1.
Germanic mythology
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Germanic mythology consists of the body of myths native to the Germanic peoples. Germanic mythology includes Norse mythology, Anglo-Saxon mythology, and Continental Germanic mythology, as the Germanic languages developed from Proto-Indo-European language, Germanic mythology is ultimately a development of Proto-Indo-European religion. List of Germanic deities Common Germanic deities
2.
Old Norse
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Old Norse was a North Germanic language that was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and inhabitants of their overseas settlements during about the 9th to 13th centuries. These dates, however, are not absolute, since written Old Norse is found well into the 15th century, Old Norse was divided into three dialects, Old West Norse, Old East Norse and Old Gutnish. Old West and East Norse formed a continuum, with no clear geographical boundary between them. For example, Old East Norse traits were found in eastern Norway, although Old Norwegian is classified as Old West Norse, most speakers spoke Old East Norse in what is present day Denmark and Sweden. Old Gutnish, the more obscure dialectal branch, is included in the Old East Norse dialect due to geographical associations. It developed its own features and shared in changes to both other branches. The 12th century Icelandic Gray Goose Laws state that Swedes, Norwegians, Icelanders and Danes spoke the same language, another term used, used especially commonly with reference to West Norse, was norrœnt mál. In some instances the term Old Norse refers specifically to Old West Norse, the Old East Norse dialect was spoken in Denmark, Sweden, settlements in Kievan Rus, eastern England, and Danish settlements in Normandy. The Old Gutnish dialect was spoken in Gotland and in settlements in the East. In the 11th century, Old Norse was the most widely spoken European language, in Kievan Rus, it survived the longest in Veliky Novgorod, probably lasting into the 13th century there. Norwegian is descended from Old West Norse, but over the centuries it has heavily influenced by East Norse. Old Norse also had an influence on English dialects and Lowland Scots and it also influenced the development of the Norman language, and through it and to a smaller extent, that of modern French. Various other languages, which are not closely related, have heavily influenced by Norse, particularly the Norman dialects, Scottish Gaelic. The current Finnish and Estonian words for Sweden are Ruotsi and Rootsi, of the modern languages, Icelandic is the closest to Old Norse. Written modern Icelandic derives from the Old Norse phonemic writing system, contemporary Icelandic-speakers can read Old Norse, which varies slightly in spelling as well as semantics and word order. However, pronunciation, particularly of the phonemes, has changed at least as much as in the other North Germanic languages. Faroese retains many similarities but is influenced by Danish, Norwegian, although Swedish, Danish and the Norwegian languages have diverged the most, they still retain asymmetric mutual intelligibility. Speakers of modern Swedish, Norwegian and Danish can mostly understand each other without studying their neighboring languages, the languages are also sufficiently similar in writing that they can mostly be understood across borders
3.
Norse mythology
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The cosmos in Norse mythology consists of Nine Worlds that flank a central cosmological tree, Yggdrasil. Units of time and elements of the cosmology are personified as deities or beings, various forms of a creation myth are recounted, where the world is created from the flesh of the primordial being Ymir, and the first two humans are Ask and Embla. These worlds are foretold to be reborn after the events of Ragnarök, there the surviving gods will meet, and the land will be fertile and green, and two humans will repopulate the world. Norse mythology has been the subject of scholarly discourse since the 17th century, by way of comparative mythology and historical linguistics, scholars have identified elements of Germanic mythology reaching as far back as Proto-Indo-European mythology. In the modern period, the Romanticist Viking revival re-awoke an interest in the subject matter, the myths have further been revived in a religious context among adherents of Germanic Neopaganism. The majority of these Old Norse texts were created in Iceland and this occurred primarily in the 13th century. The Prose Edda was composed as a manual for producing skaldic poetry—traditional Old Norse poetry composed by skalds. Originally composed and transmitted orally, skaldic poetry utilizes alliterative verse, kennings, the Prose Edda presents numerous examples of works by various skalds from before and after the Christianization process and also frequently refers back to the poems found in the Poetic Edda. The Poetic Edda consists almost entirely of poems, with some prose narrative added, in comparison to skaldic poetry, Eddic poetry is relatively unadorned. Numerous further texts, such as the sagas, provide further information, the saga corpus consists of thousands of tales recorded in Old Norse ranging from Icelandic family histories to Migration period tales mentioning historic figures such as Attila the Hun. By way of historical linguistics and comparative mythology, comparisons to other attested branches of Germanic mythology may also lend insight, wider comparisons to the mythology of other Indo-European peoples by scholars has resulted in the potential reconstruction of far earlier myths. Of the mythical tales and poems that are presumed to have existed during the Middle Ages, Viking Age, Migration Period, numerous gods are mentioned in the source texts. In the mythology, Thor lays waste to numerous jötnar who are foes to the gods or humanity, the god Odin is also frequently mentioned in surviving texts. One-eyed, wolf and raven-flanked, and spear in hand, Odin pursues knowledge throughout the worlds, Odin has a strong association with death, Odin is portrayed as the ruler of Valhalla, where valkyries carry half of those slain in battle. Odins wife is the powerful goddess Frigg who can see the future but tells no one, and together they have a beloved son, Baldr. After a series of dreams had by Baldr of his death, his death is engineered by Loki, and Baldr thereafter resides in Hel. Odin must share half of his share of the dead with a powerful goddess and she is beautiful, sensual, wears a feathered cloak, and practices seiðr. She rides to battle to choose among the slain, and brings her chosen to her afterlife field Fólkvangr, Freyja weeps for her missing husband Óðr, and seeks after him in far away lands
4.
Frigg
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In Germanic mythology, Frigg, Frija, Frea, and Frige is a goddess. In nearly all sources, she is described as the wife of the god Odin, in Old High German and Old Norse sources, she is also connected with the goddess Fulla. The English weekday name Friday bears her name, Frigg is described as a goddess associated with foreknowledge and wisdom in Norse mythology, the northernmost branch of Germanic mythology and most extensively attested. The children of Frigg and Odin include the gleaming god Baldr, due to significant thematic overlap, scholars have proposed a particular connection to the goddess Freyja. After Christianization, mention of Frigg continued to occur in Scandinavian folklore, in modern times, Frigg has appeared in modern popular culture, has been the subject of art, and receives modern veneration in Germanic Neopaganism. The theonyms Frigg and Frija are cognate forms—linguistic siblings of the same origin—that descend from a substantivized feminine of Proto-Germanic *frijaz, *frijaz descends from the same source as the feminine Sanskrit noun priyā and the feminine Avestan noun fryā. In the modern period, an -a suffix is applied to denote femininity. This spelling also serves the purpose of distancing the goddess from the English word frig, the connection with and possible earlier identification of the goddess Freyja with Frigg in the Proto-Germanic period is a matter of scholarly debate. The name Freyja is not attested outside of Scandinavia, like the name of the group of gods to which Freyja belongs, the Vanir. This is in contrast to the name of the goddess Frigg, who is attested as a common among the Germanic peoples. The best that can be done is to survey the arguments for and against their identity, the English weekday name Friday comes from Old English Frīges Day and is cognate with Old High German frîatac. Both weekday names are result of interpretatio germanica that occurred at or before the 3rd or 4th century CE, several place names refer to Frigg in what are now Norway and Sweden, although her name is altogether absent in recorded place names in Denmark. According to this legend, a people known as the Winnili were ruled by a woman named Gambara who had two sons, Ybor and Agio. The Vandals, ruled by Ambri and Assi, came to the Winnili with their army, Ybor, Agio, and their mother Gambara rejected their demands for tribute. Ambra and Assi then asked the god Godan for victory over the Winnili, to which Godan responded, Whom I shall first see when at sunrise, meanwhile, Ybor and Agio called upon Frea, Godans wife. Frea counseled them that at sunrise the Winnil should come, at sunrise, Frea turned Godans bed around to face east and woke him. Godan saw the Winnili, including their women, and asked who are those Long-beards. Frea responded to Godan, As you have given them a name, Godan did so, so that they should defend themselves according to his counsel and obtain the victory
5.
Germanic religion (aboriginal)
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Germanic paganism refers to the theology and religious practices of the Germanic peoples from the Iron Age until their Christianization during the Medieval period. Germanic paganism took various forms in different areas of the Germanic world, the best documented version was that of 10th and 11th century Norse religion, although other information can be found from Anglo-Saxon and Continental Germanic sources. Scattered references are found in the earliest writings of other Germanic peoples. The information can be supplemented with archaeological finds and remnants of pre-Christian beliefs in later folklore, Germanic paganism was polytheistic, with similarities to other Indo-European religions. The Common Germanic period begins with the European Iron Age, contemporary to the Celtic La Tene culture to the south, early Germanic history remains in the prehistoric period until the earliest descriptions in Roman ethnography in the 1st century BC. The earliest forms of the Germanic religion can only be speculated on based on archaeological evidence, the first written description is in Julius Caesars Commentarii de Bello Gallico. He contrasts the religious custom of the Gauls with the simpler Germanic traditions. A much more detailed description of Germanic religion is Tacituss Germania, Tacitus describes both animal and human sacrifice. He identifies the chief Germanic god with the Roman Mercury, who on certain days receives human sacrifices, while gods identified by Tacitus with Hercules and Mars receive animal sacrifice. The largest Germanic tribe, Suebians, also sacrifices, allegedly of captured Roman soldiers. Nerthus is revered by Reudignians, Aviones, Angles, Varinians, Nerthus is believed to directly interpose in human affairs. Her sanctuary is on an island, specifically in a wood called Castum, a chariot covered with a curtain is dedicated to the goddess, and only the high priest may touch it. The priest is capable of seeing the goddess enter the chariot, drawn by cows, the chariot travels through the countryside, and wherever the goddess visits, a great feast is held. During the travel of the goddess, the Germanic tribes cease all hostilities, when the priest declares that the goddess is tired of conversation with mortals, the chariot returns and is washed, together with the curtains, in a secret lake. The slaves who administer this purification are afterwards thrown into the lake, according to Tacitus, the Germanic tribes think of temples as unsuitable habitations for gods, and they do not represent them as idols in human shape. Instead of temples, they consecrate woods or groves to individual gods, divination and augury was very popular, To the use of lots and auguries, they are addicted beyond all other nations. Their method of divining by lots is exceedingly simple, from a tree which bears fruit they cut a twig, and divide it into two small pieces. These they distinguish by so many several marks, and throw them at random and without order upon a white garment
6.
Old English
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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
7.
Old Saxon
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Old Saxon, also known as Old Low German, is a Germanic language and the earliest recorded form of Low German. It belongs to the West Germanic branch and is most closely related to the Anglo-Frisian languages and it is documented from the 8th century until the 12th century, when it evolved into Middle Low German. It was spoken on the north-west coast of Germany and in the Netherlands by Saxon peoples and it is close enough to Old Anglo-Frisian that it partially participates in the Ingvaeonic nasal spirant law, it is also closely related to Old Dutch. The grammar of Old Saxon was fully inflected with five grammatical cases, the dual forms occurred in the first and second persons only and referred to groups of two. For a long time, Old Saxon and Old Dutch were not distinguished, there are also various differences in their phonological evolutions, Old Saxon being considered as an Ingvaeonic language whereas Old Dutch is an Istvaeonic language. Old Saxon probably evolved primarily from Ingvaeonic dialects in the West Germanic branch of Proto-Germanic in the 5th century. However, it seems that some Middle Dutch took the Old Saxon a-stem ending from some Middle Low German dialects, however,1150 marks the inceptive period of profuse Low German writing wherein the language is patently different from Old Saxon. One of the most striking differences between Middle Low German and Old Saxon is in a feature of speech known as vowel reduction, while round vowels in word-final syllables were rather frequent in Old Saxon, in Middle Low German, such are leveled to a schwa. Thus, such Old Saxon words like gisprekan or dagô became gespreken and daghe, Old Saxon did not participate in the High German consonant shift, and thus preserves stop consonants p, t, k that have been shifted in Old High German to various fricatives and affricates. The Germanic diphthongs ai, au consistently develop into long vowels ē, ō, whereas in Old High German they appear either as ei, ou or ē, ō depending on the following consonant. Old Saxon, alone of the West Germanic languages except for Frisian, consistently preserves Germanic -j- after a consonant, Germanic umlaut, when it occurs with short a, is inconsistent, e. g. hebbean or habbian to have. This feature was carried over into the descendant-language of Old Saxon, Middle Low German, apart from the e, however, the umlaut is not marked in writing. The table below lists the consonants of Old Saxon, phonemes written in parentheses represent allophones and are not independent phonemes. Notes, The voiceless spirants /f/, /θ/, and /s/ gain voiced allophones when between vowels and this change is only faithfully reflected in writing for. The other two continued to be written as before. Beginning in the later Old Saxon period, stops became devoiced word-finally as well, notably, geminated /v/ gave /bb/, and geminated /ɣ/ probably gave /ɡɡ/. Germanic *h is retained as in these positions and thus merges with devoiced /ɣ/, notes, Long vowels were rare in unstressed syllables and mostly occurred due to suffixation or compounding. Notes, The closing diphthongs /ei/ and /ou/ sometimes occur in texts, probably under the influence of Franconian or High German dialects, the situation for the front opening diphthongs is somewhat unclear in some texts
8.
Old High German
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Old High German is the earliest stage of the German language, conventionally covering the period from around 700 to 1050. Coherent written texts do not appear until the half of the 8th century. There are, however, a number of Elder Futhark inscriptions dating to the 6th century, as well as single words, during the migration period, the Elbe Germanic tribes settled in what became Alamannia, the Duchy of Bavaria and the Kingdom of Lombardy. Old High German comprises the dialects of these groups which underwent the Second Sound Shift during the 6th Century, namely all of Elbe Germanic, in the south, the Langobards, who had settled in Northern Italy, maintained their dialect until their conquest by Charlemagne in 774. This area did not become German-speaking again until the German eastward expansion of the early 12th century, though there was some attempt at conquest, Old High German literacy is a product of the monasteries, notably at St. Gallen, Reichenau and Fulda. Its origins lie in the establishment of the German church by Boniface in the mid 8th century, einhard tells how Charlemagne himself ordered that the epic lays should be collected for posterity. It was the neglect or religious zeal of later generations that led to the loss of these records, thus, it was Charlemagnes weak successor, Louis the Pious, who destroyed his fathers collection of epic poetry on account of its pagan content. Hrabanus Maurus, a student of Alcuins and abbot at Fulda from 822, was an important advocate of the cultivation of German literacy, among his students were Walafrid Strabo and Otfrid of Weissenburg. Notker Labeo towards the end of the Old High German period was among the greatest stylists in the language, the main difference between Old High German and the West Germanic dialects from which it developed is that it underwent the High German consonant shift. This is generally dated approximately to the late 5th and early 6th centuries—hence dating its start to around 500, the result of this sound change is that the consonantal system of German remains different from all other West Germanic languages, including English and Low German. Grammatically, however, Old High German remained very similar to Old English, Old Dutch, by the mid 11th century the many different vowels found in unstressed syllables had all been reduced to /ə/. Since these vowels were part of the endings in the nouns and verbs. For these reasons,1050 is seen as the start of the Middle High German period, for this reason the dialects may be termed monastery dialects. It declined after the conquest of the Lombard Kingdom by the Franks in 774 and it is classified as Upper German on the basis of evidence of the Second Sound Shift. The continued existence of a West Frankish dialect in the Western, claims that this might have been the language of the Carolingian court or that it is attested in the Ludwigslied, whose presence in a French manuscript suggests bilingualism, are controversial. The charts show the vowel and consonant systems of the East Franconian dialect in the 9th century and this is the dialect of the monastery of Fulda, and specifically of the Old High German Tatian. Old High German had five long vowels and six phonemic short vowels. Both occurred in stressed and unstressed syllables, notes, All back vowels likely had front-vowel allophones as a result of Umlaut
9.
Germanic peoples
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The Germanic peoples are an ethno-linguistic Indo-European group of Northern European origin. They are identified by their use of Germanic languages, which diversified out of Proto-Germanic during the Pre-Roman Iron Age, the term Germanic originated in classical times when groups of tribes living in Lower, Upper, and Greater Germania were referred to using this label by Roman scribes. Tribes referred to as Germanic by Roman authors generally lived to the north, in about 222 BCE, the first use of the Latin term Germani appears in the Fasti Capitolini inscription de Galleis Insvbribvs et Germ. This may simply be referring to Gaul or related people, the term Germani shows up again, allegedly written by Poseidonios, but is merely a quotation inserted by the author Athenaios who wrote much later. Somewhat later, the first surviving detailed discussions of Germani and Germania are those of Julius Caesar, from Caesars perspective, Germania was a geographical area of land on the east bank of the Rhine opposite Gaul, which Caesar left outside direct Roman control. This usage of the word is the origin of the concept of Germanic languages. In other classical authors the concept sometimes included regions of Sarmatia, also, at least in the south there were Celtic peoples still living east of the Rhine and north of the Alps. Caesar, Tacitus and others noted differences of culture which could be found on the east of the Rhine, but the theme of all these cultural references was that this was a wild and dangerous region, less civilised than Gaul, a place that required additional military vigilance. Caesar used the term Germani for a specific tribal grouping in northeastern Belgic Gaul, west of the Rhine. He made clear that he was using the name in the local sense and these are the so-called Germani Cisrhenani, whom Caesar believed to be closely related to the peoples east of the Rhine, and descended from immigrants into Gaul. Caesar described this group of both as Belgic Gauls and as Germani. Gauls are associated with Celtic languages, and the term Germani is associated with Germanic languages, but Caesar did not discuss languages in detail. It has been claimed, for example by Maurits Gysseling, that the names of this region show evidence of an early presence of Germanic languages. The etymology of the word Germani is uncertain, the likeliest theory so far proposed is that it comes from a Gaulish compound of *ger near + *mani men, comparable to Welsh ger near, Old Irish gair neighbor, Irish gar- near, garach neighborly. Another Celtic possibility is that the name meant noisy, cf. Breton/Cornish garm shout, however, here the vowel does not match, nor does the vowel length ). Others have proposed a Germanic etymology *gēr-manni, spear men, cf. Middle Dutch ghere, Old High German Ger, Old Norse geirr. However, the form gēr seems far too advanced phonetically for the 1st century, has a vowel where a short one is expected. The term Germani, therefore, probably applied to a group of tribes in northeastern Gaul who may or may not have spoken a Germanic language
10.
Viking Age
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The Viking Age is the period from the late 8th century to the mid-11th century in European history, especially Northern European and Scandinavian history, following the Germanic Iron Age. It is the period of history when Scandinavian Norsemen explored Europe by its seas and rivers for trade, raids, colonisation and conquest. Three Viking ships had beached in Weymouth Bay four years earlier, the Viking devastation of Northumbrias Holy Island was reported by the Northumbrian scholar Alcuin of York, who wrote, Never before in Britain has such a terror appeared. Vikings were portrayed as violent and bloodthirsty by their enemies. The chronicles of medieval England portrayed them as rapacious wolves among sheep, the first challenges to the many anti-Viking images in Britain emerged in the 17th century. Pioneering scholarly works on the Viking Age reached a readership in Britain. Archaeologists began to dig up Britains Viking past, linguistics traced the Viking-Age origins of rural idioms and proverbs. New dictionaries of the Old Norse language enabled more Victorians to read the Icelandic Sagas, the Vikings who invaded western and eastern Europe were chiefly pagans from Denmark, Norway and Sweden. They also settled in the Faroe Islands, Ireland, Iceland, peripheral Scotland, Greenland and their North Germanic language, Old Norse, became the mother-tongue of present-day Scandinavian languages. By 801, a central authority appears to have been established in Jutland. In Norway, mountainous terrain and fjords formed strong natural boundaries, communities there remained independent of each other, unlike the situation in Denmark which is lowland. By 800, some 30 small kingdoms existed in Norway, the sea was the easiest way of communication between the Norwegian kingdoms and the outside world. It was in the 8th century that Scandinavians began to build ships of war, the North Sea rovers were traders, colonisers and explorers as well as plunderers. There are various theories concerning the causes of the Viking invasions, for people living along the coast, it would seem natural to seek new land by the sea. Another reason was that during this period England, Wales and Ireland, the Franks, however, had well-defended coasts and heavily fortified ports and harbours. Pure thirst for adventure may also have been a factor, a reason for the raids is believed by some to be over-population caused by technological advances, such as the use of iron, or a shortage of women due to selective female infanticide. Although another cause could well have been caused by the Frankish expansion to the south of Scandinavia. Consequently, these Vikings became raiders, in search of subsistence, There is ongoing debate among scholars as to why the Scandinavians began to expand during the 8th through 11th centuries
11.
Wednesday
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Wednesday is the day of the week following Tuesday and before Thursday. According to international standard ISO8601 adopted in most western countries it is the day of the week. In countries that use the Sunday-first convention Wednesday is defined as the day of the week. It is the day of the week in the Judeo-Christian Hebrew calendar as well. The name is derived from Old English Wōdnesdæg and Middle English Wednesdei, day of Woden, in other languages, such as the French mercredi, the days name is a calque of dies Mercurii day of Mercury. It has the most letters out of all the Gregorian calendar days, Wednesday is in the middle of the common Western five-day workweek that starts on Monday and finishes on Friday. See Names of the days of the week for more on naming conventions, the name Wednesday continues Middle English Wednesdei. Old English still had wōdnesdæg, which would be continued as *Wodnesday, by the early 13th century, the i-mutated form was introduced unetymologically. The name is a calque of the Latin dies Mercurii day of Mercury, the Latin name dates to the late 2nd or early 3rd century. The Latin name is reflected directly in the name in Romance languages, Mércuris, mercredi, mercoledì, miércoles, miercuri, dimecres, Marcuri or Mercuri. The German name for the day, Mittwoch, replaced the former name Wodenstag in the tenth century, the Dutch name for the day, woensdag has the same etymology as English Wednesday, it comes from Middle Dutch wodenesdag, woedensdag. Most Slavic languages follow this pattern and use derivations of the middle, the Finnish name is Keskiviikko, as is the Icelandic name, Miðvikudagur, and the Faroese name, Mikudagur. Some dialects of Faroese have Ónsdagur, though, which shares etymology with Wednesday, in Welsh it is Dydd Mercher, meaning Mercurys Day. In Japanese, the word Wednesday is 水曜日, meaning day and is associated with 水星, Mercury. Similarly, in Korean the word Wednesday is 수요일, also meaning water day, in most of the languages of India, the word for Wednesday is Budhavãra—vãra meaning day and Budh being the planet Mercury. From Armenian, Georgian, and Tajik languages the word means as four from Saturday. Portuguese uses the word quarta-feira, meaning day, while in Greek the word is Tetarti meaning simply fourth. Similarly, Arabic أربعاء means fourth, Hebrew רביעי means fourth, yet the name for the day in Estonian kolmapäev, Lithuanian trečiadienis, and Latvian trešdiena means third day while in Mandarin Chinese 星期三, means day three, as Sunday is unnumbered
12.
Lombards
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The Lombards or Longobards were a Germanic people who ruled large parts of the Italian Peninsula from 568 to 774. In the 1st century AD, they formed part of the Suebi, the Lombard king Audoin defeated the Gepid leader Thurisind in 551 or 552, his successor Alboin eventually destroyed the Gepids at the Battle of Asfeld in 567. The Lombards were joined by numerous Saxons, Heruls, Gepids, Bulgars, Thuringians, and Ostrogoths, by late 569 they had conquered all north of Italy and the principal cities north of the Po River except Pavia, which fell in 572. At the same time, they occupied areas in central Italy and they established a Lombard Kingdom in north and central Italy, later named Regnum Italicum, which reached its zenith under the 8th-century ruler Liutprand. In 774, the Kingdom was conquered by the Frankish King Charlemagne, however, Lombard nobles continued to rule southern parts of the Italian peninsula, well into the 11th century when they were conquered by the Normans and added to their County of Sicily. In this period, the part of Italy still under Longobardic domination was known by the name Langbarðaland in the Norse runestones. Their legacy is apparent in the regional name Lombardy. The fullest account of Lombard origins, history, and practices is the Historia Langobardorum of Paul the Deacon, pauls chief source for Lombard origins, however, is the 7th-century Origo Gentis Langobardorum. The Origo Gentis Langobardorum tells the story of a tribe called the Winnili dwelling in southern Scandinavia. The Winnili were split into three groups and one part left their land to seek foreign fields. The reason for the exodus was probably overpopulation, the departing people were led by the brothers Ybor and Aio and their mother Gambara and arrived in the lands of Scoringa, perhaps the Baltic coast or the Bardengau on the banks of the Elbe. Scoringa was ruled by the Vandals and their chieftains, the brothers Ambri and Assi, the Winnili were young and brave and refused to pay tribute, saying It is better to maintain liberty by arms than to stain it by the payment of tribute. The Vandals prepared for war and consulted Godan, who answered that he would give the victory to those whom he would see first at sunrise. The Winnili were fewer in number and Gambara sought help from Frea, at sunrise, Frea turned her husbands bed so that he was facing east, and woke him. So Godan spotted the Winnili first and asked, Who are these long-beards. and Frea replied, My lord, thou hast given them the name, from that moment onwards, the Winnili were known as the Longbeards. When Paul the Deacon wrote the Historia between 787 and 796 he was a Catholic monk and devoted Christian and he thought the pagan stories of his people silly and laughable. Paul explained that the name Langobard came from the length of their beards, a modern theory suggests that the name Langobard comes from Langbarðr, a name of Odin. Priester states that when the Winnili changed their name to Lombards, they changed their old agricultural fertility cult to a cult of Odin
13.
Gungnir
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In Norse mythology, Gungnir is the spear of the god Odin. According to the Poetic Edda, the spear was fashioned by the Dwarves, Loki flatters the Dwarves and asks the Spear of them, which they give him. In the Poetic Edda poem Völuspá, the Æsir-Vanir War is described as starting when Odin throws a spear over the heads of an assembly of Vanir gods. Whether or not this was specifically Gungnir is, however, unstated, in Sigrdrífumál, the valkyrie Sigrdrífa advises Sigurd on the magical application of runes. She gives Sigurd advice and shares with him lore, including that runes were carved on the tip of Gungnir and he will then attack the wolf Fenrir with it. In Skáldskaparmál, more information regarding the spear is presented, the spear was fashioned by the dwarves known as the Sons of Ivaldi under the mastery of the blacksmith dwarf Dvalin. The spear was obtained from the dwarves by Loki, the result of a scheme he concocted as a reparation for his cutting of the goddess Sifs hair. The spear is described as being so well balanced that it could strike any target, if the rider on horseback on the image on the Böksta Runestone has been correctly identified as Odin, then Odin is shown carrying Gungnir while hunting an moose. In Wagners opera cycle, Der Ring des Nibelungen, Wotans spear is made from the wood of the world tree Yggdrasil and he uses the spear to break the sword of Siegmund, leading to Siegmunds death. When he tries to bar the eponymous hero of the opera, Siegfried, from awakening Brünnhilde from her magic sleep and it is implied that this is also the end of Wotans power and he never appears onstage again. Bracteate Gae Bolga, the Irish legendary hero Cú Chulainns similar magic spear Migration period spear Orchard, dictionary of Norse Myth and Legend. Några Reflektioner Angående Bilderna på Balingsta-Stenen i Uppland
14.
Familiar spirit
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When they served witches, they were often thought to be malevolent, while when working for cunning folk they were often thought of as benevolent. The former were often categorised as demons, while the latter were more commonly thought of, the main purpose of familiars is to serve the witch or young witch, providing protection for them as they come into their new powers. These contemporary practitioners utilize pets, wildlife or believe that invisible spirit versions of familiars act as magical aids, pierre A. Riffard proposed this definition and quotations A familiar spirit is the double, the alter-ego, of an individual. It does not look like the individual concerned, even though it may have an independent life of its own, it remains closely linked to the individual. The familiar spirit can be an animal, the French poet Charles Baudelaire, a cat fancier, believed in familiar spirits. It is the spirit of the place, It judges, presides, inspires Everything in its empire. While this is occurring, the man himself is in a state of receptivity, in modern phraseology, his familiar spirit would be the control. According to Sternberg the Goldi explain the relations between the shaman and his ayami by a complex sexual emotion, here is the report of a Goldi shaman. Once I was asleep on my sick-bed, when a spirit approached me and it was a very beautiful woman. Her figure was slight, she was no more than half an arshin tall. Her face and attire were quite as those of one of our Gold women… She said, I am the ayami of your ancestors, the Shamans. Now I am going to teach you… I love you, I have no husband now, you will be my husband, I shall give you assistant spirits. You are to heal with their aid, and I shall teach and help you myself… Sometimes she comes under the aspect of an old woman, Sometimes she comes as a winged tiger… She has given me three assistants-the jarga, the doonto and the amba. They come to me in my dreams, and appear whenever I summon them while shamaning, if one of them refuses to come, the ayami makes them obey, but, they say, there are some who do not obey even the ayami. When I am shamaning, the ayami and the assistant spirits are possessing me, whether big or small, they penetrate me, when the ayami is within me, it is she who speaks through my mouth, and she does everything herself. Among those accused witches and cunning-folk who described their familiar spirits, the historian Emma Wilby noted how the accounts of such familiars were striking for their ordinariness and naturalism, despite the fact that they were dealing with supernatural entities. Familiar spirits were most commonly small animals, such as cats, rats, dogs, ferrets, birds, frogs, toads, there were also cases of wasps and butterflies, as well as pigs, sheep, and horses. Familiar spirits were usually kept in pots or baskets lined with wool and fed a variety of things including, milk, bread, meat
15.
Geri and Freki
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In Norse mythology, Geri and Freki are two wolves which are said to accompany the god Odin. The pair has been compared to similar figures found in Greek, Roman and Vedic mythology, and may also be connected to beliefs surrounding the Germanic wolf-warrior bands, the names Geri and Freki have been interpreted as meaning either the greedy one or the ravenous one. The name Geri can be traced back to the Proto-Germanic adjective *geraz, attested in Burgundian girs, Old Norse gerr and Old High German ger or giri, John Lindow interprets both Old Norse names as nominalized adjectives. Bruce Lincoln further traces Geri back to a Proto-Indo-European stem *gher-, which is the same as found in Garmr. In the Poetic Edda poem Grímnismál, the god Odin provides the young Agnarr with information about Odins companions, High then quotes the above-mentioned stanza from the poem Grímnismál in support. In chapter 75 of the Prose Edda book Skáldskaparmál a list of names for wargs and wolves is provided that includes both Geri and Freki. In skaldic poetry Geri and Freki are used as common nouns for wolf in chapter 58 of Skáldskaparmál, Geri is referenced in kennings for blood in chapter 58 of Skáldskaparmál and in for carrion in chapter 60. Freki is also used in a kenning for carrion in a work by Þórðr Sjáreksson in chapter 58 of Skáldskaparmál. If the rider on horseback on the image on the Böksta Runestone has been identified as Odin, then Geri. Freki is also a name applied to the monstrous wolf Fenrir in the Poetic Edda poem Völuspá, folklorist John Lindow sees irony in the fact that Odin feeds one Freki at his dinner table and another—Fenrir—with his flesh during the events of Ragnarök. Spiegel believes this to point to the pan-Germanic wolf-warrior band cult centered on Odin that waned away after Christianization, scholars have also noted Indo-European parallels to the wolves Geri and Freki as companions of a divinity. 19th century scholar Jacob Grimm observed a connection between this aspect of Odins character and the Greek Apollo, to both the wolf and the raven are sacred. Michael Speidel finds similar parallels in the Vedic Rudra and the Roman Mars, elaborating on the connection between wolves and figures of great power, he writes, This is why Geri and Freki, the wolves at Wodens side, also glowered on the throne of the Anglo-Saxon kings. Wolf-warriors, like Geri and Freki, were not mere animals but mythical beings, as Wodens followers they bodied forth his might, as in such a symbiosis, Odin the father of all humans and gods, though in human form was imperfect by himself. As a separate entity he lacked depth perception and he was apparently also uninformed, but his weaknesses were compensated by his ravens, Hugin and Munin who were part of him. They perched on his shoulders and reconnoitered to the ends of the each day to return in the evening. As god, Odin was the ethereal part—he only drank wine and spoke only in poetry
16.
Huginn and Muninn
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In Norse mythology, Huginn and Muninn are a pair of ravens that fly all over the world, Midgard, and bring information to the god Odin. The names of the ravens are sometimes anglicized as Hugin and Munin. In the Poetic Edda, a disguised Odin expresses that he fears that they may not return from their daily flights, the Prose Edda explains that Odin is referred to as raven-god due to his association with Huginn and Muninn. In the Prose Edda and the Third Grammatical Treatise, the two ravens are described as perching on Odins shoulders, Heimskringla details that Odin gave Huginn and Muninn the ability to speak. In the Poetic Edda poem Grímnismál, the god Odin provides the young Agnarr with information about Odins companions. He tells the prince about Odins wolves Geri and Freki, and, in the stanza of the poem, states that Huginn and Muninn fly daily across the entire world. The ravens tell Odin everything they see and hear, Odin sends Huginn and Muninn out at dawn, and the birds fly all over the world before returning at dinner-time. As a result, Odin is kept informed of many events, high adds that it is from this association that Odin is referred to as raven-god. The above-mentioned stanza from Grímnismál is then quoted, in the Prose Edda book Skáldskaparmál, Huginn and Muninn appear in a list of poetic names for ravens. In the same chapter, excerpts from a work by the skald Einarr Skúlason are provided, in these excerpts Muninn is referenced in a common noun for raven and Huginn is referenced in a kenning for carrion. In the Heimskringla book Ynglinga saga, an account of the life of Odin is provided. Chapter 7 describes that Odin had two ravens, and upon these ravens he bestowed the gift of speech and these ravens flew all over the land and brought him information, causing Odin to become very wise in his lore. In the Third Grammatical Treatise an anonymous verse is recorded that mentions the ravens flying from Odins shoulders, Huginn seeking hanged men, the verse reads, Two ravens flew from Hnikar’s shoulders, Huginn to the hanged and Muninn to the slain. Migration Period gold bracteates feature a depiction of a figure above a horse, holding a spear. The presence of the birds has led to the identification of the human figure as the god Odin. Like Snorris Prose Edda description of the ravens, a bird is depicted at the ear of the human. Bracteates have been found in Denmark, Sweden, Norway and, in numbers, England. Vendel era helmet plates found in a grave in Sweden depict a figure holding a spear
17.
Midgard
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Midgard is the name for Earth inhabited by and known to humans in early Germanic cosmology, and specifically one of the Nine Worlds in Norse mythology. This name occurs in Old Norse literature as Miðgarðr, in Old Saxon Heliand it appears as Middilgard and in Old High German poem Muspilli it appears as Mittilagart. The Gothic form Midjungards is attested in the Gospel of Luke as a translation of the Greek word οἰκουμένη, the word is present in Old English epic and poetry as Middangeard, later transformed to Middellærd or Mittelerde in Middle English literature. All these forms are from a Common Germanic *midja-gardaz, a compound of *midja- middle and *gardaz yard, in early Germanic cosmology, the term stands alongside world, from a Common Germanic compound *wira-alđiz literally the age of men. Midgard is a realm in Norse mythology and it is one of the Nine Worlds of North Mythology—the only one that is completely visible to mankind. Pictured as placed somewhere in the middle of Yggdrasil, Midgard is between the land of Niflheim—the land of ice—to the north and Muspelheim—the land of fire—to the south, Midgard is surrounded by a world of water, or ocean, that is impassable. The ocean is inhabited by the sea serpent Jörmungandr, who is so huge that he encircles the world entirely. The concept is similar to that of the Ouroboros, Midgard was also connected to Asgard, the home of the gods, by the Bifröst, the rainbow bridge, guarded by Heimdallr. Aurgelmirs skull was held by four dwarfs, Nordri, Sudri, Austri, and Vestri, the sun, moon, and stars were said to be scattered sparks in the skull. According to the Eddas, Midgard will be destroyed at Ragnarök, Jörmungandr will arise from the ocean, poisoning the land and sea with his venom and causing the sea to rear up and lash against the land. The name middangeard occurs half a dozen times in the Old English epic poem Beowulf, the term is equivalent in meaning to the Greek term Oikoumene, as referring to the known and inhabited world. The concept of Midgard occurs many times in Middle English, the association with earth in Middle English middellærd, middelerde is by popular etymology, the continuation of geard enclosure is yard. An early example of transformation is from the Ormulum, þatt ure Drihhtin wollde / ben borenn i þiss middellærd that our Lord wanted / be born in this middle-earth
18.
Sleipnir
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In Norse mythology, Sleipnir is an eight-legged horse. Sleipnir is attested in the Poetic Edda, compiled in the 13th century from traditional sources. In both sources, Sleipnir is Odins steed, is the child of Loki and Svaðilfari, is described as the best of all horses, the Prose Edda contains extended information regarding the circumstances of Sleipnirs birth, and details that he is grey in color. Sleipnir is generally accepted as depicted on two 8th century Gotlandic image stones, the Tjängvide image stone and the Ardre VIII image stone, scholarly theories have been proposed regarding Sleipnirs potential connection to shamanic practices among the Norse pagans. In modern times, Sleipnir appears in Icelandic folklore as the creator of Ásbyrgi, in works of art, literature, software, in the Poetic Edda, Sleipnir appears or is mentioned in the poems Grímnismál, Sigrdrífumál, Baldrs draumar, and Hyndluljóð. In Grímnismál, Grimnir tells the boy Agnar in verse that Sleipnir is the best of horses, in Sigrdrífumál, the valkyrie Sigrdrífa tells the hero Sigurðr that runes should be cut on Sleipnirs teeth and on the sledges strap-bands. In Baldrs draumar, after the Æsir convene about the god Baldrs bad dreams, Odin places a saddle on Sleipnir, the list begins with Sleipnir, best is Sleipnir, he is Odins, he has eight legs. In chapter 41, High quotes the Grímnismál stanza that mentions Sleipnir, in chapter 42, Sleipnirs origins are described. Gangleri asks High who the horse Sleipnir belongs to and what there is to tell about it, High expresses surprise in Gangleris lack of knowledge about Sleipnir and its origin. After some debate, the agree to this, but place a number of restrictions on the builder. The builder makes a single request, that he may have help from his stallion Svaðilfari, and due to Lokis influence, the stallion Svaðilfari performs twice the deeds of strength as the builder, and hauls enormous rocks to the surprise of the gods. The builder, with Svaðilfari, makes fast progress on the wall, the gods convene, and figured out who was responsible, resulting in a unanimous agreement that, along with most trouble, Loki was to blame. The gods declare that Loki would deserve a horrible death if he could not find a scheme that would cause the builder to forfeit his payment, and threatened to attack him. Loki, afraid, swore oaths that he would devise a scheme to cause the builder to forfeit the payment and that night, the builder drove out to fetch stone with his stallion Svaðilfari, and out from a wood ran a mare. The mare neighed at Svaðilfari, and realizing what kind of horse it was, Svaðilfari became frantic, neighed, tore apart his tackle, the mare ran to the wood, Svaðilfari followed, and the builder chased after. The two horses ran around all night, causing the work to be held up for the night. When the Æsir realize that the builder is a hrimthurs, they disregard their previous oaths with the builder, Thor arrives, and kills the builder by smashing the builders skull into shards with the hammer Mjöllnir. However, Loki had such dealings with Svaðilfari that somewhat later Loki gave birth to a foal with eight legs, the horse Sleipnir
19.
Thor
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In Norse mythology, Thor is a hammer-wielding god associated with thunder, lightning, storms, oak trees, strength, the protection of mankind, and also hallowing and fertility. The cognate deity in wider Germanic mythology and paganism was known in Old English as Þunor and in Old High German as Donar, into the modern period, Thor continued to be acknowledged in rural folklore throughout Germanic regions. Thor is frequently referred to in place names, the day of the week Thursday bears his name, in Norse mythology, largely recorded in Iceland from traditional material stemming from Scandinavia, numerous tales and information about Thor are provided. With Sif, Thor fathered the goddess Þrúðr, with Járnsaxa, he fathered Magni, with a mother whose name is not recorded, he fathered Móði, and he is the stepfather of the god Ullr. The same sources list Thor as the son of the god Odin and the earth, Jörð. Thor has two servants, Þjálfi and Röskva, rides in a cart or chariot pulled by two goats, Tanngrisnir and Tanngnjóstr, and is ascribed three dwellings. Thor wields the mountain-crushing hammer, Mjölnir, wears the belt Megingjörð and the iron gloves Járngreipr, Thor has inspired numerous works of art and references to Thor appear in modern popular culture. Like other Germanic deities, veneration of Thor is revived in the period in Heathenry. The name of the god is the origin of the weekday name Thursday, by employing a practice known as interpretatio germanica during the Roman Empire period, the Germanic peoples adopted the Roman weekly calendar, and replaced the names of Roman gods with their own. Latin dies Iovis was converted into Proto-Germanic *Þonares dagaz, from which stems modern English Thursday, beginning in the Viking Age, personal names containing the theonym Thórr are recorded with great frequency. Prior to the Viking Age, no examples are recorded, thórr-based names may have flourished during the Viking Age as a defiant response to attempts at Christianization, similar to the wide scale Viking Age practice of wearing Thors hammer pendants. They regard it as a duty to offer to him, on fixed days. Hercules and Mars they appease by animal offerings of the permitted kind, in this instance, Tacitus refers to the god Odin as Mercury, Thor as Hercules, and the god Týr as Mars, and the identity of the Isis of the Suebi has been debated. In Thors case, the identification with the god Hercules is likely at least in part due to similarities between Thors hammer and Hercules club. In his Annals, Tacitus again refers to the veneration of Hercules by the Germanic peoples, Donar, the southern Germanic form of the gods name. According to an account, the Christian missionary Saint Boniface felled an oak tree dedicated to Jove in the 8th century. Around the second half of the 8th century, Old English mentions of a figure named Thunor are recorded, gabriel Turville-Petre saw this as an invented origin for the placename demonstrating loss of memory that Thunor had been a gods name. Adam details that Thor, they reckon, rules the sky, he governs thunder and lightning, winds and storms, fine weather and fertility and that Thor, with his mace, looks like Jupiter
20.
Baldr
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Baldr is a god in Norse mythology, who is given a central role in the mythology. His precise function is, however, disputed and he is often interpreted as the god of love, peace, forgiveness, justice, light or purity, but he was not directly attested as a god of such. He is the son of Odin and the goddess Frigg. His twin brother is the blind god Höðr, jacob Grimm in his Teutonic Mythology identifies Old Norse Baldr with the Old High German Baldere, Palter, Paltar and with Old English bealdor, baldor lord, prince, king. Old Norse shows this usage of the word as an honorific in a few cases, as in baldur î brynju and herbaldr, both epithets of heroes in general. Grimm traces the etymology of the name to *balþaz, whence Gothic balþs, Old English bald, Old High German pald, all meaning white, but the interpretation of Baldr as the brave god may be secondary. Baltic has a word meaning the white, the good, in continental Saxon and Anglo-Saxon tradition, the son of Woden is called not Bealdor but Baldag and Bældæg, Beldeg, which shows association with day, possibly with Day personified as a deity. This, as Grimm points out, would agree with the shining one, white one. Grimms etymology is endorsed by modern research, according to Rudolf Simek, the original name for Baldr must be understood as shining day. One of the two Merseburg Incantations names Baldere, but also mentions a figure named Phol, considered to be a byname for Baldr and this interpretation is linked to the presupposition that the figure in question is a companion of Wodan, the upper god. In a different interpretation, phol is just another form of folon mentioned in the next line, in the Poetic Edda the tale of Baldrs death is referred to rather than recounted at length. Among the visions which the Völva sees and describes in the known as the Völuspá is one of the fatal mistletoe, the birth of Váli. Yet looking far into the future the Völva sees a vision of a new world. The Eddic poem Baldrs Dreams mentions that Baldr has bad dreams which the gods then discuss, Odin rides to Hel and awakens a seeress, who tells him Höðr will kill Baldr but Vali will avenge him. In Gylfaginning, Baldur is described as follows, Apart from this description Baldr is known primarily for the story of his death and his death is seen as the first in the chain of events which will ultimately lead to the destruction of the gods at Ragnarök. Baldr will be reborn in the new world, according to Völuspá and he had a dream of his own death and his mother had the same dreams. Since dreams were usually prophetic, this depressed him, so his mother Frigg made every object in every realm vow never to hurt Baldr, all objects made this vow except mistletoe. When Loki, the mischief-maker, heard of this, he made a spear from this plant
21.
Mead of poetry
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This myth was reported by Snorri Sturluson. The drink is a metaphor for poetic inspiration, often associated with Odin the god of possession via berserker rage or poetic inspiration. After the Æsir-Vanir War, the gods sealed the truce they had just concluded by spitting in a vat, to keep a symbol of this truce, they created from their spittle a man named Kvasir. He was so wise that there were no questions he could not answer and he travelled around the world to give knowledge to mankind. One day, he visited the dwarves Fjalar and Galar and they killed him and poured his blood into two vats and a pot called Boðn, Són and Óðrerir. They mixed his blood with honey, thus creating a mead which made anybody who drank it a poet or scholar, the dwarves explained to the gods that Kvasir had suffocated in intelligence. Fjallar and Gallar invited a giant, Gilling, and his wife and they took him to sea and capsized their boat and the giant drowned. The dwarves then came home and broke the news to Gillings wife. Fjallar proposed showing her the place where her husband had drowned but Gallar got tired of her weeping, went before her and dropped a millstone on her head when she crossed the threshold. When Gillings son, Suttungr, learned what had happened, he went to the dwarves, the dwarves implored him and offered him the mead in compensation for his fathers death. When he came home, he stored the mead in a place called Hnitbjörg where his daughter. Odin met nine slaves who were scything hay and offered to sharpen their scythes and his whetstone worked so well that they all wanted to buy it. Odin threw it up in the air and the slaves struggled for it to death, then he spent the night at Baugis place. He complained that business did not go well since his slaves had killed each other, Odin, who said his name was Bölverk, proposed to do their work in exchange for a draught of Suttungs mead. Baugi agreed, saying that he would try to persuade his brother, during summer, Bölverk did the work as agreed and, in winter, asked Baugi for his owing. They both went to Suttungs, who refused to give a single drop of the beverage, Bölverk then suggested Baugi use a trick. He gave him the drill Rati and asked him to dig into Hnitbjörg mountain, after Baugi tried to deceive him, a hole was actually dug and Bölverk slipped into it, having taken the form of a snake. Baugi tried in vain to hit him with the drill and he arrived by Gunnlöd, with whom he spent three nights
22.
Ymir
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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
23.
Ask and Embla
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In Norse mythology, Ask and Embla —male and female respectively—were the first two humans, created by the gods. The pair are attested in both the Poetic Edda, compiled in the 13th century from traditional sources, and the Prose Edda. In both sources, three gods, one of whom is Odin, find Ask and Embla and bestow upon them various corporeal and spiritual gifts, a number of theories have been proposed to explain the two figures, and there are occasional references to them in popular culture. Old Norse askr literally means ash tree but the etymology of embla is uncertain, the first meaning, elm tree, is problematic, and is reached by deriving *Elm-la from *Almilōn and subsequently to almr. The second suggestion is vine, which is reached through *Ambilō, the latter etymology has resulted in a number of theories. In stanza 17 of the Poetic Edda poem Völuspá, the völva reciting the Poem states that Hœnir, Lóðurr and Odin once found Ask and Embla on Land. According to chapter 9 of the Prose Edda book Gylfaginning, the three brothers Vili, Vé, and Odin, are the creators of the first man and woman, the brothers were once walking along a beach and found two trees there. They took the wood and from it created the first human beings, Ask, one of the three gave them the breath of life, the second gave them movement and intelligence, and the third gave them shape, speech, hearing and sight. Further, the three gave them clothing and names. Ask and Embla go on to become the progenitors of all humanity and were given a home within the walls of Midgard, a Proto-Indo-European basis has been theorized for the duo based on the etymology of embla meaning vine. In Indo-European societies, an analogy is derived from the drilling of fire, vines were used as a flammable wood, where they were placed beneath a drill made of harder wood, resulting in fire. Further evidence of making of fire in Scandinavia has been theorized from a depiction on a stone plate on a Bronze Age grave in Kivik, Scania. Jaan Puhvel comments that ancient myths teem with trite first couples of the type of Adam, by contrast the cultures of the Near East show almost exclusively the type of anthropogonic stories that derive mans origin from clay, earth or blood by means of a divine creation act. Two wooden figures—the Braak Bog Figures—of more than human height were unearthed from a bog at Braak in Schleswig. The figures depict a male and a nude female. A figure named Æsc appears as the son of Hengest in the Anglo-Saxon genealogy for the kings of Kent and this has resulted in an amount of theories that the figures may have had an earlier basis in pre-Norse Germanic mythology. Connections have been proposed between Ask and Embla and the Vandal kings Assi and Ambri, attested in Paul the Deacons 7th century AD work Origo Gentis Langobardorum, there, the two ask the god Godan for victory. The name Ambri, like Embla, likely derives from *Ambilō, a stanza preceding the account of the creation of Ask and Embla in Völuspá provides a catalog of dwarfs, and stanza 10 has been considered as describing the creation of human forms from the earth
24.
Yule
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Yule or Yuletide is a festival observed by the historical Germanic peoples. Scholars have connected the celebration to the Wild Hunt, the god Odin, and it later underwent Christianised reformulation resulting in the term Christmastide. Terms with an equivalent to Yule are used in the Nordic countries for Christmas with its religious rites. Today Yule is also used to an extent in the English-speaking world as a synonym for Christmas. Present day Christmas customs such as the Yule log, Yule goat, Yule boar, Yule singing, today the event is celebrated in Heathenry and some other forms of Modern Paganism. Both words are thought to be derived from Common Germanic *jeχʷla-, and are cognate with Gothic jiuleis, Old Norse, Icelandic, and Faroese jól, Danish, Swedish, and Norwegian jul, jol and ýlir. The etymological pedigree of the word, however, remains uncertain, though numerous attempts have been made to find Indo-European cognates outside the Germanic group. The noun Yuletide is first attested from around 1475, the word is attested in an explicitly pre-Christian context primarily in Old Norse. Among many others, the long-bearded god Odin bears the names jólfaðr, in plural may refer to the Norse gods in general. In Old Norse poetry, the word is employed as a synonym for feast. Jolly may share the etymology, but was borrowed from Old French jolif. The word was first mentioned by the Anglo-Norman chronicler Geoffrey Gaimar in his Estoire des Engleis, or History of the English People, Yule was an indigenous midwinter festival celebrated by the Germanic peoples. While the Old Norse month name ýlir is similarly attested, the Old Norse corpus also contains references to an event by the Old Norse form of the name. In chapter 55 of the Prose Edda book Skáldskaparmál, different names for the gods are given, one of the names provided is Yule-beings. A work by the skald Eyvindr Skáldaspillir that uses the term is then quoted, in addition, one of the numerous names of Odin is Jólnir, referring to the event. The Saga of Hákon the Good credits King Haakon I of Norway with the Christianisation of Norway as well as rescheduling the date of Yule to coincide with Christian celebrations held at the time, Yule had previously been celebrated for three nights from midwinter night, according to the saga. Haakon planned that when he had established himself and held power over the whole country. According to the saga, the result was that his popularity caused many to allow themselves to be baptised, Haakon spent most of this time in Trondheim
25.
Runes
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The Scandinavian variants are also known as futhark or fuþark, the Anglo-Saxon variant is futhorc or fuþorc. Runology is the study of the runic alphabets, runic inscriptions, runestones, runology forms a specialised branch of Germanic linguistics. The earliest runic inscriptions date from around 150 AD, the characters were generally replaced by the Latin alphabet as the cultures that had used runes underwent Christianisation, by approximately 700 AD in central Europe and 1100 AD in northern Europe. However, the use of runes persisted for specialized purposes in northern Europe, until the early 20th century, runes were used in rural Sweden for decorative purposes in Dalarna and on Runic calendars. The three best-known runic alphabets are the Elder Futhark, the Anglo-Saxon Futhorc, and the Younger Futhark, the Younger Futhark is divided further into the long-branch runes, short-branch or Rök runes, and the stavlösa or Hälsinge runes. The Younger Futhark developed further into the Medieval runes, and the Dalecarlian runes, historically, the runic alphabet is a derivation of the Old Italic scripts of antiquity, with the addition of some innovations. Which variant of the Old Italic family in particular gave rise to the runes is uncertain, suggestions include Raetic, Venetic, Etruscan, or Old Latin as candidates. At the time, all of these scripts had the same angular letter shapes suited for epigraphy, the process of transmission of the script is unknown. The oldest inscriptions are found in Denmark and northern Germany, not near Italy, a West Germanic hypothesis suggests transmission via Elbe Germanic groups, while a Gothic hypothesis presumes transmission via East Germanic expansion. The runes were in use among the Germanic peoples from the 1st or 2nd century AD, no distinction is made in surviving runic inscriptions between long and short vowels, although such a distinction was certainly present phonologically in the spoken languages of the time. Similarly, there are no signs for labiovelars in the Elder Futhark The term runes is used to distinguish these symbols from Latin and it is attested on a 6th-century Alamannic runestaff as runa and possibly as runo on the 4th-century Einang stone. The name comes from the Germanic root run-, meaning secret or whisper, in Old Irish Gaelic, the word rún means mystery, secret, intention or affectionate love. Similarly in Welsh and Old English, the word rhin and rūn respectively means mystery, secret, secret writing, or sometimes in the sense of the word. Ogham is a Celtic script, similarly carved in the Norse manner, the root run- can also be found in the Baltic languages, meaning speech. In Lithuanian, runoti means both to cut and to speak, according to another theory, the Germanic root comes from the Indoeuropean root *reuə- dig. The Finnish term for rune, riimukirjain, means scratched letter, the Finnish word runo means poem and comes from the same source as the English word rune, it is a very old loan of the Proto-Germanic *rūnō. The runes developed centuries after the Old Italic alphabets from which they are historically derived. The formation of the Elder Futhark was complete by the early 5th century, specifically, the Raetic alphabet of Bolzano is often advanced as a candidate for the origin of the runes, with only five Elder Futhark runes having no counterpart in the Bolzano alphabet
26.
Skald
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The term skald or skáld, meaning ‘poet’, is generally used for poets who composed at the courts of Scandinavian and Icelandic leaders during the Viking Age and Middle Ages. Skaldic poetry forms one of two groupings of Old Norse poetry, the other being the anonymous Eddic poetry. The most prevalent metre of skaldic poetry is dróttkvætt, the subject is usually historical and encomiastic, detailing the deeds of the skalds patron. There is no evidence that the skalds employed musical instruments, the technical demands of the skaldic form were equal to the complicated verse forms mastered by the Welsh bards and Gaelic ollaves. Like those poets, much skaldic verse consisted of panegyrics to kings, the word skald is perhaps ultimately related to Proto-Germanic *skalliz sound, voice, shout. Old High German has skalsang song of praise, psalm, and skellan means ring, clang, the Old High German variant stem skeltan etymologically identical to the skald- stem means to scold, blame, accuse, insult. The person doing the insulting is a skelto or skeltāri and this bears striking similarities to the Dutch verb schelden and the southern German schelten, which mean shouting abuse or calling names. The West Germanic counterpart of the skald is the scop, like the scop, which is related to Modern English scoff, the name skald is continued in English scold, reflecting the central position of mocking taunts in Germanic poetry. Skaldic poetry can be traced to the earlier 9th century with Bragi Boddason and his Ragnarsdrápa, Bragi is considered the oldest and original Skald. At the time, the Icelanders and Nordic people were still pagan, as time went on, Skalds became the main source of Icelandic and Norse history and culture, as it was the Skalds who learned and shared the largely oral history. That led to a shift in the role of the Skald, every king and chieftain needed a Skald to record their feats and ensure their legacy lived on, as well as becoming the main historians of their society. The written artifacts of that come from Skalds, as they were the first from the time. As the years passed, the Skald profession was threatened with extinction until Snorri Sturluson compiled the Prose Edda, Snorri, born in Iceland during the 12th century is the most famous skald. In addition to being a poet, he was leader of the Althing for part of his life. For example, the Prose Edda broke down and explained kennings used in skaldic poetry, allowing many of them to be understood today. Beyond writing the Prose Edda, Snorri had many poems from retelling old Norse legends to tales on exploits of kings. Most Nordic verse of the Viking Age came in one of two forms, eddic or skaldic, Eddic verse was usually simple, in terms of content, style and metre, dealing largely with mythological or heroic content. Skaldic verse, conversely, was complex, and usually composed as a tribute or homage to a particular jarl or king, there is debate over the performance of skaldic poetry, but there is a general scholalry consensus that it was spoken rather than sung
27.
Valkyrie
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In Norse mythology, a valkyrie is one of a host of female figures who choose those who may die in battle and those who may live. Selecting among half of those who die in battle, the valkyries bring their chosen to the hall of the slain, Valhalla. There, the deceased warriors become einherjar, when the einherjar are not preparing for the events of Ragnarök, the valkyries bear them mead. They appear throughout the poetry of skalds, in a 14th-century charm, scholarly theories have been proposed about the relation between the valkyries, the norns, and the dísir, all of which are supernatural figures associated with fate. Archaeological excavations throughout Scandinavia have uncovered amulets theorized as depicting valkyries, in modern culture, valkyries have been the subject of works of art, musical works, video games and poetry. The word valkyrie derives from Old Norse valkyrja, which is composed of two words, the noun valr and the verb kjósa, together, they mean chooser of the slain. The Old Norse valkyrja is cognate to Old English wælcyrge, from the Old English and Old Norse forms, philologist Vladimir Orel reconstructs a Proto-Germanic form, *wala-kuzjōn. However, the term may have been borrowed into Old English from Old Norse, other terms for valkyries in Old Norse sources include óskmey, appearing in the poem Oddrúnargrátr and Óðins meyjar, appearing in the Nafnaþulur. Óskmey may be related to the Odinic name Óski, referring to the fact that Odin receives slain warriors in Valhalla, valkyries are mentioned or appear in the Poetic Edda poems Völuspá, Grímnismál, Völundarkviða, Helgakviða Hjörvarðssonar, Helgakviða Hundingsbana I, Helgakviða Hundingsbana II and Sigrdrífumál. In stanza 30 of the poem Völuspá, a völva tells Odin that she saw valkyries coming from far away who are ready to ride to the realm of the gods. The völva follows this with a list of six valkyries, Skuld who bore a shield, Skögul, Gunnr, Hildr, afterwards, the völva tells him she has listed the ladies of the War Lord, ready to ride, valkyries, over the earth. A prose introduction in the poem Völundarkviða relates that the brothers Slagfiðr, Egil, there, early one morning, the brothers find three women spinning linen on the shore of the lake Úlfsjár, and near them were their swans garments, they were valkyries. Two, daughters of King Hlödvér, are named Hlaðguðr svanhvít and Hervör alvitr, the brothers take the three women back to their hall with them—Egil takes Ölrún, Slagfiðr takes Hlaðguðr svanhvít and Völund takes Hervör alvitr. They live together for seven winters, until the women fly off to go to a battle, Egil goes off in snow-shoes to look for Ölrún, Slagfiðr goes searching for Hlaðguðr svanhvít and Völund sits in Úlfdalir. He finds one particularly striking, this valkyrie is detailed later in a narrative as Sváva, king Eylimis daughter. The valkyrie speaks to the man, and gives him the name Helgi. The valkyrie tells him she knows of a hoard of swords in Sigarsholm, and that one of them is of particular importance, further into the poem, Atli flytes with the female jötunn Hrímgerðr. After Hrímgerðr is turned to stone by the daylight, a prose narrative continues that Helgi, Helgi and Sváva are betrothed and love one another dearly
28.
Valhalla
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In Norse mythology, Valhalla is a majestic, enormous hall located in Asgard, ruled over by the god Odin. Chosen by Odin, half of those who die in combat travel to Valhalla upon death, led by valkyries, while the other half go to the goddess Freyjas field Fólkvangr. In Valhalla, the join the masses of those who have died in combat known as Einherjar and various legendary Germanic heroes and kings. Before the hall stands the golden tree Glasir, and the ceiling is thatched with golden shields. Various creatures live around Valhalla, such as the stag Eikþyrnir, the Modern English noun Valhalla derives from Old Norse Valhöll, a compound noun composed of two elements, the masculine noun valr the slain and the feminine noun höll hall. Valr has cognates in other Germanic languages such as Old English wæl the slain, slaughter, carnage, Old Saxon wal-dād murder, Old High German battlefield, all of these forms descend from the Proto-Germanic masculine noun *walaz. Among related Old Norse concepts, valr also appears as the first element of the nouns valkyrja chooser of the slain, valkyrie and Valfreyja, the second element, höll, is a common Old Norse noun. It is cognate to Modern English hall and has the same meaning, both developed from Proto-Germanic *xallō or *hallō, meaning covered place, hall, itself from the Proto-Indo-European root *kol-. In stanzas 8 to 10 of Grímnismál, the god Odin states that Valhalla is located in the realm of Glaðsheimr, Odin describes Valhalla as shining and golden, and that it rises peacefully when seen from afar. From Valhalla, every day Odin chooses from those who have died in combat. Valhalla has spear-shafts for rafters, a roof thatched with shields, coats of mail are strewn over its benches, a wolf hangs in front of its west doors, and an eagle hovers above it. Within Valhalla exists Thors hall Bilskirnir, and within it exist five hundred and forty rooms, in stanzas 25 through 26, Odin states that the goat Heiðrún and the hart Eikþyrnir stand on top of Valhalla and graze on the branches of the tree Læraðr. Heiðrún produces vats of mead that liquor cannot be compared to, in stanza 38 of the poem Helgakviða Hundingsbana II, the hero Helgi Hundingsbane dies and goes to Valhalla. Prose follows after this stanza, stating that a burial-mound was made for Helgi, in stanzas 40 to 42, Helgi has returned to Midgard from Valhalla with a host of men. An unnamed maid of Sigrún, Helgis valkyrie wife, sees Helgi, the maid asks if she is experiencing a delusion, if Ragnarök has begun, or if Helgi and his men have been allowed to return. In the stanzas that follow, Helgi responds that none of things have occurred. The maid tells Sigrún that the mound has opened up, and that Sigrún should go to Helgi there, as Helgi has asked her to come and tend his wounds. Sigrún goes into the mound, and finds that Helgi is drenched in gore, filled with joy at the reunion, Sigrún kisses him before he can remove his coat of mail, and asks how she can heal him
29.
Einherjar
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In Norse mythology, the einherjar are those who have died in battle and are brought to Valhalla by valkyries. In Valhalla, the einherjar eat their fill of the nightly-resurrecting beast Sæhrímnir, the einherjar prepare daily for the events of Ragnarök, when they will advance for an immense battle at the field of Vígríðr, the battle which the ein refers to. Heimdall occasionally returned the best of Einherjar to Midgard or Jotunheim with the purpose of killing giants, scholarly theories have been proposed etymologically connecting the einherjar to the Harii, the eternal battle of Hjaðningavíg, and the Wild Hunt. The einherjar have been the subject of works of art and poetry, in the poem Vafþrúðnismál, Odin engages the wise jötunn Vafþrúðnir in a game of wits. Disguised as Gagnráðr, Odin asks Vafþrúðnir where men fight in every day. Further into Grímnismál, Odin gives a list of valkyries, in the poem Helgakviða Hundingsbana I, the hero Sinfjötli flyts with Guðmundr. In the Prose Edda book Gylfaginning, the einherjar are introduced in chapter 20, in chapter 35, High quotes the Grímnismál valkyrie list, and says that these valkyries wait in Valhalla, and there serve drink, and look after tableware and drinking vessels in Valhalla. In addition, High says that Odin sends valkyries to every battle, that they allot death to men, in chapter 38, High provides more detail about the einherjar. Gangleri says that you say that all men that have fallen in battle since the beginning of the world have now come to Odin in Val-hall. What has he got to offer them food, I should have thought that there must be a pretty large number there. High replies that it is there are a pretty large number of men there, adding many more have yet to arrive. However, High adds that food is not a problem because there never be too many people in Valhalla that the meat of Sæhrímnir cannot sufficiently feed. High says that Sæhrímnir is cooked every day by the cook Andhrímnir in the pot Eldhrimnir, High then quotes the stanza of Grímnismál mentioning the cook, meal, and container in reference. Further into chapter 38, Gangleri asks if Odin consumes the same meals as the einherjar. High responds that Odin gives the food on his table to his two wolves Geri and Freki, and that Odin himself needs no food, for Odin gains sustenance from wine as if it were drink, High then quotes another stanza from Grímnismál in reference. In chapter 39, Gangleri asks what the drink that is as plentiful as their food. High responds that it is strange that Gangleri is asking if Odin, the All-Father, would invite kings, earls, High continues that atop Valhalla stands the goat Heiðrún, and it feeds on the foliage of the tree called Læraðr. From Heiðrúns udders flow mead that fills a vat a day, the vat is so large that all of the einherjar are able to drink to their fullness from it
30.
Freyja
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In Norse mythology, Freyja is a goddess associated with love, sex, beauty, fertility, gold, seiðr, war, and death. Along with her brother Freyr, her father Njörðr, and her mother, stemming from Old Norse Freyja, modern forms of the name include Freya, Freyia, and Freja. Freyja rules over her heavenly afterlife field Fólkvangr and there receives half of those that die in battle, whereas the other half go to the god Odins hall, within Fólkvangr is her hall, Sessrúmnir. Freyjas husband, the god Óðr, is frequently absent and she cries tears of red gold for him, and searches for him under assumed names. Freyja has numerous names, including Gefn, Hörn, Mardöll, Sýr, Valfreyja, Freyjas name appears in numerous place names in Scandinavia, with a high concentration in southern Sweden. Various plants in Scandinavia once bore her name, but it was replaced with the name of the Virgin Mary during the process of Christianization, rural Scandinavians continued to acknowledge Freyja as a supernatural figure into the 19th century, and Freyja has inspired various works of art. The name Freyja is transparently lady and ultimately derives from Proto-Germanic *frawōn, Freyja is cognate with, for example, Old Saxon frūa lady, mistress and Old High German frouwa. The theonym Freyja is thus considered to have been an epithet in origin, in the Poetic Edda, Freyja is mentioned or appears in the poems Völuspá, Grímnismál, Lokasenna, Þrymskviða, Oddrúnargrátr, and Hyndluljóð. Völuspá contains a stanza that mentions Freyja, referring to her as Óðs girl, Freyja being the wife of her husband, the stanza recounts that Freyja was once promised to an unnamed builder, later revealed to be a jötunn and subsequently killed by Thor. In the poem Grímnismál, Odin tells the young Agnar that every day Freyja allots seats to half of those that are slain in her hall Fólkvangr, while Odin owns the other half. In the poem Lokasenna, where Loki accuses nearly every female in attendance of promiscuity and/or unfaithfulness, the introduction to the poem notes that among other gods and goddesses, Freyja attends a celebration held by Ægir. Loki tells her to be silent, and says that he knows all about her—that Freyja is not lacking in blame, for each of the gods and elves in the hall have been her lover. She says that Loki is lying, that he is just looking to blather about misdeeds, and since the gods and goddesses are furious at him, he can expect to go home defeated. Loki tells Freyja to be silent, calls her a malicious witch, Njörðr interjects—he says that a woman having a lover other than her husband is harmless, and he points out that Loki has borne children, and calls Loki a pervert. The poem Þrymskviða features Loki borrowing Freyjas cloak of feathers and Thor dressing up as Freyja to fool the lusty jötunn Þrymr, in the poem, Thor wakes up to find that his powerful hammer, Mjöllnir, is missing. Thor tells Loki of his hammer, and the two go to the beautiful court of Freyja. Thor asks Freyja if she will lend him her cloak of feathers, Freyja agrees, Loki flies away in the whirring feather cloak, arriving in the land of Jötunheimr. He spies Þrymr sitting on top of a mound, Þrymr reveals that he has hidden Thors hammer deep within the earth and that no one will ever know where the hammer is unless Freyja is brought to him as his wife
31.
Fenrir
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In Norse mythology, Fenrir, Fenrisúlfr, Hróðvitnir, or Vánagandr is a monstrous wolf. Fenrir is attested in the Poetic Edda, compiled in the 13th century from traditional sources. Depictions of Fenrir have been identified on various objects, and scholarly theories have been proposed regarding Fenrirs relation to other beings in Norse mythology. Fenrir has been the subject of artistic depictions, and he appears in literature, Fenrir is mentioned in three stanzas of the poem Völuspá and in two stanzas of the poem Vafþrúðnismál. In stanza 40 of the poem Völuspá, a völva divulges to Odin that, in the east, there will come from them all one of that number to be a moon-snatcher in trolls skin. Then shall Friggs sweet friend fall, in the stanza that follows Vafþrúðnir responds that Sól will bear a daughter before Fenrir attacks her, and that this daughter shall continue the paths of her deceased mother through the heavens. In the Prose Edda, Fenrir is mentioned in three books, Gylfaginning, Skáldskaparmál and Háttatal, in chapter 13 of the Prose Edda book Gylfaginning, Fenrir is first mentioned in a stanza quoted from Völuspá. Fenrir is first mentioned in prose in chapter 25, where the figure of High tells Gangleri about the god Týr. High says that one example of Týrs bravery is that when the Æsir were luring Fenrir to place the fetter Gleipnir on the wolf and this was done at Fenrirs own request because he did not trust that the Æsir would let him go. High says that Odin sent the gods to gather the children, upon their arrival, Odin threw Jörmungandr into that deep sea that lies round all lands, and then threw Hel into Niflheim, and bestowed upon her authority over nine worlds. However, the Æsir brought up the wolf at home, and only Týr had the courage to approach Fenrir, the gods noticed that Fenrir was growing rapidly every day, and since all prophecies foretold that Fenrir was destined to cause them harm, the gods formed a plan. The gods prepared three fetters, The first, greatly strong, was called Leyding and they brought Leyding to Fenrir and suggested that the wolf try his strength with it. Fenrir judged that it was not beyond his strength, and so let the gods do what they wanted with it, at Fenrirs first kick the bind snapped, and Fenrir loosened himself from Leyding. The gods made a second fetter, twice as strong, the gods asked Fenrir to try the new fetter, and that should he break this feat of engineering, Fenrir would achieve great fame for his strength. Fenrir considered that the fetter was very strong, yet also that his strength had grown since he broke Leyding, Fenrir allowed them to place the fetter. High says that, as a result, to loose from Leyding or to strike out of Dromi have become sayings for when something is achieved with great effort, the dwarves constructed Gleipnir from six mythical ingredients. After an exchange between Gangleri and High, High continues that the fetter was smooth and soft as a ribbon, yet strong. The messenger brought the ribbon to the Æsir, and they thanked him heartily for completing the task, the Æsir went out on to the lake Amsvartnir sent for Fenrir to accompany them, and continued to the island Lyngvi
32.
Wild Hunt
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The Wild Hunt is a European folk myth involving a ghostly or supernatural group of huntsmen passing in wild pursuit. Seeing the Wild Hunt was thought to presage some catastrophe such as war or plague, people encountering the Hunt might also be abducted to the underworld or the fairy kingdom. In some instances, it was believed that peoples spirits could be pulled away during their sleep to join the cavalcade. Grimm popularised the term Wilde Jagd for the phenomenon, based on the comparative approach based on German folklore, the phenomenon is often referred to as Wilde Jagd or Wildes Heer. In Germany, where it was known as the Wild Army, or Furious Army, its leader was given various identities, including Wodan, Knecht Ruprecht, Berchtold. The Wild Hunt is also known from post-medieval folklore, in England, it was known as Herlaþing, Wodens Hunt, Herods Hunt, Cains Hunt, the Devils Dandy Dogs, Gabriels Hounds, and Ghost Riders. In Wales, a folk myth is known as Cŵn Annwn. In Scandinavia, the Wild Hunt is known as Oskoreia or Asgårdsreia, in France, it was known as Mesnée dHellequin, in Canada it becomes Chasse-galerie. In West Slavic Central Europe it is known as divoký hon or štvaní, Dziki Gon or Dziki Łów, the concept of the Wild Hunt was first documented by the German folklorist Jacob Grimm, who first published it in his 1835 book Deutsche Mythologie. It was in work that he popularised the term Wilde Jagd for the phenomenon. Grimms methodological approach was rooted in the idea – common in nineteenth-century Europe – that modern folklore represented a fossilized survival of the beliefs of the distant past. In developing his idea of the Wild Hunt, he mixed together recent folkloric sources with textual evidence dating to the Medieval and Early Modern periods. This approach came to be criticized within the field of folkloristics during the 20th century, as emphasis was placed on the dynamic. Grimm believed that this figure was sometimes replaced by a female counterpart. In his words, not only Wuotan and other gods, but heathen goddesses too, may head the furious host and he added his opinion that this female figure was Wodens wife. Discussing martial elements of the Wild Hunt, Grimm commented that it marches as an army, hutton nevertheless believed that this approach could be fundamentally challenged. In England, the historical figures St, the huntsmen were black, huge, and hideous, and rode on black horses and on black he-goats, and their hounds were jet black, with eyes like saucers, and horrible. Reliable witnesses were said to have given the number of huntsmen as twenty or thirty, and it is said, in effect, that this went on for nine weeks, ending at Easter
33.
Loki
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In Norse mythology, Loki, Loptr, or Hveðrungr is a god or jötunn. Loki is the son of Fárbauti and Laufey, and the brother of Helblindi, by the jötunn Angrboða, Loki is the father of Hel, the wolf Fenrir, and the world serpent Jörmungandr. By his wife Sigyn, Loki is the father of Narfi and/or Nari, by the stallion Svaðilfari, Loki is the mother—giving birth in the form of a mare—to the eight-legged horse Sleipnir. In addition, Loki is referred to as the father of Váli in Prose Edda, though this also refers to Odin as the father of Váli twice. Lokis relation with the gods varies by source, Loki sometimes assists the gods, Loki is a shape shifter and in separate incidents he appears in the form of a salmon, a mare, a fly, and possibly an elderly woman named Þökk. Lokis positive relations with the end with his role in engineering the death of the god Baldr. In both the Poetic Edda and the Prose Edda, the goddess Skaði is responsible for placing a serpent above him while he is bound, Loki may be depicted on the Snaptun Stone, the Kirkby Stephen Stone, and the Gosforth Cross. Lokis origins and role in Norse mythology, which scholars have described as that of a trickster god, have been much debated by scholars. Loki has been depicted in or is referenced in a variety of media in popular culture. The etymology of the name Loki has yet to be solved and it may be related to Old Norse luka, meaning close, shut. The name Hveðrungr is also used in reference to Loki, occurring in names for Hel, in the Poetic Edda, Loki appears in the poems Völuspá, Lokasenna, Þrymskviða, Reginsmál, Baldrs draumar, and Hyndluljóð. In stanza 35 of the Poetic Edda poem Völuspá, a völva tells Odin that, among other things, she sees Sigyn sitting very unhappily with her bound husband, Loki. In stanza 54, after consuming Odin and being killed by Odins son Víðarr, the poem Lokasenna centers around Loki flyting with other gods, Loki puts forth two stanzas of insults while the receiving figure responds with a single stanza, and then another figure chimes in. The poem begins with an introduction detailing that Ægir, a figure associated with the sea, is hosting a feast in his hall for a number of the gods. There, the gods praise Ægirs servers Fimafeng and Eldir, Loki could not bear to hear that, and kills the servant Fimafeng. In response, the gods grab their shields, shrieking at Loki, the gods then return to the hall, and continue drinking. Entrance and rejection Loki comes out of the woods, and meets Eldir outside of the hall, Loki greets Eldir with a demand that Eldir tell him what the gods are discussing over their ale inside the hall. Eldir responds that they discuss their weapons and their prowess in war, Loki says that he will go into the feast, and that, before the end of the feast, he will induce quarrelling among the gods, and mix their mead with malice
34.
Proto-Indo-European religion
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The hypothesized reconstructions below are based on linguistic evidence using the comparative method. Archaeological evidence is difficult to match to any specific culture in the period of early Indo-European culture in the Chalcolithic, other approaches to Indo-European mythology are possible, such as the trifunctional hypothesis of Georges Dumézil. Linguists are able to reconstruct the names of deities in the Proto-Indo-European language from many types of sources. Some of the proposed deity names are more accepted among scholars than others. The term for a god was *deiwos, reflected in Hittite, sius, Latin, deus, divus, Sanskrit, deva, Avestan, daeva, Welsh, duw, Irish, dia, Old Norse, tívurr, Lithuanian, Dievas, Latvian, Dievs. The supreme ruler of the Proto-Indo-European pantheon was the god *Dyḗus Pḥɑtḗr and he is believed to have been worshipped as the god of the daylit skies. He is, by far, the most well-attested of all the Proto-Indo-European deities, the Greek god Zeus, the Roman god Jupiter, and the Illyrian god Dei-Pátrous all appear as the head gods of their respective pantheons. The Norse god Týr, however, seems to have been demoted to the role of a minor war-deity, *Dyḗus Pḥɑtḗr is also attested in the Rigveda as Dyáus Pitā, a minor ancestor figure mentioned in only a few hymns. The names of the Latvian god Dievs and the Hittite god Attas Isanus do not preserve the exact translation of the name *Dyḗus Pḥɑtḗr. *Hɑéusōs has been reconstructed as the Proto-Indo-European goddess of the dawn, derivatives of her found throughout various Indo-European mythologies include the Greek goddess Eos, the Roman goddess Aurōra, the Vedic goddess Uṣás, and the Lithuanian goddess Auštrine. The form Arap Ushas appears in Albanian folklore, but as a name for the Moon, an extension of the name may have been *H2eustro, but see also the form *as-t-r, with intrusive -t- in northern dialects. *Seh2ul and *Meh1not are reconstructed as the Proto-Indo-European goddess of the Sun, *Meh1not is reconstructed based off the Norse god Máni, the Hittite god Myesyats, and the Lithuanian god *Meno, or Mėnuo. They are often seen as the children of various deities. The usual scheme is one of these celestial deities is male. The original Indo-European lunar deity appears to have masculine, with feminine lunar deities like Selene, Minerva. Even in these traditions, remnants of male deities, like Menelaus. The word *prihxeha-, meaning wife has been reconstructed based off the Sanskrit word priyā, meaning wife, the Old Norse word frī, meaning beloved, and the Old English word frēo, meaning woman. The name of the Norse goddess Frigg is derived from this root, Analysis of different Indo-European tales indicate the Proto-Indo-Europeans believed there were two progenitors of mankind, *Manu- and *Yemo-, his twin brother
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Heathenry (new religious movement)
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Heathenry, also termed Heathenism or Germanic Neopaganism, is a modern Pagan religion. Classified as a new movement, its practitioners model their faith on the pre-Christian belief systems adhered to by the Germanic peoples of Iron Age. To reconstruct these past belief systems, Heathenry uses surviving historical, archaeological, although lacking a unified theology, Heathenry is typically polytheistic, centering on a pantheon of deities from pre-Christian Germanic Europe which includes both gods and goddesses. It adopts cosmological views from these religions, including an animistic view of the cosmos in which the natural world is imbued with spirits. The faiths deities and these spirits are honored in sacrificial rites known as blóts in which food and these are often accompanied by symbel, the act of ceremonially toasting the gods with an alcoholic beverage. Heathen ethical systems place great emphasis on honor, personal integrity, a central division within the Heathen movement surrounds the issue of race. Many groups eschew racialist ideas, adopting a universalist perspective which holds that the religion is open to all, some folkish Heathens further combine the religion with explicitly racist and white supremacist perspectives. Although the term Heathenry is used widely to describe the religion as a whole, many groups prefer different forms of designation, influenced by their regional focus and their attitude to race. While a number of groups venerating Scandinavian deities use Ásatrú or Forn Sed, the religions origins lie in the 19th and early 20th century Romanticist movement which glorified the pre-Christian beliefs of Germanic societies. In the 1970s, new Heathen groups emerged in Europe and North America, in recent decades, the Heathen movement has been the subject of academic study by scholars active in the field of Pagan studies. Scholarly estimates put the number of Heathens at no more than 20,000 worldwide, with communities of practitioners being active in Europe, North America, scholars of religious studies classify Heathenry as a new religious movement, and more specifically as a reconstructionist form of modern Paganism. Heathenry is a movement to revive and/or reinterpret for the present day the practices, practitioners seek to revive these past belief systems by using surviving historical source materials. Some Heathens also adopt ideas from the evidence of pre-Christian Northern Europe and from recorded folk tales. Some, for instance, adapt their practices according to unverified personal gnosis that they have gained through spiritual experiences, conversely, others draw inspiration from the beliefs and practices of a specific geographical area and chronological period within Germanic Europe, such as Anglo-Saxon England or Viking Age Iceland. The anthropologist Murphy Pizza suggested that Heathenry could be understood as an example of what the historian Eric Hobsbawm termed an invented tradition, no central religious authority exists to impose a particular terminological designation on all practitioners. Academics studying the religion have typically favoured the terms Heathenry and Heathenism to describe it and this term is the most commonly used option by practitioners in the United Kingdom, with growing usage in North America and elsewhere. Many practitioners favor the term Heathen over Pagan because the term originated among Germanic languages. A further term used in academic contexts is Germanic Neopaganism
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Lists of deities
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This is an index to deities of the different religions, cultures and mythologies of the world, listed by type and by region. For deified individuals see List of people who have been considered deities, Apotheosis, for epithets of gods of monotheistic religions, see Names of God. For deities whose cult is fictional see List of deities in fiction, a basic classification of types of gods is given by Stith Thompsons Motif-Index of Folk-Literature, A0 Creator A100—A199. Gods of darkness and light A109.1, gods are spirits of deified dead A131. God as dupe or trickster A192, death or departure of the gods A193. Gods of the upper world A210, God of the world of the dead A311. God of clans or nations A420, miscellaneous gods of the earth A491
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