2. Anglo-saxons, Scandinavians, Iceland, and Denmark
Defined by Tacitus, a Roman, by the language spoken
Not Celtic-, Latin-,or Slav-based
Each tribe had it’s own name, king and history.
Considered barbarians by the Romans.
3. Around 800 ad, different German dialects develop
into:
• Dutch
• English
• Flemish
• Danish
• Swedish
• Norwegian
• Icelandic
• as the different tribes migrate around Europe.
4. 24 letters in the original runic
alphabet.
Called “futhark”
From the order of the first 6
letters
Used for recording names on
weapons
Associated with magic
Early Germans
worshiped in natural,
sacred places
Groves
Hilltops
Islands
5. Heroic Poetry
From the oral traditions
Two types of poetry
Poetic Edda
A collection of lays found in 1 Icelandic manuscript
Composed around 800 ad.
Primary source for:
Thor versus Giants
Odin as god of wisdom, poetry and magic
The death of Balder
The creation and destruction of the world
6. Epic
Only 1 complete example survives.
English Beowulf
Germany
A fragment of The Tale of Hildibrand and Hadubrand
None from Scandinavia survive.
7. 3 areas
Niflheim: land of ice, mist and darkness
North
Muspelsheim: Land of fire
South
Abyss in between the two
Ginnungagap
Rivers flow from Muspelsheim
Winds from Niflheim
Ymir – the first giant
Father of giants, humans and gods
8. The Cow – Audhumla
4 rivers flow from her udders
Buri born from the drops off her tongue
Giant
Buri capable of reproducing and bore a son
Bor - Married Bestla, one of Ymir’s descendants.
3 gods born of this marriage.
Odin, Vili and Ve
The race of giants created from Ymir’s sweat
Sons of Bor attacked Ymir and killed him
Blood filled Ginnungagap
9. One son and his wife survive.
God‘s dragged Ymir’s body
It’s pieces created
Blood – oceans
Flesh – earth
Bones – mountains
Skull – vault of heaven supported by 4 dwarfs
Later named the 4 directions
Brain – clouds
Sun’s sparks got stuck in the vault of heaven
Became stars
10. Gods decided and began the rhythm of the
seasons
Night came first, then day
Common in ancient cultures
Humans
Created after Asgard was built
Two tree trunks molded into human shapes
Odin – souls
Hoenir – senses
Lodur – life and color
11. 3 realms
Asgard: home of the gods
Midgard: home of human race
Niflheim: land of the dead
Asgard
Connected to Midgard by a bridge, The Bifrost
Formed by rainbows
Contains many halls
Valhalla – hall of the slain heros
Valaskjalf – houses Odin’s high seat Hlidskjalf
Vanaheim – home of the Vanir
Alfheim – home of the Light-Elves
12. Midgard
Land surrounded by an ocean
Inhabited by a huge serpent
Niflheim
Only giants and dwarfs can live there
Hel’s domain
Land of ice and darkness
13. An Ash tree
Whole world is in the shadow of its branches
Roots go deep into the earth and up into the sky
3 roots
1 in Urd’s well
Fountain of youth
1 in Niflheim to the Hvergelmir fountain
Gives water to all rivers in the world
1 to the fountain of Mimir
Fountain of wisdom
Will protect 2 humans during Ragnarok
Lif and Lifthrasir
14. 2 races of gods
Aesir – Gods of war
Vanir – Gods of fertility and earth
War with each other
Compromise – Njord, Freyr and Freyja to Asgard
15. Father and leader of all the gods
Master of magic
Runes
God of war
Patron of warriors
Decides the fates of warriors
Patron god of poetry
Weapon
Spear – Gungnir
Animal attendants
Wolves: Geri and Freki
Ravens: Huginn (mind) and Munnin (memory)
Sleipnir: 8 legged horse
16. God of thunder
Destroyer of giants
Son of Odin
Weapons
Hammer – Mjollnir
A very short handle
Like a boomerang
The thunderbolt
Magic belt
Makes Thor twice as strong
Iron gloves
17. God of the sea
Invoked for sailing or fishing
Extremely rich
Married to Skadi
He lived in his hall by the sea, she in her hall in the
mountains
Father of Freyr and Freyja
18. God of human procreation
and male potency
God of horses
During the migration
period
Many horse remains are
found in Viking graves and
at sites in Sweden.
A horse cult
Freyja’s twin brother
Resembles the relationship
between the Greek
Artemis and Apollo
Not much is known about
this god
19. Son of Odin
God of light
Adored by all the gods
Good natured
Beautiful
Peaceful
His dreams directly
precede Ragnarok
Killed by Hod
Guided by Loki
Reborn after Ragnarok
20.
21. Odin’s wife
Chief goddess
Comparable to Hera in Greek mythology
Men prayed to her to
Protect marriages
Bless them with children
She knew the future
Told no-one
22. Goddess of erotic and
sensual love
Mimics the Greek
Aphrodite
Can turn into a falcon or
a feather
Shamanistic powers
seeress
She is described as
Desirable
Strong willed
Passionate
23. Not a god, but allowed to live in Asgard
The trickster
Nobody was immune from his practical jokes
The gods used his advice to get out of sticky situations
The wall of Asgard
Becomes truly evil after a fashion of playing pranks
Father of monsters
Sleipnir
Hel
Fenrir
24. Nordic gods are mortal
Everyone dies during Ragnarok; some to be reborn
in a new world
Starts with Balder’s dream
Death of Balder
Gods vs. Giants
Odin is the first god to die
Eaten by Fenrir
Avenged by his son, Vidar
Freyr is killed by the fire giant, Surt
Thor kills the serpent of Midgard
25. Breathes too much poison and falls
Loki kills Heimdall, and then is slain
Nature
Storms and cataclysms
Fires, earthquakes and tidal waves
Human race dies except Lif and Lifthrasir sheltered
in Yggdrdasill
The ocean submerges everything
The Ginnungagap opens again on all sides
26. at once a new world
rises from the waves
Everything is new and
pure
An Eden-like world
Some gods are reborn
Balder – Master of this
world
Hod – Balder’s brother
Odin’s sons
Vidar
Vali
Odin’s brothers
Vili
Ve
Thor’s sons
Magni and Modi
Hoenir
Announces the new age