LibGuides: Ancient Civilizations in Credo: Norse Mythology

Deities

Aesir: Topic
From Britannica Concise Encyclopedia
In Norse & Germanic religion, one of the two main groups of deities, the other being the Vanir. Odin, his wife Frigg, Tyr (the god of war), and Thor were the four Aesir common to the Germanic nations. Balder and Loki were considered Aesir by other peoples. The Aesir were a warlike race and were originally dominant over the Vanir, but after numerous defeats in battle they were forced to grant the Vanir equal status.
Baldr (Balder): Topic
A Scandinavian god of light, the son of Odin and Frigg, noted for his handsomeness and gentle nature.
Freyja
From The Columbia Encyclopedia
Norse goddess of love, marriage, and fertility. Her identity and attributes were often confused with those of the goddess Frigg.
Freyr
From Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable
In Norse mythology, the brother of freyja and the god of fruitfulness and crops and of the sun and rain.
Frigga
From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia
In Norse mythology, queen of the gods; wife of Odin.
Loki: Topic
From Bloomsbury Dictionary of Myth
Loki (‘allure’ or ‘fire’; also known as Loder, Loke, Lokkju, Lopter and Lopti; German Loge), in Nordic myth, was both the oldest and the youngest of the gods. He existed before existence, as an idea: the principle of irrationality, of mischief, which subverts every attempt by others to make an ordered universe. In some accounts he was the brother of Odin and Honir, one of the three creator-gods, and his gifts to Ask and Embla, the first human beings in the world, were like those of the wicked stepmother in later fairy-tales: desire and passion.
Odin
From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia
Chief god of Norse mythology, god of war, and the source of wisdom. A sky god, he lived in Asgard at the top of the world-tree Yggdrasil.
Thor
From The Columbia Encyclopedia
Norse god of thunder. An ancient and highly revered divinity, Thor was the patron and protector of peasants and warriors.
Tyr: Topic
From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia
Tyr ('dayshine' or 'god'), in Nordic myths, was in some accounts the original sky-god, precursor of Odin. In Norse and Teutonic mythology, Tyr is the god of battles, whom the Anglo-Saxons called Týw, from where ‘Tuesday’ is derived. He was a member of the Aesir (principal warrior gods).

Terms & Concepts

Asgard: Topic
From Encyclopedia of Imaginary and Mythical Places
In Norse mythology Asgard (“Aser-yard”), one of the Nine Worlds and located beneath Muspelheim, was the vast city built by Odin and his two brothers after the death of Ymer, it was designed to be well defended against the attacks of the Muspelheim and the Vanir. Asgard was described as being a land more fertile than any other and as equally blessed having a plethora of gold and jewels.
Bifrost
From The Macquarie Dictionary
In Scandinavian Mythology, the rainbow bridge of the gods from heaven to earth.
Edda
From The Columbia Encyclopedia
Title applied to two distinct works in Old Icelandic. The Poetic Edda, or Elder Edda, is a collection (late 13th cent.) of 34 mythological and heroic lays, most of which were composed c.800–c.1200, probably in Iceland or W Norway.
Midgard
From The Macmillan Encyclopedia
In Norse mythology, the earth, which lies between Hel or Nifleheim, the land of ice, and Muspelheim, the land of fire, and is reached from Asgard (the home of the gods) by Bifrost, the rainbow bridge.
Ragnarok: Topic
From The Columbia Encyclopedia
Ragnarök ('destruction of the powers'), in Nordic myth, also known by its German translation Götterdämmerung, is the end of this cycle of creation. In Norse mythology, the doom of the gods. According to prophecy the end of the world would follow a severe ice age, in which human civilization would be destroyed. Then the gods of Asgard, led by Odin, would clash with the devastating forces of evil and chaos, led by Loki and the giants. After a fierce battle the universe itself would be destroyed by fire and a new golden age would appear, ruled by the surviving gods, including Balder.
Valhalla
From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia
In Norse mythology, the golden hall in Odin's palace in Asgard, where he feasted with the souls of half those heroes killed in battle (valr) chosen by his female attendants, the Valkyries; the remainder celebrated in Sessrumnir with Freya, goddess of love and war.
Vanir: Topic
From Britannica Concise Encyclopedia
The Vanir ('beautiful ones'), in Nordic myth and Germanic religion, the group of gods responsible for wealth, fertility, and commerce. They included Njörd and his children, Freyr and Freyja, among others. They were originally subordinate to the warlike Aesir, but, after defeating the Aesir in battle, they were granted equal status. The Vanir sent Njörd and Freyr to live with the Aesir and received Hoenir and Mimir in exchange. The birth of Kvasir resulted from the peace ritual between the two groups.
Yggdrasil: Topic
From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia
Yggdrasil ('ash-tree horse of Ygg'), in Norse mythology, the world tree, a sacred ash which spanned heaven and hell. It was evergreen and tended by the Norns, goddesses of past, present, and future. Yggdrasil had three roots with a spring under each one: one root descended to the well Hvergelmir in Nifelheim or Hel, the realm of the dead; another ran to the well of Mimir, the source of all wisdom, under Jotunheim, land of the giants; and the third reached Urd's well under Asgard, home of the gods. Urd's well was a regular meeting place of the gods and was guarded by the Norns, who sprinkled the tree with its waters every day to avert decay.
Ymir
From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia
Ymir ('two-in-one'), in Norse mythology, the first living being, a giant who grew from melting frost; father of the Jotuns, a race of evil giants. He was nurtured by four streams of milk from the cow Audhumla, mother of Buri, the grandfather of Odin. After Ymir was killed by Odin and his brothers, Vili and Ve, heaven and earth were created from parts of his body. Ymir and his descendants are known as the Rime Giants and represent primeval chaos.