1.
Hervor
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Hervor is the name of two female characters in the cycle of the magic sword Tyrfing, presented in Hervarar saga with parts found in the Poetic Edda. The two are thought by some academics to be the character, duplicated. Additionally, Hervor is the name of a valkyrie married by Völund in the Poetic Edda poem Völundarkviða, Hervor was born after her father Angantyrs death to his wife Svafa, who was daughter of a Jarl Bjarmar. Rather than take on sewing or be raised as a bond-maid like other girls, Hervor proved to be as strong as the boys and learned archery, swordsmanship and she dressed like a man, fought, killed and pillaged under her male surname Hjörvard. When she learned of her fathers identity she decided to live as her father and to find Tyrfing, see Hervararkviða One day, she arrived with her fleet to Munarvágr on Samsø, but she was the only one who dared to embark on the haunted island. The remainder of her crew feared the activities around the barrows on the island. As she approached the barrows she saw a fire shining above them and she then talked with a loud voice summoning her father Angantyr to reveal himself. She said that as his daughter she was entitled to her rightful inheritance, then, she also summoned her eleven uncles and she did so with such a loud voice and such harsh words that finally, her fathers voice was heard and he asked not to pursue her quest. She did not give in but continued to ask for her rightful inheritance, finally, the grave opened and in its centre a fire was shining. There she saw her father, and he warned her not to ask for the sword and it would bring death to their whole clan if she used it. Finally the sword was cast out of the grave, and she eagerly gripped it, bid farewell to her dead kinsmen, however, when she arrived at the shore, the ships were gone. Her crew had been scared away by the fires and the thunder from the barrows, eventually, she managed to leave the island and arrived at the court of Gudmund of Glæsisvellir. She still dressed herself as a man and called herself Hervarðr, cunningly, she helped the king to win playing tafl. However, she also slew a courtier who tried to unsheathe Tyrfing after she had left it on a chair, then, she resumed her Viking activities, and travelled far and wide. After a while she grew tired of the adventures and returned to her foster-father Bjartmar, at Bjartmars residence, she betook herself to sewing and embroidering like other girls, and was considered to be a beautiful and good-mannered girl. King Gudmunds son Höfund, then arrived to ask for her hand, the old king Gudmund arranged a grand wedding, and entrusted the kingdom in the hands of the young couple. They lived happily and had two sons who were given the names Angantyr and Heidrek, the sword Tyrfing would continue its ill work, and Heidrek slew his brother Angantyr with the sword. For the continued adventures of Tyrfing, see Heidrek, Heidrek had a daughter who he named Hervor
2.
Goths
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The Goths were an East Germanic people, two of whose branches, the Visigoths and the Ostrogoths, played an important role in the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the emergence of Medieval Europe. In the Gothic language they were called the Gut-þiuda, most commonly translated as Gothic people, gut-þiudai, or Gutans Inferred from gen. pl. gutani in Pietroassa inscription. In Old Norse they were known as the Gutar or Gotar, in Latin as the Gothi, the exact origin of the ancient Goths is unknown. Evidence of them before they interacted with the Romans is limited, Modern academics have generally abandoned this theory. Today, the Wielbark culture is thought to have developed from earlier cultures in the same area, archaeological finds show close contacts between southern Sweden and the Baltic coastal area on the continent, and further towards the south-east, evidenced by pottery, house types and graves. Rather than a migration, similarities in the material cultures may be products of long-term regular contacts. However, the record could indicate that while his work is thought to be unreliable. Sometime around the 1st century AD, Germanic peoples may have migrated from Scandinavia to Gothiscandza, early archaeological evidence in the traditional Swedish province of Östergötland suggests a general depopulation during this period. However, there is no evidence for a substantial emigration from Scandinavia. Upon their arrival on the Pontic Steppe, the Germanic tribes adopted the ways of the Eurasian nomads, the first Greek references to the Goths call them Scythians, since this area along the Black Sea historically had been occupied by an unrelated people of that name. The earliest known material culture associated with the Goths on the southern coast of the Baltic Sea is the Wielbark culture, centered on the modern region of Pomerania in northern Poland. This culture replaced the local Oxhöft or Oksywie culture in the 1st century, the culture of this area was influenced by southern Scandinavian culture beginning as early as the late Nordic Bronze Age and early Pre-Roman Iron Age. In Eastern Europe they formed part of the Chernyakhov culture and it has been suggested that the Goths maintained contact with southern Sweden during their migration. In the first attested incursion in Thrace, the Goths were mentioned as Boranoi by Zosimus, the first incursion of the Roman Empire that can be attributed to Goths is the sack of Histria in 238. Several such raids followed in subsequent decades, in particular the Battle of Abrittus in 251, led by Cniva, at the time, there were at least two groups of Goths, the Thervingi and the Greuthungs. Goths were subsequently recruited into the Roman Army to fight in the Roman-Persian Wars. The Moesogoths settled in Thrace and Moesia, the first seaborne raids took place in three subsequent years, probably 255-257. An unsuccessful attack on Pityus was followed in the year by another
3.
Peter Nicolai Arbo
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Peter Nicolai Arbo was a Norwegian historical painter, who specialized in painting motifs from Norwegian history and images from Norse mythology. He is most noted for Asgårdsreien, a motif based on the Wild Hunt legend and Valkyrie. Peter Nicolai Arbo grew up at Gulskogen Manor in Gulskogen, a borough in Drammen and he was the son of headmaster Christian Fredrik Arbo and his wife Marie Christiane von Rosen. His brother Carl Oscar Eugen Arbo was a medical doctor. Arbos childhood home, Gulskogen, was built in 1804 as a residence for his older cousin, lumber dealer. Arbo started his art education with a year at the Art School operated by Frederik Ferdinand Helsted in Copenhagen 1851-1852, after this, he studied at the art academy in Düsseldorf. From 1853 to 1855 he studied under of Karl Ferdinand Sohn, professor of Kunstakademie Düsseldorf, at Düsseldorf he was for some time a private student of the history painter C. He had contact with Adolph Tidemand and became a friend of Hans Gude both of whom were professors at the art academy in Düsseldorf. He is associated with the Düsseldorf school of painting, in 1861 Arbo returned to Norway and the following year he went on a study trip together with Gude and Frederik Collett. In 1863 he painted the first version of Horse flock on the high mountains, the version from 1889 is at the National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design in Oslo and is considered one of the most important of his works. In 1866 he was appointed a Knight of the Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav and he held numerous positions, including as a juror in Stockholm in 1866 and Philadelphia in 1876, and was Commissioner of the Viennese art department exhibition in 1873. He was also a member of the National Gallery Company from 1875, drammens Museum is located in the heart of Drammen, on the southern side of the Drammen River. In earlier years this was an area of elegant country houses on the magnificent landed property known as Marienlyst, exhibits of the museum include items from the historical and cultural background of Norway. Drammen museum consists of five departments including Gulskogen Manor, the childhood home Peder Nicolai Arbo, in the many beautiful rooms of Gulskogen Manor, one will find works by this distinguished history-painter. Paintings by Peter Nicolai Arbo Marit I
4.
Geats
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The Geats, and sometimes Goths) were a North Germanic tribe inhabiting what is now Götaland in southern Sweden. The name of the Geats also lives on in the Swedish provinces of Västergötland and Östergötland, the Western and Eastern lands of the Geats, the earliest known surviving mention of the Geats appears in Ptolemy, who refers to them as Goutai. In the 6th century, Jordanes writes of the Gautigoths and Ostrogoths, the Norse Sagas knows them as Gautar, Beowulf and Widsith as Gēatas. The etymology of the name Geat is similar, although not identical, to that of Goths, the names are derived from different ablaut grades of the Proto-Germanic word *geutaną, meaning to pour. They are generally accepted to have originated as heiti for men, a more specific theory about the word Gautigoths is that it means the Goths who live near the river Gaut, todays Göta älv. It might also have been a conflation of the word Gauti with a gloss of Goths, in the 17th century the name Göta älv, River of the Geats, replaced the earlier names Götälven and Gautelfr. These sources concern a raid into Frisia, ca 516, which is described in Beowulf. Some decades after the events related in this epic, Jordanes described the Geats as a nation which was bold, before the consolidation of Sweden, the Geats were politically independent of the Swedes or Svear, whose old name was Sweonas in Old English. When written sources emerge, the Geatish lands are described as part of the still very shaky Swedish kingdom, the actual story in Beowulf, however, is that the Geatish king helps a Swede to gain the throne. What historians today think is that this realm could just as well be the force behind the creation of the kingdom of Sweden. The historians make a distinction between history and the emergence of a common Swedish ethnicity. The Hervarar saga is believed to contain such traditions handed down from the 4th century, according to Curt Weibull, the Geats would have been finally integrated in the Swedish kingdom c. 1000, but according to others, it most likely took place before the 9th century, the fact that some sources are silent about the Geats indicates that any independent Geatish kingdom no longer existed in the 9th century. However, the oldest medieval Swedish sources present the Swedish kingdom as having remaining legal differences between Swedes and Geats for example in weights and measurements in miles, marks etc. They also tell us there were kings, ruling by the title of Rex Gothorum as late as in the 12th century. In the Heimskringla, Snorri Sturluson writes about battles between Norwegians and Geats. The Geats were traditionally divided into petty kingdoms, or districts. The largest one of districts was Västergötland, and it was in Västergötland that the Thing of all Geats was held every year
5.
Angantyr
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Angantyr is also the Swedish name of Ongentheow. Angantyr was the name of three characters from the same line in Norse mythology, and who appear in Hervarar saga, Gesta Danorum. The last generation named Angantyr also appears to be mentioned as Incgentheow in Widsith, line 115, together with his father Heiðrekr, half-brother Hlöð and Hlöðs mother Sifka. Angantyrs father Arngrim had given him the magic sword Tyrfing, which cut through anything as if through cloth, and he was the tallest of the twelve sons of the berserker Arngrim, and he and his eleven brothers spread fear and destruction through the North. One Yule, they were home on Bolmsö when the next eldest son Hjörvard, swore that he would win Ingeborg, the daughter of Yngve. The twelve brothers departed for Uppsala and Hjorvard proposed to Ingeborg, however then Hjalmar, one of the Swedish kings champions, stepped forth and claimed he deserved the princess rather than a berserker. The Swedish king, who feared opposing twelve uncontrollable and infamous berserkers in his hall, naturally, she chose Hjalmar, and Hjorvard was besides himself with rage. He challenged Hjalmar to a duel on Samsø and declared that Hjalmar would lose his honour if he did not turn up, when the twelve brothers arrived on Samsø, they started to go berserk. They bit their shields, screamed loud and coarsely and let loose on Hjalmar and Orvar-Odds crewmen. Hjalmar and Orvar-Odd arrived to the scene to find their crew slain and Orvar-Odd, with only his club, after the melee, he found Angantyr dead and Hjalmar mortally wounded by the cursed sword, Tyrfing. Orvar-Odd buried the brothers in barrows on Samsø together with the cursed sword. However Angantyrs daughter Hervor would later return and claim Tyrfing as her own and this event is known as the waking of Angantyr, as recorded in the poem The Waking of Angantyr. Angantyrs daughter Hervor married Höfund of Glæsisvellir and they had the sons Heidrek, Angantyr would be the next of Tyrfings victims. Angantyrs brother Heidrek had made himself impossible at home and was banished by his father, Angantyr wanted to follow his brother for a while on the road to say farewell, but then he asked to see the sword Tyrfing which Heidrek had got from their mother Hervor. Heidrek kindly showed his brother the weapon, but since Tyrfing could not be unsheathed without slaying a man, Heidrek would have the daughter Hervor and the sons Angantyr and Hlöd. When Heidrek, the king of the Goths died, Angantyr inherited and refused to give Hlöd equal share, Hlöd attacked with the Hunnish army and in an epic battle, Hlöd was slain. Angantyr would be one of the ancestors of the Swedish kings of the House of Munsö, the Danish historian Saxo Grammaticus on Angantyr Tunstalls translation of the battle, from Orvar-Odds saga
6.
Huns
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The Huns were a nomadic people who lived in Eastern Europe, the Caucasus, and Central Asia between the 1st century AD and the 7th century AD. In 91 AD, the Huns were said to be living near the Caspian Sea, by 370, the Huns had established a vast, if short-lived, dominion in Europe. In the 18th century, the French scholar Joseph de Guignes became the first to propose a link between the Huns and the Xiongnu people, who were neighbours of China in the 3rd century BC. Since Guignes time, considerable effort has been devoted to investigating such a connection. However, there is no consensus on a direct connection between the dominant element of the Xiongnu and that of the Huns. Numerous other ethnic groups were included under Attilas rule, including very many speakers of Gothic and their main military technique was mounted archery. The Huns may have stimulated the Great Migration, a factor in the collapse of the Western Roman Empire. They formed an empire under Attila the Hun, who died in 453. Variants of the Hun name are recorded in the Caucasus until the early 8th century, the Huns were a confederation of warrior bands, ready to integrate other groups to increase their military power, in the Eurasian Steppe in the 4th to 6th centuries AD. Most aspects of their ethnogenesis are uncertain, walter Pohl explicitly states, All we can say safely is that the name Huns, in late antiquity, described prestigious ruling groups of steppe warriors. Jerome associated them with the Scythians in a letter, written four years after the Huns invaded the eastern provinces in 395. The equation of the Huns with the Scythians, together with a fear of the coming of the Antichrist in the late 4th century. This demonization of the Huns is also reflected in Jordaness Getica, written in the 6th century, otto J. Maenchen-Helfen was the first to challenge the traditional approach, based primarily on the study of written sources, and to emphasize the importance of archaeological research. Thereafter the identification of the Xiongnu as the Huns ancestors became controversial among some, the similarity of their ethnonyms is one of the most important links between the two peoples. A Sogdian merchant described the invasion of northern China by the Xwn people in a letter, Étienne de la Vaissière asserts both documents prove that Huna or Xwn were the exact transcriptions of the Chinese Xiongnu name. Christopher P. Atwood rejects that identification because of the very poor match between the three words. For instance, Xiongnu begins with a velar fricative, Huna with a voiceless glottal fricative, Xiongnu is a two-syllable word. However, according to Zhengzhang Shangfang, Xiongnu was pronounced in Late Old Chinese, the Chinese Book of Wei contain references to the remains of the descendants of the Xiongnu who lived in the region of the Altai Mountains in the early 5th century AD
7.
Angantyr Heidreksson
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Angantyr is also the Swedish name of Ongentheow. Angantyr was the name of three characters from the same line in Norse mythology, and who appear in Hervarar saga, Gesta Danorum. The last generation named Angantyr also appears to be mentioned as Incgentheow in Widsith, line 115, together with his father Heiðrekr, half-brother Hlöð and Hlöðs mother Sifka. Angantyrs father Arngrim had given him the magic sword Tyrfing, which cut through anything as if through cloth, and he was the tallest of the twelve sons of the berserker Arngrim, and he and his eleven brothers spread fear and destruction through the North. One Yule, they were home on Bolmsö when the next eldest son Hjörvard, swore that he would win Ingeborg, the daughter of Yngve. The twelve brothers departed for Uppsala and Hjorvard proposed to Ingeborg, however then Hjalmar, one of the Swedish kings champions, stepped forth and claimed he deserved the princess rather than a berserker. The Swedish king, who feared opposing twelve uncontrollable and infamous berserkers in his hall, naturally, she chose Hjalmar, and Hjorvard was besides himself with rage. He challenged Hjalmar to a duel on Samsø and declared that Hjalmar would lose his honour if he did not turn up, when the twelve brothers arrived on Samsø, they started to go berserk. They bit their shields, screamed loud and coarsely and let loose on Hjalmar and Orvar-Odds crewmen. Hjalmar and Orvar-Odd arrived to the scene to find their crew slain and Orvar-Odd, with only his club, after the melee, he found Angantyr dead and Hjalmar mortally wounded by the cursed sword, Tyrfing. Orvar-Odd buried the brothers in barrows on Samsø together with the cursed sword. However Angantyrs daughter Hervor would later return and claim Tyrfing as her own and this event is known as the waking of Angantyr, as recorded in the poem The Waking of Angantyr. Angantyrs daughter Hervor married Höfund of Glæsisvellir and they had the sons Heidrek, Angantyr would be the next of Tyrfings victims. Angantyrs brother Heidrek had made himself impossible at home and was banished by his father, Angantyr wanted to follow his brother for a while on the road to say farewell, but then he asked to see the sword Tyrfing which Heidrek had got from their mother Hervor. Heidrek kindly showed his brother the weapon, but since Tyrfing could not be unsheathed without slaying a man, Heidrek would have the daughter Hervor and the sons Angantyr and Hlöd. When Heidrek, the king of the Goths died, Angantyr inherited and refused to give Hlöd equal share, Hlöd attacked with the Hunnish army and in an epic battle, Hlöd was slain. Angantyr would be one of the ancestors of the Swedish kings of the House of Munsö, the Danish historian Saxo Grammaticus on Angantyr Tunstalls translation of the battle, from Orvar-Odds saga
8.
Tyrfing
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Tyrfing, Tirfing or Tyrving was a magic sword in Norse mythology, which figures in the Tyrfing Cycle, which includes a poem from the Poetic Edda called Hervararkviða, and the Hervarar saga. The name is used in the saga to denote the Goths. The form Tervingi was actually recorded by Roman sources in the 4th century, Svafrlami was the king of Gardariki, and Odins grandson. He managed to trap the dwarves Dvalinn and Durin when they had left the rock where they dwelt. Then he forced them to forge a sword with a golden hilt that would never miss a stroke, would never rust and would cut through stone, the dwarves made the sword, and it shone and gleamed like fire. However, in revenge they cursed it so that it would kill a man every time it was drawn and they finally cursed it so that it would also kill Svafrlami himself. When Svafrlami heard the curses he tried to slay Dvalin, but the dwarf disappeared into the rock, Svafrlami was killed by the berserker Arngrim who took the sword in his turn. After Arngrim, it was worn by Angantyr and his eleven brothers, angantyrs daughter, Hervor is brought up as a bond-maid, in ignorance of her parentage. When at last she learns it, she arms herself as a shieldmaiden and she finds it and marries King Gudmunds son Höfund. They have two sons, Heidrek and Angantyr, Hervor secretly gave her son the sword Tyrfing. While Angantyr and Heidrek walked, Heidrek wanted to have a look at the sword, since he had unsheathed it, the curse the dwarves had put on the sword made Heidrek kill his brother Angantyr. This was the second of Tyrfings three evil deeds, Heidrek became king of the Goths. During a voyage, Heidrek camped at the Carpathians and he was accompanied by eight mounted thralls, and when Heidrek slept at night, the thralls broke into his tent and took Tyrfing and slew Heidrek. This was the last one of Tyrfings three evil deeds, heidreks son, also named Angantyr, caught and killed the thralls, and reclaimed the magic sword, and the curse had ceased. Angantyr was the king of the Goths, but his illegitimate half-Hun brother Hlod wanted half of the kingdom. Angantýr refused, and Gizur called Hlod a bastard and his mother a slave-girl, Hlod and 343,200 mounted Huns invade the Goths. The Huns greatly outnumber the Goths, the Goths won because Angantyr used Tyrfing. He killed his brother Hlod on the battleground, the bodies of the numerous warriors choke the rivers, causing a flood which filled the valleys with dead men and horses
9.
Dnieper
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It is the longest river of Ukraine and Belarus and the fourth longest river in Europe. The total length ranges between 2,145 km and 2,201 km with a basin of 504,000 square kilometres. The river is noted for its dams and hydroelectric stations, the Dnieper is an important navigable waterway for the economy of Ukraine and is connected via the Dnieper–Bug Canal to other waterways in Europe. In antiquity, the river was known to the Greeks as the Borysthenes and was part of the Amber Road, Arheimar, a capital of the Goths, was located on the Dnieper, according to the Hervarar saga. The name Dnieper is derived from Sarmatian Dānu apara the river on the far side, according to V. Abaev the name Dnieper derives from Scythian Dānu apr deep river, while the name Dniester is combination of Scythian Dānu and Thracian Ister, the old name of Dniester. In the three countries through which it flows it has essentially the name, albeit pronounced differently, Russian, Днепр, Belarusian, Дняпро or Днепр, Ukrainian. The late Greek and Roman authors called it Δάναπρις - Danapris and Danaper respectively - and its Old East Slavic name used at the time of Kievan Rus was Slavuta or Slavutych, the Huns called it Var, and Bulgars - Buri-Chai. The name in Crimean Tatar, Özü, the total length of the river is 2,145 kilometres, of which 485 km are within Russia,700 km are within Belarus, and 1,095 km are within Ukraine. Its basin covers 504,000 square kilometres, of which 289,000 km2 are within Ukraine,118,360 km2 are within Belarus, the source of the Dnieper is the sedge bogs of the Valdai Hills in central Russia, at an elevation of 220 m. For 115 km of its length, it serves as the border between Belarus and Ukraine and its estuary, or liman, used to be defended by the strong fortress of Ochakiv. On the Dnepr River to the south of Komarin urban-type settlement, Braghin District, the Dnieper has many tributaries with 89 being rivers of 100+ km. The water resources of the Dnieper basin compose around 80% out of all Ukraine, Dnieper Rapids were part of trade route from the Varangians to the Greeks, first mentioned in the Kiev Chronicle. The route was established in the late eighth and early ninth centuries. On the Dnieper the Varangians had to portage their ships round seven rapids, after Dnieper Hydroelectric Station was built in 1932, they were inundated by Dnieper Reservoir. The river is part of the Quagga mussels native range, the mussel has been accidentally introduced around the world where it has become an invasive species. From the mouth of the Prypiat River to the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Station, there are six sets of dams and hydroelectric stations, the first constructed was the Dnieper Hydroelectric Station near Zaporizhia, built in 1927–1932 with an output of 558 MW. It was destroyed during World War II, but was rebuilt in 1948 with an output of 750 MW, the Dnieper River in different regions Major cities, over 100,000 in population, are in bold script. Cities and towns located on the Dnieper are listed in order from the source to its mouth, Arheimar
10.
Thrall
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A thrall was a slave or serf in Scandinavian lands during the Viking Age. The corresponding term in Old English was þēow, the status of slave contrasts with that of the freeman and the nobleman. The Middle Latin rendition of the term in early Germanic law is servus, the social system of serfdom is continued in medieval feudalism. Thrall is from the Old Norse þræll, meaning a person who is in bondage or serfdom, the Old Norse term was lent into late Old English, as þræl. The term is from a Common Germanic þragilaz, Old High German had a cognate, dregil, meaning servant, runner. The English derivation thraldom is of High Medieval date, the verb to enthrall is of Early Modern origin. Thralls were the lowest class of workers in Scandinavian society and they were Northern Europeans brought into slavery due to debt, the losers of wars, and the children of previous thralls. Thralls in Scandinavia had no rights and their conditions were variable depending on the master. The thrall trade as the prize of plunder was a key part of the Viking economy, while there are some estimates of as many as thirty slaves per household, most families only owned one or two slaves. In 1043, Hallvard Vebjørnsson, the son of a nobleman in the district of greater Lier, was killed while trying to defend a thrall woman from men who accused her of theft. The Church strongly approved of his action, recognizing him as a martyr and canonizing him as Saint Hallvard, despite the existence of a caste system, thralls could experience a level of social fluidity. Thralls could be freed by their masters at any time, be freed in a will, once a thrall was freed, he became a freedman—a member of an intermediary group between slaves and freemen. He still owed allegiance to his master and would have to vote according to his former masters wishes. It took at least two generations for freedmen to lose the allegiance to their masters and become full freemen. If a freedman had no descendants, his former master inherited his land, the Viking slave trade slowly ended in the 11th century, as a number of Vikings settled in the European territories they had once raided. They converted serfs to Christianity and merged with the local populace, the thrall system was finally abolished in the mid-14th century in Scandinavia
11.
Gizur
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Gizur, Gizurr or Gissur was a King of the Geats. He appears in The Battle of the Goths and Huns, which is included in the Hervarar saga, Gizur was the foster-father of Heidrek, who made a coup-détat in Reidgotaland, the land of the Goths. When Heidrek was dead, Gizur arrived in the Goth capital Arheimar on the Dniepr to pay homage to his foster-son, Heidreks son Angantyr, who was the new king of the Goths, held a great banquet in the honour of his father. Then Heidreks illegitimate son Hlöd, who had grown up among the Huns, Angantyr offered a great many riches and a third of the Goth kingdom, but before Hlöd could answer, Gizur reminded Angantyr that Hlöd was only a bastard son and did not deserve such riches. This caused an invasion of the Hunnish Horde, and prospects looked grim, Gizur supported Angantyr and helped him fight the Horde, presumably with his own Geatish forces. Since he helped the Goths, Hlöd mockingly called the king the Grýtingaliði, an Ostrogoth warrior and Angantyrs man
12.
King of the Geats
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Geatish kings, ruling over the provinces of Götaland, appears in several sources for early Swedish history. Today, most of them are not considered historical and this list follows the generally accepted identification between the names Götar, Gautar and Geatas, which is based both on tradition, literary sources and on etymology. However, unlike some translations it does not identify this tribe with the Goths, both Old Norse and Old English records clearly separates the Geats from the Goths, although still depicts them as closely related to each other. From the Middle Ages until 1974, the king of Sweden, claimed the king of the Geats as king of Sweden. The Danish monarchs used the similar title King of the Goths from 1362 until 1972, some names appear in Norse mythology and in Germanic legend and in at least one case, they were probably historical. Their order of succession is uncertain, dag, contemporary with Yngvi-Frey in Gamla Uppsala, in Sturlaugs saga 19 &23. Gizur 4th century, who helps the Goths during the battles with the Huns in Hervarar saga, Gauti, probably the same as Gaut the father of Gautrek according to the Ynglinga saga. Ring son of Gauti Herrauðr, son of Ring Gautrekr, appearing in several sources, ketill Gautreksson, in Hrólfs saga Gautrekssonar. Hrólfr Gautreksson, in Hrólfs saga Gautrekssonar, Yngwin 5th century Siward, contemporary with Yngwins grandson Algaut 4th century or the 7th century Thorir Sigar. The father of Siggeir, who corresponds to Yngwin, the king of Götaland in Gesta Danorum. Siggeir 5th century, a son of Sigar and the king of Götaland in the Volsunga saga Swerting, hreðel Hæþcyn d.514 or 515 Hygelac d.516 Heardred d. ca 530 Beowulf d. ca 580. Wiglaf Kings of East Gotland Helm Early 6th century, the Wulfing king mentioned in Widsith, Högne 7th century, the king of East Götaland and the father-in-law of Granmar. Hjörvard 7th century, king of East Götaland Married Hildagun daughter of Granmer, Helgi Ylfing 7th century, probably a king of East Götaland in the Norse sagas and son-in-law of Högne. If we separate the merged Helgi into two time frames periods and he is recorded as the killer of Hogne and his sons and also Granmers sons. Hjörmund 7th century, king of East Götaland and a son of Hjörvard and he was most likely grandson of Högne. Given the throne by Ivar Harold Wartooths grandfather, when sources become more reliable, Götaland is an integrated part of the Swedish kingdom and from Stenkil and onwards most of the medieval Swedish kings actually belonged to Geatish clans. In the early high Middle Ages some kings in Sweden were titled rex Visigothorum and rex Gothorum, the non-Geatish King Ragnvald Knaphövde was killed by the Geats as he despised them and travelled among them without Geatish hostages. Ingold I, king of Västergötland Halsten, king of Västergötland Magnus the Strong, king of Västergötland Kol, king of Östergötland Karl Sverkersson, the 16th-century forgery Ballad of Eric tells of the first king of Götaland Eric, who for a long time was considered historical
13.
Reidgotaland
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Reidgotaland, Reidgothland, Reidgotland, Hreidgotaland or Hreiðgotaland was a land in Scandinavian sagas as well as in the pre-Viking English Widsith, which usually referred to the land of the Goths. Another possibility is that it was originally reið ride, journey, the use of the prefix is simple as the same tribal name was used for the Gotlanders, the gutar or gotar. The identification of the varies between the sources. This is the list of meanings given by Nordisk familjebok, The Island of Gotland, the land of the Goths, i. e. Gothiscandza and their later territories. In Hervarar saga, it was the same as Oium and bordered the land of the Huns from which it was separated by Myrkviðr, the territories of the Goths in southern Europe, according to Anglo-Saxon sources. The second edition of Nordisk familjebok explains that Hreidgoths was originally applied to the Ostrogoths in south-eastern Europe and it appears as hraiðgutum on the Rök Stone in Östergötland. In Hervarar saga, the name Hreiðgotaland is applied to the territories of the Ostrogoths in south-eastern Europe, in Widsith, the traveller has been with the Hreð-Gotum. In Snorris Edda, it is applied to Jutland or to Scandinavia as a whole, while the islands are called Eygotaland. In the Legendary sagas however, Eygotaland is used only for the island of Gotland in the Baltic Sea
14.
Danube
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The Danube is Europes second-longest river, after the Volga River, and also the longest river in the European Union region. It is located in Central and Eastern Europe, the Danube was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire, and today flows through 10 countries, more than any other river in the world. Its drainage basin extends into nine more countries, the Latin name Dānuvius is one of a number of Old European river names derived from a Proto-Indo-European *dānu. Other river names from the root include the Dunajec, Dzvina/Daugava, Don, Donets, Dnieper, Dniestr. In Rigvedic Sanskrit, dānu means fluid, drop, in Avestan, in the Rigveda, Dānu once appears as the mother of Vrtra. Known to the ancient Greeks as the Istros a borrowing from a Daco-Thracian name meaning strong, in Latin, the Danube was variously known as Danubius, Danuvius or as Ister. The Dacian/Thracian name was Donaris for the upper Danube and Istros for the lower Danube, the Thraco-Phrygian name was Matoas, the bringer of luck. The Latin name is masculine, as are all its Slavic names, the German Donau is feminine, as it has been re-interpreted as containing the suffix -ouwe wetland. Classified as a waterway, it originates in the town of Donaueschingen, in the Black Forest of Germany, at the confluence of the rivers Brigach. The Danube then flows southeast for about 2,800 km, passing through four capital cities before emptying into the Black Sea via the Danube Delta in Romania and its drainage basin extends into nine more. The highest point of the basin is the summit of Piz Bernina at the Italy–Switzerland border. The land drained by the Danube extends into other countries. Many Danubian tributaries are important rivers in their own right, navigable by barges, from its source to its outlet into the Black Sea, its main tributaries are, The Danube flows through many cities, including four national capitals, more than any other river in the world. Danube remains a mountain river until Passau, with average bottom gradient 0. 0012%. Middle Section, From Devín Gate to Iron Gate, at the border of Serbia and Romania, the riverbed widens and the average bottom gradient becomes only 0. 00006%. Lower Section, From Iron Gate to Sulina, with average gradient as little as 0. 00003%, about 60 of its tributaries are also navigable. In 1994 the Danube was declared one of ten Pan-European transport corridors, routes in Central, the amount of goods transported on the Danube increased to about 100 million tons in 1987. In 1999, transport on the river was difficult by the NATO bombing of three bridges in Serbia during the Kosovo War
15.
Norns
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The Norns in Norse mythology are female beings who rule the destiny of gods and men. They roughly correspond to other controllers of humans destiny, the Fates, in Snorri Sturlusons interpretation of the Völuspá, Urðr, Verðandi and Skuld, the three most important of the Norns, come out from a hall standing at the Well of Urðr or Well of Fate. They draw water from the well and take sand that lies around it and these three Norns are described as powerful maiden giantesses whose arrival from Jötunheimr ended the golden age of the gods. They may be the same as the maidens of Mögþrasir who are described in Vafþrúðnismál, beside these three famous Norns, there are many others who appear at a persons birth in order to determine his or her future. In the pre-Christian Norse societies, Norns were thought to have visited newborn children, there were both malevolent and benevolent Norns, the former caused all the malevolent and tragic events in the world while the latter were kind and protective goddesses. The origin of the name norn is uncertain, it may derive from a meaning to twine. Bek-Pedersen suggests that the word norn has relation to the Swedish dialect word norna and this relates to the perception of norns as shadowy, background figures who only really ever reveal their fateful secrets to men as their fates come to pass. It should be noted that wyrd and urðr are etymological cognates, both Urðr and Verðandi are derived from the Old Norse verb verða, to be. While Urðr derives from the past tense, Verðandi derives from the present tense of verða, Skuld is derived from the Old Norse verb skulla, need/ought to be/shall be, its meaning is that which should become, or that needs to occur. There is no distinction between norns, fylgjas, hamingjas and valkyries, nor with the generic term dísir. Moreover, artistic license permitted such terms to be used for women in Old Norse poetry. To quote Snorri Sturlusons Skáldskaparmál on the names used for women. There are a number of surviving Old Norse sources that relate to the norns, the most important sources are the Prose Edda and the Poetic Edda. A skaldic reference to the norns appears in Hvinis poem in Ynglingatal 24 found in Ynglingasaga 47 and this reference brings in the phrase norna dómr which means judgment of the nornir. In most cases, when the norns pass judgment, it means death to those who have been judged - in this case, along with being associated with being bringers of death, Bek-Pedersen suggests that this phrase brings in a quasi-legal aspect to the nature of the norns. This legal association is employed quite frequently within skaldic and eddic sources and this phrase can also be seen as a threat, as death is the final and inevitable decision that the norns can make with regard to human life. The Poetic Edda is valuable in representing older material in poetry from which Snorri tapped information in the Prose Edda, like Gylfaginning, the Poetic Edda mentions the existence of many lesser norns beside the three main norns. Moreover, it agrees with Gylfaginning by telling that they were of several races
16.
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
17.
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
18.
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
19.
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
20.
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
21.
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
22.
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
23.
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
24.
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
25.
Ullr
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The medieval Norse word was Latinized as Ollerus. The Modern Icelandic form is Ullur, in the mainland Scandinavian languages the modern form is Ull. The Thorsberg chape bears an Elder Futhark inscription, one of the earliest known altogether, owlþuþewaz / niwajmariz The first element owlþu, for wolþu-, means glory, glorious one, Old Norse Ullr, Old English wuldor. The second element, -þewaz, means slave, servant, the whole compound is a personal name or title, servant of the glorious one, servant/priest of Ullr. Ollerus ruled under the name Odin for ten years until the true Odin was called back, Ullr is mentioned in the poem Grímnismál where the homes of individual gods are recounted. The English versions shown here are by Thorpe, the name Ýdalir, meaning yew dales, is not otherwise attested. The yew was an important material in the making of bows, and it seems likely that the name Ýdalir is connected with the idea of Ullr as a bow-god. Another strophe in Grímnismál also mentions Ullr, the strophe is obscure but may refer to some sort of religious ceremony. It seems to indicate Ullr as an important god, the last reference to Ullr in the Poetic Edda is found in Atlakviða, Both Atlakviða and Grímnismál are often considered to be among the oldest extant Eddic poems. It may not be a coincidence that they are the ones to refer to Ullr. Again we seem to find Ullr associated with some sort of ceremony, this time that of swearing an oath by a ring, Snorri informs his readers that Ullr can be called ski-god, bow-god, hunting-god and shield-god. In turn a shield can be called Ullrs ship, despite these tantalising tidbits Snorri relates no myths about Ullr. It seems likely that he didnt know any, the god having faded from memory, while the origin of this kenning is unknown it could be connected with the identity of Ullr as a ski-god. Early skis, or perhaps sleds, might have been reminiscent of shields, a late Icelandic composition, Laufás-Edda, offers the prosaic explanation that Ullrs ship was called Skjöldr, Shield. The name of Ullr is also common in warrior kennings, where it is used as other god names are, Ullrs name appears in several important Norwegian and Swedish place names. This indicates that Ullr had at some point a religious importance in Scandinavia that is greater than what is apparent from the scant surviving textual references. It is also significant that the placenames referring to this god are often found close to placenames referring to another deity, Njörðr in Sweden. Some of the Norwegian placenames have a variant form, Ullinn and it has been suggested that this is the remnant of a pair of twin gods and further that there may have been a female Ullin, on the model of divine pairs such as Fjörgynn and Fjörgyn
26.
Eir
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In Norse mythology, Eir is a goddess and/or valkyrie associated with medical skill. Scholars have theorized about whether these three sources refer to the figure, and debate whether Eir may have been originally a healing goddess and/or a valkyrie. In addition, Eir has been theorized as a form of the goddess Frigg and has compared to the Greek goddess Hygieia. The exchange between the hero Svipdagr and Fjölsviðr mentioning Eir is as follows, After the exchange, Svipdagr asks if these figures will give aid if blóts are made to them. Fjölsviðr responds that Svipdagr is correct, In chapter 35 of the Prose Edda book Gylfaginning, High lists Eir third, and says no more about her other than noting that she is an extremely good physician. In chapter 75 of the Prose Edda book Skáldskaparmál Eir appears within a list of valkyrie names, in skaldic poetry, the name Eir is frequent in kennings for women. A sample construction is Eir aura, occurring in Gísla saga, the name is already used in this way by the 10th century poets Kormákr Ögmundarson and Hallfreðr vandræðaskáld. Similarly, the name Eir is used in a kenning in a runic inscription inscribed on a stick from Bergen. The stick records a common mercantile transaction followed by a verse from a displeased scribe, Eir of mackerels ground takes often and much sleep from me. The name remained frequently used in woman kennings in rímur poetry, john Lindow is skeptical of there having been a belief in Eir as a goddess, stating that whether we should trust Snorri and imagine the existence of a goddess Eir is problematic. Rudolf Simek says that Eir may originally have been simply a valkyrie rather than a goddess, davidson adds that no satisfactory conclusions have been drawn from her name, and considers all mentions of Eir as of the same figure. They could be akin to protective spirits of the house, guarding men and women. She additionally draws a link between these spirits and Lyfjaberg, Lyfjaberg is where the goddess sits surrounded by her helpful spirits, henry Adams Bellows proposes a relationship between Eir and the place name Lyfjaberg, which he translates as hill of healing. Bellows notes that manuscripts vary about the spelling of the name. Bellows states that the stanza mentioning Lyfjaberg implies that Mengloth is a goddess of healing, in stanza 54, Eir appears as one of Mengloths handmaidens, and Eir, according to Snorri is herself the Norse Hygeia. Compare this stanza to stanza 32
27.
Frigg
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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
28.
Fulla
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In Germanic mythology, Fulla or Volla is a goddess. In Norse mythology, Fulla is described as wearing a band and as tending to the ashen box and the footwear owned by the goddess Frigg. Fulla is attested in the Poetic Edda, compiled in the 13th century from traditional sources, the Prose Edda, written in the 13th century by Snorri Sturluson. Scholars have proposed theories about the implications of the goddess, in the prose introduction to the Poetic Edda poem Grímnismál, Frigg makes a wager with her husband—the god Odin—over the hospitality of their human patrons. Frigg sends her servant maid Fulla to warn the king Geirröd—Friggs patron—that a magician will visit him. Fulla meets with Geirröd, gives the warning, and advises to him a means of detecting the magician, In chapter 35 of the Prose Edda book Gylfaginning, High provides brief descriptions of 16 ásynjur. High lists Fulla fifth, stating that, like the goddess Gefjun, Fulla is a virgin, High describes that Fulla carries Friggs eski, looks after Friggs footwear, and that in Fulla Frigg confides secrets. In chapter 49 of Gylfaginning, High details that, after the death of the deity couple Baldr and Nanna, the god Hermóðr wagers for their return in the underworld location of Hel. Hel, ruler of the location of the name, tells Hermóðr a way to resurrect Baldr. Hel does, however, allow Baldr and Nanna to send gifts to the living, Baldr sends Odin the ring Draupnir, and Nanna sends Frigg a robe of linen, of these other gifts sent, the only specific item that High mentions is a finger-ring for Fulla. The first chapter of the Prose Edda book Skáldskaparmál, Fulla is listed among eight ásynjur who attend an evening drinking banquet held for Ægir. In chapter 19 of Skáldskaparmál, poetic ways to refer to Frigg are given, in chapter 32, poetic expressions for gold are given, one of which includes Fullas snood. In chapter 36, a work by the skald Eyvindr skáldaspillir is cited that references Fullas golden headgear, Fulla receives a final mention in the Prose Edda in chapter 75, where Fulla appears within a list of 27 ásynjur names. One of the two Merseburg Incantations, recorded in Old High German, mentions Volla, the incantation describes how Phol and Wodan rode to a wood, and there Balders foal sprained its foot. Sinthgunt sang charms, her sister Sunna sang charms, Friia sang charms, her sister Volla sang charms, the charm reads, Phol and Wodan went to the forest. Then Balders horse sprained its foot, john Lindow says that since the name Fulla seems to have something to do with fullness, it may also point to an association with fertility. Simek adds that it is unclear as to who Fulla actually is, john Knight Bostock says that theories have been proposed that the Fulla may at one time have been an aspect of Frigg. On the other hand, Davidson notes that it is possible that these goddesses are viewable as aspects of a single Great Goddess
