#norse

[adventurespnw]

[ur-folk]

page from "Reallexikon der Germanischen Altertumskunde" (1911) by Johannes Hoops

[atomictavernwyvern]

An epic tribute to Viking legends and the fearless spirit of Norway. This premium vintage-inspired illustration features a massive dragon-headed longship charging through stormy seas beneath a distressed Norwegian flag sail.

[otherworldmythology]

Jörmungandr - Jǫrmungandr - Jormungandr

Middle child of Loki and Angrboða, thrown into the ocean encircling Midgard by Odin due to a prophecy. There he grew so large he encircled the entire realm and grabbed his own tail. He becomes a lifelong foe of the mighty god of thunder, Thor, the two meeting on various occasions. Notably Thor is tasked by the jötunn king Útgarða-Loki to lift a giant cat as a task, the cat secretly Jörmungandr in disguise with magic, and manages to lift a single paw off the ground; had he lifted the entire serpent he might have broken the realms. In another tale he goes fishing with Hymir, another jötunn, and uses a severed ox head as bait to fish, pulling the mighty serpent from the waves. In one version he kills the serpent with his hammer, but in the common retelling Jörmungandr bites the line and escapes back to the depths. Their final meeting will be at Ragnarök where Jörmungandr will release his tail, sending the sea into chaos and spewing poison into the air. Thor will kill him with a single blow from his hammer but will take nine steps, collapsing from the poisonous bite of the serpent.

Pantheon: Norse, Germanic

Domain or Function: Giant serpent that circles Midgard.

Alternate Names: Midgard Serpent, Miðgarðsormr (World Serpent).

Character Traits: Not given any direct character traits.

Visual Traits: Shown in art as a worm or serpent, sometimes with fishlike traits.

Symbolism: Ocean

Sources: 1 2

[parttimehealer]

I GOT A SCALE!!!!!!!

I have a lot of cool items in my viking collection, however, this might be the coolest. It's such a neat little item! It came with a set of weights too!!

[attilathehuntsman]

Hey, if you're looking for an easy shorthanded for my URL, you could shorten it to Atli. That's the Norse localization of Attila.

Did you know that Attila the Hun survived as a figure in Germanic folklore? They remembered him as a great tribal leader who stuck it to the Romans, so the Eddic literature basically made him a Norse chief with a great hall and proto-feudal relationships. Fascinating to think about.

Anyway, this whole post is mainly an excuse to tell you that but I was also thinking about how I like to shorten long mutual usernames for convenience and I'm like if you want a nickname for me besides Attila (to like, reduce ambiguity? I guess? How often do you talk about Huns?) that's available. I don't have an opinion either way I'm just putting options on the table.

But where I should go right now is bed.

[otherworldmythology]

Hel

Born of Loki and the giantess Angrboða, one of three prophecized children along with Fenrir and Jörmungandr said to aid in the end of days. Odin chose their fates to attempt to circumvent this prophecy, tossing Hel down to the blistering cold realm of Niflheim underneath the roots of Yggdrasil to rule over the dead. Here in her own domain named after herself she rules from her hall Éljúðnir, giving judgement to the dead who are not taken by Odin or Freyja. The truly wicked are sent down to the darkest depths, Niflhel, shrouded in eternal fog and forgotten. In the myth of the god Baldr she is approached by the god Hermóðr who begs her to let him go, but in response she claims all things must weep for him, and when the jötunness Þökk refuses he is left with her. At Ragnarök she does not directly participate, instead a ship made of the fingernails of the dead, Naglfar, will ferry "Hel's people" to the battlegrounds.

Pantheon: Norse

Domain or Function: Rules over the dead in Niflheim.

Alternate Names: None

Character Traits: Said to be cold and unfeeling, possibly even evil or mean.

Visual Traits: She is said to have a constant scowl on her face and her skin is half flesh-colored, half blue or black, possibly alluding to a corpse or rot in some way.

Symbolism: Roots of Yggdrasil, ice, fog, bones, fingernails.

Sources: 1 2