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Landvættir
Landvættir (Old Norse: ; Modern Icelandic: ; "land wights") are spirits of the land in Norse mythology and Germanic neopaganism. They protect and promote the flourishing of the specific places where they live, which can be as small as a rock or a corner of a field or as large as a section of a country. The nature of landvættir Some scholars have suggested that landvættir are chthonic in nature, spirits of the dead, but others have interpreted them as nature spirits, since they sometimes live in land that has never been populated. Hilda Ellis Davidson argued that stories such as that of Goat-Björn imply that they were already there when the settlers arrived in Iceland. Goat-Björn was offered a partnership by a "rock-dweller" (''bergbúi'') and thereafter prospered. People with second sight saw "all the land-spirits" following him to the thing and following his brothers hunting and fishing. They told of people worshiping and receiving advice from spirits living in waterfalls, woo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Old Norse
Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and their Viking expansion, overseas settlements and chronologically coincides with the Viking Age, the Christianization of Scandinavia and the consolidation of Scandinavian kingdoms from about the 7th to the 15th centuries. The Proto-Norse language developed into Old Norse by the 8th century, and Old Norse began to develop into the modern North Germanic languages in the mid-to-late 14th century, ending the language phase known as Old Norse. These dates, however, are not absolute, since written Old Norse is found well into the 15th century. Old Norse was divided into three dialects: Old West Norse, ''Old West Norse'' or ''Old West Nordic'' (often referred to as ''Old Norse''), Old East Norse, ''Old East Norse'' or ''Old East Nordic'', and ''Ol ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Finnur Jónsson
Finnur Jónsson (May 29, 1858 – March 30, 1934) was an Icelandic-Danish philologist and Professor of Nordic Philology at the University of Copenhagen. He made extensive contributions to the study of Old Norse literature. Finnur Jónsson was born at Akureyri in northern Iceland. He graduated from Menntaskólinn í Reykjavík in 1878 and went to Denmark for further studies at the University of Copenhagen. He received a doctorate in philology in 1884 with a dissertation on skaldic poetry. He became a docent at the university in 1887 and a professor in 1898, serving until 1928. After retiring he continued work on his subject with new publications until the year he died. He was elected member of the Royal Society of Arts and Sciences in Gothenburg in 1905 and corresponding member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Letters, History and Antiquities in 1908. Finnur's principal area of study was Old Norse poetry. His three most important works are ''Den norsk-islandske skjaldedigtning' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bull
A bull is an intact (i.e., not castrated) adult male of the species ''Bos taurus'' (cattle). More muscular and aggressive than the females of the same species (i.e., cows), bulls have long been an important symbol in many religions, including for sacrifices. These animals play a significant role in beef ranching, dairy farming, and a variety of sporting and cultural activities, including bullfighting and bull riding. Due to their temperament, handling requires precautions. Nomenclature The female counterpart to a bull is a cow, while a male of the species that has been castrated is a ''steer'', '' ox'', or ''bullock'', although in North America, this last term refers to a young bull. Use of these terms varies considerably with area and dialect. Colloquially, people unfamiliar with cattle may refer to both castrated and intact animals as "bulls". A wild, young, unmarked bull is known as a ''micky'' in Australia.Sheena Coupe (ed.), ''Frontier Country, Vol. 1'' (Weldon R ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Breiðafjörður
Breiðafjörður (, ''wide fjord'') is a large shallow bay, about 50 km wide and 125 km long, in the west of Iceland. It separates the region of the Westfjords (Vestfirðir) from the Snæfellsnes peninsula to the south. Breiðafjörður is encircled by mountains, including Kirkjufell and the glacier Snæfellsjökull on the Snæfellsnes peninsula, and the Látrabjarg bird cliffs at the tip of the Westfjords. Numerous smaller fjords extend inland from Breiðafjörður, the largest being Hvammsfjörður at its southeastern corner. An interesting feature of the bay is that the land to the north was formed about 15 million years ago, whereas the land to the south was formed less than half that time ago. Nature Breiðafjörður has a spectacular land and seascape consisting of shallow seas, small fjords and bays, and intertidal areas, dotted with about 3,000 islands, islets and skerries. The area contains about half of Iceland's intertidal area and tides can be six metr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eyjafjörður
Eyjafjörður (, ''Island Fjord'') is one of the longest fjords in Iceland. It is located in the central north of the country. Situated by the fjord is the country's fourth most populous municipality, Akureyri. Physical geography The fjord is long and narrow and measures 60 km from its head to its mouth. Its greatest width is 15 km between Ólafsfjörður and Gjögurtá at the fjord's mouth, but for the greater part of its length it is mostly 5–10 km wide. The fjord is surrounded by hills and mountains on both sides; the mountains are taller on the west side, in the mountain range of the Tröllaskagi peninsula. In the outer part of the fjord there are no lowlands along the coast as the steep hills roll directly into the sea. Further south in the fjord there are strips of lowland along both coasts; these are wider on the west side. Several valleys lead from Eyjafjörður: most of them to the west, where the two most significant are Hörgárdalur and Svarfaðard ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dragon
A dragon is a reptilian legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted as winged, horned, and capable of breathing fire. Dragons in eastern cultures are usually depicted as wingless, four-legged, serpentine creatures with above-average intelligence. Commonalities between dragons' traits are often a hybridization of feline, reptilian and avian features. Scholars believe huge extinct or migrating crocodiles bear the closest resemblance, especially when encountered in forested or swampy areas, and are most likely the template of modern Oriental dragon imagery. Etymology The word ''dragon'' entered the English language in the early 13th century from Old French ''dragon'', which in turn comes from la, draconem (nominative ) meaning "huge serpent, dragon", from Ancient Greek , (genitive , ) "serpent, giant s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vopnafjörður
Vopnafjörður () is a village and municipality in Northeast Iceland, standing on a peninsula in the middle of a mountainous bay by the same name. The main industries of Vopnafjörður are fish processing, agriculture and tourism and other services. Overview Vopnafjörður is known for its salmon rivers and large areas of untouched landscape. Hofsá and Selá are two of the most exclusive salmon rivers in Iceland. The salmon rivers and other attractions in and around Vopnafjörður have drawn numerous foreign visitors, including artists, celebrities and politicians such as Charles, Prince of Wales, George Bush, Sr., Jack Nicklaus and Queen Paola of Belgium. Vopnafjörður is on Route 85 and has an airport with scheduled flights to Akureyri on business days. Other services include Vopnafjarðarskóli primary school with 99 students, Leikskólinn Brekkubær preschool, Landsbankinn bank and Heilbrigðisstofnun Austurlands clinic. HB Grandi, Iceland's largest fishing company, i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Harald Bluetooth
Harald "Bluetooth" Gormsson ( non, Haraldr Blátǫnn Gormsson; da, Harald Blåtand Gormsen, died c. 985/86) was a king of Denmark and Norway. He was the son of King Gorm the Old and of Thyra Dannebod. Harald ruled as king of Denmark from c. 958 – c. 986. Harald introduced Christianity to Denmark and consolidated his rule over most of Jutland and Zealand. Harald's rule as king of Norway following the assassination of King Harald Greycloak of Norway was more tenuous, most likely lasting for no more than a few years in the 970s. Some sources say his son Sweyn Forkbeard forcibly deposed him from his Danish throne before his death. Name Harald's name is written as runic ''haraltr : kunukʀ'' (ᚼᛅᚱᛅᛚᛏᚱ ᛬ ᚴᚢᚾᚢᚴᛦ) in the Jelling stone inscription. In normalized Old Norse, this would correspond to ''Haraldr konungr'', i.e. "Harald king". The Latinized name as given in the medieval Danish chronicles is ''Haraldus Gormonis filius'' (Harald, Gorm's son). T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Heimskringla
''Heimskringla'' () is the best known of the Old Norse kings' sagas. It was written in Old Norse in Iceland by the poet and historian Snorre Sturlason (1178/79–1241) 1230. The name ''Heimskringla'' was first used in the 17th century, derived from the first two words of one of the manuscripts (''kringla heimsins'', "the circle of the world"). ''Heimskringla'' is a collection of sagas about Swedish and Norwegian kings, beginning with the saga of the legendary Swedish dynasty of the Ynglings, followed by accounts of historical Norwegian rulers from Harald Fairhair of the 9th century up to the death of the pretender Eystein Meyla in 1177. The exact sources of the Snorri's work are disputed, but they include earlier kings' sagas, such as Morkinskinna, Fagrskinna and the 12th-century Norwegian synoptic histories and oral traditions, notably many skaldic poems. He explicitly names the now lost work ''Hryggjarstykki'' as his source for the events of the mid-12th century. Although Sno ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Iceland
Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its surrounding areas) is home to over 65% of the population. Iceland is the biggest part of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge that rises above sea level, and its central volcanic plateau is erupting almost constantly. The interior consists of a plateau characterised by sand and lava fields, mountains, and glaciers, and many glacial rivers flow to the sea through the lowlands. Iceland is warmed by the Gulf Stream and has a temperate climate, despite a high latitude just outside the Arctic Circle. Its high latitude and marine influence keep summers chilly, and most of its islands have a polar climate. According to the ancient manuscript , the settlement of Iceland began in 874 AD when the Norwegian chieftain Ingólfr Arnarson became the first p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nithing Pole
A nithing pole ( non, níðstang), sometimes normalized as ''nithstang'' or ''nidstang'', was a pole used for cursing an enemy in Germanic pagan tradition. History and usage A nithing pole consisted of a long, wooden pole with a recently cut horse head at the end, and at times with the skin of the horse laid over the pole. The nithing pole was directed towards the enemy and target of the curse. The curse could be carved in runes on the pole. Attestations A nithing pole event appears in ''Egils saga'': "And when all was ready for sailing, Egil went up into the island. He took in his hand a hazel-pole, and went to a rocky eminence that looked inward to the mainland. Then he took a horse's head and fixed it on the pole. After that, in solemn form of curse, he thus spake: 'Here set I up a curse-pole, and this curse I turn on king Eric and queen Gunnhilda. (Here he turned the horse's head landwards.) This curse I turn also on the guardian-spirits who dwell in this land, that they ma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Egil Skallagrímsson
Egil or Egill is a masculine given name derived from Old Norse. It may refer to: Characters *Egil (Hymiskvida), farmer in the poem ''Hymiskvida'' *Egil, brother of Volund, hero of Völundarkviða and the Thidreks saga *Egil One-Hand, hero from the Icelandic saga ''Egils saga einhenda ok Ásmundar berserkjabana'' *Ongentheow, also known as Egil Places *Eğil, a district of Diyarbakır Province, south eastern Turkey *Egil Peak, Sverdrup Mountains, Antarctica Other uses *Egil (given name) *Electrical Generation and Integrated Lighting Systems Engineer, NASA flight controller See also *''Alt for Egil'', a 2004 Norwegian musical film directed by Tore Rygh, starring Kristoffer Joner and Trond Høvik *Egil's Saga, 13th century Icelandic saga *Egill Skallagrímsson Brewery Olgerdin ( is, Ölgerðin Egill Skallagrímsson) is an Icelandic brewery and beverage company based in Reykjavík. Established on 17 April 1913, the oldest beer-producing factory in Iceland. Annually, it produces 45 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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