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Mythology > Norse Mythology > Flashcards

Norse Mythology Flashcards

Use this deck to get acquainted with the study of myths told in medieval Scandinavia. Although much of Nordic folklore comes from pre-Christian times, many aspects have survived to the present. Know your Vikings.

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Mythology flashcards
1
Q

Who is Odin?

A

The chief god of the Norse pantheon and the ruler of Asgard

  • God of battle, victory, magic, wisdom, poetry
  • Married to Frigg (a.k.a. Frigga)
  • Father of Baldur, Hod, Thor, and Vidar, among others
  • Has only one eye
  • Rides an eight-legged horse, Sleipnir
  • Sometimes portrayed with a wide-brimmed hat, a cloak, and a wooden staff
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2
Q

Who is Frigg/Frigga?

A

Chief goddess of the Aesir

  • Wife of Odin
  • Goddess of married women and childbirth
  • Mother of Baldr
  • Has the power of prophecy, but never reveals what she knows
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3
Q

Who is Thor?

A

God of thunderstorms, strength, healing, destruction

  • Wields the hammer Mjolnir, which has become a symbol of pagan pride
  • Red hair and beard
  • Battles the Midgard Serpent at Ragnarok
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4
Q

Who is Loki?

A

The trickster god

  • He is a jotunn but is sometimes considered one of the Aesir
  • Crafty and malicious
  • Often shapeshifts in order to fool others
  • Father of Hel, Fenrir, and the Midgard Serpent
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5
Q

Who is Hel?

A

Goddess who resides over the underworld, which shares her name

  • Daughter of Loki
  • Appointed by Odin to be ruler of the domain
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6
Q

What is the Midgard Serpent?

A

A giant sea serpent that encircles the earth

  • Also called Jormungandr
  • Offspring of Loki
  • Odin threw him into the ocean that encircles Midgard (the Earth)
  • The serpent then grew big enough to encircle the entire planet and bite his own tail
  • Jormungandr and Thor will kill each other at Ragnarok
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7
Q

Who is Fenrir?

A

A giant wolf

  • Offspring of Loki
  • Bound by the Aesir with a powerful ribbon
  • Will devour Odin at Ragnarok
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8
Q

Who are the Norns?

A

Female deities who determine the course of events

  • The three most important Norns are Urdr, Verdandi, and Skuldr
  • However, there are many other unnamed Norns
  • Comparable to the Fates in Greco-Roman mythology
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9
Q

Who is Freyja?

A

Goddess of love, beauty, and fertility

  • One of the Vanir
  • Has a cloak of falcon feathers and a chariot pulled by two cats
  • Resides over the afterlife land of Folkvangr
  • Sister of Freyr
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10
Q

Who are the Aesir?

A

The main group of gods in Norse mythology

  • Usually associated with themes of power and war
  • Waged a war with the Vanir
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11
Q

Who are the Vanir?

A

A less important group of gods in Norse mythology

  • Less commonly discussed and worshipped than the Aesir, but still important
  • Usually associated with agriculture and fertility
  • Waged a war with the Aesir
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12
Q

Who are the jotnar?

A

The race of giants in Norse mythology

  • Singular: jotunn
  • Often enemies of the Aesir and Vanir, but not always
  • Their homeworld is Jotunheim
  • The very first being created, Ymir, was a jotunn
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13
Q

Who is Idunn?

A

Goddess associated with youth and apples

  • Her apples grant eternal youth
  • Without them, the gods turn old and gray
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14
Q

Who is Freyr?

A

God of fertility

  • One of the Vanir
  • Considered to be the ancestor of the Swedish royal house
  • Brother of Freyja
  • Rides a boar
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15
Q

Who is Heimdallr?

A

Guard of Bifrost, the bridge from the mortal world (Midgard) to Asgard

  • Can see and hear for a thousand miles
  • Blows a horn called Gjallarhorn
  • Heimdallr and Loki will kill one another at Ragnarok
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16
Q

What is Yggdrasil?

A

A giant ash tree that connects the nine worlds of Norse cosmology

  • These include Asgard, Midgard (the human world), Vanaheimr, Jotunheim, and Hel
  • The dragon Nidhoggr gnaws at the roots
  • The squirrel Ratatoskr carries messages up and down the tree
  • Four deer run across its branches
17
Q

What is Ragnarok?

A

A series of events that will occur at the end of the world, including a great battle

  • Two great wolves will devour the sun and moon
  • The gods and jotnar will battle each other, and Odin will be eaten by the wolf Fenrir
  • Finally, all nine worlds will collapse in a series of natural disasters
  • A new, harmonious world will follow
18
Q

What is Valhalla?

A

Odin’s hall in Asgard

  • The afterlife destination of half the heroes who die on the battlefield (the other half go to Folkvangr)
  • Here they are trained for the final battle at Ragnarok
19
Q

Who are the valkyries?

A

Female deities who escort dead heroes to Valhalla

  • Ride winged horses and wear armor
  • Their travels through the sky were thought to cause Aurora Borealis
  • When the warriors in Valhalla are not busy preparing for Ragnarok, the valkyries serve them ale and mead
20
Q

What is Asgard?

A

The homeworld of the Aesir

21
Q

What is the Prose Edda?

A

A collection of writings authored and/or compiled by Snorri Sturluson around 1220 A.D.

  • One of the two major sources of Norse mythology
  • Quotes the Poetic Edda, which was discovered later
22
Q

What is the Poetic Edda?

A

A collection of Old Norse poems

  • One of the two major sources of Norse mythology
  • Preserved in a medieval manuscript called Codex Regius
  • Written earlier than the Prose Edda, but discovered later
23
Q

Briefly outline the Norse creation myth.

A
  • In the beginning, there was only the land of ice (Niflheim) and the land of fire (Muspelheim)
  • Between them, a frost giant named Ymir was born
  • Ymir gave rise to more giants, all of whom were nursed by the giant cow Audumbla
  • Audumbla fed herself on the frost and salt from the ice
  • From her giant salt link emerged the first god, Buri
  • The gods killed the giants and used their bodies to create the world, filling the space between Niflheim and Muspelheim
24
Q

Who is Baldr?

A

God of innocence, joy, purity

  • Son of Odin and Frigg
  • Extremely popular among the other gods
  • His death was brought about by the jealous Loki and mourned by all the gods
25
Q

What is Asatru?

A

A modern religion that revives Norse mythology

  • Also known as “Germanic Neopaganism”
  • One of several contemporary denominations of neopaganism
26
Q

Who is Tyr?

A

God of war, justice, and heroic victory

  • May have originally been the chief god of the pantheon
  • His right hand was bitten off by Fenrir
27
Q

What is Folkvangr?

A

A meadow ruled over by Freyja

  • The afterlife destination of half the heroes who die on the battlefield (the other half go to Valhalla)
  • Here they are trained for the final battle at Ragnarok
28
Q

What is Vanaheimr?

A

The home world of the Vanir

Mythology (3 decks)

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