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Jörmungandr
In Norse mythology, Jörmungandr ( non, Jǫrmungandr, lit=the Vast gand, see Etymology), also known as the Midgard Serpent or World Serpent ( non, Miðgarðsormr), is an unfathomably large sea serpent or worm who dwells in the world sea, encircling the Earth (Midgard) and biting his own tail, an example of an ouroboros. As a result of it surrounding Midgard (the Earth) it is referred to as the World Serpent. When it releases its tail, Ragnarök (the final battle of the world) will begin. Jörmungandr is said to be the middle child of the trickster god Loki and the giantess Angrboða. According to the '' Prose Edda'', Odin took Loki's three children by Angrboða – the wolf Fenrir, the goddess Hel, and the serpent Jörmungandr – and removed them from Asgard (the world of the Æsir). The serpent Jörmungandr was tossed into the great ocean that encircles Midgard.Snorri Sturluson; Brodeur, Arthur Gilchrist (trans.) (1916). ''The Prose Edda''. New York: The American-Sca ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ragnarök
In Norse mythology, (; non, Ragnarǫk) is a series of events, including a great battle, foretelling the death of numerous great figures (including the gods Odin, Thor, Týr, Freyr, Heimdallr, and Loki), natural disasters, and the submersion of the world in water. After these events, the world will rise again, cleansed and fertile, the surviving and returning gods will meet and the world will be repopulated by two human survivors. is an important event in Norse mythology and has been the subject of scholarly discourse and theory in the history of Germanic studies. The event is attested primarily 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. In the ''Prose Edda'' and in a single poem in the ''Poetic Edda'', the event is referred to as (), a usage popularised by 19th-century composer Richard Wagner with the title of the last of his ''Der Ring des Nibelungen'' ... [...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 god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred groves and trees, 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 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 pagan personal names containing the name of the god bear witness to his popularity. Due to the nature of the Germanic corpus, narratives featuring Thor are only atte ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fenrir
Fenrir ( Old Norse: ; " fen-dweller")Orchard (1997:42). or Fenrisúlfr (O.N.: ; "Fenrir's wolf", often translated "Fenris-wolf"),Simek (2007:81). also referred to as Hróðvitnir (O.N.: ; "fame-wolf")Simek (2007:160). and Vánagandr (O.N.: ; "monster of the iverVán"),Simek (2007:350). or Vanargand, is a wolf in Norse mythology. Fenrir, together with Hel and the World Serpent, is a child of Loki and giantess Angrboða. He is attested in the '' Poetic Edda'', compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources, and the '' Prose Edda'' and '' Heimskringla'', written in the 13th century by Snorri Sturluson. In both the ''Poetic Edda'' and ''Prose Edda'', Fenrir is the father of the wolves Sköll and Hati Hróðvitnisson, is a son of Loki and is foretold to kill the god Odin during the events of Ragnarök, but will in turn be killed by Odin's son Víðarr. In the ''Prose Edda'', additional information is given about Fenrir, including that, due to the gods' knowl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Germanic Dragon
Dragons are present in Germanic mythology and folklore, where they are often portrayed as large venomous serpents. Especially in later tales, however, they share many common features with other dragons in European mythology. Origin, appearance and terminology In early depictions, as with dragons in other cultures, the distinction between Germanic dragons and regular snakes is blurred, with both being referred to as Old Norse or Old English from Proto-Germanic *wurmiz. ''Wyrm'' has since been borrowed back into Modern English to mean "dragon", while the descendent term ''worm'' remains used in Modern English to refer to dragons, especially those lacking wings. In Fáfnismál, the dragon Fáfnir is described as flightless and snake-like, and is referred to as an . In the later Völsunga saga, however, he has shoulders, suggesting legs, wings or both, and is referred to as both a and an . Similarly, the dragon in Beowulf is referred to as both a and a , although in som ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hel (being)
Hel (Old Norse: ) is a female being in Norse mythology who is said to preside over an underworld realm of the same name, where she receives a portion of the dead. Hel is attested in the '' Poetic Edda'', compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources, and the '' Prose Edda'', written in the 13th century. In addition, she is mentioned in poems recorded in ''Heimskringla'' and '' Egils saga'' that date from the 9th and 10th centuries, respectively. An episode in the Latin work ''Gesta Danorum'', written in the 12th century by Saxo Grammaticus, is generally considered to refer to Hel, and Hel may appear on various Migration Period bracteates. In the ''Poetic Edda'', ''Prose Edda'', and ''Heimskringla'', Hel is referred to as a daughter of Loki. In the ''Prose Edda'' book ''Gylfaginning'', Hel is described as having been appointed by the god Odin as ruler of a realm of the same name, located in Niflheim. In the same source, her appearance is described as half blue ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Loki
Loki is a god in Norse mythology. According to some sources, Loki is the son of Fárbauti (a jötunn) and Laufey (mentioned as a goddess), and the brother of Helblindi and Býleistr. Loki is married to Sigyn and they have two sons, Narfi or Nari and Váli. By the jötunn Angrboða, Loki is the father of Hel, the wolf Fenrir, and the world serpent Jörmungandr. In the form of a mare, Loki was impregnated by the stallion Svaðilfari and gave birth to the eight-legged horse Sleipnir. Loki's relation with the gods varies by source; he sometimes assists the gods and sometimes behaves maliciously towards them. Loki is a shape shifter and in separate incidents appears in the form of a salmon, a mare, a fly, and possibly an elderly woman named Þökk (Old Norse 'thanks'). Loki's positive relations with the gods end with his role in engineering the death of the god Baldr, and eventually, Odin's specially engendered son Váli binds Loki with the entrails of one of his ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hymiskviða
''Hymiskviða'' (Old Norse: 'The lay of Hymir'; anglicized as ''Hymiskvitha'', ''Hymiskvidha'' or ''Hymiskvida'') is a poem collected in the ''Poetic Edda''. The poem appears to have been first written down in the late 12th century.''Norse Mythology A-Z'' Summary The Æsir consult their augury twigs and decide, since Ægir owns a lot of kettles for making beer, that he should be their host frequently. Ægir has to reluctantly agree, but as this will be a lot of work, he makes a condition (that he hopes they won't be able to meet) that they bring a kettle large enough for him to make beer for all of them at once. That presents a problem, until Týr remembers a particularly large kettle in the possession of his father Hymir. So the Æsir set off. Eventually they find Hymir's place, where Þórr (Thor) eats so much that Hymir and his guests have no alternative but to go fishing. The poem then tells the story of how Þórr almost caught the Jörmungandr, which is also recounted in th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sea Serpent
A sea serpent or sea dragon is a type of dragon sea monster described in various mythologies, most notably Mesopotamian (Tiamat), Judaeo-Christian (Leviathan), Greek (Cetus, Echidna, Hydra, Scylla), and Norse ( Jörmungandr). Mythology and folklore Mediterranean and Western Asia The mytheme, the chief god in the role of the hero slaying a sea serpent, is widespread both in the ancient Near East and in Indo-European mythology, e.g. Lotan and Hadad, Leviathan and Yahweh, Tiamat and Marduk (see also Labbu, Bašmu, Mušḫuššu), Illuyanka and Tarhunt, Yammu and Baal in the Baal Cycle etc. The Hebrew Bible also has less mythological descriptions of large sea creatures as part of creation under God's command, such as the Tanninim mentioned in Book of Genesis 1:21 and the "great serpent" of Amos 9:3. In the Aeneid, a pair of sea serpents killed Laocoön and his sons when Laocoön argued against bringing the Trojan Horse into Troy. In antiquity and in the Bible, dragon ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Midgard
In Germanic cosmology, Midgard (an anglicised form of Old Norse language, Old Norse ; Old English , Old Saxon , Old High German , and Gothic language, 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 language, Old Norse name is cognate with Gothic language, 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 (linguistics), compound of ("middle") and ("yard, enclosure"). In early Germanic cosmology, it stands alongside the term '':wikt:world, world'' (cf. Old English ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jötunn
A (also jotun; in the normalised scholarly spelling of Old Norse, ; ; plural / ) or, in Old English, (plural ) is a type of supernatural being in Germanic mythology. In Norse mythology, they are often contrasted with gods (Æsir and Vanir) and other non-human figures, such as dwarfs and elves, although the groupings are not always mutually exclusive. The entities themselves are referred to by several other terms, including , (or ) and if male and or if female. The typically dwell across boundaries from the gods and humans in lands such as . The are frequently attested throughout the Old Norse record, with also featuring in the Old English epic poem ''Beowulf''. The usage of the terms is dynamic, with an overall trend that the beings become portrayed as less impressive and more negative as Christianity becomes more influential. Although the term "giant" is sometimes used to gloss the word "" and its apparent synonyms in some translations and academic texts, are not ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Angrboða
Angrboða (Old Norse: ; also Angrboda) is a'' jötunn'' in Norse mythology. She is the mate of Loki and the mother of monsters. She is only mentioned once in the Poetic Edda ('' Völuspá hin skamma)'' as the mother of Fenrir by Loki. The Prose Edda (''Gylfaginning'') describes her as "a giantess in Jötunheimar" and as the mother of three monsters: the wolf Fenrir, the Midgard serpent Jörmungandr, and the ruler of the dead Hel. Name The Old Norse name ''Angrboða'' has been translated as 'the one who brings grief', 'she-who-offers-sorrow', or 'harm-bidder'. The first element is related to the English word "anger", but means "sorrow" or "regret" in Old Norse, the later meaning is retained in Scandinavian languages. In Norwegian and Danish the word is rendered as "anger" while Icelandic and Faroese has "angur" and Swedish "ånger". The second element "boða" is cognate with the English word ''bode'' as in "this does not bode well". According to some scholars, the name ''Angrbo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Húsdrápa
''Húsdrápa'' (Old Norse: 'House-Lay') is a skaldic poem partially preserved in the Prose Edda where disjoint stanzas of it are quoted. It is attributed to the skald Úlfr Uggason. The poem describes mythological scenes carved on kitchen panels. In the stanzas that have come down to us three such scenes are described. * Thor's fishing trip. * Baldr's funeral. * An obscure myth understood by Snorri Sturluson to deal with a competition between Loki and Heimdallr for Brísingamen. ''Húsdrápa'' is often compared with ''Haustlöng'' and ''Ragnarsdrápa'' which also describe artworks depicting mythological scenes. The poem is mentioned in '' Laxdæla saga'': "The wedding feast was a very crowded one, for the new hall was finished. Ulf Uggason was of the bidden guests, and he had made a poem on Olaf Hoskuldson and of the legends that were painted round the hall, and he gave it forth at the feast. This poem is called the ''House Song'', and is well made. Olaf rewarded him well for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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