Contents
[hide ]- 1 Sources
- 2 Cosmology
- 3 Kings and heroes
- 4 Norse worship
- 5 Interactions with Christianity
- 6 Modern influences
- 7 See also
- 8 External links
- 9 Bibliography
Sources
Most of this mythology was passed down orally, and much of it has been lost. However, some of it was captured and recorded by Christian scholars, particularly in the Eddas and the Heimskringla by Snorri Sturluson , who believed that pre-Christian deities were men and women rather than devils. There is also the Danish Gesta Danorum by Saxo Grammaticus , where, however, the Norse gods are strongly Euhemerized .
The Prose or Younger Edda was written in the early 13th century by Snorri Sturluson , who was a leading poet , chieftain, and diplomat in Iceland . It may be thought of primarily as a handbook for aspiring poets . It contains prose explications of traditional "kennings ," or compressed metaphors found in poetry. These prose retellings make the various tales of the Norse gods systematic and coherent.
The Poetic Edda (also known as the Elder Edda) was committed to writing about 50 years after the Prose Edda. It contains 29 long poems, of which 11 deal with the Germanic deities, the rest with legendary heroes like Sigurd the Volsung (the Siegfried of the German version Nibelungenlied ). Although scholars think it was transcribed later than the other Edda, the language and poetic forms involved in the tales appear to have been composed centuries earlier than their transcription.
Besides these sources, there are surviving legends in Scandinavian folklore. Some of these can be corroborated with legends appearing in other Germanic literatures e.g. the tale related in the Anglo-Saxon Battle of Finnsburgh and the many allusions to mythological tales in Deor . When several partial references and tellings survive, scholars can deduce the underlying tale. Additionally, there are hundreds of place names in Scandinavia named after the gods.
A few runic inscriptions, such as the Rök Runestone and the Kvinneby amulet , make references to the mythology. There are also several runestones and image stones that depict scenes from Norse mythology, such as Thor 's fishing trip, scenes from the Völsunga saga , Odin and Sleipnir , Odin being devoured by Fenrir, and Hyrrokkin riding to Baldr 's funeral.
In Denmark, one image stone depicts Loki with curled dandy-like mustaches and lips that are sewn together and the British Gosforth cross shows several intriguing images. There are also smaller images, such as figurines depicting the god Odin (with one eye), Thor (with his hammer) and Freyr (with his erect phallus ).
Cosmology
In Norse mythology, the earth is represented as a flat disc. This disk is situated in the branches of the world tree, or Yggdrasil . Asgard , where the gods lived, was located at the centre of the disc, and could only be reached by walking across the rainbow (the Bifröst bridge). The Giants lived in an abode called Jötunheimr (giant realm).
A cold, dark abode called Niflheim was ruled by Hel , daughter of Loki. According to the Prose Edda this was the eventual dwelling-place of most of the dead. Located somewhere in the south was the fiery realm of Muspell , home of the fire giants.
Further otherworldly realms include Álfheim , home of the light-elves (ljósálfar), Svartálfaheim , home of the dark-elves , Nidavellir , home of the dwarves . (See Talk:Norse Mythology , on conjecture regarding the Nine Worlds.) In between Asgard and Niflheim was Midgard , the world of men (see also Middle-earth ).
The cosmology of Norse mythology also involves a strong element of duality : for example the night and the day have their own mythological counterparts Dagr /Skinfaxi and Nótt /Hrímfaxi , the sun and the chasing wolf Sol and Skoll , the moon and its chasing wolf Mani and Hati , and the total opposites of Niflheim and Muspell is the origin of the world. This might have reflected a deeper metaphysical belief in opposites as the foundation of the world.
Supernatural beings
There are three "clans" of deities, the Æsir , the Vanir , and the Jötnar (referred to as giants in this article). The distinction between Æsir and Vanir is relative, for the two are said to have made peace, exchanged hostages, intermarried and reigned together after a prolonged war, which the Æsir had finally won. Some gods belong in both camps. Some scholars have speculated that this tale symbolized the way the gods of invading Indo-European tribes supplanted older nature-deities of the aboriginal peoples, although it should be firmly noted that this is conjecture. Other authorities (compare Mircea Eliade and J.P. Mallory ) consider the Æsir/Vanir division to be simply the Norse expression of a general Indo-European division of divinities, parallel to that of Olympians and Titans in Greek mythology , and in parts of the Mahabharata .
The Æsir and the Vanir are generally enemies with the Jötnar (singular Jötunn or Jotun ; Old English Eotenas or Entas ). They are comparable to the Titans and Gigantes of Greek mythology and generally translated as "giants", although "trolls " and "demons " have been suggested as suitable alternatives. However, the Æsir are descendants of Jötnar and both Æsir and Vanir intermarry with them. Some of the giants are mentioned by name in the Eddas, and they seem to be representations of natural forces. There are two general types of giant: frost-giants and fire-giants. There were also elves and dwarfs , whose role is shadowy but who are generally thought to side with the gods.
In addition, there are many other supernatural beings: Fenrir the gigantic wolf , and Jörmungandr the sea-serpent (or "worm") that is coiled around the world. These two monsters are described as the progeny of Loki, the trickster-god, and a giant (Hel is the third of these offspring). More benevolent creatures are Hugin and Munin (thought and memory), the two ravens who keep Odin, the chief god, apprised of what is happening on earth, and Ratatosk , the squirrel which scampers in the branches of the world ash, Yggdrasil , which is central to the conception of this world.
Along with many other polytheistic religions, this mythology lacks the good-evil dualism of the Middle Eastern tradition. Thus, Loki is not primarily an adversary of the gods, though he is often portrayed in the stories as the nemesis to the protagonist Thor, and the giants are not so much fundamentally evil, as rude, boisterous, and uncivilized. The dualism that exists is not evil vs good, but order vs chaos. The gods represent order and structure whereas the giants and the monsters represent chaos and disorder.
Völuspá: the origin and end of the world
The origin and eventual fate of the world are described in Völuspá ("The völva 's prophecy" or "The sybil's prophecy"), one of the most striking poems in the Poetic Edda. These haunting verses contain one of the most vivid creation accounts in all of religious history and a representation of the eventual destruction of the world that is unique in its attention to detail.
In the Völuspá, Odin, the chief god of the Norse pantheon, has conjured up the spirit of a dead Völva (Shaman or sybil ) and commanded this spirit to reveal the past and the future. She is reluctant: "What do you ask of me? Why tempt me?"; but since she is already dead, she shows no fear of Odin, and continually taunts him: "Well, would you know more?" But Odin insists: if he is to fulfil his function as king of the gods, he must possess all knowledge. Once the sybil has revealed the secrets of past and future, she falls back into oblivion: "I sink now".