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Eyrarland Statue
The Eyrarland Statue is a bronze statue of a seated figure (6.7 cm) from about AD 1000 that was recovered at the Eyrarland farm in the area of Akureyri, Iceland. The object is a featured item at the National Museum of Iceland. The statue may depict the Norse god Thor and/or may be a gaming-piece. The statue was unearthed in 1815 or 1816 on one of two farms called Eyrarland in the vicinity of Akureyri. If the object is correctly identified as Thor, Thor is here holding his hammer Mjöllnir, sculpted in the typically Icelandic cross-like shape. It has been suggested that the statue is related to a scene from the ''Poetic Edda'' poem ''Þrymskviða'' where Thor recovers his hammer while seated by grasping it with both hands during the wedding ceremony. Another suggestion comes from the archeologist Kristján Eldjárn, who has written that it could be the central piece from a set of Tafl games, ''hnefatafl'', based on its similarities to a smaller whalebone figure discovered in B ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Akureyri
Akureyri (, locally ) is a town in northern Iceland. It is Iceland's fifth-largest municipality, after ReykjavÃk, Hafnarfjörður, Reykjanesbær and Kópavogur, and the largest town outside Iceland's more populated southwest corner. Nicknamed the "Capital of North Iceland", Akureyri is an important port and fishing centre. The area where Akureyri is located was settled in the 9th century, but did not receive a municipal charter until 1786. Allied units were based in the town during World War II. Further growth occurred after the war as the Icelandic population increasingly moved to urban areas. The area has a relatively mild climate because of geographical factors, and the town's ice-free harbour has played a significant role in its history. History The Norse Viking Helgi ''magri'' (the slim) Eyvindarson originally settled the area in the 9th century. The first mention of Akureyri is in court records from 1562, when a woman was sentenced there for adultery. In the 17th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
National Museum Of Iceland
National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, census-designated place * National, Nevada, ghost town * National, Utah, ghost town * National, West Virginia, unincorporated community Commerce * National (brand), a brand name of electronic goods from Panasonic * National Benzole (or simply known as National), former petrol station chain in the UK, merged with BP * National Car Rental, an American rental car company * National Energy Systems, a former name of Eco Marine Power * National Entertainment Commission, a former name of the Media Rating Council * National Motor Vehicle Company, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA 1900-1924 * National Supermarkets, a defunct American grocery store chain * National String Instrument Corporation, a guitar company formed to manufacture the first resonator g ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thor
Thor (; from non, Þórr ) is a prominent god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding æsir, god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred trees and groves in Germanic paganism and mythology, sacred groves and trees, Physical strength, strength, the protection of humankind, hallowing, and fertility. Besides Old Norse , the deity occurs in Old English as , in Old Frisian as ', in Old Saxon as ', and in Old High German as , all ultimately stemming from the Proto-Germanic theonym , meaning 'Thunder'. Thor is a prominently mentioned god throughout the recorded history of the Germanic peoples, from the Roman Empire, Roman occupation of regions of , to the Germanic expansions of the Migration Period, to his high popularity during the Viking Age, when, in the face of the process of the Christianization of Scandinavia, emblems of his hammer, , were worn and Norse paganism, Norse pagan personal names containing the name of the god bear witness to his ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Poetic Edda
The ''Poetic Edda'' is the modern name for an untitled collection of Old Norse anonymous narrative poems, which is distinct from the ''Prose Edda'' written by Snorri Sturluson. Several versions exist, all primarily of text from the Icelandic medieval manuscript known as the ''Codex Regius'', which contains 31 poems. The ''Codex Regius'' is arguably the most important extant source on Norse mythology and Germanic heroic legends. Since the early 19th century, it has had a powerful influence on Scandinavian literature, not only through its stories, but also through the visionary force and the dramatic quality of many of the poems. It has also been an inspiration for later innovations in poetic meter, particularly in Nordic languages, with its use of terse, stress-based metrical schemes that lack final rhymes, instead focusing on alliterative devices and strongly concentrated imagery. Poets who have acknowledged their debt to the ''Codex Regius'' include Vilhelm Ekelund, August Stri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Þrymskviða
''Þrymskviða'' (Þrym's Poem; the name can be Old Norse orthography, anglicised as ''Thrymskviða'', ''Thrymskvitha'', ''Thrymskvidha'' or ''Thrymskvida'') is one of the best known poems from the ''Poetic Edda''. The Norse mythology, Norse myth had enduring popularity in Scandinavia and continued to be told and sung in several forms until the 19th century. Synopsis In the poem ''Þrymskviða'', Thor wakes and finds that his powerful hammer, Mjöllnir, is missing. Thor turns to Loki first, and tells him that nobody knows that the hammer has been stolen. The two then go to the court of the goddess Freyja, and Thor asks her if he may borrow her feather cloak so that he may attempt to find Mjöllnir. Freyja agrees, saying she would lend it even if it were made of silver and gold, and Loki flies off, the feather cloak whistling. In Jötunheimr, the jötunn Þrymr sits on a Tumulus, burial mound, plaiting golden collars for his female dogs, and trimming the manes of his horses. Þr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kristján Eldjárn
Kristján Eldjárn (; 6 December 1916 – 14 September 1982) was the third president of Iceland, from 1968 to 1980. Biography Kristján was born in Tjörn, Svarfaðardal, Iceland. His parents were Þórarinn Kr. Eldjárn, a teacher in Tjörn, and Sigrún Sigurhjartardóttir. He graduated in archaeology from the University of Copenhagen and taught at the University of Iceland. In 1957 he was awarded a doctorate for his research into pagan burials in Iceland. He was a teacher at the Akureyri Grammar School and the College of Navigation in ReykjavÃk, becoming a curator at the National Museum of Iceland in 1945 and its Director in 1947, a position he held until the 1968 presidential election. In 1966–68 he hosted a series of educational TV programs on the (then new) Icelandic National Television (RÚV), in which he showed the audience some of the National Museum's artefacts and explained their historical context. These programs became quite popular, making him a well known and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tafl Games
Tafl games (pronounced avl also known as hnefatafl games) are a family of ancient Nordic and Celtic strategy board games played on a checkered or latticed gameboard with two armies of uneven numbers. Most probably they are based upon the Roman game Ludus latrunculorum. Names of different variants of Tafl include Hnefatafl, Tablut, Tawlbwrdd, Brandubh, Ard RÃ, and Alea Evangelii. Games in the tafl family were played in Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Iceland, Britain, Ireland, and Lapland. Tafl gaming was eventually supplanted by chess in the 12th century, Murray 1951, pp. 56–57. but the tafl variant of the Sami people, tablut, was in play until at least the 18th century. The rules for tablut were written down by the Swedish naturalist Linnaeus in 1732, and these were translated from Latin to English in 1811. All modern tafl games are based on the 1811 translation, which had many errors. New rules were added to amend the issues resulting from these errors, leading to the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Odin From Lejre
Odin from Lejre is a small cast silver figurine from approximately 900 C.E., depicting an individual on a throne flanked by two birds and two animal heads. Discovery The figurine was found by local amateur archaeologist Tommy Olesen on 2 September 2009, during the Roskilde Museum excavations of a small village at Gammel Lejre ("Old Lejre") near the modern town of Lejre, Denmark.Louise Lauritsen"Et unikt fund af Odin fra Lejre", ''Roskilde Avis'', 13 November 2009 (Danish) The figurine was unveiled at the Roskilde Museum on 13 November 2009, and is now part of the permanent exhibition. Description The cast silver figurine is from approximately 900 C.E. It measures 18 mm in height and weighs 9 grams.further information page on Roskilde Museum website (Danish). It depicts an individual on a throne, wearing a fl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rällinge Statuette
The Rällinge statuette is a seated figure in bronze, discovered in Södermanland, Sweden in 1904 and dated to the Viking Age. The seven-centimetre-high figure, who wears a conical headdress, clasps his pointed beard and has an erect penis, has often been assumed to be the god Freyr. This is due to an 11th-century description of a phallic Freyr statue in the Temple at Uppsala, but the identification is uncertain. It has also been suggested that the figure is a gaming piece, a flute player, and the god Thor blowing his beard to create wind. If it is the image of a god, it could be a small, devotional statuette of a type mentioned in Old Norse sagas. The object is in the collection of the Swedish History Museum. Discovery and description The object was discovered in the spring of 1904 at the farm Rällinge in Lunda parish, Södermanland, Sweden. According to the original report, it was found by Edvard Holmgren in the farm's garden under "a vast morass of stones, earth and several ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Archaeology Of Iceland
Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscapes. Archaeology can be considered both a social science and a branch of the humanities. It is usually considered an independent academic discipline, but may also be classified as part of anthropology (in North America – the four-field approach), history or geography. Archaeologists study human prehistory and history, from the development of the first stone tools at Lomekwi in East Africa 3.3 million years ago up until recent decades. Archaeology is distinct from palaeontology, which is the study of fossil remains. Archaeology is particularly important for learning about prehistoric societies, for which, by definition, there are no written records. Prehistory includes over 99% of the human past, from the Paleolithic until the adve ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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