CLT 3378 Ancient Mythology East and West Spring 2015 Lecture Outline Norse Creation and Afterlife Culture Norse Work read Prose Edda Author Snorri Sturluson Type of work prose Date of work c 1200 CE Language of work Old Norse sir Vanir and giants Norse Mythology Most of what we know comes from iceland I two families of Norse gods sir and Vanir a in the distant past there was a long war between sir and Vanir b they eventually made up Vanir live with sir aesir homeland Asgard II Vanir fertility gods a Njord sea god father of twins b and c b Frey god fertility of earth c Freyja goddess sexual desire giants often pursue her III giants j tnar a norse giants are not always gigantic b just family of related beings c Aesir and Vanir usually fight against the giants Norse Mythic Geography I no agreement between sources II ash tree Yggdrasil in middle of universe a sometimes called World Tree b supports universe c different levels of world located on different branches III Asgard Midgard Utgard Hel etc other realms all located on tree branches Norse Afterlife I two different death realms Valhalla and Hel II Valhalla not an underworld an above world above midguard a a hall in Asgard b for souls of warriors warriors slain in battle can women ever go to Valhalla c Odin in charge of Valhalla d Valkyries 1 female spirits of battle 2 valkyrja chooser of the slain go to battle field and choose slain warriors and escort them to Valhalla e warriors await Ragnarok that s why theyre in Valhalla huge battle good against 1 battle each other daily to train and stay in shape 2 feast on boar Saehrimnir which regenerates and they can eat it again 3 drink all the mead they want from goat Heidrun 4 Valhalla Norse idea of best afterlife paradise e at Ragnarok warriors sir good oden will lead them into battle against evil a underworld realm below Asgard Midgard b for souls that don t die in battle old age disease all women possible go there c Hel goddess queen of Hel in charge d Hel s face half blue black half flesh color e Hel place of gloom cold black half face might be frostbite f at Ragnarok souls from Hel j tnar evil in the big battle they are forces of evil evil III Hel IV Norns a goddesses of fate 3 3 is a bit suspicious b could be influence of Greek Fates 3 c many many Norns everyone has a norn at one s birth they determine length of life Odin Thor and Loki I Odin II Odin and cleverness a god of knowledge a king of sir b god of death in charge of Valhalla and cleverness c Odin s horse Sleipnir has 8 legs son of loki 1 had two ravens Hugin Thought and Munin Mind Memory 2 they travel all over the land then land on odins shoulder and tell Odin news b god of prophecy two stories story 1 symbolically sacrifices himself 1 ties himself up on Yggdrasil world tree 2 9 days after 9 days he is granted prophecy story 2 actually sacrifices eye 1 Mimir s Well wisdom on one of world trees root 2 If you pluck out your eye in drop it in my well you will get prophecy 2 root of Yggdrasil III Thor a storm god b son of Odin IV Thor in myth in stories about him a warrior strongman b prized possessions 1 hammer Mjollnir 2 iron gloves 3 belt increases strength c thor protects other gods from giants V worship of Thor a brings rain 1 farmers pray to him fertility 2 sailors pray for good weather b protector 1 protects the afterlife 2 gravegoods metal bits models of Mjollnir VI Loki a trickster god not culture hero doesn t help humans b purely mythic figure only exists in stories no worship c son of giant and goddess half breed never really fits in d outsider not really one of sir e shape shifter VII Loki as father a father mother of Sleipnir Loki mare shape shifts into female horse b by giantess father of 1 Fenrir wolf 2 Jormungand Midgard Serpent 3 Hel queen of hell c the Aesir know they will be dangerous VIII sir try to neutralize these 3 a Fenrir bound on leash b Jormungand put him in sea that is around earth c Hel put in Hel Time Periods in Norse Mythology I mythic past Creation of Universe a incl Loki becomes father of Fenrir Jormungand Hel enemies of sir b has already happened II mythic present sir vs giants j tnar a sir good gods create universe order world b giants forces of evil disorder chaos c Loki half giant half god d Loki for most part on side of sir during II e is happening now III mythic future Ragnarok and aftermath the battle a incl Loki as one of j tnar he switches sides to evil b will happen in future Prose Edda the reading I work by Snorri Sturluson 1179 1241 CE Icelandic author Christian only know for certain he wrote one section II Gylfaginning a means The Deluding of Gylfi b most valuable section of Prose Edda c best narrative of Norse mythology from Iceland the Icelandic people were last to convert to Christianity II Gylfi Swedish king magical newcomers a he has heard that there is magical newcomers called sir that moved in up north b he is a bit magical himself disguises himself as an old man Gangleri strider III sir magical newcomers live in great hall a dialogue between Gangleri gylfi in disguise and three sir b sir Norse mythology the myths come from the questions gangleri asks so tell me a sir can answer no more questions after they anser about raganarok b Christian Gangleri wins Q and A contest b c he knows more about the future c sir s hall vanishes as soon as the Aesir lose Q A contest Christian moral Norse IV frame story about thor V end of Gylfaginning because he is Christian rapture mythology is an illusion VI Christian message of Gylfaginning a Norse myth illusion b sir not gods Creation of Universe acc to Gylfaginning in prose edda I acoording to 3 Aesir in the beginning the void Ginnungagap II next two realms come to be within ginnungagap a Niflheim cold in north b Muspell fiery in south III interaction of a and b and melts ice and creates Ymir frost giant first being IV from Ymir s sweat frost giants V Audhumla cow melts out of ice a milk feeds Ymir b audhumla licks ice and out comes Buri first of sir VI Buri had son Bor mother frost giant a Bor Bestla daughter of a giant giantess Odin odin is at least half giant b Odin and brothers Vili Ve kill Ymir first frost giant VII flood of Ymir s blood b c hes so giant a all frost giants drown except b Bergelmir forst giant and wife take shelter in wooden …
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