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In Norse mythology, the acorn is the symbol of life, fecundity and immortality and is sacred to Thor.
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In Norse mythology, Aegir was the god of the sea, seashore and ocean and a son of Mistarblindi. He was a personification of the ocean, both good and bad. He caused storms with his anger and the skalds said a ship went into 'Aegir's wide jaws' when it wrecked.
Aegir was crowned with seaweed and always surrounded by nixies and mermaids while in his hall. Aegir's wife was Ran or Rana and they lived under the sea by the island Hlesey. Ran and Aegir had nine daughters who were the waves.
Aegir brewed ale for the gods after Thor brought him a big enough kettle. Every winter the gods would drink beer at Aegir's home. He was, therefore, famed for his hospitality. Gold was put onto the floor of the hall to provide light, instead of having a fire. Gold is therefore called Aegir's fire. The cups in Aegir's hall were always full, magically refilling themselves. Aegir had two servants in his hall, Fimafeng and Eldir. Sailors feared Aegir, and thought he would sometimes surface to destroy ships. Early Saxons made human sacrifices to a god of the sea, possibly connected with Aegir.
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The Aesir were the principal gods in Norse mythology. They lived in Asgard. Four of the gods were common to the Germanic nations: Odin, chief of the Aesir; Frigg Odin's wife; Tyr the god of war; and Thor the god of thunder. Some of the other important Aesir were Balder, Jord, Heimdall, and Loki.
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In Teutonic and Scandinavian mythology and folklore, an Alb (Alp or Alf) was a kind of being believed to have existed contemporaneously with man differing from man in some respects. The elf king Alfrigg or Elberich was an
Alb.
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In Norse mythology, the Alfar are the good and bad genii.
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In Norse mythology, Alfheim is the home of the elves and fairies.
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In Norse mythology, Alta was the giant mother of Heimdall.
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In Norse mythology, Alvis was a dwarf who wanted to marry Thor's daughter, Thrud. Unlike most suitors, Thor didn't challenge Alvis to a test of strength, but instead challenged him to a riddle contest. He spent the whole night asking Alvis questions until the day dawned and the rising sun turned
Alvis to stone.
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In Norse mythology, Angrbotha is the prophetic death goddess. The iron wood hag and Ogress of Giantland. A worker of calamity.
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In Norse mythology Asgard was the home of the gods.
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In Norse mythology, Asynjr is the generic term for female giants.
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In Norse mythology, Audhumla was the cow whose milk nourished the giant Ymir, and his race. Audhumla was created by Surt, and herself created Bor by licking salt from the snow.
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In Norse mythology, Balder or Baldur was the son of Odin and Freya and husband of Nanna, and the best, wisest, and most loved of all the gods. His mother took an oath from every creature, and even from every inanimate object, that they would not harm Balder, but omitted the mistletoe. Balder was therefore deemed invulnerable, and the other gods in sport flung stones and shot arrows at him without harming him. But the evil god Loki fashioned an arrow from the mistletoe and got Balder's blind brother Hoder to shoot it, himself guiding his aim. Balder fell dead, pierced to the heart, to the deep grief of all the gods. He is believed to be a personification of the brightness and beneficence of the sun.
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In Norse mythology, Balmung (also known as Gram) was a sword of Siegfried, forged by Wieland the Vulcan. Wieland in a trial of merit, clove Amilias, fellow smith, through steel helmet and armour down to the waist; but the cut was so fine that Amilias was not even aware that he was wounded until he attempted to move, where upon he fell into two pieces.
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In Norse mythology, Bergelmir was a frost giant, and the father of the Jotuns.
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In Norse mythology, a berserker was a warrior whose frenzy in battle transformed him into a wolf or bear howling and foaming at the mouth, and rendered him immune to sword and flame. From the name the term 'berserk' derives.
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In Norse mythology, Bertha is the goddess of spinning.
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In Norse mythology, Bifrost was the bridge between heaven and earth, visible as a rainbow, the colours being the light reflecting off the precious stones that comprised the bridge.
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In Norse mythology, Bor was the first man. He married Bestla, and was father of Odin, Vili, and Ve.
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In Norse mythology, Bragi is the god of poetry and eloquence. He was the son of Odin and the giantess Gunnlod, and was married to the goddess Iduna who dwelt in the underworld. After Odin learned the mysteries of writing, he taught them to Bragi by cutting runes on his tongue. Bragi was told to let them out like butterflies at banquets of the gods and in Valhalla in the form of poetry. Bragi was depicted as an old man with a long white beard. Loki called him Braggy and Windymouth.
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In Norse mythology, Brono was the son of Balder. He was the god of daylight.
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In Norse mythology, Bure was the first woman.
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In Norse mythology, Buri was the first god formed by Audumla licking ice. He was the father of Bor.
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In Norse mythology, Bylgja is a daughter of Aegir and Ran.
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In Norse mythology, the duegar are dwarfs who dwell in rocks and hills. They are noted for their strength, subtlety, magical powers and skill in metallurgy.
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In Norse mythology, the dyser are gods who conduct the souls of the dead to the palace of Odin.
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In Norse mythology, Edda was the goddess of myth and oral history and the inspiration of poets. From her came those who work the land.
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In Norse mythology, Eir was a goddess of healing, and considered the best doctor. She taught her art to women who were the only physicians in ancient Scandinavia.
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In Norse mythology Farbanti was a giant who ferried the dead over the waters to the underworld. He was the father of Loki.
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In Norse mythology, Fenris was the monstrous wolf of the god Loki. Fenris swallowed the god Odin but was stabbed to death by Odin's son, Vidar.
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In Norse mythology, Forseti is a god of justice. He is the son of Balder and Nanna and lives at Glitnir.
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In Norse mythology, Freki was one of the two wolves of Odin.
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In Norse mythology, Freya (Freyja) is the goddess of love, fertility, war, and wealth. Originally one of the Vanir. She was the daughter of Njord, and the sister of Frey. She lived in Folkvang and each day chose half of the slain warriors to split with Odin.
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In Norse mythology, Freyr was Odin in another form as the god of rain, sunshine and fruits. He married Gredr.
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In Norse mythology, Frigg is the goddess of marriage. She is the wife of Odin, and lives at Fensalir. She weaved the clouds.
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In Norse mythology, Fulla was attendant to Frigg taking care of the goddess' s shoes. She also, sometimes, functions as Frigg's messenger.
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In Norse mythology, Garm is a hound which stands in front of Hel's home and snarls with jaws dripping blood at the pilgrims from the upper world.
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In Norse mythology, Gefjon is a prophetic virgin goddess and a member of the Aesir and Vanir. All women who die virgins go to her hall. She was also a fertility goddess. In one myth, Gylfi, king of Sweden, tells Gefjon, who was disguised as a beggar, that she could have as much of Sweden as she could plough with four oxen in one day. She traveled to Jotunheim and found her four oxen sons whom she had by a giant. She returned to Sweden in Midgard with her sons and ploughed all of the land now known as Zealand so it became part of Denmark, thereby tricking Gylfi.
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In Norse mythology, Geirrod was a giant who lived in an iron castle. He was determined to punish Thor for killing Hrungnir, and to this end he captured Loki and tortured him until he agreed to trick Thor into visiting Geirrod's castle. Loki managed to ge Thor out of Asgard without his belt of strength, iron gloves and hammer, but on the way to Geirrod's castle Thor met and mated with the sorceress Grid who subsequently gave him another belt of strength, a pair of gloves and an unbreakable staff. Geirrod tried several attempts to kill Thor, until finally throwing a lump of red-hot iron at him at breakfast, which Thor caught in his gloves, and hurled back, the red-hot iron searing through the guts of Geirrod and killing him. This incident caused Thor never again to trust his former friend Loki, and is one aspect of the anatgonism between the gods which will one day culminate in the cosmic battle which will end the current cycle of the universe.
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In Norse mythology, Gerd is a giant goddess of light. She is the most beautiful of all creatures.
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In Norse mythology, Geri was one of the two wolves of Odin.
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In Norse mythology, Ginnunggap was the Yawning Void.
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In Norse mythology, Gioll was a river which surrounded the underworld, Hel.
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In Norse mythology, Gjalp was a daughter of Geirrod. She was stationed at the head-waters of the fast flowing river Vimur, with her menstraul blood gushing in such quantities that the river doubled its depth from one second to the next, the object being to drown Thor who was making his way to Geirrod's castle. However, Thor noticed what was happening and hurled a boulder which plugged Gjalp's vagina and stopped the flow.
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In Norse mythology, Gladsheim was the mansion in Asgard where the gods lived.
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In Norse mythology, Gleipnir is the chain which bounds Fenris. It is made from the footfalls of cats, the beards of women, the roots of mountains and the breath of fish.
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In Norse mythology, Gna was a handmaiden of Frigg who sent her on errands.
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In Norse mythology, Gold-comb is the cock who shall crow when ragnarok comes.
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In Norse mythology, Gotterdammerung is the end of the world.
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In Norse mythology, Greip was a daughter of Geirrod. She with her sister Gjalp tried to kill Thor by changing into a cat and, arching her back under Thor's chair, trying to crush Thor against the ceiling. However, Thor wedged his unbreakable staff between the chair and the ceiling and the two sisters broke their backs in the effort and died.
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In Norse mythology, gugner was a spear made by the dwarf Eitri and given to Odin. It never failed to hit and slay its mark in battle.
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In Norse mythology, Gulltopr was the horse of Heimdall.
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In Norse mythology, Gullveig was the thrice-born and thrice-burnt virgin. The Aesir's attempt to kill her brought about the first war in the world (the Vanir against the Aesir) which the Vanir won.
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In Norse mythology, Gungnir is Odin's spear, obtained from the Dwarves by Loki for Odin.
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In Norse mythology, Gunlad was the giant mother of poetry.
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In Norse mythology, Ham is a storm demon or weather spirit.
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In Norse mythology, Heimdall was the watchman of the bridge, Bifrost, which led to the underworld. He watches for the coming of the frost giants at the Ragnarok, at which time he will sound his horn Gjallar.
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Hel (Hela) was the Norse goddess of the underworld. She was a daughter of Loki and the giant Angurboda, and the sister of Fenrir and Jormungand.
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In Norse mythology, Hermod is a son of Odin and messenger of the gods. He rode to Hel's realm after the death of Balder to try and convince her to let Balder come back from the dead.
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In Norse mythology, Heyd is a storm demon or weather spirit.
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In Norse mythology, Hlin is a form of the goddess Frigg charged with protecting those men whom Frigg wants kept safe.
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In Norse mythology, Hodur (Hod) was a son of Odin. The blind god of winter, who is tricked by Loki into killing Balder. Vali avenged Balder's death by killing Hodur.
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In Norse mythology, Hoenir was divine intelligence. After the war between the Aesir and the Vanir, Hoenir was sent as a hostage to the Vanir and gave sense to the first humans.
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In Norse mythology, Hraesvelg was a gigantic eagle whose eyrie was the ice mountains in the extreme north of the universe. All the winds were its children sent out across creation by the flapping of its wings.
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In Norse mythology, Hresvelgr is a giant who lives in the extreme north and the motion of whose wings causes wind and tempest.
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In Norse mythology, Hrungnir was the strongest of the giants. He was a living mountain with flesh made from clay and a head and heart of stone. He continually got drunk and challenged the gods to races and contests of strength. He was smashed to rubble in a duel with Thor.
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In Norse mythology, Huldra was a form of the goddess Frigg, who was attended by wood nymphs.
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In Norse mythology, Hunin was a raven of thought which sat upon Odin's shoulder and brought him news everyday of what was occuring in the world.
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In Norse mythology, Iduna (or Idun) was the wife of Bragi. She kept golden apples in a box which the gods ate to keep themselves young. She was carried off by Thiassi and imprisoned in the nether world, from which she escaped in spring in the form of a bird.
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In Norse mythology, Jord (also known as Fjorgyn, or Hlodyn) is one of the Aesir, an earth goddess and giant, she was the mother of Thor and Frigg and the mistress of Odin (by whom she bore Thor).
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In Norse mythology, Jormungandr is the great dragon which lives in the Ocean- stream which runs around Midgard.
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In Norse mythology, Jotunheim is the abode of the giants. It is on the edge of the ocean far to the north east.
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In Norse mythology, Kaleda was the god of peace. He was celebrated on December the 24th.
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In Norse mythology, Kolga is a daughter of Aegir and Ran.
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In Norse mythology, Krake was a shape-shifter, a witch, who appeared at times as a beautiful virgin, at others a hag, a monster or a crow. The daughter of the Valkyrie Brunnhilde, Krake married the Danish king Ragnar Lodbrook and bore the son Sigurd.
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In Norse mythology the kraken is a sea monster, as large as, and resembling an island, which can drag down ships and plunges suddenly into the depths.
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In Norse mythology, Lodur gave appearance and speech to the first humans.
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In Norse mythology, Lofn was a goddess concerned with sparking passionate love. She had permission from Odin and Frigg to do so even for those who were forbidden to marry.
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In Norse mythology, Loki was one of the Aesir (the principal gods), but the cause of dissension among the gods, and the slayer of Balder. He became a member of the Aesir when Odin made Loki his blood brother. His children are the Midgard serpent Jormungander, which girdles the Earth; the wolf Fenris; and Hela, goddess of death.
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In Norse mythology, Magni is a son of Thor, he will survive the Ragnarok.
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In Norse mythology, Mimir or Mimer was a giant god of wisdom and knowledge. He dwelt by the ash-tree Yggdrasil, and owned the fountain of wisdom from which he allowed Odin to drink on his pledging an eye. Mimir, sent by Odin as a hostage, was beheaded by the Vanir. The head was subsequently embalmed by Odin and consulted as an oracle.
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In Norse mythology, Modi is a son of Thor, he will survive the Ragnarok.
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In Norse mythology, Munin was a raven of memory which sat on Odin's shoulder and along with Hunin brought Odin news each day of what was occuring in the world.
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In Norse mythology, Muspell or Muspellheim was one of the two worlds which existed before existence.
Muspell was a fire continent, the mirror image of the ice continent, Niflheim. Flames reaching out from Muspell touched the ice glaciers at the edge of Niflheim, thawing the ice and forming a frozen mist which eventually took form as the giant Ymir.
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In Norse mythology, Nanna is a moon goddess. She is the wife of Balder and mother of Forseti. She died of heartache after Balder's death and was burned with him on his funeral boat.
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In Norse mythology, Nastrand was the worst region of hell. It's roofs and doors were wattled with hissing snakes, ejecting poison and it was through this that murderers and perjurers were forced to wade as punishment.
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In Norse mythology, a Nicor was a sea-devil that ate sailors.
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In Norse mythology, Nidhogg is a dragon which devours the corpses of evil doers. He lives in Hwergelmir, in the realm of Hel.
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In Norse mythology, Niflheim was a world of ice and darkness centered on an icy spring which existed before creation. As its waters met the fire of the other primeval world Muspell they formed the giant Ymir and started creation.
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In Norse mythology, Njord is a sea god of fruitfulness who lives in Noa-tun. He was not a bodily impersonation, like Neptune, but rather the spirit of water and air.
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In Norse mythology, the Norn were three goddesses of fate - the goddess of the past (Urd), the goddess of the present (Verdandi), and the goddess of the future (Skuld).
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In Norse mythology, the Norns were three sisters responsible for the destiny of individuals and gods.
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Odin was chief god of Norse mythology. A sky god, he lived in Asgard, at the top of the world-tree, and from the Valkyries receives the souls of half of the heroic slain warriors, feasting with them in his great hall, Valhalla; the rest are feasted by Freya his wife.
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In Norse mythology, Ogres are creatures who make the storms and who with their iron clubs strike the earth and send it flying into the air.
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In Norse mythology, Outgard is the home of giants and monsters.
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In Norse mythology, ragnarok is the ultimate battle between good and evil from which a new order will come.
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In Norse mythology Ran (Rana) is the giant wife of Aegir, a sea goddess. It is she who uses a net to draw the sailors of sinking ships to their doom.
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Originally, the word rune denoted something occult or cryptic and early on became a synonym for knowledge and wisdom. Eventually the term came to denote the letters of the alphabet (the Futhorc) peculiar to the ancient Teutonic peoples of north west Europe. There are three runic alphabets; the Norse, with 16 characters, the Anglo-Saxon with 40 and the German. Saxon tradition ascribes the invention of the runes to Woden, but in reality they derive from the old Greek alphabet, as demonstrated by Isaac Taylor between 1879 and 1883, and they were introduced into northern Europe during the 6th and 7th centuries BC by the Greek colonists of Scythia. Dr Wimmer argued that they derived from the Latin alphabet. Their use reduced as the influence of the Church or Rome, with its own Roman characters, spread. They were used for casting spells as well as divining the future.
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A runic wand was a smooth willow wand inscribed with runic characters (runes) .
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In Norse mythology, Saga was the daughter of Odin. She was the goddess of poetry.
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Seidr was a form of Norse magic ascribed to Odin and Gullveig. It was mainly used for harmful purposes.
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In Norse mythology, Sif was a goddess of crops and fertility. She was married to Thor and represented with long blonde hair, which Loki cut off, only to be forced by Thor to persuade the dwarves to fashion a relistic replacement wig from gold. Being a loyal wife, Sif represented fidelity.
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In Norse mythology, Sjofn (Vjofn) was a goddess concerned with causing men and women to think of love. It was her duty to stop fights between married couples.
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In Norse mythology, Skadi was a mountain giantess. A goddess on skis. The snow-shoe goddess of winter and hunting.
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In Norse mythology, Skuld was the Norn of the future.
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In Norse mythology, Sleipnir was the swift horse ridden by Odin.
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In Norse mythology, Snotra was a wise and gentle goddess who knew the value of self-discipline.
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In Norse mythology, Surtr was a giant who lived in the extreme south, and whose flaming sword guarded the bounds of Muspell.
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In Norse mythology, Syn was a goddess invoked by defendents at a trial. She was an attendant of Frigg, guarding the door of Frigg's palace.
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In Norse mythology, Thiassi was the personification of winter. He was a giant who slay Thor and cast his eyes up into heaven where they shone thereafter as stars.
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In Norse mythology, Thor was the son of Odin and Jord, husband of Sif, and a member of the Aesir, he was the god of thunder and the friend of man and the main enemy of the giants, smashing their heads with his mighty hammer Mjollnir which to wield he needed iron gloves and a belt of strength. Mjollnir would return to Thor' s hand after being thrown and was symbolic of lightning. Thor rode around middle-earth in his wagon which was drawn by two goats. He lived at Thruthheim in his hall, Bilskinir. He was foremost of the gods to the common man, who would call on him to ensure fertility, and widely worshiped. Hammer shaped amulets, a symbol of Thor because it was his weapon, were worn about the neck well into the christianization of Scandinavia.
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In Norse mythology, Thrud was a daughter of Thor. The dwarf Alvis wanted to marry her but Thor tricked him into being above ground when the sun came up thus turning him into stone.
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In Icelandic mythology, Trolls were a race of cannibalistic giants. They appear in various Northern mythologies. In Norse mythology Trolls are represented as a type of goblin, stumpy, misshaped, hunchbacked dwarves who live in mounds and hills, inclined to thieving and of substituting one of their own for a human baby.
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In Norse mythology, Tyr was the god of war and athletic sports. Tyr had one hand bitten off by the wolf Fenris, after he put it in the wolf's mouth as a pledge of security when the wolf allowed himself to be bound in a net until the judgement day.
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In Norse mythology, Ulle (Ull or Uller) is the god of the chase, archery and hunting. His weapon was a longbow made out of Yew and he lived in Ydal. He was called upon for help in duels. He was the son of Thor and Sif.
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In Norse mythology, Urd was the Norn of the past.
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In Norse mythology valhalla is the paradise where the souls of dead warriors go to.
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In Norse mythology, Vali was the youngest of Odin's sons. His mother was the giantess Rind and he was born for the express purpose of avenging Balder's death - since the gods could not kill one of their own. When he was only one night old, he killed Hodur. He will be one of the seven Aesir to survive the ragnarok.
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In Norse mythology, Var is a goddess who punishes those who do not keep their marriage vows.
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In Norse mythology, Ve was a son of Bor and Bestla. Ve Killed the giant Ymir and created the world out of its carcass along with his brothers. He gave the first humans feeling, appearance, and speech.
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In Norse mythology, Verdandi was the Norn of the present.
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In Norse mythology, Vidar was a son of Odin and Grid, and had a twin brother named Vali. He dwelled in Vidi and was one of the strongest of the gods and was considered a god of vengance. It was said that in the ragnarok he would avenge his father by killing Fenris. He is one of the Aesir who will survive the final battle.
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In Norse mythology, Vili was a son of Bor and Bestla and a brother of Odin and Ve. Together with Odin and Ve, he killed the giant Ymir, created the cosmos out of Ymir's carcass and made the first man and woman. He gave the humans thought and motion.
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In Norse mythology, Vingulf was the mansion in Asgard where the godesses lived.
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In Norse mythology, Vithar was the god second in strength to Thor, and who would kill the wolf Fenris by wrentching the wolve's jaws asunder.
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In Norse mythology Vor was a goddess of marriage and contracts from whom nothing could be hidden because shewas so wise.
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Woden was the Anglo-Saxon form of the name of the god called Odin by the Norse.
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In Norse mythology, Yggdrasil is the oldest of all trees. It stands in the centre of the world and divides the planes.
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In Norse mythology Ymir is a giant. In the beginning there was just Ymir and Ginnunggap. Ymir was slain by Odin, Vili and Ve and out of his blood they made the sea, out of his flesh the earth and out of his bones the rocks and out of his skull the cavity of heaven.
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Abbreviations
Mythology
