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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] |
Giant
In folklore, giants (from Ancient Greek: '' gigas'', cognate giga-) are beings of human-like appearance, but are at times prodigious in size and strength or bear an otherwise notable appearance. The word ''giant'' is first attested in 1297 from Robert of Gloucester's chronicle. It is derived from the ''Gigantes'' ( grc-gre, Γίγαντες) of Greek mythology. Fairy tales such as '' Jack the Giant Killer'' have formed the modern perception of giants as dimwitted ogres, sometimes said to eat humans, while other giants tend to eat the livestock. The antagonist in ''Jack and the Beanstalk'' is often described as a giant. In some more recent portrayals, like those of Jonathan Swift and Roald Dahl, some giants are both intelligent and friendly. Literary and cultural analysis Giants appear in the folklore of cultures worldwide as they represent a relatively simple concept. Representing the human body enlarged to the point of being monstrous, giants evoke terror and remind humans ... [...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] |
Troll
A troll is a being in Nordic folklore, including Norse mythology. In Old Norse sources, beings described as trolls dwell in isolated areas of rocks, mountains, or caves, live together in small family units, and are rarely helpful to human beings. In later Scandinavian folklore, trolls became beings in their own right, where they live far from human habitation, are not Christianized, and are considered dangerous to human beings. Depending on the source, their appearance varies greatly; trolls may be ugly and slow-witted, or look and behave exactly like human beings, with no particularly grotesque characteristic about them. Trolls are sometimes associated with particular landmarks in Scandinavian folklore, which at times may be explained as formed from a troll exposed to sunlight. Trolls are depicted in a variety of media in modern popular culture. Etymology The Old Norse nouns ''troll'' and ''trǫll'' (variously meaning "fiend, demon, werewolf, jötunn") and Middle High Germa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gerðr
In Norse mythology, Gerðr (Old Norse: ; "fenced-in"Orchard (1997:54).) is a jötunn, goddess, and the wife of the god Freyr. Gerðr is attested in the ''Poetic Edda'', compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources; the ''Prose Edda'' and ''Heimskringla'', written in the 13th century by Snorri Sturluson; and in the poetry of skalds. ''Gerðr'' is sometimes modernly anglicized as Gerd or Gerth. In both the ''Poetic Edda'' and the ''Prose Edda'', Freyr sees Gerðr from a distance, becomes deeply lovesick at the sight of her shimmering beauty, and has his servant Skírnir go to Jötunheimr (where Gerðr and her father Gymir reside) to gain her love. In the ''Poetic Edda'' Gerðr initially refuses, yet after a series of threats by Skírnir she is forced to yield. In the ''Prose Edda'', no mention of threats is made. In both sources, Gerðr agrees to meet Freyr at a fixed time at the location of Barri and, after Skírnir returns with Gerðr's response, Freyr laments t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fáfnir
In Nordic and wider Germanic mythology, Fáfnir (Old Norse pronunciation: fɑːvnər is a mighty dwarf who is the son of Hreidmar, and brother of Regin and Ótr. Once cursed by Andvari's ring and gold, Fafnir slays his father out of greed and becomes a dragon. Fafnir's brother Regin assisted Sigurd in obtaining Gram, the sword he used to kill Fáfnir. Narrative There have been many renditions of Fáfnir's tale throughout history, but they all follow a standard structure. Loki kills the brother of Regin and Fáfnir, Ótr, while he is in the shape of an otter. As payment, Loki, Odin, and Hœnir had to fill the otter's skin with gold. Loki collects the gold from the pike Andvari and returns the ransom to Hreidmar, Otr's father. When Hreidmar refuses to share the gold, Fáfnir murders him out of greed. Fáfnir then takes his treasure into the wilderness and turns into a dragon to guard it. And by use of the sword, Gram, Sigurd defeats Fáfnir in his serpentine form. Regin, who ... [...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] |
Jeramy Dodds
Jeramy Dodds (born 4 December 1974 in Ajax, Ontario) is a Canadian poet. Born in Ajax, Ontario, Dodds grew up in Orono, Ontario. He studied English literature and anthropology at Trent University, medieval Icelandic studies at The University of Iceland, and has worked as a research archaeologist in Canada. He was a poetry editor at Coach House Books until January 2018. He received the 2006 Bronwen Wallace Memorial Award and won the 2007 CBC Literary Award in poetry. His debut poetry collection, ''Crabwise to the Hounds'' (Coach House Books, 2008), received the 2009 Trillium Book Award for Poetry, and was shortlisted for both the 2009 Gerald Lampert Award and the 2009 Griffin Poetry Prize.Mark Medley"Lines that lingered" ''National Post The ''National Post'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet newspaper available in several cities in central and western Canada. The paper is the flagship publication of Postmedia Network and is published Mondays through Saturdays, wit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rune Poems
Rune poems are poems that list the letters of runic alphabets while providing an explanatory poetic stanza for each letter. Three different poems have been preserved: the Anglo-Saxon Rune Poem, the Norwegian Rune Poem, and the Icelandic Rune Poem. The Icelandic and Norwegian poems list 16 Younger Futhark runes, while the Anglo Saxon Rune Poem lists 29 Anglo-Saxon runes. Each poem differs in poetic verse, but they contain numerous parallels between one another. Further, the poems provide references to figures from Norse paganism and Anglo-Saxon paganism, the latter included alongside Christian references. A list of rune names is also recorded in the ''Abecedarium Nordmannicum'', a 9th-century manuscript, but whether this can be called a poem or not is a matter of some debate. The rune poems have been theorized as having been mnemonic devices that allowed the user to remember the order and names of each letter of the alphabet and may have been a catalog of important cultural inform ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Old High German
Old High German (OHG; german: Althochdeutsch (Ahd.)) is the earliest stage of the German language, conventionally covering the period from around 750 to 1050. There is no standardised or supra-regional form of German at this period, and Old High German is an umbrella term for the group of continental West Germanic dialects which underwent the set of consonantal changes called the Second Sound Shift. At the start of this period, the main dialect areas belonged to largely independent tribal kingdoms, but by 788 the conquests of Charlemagne had brought all OHG dialect areas into a single polity. The period also saw the development of a stable linguistic border between German and Gallo-Romance, later French. The surviving OHG texts were all written in monastic scriptoria and, as a result, the overwhelming majority of them are religious in nature or, when secular, belong to the Latinate literary culture of Christianity. The earliest written texts in Old High German, glosses and i ... [...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] |
Hymir
Hymir (Old Norse: ) is a jötunn in Norse mythology, and the owner of a brewing-cauldron fetched by the thunder god Thor for Ægir, who wants to hold a feast for the Æsir (gods). In ''Hymiskviða'', Hymir is portrayed as the father of Týr, but in ''Skáldskaparmál'', Odin is Týr's father. Name The etymology of the Old Norse name ''Hymir'' remains unclear. It is perhaps related to the Norwegian ''humen'' ('limp, weary') or ''humre'' ('whinny'; compare with MHG ''hummen'' 'hum'). Andy Orchard has proposed the translation 'creeper'. ''Hymir'' is often used in kennings as a modifier for ''jötnarr''. Attestations ''Hymiskviða'' and ''Gylfaginning'' ''Hymiskviða'' recounts how Thor and Týr obtain the cauldron from Hymir. His skull is unusually hard, and Thor breaks a cup by throwing it at Hymir's head. ''Hymiskviða'' also recounts Thor's fishing for Jörmungandr, the Midgard serpent. Thor goes fishing with Hymir, using the head of Hymir's best ox for bait, and catches ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anglo-Saxon Mythology
Anglo-Saxon paganism, sometimes termed Anglo-Saxon heathenism, Anglo-Saxon pre-Christian religion, or Anglo-Saxon traditional religion, refers to the religious beliefs and practices followed by the Anglo-Saxons between the 5th and 8th centuries AD, during the initial period of Early Medieval England. A variant of Germanic paganism found across much of north-western Europe, it encompassed a heterogeneous variety of beliefs and cultic practices, with much regional variation. Developing from the earlier Iron Age religion of continental northern Europe, it was introduced to Britain following the Anglo-Saxon migration in the mid 5th century, and remained the dominant belief system in England until the Christianisation of its kingdoms between the 7th and 8th centuries, with some aspects gradually blending into folklore. The pejorative terms ''paganism'' and ''heathenism'' were first applied to this religion by Christian Anglo-Saxons, and it does not appear that these pagans had a nam ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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