Norse Mythology

Oral poems and sources for Norse myth.

Land of fire that was one of two places that existed before life was created.

Land of ice and fog that was one of the two places that existed before life was created.

Region of emptiness between Muspelheim and Niflheim with no beginning and no end; where fire and ice met.

Evil frost giant formed by spontaneous generation from salty ice blocks and sparks of fire in Ginnungagap; the father of all living things and father of frost giants.

Any of the evil Frost Giants who ruled before the chief gods.

Abode of the Frost Giants (Jotuns).

Second creature to appear; the cow who nourished Ymir.

Man uncovered after the cow licked the salty ice.

Bori's son who married a frost giant named Bestla.

3 sons of Bori and Bestla.

Chief god, ruler of the universe, and wisest of the gods who with the help of his brothers killed Ymir, from whose body the world was created.

Goddess of the sky, Odin's wise wife, who was the goddess of married love and who presided over the home and over Asgard.

Dwelling place of the gods, said to be located at the center of the universe and accessible only by the rainbow bridge.

Asgard's great hall with 540 doors where Odin received and fed the souls of warriors who were slain heroically in battle.

Collective name for the chief gods who lived in the home they had built as protection against the Frost Giants (Jotuns).

Drink of the gods, flowing endlessly from the udder of the goat Heidrum.

Peace-loving race of fertility gods who made peace with the Aesir after some intial conflict.

Heroes who fell in battle and were chosen to enter Valhalla.

Nine beautiful helmeted warlike goddess-maidens who as Odin's attendants carried the souls of the dead to Valhalla.

Earth, the land of men.

Flaming rainbow bridge that linked Asgard and Midgard.

Small, misshapen skilled craftsmen who lived underground in Nidavellir and were created by the gods from the maggots in Ymir's decaying body.

Sprites, some dark and some light, with magical powers who cared for the flowers and for the streams.

Malicious, dwarfish creatures, some with 50 heads, who lived underground or in caves and worked as smiths.

Giant ash tree whose branches reached heaven and spread over the earth and held together the universe of Niflheim, Jotunheim, and Asgard- it sprang from the body of Ymir and was exprected to survive the final battle as it "always was and is and will be."

3 sister goddesses of fate who meted out the destinies of man as well as that of the gods- they were descended from the Giants and lived at the base of Yggdrasil, watering it from the sacred well of Urd(r), where the gods met and sat in judgment.

Serpent that lived near Hvergelmir, a well in foggy Niflheim near the root of the ash tree Yggdrasil- it constantly tried to bring the ash tree down by gnawing on it.

Famous Norse hero and later one of the class of fierce warriors who fought with such wild fury that they needed no armor.

Ever vigilant watchman of the gods, who guarded the rainbow bridge.

Handsome god, protector of ships, sailors, and fishermen, who was married to Skadji, the goddess of winter.

Red-haired god of thunder, lightning, war, and strength.

Thor's hammer used to create lightning and which always returned to his hand like a boomerang.

One-handed god of war or battle noted for his courage.

God of beauty, radiance, light, peace, and wisdom, the handsome son of Odin and Frigga in whose murder the god of evil was involved- as the gods were not immortal, he was the first of the gods to die.

God of poetry and eloquence who along with his brother Hermod greeted the slain heroes as they arrived in Valhalla.

God of evil and mischief who tricked Hoder into killing his brother.

God of silence, known as the "silent one."

Blind god of night and darkness whom Loki tricked into killing Balder, his brother, with mistletoe.

Messenger of the gods.

God of the sea.

Goddess of the dead and queen of the underworld, one of the offspring of Loki and Angerboda.

Goddess of love and beauty, marriage and the dead- called the "Bride of the Vanir" because of her many love affairs.

God of peace, agriculture, and fertility, the brother of Freyja.

Goddess of spring and the keeper of the golden apples of perpetual youth eaten daily by the gods.

One of Odin's Valkyries who fell in love with Siegfried but had him killed and then committed suicide after she discovered he had deceived her.

Field of 100 miles in length and breadth where the last battle took place.

Day of doom, when the final battle between the gods and the Giants, or the forces of evil, took place and the old world and all of its inhabitants were destroyed.

Wolf that broke free from its bonds in the underworld and swallowed the sun and the moon- he bit off Tyr's hand when he placed it in the wolf's mouth as a pledge.

Magic thread or yarn that the dwarves wove in order to bind the wolf Fenrir.

As the world shook, a tidal wave caused this animal to free its tail from its jaws and surge out of the sea.

Odin's house and the golden palace in which Valhalla or the hall of heroes was located.

Odin's 8-legged horse that could cross land and sea.

Odin's magic arm ring made for him by a dwarf.

Odin's (black) ravens who flew across the world each day and returned each night to report everything they had learned.

Odin's spear.

Odin's wolves.

Odin's goat from whose udders was drawn and endless supply of mead for the gods.

Odin's throne where no one but Odin or his wife was allowed to sit.

Magical characters inscribed on anything, especially wood and stone, that allowed Odin to predict the future, change his shape, and visit the underworld.

Fierce fire giant, ruler of Muspelheim, who with his flaming sword led his followers over Bifrost against the Aesir, engulfing the whole world in flames.