceptance. Snorri made use of the poems in Poetic Edda, but added to his account a considerable amount of information that cannot be found in those poems.
In some cases, he quotes from other poems that have been lost over the centuries, but in other cases he offers nothing more than his bare assertions. Some of these can be confirmed by other sources, and many of his unconfirmed claims are in line with the general worldview he describes, making scholars more inclined to accept them.
Others of these claims, however, appear to be simple rationalizations, attempts to reconcile old myths with Christianity, or other kinds of fabrications. Modern readers of Snorri have advanced very different appreciations of the value of his work.
While it would be rash to simply dismiss everything in Prose Edda that the earlier poems have not told us, it would be equally presumptuous to accept every statement of Snorri at face value.
Unfortunately, the latter approach was common throughout much of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and, as a result, the most popular introductions to Norse mythology uncritically rehash Snorri’s claims and thus present a skewed portrait of the ancient gods and tales.
The sagas
Although their definition of “history,” or at least what constitutes a reliable piece of historical information, might differ considerably from our current understanding, the Icelanders of the Middle Ages have left us with numerous historical texts that contribute mightily to our knowledge of pre – Christian Norse religious traditions.
While many of these, such as the Íslendingabók (“Book of Icelanders”) by the priest Ari Thorgilsson and the anonymous Landnámabók (“Book of Settlements”), do not fit into the saga genre, most of these historical works are Icelandic sagas.
Symbols and Symbology of Norse Mythology
Norse mythology has its roots in Proto-Norse prehistory. It flourished during and after the Christianization of Scandinavia, during the High Middle Ages, and passed into Norse folklore, with some aspects surviving to the present day.
The mythology of the Viking Romantic Revival came to influence modern literature and popular culture.
Most of the extant records of Norse mythology date from the 11th to 18th centuries, having passed through more than two centuries of oral preservation in what was at least officially a Christian society.
At this point, scholars began to record it, particularly in the Eddas and the Heimskringla of Snorri Sturluson, who believed that pre-Christian deities trace to actual historical persons.
Here are some of the most popular Norse symbols that have emerged from his time.
- Valknut – The dead in battle.
- Mjolnir pendant – Thor’s hammer.
- Yggdrasil – The tree of life.
- Odin’s horn – Wisdom and inspiration.
- Sleipnir – Eight-legged horse.
- Gungnir – Odin’s magical spear.
Myths and Legends of Norse Mythology
The northern lights have inspired some of the most dramatic tales in Norse mythology. The Vikings celebrated the lights, believing them to be earthly manifestations of their gods.
Other Norse feared them, telling stories of the dangers they posed and developing superstitions to protect themselves. These Norse myths and legends come from the Nordic countries of northern Europe and the North Atlantic.
Heroes who light up the sky
Odin was the chief god and ruler of Asgard, revered by all Vikings. He was believed to live in Valhalla, where he was preparing for Ragnarök, a series of events that would precipitate the end of the gods and start the world anew.
In Viking legend, Ragnarök was predestined and would be Odin’s greatest battle, so he needed the bravest warriors at his side. During each battle on Earth, Odin would choose the warriors who would die and join him in Valhalla. The Valkyries, warriors on horseback, wearing armor and carrying spears and shields, were tasked with carrying Odin’s chosen warriors to Valhalla.
The Vikings believed that the northern lights illuminating the sky were reflections of the Valkyries’ armor as they led the warriors to Odin. Dying in battle was considered an honor for our Norse ancestors and many of their legends include great battles celebrating warriors who died fighting.
In some legends, they say that the Aurora was the breath of brave soldiers who died in battle. In other stories, the Aurora was believed to be the “Bridge of Bifrost,” a glowing, pulsating arch that carried fallen warriors to their final resting place in Valhalla.
Danger in the lights?
For the Sami, the indigenous Finno-Ugric people, the lights did not tell stories of heroism and bravery, but were to be feared and respected in equal measure. The appearance of the northern lights was a bad omen.
Believing them to be the souls of the dead, the Sami believed that the Northern Lights were not to be spoken of. It was also dangerous to taunt them by waving, whistling or singing under them, as this would alert the lights to their presence. If you caught their attention, the lights might descend and take you skyward.
A more sinister interpretation was that the aurora borealis could duck down and cut off your head. To this day, many Sami stay in their homes when the northern lights illuminate the sky, just to be safe.
The mythical fire foxes
In Finland, the name for the northern lights is revontulet, literally translated as “fire fox”. The name comes from the rather beautiful myth that Arctic foxes produced the aurora.
These fire foxes ran across the sky so fast that when their big, furry tails brushed the mountains, they created sparks that lit up the sky.
A similar version of this story tells that as the fire foxes ran, their tails dragged snowflakes into the sky, which caught the moonlight and created the aurora borealis. This version would also have helped explain to people why the lights were only visible in winter, as there is no snowfall in the summer months.
These complex mythologies were not the only ones that took root in Norse societies. In Icelandic folklore, they believed that the aurora borealis helped ease the pain of childbirth, but pregnant women should not look directly at them or their child would be born cross-eyed.
In Greenland, people had a bittersweet belief that the lights were the spirits of children, who had died in childbirth, dancing across the sky, while in Norway the Aurora Borealis were believed to be the souls of spinsters dancing in the heavens and greeting those below.
Whatever fantastic story captures your imagination, one thing is certain, the Aurora Borealis was assigned great power and significance by the peoples of ancient Norse societies. Whether a harbinger of good or evil, the lights were as magical and revered as they remain today.
Norse Mythology Traditions
The Norse religious worship is the traditional religious ritual practiced by Norse pagans in Scandinavia in pre-Christian times.
Norse religion was a folk religion (as opposed to an organized religion), and its primary purpose was the survival and regeneration of society. Thus, faith was decentralized and tied to the village and family, although there is evidence of large national religious festivals.
Leaders administered the faith on behalf of society; at the local level, the leader would have been the head of the family, and at the national level, the leader was the king. Pre-Christian Scandinavians did not have a word for religion in a modern sense.
The closest counterpart is the word sidr, meaning custom. This meant that Christianity, during the conversion period, was referred to as nýr sidr (the new custom) while paganism was called forn sidr (old custom).
The center of gravity of pre-Christian religion was in religious practice: sacred acts, rituals and worship of the gods. Norse religion is at no time homogeneous, but is a conglomerate of related customs and beliefs.
Sacrifices and other rites
Sacrifice (blót) played an important role in most rituals known today, and communal feasts with meat from sacrificed animals, along with the consumption of beer or mead, played an important role in calendar feasts.
In daily practice, it is likely that other foodstuffs such as cereals were used. The purpose of these sacrifices was to ensure fertility and growth. However, sudden crises or transitions such as births, weddings and burials may also have been the reason.
In those times there was a clear distinction between private and public faith, so the rituals were linked to the household and the individual or societal structures.
It is not certain to what extent the known myths correspond to the religious beliefs of the Scandinavians in pre-Christian times, nor how people acted towards them in everyday life.
The Scandinavians left no written sources about their religious practice, and Christian texts on the subject are marked by misunderstandings and negative prejudices, as Christians regarded Norse beliefs as superstition and devil worship. Some archaeological evidence has been discovered, but this is difficult to interpret in isolation from the written material.
Sacred Places of Norse Mythology
The Norse religion relied heavily on nature and the gods provided through the environment so most of their sacred space, rituals and beliefs came from nature.
Their sacred spaces included meadows, marshes, lakes, rocks, hill locks and much more, they mainly used these sacred areas to perform sacrifices called “Blots”.
Blots generally consisted of boiling animals such as pigs and horses in large pots, then extracting the blood and sprinkling it on the statues of the gods due to their belief that the blood possessed supernatural powers, while the meat was shared in a feast for the entire tribe and clan.
Sacred trees
Sacrifice was often performed outdoors or in groves and forests. The human sacrifice to the tribal god of the Semnones, described by Tacitus, took place in a sacred grove other examples of sacred groves include the one in which Nerthus usually resides. Tacitus, however, mentions temples in Germany, although they were probably few.
Old English laws mention places enclosed around a stone, tree or other object of worship. In Scandinavia, men brought sacrifices to groves and waterfalls. A common word for a holy place in Old English is hearg and in Old High German harug, occasionally glossed as lucus “grove” or nemus “forest.”
The corresponding Old Norse word, hörgr, denotes a cairn, a pile of stones used as an altar; the word was also occasionally used for roofed temples. Another term applied to sacred places in Scandinavia was vé (compare it with vígja, “to consecrate”), which appears in many place names; e.g., Odense (older Óðinsvé).
Uppsala Temple
Although worship originally took place in the open air, temples also developed with the art of building. Bede states that some temples in England were built well enough to be used as churches and mentions a large one that burned down.
The word The hof, commonly applied to temples in Icelandic literature, seems to belong to a later rather than an earlier period. A detailed description of a hof is given in one of the sagas.
The temple consisted of two compartments, perhaps analogous to the chancel and nave of a church. The images of the gods were kept in the choir. This does not imply, however, that 10th-century Icelandic temples were modeled on churches; rather they resembled large Icelandic farmsteads. A building believed to be a temple has been excavated in northern Iceland, and its outline closely matches that described in the saga .
Temples on the mainland of Scandinavia were probably built of wood, of which nothing survives, although an influence of pagan temples may be discernible in the so-called wooden churches.
At the end of the pagan period, the most splendid temple of all was at Uppsala. It was abundantly described by Adam of Bremen , whose report is based on eyewitness accounts, although it may have been influenced by the biblical description of Solomon’s temple.
The statues of Thor, Wodan and Fricco (Freyr) were together inside it; the whole building was covered with gold, which could be seen shining from afar. There were also famous temples in Norway, but no detailed descriptions of them are given.
