Scandinavia traditionally refers to vast territories located in the north of Europe and including Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, as well as a number of islands closest to them. The historical features of their development gave rise to a kind of culture, one of the facets of which was myth creation, whose characters, in turn, were the original and unique gods of Scandinavia. Undaunted and daring, they were somewhat akin to the Vikings themselves.
Where did they come from in our world?
The gods of Scandinavian mythology, the list of which contains the names of characters less known than their ancient Egyptian and Greek counterparts, are part of the culture of ancient Germanic tribes. Information about them has survived mainly in the texts of two monuments of medieval literature. This is “Elder Edda” - a poetic collection containing Old Icelandic songs, as well as “Younger Edda” - the creation of the 12th century Icelandic writer Snorri Sturluson.
In addition, a number of myths became known from the work of the medieval Danish chronicler Saxon Grammatik, named by him “Acts of the Danes”. It is curious that one of his subjects laid the foundation for Shakespeare's Hamlet, written four centuries later.
Turning to the plots of any myths, regardless of whether they were born in Scandinavia, Greece or Egypt, it should be noted that over the centuries they have been repeatedly edited, which today inevitably leads to a lot of discrepancies and contradictions crept into them. Therefore, one should not be surprised when the same events, and the gods of Scandinavia themselves, are described in different sources in different ways.
Scandinavian version of the emergence of the world
An unusual originality of Scandinavian mythology is painted, represented in it, a picture of the birth of the world. According to the ancient epic, it all started with a huge black abyss, on one side of which was the kingdom of ice - Niflheim, and on the other fire - Muspellheim.
From the kingdom of ice, 12 streams began to flow, which immediately froze, but as they beat unceasingly, blocks of ice gradually approached the kingdom of fire. When these two elements completely came together, then from the sheaves of sparks mixed with ice crumb, the giant Ymir and the same size cow named Audumla was born.
The following are completely unbelievable events. According to Elder Edda, once the giant Ymir was pretty sweaty, which is not surprising, because there was a kingdom of fire nearby, and two giants appeared from his sweat - a man and a woman. It would not go anywhere, but it is further said that one of his legs conceived from another and gave birth to a son. Since it is difficult to imagine, we will take it on faith without going into details.
As for the Cow of Audumla, she also plays a very important role in the Scandinavian myths. Firstly, she fed Ymir and those who descended from him so miraculously with her milk. She herself ate by licking salt from the stones. Secondly, from the warmth of her tongue, another giant was born, who received the name Storms. So its first inhabitants appeared on earth, from which then the gods of Scandinavia were born, and even later people.
Asa, Van and other mythical characters
It is known that all the Scandinavian gods and goddesses were divided into several groups, the main among which were aces headed by their leader named Odin. Their life was by no means easy and cloudless, because they constantly had to enter into conflicts with other representatives of the Old Norse pantheon.
Most of the troubles they were given by the vans - a group of fertility gods, claiming to possess the world, but also got from the tun giants, as well as from the dwarf tsvergs. And absolutely mercilessly spoiled the blood of the Aces as female deities - dises, nornes and Valkyries.
One of the main plots of Scandinavian mythology is the war between aces and vanes. It began with the fact that the Van, offended by the fact that people in their songs did not glorify them, but the aces, sent the evil sorceress Gulveig to them in the world (he was called Midgard). Since it was made of gold, according to the calculations of the Van, by its appearance it was supposed to spoil the morals of people, sowing greed and greed in their souls. Asa prevented this, and killed the witch. This was the beginning of the war, in which the gods of Scandinavia tried by force to resolve the issue of primacy. Since neither side could prevail, a peace was concluded between them, held together by an exchange of hostages.
Supreme aces god
The leader and father of the aces was the supreme god Odin. In Scandinavian mythology, a number of characteristics correspond to it. He is represented as a king-priest, a shaman-expert on runes, a prince-sorcerer and, in addition, the Scandinavian god of war and victory. God Odin was revered as the patron saint of the military aristocracy and conqueror of the Valkyries (we will discuss them below). He is in charge of Valhalla, the heavenly chamber, where the fallen warrior heroes spent eternity in heavenly bliss.
Odin was portrayed in the form of a one-eyed, but full of life energy of an old man. He once gave his missing eye to the giant Mimir for letting him drink water from the source of wisdom guarded by him. A laudable thirst for knowledge, in general, was characteristic of Odin. For example, once, in order to comprehend the power embodied in ancient runes, the ancient Germanic writings, he agreed to sacrifice himself and sag for 9 days, nailed to the tree with his own spear.
Among Odin's other qualities, myths emphasize the ability to transform. Usually he wanders the earth in the guise of an old man, dressed in a blue cloak and a felt hat. His constant companions are two wolves or a crow. But sometimes Odin can turn into a poor wanderer or an ugly dwarf. In any case, woe to someone who, having corrected the laws of hospitality, closes the doors of his house in front of him.
Sons of Odin
The son of Odin was the god Heimdall, who was considered the keeper of the world tree of life. He was usually portrayed in the guise of a warrior blowing a golden horn. According to legend, this is how he will have to announce the approach of the end of the world, and collect all the gods in the last battle with the forces of darkness. Heimdall lives in a fabulous house called Himinbjörg, which means “heavenly mountains”. It is located near the bridge connecting heaven and earth.
Another son of Odin is widely known - the one-armed god Tür, who was the embodiment of military valor. His hands, however, were not lost on the battlefield. The poor fellow received his mutilation, trying to chain a giant wolf named Fenrir with a magic chain. Once this monster was taken by aces in their country Asgard while still harmless puppy. Over time, the wolf cub has grown, turning into a strong and aggressive monster that terrified others.
No matter how the gods tried to shackle him, every time he easily broke the shackles. Finally, the elves came to the rescue, forging a magic chain from the noise of cat's footsteps, bird saliva, fish breath and mountain roots. It only remained to throw her at the wolf. To convince the beast of the absence of bad intentions, the god Tyur put his own hand in his mouth, which was bitten off as soon as Fenrir realized that he had fallen for a trick. Since then, the god of military prowess has defeated enemies with only one remaining hand.
God tormented by bad dreams
It should be noted that the spring god Balder the Beautiful, as everyone called him for his extraordinary beauty, was also the son of Odin, whom he was born the supreme goddess of the Ases Frigg. Legend says that once he shared with his mother that he often began to see bad dreams. To protect her son, Frigg took an oath from water, fire, swearing metals, trees, stones, poisons, diseases, animals and birds that they would not do him any harm. As a result, the god of spring became invulnerable.
Knowing this, the other gods threw stones, spears and arrows at him for the sake of fun, which Balder was very annoyed with. And then one day their evil jokes ended very poorly. Loki, the god of cunning, deceived from Frigg that she had not taken an oath from the mistletoe, a bush that had barely appeared from the earth at that time.
Using her mistake, the treacherous Loki tore off the branch of this plant, and putting it in the hand of the naturally blind god of fate Hyud, he forced him to throw at Balder passing by. A sharp rod pierced a beautiful young man and he died, becoming the prey of the kingdom of the dead and its terrible ruler, the witch Hel.
Next to the supreme god of aces, another popular mythical character is often depicted - Hermod the Brave. He was Odin's envoy to the land of the dead, where he was supposed to redeem from her ruler his son, the spring god Balder. This good intention brought Hermod fame, despite the fact that the mission itself failed as a result of further machinations of the same god of cunning and deception Loki.
Competitions at Utgarde Castle
It should be noted that the tricks of this rogue and deceiver often defame the name of his namesake - quite respectable and respected ace Utgard Loki, who became famous for the fact that very unusual competitions were once organized in his ancestral castle Utgard. About them tells "Younger Edda." It tells, in particular, how one of his guests, the god of thunder and storm Thor, fought in the heat of sports excitement with the evil old woman Ally, who embodied old age, and his friend Loki, the same deceiving god, competed in gluttony with the fire itself .
The culmination of all was the attempt of the local peasant Tjalfi to get ahead of the thought of the owner of the castle with speed of running. And although neither the god of thunder nor his friends succeeded, the holiday was a success. A lot of songs were later composed about him. Even the fact that both the fire and the old woman Ellie, and the owner of Utgard Loki himself pretty badly cheated did not spoil the impression, thanks to which they won.
Female deities of the ancient Scandinavians
The Valkyries are the most directly related to Odin, whose lord (and according to some sources - his father). According to Scandinavian myths, these warrior maidens, riding on flying horses, invisibly wandered over the battlefields. Sent by Odin, they picked up dead soldiers from the earth, and then carried Valhalla to the heavenly chamber. There they served them, delivering honey at the tables. Sometimes the Valkyries also received the right to decide the outcome of the battles, and to make the warriors they liked most (those killed, of course) their beloved.
In addition to the Valkyries, the female part of the pantheon was also represented by the Norn - three sorceresses endowed with the gift of clairvoyance. They were able to easily predict the fate of not only people and gods, but the whole world as a whole. These wizards lived in Midgard, a country inhabited by people. Their main responsibility was to water the world tree Yggdrasil, on whose well-being the longevity of mankind depended.
Another group of supernatural inhabitants of the ancient world were dises. Obeying the changeability of female nature, they were either guardians of people or forces hostile to them. Among the monuments of ancient German culture, of which Scandinavian mythology is a part, as mentioned above, spell texts are preserved in which disam are credited with the power to restrain the onslaught of enemy troops and decide the outcome of the battles.
Golden-Haired Goddess
In addition to the representatives of the female part of the pantheon, which were discussed above, the goddess Seth, who was the wife of the god of storms and thunder of Thor, deserves attention. Being the patroness of fertility, this lady, inferior in beauty to only the goddess of love Freyja, gained fame for her extraordinary golden hair, the history of which deserves special attention.
Once the beauty of Seth made the god of deceit Loki full of envy for her husband Thor. Seizing the moment when he was not at home, Loki sneaked into the bedside of his sleeping wife and ... no, no, think nothing - he just cut her naked. Nevertheless, there was no end to the despair of the poor thing, and the enraged spouse was ready to kill the wretch, but he vowed to correct the situation.
To this end, Loki went to the dwarven blacksmiths who lived in a fairyland, and told them what had happened. They gladly volunteered to help, demonstrating their art. Dwarfs forged hair for Sif from pure gold, making them unusually long, thin and fluffy, which had the property to immediately grow to the head and look like real ones. So the goddess Seth became the owner of golden hair.
Gods - lords of the seas
Another prominent representative of the Scandinavian pantheon is the lord of the seas Egir. It is generally accepted that Aegir personifies, first of all, a calm and serene sea, as evidenced by its nature. He is a hospitable host, willingly hosting guests, and then visiting their homes. The ruler of the seas is always peaceful, and never takes part in disputes, and even more so in wars. However, the old-fashioned phrase “hit the teeth of Aigir,” meaning to drown, suggests that sometimes moments of anger are also characteristic of him.
It should be noted that a number of sources as the ruler of the seas calls another Scandinavian god - Nyerd, and he is credited with a quiet and friendly disposition, while Aegir is portrayed as an outrageous expanse of sea and the creator of storms, which Nierd has to humble and save ships in distress. It should not be surprising, since this is just one example of the discrepancies that have arisen in the Scandinavian epic over the past centuries.
The blacksmith who made the wings
In the Scandinavian pantheon there was also a blacksmith god named Velund. This hard worker is a character in the epic of almost all Germanic peoples. His fate was difficult and dramatic in his own way. Being one of the three sons of the Finnish king (supreme lord), he, nevertheless, lived by the labor of his hands. In family life, the guy was clearly unlucky. Herver’s beloved wife, a virgin who sometimes assumed the form of a swan, left him, leaving behind only a wedding ring. Suffering from separation, Velund forged 700 of his duplicates.
But his misadventures did not end there. Once during a dream, the blacksmith god was captured by the Swedish king Nidud. The villain not only deprived the master of freedom, but also crippled, leaving him lame for life. Having imprisoned Velund in the dungeon, the king forced him to work days and nights, forging weapons for himself, and precious jewelry for his wife and daughter. Only by chance and by their own insidiousness did the captive manage to regain freedom.
The legend tells that once in the dungeon the sons of Nidud came to Velound, who wanted, like his father, to have swords of its manufacture. Taking advantage of the moment, the blacksmith killed them, then making cups from skulls, which he sent them to his father, and from the eyes of the jewelry for the queen, and from the teeth brooches for the princess. To crown it all, he lured an unsuspecting girl to him, raped her. Having thus avenged himself, very pleased with himself, the blacksmith god flew away on the wings of his own making.
New Times - New Characters
With the spread of Christianity in the countries of Scandinavia, all previous mythical deities underwent a certain transformation, taking the form of saints, or, in general, disappearing. Velund also changed beyond recognition, turning from a divine character into a demonic one. This is due primarily to his profession. It is known that in ancient times blacksmiths were treated with a certain degree of suspicion, attributing to them a connection with evil spirits.
It is not surprising after this that Goethe, having changed this name somewhat, endowed him with his hero Mephistopheles in one of the scenes of the Faust tragedy, which introduced itself as Woland. Mikhail Afanasevich Bulgakov borrowed the find from a brilliant German, immortalizing it in The Master and Margarita, and giving Velund a new life in the form of a professor of black magic Woland.
A small list of the gods of Scandinavia who are not included in our review:
- Bragi is the son of Odin.
- Vidar is the deity of war.
- Henir is Odin's brother.
- Forseti is the son of Balder.
- Fulla is the goddess of plenty.
- Eyre is the goddess of healing.
- Lovn is the goddess of mercy.
- Ver is the goddess of knowledge.
- Yord is the goddess of the earth.
- Skadi is the patroness of hunting.
- Ull is the god of hunting.