Norse Mythology Flashcards
Old Norse work of literature written in Iceland during the early 13th century, assumed to have been written, or at least compiled, by Snorri Sturluson (It is considered the fullest and most detailed source for modern knowledge of Germanic mythology.)
Prose Edda
The World of fire, guarded by Surtr
Muspelheim
Odin’s second son, slain with a spear/arrow of mistletoe (crafted by Loki and thrown/shot by Höðr)
Baldr
God who sacrificed his arm to the monstrous wolf Fenrir, who bit off his limb while the gods bound the animal
Týr
The god’s name in Old English is Tíw, from which we get “Tuesday”
The personified Sun and sister of the personified Moon, Máni
Sól (or Sunna in German)
Sea jötunn associated with the ocean and husband of Rán. He is also known for being a friend of the gods and hosting elaborate parties for them.
Ægir
The pair of ravens that fly all over the world and bring information to the god Odin
Huginn and Muninn
Goddess associated with war, death, love, sex, beauty, fertility, gold, and seiðr. She is the owner of the necklace Brísingamen, rides a chariot pulled by two cats, is accompanied by the boar Hildisvíni, and possesses a cloak of falcon feathers.
Freyja (Old Norse for “(the) Lady”)
The World of the light elves, given to Freyr
Álfheimr
God of justice and reconciliation; the son of Baldr and Nanna
Forseti
A legendary hero who killed a dragon and was later murdered
Sigurðr (or Siegfried in German)
A figure in Norse mythology, renowned for his knowledge and wisdom, who was beheaded during the Æsir-Vanir War. Afterward, the god Odin carried around his head and it recited secret knowledge and counsel to him.
Mímir
Goddess associated with foresight and wisdom; the wife of Odin
Frigg
The modern attribution for an unnamed collection of Old Norse anonymous poems. Several versions exist, all primarily of text from the Icelandic medieval manuscript known as the Codex Regius.
Poetic Edda
Son of Odin born for the sole purpose of avenging Baldr, and does this by killing Höðr, who was an unwitting participant, and binding Loki with the entrails of his son Narfi. He grew to full adulthood within one day of his birth.
Váli
The World of the dark elves
Svartálfar
The female figures who choose those who may die in battle and those who may live. Selecting among half of those who die in battle (the other half go to the goddess Freyja’s afterlife field Fólkvangr), they take their chosen to Valhalla, ruled over by the god Odin, where they serve them mead.
valkyries
God who gave up his sword (which fights on its own) to Skírnir for the hand of the giantess Gerðr; he will die at Ragnarök, because he does not have his sword, fighting Surtr with an antler.
Frey(r)
Son of Freyr and Gerðr, claimed as the progenitor of the Swedish Yngling dynasty, reigning from Gamla Uppsala
Fjölnir
Jötunn and goddess associated with bowhunting, skiing, winter, and mountains
Skaði
The two wolves that accompany the god Odin
Geri and Freki
What animals does Thor use to pull his chariot? He eats and resurrects them every day.
two goats (Tanngrisnir and Tanngnjóstr)
God who possesses the resounding horn Gjallarhorn, is called the shining god and the whitest of the gods, and is the son of Nine Mothers. He is attested as possessing foreknowledge, keen eyesight and hearing, and keeps watch for invaders and the onset of Ragnarök while drinking fine mead in his dwelling, located where the burning rainbow bridge Bifröst meets the sky.
Heimdallr
Hammer-wielding god associated with thunder, lightning, storms, oak trees, strength, and the protection of mankind
Thor
The binding that holds the mighty wolf Fenrir, forged by the dwarves to be impossible to break from six supposedly impossible things:
The sound of a cat’s footfall
The beard of a woman
The roots of a mountain
The sinews of a bear
The breath of a fish
The spittle of a bird
Gleipnir
Meadow or field ruled over by the goddess Freyja where half of those that die in combat go upon death (the other half go to the god Odin in Valhalla)
Fólkvangr
The personified Moon and brother of the personified Sun, Sól
Máni
The horn of Heimdallr that he used to drink from the well of Mimir and make himself wise and that will sound at Ragnarök to awake and assemble the gods
Gjallarhorn
Virgin goddess associated with ploughing, who plowed away what is now lake Mälaren, Sweden, and with this land formed the island of Zealand, Denmark
Gefjon
The World of Mist, later the abode of Hel
Niflheim
The principal pantheon in Norse religion. This pantheon includes Odin, Frigg, Thor, Baldr and Týr
Æsir
The World of the dwarves
Niðavellir
Norse term for an entity often referred to as a giant, although they were not necessarily large. Includes deities such as Skaði and Gerðr.
jötunn (plural jötnar)
Female beings who rule the destiny of gods and men (roughly corresponding to the Fates)
Norns
The absent husband of the goddess Freyja, for whom she weeps tears of red gold and whom she seeks in faraway lands
Óðr
A goddess and the wife of Loki, who assists him in his captivity
Sigyn
Those who have died in battle and are brought to Valhalla by valkyries to prepare for the events of Ragnarök
einherjar
God associated with kingship, virility and prosperity, with sunshine and fair weather, and pictured as a phallic fertility god
Frey(r)
Shape-shifting trickster god, the son of Fárbauti and Laufey and the father of Hel, the wolf Fenrir, and the world serpent Jörmungandr et al
Loki
Earth goddess known for her golden hair who is the wife of Thor
Sif
The name for the World inhabited by humans
Midgard
A blind god and a son of Odin and Frigg. Tricked and guided by Loki, he shot the mistletoe arrow which was to slay the otherwise invulnerable Baldr.
Höðr (or Hod)
A series of events, including a great battle, foretold to lead to the deaths of Odin, Thor, Týr, Freyr, Heimdallr and Loki and natural disasters, after which, the world will resurface anew and fertile, the surviving and returning gods will meet and the world will be repopulated by two human survivors.
Ragnarök
Composer who borrowed characters and themes from Norse mythology to compose the four operas that make up Der Ring des Nibelungen
Richard Wagner
Goddess who is the confidante of Frigg; described as wearing a golden band and as tending to the ashen box and the footwear owned by the goddess Frigg
Fulla
The skaldic god of poetry, famous for his wisdom, eloquence and flowing speech. His wife is Iðunn.
Bragi
The rainbow bridge that reaches between Midgard (Earth) and Asgard, the realm of the gods
Bifröst
Daughter of Loki, appointed by Odin to rule over a land of the dead
Hel
God bound by Váli with the entrails of one of his sons. The goddess Skaði placed a serpent above him while that drips venom that his wife Sigyn collects into a bowl; however, she must empty the bowl when it is full, and the venom that drips in the meantime causes him to writhe in pain, thereby causing earthquakes
Loki
The World of the gods in which Valhalla is located
Asgard
The sons of Thor
Móði and Magni (whose names translate as Courage and Mighty)
God associated with vengeance; the son of Odin and the jötunn Gríðr foretold to avenge his father’s death by killing the wolf Fenrir at Ragnarök; known for his thick shoe
Víðarr
Primeval being, the ancester of all jötnar, who was slain by Odin, Vili and Vé and his body dismembered to create the world
Ymir
The World associated with the Vanir
Vanaheimr
God associated with the sea, seafaring, wind, and fishing; father of the deities Freyr and Freyja
Njörðr (or Njord)
Warrior god associated with archery and skiing
Ullr
The sea serpent that surrounds Midgard, grasping its own tail. When it releases its tail, Ragnarök will begin. It is the son of Loki and its arch-enemy is Thor
Jörmungandr
A son of the god Odin, often considered the messenger of the gods
Hermóðr
Goddess associated with apples and eternal youthfulness; the wife of the skaldic god Bragi
Iðunn (or Idun)
The dragon/serpent who gnaws at a root of the world; tree; also chews the corpses of the inhabitants of Náströnd in Hel (those guilty of murder, adultery, and oath-breaking)
Níðhöggr
A shieldmaiden or valkyrie who is instrumental in bringing about the death of the hero Sigurðr.
Brunhild
The immense mythical (ash) tree that connects the Nine Worlds
Yggdrasil
A group of gods associated with nature, fertility, wisdom, and the ability to see the future. This group includes Njörðr, and his children Freyr and Freyja.
Vanir
Monstrous wolf and a son of Loki, foretold to kill the god Odin during the events of Ragnarök
Fenrir
An eight-legged horse ridden by Odin, the child of Loki and Svaðilfari, described as the best of all horses
Sleipnir
The two humans who are foretold to survive the events of Ragnarök by hiding in a wood, and after the flames have abated, to repopulate the newly risen and fertile world
Líf and Lífþrasir
A ghost, spirit or deity associated with fate who can be either benevolent or antagonistic towards mortals
dís (plural dísir)
A dwarf who lived underneath a waterfall and had the power to change himself into a pike; he had a magical ring, which helped him become wealthy. Using a net provided by Ran, Loki caught him as a pike and forced him to give up his gold and ring and although he cursed the stolen gold.
Andvari
The squirrel who runs up and down the world tree Yggdrasil to carry messages between the eagle perched atop Yggdrasil, and the serpent Níðhöggr, who dwells beneath one of the three roots of the tree
Ratatoskr
The World of the giants, separated from Asgard by the river Ifing; the location of Mímir’s Well
Jötunheimr
Jötunn who guards Muspelheim and who, during the events of Ragnarök, will do battle with Freyr and the flames that he brings forth will engulf the Earth.
Surtr
The torc or necklace of the goddess Freyja
Brísingamen
The primeval void; in the northern part lay the intense cold mist Niflheim, and in the southern part lay the equally intense heat of Muspelheim.
Ginnungagap
A goddess and a personification of the sea. She and her husband Ægir, a jötunn who also personifies the sea, have nine daughters, who personify waves. The goddess is frequently associated with a net, which she uses to capture sea-goers.
Rán
The brothers of Odin who helped him slay Ymir
Vili and Vé
Odin is described as having hanged himself upside-down for nine days and nights on the cosmological tree Yggdrasil to gain knowledge of what?
the runic alphabet, which he passed on to humanity
The first two humans, created by the gods
Ask and Embla
The hammer of Thor
Mjölnir
Jötunn and earth goddess who was the wife of the god Freyr, who by him was the mother of Fjölnir, progenitor of the Swedish Yngling dynasty
Gerðr
Wife of Baldr who dies of grief after his death; she is placed on Baldr’s ship with his corpse and the two are set aflame and pushed out to sea
Nanna
A term used for a poet who composed at the courts of Scandinavian leaders during the Viking Age and into the Middle Ages.
skald
