Norse Mythology

We explain what Norse mythology is, its characteristics, its worlds and its main gods. Also, its cosmogony and what Ragnarök is.

What is Norse mythology?

Norse mythology, Germanic mythology or Scandinavian mythology is the imaginary common to the religion, legends and stories of the Scandinavian Germanic peoples known to have populated the northern regions of Europe.

The best-preserved set of accounts of this cultural tradition dates back to the Viking Age (789-1100 AD), when these peoples devastated most of Europe, southwest Asia, Africa, and western North America.

Norse mythology brings together a large set of stories and stories, which gave substance to the religious beliefs of society. These stories were transmitted orally from generation to generation through stories, songs and lyrical poetry.

The current knowledge we have about Norse mythology comes from the Eddasa set of medieval compilations written around 1270 AD. C., during the Christianization of northern Europe.

Many of the supernatural beings and divinities of the Norse tradition are part of the folklore of northern Europe, expressed in numerous and diverse versions and more or less free adaptations, literary works, films and video games. Furthermore, along with Greco-Roman, Egyptian and Celtic mythologies, it is one of the great traditions of mythical stories in the West.

Characteristics of Norse mythology

Among the main characteristics of Norse mythology are:

• complex cosmology. For the Nordics, the universe is made up of nine worlds that house different types of beings, and that are connected through the Yggdrasil, the tree of life.
• divine pantheon. The pantheon of gods and goddesses includes different groups of known gods, such as the Aesir (Odin, Thor and Frigg) and the Vanir (Freyja and Freyr). Additionally, there are other important supernatural beings, such as giants and elves.
• Heroes and mythical creatures. Norse mythology includes great legendary heroes, such as Sigurd and Beowulf, and mythical creatures, such as the dragon Fafnir, the wolf Fenrir, and the serpent Jörmungandr, each with their own stories and symbolism.
• Belief in destiny and Ragnarök. In Norse mythology, fate is a powerful force, controlled by the Norns. For its part, Ragnarök represents the end of the world, a series of apocalyptic events that culminate in a great battle and the renewal of the universe.
• Valhalla and life after death. For the Norse, warriors who died in battle were taken by the Valkyries to Valhalla, the great hall of the fallen ruled by Odin, while other dead went to places like Hel or Fólkvangr, ruled by Freyja.
• Rituals and religious practices. The Norse people performed rituals and sacrifices to honor the gods and spirits. Additionally, they practiced Seidr magic, which involved divination and the manipulation of fate, usually carried out by völvas (priestesses).
• Mythology and epics. The stories of Norse mythology were transmitted orally, but they reached the present day through different written documents, such as the Prose Edda and the poetic eddaand some sagas, such as Saga of the Volsungs.
• Cultural and literary influence. Norse mythology has had a profound and lasting influence on modern literature, art, and popular culture, inspiring works such as those of JRR Tolkien and the Marvel Comics series of films and comics.

The nine worlds of Norse mythology

The stories of Norse mythology reflect a warlike vision of the cosmos. For the Nordics, There were nine primordial worlds that were connected through the branches of the great tree of life, Yggdrasil and in which beings of different nature lived. Those nine worlds were:

• Midgard. It was the world of human beings, which occupied the center of the known universe (hence its name: mid“half”, gärd“crop field”). It was also known as Middle Earth.
• Asgard. It was the world of the gods, known as Aesir. In its heart was Valhalla, the paradise where warriors killed in glorious combat arrived.
• Jötunheim. It was the world of giants (jötnar) of ice and rock, primordial beings linked to the primordial forces of the universe. It was separated from Asgard by the Iving River.
• Niflheim. It was the world of darkness and perpetual fog, home of the dragon Nidhöggr, who incessantly gnawed at the roots of the world tree.
• Helheim. It was the world of the dead, located in the coldest and darkest region of the depths of Niflheim, and ruled by Hela, goddess of death. It was surrounded by the river Gjöll, and those who entered it never left. Those who died due to illness or old age, and criminals who required punishment, went there.
• Muspelheim. It was the home of the fire giants and the highest of all kingdoms. It was located above Asgard and opposite Niflheim.
• Alfheim. It was the world of the elves, ethereal beings who waged a constant war between their two factions: the luminous elves (Ljósálfar) and the dark elves (Svártálfar).
• Svartálfaheim. It was the world of the dark elves, inhabitants of the mountains, and possibly also of the Norse dwarves.
• Vanaheim. It was the world of the Vanir, the second clan of gods different from the Aesir, with whom they faced each other in an ancient war. Unlike the warrior gods of Asgard, these are deities linked to the earth, fertility, prosperity, and the sea.

Cosmogony of Norse mythology

As in all religions, in the Scandinavian one, The origin of the world was told, which was at the same time the origin of the gods and the nine kingdoms that made it up.

The first and most famous poem of the poetic eddahe Völuspá (“Prophecy of the Seer”), describes that in the beginning there were only two worlds: Muspelheim, the kingdom of fire, and Niflheim, the kingdom of ice. Between the two, there was a huge void known as Ginnungagap (“Deep hole”) in which nothing lived.

Until, from the embers of the fire and the frost of the ice, a vapor was born in the void from which the primordial giant, Ymir, was formed, along with a giant cow, Audumbla, thanks to which the first survived by drinking its milk. Ymir was a hermaphrodite, and from her own body were born the first giants, primitive beings linked to natural forces.

For its part, the cow melted the ice with its tongue, thus forming Buri, the first of the Norse gods and father of Bor, founder of the Aesir lineage.

So, The Aesir rose up against the giants, killing Ymir and banishing the survivors to Jötunheim. From the corpse of the giant they created the world: with his flesh they created the earth and the mountains; with his blood, the rivers, seas and lakes; with its bones, the rocks; with their hair, the trees and bushes; and with his skull they created the firmament, supported on four pillars thanks to the dwarves they created for this purpose.

Likewise, the gods created day and night, and later the first human beings: Ask (“Ash”), the first man; and Embla (“Elm”), the first woman. Both were carved from wood by Vili and Ve, the brothers of Odin, all sons of Bor. For them, Middle-earth was created, connected to Asgard by the Bifrost bridge.

Main gods of Norse mythology

Norse mythology It is abundant in gods and deities, as well as supernatural creatures. The main gods are the following:

• Odin. Also called Wotan, he is the father god of the Aesir, god of wisdom, war and poetry, magic, prophecy, hunting and victory. He resides in Asgard, in his palace of Valaskjálf, from whose throne he can contemplate the nine worlds. In combat, he appears riding his eight-legged horse, Sleipnir, and wielding his spear, Gungnir. He is represented as a bearded and one-eyed old man.
• thor. God of thunder and strength, linked to the success of crops and, naturally, to justice and battle. He uses a great hammer called Mjolnir to break through the giants. He is the son of Odin and the goddess Jotun, who personifies the earth.
• Heimdal. Guardian god of the Bifrost, bridge between the world of mortals and that of the gods, he is the son of Odin and nine giant women who raised him on wild boar blood. With keen vision and hearing, he can go without sleep for several days, and by blowing his horn he announces the coming war between giants and gods, a prelude to the end of the world.
• Balder. God of peace, forgiveness and light, he is the second son of Odin. He is also called Baldur. He dies at the hands of his blind brother, Hödr, after being manipulated by Loki.
• Loki. Son of the giants Farbauti and Laufey, he is a mysterious figure of the Norse pantheon, god of deception and manipulation, who the Aesir tied to three rocks as punishment. He was not a deity venerated by the Norse, but a minor deity endowed with many nicknames (kenningar) and considered a kind of trickster among the gods, whom she often put in trouble.
• Hello. Goddess and queen of Helheim, daughter of Loki and the giant Angrboda, she is represented as a beautiful woman on one side and cadaverous and putrid on the other, since this is the vision of the death of human beings.
• Frigg. Wife of Odin, goddess of the sky and queen of the Aesir, she is associated with female fertility, love, home and marriage, motherhood and domestic tasks, as well as wisdom and foresight. She is the only one capable of sitting on the heavenly throne next to her husband.
• Tyr. Norse god of war, represented as a one-handed man, he is the son of Odin and Frigg, in some versions, and of Ymir and the giant Frilla, in others. His missing hand was devoured by Fenrir, a mythical giant wolf. Along with Odin, he is considered one of the authority figures of the Norse pantheon.
• frey. Brother of Freya, he is the lord of vegetation, rain, the rising sun and male fertility. He is one of the most important gods of Norse paganism and the favorite god of the elves.
• freya. Frey's sister, she is the goddess of love, seduction and beauty, as well as female fertility, invoked to have good results in childbirth and harvests. It is also associated with certain aspects of war, death, magic and wealth. Along with Frigg, she was the most revered goddess of the Norse religion.

Ragnarök in Norse mythology

Nordic religion It had a prophecy about the future of the world, known as Ragnarök or “destiny of the gods.”. This vision of the future was grim, and consisted of a great doomsday battle between the Aesir and the giants; the first led by Odin and the second by Surt, great giant of fire.

According to the prophecy, the entire known universe will be destroyed in that last battle, in which the warriors chosen by Odin will participate among those who have died in combat (and have been rescued by the Valkyries to wait for Ragnarök in Valhalla). Although the gods themselves know what will happen, thanks to divination, not even they have the power to prevent it.

The beginning of the end would be, according to tradition, marked by the death of Baldur and the punishment of Loki, as well as by the birth of two evil creatures, daughters of the latter and Angrboda:

• Fenrir, the giant, monstrous wolf who devours Tyr's hand when they try to bind him with a gold chain. His destiny is to kill Odin during the final battle, and then be killed by one of the Aesir's sons, Vidar.
• Jörmungander, the gigantic serpent that surrounds Midgar, a sea monster that simultaneously serves as the “ribbon of the world”, that is, with its tail it embraces the entire Earth. The myth says that the serpent, hungry and unable to satisfy itself with what it found in Midgar, proceeded to devour itself by its tail, thus giving rise to a symbol of eternity that inspires the ouroboros alchemical. His role in Ragnarök is to come out of the seas and poison the skies. Thor will kill him, but he will be poisoned afterwards.

The end of the prophecy will be the entire universe set on fire by Surt, which will cost the lives of all living beings, extinguish the Sun and the stars, and the Earth will sink into the sea. Only a few gods will survive, to see a new and more just land emerge from the waters, which will be given to the only two surviving humans: Líf (“Life”) and Lífbrasir (“He Who Seeks Life”). They will repopulate the human world and worship a new pantheon of gods, then ruled by Balder.

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References

• Ellwood, RR and Alles, GD (Eds.). (2007). Nordic religion. The Encyclopedia of World Religions. Facts on File.
• Mercatante, A and Dow, J. (Eds.). (2009). Aesir; Odin; Poetic Edda; Prose Edda; Ragnarok; Vanir; Valhalla; Yggdrasil. Encyclopedia of World Mythology and Legend. Facts on File.
• Polomé, EC and Turville-Petre, E. (2024). Germanic religion and mythology. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/