Nordic Mythology – What is it, gods, worlds, myths, Ragnarok, movies

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THE Norse mythology or Germanic designates the couple of mythical and religious narratives of those belonging to the Norse culture in the Viking Age (793-1066).

Transmitted from generation to generation, through orality, it developed in Scandinavian or Nordic countries, such as Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden. And just like the egyptian mythology, greek and the Roman, it has relevance to the culture of their ancestors.

Some also call it viking mythology, because of the beliefs of the time. Their stories inspired movies, series, comic books, games, among others.

Index

Gods of Norse Mythology
Worlds of Nordic Mythology
Mythological beings from Nordic Mythology
Norse Mythology Creatures
- Fenrir
- Jormungandr
- sleipnir
Some myths from Nordic Mythology
- Odin trades eye for intelligence
- The Origin of Thor's Hammer
- Ragnarök – the end of the Nordic world
Nordic Mythology Films and Series

Gods of Norse Mythology

Norse mythology has its history transmitted by orally, as already mentioned. However, she reached the present day through written narrative, inspiring comic books, movies and series.

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There are many gods and goddesses who inhabited the Norse pantheon, but it is difficult to measure them all. Some are better known than others, but Escola Educação prepared the story of the top 15 of them for you, namely: bucket, bragi, forseti, freya, Freyr, frigg, Iduna, hela or hel, Loki, Njord, Odin, Thor, Tyr, Vali and to live.

Worlds of Nordic Mythology

Norse mythology is grouped into two groups: the Aesir and the Vanir. The Aesir would be the gods located in Asgard, while the Vanir were those who were responsible for the fertility of the Earth and inhabited vanaheim.

These were listed in nine worlds: Midgard, Asgard, Niflheim, Vanaheim, Svartalfheim, Jotunheim, Nidavellir, Muspelheim and Álfheim. All of them were divided by Yggdrasil, the tree of the world.

Asgard: Seen as the upper world, the heavens, Asgard is the realm of the gods. Space is separated from the human world by strong walls, with Heimdall being its guardian. Leading the venue are Odin and Frigga.

Alfheim: The realm of elves, of magical beings beautiful and seen with a human face.

Midgard: Equivalent to planet earth and would be the realm of humans. As guardian of this world is the goddess Jord.

Muspelheim: The fire realm, where the fire giants are located. Leading the world is Surtr, considered the fire giant.

vanaheim: The rest world of the Vanir gods. Space where Njord was born, the protector god of navigators and the main one of the Vanir clan.

Nidavellir: The dwarf realm, located in the underground of Midgard. Its leadership rests with Vidar (god of revenge), son of Odin.

Jotunheim: The kingdom of the giants (Jotuns), which has Utgard as its main city. In his leadership is Thrym, king of the giants.

Niflheim: The realm of ice and cold, is where the ice dwarfs and giants are located. This world was ruled by the goddess Hela or Hel, goddess of hell and daughter of Loki.

Svartalfheim: The world of the underground gods, the svartálfar. To lead them is Hoder, son of Odin and Frigga, brother of Balder, a blind god, regarded as the god of justice.

Mythological beings from Nordic Mythology

Norse mythology is not only about its gods, but there are also other mythological beings that make it up. Some of them are:

Dwarves: Unlike how it is currently understood, dwarfs did not necessarily describe a being of short stature, on the contrary, they were defective and monstrous beings with high superior intelligence.

Dragon: One of the most common mythical beings in Norse mythology, being represented by a large serpent.

heroes: They held powers and did great things.

elves: Beautiful and immortal creatures, full of powers that brought them closer to human beings. They reside in woods, springs and forests.

jotuns: Giants with special powers.

monsters or beasts: Beings with supernatural powers.

Norns: Mythical female beings whom the Norse believed to shape the fate of the universe.

Valkyries: The servants of Odin and were characterized as supernatural women, who chose those who would die in combat to send them to Valhalla (hall of the dead).

Norse Mythology Creatures

Plurals are also creatures of Norse mythology, with their fantastical beings, some of them frightening. However, there are those that can gain prominence at the expense of others.

See some of the creatures of nordic mythology!

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Fenrir

Fenrir was a monstrous creature of Norse mythology, being responsible for the end of the world. The wolf is Loki's son with the giantess Angrboda, and his brothers are Jormungand and the goddess Hela.

Fenrir had been imprisoned by the gods until Ragnarol, but she managed to break free and wreak such havoc, before she even swallowed Odin. In the end, Fenrir is murdered by Vidar.

Jormungandr

Jormungandr, or the Serpent of the World, was a serpent of Midgar, daughter of Loki with the giant Angrboda.

The serpent was so big that, with its extension, it was capable of circling the Earth.

Her main antagonist was Thor, the god of thunder, who fought the final battle and killed her, but ended up dying too.

sleipnir

The eight-legged horse, which was ridden by Odin, was regarded as the most agile in the world.

sleipnir he could ride on earthly ground, on water, and even through the air. In addition, he was also able to reach the realm of the dead.

Sleipnir was the result of the relationship between Svadilfari and a white mare, who was actually Loki.

Some myths from Nordic Mythology

Formed by gods, goddesses, mythical beings and creatures, the nordic legends tell stories that explained the origin of humanity, death, natural phenomena, among others. See some myths below!

Odin trades eye for intelligence

Odin highlighted intelligence as a good superior to any other, which allowed him to make sacrifices for its end.

In the constant search for knowledge, in order to discover the Norse runes, Odin has even fasted, hanged and stabbed himself.

However, the most striking example is his journey to the source of Mimir. The wisest of the Norse gods attained knowledge after drinking the fountain of great wisdom, drawn from the roots of the Yggdrasil tree. Wanting to indulge in wisdom, Odin paid with one of his eyes, which he himself removed.

The Origin of Thor's Hammer

Loki was a very tricky god and thought it would be fun to shave the head of Thor's wife, Sif. However, Thor was very angry with the prank and Loki said he would get new hair from the dwarves.

So, in order to please the gods, in addition to the hair, the dwarves delivered some gifts: a flexible ship, which could be folded and carried in a pocket; a spear that never missed its target; and Mjölnir, Thor's hammer.

However, Loki had wagered that these dwarves could do nothing more admirable than they had already done, and that if he was wrong, they could cut off the bet's loser's head.

Not knowing where the neck ended and the head began, the dwarves sewed Thor's mouth with a piece of leather, all with the help of Thor – the god of thunder.

Ragnarök – the end of the Nordic world

Ragnarok, in its literal translation, designates the consummation of the destinies of the supreme powers. Therefore, it would be linked to the belief of vikings in the events that would bring about the end of the universe and the gods.

Thus, according to the belief, multiple catastrophic events would cause the universe to be deconstructed, giving rise to a new one.

In Ragnarök, Odin and Thor were killed through a clash. The murder of Odin was the work of Fenrir, the wolf defeating and devouring him; already Thor died from the venom of the serpent Jörmungadr, which he had killed.

From the perspective of some researchers, Ragnarök was a Christian influence on Norse mythology, this because of his closeness to the Apocalypse.