1.
Nifelheim
–
Nifelheim is a Swedish black metal band. The band was formed in 1990 by the twin brothers Erik and Per Gustavsson, under the stage names Tyrant, Nifelheim was founded in 1990 and recorded the demo tape Unholy Death between 1992 and 1993. The band signed to Necropolis Records and recorded the debut album Nifelheim at Studio Fredman, during this period the band fired their first guitarist Morbid Slaughter for having a girlfriend. After this they were joined by John Zweetsloot and Jon Nödtveidt of Dissection on guitars, the band was banned from the studio. After a documentary about heavy metal fans which aired in Sweden in 1998, Tyrant, in 1998, Nifelheim contributed Die in Fire to the Bathory tribute album In Conspiracy with Satan – A Tribute to Bathory. The band left Necropolis Records and recorded Servants of Darkness in March 2000, in 2001, the band played their first concert as headliner at the 2heavy4you festival in Sweden, followed by other concerts in Europe. Nifelheim plays old-school black metal inspired by bands like Venom, Bathory, Brazilian thrash metal bands Vulcano, Holocausto and Sarcófago and they are also influenced by Iron Maiden, for example, in some arrangements. The bands lyrics treat Satanism and other topics typical for black metal, Nifelheim rejected this characterization and cited it as a reason for ceasing to give interviews anymore. In a statement released to Blabbermouth. net, the band later verified that they had made, further, he stated that he is not hating either of these musicians, nor did he intend to put any disgrace upon their memory. It is unclear if Tyrant was saying the statement was out of context. Apparently due to the controversy, that interview has been their last to date and they also mentioned people labeling them as non serious as another reason to not give interviews anymore. Hellbutcher - vocals Tyrant - bass Satámas - guitar Savage Aggressor - guitar Disintegrator - drums 1993 - Unholy Death 1994 - Nifelheim 1997 - Devils Force 1997 - Headbangers Against Disco Vol
2.
Oxford English Dictionary
–
The Oxford English Dictionary is a descriptive dictionary of the English language, published by the Oxford University Press. The second edition came to 21,728 pages in 20 volumes, in 1895, the title The Oxford English Dictionary was first used unofficially on the covers of the series, and in 1928 the full dictionary was republished in ten bound volumes. In 1933, the title The Oxford English Dictionary fully replaced the name in all occurrences in its reprinting as twelve volumes with a one-volume supplement. More supplements came over the years until 1989, when the edition was published. Since 2000, an edition of the dictionary has been underway. The first electronic version of the dictionary was available in 1988. The online version has been available since 2000, and as of April 2014 was receiving two million hits per month. The third edition of the dictionary will probably appear in electronic form, Nigel Portwood, chief executive of Oxford University Press. As a historical dictionary, the Oxford English Dictionary explains words by showing their development rather than merely their present-day usages, therefore, it shows definitions in the order that the sense of the word began being used, including word meanings which are no longer used. The format of the OEDs entries has influenced numerous other historical lexicography projects and this influenced later volumes of this and other lexicographical works. As of 30 November 2005, the Oxford English Dictionary contained approximately 301,100 main entries, the dictionarys latest, complete print edition was printed in 20 volumes, comprising 291,500 entries in 21,730 pages. The longest entry in the OED2 was for the verb set, as entries began to be revised for the OED3 in sequence starting from M, the longest entry became make in 2000, then put in 2007, then run in 2011. Despite its impressive size, the OED is neither the worlds largest nor the earliest exhaustive dictionary of a language, the Dutch dictionary Woordenboek der Nederlandsche Taal is the worlds largest dictionary, has similar aims to the OED and took twice as long to complete. Another earlier large dictionary is the Grimm brothers dictionary of the German language, begun in 1838, the official dictionary of Spanish is the Diccionario de la lengua española, and its first edition was published in 1780. The Kangxi dictionary of Chinese was published in 1716, trench suggested that a new, truly comprehensive dictionary was needed. On 7 January 1858, the Society formally adopted the idea of a new dictionary. Volunteer readers would be assigned particular books, copying passages illustrating word usage onto quotation slips, later the same year, the Society agreed to the project in principle, with the title A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles. He withdrew and Herbert Coleridge became the first editor, on 12 May 1860, Coleridges dictionary plan was published and research was started
3.
Norse cosmology
–
The cosmology of Norse mythology has nine homeworlds or nine realms, unified by the world tree Yggdrasil. Mapping the nine worlds escapes precision because the Poetic Edda often alludes vaguely, the Norse creation myth tells how everything came into existence in the gap between fire and ice, and how the gods shaped the homeworld of humans. A cosmic ash tree, Yggdrasil, lies at the center of the Norse cosmos. Three roots drink the waters of the homeworlds, one in the homeworld of the gods, the Æsir, Asgard, one in the homeworld of the humans, Midgard, and one in the homeworld of the dead, Helheim. Beneath the root in the world of the frost giants is the spring of Mímir, whose waters contain wisdom, the root in the Æsir homeworld taps the sacred wellspring of fate, the Well of Urðr. The tree is tended by the Norns, who live near it, each day, they water it with pure water and whiten it with clay from the spring to preserve it. The water falls down to the earth as dew, animals continually feed on the tree, threatening it, but its vitality persists evergreen as it heals and nourishes the vibrant aggression of life. On the topmost branch of the tree sits an eagle, the beating of its wings cause the winds in the world of men. At the root of the tree lies a great dragon, Niðhǫggr, gnawing at it continuously, the squirrel Ratatoskr carries insults from one to the other. Harts and goats devour the branches and tender shoots, in the beginning, there were two regions, Muspelheim in the south, full of fire, light and heat, and Niflheim in the north, full of arctic waters, mists, and cold. Between them stretched the yawning emptiness of Ginnungagap, and into it poured sparks and smoke from the south and layers of rime, as heat and cold met in Ginnungagap, a living jǫtunn, Ymir, appeared in the melting ice. From his left armpit, the first man and woman were born, from his legs, the frost jötnar were born, making Ymir the progenitor of the jǫtnar. Most sources identify Ymirs oldest son as Þrúðgelmir, who bore Ymirs grandson, the other jǫtnar are usually unnamed. Ymir fed on the milk of the cow Auðumbla and she licked the blocks of salty ice, releasing Búri. Búris son Borr had three sons, the gods Odin, Vili and Vé, the three slew Ymir, and all of the jötnar except for Bergelmir and his wife, who were drowned in the blood of the others. From Ymirs body, they made the world of humans, his blood the seas and lakes, his flesh the earth, his bones the mountains and his teeth the rocks. From his skull they made the dome of the sky, setting a dwarf at each of the four corners to hold it high above the earth and they protected it from the jötnar with a wall made from Ymirs eyebrows. Next they caused time to exist, and placed the orbs of the sun, Odin, passing through the world of the jötnar, found two beautiful young giants named Sól and Máni, sun and moon
4.
Norse mythology
–
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
5.
Hel (location)
–
In Norse mythology, Hel, the location, shares a name with Hel, a female figure associated with the location. In late Icelandic sources, varying descriptions of Hel are given, in the Poetic Edda, Brynhildrs trip to Hel after her death is described and Odin, while alive, also visits Hel upon his horse Sleipnir. In Snorri Sturlusons Prose Edda, Baldr goes to Hel on his death, the Old Norse feminine proper noun Hel is identical to the name of the entity that presides over the realm, Old Norse Hel. The word has cognates in all branches of the Germanic languages, including Old English hell, Old Frisian helle, Old Saxon hellia, Old High German hella, all forms ultimately derive from the reconstructed Proto-Germanic feminine noun *xaljō or *haljō. In turn, the Proto-Germanic form derives from the form of the Proto-Indo-European root *kel-, *kol-, to cover, conceal. The term is related to Modern English hall and therefore also Valhalla. Hall and its numerous Germanic cognates derive from Proto-Germanic *hallō covered place, hall, related early Germanic terms and concepts include Proto-Germanic *xalja-rūnō, a feminine compound noun, and *xalja-wītjan, a neutral compound noun. This form is reconstructed from the Latinized Gothic plural noun *haliurunnae, Old English helle-rúne, the compound is composed of two elements, *xaljō and *rūnō, the Proto-Germanic precursor to Modern English rune. The second element in the Gothic haliurunnae may however instead be an agent noun from the verb rinnan, which would make its literal meaning one who travels to the netherworld. )Proto-Germanic *xalja-wītjan is reconstructed from Old Norse hel-víti hell, Old English helle-wíte hell-torment, hell, Old Saxon helli-wīti hell, and the Middle High German feminine noun helle-wīze. The compound is a compound of *xaljō and *wītjan, in reference to Hel, in the poem Völuspá, a völva states that Hel will play an important role in Ragnarök. The Völva states that a crowing sooty-red cock from the halls of Hel is one of three cocks that will signal one of the events of Ragnarök. The other two are Fjalar in Jotunheim and Gullunkambi in Valhalla, in Grímnismál stanza 31, Hel is listed as existing beneath one of the three roots of the world tree Yggdrasil. One of the two leads to the frost jötnar and the third to Mankind. In the short poem Helreið Brynhildar, Hel is directly referenced as a location in the title, while riding along a road on the border of Hel in a lavish cart, Brynhildr encounters a dead giantess at a burial mound belonging to her. This results in an exchange, during which Brynhildr tells of her life. In Baldrs draumar, Odin rides to the edge of Hel to investigate nightmares that Baldr has had and he uses a spell to bring to life the corpse of a Völva. Odin introduces himself under a name and pretense and asks for information from the völva relating to Baldrs dreams. The völva reluctantly proceeds to produce prophecies regarding the events of Ragnarök, Niflhel is mentioned as being just outside Hel
6.
Gylfaginning
–
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
7.
Hvergelmir
–
In Norse mythology, Hvergelmir is a major spring. Hvergelmir is attested in the Poetic Edda, compiled in the 13th century from traditional sources. Some of these lead to the dwelling of the gods. Hvergelmir is mentioned several times in the Prose Edda, later in Gylfaginning, Just-as-High describes the central tree Yggdrasil. Just-as-High says that three roots of the support it and extend very, very far and that the third of these three roots extends over Niflheim. Beneath this root, says Just-as-High, is the spring Hvergelmir, additionally, High says that Hvergelmir contains not only Níðhöggr but also so many snakes that no tongue can enumerate them. Hvergelmir is mentioned a time in the Prose Edda where Third discusses the unpleasantries of Náströnd. Third notes that Hvergelmir yet worse than the venom-filled Náströnd because—by way of quoting a portion of a stanza from the Poetic Edda poem Völuspá—There Nidhogg torments the bodies of the dead
8.
Muspelheim
–
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
9.
Hel (being)
–
In Norse mythology, Hel is a being who presides over a realm of the same name, where she receives a portion of the dead. Hel is attested in the Poetic Edda, compiled in the 13th century from traditional sources. In addition, she is mentioned in recorded in Heimskringla and Egils saga that date from the 9th and 10th centuries. An episode in the Latin work Gesta Danorum, written in the 12th century by Saxo Grammaticus, is considered to refer to Hel. In the Poetic Edda, Prose Edda, and Heimskringla, Hel is referred to as a daughter of Loki, and to go to Hel is to die. In the Prose Edda book Gylfaginning, Hel is described as having been appointed by the god Odin as ruler of a realm of the same name, located in Niflheim. In the same source, her appearance is described as blue and half flesh-coloured and further as having a gloomy. The Prose Edda details that Hel rules over vast mansions with many servants in her underworld realm, the Old Norse feminine proper noun Hel is identical to the name of the location over which she rules, Old Norse Hel. The word has cognates in all branches of the Germanic languages, including Old English hell, Old Frisian helle, Old Saxon hellia, Old High German hella, all forms ultimately derive from the reconstructed Proto-Germanic feminine noun *xaljō or *haljō. In turn, the Proto-Germanic form derives from the form of the Proto-Indo-European root *kel-, *kol-, to cover, conceal. The term is related to Modern English hall and therefore also Valhalla. Hall and its numerous Germanic cognates derive from Proto-Germanic *hallō covered place, hall, related early Germanic terms and concepts include Proto-Germanic *xalja-rūnō, a feminine compound noun, and *xalja-wītjan, a neutral compound noun. This form is reconstructed from the Latinized Gothic plural noun *haliurunnae, Old English helle-rúne, the compound is composed of two elements, *xaljō and *rūnō, the Proto-Germanic precursor to Modern English rune. The second element in the Gothic haliurunnae may however instead be an agent noun from the verb rinnan, which would make its literal meaning one who travels to the netherworld. )Proto-Germanic *xalja-wītjan is reconstructed from Old Norse hel-víti hell, Old English helle-wíte hell-torment, hell, Old Saxon helli-wīti hell, and the Middle High German feminine noun helle-wīze. The compound is a compound of *xaljō and *wītjan, the Poetic Edda, compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources, features various poems that mention Hel. In the Poetic Edda poem Völuspá, Hels realm is referred to as the Halls of Hel, in stanza 31 of Grímnismál, Hel is listed as living beneath one of three roots growing from the world tree Yggdrasil. In Fáfnismál, the hero Sigurd stands before the mortally wounded body of the dragon Fáfnir, and states that Fáfnir lies in pieces, where Hel can take him. In Atlamál, the phrases Hel has half of us and sent off to Hel are used in reference to death, though it could be a reference to the location and not the being, in stanza 4 of Baldrs draumar, Odin rides towards the high hall of Hel
10.
Old English
–
Old English or Anglo-Saxon is the earliest historical form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlers probably in the mid 5th century, Old English developed from a set of Anglo-Frisian or North Sea Germanic dialects originally spoken by Germanic tribes traditionally known as the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes. As the Anglo-Saxons became dominant in England, their language replaced the languages of Roman Britain, Common Brittonic, a Celtic language, Old English had four main dialects, associated with particular Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, Mercian, Northumbrian, Kentish and West Saxon. It was West Saxon that formed the basis for the standard of the later Old English period, although the dominant forms of Middle. The speech of eastern and northern parts of England was subject to strong Old Norse influence due to Scandinavian rule, Old English is one of the West Germanic languages, and its closest relatives are Old Frisian and Old Saxon. Like other old Germanic languages, it is different from Modern English. Old English grammar is similar to that of modern German, nouns, adjectives, pronouns, and verbs have many inflectional endings and forms. The oldest Old English inscriptions were using a runic system. Old English was not static, and its usage covered a period of 700 years, from the Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain in the 5th century to the late 11th century, some time after the Norman invasion. While indicating that the establishment of dates is a process, Albert Baugh dates Old English from 450 to 1150, a period of full inflections. Perhaps around 85 per cent of Old English words are no longer in use, Old English is a West Germanic language, developing out of Ingvaeonic dialects from the 5th century. It came to be spoken over most of the territory of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms which became the Kingdom of England and this included most of present-day England, as well as part of what is now southeastern Scotland, which for several centuries belonged to the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Northumbria. Other parts of the island – Wales and most of Scotland – continued to use Celtic languages, Norse was also widely spoken in the parts of England which fell under Danish law. Anglo-Saxon literacy developed after Christianisation in the late 7th century, the oldest surviving text of Old English literature is Cædmons Hymn, composed between 658 and 680. There is a corpus of runic inscriptions from the 5th to 7th centuries. The Old English Latin alphabet was introduced around the 9th century, with the unification of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms by Alfred the Great in the later 9th century, the language of government and literature became standardised around the West Saxon dialect. In Old English, typical of the development of literature, poetry arose before prose, a later literary standard, dating from the later 10th century, arose under the influence of Bishop Æthelwold of Winchester, and was followed by such writers as the prolific Ælfric of Eynsham. This form of the language is known as the Winchester standard and it is considered to represent the classical form of Old English
11.
Fog
–
Fog consists of visible cloud water droplets or ice crystals suspended in the air at or near the Earths surface. Fog can be considered a type of low-lying cloud and is influenced by nearby bodies of water, topography. In turn, fog has affected many human activities, such as shipping, travel, the term fog is typically distinguished from the more generic term cloud in that fog is low-lying, and the moisture in the fog is often generated locally. By definition, fog reduces visibility to less than 1 kilometre, for aviation purposes in the UK, a visibility of less than 5 kilometres but greater than 999 metres is considered to be mist if the relative humidity is 70% or greater, below 70%, haze is reported. Fog forms when the difference between air temperature and dew point is less than 2.5 °C or 4 °F, Fog begins to form when water vapor condenses into tiny liquid water droplets suspended in the air. Water vapor normally begins to condense on condensation nuclei such as dust, ice, Fog, like its elevated cousin stratus, is a stable cloud deck which tends to form when a cool, stable air mass is trapped underneath a warm air mass. Fog normally occurs at a relative humidity near 100% and this occurs from either added moisture in the air, or falling ambient air temperature. However, fog can form at lower humidities, and can fail to form with relative humidity at 100%. At 100% relative humidity, the air cannot hold additional moisture, thus, Fog can form suddenly and can dissipate just as rapidly. The sudden formation of fog is known as flash fog, Fog commonly produces precipitation in the form of drizzle or very light snow. Drizzle occurs when the humidity of fog attains 100% and the cloud droplets begin to coalesce into larger droplets. This can occur when the fog layer is lifted and cooled sufficiently, drizzle becomes freezing drizzle when the temperature at the surface drops below the freezing point. The inversion boundary varies its altitude primarily in response to the weight of the air above it, the marine layer, and any fogbank it may contain, will be squashed when the pressure is high, and conversely, may expand upwards when the pressure above it is lowering. Fog can form in a number of ways, depending on how the cooling that caused the condensation occurred, radiation fog is formed by the cooling of land after sunset by thermal radiation in calm conditions with clear sky. The warm ground produces condensation in the air by heat conduction. In perfect calm the fog layer can be less than a meter deep, radiation fogs occur at night, and usually do not last long after sunrise, but they can persist all day in the winter months especially in areas bounded by high ground. Radiation fog is most common in autumn and early winter, examples of this phenomenon include the Tule fog. Ground fog is fog that obscures less than 60% of the sky, advection fog occurs when moist air passes over a cool surface by advection and is cooled
12.
Snorri Sturluson
–
Snorri Sturluson was an Icelandic historian, poet, and politician. He was elected twice as lawspeaker at the Icelandic parliament, the Althing and he was also the author of the Heimskringla, a history of the Norwegian kings that begins with legendary material in Ynglinga saga and moves through to early medieval Scandinavian history. For stylistic and methodological reasons, Snorri is often taken to be the author of Egils saga, as a historian and mythographer, Snorri is remarkable for proposing the hypothesis that mythological gods begin as human war leaders and kings whose funeral sites develop cults. As people call upon the war leader as they go to battle, or the dead king as they face tribal hardship. Eventually, the king or warrior is remembered only as a god and he also proposed that as tribes defeat others, they explain their victory by proposing that their own gods were in battle with the gods of the others. Snorri Sturluson was born in Hvammur into the wealthy and powerful Sturlungar family of the Icelandic Commonwealth and his parents were Sturla Þórðarson the elder of Hvammur and his second wife, Guðný Böðvarsdóttir. He had two brothers, Þórðr Sturluson and Sighvatr Sturluson, two sisters and nine half-siblings. By a quirk of circumstance Snorri was raised from the age of three by Jón Loftsson, a relative of the Norwegian royal family, in Oddi, Iceland. The resulting settlement would have beggared Páll, but Jón Loftsson intervened in the Althing to mitigate the judgment and, to compensate Sturla, offered to raise, Snorri therefore received an excellent education and made connections that he might not otherwise have made. He attended the school of Sæmundr fróði, grandfather of Jón Loftsson, at Oddi and his father died in 1183 and his mother as guardian soon wasted Snorris share of the inheritance. The two families arranged an marriage in 1199 between Snorri and Herdís, the daughter of Bersi Vermundarson. From her father, Snorri inherited an estate at Borg and a chieftainship and he soon acquired more property and chieftainships. Snorri and Herdís were together for four years at Borg and they had at least two children, Hallbera and Jón. The marriage succumbed to Snorris philandering, and in 1206, he settled in Reykholt as manager of an estate there and he made significant improvements to the estate, including a hot outdoor bath. The bath and the buildings have preserved to some extent. During the initial years at Reykholt he fathered five children by three different women, Guðrún Hreinsdóttir, Oddný, and Þuríður Hallsdóttir, Snorri quickly became known as a poet, but was also a successful lawyer. In 1215, he became lawspeaker of the Althing, the public office of the Icelandic commonwealth. In the summer of 1218, he left the position and sailed to Norway
13.
Gylfi
–
In Norse mythology, Gylfi, Gylfe, Gylvi, or Gylve was the earliest recorded king in Scandinavia. He often uses the name Gangleri when appearing in disguise, the traditions on Gylfi deal with how he was tricked by the gods and his relations with the goddess Gefjon. The Ynglinga saga section of Snorris Heimskringla and the Eddic poem Ragnarsdrápa tell a legend of how Gylfi was seduced by the goddess Gefjon to give her as much land as she could plow in one night. Gefjon transformed her four sons into oxen and took enough land to create the Danish island of Zealand, Gylfi and the remaining older bronze-age inhabitants of the land then supposedly adopted the religion of the Æsir and began to live under their rule. Snorri presents an outline of Norse mythology through a dialogue between Gylfi and three rulers of the Æsir and it is possible that Snorris account is based on an old tradition tracing particular beliefs or foundations of particular Norse cults to this legendary Gylfi. However, it is more likely that the Historic King Gylfi was simply already a follower of the Ancient Norse Religion. In one version of Hervarar saga, king Gylfi married his daughter Heiðr to Sigrlami, Heiðr and Sigrlami had the son Svafrlami who forced the two dwarves Dvalin and Durin to forge the magic sword Tyrfing
14.
Scandinavia
–
Scandinavia /ˌskændᵻˈneɪviə/ is a historical and cultural region in Northern Europe characterized by a common ethnocultural North Germanic heritage and mutually intelligible North Germanic languages. The term Scandinavia always includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, the remote Norwegian islands of Svalbard and Jan Mayen are usually not seen as a part of Scandinavia, nor is Greenland, an overseas territory of Denmark. This looser definition almost equates to that of the Nordic countries, in Nordic languages, only Denmark, Norway and Sweden are commonly included in the definition of Scandinavia. In English usage, Scandinavia sometimes refers to the geographical area, the name Scandinavia originally referred vaguely to the formerly Danish, now Swedish, region Scania. Icelanders and the Faroese are to a significant extent descended from the Norse, Finland is mainly populated by Finns, with a minority of approximately 5% of Swedish speakers. A small minority of Sami people live in the north of Scandinavia. The Danish, Norwegian and Swedish languages form a continuum and are known as the Scandinavian languages—all of which are considered mutually intelligible with one another. Faroese and Icelandic, sometimes referred to as insular Scandinavian languages, are intelligible in continental Scandinavian languages only to a limited extent, Finnish and Meänkieli are closely related to each other and more distantly to the Sami languages, but are entirely unrelated to the Scandinavian languages. Apart from these, German, Yiddish and Romani are recognized minority languages in Scandinavia, the southern and by far most populous regions of Scandinavia have a temperate climate. Scandinavia extends north of the Arctic Circle, but has mild weather for its latitude due to the Gulf Stream. Much of the Scandinavian mountains have a tundra climate. There are many lakes and moraines, legacies of the last glacial period, Scandinavia usually refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. Some sources argue for the inclusion of the Faroe Islands, Finland and Iceland, though that broader region is known by the countries concerned as Norden. Before this time, the term Scandinavia was familiar mainly to classical scholars through Pliny the Elders writings, and was used vaguely for Scania, as a political term, Scandinavia was first used by students agitating for Pan-Scandinavianism in the 1830s. After a visit to Sweden, Andersen became a supporter of early political Scandinavism, the term is often defined according to the conventions of the cultures that lay claim to the term in their own use. More precisely, and subject to no dispute, is that Finland is included in the broader term Nordic countries, various promotional agencies of the Nordic countries in the United States serve to promote market and tourism interests in the region. The official tourist boards of Scandinavia sometimes cooperate under one umbrella, Norways government entered one year later. All five Nordic governments participate in the joint promotional efforts in the United States through the Scandinavian Tourist Board of North America, Scandinavia can thus be considered a subset of the Nordic countries
15.
Odin
–
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
16.
Ymir
–
In Norse mythology, Ymir, Aurgelmir, Brimir, or Bláinn is the ancestor of all jötnar. Ymir is attested in the Poetic Edda, compiled in the 13th century from traditional material, in the Prose Edda, written by Snorri Sturluson in the 13th century. Ymir birthed a male and female from the pits of his arms, in addition, one stanza relates that the dwarfs were given life by the gods from Ymirs flesh and blood. In the Prose Edda, a narrative is provided that draws from, adds to, according to the Prose Edda, after Ymir was formed from the elemental drops, so too was Auðumbla, a primeval cow, whose milk Ymir fed from. The Prose Edda also states that three gods killed Ymir, the brothers Odin, Vili and Vé, and details that, upon Ymirs death, Ymir is mentioned in four poems in the Poetic Edda, Völuspá, Vafþrúðnismál, Grímnismál, and Hyndluljóð. In Völuspá, in which an undead völva imparts knowledge in the god Odin, in the first instance, the third stanza of the poem, Ymir is mentioned by name, In the above translations the name of the location Ginnungagap is translated as chaotic chasm and yawning gap. Later in the poem, a few references are apparently made to Ymir as Brimir and Bláinn, In this stanza Thorpe has treated Brimir. Brimir and Blain are usually held to be proper names that refer to Ymir, in the poem Vafþrúðnismál, the god Odin engages the wise jötunn Vafþrúðnir in a game of wits. Odin asks Vafþrúðnir to tell him, if Vafþrúðnirs knowledge is sufficient, in the first of which that refers to Ymir, Odin asks from where first came the Earth and the sky. The jötunn responds with an account involving Ymir, As the verbal battle continues. Odin asks what ancient jötun is the eldest of Ymirs kin, and Vafþrúðnir responds that long, long ago it was Bergelmir, in the poem Grímnismál, the god Odin imparts in the young Agnarr cosmological knowledge. In one stanza, Odin mentions Ymir as he recalls the fashioning of the world from his body, In a stanza of Völuspá hin skamma, Ymir receives one more mention. According to the stanza, völvas are descended from Viðòlfr, all seers from Vilmeiðr, all charm-workers from Svarthöfði, Ymir is mentioned in two books of the Prose Edda, Gylfaginning and Skáldskaparmál. Ymir is first mentioned in chapter 5 of the prior, in which High, Just-As-High, the trio explain that the first world to exist was Muspell, a glowing, fiery southern region consisting of flames, uninhabitable by non-natives. After many ages Niflheimr was made, and within it lies a spring, Hvergelmir, Gangleri asks the three what things were like before mankind. And so, when this ice came to a halt and stopped flowing and this rime increased, layer upon layer, across Ginnungagap. Just-As-High adds that the part of Ginnungagap was heavy with ice and rime. Yet the southern part of Ginunngagap was clear on account of the sparks, Third assesses that just as from Niflheim there was coldness and all things grim, so what was facing close to Muspell was hot and bright, but Ginunngagap was as mild as a windless sky
17.
World tree
–
The world tree is a motif present in several religions and mythologies, particularly Indo-European religions, Siberian religions, and Native American religions. The world tree is represented as a tree which supports the heavens, thereby connecting the heavens, the terrestrial world, and, through its roots. It may also be connected to the motif of the tree of life. In Norse mythology, Yggdrasil is the world tree, Yggdrasil is attested in the Poetic Edda, compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources, and the Prose Edda, written in the 13th century by Snorri Sturluson. In both sources, Yggdrasil is an ash tree that is central and considered very holy. The Æsir go to Yggdrasil daily to hold their courts, creatures live within Yggdrasil, including the harts Dáinn, Dvalinn, Duneyrr and Duraþrór, the giant in eagle-shape Hraesvelgr, the squirrel Ratatoskr and the wyrm Níðhöggr. Scholarly theories have proposed about the etymology of the name Yggdrasil, the potential relation to the trees Mímameiðr and Læraðr. The world tree is represented in the mythologies and folklore of Northern Asia and Siberia. In the mythology of the Samoyeds, the world tree connects different realities together, in their mythology the world tree is also the symbol of Mother Earth who is said to give the Samoyed shaman his drum and also help him travel from one world to another. The symbol of the tree is also common in Tengriism. The world tree is visible in the designs of the Crown of Silla, Silla being one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea and this link is used to establish a connection between Siberian peoples and those of Korea. Among pre-Columbian Mesoamerican cultures, the concept of trees is a prevalent motif in Mesoamerican mythical cosmologies. The Temple of the Cross Complex at Palenque contains one of the most studied examples of the tree in architectural motifs of all Mayan ruins. Among the Maya, the world tree was conceived as, or represented by. The trunk of the tree could also be represented by an upright caiman, directional world trees are also associated with the four Yearbearers in Mesoamerican calendars, and the directional colors and deities. Mesoamerican codices which have this association outlined include the Dresden, Borgia and it is supposed that Mesoamerican sites and ceremonial centers frequently had actual trees planted at each of the four cardinal directions, representing the quadripartite concept. World trees are depicted with birds in their branches. The central world tree has also interpreted as a representation of the band of the Milky Way
18.
Yggdrasill
–
Yggdrasil is an immense mythical tree that connects the nine worlds in Norse cosmology. Yggdrasil is attested in the Poetic Edda, compiled in the 13th century from traditional sources. In both sources, Yggdrasil is an ash tree that is center to the cosmos and considered very holy. The gods go to Yggdrasil daily to assemble at their things, creatures live within Yggdrasil, including the dragon Níðhöggr, an unnamed eagle, and the stags Dáinn, Dvalinn, Duneyrr and Duraþrór. The generally accepted meaning of Old Norse Yggdrasill is Odins horse and this interpretation comes about because drasill means horse and Ygg is one of Odins many names. The Poetic Edda poem Hávamál describes how Odin sacrificed himself by hanging from a tree and this tree may have been Yggdrasil. Gallows can be called the horse of the hanged and therefore Odins gallows may have developed into the expression Odins horse, according to this interpretation, askr Yggdrasils would mean the world tree upon which the horse of the highest god is bound. Both of these rely on a presumed but unattested *Yggsdrasill. A third interpretation, presented by F. Detter, is that the name Yggdrasill refers to the word yggr, yet not in reference to the Odinic name, and so Yggdrasill would then mean tree of terror, gallows. F. R. Schröder has proposed a fourth etymology according to which yggdrasill means yew pillar, deriving yggia from *igwja, in the Poetic Edda, the tree is mentioned in the three poems Völuspá, Hávamál and Grímnismál. In stanza 19, the völva says, An ash I know there stands, Yggdrasill is its name, from there come the dews that drop in the valleys. It stands forever green over Urðrs well, in stanza 20, the völva says that from the lake under the tree come three maidens deep in knowledge named Urðr, Verðandi, and Skuld. The maidens incised the slip of wood, laid down laws and chose lives for the children of mankind, in stanza 27, the völva details that she is aware that Heimdallrs hearing is couched beneath the bright-nurtured holy tree. In stanza 45, Yggdrasil receives a mention in the poem. The völva describes, as a part of the onset of Ragnarök, that Heimdallr blows Gjallarhorn, that Odin speaks with Mímirs head, and then, Yggdrasill shivers, the old tree groans, and the giant slips free. In stanza 137 of the poem Hávamál, Odin describes how he sacrificed himself to himself by hanging on a tree. The stanza reads, I know that I hung on a windy tree nine long nights, wounded with a spear, dedicated to Odin, myself to myself, on that tree of which no man knows from where its roots run. In the stanza that follows, Odin describes how he had no food nor drink there, that he peered downward, in the poem Grímnismál, Odin provides the young Agnar with cosmological lore
19.
Loki
–
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
20.
Thor
–
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
21.
Asgard
–
In Norse religion, Asgard is one of the Nine Worlds and home to the Æsir tribe of gods. It is surrounded by an incomplete wall attributed to a Hrimthurs riding the stallion Svaðilfari, Odin and his wife, Frigg, are the rulers of Asgard. One of Asgards well known locations is Valhalla, in which Odin rules, völuspá, the first poem of the work, mentions many of the features and characters of Asgard portrayed by Snorri, such as Yggdrasil and Iðavöllr. The Prose Edda presents two views regarding Asgard, in the Prologue Snorri offers an euhemerized and Christian-influenced interpretation of the myths and tales of his forefathers. Snorris interpretation of the 13th century foreshadows 20th-century views of Indo-European migration from the east, Snorri further writes that Asgard is a land more fertile than any other, blessed also with a great abundance of gold and jewels. Correspondingly, the Æsir excelled beyond all other people in strength, beauty, Snorri proposes the location of Asgard as Troy, the center of the earth. About it were 12 kingdoms and 12 chiefs, one of them, Múnón, married Priams daughter, Tróán, and had by her a son, Trór, to be pronounced Thor in Old Norse. The latter was raised in Thrace, at age 12 he was whiter than ivory, had hair lighter than gold, and could lift 10 bear skins at once. His father, Odin, led a migration to the northern lands, one of the sons of Odin was Yngvi, founder of the Ynglingar, an early royal family of Sweden. In Gylfaginning, Snorri presents the mythological version, taken no doubt from his sources, icelanders were still being converted at that time. He could not present the myths as part of any current belief, instead he resorts to a debunking device, Gylfi, king of Sweden before the Æsir, travels to Asgard and finds there a large hall in Section 2. Within are three officials, whom Gylfi in the guise of Gangleri is allowed to question about the Asgard and the Æsir. A revelation of the ancient myths follows, but at the end the palace, in Gylfis delusion, ancient Asgard was ruled by the senior god, the all-father, who had twelve names. He was the ruler of everything and the creator of heaven, the sons of Bor then constructed Asgard as a home for the Æsir, who were divinities. Odin is identified as the all-father, Asgard is conceived as being on the earth. A rainbow bridge, Bifröst, connects it to heaven, in Asgard also is a temple for the 12 gods, Gladsheim, and another for the 12 goddesses, Vingólf. The plain of Idavoll is the centre of Asgard, the gods hold court there every day at the Well of Urd, beneath an ash tree, Yggdrasil, debating the fates of men and gods. The more immediate destinies of men are assigned by the Norns and it also states Thor is a god as well
22.
Elf
–
An elf is a type of supernatural being in Germanic mythology and folklore. Reconstructing the early concept of an elf depends almost entirely on texts in Old English or relating to Norse mythology, later evidence for elves appears in diverse sources such as medical texts, prayers, ballads, and folktales. Legends of álfar may have been changing and were perhaps always heterogeneous so it might be argued that any particular source will only reflect the state of affairs at one given time. However, the character of beliefs in elves across the Germanic-speaking world has varied considerably across time, space. In Old Norse mythological texts, elves seem at least at times to be counted among the gods, in medieval German texts they seem more consistently monstrous. Elves are prominently associated with sexual threats, seducing people and causing them harm, for example, a number of early modern ballads in the British Isles and Scandinavia, originating in the medieval period, describe human encounters with elves. In English literature of the Elizabethan era, elves became conflated with the fairies of Romance culture, German Romanticist writers were influenced by this notion of the elf, and reimported the English word elf in that context into the German language. In Scandinavia, probably through a process of euphemism, elves often came to be conflated with the called the huldra or huldufólk. Meanwhile, German folklore has tended to see the conflation of elves with dwarfs, the Christmas elves of contemporary popular culture are of relatively recent tradition, popularized during the late nineteenth-century in the United States. Elves entered the high fantasy genre in the wake of works published by authors such as J. R. R. Tolkien, for which. The English word elf is from the Old English word most often attested as ælf, although this word took a variety of forms in different Old English dialects, these converged on the form elf during the Middle English period. During the Old English period, separate forms were used for female elves, the main medieval Germanic cognates of elf are Old Norse alfr, plural alfar, and Old High German alp, plural alpî, elpî. These words must come from Common Germanic, the ancestor-language of English, German, and the Scandinavian languages, Germanic *ɑlβi-z~*ɑlβɑ-z is generally agreed to be cognate with the Latin albus, Old Irish ailbhín, Albanian elb, and Germanic words for ‘swan’ such as Modern Icelandic álpt. These all come from an Indo-European base *albh-, and seem to be connected by whiteness, the Germanic word presumably originally meant white person, perhaps as a euphemism. Jakob Grimm thought that whiteness implied positive moral connotations, and, noting Snorri Sturlusons ljósálfar and this is not necessarily the case, however. Compare descriptions such as ‘swan white’ to describe the beauty of fair complexion, Norse cultural values view masculinity as an ideal of beauty, which the Alfr personifies. For example, the Norse Eddas similarly celebrate the beauty of Baldr. Icelandic Sagas celebrate the beauty of the giants, and certain warrior kings that descend from them
23.
Heimdallr
–
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
24.
Aurgelmir
–
In Norse mythology, Ymir, Aurgelmir, Brimir, or Bláinn is the ancestor of all jötnar. Ymir is attested in the Poetic Edda, compiled in the 13th century from traditional material, in the Prose Edda, written by Snorri Sturluson in the 13th century. Ymir birthed a male and female from the pits of his arms, in addition, one stanza relates that the dwarfs were given life by the gods from Ymirs flesh and blood. In the Prose Edda, a narrative is provided that draws from, adds to, according to the Prose Edda, after Ymir was formed from the elemental drops, so too was Auðumbla, a primeval cow, whose milk Ymir fed from. The Prose Edda also states that three gods killed Ymir, the brothers Odin, Vili and Vé, and details that, upon Ymirs death, Ymir is mentioned in four poems in the Poetic Edda, Völuspá, Vafþrúðnismál, Grímnismál, and Hyndluljóð. In Völuspá, in which an undead völva imparts knowledge in the god Odin, in the first instance, the third stanza of the poem, Ymir is mentioned by name, In the above translations the name of the location Ginnungagap is translated as chaotic chasm and yawning gap. Later in the poem, a few references are apparently made to Ymir as Brimir and Bláinn, In this stanza Thorpe has treated Brimir. Brimir and Blain are usually held to be proper names that refer to Ymir, in the poem Vafþrúðnismál, the god Odin engages the wise jötunn Vafþrúðnir in a game of wits. Odin asks Vafþrúðnir to tell him, if Vafþrúðnirs knowledge is sufficient, in the first of which that refers to Ymir, Odin asks from where first came the Earth and the sky. The jötunn responds with an account involving Ymir, As the verbal battle continues. Odin asks what ancient jötun is the eldest of Ymirs kin, and Vafþrúðnir responds that long, long ago it was Bergelmir, in the poem Grímnismál, the god Odin imparts in the young Agnarr cosmological knowledge. In one stanza, Odin mentions Ymir as he recalls the fashioning of the world from his body, In a stanza of Völuspá hin skamma, Ymir receives one more mention. According to the stanza, völvas are descended from Viðòlfr, all seers from Vilmeiðr, all charm-workers from Svarthöfði, Ymir is mentioned in two books of the Prose Edda, Gylfaginning and Skáldskaparmál. Ymir is first mentioned in chapter 5 of the prior, in which High, Just-As-High, the trio explain that the first world to exist was Muspell, a glowing, fiery southern region consisting of flames, uninhabitable by non-natives. After many ages Niflheimr was made, and within it lies a spring, Hvergelmir, Gangleri asks the three what things were like before mankind. And so, when this ice came to a halt and stopped flowing and this rime increased, layer upon layer, across Ginnungagap. Just-As-High adds that the part of Ginnungagap was heavy with ice and rime. Yet the southern part of Ginunngagap was clear on account of the sparks, Third assesses that just as from Niflheim there was coldness and all things grim, so what was facing close to Muspell was hot and bright, but Ginunngagap was as mild as a windless sky
25.
Sophus Bugge
–
Sophus Bugge was a noted Norwegian philologist and linguist. His scholarly work was directed to the study of runic inscriptions, Bugge is best known for his theories and his work on the runic alphabet and the Poetic Edda and Prose Edda. Elseus Sophus Bugge was born in Larvik, in Vestfold county and his ancestors had been merchants, ship owners and captains of the Larvik for several generations. Bugge was a cand. mag. and research fellow in comparative linguistics and he was educated in Christiania, Copenhagen and Berlin. In 1866 he became professor of philology, comparative Indo-European linguistics. His scientific work was of importance for the Norse philology. In his 1880 work Studies about the origin of Nordic mythological and heroic tales, Bugge theorized that all myths in Old Norse literature derive from Christian. Bugges theories were generally rejected, but have had some influence. Bugge was the author of a large number of books on philology. His principal work, an edition of the Poetic Edda, was published at Christiania in 1867. He maintained that the Eddic poems and the sagas were largely founded on Christian. Dating from 1902, Bugges vision was so poor that he could no longer read, Professor and linguist Magnus Olsen, who was Bugges assistant and his successor, would read and describe new discoveries of inscriptions. Bugges final works regarding original rune scripture were not completed before he died and they were released between 1910 and 1913 through the efforts of Professor Olsen. Bugge was a member of the Scientific Society of Christiania from 1858, The Royal Norwegian Scientific Society in Trondheim and he was made honorary doctor at Uppsala University in 1877. He was appointed a Knight of the Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav in 1877, Bugge was married during 1869 to Karen Sophie Schreiner. His son Alexander Bugge became a noted historian, gamle norske Folkeviser Norrøne Skrifter af sagnhistorisk Indhold Norrœn Fornkvæði Fortale XLVI, Argument against Hrafna-galdr Óðins. Studier over de nordiske Gude- og Heltesagns Oprindelse, indledning, Runeskriftens Oprindelse og ældste Historie, 1905–13 Der Runenstein von Rök in Östergötland,1910 Simek, Rudolf translated by Angela Hall. ISBN 0-85991-513-1 This article incorporates text from a now in the public domain, Chisholm, Hugh, ed. Bugge
26.
Underworld
–
The underworld or netherworld is an otherworld thought to be deep underground or beneath the surface of the world in most religions and mythologies. Typically it is a place where the souls of the departed go, chthonic is the technical adjective for things of the underworld. This list includes underworlds in mythology, with links to corresponding articles. This list includes rulers or guardians of the underworld in various mythologies, otherworld World Tree — A tree that connects the heavens, the earth, and the underworld in a number of spiritual belief systems
27.
Aztec mythology
–
Aztec mythology is the body or collection of myths of Aztec civilization of Central Mexico. The Aztecs were Nahuatl-speaking groups living in central Mexico and much of their mythology is similar to that of other Mesoamerican cultures, according to legend, the various groups who were to become the Aztecs arrived from the north into the Anahuac valley around Lake Texcoco. The location of this valley and lake of destination is clear – it is the heart of modern Mexico City –, there are different accounts of their origin. In the myth the ancestors of the Mexica/Aztec came from a place in the north called Aztlan, other accounts cite their origin in Chicomoztoc, the place of the seven caves, or at Tamoanchan. The Mexica/Aztec were said to be guided by their god Huitzilopochtli, at an island in Lake Texcoco, they saw an eagle holding a rattlesnake in its talons, perched on a nopal cactus. This vision fulfilled a prophecy telling them that they should found their new home on that spot, the Aztecs built their city of Tenochtitlan on that site, building a great artificial island, which today is in the center of Mexico City. This legendary vision is pictured on the Coat of Arms of Mexico, to the Aztec, the Toltec were the originators of all culture, Toltecayotl was a synonym for culture. Aztec legends identify the Toltecs and the cult of Quetzalcoatl with the city of Tollan. Because the Aztec adopted and combined several traditions with their own earlier traditions, coatlicue was the mother of Centzon Huitznahua, her sons, and Coyolxauhqui, her daughter. She found a ball filled with feathers and placed it in her waistband and her other children became suspicious as to the identity of the father and vowed to kill their mother. She gave birth on Mount Coatepec, pursued by her children, but the newborn Huitzilopochtli defeated most of his brothers and he also killed his half-sister Coyolxauhqui by tearing out her heart using a Xiuhcoatl and throwing her body down the mountain. Our age, the age, or fifth creation, began in the ancient city of Teotihuacan. According to the myth, all the gods had gathered to sacrifice themselves, although the world and the sun had already been created, it would only be through their sacrifice that the sun would be set into motion and time as well as history could begin. The handsomest and strongest of the gods, Tecuciztecatl, was supposed to sacrifice himself but when it time to self-immolate. Instead, Nanahuatl the smallest and humblest of the gods, who was covered in boils, sacrificed himself first. The sun was set into motion with his sacrifice and time began, humiliated by Nanahuatls sacrifice, Tecuciztecatl too leaped into the fire and became the moon. Water deities Tlaloc, rain god Chalchiuhtlicue, goddess of water, lakes, rivers, seas, streams, horizontal waters, storms, Xipe-Totec, god of force, lord of the seasons and rebirth, ruler of the East. Quetzalcoatl, god of the life, the light and wisdom, lord of the winds, Huitzilopochtli, god of the war, lord of the sun and fire, ruler of the South
28.
Mictlan
–
Mictlan was the underworld of Aztec mythology. Most people who died went to Mictlan, although other possibilities existed, Mictlan, far to the north, consisted of nine distinct levels. The journey from the first level to the ninth was difficult and took four years, Mictlan also features in the Aztec creation myth. Mictlantecuhtli set a pit to trap Quetzalcoatl, when Quetzalcoatl entered Mictlan, Mictlantecuhtli was waiting. He asked Quetzalcoatl to travel around Mictlan four times blowing a conch shell with no holes, Quetzalcoatl eventually put some bees in the conch shell to make sound. Fooled, Mictlantecuhtli showed Quetzalcoatl to the bones, but Quetzalcoatl fell into the pit and some of the bones broke. The Aztecs believed this is why people are different sizes, Mictlan was ruled by King Mictlantecuhtli and his wife, Mictecacihuatl. Other deities in Mictlan included Cihuacoatl, Acolmiztli, Chalmecacihuilt, Chalmecatl and Acolnahuacatl, the nine regions of Mictlán in Aztec mythology take shape within the Nahua worldview of space and time as parts of a universe composed of living forces. According to Mexica mythology, in the beginning there were two gods, Omecíhuatl and Ometecuhtli, whose children became the creator gods. The names of these gods were Xipetótec, Tezcatlipoca, Quetzalcóatl, and Huitzilopochtli. The higher part was supported by four gigantic trees, growing in each corner of the Tlalocán, such imagery is also found in the idea of a world tree, such as Yggdrasil in Norse mythology, Jian Mu in Chinese mythology or the Ashvattha fig in Hindu mythology. These trees impeded the joining of the Overworld and the Underworld to Tlaltícpac, the earth was a land formed from the body of Cipactli, the crocodilomorphic sea monster, and was a solid, living land that generated food for humankind. Cipactli was mother nature, from whom was created the surface, as they organized the universe horizontally and vertically, the four creator gods forged the pairs of gods who would control each area of power, the water, the earth, fire and the dead. In addition to Mictlan, the dead could also go to destinations, Warriors who died in battle. Women who died in childbirth went to the west and accompanied the sun when it set in the evening. People who died of drowning — or from causes that were linked to the rain god Tlaloc, such as certain diseases
29.
Buddhism
–
Buddhism is a religion and dharma that encompasses a variety of traditions, beliefs and spiritual practices largely based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. Buddhism originated in India sometime between the 6th and 4th centuries BCE, from where it spread through much of Asia, two major extant branches of Buddhism are generally recognized by scholars, Theravada and Mahayana. Buddhism is the worlds fourth-largest religion, with over 500 million followers or 7% of the global population, Buddhist schools vary on the exact nature of the path to liberation, the importance and canonicity of various teachings and scriptures, and especially their respective practices. In Theravada the ultimate goal is the attainment of the state of Nirvana, achieved by practicing the Noble Eightfold Path, thus escaping what is seen as a cycle of suffering. Theravada has a following in Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia. Mahayana, which includes the traditions of Pure Land, Zen, Nichiren Buddhism, Shingon, rather than Nirvana, Mahayana instead aspires to Buddhahood via the bodhisattva path, a state wherein one remains in the cycle of rebirth to help other beings reach awakening. Vajrayana, a body of teachings attributed to Indian siddhas, may be viewed as a branch or merely a part of Mahayana. Tibetan Buddhism, which preserves the Vajrayana teachings of eighth century India, is practiced in regions surrounding the Himalayas, Tibetan Buddhism aspires to Buddhahood or rainbow body. Buddhism is an Indian religion attributed to the teachings of Buddha, the details of Buddhas life are mentioned in many early Buddhist texts but are inconsistent, his social background and life details are difficult to prove, the precise dates uncertain. Some hagiographic legends state that his father was a king named Suddhodana, his mother queen Maya, and he was born in Lumbini gardens. Some of the stories about Buddha, his life, his teachings, Buddha was moved by the innate suffering of humanity. He meditated on this alone for a period of time, in various ways including asceticism, on the nature of suffering. He famously sat in meditation under a Ficus religiosa tree now called the Bodhi Tree in the town of Bodh Gaya in Gangetic plains region of South Asia. He reached enlightenment, discovering what Buddhists call the Middle Way, as an enlightened being, he attracted followers and founded a Sangha. Now, as the Buddha, he spent the rest of his teaching the Dharma he had discovered. Dukkha is a concept of Buddhism and part of its Four Noble Truths doctrine. It can be translated as incapable of satisfying, the unsatisfactory nature, the Four Truths express the basic orientation of Buddhism, we crave and cling to impermanent states and things, which is dukkha, incapable of satisfying and painful. This keeps us caught in saṃsāra, the cycle of repeated rebirth, dukkha
30.
Naraka (Buddhism)
–
Naraka is a term in Buddhist cosmology usually referred to in English as hell or purgatory. The Narakas of Buddhism are closely related to diyu, the hell in Chinese mythology, a being is born into a Naraka as a direct result of his or her accumulated actions and resides there for a finite period of time until that karma has achieved its full result. After his or her karma is used up, he or she will be reborn in one of the worlds as the result of karma that had not yet ripened. In the Devaduta Sutta, the 130th discourse of Majjhima Nikaya, physically, Narakas are thought of as a series of cavernous layers which extend below Jambudvīpa into the earth. There are several schemes for enumerating these Narakas and describing their torments, the Abhidharma-kosa is the root text that describes the most common scheme, as the Eight Cold Narakas and Eight Hot Narakas. Arbuda, the blister Naraka, is a dark, frozen plain surrounded by icy mountains, inhabitants of this world arise fully grown and abide lifelong naked and alone, while the cold raises blisters upon their bodies. The length of life in this Naraka is said to be the time it would take to empty a barrel of sesame seeds if one took out a single seed every hundred years. Nirarbuda, the burst blister Naraka, is colder than Arbuda. There, the blisters burst open, leaving the bodies covered with frozen blood. There, beings shiver in the cold, making a sound with their mouths. There, the lament in the cold, going haa, haa in pain. Huhuva, the chattering teeth Naraka, is where beings shiver as their teeth chatter, utpala is the blue lotus Naraka. The intense cold there makes the turn blue like the colour of an utpala waterlily. Padma, the lotus Naraka, has blizzards that crack open frozen skin, leaving one raw, mahāpadma is the great lotus Naraka. The entire body cracks into pieces and the organs are exposed to the cold. Each lifetime in these Narakas is twenty times the length of the one before it, Sañjīva, the reviving Naraka, has ground made of hot iron heated by an immense fire. Beings in this Naraka appear fully grown, already in a state of fear, as soon as the being begins to fear being harmed by others, their fellows appear and attack each other with iron claws and hell guards appear and attack the being with fiery weapons. As soon as the experiences a unconsciousness like death, they are suddenly restored to full health
31.
Chinese mythology
–
Chinese mythology includes creation myths and legends, such as myths concerning the founding of Chinese culture and the Chinese state. As in many mythologies, Chinese mythology has in the past been believed to be, at least in part. Some myths are widely shared across multiple ethnic groups, but may exist as versions with some differences, historians have written evidence of Chinese mythological symbolism from the 12th century BC in the Oracle bone script. Legends were passed down for over a thousand years before being written in such as Classic of Mountains. Other myths continued to be passed down through oral traditions like theater, imperial historical documents and philosophical canons such as Book of Rites, Records of the Grand Historian, Book of Documents, and Lüshi Chunqiu all contain Chinese myths. Some myths survive in theatrical or literary formats as plays or novels, books in the shenmo genre of vernacular fiction revolve around gods and monsters. Examples include, Shangdi, also sometimes Huángtiān Dàdì, appeared as early as the Shang dynasty, in later eras, he was more commonly referred to as Huángtiān Shàngdì. The use of Huángtiān Dàdì refers to the Jade Emperor and Tian, Yu Di appeared in literature after the establishment of Taoism in China, his appearance as Yu Huang dates back to beyond the times of Yellow Emperor, Nüwa, or Fuxi. Tian appeared in literature c.700 BC, possibly earlier as dating depends on the date of the Shujing, there are no creation-oriented narratives for Tian. The qualities of Tian and Shangdi appear to have merged in later literature and are now worshiped as one entity in, for example, the extent of the distinction between Tian and Shangdi is debated. Nüwa appeared in no earlier than c.350 BC. Her companion, Fuxi, was her brother and husband and they are sometimes worshiped as the ultimate ancestor of all humankind, and are often represented as half-snake, half-humans. It is sometimes believed that Nüwa molded humans from clay for companionship and she repaired the sky after Gong Gong damaged the pillar supporting the heavens. Pangu, written about by Taoist author Xu Zheng c.200 AD, was claimed to be the first sentient being and creator, “making the heavens and these legendary rulers ruled between c.2850 BC to 2205 BC, before the Xia dynasty. The list of names comprising the Three August Ones and Five Emperors vary widely among sources, Emperor Ku, great-grandson of the Huang Emperor and nephew of Zhuanxu. Yao, son of Ku, Yaos elder brother succeeded Ku, Shun, successor of Yao, who passed over his own son and made Shun his successor because of Shuns ability and morality. These rulers are generally regarded as morally upright and benevolent, examples to be emulated by latter day kings, historically, when Qin Shi Huang united China in 221 BC, he felt that his achievements had surpassed those of all the rulers who had gone before him. He combined the ancient titles of Huáng and Dì to create a new title, Huángdì, Shun passed on his place as emperor to Yu the Great
32.
Diyu
–
Diyu is the realm of the dead or hell in Chinese mythology. Diyu is typically depicted as a maze with various levels and chambers. The exact number of levels in Diyu and their associated deities differ between Buddhist and Taoist interpretations. Some speak of three to four courts, others mention Ten Courts of Hell, each of which is ruled by a judge, other Chinese legends speak of the Eighteen Levels of Hell. According to ideas from Taoism, Buddhism and traditional Chinese folk religion, Diyu is a purgatory that serves to punish, many deities, whose names and purposes are the subject of conflicting accounts, are associated with Diyu. Some early Chinese societies speak of going to Mount Tai. At present, Fengdu and the temples on Mount Tai have been rebuilt into tourist attractions, incorporating artistic depictions of hell, the concept of the Ten Courts of Hell began after Chinese folk religion was influenced by Buddhism. In Chinese mythology, the Jade Emperor put Yama in charge of overseeing the affairs of Diyu, there are 12,800 hells located under the earth – eight dark hells, eight cold hells and 84,000 miscellaneous hells located at the edge of the universe. All will go to Diyu after death but the period of time one spends in Diyu is not indefinite – it depends on the severity of the sins one committed, after receiving due punishment, one will eventually be sent for reincarnation. In the meantime, souls pass from stage to stage at Yamas decision, Yama also reduced the number of hells to ten. He divided Diyu into ten courts, each overseen by a Yama King, among the various other geographic features believed of Diyu, the capital city has been thought to be named Youdu. It is generally conceived as being similar to a typical Chinese capital city, such as Changan, the concept of the eighteen hells started in the Tang dynasty. The Buddhist text Wen Diyu Jing mentioned 134 worlds of hell, Sinners feel pain and agony just like living humans when they are subjected to the tortures listed below. They cannot die from the torture because when the ordeal is over, the following is a list of common punishments and tortures in the hells, Mountain of Knives, Sinners are thrown off cliffs and land on mountainous terrain with sharp blades sticking out. Some depictions show offenders climbing trees with knives or sharp thorns sticking out of trunks, Cauldron torture, Sinners are fried in cauldrons of oil. Dismemberment, Sinners are dismembered by various means, including sawing, slicing into half, mashing/pounding into pulp, being crushed by rocks/boulders, being run over by vehicles, grinding torture, Sinners are put into a grinding machine and ground into a bloody pulp. Burning, Sinners are set aflame or cast into infernos, paolao torture, Sinners are stripped naked and tied to a large hollow metal cylinder with a fire lit at its base. Boiling liquid torture, Boiling liquids are forced down sinners throats or poured on parts of their bodies, Tortures involving removal of body parts or organs, Tongue ripping, eye gouging, teeth extraction, heart digging, disembowelment, skinning, etc
33.
Christianity
–
Christianity is a Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ, who serves as the focal point for the religion. It is the worlds largest religion, with over 2.4 billion followers, or 33% of the global population, Christians believe that Jesus is the Son of God and the savior of humanity whose coming as the Messiah was prophesied in the Old Testament. Christian theology is summarized in creeds such as the Apostles Creed and his incarnation, earthly ministry, crucifixion, and resurrection are often referred to as the gospel, meaning good news. The term gospel also refers to accounts of Jesuss life and teaching, four of which—Matthew, Mark, Luke. Christianity is an Abrahamic religion that began as a Second Temple Judaic sect in the mid-1st century, following the Age of Discovery, Christianity spread to the Americas, Australasia, sub-Saharan Africa, and the rest of the world through missionary work and colonization. Christianity has played a prominent role in the shaping of Western civilization, throughout its history, Christianity has weathered schisms and theological disputes that have resulted in many distinct churches and denominations. Worldwide, the three largest branches of Christianity are the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, and the denominations of Protestantism. There are many important differences of interpretation and opinion of the Bible, concise doctrinal statements or confessions of religious beliefs are known as creeds. They began as baptismal formulae and were expanded during the Christological controversies of the 4th and 5th centuries to become statements of faith. Many evangelical Protestants reject creeds as definitive statements of faith, even agreeing with some or all of the substance of the creeds. The Baptists have been non-creedal in that they have not sought to establish binding authoritative confessions of faith on one another. Also rejecting creeds are groups with roots in the Restoration Movement, such as the Christian Church, the Evangelical Christian Church in Canada, the Apostles Creed is the most widely accepted statement of the articles of Christian faith. It is also used by Presbyterians, Methodists, and Congregationalists and this particular creed was developed between the 2nd and 9th centuries. Its central doctrines are those of the Trinity and God the Creator, each of the doctrines found in this creed can be traced to statements current in the apostolic period. The creed was used as a summary of Christian doctrine for baptismal candidates in the churches of Rome. Most Christians accept the use of creeds, and subscribe to at least one of the mentioned above. The central tenet of Christianity is the belief in Jesus as the Son of God, Christians believe that Jesus, as the Messiah, was anointed by God as savior of humanity, and hold that Jesus coming was the fulfillment of messianic prophecies of the Old Testament. The Christian concept of the Messiah differs significantly from the contemporary Jewish concept, Jesus, having become fully human, suffered the pains and temptations of a mortal man, but did not sin
34.
Outer darkness
–
In Christianity, the outer darkness is a place referred to three times in the Gospel of Matthew into which a person may be cast out, and where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth. The phrase first occurs in Jesus comment concerning the faith of the Centurion of Capernaum, in this parable, a king arranged a wedding for his son, but the normal guests did not come, therefore, the king sent his servants to gather guests from off the street. One of these guests, however, appeared without the proper wedding attire, when the King asked, How did you come in here without wedding clothes. The man was speechless, therefore, the King said, Bind him hand and foot, for many are called, but few are chosen. The third use occurs in the Parable of the coins entrusted to servants, in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. ’. Both Luther, who taught soul sleep till the resurrection of the dead, and Calvin, today interpretation of these outer darkness verses are a subset of Protestant discussion on hell and annihilationism. In the Latter Day Saint movement, outer darkness can refer to hell or to the place where the sons of perdition will reside. The latter meaning is considered to be a place where the glory of God is completely absent, Latter Day Saint beliefs on hell are connected with the movements doctrines of the plan of salvation, the degrees of glory and the telestial kingdom. Sons of Perdition Spirits in prison 1 Peter 3,19
35.
Purgatory
–
The notion of Purgatory is associated particularly with the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church, Anglicans of the Anglo-Catholic tradition generally also hold to the belief. Judaism also believes in the possibility of purification and may even use the word purgatory to present its understanding of the meaning of Gehenna. However, the concept of soul purification may be denied in these other faith traditions. The same practice appears in traditions, such as the medieval Chinese Buddhist practice of making offerings on behalf of the dead. Roman Catholics consider the teaching on Purgatory, but not the imaginative accretions, of the early Church Fathers, Origen says that He who comes to be saved, comes to be saved through fire that burns away sins and worldliness like lead, leaving behind only pure gold. St. Ambrose of Milan speaks of a kind of baptism of fire which is located at the entrance to Heaven, and through which all must pass, at the end of the world. By this he meant that attachments to sin, habits of sin, and even venial sins could be removed in Purgatory, but not mortal sin, which, according to Catholic doctrine, causes eternal damnation. The Catholic Church gives the name Purgatory to the purification of all who die in Gods grace and friendship. Though Purgatory is often pictured as a rather than a process of purification. According to Catholic belief, immediately after death, a person undergoes judgment in which the eternal destiny is specified. Some are eternally united with God in Heaven, envisioned as a paradise of eternal joy, conversely, others reach a state called Hell, that is eternal separation from God often envisioned as an abode of never ending, fiery torment, a fire sometimes considered to be metaphorical. In addition to accepting the states of heaven and hell, Catholicism envisages a third state before being admitted to heaven, such souls, ultimately destined to be united with God in heaven, must first be cleansed through purgatory – a state of purification. Through purgatory, souls achieve the necessary to enter the joy of heaven. Mortal sin incurs both temporal punishment and eternal punishment, venial sin incurs only temporal punishment, the Catholic Church makes a distinction between these two types of sin. According to Catholicism, purification from our sinful tendencies can occur during life, the situation has been compared to that of someone who needs to be cleansed of any addiction. As from any addiction, rehabilitation from the disordered affection for created goods will be a gradual and it can be advanced during life by voluntary self-mortification and penance and by deeds of generosity that show love of God rather than of creatures. After death, a process can be recognized as a still necessary preparation for entering the divine presence. The writings of Saint Catherine of Genoa explain, As for paradise, whoever wishes to enter, does so
36.
Limbo
–
Medieval theologians of western Europe described the underworld as divided into four distinct parts, Hell of the Damned, Purgatory, Limbo of the Fathers or Patriarchs, and Limbo of the Infants. However, Limbo of the Infants is not a doctrine of the Catholic Church. The Catechism of the Catholic Church describes Christs descent into hell as meaning primarily that the crucified one sojourned in the realm of the prior to his resurrection. This was the first meaning given in the preaching to Christs descent into hell. It adds, But he descended there as Saviour, proclaiming the Good News to the imprisoned there. It does not use the word Limbo and this concept of Limbo affirms that admittance to Heaven is possible only through the intervention of Jesus Christ, but does not portray Moses, etc. as being punished eternally in Hell. The term Limbo does not appear in the Bible, the concept of Limbo of the Patriarchs is not spelled out in Scripture, but is seen by some as implicit in various references. Jesus told the Good Thief that the two of them would be together this day in Paradise, but between on the Sunday of his resurrection he said that he had not yet ascended to the Father. Some say that the descent of Jesus to the abode of the dead, his presence among them, turned it into a paradise. Others understand the text to mean not I say to you, This day you will be me in paradise. Timothy Radcliffe explained the today as a reference to the Today of eternity, Jesus is also described as preaching to the spirits in prison. Medieval drama sometimes portrayed Christ leading a dramatic assault—The Harrowing of Hell—during the three days between the Crucifixion and the resurrection, in this assault, Jesus freed the souls of the just and escorted them triumphantly into heaven. This imagery is used in the Eastern Orthodox Churchs Holy Saturday liturgy. The Limbo of Infants is a hypothesis about the permanent status of the unbaptized who die in infancy, too young to have committed personal sins, but not having been freed from original sin. Recent Catholic theological speculation tends to stress the hope, though not the certainty, so great was Augustines influence in the West, however, that the Latin Fathers of the 5th and 6th centuries did adopt his position. In the later period, some theologians continued to hold Augustines view. In the 12th century, Peter Abelard said that these infants suffered no material torment or positive punishment, others held that unbaptized infants suffered no pain at all, unaware of being deprived of the beatific vision, they enjoyed a state of natural, not supernatural happiness. This theory was associated with but independent of the term Limbo of Infants, hence they will nowise grieve for being deprived of the divine vision, nay, rather will they rejoice for that they will have a large share of Gods goodness and their own natural perfections
37.
Christian views on Hades
–
Hades, according to various Christian denominations, is the place or state of departed spirits. In the Septuagint, the Greek term ᾅδης is used to translate the Hebrew term שאול in, for example, Isaiah 38,18. In New Testament Greek, the Hebrew phrase לא־תעזב נפשׁי לשׁאול in Psalm 16,10 is quoted in Acts 2,27 as οὐκ ἐγκαταλείψεις τὴν ψυχήν μου εἰς ᾅδου. Except in this verse of 1 Corinthians, where it uses grave, modern translations, for which there are only 10 instances of the word ᾅδης in the New Testament, generally transliterate it as Hades. The word ᾅδης is usually related to afterlife punishment, death and Hades are repeatedly associated in the Book of Revelation. Thou shalt go down unto Hades, Greek, on the other hand, has kept the original meaning of ᾅδης and uses the word κόλασις to refer to what nowadays is usually meant by hell in English. Most mainstream Christian denominations and churches believe in form of conscious existence after the death of the body. The teaching of the Eastern Orthodox Church is that, after the leaves the body. There are exceptions, such as the Theotokos, who was borne by the angels directly into heaven, as for the rest, we must remain in this condition of waiting. Because some have a prevision of the glory to come and others foretaste their suffering, when Christ returns, the soul rejoins its risen body to be judged by Him in the Last judgment. The good and faithful servant will inherit eternal life, the unfaithful with the unbeliever will spend eternity in hell and their sins and their unbelief will torture them as fire. The Latin word infernus or infernum indicated the abode of the dead and it appears in both the documents quoted above, and pointed more obviously than the Greek word to an existence beneath the earth. Later, the transliteration hades of the Greek word ceased to be used in Latin, though infernus is usually translated into English as hell, it did not have the narrow sense that the English word has now acquired. It continued to have the meaning of abode of the dead. John Henry Hobart, an Anglican bishop, writes that Hades, or the place of the dead, is represented as a receptacle with gates. This space is divided into Paradise and Gehenna but with an impassable gulf between the two, souls, with exception of martyrs and saints, remain in Hades until the Final Judgment and Christians may also improve in holiness after death during the middle state before the final judgment. As such, many Anglicans pray for the dead, in the Methodist Church, hades denotes the intermediate state of souls between death and the general resurrection, which is divided into Paradise and Gehenna. After the general judgment, hades will be abolished, john Wesley, the founder of Methodism, made a distinction between hell and hades, and also between paradise and heaven itself
38.
Christian views on hell
–
In Christian theology, Hell is the place or state into which by Gods definitive judgment unrepentant sinners pass either immediately after death or in the general judgment. Its character is inferred from teaching in the texts, some of which. Theologians today generally see hell as the consequence of using free will to reject union with God and, because God will not force conformity, not incompatible with Gods justice. Calvinists, on the hand, believe hell is a consequence of Gods justice for mans sin. Different Hebrew and Greek words are translated as hell in most English-language Bibles and they include, Sheol in the Hebrew Bible, and Hades in the New Testament. Many modern versions, such as the New International Version, translate Sheol as grave and it is generally agreed that both sheol and hades do not typically refer to the place of eternal punishment, but to the grave, the temporary abode of the dead, the underworld. Gehenna in the New Testament, where it is described as a place where both soul and body could be destroyed in unquenchable fire, the word is translated as either hell or hell fire in many English versions. The Greek verb ταρταρῶ, which occurs once in the New Testament, is almost always translated by a phrase such as thrown down to hell. A few translations render it as Tartarus, of this term, in ancient Jewish belief, the dead were consigned to Sheol, a place to which all were sent indiscriminately. Sheol was thought of as a place situated below the ground, by at least the late rabbinical period, Gehinnom was viewed as the place of ultimate punishment, exemplified by the rabbinical statement the best of physicians are destined to Gehinnom. Also described in Assumption of Moses and 2 Esdras, the realm of eternal punishment in Hellenistic mythology was Tartarus, Hades was a form of limbo for the unjudged dead. Three different New Testament words appear in most English translations as hell, The most common New Testament term translated as hell is γέεννα, apart from one use in James 3,6, this term is found exclusively in the synoptic gospels. Gehenna is most frequently described as a place of torment, other passages mention darkness. Apart from the use of the term gehenna the Johannine writings refer to the destiny of the wicked in terms of perishing, death and condemnation or judgment. Paul speaks of wrath and everlasting destruction, while the general use a range of terms and images including raging fire, destruction, eternal fire. The New Testament also uses the Greek word hades, usually to refer to the abode of the dead, only one passage describes hades as a place of torment, the parable of Lazarus and Dives. Jesus here depicts a man suffering fiery torment in hades, which is contrasted with the bosom of Abraham. Some scholars believe that this reflects the intertestamental Jewish view of hades as containing separate divisions for the wicked
39.
Ancient Egyptian religion
–
Ancient Egyptian religion was a complex system of polytheistic beliefs and rituals which were an integral part of ancient Egyptian society. It centered on the Egyptians interaction with many deities who were believed to be present in, and in control of, rituals such as prayers and offerings were efforts to provide for the gods and gain their favor. Formal religious practice centered on the pharaoh, the king of Egypt and he acted as the intermediary between his people and the gods and was obligated to sustain the gods through rituals and offerings so that they could maintain order in the universe. The state dedicated enormous resources to Egyptian rituals and to the construction of the temples, individuals could interact with the gods for their own purposes, appealing for their help through prayer or compelling them to act through magic. These practices were distinct from, but closely linked with, the formal rituals, the popular religious tradition grew more prominent in the course of Egyptian history as the status of the Pharaoh declined. Another important aspect was the belief in the afterlife and funerary practices, the Egyptians made great efforts to ensure the survival of their souls after death, providing tombs, grave goods, and offerings to preserve the bodies and spirits of the deceased. The religion had its roots in Egypts prehistory and lasted for more than 3,000 years, the details of religious belief changed over time as the importance of particular gods rose and declined, and their intricate relationships shifted. At various times, certain gods became preeminent over the others, including the sun god Ra, the creator god Amun, for a brief period, in the theology promulgated by the Pharaoh Akhenaten, a single god, the Aten, replaced the traditional pantheon. Ancient Egyptian religion and mythology left behind many writings and monuments, along with significant influences on ancient, the beliefs and rituals now referred to as ancient Egyptian religion were integral within every aspect of Egyptian culture. Their language possessed no single term corresponding to the modern European concept of religion, the characteristics of the gods who populated the divine realm were inextricably linked to the Egyptians understanding of the properties of the world in which they lived. The Egyptians believed that the phenomena of nature were divine forces in and these deified forces included the elements, animal characteristics, or abstract forces. The Egyptians believed in a pantheon of gods, which were involved in all aspects of nature and their religious practices were efforts to sustain and placate these phenomena and turn them to human advantage. This polytheistic system was complex, as some deities were believed to exist in many different manifestations. Conversely, many forces, such as the sun, were associated with multiple deities. The diverse pantheon ranged from gods with vital roles in the universe to minor deities or demons with very limited or localized functions. It could include gods adopted from foreign cultures, and sometimes humans, deceased Pharaohs were believed to be divine, and occasionally, distinguished commoners such as Imhotep also became deified. The depictions of the gods in art were not meant as representations of how the gods might appear if they were visible. Instead, these depictions gave recognizable forms to the deities by using symbolic imagery to indicate each gods role in nature
