1.
John Bauer (illustrator)
–
John Albert Bauer was a Swedish painter and illustrator. His work is concerned with landscape and mythology, but he also composed portraits and he is best known for his illustrations of early editions of Bland tomtar och troll, an anthology of Swedish folklore and fairy tales. Bauer was born and raised in Jönköping, at 16 he moved to Stockholm to study at the Royal Swedish Academy of Arts. While there he received his first commissions to illustrate stories in books and magazines, and met the artist Ester Ellqvist and he traveled throughout Lappland, Germany and Italy early in his career, and these cultures deeply informed his work. He painted and illustrated in a nationalistic style, in part influenced by the Italian Renaissance. Most of his works are watercolors or prints in monochrome or muted colours, he also produced oil paintings and his illustrations and paintings broadened the understanding and appreciation of Swedish folklore, fairy tales and landscape. When Bauer was 36, he, Ester and their son, Bengt, John Bauer was born and raised in Jönköping, the son of Josef Bauer, a man of Bavarian origin, and Emma Charlotta Wadell, from a farming family from the town Rogberga just outside Jönköping. Josef Bauer came to Sweden in 1863, penniless and he founded a successful charcuterie business at the Östra Torget in Jönköping. The family lived in the apartment above the shop until 1881 when the construction of their house in Sjövik was completed. John, born in 1882, lived at the Villa Sjövik by the shore of Lake Rocksjön with his parents, the family home would remain central to him long after he lived on his own. His initial schooling was at the Jönköpings Högre Allmäna Läroverk, followed by the Jönköpings Tekniska Skola from 1892 to 1898 and he spent most of his time drawing caricatures of his teachers and daydreaming, something not appreciated by his teachers. He was given to sketching and drawing from an early age, however, when he turned sixteen and wanted to go to Stockholm to study art, they were enthusiastic for him and backed him financially. In 1898, he was one of the 40 applicants to study at the Royal Swedish Academy of Arts and he spent the next two years at the Kaleb Ahltins school for painters. During this time he was, like most teenagers, torn between hope and despair, something that is reflected in his artwork. By 1900, he was old enough to attend the Academy of Arts and he studied traditional illustrations and made drawings of plants, medieval costumes and croquis, all of which served him in his later work. One of his teachers, professor and noted historic painter, Gustaf Cederström praised Bauer, While at the academy, he received his first commissions to illustrate magazines and books. In 1904 he traveled to Lappland to create paintings for a book on the culture of the county, at the end of 1905, he left the academy and put Artist on his business card. Following the discovery of ore deposits in the north of Sweden, Lappland became a frontier for industrial development, instead of an exotic wilderness of the Sami culture
John Bauer (illustrator)
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John Bauer
John Bauer (illustrator)
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A young John Bauer
John Bauer (illustrator)
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The Fairy Princess, 1904, oil sketch
John Bauer (illustrator)
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Self-portrait, 1908, oil on canvas
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
Norse mythology
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An undead
völva, a Scandinavian seeress, tells the spear-wielding god Odin of what has been and what will be in Odin and the Völva by Lorenz Frølich (1895)
Norse mythology
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The
Rök Runestone (
Ög 136), located in
Rök, Sweden features a
Younger Futhark runic inscription that makes various references to Norse mythology
Norse mythology
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The god Thor wades through a river while the
Æsir ride across the bridge
Bifröst in an illustration by
Lorenz Frølich (1895)
Norse mythology
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The cosmological, central tree
Yggdrasil is depicted in "The Ash Yggdrasil" by
Friedrich Wilhelm Heine (1886)
3.
Old Norse
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Old Norse was a North Germanic language that was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and inhabitants of their overseas settlements during about the 9th to 13th centuries. These dates, however, are not absolute, since written Old Norse is found well into the 15th century, Old Norse was divided into three dialects, Old West Norse, Old East Norse and Old Gutnish. Old West and East Norse formed a continuum, with no clear geographical boundary between them. For example, Old East Norse traits were found in eastern Norway, although Old Norwegian is classified as Old West Norse, most speakers spoke Old East Norse in what is present day Denmark and Sweden. Old Gutnish, the more obscure dialectal branch, is included in the Old East Norse dialect due to geographical associations. It developed its own features and shared in changes to both other branches. The 12th century Icelandic Gray Goose Laws state that Swedes, Norwegians, Icelanders and Danes spoke the same language, another term used, used especially commonly with reference to West Norse, was norrœnt mál. In some instances the term Old Norse refers specifically to Old West Norse, the Old East Norse dialect was spoken in Denmark, Sweden, settlements in Kievan Rus, eastern England, and Danish settlements in Normandy. The Old Gutnish dialect was spoken in Gotland and in settlements in the East. In the 11th century, Old Norse was the most widely spoken European language, in Kievan Rus, it survived the longest in Veliky Novgorod, probably lasting into the 13th century there. Norwegian is descended from Old West Norse, but over the centuries it has heavily influenced by East Norse. Old Norse also had an influence on English dialects and Lowland Scots and it also influenced the development of the Norman language, and through it and to a smaller extent, that of modern French. Various other languages, which are not closely related, have heavily influenced by Norse, particularly the Norman dialects, Scottish Gaelic. The current Finnish and Estonian words for Sweden are Ruotsi and Rootsi, of the modern languages, Icelandic is the closest to Old Norse. Written modern Icelandic derives from the Old Norse phonemic writing system, contemporary Icelandic-speakers can read Old Norse, which varies slightly in spelling as well as semantics and word order. However, pronunciation, particularly of the phonemes, has changed at least as much as in the other North Germanic languages. Faroese retains many similarities but is influenced by Danish, Norwegian, although Swedish, Danish and the Norwegian languages have diverged the most, they still retain asymmetric mutual intelligibility. Speakers of modern Swedish, Norwegian and Danish can mostly understand each other without studying their neighboring languages, the languages are also sufficiently similar in writing that they can mostly be understood across borders
Old Norse
–
The
Rök Runestone in
Östergötland, Sweden, is the longest surviving source of early Old East Norse. It is inscribed on both sides.
Old Norse
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Old West Norse dialect
4.
Falcon
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Falcons are birds of prey in the genus Falco, which includes about 40 species. Falcons are widely distributed on all continents of the world except Antarctica, adult falcons have thin, tapered wings, which enable them to fly at high speed and change direction rapidly. Fledgling falcons, in their first year of flying, have flight feathers. This makes flying easier while learning the skills required to be effective hunters as adults. The falcons are the largest genus in the Falconinae subfamily of Falconidae, which also includes another subfamily comprising caracaras. All these birds kill with their beaks, using a tooth on the side of their beaks—unlike the hawks, eagles, and other birds of prey in the Accipitridae, the largest falcon is the gyrfalcon at up to 65 cm in length. The smallest falcons are the kestrels, of which the Seychelles kestrel measures just 25 cm, as with hawks and owls, falcons exhibit sexual dimorphism, with the females typically larger than the males, thus allowing a wider range of prey species. Some small falcons with long, narrow wings are called hobbies, as is the case with many birds of prey, falcons have exceptional powers of vision, the visual acuity of one species has been measured at 2.6 times that of a normal human. Peregrine falcons have been recorded diving at speeds of 200 miles per hour, the Late Latin falco is believed to derive from falx as meaning a sickle, referencing the claws of the bird. In Middle English and Old French, the term faucon refers generically to several captive raptor species, the traditional term for a male falcon is tercel or tiercel, from the Latin tertius because of the belief that only one in three eggs hatched a male bird. Some sources give the etymology as deriving from the fact that a falcon is about one-third smaller than a female. A falcon chick, especially one reared for falconry, still in its stage, is known as an eyas. The word arose by mistaken division of Old French un niais, the technique of hunting with trained captive birds of prey is known as falconry. Compared to other birds of prey, the record of the falcons is not well distributed in time. The oldest fossils tentatively assigned to this genus are from the Late Miocene and this coincides with a period in which many modern genera of birds became recognizable in the fossil record. Falcons are roughly divisible into three or four groups, kestrels feed chiefly on terrestrial vertebrates and invertebrates of appropriate size, such as rodents, reptiles, or insects. The second group contains slightly larger species, the hobbies and relatives and these birds are characterized by considerable amounts of dark slate-grey in their plumage, their malar areas are nearly always black. They feed mainly on smaller birds, third are the peregrine falcon and its relatives, variably sized powerful birds that also have a black malar area, and often a black cap, as well
Falcon
–
Falcon Temporal range:
Late Miocene to present
Falcon
–
Common kestrel
Falcon
–
New Zealand falcon
Falcon
–
Saker falcon, a typical hierofalcon
5.
Hnoss
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In Norse mythology, Hnoss is the daughter of Freyja and Óðr, and the almost identical sister of Gersemi. She is the goddess of desire and lust, in Gylfaginning it says, She is so lovely that whatever is beautiful and valuable is called treasure from her name. Some have even translated her name as jewel or gem, dictionary of Norse Myth and Legend
Hnoss
–
"
Heimdall and little Hnossa - how all things came to be" (1920) by
Willy Pogany.
6.
Freyr
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Freyr or Frey is one of the most important gods of Norse religion. The name is conjectured to derive from the Proto-Norse *frawjaz, lord, Freyr was associated with sacral kingship, virility and prosperity, with sunshine and fair weather, and was pictured as a phallic fertility god, Freyr is said to bestow peace and pleasure on mortals. Freyr, sometimes referred to as Yngvi-Freyr, was 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 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 he has the servants Skírnir, Byggvir and Beyla. The most extensive surviving Freyr myth relates Freyrs falling in love with the female jötunn 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 jötunn Beli with an antler, however, lacking his sword, Freyr will be killed by the fire jötunn Surtr during the events of Ragnarök. Like other Germanic deities, veneration of Freyr is revived in the period in Heathenry. Written around 1080, one of the oldest written sources on pre-Christian Scandinavian religious practices is Adam of Bremens Gesta Hammaburgensis ecclesiae pontificum, Adam claimed to have access to first-hand accounts on pagan practices in Sweden. He refers to Freyr with the Latinized name Fricco and mentions that an image of him at Skara was destroyed by the Christian missionary and his description of the Temple at Uppsala gives some details on the god. Later in the account Adam states that when a marriage is performed a libation is made to the image of Fricco, historians are divided on the reliability of Adams account. While he is close in time to the events he describes he has an agenda to emphasize the role of the Archbishopric of Hamburg-Bremen in the Christianization of Scandinavia. His timeframe for the Christianization of Sweden conflicts with other sources, such as runic inscriptions, on the other hand, the existence of phallic idols was confirmed in 1904 with a find at Rällinge in Södermanland. When Snorri Sturluson was writing in 13th century Iceland, the indigenous Germanic gods were still remembered although they had not been openly worshiped for more than two centuries, in the Gylfaginning section of his Prose Edda, Snorri introduces Freyr as one of the major gods. This description has similarities to the account by Adam of Bremen. Adam assigns control of the weather and produce of the fields to Thor, Snorri also omits any explicitly sexual references in Freyrs description. Those discrepancies can be explained in several ways and it is possible that the Norse gods did not have exactly the same roles in Icelandic and Swedish paganism but it must also be remembered that Adam and Snorri were writing with different goals in mind. Either Snorri or Adam may also have had distorted information, the only extended myth related about Freyr in the Prose Edda is the story of his marriage
Freyr
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"Freyr" (1901) by
Johannes Gehrts.
Freyr
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Seated on Odin's throne Hliðskjálf, the god Freyr sits in contemplation in an illustration (1908) by Frederic Lawrence
Freyr
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The final battle between Freyr and Surtr, illustration by
Lorenz Frølich
Freyr
–
A detail from
Gotland runestone G 181, in the
Swedish Museum of National Antiquities in
Stockholm. The three men are interpreted as
Odin,
Thor, and Freyr.
7.
Lord
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Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others acting like a master, a chief, or a ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, the collective Lords can refer to a group or body of peers. The appellation lord is primarily applied to men, while for women the appellation lady is used. However, this is no universal, the Lord of Mann, a title currently held by the Queen of the United Kingdom. Under the feudal system, lord had a wide, loose, an overlord was a person from whom a landholding or a manor was held by a mesne lord or vassal under various forms of feudal land tenure. The modern term landlord is a survival of this function. A liege lord was a person to whom a vassal owed sworn allegiance, neither of these terms were titular dignities, but rather factual appellations, which described the relationship between two or more persons within the highly stratified feudal social system. For example, a man might be Lord of the Manor to his own tenants but also a vassal of his own overlord, where a knight was a lord of the manor, he was referred to in contemporary documents as John, knight, lord of. A feudal baron was a true titular dignity, with the right to attend Parliament, the substantive title of Lord of the Manor came into use in the English medieval system of feudalism after the Norman Conquest of 1066. The title Lord of the Manor was a titular feudal dignity which derived its force from the existence, to the tenants of a manor their lord was a man who commanded on occasion the power of exercising capital punishment over them. The term invariably used in mediaeval documents is simply lord of X, X being the name of the manor. The title of Lord of the Manor is recognised by the British Government, in the form of the Her Majestys Land Registry, modern legal cases have been won by persons claiming rights as lords of the manor over village greens. The heads of many ancient English land-owning families have continued to be lords of the manor of lands they have inherited. The UK Identity and Passport Service will include titles on a British passport as an observation, provided the holder can provide documentary evidence of ownership. The United States however, forbids the use of all titles on passports, australia forbids the use of titles on passports if those titles have not been awarded by the Crown or the Commonwealth. The word is used to refer to any owner of a landed estate and has no meaning in heraldic terms. Lord is used as a term to denote members of the peerage. Five ranks of peer exist in the United Kingdom, in descending order these are duke, marquess, earl, viscount, the appellation Lord is used most often by barons, who are rarely addressed by their formal and legal title of Baron
Lord
–
Charles Pepys, 1st Earl of Cottenham, a
Lord Chancellor of the United Kingdom
8.
Vanir
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In Norse mythology, the Vanir are a group of gods associated with fertility, wisdom, nature, magic, and the ability to see the future. The Vanir are one of two groups of gods and are the namesake of the location Vanaheimr, after the Æsir–Vanir War, the Vanir became a subgroup of the Æsir. Subsequently, members of the Vanir are sometimes referred to as members of the Æsir. The Vanir are only attested in these Old Norse sources, Vanir is sometimes anglicized to Wanes. All sources describe the deities Njörðr, Freyr and Freyja as members of the Vanir, a euhemerized prose account in Heimskringla adds that Njörðrs sister—whose name is not provided—and Kvasir were Vanir. In addition, Heimskringla reports a tale involving king Sveigðirs visit to Vanaheimr, where he meets a woman by the name of Vana, while not attested as Vanir, the gods Heimdallr and Ullr have been theorized as potential members of the group. In the Prose Edda, a name listed for boars is Van-child and they have speculated whether the Vanir originally represented pre-Indo-European deities or Indo-European fertility gods, and have theorized a form of the gods as venerated by the pagan Anglo-Saxons. Numerous theories have proposed for the etymology of Vanir. Page says that, while there are no shortages of etymologies for the word, it is tempting to link the word with Old Norse vinr, friend, and Latin Venus, goddess of physical love. In the Poetic Edda, the Vanir, as a group, are referenced in the poems Völuspá, Vafþrúðnismál, Skírnismál, Þrymskviða. In Vafþrúðnismál, Gagnráðr engages in a game of wits with the jötunn Vafþrúðnir, Gagnráðr asks Vafþrúðnir where the Van god Njörðr came from, for though he rules over many hofs and hörgrs, Njörðr was not raised among the Æsir. Vafþrúðnir responds that Njörðr was created in Vanaheimr by wise powers and details that during the Æsir–Vanir War, in addition, when the world ends, Njörðr will return to the wise Vanir. Alvíssmál consists of question and answer exchanges between the dwarf Alvíss and the god Thor, in the poem, Alvíss supplies terms that various groups, including the Vanir, use to refer to various subjects. Alvíss attributes nine terms to the Vanir, one for Earth, Heaven, clouds, calm, the sea, fire, wood, seed, the poem Þrymskviða states that the god Heimdallr possesses foreknowledge, as the Vanir also can. Sigrdrífumál records that the Vanir are in possession of a sacred mead, in the poem, the valkyrie Sigrdrífa provides mystical lore about runes to the hero Sigurd. Sigrdrífa notes that runes were carved on to various creatures, deities and other figures. This mead is possessed by the Æsir, the elves, mankind, in Skírnismál, the beautiful jötunn Gerðr first encounters the god Freyrs messenger Skírnir, and asks him if he is of the elves, of the Æsir, or of the wise Vanir. Skírnir responds that he is not of any of the three groups, later in the poem, Skírnir is successful in his threats against Gerðr, and Gerðr offers Skírnir a crystal cup full of mead, noting that she never thought that she would love one of the Vanir
Vanir
–
Freja by
John Bauer (1882–1918).
Vanir
–
The sun shining behind them, the Vanir god
Freyr stands with his boar
Gullinbursti (1901) by
Johannes Gehrts.
Vanir
–
Flanked by her boar
Hildisvini, the Vanr goddess
Freyja (right) (1895) by
Lorenz Frølich.
Vanir
–
A
wild boar in Northern Europe. In the Prose Edda, "Van-child" is listed as a name for boars. Both Freyja and Freyr are attested as accompanied by boars.
9.
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
Odin
–
Odin the Wanderer (1896) by
Georg von Rosen
Odin
–
Godan and Frea look down from their window in the heavens to the Winnili women in an illustration by
Emil Doepler, 1905
Odin
–
Winnili women with their hair tied as beards look up at Godan and Frea in an illustration by Emil Doepler, 1905
Odin
–
"Wodan Heals Balder's Horse" by Emil Doepler, 1905
10.
Valhalla
–
In Norse mythology, Valhalla is a majestic, enormous hall located in Asgard, ruled over by the god Odin. Chosen by Odin, half of those who die in combat travel to Valhalla upon death, led by valkyries, while the other half go to the goddess Freyjas field Fólkvangr. In Valhalla, the join the masses of those who have died in combat known as Einherjar and various legendary Germanic heroes and kings. Before the hall stands the golden tree Glasir, and the ceiling is thatched with golden shields. Various creatures live around Valhalla, such as the stag Eikþyrnir, the Modern English noun Valhalla derives from Old Norse Valhöll, a compound noun composed of two elements, the masculine noun valr the slain and the feminine noun höll hall. Valr has cognates in other Germanic languages such as Old English wæl the slain, slaughter, carnage, Old Saxon wal-dād murder, Old High German battlefield, all of these forms descend from the Proto-Germanic masculine noun *walaz. Among related Old Norse concepts, valr also appears as the first element of the nouns valkyrja chooser of the slain, valkyrie and Valfreyja, the second element, höll, is a common Old Norse noun. It is cognate to Modern English hall and has the same meaning, both developed from Proto-Germanic *xallō or *hallō, meaning covered place, hall, itself from the Proto-Indo-European root *kol-. In stanzas 8 to 10 of Grímnismál, the god Odin states that Valhalla is located in the realm of Glaðsheimr, Odin describes Valhalla as shining and golden, and that it rises peacefully when seen from afar. From Valhalla, every day Odin chooses from those who have died in combat. Valhalla has spear-shafts for rafters, a roof thatched with shields, coats of mail are strewn over its benches, a wolf hangs in front of its west doors, and an eagle hovers above it. Within Valhalla exists Thors hall Bilskirnir, and within it exist five hundred and forty rooms, in stanzas 25 through 26, Odin states that the goat Heiðrún and the hart Eikþyrnir stand on top of Valhalla and graze on the branches of the tree Læraðr. Heiðrún produces vats of mead that liquor cannot be compared to, in stanza 38 of the poem Helgakviða Hundingsbana II, the hero Helgi Hundingsbane dies and goes to Valhalla. Prose follows after this stanza, stating that a burial-mound was made for Helgi, in stanzas 40 to 42, Helgi has returned to Midgard from Valhalla with a host of men. An unnamed maid of Sigrún, Helgis valkyrie wife, sees Helgi, the maid asks if she is experiencing a delusion, if Ragnarök has begun, or if Helgi and his men have been allowed to return. In the stanzas that follow, Helgi responds that none of things have occurred. The maid tells Sigrún that the mound has opened up, and that Sigrún should go to Helgi there, as Helgi has asked her to come and tend his wounds. Sigrún goes into the mound, and finds that Helgi is drenched in gore, filled with joy at the reunion, Sigrún kisses him before he can remove his coat of mail, and asks how she can heal him
Valhalla
–
"Walhalla" (1896) by Max Brückner.
Valhalla
–
"Walhalla" (1905) by
Emil Doepler.
Valhalla
–
A Valkyrie,
drinking horn in hands, awaits at the gates of Valhalla on the
Tjängvide image stone from
Gotland, housed at the
Swedish Museum of National Antiquities in
Stockholm, Sweden.
Valhalla
–
Three valkyries bearing ale in Valhalla (1895) by
Lorenz Frølich.
11.
List of names of Freyja
–
In Norse mythology, Freyja is a goddess associated with love, beauty, fertility, gold, seiðr, war and death. Freyja is attested as having nine additional names, Gefn, Hörn, Mardöll, Skjálf, Sýr, Thröng, Thrungva, Valfreyja, some of these names have posed etymological problems for scholars, while others are more straightforward to translate. Most of Freyjas names point to apparent attributes and associations, and at least one, Hörn, appears in place names in what is now Sweden. An explanation is presented for Freyjas many names in the Prose Edda book Gylfaginning, where the figure of High details that Freyja is married to the god Óðr. While Óðr is absent, Freyja stays behind and, in her sorrow, High says that Freyja has many names because she adopted them while looking for Óðr and traveling among strange peoples. Gullveig, a thrice-burnt, thrice-reborn female who various scholars identify as Freyja and as playing a major role in sparking the Æsir–Vanir War
List of names of Freyja
–
A roadsign for Härnevi ("Hörn's
vé ") in
Uppland,
Sweden
12.
Poetic Edda
–
Poetic Edda is the modern attribution for an unnamed collection of Old Norse anonymous poems, which is different from the Edda, written by Snorri Sturluson. Several versions exist, all consisting primarily of text from the Icelandic mediaeval manuscript known as the Codex Regius, poets who have acknowledged their debt to the Codex Regius include Vilhelm Ekelund, August Strindberg, J. R. R. Tolkien, Ezra Pound, Jorge Luis Borges, and Karin Boye, Codex Regius was written in the 13th century, but nothing is known of its whereabouts until 1643, when it came into the possession of Brynjólfur Sveinsson, then Bishop of Skálholt. At the time, versions of the Edda were known in Iceland, but scholars speculated that once was another Edda, an Elder Edda. Brynjólfur attributed the manuscript to Sæmundr the Learned, a larger-than-life 12th century Icelandic priest and that attribution is rejected by modern scholars, but the name Sæmundar Edda is still sometimes associated with both the Codex Regius and versions of Poetic Edda using it as a source. Bishop Brynjólfur sent Codex Regius as a present to the Danish king, for centuries, it was stored in the Royal Library in Copenhagen but in 1971, it was returned to Iceland. The Eddic poems are composed in alliterative verse, most are in fornyrðislag, while málaháttr is a common variation. The rest, about a quarter, are composed in ljóðaháttr, the language of the poems is usually clear and relatively unadorned. Kennings are often employed, though they do not arise as frequently, nor are they as complex, like most early poetry, the Eddic poems were minstrel poems, passing orally from singer to singer and from poet to poet for centuries. None of the poems are attributed to an author, though many of them show strong individual characteristics and are likely to have been the work of individual poets. Scholars sometimes speculate on hypothetical authors, but firm and accepted conclusions have never been reached, the dating of the poems has been a source of lively scholarly argument for a long time, and firm conclusions are hard to reach. Lines from the Eddic poems sometimes appear in poems by known poets, for example, Eyvindr skáldaspillir composed in the latter half of the 10th century, and he uses a couple of lines in his Hákonarmál which are also found in Hávamál. It is possible that he was quoting a poem, but it is also possible that Hávamál. The few demonstrably historical characters mentioned in the poems, such as Attila, the dating of the manuscripts themselves provides a more useful terminus ante quem. Individual poems have individual clues to their age, for example, Atlamál hin groenlenzku is claimed by its title to have been composed in Greenland, and seems so by some internal evidence. If so, it can be no earlier than about 985, in some cases, old poems may have been interpolated with younger verses or merged with other poems. For example, stanzas 9-16 of Völuspá, the Dvergatal or Roster of Dwarfs, is considered by scholars to be an interpolation. The problem of dating the poems is linked with the problem of finding out where they were composed, Iceland was not settled until about 870, so anything composed before that time would necessarily have been elsewhere, most likely in Scandinavia
Poetic Edda
–
The title page of Olive Bray's English translation of the Poetic Edda depicting the tree
Yggdrasil and a number of its inhabitants (1908) by W. G. Collingwood.
Poetic Edda
–
The cover of Lee M. Hollander's English translation of the Poetic Edda.
13.
Prose Edda
–
The Prose Edda, also known as the Younger Edda, Snorris Edda or, historically, simply as Edda, is an Old Norse work of literature written in Iceland in the early 13th century. The work is assumed to have been written, or at least compiled, by the Icelandic scholar. It begins with a euhemerized Prologue, a section on the Norse cosmogony, pantheon and this is followed by three distinct books, Gylfaginning, Skáldskaparmál and Háttatal. Seven manuscripts, dating from around 1300 to around 1600, have independent textual value, Sturluson planned the collection as a textbook. It was to enable Icelandic poets and readers to understand the subtleties of alliterative verse, at that time, versions of the Edda were well known in Iceland, but scholars speculated that there once was an Elder Edda which contained the poems which Snorri quotes in his Edda. The etymology of Edda remains uncertain, there are many hypotheses, and little agreement. Some argue that the word derives from the name of Oddi, Edda could therefore mean book of Oddi. However, this assumption is generally rejected, Faulkes in his English translation of the Prose Edda commented that this is unlikely, both in terms of linguistics and history since Snorri was no longer living at Oddi when he composed his work. Another connection was made with the word óðr, which means poetry or inspiration in Old Norse, Edda also means great-parent, a word used by Snorri himself in the Skáldskaparmál. That is, with the meaning, the name of a character in the Rigsthula. A final hypothesis is derived from the Latin edo, meaning I write and it relies on the fact that the word kredda is certified and comes from the Latin credo, I believe. It seems likely Snorri would have been able to invent the word, Edda in this case could be translated as Poetic Art. This is the meaning that the word was given in the Middle Ages. The name Sæmundar Edda was given by the Bishop Brynjólfur Sveinsson to the collection of poems contained in the Codex Regius, many of which are quoted by Snorri. Brynjólfur, along many others of his time incorrectly believed that they were collected by Sæmundr fróði. Seven manuscripts of the Edda have survived, six compositions of the Middle Ages, no one manuscript is complete, and each has variations. In addition to three fragments, the four manuscripts are Codex Regius, Codex Wormianus, Codex Trajectinus. Codex Upsaliensis, was composed in the first quarter of the century and is the oldest manuscript preserved of the Edda of Snorri
Prose Edda
–
Gylfi and three speakers. Manuscript SAM 66 (Iceland, 1765–1766),
Reykjavík,
Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic Studies.
Prose Edda
–
Thjazi and
Loki. Beginning of the myth of the abduction of
Idun, reported by Skáldskaparmál. Manuscript NKS 1867 4to (Iceland, 1760), Copenhagen, Royal Library
14.
Heimskringla
–
Heimskringla is the best known of the Old Norse kings sagas. It was written in Old Norse in Iceland by the poet, the name Heimskringla was first used in the 17th century, derived from the first two words of one of the manuscripts. Snorri had himself visited Norway and Sweden, for events of the mid-12th century, Snorri explicitly names the now lost work Hryggjarstykki as his source. The composition of the sagas is Snorris, the earliest parchment copy of the work is referred to as Kringla. It voyaged from Iceland to Bergen, Norway and was moved to Copenhagen, at that time it had lost the first page, but the second starts Kringla heimsins, the Earths circle of the Laing translation. In the 17th century copies were made by Icelanders Jon Eggertson, eggertsons copy went to the Royal Library at Stockholm. The Copenhagen manuscript was among the many destroyed in the Copenhagen Fire of 1728. Only one leaf of the manuscript survived and it is now kept in the National, by the mid-16th century, the Old Norse language was unintelligible to Norwegian, Swedish or Danish readers. At that time several translations of extracts were made in Norway into the Danish language, the first complete translation was made around 1600 by Peder Claussøn Friis, and printed in 1633. This was based on a known as Jofraskinna. This edition also included the first printing of the text in Old Norse, a new Danish translation with the text in Old Norse and a Latin translation came out in 1777-1783. An English translation by Samuel Laing was finally published in 1844, in the 19th century, as Norway was achieving independence after centuries of union with Denmark and Sweden, the stories of the independent Norwegian medieval kingdom won great popularity in Norway. Heimskringla, although written by an Icelander, became an important national symbol for Norway during the period of romantic nationalism, Heimskringla consists of several chapters, each one individually called a saga, which can be literally translated as tale. The subsequent sagas are devoted to individual rulers, starting with Halfdan the Black, the stories are told with a life and freshness, giving a picture of human life in all its reality. A version of the Óláfs saga helga, which is about the saint Olaf II of Norway, is the main part and his 15-year-long reign takes up about one third of the entire work. This saga is an epic in prose, and is also of particular relevance to the history of England. The first part of the Heimskringla is rooted in Norse mythology, as it advances, fable and fact all curiously intermingle, the value of Heimskringla as a historical source has been estimated in different ways during recent times. The historians of mid-19th century put great trust in the truth of Snorris narrative
Heimskringla
–
The single surviving page known as the Kringla leaf (Kringlublaðið) is kept in the
National and University Library of Iceland.
Heimskringla
Heimskringla
–
Gerhard Munthe, Kringla Heimsins, illustration for Ynglinga Saga.
15.
Snorri Sturluson
–
Snorri Sturluson was an Icelandic historian, poet, and politician. He was elected twice as lawspeaker at the Icelandic parliament, the Althing and he was also the author of the Heimskringla, a history of the Norwegian kings that begins with legendary material in Ynglinga saga and moves through to early medieval Scandinavian history. For stylistic and methodological reasons, Snorri is often taken to be the author of Egils saga, as a historian and mythographer, Snorri is remarkable for proposing the hypothesis that mythological gods begin as human war leaders and kings whose funeral sites develop cults. As people call upon the war leader as they go to battle, or the dead king as they face tribal hardship. Eventually, the king or warrior is remembered only as a god and he also proposed that as tribes defeat others, they explain their victory by proposing that their own gods were in battle with the gods of the others. Snorri Sturluson was born in Hvammur into the wealthy and powerful Sturlungar family of the Icelandic Commonwealth and his parents were Sturla Þórðarson the elder of Hvammur and his second wife, Guðný Böðvarsdóttir. He had two brothers, Þórðr Sturluson and Sighvatr Sturluson, two sisters and nine half-siblings. By a quirk of circumstance Snorri was raised from the age of three by Jón Loftsson, a relative of the Norwegian royal family, in Oddi, Iceland. The resulting settlement would have beggared Páll, but Jón Loftsson intervened in the Althing to mitigate the judgment and, to compensate Sturla, offered to raise, Snorri therefore received an excellent education and made connections that he might not otherwise have made. He attended the school of Sæmundr fróði, grandfather of Jón Loftsson, at Oddi and his father died in 1183 and his mother as guardian soon wasted Snorris share of the inheritance. The two families arranged an marriage in 1199 between Snorri and Herdís, the daughter of Bersi Vermundarson. From her father, Snorri inherited an estate at Borg and a chieftainship and he soon acquired more property and chieftainships. Snorri and Herdís were together for four years at Borg and they had at least two children, Hallbera and Jón. The marriage succumbed to Snorris philandering, and in 1206, he settled in Reykholt as manager of an estate there and he made significant improvements to the estate, including a hot outdoor bath. The bath and the buildings have preserved to some extent. During the initial years at Reykholt he fathered five children by three different women, Guðrún Hreinsdóttir, Oddný, and Þuríður Hallsdóttir, Snorri quickly became known as a poet, but was also a successful lawyer. In 1215, he became lawspeaker of the Althing, the public office of the Icelandic commonwealth. In the summer of 1218, he left the position and sailed to Norway
Snorri Sturluson
–
“Snorri Sturluson” by
Christian Krohg (1890s)
Snorri Sturluson
–
Print edition of Snorri's Edda of 1666
Snorri Sturluson
–
Skeggi Valley in Hvammur
16.
Sagas of Icelanders
–
They are the best-known specimens of Icelandic literature. They are focused on history, especially genealogical and family history and they reflect the struggle and conflict that arose within the societies of the early generations of Icelandic settlers. Eventually many of Icelandic sagas were recorded, mostly in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, the authors, or rather recorders of these sagas are unknown. One saga, Egils saga, is believed by scholars to have been written by Snorri Sturluson, a descendant of the sagas hero. The standard modern edition of Icelandic sagas is known as Íslenzk fornrit, the saga – set in the anthology of sagas known as Möðruvallabók between Njáls saga and Egils saga Skalla-Grímssonar – tells of a man named Gaukur Trandilsson who lived in the 10th century. Gaukur is mentioned in chapter 26 of Njáls saga, Icelandic professor and poet Jón Helgason managed to decipher a line that read Let Trandilssons story be written here. I am told that Grim knows it, however, the story was never put to paper. The Grim mentioned in the manuscript is believed to have been Grímur Þorsteinsson, knight, Gaukur is reported to have been an exceptionally brave and gentle man. He was the brother of Ásgrimur. However, it is said that he had an out with his foster brother. Gaukur must have been a figure in Icelandic folklore as he is mentioned in not only Njáls Saga but also the Íslendigadrápa. The south of the land refers to Iceland, Icelanders produced a high volume of literature relative to the size of the population. Leaders from old and established principalities did not produce any Sagas, as they were already cohesive political units, the production of literature was a way for chieftains to create and maintain social differentiation between them and the rest of the population. It has also proposed that the Icelandic settlers were so prolific at writing in order to capture their settler history. Historian Gunnar Karlsson does not find that explanation reasonable though, given that other communities have not been as prolific as the early Icelanders were. It has been argued that a combination of readily available parchment, norse Saga Family saga Örnólfur Thorsson. The Sagas of the Icelanders, a selection, lampeter, Edwin Mellen Press Karlsson, Gunnar. Minneapolis, University of Minnesota Press Liestol, Knut, the Origin of the Icelandic Family Sagas
Sagas of Icelanders
–
Egill Skallagrímsson in a 17th-century manuscript of
Egils Saga
Sagas of Icelanders
–
Grettir is ready to fight in this illustration from a 17th-century
Icelandic manuscript
Sagas of Icelanders
–
Detail of a miniature from a 13th-century Icelandic manuscript.
Sagas of Icelanders
–
Features
17.
Skald
–
The term skald or skáld, meaning ‘poet’, is generally used for poets who composed at the courts of Scandinavian and Icelandic leaders during the Viking Age and Middle Ages. Skaldic poetry forms one of two groupings of Old Norse poetry, the other being the anonymous Eddic poetry. The most prevalent metre of skaldic poetry is dróttkvætt, the subject is usually historical and encomiastic, detailing the deeds of the skalds patron. There is no evidence that the skalds employed musical instruments, the technical demands of the skaldic form were equal to the complicated verse forms mastered by the Welsh bards and Gaelic ollaves. Like those poets, much skaldic verse consisted of panegyrics to kings, the word skald is perhaps ultimately related to Proto-Germanic *skalliz sound, voice, shout. Old High German has skalsang song of praise, psalm, and skellan means ring, clang, the Old High German variant stem skeltan etymologically identical to the skald- stem means to scold, blame, accuse, insult. The person doing the insulting is a skelto or skeltāri and this bears striking similarities to the Dutch verb schelden and the southern German schelten, which mean shouting abuse or calling names. The West Germanic counterpart of the skald is the scop, like the scop, which is related to Modern English scoff, the name skald is continued in English scold, reflecting the central position of mocking taunts in Germanic poetry. Skaldic poetry can be traced to the earlier 9th century with Bragi Boddason and his Ragnarsdrápa, Bragi is considered the oldest and original Skald. At the time, the Icelanders and Nordic people were still pagan, as time went on, Skalds became the main source of Icelandic and Norse history and culture, as it was the Skalds who learned and shared the largely oral history. That led to a shift in the role of the Skald, every king and chieftain needed a Skald to record their feats and ensure their legacy lived on, as well as becoming the main historians of their society. The written artifacts of that come from Skalds, as they were the first from the time. As the years passed, the Skald profession was threatened with extinction until Snorri Sturluson compiled the Prose Edda, Snorri, born in Iceland during the 12th century is the most famous skald. In addition to being a poet, he was leader of the Althing for part of his life. For example, the Prose Edda broke down and explained kennings used in skaldic poetry, allowing many of them to be understood today. Beyond writing the Prose Edda, Snorri had many poems from retelling old Norse legends to tales on exploits of kings. Most Nordic verse of the Viking Age came in one of two forms, eddic or skaldic, Eddic verse was usually simple, in terms of content, style and metre, dealing largely with mythological or heroic content. Skaldic verse, conversely, was complex, and usually composed as a tribute or homage to a particular jarl or king, there is debate over the performance of skaldic poetry, but there is a general scholalry consensus that it was spoken rather than sung
Skald
–
Bersi Skáldtorfuson composing poetry while in chains after being captured by King
Óláfr Haraldsson (
Christian Krohg 's illustration from
Heimskringla, 1899 edition)
Skald
–
An early modern depiction of Thor’s fight with the World Serpent, the subject of early skaldic verses by Bragi Boddason and Ulfr Uggason.
Skald
–
Features
18.
Scandinavian folklore
–
Scandinavian folklore or Nordic folklore is the folklore of Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Iceland and the Faroe Islands. Collecting folklore began when Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden sent out instructions to all of the priests in all of the parishes to collect the folklore of their area in the 1630s and they collected customs, beliefs that were not sanctioned by the church, and other traditional material. Iceland and the Faroe Islands are not part of Scandinavia, because of their common Germanic origin, Scandinavian folklore shows a large correspondence with folklores elsewhere, such as England and Germany, among others. Most of what has survived there might be found, of a nature, in Finland and Sapmi. These beings could be scared by a piece of iron or steel, such as a strategically placed pair of scissors or a knife, or with salt and fire. The stories about the livings and doings of these beings, and their interaction with humans, even the helpful tomte, nisse, gårdbo or gårdbuk could turn into a fearsome adversary if not treated with caution and respect. Many of them blend into each other when their morals and/or place of residence are similar, when the folktales were collected and printed, the illustrators started to give shape to the creatures that had hitherto lingered in obscurity. The creatures underwent a metamorphosis and became concrete figures to the people of Scandinavian countries, perhaps most abundant are the stories about the race of trolls. Scandinavian trolls tend to be big, hairy, stupid. Any human with courage and presence of mind can outwit a troll, and they are said to have a temperament like a bear—which are, incidentally, their favorite pets—good-natured when they are left in peace, and savage when they are teased. Trolls come in different shapes and forms, and are generally not fair to behold. Trolls live throughout the land, dwelling in mountains, under bridges, while the trolls who live in the mountains are very wealthy, hoarding mounds of gold and silver in their cliff dwellings, the most dangerous trolls live in lonely huts in the forest. The trolls have their own king, called Dovregubben, who lives inside the Dovre Mountains with his court, Dovregubben and his court are described in detail in Ibsens Peer Gynt. After the integration of Christianity into Scandinavian folklore, trolls developed a hatred of church-bells, Trolls are often said to be able to change their appearance and did so in order to trick humans into doing what they wanted. For example, Trolls may present a beautiful appearance in order to trick a character into following them into their mountain home, then hold the character captive for years. In older tales, the word troll/trold may simply mean to badly harm/hurt someone, someone who is a troll is someone who may eat human flesh or engage in other socially-unacceptable acts, luckily, trolls are said to turn into stone when exposed to sunlight. The Huldra, Hylda, Skogsrå or Skogfru is a seductress who lives in the forest. One of her methods is to appear out of the rain and mist, friendly
Scandinavian folklore
–
Painting by
John Bauer
Scandinavian folklore
–
Close Up of Trolls (
John Bauer, 1915).
Scandinavian folklore
–
Theodor Kittelsen 's Nøkken from 1904.
Scandinavian folklore
–
An illustration made by
Gudmund Stenersen of an angry nisse stealing hay from a farmer.
19.
Frigg
–
In Germanic mythology, Frigg, Frija, Frea, and Frige is a goddess. In nearly all sources, she is described as the wife of the god Odin, in Old High German and Old Norse sources, she is also connected with the goddess Fulla. The English weekday name Friday bears her name, Frigg is described as a goddess associated with foreknowledge and wisdom in Norse mythology, the northernmost branch of Germanic mythology and most extensively attested. The children of Frigg and Odin include the gleaming god Baldr, due to significant thematic overlap, scholars have proposed a particular connection to the goddess Freyja. After Christianization, mention of Frigg continued to occur in Scandinavian folklore, in modern times, Frigg has appeared in modern popular culture, has been the subject of art, and receives modern veneration in Germanic Neopaganism. The theonyms Frigg and Frija are cognate forms—linguistic siblings of the same origin—that descend from a substantivized feminine of Proto-Germanic *frijaz, *frijaz descends from the same source as the feminine Sanskrit noun priyā and the feminine Avestan noun fryā. In the modern period, an -a suffix is applied to denote femininity. This spelling also serves the purpose of distancing the goddess from the English word frig, the connection with and possible earlier identification of the goddess Freyja with Frigg in the Proto-Germanic period is a matter of scholarly debate. The name Freyja is not attested outside of Scandinavia, like the name of the group of gods to which Freyja belongs, the Vanir. This is in contrast to the name of the goddess Frigg, who is attested as a common among the Germanic peoples. The best that can be done is to survey the arguments for and against their identity, the English weekday name Friday comes from Old English Frīges Day and is cognate with Old High German frîatac. Both weekday names are result of interpretatio germanica that occurred at or before the 3rd or 4th century CE, several place names refer to Frigg in what are now Norway and Sweden, although her name is altogether absent in recorded place names in Denmark. According to this legend, a people known as the Winnili were ruled by a woman named Gambara who had two sons, Ybor and Agio. The Vandals, ruled by Ambri and Assi, came to the Winnili with their army, Ybor, Agio, and their mother Gambara rejected their demands for tribute. Ambra and Assi then asked the god Godan for victory over the Winnili, to which Godan responded, Whom I shall first see when at sunrise, meanwhile, Ybor and Agio called upon Frea, Godans wife. Frea counseled them that at sunrise the Winnil should come, at sunrise, Frea turned Godans bed around to face east and woke him. Godan saw the Winnili, including their women, and asked who are those Long-beards. Frea responded to Godan, As you have given them a name, Godan did so, so that they should defend themselves according to his counsel and obtain the victory
Frigg
–
Frigg, enthroned and facing the spear-wielding goddess
Gná, is flanked by two goddesses. One of whom,
Fulla, carries her eski, a wooden box. Illustrated (1882) by
Carl Emil Doepler.
Frigg
–
Godan and Frea look down from their window in the heavens to the Winnili women in an illustration by
Emil Doepler, 1905
Frigg
–
Winnili women with their hair tied as beards look up at Godan and Frea in an illustration by Emil Doepler, 1905
Frigg
–
"Wodan Heals Balder's Horse" by Emil Doepler, 1905
20.
Germanic peoples
–
The Germanic peoples are an ethno-linguistic Indo-European group of Northern European origin. They are identified by their use of Germanic languages, which diversified out of Proto-Germanic during the Pre-Roman Iron Age, the term Germanic originated in classical times when groups of tribes living in Lower, Upper, and Greater Germania were referred to using this label by Roman scribes. Tribes referred to as Germanic by Roman authors generally lived to the north, in about 222 BCE, the first use of the Latin term Germani appears in the Fasti Capitolini inscription de Galleis Insvbribvs et Germ. This may simply be referring to Gaul or related people, the term Germani shows up again, allegedly written by Poseidonios, but is merely a quotation inserted by the author Athenaios who wrote much later. Somewhat later, the first surviving detailed discussions of Germani and Germania are those of Julius Caesar, from Caesars perspective, Germania was a geographical area of land on the east bank of the Rhine opposite Gaul, which Caesar left outside direct Roman control. This usage of the word is the origin of the concept of Germanic languages. In other classical authors the concept sometimes included regions of Sarmatia, also, at least in the south there were Celtic peoples still living east of the Rhine and north of the Alps. Caesar, Tacitus and others noted differences of culture which could be found on the east of the Rhine, but the theme of all these cultural references was that this was a wild and dangerous region, less civilised than Gaul, a place that required additional military vigilance. Caesar used the term Germani for a specific tribal grouping in northeastern Belgic Gaul, west of the Rhine. He made clear that he was using the name in the local sense and these are the so-called Germani Cisrhenani, whom Caesar believed to be closely related to the peoples east of the Rhine, and descended from immigrants into Gaul. Caesar described this group of both as Belgic Gauls and as Germani. Gauls are associated with Celtic languages, and the term Germani is associated with Germanic languages, but Caesar did not discuss languages in detail. It has been claimed, for example by Maurits Gysseling, that the names of this region show evidence of an early presence of Germanic languages. The etymology of the word Germani is uncertain, the likeliest theory so far proposed is that it comes from a Gaulish compound of *ger near + *mani men, comparable to Welsh ger near, Old Irish gair neighbor, Irish gar- near, garach neighborly. Another Celtic possibility is that the name meant noisy, cf. Breton/Cornish garm shout, however, here the vowel does not match, nor does the vowel length ). Others have proposed a Germanic etymology *gēr-manni, spear men, cf. Middle Dutch ghere, Old High German Ger, Old Norse geirr. However, the form gēr seems far too advanced phonetically for the 1st century, has a vowel where a short one is expected. The term Germani, therefore, probably applied to a group of tribes in northeastern Gaul who may or may not have spoken a Germanic language
Germanic peoples
–
Germanic
Thing (governing assembly), drawn after the depiction in a relief of the
Column of Marcus Aurelius, 193 CE.
Germanic peoples
–
The gilded side of the
Trundholm sun chariot
Germanic peoples
–
The Dejbjerg wagon, National Museum of Denmark
Germanic peoples
–
2nd century to 5th century simplified migrations
21.
Valkyrie
–
In Norse mythology, a valkyrie is one of a host of female figures who choose those who may die in battle and those who may live. Selecting among half of those who die in battle, the valkyries bring their chosen to the hall of the slain, Valhalla. There, the deceased warriors become einherjar, when the einherjar are not preparing for the events of Ragnarök, the valkyries bear them mead. They appear throughout the poetry of skalds, in a 14th-century charm, scholarly theories have been proposed about the relation between the valkyries, the norns, and the dísir, all of which are supernatural figures associated with fate. Archaeological excavations throughout Scandinavia have uncovered amulets theorized as depicting valkyries, in modern culture, valkyries have been the subject of works of art, musical works, video games and poetry. The word valkyrie derives from Old Norse valkyrja, which is composed of two words, the noun valr and the verb kjósa, together, they mean chooser of the slain. The Old Norse valkyrja is cognate to Old English wælcyrge, from the Old English and Old Norse forms, philologist Vladimir Orel reconstructs a Proto-Germanic form, *wala-kuzjōn. However, the term may have been borrowed into Old English from Old Norse, other terms for valkyries in Old Norse sources include óskmey, appearing in the poem Oddrúnargrátr and Óðins meyjar, appearing in the Nafnaþulur. Óskmey may be related to the Odinic name Óski, referring to the fact that Odin receives slain warriors in Valhalla, valkyries are mentioned or appear in the Poetic Edda poems Völuspá, Grímnismál, Völundarkviða, Helgakviða Hjörvarðssonar, Helgakviða Hundingsbana I, Helgakviða Hundingsbana II and Sigrdrífumál. In stanza 30 of the poem Völuspá, a völva tells Odin that she saw valkyries coming from far away who are ready to ride to the realm of the gods. The völva follows this with a list of six valkyries, Skuld who bore a shield, Skögul, Gunnr, Hildr, afterwards, the völva tells him she has listed the ladies of the War Lord, ready to ride, valkyries, over the earth. A prose introduction in the poem Völundarkviða relates that the brothers Slagfiðr, Egil, there, early one morning, the brothers find three women spinning linen on the shore of the lake Úlfsjár, and near them were their swans garments, they were valkyries. Two, daughters of King Hlödvér, are named Hlaðguðr svanhvít and Hervör alvitr, the brothers take the three women back to their hall with them—Egil takes Ölrún, Slagfiðr takes Hlaðguðr svanhvít and Völund takes Hervör alvitr. They live together for seven winters, until the women fly off to go to a battle, Egil goes off in snow-shoes to look for Ölrún, Slagfiðr goes searching for Hlaðguðr svanhvít and Völund sits in Úlfdalir. He finds one particularly striking, this valkyrie is detailed later in a narrative as Sváva, king Eylimis daughter. The valkyrie speaks to the man, and gives him the name Helgi. The valkyrie tells him she knows of a hoard of swords in Sigarsholm, and that one of them is of particular importance, further into the poem, Atli flytes with the female jötunn Hrímgerðr. After Hrímgerðr is turned to stone by the daylight, a prose narrative continues that Helgi, Helgi and Sváva are betrothed and love one another dearly
Valkyrie
–
Valkyrior rida till striden (1818) by
Johan Gustaf Sandberg
Valkyrie
–
The Ride of the Valkyrs (1909) by
John Charles Dollman
Valkyrie
–
Valkyrie (1869) by
Peter Nicolai Arbo
Valkyrie
–
The valkyries Hildr, Þrúðr and Hlökk bearing ale in Valhalla (1895) by
Lorenz Frølich
22.
Germanic paganism
–
Germanic paganism refers to the theology and religious practices of the Germanic peoples from the Iron Age until their Christianization during the Medieval period. Germanic paganism took various forms in different areas of the Germanic world, the best documented version was that of 10th and 11th century Norse religion, although other information can be found from Anglo-Saxon and Continental Germanic sources. Scattered references are found in the earliest writings of other Germanic peoples. The information can be supplemented with archaeological finds and remnants of pre-Christian beliefs in later folklore, Germanic paganism was polytheistic, with similarities to other Indo-European religions. The Common Germanic period begins with the European Iron Age, contemporary to the Celtic La Tene culture to the south, early Germanic history remains in the prehistoric period until the earliest descriptions in Roman ethnography in the 1st century BC. The earliest forms of the Germanic religion can only be speculated on based on archaeological evidence, the first written description is in Julius Caesars Commentarii de Bello Gallico. He contrasts the religious custom of the Gauls with the simpler Germanic traditions. A much more detailed description of Germanic religion is Tacituss Germania, Tacitus describes both animal and human sacrifice. He identifies the chief Germanic god with the Roman Mercury, who on certain days receives human sacrifices, while gods identified by Tacitus with Hercules and Mars receive animal sacrifice. The largest Germanic tribe, Suebians, also sacrifices, allegedly of captured Roman soldiers. Nerthus is revered by Reudignians, Aviones, Angles, Varinians, Nerthus is believed to directly interpose in human affairs. Her sanctuary is on an island, specifically in a wood called Castum, a chariot covered with a curtain is dedicated to the goddess, and only the high priest may touch it. The priest is capable of seeing the goddess enter the chariot, drawn by cows, the chariot travels through the countryside, and wherever the goddess visits, a great feast is held. During the travel of the goddess, the Germanic tribes cease all hostilities, when the priest declares that the goddess is tired of conversation with mortals, the chariot returns and is washed, together with the curtains, in a secret lake. The slaves who administer this purification are afterwards thrown into the lake, according to Tacitus, the Germanic tribes think of temples as unsuitable habitations for gods, and they do not represent them as idols in human shape. Instead of temples, they consecrate woods or groves to individual gods, divination and augury was very popular, To the use of lots and auguries, they are addicted beyond all other nations. Their method of divining by lots is exceedingly simple, from a tree which bears fruit they cut a twig, and divide it into two small pieces. These they distinguish by so many several marks, and throw them at random and without order upon a white garment
Germanic paganism
–
A
Migration Period Germanic gold
bracteate featuring a depiction of a bird, horse, and stylized head wearing a
Suebian knot sometimes theorized to represent Germanic god
Wōden and what would later become
Sleipnir and
Hugin or Munin in
Germanic mythology, later attested in the form of
Norse mythology. The
runic inscription includes the religious term
alu.
Germanic paganism
–
Idunn and the apples of youth.
23.
Gullveig
–
In Norse mythology, Gullveig is a being who was speared by the Æsir, burnt three times, and yet thrice reborn. Upon her third rebirth, Gullveigs name becomes Heiðr and she is described as a knowledgeable, gullveig/Heiðr is solely attested in the Poetic Edda, compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional material. The etymology of the Old Norse name Gullveig is problematic, the first element, Gull-, means gold, yet the second element, veig, is murky. Veig may sometimes mean alcoholic drink, power, strength, the name Heiðr is semantically related, scholar Rudolf Simek comments that although Gullveigs name changes to Heiðr, the meaning still remains basically the same. Heiðr is sometimes anglicized as Heith, Heid, or Heidi, Gullveig is solely attested in the Poetic Edda poem Völuspá. In the poem, a völva recalls that Gullveig was pierced by spears before being burnt three times in the hall of Hárr, and yet was three times reborn, list of names of Freyja, a list of various names attributed to the goddess Freyja
Gullveig
–
The Æsir lift Gullveig on spears over fire as illustrated by
Lorenz Frølich (1895)
24.
Gefjon
–
The Prose Edda and Heimskringla both report that Gefjon plowed away what is now lake Mälaren, Sweden, and with this land formed the island of Zealand, Denmark. In addition, the Prose Edda describes that not only is Gefjon a virgin herself, Heimskringla records that Gefjon married the legendary Danish king Skjöldr and that the two dwelled in Lejre, Denmark. The etymology of theonym Gefjon has been a matter of dispute, in modern scholarship, the element Gef- is generally held to be related to the element Gef- in the name Gefn, one of the numerous names for the goddess Freyja, and likely means she who gives. The connection between the two names has resulted in etymological interpretation of Gefjun as the giving one, the names Gefjun and Gefn are both related to the Matron groups the Alagabiae or Ollogabiae. Albert Murey Sturtevant notes that the other feminine personal name which contains the suffix -un is Njǫr-un, recorded only in the þulur. Whatever the stem syllable Njǫr- represents, the addition of the n- and un-suffixes seems to furnish an exact parallel to Gef-n, a Finnish word for brides outfit, trousseau may derive from Gefjons name. In the Poetic Edda, Gefjon appears solely in three stanzas of the poem Lokasenna, where an exchange occurs between Gefjun and Loki at a dinner feast, and the god Odin comes to Gefjons defense. Henry Adams Bellows comments that the text for these two lines is puzzling and that as a result they have been freely amended. This woman was of the race of the Æsir and her name was Gefjun, Gefjun took four oxen from Jötunheimr in the north. These oxen were her sons from a jötunn, gefjuns plough cut so hard and deep that it uprooted the land, and the oxen drew the land out into the sea to the west and halted in a certain sound. Gefjun there placed the land, and bestowed upon it the name Zealand, where the land had been taken from a lake stands. As a reference, the prose account presents a stanza from a work attributed to the 9th century skald Bragi Boddason, Gefjun dragged from Gylfi, denmarks increase, steam rising from the swift-footed bulls. The oxen bore eight moons of the forehead and four heads, in chapter 35 of Gylfaginning, the enthroned figure of High presents a list of goddesses. High presents Gefjun fourth, and says that Gefjun is a virgin, in relation, High notes that, like Gefjun, the goddess Fulla is also a virgin. At the beginning of the Prose Edda book Skáldskaparmál, Gefjun is listed among nine goddesses who attend a banquet for Ægir on the island of Hlesey, in chapter 32, Gefjun is listed among six goddesses who attend a party held by Ægir. In chapter 75, Gefjun is included among a list of 27 ásynjur names, in addition, Gefjun appears in a kenning for the völva Gróa employed in the skald Þjóðólfr of Hvinirs composition Haustlöng as quoted in chapter 17 of Skáldskaparmál. In chapter 5 of Ynglinga saga, a prose account relates that Odin sent Gefjun from Odense. There, Gefjun encountered king Gylfi and he gave her ploughland, Gefjun went to the land of Jötunheimr, and there bore four sons to a jötunn
Gefjon
–
Detail of the
Gefion Fountain (1908) by
Anders Bundgaard
Gefjon
–
Lokasenna (1895) by
Lorenz Frølich
Gefjon
–
Gefjun Plows Zealand with her Oxen (1882) by Karl Ehrenberg
Gefjon
–
Gefion and King Gylphi (1906) by Lorenz Frølich
25.
Sweden
–
Sweden, officially the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and Finland to the east, at 450,295 square kilometres, Sweden is the third-largest country in the European Union by area, with a total population of 10.0 million. Sweden consequently has a low density of 22 inhabitants per square kilometre. Approximately 85% of the lives in urban areas. Germanic peoples have inhabited Sweden since prehistoric times, emerging into history as the Geats/Götar and Swedes/Svear, Southern Sweden is predominantly agricultural, while the north is heavily forested. Sweden is part of the area of Fennoscandia. The climate is in very mild for its northerly latitude due to significant maritime influence. Today, Sweden is a monarchy and parliamentary democracy, with a monarch as head of state. The capital city is Stockholm, which is also the most populous city in the country, legislative power is vested in the 349-member unicameral Riksdag. Executive power is exercised by the government chaired by the prime minister, Sweden is a unitary state, currently divided into 21 counties and 290 municipalities. Sweden emerged as an independent and unified country during the Middle Ages, in the 17th century, it expanded its territories to form the Swedish Empire, which became one of the great powers of Europe until the early 18th century. Swedish territories outside the Scandinavian Peninsula were gradually lost during the 18th and 19th centuries, the last war in which Sweden was directly involved was in 1814, when Norway was militarily forced into personal union. Since then, Sweden has been at peace, maintaining a policy of neutrality in foreign affairs. The union with Norway was peacefully dissolved in 1905, leading to Swedens current borders, though Sweden was formally neutral through both world wars, Sweden engaged in humanitarian efforts, such as taking in refugees from German-occupied Europe. After the end of the Cold War, Sweden joined the European Union on 1 January 1995 and it is also a member of the United Nations, the Nordic Council, Council of Europe, the World Trade Organization and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Sweden maintains a Nordic social welfare system that provides health care. The modern name Sweden is derived through back-formation from Old English Swēoþēod and this word is derived from Sweon/Sweonas. The Swedish name Sverige literally means Realm of the Swedes, excluding the Geats in Götaland, the etymology of Swedes, and thus Sweden, is generally not agreed upon but may derive from Proto-Germanic Swihoniz meaning ones own, referring to ones own Germanic tribe
Sweden
–
A
Vendel-era helmet, at the Swedish Museum of National Antiquities.
Sweden
–
Flag
Sweden
–
A
romantic nationalist interpretation of
Valdemar IV taking control over
Gotland. The final battle outside the walls of Visby in 1361 ended with a massacre of 1,800 defenders of the city.
Sweden
–
Stockholm in mid-17th century
26.
Mary (mother of Jesus)
–
Mary, also known by various titles, styles and honorifics, was a 1st-century Galilean Jewish woman of Nazareth and the mother of Jesus, according to the New Testament and the Quran. The gospels of Matthew and Luke in the New Testament and the Quran describe Mary as a virgin, the miraculous birth took place when she was already betrothed to Joseph and was awaiting the concluding rite of marriage, the formal home-taking ceremony. She married Joseph and accompanied him to Bethlehem, where Jesus was born, the Gospel of Luke begins its account of Marys life with the Annunciation, when the angel Gabriel appeared to her and announced her divine selection to be the mother of Jesus. According to canonical gospel accounts, Mary was present at the crucifixion and is depicted as a member of the early Christian community in Jerusalem. According to the Catholic and Orthodox teaching, at the end of her life her body was assumed directly into Heaven. Mary has been venerated since Early Christianity, and is considered by millions to be the most meritorious saint of the religion and she is claimed to have miraculously appeared to believers many times over the centuries. The Eastern and Oriental Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Anglican, and Lutheran churches believe that Mary, there is significant diversity in the Marian beliefs and devotional practices of major Christian traditions. The Roman Catholic Church holds distinctive Marian dogmas, namely her status as the Mother of God, her Immaculate Conception, her perpetual virginity, many Protestants minimize Marys role within Christianity, based on the argued brevity of biblical references. Mary also has a position in Islam, where one of the longer chapters of the Quran is devoted to her. Marys name in the manuscripts of the New Testament was based on her original Aramaic name ܡܪܝܡ. The English name Mary comes from the Greek Μαρία, which is a form of Μαριάμ. Both Μαρία and Μαριάμ appear in the New Testament, in Christianity, Mary is commonly referred to as the Virgin Mary, in accordance with the belief that she conceived Jesus miraculously through the Holy Spirit without her husbands involvement. The three main titles for Mary used by the Orthodox are Theotokos, Aeiparthenos as confirmed in the Second Council of Constantinople in 553, Catholics use a wide variety of titles for Mary, and these titles have in turn given rise to many artistic depictions. For example, the title Our Lady of Sorrows has inspired such masterpieces as Michelangelos Pietà, the title Theotokos was recognized at the Council of Ephesus in 431. However, this phrase in Greek, in the abbreviated form ΜΡ ΘΥ, is an indication commonly attached to her image in Byzantine icons. The Council stated that the Church Fathers did not hesitate to speak of the holy Virgin as the Mother of God, some Marian titles have a direct scriptural basis. For instance, the title Queen Mother has been given to Mary since she was the mother of Jesus, the scriptural basis for the term Queen can be seen in Luke 1,32 and the Isaiah 9,6. Queen Mother can be found in 1 Kings 2, 19-20 and Jeremiah 13, other titles have arisen from reported miracles, special appeals or occasions for calling on Mary
Mary (mother of Jesus)
–
Our Lady of Vladimir, one of the medieval representations of the
Theotokos
Mary (mother of Jesus)
–
Virgin and Child with angels and Sts. George and Theodore. Icon from around 600, from
Saint Catherine's Monastery.
Mary (mother of Jesus)
–
The
Annunciation by
Eustache Le Sueur, an example of 17th-century
Marian art. The
Angel Gabriel announces to Mary her pregnancy with Jesus and offers her
White Lilies.
Mary (mother of Jesus)
–
The Virgin's first seven steps, mosaic from
Chora Church, c. 12th century
27.
Christianization of Scandinavia
–
The Christianization of Scandinavia took place between the 8th and the 12th centuries. The realms of Scandinavia proper, Denmark, Norway and Sweden, established their own Archdioceses, responsible directly to the Pope, in 1104,1154 and 1164, respectively. The conversion to Christianity of the Scandinavian people required more time, the Sami remained unconverted until the 18th century. Although the Scandinavians became nominally Christian, it took longer for actual Christian beliefs to establish themselves among the people. The old indigenous traditions that had provided security and structure were challenged by ideas that were unfamiliar, such as sin, the Incarnation. Thirteenth-century runic inscriptions from the merchant town of Bergen in Norway show little Christian influence, during the early Middle Ages the papacy had not yet manifested itself as the central Roman Catholic authority, so that regional variants of Christianity could develop. Recorded missionary efforts in Denmark started with Willibrord, Apostle to the Frisians, who preached in Schleswig and he went north from Frisia sometime between 710 and 718 during the reign of King Ongendus. Willibrord and his companions had little success, the king was respectful but had no interest in changing his beliefs, agantyr did permit 30 young men to return to Frisia with Willibrord. Perhaps Willibrords intent was to them and recruit some of them to join his efforts to bring Christianity to the Danes. A century later Ebbo, Archbishop of Reims and Willerich, later Bishop of Bremen and he returned to Denmark twice to proselytize but without any recorded success. In 826, the King of Jutland Harald Klak was forced to flee from Denmark by Horik I, Harald went to Emperor Louis I of Germany to seek help getting his lands in Jutland back. Louis I offered to make Harald Duke of Frisia if he would give up the old gods, Harald agreed, and his family and the 400 Danes with him were baptized in Ingelheim am Rhein. When Harald returned to Jutland, Emperor Louis and Ebbo of Rheims assigned the monk Ansgar to accompany Harald, when Harald Klak was forced from Denmark by King Horik I again, Ansgar left Denmark and focused his efforts on the Swedes. Ansgar traveled to Birka in 829 and established a small Christian community there and his most important convert was Herigar, described as a prefect of the town and a counselor to the king. In 831 the Archdiocese of Hamburg was founded and assigned responsibility for proselytizing Scandinavia, Horik I sacked Hamburg in 845 where Ansgar had become the archbishop. The seat of the archdiocese was transferred to Bremen, in the same year there was a pagan uprising in Birka that resulted in the martyrdom of Nithard and forced the resident missionary Bishop Gautbert to flee. Ansgar returned to Birka in 854 and Denmark in 860 to reestablish some of the gains of his first visits, in Denmark he won over the trust of then-King Horik II who gave him land in Hedeby for the first Christian chapel. A second church was founded a few years later in Ribe on Denmarks west coast, a significant step in this direction was the foundation of an archbishopric for the whole of Scandinavia at Lund in 1103-04
Christianization of Scandinavia
–
History of Scandinavia
Christianization of Scandinavia
–
The Viking Age
image stone Sövestad 1 from
Skåne depictes a man carrying a cross.
Christianization of Scandinavia
–
Haakon Jarl was given missionaries by the king of Denmark, but before departure, Haakon sent the missionaries back.
Christianization of Scandinavia
–
Ansgar made an unsuccessful attempt as early as in the 830s.
28.
Carl Emil Doepler
–
Carl Emil Doepler was a German painter, illustrator and costume designer. He created the costumes for Richard Wagners opera Der Ring des Nibelungen at the Bayreuther Festspiele in 1876 and his son, Emil Doepler, was also an artist. List of German painters Simek, Rudolf translated by Angela Hall, brewer ISBN 0-85991-513-1 Illustrations for Nordisch-Germanische Götter und Helden by Wilhelm Wägner and Jakob Nover,1882. Selected Costume Designs for the performance of Richard Wagners Der Ring des Nibelingen
Carl Emil Doepler
–
"
Thor oder Thunar", one of Carl Emil Doepler's illustrations to Nordisch-germanische Götter und Helden.
29.
Proto-Germanic
–
Proto-Germanic is the reconstructed proto-language of the Germanic branch of the Indo-European languages. The end of the Common Germanic period is reached with the beginning of the Migration Period in the fourth century, the Proto-Germanic language is not directly attested by any coherent surviving texts, it has been reconstructed using the comparative method. Fragmentary direct attestation exists of Common Germanic in early runic inscriptions, the Proto-Germanic language developed in southern Scandinavia, the Urheimat of the Germanic tribes. Proto-Germanic developed out of pre-Proto-Germanic during the Pre-Roman Iron Age of Northern Europe, Proto-Germanic itself was likely spoken after c. Early Germanic expansion in the Pre-Roman Iron Age placed Proto-Germanic speakers in contact with the Continental Celtic La Tène horizon, a number of Celtic loanwords in Proto-Germanic have been identified. By the 1st century AD, Germanic expansion reaches the Danube and the Upper Rhine in the south, at about the same time, extending east of the Vistula, Germanic speakers come into contact with early Slavic cultures, as reflected in early Germanic loans in Proto-Slavic. By the 3rd century, LPGmc speakers had expanded over significant distance, the period marks the breakup of Late Proto-Germanic and the beginning of the Germanic migrations. The earliest coherent text in Proto-Norse become available c.400 in runic inscriptions, the delineation of Late Common Germanic from Proto-Norse about then is largely a matter of convention. Early West Germanic becomes available in the 5th century with the Frankish Bergakker inscription, between the two points, many sound changes occurred. Phylogeny as applied to historical linguistics involves the descent of languages. The Germanic languages form a tree with Proto-Germanic at its root that is a branch of the Indo-European tree, borrowing of lexical items from contact languages makes the relative position of the Germanic branch within Indo-European less clear than the positions of the other branches of Indo-European. In the course of the development of linguistics, various solutions have been proposed, none certain. In the evolutionary history of a family, philologists consider a genetic tree model appropriate only if communities do not remain in effective contact as their languages diverge. The internal diversification of West Germanic developed in an especially non-treelike manner, Proto-Germanic is generally agreed to have begun about 500 BC. Its hypothetical ancestor between the end of Proto-Indo-European and 500 BC is termed Pre-Proto-Germanic, whether it is to be included under a wider meaning of Proto-Germanic is a matter of usage. The fixation of the led to sound changes in unstressed syllables. For Lehmann, the boundary was the dropping of final -a or -e in unstressed syllables, for example, post-PIE *wóyd-e > Gothic wait. Antonsen agreed with Lehmann about the boundary but later found runic evidence that the -a was not dropped, ékwakraz … wraita, I, Wakraz
Proto-Germanic
–
Map of the
Pre-Roman Iron Age culture(s) associated with Proto-Germanic, c. 500 BC. The red area shows the areal of the preceding
Nordic Bronze Age in
Scandinavia; the magenta-colored area towards the south represents the
Jastorf culture of the
North German Plain.
30.
Asterisk
–
An asterisk is a typographical symbol or glyph. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star, computer scientists and mathematicians often vocalize it as star. In English, an asterisk is usually five-pointed in sans-serif typefaces, six-pointed in serif typefaces and it can be used as censorship. It is also used on the Internet to correct ones spelling, the asterisk is derived from the need of the printers of family trees in feudal times for a symbol to indicate date of birth. The original shape was seven-armed, each arm like a shooting from the center. In computer science, the asterisk is used as a wildcard character, or to denote pointers, repetition. Origin Adamantius is known to have used the asteriskos to mark missing Hebrew lines from his Hexapla. The asterisk evolved in shape over time, but its meaning as a used to correct defects remained. In the Middle Ages, the asterisk was used to emphasize a part of text. However, an asterisk was not always used, one hypothesis to the origin of the asterisk is that it stems from the five thousand year old Sumerian character dingir,
Asterisk
–
Asterisks used to illustrate a
section break in
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.
Asterisk
–
Ambulance in
Lausanne
Asterisk
–
World War I ambulance
_by_Anders_Zorn.jpg)
Media related to Freyja at Wikimedia Commons
