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Völsung Cycle
Völsung ( , ) is a figure in Germanic mythology, where he is the eponymous ancestor of the Völsung family (, ), which includes the hero Sigurð. In Nordic mythology, he is the son of Rerir and was murdered by the Geatish king Siggeir. He was later avenged by one of his sons, Sigmund, and his daughter Signy, who was married to Siggeir. Völsung's story is recorded in the Völsung Cycle, a series of legends about the clan. The earliest extant versions of the cycle were recorded in medieval Iceland; the tales of the cycle were expanded with local Scandinavian folklore, including that of Helgi Hundingsbane (which appears to originally have been part of the separate tradition of the Ylfings), and form the material of the epic poems in the Elder Edda and of , which preserves material from lost poems. Völsung is also the subject matter of the Middle High German epic poem and is referred to in the Old English epic ''Beowulf''. Name The Old English is composed of a suffix denotin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Germanic Mythology
Germanic mythology consists of the body of myths native to the Germanic peoples, including Norse mythology, Anglo-Saxon paganism#Mythology, Anglo-Saxon mythology, and Continental Germanic mythology. It was a key element of Germanic paganism. Origins As the Germanic languages developed from Proto-Indo-European language, Germanic mythology is ultimately a development of Proto-Indo-European mythology. Archaeological remains, such as petroglyphs in Scandinavia, suggest continuity in Germanic mythology since at least the Nordic Bronze Age. Sources The earliest written sources on Germanic mythology include literature by Ancient Rome, Roman writers. This includes ''Commentaries on the Gallic War'' by Julius Caesar, ''Geographica'' by Strabo, and ''Germania (book), Germania'' by Tacitus. Later Latin-language sources on Germanic mythology include ''Getica'' by Jordanes, ''History of the Lombards'' by Paul the Deacon, ''Ecclesiastical History of the English People'' by Bede, ''Vita Ansga ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Middle High German
Middle High German (MHG; or ; , shortened as ''Mhdt.'' or ''Mhd.'') is the term for the form of High German, High German language, German spoken in the High Middle Ages. It is conventionally dated between 1050 and 1350, developing from Old High German (OHG) into Early New High German (ENHG). High German is defined as those varieties of German which were affected by the High German consonant shift, Second Sound Shift; the Middle Low German (MLG) and Middle Dutch languages spoken to the North and North West, which did not participate in this sound change, are not part of MHG. While there is no ''standard'' MHG, the prestige of the Hohenstaufen court gave rise in the late 12th century to a supra-regional literary language () based on Swabian dialect, Swabian, an Alemannic German, Alemannic dialect. This historical interpretation is complicated by the tendency of modern editions of MHG texts to use ''normalised'' spellings based on this variety (usually called "Classical MHG"), which ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hrímnir
Hrímnir (Old Norse: ) is a jǫtunn in Norse mythology. He is the father of Hljód. Name The Old Norse name ''Hrímnir'' has been translated as 'frosty', 'the one covered with hoarfrost', or 'the sooty one.' Probably intended to evoke the frost giants or ''hrímþursar'' (jǫtunn).Quinn, p. 134. Attestations In the ''Völsunga saga'', Hrímnir is mentioned as the father of Hljóð, who is sent by Frigg as a "wish-maid" to Rerir with the apple of fertility that will provide his wife offspring. Hrímnir himself sends his daughter Hljóð to be the wife of one of the children, Völsung. Hrímnir is listed among the jǫtnar in the Nafnaþulur, ''þulur'' section of the ''Prose Edda''.Siân Duke, "''Kristni saga'' and its Sources: Some Revaluations," ''Saga-Book'' 25 (2001345–450 p. 396 (pdf). In ''Hyndluljóð'' (32), Hrímnir is the father of Heiðr and Hrossþjófr, but that may be just for the purpose of alliteration. He is also mentioned in ''Skírnismál'' (28), probab ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jötunn
A (also jotun; plural ; in the normalised scholarly spelling of Old Norse, ; or, in Old English, , plural ) is a type of being in Germanic mythology. In Norse mythology, are often contrasted with gods (the Æsir and Vanir) and with other non-human figures, such as dwarf (mythology), dwarfs and elf, elves, although the groupings are not always mutually exclusive. The entities included in the category 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 records, 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 over time. Although the term "giant" is sometimes used to gloss the word "" and its apparent synonyms in some transl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hljóð
Hljod or Ljod (Old Norse: ''Hljóð'' ) is a jötunn in Norse mythology. She is the spouse of Völsung, the daughter of the jötunn Hrímnir, and the mother of Sigmund and Signy. Name The Old Norse name ''Hljóð'' has been translated as 'howling'. Attestation In the first chapter of ''Völsunga saga'', Hljóð is portrayed as the daughter of the jötunn Hrímnir, and as a 'wish-maiden' of the god Odin, which could be interpreted as 'Valkyrie of Odin'. Hljóð then assumes the shape of a crow and provides the apple of fertility to the childless Rerir, who eventually begets Hljóð's own husband Völsung Völsung ( , ) is a figure in Germanic mythology, where he is the eponymous ancestor of the Völsung family (, ), which includes the hero Sigurð. In Nordic mythology, he is the son of Rerir and was murdered by the Geatish king Siggeir. He was .... References Bibliography * * Germanic heroic legends Gýgjar Valkyries {{Norse-myth-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Frigg
Frigg (; Old Norse: ) is a goddess, one of the Æsir, in Germanic mythology. In Norse mythology, the source of most surviving information about her, she is associated with marriage, prophecy, clairvoyance and motherhood, and dwells in the wetland halls of Fensalir. In wider Germanic mythology, she is known in Old High German as , in Lombardic language, Langobardic as , in Old English as , in Old Frisian as ''Frīa'', and in Old Saxon as , all ultimately stemming from the Proto-Germanic theonym *''Frijjō''. Nearly all sources portray her as the wife of the god Odin. In Old High German and Old Norse sources, she is specifically connected with Fulla, but she is also associated with the goddesses Lofn, Hlín, Gná and Hófvarpnir, Gná, and ambiguously with the Earth, otherwise personified as an apparently separate entity Jörð (Old Norse: 'Earth'). The children of Frigg and Odin include the gleaming god Baldr. The English weekday name Friday (ultimately meaning 'Frigg's Day') b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Odin
Odin (; from ) is a widely revered god in Norse mythology and Germanic paganism. Most surviving information on Odin comes from Norse mythology, but he figures prominently in the recorded history of Northern Europe. This includes the Roman Empire's partial occupation of Germania ( BCE), the Migration Period (4th–6th centuries CE) and the Viking Age (8th–11th centuries CE). Consequently, Odin has hundreds of names and titles. Several of these stem from the reconstructed Proto-Germanic theonym ''Wōðanaz'', meaning "lord of frenzy" or "leader of the possessed", which may relate to the god's strong association with poetry. Most mythological stories about Odin survive from the 13th-century ''Prose Edda'' and an earlier collection of Old Norse poems, the ''Poetic Edda'', along with other Old Norse items like '' Ynglinga saga''. The ''Prose Edda'' and other sources depict Odin as the head of the pantheon, sometimes called the Æsir, and bearing a spear and a ring. Wid ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hunaland
Hunaland and its people are mentioned several times in the Poetic Edda, in the Fornaldarsagas, and in chivalric romances. Its origins are partly the old Frankish kingdom (the Franks were once called ''Hugones'', in Latin, and ''Hūgas'' in Old English) and partly in the Huns. The Frankish hero Sigurd is called the ''Hunnish king'' in epic poetry. Also the '' Hervarar saga'' and the '' Vilkina saga'' mention Hunaland, its kings and its hosts. In Old Norse sources, Hunaland often has a mythological character and can shift between different parts of Europe, depending on what kind of skills the hero is to show. It is separated from other countries by the forest Myrkviðr, but one source may locate it up in the north at Bjarmaland, another source says that it borders on Reidgotaland, a third source places it in parts of Germany and other sources place it on either side of the Gulf of Bothnia down to Gästrikland, in Sweden. See also * Norsemen * Frankish Empire The Carolingian E ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Old Norse Religion
Old Norse religion, also known as Norse paganism, is a branch of Germanic religion which developed during the Proto-Norse period, when the North Germanic peoples separated into distinct branches. It was replaced by Christianity and forgotten during the Christianisation of Scandinavia. Scholars reconstruct aspects of North Germanic Religion by historical linguistics, archaeology, toponymy, and records left by North Germanic peoples, such as runic inscriptions in the Younger Futhark, a distinctly North Germanic extension of the runic alphabet. Numerous Old Norse works dated to the 13th-century record Norse mythology, a component of North Germanic religion. Old Norse religion was polytheistic, entailing a belief in various gods and goddesses. These deities in Norse mythology were divided into two groups, the Æsir and the Vanir, who in some sources were said to have engaged in war until realizing that they were equally powerful. Among the most widespread deities were the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Óláfs Saga Helga
''Óláfs saga helga'' or the ''Saga of St. Olaf'', written in several versions, is one of kings' sagas (''konunga sǫgur'') on the subject of King Olaf Haraldsson the Saint. List of saga versions *'' Oldest Saga of St. Olaf'', ca. 1190, mostly lost. *'' Legendary Saga of St. Olaf'', ca. 1210. *''Óláfs saga helga'' by Styrmir Kárason, ca. 1220, mostly lost. *'' Separate Saga of St. Olaf'', by Snorri Sturluson, ca. 1225. *''Óláfs saga helga'' in ''Heimskringla'', by Snorri Sturluson, ca. 1230. *''Óláfs saga helga'' in ''Flateyjarbók'', an expanded version of the ''Separate Saga of St. Olaf''. Overview The saga draws from skaldic poetry and Latin hagiography, with embellishments from popular oral legends. The earliest version, the so-called '' Oldest Saga of St. Olaf'' probably written in Iceland, has not survived except in a few fragments. The next version, commonly known as the '' Legendary Saga of St. Olaf'' (also designated ''Helgisagan um Ólaf digra Haraldsson'' "Ho ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Völsa þáttr
''Vǫlsa þáttr'' is a short story which is only extant in the ''Flateyjarbók'' codex, where it is found in a chapter of ''Óláfs saga helga''. It is probably from the 14th century but takes place in 1029, when Scandinavia was still largely pagan, and it appears to preserve traditions of a pagan phallus cult, the ''vǫlsi''. Worship The story goes that an old man and an old woman lived with their brisk son, intelligent daughter and several thralls on a promontory far from other people. After one thrall butchered a horse and was about to throw away the horse's penis, the boy ran past, took it, and went to the place where his mother, sister, and the slave woman were sitting. There he joked at the slave woman, telling her the organ would not be dull between her legs, whereupon the slave woman laughed. The daughter asked her brother to throw away the disgusting object, but her old mother rose and said it was a useful thing that should not be thrown away. She wrapped it in a cloth ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Beowulf
''Beowulf'' (; ) is an Old English poetry, Old English poem, an Epic poetry, epic in the tradition of Germanic heroic legend consisting of 3,182 Alliterative verse, alliterative lines. It is one of the most important and List of translations of Beowulf, most often translated works of Old English literature. The date of composition is a matter of contention among scholars; the only certain dating is for the manuscript, which was produced between 975 and 1025 AD. Scholars call the anonymous author the "''Beowulf'' poet". The story is set in pagan Scandinavia in the 5th and 6th centuries. Beowulf (hero), Beowulf, a hero of the Geats, comes to the aid of Hrothgar, the king of the Danes (Germanic tribe), Danes, whose mead hall Heorot has been under attack by the monster Grendel for twelve years. After Beowulf slays him, Grendel's mother takes revenge and is in turn defeated. Victorious, Beowulf goes home to Geatland and becomes king of the Geats. Fifty years later, Beowulf def ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
