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Aegir is the god of
the sea. He is also known as Hler. Aegir was often called the ruler of
the sea in the Poetic Edda. He was a personification of the ocean, be it
good or evil. He caused storms with his anger, and the Skalds (Viking
poets) said a ship went into "Aegir's wide jaws" when it wrecked. Aegir
was often said to have been crowned with seaweed and always surrounded
by nixies and mermaids while in his hall. Aegir's wife (and sister) was
Ran. Ran and Aegir had nine daughters who were the waves; all of their
names are poetic names for waves. Aegir brewed ale for the gods. Every
winter the gods would drink beer at Aegir's home. He was, therefore,
famed for his hospitality. Gold was put onto the floor of the hall to
provide light, instead of lighting a fire. Gold is therefore called
Aegir's fire. The cups in Aegir's hall were always full, magically
refilling themselves. Sailors feared Aegir, and thought he would
sometimes surface to destroy ships. Early Saxons made human sacrifices
to a god of the sea, possibly connected with Aegir. |
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Asgard is sometimes
known as Asgarth. It is the realm of the gods and the home of both the
Aesir and Vanir. Is is ruled by Odin, the leader of the Norse deities.
It is located in the heavens, but is connected to earth by a bridge,
known as Bifrost, sometimes referred to as a rainbow. There is also a
route from Asgard to the underworld, the domain of Hel. Valhalla, a hall
within Asgard, was the palace for fallen kings, warriors who had died in
battle and heroes. |
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Balder, the favourite
son of Odin and Frigg, is described as a very handsome and wise god. His
name means "The Glorious." Some consider him to be a god of light since
he was so bright with light shining from him. He was also called the
"god of tears." He was killed by his blind twin brother, Hod. Balder's
wife was Nanna and they had a son named Forseti. Balder and Nanna lived
in Breidablik [The Broad-Gleaming], where nothing unclean could beand
there were "fewest baneful runes." Breidablik had a silver roof on
golden pillars.Saxo (one of possible authors of the Prose Edda) gave a
very different picture of Balder: he was a vicious god who fought with
Hod to marry Nanna. Balder's name rarely occurs in place names,
therefore, it is thought that not many people worshipped him. The poets
used his name to mean warrior. |
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Bragi was the Norse
god of poetry and eloquence, and possessed of the fairest speech and the
most witty and cunning tongue. He was married to Iduna, who dwelt in the
underworld. |
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Forseti was one of
the Aesir. |
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Frey was the Norse
god of fruitfulness, and also the patron of seafarers. Possessed a
golden boar which raced through the sky and the underworld, and a
magical ship which was always favoured with a fair wind. His wife was
Gredr. |
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Freya was the
daughter of Njord and sister of Frey. She was the leader of the
Valkeyries and goddess of love, beauty and endless rebirth. She
dispensed wealth and gauaranteed oaths. Halg the warriors slain in
battle go to her palace Sessrymnir which is located in Folkvang. |
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Frigg was the wife of
Odin, and the goddess of marriage. One of the things she was known for
was weaving the clouds. She was, like most of the female deities in
Norse mythology, a fairly minor player, having no myths to herself. She
is known to be the grieving mother of Balder, and she is the one who
sends Hermod to attempt to get Balder back from the underworld. |
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Heimdall was the son
of Odin and the nine virgin daughters of Geirrendour the Giant. He was
the Watchman on the Rainbow Bridge, and guarded the approach to Asgard,
and for this his senses were razor-sharp, his eyes so keen that he could
see the wool growing on the backs of sheep, though they were at the
other side of the world, and his ears so acute that he could hear grass
growing. Heimdall carried a great battle horn, whose sounding was to
signal the final battle, Ragnarok as the giants from Jotunheim swarmed
across Bifrost, into Asgard. |
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Hodur the Blind God,
who in Norse mythology accidentally killed Balder, and was in turn slain
by Bali, Odin's son. |
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Loki, according to
Germanic myths, was a fire god. He was the son of both Farbauti and
Laufey. Loki was a trickster, a mischief-maker, and a shape-changer.
Progressively, Loki grew more and more evil, until the gods finally
bound and held him prisoner in a dark cave, until the eventual coming of
Ragnarok, which is the end of the world. Perhaps Loki's tendencies
towards evil can be explained by the fact that both his parents were
giants. It seemed way beyond his control to quit playing dirty tricks or
even to stop exposing the other gods to danger. Of course, Loki was
extremely intelligent and would always save them, just in the nick of
time.
He had two wives, the
first wife was the giant Angrboda and he had three monstrous children by
her. They were:Fenrir, Jormungand, and Hel. All three of them were
fearsome examples of the evil side of nature. His second wife was Sigyn
and he had two children with her. They were named: Vali and Narvi.
One of the legends
surrounding Loki tells about an incident that occurred when he had
attended a feast given by Asgard. During this feast, Loki had an
exciting time tormenting the other guests with insults and sneers. It
was during this feast, the other gods and goddesses lost their patience
with Loki. Up until now, they had tolerated him. To escape their wrath,
Loki turned himself into a salmon. Odin however, located the fish and
sent out an expedition to catch it. When he had been captured, they
placed him in a dark cave. Then his son Vali was transformed into a wolf
and immediately attacked his poor brother Narvi and killed him. Narvi's
intestines were then used to bind Loki beneath the dripping mouth of a
venomous snake. It's in this dreadful place that Loki awaits Ragnarok,
then he will emerge from the cave to lead an army of evil and fight with
the gods in the final battle. It is during this battle that Loki will
meet his end. |
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Odin was the leader
of the Norse gods and has a myriad of names including All Father, Ygg,
Bolverk (evil doer), and Grimnir. He also has many functions within the
myths including being a god of war, poetry, wisdom, and death. However,
he is not considered the "main" god of each of these functions.
Odin's symbol is his
magical spear named Grungir which never misses its mark. He also owns a
magic ring called Draupnir which can create nine of itself every night.
It was this ring that Odin laid on his son Balder's funeral pyre and
which Balder returned to Odin from the underworld. Odin also has two
wolves, Geri and Freki, and two ravens, Hugin (thought) and Munin
(memory). He sends his ravens out every day to gather knowledge for him.
Odin was destined to
die at Ragnarok; Fenris-Wolf swallowed him. Knowing his fate, he still
chose to embrace it and do battle, showing the true warrior ethic. He is
the god of warriors and kings, not the common man. Among his children
are: Thor, Hermod, and Balder. He is married to Frigg, the goddess of
marriage. |
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Thor was the son of
Odin and a member of the Aesir, the name for the collection of Norse
gods. He is the god of thunder and the main enemy of the giants. He
would smash their heads with his mighty axe-hammer, Mjolnir. To wield
this awesome weapon he needed iron gloves and a belt of strength.
Mjolnir would return to Thor's hand after being thrown and is symbolic
of lightning.
Thor rode around
middle-earth in his wagon drawn by two goats. His abode is Thruthheim
[Land of Strength] and his hall, Bilskinir. His wife was Sif.
Thor was very
well-known for his quick and hot temper. This was often vented on the
giants, the main enemies of the gods.
He was foremost of
the gods to the common man, who would call on him to ensure fertility,
and was widely worshiped. Hammer-shaped amulets were popular, the hammer
being a symbol of Thor because it was his weapon, and were worn about
the neck well into the Christianisation of Scandinavia. There are molds
from that time which contain both cross and hammer shapes, side by side.
His name is found in numerous place names, and it was his statue which
was central in the great temple at Uppsala. Our day of the week,
Thursday, is named for him. Donar was an early version of Thor among the
early Germans. The Anglo-Saxons worshiped a thunder god named Thunor. |
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Tyr the Norse god of
courage, honour and the unbroken word. He shared with Odin the duty of
choosing the heroes the Valkyries transport to Valhalla. |
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Ullr was the Norse
god of the chase, a skillful runner and a deadly bowman. During Odin's
ten year banishment for womanising, replaced him as head god. |
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Ve, one of the
brothers of Odin |
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Vili, one of the
brothers of Odin |
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Vithar the Norse god
next in strength to Thor. Vithar was supposed to destroy the Fenris
wolf, by placing one foot on the lower jaw, grasping the upper and
tearing the wolf's mouth apart. |
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