Who is Hermod in Norse mythology?
Hermod. Hermod is best known from medieval Icelander Snorri Sturluson’s Prose Edda, from an episode in which he traveled to the underworld on Sleipnir, the horse of the god Odin. There, he unsuccessfully pleaded with Hel, the death goddess, to return his brother Baldur to the world of the living.
What is a hermit?
A hermit, or eremite ( adjectival form: hermitic or eremitic ), is a person who lives in seclusion. Eremitism plays a role in within a variety of religions.
Who is Grimnir in Norse mythology?
Grimnir – Pseudonym of Odin when he visits his foster son Geirrod, King of the Goths. Gullveig – A Vanir goddess (probably Freyja) who is burned three times by the Aesir. Harbard – Odin disguised as a ferryman when he wrangles with Thor.
Who are some Norse gods that are pseudonyms of Odin?
Grimnir – Pseudonym of Odin when he visits his foster son Geirrod, King of the Goths. Gullveig – A Vanir goddess (probably Freyja) who is burned three times by the Aesir. Harbard – Odin disguised as a ferryman when he wrangles with Thor. Heimdall – Watchman of the Norse gods and owner of the horn Gjall. Son of nine mothers.
Who is the Norse God of madness?
ÓðrIn Norse mythology, Óðr ([ˈoːðz̠]; Old Norse for the "Divine Madness, frantic, furious, vehement, eager", as a noun "mind, feeling" and also "song, poetry"; Orchard (1997) gives "the frenzied one") or Óð, sometimes anglicized as Odr or Od, is a figure associated with the major goddess Freyja.
Who is Hoenir?
Hœnir usually relied on Mimir. Hœnir is the god of silence, indecision , mystery and of avoidance. Hoenir is the travel companion of Odin and Loki and was also part of the creation of Ask and Embla. Hœnir goes with Mímir to the Vanir as hostage, in order to seal a truce to the Æsir-Vanir war.
Who is heimdallr?
Heimdall, Old Norse Heimdallr, in Norse mythology, the watchman of the gods. Called the shining god and whitest skinned of the gods, Heimdall dwelt at the entry to Asgard, where he guarded Bifrost, the rainbow bridge.
Who is the darkest Norse God?
Hodr is the blind Norse God of Darkness. He was the son of Odin, half-brother of Thor, Baldur, Týr, and Bragi, and the half-uncle of Magni and Modi.
Is Hoenir Odin's brother?
In some accounts of the creation of the world and the first humans, Hoenir is identified as Odin's brother and is credited with the actions of the god Vili. Hoenir was one of the Aesir gods exchanged as a hostage to the Vanir gods in the peace settlement after the war between the two groups.
What is Vali the god of?
Vali is one of the two Norse gods of vengeance, the other one being Vidar. Both are sons of Odin and both seem to exist almost exclusively for the purpose of delivering vengeance to those who harm other members of Odin's family.
Is Heimdallr a god?
Heimdall is the father of mankind and he teaches them many things, such as runes. He is a mysterious god who is linked with the Yggdrasil, the tree of life. One interpretation of his name is “The one who shines over the world”.
Who is stronger Heimdall or Odin?
Heimdall possesses the powers of a typical Asgardian, including superhuman strength, stamina, speed, agility and durability. However, he is generally stronger and more durable than all but a few Asgardians, such as Odin and Thor.
Who is stronger than Heimdall?
2/10 Most Powerful: Odin When his father Bor passed, Odin took leadership of Asgard and never looked back. He is the strongest Asgardian of them all, much stronger than Thor or Heimdall, and it is not just his strength.
Who is the most badass Norse God?
Odin. The supreme deity of Norse mythology and the greatest among the Norse gods was Odin, the Allfather of the Aesir. He was the awe-inspiring ruler of Asgard, and most revered immortal, who was on an unrelenting quest for knowledge with his two ravens, two wolves and the Valkyries.
Who is the 2nd strongest Norse God?
Thor (Old Norse: Þórr, Thórr) is Odin's youngest son and the second most powerful god. He is the god of thunder, master of the weather and the strongest warrior.
Who is the wisest Norse God?
Mimir, Old Norse Mímir, in Norse mythology, the wisest of the gods of the tribe Aesir; he was also believed to be a water spirit. Mimir was sent by the Aesir as a hostage to the rival gods (the Vanir), but he was decapitated and his head was returned to the Aesir.
Which god is FJOR?
Fjörgyn (or Jörð; Old Norse 'earth') is a personification of earth in Norse mythology, and the mother of the thunder god Thor, the son of Odin. The masculine form Fjörgynn is portrayed as the father of the goddess Frigg, the wife of Odin.
What is Hœnir the god of Norse mythology?
Hoenir or Hönir (Old Norse: Hœnir or Hønir) is a very shadowy god figure in Norse mythology, who joins the gods Loki and Odin on a couple of occasions in the old texts. He seems to have attributes of creation and prophecy, and his name might advert a bond with birds, possibly birds of omen.
Is Njord related to Odin?
Family. Njord was the twin brother of Nerthus, who was also his wife before he was sent to Asgard. With Nerthus he had two children, the twins Freyr and Freya. These twins were also married, but when they were sent to Asgard along with their father, Odin annulled their marriage as unnatural.
Are Odin and HAVI the same person?
Hávi, a variant form of Hár, one of the names of Odin, the chief god in Norse mythology.
What is the process of euhemerization in the Prose Edda?
The Prose Edda features layers of euhemerization, a process in which deities and supernatural beings are presented as having been either actual, magic-wielding human beings who have been deified in time or beings demonized by way of Christian mythology. Texts such as Heimskringla, composed in the 13th century by Snorri and Gesta Danorum, composed in Latin by Saxo Grammaticus in Denmark in the 12th century, are the results of heavy amounts of euhemerization.
What are runic inscriptions?
Objects and monuments such as the Rök runestone and the Kvinneby amulet feature runic inscriptions —texts written in the runic alphabet, the indigenous alphabet of the Germanic peoples—that mention figures and events from Norse mythology.
What is the saga corpus?
The saga corpus consists of thousands of tales recorded in Old Norse ranging from Icelandic family histories ( Sagas of Icelanders) to Migration period tales mentioning historic figures such as Attila the Hun ( legenda ry sagas ).
What is the purpose of the Prose Edda?
The Prose Edda was composed as a prose manual for producing skaldic poetry —traditional Old Norse poetry composed by skalds. Originally composed and transmitted orally, skaldic poetry utilizes alliterative verse, kennings, and several metrical forms. The Prose Edda presents numerous examples of works by various skalds from before and after the Christianization process and also frequently refers back to the poems found in the Poetic Edda. The Poetic Edda consists almost entirely of poems, with some prose narrative added, and this poetry— Eddic poetry—utilizes fewer kennings. In comparison to skaldic poetry, Eddic poetry is relatively unadorned.
What language is Norse?
Norse mythology is primarily attested in dialects of Old Norse, a North Germanic language spoken by the Scandinavian people during the European Middle Ages and the ancestor of modern Scandinavian languages.
What is the Viking revival?
During the modern period, the Romanticist Viking revival re-awoke an interest in the subject matter, and references to Norse mythology may now be found throughout modern popular culture. The myths have further been revived in a religious context among adherents of Germanic Neopaganism .
What is Norse mythology?
The northernmost extension of Germanic mythology and stemming from Proto-Germanic folklore, Norse mythology consists of tales of various deities, beings, and heroes derived from numerous sources from both before and after the pagan period, including medieval manuscripts, archaeological representations, and folk tradition.
What is the meaning of eremitic?
Bearing in mind that the meaning of the eremitic vocation is the Desert Theology of the Old Testament, it may be said that the desert of the urban hermit is that of their heart, purged through kenosis to be the dwelling place of God alone.
What is a hermit?
A hermit, or eremite ( adjectival form: hermitic or eremitic ), is a person who lives in seclusion. Hermits are a part of several sections of various religions and this concept has garnered significant attention and importance.
Where did hermits live?
In medieval times hermits were also found within or near cities where they might earn a living as a gate keeper or ferryman. In the 10th century, a rule for hermits living in a monastic community was written by Grimlaicus. In the 11th century, the life of the hermit gained recognition as a legitimate independent pathway to salvation. Many hermits in that century and the next came to be regarded as saints. From the Middle Ages and down to modern times, eremitic monasticism has also been practiced within the context of religious institutes in the Christian West.
What is the tradition of the Trappists?
Other orders that are essentially cenobitical, notably the Trappists, maintain a tradition under which individual monks or nuns who have reached a certain level of maturity within the community may pursue a hermit lifestyle on monastery grounds under the supervision of the abbot or abbess.
What religions have hermits?
Other religions, for example, Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam ( Sufism ), and Taoism, also have hermits in the sense of individuals living an ascetic form of life. In modern colloquial usage, "hermit" denotes anyone living apart from the rest of society, or simply participating in fewer social events, for any reason.
Which order of the cistercian order allows members to move to a cell suitable as a hermit?
The Cistercian, Trappist and Carmelite orders, which are essentially communal in nature, allow members who feel a calling to the eremitic life, after years living in the cenobium or community of the monastery, to move to a cell suitable as a hermitage on monastery grounds.
Where did the hermits appear in the Decameron?
One of the most famous stories, the tenth story of the third day, involves the seduction of a young girl by a hermit in the desert near Gafsa; it was judged to be so obscene that it was not translated into English until the 20th century.
Where did the Norse mythology originate?
Norse mythology comprises the pre-Christian beliefs and legends of the Scandinavian peoples including those who settled on Iceland where most of the written sources for Norse mythology were assembled. Many of these sources however are said to be tainted by the Christian bias of the writers.
Who are the Norse gods?
A List of The Norse Gods. Aegir – Norse God of the sea. Married to Ran and lives under the waves near the island of Hlesey. Aesir – A group of warrior gods led by Odin who inhabit Asgard. Balder – Son of Odin and Frigg. Known as a gentle and wise god. Killed accidentally by his brother Hod.
What is the alias of Odin?
Bolverk – The alias Odin adopted when disguised as a giant to win the mead of poetry.
What is the name of the land of warmth created after Ragnarok?
Okolnir – Land of warmth created after Ragnarok. Site of the hall of Brimnir.
What do Norse gods represent?
Many believe the Norse gods and the other mythological beings of ancient Scandanavia represent aspects of the self, our emotions and the many qualities that make up the psyche of the human self. mythological characters mythology norse gods norse myths.
Where is the Norse god Glitnir?
Gladsheim – Sanctuary of the Norse gods on the plain of Ida. Glitnir – Silver and gold hall of Forseti, son of Balder, in Asgard. Gnipahellir – Cave in front of Niflheim where the hound Garm is chained up. Helheim – The realm of the dead in Niflheim, ruled over by the monster Hel.
Where is Thor's realm?
Thrudheim – Thor’s realm in Asgard and site of his hall Bilskirnir.
What did Ran do to the Norse?
At an opportune moment, Ran would cast her net, ensnaring entire ships and their crew, and drag the sailors down to their watery graves where they would presumably spend the afterlife with her.
Who is the mother of Thor?
Jord is a goddess (and by some accounts also a giantess) whose main claim to fame is being the birth mother of the most popular of all Norse gods, Thor. This distinction alone places her in distinguished company, but some scholars suggest that it is what Jord represents rather than who she actually is, which is the most significant aspect of her role in Norse mythology.
What is the meaning of Friday in Norse mythology?
[2] It is believed that the day of the week Friday derives from an Old English term meaning “Frigg’s Day.”
Why did the Vikings perform special rites in Ran's honor?
So concerned with the prospect of perishing by the whims of Ran were the Vikings that they were known to perform special rites in her honor prior to embarking on their journeys in the hopes that she would spare their lives and allow them to return home safely. (Also see Did the Vikings Ever Reach America?)
Who is the goddess of apples?
Known in Norse mythology as the “maiden of the gods,” the goddess Idun is the keeper of enchanted golden apples that are the source of eternal youthfulness for the gods who consume them. [7] She also plays a key role in the mythological tale of the goddess Skadi for it is Idun who is kidnapped by Skadi’s father, and therefore indirectly tied to his death at the hands of Odin and the other Aesir gods.
Who killed Skaldi's father?
Skaldi’s father, Thiazi, kidnapped the goddess Idun and was subsequently killed by Odin during Idunn’s rescue. Armed to the teeth, Skaldi vowed to avenge her father’s death and threatened to take on all of the gods of Asgard by herself. (Also see Why Did the Vikings Worship Odin? )
Who is the goddess of skiing?
As befitting a popular deity among ancient Scandinavians, Skaldi not only oversees matters relating to hunting and winter, she is perhaps most famously viewed as the goddess of skiing.
Why did Hermod go to Hel?
Another typical account is the journey of Hermod to Hel to attempt to retrieve Baldur, who had been killed by Loki. While the account comes exclusively from Snorri, it matches the other pieces of this genre of underworld-journey narratives closely enough, both in its overall form and in small details, that we can be sure that Snorri relied on an older source or sources now lost to us. The relevant part of the story goes like this:
What did Snorri write about?
Snorri wrote many generations after Norse paganism had given way to Christianity and ceased to be a living tradition, and he had a habit of stretching the evidence available to him to present his pre-Christian ancestors as having anticipated aspects of Christianity. [6] .
What is the name of the underworld?
Hel (The Underworld) Hel ( Old Norse Hel, “Hidden;” [1] pronounced like the English word “Hell”) is the most general name for the underworld where many of the dead dwell. It’s presided over by a fearsome goddess whose name is also Hel.
Where is Hel in the book?
The common elements in Snorri’s and Saxo’s accounts seem to be the following: Hel was located underground – down and to the north, the realm of cold and general lifelessness. It was reached by descending from a higher point with the help of a guide – an unnamed (dead) woman in Hadding’s case, and Sleipnir in the Prose Edda and the poem Baldrs Draumar ( Baldur’s Dreams) in the Poetic Edda. After traveling through darkness and mist, the traveler would come to a river, perhaps a torrential river of water, but more commonly a river of clanging weapons. [19] There was a bridge over the river that one had to cross. After a time, one would finally arrive at the wall surrounding Hel. The dead presumably entered through the main gate, but those living beings who, for whatever reasons, undertook the journey to Hel seem to have thought it either impossible or unwise to enter through the gate. So they either found sneakier ways to cross into Hel or turned back.
What is Snorri's plate called?
His downright comically over-the-top portrayal of Hel is an excellent example of this tendency of his. For Snorri, the plate of the goddess Hel is called Hunger ( Hungr ), her servants Slow ( Ganglati) and Lazy ( Ganglöt ), the threshold of her door Stumbling Block ( Fallandaforað ), her bed Illness ( Kör ), and her curtains Bleak Misfortune ...
What do the dead do in Hel?
[5] The dead in Hel spend their time doing the same kinds of things that Viking Age men and women did: eating, drinking, fighting, sleeping, and so forth. It wasn’t a place of eternal bliss or torment as much as it was simply a continuation of life somewhere else.
What is the chicken that is thrown over the wall called?
The chicken being thrown over the wall of the underworld (variously called Helgrindr, “The Fence of Hel,” Nágrindr, “Corpse-Fence,” or Valgrindr, “The Fence of the Fallen” [13]) is especially intriguing. I have yet to see a convincing explanation as to its meaning, but it seems to correspond to a Norse funeral custom. The Arab traveler Ibn Fadlan recorded a scene he witnessed where a Norse chief had died and a woman was about to be killed to accompany him, and she cut off a hen’s head and threw it into the ship where her dead body would soon follow. [14]
Are there any online resources for literature that is equivalent to what Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy is to Philosophy?
Are there any online resources for literature that is equivalent to what Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy is to Philosophy?
Resources for reading Bulgakov?
Does anybody know any good secondary sources for Bulgakov, particularly Master and Margarita? I love the book and I love the tradition of the Russian novel, so I’m especially interested in uncovering Bulgakov’s sources/influences. Thanks!
What are the two major groups of Norse gods?
The Norse gods are divided into two major groups, the Aesir and Vanir, in addition to the giants who came first. Some believe the Vanir gods represent an older pantheon of the indigenous people whom the invading Indo-Europeans encountered. In the end, the Aesir, the newcomers, overcame and assimilated the Vanir.
Who is Odin's uncle?
Mimir is the wise one and Odin's uncle. He guards the well of wisdom under Yggdrasil. Once he is decapitated, Odin gets wisdom from the severed head. Nanna. In Norse mythology, Nanna is the daughter of Nef and Balder's wife. Nanna dies of grief at the death of Balder and is burnt with him on his funeral pyre.
Who is Thor's father?
Árni Magnússon Institute, Iceland. Thor is the Norse thunder god, the main enemy of the giants, and the son of Odin . The common man calls upon Thor in preference to his father, Odin.
Where is Odin from?
Odin on Sleipnir the 8-legged Horse, from the Historiska Museet, Stockholm. Odin is the head of the Aesir gods. Odin is the Norse god of war, poetry, wisdom, and death. He gathers his portion of the slain warriors in Valhalla. Odin has a spear, Grungir, that never misses.
Overview
Norse or Scandinavian mythology is the body of myths of the North Germanic peoples, stemming from Norse paganism and continuing after the Christianization of Scandinavia, and into the Scandinavian folklore of the modern period. The northernmost extension of Germanic mythology and stemming from Proto-Germanic folklore, Norse mythology consists of tales of various deities, …
Terminology
The historical religion of the Norse people is commonly referred to as Norse mythology. Other terms are Scandinavian mythology, North Germanic mythology or Nordic mythology.
Sources
Norse mythology is primarily attested in dialects of Old Norse, a North Germanic language spoken by the Scandinavian people during the European Middle Ages and the ancestor of modern Scandinavian languages. The majority of these Old Norse texts were created in Iceland, where the oral tradition stemming from the pre-Christian inhabitants of the island was collected and recorded in manuscri…
Mythology
Central to accounts of Norse mythology are the plights of the gods and their interaction with various other beings, such as with the jötnar, who may be friends, lovers, foes, or family members of the gods. Numerous gods are mentioned in the source texts. As evidenced by records of personal names and place names, the most popular god among the Scandinavians during the Vikin…
See also
• Alliterative verse
• Family tree of the Norse gods
• Project Runeberg
• List of Germanic deities
• List of valkyrie names in Norse mythology
Further reading
• Abram, Christopher (2011). Myths of the Pagan North: the Gods of the Norsemen. London: Continuum. ISBN 978-1-84725-247-0.
• Aðalsteinsson, Jón Hnefill (1998). A Piece of Horse Liver: Myth, Ritual and Folklore in Old Icelandic Sources (translated by Terry Gunnell & Joan Turville-Petre). Reykjavík: Félagsvísindastofnun. ISBN 9979-54-264-0.
External links
Media related to Norse mythology at Wikimedia Commons
Overview
A hermit, also known as an eremite (adjectival form: hermitic or eremitic) or solitary, is a person who lives in seclusion. Eremitism plays a role in a variety of religions.
Description
In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a Christian who lives the eremitic life out of a religious conviction, namely the Desert Theology of the Old Testament (i.e., the 40 years wandering in the desert that was meant to bring about a change of heart).
In the Christian tradition the eremitic life is an early form of monastic living that preceded the monastic life in the cenobium. In chapter 1, the Rule of St Benedict lists hermits among four kind…
Etymology
The word hermit comes from the Latin ĕrēmīta, the latinisation of the Greek ἐρημίτης (erēmitēs), "of the desert", which in turn comes from ἔρημος (erēmos), signifying "desert", "uninhabited", hence "desert-dweller"; adjective: "eremitic".
History
In the common Christian tradition the first known Christian hermit in Egypt was Paul of Thebes (fl. 3rd century), hence also called "St. Paul the first hermit". Antony of Egypt (fl. 4th century), often referred to as "Antony the Great", is perhaps the most renowned of all the early Christian hermits owing to the biography by Athanasius of Alexandria. An antecedent for Egyptian eremiticis…
Contemporary Christian life
Catholics who wish to live in eremitic monasticism may live that vocation as a hermit:
• in an eremitic order, for example Carthusian or Camaldolese (in the latter one affiliate oblates may also live as hermits)
• as a diocesan hermit under the canonical direction of their bishop (canon 603, see below)
Notable Christian hermits
• Paul of Thebes, 4th century, Egypt, regarded by St. Jerome as the first hermit
• Abba Or of Nitria, 4th century, Egypt.
• Anthony of Egypt, 4th century, Egypt, a Desert Father, regarded as the founder of Christian Monasticism
Other religions
From a religious point of view, the solitary life is a form of asceticism, wherein the hermit renounces worldly concerns and pleasures. This can be done for many reasons, including: to come closer to the deity or deities they worship or revere, to devote one's energies to self-liberation from saṃsāra, etc. This practice appears also in ancient Śramaṇa traditions, Buddhism, Jainism, Hindui…
In literature
• In medieval romances, the knight-errant frequently encounters hermits on his quest. Such a figure, generally a wise old man, would advise him. Knights searching for the Holy Grail, in particular, learn from a hermit the errors they must repent for, and the significance of their encounters, dreams, and visions. Evil wizards would sometimes pose as hermits, to explain their presence in the …