1.
Thor
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In Norse mythology, Thor is a hammer-wielding god associated with thunder, lightning, storms, oak trees, strength, the protection of mankind, and also hallowing and fertility. The cognate deity in wider Germanic mythology and paganism was known in Old English as Þunor and in Old High German as Donar, into the modern period, Thor continued to be acknowledged in rural folklore throughout Germanic regions. Thor is frequently referred to in place names, the day of the week Thursday bears his name, in Norse mythology, largely recorded in Iceland from traditional material stemming from Scandinavia, numerous tales and information about Thor are provided. With Sif, Thor fathered the goddess Þrúðr, with Járnsaxa, he fathered Magni, with a mother whose name is not recorded, he fathered Móði, and he is the stepfather of the god Ullr. The same sources list Thor as the son of the god Odin and the earth, Jörð. Thor has two servants, Þjálfi and Röskva, rides in a cart or chariot pulled by two goats, Tanngrisnir and Tanngnjóstr, and is ascribed three dwellings. Thor wields the mountain-crushing hammer, Mjölnir, wears the belt Megingjörð and the iron gloves Járngreipr, Thor has inspired numerous works of art and references to Thor appear in modern popular culture. Like other Germanic deities, veneration of Thor is revived in the period in Heathenry. The name of the god is the origin of the weekday name Thursday, by employing a practice known as interpretatio germanica during the Roman Empire period, the Germanic peoples adopted the Roman weekly calendar, and replaced the names of Roman gods with their own. Latin dies Iovis was converted into Proto-Germanic *Þonares dagaz, from which stems modern English Thursday, beginning in the Viking Age, personal names containing the theonym Thórr are recorded with great frequency. Prior to the Viking Age, no examples are recorded, thórr-based names may have flourished during the Viking Age as a defiant response to attempts at Christianization, similar to the wide scale Viking Age practice of wearing Thors hammer pendants. They regard it as a duty to offer to him, on fixed days. Hercules and Mars they appease by animal offerings of the permitted kind, in this instance, Tacitus refers to the god Odin as Mercury, Thor as Hercules, and the god Týr as Mars, and the identity of the Isis of the Suebi has been debated. In Thors case, the identification with the god Hercules is likely at least in part due to similarities between Thors hammer and Hercules club. In his Annals, Tacitus again refers to the veneration of Hercules by the Germanic peoples, Donar, the southern Germanic form of the gods name. According to an account, the Christian missionary Saint Boniface felled an oak tree dedicated to Jove in the 8th century. Around the second half of the 8th century, Old English mentions of a figure named Thunor are recorded, gabriel Turville-Petre saw this as an invented origin for the placename demonstrating loss of memory that Thunor had been a gods name. Adam details that Thor, they reckon, rules the sky, he governs thunder and lightning, winds and storms, fine weather and fertility and that Thor, with his mace, looks like Jupiter
2.
Norse mythology
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The cosmos in Norse mythology consists of Nine Worlds that flank a central cosmological tree, Yggdrasil. Units of time and elements of the cosmology are personified as deities or beings, various forms of a creation myth are recounted, where the world is created from the flesh of the primordial being Ymir, and the first two humans are Ask and Embla. These worlds are foretold to be reborn after the events of Ragnarök, there the surviving gods will meet, and the land will be fertile and green, and two humans will repopulate the world. Norse mythology has been the subject of scholarly discourse since the 17th century, by way of comparative mythology and historical linguistics, scholars have identified elements of Germanic mythology reaching as far back as Proto-Indo-European mythology. In the modern period, the Romanticist Viking revival re-awoke an interest in the subject matter, the myths have further been revived in a religious context among adherents of Germanic Neopaganism. The majority of these Old Norse texts were created in Iceland and this occurred primarily in the 13th century. The Prose Edda was composed as a manual for producing skaldic poetry—traditional Old Norse poetry composed by skalds. Originally composed and transmitted orally, skaldic poetry utilizes alliterative verse, kennings, the Prose Edda presents numerous examples of works by various skalds from before and after the Christianization process and also frequently refers back to the poems found in the Poetic Edda. The Poetic Edda consists almost entirely of poems, with some prose narrative added, in comparison to skaldic poetry, Eddic poetry is relatively unadorned. Numerous further texts, such as the sagas, provide further information, the saga corpus consists of thousands of tales recorded in Old Norse ranging from Icelandic family histories to Migration period tales mentioning historic figures such as Attila the Hun. By way of historical linguistics and comparative mythology, comparisons to other attested branches of Germanic mythology may also lend insight, wider comparisons to the mythology of other Indo-European peoples by scholars has resulted in the potential reconstruction of far earlier myths. Of the mythical tales and poems that are presumed to have existed during the Middle Ages, Viking Age, Migration Period, numerous gods are mentioned in the source texts. In the mythology, Thor lays waste to numerous jötnar who are foes to the gods or humanity, the god Odin is also frequently mentioned in surviving texts. One-eyed, wolf and raven-flanked, and spear in hand, Odin pursues knowledge throughout the worlds, Odin has a strong association with death, Odin is portrayed as the ruler of Valhalla, where valkyries carry half of those slain in battle. Odins wife is the powerful goddess Frigg who can see the future but tells no one, and together they have a beloved son, Baldr. After a series of dreams had by Baldr of his death, his death is engineered by Loki, and Baldr thereafter resides in Hel. Odin must share half of his share of the dead with a powerful goddess and she is beautiful, sensual, wears a feathered cloak, and practices seiðr. She rides to battle to choose among the slain, and brings her chosen to her afterlife field Fólkvangr, Freyja weeps for her missing husband Óðr, and seeks after him in far away lands
3.
Loki
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In Norse mythology, Loki, Loptr, or Hveðrungr is a god or jötunn. Loki is the son of Fárbauti and Laufey, and the brother of Helblindi, by the jötunn Angrboða, Loki is the father of Hel, the wolf Fenrir, and the world serpent Jörmungandr. By his wife Sigyn, Loki is the father of Narfi and/or Nari, by the stallion Svaðilfari, Loki is the mother—giving birth in the form of a mare—to the eight-legged horse Sleipnir. In addition, Loki is referred to as the father of Váli in Prose Edda, though this also refers to Odin as the father of Váli twice. Lokis relation with the gods varies by source, Loki sometimes assists the gods, Loki is a shape shifter and in separate incidents he appears in the form of a salmon, a mare, a fly, and possibly an elderly woman named Þökk. Lokis positive relations with the end with his role in engineering the death of the god Baldr. In both the Poetic Edda and the Prose Edda, the goddess Skaði is responsible for placing a serpent above him while he is bound, Loki may be depicted on the Snaptun Stone, the Kirkby Stephen Stone, and the Gosforth Cross. Lokis origins and role in Norse mythology, which scholars have described as that of a trickster god, have been much debated by scholars. Loki has been depicted in or is referenced in a variety of media in popular culture. The etymology of the name Loki has yet to be solved and it may be related to Old Norse luka, meaning close, shut. The name Hveðrungr is also used in reference to Loki, occurring in names for Hel, in the Poetic Edda, Loki appears in the poems Völuspá, Lokasenna, Þrymskviða, Reginsmál, Baldrs draumar, and Hyndluljóð. In stanza 35 of the Poetic Edda poem Völuspá, a völva tells Odin that, among other things, she sees Sigyn sitting very unhappily with her bound husband, Loki. In stanza 54, after consuming Odin and being killed by Odins son Víðarr, the poem Lokasenna centers around Loki flyting with other gods, Loki puts forth two stanzas of insults while the receiving figure responds with a single stanza, and then another figure chimes in. The poem begins with an introduction detailing that Ægir, a figure associated with the sea, is hosting a feast in his hall for a number of the gods. There, the gods praise Ægirs servers Fimafeng and Eldir, Loki could not bear to hear that, and kills the servant Fimafeng. In response, the gods grab their shields, shrieking at Loki, the gods then return to the hall, and continue drinking. Entrance and rejection Loki comes out of the woods, and meets Eldir outside of the hall, Loki greets Eldir with a demand that Eldir tell him what the gods are discussing over their ale inside the hall. Eldir responds that they discuss their weapons and their prowess in war, Loki says that he will go into the feast, and that, before the end of the feast, he will induce quarrelling among the gods, and mix their mead with malice
4.
Gylfaginning
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Gylfaginning, is the first part of Snorri Sturlusons Prose Edda after Prologue. The Gylfaginning deals with the creation and destruction of the world of the Norse gods, the second part of the Prose Edda is called the Skáldskaparmál and the third Háttatal. This is why he journeys to Asgard, but on the way he is tricked by the gods and arrives in some other place, inside the palace he encounters a man who asks Gylfis name and so king Gylfi introduces himself as Gangleri. Gangleri then is taken to the king of the palace and comes upon three men, High, Just-As-High, and Third, Gangleri is then challenged to show his wisdom by asking questions, as is the custom in many Norse sagas. Each question made to High, Just-As-High, and Third is about an aspect of the Norse mythology or its gods, in the end all the palace and its people just vanish and Gylfi is left standing on empty ground. It is then implied that as Gylfi returns to his nation and it can be argued that Snorri used this narrative device as a means of being able to safely document a vanishing and largely oral tradition within a Christian context. Gylfaginning in Old Norse at heimskringla. no Text of all original manuscripts The text with modern Icelandic spelling English translation
5.
Elli
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In Norse mythology, Elli is a personification of old age who, in the Prose Edda book Gylfaginning, defeats Thor in a wrestling match. In Gylfaginning, Thor and his companions Loki and Þjálfi are in the hall of the giant Útgarða-Loki where they meet difficult challenges testing their strength, Thor has just been humiliated in a drinking challenge and wants to get even. Then said Thor, Little as ye call me, let any one come up now and wrestle with me and she has thrown such men as have seemed to me no less strong than Thor. Straightway there came into the hall an old woman, stricken in years, then Útgarda-Loki said that she should grapple with Ása-Thor. Yet it was not long before Thor fell to his knee, then Útgarda-Loki went up and bade them cease the wrestling, saying that Thor should not need to challenge more men of his body-guard to wrestling. The story of Thors visit to Útgarða-Loki is only related in the Prose Edda and, unusually and his sources for the story are unknown and it has been suggested that he largely composed it himself
6.
Tide
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Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the Moon and the Sun and the rotation of the Earth. Some shorelines experience a semi-diurnal tide—two nearly equal high and low tides each day, other locations experience a diurnal tide—only one high and low tide each day. A mixed tide—two uneven tides a day, or one high, Tides vary on timescales ranging from hours to years due to a number of factors. To make accurate records, tide gauges at fixed stations measure water level over time, gauges ignore variations caused by waves with periods shorter than minutes. These data are compared to the level usually called mean sea level. Tidal phenomena are not limited to the oceans, but can occur in other systems whenever a gravitational field varies in time. For example, the part of the Earth is affected by tides. Tide changes proceed via the following stages, Sea level rises over several hours, covering the intertidal zone, the water rises to its highest level, reaching high tide. Sea level falls over several hours, revealing the intertidal zone, the water stops falling, reaching low tide. Oscillating currents produced by tides are known as tidal streams, the moment that the tidal current ceases is called slack water or slack tide. The tide then reverses direction and is said to be turning, slack water usually occurs near high water and low water. But there are locations where the moments of slack tide differ significantly from those of high, Tides are commonly semi-diurnal, or diurnal. The two high waters on a day are typically not the same height, these are the higher high water. Similarly, the two low waters each day are the low water and the lower low water. The daily inequality is not consistent and is small when the Moon is over the equator. From the highest level to the lowest, Highest Astronomical Tide – The highest tide which can be predicted to occur, note that meteorological conditions may add extra height to the HAT. Mean High Water Springs – The average of the two high tides on the days of spring tides, mean High Water Neaps – The average of the two high tides on the days of neap tides. Mean Sea Level – This is the sea level
7.
Gesta Danorum
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Gesta Danorum is a patriotic work of Danish history, by the 12th century author Saxo Grammaticus. It is the most ambitious undertaking of medieval Denmark and is an essential source for the nations early history. It is also one of the oldest known documents about the history of Estonia and Latvia. The sixteen books, in prose with an excursion into poetry. Book 9 ends with Gorm the Old, the first factual documented King of Denmark, book 14 contains a unique description of the temple at Rügen Island. When exactly Gesta Danorum was written is the subject of works, however. The last event described in the last book is King Canute VI of Denmark subduing Pomerania under Duke Bogislaw I, however the preface of the work, dictated to Archbishop Anders Sunesen, mentions the Danish conquest of the areas north of the Elbe river in 1208. Book 14, comprising nearly one-quarter of the text of the entire work, since this book is so large and Absalon has greater importance than King Valdemar I, this book may have been written first and comprised a work on its own. It is possible that Saxo then enlarged it with Books 15 and 16, telling the story of King Valdemar Is last years and it is believed that Saxo then wrote Books 11,12, and 13. Svend Aagesens history of Denmark, Brevis Historia Regum Dacie, states that Saxo had decided to write about The king-father and his sons, which would be King Sweyn Estridson, in Books 11,12 and he would later add the first ten books. This would also explain the 22 years between the last event described in the last book and the 1208 event described in the preface, the original manuscripts of the work are lost, except for four fragments, the Angers Fragment, Lassen Fragment, Kall-Rasmussen Fragment and Plesner Fragment. The Angers Fragment is the biggest fragment, and the only one attested to be in Saxo’s own handwriting, the other ones are copies from ca. All four fragments are in the collection of the Danish Royal Library in Copenhagen, in 1510-1512, Christiern Pedersen, a Danish translator working in Paris, searched Denmark high and low for an existing copy of Saxo’s works, which by that time was nearly all but lost. By that time most knowledge of Saxo’s work came from a summary located in Chronica Jutensis, from around 1342 and it is also in this summary that the name Gesta Danorum is found. The title Saxo himself used for his work is unknown, Christiern Pedersen finally found a copy in the collection of Archbishop Birger Gunnersen of Lund, modern Sweden, which he gladly lent him. With the help of printer Jodocus Badius, Gesta Danorum was refined and printed, the edition features the following colophon. impressit in inclyta Parrhisorum academia Iodocus Badius Ascensius Idibus Martiis. The source of all existing translations and new editions is Christiern Pedersens Latin Danorum Regum heroumque Historiae,1540, Lost Jon Tursons, never published ca. Volume 1 includes books I-X and Volume 2 includes books XI-XVI, hermann Jantzen, published 1900, title, Saxo Grammaticus
8.
Cornus mas
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It is a medium to large deciduous shrub or small tree growing to 5–12 m tall, with dark brown branches and greenish twigs. The leaves are opposite, 4–10 cm long and 2–4 cm broad, with an ovate to oblong shape, the flowers are small, with four yellow petals, produced in clusters of 10–25 together in the late winter, well before the leaves appear. The fruit is a red drupe 2 cm long and 1.5 cm in diameter. The fruits when ripe on the plant bear a resemblance to coffee berries, the fruit is edible, but the unripe fruit is astringent. The fruit only fully ripens after it falls from the tree, when ripe, the fruit is dark ruby red or a bright yellow. In Turkey and Iran it is eaten with salt as a snack in summer, cultivars selected for fruit production in Ukraine have fruit up to four cm long. It is eaten in Eastern Europe in many ways including as a medicine and it is very high in vitamin C and is used to fight colds and flus. The fruit of C. mas has a history of use in traditional Chinese medicine. Known as shan zhu yu, 山茱萸, it is used to retain the jing, essence, to tonify the kidneys, the species is also grown as an ornamental plant for its late winter yellow flowers, which open earlier than those of Forsythia. While Cornus mas flowers are not as large and vibrant as those of the Forsythia, the wood of C. mas is extremely dense and, unlike the wood of most other woody plant species, sinks in water. This density makes it valuable for crafting into tool handles, parts for machines, Cornus mas was used from the seventh century BC onward by Greek craftsmen to construct spears, javelins and bows, the craftsmen considering it far superior to any other wood. The woods association with weaponry was so known that the Greek name for it was used as a synonym for spear in poetry during the fourth. The red dye used to make fezzes was produced from its bark, Cornus mas, male cornel, was named so to distinguish it from the true dogberry, the female cornel, Cornus sanguinea, and so it appears in John Gerards Herbal. The shrub was not native to the British Isles, william Turner had only heard of the plant in 1548, but by 1551 he had heard of one at Hampton Court Palace. Gerard said it was to be found in the gardens of such as rare and dainty plants and by the 17th century. The appreciation of the early acid-yellow flowers is largely a 20th-century development, the Royal Horticultural Society gave Cornus mas an Award of Garden Merit in 1924. The cultivars Golden glory and Variegata have also gained the award, wood economy National Agricultural Research Foundation - Pomology Institute, Cornus mas Greek website about the plant
9.
Valhalla (comics)
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Valhalla is a Danish comic book series. Originally commissioned for and published by Interpresse, it has published by Carlsen Comics since 1987. During 1976 and 1977, Henning Kure and Arne Stenby at Interpresse and they offered the place of illustrating the comic to the young cartoonist Peter Madsen, who accepted, and also enlisted Hans Rancke-Madsen. The team set out to draw the first album in a series of the adventures of the Norse gods, Thor would very much be the hero of this series, along with Odin and Loki, Odins blood brother. Valhalla started in 1978 as a running in the Danish newspaper Politiken. The first album out in 1979. It was very well received, with subsequent albums. The albums are of quality, and each took one or several years to produce. The first album was released in 1979, the second in 1982, and they are very much in the tradition of finely drawn and well plotted Franco-Belgian comics like The Adventures of Tintin or Asterix, which also served as inspiration for the Valhalla comics. On January 5,2007, Valhalla was published on the Internet for the first time as the Danish paper Jyllands-Posten began publishing the 14th album, Muren, in their online edition. One page was posted weekly in the form of an animated Flash program, Valhalla would become the major breakthrough for illustrator Peter Madsen, who has developed greatly during his work on the series. Apart from doing the art for all the albums, he has been a co-writer for most of them, by far the most high-profile member of the creative team, the series is often referred to as Peter Madsens Valhalla. Hans Rancke-Madsen has been the writer of the series, together with Peter and other co-writers Per Vadmand. Rancke-Madsen has written for all albums but eleven and twelve, the colouring has always been a great part of the art of Valhalla. The first eight albums were coloured by Søren Håkonsson, Peter Madsen did the colours himself for the ninth album, while albums ten to twelve were done by Jesper Ejsing. Håkonsson returned for the album, where he did half the pages. All the individual albums that were published by Interpresse are now published by Carlsen Comics. Thor and Loki visit Midgard, the world of humans, and take on farmers children Þjálfi, at their return to Valhalla, they find that the monstrous Fenris Wolf has escaped its bonds
10.
Marvel Comics
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Marvel Comics is the common name and primary imprint of Marvel Worldwide Inc. formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, an American publisher of comic books and related media. In 2009, The Walt Disney Company acquired Marvel Entertainment, Marvel Worldwides parent company, Marvel started in 1939 as Timely Publications, and by the early 1950s had generally become known as Atlas Comics. Marvels modern incarnation dates from 1961, the year that the company launched The Fantastic Four and other superhero titles created by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko and many others. Most of Marvels fictional characters operate in a reality known as the Marvel Universe. Martin Goodman founded the later known as Marvel Comics under the name Timely Publications in 1939. Martin Goodman, a magazine publisher who had started with a Western pulp in 1933, was expanding into the emerging—and by then already highly popular—new medium of comic books. The issue was a success, with it and a second printing the following month selling, combined. While its contents came from an outside packager, Funnies, Inc, Timely had its own staff in place by the following year. It, too, proved a hit, with sales of one million. Goodman formed Timely Comics, Inc. beginning with comics cover-dated April 1941 or Spring 1941, Goodman hired his wifes cousin, Stanley Lieber, as a general office assistant in 1939. Lee wrote extensively for Timely, contributing to a number of different titles, Goodmans business strategy involved having his various magazines and comic books published by a number of corporations all operating out of the same office and with the same staff. One of these companies through which Timely Comics was published was named Marvel Comics by at least Marvel Mystery Comics #55. As well, some covers, such as All Surprise Comics #12, were labeled A Marvel Magazine many years before Goodman would formally adopt the name in 1961. The post-war American comic market saw superheroes falling out of fashion and this globe branding united a line put out by the same publisher, staff and freelancers through 59 shell companies, from Animirth Comics to Zenith Publications. Atlas also published a plethora of childrens and teen humor titles, including Dan DeCarlos Homer the Happy Ghost, Atlas unsuccessfully attempted to revive superheroes from late 1953 to mid-1954, with the Human Torch, the Sub-Mariner, and Captain America. Atlas did not achieve any hits and, according to Stan Lee, Atlas survived chiefly because it produced work quickly, cheaply. During this time, the Comic Code Authority made its debut in September 1954, Wertham published the book Seduction of the Innocent in order to force people to see that comics were impacting American youth. He believed violent comics were causing children to be reckless and were turning them into delinquents, in September 1954, comic book publishers got together to set up their own self-censorship organization—the Comics Magazine Association of America—in order to appease audiences
11.
Thor (Marvel Comics)
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Thor is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He has starred in several ongoing series and limited series, and is a member of the superhero team the Avengers. The character has appeared in associated Marvel merchandise including animated television series, clothing, toys, trading cards, video games. The character was first portrayed in action by Eric Allan Kramer in the 1988 television movie The Incredible Hulk Returns. Thor placed 14th on IGNs list of Top 100 Comic Book Heroes of All Time in 2011, a different version of the mythological Thor had appeared previously in Venus #12-13. Lee in 2002 described Thors genesis early in the Marvel pantheon, following the creation of the Hulk and it finally came to me, Dont make him human — make him a god. I decided readers were already pretty familiar with the Greek and Roman gods and it might be fun to delve into the old Norse legends. In a 1984 interview Kirby said I did a version of Thor for D. C. in the fifties before I did him for Marvel. I created Thor at Marvel because I was forever enamored of legends, which is why I knew about Balder, Heimdall, I tried to update Thor and put him into a superhero costume, but he was still Thor. And in a 1992 interview, Kirby said knew the Thor legends very well, I felt that might be a new thing for comics, taking the old legends and modernizing them. Subsequent stories of the 13-page feature The Mighty Thor continued to be plotted by Lee, various artists penciled the feature, including Jack Kirby, Joe Sinnott, Don Heck, and Al Hartley. With Journey into Mystery #101, the series began a long and definitive run by writer and co-plotter Lee, Lee and Kirby included Thor in The Avengers #1 as a founding member of the superhero team. The character has appeared in every subsequent volume of the series. The five-page featurette Tales of Asgard was added in Journey into Mystery #97, the feature itself expanded to 18 pages in #105, which eliminated the remaining anthological story from each issue, it was reduced to 16 pages five issues later. Comics historian Les Daniels noted that the adventures of Thor were gradually transformed from stories about a superhero into a spectacular saga. Artist Chic Stone, who inked several early Thor stories, observed that Kirby could just lead you through all these different worlds, the readers would follow him anywhere. Journey into Mystery was retitled Thor with issue #126, Tales of Asgard was replaced by a five-page featurette starring the Inhumans from #146–152, after which featurettes were dropped and the Thor stories expanded to Marvels then-standard 20-page length. Marvel filed for a trademark for The Mighty Thor in 1967, after Kirby left the title, Neal Adams penciled issues #180-181
12.
Ragnarok Odyssey
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Ragnarok Odyssey is a role-playing video game for the PlayStation Vita system. It is based on the universe of the MMORPG Ragnarok Online and it was released in February 2012 within Japan, August 21,2012 in South Korea, October 30,2012 in North America and February 20,2013 in Europe. An updated version titled Ragnarok Odyssey Ace has been released on PlayStation Vita, Ragnarok Odyssey is a real-time action RPG in similar vein to the series Monster Hunter. The game retains many elements typical of RPGs, such as collecting, health and magic, item collecting/crafting, interaction with NPCs. Missions in Odyssey are received at guild halls and usually consist of collecting items or killing enemies, there are six interchangeable classes players may pick from, the Sword Warrior, Hammersmith, Mage, Assassin, Hunter and Cleric with their own individual advantages and weaknesses. Instead of a typical leveling system, Odyssey uses a Card System, cards can be equipped to a characters clothing/armor to provide statistic boosts and class-specific abilities. Upgraded clothing/armor can have an increased Card Capacity and hence can equip higher cost/additional cards, cards are found in shops or dropped by defeated enemies. Ragnarok Odyssey Ace is a version of Ragnarok Odyssey developed for the PlayStation Vita. This new version of the game all the DLC from the original game, as well as new enemies, skills, dungeons HUD, gameplay balance adjustment. The first print copies of the game included various in-game bonus and it is also possible to import save data from the original game for use in Ragnarok Odyssey Ace. The PlayStation Vita version was released on August 29,2013 in Japan, composer Nobuo Uematsu contributed one new song for Ragnarok Odyssey Ace. Odyssey has received mixed but mostly positive reviews from critics with a Metacritic score, the most positive of reviews came from Destructoids Jim Sterling who gave the game a 9/10. Sterling praised the visuals, calling it the best looking Vita game to date, fast loading screens, customization, tight controls. Odyssey was given a 32/40 score in Famitsu, as of July 2012, Ragnarok Odyssey has sold over 100,000 copies in Japan. Ragnarok Odyssey Ace sold 31,622 physical retail copies within the first week of release in Japan, Official North American website Official Japanese website
13.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
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The series premiered on March 10,1997, on The WB and concluded on May 20,2003, on UPN. The series narrative follows Buffy Summers, the latest in a line of women known as Vampire Slayers. In the story, Slayers are called to battle against vampires, demons, like previous Slayers, Buffy is aided by a Watcher, who guides, teaches, and trains her. Unlike her predecessors, Buffy surrounds herself with a circle of friends who become known as the Scooby Gang. The series received critical and popular acclaim, frequently being listed as one of the greatest TV shows of all time, although such ratings are lower than successful shows on the big four networks, they were a success for the relatively new and smaller WB Television Network. Buffys success has led to hundreds of products, including novels, comics. The series has received attention in fandom, parody, and academia, Buffy Summers is the Slayer, one in a long line of young women chosen by fate to battle evil forces. Buffy receives guidance from her Watcher, Rupert Giles, Giles, rarely referred to by his first name, is a member of the Watchers Council, whose job is to train and guide the Slayers. Giles researches the supernatural creatures that Buffy must face, offers insights into their origins and advice on how to defeat them, Buffy is also helped by friends she meets at Sunnydale High, Willow Rosenberg and Xander Harris. Willow is originally a wallflower who excels at academics, providing a contrast to Buffys outgoing personality and they share the social isolation that comes with being different, and especially from being exceptional young women. As the series progresses, Willow becomes a more assertive character and a powerful witch, in contrast, Xander, with no supernatural skills but very athletic, provides comic relief and a grounded perspective. It is Xander who often provides the heart to the series, Buffy and Willow are the only characters who appear in all 144 episodes, Xander is missing in only one. The cast of characters grew over the course of the series, Buffy first arrives in Sunnydale with her mother, Joyce Summers, who functions as an anchor of normality in the Summers lives even after she learns of Buffys role in the supernatural world. Buffys younger sister Dawn Summers is introduced in season five, a vampire with a soul, Angel, is Buffys love interest throughout the first three seasons. He leaves Buffy as he believes he isnt good enough for her and he goes on to make amends for his sins and to search for redemption in his own spin-off, Angel. He makes several guest appearances in the seasons, including the last episode. At Sunnydale High, Buffy meets several other students besides Willow and Xander willing to join her fight for good, Cordelia Chase, the archetypal shallow cheerleader, reluctantly becomes involved. Daniel Oz Osbourne, a student, rock guitarist and werewolf
14.
Spike and Dru: Pretty Maids All in a Row
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Spike and Dru, Pretty Maids All in a Row is an original novel based on the U. S. television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Voodoo Lounge, found in Tales of the Slayer Volume III, is a companion to this story and it is 1940 and for Drusillas vampiric birthday, Spike decides he will acquire Freyjas Strand for her. The strand, a necklace, has the ability to allow Drusilla to view her reflection, up to the challenge, Spike and Drusilla acquire a list of the Slayers-in-waiting from the Watchers Council in London and ravage the Earth, killing girls hideously as they go. Meanwhile, the current Slayer, Sophie, is alerted to the situation and sent off with her watcher, Yanna, unfortunately Yanna has developed an unhealthy obsession with Spike and cannot fight against him when there is a run-in between the two groups. But Sophie rescues a decent numbers of the girls and has brought to the council headquarters. Sophie leaves to retrieve the last girl and runs into Spike, while Sophie hunts down the duo, Skrymir has grown impatient and manifests himself inside the Council headquarters where he wreaks havoc on the inhabitants. The Council must find a way to stop Skrymir from killing all the Slayers-in-waiting while the Slayer herself tries to track down her Watcher who may already be dead, the books plotline foreshadows the potentials used throughout Buffy season 7
15.
Rick Riordan
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Richard Russell Rick Riordan, Jr. is an American author. He is known for writing the Percy Jackson & the Olympians series and his books have been translated into 42 languages and sold more than 30 million copies in the US. Twentieth Century Fox has adapted the first two books of his Percy Jackson series as part of a series of films and his books have spawned related media, such as graphic novels and short story collections. Riordans first full-length novel was Big Red Tequila, which became the first in a series and his big breakthrough was The Lightning Thief, the first novel in the five-volume Percy Jackson series, which placed a group of adolescents in a Greco-Roman mythological setting. Since then, Riordan has written The Kane Chronicles trilogy and The Heroes of Olympus series, the Kane Chronicles focused on Egyptian mythology, The Heroes of Olympus was the sequel to the Percy Jackson series. Riordan also helped Scholastic Press develop The 39 Clues series and its spinoffs and his most recent publications are two books in the Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard series, based on Norse mythology. The first book of his The Trials of Apollo series based on Greek mythology, Riordan was born and raised in San Antonio, Texas. He graduated from Alamo Heights High School, and first attended the program at North Texas State. He transferred to the University of Texas in Austin and studied English and History and he taught English and Social Studies for eight years at Presidio Hill School in San Francisco. Rick married Becky Riordan, originally from the East Coast, on June 5,1985, both had been born on June 5, she thirty minutes earlier. They moved from San Antonio to Boston in June 2013 when their two sons were of college and high school age, in conjunction with older son Patrick starting college in Boston, Haley Riordan inspired the Percy Jackson series as a bedtime story. Riordan has created several successful book series, Tres Navarre, an adult mystery series about a Texan private eye, won the Shamus, Anthony, and Edgar Awards. He conceived the idea for the Percy Jackson series as bedtime stories about ancient Greek heroes for his son Haley, Haley had been diagnosed with ADHD and dyslexia, inspiring Riordan to make the titular protagonist ADHD/dyslexic. Riordan published the first novel in the series, The Lightning Thief in 2005, four sequels followed, the last, The Last Olympian in 2009. Prior to Percy Jackson, Riordan had written the Tres Navarres series and his Percy Jackson and the Olympians series features the titular twelve-year-old who discovers he is the modern-day son of the ancient Greek god Poseidon. Twentieth Century Fox purchased the rights and released a feature film in 2010. Following the success of Percy Jackson, Riordan created The Kane Chronicles, Riordan also created a sequel series to Percy Jackson, The Heroes of Olympus. He also wrote the introduction to the Puffin Classics edition of Roger Lancelyn Greens Tales of the Greek Heroes, edited by Nan Cuba and Riley Robinson
16.
Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard
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Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard is a trilogy of fantasy novels by Rick Riordan and published by Disney-Hyperion. It is based on Norse mythology and is set in the universe as the Camp Half-Blood Chronicles. The first book, The Sword of Summer, was released on October 6,2015, the second book, The Hammer of Thor, was released on October 4,2016. The main protagonist Magnus Chase, son of the Vanir god of fertility Frey and he is a cousin of Annabeth Chase, a main character of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians and The Heroes of Olympus series, who links the two series together. The Sword of Summer is the first book in the series, released on October 6,2015 as a hardcover, ebook, the novel is narrated by Magnus Chase, a homeless Bostonian orphan, who learns he is the son of a Norse god. On the same day, he is confronted by a giant named Surt. In the fight, Magnus is killed and carried to an interpretation of the Norse afterlife by a valkyrie named Samirah al-Abbas. With the help of Sam, a dwarf named Blitz, the novel has been well-received since its publication, but was not a big front-runner among other bestselling books in 2015. It debuted at #1 on the New York Times Childrens Middle Grade Hardcover Best Sellers list and it also won the Goodreads Choice Award for Middle Grade & Childrens books in 2015. The Sword of Summer was later published in several foreign-language editions and its foreign-language editions include ones in Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Turkish, Dutch, German, Bulgarian, Finnish, Polish, French, Norwegian, Chinese, Czech, Russian, and Hebrew. While the U. S. editions have cover art by illustrator John Rocco, most foreign editions have unique art created by other artists and illustrators. The Hammer of Thor is the book in the Magnus Chase. In this book, Magnus receives a warning and discovers that the hammer of Thor and he embarks on a quest with Samirah, Hearthstone, Blitzen, and Alex Fierro, a genderfluid child of Loki to retrieve it. However, Loki reveals that the giant Thrym has the hammer, and forces the group to retrieve the Skofnung Sword and he arranges a marriage between Samirah and the giant so as to obtain the hammer and the sword as wedding presents. At the wedding, Alex takes Samirahs place and tries to prevent Magnuss Uncle Randolph from freeing Loki, however, they fail to do so, and Loki is freed. The group is honoured for recovering Mjolnir, but are given another mission to recapture Loki, the Ship of the Dead is the third book in the Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard series and it will be released on October 3,2017. Hotel Valhalla, Guide to the Norse Worlds is a work for the Magnus Chase. It was published as a hardcover on August 16,2016, Magnus Chase - The protagonist of the series, a 16-year-old demigod son of the god Frey as well as the cousin of Greek demigod Annabeth Chase
17.
International Standard Book Number
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The International Standard Book Number is a unique numeric commercial book identifier. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an e-book, a paperback and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, the method of assigning an ISBN is nation-based and varies from country to country, often depending on how large the publishing industry is within a country. The initial ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 based upon the 9-digit Standard Book Numbering created in 1966, the 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108. Occasionally, a book may appear without a printed ISBN if it is printed privately or the author does not follow the usual ISBN procedure, however, this can be rectified later. Another identifier, the International Standard Serial Number, identifies periodical publications such as magazines, the ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 in the United Kingdom by David Whitaker and in 1968 in the US by Emery Koltay. The 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108, the United Kingdom continued to use the 9-digit SBN code until 1974. The ISO on-line facility only refers back to 1978, an SBN may be converted to an ISBN by prefixing the digit 0. For example, the edition of Mr. J. G. Reeder Returns, published by Hodder in 1965, has SBN340013818 -340 indicating the publisher,01381 their serial number. This can be converted to ISBN 0-340-01381-8, the check digit does not need to be re-calculated, since 1 January 2007, ISBNs have contained 13 digits, a format that is compatible with Bookland European Article Number EAN-13s. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an ebook, a paperback, and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, a 13-digit ISBN can be separated into its parts, and when this is done it is customary to separate the parts with hyphens or spaces. Separating the parts of a 10-digit ISBN is also done with either hyphens or spaces, figuring out how to correctly separate a given ISBN number is complicated, because most of the parts do not use a fixed number of digits. ISBN issuance is country-specific, in that ISBNs are issued by the ISBN registration agency that is responsible for country or territory regardless of the publication language. Some ISBN registration agencies are based in national libraries or within ministries of culture, in other cases, the ISBN registration service is provided by organisations such as bibliographic data providers that are not government funded. In Canada, ISBNs are issued at no cost with the purpose of encouraging Canadian culture. In the United Kingdom, United States, and some countries, where the service is provided by non-government-funded organisations. Australia, ISBNs are issued by the library services agency Thorpe-Bowker
18.
Oxford University Press
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Oxford University Press is the largest university press in the world, and the second oldest after Cambridge University Press. It is a department of the University of Oxford and is governed by a group of 15 academics appointed by the known as the delegates of the press. They are headed by the secretary to the delegates, who serves as OUPs chief executive, Oxford University has used a similar system to oversee OUP since the 17th century. The university became involved in the print trade around 1480, and grew into a printer of Bibles, prayer books. OUP took on the project became the Oxford English Dictionary in the late 19th century. Moves into international markets led to OUP opening its own offices outside the United Kingdom, by contracting out its printing and binding operations, the modern OUP publishes some 6,000 new titles around the world each year. OUP was first exempted from United States corporation tax in 1972, as a department of a charity, OUP is exempt from income tax and corporate tax in most countries, but may pay sales and other commercial taxes on its products. The OUP today transfers 30% of its surplus to the rest of the university. OUP is the largest university press in the world by the number of publications, publishing more than 6,000 new books every year, the Oxford University Press Museum is located on Great Clarendon Street, Oxford. Visits must be booked in advance and are led by a member of the archive staff, displays include a 19th-century printing press, the OUP buildings, and the printing and history of the Oxford Almanack, Alice in Wonderland and the Oxford English Dictionary. The first printer associated with Oxford University was Theoderic Rood, the first book printed in Oxford, in 1478, an edition of Rufinuss Expositio in symbolum apostolorum, was printed by another, anonymous, printer. Famously, this was mis-dated in Roman numerals as 1468, thus apparently pre-dating Caxton, roods printing included John Ankywylls Compendium totius grammaticae, which set new standards for teaching of Latin grammar. After Rood, printing connected with the university remained sporadic for over half a century, the chancellor, Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester, pleaded Oxfords case. Some royal assent was obtained, since the printer Joseph Barnes began work, Oxfords chancellor, Archbishop William Laud, consolidated the legal status of the universitys printing in the 1630s. Laud envisaged a unified press of world repute, Oxford would establish it on university property, govern its operations, employ its staff, determine its printed work, and benefit from its proceeds. To that end, he petitioned Charles I for rights that would enable Oxford to compete with the Stationers Company and the Kings Printer and these were brought together in Oxfords Great Charter in 1636, which gave the university the right to print all manner of books. Laud also obtained the privilege from the Crown of printing the King James or Authorized Version of Scripture at Oxford and this privilege created substantial returns in the next 250 years, although initially it was held in abeyance. The Stationers Company was deeply alarmed by the threat to its trade, under this, the Stationers paid an annual rent for the university not to exercise its full printing rights – money Oxford used to purchase new printing equipment for smaller purposes
19.
Baldr
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Baldr is a god in Norse mythology, who is given a central role in the mythology. His precise function is, however, disputed and he is often interpreted as the god of love, peace, forgiveness, justice, light or purity, but he was not directly attested as a god of such. He is the son of Odin and the goddess Frigg. His twin brother is the blind god Höðr, jacob Grimm in his Teutonic Mythology identifies Old Norse Baldr with the Old High German Baldere, Palter, Paltar and with Old English bealdor, baldor lord, prince, king. Old Norse shows this usage of the word as an honorific in a few cases, as in baldur î brynju and herbaldr, both epithets of heroes in general. Grimm traces the etymology of the name to *balþaz, whence Gothic balþs, Old English bald, Old High German pald, all meaning white, but the interpretation of Baldr as the brave god may be secondary. Baltic has a word meaning the white, the good, in continental Saxon and Anglo-Saxon tradition, the son of Woden is called not Bealdor but Baldag and Bældæg, Beldeg, which shows association with day, possibly with Day personified as a deity. This, as Grimm points out, would agree with the shining one, white one. Grimms etymology is endorsed by modern research, according to Rudolf Simek, the original name for Baldr must be understood as shining day. One of the two Merseburg Incantations names Baldere, but also mentions a figure named Phol, considered to be a byname for Baldr and this interpretation is linked to the presupposition that the figure in question is a companion of Wodan, the upper god. In a different interpretation, phol is just another form of folon mentioned in the next line, in the Poetic Edda the tale of Baldrs death is referred to rather than recounted at length. Among the visions which the Völva sees and describes in the known as the Völuspá is one of the fatal mistletoe, the birth of Váli. Yet looking far into the future the Völva sees a vision of a new world. The Eddic poem Baldrs Dreams mentions that Baldr has bad dreams which the gods then discuss, Odin rides to Hel and awakens a seeress, who tells him Höðr will kill Baldr but Vali will avenge him. In Gylfaginning, Baldur is described as follows, Apart from this description Baldr is known primarily for the story of his death and his death is seen as the first in the chain of events which will ultimately lead to the destruction of the gods at Ragnarök. Baldr will be reborn in the new world, according to Völuspá and he had a dream of his own death and his mother had the same dreams. Since dreams were usually prophetic, this depressed him, so his mother Frigg made every object in every realm vow never to hurt Baldr, all objects made this vow except mistletoe. When Loki, the mischief-maker, heard of this, he made a spear from this plant
20.
Bragi
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Bragi is the skaldic god of poetry in Norse mythology. Bragi is generally associated with bragr, the Norse word for poetry, the name of the god may have been derived from bragr, or the term bragr may have been formed to describe what Bragi does. A connection between the name Bragi and Old English brego chieftain has been suggested but is now discounted. A connection between Bragi and the bragarfull promise cup is sometimes suggested, as bragafull, a form of the word. Snorri Sturluson writes in the Gylfaginning after describing Odin, Thor, and Baldr, One is called Bragi, he is renowned for wisdom, and most of all for fluency of speech and skill with words. He knows most of skaldship, and after him skaldship is called bragr, and from his name that one is called bragr-man or -woman, in Skáldskaparmál Snorri writes, How should one periphrase Bragi. By calling him husband of Iðunn, first maker of poetry, and the long-bearded god and that Bragi is Odins son is clearly mentioned only here and in some versions of a list of the sons of Odin. But wish-son in stanza 16 of the Lokasenna could mean Odins son and is translated by Hollander as Odins kin, Bragis mother is possibly the giantess Gunnlod. In that poem Bragi at first forbids Loki to enter the hall but is overruled by Odin, Loki then gives a greeting to all gods and goddesses who are in the hall save to Bragi. Bragi responds that if they were outside the hall, he would have Lokis head, when Bragis wife Iðunn attempts to calm Bragi, Loki accuses her of embracing her brothers slayer, a reference to matters that have not survived. It may be that Bragi had slain Iðunns brother, the meaning of this is obscure. The first part of Snorri Sturlusons Skáldskaparmál is a dialogue between Ægir and Bragi about the nature of poetry, particularly skaldic poetry, Bragi tells the origin of the mead of poetry from the blood of Kvasir and how Odin obtained this mead. He then goes on to discuss various poetic metaphors known as kennings, Snorri Sturluson clearly distinguishes the god Bragi from the mortal skald Bragi Boddason, whom he often mentions separately. Compare the appearance of the Welsh Taliesin in the branch of the Mabinogi. Legendary chronology sometimes does become muddled, whether Bragi the god originally arose as a deified version of Bragi Boddason was much debated in the 19th century, especially by the scholars Eugen Mogk and Sophus Bugge. In the poem Eiríksmál Odin, in Valhalla, hears the coming of the dead Norwegian king Eric Bloodaxe and his host, Bragi is then mentioned, questioning how Odin knows that it is Eric and why Odin has let such a king die. In the poem Hákonarmál, Hákon the Good is taken to Valhalla by the valkyrie Göndul and Odin sends Hermóðr, in these poems Bragi could be either a god or a dead hero in Valhalla. Attempting to decide is further confused because Hermóðr also seems to be sometimes the name of a god and that Bragi was also the first to speak to Loki in the Lokasenna as Loki attempted to enter the hall might be a parallel
21.
Dellingr
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In Norse mythology, Dellingr is a god. Dellingr is attested in the Poetic Edda, compiled in the 13th century from traditional sources. In both sources, Dellingr is described as the father of Dagr, the personified day, the Prose Edda adds that, depending on manuscript variation, he is either the third husband of Nótt, the personified night, or the husband of Jörð, the personified earth. Dellingr is also attested in the legendary saga Hervarar saga ok Heiðreks, scholars have proposed that Dellingr is the personified dawn, and his name may appear both in an English surname and place name as well as German surnames. Dellingr is referenced in the Poetic Edda poems Vafþrúðnismál and Hávamál, in stanza 24 of Vafþrúðnismá, the god Odin asks the jötunn Vafþrúðnir from where the day comes, and the night and its tides. In stanza 25, Vafþrúðnir responds, Delling hight he who the father is, but night was of Nörvi born. In Hávamál, the dwarf Þjóðrœrir is stated as having recited a spell before Dellings doors. Strength he sang to the Æsir, and to the Alfar prosperity, in the poem Fjölsvinnsmál, Svipdagr asks What one of the gods has made so great the hall I behold within. Fjölsviðr responds with a list of names, including Dellingr, in a stanza of the poem Hrafnagaldr Óðins, the appearance of Dagr, horse, and chariot are described, and Dagr himself is referred to as the son of Delling. In chapter 10 of the Prose Edda book Gylfaginning, the figure of High states that Dellingr is a god. The couple have Dagr, who carries the features of his fathers people, Odin placed both Dellingrs son, Dagr, and Dellingrs wife, Nótt, in the sky, so that they may ride across it with their horses and chariots every 24 hours. However, scholar Haukur Thorgeirsson points out that the four manuscripts of Gylfaginning vary in their descriptions of the relations between Nótt, Jörð, Dagr, and Dellingr. In other words, depending on the manuscript, either Jörð or Nótt is the mother of Dagr, the results of this accident made their way into the Icelandic poetic tradition. Five riddles found in the poem Heiðreks gátur contained in the legendary saga Hervarar saga ok Heiðreks employ the phrase Dellings doors once each and this riddle ponder, O prince Heidrek. Your riddle is good, Gestumblindi, said the king, I have guessed it and it is the leek, its head is fast in the ground, but it forks as it grows up. Jacob Grimm states that Dellingr is the form of Deglingr. Benjamin Thorpe says that Dellingr may be dawn personified, similarly to his son Dagr, regarding the references to Dellings door as used in Hervarar saga ok Heiðreks, Christopher Tolkien says that, What this phrase meant to the maker of these riddles is impossible to say. As regarding dǫglings for Dellings in H, and Dǫglingar were the descendants of Dagr, john Lindow says that some confusion exists about the reference to Dellingr in Hávamál
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Forseti
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Forseti is an Æsir god of justice and reconciliation in Norse mythology. He is generally identified with Fosite, a god of the Frisians, grimm took Forseti, praeses, to be the older form of the name, first postulating an unattested Old High German equivalent *forasizo. But later preferring a derivation from fors, a stream or cataract, connected to the spring. It is plausible that Fosite is the name and Forseti a folk etymology. The Greek traveller Pytheas of Massalia, who describes the amber trade, is known to have visited the region around 325 BC, according to Snorri Sturluson in the Prose Edda, Forseti is the son of Baldr and Nanna. His home is Glitnir, its name, meaning shining, refers to its ceiling and golden pillars. His is the best of courts, all those who come before him leave reconciled and this suggests skill in mediation and is in contrast to his fellow god Týr, who is not called a reconciler of men. However, as de Vries points out, the basis for associating Forseti with justice seems to have been his name. Puts to sleep all suits or stills all strifes may have been an addition to the strophe Snorri cites. The first element in the name Forsetlund, a farm in the parish of Onsøy, in eastern Norway, seems to be the case of Forseti. According to Alcuins Life of St. Willebrord, the saint visited an island between Frisia and Denmark that was sacred to Fosite and was called Fositesland after the god worshipped there. There was a spring from which water had to be drawn in silence. Willebrord defiled the spring by baptizing people in it and killing a cow there, altfrid tells the same story of St. Liudger. Adam of Bremen retells the story and adds that the island was Heiligland, there is also a late-medieval legend of the origins of written Frisian laws. Wishing to assemble written lawcodes for all his subject peoples, Charlemagne summoned twelve representatives of the Frisian people, the Āsegas, when they could not do so after several days, he let them choose between death, slavery, or being set adrift in a rudderless boat. They chose the last and prayed for help, whereupon a thirteenth man appeared and he steered the boat to land with the axe, then threw it ashore, a spring appeared where it landed. He taught them laws and then disappeared, the stranger and the spring have traditionally been identified with Fosite and the sacred spring of Fositesland. Modern scholarship, however, is critical about this hypotheses, as the attribute of the axe is normally associated with Thor
23.
Heimdallr
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In Norse mythology, Heimdallr is a god who possesses the resounding horn Gjallarhorn, owns the golden-maned horse Gulltoppr, has gold teeth, and is the son of Nine Mothers. Heimdallr is said to be the originator of social classes among humanity, Heimdallr and Loki are foretold to kill one another during the events of Ragnarök. Heimdallr is additionally referred to as Rig, Hallinskiði, Gullintanni, two lines of an otherwise lost poem about the god, Heimdalargaldr, survive. Heimdallr also appears as Heimdalr and Heimdali, the etymology of the name is obscure, but the one who illuminates the world has been proposed. Heimdallr may be connected to Mardöll, one of Freyjas names, Heimdallr and its variants are sometimes modernly anglicized as Heimdall or Heimdal. Heimdallr is attested as having three other names, Hallinskiði, Gullintanni, and Vindlér or Vindhlér, the name Hallinskiði is obscure, but has resulted in a series of attempts at deciphering it. Gullintanni literally means the one with the golden teeth, Vindlér translates as either the one protecting against the wind or wind-sea. All three have resulted in theories about the god. A lead spindle whorl bearing an Old Norse Younger Futhark inscription that mentions Heimdallr was discovered in Saltfleetby, the spindle whorl itself is dated from the year 1000 to 1100 AD. On the inscription, the god Heimdallr is mentioned alongside the god Odin and Þjálfi, in the Poetic Edda, Heimdallr is attested in six poems, Völuspá, Grímnismál, Lokasenna, Þrymskviða, Rígsþula, and Hrafnagaldr Óðins. Heimdallr is mentioned thrice in Völuspá, in the first stanza of the poem, the undead völva reciting the poem calls out for listeners to be silent and refers to Heimdallr, This stanza has led to various scholarly interpretations. The holy races have been considered variously as either humanity or the gods, the notion of humanity as Heimdallrs sons is otherwise unattested and has also resulted in various interpretations. Some scholars have pointed to the introduction to the poem Rígsþula. Later in Völuspá, the völva foresees the events of Ragnarök, schach details that Heimdallar hljóð has aroused much speculation. Snorri seems to have confused this word with gjallarhorn, but there is no attestation of the use of hljóð in the sense of horn in Icelandic. Various scholars have read this as hearing rather than horn, larrington says that Odin exchanged one of his eyes for wisdom from Mimir, guardian of the well, while Heimdall seems to have forfeited his ear. In the poem Grímnismál, Odin, tortured, starved and thirsty, in the poem Lokasenna, Loki flyts with various gods who have met together to feast. At one point during the exchanges, the god Heimdallr says that Loki is drunk and witless, and asks Loki why he wont stop speaking
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Odin
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In Germanic mythology, Odin is a widely revered god. In the modern period, Odin continued to be acknowledged in the folklore of Germanic Europe. Forms of his name appear frequently throughout the Germanic record, though narratives regarding Odin are mainly found in Old Norse works recorded in Iceland and these texts make up the bulk of modern understanding of Norse mythology. In Old Norse texts, Odin is depicted as one-eyed and long-bearded, frequently wielding a spear named Gungnir, and wearing a cloak, Odin is attested as having many sons, most famously the god Baldr with Frigg, and is known by hundreds of names. Odin has an association with Yule, and mankinds knowledge of both the runes and poetry is also attributed to him. In Old Norse texts, Odin is given primacy over female beings associated with the battlefield—the valkyries—and oversees Valhalla, where he receives half of those who die in battle, the other half are chosen by the goddess Freyja for her afterlife location, Fólkvangr. In later folklore, Odin appears as a leader of the Wild Hunt and he has also been associated with charms and other forms of magic, particularly in Old English and Old Norse texts. Odin has been a frequent subject of study in Germanic studies, in the modern period, Odin has inspired numerous works of poetry, music, and other forms of media. He is venerated in most forms of the new religious movement Heathenry, together with other gods venerated by the ancient Germanic peoples, some branches focus particularly on him. The Old Norse theonym Óðinn and its cognates, including Old English Wōden, Old Saxon Wōden, the masculine noun *wōđanaz developed from the Proto-Germanic adjective *wōđaz, related to Latin vātēs and Old Irish fáith, both meaning seer, prophet. Adjectives stemming from *wōđaz include Gothic woþs possessed, Old Norse óðr, mad, frantic, furious, additionally the Old Norse noun æði rage, fury and Old High German wuotī madness derive from the feminine noun *wōđīn, from *wōđaz. Over 170 names are recorded for the god Odin and these names are variously descriptive of attributes of the god, refer to myths involving him, or refer to religious practices associated with the god. This multitude of names makes Odin the god with the most names known among the Germanic peoples, the weekday name Wednesday derives from Old English wōdnesdæg. Cognate terms are found in other Germanic languages, such as Middle Low German wōdensdach, all of these terms derive from Proto-Germanic *Wodensdag, itself a Germanic interpretation of Latin Dies Mercurii. However, in Old High German, the derived from Odins was replaced by a translation of Church Latin media hebdomas. The earliest records of the Germanic peoples were recorded by the Romans and they regard it as a religious duty to offer to him, on fixed days, human as well as other sacrificial victims. Hercules and Mars they appease by animal offerings of the permitted kind, in this instance, Tacitus refers to the god Odin as Mercury, Thor as Hercules, and Týr as Mars, and the identity of the Isis of the Suebi has been debated. But their rankings in their respective religious spheres may have very different
25.
Ullr
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The medieval Norse word was Latinized as Ollerus. The Modern Icelandic form is Ullur, in the mainland Scandinavian languages the modern form is Ull. The Thorsberg chape bears an Elder Futhark inscription, one of the earliest known altogether, owlþuþewaz / niwajmariz The first element owlþu, for wolþu-, means glory, glorious one, Old Norse Ullr, Old English wuldor. The second element, -þewaz, means slave, servant, the whole compound is a personal name or title, servant of the glorious one, servant/priest of Ullr. Ollerus ruled under the name Odin for ten years until the true Odin was called back, Ullr is mentioned in the poem Grímnismál where the homes of individual gods are recounted. The English versions shown here are by Thorpe, the name Ýdalir, meaning yew dales, is not otherwise attested. The yew was an important material in the making of bows, and it seems likely that the name Ýdalir is connected with the idea of Ullr as a bow-god. Another strophe in Grímnismál also mentions Ullr, the strophe is obscure but may refer to some sort of religious ceremony. It seems to indicate Ullr as an important god, the last reference to Ullr in the Poetic Edda is found in Atlakviða, Both Atlakviða and Grímnismál are often considered to be among the oldest extant Eddic poems. It may not be a coincidence that they are the ones to refer to Ullr. Again we seem to find Ullr associated with some sort of ceremony, this time that of swearing an oath by a ring, Snorri informs his readers that Ullr can be called ski-god, bow-god, hunting-god and shield-god. In turn a shield can be called Ullrs ship, despite these tantalising tidbits Snorri relates no myths about Ullr. It seems likely that he didnt know any, the god having faded from memory, while the origin of this kenning is unknown it could be connected with the identity of Ullr as a ski-god. Early skis, or perhaps sleds, might have been reminiscent of shields, a late Icelandic composition, Laufás-Edda, offers the prosaic explanation that Ullrs ship was called Skjöldr, Shield. The name of Ullr is also common in warrior kennings, where it is used as other god names are, Ullrs name appears in several important Norwegian and Swedish place names. This indicates that Ullr had at some point a religious importance in Scandinavia that is greater than what is apparent from the scant surviving textual references. It is also significant that the placenames referring to this god are often found close to placenames referring to another deity, Njörðr in Sweden. Some of the Norwegian placenames have a variant form, Ullinn and it has been suggested that this is the remnant of a pair of twin gods and further that there may have been a female Ullin, on the model of divine pairs such as Fjörgynn and Fjörgyn
