Family tree of the Norse gods
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These are family trees of the Norse gods showing kin relations among
god In monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Oxford Companion to Philosophy'', Oxford University Press, 1995. God is typically ...
s and other beings in
Nordic mythology Norse, Nordic, or Scandinavian mythology is the body of myths belonging to the North Germanic peoples, stemming from Old Norse religion and continuing after the Christianization of Scandinavia, and into the Nordic folklore of the modern period ...
. Each family tree gives an example of relations according to principally Eddic material however precise links vary between sources. In addition, some beings are identified by some sources and scholars.


Key

*
Æsir The Æsir (Old Norse: ) are the gods of the principal pantheon in Norse religion. They include Odin, Frigg, Höðr, Thor, and Baldr. The second Norse pantheon is the Vanir. In Norse mythology, the two pantheons wage war against each other, ...
are indicated with boldface *
Vanir In Norse mythology, the Vanir (; Old Norse: , singular Vanr ) are a group of gods associated with fertility, wisdom, and the ability to see the future. The Vanir are one of two groups of gods (the other being the Æsir) and are the namesake of the ...
are indicated with ''italics'' * Other beings such as jötnar and humans are indicated with standard font.


Æsir


Vanir


Angrboða and Loki


Diversity in belief

While the above family trees are based principally on Eddic material, it is widely accepted that the Eddas do not represent the worldview of all Nordic, or more widely Germanic heathens. Terry Gunnell has similarly challenged the concept of all Germanic pagans throughout the
Viking Age The Viking Age () was the period during the Middle Ages when Norsemen known as Vikings undertook large-scale raiding, colonizing, conquest, and trading throughout Europe and reached North America. It followed the Migration Period and the Germ ...
believing in a single, universal pantheon of gods that all lived in Asgard and were ruled by Odin. Cultural exchange of both ideas and practices occurred across the soft cultural boundaries with neighbouring peoples from broad cultural groups such as Celts, Sámi, Baltic peoples, and, particularly later on, Christians. Geographical variation in religious practices and beliefs was also seen, which together with external influence made the belief systems dynamic, changing over time from the
Nordic Bronze Age The Nordic Bronze Age (also Northern Bronze Age, or Scandinavian Bronze Age) is a period of Scandinavian prehistory from c. 2000/1750–500 BC. The Nordic Bronze Age culture emerged about 1750 BC as a continuation of the Battle Axe culture (th ...
into the Viking age. In the
Early Medieval period The Early Middle Ages (or early medieval period), sometimes controversially referred to as the Dark Ages, is typically regarded by historians as lasting from the late 5th or early 6th century to the 10th century. They marked the start of the Mi ...
, Odin was principally a god of the warrior elite, however, due to his close association with
skalds A skald, or skáld (Old Norse: , later ; , meaning "poet"), is one of the often named poets who composed skaldic poetry, one of the two kinds of Old Norse poetry, the other being Eddic poetry, which is anonymous. Skaldic poems were traditionally ...
, whose poetry was preserved in works such as the
Prose Edda The ''Prose Edda'', also known as the ''Younger Edda'', ''Snorri's Edda'' ( is, Snorra Edda) or, historically, simply as ''Edda'', is an Old Norse textbook written in Iceland during the early 13th century. The work is often assumed to have been ...
and
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, derive ...
, he is highly represented in extant sources on Nordic pre-Christian religion.
Snorri Sturluson Snorri Sturluson ( ; ; 1179 – 22 September 1241) was an Icelandic historian, poet, and politician. He was elected twice as lawspeaker of the Icelandic parliament, the Althing. He is commonly thought to have authored or compiled portions of th ...
also seems to have a preference towards the aristocratic-centred cosmology as opposed to the views more likely held by the wider population. The rise to prominence of male, war-oriented gods such as Odin, relative to protective female gods with a closer association to fertility and watery sites, has been proposed to have taken place around 500 CE, coinciding with the development of an expansionist aristocratic military class in southern Scandinavia. . Very rarely in the Eddic stories are the gods described as forming a large family, instead typically acting individually or in groups of three. Gunnell puts forward the idea that the stories did not originate in the same cultural environment, but instead were collected over a wide geographic area and later compiled. This variation may be the cause of the apparent conflicts between sources, such as the most closely associated female god to Odin, which Gunnell suggests never formed a single unified system. He further puts forward the idea that Odinic myths centred on hierarchical assemblies and feasts originated in, and reflected, the halls of the elite, while the rural population would be more familiar with tales regarding Freyr and Thor; these two gods have a significantly more prominent position than Odin in Icelandic and Norwegian place names,
sagas is a series of science fantasy role-playing video games by Square Enix. The series originated on the Game Boy in 1989 as the creation of Akitoshi Kawazu at Square. It has since continued across multiple platforms, from the Super NES to th ...
and
Landnámabók (, "Book of Settlements"), often shortened to , is a medieval Icelandic written work which describes in considerable detail the settlement () of Iceland by the Norse in the 9th and 10th centuries CE. is divided into five parts and ov ...
. Gunnell suggests that Freyr, whose cult was centred in
Uppland Uppland () is a historical province or ' on the eastern coast of Sweden, just north of Stockholm, the capital. It borders Södermanland, Västmanland and Gästrikland. It is also bounded by lake Mälaren and the Baltic Sea. On the small uninhab ...
in
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic countries, Nordic c ...
, as another figure who acts more as an allfather ( non, alfǫðr) than Odin, based on his diverse roles in farming, ruling and warfare. Gunnell further argues that in stories regarding Thor, he is typically highly independent, requiring little aid from other figures. He notes that Thor would fit well into the role of a chief god, being associated with
trees In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are u ...
, high-seat pillars and rain, and is called upon for help at sea and against Christian missionaries. Some sources, such as the prologue to the
Prose Edda The ''Prose Edda'', also known as the ''Younger Edda'', ''Snorri's Edda'' ( is, Snorra Edda) or, historically, simply as ''Edda'', is an Old Norse textbook written in Iceland during the early 13th century. The work is often assumed to have been ...
suggest that Thor was viewed by some as the father of Odin, and it has been argued that Thor was known in
Northern Europe The northern region of Europe has several definitions. A restrictive definition may describe Northern Europe as being roughly north of the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, which is about 54°N, or may be based on other geographical factors ...
prior to the arrival of the cult of Odin, and thus would not have been originally viewed there as his son. It has been argued that Odin began to increasingly incorporate elements from subordinated gods and took on a role as the centre of a family that became depicted as living together. This conception, more akin to the
Olympian pantheon Olympian or Olympians may refer to: Religion * Twelve Olympians, the principal gods and goddesses in ancient Greek religion * Olympian spirits, spirits mentioned in books of ceremonial magic Fiction * ''Percy Jackson & the Olympians'', fictio ...
, may have been facilitated by large things in which a diversity of peoples assembled, each potentially favouring an individual god.


See also

*
Anglo-Saxon royal genealogies A number of royal genealogies of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, collectively referred to as the Anglo-Saxon royal genealogies, have been preserved in a manuscript tradition based in the 8th to 10th centuries. The genealogies trace the succession of th ...
*
Horses of the Æsir In Norse mythology, the Horses of the Æsir are ridden by the gods. They are mentioned in the ''Poetic Edda'' and the ''Prose Edda''. Listing The horses of the Æsir are listed twice. The Eddic poem '' Grímnismál'' gives the following names: ...
*
List of Germanic deities In Germanic paganism, the indigenous religion of the ancient Germanic peoples who inhabited Germanic Europe, there were a number of different gods and goddesses. Germanic deities are attested from numerous sources, including works of literatur ...
*
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 es ...


Notes


References


Bibliography


Primary

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Secondary

* * * * * * * * Norse mythology Norse deities
Norse mythology Norse, Nordic, or Scandinavian mythology is the body of myths belonging to the North Germanic peoples, stemming from Old Norse religion and continuing after the Christianization of Scandinavia, and into the Nordic folklore of the modern per ...
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