In fact, Snorri's not-at-all mythological book Heimskringla (which retells stories of the Norwegian kings) contains a similar prologue, and it even mentions the events of the Prose Edda in passing. It's likely that Snorri didn't intend this mythological content to be taken at face value: The prologue and the end of the first section explicitly state that the work covers ancient, mythologized kings and heroes rather than true divinities. Drawing upon his vast knowledge of Norse mythology, therefore, he devoted half his book to retelling the myths in an educational manner, sourcing both older sagas and the Poetic Edda. It's difficult to accurately summarize his book it's believed to have begun as a simple collection of skaldic poetry, but as Snorri wrote, he's thought to have realized that most of his audience would miss many important mythological allusions. Younger Edda, Snorri's Edda or just plain Edda), a book that was written by the Icelandic historian and politician Snorri Sturluson sometime around 1225 CE. The oldest surviving copy of the Elder Edda was made in the late 13th century, though many of its poems are much older than that though how much is often quite unknown.Ī secondary source of canon is the Prose Edda (a.k.a. Perhaps the most important hero is Sigurd Fafnesbane, a man cognate to the Siegfried of German legend. Others give pithy advice ( Hávamál) or contain legends of the Aesir and the Vanir, while even more tell us about the heroic deeds of human beings.
This is a collection of both mythological and heroic poems the most famous, the Völuspá, relates the past creation of the world, the future death of the gods and burning of the world, and the beginning of the world to come. Even ignoring this, another problem arises: since Norse myth has no definitive canon, the myths differ considerably from place to place, according to the time and the purpose for which they were written.įor most researchers, the main source of canon is the Poetic Edda, also known as the Elder Edda or Codex Regius (as it was originally known). Consequently it's nearly impossible to tell which stories are Hijacked by Jesus, or how much they are, although academic theories abound. Many texts describing Norse beliefs have come down to us, but, aside from a few runic inscriptions and similar fragments, all were written at least a century after the turn to Christianity. It has been speculated that only chieftains and other wealthy people held faith in the Aesir, while the common farmers believed in land-spirits such as trolls and giants. Like most traditional polytheistic systems, it has no set canon and in some ways resembles a body of customary beliefs more than a set religion. It is a branch of the Proto-Indo-European mythological tradition, which also spawned the Celtic, Greek, and Vedic pantheons it's distinguished from those myths, however, by the fact that its gods are not only fallible, but also all mortal. At its height, the mythology covered most of Northern Europe, much of modern Germany and Austria, and parts of the British Isles it lasted longest in Scandinavia and Iceland, however, which produced most of its surviving texts. The Norse Mythology is a collection of stories derived from Germanic roots, following the lives of the Norse gods - the Aesir and the Vanir - and the men whose lives they directly affected. And thus the stories of gods, giants, men, and many other creatures besides begins. The gods Odin, Vili and Vé fashioned the earth from his flesh, his blood became the oceans, from his bones came the hills, his hair brought forth the trees, his brains formed the clouds, from his skull rose the heavens, and from his eyebrows the middle realm in which mankind lives, Midgard. From his arms he created a man and a woman, and from his legs created a monster. Water flowing from the poisonous streams of Niflheim coalesced here to create Ymir, the first jötunn, or giant. At the center of Ginnungagap, the heat and cold combined to form a "creating steam".
In the middle of the heat and cold, there was Ginnungagap, the great void, and the place of utter chaos. Niflheim, the realm of utter cold, and Muspelheim, the realm of blazing heat.
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