Norse Cosmoloy Flashcards
____ after the book of revelation, _____ was spreading and most of Europe was Christianized.
700
christianity
The contact between Christians and the North (the ______) had been limited, and that, until the ___ century.
Scandinavian
8th
Explain what happened on Lindisfarne. When did it happen.
793 CE.
Lindisfarne is a monster in Northern England. Vickings saw it as an easy target and attacked it: killed monks, burnt books.
Why were people shocked at the attack of Lindisfarne and what was the significance of this attack, particle-wise?
People were shocked because it was a place of god and knowledge. It was a sacred space.
Burnt books and no printing press so knowledge lost.
What is the significance of Lindisfarne in this course?
People were so shocked and scared that they saw this attack as an apocalyptic moment.
What is the book “The Lindisfarne Gospels”?
This is a book written by a monk between 715-720.
What kind of language emerged from the Viking attack at Lindisfarne? Use before v. after.
Before: whirlwinds, flashes of lightning and fiery dragons were seen in the air. (Natural disasters)
After: Outcome of the sins of the people who live there? Not by chance but because of guilt! (destruction because of sin)
What explains the Viking age? Period of settlements and explorations.
Overpopulation, not enough land for al the sons, so they raided and treated.
Viking were the first people to settle in _____.
Iceland
Eventually, Scandinavia lost its pagan way and became Christianized. Explain how we know the Viking culture then>
1- Viking culture survived in Iceland because it was far from the rest of the world. It became kind of a time capsule.
2- Language is still today so close to how it was 1000 years ago that they can still read it.
3- People of Iceland eventually wrote down their stories and myths and stuff - if it wasn’t for them we wouldn’t know about it.
Iceland was an ___ land before the Viking arrived. Explain the way they arranged their settlements.
Empty.
Everyone cut their little land and installed their little farm. There was no central authority - no towns or capital - but they did set up parliament where all farmers would settle disputes and set up laws.
Vikings were a _____ society. Of course
patriarchal
Explain what is the Saga Age? Dates
870-1056 CE
Period, in which they had started to differentiate themselves from Viking’s culture. They had become Christianized.
They wrote down their sagas (very violent). People started writing down old tales and stuff.
Name the two sagas we talked about in this course.
Egil’s saga
Njal’s Saga
Who is responsible for writing most of the sagas we know today? When was he active/alive?
Snorri Sturluson
1179-1241
On what were the sagas and Eddas written? How were they transmitted before
Calf Vellum
so excess of calfskin.
oral
Explain why without Snorri, we wouldn’t have the knowledge we have today.
Because he wrote down the sagas and the eddas that were once oral.
Explain the difference between a Sagas and Eddas
Sagas = about real people Eddas = myths about gods
Odin has a specific way of transporting himself. What is it?
A horse
What is the name of the place where 800 dead warriors go and party until Ragnarok?
Valhalla
What is the name of the dude who blows the horn (Gjall) to announce Ragnarok?
Heimdall
What is Midgard?
World of men
What is Niflheim?
world of the dead
What is the name of the three that holds the nine worlds together?
Yggdrasill
What is Asgard?
The world of the gods
Who is the trickster god and what is his role in Ragnarok?
Loki
Sides with the mean ones and will kill Heimdall before dying himself.
Name why we believe that part of Snorri’s version of the Ragnarok had been christened?
Snorri had read the book of revelation and Genesis (with Adam and Eve that look like Lif and Lifthrasir).
What are the effects of geography on Ragnarok?
Iceland as a lot of volcanos, ice and tectonic plaques. It is not surprising that those people assumed that ice and fire would be the end of them/ how the world had been created.
What does Ragnarok means? Translatin
Fate or twilight of the gods
What is the name of the winter of winters?
Fimbulvetr
Who eats the sun and moon?
Skill and Hati
Fenrir is let loose, what is his animal form?
Wolf
What is the name of the Midgard serpent that attacks the gods?
Jormungand
What is the name of the bridge between Midgard and Asgard? What did the Vikings try to explain which this?
bifrost
rainbows
What is the name of Hel’s ship? what is it made of?
Naglfar
Nails of the dead
What motif is present around the end of Ragnarok?
Battle
Thor fights____
the serpent
Odin fights _____
Fenrir
The nine worlds become a _____
furnace
what is the role of Heimdal?
waking up the soldiers that are in Valhalla
