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brasideios · 1 year

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Then for a little interval he [Ragnar] rested from wars, and chanced to fall deeply in love with a certain woman. In order to find some means of approaching and winning her the more readily, he courted her father (Esbern) by showing him the most obliging and attentive kindness. He often invited him to banquets, and received him with lavish courtesy. When he came, he paid him the respect of rising, and when he sat, he honoured him with a seat next to himself. He also often comforted him with gifts, and at times with the most kindly speech.

The man saw that no merits of his own could be the cause of all this distinction, and casting over the matter every way in his mind, he perceived that the generosity of his monarch was caused by his love for his daughter, and that he coloured this lustful purpose with the name of kindness. But, that he might balk the cleverness of the lover, however well calculated, he had the girl watched all the more carefully that he saw her beset by secret aims and obstinate methods. But Ragnar, who was comforted by the surest tidings of her consent, went to the farmhouse in which she was kept, and fancying that love must find out a way, repaired alone to a certain peasant in a neighbouring lodging. In the morning he exchanged dress with the woman, and went in female attire, and stood by his mistress as she was unwinding wool. Cunningly, to avoid betrayal, he set his hands to the work of a maiden, though they were little skilled in the art. In the night he embraced the maiden and gained his desire.

When her time drew near, and the girl growing big, betrayed her outraged chastity, the father, not knowing to whom his daughter had given herself to be defiled, persisted in asking the girl herself who was the unknown seducer. She steadfastly affirmed that she had had no one to share her bed except her handmaid, and he made the affair over to the king to search into. He would not allow an innocent servant to be branded with an extraordinary charge, and was not ashamed to prove another's innocence by avowing his own guilt. By this generosity he partially removed the woman's reproach, and prevented an absurd report from being sown in the ears of the wicked. Also he added, that the son to be born of her was of his own line, and that he wished him to be named Ubbe.

When this son had grown up somewhat, his wit, despite his tender years, equalled the discernment of manhood. For he took to loving his mother, since she had had converse with a noble bed, but cast off all respect for his father, because he had stooped to a union too lowly.

from the Gesta Danorum, Saxo Grammaticus.

Thinking about Ubba again. It’s always dangerous dipping back into my caps!

#ubba ragnarsson #ubbe ragnarsson #gesta danorum #saxo grammaticus #there's a story trying to get out #and I am trying to keep it in #until I'm done with other things #I suspect it's going to win though #long post I guess

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dejahisashmom · 1 month

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Ragnar Lothbrok: A Real Viking Hero Whose Life Became Lost to Legend | Ancient Origins

Author’s Note: This is not a myth or religious/spiritual story. It has over time been mythologized. Really the only reason we decided to publish this particular article is because we here absolutely LOVE the History Channel’s show Vikings. Enjoy. https://www.ancient-origins.net/history-famous-people/ragnar-lothbrok-ferocious-viking-hero-became-myth-008177

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gaykarstaagforever · 1 month

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I'm reading an 1898 English translation of the 16th century Latin edition of what was at the time the last surviving cobbled-together copy of Saxo Grammaticus's History of the Danes (originally written in Ecclesiastical Latin).

Being that it was 1898 and these people had to be goofballs about everything, they did it in fakey King James English. And I guess they tried to maintain the Latin sentence structure, because every sentence is a paragraph long.

All that as it is, Saxo's preface to this is still 80% him warning the reader that he sucks at writing and doesn't really know what he's doing. But that even by 1208, the Danes are the only people in the area without an official Latin national history, and he has to write one now so they don't look stupid to all the other relatively-recent Christian converts. Because they AREN'T stupid, their last king kicked everyone else's ass, and also, have you seen all those stones laying around with runes carved on them? The Danes have totally always been smart and awesome, they just didn't have Latin to use until recently to point that out to everyone.

Then once he's done with that, he starts detailing how they live in a rocky part of the world with garbage farm land that floods all the damn time, and also Iceland has hot springs and this kick-ass volcano you should all totally go check out.

This is from 800 years ago, in Church Latin, and it's like a printed copy of some weird guy's website from 2005.

Note this is the same work where Shakespeare probably got the original Hamlet story from.

#saxo grammaticus #gesta danorum #denmark #danish history #vikings

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veliseraptor · 2 years

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i’m team “not all transformative works are fanfiction, fanfiction is a specific modern phenomenon founded on a specific relationship between reader and text that doesn’t require historical proofs to be a legitimate form” up until people start being snotty and obnoxious about it and then i am there going "hamlet is gesta danorum fanfiction”

#lise's aggressively bitchy opinions about irrelevant and unimportant matters #important text posts

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broomsick · 6 months

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List of interesting ressources pertaining to norse paganism, scandinavian folklore and history, and nordic religions in general

These are sources I have personally used in the context of my research, and which I've enjoyed and found useful. Please don’t mind if I missed this or that ressource, as for this post, I focused solely on my own preferences when it comes to research. I may add on to this list via reblog if other interesting sources come to my mind after this has been posted. Good luck on your research! And as always, my question box is open if you have any questions pertaining to my experiences and thoughts on paganism.

Mythology

The Viking Spirit: An Introduction to Norse Mythology and Religion

Dictionnary of Northern Mythology

The Prose and Poetic Eddas (online)

Grottasöngr: The Song of Grotti (online)

The Poetic Edda: Stories of the Norse Gods and Heroes

The Wanderer's Hávamál

The Song of Beowulf

Rauðúlfs Þáttr

The Penguin Book of Norse Myths: Gods of the Vikings (Kevin Crossley-Holland's are my favorite retellings)

Myths of the Norsemen From the Eddas and the Sagas (online) A source that's as old as the world, but still very complete and an interesting read.

The Elder Eddas of Saemung Sigfusson

Pocket Hávamál

Myths of the Pagan North: Gods of the Norsemen

Lore of the Vanir: A Brief Overview of the Vanir Gods

Anglo-Saxon and Norse Poems

Gods of the Ancient Northmen

Gods of the Ancient Northmen (online)

Two Icelandic Stories: Hreiðars Þáttr and Orms Þáttr

Two Icelandic Stories: Hreiðars Þáttr and Orms Þáttr (online)

Sagas

Two Sagas of Mythical Heroes: Hervor and Heidrek & Hrólf Kraki and His Champions (compiling the Hervarar saga ok Heiðreks and the Hrólfs saga kraka)

Icelandic Saga Database (website)

The Saga of the Jómsvíkings

The Heimskringla or the Chronicle of the Kings of Norway (online)

Stories and Ballads of the Far Past: Icelandic and Faroese

Heimskringla: History of the Kings of Norway

The Saga of the Volsungs: With the Saga of Ragnar Lothbrok

The Saga of the Volsungs (online) Interesting analysis, but this is another pretty old source.

The Story of the Volsungs (online) Morris and Magnusson translation

The Vinland Sagas

Hákon the Good's Saga (online)

History of religious practices

The Viking Way: Magic and Mind in Late Iron Age Scandinavia

Nordic Religions in the Viking Age

Agricola and Germania Tacitus' account of religion in nordic countries

Myths and Symbols in Pagan Europe: Early Scandinavian and Celtic Religions

Tacitus on Germany (online)

Scandinavia and the Viking Age

Viking Age Iceland

Landnámabók: Book of the Settlement of Iceland (online)

The Age of the Vikings

Gesta Danorum: The Danish History (Books I-IX)

The Sea Wolves: a History of the Vikings

The Viking World

Guta Lag: The Law of the Gotlanders (online)

The Pre-Christian Religions of the North This is a four-volume series I haven't read yet, but that I wish to acquire soon! It's the next research read I have planned.

Old Norse Folklore: Tradition, Innovation, and Performance in Medieval Scandinavia

Children of Ash and Elm: A History of the Vikings

The Penguin Historical Atlas of the Vikings by John Haywood

Landnámabók: Viking Settlers and Their Customs in Iceland

Nordic Tales: Folktales from Norway, Sweden, Finland, Iceland and Denmark For a little literary break from all the serious research! The stories are told in a way that can sometimes get repetitive, but it makes it easier to notice recurring patterns and themes within Scandinavian oral tradition.

Old Norse-Icelandic Literature: A Short Introduction

Saga Form, Oral Prehistory, and the Icelandic Social Context

An Early Meal: A Viking Age Cookbook and Culinary Oddyssey

Runes & Old Norse language

Uppland region runestones and their translations

Viking Language 1: Learn Old Norse, Runes, and Icelandic Sagas and Viking Language 2: The Old Norse Reader

Catalogue of the Manks Crosses with Runic Inscriptions

Old Norse - Old Icelandic: Concise Introduction to the Language of the Sagas

A Companion to Old Norse-Icelandic Literature and Culture

Nordic Runes: Understanding, Casting, and Interpreting the Ancient Viking Oracle

YouTube channels

Ocean Keltoi

Arith Härger

Old Halfdan

Jackson Crawford

Wolf the Red

Sigurboði Grétarsson

Grimfrost

(Reminder! The channel "The Wisdom of Odin", aka Jacob Toddson, is a known supporter of pseudo scientific theories and of the AFA, a folkist and white-supremacist organization, and he's been known to hold cult-like, dangerous rituals, as well as to use his UPG as truth and to ask for his followers to provide money for his building some kind of "real life viking hall", as supposedly asked to him by Óðinn himself. A source to avoid. But more on that here.)

Websites

The Troth

Norse Mythology for Smart People

Voluspa.org

Icelandic Saga Database

Skaldic Project

Life in Norway This is more of a tourist's ressources, but I find they publish loads of fascinating articles pertaining to Norway's history and its traditions.

#ressources #masterpost #heathenry #research #sources #norse paganism #norse gods #spirituality #polytheism #deity work #pagan #paganism #deities #norse polytheism #mythology #eddas #sagas

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city-of-ladies · 3 months

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“In discussing all these diverse images of armed and actively fighting women of Old Norse literature, and in critically acknowledging that many of the accounts that concern them were created several centuries after the events, it is easy to relegate them all to the sphere of fiction and to regard them as having no basis in historical reality whatsoever. But if we turn to other medieval sources, created independently of Old Norse literary tradition and stemming from different cultural milieus, we will find within them very similar patterns of the occasional female participation in martial activities. The two case studies reviewed above – namely that of Æthelflæd of Mercia and of the women who fought in the siege of Dorostolon – strongly support the idea that there could be some reality behind the stories of armed women that survive in Old Norse literature. Also other historical women of the Viking Age, especially those who stemmed from the highest echelons of society, were occasionally compelled to engage in endeavours associated with warfare and would oversee military operations. For instance, the great Princess Olga, who was the wife of Igor of Kiev, led her army against the Slavic tribe of Derevlians, devised her own impressive strategies and through all these initiatives gained recognition among her companions, regardless of her biological sex.

It thus feels highly unlikely that all these medieval accounts, including the famed descriptions of female warriors in Saxo Grammaticus’ Gesta Danorum, were only inspired by legends of the ancient Amazons and served as curiosa and literary embellishments to entertain the audience. As we shall see in the following chapters of this book, archaeological finds from across Scandinavia provide support for the idea that some Viking Age women did wield weapons and in one way or another found their place in the martial sphere.”

Women and Weapons in the Viking World: Amazons of the North, Leszek Gardela

#warriors #warrior women #history #women in history #women's history #viking women #shieldmaidens #vikings #medieval history #scandinavian history #historyblr

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skaldish · 7 months

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Is Tacitus a reliable narrator?

No. He never even visited Germanic Europe himself.

His research was conducted through a combination of a) hitting up the library, and b) finding a guy who knew a guy who knew a guy who MAY have visited the region, and paying that person to tell him what he knew.

I don't know why Germania was written, but the entire thing reads like an argument for why the Germanic people's primitive, ass-backwards idol-worshipers is just further evidence for Rome Being The Best And Most Glorious Civilization.

I recommend looking into Ahmad ibn Fadlan's work instead.

Another note:

It's always important to look at historic documents within the context of the societal and political values that informed the writing of it, rather than in the context for how they're anthropologically important to us now. The primary purpose behind many historical documents like Germania, the Prose Edda, Gesta Danorum, etc. was political, and political writing comes with an agenda.

None of these texts are capable of giving us insight into what the Old Norse people actually valued, or how they thought about the world. That would have needed to come from them in their own words.

#answered #norse paganism #germania #tacitus #history

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ghilliedubh · 3 months

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Vrinda: The Ivy Queen

Exploring the connections between the Norse goddess Rindr/Vrinda and ivy folklore

I am writing this with my mind swathed in a dark emerald green. Last Yule night I drew the rune Gebo, the Ivy card from my Ogham deck and the Queen of Swords. This painted an interesting picture in my head, of a green lady wandering amongst ivy-clad ruins. I dived into ivy folklore and mythology, researching who this might be. I visited Hebe, the Maenads and the various Green Ladies of Britain, but one particular solemn figure was sitting and waiting for me.

Very little is known of the Goddess Rindr and her name’s origin is obscure, but it is thought to be connected to a Gotlandic word for ivy, rind. A variation of her name, Vrindr, Wrinda or Vrinda (the name I prefer), can possibly be found in the Ostergotland place name Vrinnevi, the meaning of which would in that case be Vrindar-Vé (Vrindr’s Shrine). Oscar Lundberg proposed that she was therefore a fertility goddess represented by ivy or perhaps even made of it. The theory of her being connected to Vrinnevi has been debated, and some argue that the place name simply means “Ivy forest”. Even so, the similarity between the name Rindr and the word rind is hard to ignore and I strongly feel that she is represented by ivy as Lundberg suggests. Previously I had only known her as some kind of winter goddess and as the unwilling bearer of Óðinn’s son, Váli. This connection to the ivy plant opened up a whole new dimension of her.

I want to start by criticizing Patricia Telesco’s interpretation of Vrinda being a goddess of accepting uncomfortable changes. That just as winter yields to spring, so does Vrinda yield to the advances of Óðinn and become warm and fertile. Whether or not Vrinda’s myth is a metaphor for the changing of seasons, I find it appalling that someone would look at a story about sexual assault and draw from it the lesson that one should not fight “positive change”. Change can be good, but that attitude in this context is disgusting and disrespectful to all that have had to go through such a horrible experience. Now, moving on…

First there is the madness. The maenads were wild, ecstatic worshipers of Dionysus who wore ivy. Often willing participants of the frenzy, but sometimes forced. In Gesta Danorum the tale is told of how Óðinn, when thrice rejected by Vrinda, uses magic to drive her mad and then ill. Disguised as a medicine woman called Wecha, Óðinn tells her father that he can cure her but it would cause a violent reaction. Vrinda is tied to her bed and Óðinn proceeds to commit one of his ugliest crimes. I connect these two instances of forced madness with certain properties of the ivy; ingesting the leaves can cause delirium, convulsions and even hallucinations. Surprisingly, wearing crowns of ivy was believed to prevent drunkenness. To me, all of the above makes Vrinda a goddess of madness, but as a sufferer. We who may have bouts of bad mental health may find comfort in her.

Next I want to talk about the Green Ladies of Britain, specifically the melancholy yet usually benevolent ghosts that haunt castles. The Green Ladies are dead but are still kind, often protecting living residents of their haunts. The Green Lady of Huntingtower Castle in Perthshire (known as Lady Greensleeves) is said to have healed a young boy who lived in a house on the estate. Ivy was also seen as a protective plant in Britain.This protective element also be a domain of Vrinda, John McKinnell writes about a kenning for a warrior in the saga of Guðmundur Arason, serkja Rindar Sannr. Sannr is a name of Óðinn meaning “truth”, Rindar serkur would be “Rindur’s serk”. According to McKinnell this hints that she may have been able to enchant clothing to work as a protective charm. But back to the Green Ladies. Most of them are thought to be the ghosts of particular women of noble lineage that lived in the castles and were usually killed in horrible ways. The Green Lady of Caerphilly Castle is the ghost of Alice de la Marche of France who died of shock when she learned of her husband’s men killing her lover. I mention her specifically because of her ability to blend into the ivy that grows on the castle walls. The ivy in this story feels like a very appropriate symbol and I feel it could be extended to the rest of the Green Ladies. Ivy clings to ruins, it clings to trees long after they die. I want to quote the first stanza of Henry Kendall’s The Ivy on the Wall:

The verdant ivy clings around

Yon moss be-mantled wall,

As if it sought to hide the stones,

That crumbling soon must fall:

That relic of a bygone age

Now tottering to decay,

Has but one friend—the ivy—left.

The rest have passed away.

I believe this sentiment lives with Vrinda. In this aspect, she is a goddess of mourning and trauma, of yearning for the irretrievable past. But at the same time she is a goddess of protection and overcoming hardships and devastation. As ivy holds together and decorates the weathered stones of an old castle, so too can Vrinda help hold together our broken hearts and shattered selves.

Then there is winter. I have read many articles and blogs online written by pagans associating Vrinda with winter and almost nothing else. I never actually saw mentioned any concrete reason for it, but now that I have become aware of her ivy realm it has become obvious. Most people are familiar with the carol The Holly and the Ivy. Both plants are evergreen and are part of a family of yule plants alongside mistletoe and yew. Ivy and Holly historically represented the feminine vs masculine, in parts of England there are still dances between the Holly boy and the Ivy girl. It was supposedly custom once for men and women to light-heartedly taunt each other through song. Sadly it seems mostly the songs praising Holly have been preserved, an example is the following verse:

Nay, Ivy, nay; it shall not be i-wys ;

Let Holly hafe the maystery, as the manner is.

Holly stond in the Halle fayre to behold;

Ivy stond without the dore; she is full sore acold.

Holly and his merry men they dancyn and they sing.

Ivy and hur maidens they wepyn and they wryng.

(Ballad from the time of Henry VI)

In a more positive light, holly and ivy feature in a poem by Henry VIII called Green Groweth the Holly. Here ivy's steadfast color throughout winter symbolizes fidelity. It is a charming poem if a bit ironic, since Henry himself wasn’t exactly a paragon of fidelity. I’ll let you read the third and fourth verse:

As the holly groweth green

With ivy all alone

When flowers cannot be seen

And greenwood leaves be gone,

Now unto my lady

Promise to her I make,

From all other only

To her I me betake.

It is not strange that Henry made this connection. In the language of flowers ivy represents fidelity, wedded love and friendship. Ancient Greek brides would carry ivy as a symbol of undying love and sprigs of it are often found in wedding bouquets today. I think ivy being an evergreen as well as it’s ability to cling tightly are good reasons for it being a symbol for faithful love. We also see generosity and kindness as ivy provides berries for birds in winter. These aspects all together give me the feeling that, yes, Vrinda is a winter goddess. However, I feel she is more a goddess of persevering winter, rather than a goddess of the frost and cold itself. She stays living, green and fruitful when other plants lie dead. Her love persists through hardships. Winter or summer, it holds on.

Just before I conclude I’d like to touch upon animal associations. There is not a lot to work with, but the color and winding tendencies of ivy invoke the spirit of a serpent. Perhaps an adder, with its ivy-like pattern and ability to hibernate. The adder, like the ivy, is also toxic. The maenads wore serpents as well as ivy so it's not entirely far-fetched to see snakes as a favorite of Vrinda, but I’m not sure how well it fits. Perhaps the wren, a bird often seen darting through ivy bushes and has connections to winter. The word “wren” is of obscure origin but the words wren, rind (the Gotland word for ivy) and rindill (the Icelandic word for wren) sound curiously similar to Wrinda and Rindur.

Then there are owls. In Britain ivy has a special relationship with the tawny owl, which is sometimes even called an ivy-owl. Most people are familiar with owls being traditionally associated with death, but it may surprise some that ivy is so as well. This seems contradictory to it’s tolerance of winter, the death of the year, but this association likely stems again from fidelity as well as ivy’s tendency to grow over tombstones. Ivy was also a frequent motif on headstones and there it likely represents immortality and eternal life. Both snakes and owls are carved on headstones too. Ivy was also used to foretell death.

This association with death ties well in with the aforementioned Green Ladies. Owls and ivy are paired together in the idiom “like an owl in an ivy-bush”, which is used to describe a person with a vacant stare (usually due to drunkenness) or in some cases those with a frightened and dishevelled appearance. I almost forgot to mention that tawny owls usually mate for life, fidelity again. Finally, the carol I mentioned earlier has a couple of verses mentioning owls:

Ivy hath berries black as any sloe;

There come the owl and eat him as she go

…

Good ivy, what birds hast thou?

None but the owlet that cries how, how.

That brings us to the end. It’s quite bold of me, I know, to just give Vrinda all these associations purely based on ivy folklore and mythology. However, I feel so uncomfortable just leaving her bound to that one, grisly story of her impregnation. It’s unfair. I really do feel she may have shown herself to me that Yule night, or at least an aspect of herself, and I’d rather she lived in my mind as a lush and complex entity. Maybe I am getting lost in a thick forest of wishful thinking but maybe, like the Green Lady of Caerphilly Castle, she has indeed been hiding in the ivy.

Vrinda the broken, Vrinda the crazed,

Vrinda the wanderer of ruins and graves.

Vrinda the devoted, Vrinda the evergeen.

Vrinda the beautiful, unwavering Ivy Queen

Hrafnsunna Ross

Sources and further reading:

On English ivy folklore and mythology:

http://khkeeler.blogspot.com/2021/10/plant-story-folklore-of-english-ivy.html

https://interestingliterature.com/2021/05/ivy-symbolism-in-literature-religion-mythology-analysis-meaning/

https://from-bedroom-to-study.blogspot.com/2012/12/the-hedonistic-history-of-interesting.html?m=1&fbclid=IwAR3kerXYa_Nud94rzbCuhPlv-qH8Dah2R2jibqFLPYV4d8GmGTP87GJgVBQ

https://books.google.is/books?id=eOvyDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA118&lpg=PA118&dq=ivy+drunkenness+folklore&source=bl&ots=n3L6TNUO9e&sig=ACfU3U1PGGIezufv-sZbxklBhjBdNuqwKw&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjDi6SxgYT1AhWTEMAKHcEyBN4Q6AF6BAg0EAM#v=onepage&q=iv

y%20drunkenness%20folklore&f=false

https://speakingofwitchwands.net/2017/11/16/the-magick-of-ivy/

https://www.woodland-ways.co.uk/blog/hedgerow-medicines/ivy/

Properties of English ivy:

https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/hedera-helix/

On Maenads:

https://www.thecollector.com/maenads-women-bacchus/ On Green Ladies: https://www.spookyisles.com/scottish-green-lady-stories/

Wedding flower customs:

https://www.theknot.com/content/wedding-flowers-customs-traditions

Wren:

https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=rindill

https://www.bardsinthewoods.com/2012/12/the-wren-wren.html

Tawny Owl:

https://www.peakdistrictonline.co.uk/birds-of-prey-the-tawny-owl/

Evidence pointing to Rindr being a worker of protective magic:

https://secureservercdn.net/198.71.233.138/16i.962.myftpupload.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/John_McKinnell_Meeting_the_Other_in_Norse_Myth_ab-ok.cc.pdf

https://norse.ulver.com/src/biskup/gudmunda/index.html

Gesta Danorum book 3, where the story of her assault is written:

https://www.gutenberg.org/files/1150/1150-h/1150-h.htm

Possible etymology of her name:

https://books.google.is/books?id=DtcMCAAAQBAJ&pg=PA160&lpg=PA160&dq=scandinavia+ivy+goddess&source=bl&ots=GMILPvloOP&sig=ACfU3U3EX9SDhIxFUwiTT_sNHFbMbxOlng&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjv-_fXvYP1AhUwQEEAHdY1D9cQ6AF6BAgfEAM#v=onepage&q=scandinavia%20ivy%20goddess&f=false

Headstone symbolism:

https://headstonesymbols.co.uk/

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witchingsoul · 2 years

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Loki did not trick Sigyn into marrying him.

Just throwing this out there.

There is not much about Sigyn in Norse mythology itself, but there is no story and no reference to Loki tricking her into marrying him. It's not in the Prose Edda, not in the Poetic Edda, and not even in the Gesta Danorum.

Do you know where you can find that story? In old Marvel comics.

#Loki #Sigyn #Norse mythology #correcting misinformation

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mirandamckenni1 · 4 months

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youtube

Why is Loki so Controversial? | Analyzing Loki's Myths Patreon: https://ift.tt/xeDCvEt Twitch: https://ift.tt/8erj13x Instagram: https://ift.tt/adBq8K7 Twitter: https://twitter.com/OceanKeltoi Intro Assets by: https://twitter.com/SYNJE_Grafx Discord: https://ift.tt/pMYcvWB Merch: https://ift.tt/4WPy2uh music by Karl Casey @ White Bat Audio Further Videos Hel: https://youtu.be/ktEdpreG2mg Fenrir: https://youtu.be/A0dNasvVewk Jormungandr: https://youtu.be/RnOrlpKDIyE The Werebear: https://youtu.be/-gah9gn0r8A Loki Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLax7iUZLpeuYdVyYpHISz2mEosQxu7rQN Do You Fear Death Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLax7iUZLpeuYfMDzf44tr2pXRDy3wP-tp Gods of Heathenry: https://youtu.be/Flb2a3W2V5A Hermodr: https://youtu.be/iU-gMUqiG5c Hodr: https://youtu.be/M6pPxdUgpTg Vali and Vidarr: https://youtu.be/od3YoVRcvRw Viking Soul: https://youtu.be/PmQb8qZk-qg Sif: https://youtu.be/PagTuagWhN4 Idunn: https://youtu.be/0sgLNVFZG9k Norse Afterlife: https://youtu.be/qKB1Gm3eV6Y Viking Heaven: https://youtu.be/_wJH33VrEPw Sol and Mani: https://youtu.be/e2YmvQUmeZ8 Njordr: https://youtu.be/6qDNTs3XG9o Freyr: https://youtu.be/N5norUmt7mE Thor in GoW: https://youtu.be/Jo3P_RbCZ3c Thor's Hammer: https://youtu.be/ck49KRxWZtQ Latent Christianity: https://youtu.be/ShvzwpsQL0c Original Latent Christianity vid: https://youtu.be/OvppWXJvPqA Further Reading - Loki in Scandinavian Mythology - Anna Birgitta Rooth - Loki and Sigyn - Lea Svendsen - Norse Myths That Shape the Way We Think - Carolyne Larrington - God in Flames, God in Fetters - Stephen Grundy - Our Troth: Volume 2: Heathen Gods - Ben Waggoner (3rd Edition) - Dictionary of Northern Mythology - Rudolf Simek - Norse Mythology: A Guide to the Gods, Heroes, Rituals, and Beliefs - John Lindow - Murder and Vengeance Among the Gods: Baldr in Scandinavian Mythology - John Lindow - Myth and Religion of the North - EOG Turville-Petre - American Heathens - Jennifer Snook - The Pre-Christian Religions of the North: History and Structures - Jens Peter Schjødt, John Lindow, and Andrén Anders - The Poetic Edda - Edda - Snorri Sturluson - History of the Danes - Saxo Grammaticus - The Saga of King Hrolf Kraki - Eyrbyggja Saga - Gisli Sursson's Saga - The Saga of the Confederates - Njal's Saga 00:00 - Intro 00:21 - The Problem & Nature of Loki 04:00 - [The Positive Myths of Loki] 04:27 - The Blood Oath - Lokasenna 07:20 - Thor in a Wedding Dress - Þrymskviða 11:30 - Loki vs Logi - Gylfaginning 13:40 - Loki the Creator - Völuspá 17:55 - [The Negative Myths of Loki] 18:36 - Thor vs Geirrod - Skáldskaparmál, Þórsdrápa & Gesta Danorum 24:23 - Loki Hates Goats - Hymiskviða & Gylfaginning 26:16 - Baldr's Mistletoe Allergy - Baldrs draumar, Gylfaginning & Gesta Danorum 32:26 - Loki Talks Shit - Lokasenna 37:22 - Saxo's Bound Útgarða-Loki - Gesta Danorum 45:10 - Loki the Father of Monsters - Angrboða, Bera, and the Saga of King Rolf Kraki 49:00 - Ragnarok - Völuspá & Gylfaginning 54:12 - [The Grey Myths of Loki] 54:50 - Making Asgard Great Again - Gylfaginning 58:08 - You Otter Not Done That - Skáldskaparmál & Völsunga saga 01:01:25 - Sif's Bad Hair Day - Skáldskaparmál 01:04:51 - Curious Apples and Shifting Nuts - Skáldskaparmál 01:10:56 - The Character of Loki 01:18:07 - Lokeans & Modern Praxis via YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r4Tk_vBthJE

#IFTTT #YouTube #Youtube

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mask131 · 1 year

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Cold winter: Sleipnir

SLEIPNIR

Category: Norse mythology

I said in my post about the “Jolnir theory” that some people seem convinced that the eight reindeers of Santa are based on Odin’s eight-legged horse, Sleipnir… But who is Sleipnir?

As I said, Sleipnir is Odin’s personal horse, with eight legs instead of the usual four and grey in color. He is said to be the “best of horses” the same way Odin is the “best of the Aesir” : able to ride as much on land as in the sky (and even over the sea, if the Gesta Danorum is to be believed), Sleipnir is used by Odin (and occasionally by other gods) to travel between the various realms forming the Norse universe. Odin is so proud of his horse that it led him to make one fatal mistake: according to a myth, when he met a jötunn named Hrungnir with his own super-horse, Gullfaxi. Due to the two rivalling in boasting, their discussion turned into a feud/competition, as the two super-entities rode on their magical horses in an improvised race. And while Odin won, because Sleipnir is as we said the best of all horses… he realizes too late that he set the end point of the race to be ASGARD, the domain of the gods, and that by doing so, he actually allowed the jötunn (the traditional enemies of the gods) to enter the divine domain. As soon as Odin smiles about winning the race, he looks back and realizes that a jötunn is standing among the gods domains… Sleipnir also seems to have had children, as in the legend of Sigurdr Odin in disguise offers the hero a large, handsome, powerful grey horse described as being of “Sleipnir’s kin” - and that Sigurdr will name "Grani".

But the most interesting thing about Sleipnir is actually his birth story, which is one of the famous myths of Norse mythology.

It happened back when the world was young and barely formed. Midgard was already created, but Valhalla still built – and as the gods were shaping their halls and domains, a builder arrived. This unknown man claimed that he could build strong, unbreakable fortifications that would keep out all invaders. And in exchange for those wonderful walls, he asked for three things: the sun, the moon, and the goddess Freyja, the most beautiful of all goddesses. The gods debated this offer, and ultimately agreed to the deal with one condition: that the builder completes his work within one season. To this new condition the builder adds one more demand: he should be assisted in his work by his stallion, Svadilfari. The gods agree to this. And so the work begun.

If the gods agree to this deal, it is because, under Loki’s advice and influence, they intended on tricking the builder. They were convinced that the work he offered was impossible to perform in one season, and so they would have half-built fortifications for free that they could complement later. There is however one problem… as the gods realizes, the horse was magical and did twice as much work as the builder himself – the stallion notably gathered with ease enormous rocks and brought them to his master for him to build the walls. The two went so fast and at such an incredible pace that three days before the deadline (the end of the summer season), the fortifications were almost complete! Of course the gods were fearful and angry at the idea of being forced to give up the sun, moon and Freyja, and after a quick discussion they all agreed to put the blame on Loki. He was the one that had convinced them to agree to the builder’s deal, he was the one whose “trick” backfired, he was the one who got the gods into this mess, and so it was him who should be punished.

Loki, to avoid the punishment of the gods, swore that he would craft a scheme to make the builder fail the deal. And so Loki used his shapeshifting powers to become a beautiful mare, and he seduced the builder’s magical horse, leading him astray into the woods. The builder, without his magical helper, was forced to halt the work and quickly realized that he would be unable to finish the fortifications before the deadline. And upon realizing this, he went into a rage. But not just ANY rage, oh no… He entered into a “jötunmod”. A “jötunn-rage”. Apparently a type of anger or wrath that is typical of the jötnar. Which actually betrayed the builder’s real identity: he was a jötunn in disguise! Upon discovering this, the gods promptly called Thor, who arrived with his hammer and killed the builder, crushing his skull into pieces. After all, while they were ready to held their deal with who could be a god, elf, dwarf or human, the gods certainly wouldn’t feel any obligations towards their hereditary enemy.

But what about Sleipnir in all that? Well… when I say that Loki, in his form of a mare, “seduced” the jötunn horse… It is an euphemism. Loki did more than just leading astray the stallion, he had to keep it busy. And so, soon after Loki found out that he was pregnant… and some times later he gave birth to Sleipnir, that Odin promptly took as his steed. (Don’t be surprised by Loki being pregnant – not only does he regularly fall pregnant, you have to remember that he is a jötunn by birth, and the jötnar have very… unusual reproducing methods. See how Ymir gave birth to a son by having his two legs mate with each other).

- - - - -

Even though the traditional number of legs for Sleipnir is eight, in the “Hervarar saga ok Heidreks”, the horse is rather described as having ten legs (and three eyes!).

I cannot tell you exactly which type of jötunn was the owner of Sleipnir’s father, Svadilfari. As you know, jötnar in Norse mythology are a mysterious race of beings notably because they get called by many other names – and it is unclear if these names are all synonyms for a same species, different sub-types of a same “race” or entirely different entities that got confused together. As a result, the jötnar are also called the risar, the thurs, the trolls… And the two recaps of the Sleipnir’s birth legend I found refer to the unnamed builder by two different terms. In one, he is qualified of “bergrisi” (mountain risi, singular of “risar”, what the English likes to translate as “mountain giant”) ; while in another he is called a “hrimthurs”, a “thurs of the frost”, what English common calls a “frost giant”). I didn’t had time to check the original text, which is chapter 42 of the Gylfaginning, but if anyone knows the answer to this question, feel free to enlighten me!

Fun fact: Sleipnir’s name is theorized to mean “the slipper”, as in “slippy”, “one who slips” – and most notably, this interpretation is strengthen by the fact that “Sleipnir” is also a “kenning” (a coded allegorical name used in Norse poetry) for “ship” or “boat”. Aka, one that slips over water.

#cold winter #norse mythology #sleipnir

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kindorthorr · 2 years

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STJÖRNUÍÞRÓTT – NORSE CONSTELLATIONS & MYTHS WITH ASTRONOMY.

Astronomy, stjörnuíþrótt in Old Norse, is the science of surveillance of the stars.

A communal way to understand constellations in modern days is with the Greek mythology and its heroes, nevertheless, each civilisation would have its own interpretation of stars, constellations, and astronomy as a whole. This branch is often called cosmology, only many mistaken it basically as a formation and the fundamental myths, rather than the learning of the evening sky.

Vikings were astonishing guides, with their continuous wandering by boats and etc. therefore, it demonstrates how capable they were to circumnavigate even during the night, where the only visible objects were stars, showcasing that they did custom a form of astronomy.

Ursa Major / the Great Bear – the Wagon.

This constellation is the most common one known. During the Viking age, it was insinuated to as the Wagon.

In some areas it was referred to as Óðinns vagn, associating it with Óðinn and his travelling through the realms; vagna verr (wagon’s lord), valdr vagnbrautar (ruler of the wagon road).

Though, the god associated the most with chariot was in fact Þórr as it was believed that when the skies rumbled and thunder echoed, it was him who rode his chariot through the skies. Karlavagnen, and Karlsvagn translated as “the man’s chariot” which, along with the name Kvennavagn ,or “woman’s chariot” given to Ursa Minor, suggests the gods associated with chariot driving were Þórr and Freyja.

Ursa Minor was meticulously connected with Ursa Major and was seen as the Chariot of Freyja. The constellation looks alike to a chair; thus, it was also denoted to as a throne, yet many would believe that it was the throne of Þórr as he was at times depicted sitting on a decorated chair. In a way, Freyja was the goddess of siðr which was a mutual practice of the Vǫlur who were often seated and elevated during the rituals.

Aurvandill’s toe.

There is no set understanding as to which star was exactly the toe of Aurvandill, but many believe that it was Rigel – within the Orion’s belt. And some believe that it is Venus – Venus appears in the sky as a bright crescent, due to its position in the solar system, and resembles a toenail.

Orwandil was Orion in Old Norse, with Rigel being his toe.

Corona Borealis is another likelihood, not only because of its outline as Saxo Grammaticus writes in Gesta danorum of a fight between a King Horwendil, and King Koller and Horwendil kills Koller by cutting off his foot. This may have been constructed on previous legends of an endless contest between spring and winter, in which spring prevails at the end of the day.

The Corona Borealis is a spring constellation, noticeable only once spring arrives.

Both Koller’s foot, and Aurvandil’s toe could be seen as predecessors of springtime.

Eyes of Þjazi.

The myth is well known with Loki kidnaping Iðunn, with the giant Þjazi, who is killed during the rescue of Iðunn, and when his daughter, Skaði, travels to Asgard seeking amends for her father’s death, she is allowed to choose a husband from among the Æsir. In this myth, she had to choose based only on their feet. She chooses Njôrð, thinking the most beautiful feet must surely belong to Baldr.

Loki then performs some silliness with a goat in order to make her laugh, and Óðinn also appeases her by casting her father’s eyes into the heavens where they will shine as the constellation.

The Lay of Harbard contradicts this myth as in it Þórr was instead responsible for creating this constellation:

Strong Thjatsi, the thurs, I overthrew in battle,

and the awful eyes of Alvaldi's son

I cast on the cloudless sky.

Those be the mighty marks of my great works.

Þórr casts the eyes into the sky as trophies, rather than an apology.

The two stars were most likely the commonly known stars Castor and Pollux, in the constellation of Gemini. They are of an alike brightness, visible, and an appropriate distance apart to resemble eyes in the firmament.

They reach their peak in the sky in January, linking to Skaði who is a winter goddess.

Frigg’s Distaff / Chariot of Freyja – Orion.

Orion’s belt was known as Friggerock (Frigg’s distaff) also Rejerock or Fröjas Rock, and the three stars which made up the traditional Orion’s sword were the spindle. In several areas of Scandinavia, the whole constellation was seen as the goddesses’ form.

As the web of fate that guided one to the other stars, and therefore either to a misadventure or homespun, depending on one’s ability to navigate.

Orion was also known as Freyja’s Dress, and the belt and sword as Freyja’s Girdle.

Brisingamen was sometimes referred to as a girdle. It would have also been associated with Freyja (Vanadis) where it was known as such. The three stars of Orion’s belt were also known as Fiskikarlar (the fishermen) in Iceland and Norway, and in upper German lands as ‘the three mowers’.

Lokabrenna.

Sirius is the brightest star in the sky, part of the Canis Major constellation and in fact is a binary star system. The star to Vikings was known as Loki’s Brand, or even Loki’s Torch (Lokabrenna) – linking to his role in Ragnarǫk, when the human realm begins to be consumed in a fire.

Sirius is also known as ‘the dog star’, which is associated with the hottest summer days, known as ‘the dog days’, and this is when the star can be seen the most. In a way, it was a warning for the Vikings before the hot summer days or a possible apocalypse of a Ragnarǫk if the texts came true.

The God’s nail – Polaris.

The Northern star, Polaris was clearly an important star for navigation, especially during sea travels. Known as Leiðarstjarna (lode-star/guiding star), as the Anglo-Saxons called it ‘the ship’s star’.

To Scandinavians it was also known as ‘the God’s Nail’, which associates it with Þórr as a chief deity, rather than Óðinn. Homes were built with a central pillar dedicated to Þórr, in which nails were driven.

The pillar of the world, the axis around which the cosmos spin is the North Star and its further and important association with Þórr is made apparent by this practice.

The Mouth of the Wolf and Road to Hel.

Hyades open star cluster is known as Ulf’s Keptr (the Mouth of the Wolf), referring to Fenrisúlfr, however many believed that it was referred to Garmr, the guard and the protector of the gates at the end of the road to Hel.

These stars often appear in the constellation of Taurus, the brightest stars forming a ‘V’ – linking to Milky Way being that road to Hel.

The constellation of Pegasus is linked to Hellewagen, which is the wagon of the dead souls that travelled to Helweg (the gates to Hel).

Bifröst or Ásbrú is also linked to the Milky Way, while it is commonly accepted that rainbows and the aurora borealis are seen as the appearing of Bifröst, however seeing the Milky Way as the road to the underworld. During the months of winter, the world of the dead is closer to the living as this concept is seen in many Indo-Europeanpeople’s mythos, which means that rainbows were rare. Bifröst can appear in many forms, either it being a rainbow and even a Milky Way or the Northern Lights.

Sometimes Heimdallr is seen as the moon, proving further the interpretation of the Milky Way as the Bifröst during the night.

Asar Bargadi – the God’s Battlefield, is a constellation nearby the Milky Way, and is believed to be the place where a final battle will happen – identified to us as Auriga.

#Norse myths #norse #Heathen #heathenry #norse heathen #astronomy #norse astronomy #thor devotee #volva #cosmology #norse cosmology #stars #constellations #constellation #Þórr

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teachingmycattoread · 10 months

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Things We’ve Yelled About This Episode #3.6

Hamlet, William Shakespeare

The Silmarillion, J. R. R. Tolkien

Hamlet (1996) - Kenneth Branagh

Kenneth Branagh (imdb)

Hamlet (2009) - David Tennant

David Tennant (imdb)

Hamlet (2016) - RSC, Paapa Essiedu

Paapa Essiedu (imdb)

Othello, William Shakespeare

The Lion King (1994)

Withnail and I (1987)

Rosencrantz and Guilderstern Are Dead, Tom Stoppard

Rosencrantz and Guilderstern Are Dead (1990)

Gary Oldman (imdb)

Lewis (2006-2015)

Hamlet (2018) - Andrew Scott (youtube)

Andrew Scott (imdb)

Minecraft

Sparknotes

The Trolley Problem (wiki)

Much Ado About Nothing, William Shakespeare

Much Ado About Nothing (2011) - David Tennant and Catherine Tate

Catherine Tate (imdb)

Illyria (wiki)

Twelfth Night, William Shakespeare

Kronborg castle (wiki)

The Minack Theatre (website)

Harrow the Ninth, Tamsyn Muir

Gesta Danorum, Saxo Grammaticus (wiki)

The Castle of Otranto, Horace Walpole

Cyrano de Bergerac, Edmond Rostand

Peredur (wiki)

Richard III (wiki)

The Princes in the Tower (wiki)

This tumblr post about confession

To Be Or Not To Be, Ryan North

O, that this too too solid flesh would melt Thaw and resolve itself into a dew! Or that the Everlasting had not fix’d His canon ‘gainst self-slaughter! Hamlet, Act I Scene 2

Parks and Rec (2009-2015)

Leonardo Dicaprio (imdb)

But that I am forbid

To tell the secrets of my prison-house,

I could a tale unfold whose lightest word

Would harrow up thy soul, freeze thy young blood,

Make thy two eyes, like stars, start from their spheres,

Thy knotted and combined locks to part

And each particular hair to stand on end,

Like quills upon the fretful porpentine - Hamlet, Act I Scene 5

I have of late, but

wherefore I know not, lost all my mirth - Hamlet, Act II Scene 2

This post

To thine own self be true - Hamlet, Act I Scene 3

Malvolio - Twelfth Night, William Shakespeare

Be not afraid of greatness. Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and others have greatness thrust upon them. - Twelfth Night, Act II Scene 5

The difference between comedy and tragedy is listening to the women - this post

King Lear, William Shakespeare

The Muppets

Statler and Waldorf

Gonzo and Rizzo

Ian McKellen (imdb)

Patrick Stewart (imdb)

Now cracks a noble heart. Good night sweet prince:

And flights of angels sing thee to thy rest! - Hamlet, Act V Scene 2

House of Finwe (wiki)

Metaverse

The Long Way To A Small Angry Planet, Becky Chambers

Would that be fucked up or what? (meme)

Manic pixie dream girl (trope)

Queer Lit, Manchester (website)

The Mandalorian (2019 -)

The Cat Rating

5/10

What Else Are We Reading?

The Silmarillion, J. R. R. Tolkien

Snowcrash, (1992)

Notes From A Crocodile,

Harrow the Ninth, Tamsyn Muir

Nona the Ninth, Tamsyn Muir

What Abigail Did Last Summer, Ben Aaronvitch

The Last of Us (2023 -)

Next Time On Teaching My Cat To Read

The Raven Tower, Ann Leckie

#tmctr #tmctr ref

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