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Ymir
In Norse mythology, Ymir (), also called Aurgelmir, Brimir, or Bláinn, is the ancestor of all jötnar. Ymir is attested in the ''Poetic Edda'', compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional material, in the ''Prose Edda'', written by Snorri Sturluson in the 13th century, and in the poetry of skalds. Taken together, several stanzas from four poems collected in the ''Poetic Edda'' refer to Ymir as a primeval being who was born from atter (), yeasty venom that dripped from the icy rivers called the Élivágar, and lived in the grassless void of Ginnungagap. Ymir gave birth to a male and female from his armpits, and his legs together begat a six-headed being. The grandsons of Búri, the gods Odin and Vili and Vé, fashioned the Earth—elsewhere personified as a goddess named Jörð—from Ymir's flesh; the oceans from his blood; from his bones, the mountains; from his hair, the trees; from his brains, the clouds; from his skull, the heavens; and from his eyebro ... [...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 in alliterative verse. It is distinct from the closely related ''Prose Edda'', although both works are seminal to the study of Old Norse poetry. Several versions of the ''Poetic Edda'' exist; especially notable is the medieval Icelandic manuscript '' Codex Regius'', which contains 31 poems. Composition The ''Eddic poems'' are composed in alliterative verse. Most are in ''fornyrðislag'' ("old story metre"), while '' málaháttr'' ("speech form") is a common variation. The rest, about a quarter, are composed in '' ljóðaháttr'' ("song form"). The language of the poems is usually clear and relatively unadorned. Kennings are often employed, though they do not arise as frequently, nor are they as complex, as those found in typical skaldic poetry. Authorship Like most early poetry, the Eddic poems were minstrel poems, passed orally from singer to singer and from poet to po ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tuisto
According to Tacitus's ''Germania'' (AD 98), Tuisto (or Tuisco) is the legendary divine ancestor of the Germanic peoples. The figure remains the subject of some scholarly discussion, largely focused upon etymological connections and comparisons to figures in later (particularly Norse) Germanic mythology. Etymology The ''Germania'' manuscript corpus contains two primary variant readings of the name. The most frequently occurring, Tuisto, is commonly connected to the Proto-Germanic root ''*twai'' – "two" and its derivative ''*twis'' – "twice" or "doubled", thus giving Tuisto the core meaning "double". Any assumption of a gender inference is entirely conjectural, as the tvia / tvis roots are also the roots of any number of other concepts / words in the Germanic languages. Take for instance the Germanic "twist", which, in all but the English has the primary meaning of "dispute / conflict". The second variant of the name, occurring originally in manuscript ''E'', reads Tuisco. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Auðumbla
In Norse mythology, Auðumbla (; also Auðhumla and Auðumla ) is a primeval cow. The primordial frost jötunn Ymir fed upon her milk, and over the course of three days she Mineral lick#Mythology, licked away the salty rime rocks and revealed Búri, grandfather of the gods and brothers Odin, Vili and Vé. The creature is attested solely in the ''Prose Edda'', composed in the 13th century by Icelander Snorri Sturluson. Scholars identify her as stemming from a very early stratum of Germanic mythology, and ultimately belonging to Proto-Indo-European mythology#Interpretations, larger complex of Sacred bull, primordial bovines or Horned deity, cow-associated goddesses. Name The cow's name variously appears in ''Prose Edda'' manuscripts as , , and , and is generally accepted as meaning 'hornless cow rich in milk' (from Old Norse 'riches' and 'hornless').See discussion in both Lindow 2001:63 and Simek 2007:22. The compound presents some level of semantic ambiguity. A parallel occ ... [...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] |
Midgard
In Germanic cosmology, Midgard (an anglicised form of Old Norse ; Old English , Old Saxon , Old High German , and Gothic ''Midjun-gards''; "middle yard", "middle enclosure") is the name for Earth (equivalent in meaning to the Greek term : oikouménē, "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 name is cognate with 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 of ("middle") and ("yard, enclosure"). In early Germanic cosmology, it stands alongside the term ''world'' (cf. Old English , Old Saxon , Old High German , Old Frisian , Old Norse ), itself from a Common Germanic comp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Élivágar
In Norse mythology, Élivágar (Old Norse: ; "Ice Waves") are rivers that existed in Ginnungagap at the beginning of the world. The ''Prose Edda'' relates: The streams called Ice-waves, those which were so long come from the fountain-heads that the yeasty atter upon them had hardened like the slag that runs out of the fire,-these then became ice; and when the ice halted and ceased to run, then it froze over above. But the drizzling rain that rose from the venom congealed to rime, and the rime increased, frost over frost, each over the other, even into Ginnungagap, the Yawning Void. ''Gylfaginning'' 5. The eleven rivers traditionally associated with the Élivágar include the Svöl, Gunnþrá, Fjörm, Fimbulþul, Slíðr, Hríð, Sylgr, Ylgr, Við, Leiptr and Gjöll (which flows closest to the gate of Hel and is spanned by the bridge Gjallarbrú), although many other additional rivers are mentioned by name in both Eddas. The rivers seem to act as borders between differing ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dwarf (Germanic Mythology)
A dwarf () is a type of supernatural being in Germanic folklore. Accounts of dwarfs vary significantly throughout history. 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. However, they are described as having sisters and daughters, while 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 relevant 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 and meaning Etymology The modern English noun ''dwarf'' descends from . It has a variety of cognates in other Germanic languages, including Old Norse ''dvergr'', Old Frisian ''dwerch'', ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Proto-Indo-European Religion
Proto-Indo-European mythology is the body of myths and deities associated with the Proto-Indo-Europeans, speakers of the hypothesized Proto-Indo-European language. Although the mythological motifs are not directly attested – since Proto-Indo-European speakers lived in preliterate societies – scholars of comparative mythology have reconstructed details from inherited similarities in mythological concepts found in Indo-European languages, based on the assumption that parts of the Proto-Indo-Europeans' original belief systems survived in the daughter traditions. The Proto-Indo-European pantheon includes a number of securely reconstructed deities, since they are both cognates—linguistic siblings from a common origin—and associated with similar attributes and body of myths: such as , the daylight-sky god; his consort , the earth mother; his daughter , the dawn goddess; his sons the Divine Twins; and and , a solar deity and moon deity, respectively. Some deities, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vili And Vé
In Norse mythology, Vili ( ; Old Norse: ) and Vé ( ; O.N.: ) are the brothers of the god Odin (from Old Norse ''Óðinn''), sons of Bestla, daughter of Bölþorn; and Borr, son of Búri. Name The Old Norse theonym ''Vé'' (or ''Véi'') is cognate with Gothic ''weiha'' ('priest'), both stemming from Proto-Germanic *''wīhōn'', itself from the adjective *''wīhaz'', meaning 'holy' (cf. Goth. ''weihs'', Old High German ''wīh'')''.'' A related noun, *''wīhan'' ('sanctuary'), can also be reconstructed on the basis of Old Norse ''vé'' ('sanctuary'), Old English ''wēoh'' ('idol'), and Old Saxon ''wīh'' ('temple').' ''Vili'' transparently means 'will' in Old Norse. It stems from the Proto-Germanic noun *''weljōn'' ~ *''weljan'' ('will, wish'; cf. Gothic ''wilja'', Old English ''willa'', and Old High German ''willo''). Attestations In Proto-Norse, the three brothers' names were alliterating, *'' Wōdinaz, Wiljô, Wīhaz'', so that they can be taken as forming a triad o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Völuspá
''Völuspá'' (also ''Vǫluspá'', ''Vǫlospá'', or ''Vǫluspǫ́''; Old Norse: 'Prophecy of the völva, a seeress') is the best known poem of the ''Poetic Edda''. It dates back to the tenth century and tells the story from Norse Mythology of the creation of the world, its coming end, and its subsequent rebirth that is related to the audience by a völva addressing Odin. Her name is given twice as Heiðr. The poem is one of the most important primary sources for the study of Norse mythology. Parts of the poem appear in the ''Prose Edda'', but the earliest known wholly-preserved version of the poem is in the Codex Regius and Hauksbók manuscripts. Preservation Many of stanzas of ''Völuspá'' appear first in the Prose Edda (composed , of which the oldest extant manuscript dates from the beginning of the fourteenth century () in which the stanzas are quoted or paraphrased. The full poem is found in the Icelandic Codex Regius manuscript () and in the Haukr Erlendsson ''Hauk ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jörð
Jörð (), also named Fjorgyn or Hlodyn, is the personification of earth and a goddess in Norse mythology. She is the mother of the thunder god Thor and a sexual partner of Odin. Jörð is attested in Danish history , composed in the 12th century by Danish historian Saxo Grammaticus; the ''Poetic Edda'', compiled in the 13th century by an unknown individual or individuals; and the ''Prose Edda'', also composed in the 13th century. Her name is often employed in skaldic poetry and kennings as a poetic term for land or earth. Name Etymology Old Norse means 'earth, land', serving both as a common noun ('earth') and as a theonymic incarnation of the noun ('Earth-goddess'). It stems from Proto-Germanic ''*erþō''- ('earth, soil, land'), as evidenced by the Gothic , Old English , Old Saxon , or Old High German (OHG) . The Ancient Greek word (; 'earth') is also possibly related. The word is most likely cognate with Proto-Germanic ''*erwa'' or ''erwōn-'', meaning 'sand, soil' (cf ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 as the Nordic folklore of the modern period. The North Germanic languages, northernmost extension of Germanic mythology and stemming from Proto-Germanic folklore, Norse mythology consists of tales of various deities, beings, and heroes derived from numerous sources from both before and after the pagan period, including medieval manuscripts, archaeological representations, and folk tradition. The source texts mention numerous gods such as the thunder-god Thor, the Huginn and Muninn, raven-flanked god Odin, the goddess Freyja, and List of Germanic deities, numerous other deities. Most of the surviving mythology centers on the plights of the gods and their interaction with several other beings, such as humanity and the jötnar, beings who may be friends, lovers, foes, or family members of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
