Norse Mythology Read online

  Norse Mythology

  Thor, Odin, Loki, and the Other Gods and Heroes

  Table of Contents

  Introduction

  Chapter 1: Cosmology

  The World Tree and Its Inhabitants

  Chapter 2: The Norse Pantheon

  The Gods:

  Goddesses:

  Chapter 3: The Creation

  Chapter Four: The Fortification of Asgard

  Chapter Five: Iduna’s Apples

  Chapter Six: Odin in Midgard

  Chapter Seven: Thor’s Adventures Amongst the Giants

  I: Thor in Utgard

  II: Thor the Bride

  Chapter Eight: The Curse of Gold

  III. Revenges

  IV. Love and Deceit

  V. The End of the Curse

  Chapter Nine: The Death of Balder

  Chapter Ten: The End and the Beginning

  Afterword: Sources

  Free Books

  Introduction

  Echoes of Norse mythology are everywhere in our art and popular culture. The Norse gods and heroes appear directly in stories from Wagner’s epic opera cycle Der Ring das Nibelung to Neil Gaiman’s dark novel American Gods to Douglas Adams’ satirical novel The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul to the movie Thor. Fantasy writers including J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Ursula Le Guin and Tad Williams have used story-patterns, obscure names and otherworldly creatures from the Norse myths in worlds of their own creation.

  What were the original myths? Scholars are still debating that. The Old Norse poems and stories that survive are fragmented and sometimes contradictory. This book won’t attempt to settle questions about authenticity, but only to offer a first look at some of the most enduring and influential characters and stories from Norse myths. Suggestions for further reading are in the “Sources” section at the end.

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  Chapter 1: Cosmology

  The universe in which the Norse myths were set was strange, rich, dangerous, deceptive and impermanent. That universe began in chaos, was shaped in a series of cosmic battles, and took on a stable shape for a while. The gods who tried to rule it knew that they couldn’t maintain order forever. During Ragnarok, the day of destruction, they would be overthrown by their enemies and the universe would be unmade. But they foresaw the beginning of a beautiful new world after their own deaths. Whether that new world would last forever was not altogether clear.

  The creatures of this universe of myth were many and varied: not only men, animals and gods but also Norns, frost-giants, dwarves and elves. Many of these creatures were able to change their shape and appear in other forms. Any poor beggar or any animal may reveal itself as a powerful being in disguise. The gods and giants also had the gift of changing not only their own shapes but the appearance of the world, creating cities and landscapes of illusion. This gift didn’t only allow them to dupe mortals; other giants and gods could themselves be deceived. For the gods were powerful but not omnipotent, strong but not safe from death, wise but not all-seeing. Mortals and immortals alike had to make their way through this unknown and unstable world as best they could.

  The World Tree and Its Inhabitants

  The universe was made up of nine worlds nestled among the roots and branches of the great World Tree, the ash tree Yggdrasil. Dragons and other beasts gnawed at the tree’s roots. Odin and other immortals traveled from world to world along the tree’s branches. Below the tree, almost completely inaccessible to the dwellers in the worlds, lay the Well of Destiny- also called the Well of Wisdom. Three Norns, beautiful and immortal women, watered the World Tree from that well; they also carved magical runes into its trunk which determined the fate of the Nine Worlds.

  In some tales the Nine Worlds seem to be clearly separated from one another. In others they seem to overlap, so that beyond the protective enclosures of Asgard and Midgard the dangerous wastes of Jotunheim stretch.

  Asgard was the bright and beautiful home-world and fortress of the Aesir, the immortal tribe which contained the best-known gods and goddesses of the Norse pantheon. Odin, Frigga, Thor, Loki, Balder and many more lived here. It was connected to Midgard, the human world, by the celestial bridge Bifrost, the rainbow. Asgard was surrounded by a great wall to keep out the enemies of the Aesir, especially the frost-giants of Jotunheim. Within Asgard many of the deities had their own palaces which reflected their own character.

  Midgard was the human world, built by the Aesir Gods. Like Asgard, it was surrounded by a defensive wall. The rainbow bridge Bifrost connected Midgard and Asgard. Humans could only cross the bridge after they died, but the gods could and sometimes did cross into the human world at will. The enclosed land where Midgard’s people lived was completely surrounded by an impassable, serpent-infested sea.

  Most of the Norse legends were set in Asgard or Midgard, the only two worlds accessible to humans. Many of them featured beings from the other seven worlds that travelled more freely than humans could.

  Jotunheim was the home of the Jotunns or frost-giants, enemies of the Aesir gods since the creation of the world. Like the gods, they had great physical strength and considerable magical power. Unlike the gods, they were mostly hostile to humans and to order and civilization; the Norse word usually translated as ‘giant’ means ‘devourer’. However there were commerce deals and marriages as well as war between the giants and the gods, and the gods were partly descended from the giants (see the Creation story below). Jotunheim was a frozen wilderness, full of dark forests and steep mountains.

  Vanaheim was the home of the Vanir, the non-Aesir tribe of gods. There was war between the tribes of gods when they first met, but instead of continuing to fight they exchanged hostages and made a treaty of peace. Njord and his children Freyja and Freyr came to Asgard as hostages and are featured in some of the myths.

  Svartalfheim was the home world of the beings called Dwarves or Dark Elves. Th
ese beings weren’t necessarily small in size like the dwarves we imagine now. They were master craftsmen and makers of magical objects including Thor’s hammer, Freyja’s necklace, and Freyr’s warship. The warship always found a favorable wind, it could carry immense numbers when need but it could also be folded up and tucked into a pocket. They Dwarves or Dark Elves lived underground.

  Alfheim was the home world of the Elves, rather mysterious presences in the Norse myths. They were immortal, immensely beautiful and drawn to beauty.

  Helheim or Hel was the underworld, the world of the dead who didn’t end up in one of the palaces of the Aesir gods. Despite the name it wasn’t much like the Hell of the Abrahamic religions; the name simply meant ‘hidden’. There were descriptions of the way to Hel--through dark valleys, over a furious river and a narrow bridge, and then (for gods or heroes intending to visit Hel and come back alive) over the wall instead of through the gate; what lay inside the wall wasn’t clearly described. One poem described murderers, oath breakers and adulterers as being imprisoned in a cold, dark hall of Hel which was infested by venomous snakes and wolves. Another mentions a great hall of feasting in Hel where Balder the Beloved was taken after his death.

  Niflheim was the world of cold and ice, one of the two primal worlds that existed before the cosmos. Some legends suggest that it was the same as Hel, but others contradict that.

  Muspelheim was the other primal world- the world of heat and fire, home of Surt and the fire-demons.

  Chapter 2: The Norse Pantheon

  The Gods:

  Odin, also called Woden or Wotan, was the god of inspiration and the giver of poetry, wisdom and battle-rage. Most of the myths describe him as the firstborn and father of the gods, although some older stories give that role to Tyr. He was also the war-leader of the gods as they sought to defend themselves against the giants. He gathered the souls of human heroes killed in battle and brought them to his castle Valhalla. While the universe lasted, these warriors shared in endless feasting and also in friendly combat designed to keep them fit for the final battle against the giants and monsters at Ragnarok. In his other castle, Valaskjalf, stood a throne from which he could see everything that happened in the Nine Worlds.

  Odin was a perpetual seeker after wisdom. He gave up his right eye as the price for a drink of the Water of Wisdom from the Well of Destiny. He wounded himself, hung upside down and fasted on Yggdrasil, the World Tree, for nine days and nights in order to prove himself worthy of learning the runes of the magical alphabet with which the Norns shaped the fate of the universe.

  Odin was one of the three gods who created the world and gave life to humans. He often disguised himself and took long and dangerous journeys from his throne among the gods through the worlds of men and giants.

  Thor, the son of Odin and the giantess/goddess Jord (whose name means ‘earth’), was the strongest of the gods and a loyal and formidable defender of Asgard. He wielded the battle-hammer Mjollnir, the lightning, and in difficult situations he tended to strike out with it before stopping to think. His impulsivity landed him in many difficult situations, but his strength and courage usually got him safely out of them. Thor was called upon to bless weddings and also the planting of crops.

  Loki was a clever and baffling god. He was very good at devising ways of getting what he wanted in the short term, but he apparently didn’t consider long-term consequences. He sometimes helped the giants to deceive or rob the gods and then helped the gods to get their own back. (See “The Apples of Youth” below for one example of this pattern.) He was a shape-changer, appearing sometimes as a hawk, a fly, a human, a giantess or a mare. Some versions of the creation myth say he was one of the three gods who created humans.

  Over time Loki’s role became more clearly hostile to gods and humans. He schemed to get Balder killed. At Ragnarok he led the attack against the gods, followed by the great wolf Fenris and the Midgard Serpent, who were his children from a love-affair with a giantess.

  Balder, son of Odin and the goddess Frigga, was the wisest, gentlest, most eloquent and most beautiful of the gods. He lived in Breidablikk, the Peace Stead, where nothing evil could enter. He heard disputes and gave fair judgments which could not be changed; after he died his son Forsete took over this role.

  Njord was the ruler of the wind, the tamer of fire, floods and storms and the giver of wealth. He was one of the hostages given to the Aesir as a pledge of peace, along with his children Freyr and Freyja. Later his marriage to the giantess Skadi avoided a blood-feud (see ‘Iduna’s Apples” below).

  Tyr was a god of strength, sound judgment, courage and oath-keeping, often called on by warriors and seekers of wisdom. He is honorably mentioned in the later Norse myths; he may have been the ruler of the gods in the earlier legends.

  When the gods persuaded Loki’s son, the incredibly strong and vicious wolf Fenris, to let them test his strength by binding him with a cord, Fenris agreed only on the condition that he should be released again if he couldn’t free himself. As a guarantee of this Fenris asked one of the gods to leave his hand in his mouth until Fenris was freed. Tyr was the only god willing to do this. Fenris, of course, was not freed, and Tyr, of course, lost his hand.

  Honir was the brother and companion of Odin and, in some of the stories he was one of the creators of mankind. He was one of the few gods destined to survive Ragnarok.

  Frey or Freyr, son of Njord and brother of Freyja, was another of the Vanir who stayed with the Aesir as a hostage and peace-pledge. He was the god of sun, rain and harvest.

  Heimdall was the guardian of the rainbow bridge, the entrance to Asgard.

  Bragi was the god of eloquence and flowing speech, prayed to by all skalds (bards). He welcomed heroes to Valhalla with stirring songs and tales of battle. His wife was Iduna, keeper of the Apples of Youth.

  Goddesses:

  The Norns were not exactly goddesses and did not live in Asgard, but they were perhaps the most powerful beings in the Norse cosmos. They were described as white-skinned and extremely beautiful women. Some of them were descended from gods, others from elves or dwarves. Three of them kept the World Tree alive and carved the runes that determined the fate of the universe, as described above. Lesser Norns wove the fates of individual mortals. Like the gods and goddesses, the Norns could be kind or cruel; which sort of Norn was assigned to any particular mortal seemed to be a matter of chance. There are no detailed stories about individual Norns; their fate-weaving was shrouded in mystery.

  The following were goddesses who ruled in Asgard:

  Frigga was the wife of Odin and the mother of Balder. She knew the fates of all living things, though she seldom spoke of what she foresaw. Sometimes in the trance of prophecy she could alter the fates she read, although her power to do this was less than that of the Norn-women. She owned a magic hawk-feather cloak that allowed her and the other Aesir to shift into hawk-shape. She also sometimes appeared as a poor human woman in Midgard.

  Freyja, daughter of Njord, was another of the Vanir hostages given to the Aesir to secure peace between them. She was the goddess of beauty and of love, and lovers prayed to her although her own love life was not altogether happy. She loved her husband Odr, who left her often for long journeys. She sought him for a long time in Midgard, and she wept red-gold tears for him. According to some stories, she was also glad to make love with any god or other being who was either attractive or willing to give her something she wanted. Like Frigga, Freyja had the gift of prophecy and also owned a cloak of falcon-feathers which let the wearer take the shape of a falcon. Some of the warriors who fell in battle went to Valhalla, and others joined the endless feast in Freyja’s castle, Folkvang.

  Iduna was the keeper of the Apples of Youth which gave the gods their immortality. Whenever the gods grew old they ate from Iduna’s magic apples and became young again.

  Hel was the ruler of Helheim, the world of the dead.

  Var was the goddess who heard and remembered all the oaths that mortals swor
e to each other, and punished those who broke their oaths.

  Not quite goddesses, but still powerful, were the Valkyries. These were Odin’s helpers for the most part, although they were clearly capable of defying him- there’s more about that in the tale of the Cursed Hoard below. The Valkyries were immortal, beautiful, strong, magically skilled and ferocious shield-maidens who attended the combats of mortals. Their magic determined which warriors lived and which were killed. They also took the souls of particularly brave men killed in battle to Valhalla to join the feast at Odin’s table.

  Chapter 3: The Creation

  Before there was sand, sea, sky, land or any living thing, there was Ginungagap. This was a vast abyss stretching between Muspelheim, the place of pure fire and melting heat, and Niflheim, the place of deep cold and grinding ice.

  The fire-world and the ice-world grew in power. From Muspelheim flames licked out farther and farther into the emptiness, and from Niflheim ice-rivers crept into the void, slowly but irreversibly. When flame and ice met water flowed free and great steams arose, but as the cold struck them they fell back into ice again. From these changing waters Ymir, the first and greatest of the frost-giants, took shape and from his sweat newer and smaller frost-giants arose.