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Einherjar
In Norse mythology, the einherjar (singular einheri) literally "army of one", "those who fight alone"Simek, Rudolf. 1993. Dictionary of Northern Mythology. Translated by Angela Hall. p. 71Orchard (1997:36) and Lindow (2001:104).) are those who have died in battle and are brought to Valhalla by valkyries. In Valhalla, the einherjar eat their fill of the nightly-resurrecting beast Sæhrímnir, and valkyries bring them mead (which comes from the udder of the goat Heiðrún). The einherjar prepare daily for the events of Ragnarök, when they will advance for an immense battle at the field of Vígríðr. The einherjar are 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, the poem ''Hákonarmál'' (by the 10th century skald Eyvindr skáldaspillir) as collected in ''Heimskringla'', and a stanza of an anonymous 10th century poem commemorating the death of Eric Bloodaxe k ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Valkyrie
In Norse mythology, a valkyrie ("chooser of the slain") is one of a host of female figures who guide souls of the dead to the god Odin's hall Valhalla. There, the deceased warriors become (Old Norse "single (or once) fighters"Orchard (1997:36) and Lindow (2001:104).). When the are not preparing for the events of Ragnarök, the valkyries bear them mead. Valkyries also appear as lovers of heroes and other mortals, where they are sometimes described as the daughters of royalty, sometimes accompanied by ravens and sometimes connected to swans or horses. Valkyries are attested in the '' Poetic Edda'' (a book of poems compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources), the ''Prose Edda'', the (both by Snorri Sturluson) and the (one of the Sagas of Icelanders), all written—or compiled—in the 13th century. They appear throughout the poetry of skalds, in a 14th-century charm, and in various runic inscriptions. The Old English cognate term appears in several ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Harii
The Harii (West Germanic "warriors"Simek (2007:132).) were, according to 1st century CE Roman historian Tacitus, a Germanic people. In his work ''Germania'', Tacitus describes them as using black shields and painting their bodies ("nigra scuta, tincta corpora"), and attacking at night as a shadowy army, much to the terror of their opponents. Theories have been proposed connecting the Harii to the einherjar, ghostly warriors in service to the god Odin, attested much later among the North Germanic peoples by way of Norse mythology, and to the tradition of the Wild Hunt, a procession of the dead through the winter night sky sometimes led by Odin. ''Germania'' Regarding the Harii, Tacitus writes in ''Germania'': As for the Harii, quite apart from their strength, which exceeds that of the other tribes I have just listed, they pander to their innate savagery by skill and timing: with black shields and painted bodies, they choose dark nights to fight, and by means of terror and shadow of a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sæhrímnir
In Norse mythology, Sæhrímnir is the creature killed and eaten every night by the Æsir and einherjar. The cook of the gods, Andhrímnir, is responsible for the slaughter of Sæhrímnir and its preparation in the cauldron Eldhrímnir. After Sæhrímnir is eaten, the beast is brought back to life again to provide sustenance for the following day. Sæhrímnir is attested in the ''Poetic Edda'', compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional material, and the ''Prose Edda'', written in the 13th century by Snorri Sturluson. The enthroned figure of High quotes this stanza in the ''Prose Edda'' book ''Gylfaginning'' and specifically states that Sæhrímnir is a boar. However, some scholars have translated the ''Poetic Edda'' attestation, which the ''Prose Edda'' attestation quotes, as not referring to the creature as any specific type. Those scholars who recognize a difference in the taxonomy of the creature between the two sources have commented on the matter, further issue ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Odin
Odin (; from non, Óðinn, ) is a widely revered 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 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 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 period, the rural folklore of Germanic E ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Heiðrún
Heiðrún or Heidrun is a goat in Norse mythology, who consumes the foliage of the tree Læraðr and produces mead for the einherjar. She is described in the ''Poetic Edda'' and ''Prose Edda''. ''Prose Edda'' ''Poetic Edda'' In the ''Poetic Edda'' Heiðrún is mentioned twice. She is described in the ''Grímnismál'' in a way similar to Snorri's description. Since Snorri quotes other strophes of ''Grímnismál'' it seems reasonable to assume that he knew this strophe too and used it as his source for his description of Heiðrún. In the ''Hyndluljóð'' the giantess Hyndla (lit. ''bitch/she-dog'') used the term "Heiðrún" to insult the goddess Freyja. Thorpe and some other translators translated the name straight to "she-goat". Etymology The etymology of ''Heiðrún'' remains debatable.Liberman (2016:337–346). Anatoly Liberman suggests that ''Heiðþyrnir'', the name of the lowest heaven in Scandinavian mythology (from ''heið'' "bright sky"), was cut into two, and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Valhalla
In Norse mythology Valhalla (;) is the anglicised name for non, Valhǫll ("hall of the slain").Orchard (1997:171–172) It is described as a majestic hall located in Asgard and presided over by the god Odin. Half of those who die in combat enter Valhalla, while the other half are chosen by the goddess Freyja to reside in Fólkvangr. The masses of those killed in combat (known as the Einherjar) along with various legendary Germanic heroes and kings, live in Valhalla until Ragnarök when they will march out of its many doors to fight in aid of Odin against the jötnar. Valhalla is attested in the '' Poetic Edda'', compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources, in the ''Prose Edda'' (written in the 13th century by Snorri Sturluson), in '' Heimskringla'' (also written in the 13th century by Snorri Sturluson), and in stanzas of an anonymous 10th century poem commemorating the death of Eric Bloodaxe known as '' Eiríksmál'' as compiled in '' Fagrskinna''. Va ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vígríðr
In Norse mythology, Vígríðr or Óskópnir is a large field foretold to host a battle between the forces of the gods and the forces of Surtr as part of the events of Ragnarök. The field is attested in the ''Poetic Edda'', compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional material, and in the ''Prose Edda'', written by Snorri Sturluson in the 13th century. The ''Poetic Edda'' briefly mentions the field as where the two forces will battle, whereas the ''Prose Edda'' features a fuller account, foretelling that it is the location of the future death of several deities (and their enemies) before the world is engulfed in flames and reborn. Etymology The Old Norse place name ''Vígríðr'' means "battle-surge" or "place on which battle surges".For "battle-surge", see Orchard (1997:175). For "place on which battle surges", see Simek (2007:361). The name ''Vígríðr'' is sometimes modernly anglicized as Vigrid, Vigrith,For ''Vigrid'', see Orchard (1997:175). For ''Vigrith'', see Be ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Germanic People
The Germanic peoples were historical groups of people that once occupied Central Europe and Scandinavia during antiquity and into the early Middle Ages. Since the 19th century, they have traditionally been defined by the use of ancient and early medieval Germanic languages and are thus equated at least approximately with Germanic-speaking peoples, although different academic disciplines have their own definitions of what makes someone or something "Germanic". The Romans named the area belonging to North-Central Europe in which Germanic peoples lived ''Germania'', stretching East to West between the Vistula and Rhine rivers and north to south from Southern Scandinavia to the upper Danube. In discussions of the Roman period, the Germanic peoples are sometimes referred to as ''Germani'' or ancient Germans, although many scholars consider the second term problematic since it suggests identity with present-day Germans. The very concept of "Germanic peoples" has become the subject of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hjaðningavíg
Hjaðningavíg (the 'battle of the Heodenings'), the ''legend of Heðinn and Hǫgni'' or the ''Saga of Hild'' is a Germanic heroic legend about a never-ending battle which is documented in ''Sörla þáttr'', '' Ragnarsdrápa'', ''Gesta Danorum'', ''Skíðaríma'' and in ''Skáldskaparmál''. It is also held to appear on the image stone at Stora Hammar on Gotland (see illustration). Moreover, it is alluded to in the Old English poems '' Deor'' and ''Widsið'', and in the Old Norse '' Háttalykill inn forni'', and a version of it survived down to the 18th century in the traditional Norn language ballad "Hildina". An altered version of the saga is found in the Middle High German poem ''Kudrun'', as a prologue to the story of Kudrun herself. Yet another version is found in the Old Yiddish '' Dukus Horant''. Like the names ''Heðinn'' ( O.E. ''Heoden'') and '' Hǫgni'' (O.E. ''Hagena''), the legend is believed to have continental Germanic origins. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wild Hunt
The Wild Hunt is a folklore motif (Motif E501 in Stith Thompson's Motif-Index of Folk-Literature) that occurs in the folklore of various northern European cultures. Wild Hunts typically involve a chase led by a mythological figure escorted by a ghostly or supernatural group of hunters engaged in pursuit. The leader of the hunt is often a named figure associated with Odin in Germanic legends, but may variously be a historical or legendary figure like Theodoric the Great, the Danish king , the Welsh psychopomp , biblical figures such as Herod, Cain, Gabriel, or the Devil, or an unidentified lost soul or spirit either male or female. The hunters are generally the souls of the dead or ghostly dogs, sometimes fairies, valkyries, or elves. Seeing the Wild Hunt was thought to forebode some catastrophe such as war or plague, or at best the death of the one who witnessed it. People encountering the Hunt might also be abducted to the underworld or the fairy kingdom. In some insta ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
