1.
Stephen O'Malley
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OMalley is a founding member of several groups including Sunn O))), Burning Witch, KTL, and Khanate. Within these groups and alone, he has collaborated with a variety of artists including Greg Anderson, Merzbow, Eyvind Kang, Alan Moore, Iancu Dumitrescu, Ana-Maria Avram, F. M. OMalley has directed and produced album cover art and design since the early 1990s for groups including Earth, Burzum, Emperor, Melvins and he has also worked as a rock/metal music journalist & published a black metal fanzine called Descent in the nineties. He was involved with creation of both the Southern Lord label and the metal label The Ajna Offensive. In 2011 he began curating and art directing the Ideologic Organ record label, although he is originally from Seattle, OMalleys Web site indicates that he lives in Paris, France
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.
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
4.
Cosmogony
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Cosmogony is any model concerning the origin of either the cosmos or universe. Developing a complete theoretical model has implications in both the philosophy of science and epistemology, the word comes from the Koine Greek κοσμογονία and the root of γίνομαι / γέγονα. The Big Bang theory is the cosmological model of the early development of the universe. The most commonly held view is that the universe was once a gravitational singularity, however, while this expansion is well-modeled by the Big Bang theory, the origins of the singularity remain as one of the unsolved problems in physics. Cosmologist and science communicator Sean M, one cosmogonical view sees time as fundamental and even eternal, The universe could have contained the singularity because the universe evolved or changed from a prior state. The other view, held by proponents like Stephen Hawking, says there was no change through time because time itself emerged along with this universe. Thus, it unclear what combination of stuff, space, or time emerged with the singularity. One problem in cosmogony is that there is no theoretical model that explains the earliest moments of the universes existence because of a lack of a testable theory of quantum gravity. Researchers in string theory and its extensions, and of quantum cosmology, have nevertheless proposed solutions of the type just discussed. Another issue facing the field of physics is a need for more expensive. Cosmogony can be distinguished from cosmology, which studies the universe at large and throughout its existence, there is some ambiguity between the two terms. For example, the argument from theology regarding the existence of God is technically an appeal to cosmogonical rather than cosmological ideas. In practice, there is a distinction between cosmological and cosmogonical ideas. Physical cosmology is the science that attempts to explain all observations relevant to the development, cosmogonists have only tentative theories for the early stages of the universe and its beginning. Therefore, significant technological and conceptual advances would be needed to propose a scientific test for cosmogonical theories, proposed theoretical scenarios differ radically, and include string theory and M-theory, the Hartle–Hawking initial state, string landscape, brane inflation, the Big Bang, and the ekpyrotic universe. Some of these models are compatible, whereas others are not
5.
Poetic Edda
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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
6.
Old High German
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Old High German is the earliest stage of the German language, conventionally covering the period from around 700 to 1050. Coherent written texts do not appear until the half of the 8th century. There are, however, a number of Elder Futhark inscriptions dating to the 6th century, as well as single words, during the migration period, the Elbe Germanic tribes settled in what became Alamannia, the Duchy of Bavaria and the Kingdom of Lombardy. Old High German comprises the dialects of these groups which underwent the Second Sound Shift during the 6th Century, namely all of Elbe Germanic, in the south, the Langobards, who had settled in Northern Italy, maintained their dialect until their conquest by Charlemagne in 774. This area did not become German-speaking again until the German eastward expansion of the early 12th century, though there was some attempt at conquest, Old High German literacy is a product of the monasteries, notably at St. Gallen, Reichenau and Fulda. Its origins lie in the establishment of the German church by Boniface in the mid 8th century, einhard tells how Charlemagne himself ordered that the epic lays should be collected for posterity. It was the neglect or religious zeal of later generations that led to the loss of these records, thus, it was Charlemagnes weak successor, Louis the Pious, who destroyed his fathers collection of epic poetry on account of its pagan content. Hrabanus Maurus, a student of Alcuins and abbot at Fulda from 822, was an important advocate of the cultivation of German literacy, among his students were Walafrid Strabo and Otfrid of Weissenburg. Notker Labeo towards the end of the Old High German period was among the greatest stylists in the language, the main difference between Old High German and the West Germanic dialects from which it developed is that it underwent the High German consonant shift. This is generally dated approximately to the late 5th and early 6th centuries—hence dating its start to around 500, the result of this sound change is that the consonantal system of German remains different from all other West Germanic languages, including English and Low German. Grammatically, however, Old High German remained very similar to Old English, Old Dutch, by the mid 11th century the many different vowels found in unstressed syllables had all been reduced to /ə/. Since these vowels were part of the endings in the nouns and verbs. For these reasons,1050 is seen as the start of the Middle High German period, for this reason the dialects may be termed monastery dialects. It declined after the conquest of the Lombard Kingdom by the Franks in 774 and it is classified as Upper German on the basis of evidence of the Second Sound Shift. The continued existence of a West Frankish dialect in the Western, claims that this might have been the language of the Carolingian court or that it is attested in the Ludwigslied, whose presence in a French manuscript suggests bilingualism, are controversial. The charts show the vowel and consonant systems of the East Franconian dialect in the 9th century and this is the dialect of the monastery of Fulda, and specifically of the Old High German Tatian. Old High German had five long vowels and six phonemic short vowels. Both occurred in stressed and unstressed syllables, notes, All back vowels likely had front-vowel allophones as a result of Umlaut
7.
Creation myth
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A creation myth is a symbolic narrative of how the world began and how people first came to inhabit it. While in popular usage the term often refers to false or fanciful stories, formally. Cultures generally regard their creation myths as true, in the society in which it is told, a creation myth is usually regarded as conveying profound truths, metaphorically, symbolically and sometimes in a historical or literal sense. They are commonly, although not always, considered cosmogonical myths – that is, Creation myths often share a number of features. They often are considered sacred accounts and can be found in all known religious traditions. They are all stories with a plot and characters who are either deities, human-like figures, or animals and they are often set in a dim and nonspecific past that historian of religion Mircea Eliade termed in illo tempore. Creation myths develop in oral traditions and therefore typically have multiple versions, found throughout human culture, Creation myth definitions from modern references, A symbolic narrative of the beginning of the world as understood in a particular tradition and community. Creation myths are of importance for the valuation of the world, for the orientation of humans in the universe. Creation myths tell us how things began, all cultures have creation myths, they are our primary myths, the first stage in what might be called the psychic life of the species. As cultures, we identify ourselves through the collective dreams we call creation myths, … Creation myths explain in metaphorical terms our sense of who we are in the context of the world, and in so doing they reveal our real priorities, as well as our real prejudices. Our images of creation say a deal about who we are. A philosophical and theological elaboration of the myth of creation within a religious community. Religion professor Mircea Eliade defined the word myth in terms of creation, Myth narrates a history, it relates an event that took place in primordial Time. All creation myths are in one sense etiological because they attempt to explain how the world was formed, in the past historians of religion and other students of myth thought of them as forms of primitive or early-stage science or religion and analyzed them in a literal or logical sense. However they are seen as symbolic narratives which must be understood in terms of their own cultural context. Charles Long writes, The beings referred to in the myth – gods, animals, the myths should not be understood as attempts to work out a rational explanation of deity. While creation myths are not literal explications they do serve to define an orientation of humanity in the world in terms of a birth story. They are the basis of a worldview that reaffirms and guides how people relate to the world, to any assumed spiritual world
8.
Niflheim
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Niflheim is one of the Nine Worlds and is a location in Norse mythology which sometimes overlaps with the notions of Niflhel and Hel. The name Niflheimr only appears in two extant sources, Gylfaginning and the much-debated Hrafnagaldr Óðins, Niflheim was primarily a realm of primordial ice and cold, with the frozen river of Elivágar and the well of Hvergelmir, from which come all the rivers. According to Gylfaginning, Niflheim was one of the two realms, the other one being Muspelheim, the realm of fire. Between these two realms of cold and heat, creation began when its waters mixed with the heat of Muspelheim to form a creating steam. Later, it became the abode of Hel, a daughter of Loki, and the afterlife for her subjects. Nifl being cognate with the Anglo-Saxon Nifol, Dutch nevel and German nebel, in Gylfaginning by Snorri Sturluson, Gylfi, the king of ancient Scandinavia, receives an education in Norse mythology from Odin in the guise of three men. She has great possessions there, her walls are exceeding high, Hel thus became the mistress of the world of those dead in disease and old age. This is the instance in which Niflheim and Hel are equated. However, there is confusion in the different versions of the manuscript. And straightway the hammer Mjöllnir was raised aloft, he paid the wrights wage, and not with the sun and the moon. Nay, he denied him dwelling in Jötunheim, and struck but the one first blow, so that his skull was burst into small crumbs
9.
Muspelheim
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In Norse mythology, Muspelheim, also called Muspell, is a realm of fire. This realm is one of the Nine Worlds, ruled by Surtr with his consort Sinmara in some accounts, both of these terms sometimes described an entirely separate mythological species that dwelled alongside or in place of the eldjötnar within this fiery realm. Muspelheim is fire, and the land to the North, Niflheim, is ice, the two mixed and created water from the melting ice in Ginnungagap. The sun and the stars originate from Muspelheim, the realm of Muspelheim appears as Muspel in Gene Wolfes book series, The Wizard Knight. It is inhabited by the dragon Setr, as a parallel to Surtr. Muspel is the name of a German colony in Africa in the alternate-reality novel The Afrika Reich by Guy Saville, Muspelheim is the name of a reoccurring boss ship in the Naval Ops, Warship Gunner series. A glimpse of Muspelheim is seen in the Marvel Studios film Thor, Múspelheim appears in the science fiction novel Resonance, Ragnarok, Volume Three by John Meaney Muspelheim is mentioned in the anime Sword Art Online II during a quest taking place in Jötunheim. Yui - an AI in the show - expresses her concern that if they complete the quest and defeat Þrymr. In the videogame La Mulana 2, Múspelheim is an area within the ruins EgLana and is known as the Blazing Frost Canopy and this technically makes it both Múspelheim and Niflheim in one. In the Japanese light novel Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei, Muspelheim is the name of a spell that creates a field where immense heat. In the Amon Amarth song Destroyer of the Universe from the album Surtur Rising, in the Unleashed song The Bolt Thrower the title character in the song was Forged in the fires of Muspelheim. In Heroines Quest, Muspell appear as enemies, múspellsheimr also gives its name to Muspel, a place in David Lindsays A Voyage to Arcturus. A zone in the game Dark Age of Camelot, home of the Fire Giants and numerous other fire based critters There is a dungeon raid in the MMO Marvel Heroes which takes place in Muspelheim
10.
Greenland
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Greenland is an autonomous constituent country within the Danish Realm between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for more than a millennium. The majority of its residents are Inuit, whose ancestors began migrating from the Canadian mainland in the 13th century, Greenland is the worlds largest island. Three-quarters of Greenland is covered by the permanent ice sheet outside Antarctica. With a population of about 56,480, it is the least densely populated country in the world, the Arctic Umiaq Line ferry acts as a lifeline for western Greenland, connecting the various cities and settlements. Greenland has been inhabited off and on for at least the last 4,500 years by Arctic peoples whose forebears migrated there from what is now Canada, Norsemen settled the uninhabited southern part of Greenland beginning in the 10th century, and Inuit peoples arrived in the 13th century. The Norse colonies disappeared in the late 15th century, soon after their demise, beginning in 1499, the Portuguese briefly explored and claimed the island, naming it Terra do Lavrador. In the early 18th century, Scandinavian explorers reached Greenland again, to strengthen trading and power, Denmark-Norway affirmed sovereignty over the island. Greenland was settled by Vikings more than a thousand years ago, Vikings set sail from Greenland and Iceland, discovering North America nearly 500 years before Columbus reached Caribbean islands. Though under continuous influence of Norway and Norwegians, Greenland was not formally under the Norwegian crown until 1262, the Kingdom of Norway was extensive and a military power until the mid-14th century. Thus, the two kingdoms resources were directed at creating Copenhagen, Norway became the weaker part and lost sovereignty over Greenland in 1814 when the union was dissolved. Greenland became a Danish colony in 1814, and was made a part of the Danish Realm in 1953 under the Constitution of Denmark, in 1973, Greenland joined the European Economic Community with Denmark. However, in a referendum in 1982, a majority of the population voted for Greenland to withdraw from the EEC which was effected in 1985, Greenland contains the worlds largest and most northernly national park, Northeast Greenland National Park. Greenland is divided into four municipalities - Sermersooq, Kujalleq, Qaasuitsup and it also retains control of monetary policy, providing an initial annual subsidy of DKK3.4 billion, which is planned to diminish gradually over time. Greenland expects to grow its economy based on increased income from the extraction of natural resources, the capital, Nuuk, held the 2016 Arctic Winter Games. At 70%, Greenland has one of the highest shares of renewable energy in the world, the early Viking settlers named the island as Greenland. In the Icelandic sagas, the Norwegian-born Icelander Erik the Red was said to be exiled from Iceland for manslaughter, along with his extended family and his thralls, he set out in ships to explore an icy land known to lie to the northwest. After finding an area and settling there, he named it Grœnland
11.
Vinland
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Vinland, Vineland or Winland is the area of coastal North America explored by Norse Vikings, where Leif Erikson first landed in ca. 1000, approximately five centuries prior to the voyages of Christopher Columbus, Vinland was the name given to North America as far as it was explored by the Vikings, presumably including both Newfoundland and the Gulf of Saint Lawrence as far as northeastern New Brunswick. In 1960, archaeological evidence of a Norse settlement in North America was found at LAnse aux Meadows on the tip of the island of Newfoundland. Before the discovery of evidence, Vinland was known only from Old Norse sagas. The 1960 discovery conclusively proved the pre-Columbian Norse colonization of the Americas, LAnse aux Meadows may correspond to the camp Straumfjörð mentioned in the Saga of Erik the Red. Vinland or Winland was the given to part of North America by the Icelandic Norseman Leif Eiríksson. The exact meaning of this Norse toponym has not been established, to write it he visited the King of Denmark, Sweyn II Estridsson who had knowledge of the northern lands. The name contains Old Norse vin which means meadow, there is a long-standing Scandinavian tradition of fermenting berries into wine. The question whether the name refers to actual grapevines or just to berries was addressed in a 2010 excavation report on L’Anse aux Meadows, another proposal for the names etymology, was brought up by Sven Söderberg in 1898. This suggestion involves interpreting the Old Norse name not as vín-land but as vin-land, Old Norse vin has a meaning of meadow, pasture. It was rejected by Einar Haugen, who argued that the vin element had changed its meaning from pasture to farm long before the Old Norse period, names in vin were given in the Proto-Norse period, and they are absent from places colonized in the Viking Age. Haugens basis for rejection has since been challenged, there is a runestone which may have contained a record of the Old Norse name slightly predating Adam of Bremens Winland. The Hønen Runestone was discovered in Norderhov, Norway shortly before 1817 and its assessment depends on a sketch made by antiquarian L. D. Klüwer, now also lost but in turn copied by Wilhelm Frimann Koren Christie. The Younger Futhark inscription was dated to c. The stone had been erected in memory of a Norwegian, sophus Bugge read part of the inscription as ᚢᛁᚿ᛫ᛆᛁᚭ᛫ᛁᛌᛆ uin aią isa Vínlandi á ísa from Vinland over ice. This is highly uncertain, the sequence is read by Magnus Olsen as ᚢᛁᚿ᛫ᚴᛆᚭ᛫ᛁᛌᛆ uin kaą isa vindkalda á ísa over the wind-cold ice. The main sources of information about the Norse voyages to Vinland are two Icelandic sagas, the Saga of Eric the Red and the Saga of the Greenlanders and these stories were preserved by oral tradition until they were written down some 250 years after the events they describe. The existence of two versions of the shows some of the challenges of using traditional sources for history, because they share a large number of story elements. A possible example is the reference to two different men named Bjarni who are blown off course, a brief summary of the plots of the two sagas, given at the end of this article, shows other examples
12.
Adam of Bremen
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Adam of Bremen was a German medieval chronicler. He lived and worked in the half of the eleventh century. He is most famous for his chronicle Gesta Hammaburgensis Ecclesiae Pontificum, little is known of his life other than hints from his own chronicles. He is believed to have come from Meissen in Saxony, the dates of his birth and death are uncertain, but he was probably born before 1050 and died on 12 October of an unknown year. From his chronicles it is apparent that he was familiar with a number of authors, the honorary name of Magister Adam shows that he had passed through all the stages of a higher education. It is probable that he was taught at the Magdeburger Domschule, in 1066 or 1067 he was invited by archbishop Adalbert of Hamburg to join the Church of Bremen. Adam was accepted among the capitulars of Bremen, and by 1069 he appeared as director of the cathedrals school, soon thereafter he began to write the history of Bremen/Hamburg and of the northern lands in his Gesta. His position and the activity of the church of Bremen allowed him to gather information on the history. A stay at the court of Svend Estridson gave him the opportunity to find information about the history and geography of Denmark, among other things he wrote about in Scandinavia, includes the sailing passages across Øresund such as todays Elsinore to Helsingborg route Chłopacka Hanna, Adam Bremeński. Literature by and about Adam of Bremen in the German National Library catalogue Adamus Bremensis, repertorium Historical Sources of the German Middle Ages
13.
Gesta Hammaburgensis ecclesiae pontificum
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Gesta Hammaburgensis ecclesiae pontificum is a historical treatise written between 1073 and 1076 by Adam of Bremen, who made additions to the text until his death. It is one of the most important sources of the history of Northern Europe. It covers the period known as the Viking Age, from the foundation of the bishopric under Willehad in 788 until the rule of prince-bishop Adalbert in Adams own time. The text focuses on the history of the Hamburg-Bremen diocese and its bishops, as the bishops had jurisdiction over the missions to Scandinavia, it also gives a report of the Norse paganism of the period. The existence of the work was forgotten in the medieval period, until it was re-discovered in the late 16th century in the library of Sorø Abbey. It covers the relations between Saxons, Wends and Danes, the third book is focussed on the biography of archbishop Adalbert of Bremen. Adam based his works in part on Einhard, Cassiodorus, and other earlier historians, the text as presented to bishop Liemar was completed in 1075/1076. The historical context is Bremens position as a trading town. After the death of Bishop Leuderich, the see was given to Ansgar, it lost its independence, thor, they say, presides over the air, which governs the thunder and lightning, the winds and rains, fair weather crops. The other, Wotan – that is, Fury – carries on war, the third is Frikko, who bestows peace and pleasure on mortals. His likeness, too, they fashion with an immense phallus, the fourth book describes the geography of Scandinavia and the Baltic region. It mentions numerous episcopal seats and churches, including Meldorf, Schenefeld, Verden, Pahlen, Ratzeburg, Mecklenburg, Oldenburg in Holstein, Adam of Bremen had been at the court of Danish king Sven Estridson and was informed about the Viking discoveries in the North Atlantic there. Adam is believed to have come from Meissen in Saxony and he was probably born before 1050 and died on 12 October of an unknown year. From his chronicles it is apparent that he was familiar with a number of authors, the honorary name of Magister Adam shows that he had passed through all the stages of a higher education. It is probable that he was taught at the Magdeburger Domschule, in 1066 or 1067 he was invited by archbishop Adalbert of Hamburg to join the Church of Bremen. Adam was accepted among the capitulars of Bremen, and by 1069 he appeared as director of the cathedrals school, soon thereafter he began to write the history of Hamburg-Bremen and of the northern lands in his Gesta. His position and the activity of the church of Bremen allowed him to gather information on the history. A stay at the court of Svend Estridson gave him the opportunity to find information about the history and geography of Denmark, none of the three archetypes has been preserved
14.
Davis Strait
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Davis Strait is a northern arm of the Labrador Sea. It lies between mid-western Greenland and Nunavut, Canadas Baffin Island, to the north is Baffin Bay. The strait was named for the English explorer John Davis, who explored the area seeking a Northwest Passage. By the 1650s it was used for whale hunting, the International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the Davis Strait as follows, On the North. The Southern limit of Baffin Bay, the parallel of 60° North between Greenland and Labrador. The Eastern limit of the Northwestern Passages South of 70° North, the Davis Strait is underlain by complex geological features of buried grabens and ridges, probably formed by strike-slip faulting during Paleogene times about 45 million to 62 million years ago. The strike-slip faulting transferred plate-tectonic motions in the Labrador Sea to Baffin Bay and it is the worlds broadest strait. With a water depth of one and two thousand meters the strait is substantially shallower than the Labrador Sea to the south or Baffin Bay to the north. The strait is famous for its fierce tides that can range from 30 to 60 ft and this has led the Greenlands minister and provincial council to offer a large number of off-shore concessions to potential hydrocarbon extraction. The largest concessions areas are located in seas west of Greenland, primarily the Davis Strait and Baffin Bay, june 2005 Satellite photograph of Davis Strait from MODIS, showing meltwater ponds
15.
Baffin Island
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Baffin Island, in the Canadian territory of Nunavut, is the largest island in Canada and the fifth largest island in the world. Its area is 507,451 km2 and its population is about 11,000 and it is located 65.4215 N and 70.9654 W. Iqaluit, the capital of Nunavut, is located on the southeastern coast. Until 1987, the town shared the name Frobisher Bay with the bay on which it is located, to the south lies Hudson Strait, separating Baffin Island from mainland Quebec. South of the end of the island is the Fury. To the east are Davis Strait and Baffin Bay, with Greenland beyond, the Foxe Basin, the Gulf of Boothia and Lancaster Sound separate Baffin Island from the rest of the archipelago to the west and north. The Baffin Mountains run along the shore of the island and are a part of the Arctic Cordillera. Mount Odin is the highest peak, with an elevation of at least 2,143 m, another peak of note is Mount Asgard, located in Auyuittuq National Park, with an elevation of 2,011 m. Mount Thor, with an elevation of 1,675 m, is said to have the greatest purely vertical drop of any mountain on Earth, the two largest lakes on the island lie in the south-central part of the island, Nettilling Lake and Amadjuak Lake further south. Conversely, in the 1970s parts of Baffin Island failed to have the usual ice-free period in the summer, the island has been continuously inhabited by Inuit peoples for centuries. In September 2008, Nunatsiaq News reported that a team led by Dr, so you have to consider the possibility that as remote as it may seem, these finds may represent evidence of contact with Europeans prior to the Vikings arrival in Greenland. Dr Sutherlands research eventually led to a 2012 announcement that whetstones had been found remnants of alloys indicative of Viking presence. The archaeological site at Tanfield Valley is thought to have been a trading post, Baffin Island is part of the Qikiqtaaluk Region. Additionally, the communities of Qikiqtarjuaq and Cape Dorset are located on offshore islands, there are discussions to start the Baffinland Iron Mine, an iron ore mine with a 21-year life, at Mary River, and to build a railway and a port to transport the ore. This may create a mining community there. Baffin Island has both year-round and summer visitor wildlife, on land, examples of year-round wildlife are barren-ground caribou, polar bear, Arctic fox, Arctic hare, lemming and Arctic wolf. In 2012, a survey of caribou herds found that the population was only about 5000. Polar bears mate approximately every year with one to three cubs being born around March. Female polar bears may travel 10–20 km inland to find a large snow bank where they dig a den in which to spend the winter and later for giving birth, the polar bear population here is one of 19 genetically distinct demes of the circumpolar region
16.
Plane (esotericism)
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In esoteric cosmology, a plane other than the physical plane is conceived as a subtle state of consciousness that transcends the known physical universe. The concept may be found in religious and esoteric teachings—e. g, alternatively, it states that this dynamic force is being sent forth, through the ages, framing all things that constitute and inhabit the universe. However the original source of the plane in this context is the late Neoplatonist Proclus, who refers to to platos, breadth. An example is the phrase en to psychiko platei, directly equivalent concepts in Indian thought are lokas and bhuvanas. In Hindu cosmology, there are many lokas or worlds, that are identified with both traditional cosmology and states of meditation, Planes of existence may have been referred to by the use of the term corresponding to the word egg in English. For example, the Sanskrit term Brahmanda translates to The entire creation as opposed to the lazy inference The Egg of Creation. Certain Puranic accounts posit that the Brahmanda is the superset of a set of fractal smaller Eggs, as is seen in the assertion of the equivalence of the Brahmanda and the Pinda. When heat and cold entered into space which was occupied by Chaos or Ginnungagap, in the medieval West and Middle East, one finds reference to four worlds in Kabbalah, or five in Sufism, and also in Lurianic Kabbalah. In Kabbalah, each of the four or five worlds are divided into ten sefirot. In his Physica, the Rosicrucian alchemist Jan Baptist van Helmont, wrote and this hitherto unknown Spirit I call Gas. Further on in the work he says, This vapor which I have called Gas is not far removed from the Chaos the ancients spoke of. Later on, similar ideas would evolve around the idea of aether, in the late 19th century, the metaphysical term planes was popularised by the theosophy of H. P. Blavatsky, who in The Secret Doctrine and other writings propounded a complex consisting of seven planes and subplanes. From theosophy the term made its way to later systems such as that of Alice Bailey. The teachings of Surat Shabd Yoga also include several planes of the creation within both the macrocosm and microcosm, including the Bramanda egg contained within the Sach Khand egg. Max Theon used the word States rather than Planes, in his cosmic philosophy, the planes in Theosophy were further systematized in the writings of C. W. Leadbeater and Annie Besant. Most cosmologists today believe that the universe exploded into being some 13, according to Rosicrucians, another difference is that there is no such thing as empty or void space. The space is Spirit in its form, while matter is crystallized space or Spirit
17.
Void (astronomy)
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Cosmic voids are vast spaces between filaments, which contain very few or no galaxies. Voids typically have a diameter of 10 to 100 megaparsecs, particularly large voids and they have less than one-tenth of the average density of matter abundance that is considered typical for the observable Universe. They were first discovered in 1978 in a study by Stephen Gregory. Voids are believed to have formed by baryon acoustic oscillations in the Big Bang. Starting from initially small anisotropies from quantum fluctuations in the early Universe, regions of higher density collapsed more rapidly under gravity, eventually resulting in the large-scale, foam-like structure or “cosmic web” of voids and galaxy filaments seen today. Voids located in high-density environments are smaller than voids situated in low-density spaces of the universe, Voids appear to correlate with the observed temperature of the cosmic microwave background because of the Sachs–Wolfe effect. Colder regions correlate with voids and hotter regions correlate with filaments because of gravitational redshifting, as the Sachs–Wolfe effect is only significant if the Universe is dominated by radiation or dark energy, the existence of voids is significant in providing physical evidence for dark energy. The structure of our Universe can be broken down into components that can describe the characteristics of individual regions of the cosmos. These are the structural components of the cosmic web, Voids – vast, largely spherical regions with very low cosmic mean densities. Walls – the regions that contain the typical cosmic mean density of matter abundance, walls can be further broken down into two smaller structural features, Clusters – highly concentrated zones where walls meet and intersect, adding to the effective size of the local wall. Filaments – the branching arms of walls that can stretch for tens of megaparsecs, Voids have a mean density less than a tenth of the average density of the universe. This serves as a working definition even though there is no single definition of what constitutes a void. In the redshift surveys, the depth was calculated from the individual redshifts of the due to the expansion of the Universe according to Hubbles law. 1978 – The first two papers on the topic of voids in the scale structure were published referencing voids found in the foreground of the Coma/A1367 clusters. 1981 – Discovery of a void in the Bootes region of the sky that was nearly 50 h−1 Mpc in diameter. 1985 – Details of the supercluster and void structure of the Perseus-Pisces region were surveyed,1989 – The Center for Astrophysics Redshift Survey revealed that large voids, sharp filaments, and the walls that surround them dominate the large-scale structure of the Universe. 1991 – The Las Campanas Redshift Survey confirmed the abundance of voids in the structure of the Universe. 1995 – Comparisons of optically selected galaxy surveys indicate that the voids are found regardless of the sample selection
18.
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
19.
Jan de Vries (linguist)
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In a 1940 pamphlet and in radio speeches, he demonstrated sympathy for Nazi ideology, in 1944 he fled to Leipzig. After the war, he was imprisoned and stripped of his academic position, De Vries was born in Amsterdam and demonstrated anti-democratic views before the war, he had a great enthusiasm for German culture. He refused to join the Nazi Party, and in the preface to De Germanen in 1941 warned against an all too uncritical mode of thought, at his trial for collaboration the verdict was that in spite of personal moral integrity he had committed very serious political errors. He was sentenced to time served in internment and was able to resume his research and publishing while teaching Dutch from 1948 to 1955 in Oostburg and he died, aged 74, in Utrecht. In the Netherlands his translations and his etymological and place-name work were also important, De Vries became member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1938, his membership was suspended in May 1945. Selected publications, Studiën over Færösche Balladen, diss, De Wikingen in de lage landen bij de zee, Haarlem,1923. Translation, Henrik Ibsen, Zes Voordrachten, Maastricht,1924, contributions to the Study of Othin, Especially in his Relation to Agricultural Practices in Modern Popular Lore, FFC94, Helsinki,1931. The Problem of Loki, FFC110, Helsinki,1932, Vol.1, Berlin-Leipzig, de Gruyter,1935, 2nd rev. ed.1956, Vol.2, Berlin-Leipzig, de Gruyter,1937, 2nd rev. ed.1957. Edda, vertaald en van inleidingen voorzien, Amsterdam,1938, De Germaansche Oudheid,1930, rev. ed. as De Germanen, Haarlem,1941. De Wetenschap der Volkskunde, Amsterdam,1941, Vol.1, Berlin-Leipzig, de Gruyter,1941, 2nd rev. ed.1964 repr. 1970, Vol.2, Berlin, de Gruyter,1942, die Geistige Welt der Germanen, Halle a. d. De Goden der Germanen, Amsterdam,1944, Vol 1 Sigfried, de Held van Nederland, Vol.2 Kriemhilds Wraak, Antwerp,1954. Etymologisch Woordenboek, Waar komen onze woorden en plaatsnamen vandaan, Utrecht-Antwerp,1958, 2nd rev. ed.1959. Heldenlied en Heldensage, Utrecht-Antwerp,1959, tr. as Heroic Song and Heroic Legend, Woordenboek der Noord- en Zuidnederlandse Plaatsnamen, Utrecht-Antwerp,1962
20.
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
21.
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
22.
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
23.
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
24.
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
25.
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
26.
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
27.
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
28.
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
