Germanic paganism

Vikings were an impactful group of people during the Middle Ages. Vikings were an intimidating group of people that defeated enemies, won battles, and influenced European culture. The viking religion influenced later religion. Their warfare strategies are still used today. Vikings were influential. Vikings were polytheistic in their religion. The vikings worshipped seven gods in their religion. “Viking gods were believed to be part of nature and could be as foolish as humans.” Odin, Thor, Freya, Loki, Balder, Idun, and Frey, The father of the gods was Odin, and he was the god of wisdom. Odin is missing an eye, and he gave that eye for wisdom and knowledge. Odin rode into battle on an 8 legged horse (Higgins, 2015). In the afterlife, vikings thought that they would go and be trained by Odin in preparation of a battle (Lamoureux, 2009). Thor was another of the main viking gods. Thor was the Viking strength and meteorology god. Thor has a goat carriage he rode on when he went to war. Freya was the main goddess in the viking religion. Freya rules Folkvangar where viking warriors killed in battle rest in the afterlife. Freya was the goddess of love, death, war, and beauty. Viking legend says that Freya is in search of her lost husband in the afterlife. Her carriage is pulled by cats. Loki was the god of mischief and he caused the other god trouble. Balder was the goodness god and had a strange weakness to mistletoe. Idun was in control of springtime and that made her the…

Germanic paganism- theology and religious practices of the Germanic people the the Iron Age until their Christianization during the Medieval period. ("Germanic Paganism.") Norse Mythology-body of mythology of the North Germanic people. ("Norse Mythology in”) Anglo-Saxon Mythology-belief of the existence of seven realms. Middangeard which is the human realm that we are in, and Neorxnawang which is heaven. (Wikipedia.) Continental Germanic Mythology-practiced in Central Europe, period of…

Paganism is an enormous religion. Like Christianity, it has many subsets within itself. This specific subset of Paganisms is the Norse Pagans. These Pagans focus themselves on Odinism. They call themselves the followers of Astru. This religion is an original, indigenous form of heathen religion. The word heathen and pagan are interchangeable, and synonymous. Odinism is a life affirming religion. They value everything that sustains, promotes, enriches and enhances life. The end of life to Pagans…

Even Hygelac, the seemingly righteous king, is much closer to a German chieftain than a man of God (Moorman 7). The paganism is more subtle than the Christianity, but it is much more integral to the poem. In contrast to Wilson, Charles Moorman sees “the Christianity expressed in the poem as it has come down to us is not a part of its original design” (4). In saying this, he means that the poem began as a pagan story. Pride is grafted into the epic, not as a sin, but as a part of the warrior code…

illustration to show loyalty because that is what is embodied in Beowulf 's guiding virtue. As he went to the Scyldings to assist them, the whole time he was receiving honor, glory, and treasures for his king back in Geatland. Even as King Hrothgar pleaded Beowulf not just to come back and visit but to stay with the Danes, Beowulf could not because his loyalties lied in his uncle 's kingdom. There are a lot of examples of Germanic heroic code in Beowulf such as loyalty, strength, and…

The English epic, Beowulf, though believed to be the story of the successes of one hero, really is a testament to the successes of the society that produced the hero. The ideals such as interlacing and comitatus that were so highly regarded by the society were the main factors in the successes of the Anglo Saxon people. The ideal of comitatus that permeates various aspects of Anglo Saxon society is indicative of the society in which a character such as Beowulf would have existed. Comitatus is a…

learn to define themselves” (Gardner 73). Along with other statements made by him, the dragon conveys to Grendel that the world is a machine and that life is meaningless. Grendel understands very well that he was making dialogue with a being that is the devil, which is the serpent, or the dragon in this case. Yet, despite Grendel’s intuition, he believes the dragon. Grendel admits, “He could lie. He was evil enough” (Gardner 71). Perhaps, Grendel accepted the teaching of the dragon because…

Surprisingly, the average person knows very little about Anglo-Saxon culture as well as Norse mythology, despite that fact that traditions, customs, and figures from these cultures permeate all aspects of modern society. From religious practices to pop culture, bits and pieces of Norse and Anglo-Saxon culture impact our daily lives. One of the greatest English Epics is Beowulf. Written in 9th century England, the text describes that tale of a mighty warrior who travels far and wide to defeat…

In the epic Beowulf, translated by Seamus Heaney, the concept of simplistic duality is expressed quite frequently. However, the opposite can be observed in the movie Beowulf & Grendel, directed by Sturla Gunnarsson. In this day and age, where moviegoers want their films to mirror the original plot of their favorite novels, why would the director of Beowulf and Grendel decide to make such a deviation? The answer lies in our modern culture. Because our culture differs greatly than that of the…

In the epic Beowulf, written by John Green and translated by Seamus Hanley, the concept of simplistic duality is utilized quite frequently. However, this is not the case in the movie, “Beowulf & Grendel”, directed by Sturla Gunnarsson. In this day and age, where moviegoers want their films to mirror the original plot of their favorite novels, why would the director of "Beowulf and Grendel" decide to make such a shift? The answer lies in our modern culture. Because our culture differs greatly…