The names of giants in Scandinavian mythology. Not a big dictionary, according to Scandinavian mythology

EAT. Meletinsky. Scandinavian mythology as a system

The purpose of this work is not a new interpretation of Scandinavian myths based on a critical revision of sources, but only to elucidate the nature of the orderliness and consistency of the corresponding mythological concepts almost exclusively within the framework of poetic mythology, reflected in the "Elder Edda" and the "Younger Edda". We are talking mainly about this "Eddic" mythology as a system, and not about the restoration of its more ancient state, for example, corresponding to the all-Germanic stage.

Systematicity in Scandinavian mythology is not absolute and its measure is unstable in its various areas; there are also difficult to remove contradictions. Elementary semantic oppositions and basic "concepts" or narrative motives that we meet in Scandinavian mythology, as a rule, are not its exclusive property, but the distribution of these elements in combination with a certain set of realities largely determines the originality of images and plots of Scandinavian myths.

In Scandinavian mythology, as in other mythological systems, the same mythological themes are often represented by a number of parallel variants. Such parallelism creates a characteristic "redundancy" of mythological information, but this redundancy is immediately overcome by stratification into levels, codes, and various aspects. Dismemberment into levels and codes, along with linking originally isolated mythological objects, is one of the tools for ordering and systematizing myths and mythological representations. The rapprochement and even identification of some mythological objects on one level inevitably coexists with their opposition on the other. For example, several parallel concepts of the origin of anthropomorphic creatures are distributed among humans, gods, giants, and dwarfs; the vegetative model of the world gets along with the anthropomorphic one due to the fact that the first is strictly limited by cosmology, and the second by cosmogony; several versions of obtaining sacred honey are included in an ordered system due to their attachment to various categories of mythical creatures (gods, dwarfs, giants) and various characters (Odin, Thor, Loki), due to a different mythical modality (primary etiology, the acquisition of ases by the community, obtaining the first shaman, repeated ritual eating), as well as through the transition from literal to figurative meaning (metaphor and metonymy).

Two categories of gods (Ases and Vans) oppose each other within the framework of cosmogonic mythology, but are identified within the framework of eschatology, and two deities, Odin and Loki, on the contrary, are extremely close in cosmogony and are polarly opposed to each other in eschatology, the two goddesses Frigg and Freyja are practically inseparable in their functions, but clearly separated by the fact that the first is attributed to the aces, and the second to the van. The gods differ from each other in certain functions, but the functions may partially overlap; then one and the same function will nevertheless appear in a different aspect (for example, the military function in Odin, Thor, Tyr, Ull, or natural in Thor and Freyr). The number of examples could, of course, be multiplied. Thematically identical motives, stratified in this way, turn out to be systematized not only within the framework of the whole mythology as a whole, but also individual mythical plots: the addition of parallel versions, often of different stages in their origin, turns out to be a characteristic means of archaic plot formation (for example, the development of a plot about the extraction of honey, see. below for more details). On a purely narrative level, Odin, Thor and Loki differ in certain epic characters and their corresponding plot roles, which are usually opposed to each other in pairs.

The pantheon of gods represents a kind of hierarchical system with not always clearly defined boundaries. This hierarchy to a large extent, as Vyach.V. Ivanov and VN Toporov showed in their work "Slavic language modeling systems" (1965), as applied to Slavic myths, is determined by the volume of modeling fragments of the surrounding world. One of the simplest means of linking the gods in the pantheon is their marital kinship, the relationship between the elders and the younger, the higher and the lower, the gods and goddesses. The images of the gods, to a certain extent, turn out to be bundles of differential features correlated with different levels. To a large extent, the instrument of differentiation is the simplest semantic oppositions of the type that Levi-Strauss singles out in his "Mythological" ones or Ivanov and Toporov in the above-mentioned work. Roughly the same set of semantic oppositions that were identified by the latter for the Slavic material (and supported by the numerous non-Slavic examples given by them) is also found in the Scandinavian: share / not share (in ideas about fate and norns, in the distribution of victories and defeats by Odin and the Valkyries) , life / death (through the idea of ​​the eternal renewal of life in Valhalla, the rejuvenating apples of Idunn, the life-giving cosmic tree, etc.), even / odd (Odin's demonic one-eyed, Tyr's one-handed, etc.), up / down (heaven and earth, earth and underworld, Valhalla and Hel, etc.), south / north and west / east (demons in the east and north, and not in the west and north, like the Slavs), land / sea (struggle Torah with the world serpent, pulling the earth out of the water), wet / dry (life-giving moisture of the cosmic tree and sources), day / night, fire / moisture, friend / foe (Midgard / Utgard, the struggle of Thor with giants, etc.), senior and junior (generations of gods), etc. True, some of these elements nary oppositions are obscured or severely complicated, in particular due to differences between several important aspects or fragments of Scandinavian mythology.

It should be noted that in Scandinavian mythology, archaic features are sometimes strongly transformed. In addition, the most specific etiological myths for "primitive" folklore are few, weakened in their etiological function, the primary acquisition of cultural elements is presented mainly as their circulation between various categories of mythical creatures. The etiological aspect is much more clearly preserved in the cosmogonic myths. Finally, for a correct understanding of the structure of Scandinavian mythology, one should still bear in mind the diachronic plan, certain shifts in comparison, for example, with common Germanic mythology, not to mention the attitude towards common Indo-European elements. These shifts, in particular, include a strong eschatologization of mythology and the advancement of Odin to the fore with his heavenly kingdom of the dead, Einherias and Valkyries, the pathos of military initiation and shamanic ecstasy. One undoubtedly largely supplanted Tyr (etymologically equivalent to Diaus, Zeus, etc.) and even in some ways supplanted Thor, who was largely rejected from the cosmic tree, the mythology of honey, etc. (This clearly becomes clear when comparing Torah with his analogous Indra in Vedic mythology. The role and fate of Odin is conditionally comparable to the role and fate of Rudra-Shiva. National specificity is also clearly reflected here.)

Space model

The core of the world model in Scandinavian mythology is the actual cosmic model, that is, the system of ideas about the space-time cosmic continuum. This system appears in the Scandinavian "Eddic" mythology as consisting of two spatial subsystems ("horizontal" and "vertical") and two temporal subsystems ("cosmogonic" and "eschatological"). These subsystems are not simple fragments and elementary projections of the overall picture of the universe, since they have a certain isolation and some specific ideas, sometimes contradicting each other and requiring "translation" from one "code" to another. They are in part in relation to complementary distribution.

Let's start with spatial subsystems, of which one, horizontal, is most clearly revealed from the Eddic narrative plots about the wanderings and adventures of the gods, and the other is more from the Eddic gnome; however, this textual difference is not absolute.

The "horizontal" system is anthropocentric and is built primarily on the opposition of the middle fenced-in part of the earth (Midgard) inhabited by people to that which is outside, outside, outside this fence (Utgard), in a hostile and culturally undeveloped sphere. Opposition Midgard / Utgard is undoubtedly the realization of the elementary semantic opposition of "ours" and "others", and in an implicit form also ordered and disordered (in terms of K. Levi-Strauss - "culture" and "nature"), city and desert (similarly: house / forest), center and periphery, near and far. Since in the "horizontal" model the sky is practically not opposed to the earth, the dwelling of the gods Asgard is topologically inseparable from Midgard; Asgard and Midgard in the narratives usually appear alternatively.

Based on the double opposition center / periphery, land / water, Midgard opposes the world ocean surrounding the earth, in which Jormungand, the serpent of Midgard, lives. The very name "Serpent of Midgard", perhaps, indicates that it was previously thought of as a positive element of the cosmic system, but in the strongly "eschatologized" Scandinavian mythology, Jormungand is only one of the chaotic forces temporarily curbed by the gods. When adding the opposition south / north (the second part is marked), the relationship of Midgard or Asgard with the kingdom of death Hel, localized in the north, appears. Based on the oppositions center / periphery and west / east (the second part is marked), Midgard opposes the country of giants located at the end of the earth, in a wild, desert and rocky area - Yotunheim, which practically coincides with Utgard. The country of giants is sometimes thought to be widespread to the north, probably as a result of the strong demonic nature of the north in Scandinavian and many other Eurasian mythologies. (The demonization of the south takes place exclusively within the framework of Scandinavian eschatology, as the habitat of the fire giant Surt.)

The "horizontal" space model is a spatial background for numerous legends about the adventures of the aces, in which all the action mainly develops along the axis "ases - giants (jotuns, turs)" and only partially - "ases - dwarfs (zwergs, black alves)". Gods and giants are presented in a state of eternal enmity, which is realized primarily in Thor's endless campaigns to the East, where he beats up the giants. Thor is also the main enemy of the world serpent, and all his activity in Eddic poetry is almost completely reduced to protecting "friends" from "strangers", people and gods from giants and demons, and thus fits into the "horizontal" projection of space. Fighting giants is often fought for women (goddesses are the eternal lust of giants) and miraculous objects (sources of abundance and life renewal), originally created by skilled blacksmiths and dwarf craftsmen.

The circulation of these values ​​between gods, giants and dwarfs is mainly due to the activities of the mythological rogue Loki, who is easily transferred from one world to another and, as it were, carries out a kind of shamanic mediation between them. However, his role as a mediator is limited by the framework of the "horizontal" space model. The struggle of the gods with the giants does not exclude love and even marital ties between them, but the Scandinavian "Eddic" mythology does not give permanent exogamous marriages that regulate the exchange of values love affair with Gunnlöd - the daughter of the giant Suttung).

The horizontal system includes (but occupies an isolated position in it) the idea of ​​four dwarfs, bearing the names of the cardinal points (north, south, west, east) and supporting the edges of the sky at the corners of the universe.

The basis of the "vertical" space model is the world tree - Yggdrasil ash, which connects heaven and earth, earth and the underworld and thus gives a trichotomous vertical division of the universe by two-fold opposition of "top" and "bottom". In Divination of the Völva, the world tree is denoted as MiQtu ° r, which possibly means the “tree of measure” (if we discard the highly controversial “honey tree” from MiQtu ° r, that is, the tree that constructively measures the Universe. Völva “remembers” nine worlds and nine tree stems (nio ivi ° i) It is not clear whether she means nine (nine is a constant mythical number in Eddic mythology) parallel world trees (like the pillars of irminsul guarding the entrance to a village) or parts of an ash tree trunk, which grew before her eyes. ”Similar ideas about the world tree among the Siberian peoples are given by both options.

Trichotomous vertical division is well represented by a zoomorphic series localized at different levels: an eagle at the top, a snake gnawing at roots, and deer eating leaves at the middle level, carrying a squirrel swearing from a snake to an eagle as a zoomorphic mediator between the bottom and the top. As a path from earth to heaven, the trunk of the world tree is duplicated by the rainbow bridge of the gods Bivrest or Billrest. The "redundancy", however, is overcome by the fact that, in practice, the movement along the trunk is only in relation to the protein. The very name of the world ash Yggdrasill = "Ygg's horse" indicates that Odin makes shamanic wanderings along it (Yggr, that is, "terrible" is one of his nicknames). In this regard, the world ash tree is comparable to Odin's horse Sleipnir, on which Hermod - the son of Odin - gallops north to Hel for the soul of Balder.

The concept of a cosmic tree connecting different parts of the universe is specifically related to shamanism. One undergoes a typical shamanic initiation, having been suspended from a tree for nine days, pre-pierced with a spear. This also reinforces the designation of the world ash as Odin's horse. In addition to Odin, Heimdall is closely related to the world tree - the guardian of the gods, who may originally have been his anthropomorphic incarnation (or even zoomorphic? identity with the deer. The deer is inseparable from the world tree in Siberian shamanism). The cosmic tree is also the tree of life and the tree of destiny. It is evergreen, life-giving honey or milky dew flows from it and nourishes springs at the roots, from which the norns, in turn, spray the world tree (the opposition wet / dry as alive / dead).

Siberian parallels well explain the organic connection with the world tree of origin and birth of not only shamans, but people in general (hence the tree prototypes or "embryos" of people from ash and willow in the Scandinavian myth), as well as norns (very reminiscent of the female spirits of the shaman tree, giving birth to souls or patronizing families) in their specific function of "midwives" and givers of personal destiny (opposition of "share" and "not part"); the fate of the whole world and the gods themselves is connected with the cosmic tree as a whole.

At the top of the tree in the sky, meetings of the gods take place, and there are also their dwellings (Asgard) and the special upper kingdom of the dead (Valhalla) subject to Odin, where the warriors who have died with honor in battle fall. The distribution of fates in battle is performed by Odin and the Valkyries.

Deep underground is the kingdom of death, where the "ordinary" dead go. Dew from the antlers of a deer eating ash leaves falls vertically into Niflhel. Differentiation and opposition of the "upper" and "lower" realms of the dead and, accordingly, Valkyries and norns are extremely characteristic of the "vertical" space model. The upper and lower realms of the dead are opposed not only by the gender of their master (Odin / Hel as husband / wife). Valhalla gives its inhabitants a full-fledged continuation of life in the upper world, feeding on inexhaustible honey milk of a wonderful goat and inexhaustible meat of a wonderful boar, they fight there again and come to life and feast again. At the end of the world, these Einherries from Valhalla, as Odin's squad, must participate in the battle on the side of the gods, and the dead from the kingdom of Hel - on the side of the chthonic monsters. Thus, along with the opposition between life and death, the vertical cosmic model implies the opposition of two "deaths" and the possibility of a kind of mediation between life and death, rebirth to life through war and death (cf. the idea of ​​temporary death in military initiations). War in odinic mythology turns out to be a mediator between life and death in both directions.

Giants practically do not appear in the vertical model, and only it is mentioned that under the three roots of the ash tree there are people, giants, Hel. Snorri has the same distribution of roots, but aces have been put in place of people, so that one of the roots, as it were, replaces the top of the tree.

The briefly described vertical model correlates with the horizontal through a series of identifications, which are, in essence, transformations. The main hinge that holds both models together is the identification of the "north", as well as the east with the "bottom" (the location of the kingdom of the dead and, in general, chthonic demonic forces). The water element in the horizontal model (sea) appears mainly with a negative sign, and in the vertical model - with a positive one (sources). Jormungand is to some extent equivalent to Nidhogg, gnawing at the roots of the cosmic tree. In the vertical model, there is no shamanic mediation of Loki between aesir, giants and dwarfs, and Odin performs the shamanic functions. Only in the vertical model is the description of the heavenly world of the gods and the heavenly "happy" kingdom of the dead developed, but in fact there is no opposition between the gods and giants and the struggle with them. Opposition with giants corresponds to a certain extent to opposition with the realm of the dead and chthonic forces. Therefore, if in the horizontal model the culture / nature aspect is most distinct in the opposition, then in the vertical model the space / chaos opposition is in the foreground.

As an example of the transformation of the plot during the transition from a "horizontal" model to a "vertical" one, let us refer to the story of Odin getting sacred honey, which gives poetic inspiration and wisdom.

The "Younger Edda" tells how Odin stole the honey of poetry from the rock, where he was guarded by Gunnlöd, the daughter of the giant Suttung: he spent three nights with her and for this he received permission to drink honey, which he then "spat out" upon his return to Asgard. This whole story unfolds against the background of a "horizontal" projection, within the framework of the eternal struggle of the Aesir with the giants who live at the end of the earth among stones and rocks. Only one moment implicitly reflects the "vertical" construction of the world: Odin penetrates the rock in the form of a snake, and returns to Asgard in the guise of an eagle. Bearing in mind that the eagle and the serpent mark the upper and lower levels of the world tree, its top and roots, the heavenly dwelling of the gods and the chthonic sphere, here you can see the hidden symbolism of a vertical wandering down the tree - there and up and back. The rock (mountain) itself in the mythology of many peoples is an analogue, an allomorph of the world tree, respectively, and the mistress of this rock and the honey imprisoned there turns out to be distantly related to the norns living at the roots of the tree and a sacred source, and her father Suttung can be close to Mimir - the master " honey "source or even with Heimdall - the guardian of the world tree, his anthropomorphic double.

So, the transition from a horizontal to a vertical model entails the transformation of the rock into a world tree, covered with life-giving honey dew, fed by "honey" springs. Accordingly, Odin receives a sip of sacred honey, being voluntarily suspended on the world tree, sacrificing himself to himself. In the transition from "horizontal" to "vertical", the cultural hero, who steals honey from his original keepers, turns into the first shaman to undergo painful initiation (the mythologeme of the cosmic tree is specifically associated with shamanism); the very abduction from a giant as a result of cunning is transformed into a gift from a giant after a ritual art. Instead of a love affair with the daughter of a giant, we find here an honorable relationship with the giants on the maternal side. Accordingly, the interpretation of the giants themselves changes: instead of the fabulous "stupid devil" - the keeper of ancient wisdom, conducting the initiation of his grandson and giving him not only honey, but also magical runes.

Emphasizing the well-known heterogeneity of horizontal and vertical space "projections", it should be borne in mind that this heterogeneity itself is relative within the framework of the general spatial metasystem.

In time, the cosmic model, as it were, disintegrates into cosmogonic and eschatological subsystems, between which there is a certain asymmetry due to the fact that Scandinavian mythology as a whole is permeated with eschatological pathos.

The cosmogonic mythology of the Edda is not a collection of isolated etiological myths, but a certain process of the formation of the world from a void, perhaps an initial abyss (Ginungagap) and the history of the transformation of chaos into space. In the first stanzas of "The Divination of the Volva", creation is revealed in the opposition of "emptiness" and its filling: there was no earth and sky, sea, grass, etc., there were no heavenly bodies or they did not know their place and role. In the same plan of cosmogenesis, the creation of a primordial being - the frost giant Ymir from the frozen splashes of the Elivagar stream flowing in the primary abyss should be considered as filling the void (according to Snorri, as a result of the interaction of two elements - ice from Niflheim and fire from Muspell, which met in the primary abyss, i.e. that is, in the order of mediation between water and fire, cold and heat).

The theme of the origin of the first anthropomorphic creature is dismembered (and thereby the redundancy of information is overcome) into the origin of the first giant Ymir from ice, the ancestor of the Storm gods (literally "parent") from a stone that was licked by the cow Audumla (totemic motif) and the first people from pieces of wood, which revived the ases (Odin, Lodur, Hoenir). So the theme of the origin of anthropomorphic creatures acquires a systemic order: a series of solid natural materials (ice, stone, wood) is compared to giants, gods and people, and, in addition, a progressive increase in the role of demiurges is outlined, a movement from spontaneity to an organizing principle. The chaotic nature of the giant Ymir is manifested, in particular, in the absence of polarization of the sexes: his children are born under the armpits and from the contact between his legs, his name possibly hints at bisexuality (Ymir resembles the Latvian Jumis - double fruit - and the Indian twins Yama-Yami).

The sacrifice of Ymir by the sons of Bor and the creation of the world from parts of his body (from the flesh - the earth, from the blood - the sea, from the skull - the sky, from the bones - the mountains) is the main act of creation as the transformation of chaos into space. In the first stanzas of "The Divination of the Volva" one can see a relic of the motive of raising the earth from the initial chaos of the sea (the sons of Bor raised the soil and made a beautiful Midgard), probably, the history of "fishing" of Thor goes back to the same motive.

There is, however, one more stage of cosmogenesis, implicitly associated with eschatological mythology: this is the story of curbing the chthonic monsters born by the giantess Angrboda from Loki, the mistress of death Hel, the world serpent Jormungand and the wolf Fenrir. Hel is thrown into the underworld, Jormungand - into the abyss of the sea (earthly chaos - water chaos), and Fenrir is chained, and he bites off Tyur's hand, who falsely vowed to free the wolf and sacrificed his hand to strengthen the world order. Celtic parallels suggest the hypothesis that the loss of an arm may have been a motive for the ousting of Tyr as supreme deity by Odin.

The Eddic myth of the golden age (the ases make everything out of gold, play tavlei and have fun) records the moment when that "wormhole" has not yet appeared in the newly created cosmos, which will subsequently lead to its death.

In the myth of the creation of humans, it is said that they were breathless and had no destiny. The gods revive them, but fate seems to be given by the norn, whose arrival is probably hinted at in the "Volva's Divination" at the end of this episode. Fate, which plays such an important role in Scandinavian mythology, is a necessary link in the organized world order, but also means the possibility of the death of not only individuals, but the gods and the world as a whole.

The etiological myth of the first war (between the Aesir and the Vanir) already foreshadows the impending doom, especially because of the violation of treaties and vows, and even more so that the Vanir have a certain relation to the ritual world that ensures fertility, prosperity, and wealth.

Finally, the myth of Balder, which occupies a central place in Old Norse poetic mythology, is in essence an etiological myth about the origin of death and, at the same time, a prologue to the tragedy of the death of the world, actually an introduction to Scandinavian eschatology. The ritual prototype of this myth, apparently, is the military initiation, but the death of Balder turned out not to be "temporary" (as in the initiation rites and in the "everyday life" of Odin Valhalla), but permanent, since Balder was not returned back from the kingdom of Hel. If the sacrifice of Ymir was an act of turning chaos into space, then Balder's sacrifice prepared the transformation of space into chaos (the very sacrifice of Odin and the unsuccessful triple burning of Gulveig also indicate the special role of sacrifices in the Scandinavian mythological "process").

The etiological myths about the first war and the first death build a bridge from cosmogony to eschatology and, in essence, are associated with the eschatologization of Scandinavian mythology as a whole. At the same time, eschatological myths are partly mirror reflection cosmogonic (and this "mirroring" is a certain characteristic of the relationship between the two subsystems): the story of the bridling of chthonic monsters is opposed by the story of their release to freedom and the battle with the gods. At the same time, Thor is still the main enemy of the world serpent, Heimdall is fighting Loki (as they once fought in the form of seals for the possession of Freya's jewel or for some exotic plant), Tyr - with the chthonic dog Garm, a double of Fenrir, whom he had in the past curbed (the fight with Fenrir is now being waged by the main ace - Odin). The land, previously raised from the sea, now plunges into it again; the stars, placed by the gods in the sky, fall down; the sun, which the Aesir set to shine, is now dying out; ice and fire, from the interaction of which the world arose, now destroy the universe. But if in cosmogonic mythology the myth of the sacrifice of the giant Ymir by the gods was central, then in eschatology the battle of the gods and Einherians with chthonic monsters and the inhabitants of the underworld of the dead occupies a central place. The beginning of the battle is proclaimed by the roosters - the red Gullinkambi (Golden comb) in Valhalla and the black one in Hel. The corresponding semantics of colors is manifested in the name of the fiery monster Surt (literally - black), and in the description of the ases Balder and Heimdall as the whitest, and in the red (red) beard of Thor, and in the red hair of Odin (only the blue cloak betrays his originally chthonic nature) ...

A new revival of the world, its renewal is accompanied by the reconciliation of Balder and Hed (also a mirror image!) And the resurrection of only the younger generation of gods - the young sons of Odin and Thor (opposition of the older and younger generations as "sinful" and "sinless"). There is a certain analogy between the replacement of giants by the ases and the older generation of the aces by the younger as a certain characteristic of the process of the development of the cosmic model of the world in time.

Eschatological mythology is built specifically on the opposition of chaos and space, and everything is subordinate to this opposition. The eschatological subsystem is distinguished by a certain isolation and some specific relationships that do not coincide with cosmogonic mythology or with myths about the wandering and adventure of the gods. So, Odin and Loki, in a number of myths acting jointly and almost duplicating each other in their functions as a whole, within the eschatological framework, sharply oppose each other, as the father of the gods and, in particular, Baldra, the leader of the Einherrians, the father of chthonic monsters, "the murderer by the advice of Balder, the helmsman of the ship of the dead; Odin and Thor, usually alternative to each other in the history of the wandering of the gods and in cosmogonic activity (or Odin raises the ground or Thor draws out the serpent of the middle Earth), act together in the eschatological plane; Ases and Vans, opposed in cosmology, are completely merged in eschatology; the dwarfs, who are partly opposed to the gods in eschatological terms, also fear the invasion of chthonic monsters together with them.

The relationship between spatial and temporal models is also a well-known problem in Scandinavian mythology. This, in particular, is the question of the relationship between cosmogony and cosmology and the question of the inhomogeneity of the relationship between "horizontal" and "vertical" models to the time factor and cosmic "evolution".

Some cosmogonic concepts are repeated in cosmology, which is quite natural and corresponds to such a fundamental feature of the myth as the reproduction of a model of the world by telling about the origin of its elements (the fundamental etiologism of the myth). In Scandinavian mythology, this fundamental feature of the myth is only partially manifested. The cosmological image of the earth, surrounded by the sea on all sides (and such a coincidence confirms the correct interpretation of relic motifs) corresponds to the relic of the cosmogonic idea of ​​the raising of the earth from the ocean and the eschatological immersion of the land into the water. In addition, the cosmogonic opposition in the time of the ases and giants (the appearance of frost giants precedes the appearance of the ases; the latter kill the giants, they create the world from the body of Ymir) is reproduced in space (Asgard and Yotunheim, the eternal struggle of the ases with the giants), with the leading role of the creator Odin in this replaced by the leading role of the "fighter" Thor.

Such a spread of the same opposition of space and time, the creation of two allomorphs - spatial and temporal, is extremely characteristic of archaic myth-making thinking. It should be noted, however, that the indicated convergence of cosmogony and cosmology refers to the "horizontal" spatial projection. At the same time, in the plots unfolding against the background of a horizontal projection, the movement of time is felt to be minimal and the plots are built according to a cyclical principle: they describe the circulation of values ​​between various categories of mythological creatures, as it were in a circle (although genetically these plots go back to etiological myths), for example, sacred honey passes from gods to dwarfs, from dwarfs to giants, and then again to gods. The enmity of aces and giants is the background for the adventures of Odin, Thor, Loki, but the general cosmic situation does not change over time. If we accept the hypotheses of the mythologists of the 19th century (which, however, is very doubtful), then this cyclicity could be interpreted calendar (the temporary stay of the goddesses of fertility at the "winter" giants, the temporary deprivation of Mjollnir in winter due to the absence of thunderstorms, etc.). The vertical "spatial" model is much more sensitive to the irreversible processes of time, since the cosmic tree is a tree of fate, concentrates the fate of the world. It was in the "vertical" projection that the idea of ​​giants as wise predecessors of the gods was retained, for example, in the above-discussed plot of Odin's shamanic initiation, in which the giant father of his mother acts as the "patron", in contrast to the story of the kidnapping of honey by Odin from Suttung, where the ases and giants are opposed only spatially.

The cosmic tree is an important figure in eschatological paintings, but is largely divorced from cosmogony. The concept of the world tree is in essence an alternative to the concept of the structure of the world from parts of the body of an anthropomorphic creature and, as noted above, redundancy is overcome by the fact that the plot of the emergence of the world from the body of Ymir does not go beyond the cosmogonic framework: the world is, as it were, created from Ymir, but its structure is in what follows is determined not by the dimension of the gigantic human body, but by the dimension of the gigantic tree. We leave aside the question of the relationship between these two allomorphs in genesis, as well as the relationship of these two concepts with a relic of the theriomorphic model of the earth in the form of a serpent of the middle earth of Jormungand (compare in Indian parallels - the cosmic tree, Purusha, the dragon Shesha, etc. .).

Scandinavian pantheon

Let's move on to the characterization of consistency and orderliness in the Old Norse ("Eddic") pantheon, which represents another aspect of the "model of the world" in the broad sense of the word. The gods, as a group of mythological creatures, oppose giants (jotuns, turs) and dwarfs (zwergs, black alves), as well as some categories of mythological female creatures that occupy a lower place in the hierarchy in relation to the gods (norns, valkyries, etc.). And, finally, the gods themselves, within the framework of cosmogonic mythology, as already indicated above, were thought of as a union of two formerly warring groups - the ases and the Vanir. Only the gods represent individualized characters, while other categories are internally homogeneous, although sometimes they differ in names. Giants and dwarfs almost always act in relation to the gods, and not to each other. One of the differential signs is height (larger - smaller in comparison with gods and people). Perhaps this is related to a kind of balance in the narratives of the adventures of the gods: the gods always collide with one giant or two dwarfs, most often two or three aces (Thor or One with companions) collide with giants, and one Loki with dwarfs.

In contrast to the gods localized in the sky, both giants and dwarfs are firmly connected to the earth and rocky soil, dwarfs are right there on the surface or directly below the surface, and giants are on the outskirts of the earth (or maybe at the same time somewhere "below") , so that they, to a certain extent, can be placed in the relationship of "close" and "distant". Giants are associated with the desert and cold and undoubtedly represent the elemental forces of nature, and dwarfs, as wonderful blacksmiths-demiurges, represent "culture". For all their "art" dwarfs are deprived of the witchcraft wisdom of the gods. As for the giants, then, as we have seen, in the horizontal space model and stories about the adventures of the aces, they often approach the fabulous "stupid devil" in character, but in cosmogonic myths and the Eddic dwarf giants, as a race preceding the gods, turn out to be guardians and even sources of wisdom (since the main source of wisdom is always the mythical past).

The Vans, apparently identified with the light alves (cf. the constantly acting alliterative formula "Ases and Alves"), oppose the Ases as a narrow group of gods specifically associated with agrarian cults, hence their other features follow: ritual peacefulness, ensuring the harvest and wealth, incestuous marriages between brothers and sisters (from such a marriage of Njord, Freyr and Freyja, who were born, were themselves, according to Loki, in an incestuous relationship; such marriages among the Aesir are impossible and, once among the Aesir, Njord marries the daughter of the giant Tyatsi, and Freyja marries Oda), possession of magic and a prophetic gift. And although the magical art and the prophetic gift are also specific to Odin, peacefulness for Balder, and agrarian prosperity for Thor, that is, for real ases, the combination of all these three signs remains a characteristic of the Vanir. In addition, Njord and Freyr are associated with the sea, Njord confronts his wife Skadi, as the master of the sea and the mistress of the mountainous country (the corresponding difference in tastes leads to dislocal marriage and rupture). Freya (goddess of fertility, like other goddesses, but with a strong erotic coloring) is, to a certain extent, a doublet of Frigg (Friya) - Odin's wife. Their names are similar and their meanings are mutually appropriate: "beloved" (Frigg) and "mistress" (Freya), Frigg is Odin's wife, and Freya is Oda (Od and One are two versions of the same root), Freya, together with Odin, distributes victories and the defeat of the warriors, which does not suit the representative of the Vanir at all.

No matter how genetically things are, these characters in Scandinavian mythology practically differ in that they are classified - one among the Vanir (Freya), and the other among the Aesir (Frigg). As already indicated, the very opposition of the Aesir and the Vanir is relevant only in cosmogony, which includes the motive of the war between the Aesir and the Vanir. In other fragments of Scandinavian mythology, "gods" and "ases" are completely synonymous. Historically, "Vanian" mythology (agrarian cult mythology, which can be conditionally classified as a "Mediterranean" type) has undoubtedly been pushed aside and absorbed by "Asynic" (primarily "Odinic") mythology.

Ases are represented in myths as a family-clan community, in which Odin is the main person, and Thor is in second place in importance. Both of them represent northern paganism in general, as opposed to Christianity. Tyr, who may have previously occupied the highest position, is completely pushed aside by Odin. The community of the Ases can be divided into the actual Ases and "former" Vans (included in the community as hostages), into gods and goddesses (male / female opposition), into the gods of the older generations and into young gods - the children of Odin or Thor, who will remain to live in a renewed world due to their sinlessness (opposition of the elders and the younger, who violated and did not violate ethical norms).

This younger generation includes Balder and the young heroes - born by Odin or Thor; Although Thor himself is considered the son of Odin, this only expresses the social seniority of Odin, and this is how they are thought within the framework of one generation. The function of the young heroes - the "silent" Vidar and Vali (the sons of Odin), Magni and Modi (the sons of Thor), is mainly limited to ancestral revenge (Vali avenges his brother Hyoda, and Vidar for Fenrir's father; Magni frees his father from under the leg pressing on him Hrungnir). There is also a well-known opposition of the entire community of ases to one Loki - the sower of strife, the mocker of other gods, the father of chthonic monsters, the mediator between gods and giants, gods and dwarfs. In addition, when it comes to the collective actions of the Aesir, there are either the Trinity - the "sons of Bor", that is, Odin, Vili and Be, or the "three Aes" - Odin, Loki (Lodur), Hoenir (Vili and Be never act independently, Hoenir is also a "extra"), or Thor with his companion, usually the same Loki, less often with Tjalvi or Tyr.

The Sons of Bor participate only in the affairs of creation, Thor with his assistant only in adventures with giants, and the three aes, alternatively with the sons of Bor in matters of creation, and alternatively with Thor's group, in adventures with giants. Thus, Odin is an obligatory participant in the affairs of creation, sometimes with the participation of Loki, and alternatively with Thor in adventures with giants, so that Loki can act as a companion of both. Odin's group and Thor's group oppose each other by the number of participants (3 or 2) and by the name of the main participant (Odin or Thor). As an exception, Odin or Thor appears alone (Odin's extraction of honey, Thor's visit to Geiröd) and, as an exception, Thor has two companions - Loki and Thjalvi, which, generally speaking, are alternative (history of Thor's trials in Utgard).

The active protagonists of the mythological epic, in essence, are only three characters - Odin, Thor and Loki, they are also endowed with certain epic "characters". Thor acts as a bearer of bodily heroic strength (it is also expressed in anger, gluttony, etc.), in contrast to the mind and cunning of Odin and Loki. At the same time, Odin directly opposes Thor as a cunning and insidious "carrier", making fun of the simple-minded strongman in the playful squabble of "Song of Harbard"; in the narrative songs about fighting the giants, Thor and Odin are alternative, act in relation to additional distribution and, as mentioned above, both are sometimes accompanied by Loki. Thor here confronts Loki, like a strong man to a cunning man: all the cunning and roguish tricks necessary for the success of the enterprise, Loki takes upon himself as Thor's companion and assistant; sometimes other assistants of Thor resort to cunning and witchcraft (companion Tjalvi or Tyr, the good sorceress Grid, the light-browed wife of the giant Hymir), but not himself.

Odin's mind, syncretically including both high wisdom and low cunning, and a prophetic gift, and cunning, and witchcraft power, is much broader than the cunning and deceit of Loki and in this sense opposes him. Where Odin and Loki act together, Loki is the executor of their common goals or Odin's plans (stealing Freya's necklace in order to force her to cause enmity between two heroes, robbery of the dwarf Andvari, etc.). When Odin acts alone, for example, in the story of the abduction of the honey of poetry, he himself widely resorts to witchcraft, cunning and deceit.

This difference in epic characters in terms of mythological types is revealed as the difference between the cultural hero-creator in the person of Odin and the cultural hero-hero who cleans the earth of monsters in the person of Thor (cf. Prometheus and Hercules), and the difference between the positive version of the cultural hero and the negative version - a rogue-trickster (Odin and Loki, cf. Prometheus and Epimetheus). In accordance with the function of these mythological types in the narrative, Thor is at war with the world serpent and giants, protecting Asgard and Midgard from them. Loki, through roguish tricks and deceitful promises, helps to steal goddesses and wonderful objects from the giants for the gods, then from the gods for the giants, obtains treasures for the gods from the dwarfs, that is, promotes the circulation of values ​​among various mythological groups. One steals the sacred honey of poetry from its original guardians - the giants, and in non-narrative poetry becomes the center of the cyclization of didactics and gnomes.

In contrast to Torah, Odin appears as a wise tul and the first shaman (hence his prophetic gift), and Loki as a kind of "black shaman" connected directly with the demonic world of chthonic monsters and mediating in relations with giants.

It was already noted above that Loki acts as the "double" of Odin, his comic double in cosmogonic myths and his demonic antipode in eschatological ones, since Odin is the father of the gods, and Loki is the father of chthonic monsters and the destroyer, the "murderer with the advice" of Balder. Odin is the owner of Valhalla and the leader of the Einherians, and Loki is the father of the mistress of the lower realm of the dead and "helmsman" of the ship of the dead. However, the almost complete absence of traces of the cult of Loki has long suggested that he is a kind of mythological "scapegoat" for the bloody rituals dedicated to Odin and reflected, in particular, in the history of the first death, that is, the murder of young Balder (direct killer , the "killer by hand" Höd can also be interpreted as Odin's double).

All this is consistent with the undoubted genesis of Odin from the chthonic demon and patron of military initiations (cf. Wodan as the driver of the "wild hunt" in the mythology of the continental Germans). The shamanic ecstasy of Odin opposes the heroic battle anger of Thor. There is a temptation, following Dumézil, to correlate the social functions of Odin and Thor in the Aesir community as the functions of a shaman-priest and a warrior. However, Odin also has to do with war, primarily as a witchcraft. It is he who is the distributor of military fate and luck, it is he, as the master of Valhalla and the leader of the Einherians, who is the model not only of a sorcerer-priest, but also of a military leader. Armed with a battle ax (hammer), Thor Odin opposes as the owner of a spear - a sign of military power and military magic. If Thor models an armed people, then Odin models a specially military squad (that is, inversely to the relationship between Perun and Veles - Volos, noted in the works of Vyach.V. Ivanov and V.N. Toporov). If Thor, like the epic heroes, is the defender of "his", that is, gods and people, from "strangers" - giants and chthonic monsters, then Odin is the initiator of strife and wars between people in accordance with his function of distributing military happiness. As the patron of initiations, Odin admits the death of "his own", but this death is "temporary" in the ritual and leads to the "super-life" of the Einherians in myth (as his comic stunt double, Loki tries to sow discord among the gods themselves, outrages the calmness in the Aesir community) ... Therefore, Odin can, on the other hand, allow himself to seduce the wives of the giants, whom Thor kills along with their husbands.

Thus, being both military gods, Odin and Thor differ in that one of them is a sorcerer, and the other is a hero, one represents a squad, and the other is a people, one distributes military happiness between his own (opposition of a share and a shortage), and the other protects his own from strangers, human from demonic. Tyr is also a military deity (he is strongly suppressed in its meaning by Odin; in the story with Khumir, he is only Thor's companion and advisor). The military function of Tyr has a purely ordering pathos: he is the tamer of Fenrir, the main chthonic destroyer, and in German mythology, interpreted by the Romans, he is called Mars thingus, that is, the guardian of military law, the legal conduct of military meetings and fights. Accordingly, Tyr opposes both the sower of strife, the sorcerer Odin (right against luck), and the fierce hero Thor, who always protects "his own" from the external forces of chaos. Odin, Thor and Tyr touch each other and as specifically heavenly gods (localization in the sky is the most important characteristic of the pantheon as a whole). Relic traits and etiology give Tyr as the original "master" of the sky, like Diaus-Zeus. Thor is a thunderbolt, perhaps originally modeling the sky itself in its dark guise.

The names of Thor's goats harnessed to his chariot ("gritting his teeth" and "gnashing his teeth") are associated with the phenomenon of thunderstorms, the fight against demons is specific for the thunderbolt - the bearer of heavenly fire, especially the fight against the world serpent living in the sea and threatening either drought ( as in Indian mythology - Vritra), or by a flood, as in Scandinavian, where, perhaps, the opposition of the "upper" heavenly water - rain and earthly, or rather sea, as manifestations of space and chaos is hidden. The Sámi parallels, cited since the time of A. Olrik to explain the Scandinavian culture of the Bronze Age, indicate the connection of the thunderbolt with the world tree and shamanism, but in Eddic mythology this mythology is entirely tied to Odin, Thor is the son of the earth (Jord or Fjergun) and Odin (undoubtedly ousted the older heavenly god), which indirectly implies the role of an intermediary between earth and heaven (cf. Indra), but this role, apparently, in Scandinavian mythology is completely curtailed, again in favor of Odin. As a result of the splitting of the concept of the kingdom of the dead, it was Odin - the owner of the "upper" kingdom of the dead, Valhalla, who turned out to be the main heavenly god and the main antipode of earthly chthonic monsters - the wolf Fenrir, in the first place (which does not prevent him from preserving wolves and ravens - these typically chthonic animals as their main animal helper spirits). Thor is directly opposed to water chaos (cf. also the motive for Thor to wade rivers), and Odin is opposed to earthly.

The economic function performed by the van gods and associated with the ritual myth, as already indicated, opposes them to the warlike aces (opposition of war and peace): van Freyr, in contrast to the armed gods (One with a spear, Thor - with a hammer, Tyr - with a sword , Ull - with a bow), unarmed (and forced to use it as a weapon - a horn), which is motivated in the myth by the fact that he gave his sword to Skirnir, wooing Gerd on his behalf (probably the plot of a ritual sacred wedding). Thor also sometimes remains unarmed (the story of the kidnapping of the hammer by Bilge or the deprivation of Thor of the hammer before going to Geared), but quickly regains it.

And yet the agrarian and economic function is not alien to the aces. She, however, is the extreme periphery of Odin's mythology. His involvement in agrarian magic may be indicated by his "eroticism" (base relations with the daughters of giants, as opposed to the sacred wedding of Frey and Gerd), as well as the images of a goat and a boar providing inexhaustible food to the inhabitants of Valhalla, and some ethnographic data on agrarian rites. On the other hand, the agrarian and economic function of the Thor is very strongly expressed, as evidenced by the data not only of the cult, but also of the myth. Frey's chariot is driven by a boar, and Thor's chariot is driven by goats, both of which are sacrificial animals associated with fertility, sacrificed and eaten. The goats come to life again, like the wild boar in Valhalla. Thor's position, however, is the opposite of Freyr's and Njord's regarding peace and the sea.

Almost all goddesses are related to fertility, at least genetically, in particular Freya (with her eroticism), Siv with golden hair, symbolizing fertility and harvest, and Idunn as the owner of wonderful apples that give youth.

Other, less often mentioned Ases are connected by less distinct systemic relations. The very mysterious figure of the guardian of the gods of Heimdall is somehow compared with Odin, firstly, by the connection of both with the cosmic tree and, secondly, by their inherent functions of the cultural hero-ancestor. Heimdall is the heavenly guardian of the gods and the tree and partly his anthropomorphic counterpart, and Odin is a shaman who uses the tree as a system of communication between different worlds. The parallelism between the eye of Odin hidden under the tree and the hearing (according to Snorri's interpretation - the horn) of Heimdall is striking, but there is still no satisfactory explanation of this parallelism (it is unlikely, as O. Olmarx believes, two lunar symbols). Under the name Riga, Heimdall is the founder and founder of social groups in human society. Heimdall is "father", that is, the ancestor of people, while Odin is the father of the gods and the ancestor of aristocratic families, and Loki is the ancestor of chthonic monsters. As the guardian of the cosmic tree and the ancestor - the patron saint of the human community - Heimdall is Loki's natural adversary.

Ull is the son of Siv and stepson of Thor, the ideal skier and archer, the patron saint of duels, probably a military deity with a local color corresponding to the northern landscape. It can be interpreted as a male version of the skier - the mistress of the mountainous northern country of Skadi. Ull, in fact, does not have a myth of his own, just as Snorri, mentioned among the ases of Forseti (ie, the "chairman"), the son of Balder and Nanna, is the divine personification of the Thing, a function that remotely brings him closer to Tyr.

The god of poetry - Bragi - performs only one of the many functions of Odin. It is a deified skald, possibly the historic Bragi Boddason.

Snorri also lists a number of asynical goddesses who actually belong to a lower hierarchical level, some of which are personifications of the individual functions of Frigga or Freya.

In the highly eschatologized Scandinavian mythology, astral and calendar representations do not play an essential role. The sun and the moon, day and night, winter and summer are presented in the form of abstract, weakly anthropomorphized personifications, very conditionally connected with each other and with their attributes - kinship... Night is the mother of the day, the sun and the month are sister and brother; the chariot of the sun and the moon is driven by horses and pursued by wolves - chthonic beasts, etc. The Father of the forest is called "pleasant" (Swasud), and the father of winter is called "cold as the wind" (Windswal).

Our task was to identify the most important regular connections that transform Scandinavian mythology into a system. Of course, there are isolated cases of violation of the system, but these exceptions are extremely few in number and, in their own way, very indicative. So, Thor, who usually appears before us as a simple-minded hero and is related only to giants, in the Eddic song "Speech of Alvis" appears as a sly man, cheating a dwarf wooing his daughter. True, this is not a plot narration, but a gnome, and perhaps there is a correlation between the two deviations from the "rules". As already indicated, in the comic dialogue "Songs of Harbard" (again a non-plot work) Thor is directly juxtaposed with Odin, although in plot narrations they are always alternative. This juxtaposition, however, expresses the true opposition between them (mind / strength). In both cases, the retreat coincides with a change in genre and a departure from the storytelling, in which these rules are especially clearly manifested. Even in the story of skirmishes with the giant Hrungnir, where both Odin and Thor appear, each has an independent plot, the two plots are contaminated due to the identity of the enemy. Loki and Thialvi are usually alternatives as Thor's companions, but on one occasion, namely in the story of Thor's journey to Utgarde, they both accompany him. However, this story, cited only by Snorri, undoubtedly more than all other plots bears the stamp of his personal treatment in a fairy-tale spirit. The role of the giant as the builder of Asgard is also atypical, but the interpretation of the giant himself, fooled by Loki, is quite traditional.

Demonstrating the high consistency of Scandinavian mythology (in comparison with many others), we tried to expose the "seams" in a single fabric, the mechanism for the combination and distribution of distinctive features that underlie the mythological images. To find these seams and mechanisms, we had to resort to small diachronic excursions.

Notes (edit)

1 On the structure of narrative plots in Scandinavian mythology, see: Meletinsky E. On the semantics of mythological plots in Old Norse (Eddic) poetry and prose / Scandinavian collection. XVIII. Tallinn. S. 145-156. This article can be considered essentially as an addition to the present work. Cp. also a somewhat excellent English version in the Journal of Symbolic Anthropology. 1973. No. 1-2.

In German-Scandinavian mythology, Odin was considered the eldest god. In addition to Odin, there were twelve gods: Thor, Balder, Tyr, Heimdall, Bragi, Hod, Vidar, Vali, Ull, Njord, Freyr, Loki. The main female characters of Scandinavian mythology are Frigg (Odin's wife, who knows fate), Freya (goddess of love), Idunn (keeper of golden rejuvenating apples), golden-haired Siv (wife of the thunder god Thor, presumably associated with fertility), etc.

Asy
Ases (sir) - in German-Scandinavian mythology, the highest gods. The supreme god and leader of the Aesir was Odin. They live in Asgard - the land of the Aesir gods, located in the sky. The Ases were constantly at enmity with the Yotuns (giants). At one time the Ases were at enmity with the Vani (gods of fertility). Runa Ansuz is associated with the aces.

Balder - in German-Scandinavian mythology, one of the aces, the god of spring.

Son of Odin and Frigga. He is so beautiful and pure in soul that radiance emanates from him. Balder is the kindest among the Aesir, with his arrival on earth life awakens and everything becomes more beautiful.

According to the legends, Frigga took an oath from every metal, from every stone, from every plant, from every beast, from every bird and from every fish that none of them would harm Balder. But Loki, having learned that Frigga had not yet taken an oath from the mistletoe, made an arrow out of this plant and tricked Hyoud into shooting at Balder. The arrow hit right in the heart. Vali, in a fury, attacked his blind brother and killed him, and Loki escaped punishment. Hermod went to the realm of the dead to offer ransom for his brother. Hel, the ruler of the underworld, said that she would bring Balder back to life if the whole world cried for him. The Asses dispersed in different directions to go around the whole world, but they met the giantess Tokk (whom Loki turned to) and said that she would not cry for Balder. So Balder remained in the realm of the dead. After this event, the gods chained Loki in a cave where he was to await Ragnarok.

Bur (Borr or Burr) - in German-Scandinavian mythology, one of the aces, the son of the Buri and the father of Odin. Mentioned in the Younger Edda:

“The Tempest had a son named Bur, who married a woman named Bestla, daughter of the giant Bölthorn; and they had three sons: the first Odin, the second Vili, the third Ve. "

Bur is not mentioned any more in the Younger Edda. Sometimes referred to in Scandinavian poetry as Odin's father. Beur's role in mythology is not completely clear and there is no indication that he was worshiped by the ancient Scandinavian pagans.

Bragi - in German-Scandinavian mythology, the skald god, famous for wisdom and eloquence, the husband of the goddess Idunn.
The name of Braga is connected with the myth of the poetry Honey, known from the "Younger Edda". According to legend, Odin stole the magic drink from Guttung, and when he reached Asgard, he poured it into golden vessels, which he then gave to his son Braga. Since then, it is believed that true talent has been bestowed only on a select few.

Storms - in Scandinavian mythology, the father of Beur and the grandfather of Odin, the supreme god of Eddic myths. The name of the Storm appears only in the history of the creation of the world and the origin of the frost giants. The storms, "handsome, tall and mighty," arose when the first-born cow Audumla licked the salty stones covered with frost.

Vali is the god of vengeance in German-Scandinavian mythology. Son of Odin and Rind.

According to the myth, he avenged the murder of Balder at the age of one day.

Var is one of the aces, in German-Scandinavian mythology, the goddess of truth.

She listens to and writes down the oaths and promises of people, and also takes revenge on those who break them. She is also the goddess of love vows and marriage unions. Her name is rarely mentioned in Scandinavian myths.

Vidar - in Scandinavian mythology, the god of vengeance, the son of Odin and the giantess Grid.

He avenges his "father" Odin, whose projection he is. Vidar is the god of silence and helps to survive the crisis.

On the day of Ragnarok, according to the prophecy of the prophetic Norn, the goddesses of fate, the huge wolf Fenrir will kill Odin, after which he will be killed by Vidar.

Idun (Idhun, also Iduna) - in German-Scandinavian mythology, the goddess of eternal youth, the daughter of the dwarf Ivaldi, the wife of Braga, the god of poetry.

She is known as the keeper of apples, on the possession of which the eternal youth of the gods depended. The giant Tiatsi forced the captured Loki to give him Idun along with these apples, but soon Loki managed to return them for the gods. The abode of Idun was Brunnakr, that is, the field of wells, the kingdom of the all-living wells of youth.

Loki (Loki, Loke) - the god of fire in Germanic-Scandinavian mythology, comes from the Jötun family, but the Aesir allowed him to live with them in Asgard for his extraordinary intelligence and cunning. Loki's other names are Lodur, Loft.

The son of the giant Farbauti and the giantess Lauvey. Before the giants began a war with the Asami, Loki lived for three years in Yotunheim with the giantess Angrboda. During this time, she bore him three children: a daughter - half red, half blue Hel (goddess of the kingdom of the dead), the giant snake Jormungand and the wolf cub Fenrir. In addition, he existed for about a year in the form of a mare and gave birth to the eight-legged foal Sleipnir, which Odin later rode. He also has two children from Sigyn: Nari and Vali (in other versions: Nari and Narvi, Vali and Tsarvi)

Loki's traits are characteristic of tricksters: duplicity, resourcefulness, cunning, deceit. Loki is often considered deceitful, but this is not entirely true: the concepts of "lie" and "truth" are simply absent for Loki. He caused many troubles to other Aesir, in particular, led to the death of the god Balder. On the other hand, the Aesir often resorted to his services when it was necessary to show cunning. Loki had the ability to change his appearance. So, in the form of a mare, he lured a horse (Svadilfari) from a jotun-mason who built Asgard, thereby saving the Ases from the need to give the latter one of the goddesses as a wife.

Enraged by Loki's intrigues, the aces caught him and his two children, Nari turned into a wolf and he tore his brother apart. Vali Loki's guts and chained to a rock, to three stones. Skadi, avenging her father, hung a snake over his head, the poison of which continuously drips onto Loki's face. But the faithful wife of the god Sigyn holds a cup over him, into which the poison is collected. When the bowl is full, Sigyn goes to empty it, while poison drips onto Loki's face, and he struggles in agony. According to myths, this is what causes earthquakes.

Nanna (nord. Mother) - daughter of Nep, wife of Balder, mother of Forseti. Goddess from the Aesir clan in Scandinavian mythology. She lived with her husband Balder in the Breidablik palace in Asgard. After Loki tricked the blind Hood into killing Balder, she threw herself into Balder's funeral pyre.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search

This term has other meanings, see One (meanings).

Odin, the traveler Georg von Rosen, 1886
One, a traveler.
Georg von Rosen, 1886

Odin (or Wotan, inn, Odin, Wodan) is the supreme god in Germanic-Scandinavian mythology, the father of the Aesir. God of war and victory, consort of Frigga. The ancient Romans identified him with Jupiter / Zeus.

A sage and shaman, an expert on runes and legends, but at the same time, the god of the military aristocracy, the master of Valhalla and the ruler of the Valkyries.

According to legend, he appeared to people most often in the form of a one-eyed old man (Odin gave his right eye to Mimir to drink from a source of wisdom) in a blue cloak and a felt hat, accompanied by two ravens or two wolves, armed with a spear. It was believed that under the guise of a poor wanderer he wanders all over the world, and it will be bad for someone who, having forgotten the laws of hospitality, will push him away from his doorstep. The inhabitants of Scandinavia believed that he often travels around the land on his horse or, invisible to people, takes part in their battles, helping the most worthy to win.
One drives Sleipnir into Valhalla

Odin's companions are the ravens Huginn and Muninn (Huginn, Muninn; "thinking" and "remembering") and the wolves Geri and Freki ("greedy" and "voracious"), his mount is the eight-legged horse Sleipnir. In Odin's right hand is the Gungnir spear, it never flies past the target and strikes to death anyone it hits. His ship was Skblanir ("made of thin planks"), which could be folded into a purse if needed, and which was the fastest ship.

One did not need food: he never eats, but lives only by drinking honey or mash.

Wild Hunt - One, accompanied by those killed in battle, sweeps through the sky during winter storms.

Saga (Old Norse Saga) is a goddess of Scandinavian mythology about whom there is little data. According to Edda's Grimnisml, S. lives on Sokkvabekk and drinks daily there with Odin from a golden vessel. Apparently S. is just another name for Frigga, Odin's wife. Müllengoff sees S. as the personification of the sun's reflection in the water.

Seth (or Siv) - in German-Scandinavian mythology, the goddess of fertility, the wife of Thor, a resident of Asgard.

It was considered the second after Freya in beauty. Known for her magical golden hair. Mother of the Valkyrie Trud (rr), Modi and Ull (Thor is not Ull's father).
Seth

According to the legends, Loki, out of envy of Thor, sneaked up to her at night and shaved the sleeping goddess bald. Thor, upon learning of what had happened, immediately guessed who could have done this to his wife. He was ready to kill Loki, but he vowed to fix what he had done. Loki went to the land of the gnomes to the brothers Ivaldi (sometimes referred to as the gnome Dwalin), famous for their blacksmithing skills. The dwarves, having heard Loki's request, were delighted. They have long wanted to show the aces their extraordinary art. The hair forged by the gnomes was described in the following words: “Long and thick, they were thinner than a spider's web, and, most surprisingly, as soon as they were applied to the head, they immediately grew to it and began to grow, like real ones, although they were made of pure gold ". This is how Seth got her golden hair.

Thor (rr, Thor, Thunar, Donar) - in Germanic-Scandinavian mythology, one of the aces, the god of thunder and lightning, the eldest son of Odin and the goddess of the earth Yord.

He patronizes the peasant farmers. In addition, he protects the world of people and gods from the attacks of the evil giants Grimtursen. In the last battle (Ragnarok), he will fight the world serpent Jormungand, kill him and die from his wounds.

Thor's weapon is the thunder hammer Mjöllnir, which returns to its owner when dropped. The blow of this hammer summons lightning.

In legends, Thor is described as a mighty red-bearded hero. It was believed that in the whole world there is no one equal to him in strength. Thor is so large and heavy that no horse can support him, and therefore he rides in a chariot drawn by two goats: Tanngnjstr and Tanngrisnir. These goats simultaneously serve as an inexhaustible source of food - stopping for the night, Thor fries and eats them, leaving only bones, and in the morning they come to life again.

Tyr (Tr) - in German-Scandinavian mythology, the one-armed god of military valor and wisdom, one of the aces, the son of Odin and the giantess, sister of Gimir.

Tyur's hand was bitten off by the wolf Fenrir when the aces bound the wolf with a magic chain. On the day of Ragnarok Tyr must fight the monstrous dog Garm, and they will kill each other.

Ull - in German-Scandinavian mythology, the stepson of the god Thor. An excellent archer. All his arrows hit the target, no matter how far and small it may be. Ull is also the fastest skiing player. People also learned this art from him. Patronizes athletes and healthy lifestyles.

Forseti (Old Norse. Forseti, "chairman") - in German-Scandinavian mythology, the son of Balder and Nanna, the god of justice and justice, resolving disputes and returning consent to the disputants. Forseti was one of the wisest and most eloquent aces.
Forseti ruled in Glitnir (Old Norse Glitnir - shining, so named because of the brightest shine of silver and gold from which it was made).

Frigg - In German-Scandinavian mythology, Odin's wife, the supreme goddess. She patronizes love, marriage, home, childbirth. She is a seer who knows the fate of any person, but who does not share this knowledge with anyone.

Frigg's mother is considered Fjorgin (presumably the goddess of the earth). Sons of Frigga and Odin: Balder, Höd, Hermod.

Frigg lives in Fensalir (swamp palace, sometimes translated as water or oceanic). Her assistants are the servant Fulla, the messenger of Gna, and Glyn is the protector of people. It is not entirely known whether they are independent individuals or incarnations of Frigga.

Höd - in German-Scandinavian mythology, one of the aces, blind. Son of Odin and Frigga.

Known for killing Balder with an arrow placed in his hands by the fire god Loki. For which he was killed by the ace Vali before he could say about his innocence. On the day of Ragnarok, he will return to the world of the living and will be among the new gods who will survive the last battle.

Heimdall (Heimdallr) - in German-Scandinavian mythology, a god from the Aesir clan, the son of Odin.

Heimdall is the guardian of the gods who lives at the edge of the world and protects the Bivrest rainbow bridge from the giants-jötuns. He sees day and night at a distance of a hundred miles and hears the grass growing in the field and the wool on the sheep.

His teeth are solid gold, and the golden horn of Gjallarhorn hangs from his belt, the sound of which will be heard in every corner of the world. The sound of his horn will herald the beginning of Ragnarok.

Vanir (Vanir)
Vans - in German-Scandinavian mythology, the gods associated with fertility, at one time were at enmity with the Aesir.

Nerthus (German Nerthus) - Germanic goddess, according to Tacitus - "Mother Earth", probably, the tribal deity of the Ingveons. Revered by many North Germanic peoples, she had a sacred grove on the island (maybe Alsene). On a sacred chariot drawn by two cows, its image was taken from time to time from tribe to tribe; her arrival was considered to bring peace and fertility and was accompanied by fun and festivities. Then the chariot and clothes were washed in a secret lake, and the slaves who performed this work were immediately swallowed up by water, that is, sacrificed. N. probably had a brother of the same name, found in Scandinavian mythology with the name Njord.

Njord, in Scandinavian mythology, a god from among the Vanir, father of Freyr and Freyja. Njord represents the wind and the sea, but, like the other Vanir, is primarily the god of fertility. After the war of the Aesir and Vanir, he becomes a hostage of the Aesir (in the "Younger Edda" he is already often ranked among the Aesir) and settles in Noatun ("Shipyard"), which, according to the "Younger Edda", is located in the sky, but at the same time seas. When the sir kill the giant Tiazzi, Njord marries his daughter, the huntress goddess Skadi. Skadi agreed to marry Njord as a sign of reconciliation with the Aesir, but she could not live with him by the sea, where she was awakened by the cries of seagulls, so they live for nine days in Njord's dwelling - Noatune and the same in Trumheim, in the mountains, since Skadi loves mountains and wolves. The Speeches of Vafthrudiir (The Elder Edda) says that Njord will return to the Vani at the end of the world.

Njord is rich, has power over the sea, wind and fire, patronizes seafaring, fishing, hunting for sea animals.

Frey (Frey) - in German-Scandinavian mythology, the god of fertility and summer, from the Vanir clan.

Frey comes from the Vanir clan. He is the son of Van Njord and the giant Skadi. Njord - adopted son of Odin; the Vanir left Nyord in Asgard hostage after the Vanir and Aesir made peace. Freyr also had a twin sister Freyja.

Freyr is subject to sunlight, he sends people rich harvests. Frey is not much inferior in beauty to Balder himself and is as kind as his father Njord. He does not like wars and quarrels and patronizes peace on earth both between individuals and between entire nations.

Legends mention that Frey received the ship Skidbladnir from Dwalin, and the Gulinn-bursti boar from Sindri.

Frey's sacred animal is the wild boar.

According to the Ynglings Saga, King Freyr of Sweden died of illness and was buried in a mound. However, the news of his death was kept secret. Three passages were dug in the mound, into which gold, silver and iron were poured over the course of three years. Saxo tells a similar story of the Danish king Froto: after his death, he was embalmed and, seated in a carriage, drove for three years throughout the country. It is known, however, that Froto is just another name for Freyr. Freya also had a sister named Freya.

Freya (or Vanadis, which means "daughter of the Vanir") - in German-Scandinavian mythology, the goddess of love and war, a resident of Asgard.

Freya comes from the Vanir clan. She is the daughter of Van Njord and the giant Skadi. Njord - adopted son of Odin; the Vanir left Njord hostage in Asgard after the Vanir and Aesir made peace.

In Asgard, Freya is the first after Frigga. There was no equal to her in beauty and there is no in the whole world either among the gods or among people, and her heart is so soft and tender that she sympathizes with the suffering of everyone. Freya has a magical falcon plumage that can be worn to fly in the form of a falcon, and a gold Brisingamen necklace, which she received after sleeping with four dwarfs. When Freya cries, tears of gold fall from her eyes. In addition, Freya is the leader of the Valkyries. Freya rides in a chariot drawn by two cats; her pet is Hildeswini, a "war boar" who is actually her lover Ottar in disguise. Freya lives in the most beautiful palace Folkvang (Folkvang - "Field of People", "People's Field"), the main hall of which is called Sessrumnir.

Besides love, Freya is "responsible" for fertility, harvest and harvest. Harvests vary, and Freya sometimes has seizures that make it permissible for her to reap a bloody harvest. In this way, Freya can bring victory to the battle. She also takes half of the fallen warriors (Odin takes the other half). This does not mean that she takes worse warriors for herself than Odin; they divide the fallen warriors among themselves.

Freya married a man named Od, who, according to some sources, was a mere mortal, and according to others - the embodiment of the god Odin. Od has been missing for a long time, and since he was mortal, which means he probably already died, Freya is considered a widow by all laws. It was after the loss of Oda, Freya began to cry with tears turning to gold.

Freya taught the Aesir the arts of sorcery and witchcraft, which were common among the Vanir.

Tours (thurs) - in German-Scandinavian mythology, giants, most often humanoid. Runa Turisaz is associated with turs.

Corresponds to the titans in ancient mythology.

Tours (giants) are divided into several genera, according to places of residence.

* Rime giants are the first living beings (Ymir and his children) who appeared in the world even before the gods and people. Their direct continuation - the ice giants - the inhabitants of Niflheim.
* Jotuns - descendants of Bergelmir - residents of Jotunheim.
* Fire giants are residents of Muspelheim.

Frost giants - in German-Scandinavian mythology, the eternal giants. Those who lived before the Aesir.

Ymir is the ancestor of frost giants. During the murder of Ymir by the ases, almost the entire family of frost giants perished. It is believed that only Bergelmir and his wife survived. The legends further mention the ice giants who lived in Niflheim, as direct descendants of the frost giants.

Bergelmir is a giant in German-Scandinavian mythology who, together with his wife, survived the murder of Ymir.

The sagas mention that Bergelmir was the son of Trudgelmir and, accordingly, the grandson of Ymir. When the aces killed Ymir, he was the only one who built a boat and escaped from flooding. Later, the Aesir created a country (Jotunheim) for Bergelmir to the east of Midgard.

Bergelmir is considered the progenitor of all Jötuns.

Ymir (Ymer, Ymir) - in German-Scandinavian mythology, the first living creature, a frost giant, from which the world was created.

It originated from the ice of Elivagar, in which warmth gave birth to life. A man and a woman grew up under his left hand, and from his feet the six-headed giant Trudgelmir (the ancestor of the Grimtursen family of giants-Jotuns) was born. He was killed by the descendants of the giant Storm, Odin, Vili and Be. Having killed, they created the world out of him: from meat - dry land, from blood - water, from bones - mountains, from teeth - rocks, from hair - forest, from brain - clouds, from skull - vault. Each of the four corners of the firmament, the new gods rolled in the shape of a horn and planted each horn in the wind: in the north - Nordri, in the south - Sudri, in the west - Vestri and in the east - Austri.

Skadi (Old Norse Skai; spelling options: Skade - common Scandinavian, Skadi, Skadhi, Skathi - transliteration of the name Skai), in Scandinavian mythology, a frost giantess, the patroness of hunting. Her attributes (as well as the god Ull) are bow and skis. She was probably originally a fertility goddess in her winter form. Skadi represents winter and ice, is the wife of Njord. Mentioned in the Elder Edda, the Lesser Edda, and the Yngling Saga.

According to Scandinavian myths, when the aces killed her father Tiazzi, Skadi armed herself and went to avenge him in Asgard. However, the Aesir offered Skadi to choose one of the gods as their husband as a ransom for his father. She agreed, setting a condition: the aces had to make her laugh, which until then no one had succeeded. Loki tied a goat's beard to his scrotum and rode like that in front of Skadi. She burst out laughing, followed by all the other aces. Then Skadi was asked to choose a husband. She had to choose, seeing only the bare feet of the aces. The giantess pointed to one of them, believing that it was Balder, but her chosen one was Njord of Noatun ("Shipyard"). Finally, Odin took Tiazzi's eyes and threw them into the sky, creating stars out of them; so peace was established between Skadi and the Aesir.

Skadi wanted to settle in Trumheim ("The House of Noise"), in the mountains, where her father lived, while Njord wanted to live by the sea. They decided to live in Trumheim for nine days and in Noatun for another nine days. But, returning one day from the mountains to Noatun, Njord said:
Germanic-Scandinavian mythology
Tours (giants)

Beli, Fenja, Hyndla, Menja, Olvaldi, Ragnhild,

Jotun giants: Baugi, Bileist, Billing, Vaftrudnir, Gilling, Gimir, Grungnir, Guttung, Kari, Loki, Mani, Mimir, Modgud, Mokkurkalfi, Mundilferi, Narfi, Skimir, Snör Trim, Farbauti, Fyargälär, Vor ,

Giantess Jotuns: Angrboda, Gerd, Girokkin, Grid, Gunnled, Lauweya, Ran, Rind, Sol, Tokk, Hel, Hrod, Ellie, Yarnsaxa

Rime giants (ice giants): Bergelmir, Besla, Böltorn, Geirod, Grape, Gyalp, Ymir, Skadi, Tiazzi, Trudgelmir

Fire Giants: Surt, Logi
Alves, Asses, Vans, Tours

..................................

Lei erumk fill, I don’t like mountains,
vark-a ek lengi, even though I was there
ntr einar nu; nine days only.
lfa ytr I do not change
mr tti illr vera click swan
hj sngvi svana. to the howling of the wolves.

To which Skadi replied:
Sofa ek n mttak Don't let me sleep
svar bejum bird calls
fugls jarmi fyrir; on the bed of the sea,
s mik vekr, every morning
er af vi kemr, wakes me up
morgun hverjan mr. sea ​​gull.
.......................................
Skadi returned to the mountains and settled in Trumheim, where she returned to her usual activities. In one of the chapters Elder Edda, "Speech of Grimnir", it is said about it like this:
rymheimr heitir Trumheim is called,
er jazi bj, where once Tiazzi
s inn mttki jtunn; Tours inhabited;
en n Skai byggvir, there Skadi dwelling,
skr brr goa, the light goddess,
fornar toftir fur. in my father's house.
Grmnisml, 11 Grimnir's Speeches, stanza 11

The Yngling saga mentions that Skadi later became Odin's wife and bore many sons from him.

In the Altercation of Loki (Elder Edda), it is said that when the sir caught Loki, the culprit in the death of Balder, and tied him to a rock, it was Skadi who hung a snake over Loki's head, from whose teeth poison was constantly oozing.

There is an opinion that Skadi was previously revered on a par with Frigg and Freya, however, as the Scandinavian beliefs developed, it lost its significance. It is interesting to note that the name Skadi is found in the oldest Scandinavian place names. Some researchers believe that the very name "Scandinavia" originated from this name.

Jotuns, ytuns (Old Norse Jtunn - glutton) in German-Scandinavian mythology are giants (turs) of the Grimtursen family, children of Ymir. The Jotuns lived in Jotunheim, were distinguished by their strength and growth, and were opponents of the Aesir and the people.

The Yotuns were elemental spirits. Some of the Yotuns lived in the Stone Mountains; it was believed that their head and heart were stone.

Angrboda - in German-Scandinavian mythology, a giantess who gave birth to three children Loki.

According to legend, Angrboda lived in the Iron Forest. From Loki she gave birth to: the wolf Fenrir, the snake Jormungand and the girl Hel. When Odin found out about the children of Loki, he sent Thor to take them to Asgard in order to personally decide their fate.

Angrboda is not mentioned in further narratives.

Baugi is a giant, brother of Guttung, son of Gilling. Mentioned in the legend of the "honey of poetry".

One cunning quarreled Bauga's servants and they killed each other. Then Odin, introducing himself as Bolwerk, offered Baugi to work instead of them for the whole summer, demanding, instead of payment, help in the extraction of "honey." When Odin had completed his due date, Baugi took the asa to the mountain, in which there was a cave with a hidden drink. They were supposed to split the "honey" in half, but Odin deceived Baugie (and then the Guardian Gunnled) and took everything for himself.

Gilling is a giant, the father of Guttung and Bauga.

In legends it is mentioned in connection with the "honey of poetry". He was visiting Fjalar and Galar shortly after they killed Kvasir and prepared the "honey of poetry." The dwarfs could not resist and boasted to the giant of their drink. Soon they regretted that they had blabbed, and, fearing that the giant would betray them, they decided to kill him. Guttung accidentally witnessed the murder of his father and was about to kill the dwarves, but they bought off the precious drink.

Gimir - in German-Scandinavian mythology, a giant who remained neutral with the Aesir. His head was unusually hard, it was believed that nothing was harder than his forehead.

According to legend, he lives in Niflheim, in a huge cave on the seashore. It is mentioned twice in legends. The first is when he sailed with Thor to catch Jormungand, and the second when Thor took the cauldron for a feast from him in memory of Balder.

Gimir is Tyur's uncle.

Grungnir - in German-Scandinavian mythology, the giant, the prince of Jotunheim, owned the Stone Mountains. Like other inhabitants of the Stone Mountains, he had a stone head and heart. He was considered the strongest of the Jotuns of his time.

According to legend, he met Odin, walking on his horse - Sleipnir, and argued with him that he would overtake the eight horse on his four-legged (Gulfaxi). Grungnir's horse almost did not lag behind Sleipnir, and when the race ended at the gates of Asgard, Odin invited the jotun to share a meal with the aces. Despite his powerful build, the giant quickly got drunk and began to brag. When he promised to destroy Asgard and become ruler instead of the Aesir, they called for Thor's help. Since Grungnir was unarmed, he challenged Thor to a duel, which took place three days later. Preparing for the duel, the giants made a shield for Grungnir, which was supposed to protect against Thor's hammer. (The legend of the shield says the following: Three hundred giants immediately set to work, and by the morning of the third day such a shield was already ready. It was made from the thickest oak trunks, and on top it was lined with chiseled granite blocks the size of two good peasant houses each.) In addition, the giants blinded the giant Mokkurkalfi from clay to help Grungnir. Distracted by Thialfi, Thor's servant, Grungnir missed the appearance of the ace. Seeing the enemy, Thor threw a hammer at him from a distance, but the giant almost simultaneously managed to throw his weapon at the god of thunder. Grungnir's flint club collided with Mjöllnir in the air and shattered. One of the fragments pierced Thor's forehead. Unconscious, the thunder god staggered and fell from the chariot right at the giant's feet. But Grungnir did not even have time to rejoice at his victory: having smashed the giant's club, Mjollnir fell with such force on the granite head of the lord of the Stone Mountains that he split it in half, and the giant fell heavily on the body of his enemy, crushing his throat with his knee. Meanwhile, Thor's faithful servant, sword in hand, rushed to Mokkurkalfi. Their fight also did not last long. The clay giant, as soon as he saw the god of thunder, trembled like an aspen leaf and after several blows crumbled to pieces. Tialfi, seeing what had happened to Thor, jumped into the asa's chariot and brought Odin and everyone else from Asgard. But the aces could not even lift the giant's leg. Only Magni, who came to the battlefield (Thor's son from the giantess Yarnsaxa, who grew up in three days), was able to free Thor.

Gunnled - in German-Scandinavian mythology, a giantess, the daughter of Guttung.

She guarded the "honey of poetry" obtained by her father from the dwarves Fjalar and Galar. One entered her cave and, introducing himself as Bolverk, stayed with her for three days. The price for this time was three sips of the valuable drink. In three sips, Odin drained all the reserves of "poetry honey". Her further fate is unknown.

Guttung (or Suttung) is a giant in German-Scandinavian mythology, the son of Gilling.

Guttung searched for his father and witnessed his murder by the dwarf brothers Fjalar and Galar. The giant wanted to take revenge on the dwarfs for his father, but they paid off with the "honey of poetry." Guttung took the drink and hid it in the center of the mountain, and put his daughter, Gunnled, to guard.

Upon learning about the drink, Odin decided to taste the "honey". He worked for Baugi, Guttung's brother, all summer to get help in obtaining the magic potion. Baugi drilled through the mountain, and Odin, turning into a worm, slipped into it. Before Gunnled, he appeared as a handsome youth and charmed her. He agreed to spend three days with her for three sips of the drink. After three days, Odin in three gulps drank all the supplies of "honey" and, turning into a large eagle, flew away. Guttung tried to catch up with the kidnapper, but Odin managed to fly to Asgard.

Logi is a character in German-Scandinavian mythology, a fire giant, the very personification of fire.

He is mocking, cunning and mischievous, but he can be mysterious and majestically mysterious. Logi is blood related to Wotan, but they are antipodes. Wotan seeks to bring order to the world, the troublemaker Logi destroys it. Although it is Logi who helps Wotan take the ring from the Nibelungen. Logi (like Loki) is on the side of Wotan, then on the side of his enemies, he seems to contribute to some balance between the mythological worlds.

Mimir is a giant in German-Scandinavian mythology who guards the source of wisdom.

Mimir guards the well, the water of which gives knowledge to the drinker. He does not let anyone drink from this source just like that. According to legend, Odin sacrificed his right eye to gain wisdom.

Trim is a giant in German-Scandinavian mythology, the prince of Jotunheim. He stole his hammer from Thor, for which he was killed.

Legends say that during one of Thor's overnight stays, Mjöllnir was stolen from him. Loki went to Jotunheim to find out about the kidnapper. The first he met was Trim, who immediately confessed to stealing the hammer and demanded the goddess Freya as a ransom. Having learned about everything that had happened, the Aesir gathered together and Heimdall advised Thor to go to Jotunheim under the guise of Freya (in a woman's dress). Loki went with Thor, disguised as Freya's servant. Thanks to Loki's cunning, Trim was fascinated and moved. He sent his sister to the guests so that she would put a hammer on his “bride's” knees and receive from her in return some gift (which was the wedding ceremony at that time). Having received his hammer back, Thor killed Trim, all his family and guests who came to Trim's wedding.

Hel (Hell) - the ruler of the world of the dead, Helheim, the daughter of the treacherous Loki and the giantess Angrboda (Malignant).

When she was brought to Odin along with the other children of Loki, he gave her the possession of the land of the dead. All the dead fall to it, except for the heroes who died in battle, whom the Valkyries take to Valhalla.

Hel is terrifying in its appearance. She is gigantic in height, one half of her body is black and blue, the other is deathly pale, which is why she is called blue and white Hel.

Also in legends, she is described as a huge woman (larger than most giants). The left half of her face was red, and the right half was bluish black. Her face and body are a living woman, and her thighs and legs are like a corpse, stained and decaying.

Egir (Aegir, Oegir) - in German-Scandinavian mythology, the demon of the world sea; his wife, Ran, catches sailors with her net and stops ships. Egir is on friendly terms with the gods: he invites them to his party and visits them himself. In poetry, he is a description or personification of a calm sea.

Fire giants (Muspel) - in German-Scandinavian mythology, giants, inhabitants of Muspelheim.

They are practically not mentioned in the legends. All the inhabitants of the Tierra del Fuego (Muspelheim) are considered to be fire giants and it is believed that no one else can live there.

The lord of the fire giants Surt. Legends say that on the day of Ragnarok, he, along with his army, will oppose the Aesir. He himself will die, but his flaming sword will cut down the world tree Yggdrasil.

Norns
Norns - in German-Scandinavian mythology, three women, sorceresses, endowed with a wonderful gift to determine the fate of the world, people and even gods.

Norn's names:

* Urd - which means past or destiny.
* Verdandi - which means present or becoming.
* Skuld - which means future or debt.

The Norns live near the source of Urd, in Midgard. They water the root of the world tree Yggdrasil with the waters of this spring and thus prolong its existence. In legends, they were portrayed as three women, one old and decrepit (Urd), the other middle-aged (Verdandi), the third very young (Skuld).
One several times turned to the norns for advice, in the same way the norns sometimes predicted the future themselves.

Valkyries
Valkyrie (Valkyrja, Wlcyrge - “choosing the slain”) - in Scandinavian mythology, the daughter of a glorious warrior or king, who flies on a winged horse over the battlefield and chooses the bravest warriors to take them after their death to the heavenly palace of Valhalla.
Warrior maidens are portrayed in helmets, with shields and spears; from the shine of their armor, according to legends, the northern lights appear in the sky.
In Valhalla, the Valkyries serve the soldiers at the table.

Northern mythology represents an independent and richly developed branch of Germanic mythology, which, in its turn, basically goes back to the most ancient Proto-Indo-European history ...

Creatures from Scandinavian myths

Zwerg Andvari

Andvari ("caution"), in Scandinavian mythology, a zwerg, the owner of fatal gold and a magical ring of power.
In the Germanic epic "The Song of the Nibelungs" and in the libretto of the opera "Ring of the Nibelungs" he appears under the name of the dwarf Albrich.
Andvari, dwarf zwerg, character of the heroic epic "Song of the Nibelungs". Andvari learned the secret of keeping the gold of the Rhine maidens and managed to steal the gold treasure. Being the lord of the miniatures at that time, he forced his subjects to make gold treasures, and he himself forged a magic ring of power from gold. The Rhine maidens, mourning the loss of their gold, turned to Loki for help, but only were subjected to the humiliating ridicule of the evil god. The cunning Andvari hid the treasures, and he himself hid in an underground lake.
Nevertheless, the news of the magic ring of power immediately prompted the gods and their enemies, the Etun giants, to act. The giant Fasolt and Fafnir demanded a ring of power from the gods in payment for the construction of Valhalla, the home of the Einherians, who "valiantly fallen," and took the goddess of fertility, the beautiful Freya, hostage. The gods Odin, Frigg, Loki, Freyr and Khenir went in search of the treasure hidden by the dwarf-miniature in the rock of the people in Midgard.
While traveling through the land of people, Loki killed a sleeping otter with a stone, then he, Odin, and Henir offered the dead otter to the owner of the house in exchange for the night.
To his horror, the owner, the sorcerer Hreidmar, recognized his son Otra in the killed animal. He immediately chanted a spell that deprived the guests of magical power, and with the help of the other two sons, Fafnir and Regin, bound them hand and foot. One said that they would not have come here, being the murderers of the master's son. Hreidmar demanded a ransom from the gods for the death of Otra - the treasure of the dwarf Andvari.
Taking a magic net from Ran, the wife of the sea god Aegir, Loki went to an underground lake and caught a huge snake in the lake grotto, which turned into the owner of countless treasures the evil Andvari (according to another version of the myth, Andvari was hiding in a huge pike in an underground lake). With terrible threats, Loki robbed him of the golden treasure and the magical ring of power that increased wealth. Enraged Andvari put a curse on the ring and gold, promising death for each new owner. Actually, from the history of the death of the owners of the cursed gold, the Andvari ring began to be called the Ring of the Nibelungs, and the gold treasure - the treasure of the Nibelungs.
The ring of the dwarf Andvari, like the famous ring of power Draupnir, multiplied wealth, but carried the terrible curse of the miniature. The sorcerer Hreidmar, having received a ring from Loki as a ransom for his murdered son Otra, became his first victim, accepting death at the hands of his other son, Fafnir, who dreamed of taking possession of gold. Fafnir turned into a dragon to guard the treasure obtained by criminal means. When young hero Sigurd (German, Siegfried) killed him, the fabulous treasure passed to him along with the curse. The damned treasures did not bring happiness to Sigurd, who died at the hands of the Nibelung brothers Gunnar (German, Gunther) and Hogni (German, Hagen), who in turn lost their lives. Sigurd's widow Gudrun (German, Krimhilda) lured them into a trap and ordered them to be executed. Gunnar was thrown into a moat with reptiles teeming there and then beheaded, and the heart was cut out of the still alive Hognar.

Dragon Fafnir

Fafnir, in Scandinavian mythology, a monstrous dragon guarding the fatal treasure of Andvari, the son of Hreidmar, "a powerful man who is well versed in witchcraft."
At one time, in the upper and lower worlds, the news spread that the miniature Andvari forged a magical ring of power from the gold of the Rhine maidens. The giant Fasolt and Fafnir demanded a ring of power from the gods in payment for the construction of Valhalla, the home of the Einherians, who "valiantly fallen," and took the goddess of fertility, the beautiful Freya, hostage. But the gods gave the ring of power and other treasures to Hreidmar in payment for the tragic death of his other son Otra from the hand of the god Loki.
Then the greedy Fafnir, having killed his own father, took possession of the fatal gold treasure of the dwarf Andvari and turned into a terrible monster to protect him. Fafnir was also the brother of the blacksmith-sorcerer Regin, the educator of the hero Sigurd (Siegfried). Subsequently, Fafnir was killed by the brave Sigurd at the instigation of his adoptive father Regin, who was striving at all costs to take possession of the treasure.

Hel

Hel, in Scandinavian mythology, the mistress of the underworld of the dead, Niflhel, is one of the three monsters spawned by the giantess Angrboda from the god Loki.
In the underworld, she is the sovereign mistress, and even Odin could not force Hel to return his beloved son Balder. Her brothers, the wolf Fenrir and the serpent Jormungand, were not inferior to her in disgust, but it was the fierce Hel and her possessions that were borrowed by Christians to designate hell. The eternal cold, disease and hunger of the Niflhel world stood in stark contrast to the pastime of the fallen Einherian warriors feasting in Valhalla. Hel's subjects wordlessly served their half-decayed mistress with the head and body of a living woman and at the same time the skin and legs of a corpse.
The throne of the terrible Hel was called the Odrome of Sickness, and "all who died of sickness and old age" became its subjects, and also died ingloriously in battle.

Angrboda

Angrboda ("causing suffering"), in Norse mythology, a frost giantess, a friend of Loki, from whom she had three monster children: the giant wolf Fenrir, the world serpent Jormungand and the mistress of the kingdom of the dead Hel.
The gods, having learned about the birth of monsters, decided to deal with them. At night, they broke into the castle of Angrboda and carried her with her children to Asgard, the heavenly fortress of the gods.
Odin banished Hel to the "world under the worlds" - the underworld of the dead, also called Niflhel, and she became the sovereign ruler of the kingdom of the ingloriously dead (even Odin could not force Hel to return the tragically deceased, beloved son of Balder). Odin threw Jormungand into the ocean, and a huge snake, breaking through the ice, disappeared into the depths of the sea. Fenrir, a giant wolf, grew so powerful that the gods put him on a chain. The chained wolf bit off the hand of Tyr, the son of Odin and Frigga, who put it in the mouth of the monster as a sign of trust, and the gods laughed at Tyr's suffering for a long time. It seemed that the children of Angrboda were no longer dangerous, but the clairvoyant Odin knew that after the last battle of the gods and monsters, when the day of Ragnarok (the death of the gods and the whole world) came, the wolf Fenrir would break free and swallow him. One was unable to prevent the catastrophe. The only consolation for God was the knowledge that Ragnarok would not be the end of the universe. Vidar, the son of Odin and the giantess Grid, avenged his father by tearing the mouth of Fenrir, and the world serpent Jormungand also waited in the wings: on the day of Ragnarok he crawled to the surface of the earth and died in a battle with Thor, the god of thunder.

Geirrod

Geirrod, Geirrod, in Norse mythology, a frost giant, one of the most formidable opponents of Thor, the god of thunder.
Once Loki, the god of fire, Thor's constant companion, while in the guise of a falcon, was caught by Geirrod. To save his life, Loki promised to lure the thunder god to the giant. Thor liked the company of Loki, and, trusting a friend who had conceived an insidious plan, he went with him to the palaces of Geirrod without the magic hammer, belt of strength and mittens that protected him from the frosty giants. On the way to Jotunheim, the land of giants, they stopped to spend the night with the kind giantess Grid, Odin's beloved. It was she who told Thor about Geirrod's hatred of the gods. In her opinion, he planned to avenge the death of Hrungnir, a mighty frost giant killed by Thor in a duel.
Grid lent the Thunderbolt her wonderful iron gauntlets, a belt of strength, and a magic staff. Soon Thor and Loki reached the halls of Geirrod, where they were greeted by disgruntled servants.
The owner was not at home, and Thor, sitting on a bench, awaiting his return, took a nap. As soon as Thor dozed off, the giant's two daughters, Gyalp and Grape, tried to smash his head against the ceiling, throwing him along with the bench.
With the help of his staff, Grid Thor managed to lower the bench into place and crushed the giantess. Then Geirrod returned and, snatching a red-hot iron ball from the fire with tongs, threw it into Thor, who, with his hands protected by Grid's mittens, caught it and threw back the still-hot smoking ball, which hit the giant in the stomach. As he left, Thor finished off all of Geirrod's servants. The giant himself died, falling at the behest of Odin on his own sword.

Gerda

Gerda, in Scandinavian mythology, is a giantess beauty, daughter of the giant Hymir. Gerda, mistress of streams, mountain rivers and waterfalls of Jotunheim, for a long time did not agree to become the wife of the god of fertility Freyr.
Freyr, the affectionate god of summer, seeing the radiant giantess Gerda from afar, fell in love with her at first sight and, not knowing how to get the girl's favor, fell ill. Njord, learning about the youth's heartache, sent his faithful servant Skirnir ("shining") to Jotunheim, the land of giants, promising him a magic horse and a sword. As a gift to the bride, Skirnir carried apples of rejuvenation, a ring that multiplies wealth Draupnir, and a sparkling portrait of Freyr on a horn filled with honey. He was ordered not to return to Asgard without Gerda. Having reached the palaces of Hymir, Skirnir tried to persuade Gerda to respond to Frey's love in exchange for eleven apples of eternal youth.
When the girl rejected the gift and was not seduced by Odin's magic ring, Skirnir promised to chop off her head, but the threat did not work on Gerda. Then the messenger promised to put a spell of ugliness and eternal exile on her, and this decided the matter. Gerda agreed to meet with Frey in nine days. Finding themselves next to the god ablaze with passion, the icy heart of the inaccessible beauty Gerda thawed.

Grid

Grid, in Norse mythology, is a kind frost giantess who helped the god of thunder Thor defeat the frost giant Geirrod. When the fire god Loki lured Thor into a trap without his belt of strength and magic hammer, Grid lent Thor her own belt, iron gauntlets, and a miraculous staff.
Some traditions say that the giantess was the mother of the silent god Vidar, the son of Odin, and she sewed such a strong shoe for him that the wolf Fenrir could not bite through it. When on the day of Ragnarok the gigantic predator swallowed the supreme god Odin, his son Vidar pressed down the lower jaw of Fenrir with his foot and tore the creature in half.

Thiazzi

Tyazzi, Tyazi, in Scandinavian mythology, a giant, magician, father of the goddess of the hunt Skadi. Thiazzi constantly bothered Odin, Heniru and Loki, who wandered around Midgard. Once in the guise of an eagle, Tiazzi stole the bowler hat containing their dinner. Enraged, Loki struck Tiazzi with his magic staff and suddenly stuck to it tightly. The giant eagle took Loki into his possession, and as his ransom, he gave Tiazzi the goddess Idunn and her wonderful rejuvenating apples, without which the gods quickly grew old. However, the supreme god Odin found a way out. On his advice, the gods forced Loki in falconry to fly to the domain of Tiazzi and return Idunn along with the apples. But the giant again turned into an eagle and almost caught up with the returning home Loki and the goddess. Fortunately, flying over the high walls of Asgard, he scorched his wings in the flames of the fires made by the gods. Tiazzi collapsed to the ground and turned into a handful of ash.
Soon, the vengeful Skadi, daughter of Tiazzi, came to Asgard. She demanded compensation. When all her requirements were met, Odin threw Tiazzi's eyes into the sky. “The eyes of Tiazzi will look at us as long as the world exists,” he said, looking at the two new stars.

Humir

Humir, in Scandinavian mythology, a giant, the owner of a wonderful cauldron of incredible dimensions, in which beer was brewed for all the gods. Without this capacious vessel, the sea giant Aegir could not organize a feast for Odin and the community of gods he leads. The god of battle, Tyr and Thor, was sent to obtain the cauldron.
Tyr's mother, Khymir's wife, advised them to hide, but Khymir found the guests and invited them to eat. Thor ate two bulls. The next day, the owner invited the gods to go fishing. On a giant hook Thor planted the head of Himinryot, the black bull he had defeated. The bait attracted the attention of the world serpent Jormungand, and the god entered into a fierce battle with him.
Fearing that the boat would capsize, Khumir cut the tackle, and Jormungand fell off the hook. Leaving with a giant cauldron, the enraged Thor smashed the goblet on the giant's forehead. Humir with his giant friends tried to return the cauldron, but Thor, deftly wielding a hammer, defeated everyone.

Alves

Alves, in Scandinavian mythology, the lower nature spirits. Initially, the alves personified the souls of the dead, but gradually their role in the hierarchy of divine beings underwent changes.
In early Scandinavian-Germanic mythology, the alves are an ageless, magical, beautiful race that lives like humans, either on Earth or in the world of alves (elves), which was also described as existing quite realistically. This idea of ​​the alves, partially preserved, reached the times of the Middle Ages, remaining forever in the languages, names, culture and genealogy of European countries.
In later myths, the alves are represented as spirits of the earth and fertility. There was a special ritual for honoring these spirits. The word "alv" (elf) during this period began to generalize in essence completely different creatures - in fact, alves and dwarves.
Alves began to have some similarities with both dwarf zwergs and vanes. In the "Elder Edda" there are references to the wonderful blacksmith Velund, who was called the prince of the Alves. The "Younger Edda" mentions the division into the dark (living underground) and light alves(living in the heavenly palace). In late Germanic Scandinavian sagas about the creation of the world, it is said that the alves were created by the first aesir (Odin, Vili and Ve) from the worms that appeared in the meat of Ymir.
The kingdom of Alfheim was given to the light elves (elves), the kingdom of Svartalfheim was given to the dark elves (dwarves), and the land of Nidavellir was given to the dwarfs-zwergs.
Elves were presented as anthropomorphic creatures of small stature, dexterous and agile, with long arms and short legs. Their occupations were determined primarily by their habitat. Elves living in the mountains were considered excellent gunsmiths and blacksmiths; and the elves who settled by the water were great musicians. In general, all these creatures were very fond of music and dancing.
According to legend, the elves were a whole mythical people, divided into rich and poor. They could be good and bad. Like humans, they were heterosexual and could bear children. There are legends about marriages between elves and humans. Like all spirits, elves were considered endowed with considerable supernatural powers.

List of alves in the Younger Edda

• Light alves (elves) are skilled blacksmiths, wizards and musicians.
• Völund is the lord of the Alves, a wonderful blacksmith.
• Beila, Biggweer, Dokkalfar, Svartalfar

Dark alves (dwarves) are also skilled blacksmiths and sorcerers.

• Hreidmar is a sorcerer, to whom, as a ransom for the murder of his son, the gods-ases handed over the treasures of the Nibelungs, cursed by the miniature Andvari.
• The sons of Hreidmar are Otr, Regin, Fafnir.
• Gandalf is a magician and sorcerer.
• Vidfin is a dwarf who sent his sons to get honey from Mimir's honey source of wisdom.
• Widfin's sons - Beale, Hewkie.

Brisings

Brisings, Bristlings, in Scandinavian mythology, the mysterious owners of the wonderful gold necklace Brisingamen, which the goddess of fertility Freyja longed to have. To get it, she paid with her love to all four dwarfs - Alfrig, Dvalin, Berling and Greer, who made the jewelry. Outraged by this act, Odin reproached her for humiliating her divine dignity and, as punishment, forced her to unleash a war on the land of people, in Midgard. They divided the dead in the battles in half. An unambiguous interpretation of this myth is hampered primarily by the unclear origin of the Brisings. However, a more plausible version seems to be that "payment with love" symbolizes the bodily side of love, in particular, blind passion and lust. Nothing, not even the condemnation of Odin, could stop the beautiful goddess, who desired to receive precious decoration... Brisipgamen became so closely connected with the image of Freya that when Thor decided to change into her dress in order to take his hammer from Bilge, she lent him a necklace for greater persuasion.
Brisingamen, an exquisite necklace, looked like liquid fire. The goddess Freya, overwhelmed by the desire to receive the jewel, paid a dear price for it, but the graceful adornment enhanced her beauty so much that she did not take it off even at night. The Brisingamen necklace in myths was closely connected with the image of Freya and was one of the inalienable attributes of the goddess. On her pretty neck, it looked like a symbol of the fruits of earthly and heavenly, sparkling like the stars of the night sky. Freya's tears, and she cried a lot during the search for the missing husband of Odur, turned into gold, and getting into the sea, turned into amber.

Valkyries

Valkyries ("choosing the slain"), in Scandinavian mythology, warlike maidens participating in the distribution of victories and deaths in battles, Odin's assistants. Originally, the Valkyries were ominous battle spirits, angels of death who relished the sight of bloody wounds. In horse ranks they swept over the battlefield like vultures, and in the name of Odin they decided the fate of the warriors. The chosen heroes of the Valkyries were taken to Valhalla - "the palace of the slain", the heavenly camp of Odin's warriors, where they improved their martial arts. In later Scandinavian myths, the images of the Valkyries were romanticized, and they turned into the shield-bearers of Odin, virgins with golden hair and snow-white skin, who served food and drinks to the chosen heroes in the banquet hall of Valhalla. They circled over the battlefield in the guise of lovely swan-maidens or riders, galloping on magnificent pearl-cloud horses, whose rain manes irrigated the land with fertile frost and dew.
According to Anglo-Saxon legends, some of the Valkyries descended from elves, but most of them were daughters of noble princes who became Valkyries, chosen by the gods during their lifetime, and could turn into swans.
The Valkyries became known to modern man thanks to the great monument of ancient literature, which remained in history under the name "Elder Edda". Here the warrior maidens had names corresponding to their essence - Göndul, Hun, Rota, Skogul, Sigrdriva, Sigrun, Svava, Skuld and others. Many of them, the most ancient ones, cannot be translated. Among the later, the most famous are Khlekk ("noise of battle"), Trud ("strength"), Krist ("stunning"), Myst ("foggy"), Hild ("battle"). The images of Icelandic mythical maidens-warriors served as the basis for the creation of the popular Germanic epic "Song of the Nibelungs". One of the parts of the poem tells about the punishment that the Valkyrie Sigrdriva received, who dared to disobey the god Odin. Having given the victory in the battle to King Agnar, and not to the courageous Hjalm-Gunnar, the Valkyrie was deprived of the right to take part in the battles. At Odin's orders, she fell into a long sleep, after which the former warrior maiden became an ordinary earthly woman.
Another Valkyrie, Brünnhilde, after marriage with a mortal lost her superhuman strength, her descendants mingled with the goddesses of fate norns, spinning the thread of life at the well.
The Scandinavians believed that, influencing the victory, the warrior maidens held the fate of humanity in their hands.

Undines

Undines (from Lat.Unda - wave), in the mythology of peoples Western Europe female perfume of water, inhabitants of streams, rivers and lakes. People believed that these beautiful girls, sometimes with fish tails, come out of the water and comb their loose hair on the shore. With sweet-sounding singing and beauty, they lured travelers to their kingdom, destroyed them or made them beloved.
It was believed that the Undines could acquire a human soul by loving and giving birth to a child on earth. In medieval alchemists, undines are the spirits that control the water element, just as salamanders are the spirits of fire, sylphs are the spirits of the air, and gnomes are the spirits of the underworld. In Greek mythology, nymphs correspond to them, in Slavic - mermaids.
In the writings of medieval alchemists and cabalists, the undines played the role of elemental spirits who lived in water and controlled the water element in all its manifestations, just as salamanders were the spirits of fire, dwarves ruled the underworld, and elves ruled the air. The creatures that corresponded in popular beliefs to the Undines, if they were female, were distinguished by their beautiful appearance, had luxurious hair (sometimes greenish in color), which they combed when going ashore or swaying on the waves of the sea. Sometimes folk fantasy attributed to them a fish tail, which ended in the body instead of legs. Enchanting travelers with their beauty and singing, the undines carried them into the depths of the underwater, where they gave them with their love and where years and centuries passed like moments. According to the Scandinavian views, a person who once came to the Undines did not return back to earth, exhausted by their caresses. Sometimes the undines married people on earth, as they received an immortal human soul, especially if they had children. This last feature is at the heart of the medieval novels about Melusine, the knights Temringer and Stauffenberger.

Miniatures

Miniatures are creatures similar to dwarfs, nature spirits in Old Icelandic, Germanic and Scandinavian mythology.
They were called black alves, as opposed to white alves. Legends tell that in time immemorial the miniatures were worms in the body of the huge giant Ymir, from which the world was created.
The Elder Edda says that they were created from the blood and bones of the hero Brimir, who was probably the same Ymir.
Tsvergs lived in earth and stones, they were afraid of the sunlight, which turned them into stone, the land of Nidavellir was given to them. These creatures were very skilled in various crafts, they created magical products for the gods: the hammer of Mjollnir, the spear of Gungnir, the golden hair of Siv, the Brisingamen necklace, the Skidbladnir ship, etc.
From bee honey and the blood of the poet and sage Kvasir, these creatures created the sacred honey of poetry - the gods smeared them on the lips of a newborn who is destined to compose poetry in the future.

Zwergs are skilled master jewelers and blacksmiths who possessed magical knowledge and sorcery.
Alvis is a wise zwerg who wooed the daughter of the god Thor Labor and was turned into stone by Thor's cunning.
Andvari is the creator of the magic ring of power and treasures of the Nibelungen from the gold of the Rhine maidens stolen by him.
Dwalin - forged the Gungnir spear, Skidbladnir ship and golden hair for the goddess Siv.
Brokk and Eitri are the creators of the Gullinbursty boar with golden bristles for the god Freyr.
Alfrig, Dwalin, Burling, Grer - the creators of the Brisingamen necklace
Galar and Fjalar are the producers of "poetry honey" from the blood of the wise man Kvasir they killed.
Sidri - Forged Mjöllnir's hammer and created the Draupnir ring.
Tsvergs Austri, Vestri, Nordri, Sudri - support the sky on the four cardinal points (earth).

Einheria

Eincherias, in Scandinavian mythology "valiantly fallen" warriors, constantly after their heroic death living in the heavenly Valhalla and making up the squad of the god Odin.
Carried away from the battlefield by the Valkyries, they spent days in battles and nights in feasts, and the wounds they received in the daytime battle were miraculously healed by evening.
On the day of the death of the world, Ragnarok Einheria will have to take part in the last battle of the gods with giants and monsters.

Jormungand

Jormungand ("giant staff"), in Scandinavian mythology, the world serpent, a symbol of darkness and destruction, a monster generated by the giantess Angrboda from the god Loki.
At birth, Jormungand was thrown into the ocean by Odin, where he grew and reached such dimensions that he could gird Midgard, the land of people, with his giant rings.
A giant serpent that lived in the world's oceans was slain by the thunder god Thor on the day of Ragnarok.
Once the serpent Jormungand fell on the hook of Thor, who went fishing and used the head of a black bull as bait. However, Thor's companion, the giant Hyumir, frightened for his life, cut off the rope tackle, and Jormungand remained free. But on the day of Ragnarok, the god Thor tore off the ugly head of the monster and, having managed to retreat from the dead carcass only nine steps away, drowned in a stream of poison spewing from the open mouth of the lifeless creature.

Fenrir

Fenrir, a giant wolf in Norse mythology. He was one of the three monsters that the giantess Angrboda from Loki gave birth to in the Yarnvid forest.
The texts of the "Younger Edda" tell that for some time Fenrir lived with the gods, but he was so great and terrible that only the brave Tyr dared to approach him. The prophets warned the celestials that Fenrir was born to be destroyed by the gods, but no one could even just put him on a chain.
The first Leading chain thrown around his neck, Fenrir tore like a thin thread. Dromie's second chain shattered into small pieces. And only the third, the magic chain Gleipnir, chained at the request of the gods by black dwarfs-zwergs from the noise of cat steps, the breath of fish, bird saliva, the roots of mountains, the veins of a bear and a woman's beard, was able to keep the terrible beast. By throwing a chain around Fernir's neck, the gods wanted to prove that she would not harm him in any way. For this, Tyr put his right hand in Fernier's mouth. The wolf bit off Tyuru's brush, but the gods managed to chain the monster to the rock. The prophets predicted to the gods that before the end of the world, Fernir would break the shackles, break free and swallow the solar disk, and in the last battle of the gods with monsters and giants, he would swallow Odin. After a while, Vidar will avenge his father. The son of Odin will tear the hated monster's mouth and free the gods from the horror that the monstrous wolf instilled in them.
In Norse mythology, the demonic wolf Fernir is a very popular character. In addition, many legends are dedicated to other wolves, such as Odin's companions, Geri and Freka. An analogue of Fernir can be considered Garm, a demonic dog that guards the Gnipachellir cave.

Mythology of the Ancient World, -M.: Belfax, 2002
Myths ancient Scandinavia, -M.: AST 2001

November 9, 2017

1114 BC- died Nestor the Chronicler, a monk of the Kiev-Pechersk Monastery, one of the compilers of the "Tale of Bygone Years"

1938 g.- "Kristallnacht" in Nazi Germany: Jewish houses, schools and synagogues are burned; Jewish-owned shops are looted

1979 year- Armageddon did not take place: due to an error in the American computer of the NORAD system, which reported a Soviet nuclear attack, a nuclear alert was declared in the United States; for ten minutes the world was on the brink of a nuclear war

Random Joke

Jesus and the apostles enter a tavern. We got some beer, chebureks, and had a good time. The waitress brings the bill, which Jesus, without looking, gives to Judas: - Today is your turn to pay. At the sight of the sum, Judas makes his eyes seven kopecks: - But where can I get you thirty pieces of silver? - Take it wherever you want.

Diss are lower female deities, by their functions directly related to fate: they determine the fate of people, especially warriors. Disam include norns and valkyries.

Norns are goddesses of fate, "akin" to the Greek moirae and Roman parks. Their abode is at the roots of the Yggdrasil ash tree, next to a certain mysterious source (in the "Divination of the Velva" it is called "the source of Urd," after one of the norns). Their names are Urd, that is, "fate" or "past"; Verdandi - "becoming" or "present"; Skuld - "debt" or "future".

According to the edical song "Speech of Fafnir" norn not ty. And much more, and they descend from both the Aesir and the Elves and even from the Zwergs ...

As for the Valkyries, these goddesses, companions and assistants of Odin, also determine human destinies - however, if the norns do this at the birth of a person, then the Valkyries decide which of the fallen in the battle is destined to get to Valhalla, and who goes to Hel. There are twelve Valkyries in total, they have dazzlingly bright blue eyes and long blond hair, they are usually dressed in armor, on their heads - horned helmets, in their hands - swords and spears. In Valhalla, they delight the ears of the Einherians with music and songs.

In all likelihood, the Velva belongs to the Disam - the prophetess whom Odin called from the grave to learn from her about Balder's participation; "The Elder Edda" begins with the "Divination of the Velva" - a song that sets out the cosmogony and eschatology of the Scandinavian mythological universe.

The variety of characters in the Scandinavian mythological system only at first glance seems chaotic, devoid of any structure whatsoever. The central characters of this mythology, its "axis", are undoubtedly the gods-ases, around whom all mythological plots are built. As E.M. Meletinsky wrote, “the gods oppose hostile chthonic monsters and jotuns; they rise above the natural spirits alves and dwarfs (zwergs), above female fateful creatures (Valkyries and norns), above earthly heroes. The highest pantheon of gods in the Scandinavian cosmotheogony is as a result of the unification of two groups of gods - the Ases and the Vans after the war, more precisely, as a result of the assimilation of the Vans by the Ases - a very limited category of deities associated with agrarian cults, endowed with a magical and prophetic gift, sacred love of peace ... In many texts, gods and Ases are synonyms , since the Vanian agrarian mythology is subordinated to the Odinic, that is, the celestial-chthonic, military and "shamanic" mythology of Odin ... "

In the Scandinavian sagas, especially those related to the "mythical time", first of all - in the prologue to the "Younger Edda" and in the "Yngling Saga" - the gods are euhemerically interpreted as ancestors and cultural heroes, immigrants from Asia (hence their nickname - Ases), the first rulers of the Swedes and Norwegians. The "Saga of the Ynglings" says: "They tell as truth that when Odin and with him diy (ases-companions of Odin, from Lat. Dii - gods) came to the Northern Countries, they began to teach people the arts that people from those One was the most famous of all, and from him people learned all the arts, for he owned all, although he did not teach everything ... he mastered the art of changing his appearance as he wanted. He also mastered the art of speaking so beautifully and smoothly, that to everyone who listened to him, his words seemed to be true. In his speech everything was as smooth as in what is now called poetry. He and his priests are called masters of songs, because from them this art originated in the Northern Countries. could make his enemies in battle become blind or deaf or filled with horror, and their weapons wounded no more than twigs, and his soldiers rushed into battle without chain mail, raged like mad dogs or wolves, bit their shields, and were strong as bears or bulls. They killed people, and neither fire nor iron did them harm. Such warriors were called berserkers. "

Three gods participated in the creation of the Scandinavian universe - Odin and his brothers Vili and Ve, who are not further mentioned. They created the world from the dismembered body of the frost giant Ymir, gave life to the miniatures (and, possibly, alvas), lifted the luminaries into the sky and established the course of time. As they say in the Younger Edda, “they gave a place for every spark: some strengthened it in the sky, others let it fly into the skies, but with this they appointed their place and prepared the way. And they say in ancient legends that since that time the counting days and years. "

The next act of the gods was the revival of the first people. This time Odin was helped by Loki (Lodur) and Henir, with whom the Father of the gods wandered around the world (however, in the "Younger Edda" it is stated that Odin did this act together with Vili and Ve). In the Elder Edda, the revitalization of people is described as follows:

"Once three aces went out to the sea, the good, the mighty walked through the world, found two undead on the shallows, Asuka and Embla [Ask -" ash ", Embla -" willow "], who did not find their fate, - they did not have souls, they had no mind, no blood of movement, no color of the living: Odin gave the soul, Henir gave the mind, Lodur gave blood and the color of the living ... "(" Divination of the Velva ").

This myth contains one of the most common motives - "finishing up" unfinished creatures, in this case - arboreal prototypes.

In general, Odin is the central character of Scandinavian mythology, its "driving force", its "core": no mythological event is complete without his explicit or indirect participation. He is the Father of the gods and at the same time the All-Father, constantly interfering in the affairs of deities and people; sometimes it seems that he is taking certain actions only in order not to get bored himself and not to let others get bored.

RRR: Approach to monotheism? ..

It was at the instigation of Odin that Loki steals from Freya the wonderful Brisingamen necklace, for which Loki later had to fight Heimdall at the Singastein stone, and both gods took the guise of seals. It was Odin who started the war between the Aesir and the Baths, throwing his magic spear Gungnir at the Vanir, which had the ability to return to its owner after a throw, like a boomerang, and did not know a miss. It is Odin who starts the feud between the kings Hedin and Hegni, as a result of which the Hyadning squad (variant of the Einheriev) perishes; the Valkyrie Hild, because of which the strife broke out, awakens the dead with her sorcery, and the next night they again engage in a battle that is destined to last forever. Finally, it is Odin who leads Sigurd - the hero of the Scandinavian epic - to his tragic fate.

One has many faces and bears many names. Most often he is described as a tall old man with a wide-brimmed hat that covers his face and a loose blue cloak; however, he changes his appearance with such ease that even his own son Thor is not able to recognize him, as the Eddic "Song of Harbard" testifies. As a rule, Odin is identified by that very wide-brimmed hat - either by the wonderful eight-legged horse Sleipnir, or by the crows and wolves accompanying the supreme god. The names of the ravens are Hugin and Munin, that is, "Thinking" and "Remembering", and the names of the wolves are Geri and Freki, that is, "Greedy" and "Gluttonous". As for the names of Odin himself, their list is contained in the "Speeches of Grimnir" ...

RRR: It's not without reason ... Something is wrong here ...

One of these names, specifically - One-Eyed, is associated with the myth of Odin gaining the "eternal" wisdom of frost giants. The myth says that Odin gave his eye to the giant Mimir for the right to drink from the source of wisdom guarded by the giant (however, the verse from "Divination of the Velva" - "wise Mimir drinks honey every morning from Odin's mortgage" - can also be interpreted so that it is Mimir who joins wisdom coming from Odin's eye). According to another version of the myth, for the sake of gigantic wisdom, Odin sacrificed himself and hung for nine days, pierced by his own spear, on the Yggdrasil ash tree. As a result of this shamanic initiation (let's not forget that Odin is the sorcerer god, the bearer of the galdr magic), he received the right to drink the sacred honey from the hands of his grandfather, Hrimturs Beltorn, after which Beltorn gave his grandson the magical runes ...

The honey of poetry is another deed of a cultural hero - Odin got it by seducing the daughter of the guardian of honey, the giant Suttung. The most detailed myth about the honey of poetry is presented in the "Younger Edda".

RRR: Honey is everywhere continuously. Alcohol again! ..

According to the myth, after the war of the ases with baths, the gods, as a sign of eternal peace, mixed their saliva in a bowl and created from it Kvasira - "half bath". This Kvasir was subsequently killed by the dwarfs Fjalar and Galar, who from his blood mixed with bee honey prepared the honey of poetry and poured it into three vessels - Odrerir ("setting the spirit in motion"), Sleep ("blood") and Bodn. When the bloodthirsty dwarfs also killed the giant Gilling, they had to pay the vira (ransom for the murder) to the son of the murdered Suttung and give him the honey of poetry. The Suttung hid the vessels with honey in the rock, and his daughter Gunnled set up to guard them. One deceived himself into the service of Baugi, the brother of Suttung, and reprimanded himself with a sip of honey as a reward for his service. However, Suttung did not accept Odin's agreement with Baugi, and then the god Rati drilled a rock with a drill, entered the hole in the guise of a snake and spent three nights with Gunnled, and then, with the permission of the giant's daughter, drained three vessels with honey in three gulps. Having got out of the rock, he turned into an eagle and flew to Asgard, where he spat out all the honey into a bowl. As the "Younger Edda" concludes, Odin gave honey to the ases and "those people who know how to write poetry."

The honey of poetry, this "ecstatic source of wisdom and renewal of vital and magical forces" (EM Meletinsky), has an undeniable resemblance to the nectar that is drunk Greek gods, with amrita - a sacred drink Indian gods, and haomoy - the sacred drink of the Iranian gods. In addition, this sacred honey is the source of life in the Scandinavian mythological universe: it is not without reason that the songs of the "Elder Edda" emphasize that the trunk and leaves of Yggdrasil are covered with honeydew, that the god Heimdall and the giant Mimir drink honey, that Heydrun is drunk with honey milk of the goat Heidrun in Einhaleri ...

When Odin needs something, he (and in this they are very similar to Loki) is ready to achieve the goal by any means ... Odin can in no way be called a just god or a god of virtue; he is cunning and even malicious ...

And nevertheless, despite his duplicity and selfishness, one is the supreme god of the Scandinavian pantheon, the deity of war and military squad, the god deciding the fate of warriors, giving victories and defeats, the patron saint of heroes and the founder of several noble families (Danish royal family of Skjeldungs, clan Welsung, from which Sigurd came), the founder of military initiations, the god of heaven, the personification of spiritual power and wisdom ...

The straightforward and valiant Thor has a completely different character. Thor is the god of thunder and lightning, the owner of the wonderful hammer Mjellnir, with which he defeats monsters that strive to hurt gods and people. This hammer, like other treasures of the gods, is forged by miniatures; the very name of the hammer - Mjellnir - is etymologically identical to the Russian "lightning". The sacred animals of Thor are goats, two goats pull his team, their names are Tangniostr and Tangrisnir; in the fact that the thunder god owns the goats, researchers see the involvement of the thunder god in fertility (the goat is the personification of lust and earthly fertility).

In myths, Thor acts as the protector of Asgard and Midgard, he does not "change sides" like Odin or Loki, alliances with the Jotuns are impossible for him (although, however, he conceived one of his sons, namely Magnia, with the giantess Yarnsaxa). As a protector god, Thor, to a certain extent, tries on the functions of a cultural hero, like the Greek Hercules: he fights against chthonic monsters, personifying chaos, and thereby contributes to the ordering of the universe.

The main plot of the myths associated with Thor is God's campaigns to the east, to the land of giants. So, when the jotuns stole the hammer of Mjeddnir, Thor went to rescue his weapon.

Thor's other trip to Jotunheim was undertaken to avenge Loki, caught in the guise of a falcon by the giant Geirred. According to the Younger Edda, Geirred kept Loki in a chest for three months and starved him, and the god managed to free himself only by revealing who he was and promising to bring Thor to Geirred "without a hammer and without a Belt of Power." Thor left all his weapons in Asgard, but on the way to the east he met the giantess Grid, the mother of the god Vidar, who "told him the whole truth about Geirred, that, they say, the giant is very cunning and difficult to deal with" and gave the god her own Belt of Power, iron gauntlets and your staff. In Jotunheim, in the chambers of Geirred, Thor was called to "have fun with games." Geirred threw a red-hot bar of iron at the god, but Thor grabbed this bar with iron mittens and threw it back at the giant; the iron pierced the pillar Geirred was hiding behind, and struck the giant to death.

With another giant, Hrungnir, Thor fought within the walls of Agard, where Hrungnir found himself, carried away in pursuit of Odin: Hrungnir's horse Golden Mane tried to catch up with the divine horse Sleipnir. Welcomed by the Aesir, the giant got drunk from the beer brought up and began to boast of his intentions "to raise the entire Valhalla and take it to Jotunheim, drown Asgard and kill all the gods except Freya and Siv, and take them to him." The enraged Thor wanted to punish Hrungnir on the spot, but he made an excuse that he was unarmed and challenged the god to a duel at the Stone Courts in Jotunheim. Thor came to the appointed place with his servant Tjalvi, and to help Hrungnir, "the strongest among them," the other jotuns blinded the clay man Mekkurkalvi "nine fields in height and three fields in girth." Thor threw his hammer at the giant, and Hrungnir threw the winepress towards him; in the air the winepress and the hammer collided, the winepress split in half, one piece of it "fell to the ground, and all the flint rocks formed from it," and the second stabbed Thor in the head. The hammer of Mjellnir cut Hrungnir's skull, and the giant fell to the ground, and one of his legs crushed Thor. Both Tyalvi and "all the aces" tried to remove this leg, but it only happened with Thor's son Magnii, who at that time was only "three nights old". Thjalvi defeated Mekkurkalvi. The shard of the sharpener remained in Thor's head ...

According to myths, Thor fights with the world serpent three times: in the house of Utgard-Loki, while fishing with the giant Humir and in Ragnarok - the battle before the end of the world.

In the duels of Thor with Jormungand, a reconstructed Indo-European mythological plot about the struggle of the thunder god with a serpentine adversary clearly appears. VVIvanov and VNToporov see in this struggle the main plot of Indo-European mythology: data, was associated with the cult of the oak) ... The enemy of the Thunderer is below - under a mountain, under a tree, by the water ... This enemy appears in the form of a creature of a serpentine breed. hand, after which it frees the cattle and water. The fruiting rain begins with thunder and lightning. "

In the Scandinavian mythological tradition, the duel of the thunderer with the serpent, however, was transformed into a heroic deed worthy of a cultural hero - into a fight with a chthonic monster that encroaches on the order of the universe. It is quite possible that Thor's snake fighting is a kind of mythological prototype of fights with dragons known from the German-Scandinavian heroic epic: the hero of the Anglo-Saxon poem of the same name Beowulf, as well as the Scandinavian Sigmund and his son Sigurd (Germanic Sigmund and Siegfried) participated in such fights.

Another Scandinavian deity with the functions of a cultural hero is the "guardian of Bivrest" Heimdall. According to the "Song of Riga", which is not part of the main body of Eddic songs, Heimdall established the first rules of social organization among people; perhaps that is why in the beginning of the "Divination of the Velva" people are called "children of Heimdall".

As E.M. Meletinsky emphasized, "the image of Heimdall is extremely difficult to understand due to the fragmentary information and the absence of a coherent myth about him."

The last of the gods, whose deeds fit into the framework of the actions of a cultural hero and whose deeds and actions constitute the main plot of Scandinavian mythology, is Loki.

In the "Younger Edda" it is said about him that "the Aesir more than once got into trouble because of him, but he helped them out with his resourcefulness." On the one hand, Loki is a participant in the creation of the world, together with Odin and Khenir, he revived the first people, gave them blood and "the color of the living". On the other hand, Loki is the enemy of the gods, and in Ragnarok - the battle before the end of the world - he is destined to lead the demonic forces that will destroy the world.

Loki is a kind of twin of Odin, a kind of "parody of the supreme ace" (OA Smirnitskaya). Like Odin, he is a getter and a kidnapper, however, unlike the actions of Odin, who pursues the interests of the gods in general and is well-disposed to people, Loki alternately helps either the gods or the giants (in the words of E.M. Meletinsky, “he kind of promotes the circulation of values between different worlds ").

So, in the myth of the construction of Asgard, Loki is on the side of the gods. According to the agreement concluded by the Aesir with a certain giant. Having undertaken to build Asgard, the gods had to give the giant the sun, the stars and the month, as well as the goddess Freya in payment for this business. The giant attracted his horse Svadilfari to the construction of Asgard - on the advice of Loki, who probably foresaw the outcome of the agreement. When the deadline for reckoning approached and the work was almost finished, the gods began to confer how they should be: "Then the gods sat on their thrones and held a council and asked each other who advised to marry Freya to the land of giants and disfigure the sky by removing the sun from it and stars and giving them to the giants. And everyone agreed that such advice was given only by Loki, the son of Lauveya, the culprit of all sorts of troubles. And they said that he deserves a fierce death if he does not find a way to prevent the master from fulfilling the terms of the deal , and they settled on Loki. And he chickened out and vowed to arrange so that the mason would never fulfill the conditions. " Loki allegedly turned into a mare and began to seduce the stallion Svadilfari, and the giant, the owner of the stallion, ran after his assistant and tried in vain to catch him. The angry giant began to offend the gods - and Thor broke his head with his hammer Mjellnir. And from the union of Svadilfari and the mare-Loki, the wonderful eight-legged horse Sleipnir was born ...

RRR: Again deception and violation of the contract ... In general, it was not difficult for Loki to foresee such behavior of the aces, which was typical for them.