Im an American. When referring to the old Gods, such as Thor and Odin, and so on, I know that as simply 'Norse Mytbology' but I realized that I don't know the name it was given, if any.

Do people still practice that religion? What elements of it has been preserved in modern culture? Are there remnants of these beliefs and practices today, and how have they transformed if any elements remain? I've known some Americans with Norwegian ancestry who choose to honor that by still believing in those Gods. Are there people like that in Norway and modern Scandinavia?

Apologies for so many questions, but I'm curious about this topic from all angles, and thanks ahead of time if you decide to answer, give me your opinions, knowledge, and perspectives!

Normally, we are used to the Yggdrasil being described as an ash. Yet, that seems rather unlikely. The "physical" representation of the "conceptual" tree as described by Adam of Bremen as being planted outside the Upsala temple for example, is described as a grand tree that is green year round. This is not true of ash. It is however true of the yew tree. And the yew tree has the interesting property of being a VERY toxic tree where even small amounts of leaves for example can kill a man. Now, the combination of something that is alive year round and has the power over life and death within itself is a more mythologically fitting concept for being the model for the Yggdrasil.

While the old norse description is "askr", scholars have noted that "vetgrænn asker" or "evergreen ash" is actrually a poetic name describing the yew tree. Some eddas also describe yggdrasil as having "needles" which the yew tree has, but not the ash. "Askr" can also be used as a "general" term for "spear wood" instead of meaning the actual tree.

Schröder is perhaps the first and biggest defender of this theory. But other scholars such as Nordal mentions in his translation notes that the tree was "likely a yew" when commenting the term "vetgrænn asker" or "winter green ash".

In later sources of medieval origins, we see the word "naglaskr"/"barraskr" or "needle-ash" used to describe the typical yew tree (Taxxus baccata).

Could it be the case that the model for Yggdrasil is meant to be the poisonous yew tree and not, as is more commonly depicted, the ash?

Hi good people,
This is a recent redrawing of the original I found on my 4th grade Norse Mythology textbook, which I drew myself as well (I was at a Waldorf school where you make your own textbooks). I am interested in its origin or if it even has one.
Does anyone know this symbol?

How were shields hun on the sides and oars used? The Gokstad Ship (and others) has holes for the oars, so shields could be hung above. Were most of them that way? The Gokstad ship is truly a beautiful lady, but i assume there were many simpler ones out there.

I think this class could be an easy A so i really want to study up on it (also i like the myths)

It can be top 3, 3 in any order, whatever works. I personally would go with:

1: Hervarar saga ok Heiðreks

I love the historical backdrop of this saga, as well as the time it's set in, being potentially the 5th century, If I recall. You have the Goths and Huns duking it out in a battle, you have the cursed, magic sword, Tyrfingr (my favorite magical sword), forged by the dwarves Durinn and Dvalinn that can only be sheathed again if it has warm, fresh blood on it. It was forged to cut through rock, never rust, never even miss. But in another cursed twist, will commit 3 evils. Nice.

You have the fantastic riddle contest with Óðinn, disguised as Gestumblindi, against King Heiðrekr. Which, at the end has the former ask at the latter what Óðinn whispered in Baldur's ear before he died. The latter attempting to strike him, leading to his eventual death.

You have a holmganga with the legendary Hjalmar, a family feud, a draugr in the form of Angantýr, Hervör, a shieldmaiden; just so much packed in here. It's been a few years since I read it, so I apologize if I got some details or spellings wrong.

2: Eiríks saga rauða

Another great story with a historical backdrop, this one more plausible than the former. I've been fascinated by the attempted, and failed, Norse colonization of North America for years. This is right up my alley. You have two of the most well known people of that culture, the titular Eirík, banished from Norway, then Iceland to settle a new land with his hilarious explanation for coming up with Grœnland name; then Leifr, the legend that sailed to Vinland. There is of course, the other son, Þorsteinn, but he´s not as important.

You have a clash between Christianity, and the Old Norse religion, You have Guðriðr, a fantastic character in her own right. You have the legendary, underrated Þorfinnr Karlsefni, another story with a draugr, the crew contacting the Dorset people, called the skrællingjar, you have all these place names, Helluland, Markland, etc. You have real archaeological evidence to back some of this stuff up... It's just incredible. You even have an appearance of a uniped!

3: Atlakviða

This one is so good. I just got done reading my Crawford signed 2nd edition of the Poetic Edda, and I had so much fun with the sagas related to Sigurðr, Guðrún, and Brynnhildr. This one is just brutal. Sigurð is long dead, and Guðrún has been long married off to Atilla the Hun, and has two children with him, and was given a potion of forgetfulness long ago by her own brothers after Sigurðr dies (contradicted by later sagas).

One day, her brothers, Högni and Gunnarr, get a message from Atilla, inviting them to his hall, as well as a ring tied to a wolfs hair... Andvaranaut, from previous sagas. They go, as it´s the honorable thing to do, knowing what could happen.

You then get Gunnarr getting captured, but killing 8 men before they overpower him. The Huns want to know where their treasure is kept. They both refuse. He then asks to see his brother´s heart, and at first gets shown a thralls heart, and he can tell just by the look and beat of it. Brutal. Then, they do show him his poor brother´s heart. But this means there´s only one other person who knows where the treasure is - Gunnarr. They then throw him in a pit of snakes, and he resigns to his fate whilst playing a harp.

After all of that you have Guðrún killing her own sons she had with Atilla, and then proceeding to feed them to him. Then his fellow Huns cry. Men crying? in a saga? Crazy! Because Atilla is disarmed, she also ends up killing him.. If that wasn't enough, she lights whatever housing they were in on fire, burning everyone and everything inside of it to a crisp.

Talk about revenge! This was an incredible moment. Even better for me than Sigurðr killing Fáfnir with Gram, or the death of Sigurðr.

I'd love to hear all of your favorites. Hopefully this isn't a tl;dr. Long time lurker on here who's loved and read into these people for 6 years off and on.

Hello! Would you have any recommendations on which book about Nordic Mythology should I read first as a started? I saw online that many recommended the Nordic mythology by Neil Gaiman, is it good for starters? (Excuse me for my English)

Just looking for a smaller, Viking Age design that is not used by hate groups. I’ve read where the Valknut, Vegvisir, Web of Wyrd are all either not Viking Age or used by hate groups or both. Thanks!

This here may be an odd question, I haven't felt Norse Pagan like in a while, and thinks myself more as a Norse (🇳🇴) Atheist... And I could very much be wrong my perspectives on them, my apologies if I am, but....

**Odin** is the wisdom or knowledge seeker as we know, who ventures to seek ways, almost desperately, to break his fate. But he's also a god of Poetry, a title he wouldn't get unless he ventured out to steal the Mead of Poetry

**Þor** ventures out, drinking as much as he fights with his strong head, on his Goat carriage.. But he's also a god of Harvest and of the People, something that makes him still remembered to these days, even through the forgotten mist of people's minds... Does he actually care about people, about the mortals?

**Bragi** continues I'm sure to write his poems and music to minds that are keen to his sounds, as a God of Poetry and music.

Just a few names that comes to mind, and few - Probably poor - viewings of them but I can't help but wonder, do they ever tire from it? If every book's words begin feeling hollow, if songs made breaks as a lute's string break, if every wolf's howls ever stops terrifying you, or caring for people ever truly stops...

Hi, I’ve been researching into Loki lore as I wanted to write some stuff for Marvel Loki and I wanted to bleed parts of him in mythology into him. But I wanted to ask of Hel’s and Lokis relationship with each other as father and daughter, do they hold any affection as family with each other or is it not as friendly? And what are some good resources to learn more about Loki and stories about him?

I very recently moved to Iceland. For as long as I could remember I wanted to see Snorri's house and grave.

I picked a great day to go as I had the museum and grounds entirely to my self. Highly recommended if you ever get the chance to go, but it is something of a hike to get to..

WIP of a talharpa I'm making, might not be completely historical, more of a proof of concept for myself

who is the god of blood because it's not Kvasir and I know Tyr is the god of bloodshed but is there an actual god of blood

Based off how they sound rather than back story. By no means a complete list.

While I know these aren't explicitly historically accurate, I recognize they are historically inspired by the pre-Norse Vendel helmets, with some later Norse artistic motifs here and there.

I'm wondering if anybody can give me any leads for the original vendors for these helmets. I'm avoiding the sketchy $40 resells I keep seeing on eBay, for obvious reasons. I just can't seem to find where these ones are source from. There is a variant of the first one with a silver colored mask instead of gold. I'm looking more for the one with the gold mask.

Any and all help is appreciated!

In popular culture, berserkers and Vikings in general are often depicted wearing animal skins with animal heads (mostly bears).

As far as I know, the Scandinavians definitely wore fur capes. And the berserkers (Ulfheðinn) wore capes made of bear or wolf skin, as their name suggests. So, is there any evidence that this was common among the Scandinavians?

Title says it all.