Norse Mythology Essay

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Norse Mythology, also known as the Scandinavian mythology , is the body of mythology of the Northern Germanic people stemming from Norse paganism. Before the Norse people were converted to Christianity during the Middle Ages, they had their own sophisticated and complex indigenous religion. This religion never had a true name – those who practiced it just called it “tradition.”
This religion was commonly followed and practiced by people in northern regions of the world, such as Scandinavia, Norway, Iceland and surrounding countries.
Norse Religion involved the inclusion of narratives that gave life meaning and that helped people to make sense of the world. An example of this is the Prose Edda, an Old Norse work of literature made in Iceland
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It is the tree of life, of knowledge, of fate, of time and of space. Yggdrasil is the centre of the Norse religion, believed to bind together the nine worlds.
Ancient Norse Mythology was polytheistic and worshipped over 330 different deities. The gods were separated into two different tribes; The Aesir and the Vanir. The Aesir were generally associated with fire, air, war, power and the passionate aspects of being; whereas the Vanir were associated with earth, water, the natural and organic and were mainly connected with fertility, joy and peace.
Odin- the highest and holiest of the Nordic gods, he was the god of universal wisdom and victory, but was also associated with war, poetry, prophecy and the hunt. He is sometimes referred to the as the "Allfather" as he is the chief ruler of the realm of Asgard, home of the gods. His attributes include the spear Gungnir and his eight-footed horse Sleipnir. Only one of his eyes is functional as he traded the other for a drink from the Well of Wisdom which consequently gave him the gift of infinite
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Ragnarök, refers to a series of major events, including a great battle foretold to ultimately result in the death of a number of major figures (including the gods Odin, Thor, Freya, Heimdall, and Loki), the occurrence of various natural disasters, and the subsequent submersion of the world in water. Afterwards, the world resurfaces anew and fertile, the surviving gods meet, and the world is repopulated by two human survivors.
The start of Ragnarok is signaled by three continuous winters, with no summer in-between. Conflicts and feuds will break out, and all morality will disappear. The wolf Skoll will finally devour the sun, and his brother Hati will eat the moon, plunging the earth into darkness after the stars vanish from the sky. The rooster Fjalar will crow to the giants and the golden rooster Gullinkambi will crow to the gods. A third will raise the dead.
From the realm of the dead a ship will set sail, carrying the inhabitants of hell, with Loki as their helmsman. Heimdall, with his foresight, will see the enemies coming and use Gjallarhorn , [yahl-lahr-hawrn] to signal the start of the battle which will result in the death of most of the gods and giants

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