Bell Ringer #9: Tuesday 2/8/11

Believe it or not, the Norse had more influence on our language today than you might think (Thursday is named after Thor, “Hel” was the goddess of the underworld.)

If you were a god or goddess, what significant everyday title or object would we name after you? What would make people want to name something that important after you? Explain.

Modern Day Influence:

Sunday: Sun's Day. The Sun gave people light and warmth every day. They decided to name the first (or last) day of the week after the Sun.

Monday: Moon's Day. The Moon was thought to be very important in the lives of people and their crops.

Tuesday: Tiw's Day. Tiw, or Tyr, was a Norse god known for his sense of justice.

Wednesday: Woden's Day. Woden, or Odin, was a Norse god who was one of the most powerful of them all.

Thursday: Thor's Day. Thor was a Norse god who wielded a giant hammer.

Friday: Frigg's Day. Frigg was a Norse god equal in power to Odin.

Saturday: Seater's Day or Saturn's Day. Saturn was a Roman god.

Norse

Myth

The Geography

NorwaySwedenFinlandDenmarkIceland

Sources of Norse Mythology

Norse myths existed only in oral form while they were central to religious belief. They were only written down after Northern Europe had become Christian.

So we have new problems with our primary sources:

no coherent body of literature showing the myths and legends

possible alteration due to the influence of Christianity

Sources: The Eddas Prose Edda: A

narrative of many different adventures of the Norse gods, but presented as a fictional account, sometimes almost humorous. The closest we have to an overview/ collection of Norse myth, but often untraditional, and very engaged with intellectual & Christian traditions (e.g., he connects Thor with Troy).

Poetic Eddas: Traditional songs, which often refer to mythic incidents, usually just individual adventures.

Skaaldic songs: poems in honor of human accomplishments, with occasional references to myth, sometimes very cryptic.

Sources

Creation myth:

Creation: Fusion of hot and cold

In the south was a land of fire; in the north was a land of ice. They met in the great emptiness of Ginnungagap, and the ice began to melt.

From the melting ice came a huge giant, Ymir.

The first man and woman grew from his armpits. The frost-giants (Jogar) grew from his feet.

Ymir fed on the milk of a cow (Audhumla), which licked another creature, a man named Bur, from the ice.

CreationBur’s grandsons, Odin and 2 brothers (Ve and Villi), killed Ymir and made the world from his parts:

•his skull became the sky

•his eyebrows formed a barrier between the world of men and the world of giants

•his blood became sea and lakes

•his bones became the mountains

The world was divided into several worlds.

The world tree, Yggdrasill, extended between all of these lands.

At its foot in Asgard was the well of Urd, where the Norns lived, three women who oversee fate.

The Three Levels of Existence

Realm of AsgardRealm of MidgardRealm of Niflheim

(world of the dead)

Realm of Asgard

Asgardian (gods): Asgard.

Light Elves: Alfheim

Primordial element of Fire and Fire Demons: Muspelheim

Realm of Midgard

*** Asgard and Midgard were connected with the flaming bridge, Bifrost, that appears to the human eye as a rainbow.

Upper Region

Vanir (gods): Vanaheim

Humans: Midgard

Lower Region

Giants: Jotunheim

Dwarves: Nidavellir

Dark Elves: Svartalfheim

Realm of Niflheim

Dead: Hel – where those who died of old age, sickness, or accident were judge

World in the Balance

Creation was all tied together by Yggdrasil

Yggdrasill, the world tree, spans the different realms of Norse myth.

These realms are joined by the three roots of the great tree Yggdrasill.

Norse Gods:

The Gods

The Norse gods are divided into two races: Aesir and Vanir.

Aesir are dominant; they are the gods most associated with heroic tales, conflict with giants, warfare, and the beginning and end of the world.

Vanir tend to be fertility deities; there are fewer of them.

•Njord, a god of the sea and seafaring

•Freyr, a god of crop fertility

•Freyja, “Goddess of love and sexuality, also associated with crop fertility; goddess of a realm of death; associated with shamanic experience.

•Frigg goddess of love and fertility. She receives credit for seeing the fate of all mankind.

•Nanna is the mood goddess. She died of grief when her husband Balder died.

•Skadi goddess of skis or snow shoes

•Hermod messenger to the gods. Tried to convince Hel to release Balder.

The Vanir Gods

Bor father of OdinOdin is the chief of the gods; more later. His wife is

Frigg, whose name means fate.Ve and Villi brothers of Odin who killed Ymir and

made the world out of his dead bodyUlle god of chase, archery, and hunting. He was

called upon to help in duels.Sif the goddess of crops and fertility. Wife of Thor.Bragi god of poetry and eloquence. Married to

Iduna who lived in the underworldIduna goddess of youth, keeper of the apples which

keep the gods eternally youngHod blind god of winter who kills his brother with

mistletoe as a result of a trick

The Aesir Gods

Tyr is a war god, who bound the wolf Fenrir Fenrir is the giant wolf who is the son of LokiThor is a god of thunder, with the muscle, violence, and

brute strength laced with intelligence, that we see in Heracles.

Loki is a trickster figure, often on the side of mischief or even evil; his father was a giant.

Hemdall watches the rainbow bridge for the coming of Ragnarok and never sleeps

Balder (the beautiful) is the beloved god of light, justice, and spring who dies from an act of betrayal. He had nightmares that couldn’t be deciphered.

Forseti a god of justice who was pure and fairHel goddess of the underworld

The Aesir Gods: The Most Popular!

Ragnarok

Ragnarok

End of the worldSimilar to Christian conceptsGood vs. EvilBut…...

Ragnarok

Norse myth, unlike Greek and near Eastern, does not portray a world in which the gods have conquered discord and established order, but a world in which the gods are constantly battling their adversaries.

This battle comes to a head at Ragnarok.

The death of Balder is one element in the final episode of Norse myth, Ragnarok, “The Twilight of the Gods.”

Ragnarok

Loki remains suffering under the poison of the serpent, and Balder remains in Hel (rather than in Valholl!) until the conflicts of Ragnarok.

The end of the world is preceded by an increase of wars and conflicts among men; then there is a three-year winter.

Monsters break loose, jormungand (the world’s serpent) emerges from the sea and floods the earth. A wolf swallows the sun and her brother the moon; stars fall from the sky.

““An age of axes, an age of swords, shattered shields, an Age An age of axes, an age of swords, shattered shields, an Age of tempests, an age of wolves, before the age of men crashes of tempests, an age of wolves, before the age of men crashes

down.”down.”

Led by the giant Surt, with Loki as the helmsman, the giants arrive in their ship, Naglfar, made from the uncut fingernails of the dead (It was considered a disgrace to die with uncut fingernails. Everyone who did contributed to the building of this ship, and the gods wanted to prolong its completion as long as possible.)

A huge battle between gods and giants takes place at the gates of Asgard.

Ragnarok

Odin is swallowed by Fenrir; Odin’s son Vidar kills the wolf in revenge.

Thor once again fights jormungand (serpent); he kills it, but he also dies from the venom.

Tyr fights the hound Garm, and they kill each other.

Ragnarok

Loki and Heimdall (watchmen of the gods) kill each other.

Freyr is killed by the giant Surt, who scatters fire over the earth.

But from this destruction comes a new world and those who remained hidden in Yggdrasill will repopulate the world. Thus the end will contain the germ of a new beginning , and the cycle will start again.

Balder (god of light and spring) returns from Hel to rule over this new world, in peace and plenty.

A golden age arises; fields flourish without work.

Two humans survived to begin the race again . . .

Norse God Presentations:

We will go to the lab for the next two class periods for you to work on your presentations. You may use PowerPoint, Moviemaker, Photostory, etc. as long as there is a visual with notes provided to your peers.

**Please double check that you save the correct format BEFORE leaving the lab.

Norse God options:

HermodTyrFenrirThorLokiHemdallBalderForsetiHel