Norse Mythology
Thesis: Norse mythology is one of the most famous folklore because of its origin, history, learning, etc.
Mythology comes from ancient Greek mythos (story of the people) and logos (word or speech). Mythology is a rich collection of folklore or myths coming from different cultures traditions or religions. A myth is a story presented as something that occurred in the past These tales come from ancient times and have ruled over the world like science, philosophy, and technology do today. One of the most known mythologies is the Nordic. Nordic people are most commonly known as Vikings. They were people that lived from the 8th century to the 11th century and lived on the Arctic circle on the North to the Baltic seas. Vikings used mythology as charms of protection, to explain climate changes or the way some things worked. Their most famous histories were about the gods, characters with fascinating characteristics, and complex behavior. In this paper, we are going to talk about the history of Norse mythology, gods/heroes/calamities, and what they were in charge of.
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First, we need to know who the Vikings were. Vikings come from Scandinavian countries such as Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland. On the webpage “Norse Mythology” Daniel McCoy states “The Vikings were seafaring raiders, conquerors, explorers, settlers, and traders from modern-day Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and Iceland who ventured throughout much of the world during the Viking Age (roughly 793-1066 CE). They traveled as far east as Baghdad and as far west as North America, which they discovered some five hundred years before Christopher Columbus. They spoke the Old Norse language, wrote in runes, and practiced their ancestral religion.”. This means that Vikings were a type of sailors that conquered new lands during their age. They were motivated to travel for normal human desires; wealth, prestige, and power. They used gemstones, gold, and silver as their currency, which, most were used in the exchange of land.
“The integrated nature of Norse mythology in the Viking’s daily lives is betrayed by the word SÍÐUR, meaning ‘custom’ – their closest concept to religion”. Norse mythology was the closest thing Vikings had to religion before they came to Christianity in the middle ages. Norse mythology is a set of religious stories that gave meaning to the lives of the Vikings. It consists of tales of deities, beings, and heroes. The most famous tales center on gods and their interaction with other beings. On the webpage “Ancient History Encyclopedia” Emma Groeneveld” says “The Codex Regius found in the Poetic Edda contains an anonymous collection of older Eddic poems, including ten about gods and nineteen about heroes, and although some of these tell complete myths, most of them assume – unfortunately for us – that their audience was familiar with the mythical context.”. In other words, most people knew or had the basic knowledge of mythology and were motivated to write/create more. Also, Vikings had temples where they venerated the gods and made offerings and sacrifices. This was very common in their community and was considered a good thing to do.
Also, some of the most famous gods of mythology were Odin, the god of war, poetry, runes, and magic. Even thou he was the god of war he was not considered a warrior; he gave advice on battles and choose who win. He has the position of father of all the gods in Norse mythology. He resides in Asgard which is the home for all gods and helps gather deceased warriors in Valhalla, the purgatory. Also, he helped to create the world humans live in. Another famous god is Thor, son of Odin and the god of thunder, the sky, and agriculture. Thor is the chief of gods, and protector of Asgard and the human realm. He is a god really cared for people since he helped them seal business contracts and declared official marriages. Thor was mostly portrayed with three magical items; his famous hammer, which helped him to protect, a belt of strength that doubled his force, and an iron glove that helped him to wield his hammer. Even with the advances of Christianity in Vikings' life, Thor was still remembered and cared about. Another famous god is Freyr the god of fertility, virility, harvest, weddings, sun, and rain. Freyr lives in Alfheimr, the world of elves, which belongs to him and was given as a present to commemorate his first tooth. People devoted him in order to have a good harvest and avoid famine. A good harvest meant wealth, which is one of Freyr's domains. Since he is the god of fertility, people came to him to have his blessing on marriage and to have no problems when trying to create an heir. Another famous god is Loki, the god of mischief and trickery, and Odin’s blood brother. Loki has the ability to change his appearance and sex. He was represented as the enemy of all gods; however, he was the companion of Odin and Thor. He helped them with their plans but most of them ended up in failure, embarrassing him and the other two in front of other gods. There are no clues on Loki’s origin in Scandinavian religion, unlike other deities Loki did not have a cult or place names that can reveal where did he come from. There is also Freyja, Freyr’s twin sister and a goddess of fertility, love, and lust. She is the most famous goddess of Scandinavian mythology. Freyja was a defender of love and justice. She was seen as irresistible by various beings and a price for many things. She is also a goddess of wealth and was said to cry tears made of pure gold. Even thou she had the favor of the gods, she was despised by Loki. Freyja was accused by Loki of sleeping with all the gods and elves at a banquet with all the gods present. There is also evidence stating that Freyja and Frigg (Odin’s wife) are the same goddesses.
Furthermore, Nordics also have heroes. A hero is a person that changes the world through invention or discovery. Some of the most known are Sigmund, the only person that could draw out a magical sword known as Gram from the great tree Bradstock. The sword gave the power to its wielder to win any battle it faced. All his family was killed except for his sister and he took revenge by destroying the palace of Siggeir (the murder of his family) and all his people. He returned to his land and became the king of the Huns. Odin, seeing that his chosen one was now corrupted decided to break Gram in two, leaving Sigmund mortally wounded. Another hero is Helgi Hundingsbani, when he was born the noms were created. When he turned fifteen, he killed his rival Hundin, hence, gaining his last name. Helgi fought a war against a suitor of his lover Sigrun and won. Odin congratulated him for his brave actions and gave him to honor of being the ruler of Valhalla. Another famous hero is Hogni of Trajo, the son of a queen and an incubus (sexual demon). He grew up as the
Works cited
- https://norse-mythology.org
- https://www.tripsavvy.com/countries-of-scandinavia-1626694
- https://localhost:6543/block_screen.html/?id=52610d8d-7670-49f5-b4ce-31ba62b9d8d1
- https://www.ancient.eu/Norse_Mythology/
- https://www.lifeinnorway.net/norse-gods/#Loki
- https://www.ancient.eu/Freyja/
- https://www.timelessmyths.com/norse/heroes1.html#Sigmund
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