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Norse Cosmology
Norse cosmology is the study of the cosmos (cosmology) as perceived by the ancient North Germanic peoples. The topic encompasses concepts from Norse mythology, such as notions of time and space, cosmogony, personifications, anthropogeny, and eschatology. Like other aspects of Norse mythology, these concepts are primarily recorded in the ''Poetic Edda'', a collection of poems compiled in the 13th century, and the ''Prose Edda'', authored by Icelander Snorri Sturluson in the 13th century, who drew from earlier traditional sources. Together these sources depict an image of Nine Worlds around a cosmic tree, Yggdrasil. Time and space Concepts of time and space play a major role in the Old Norse corpus's presentation of Norse cosmology. While events in Norse mythology describe a somewhat linear progression, various scholars in ancient Germanic studies note that Old Norse texts may imply or directly describe a fundamental belief in cyclic time. According to scholar John Lindow, "the cosm ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Máni And Sól By Lorenz Frølich
Máni (Old Norse: ; "Moon"Orchard (1997:109).) is the Moon personified in Germanic mythology. Máni, personified, is attested in the ''Poetic Edda'', compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources, and the ''Prose Edda'', written in the 13th century by Snorri Sturluson. Both sources state that he is the brother of the personified sun, Sól, and the son of Mundilfari, while the ''Prose Edda'' adds that he is followed by the children Hjúki and Bil through the heavens. As a proper noun, Máni appears throughout Old Norse literature. Scholars have proposed theories about Máni's potential connection to the Northern European notion of the Man in the Moon, and a potentially otherwise unattested story regarding Máni through skaldic kennings. Attestations ''Poetic Edda'' In the poem ''Völuspá'', a dead völva recounts the history of the universe and foretells the future to the disguised god Odin. In doing so, the völva recounts the early days of the universe: ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ginnungagap
In Norse mythology, Ginnungagap (old Norse: ; "gaping abyss", "yawning void") is the primordial void mentioned in the Gylfaginning, the Eddaic text recording Norse cosmogony. Etymology ''Ginnunga-'' is usually interpreted as deriving from a verb meaning "gape" or "yawn", but no such word occurs in Old Norse except in verse 3 of the Eddic poem " Vǫluspá", "gap var ginnunga", which may be a play on the term. In her edition of the poem, Ursula Dronke suggested it was borrowed from Old High German ''ginunga'', as the term Múspell is believed to have been borrowed from Old High German. An alternative etymology links the ''ginn-'' prefix with that found in terms with a sacral meaning, such as ''ginn-heilagr'', ''ginn-regin'' (both referring to the gods) and ''ginn-runa'' (referring to the runes), thus interpreting ''Ginnungagap'' as signifying a "magical (and creative) power-filled space". Creation Ginnungagap appears as the primordial void in the Norse creation account. The ''Gy ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Astronomical Object
An astronomical object, celestial object, stellar object or heavenly body is a naturally occurring physical entity, association, or structure that exists in the observable universe. In astronomy, the terms ''object'' and ''body'' are often used interchangeably. However, an astronomical body or celestial body is a single, tightly bound, contiguous entity, while an astronomical or celestial ''object'' is a complex, less cohesively bound structure, which may consist of multiple bodies or even other objects with substructures. Examples of astronomical objects include planetary systems, star clusters, nebulae, and galaxies, while asteroids, moons, planets, and stars are astronomical bodies. A comet may be identified as both body and object: It is a ''body'' when referring to the frozen nucleus of ice and dust, and an ''object'' when describing the entire comet with its diffuse coma and tail. History Astronomical objects such as stars, planets, nebulae, asteroids and comets ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Miðgarðr
In Germanic cosmology, Midgard (an anglicised form of Old Norse ; Old English , Old Saxon , Old High German , and Gothic ''Midjun-gards''; "middle yard", "middle enclosure") is the name for Earth (equivalent in meaning to the Greek term , "inhabited") inhabited by and known to humans in early Germanic cosmology. The Old Norse form plays a notable role in Norse cosmology. Etymology The Old Norse name is cognate with Gothic (attested in the Gospel of Luke as a translation of the Greek ), Old Saxon (in ''Heliand''), Old High German (in ''Muspilli''), and Old English . The latter, which appears in both prose and poetry, was transformed to or ("Middle-earth") in Middle English literature. All these forms stem from Common Germanic , a compound of ("middle") and ("yard, enclosure"). In early Germanic cosmology, it stands alongside the term ''world'' (cf. Old English , Old Saxon , Old High German , Old Frisian , Old Norse ), itself from a Common Germanic compound ''*wira-alđi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Norðri, Suðri, Austri And Vestri
In Norse mythology, Norðri, Suðri, Austri and Vestri (Old Norse: ; "Northern, Southern, Eastern and Western") are four dwarves in the ''Prose Edda'' book ''Gylfaginning'' who each support one of the four cardinal points. Together, they uphold the heavenly dome, created from the skull of the jötunn Ymir. They probably represent the four winds, corresponding to the four stags of the cosmic tree Yggdrasil.Finnur Magnússon, ''Eddalæren og dens oprindelse'', 1824, p. 144. See also * Anemoi * Eostre * Eye of Horus * Four Evangelists * Four Heavenly Kings * Four Holy Beasts * Four Living Creatures * Four sons of Horus * Four Stags (Norse mythology) * Four Symbols * Four temperaments * Great Year * Guardians of the directions * Lokapala * Royal stars * Tetramorph A tetramorph is a symbolic arrangement of four differing elements, or the combination of four disparate elements in one unit. The term is derived from the Greek ''tetra'', meaning four, and ''morph'', shape. In C ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dwarf (mythology)
A dwarf () is a type of supernatural being in Germanic folklore, including mythology. Accounts of dwarfs vary significantly throughout history however they are commonly, but not exclusively, presented as living in mountains or stones and being skilled craftsmen. In early literary sources, only males are explicitly referred to as dwarfs, although they are described as having sisters and daughters, while both male and female dwarfs feature in later saga literature and folklore. Dwarfs are sometimes described as short, however, scholars have noted that this is neither explicit nor of relevance to their roles in the earliest sources. Dwarfs continue to feature in modern popular culture such as in the works of J.R.R. Tolkien and Terry Pratchett, where they are often, but not exclusively, presented as distinct from elves. Etymology The modern English noun ''dwarf'' descends from ang, dweorg. It has a variety of cognates in other Germanic languages, including non, dvergr and goh, tw ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bergelmir
Bergelmir ( ; Old Norse: ) is a jötunn in Norse mythology. Name The Old Norse name ''Bergelmir'' has been variously translated as 'bear-yeller', 'mountain-yeller', or 'bare-yeller'. According to linguist Jan de Vries, the name should be read as ''ber-gelmir'' ('who roars like a bear') rather than ''berg-gelmir'' ('who roars in the mountains'). Attestations In ''Vafþrúðnismál'' (The Lay of Vafþrúðnir), Bergelmir is portrayed as the son of Þrúðgelmir and the grandson of the first Aurgelmir (Ymir). When Odin asks Vafthrúdnir who is the oldest among the æsir and the jötnar, the wise responds that: In the same poem, Odin then asks Vafthrúdnir about the monstrous birth of the offspring of Aurgelmir, and Vafthrúdnir responds: In ''Gylfaginning'' (The Beguiling of Gylfi), while the blood of Ymir (Aurgelmir) is flooding the earth after the sons of Borr (Odin, Vili, and Vé) have killed him, Bergelmir is likewise pictured as escaping on a lúðr with his wife t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vili And Vé
In Norse mythology, Vili ( ; Old Norse: ) and Vé ( ; O.N.: ) are the brothers of the god Odin (from Old Norse ''Óðinn''), sons of Bestla, daughter of Bölþorn; and Borr, son of Búri Name The Old Norse theonym ''Vé'' (or ''Véi'') is cognate with Gothic ''weiha'' ('priest'), both stemming from Proto-Germanic *''wīhōn'', itself from the adjective *''wīhaz'', meaning 'holy' (cf. Goth. ''weihs'', Old High German ''wīh'')''.'' A related noun, *''wīhan'' ('sanctuary'), can also be reconstructed on the basis of Old Norse ''vé'' ('sanctuary'), Old English ''wēoh'' ('idol'), and Old Saxon ''wīh'' ('temple').' ''Vili'' transparently means 'will' in Old Norse. It stems from the Proto-Germanic noun *''weljōn'' ~ *''weljan'' ('will, wish'; cf. Gothic ''wilja'', Old English ''willa'', and Old High German ''willo''). Attestations In Proto-Norse, the three brothers' names were alliterating, *'' Wōdinaz, Wiljô, Wīhaz''), so that they can be taken as forming a triad of * ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Odin
Odin (; from non, Óðinn, ) is a widely revered Æsir, god in Germanic paganism. Norse mythology, the source of most surviving information about him, associates him with wisdom, healing, death, royalty, the gallows, knowledge, war, battle, victory, sorcery, poetry, frenzy, and the Runes, runic alphabet, and depicts him as the husband of the goddess Frigg. In wider Germanic mythology and paganism, the god was also known in Old English as ', in Old Saxon as , in Old Dutch as ''Wuodan'', in Old Frisian as ''Wêda'', and in Old High German as , all ultimately stemming from the Proto-Germanic language, Proto-Germanic theonym *''Wōðanaz'', meaning 'lord of frenzy', or 'leader of the possessed'. Odin appears as a prominent god throughout the recorded history of Northern Europe, from the Roman occupation of regions of Germania (from BCE) through movement of peoples during the Migration Period (4th to 6th centuries CE) and the Viking Age (8th to 11th centuries CE). In the modern pe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bestla
Bestla (Old Norse: ) is a jötunn in Norse mythology, and the mother of the gods Odin, Vili and Vé (by way of Borr). She is also the sister of an unnamed man who assisted Odin, and the daughter (or granddaughter depending on the source) of the jötunn Bölþorn. Odin is frequently called "Bestla's son" in both skaldic verses and the Poetic Edda. Bestla is attested in the Poetic Edda, compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources, the Prose Edda, written in the 13th century by Snorri Sturluson, and in the poetry of skalds. Scholars have commented on the obscurity of the figure's name and have proposed various theories to explain the role and origin of the giantess. Name The meaning of the Old Norse name ''Bestla'' remains uncertain. Scholars have proposed potential meanings such as 'wife', or ' bark, bast'. It might stem from ''*Bastilōn'' (perhaps a yew goddess, originally a 'bast-donor'), or from ''*Banstillōn'' (via an intermediate form ''*Böstla''), relat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Borr
In Norse mythology, Borr or BurrThe ''Konungsbók'' or ''Codex Regius'' MS of the ''Völuspá'' reads ''Búrr''; the Hauksbók MS reads ''Borr''. Cf. Nordal (1980:31). The latter form alone was used by 13th-century historian and poet Snorri Sturluson. Cf. Simek (1988:54). (Old Norse: 'son', born;Lindow (2001:90). Thorpe interprets the names ''Buri'' and ''Bör'' to signify 'the producing' or 'the bringer forth' and 'the produced' or 'the brought forth' respectively, linking both to Sanskrit ''bâras'', Gothic ''baurs'', Latin ''por'', ''puer''. Cf. Thorpe (1851:4; 141-2). sometimes anglicized Bor, Bör or Bur) was the son of Búri. Borr was the husband of Bestla and the father of Odin, Vili and Vé. Borr receives mention in a poem in the ''Poetic Edda'', compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional material, and in the ''Prose Edda'', composed in the 13th century by Icelander Snorri Sturluson. Scholars have proposed a variety of theories about the figure. Attestation Bo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Búri
In Norse mythology, Búri (Old Norse: ), is a divinity god 'producer, father' of all other gods,Simek (Simek 2007:47). and an early ancestor of the Æsir gods of the principal pantheon in Norse religion. Búri was licked free from salty rime stones by the primeval cow Auðumbla over the course of three days. Búri's background beyond this point is unattested, and he had a son, Borr, by way of an unknown process. Búri is attested in the ''Prose Edda'', composed in the 13th century by Icelander Snorri Sturluson. The ''Prose Edda'' includes a quote from a 12th-century poem by skald Þórvaldr Blönduskáld that mentions the figure. Búri's mysterious origins are the subject of scholarly commentary and interpretation. Attestations Buridava was a fort and sanctuary in the Roman province of Dacia on the Danube. The name Buri is attested by the ninth tabula of Europe of Ptolemy's Geography and Trajan campaign, Cassius Dio and inscriptions. Búri receives mention twice in the ''Prose Ed ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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