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In Norse religion, the Einherjar (Old Norse "lone fighters" wink are spirits of warriors who had died bravely in battle.
After they die, the valkyries escort half of the slain from the battlefield to Valhalla (these are the "einherjar" wink , which is part of Asgard (commonly described as the "Norse Heaven" wink ; the other half went to Fólkvangr (Freyja's hall). The Grímnismál describes Valhalla as having five hundred and forty doors, and through each of them, eight hundred could march abreast (a hundred, hundrað, in Old Norse could mean either 100 or 120), indicating the size of the hall and the numbers of the einherjar.
Every day the Einherjar are awakened by Gullinkambi, a rooster, and march out to the great field of Idavoll in the heart of Asgard to fight against each other in merry (and mortal) combat. At dusk, when they are all cut to pieces, save perchance a few, they are miraculously healed, and march back into Valhalla, where Andhrímnir, the cook of the gods, has prepared a meal for them from the beast Sæhrímnir and the mead milked from Heiðrún, a goat feeding on the leaves of the Læraðr tree. The einherjar then spend the evening and night in feast, served by lovely valkyries, until they all fall asleep, solidly drunk.
The einherjar will stand with the forces of the Æsir at Ragnarök, when Odin will call them up to fight the forces of Hel and the giants.
 Sven Fenrir · Fri Sep 05, 2008 @ 06:08am · 0 Comments |
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In Norse mythology, Valhalla (Old Norse Valhöll, "Hall of the Slain" wink is the major god Odin's hall, located in the Asgardian realm of Gladsheim and is the home for the Einherjar, those slain gloriously in battle. They are then escorted to Valhalla by the valkyries and welcomed by Bragi. The term Valhalla has entered popular English usage for an ideal, heaven-like destiny.
Sven Fenrir · Fri Sep 05, 2008 @ 06:07am · 0 Comments |
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In Norse mythology, Sleipnir is Odin's eight-legged steed, and the greatest of all horses. His name means smooth or gliding, and is related to the English word "slippery". One popular image of Sleipnir is from the Tjängvide image stone, but there is also a similar illustration on one of the Ardre image stones, which are a collection of ten rune and image stones, dated to the eighth through eleventh centuries.
Sven Fenrir · Fri Sep 05, 2008 @ 06:05am · 0 Comments |
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In Norse mythology, Hel, the location, shares a name with Hel, a female figure associated with the location. In late Icelandic sources, varying descriptions of Hel are given and various figures are described as being buried with items that will facilitate their journey to Hel after their death. In the Poetic Edda, Brynhildr's trip to Hel after her death is described and Odin, while alive, also visits Hel upon his horse Sleipnir. In the Prose Edda, Baldr goes to Hel upon death and subsequently Hermóðr uses Sleipnir to attempt to retrieve him. "Hel-shoes" are described in Gísla saga.
Sven Fenrir · Fri Sep 05, 2008 @ 06:04am · 0 Comments |
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Freyja (sometimes anglicized as Freya) is a major goddess in Norse Paganism, a subset of Germanic Paganism. Because the documented source of this religious tradition, the Norse Mythology, was transmitted and altered by Christian medieval historians, the actual role, heathen practices and worship of the goddess are uncertain.
In the Eddas, Freyja is portrayed as a goddess of love, beauty, and fertility. Blonde, blue-eyed, and beautiful, Freyja is described as the fairest of all goddesses, and people prayed to her for happiness in love. She was also called on to assist childbirths and prayed to for good seasons.
Freyja was also associated with war, battle, death, magic, prophecy, and wealth. She is cited as receiving half of the dead lost in battle in her hall Fólkvangr, whereas Odin would receive the other half at Valhalla. The origin of Seid was ascribed to Freyja.
Frigg and Freyja are the two principal goddesses in Norse religion, and described as the highest amongst the Asynjur. Freyja is the goddess most honoured after or along with Frigg, and her worship seems to have been even the more prevalent and important of the two. In the Droplaugarsona Saga, it is described that in a temple at Ölvusvatn, Iceland, statues of Frigg and Freyja have been seated upon higher thrones opposite those of Thor and Freyr. These statues were arrayed in drapery and ornaments of gold and silver.
In Heimskringla, Freyja is also presented as a mythological Princess of Sweden. Her father Njörðr is seen as the second mythological King of Sweden, and her brother Freyr is the third. Freyr and Freyja's mother is Njörðr's sister (who has been often linked to the ancient Germanic goddess Nerthus), as it is a custom of the Vanir and allowed by their laws.
Further in Heimskringla, it is written that many temples and statues of native pagan gods and goddesses were raided and destroyed by Olaf Tryggvason and Saint Olaf during the gradual and violent process of the Christianization of Scandinavia. During and after the extent that the process of Christianization was complete, Freyja and many things associated with her were demonized[18] by the growing influence of Christian missionaries. After Christian influence was cemented in law, traces of belief went increasingly underground into mainly rural areas, surviving into modern times in Germanic folklore and most recently reconstructed to varying degrees in Germanic neopaganism.
Sven Fenrir · Fri Sep 05, 2008 @ 06:03am · 0 Comments |
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Forseti (Old Norse "the presiding one", actually "president" in Modern Icelandic and Faroese) is the Æsir god of justice, peace and truth in Norse mythology. Fosite is a god of the Frisians often identified with Scandinavian Forseti. So Jacob Grimm, Teutonic Mythology, who takes forseti "praeses" as the original meaning, postulating an (unattested) Old High German equivalent forasizo. Grimm notes that the god's sanctuary at Heligoland would have made him an ideal candidate of a deity known to both Frisians and Scandinavians, but has to admit it is surprising that he should remain entirely unmentioned by Saxo Grammaticus.
Sven Fenrir · Fri Sep 05, 2008 @ 05:59am · 0 Comments |
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In Norse mythology, Váli is a son of the god Odin and the giantess Rindr. He was birthed for the sole purpose of killing Höðr as revenge for Höðr's accidental murder of his half-brother, Baldr. He grew to full adulthood within one day of his birth, and slew Höðr. Váli is fated to survive Ragnarök.
Sven Fenrir · Fri Sep 05, 2008 @ 05:58am · 0 Comments |
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Borr or Burr (sometimes anglicized Bor or Bur) was the son of Búri and the father of Odin in Norse mythology.
Sven Fenrir · Fri Sep 05, 2008 @ 05:57am · 0 Comments |
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In Norse mythology, the light elves (Old Norse: Ljósálfar) live in the Old Norse version of the heavens, in the place called Álfheim underneath the place of the Gods. The idea of the light elf is one of the most ancient records of elves (Old Norse: álfr singular, álfar plural) preserved in writing, as close to the prototypical idea of the elf we might get (as Nordic mythology preserved an ancient German paganism). The "light elf" designation is in contrast to the dark elf who is an earth dweller and may be the dwarf.
According to the early Nordic source that mentions light versus dark elves, the Nordic Eddas of the 13th century, the light elves are bright and radiant. The Edda Gylfaginning by Snorri Sturluson, says that they are "fairer to look upon than the sun" (Arthur Gilchrist Brodeur's translation). Snorri also stresses the great difference in both appearance and nature between them and the dark elves, known as the Dökkálfar in the following passage:
"There are many magnificent dwellings. One is there called Alfheim. There dwell the folk that are called light-elves; but the dark-elves dwell down in the earth, and they are unlike the light-elves in appearance, but much more so in deeds. The light-elves are fairer than the sun to look upon, but the dark-elves are blacker than pitch." – Gylfaginning, 13th century.
The light elf may have received its name and place from the Eddic references that the Álfheim belonged or was led by Freyr, god of the sun and sunlight. The placement of the elves, per Snorri, was in the heaven not quite as high as the gods, from which they could interact with the gods. Hence they were positioned between heaven and man, similar to the Semitic notion of the angels.
Sven Fenrir · Fri Sep 05, 2008 @ 05:56am · 0 Comments |
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In Norse mythology, the Svartálfar ("black elves" wink or Dökkálfar ("Dark elves" wink are supernatural beings (Old Norse "vættir," wights) that are said to reside in the underground world of Svartálfaheim. They, like the trolls, are often correlated with the dvergar ("dwarves" wink and their home is often considered to be the same as Niðavellir, an underground area beneath Midgard.
Alb (elf) sitting on a dreamer's chest during sleep paralysis.
Sven Fenrir · Fri Sep 05, 2008 @ 05:53am · 0 Comments |
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Freyr (sometimes anglicized Frey)[1] is one of the most important gods of Norse paganism. Freyr was highly associated with agriculture, weather and, as a phallic fertility god, Freyr "bestows peace and pleasure on mortals". Freyr, sometimes referred to as Yngvi-Freyr, was especially associated with Sweden and seen as an ancestor of the Swedish royal house.
In the Icelandic books the Poetic Edda and the Prose Edda, Freyr is presented as one of the Vanir, the son of the sea god Njörðr, brother of the goddess Freyja. The gods gave him Álfheimr, the realm of the Elves, as a teething present. He rides the shining dwarf-made boar Gullinbursti and possesses the ship Skíðblaðnir which always has a favorable breeze and can be folded together and carried in a pouch when it is not being used. He has the servants Skírnir, Byggvir and Beyla.
The most extensive surviving Freyr myth relates Freyr's falling in love with the giantess Gerðr. Eventually, she becomes his wife but first Freyr has to give away his magic sword which fights on its own "if wise be he who wields it". Although deprived of this weapon, Freyr defeats the giant Beli with an antler. However, lacking his sword, Freyr will be killed by the fire giant Surtr at Ragnarök, the end of the world.
Sven Fenrir · Fri Sep 05, 2008 @ 05:47am · 0 Comments |
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Baldr is a god in Norse Mythology associated with light and beauty.
In the 12th century, Danish accounts by Saxo Grammaticus and other Danish Latin chroniclers recorded a euhemerized account of his story. Compiled in Iceland in the 13th century, but based on much older Old Norse poetry, the Poetic Edda and the Prose Edda contain numerous references to the death of Baldr as both a great tragedy to the Æsir and a harbinger of Ragnarök.
According to Gylfaginning, a book of Snorri Sturluson's Prose Edda, Baldr's wife is Nanna and their son is Forseti. In Gylfaginning, Snorri relates that Baldr had the greatest ship ever built, named Hringhorni, and that there is no place more beautiful than his hall, Breidablik.
Baldr was indeed the first "god modder" and so Loki banned him from life.
Sven Fenrir · Fri Sep 05, 2008 @ 05:46am · 0 Comments |
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Tyr (English pronounced /ˈtʰɪɚ/;Old Norse: Týr IPA: [tʰyːr]) is the god of single combat and heroic glory in Norse mythology, portrayed as a one-handed man. In the late Icelandic Eddas, he is portrayed, alternately, as the son of Odin (Prose Edda) or of Hymir (Poetic Edda), while the origins of his name and his possible relationship to Tuisto (see Tacitus' Germania) suggest he was once considered the father of the gods and head of the pantheon. Tuesday is in fact "Tyr's Day." This is because the Anglo-Saxons at that time pronounced Tyr's name as "Tiw" thus giving his name to the 3rd day of the week.
Corresponding names in other Germanic languages are Gothic Tyz , Old English Tīw and Old High German Ziu, all from Proto-Germanic *Tîwaz. The Old Norse name became Norwegian Ty, Swedish Ti, Danish Tyr, while it remains Týr in Modern Icelandic and Faroese.
The oldest attestation of the god is Gothic teiws, attested as tyz, in the 9th century Codex Vindobonensis 795.
Tîwaz was overtaken in popularity and in authority by both Odin and Thor at some point before the Migration Age.
Tyr before his encounter with Fenrir.
Sven Fenrir · Fri Sep 05, 2008 @ 05:39am · 0 Comments |
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A jötunn, sometimes anglicized as jotun (pronounced yotun), is a giant in Norse mythology, a member of a race of nature spirits with superhuman strength, described as sometimes standing in opposition to the races of the tribes of the Æsir and Vanir, although they frequently mingle with or intermarry with these. Their otherworldly homeland is Jötunheimr, one of the nine worlds of Norse cosmology, separated from Midgard, the world of humans, by high mountains or dense forests. Other place names are also associated with them, including Niflheimr, Utgarðr and Járnviðr. In some legends and myths they are described as having the same height as humans.
In later Scandinavian folklore, the nature spirits called trolls (deriving from the term for 'magic') take over many of the functions of the more ancient concept of the jötunn.
The mountain range of southern Norway is likewise called in Norwegian Jotunheimen or the Jotunheim Mountains.
Sven Fenrir · Fri Sep 05, 2008 @ 05:34am · 0 Comments |
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In Norse mythology, Útgarða-Loki (Anglicized as Utgarda-Loki and in other ways) was the ruler of the castle Útgarðr in Jötunheimr. He was one of the Jötnar and his name means literally "Loki of the Outyards," to distinguish him from Loki, the companion of Thor.
Sven Fenrir · Fri Sep 05, 2008 @ 05:32am · 0 Comments |
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Heimdall (Old Norse Heimdallr, the prefix Heim- means home, the affix -dallr is of uncertain origin) is one of the Æsir (gods) in Norse mythology. Heimdall is the guardian of the gods and of the link between Midgard and Asgard, the Bifrost Bridge. Legends foretell that he will sound the Gjallarhorn, alerting the Æsir to the onset of Ragnarök where the world ends and is reborn.
Heimdall is described as being so alert that he requires no sleep at all. He can hear the grass grow and see to the end of the world; he can hear a leaf fall. Heimdall is described as a son of Odin, perhaps a foster son. Heimdall was destined to be the last of the gods to perish at Ragnarök when he and Loki would slay one another.
Sven Fenrir · Fri Sep 05, 2008 @ 05:30am · 0 Comments |
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Thor (Old Norse: Þórr) is the red-haired and bearded god of thunder in Germanic paganism and its subset Norse paganism. The god is also recorded in Old English as Þunor, Old Saxon as Thunaer,as Old Dutch and Old High German: Donar, all of which are names deriving from the reconstructed Proto-Germanic name *Þunraz.
Most surviving stories relating to Germanic paganism either mention Thor or center on Thor's exploits. Thor was a much revered god of the ancient Germanic peoples from at least the earliest surviving written accounts of the indigenous Germanic tribes to over a thousand years later during the last bastions of Germanic paganism in the late Viking Age.
Thor was appealed to for protection on numerous objects found from various Germanic tribes and Miniature replicas of Mjolnir, the weapon of Thor, became a defiant symbol of Norse paganism during the Christianization of Scandinavia. Thor was gradually demonized by the growing influence of Christian missionaries. After Christian influence was cemented in law, traces of belief went increasingly underground into mainly rural areas, surviving until modern times into Germanic folklore and most recently reconstructed to varying degrees in Germanic Neopaganism.
Sven Fenrir · Fri Sep 05, 2008 @ 05:27am · 0 Comments |
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Odin (IPA: /ˈoʊdɪn/ from Old Norse Óðinn), is considered the chief god in Norse paganism. Homologous with the Anglo-Saxon Wōden and the Old High German Wotan, it is descended from Proto-Germanic *Wōđinaz or *Wōđanaz. The name Odin is generally accepted as the modern translation; although, in some cases, older translations of his name may be used or preferred. His name is related to óðr, meaning "fury, excitation", besides "mind", or "poetry". His role, like many of the Norse gods, is complex. He is associated with wisdom, war, battle, and death, and also magic, poetry, prophecy, victory, and the hunt.
Sven Fenrir · Fri Sep 05, 2008 @ 05:24am · 0 Comments |
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Frigg (or Frigga) is a major goddess in Norse paganism, a subset of Germanic paganism. She is said to be the wife of Odin, and is the "foremost among the goddesses". Frigg appears primarily in Norse mythological stories as a wife and a mother. She is also described as having the power of prophecy yet she does not reveal what she knows. Frigg is described as the only one other than Odin who is permitted to sit on his high seat Hlidskjalf and look out over the universe. The English term Friday derives from the Anglo-Saxon name for Frigg, Frigga.
Frigg's children are Baldr and Höðr, her stepchildren are Thor, Hermóðr, Heimdall, Tyr, Vidar, Váli, and Skjoldr. Frigg's companion is Eir, a goddess associated with medical skills. Frigg's attendants are Hlín, Gná, and Fulla.
In the Poetic Edda poem Lokasenna 26, Frigg is said to be Fjörgyns mær ("Fjörgynn's maiden" wink . The problem is that in Old Norse mær means both "daughter" and "wife", so it is not fully clear if Fjörgynn is Frigg's father or another name for her husband Odin, but Snorri Sturluson interprets the line as meaning Frigg is Fjörgynn's daughter (Skáldskaparmál 27), and most modern translators of the Poetic Edda follow Snorri. The original meaning of fjörgynn was the earth, cf. feminine version Fjorgyn, a byname for Jörð, the earth.
Sven Fenrir · Fri Sep 05, 2008 @ 05:21am · 0 Comments |
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Loki or Loke is a god or giant in Norse mythology. The 13th century Icelandic Poetic Edda and Prose Edda, two of the very few sources of information regarding the figure, inconsistently place him among the Æsir, as his blood-brotherhood makes him a member of Odin's family. Although frequently mentioned in 13th century Icelandic sources, it is generally believed by scholars that it is unlikely that Loki was ever worshipped. Loki is depicted in both the Poetic Edda and Prose Edda as the husband of the goddess Sigyn.
In the Eddas, Loki is described as a son of Fárbauti and in the Prose Edda as also a son of Laufey. Loki also had two brothers (Helbindi & Byleist) of whom nothing is known. Loki is introduced in the Prose Edda as the "contriver of all fraud". Tales regarding Loki in these sources often feature Loki mixing freely with the gods for a long time, even becoming Odin's blood brother before arranging the accidental murder of Baldr by Höðr in the Prose Edda book Gylfaginning. After Baldr's death, the Æsir restrain Loki with the entrails of his son Narfi. He is eventually freed and fights alongside the Jotun against the forces of the Æsir at Ragnarök.
Loki is not to be confused with the similarly named Útgarða-Loki, a king of the giants in Jötunheimr.
Sven Fenrir · Fri Sep 05, 2008 @ 05:18am · 0 Comments |
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In Norse mythology, Fenrir or Fenrisulfr is a wolf, the son of Loki and the giantess Angrboða. Fenrir is bound by the gods, but is ultimately destined to grow too large for his bonds and swallow Odin whole during the course of Ragnarök. He will be slain by Odin's son, Viðarr, who will use a shoe made throughout time using the pieces of leather waste left over from repaired shoes to hold the lower jaw while he grasped the upper up, tearing the beast apart and avenging his father.
Fenrir has two sons, Hati ('hate') and Skoll. Skoll chases the horses Árvakr and Alsviðr, that drag the chariot which contains the sun. Hati chases Máni, the moon. 'Skoll', in certain circumstances, is used as a heiti to refer indirectly to the father (Fenrir) and not the son. This ambiguity works in the other direction also, for example in the Vafþrúðnismál, where a confusion exists in stanza 46 where Fenrir is given the sun-chasing attributes of his son Skoll. This can mostly be accounted for by the use of Hróðvitnir and Hróðvitnirson to refer to both Fenrir and his sons.
Sven Fenrir · Fri Sep 05, 2008 @ 05:15am · 0 Comments |
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