Okay, we are back to kawaii-style artwork this week with the fourth of Loki’s children – Sleipnir. He is different from Loki’s other kids in a number of ways. First, although he does have eight legs, he is not a monster. Sleipnir, whose name means “slippery,” is a friend and servant of the gods and serves as the mount of Odin himself. Second, while Loki’s other kids were born to the giantess Angrboda, Sleipnir’s mother is… Loki. Yeah, confusing, I know. Loki is a shape-shifter. One time he needed to lure away a male stallion so Loki changed himself into a female mare. The plan worked and some time later Loki showed up with an eight-legged, grey foal. The sagas tell us “This is the horse Sleipnir, which excels all horses ever possessed by gods or men.” His most famous journey was when the god Hermod rode him to Hel while trying to free Baldur from the clutches of death.
Tag: Norse Mythology
5 Sources for Learning About Norse Myths
Part of writing is doing your research. Not that long ago this would have meant hours spent searching through dusty shelves and traveling to different libraries. Luckily we have the internet now and some great resources are brought right into our homes. This week I wanted to share some of the online resources I used while I was writing my novel Valda & the Valkyriesand it’s forthcoming sequel Valda Goes Through Hel. This isn’t meant to be an exhaustive list ( I have over 3 dozen links in my Norse reference bookmark folder) but it is certainly a great place to get started in your own studies.
The Viking Answer Lady
While there is information on this site about Norse mythology, the majority of it deals with various day to day information about the lives of the Vikings. Lots of good details to be found here about old Norse food, clothing, agriculture, warfare and more. Typical pages lay out solid information and give you a listing of resources where you can dig for more.
Sunnyway.com
This web site has a lot of information about the Norse runes. But, to quote them “The runes are inextricably bound to Norse mythology. One who aspires to be a user of runes needs a working knowledge of the mythology and writings of the runic era.” So what this site has done is put together an incredibly comprehensive listing of god, goddesses, giants, dwarves and wights. But they don’t stop there, going on to list different kennings and references and just tons more good stuff. They break it down into an alphabetical listing starting here.
Godchecker.com
This web site covers many different mythologies with a healthy dose of attitude. If you prefer a little snark and sass with your Norse research Godchecker.com is a good place to find information on over 102 gods, goddesses and various other creatures from the Norse mythos.
Wikipedia
While there have been questions from time to time about the accuracy of entries on this site, there is no argument that Wikipedia is the go-to site for online encyclopedias. So it’s no surprise that they have a lot of information on the Norse myths. The articles are generally well-written and close out with further reading suggestions and links. There is artwork referenced in many of the articles and those from Wikimedia Commons are even in the public domain and available for use.
Sacred-Texts.com
There is nothing like going straight to the source for your information. On this website you can find English translations of the Prose and Poetic Eddas along with many other sagas. Storytelling has not really changed that much over the centuries and the works found here are entertaining as well as educational.
Feel free to add any links that you’ve found useful in the comments!
Fast Facts About the Viking Undead
The Draugr
Zombies have been a mainstay of horror films and fiction for a long time. It’s not surprising to find out that they also had tales about them in the Norse sagas. There they were called draugr. I’ve been researching them since the draugr play a major part in my next book – Valda Goes Through Hel. Here are some fast facts about the Norse version of the undead.
Undead Sing the Blues
Although they were described sometimes as having pale flesh or skin as black as Hel, I think the scarier descriptions are those which tell about draugr with an evil blue skin color. The Norse were no strangers to living the rough life and we can expect they were intimately familiar with the various funky colors your skin can take on from various bruises and injuries. Imagine that sickly dark bluish tinge of a deep bruise covering every square inch of someone’s body. You would not want to run into something like that on a dark night.
Ch-ch-ch-changes
The draugr have also shown the ability to shape-shift. There stories where they assume the form of various creatures such as a seal, a bull, a horse and even a cat. While that last one doesn’t sound so menacing, once the draugr had assumed a cat’s form it would lay on the chest of a sleeping person and gradually get heavier and heavier until it crushed its victim to death.
That’s Heavy
It wasn’t just in feline form that the draugr possessed great weight. They were said to be heavier than a normal corpse. Some of them were described as having swollen bodies “as big as an ox.” This gave them great strength and they loved to use it to batter down doors and bash their way into the halls of the living. They would even indulge in an activity called house-riding. This consisted of the draugr climbing onto the roof of a house and drumming its heels against the roof to terrify everyone inside while they tried to bring down the rafters.
Hungry, Hungry Haugbui
Haugbui is another name for the undead. The name derives from the Norse word for barrows, or grave, so haugbui are grave-dwellers. The main difference seems to be that haugbui stayed relatively close to their graves while the draugr were more likely to roam the countryside. One of the traits that they did share was an immense hunger. There is a tale of a newly-risen draugr that eats the hunting hawk and dog that were buried with him. The next night he rises again and devours the horse that was buried with him. The third night he attempts to eat his friend who has been watching the gravesite. As a side note, that is indeed a good friend. Personally I think I would have been out of there after the first night.
While our Western image of the zombie draws more from the Caribbean influence of voodoo, it’s good to keep in mind the other traditions that have dealt with the undead. Norse mythology certainly has some great twists on the myths. If you want to read a more about draugr an excellent starting point would be this page from the Viking Answer Lady. Her site is a treasure trove of information about the ancient Norse and their ways.
More Kawaii Artwork
This week’s kawaii offering features Jormungandr. He is the colossal sea serpent that encircles the globe in Norse mythology. That’s really big, but I figure the guy couldn’t have been born that large even if his mother was a giant and his father was Loki. So we have my version of him when he was a wee lad.
This is the third in my series on Loki’s kids. We’ve covered Hela and Fenrir already so the only one left is Sleipnir. He’ll be racing onto the scene next week.
Talking About Trolls
Truly epic heroes need truly epic foes. I’ve talked about some of the heroes and creatures in Norse myths before now – this week we bring on the bad guys! The troll most of us know today has evolved considerably since ancient Norse times. The term started out as being a fairly generic term that could also describe a giant or an ogre. In some of the sagas the terms seem to be interchangeable. The one common thread is that trolls are almost never helpful to mankind. They “are perhaps not quite so huge (as giants) but strong, vigorous, unbalanced and nasty.” It was only under the influence of later Scandinavian folklore that the troll became a more distinct being and we see first mention of it being fairly unintelligent and turning to stone when exposed to sunlight.
Straight from the Source
One of the specific trolls mentioned in the Prose Edda is a unnamed troll woman. She tells the skald Bragi Boddason that “Trolls call me moon of dwelling-Rungnir, giant’s wealth-sucker, storm-sun’s bale, seeress’s friendly companion, guardian of corpse-fiord, swallower of heaven-wheel; what is a troll other than that?” So we have here established some associations with magic (seeress’ friendly companion) with the dead (corpse-fiord, meaning a grave) and with darkness (swallower of heaven-wheel – the sun.)
Tolkien’s Take on Trolls
The three trolls from The Hobbit follow closely along the lines of the mythical archetype – they are fairly stupid, large creatures who turn to stone when touched by sunlight. They also have a fondness for drinking beer. In LOTR Tolkien brings us many more examples of trolls, going so far as to break them down into different sub-categories: stone-troll, hill-troll, cave-troll etc… Treebeard the Ent says that trolls are a “mockery” of Ents. While some assume them to be a corruption of another lifeform, The Hobbit and LOTR both refer to sunlight turning trolls back into the stone from which they were made.
Detritus
Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series tends to go the comedic route with most things and their treatment of trolls reflects that. Pratchett’s take on the monsters has them constructed from stone. The exact stone varies from troll to troll and there are even trolls composed of brick and the notable Diamond King of trolls is made of the shiny gemstone. While he has done away with the blatantly evil part of the legend, Pratchett has kept the tendency of trolls to be dumb as, well, dumb as rocks. I like the variety of his trolls. They all have the same base core yet the stone they are composed of reflects their locale and origins. If you want to see how Pratchett handles them I would recommend Thud! There are some great scenes in there revolving around the down-on-his-luck troll named Brick.
The Boy Who Lived Through a Troll Attack
The fight with the troll in the girls’ bathroom is a pretty cool scene, especially in the movie version of HP&TSS. While it stays true to the idea of trolls as big and dumb, it doesn’t add much of anything to the lore. JK Rowling pretty much gave us the straight up troll mythos. I really debated whether or not to include this section. While it doesn’t add much to the troll mythos it is true to the older stories and it’s safe to assume that more people have seen this interpretation of trolls than any other one.
It Had to Be Goats
My first exposure to trolls was through the fairytale The Three Billy Goats Gruff in which a trio of goats defeat the troll who prevents them from crossing a bridge. The story is a Norse fairy tale that first saw print in the 1840s and saw it’s first English adaptaion ten or so years later. We can see here the early elements of trolls being evil creatures. We also see the size discrepancy that was common for the earliest depictions of trolls. It would have had to be a really large goat to knock down the sort of trolls we see in the LOTR or HP books. I do have to admit to not quite understanding why they were called “Gruff.” Granted the alliteration is there between goat and gruff. It’s interesting to note that the Norwegian words also begin with the same letter – bukkene and bruse. Maybe it was just to imply that these are the sort of rough and tumble goats that don’t let anyone push them around.
Hela Goes Squee
Okay, the other week I mentioned thinking about the Norse goddess Hela lately. Then I shared some kawaii artwork which featured her brother Fenrir. I had a picture of Hela done, but I wasn’t happy with it. It was a more modern take, making her into something of a Goth girl. While I like the concept, the execution just wasn’t working. I started from scratch and so this week I have a picture of Hela to share with you all. What do you think?
She’s smiling but my concept for these is that the children of Loki are still young and haven’t yet arrived at the grim junctures of their fates. So we can have her a little bit happy for awhile.
Two of Loki’s li’l ones down, two to go. I’m thinking I’ll feature Jormungandr next, thinking of a way to chibi-fy an 8-legged horse is a tough one.
Fenrir Pup
I’ve been thinking about the Norse goddess Hela lately, mainly because she plays an important role in the book I am writing Valda Goes Through Hel. I finished the first draft and have moved on to edits before I send the book off to my awesome group of readers. That means I am in the part of the book process where I don’t have to be as creative. So my mind is whipping off onto different tangents as it tends to do.
So I was thinking about Hela, which got me to thinking about the other children of Loki. There was Jormungandr, the sea monster better known as the Midgard Serpent. He eventually grew big enough to encircle the entire globe. There was Fenrir the giant wolf who bit off the hand of the god Tyr and is fated to kill Odin at Ragnarok. We also have Sleipnir, Odin’s 8-legged horse. Loki was not the father of this “best of horses,” he was the mother. Go here to read more about that if you want.
Definitely a strange batch of children and the thought popped into my head “I wonder what it was like raising that group of kids?” (I know normal people don’t think of things like that. I crossed that bridge many years ago, folks.) Thinking about them as kids lead me to doodling on the computer which lead me to today’s pictures. One of Loki’s li’l ones down, three to go.
Skurge’s Last Stand
I am a voracious reader, devouring almost any book I can get my hands on. When I was younger my reading diet included a lot of comic books. I have very fond memories of my mom walking me down to the corner drug store where I would spend my weekly allowance on a copy of Spiderman, Captain America or the Fantastic Four. I also found out there were comics about this Norse guy – Thor. I just ate that up. I loved reading the mythology books at the library. (The librarian once tried to get me to go over to the kids section with the other kids and I strongly informed her “No, I like these books.”) Now here were more adventures of the Norse God of thunder in comic book form. Even at a young age I knew that it wasn’t exactly Thor: he didn’t have the red hair and the beard; the mythical Thor didn’t turn into a mere mortal; and the Thor of the sagas never palled around with superheroes in the modern day. But I loved those comics because they were faithful to the spirit of Thor.
My hands down favorite issues of the Thor comics are all from the run of Walt Simonson. For two and a half years in the early 80’s Simonson wrote and drew some simply incredible stories. He updated the characters while keeping them true to the essence of who they were. There is so much to like in that run. Simonson wove a saga around the fire-demon Surtur which led to Ragnarok, the twilight of the gods. He had an unknown warrior from a race of aliens not only beating Thor in combat, but proving himself worthy to pick up Thor’s hammer. Yet I have no hesitation in naming my favorite issue from those 2 1/2 years – it has to be #362 “First Blood, Last Man.” The comic concerns a journey by Thor into the very bowels of Hel to rescue the souls of some mortals. Skurge, the Executioner is a long-time foe of Thor but he accompanies the god of thunder on his mission. Skurge had been, well, let’s be blunt and say he wasn’t the deepest of people. His character revolved around the idea of big strong guy with a magic ax to serve as a foil to Thor, the big strong guy with a magic hammer. But Simonson took this basic character and built him into a story that just resonates and thrills at the same time. Skurge’s actions are unexpected, yet they are a logical extension of who he is. I still get a little chill every time I read his final stand, even after all these years and all the times I have read it.
The Norse myths have inspired my writing, but Simonson has too. In my work I try to capture that sense of epic magnitude, where you can tell grand sweeping tales even if they focus on the actions of a small group, or even if they are just about one god or man or Dwarf girl making a stand for something they believes in.
Check out Walt Simonson’s Facebook page here.
Five Facts About the Valkyries
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What’s in a Name, Part 1
Let’s start off with the word Valkyrie itself. It comes from Old Norse and means “chooser of the slain.” The Valkyries were assigned to fly over the battlefields, looking for the bravest warriors. They would swoop down and capture the souls of the bravest of the brave and bring them back to Asgard. There are some references to the Valkyries actually going further than that and deciding who lives and who dies. (More on this in just a little bit.) They were also called Swan Maidens since they possessed magical cloaks that allowed them to transform themselves into these graceful birds.
The Ride of the Valkyries
Thanks to Wagner’s opera The Ring of the Nebilungs, this song has been immersed all over the place in popular culture. One of the more dramatic appearances was in the movie Apocalypse Now where the song is blasted out of loudspeakers that are strapped onto attacking helicopters. One detail that you might not know about the Valkyries is that in early times they didn’t ride horses – they rode wolves. While this doesn’t fit the image of Valkyries you see in famous paintings from the Romantic Period it is exactly what you could expect from the rough and ready Norse culture.
Don’t Stiff this Waitress
When the Einherjar warriors of Asgard were not fighting they were feasting and drinking. The Valkyrie were also called Cup-maidens, because it was their responsibility to serve the nightly mead to all of those thirsty warriors. We even have a Valkyrie named Ölrún, which roughly translates to “Ale rune” signifying a possible connection to the creation or serving of the nightly drinks.
What’s in a Name, Part 2
There are lists of names in the various eddas and other sagas. Valkyrie names tend towards the descriptive. This gives us names such as Geirdriful (spear-flinger,) Sanngriðr (very cruel,) and Brynhildr (bright battle.) The most common thread that you find running through the names is an association with either the spear, or with battle. We can find Norse examples that translate to: Spear-shaker, Noise-of-battle, Victory-urger, Sword-time and Axe-age.
The Fate of The Valkyries
The idea of Valkyries not just choosing from those who died in battle but choosing who will die in battle could be connected to one particular member of this band of warrior women – Skuld. Her name can be roughly translated as Future and not only is she a Valkyrie, she is also one of the Norns. As Wikipedia puts it so well, the Norns “are female beings who rule the destiny of gods and men, a kind of dísir comparable to the Fates in Greek mythology.” So it makes sense that at least one particular Valkyrie could be choosing which warriors are not going to make it through the battle.
I hope you’re enjoying this series on Norse mythology. If there’s any subject you’d like to hear about, let me know and I’ll see what I can do. You can also check out the other entries in this series.
Five Odd Things in Norse Mythology
Five Cool Creatures From Norse Mythology
Five Ways Dwarves Get No Respect
5 Odd Things in Norse Mythology
Norse mythology makes for some great reading but every now and then you can run across something that makes you scratch your head for a minute. This week I’ll be sharing some of the odder things I ran across.
Heimdal’s teeth
According to the Eddas “He also bears the appellation of the Gold-toothed, on account of his teeth being of pure gold…” I can understand his super hearing and extraordinary sight (Heimdal can hear the grass grow and can see for a hundred miles, day or night.) Those senses help Heimdal fulfill his role as the guardian of the rainbow bridge. I’m not as clear on the purpose of the golden teeth.
Ratatoskr
The Norse sagas are filled with mentions of all kinds of mighty creatures. There is the Fenris Wolf, there is the Midgard Serpent, and there is Ratatoskr, the Squirrel? Yes, a squirrel. Now, granted, he isn’t a creature of might and doesn’t serve the role of a monster. Ratatoskr’s sole purpose is to run up and down Yggdrasil the World Tree. He does this so he can serve as a messenger between the unnamed eagle who lives at the top and Nidhoggr, the wyrm who is chained at the bottom of the tree. If a squirrel carrying messages isn’t odd enough, the messages are said to consist of “slanderous gossip.”
Mimir’s Head
The problem with Mimir’s head is that it isn’t attached to his body. After the war between the Aesir and the Vanir gods was over, hostages were exchanged. Mimir was one of them. The Vanir were angry at the other hostage but instead of hurting him they cut off Mimir’s head and sent it to Odin as a sign of their displeasure. Odin preserved the head using herbs and set it up as the guardian of the Well of Knowledge.
The Four Corners of the World
Greek mythology gives us the myth of Atlas, a Titan who bore the weight of the sky on his mighty shoulders. The only other person who could master that task was Heracles, the mighty son of Zeus. So it required some serious strength to hold up the sky. Who did the Norse myths assign to this serious task? Was it Magni, son of Thor whose name actually means “strong?” No, in Norse myths the sky is held up by four Dwarves. Norðri, Suðri, Austri and Vestri serve in this important role. Their names mean North, South, East and West. It is a rare instance of the Dwarves getting a mention outside of their role as master craftsmen.
Ragnarok
The name of this event has been interpreted to mean either Fate of the Gods or Twilight of the Gods. It is often compared to the Christian vision of the Apocalypse but there is a big difference in that Ragnarok is not the end of everything. It is a time when brothers will fight and it is referred to as “an axe-age, a sword-age.” But after Ragnarok is done and the battles are over, a new golden age dawns upon the face of the earth. So it is about total warfare and the end of the world. But Ragnarok is also about the birth of a new and better time.
I hope you’re enjoying this series on Norse mythology. If there’s any subject you’d like to hear about, let me know and I’ll see what I can do. You can also check out the other entries in this series.
Five Cool Creatures From Norse Mythology
Five Ways Dwarves Get No Respect
Mark Neumayer 