Norse Mythology for Smart People - The Ultimate Online Guide to …
Norse Mythology for Smart People provides an accessible, entertaining, and reliable introduction to the Vikings’ mythology and religion, with scholarly sources cited for everything. Come on in to learn all you’ve ever wanted to know about the Norse gods, stories, beliefs, way of life, and more!
Tales - Norse Mythology for Smart People
The body of stories that we today call “Norse mythology” formed one of the centerpieces of the pagan Norse religion. These are the tales that Viking poets recited in dimly lit halls to the captivated attendees of grand feasts, and which fathers and mothers told to their children around roaring hearth-fires on long winter nights.
Odin - Norse Mythology for Smart People
Odin (pronounced “OH-din”; Old Norse Óðinn, Old English and Old Saxon Woden, Old High German Wuotan, Wotan, or Wodan, Proto-Germanic *Woðanaz, “Master of Ecstasy”) is one of the most complex and enigmatic characters in Norse mythology, and perhaps in all of world literature.
Runes - Norse Mythology for Smart People
The first systems of writing developed and used by the Norse and other Germanic peoples were runic alphabets. The runes functioned as letters, but they were much more than just letters in the sense in which we today understand the term.
Thor's Hammer - Norse Mythology for Smart People
Of all of the symbols in Norse mythology, Thor’s Hammer (Old Norse Mjöllnir, pronounced roughly “MIOL-neer”) is one of the most historically important, and is probably the best known today. Thor was the indefatigable god who guarded Asgard , the celestial stronghold of the Aesir , the main tribe of gods and goddesses in Norse mythology.
Loki - Norse Mythology for Smart People
Loki (pronounced “LOAK-ee;” Old Norse Loki, the meaning of which will be discussed below) is the wily trickster god of Norse mythology. While treated as a nominal member of the gods, Loki occupies a highly ambivalent and ultimately unique position among the gods, giants , and the other kinds of spiritual beings that populate the pre ...
Hel (The Underworld) - Norse Mythology for Smart People
Hel (Old Norse Hel, “Hidden;” [1] pronounced like the English word “Hell”) is the most general name for the underworld where many of the dead dwell. It’s presided over by a fearsome goddess whose name is also Hel .
Gods and Creatures - Norse Mythology for Smart People
The gods and other numinous creatures of the Norse world include: The Aesir gods and goddesses , the main tribe of deities. They live in the celestial fortress Asgard and maintain the order of the cosmos.
Valhalla - Norse Mythology for Smart People
Valhalla (pronounced “val-HALL-uh”; Old Norse Valhöll, “the hall of the fallen” [1]) is the hall where the god Odin houses the dead whom he deems worthy of dwelling with him. According to the Old Norse poem Grímnismál (“The Song of the Hooded One”), the roof of the “gold-bright” Valhalla is made of shields, and has spears for ...
Thor - Norse Mythology for Smart People
Thor (Old Norse Þórr, Old English Đunor, Old High German Donar, Proto-Germanic *Þunraz, “Thunder” [1]) is one of the most prominent figures in Norse mythology.