Vikings Believed in Many Gods Or Goddesses

·  Vikings believed in many gods or goddesses

·  Each god or goddesses had an authority over some force of nature or feature of life.

·  Originated in the Bronze age period in North Europe during the first millennium BCE

·  By the middle of the first millennium deities were absorbed into the cult of Odin (or Woden, ‘the raging one’) rose to be chief of the pantheon worship by the Vikings

·  Rich mythology that is evident in their many sagas (epic stories) about the exploits of their gods and heroes

·  By end of the 11th century that had largely been absorbed into Christianity and disappeared

·  The origin of the universe is told in fabulously mytholo-poetic language that clearly reflects the beliefs and values of an animistic-polytheistic religion

Creation Story:

In the beginning snows and fogs from the cold northern land of Niflheim glowed against the flames and fires from the hot southern land of Muspelleim. Steam began to mix with freezing mist and flames licked at the banks of the ice and began to melt the frozen wetlands. From the melting ice two beings were formed, Ymer an evil spirit and Audhumla a peaceful cow. Ymer slept and sweated and from his sweat more frost giants began. These giants were huge, strong and brutal. When Ymer woke he discover Audhumla’s udder and began to suck. While he drank her milk, Audhumla licked the salty ice for nourishment. Three days later her tongue had uncovered a man-like being from the ice. His name was Bure. Bure in time had a son names Bor who married a frost giantess. Together they had three sons, Odin, Vile and Ve. These were the first of the Gods. Ymer had many children too who were frost giants and enemies of the gods. Ymer grew so large and was full of such evil that Odin, Vile and Ve could not live in peace with him. Finally they fell on his and slew him. Ymer’s blood rushed out drowning all but two of the frost giants Bergelmir and his wife who together created another race of frost giants forver opposed to the gods. Odin and his brothers took Ymer’s dead body and out it in the middle of the vast wetland where the blood he bleed formed a vast ocean. The brothers then pounded his flesh to create hills and rivers. Next they hacked his bones into mountains and shaped his toes and teeth into pebbles and rocks. His hair became trees and bushes. The left over of his rotting flesh formed the soil which a race of Dwarves emerged from like maggots. The brothers then commanded four Dwarves to hold up Ymer’s skull to create the sky. Odin then ordered a frost giants in the form of an eagle to stand at the end of the earth and flap it’s wings to create wind into which Odin throw Ymer’s brain which created clouds. The three brother collected handfuls of sparks that came from the primeval fires of Muspellheim and throw them into the sky to from stars that shone over the entire earth. Beyond the sea of endless water they lay the shores of Jotunheim, the home of the frost giants. One day the brothers were walking alone the shore where they found two tree trunks two different types. One an ash and the other an elm. From this they made the first man Ask and the first woman Embla who became the ancestors of human beings. Odin breathed the spirit of life into them, Vile gave them feelings and thoughts and Ve gave them the senses of hearing and sight.

Though this saga it reflects on the harsh climate and cold that the Vikings knew of in the northern part of the world. It demonstrates the deep spiritual view of the natural world and a willing acknowledgment of the gift of life from the gods.

Principal beliefs:

Yggdrasil, the World Tree

·  An enormous World Tree, giant ash tree known as Yggdrasil was what the Norse folk organised their cosmos around, which was the axis of the Nordic universe.

·  In this universe there was nine realms which each had a different part of the tree. The nine levels were Asgard, Vanaheim, Aflheim, Midgard, Jotunheim, Nidavllir, Svartalfeim, Niflheim and Muspellheim.

·  The branches of the tree spread over the whole world shading and protecting it. The roots of the tree supported the realms it contained.The very top branches fanned in the air of Asgard rustling against Valhalla which was the home of the heros who had done great deeds or had fought or died bravely in battle.

·  Yggdrasil had always existed and gave no signs of decay.

·  The tree gave life to everything that lived, gods, mortals, supernatural creatures and all other beings.

·  The tree reached all nine worlds and united them into a circle of life.

·  The tree was a source of unborn human souls

·  At the top of the tree there was three realms of the gods

·  Asgard was the city of heaven which was home to all the Aesir battle gods; it was where Odin lived in Valhalla and he was able to look down over everything he ruled.

·  Valhalla was the feasting hall of the gods

·  Vanaheim the home of the Vanir fertility gods

·  Aflheim the home of the Light Elves

·  In the middle of the tree was Midgard (middle earth) the mortal human world. It was surrounded by an ocean where the giant World Serpent Jormangandr swam.

·  Jotunheim was a realm of giants

·  Nidavellir home of the Dwarves

·  Savertalfeim land of the Dark Evil

·  Yggdrasil had three huge taproots which sank into the endless sacred spring. One root went down into the underworlds of Hel where met the froaen land of Niflheim and the fiery realm of Muspellheim. The roots them sank onto the dark spring named Hvergelmir.

·  Another root held tight in Jotunheim the giant’s home. The root sank into the ‘Spring of Wisdom’ which was known as Mimir named after the head of the giant that guarded it.

·  The third root reached up to Asgard where the gods lived. There it plunged into the ‘Spring of Fate’ named Urd after the eldest and wisest of the Three Norns who guarded it.

·  Between the gods city of Asgard and the humans realm of Midgard there lay Bifrost (‘trembling way’) a magical bridge most commonly recognised as a rainbow.

·  Bifrost was made of fire, air and water which gave the bridge its bright colours of red, blue and green.

·  The bridge was sometimes seen by humans in the human realm as a rainbow connecting heaven to earth.

·  Heimdall guarded the bridge and only let Gods pass over it.

·  The bridge of Bifrost was also seen as a stream of stars across the night sky called, The Milky Way.

Supernatural powers and deities:

·  The Nordic people believed that there were two races of deities which were the Aesir and the Vanir. These two races constantly fought until a truce was agreed to.

·  The saga stories tell that after years of constant war the Aesir deity finally defeated the Vanir deity. Due to surrendering terms the Vanir gods were still included in the Nordic pantheon along with the Aesir gods of battle.

·  Each race of deities continued to hold it’s own realm on the highest level of the World Tree.

·  Each day all the gods would meet around the world tree and held a council to decide what matters they were going to discuss.

Gods:

·  The highest and most holy Nordic god was Odin who was the god of the universe, wisdom and victory. He was the Lord of Hosts and the god of battle.

·  Odin was the god who welcomed the warriors who died in battle into the Valhalla.

·  Odin was often described wit the appearance of a middle-aged man with long curly hair and a beard.