/r/norsemythology

Photograph via snooOG

Your Reddit home for discussion of Norse mythology, the body of myths of ancient speakers of North Germanic languages.

Rules

Be civil

Personal attacks and insults will not be tolerated

No modern religious topics

r/norsemythology is a subreddit for historical and adjacent discussion. Please post threads and comments about modern religious practices in appropriate subs like r/heathenry, r/pagan etc.

No ads or hype posts

If you have something cool and relevant to share, please share it. But don't post things that are clearly designed to sell a product, and don't make posts that only exist to generate hype for future content. All posts should have relevant substance and should engage with the community as a member of the community. This is not an audience to be monetized.

No sigils

Despite of their enduring popularity in popular culture, Icelandic sigils such as the végvísir and ægishjálmr do not originate in early medieval Scandinavia. Both are in the tradition of early modern occultism arising from outside Scandinavia and were not documented before the 19th and the 17th century, respectively. Please post pictures and questions relating to these elsewhere.

No tattoos

r/norsemythology is a subreddit for historical and adjacent discussion. If you have a question related to getting a tattoo, try asking a more focused question about ancient Scandinavian art or language instead.

No explicit content

Any content deemed NSFW and falling outside the bounds of a valid, historical context will be removed immediately. Egregious violations may result in immediate and permanent bans. Any depictions of sexual content, nudity, or violence must be marked NSFW.

No AI-generated art

We allowed AI art to be posted one time and learned very quickly that our user base does not approve. No matter where you personally stand on the issue, it won’t be allowed on this sub.


Header by Rasmus Berggren

/r/norsemythology

43,297 Subscribers

5

Are all Jotunn associated with the cold?/Can all Jotunn be called a Frost giant?

Long story short, I was talking about Smite and someone called Skadi a frost giant. It felt weird but I didn’t say anything since she was indeed a jotunn associated with winter

It got me wondering, are all jotunn associated with the cold, or does the term frost giant not apply to all of them?

Side note: I am aware that the term frost giant is bad regardless because jotunn can range in height from normal human to their gloves can be used as a building

7 Comments
2024/12/01
15:49 UTC

30

Did the two children Thor took as servants have a good life, or were they just slaves?

8 Comments
2024/11/30
15:48 UTC

2

Freya

Was Freya Goddess of Love? I am slightly confused as I was told she is. And, could she make someone fall in love?

5 Comments
2024/11/30
13:44 UTC

7

...Is Loki Thor's great grandfather?

So exactly what it says in the title, I'm confused. I'm trying to make a Norse god/Jötunn family tree, so I researched who Jörð's (Mother of Thor) parents are, expecting it to lea back to Bölþorn or something, and discovered they are Annar and Nótt, then I went deeper Nótt's father is Narfi, and that's when I realised, Narfi is Loki's son.

Therefore Loki is Thor's maternal Great grandfather, and Odin's Grandfather-in-law. Which is weird because the dynamic of Thor and Loki in myths is very much more brothers-in-arms, and Loki made a blood pact with Odin. Also logistically bizarre in a timeline because Buri is also Odin's Grandfather. As well as the fact that Ymir is simultaneously Thor's Great Grandfather and great great great grandfather (guessed because there is no information on Laufey's lineage, but I assume she's related to Bölþorn).

5 Comments
2024/11/30
09:00 UTC

2

ᛁᚾᛊᛖᚱᛏ ᚹᛁᛏᛏᛁ ᚲᚨᛈᛏᛟᚾ ᚺᛖᚱᛖ

4 Comments
2024/11/29
23:58 UTC

0

I just watched thor, there wasn't an Asian Norse god, was there?

I just watched Thor and was rather surprised to see an Asian actor playing a Norse god. While I wouldn't be surprised if the vikings came across trade goods from Asia, I doubt many ever saw a person from asia. What is going on here?

12 Comments
2024/11/29
02:32 UTC

8

Books on Norse Mythology and Loki?

Hi, I am interested in reading about Norse Mythology and Loki. I was wonder if any has any book recommendations. Thanks

7 Comments
2024/11/25
23:55 UTC

3

Sources for ‘Over the Rainbow Bridge’ by Kevin Crossely-Holland?

Does anyone know if the stories in 'Over the Rainbow Bridge' by Kevin Crossley-Holland are his own inventions, or are retelling of stories from other sources? I haven't found and indication one way or another.

2 Comments
2024/11/24
15:09 UTC

2

Project Questions

Hello folks of Reddit.

I have an idea for a pendant, and I was curious what you all might think I could use for it.

I want to make a Yggdrasil pendant to wear, with the main "trunk" made of ash wood and bark, and nine "branches" of different wood and bark for each of the realms that lay within the branches of Yggdrasil.

I was thinking of using a piece of oak or elm for Midgard, a singed piece of wood and bark for Muspelheim, some sort of evergreen wood for Nifelheim, but I wasn't sure what else to use.

I was debating on painting parts of them, adding color that might be associated with each realm, but would love to hear what more experienced or knowledgeable people would suggest.

I am sorry if this isn't the right sub reddit for this, and can take this post down or move it else where if it is incorrectly posted.

Thank you all for your time and consideration!

5 Comments
2024/11/23
20:09 UTC

4

How can I mix fantasy elements with some proper Norse mythology?

Hi everyone, my ADHD is acting up again and I’m trying to write a story about Norse Mythology,urban fantasy and of course Demigods with some fucked up backstory’s. Only thing is though I’m having trouble trying to combine modern fantasy moments like Tolkien,Rick Riordan and Mike Mignola because those are my main inspirations for this series. It’s just kind of difficult because I just don’t want to do another Ragnarok story so I’m asking here for any tips about combining certain elements of modern fantasy writing with historic elements of Norse mythology as well. So far with the plot I’ve gotten I’m thinking that this took place after Ragnarok. And for some reason,mortals,gods and almost everything else simply forgot what happened. It’s basically like modern day but with Norse mythology, I’m trying to include other mythology but I’m still brainstorming on how to work that out. if that doesn’t sound right to anybody I would love some tips! And any other advice would be greatly appreciated! The main reason I’m writing this is because I just wanna see Norse and other mythology get some more myth accurate based telling with my own spin on it. Thank you and have a good day!

3 Comments
2024/11/23
19:48 UTC

1

Album Review: Forndom (Ambient Nordic Folk and Norse Mythology based)

ALBUM REVIEW: Step into the enthralling Ambient Nordic Folk of Forndom and my review of the upcoming album Moþir.

https://www.hotelhobbies.com/post/album-review-forndom-moþir-nordvis-records-2024

0 Comments
2024/11/23
15:07 UTC

19

Norse Gods

We have this upcoming event in our school for English month and it is dressing up as different gods and goddesses. Our class got the Norse Gods and we decided to go with Snotra, I just want to ask like what does she really look like, because google images show different pictures. That is all thank you

10 Comments
2024/11/22
10:23 UTC

7

What is the most accurate contemporary art of Norse mythology online?

Every time I look up depictions of norse gods/characters, all the art I've seen has romantic/fantasy influence (obsessive leather adornments, horned headresses, more revealing clothing, "shamanic" aesthetics,full-body tatooes, etc.). And all the old, 1800s art tries to make the God's look like greek/latin gods. Is there any art that has is directly based on the descriptions of the characters in mythology?

10 Comments
2024/11/21
01:38 UTC

7

Was Odin originally a real life person?

I just read this, it proposes that Wotan/Wodan was originally not a name but a title, meaning something similar to "magician", and if i understood correctly, stories of Odin originated from a person with this title that later got deified.

thoughts about this? i haven't seen this viewpoint before

21 Comments
2024/11/20
14:13 UTC

1

Question: Gisli Sursson's Saga

I just read Gisli Sursson's saga and *loved* it, but I was wondering: why didn't Gisli and Aud flee Iceland? Thorgrim Ref's curse doesn't seem to exactly stop them from leaving, right? Or is it taken as a given that they would need help to pull that off, and so they would be prevented by the curse? It is said that Gisli has become wealthy, so it seems like he'd already have access to a ship, provisions, etc...but maybe I'm missing something.

Thanks to anyone who wants to chime in!

3 Comments
2024/11/19
16:56 UTC

43

Opinions on my design and description of Odin in a comic I'm doing?

12 Comments
2024/11/19
10:50 UTC

5

Ratatoskr research

So I'm researching Ratatoskr for class, and the report is due this Thursday. I'm having trouble locating where they were first mentioned/where exactly they originated from. Does anyone have any information on this?? The wiki mentions two books written in 13th century Iceland, but I can't find ANYTHING on whether this was it's first mention or not, or if it's older. I've tried like a dozen different rephrases and tried looking up other things but the most I've found is "yeah it was mention, and the book has some older stories too", and that's it. I'm still researching, but I wanted to drop this and see what came up in the comments. If you have anything, even if it's just along the lines of "no one knows" than that's fine, just please tell me, lol. Thanks! <3

4 Comments
2024/11/17
21:49 UTC

0

Do the jotnar and aesir have reality warping powers?

I think i heard somewhere they do but im not 100% sure

19 Comments
2024/11/16
22:31 UTC

4

Can anyone translate this?

I was watching Supernatural and on Season 1 episode 11 Scarecrow. This is toward the end where they are about to burn the tree to kill the Vanir God. I'm unsure of which God since they only say Vanir and I'm kind of hoping the markings on the tree will tell me which God but I can't read runes and I don't recognize the markings.

I'm sure it's just Hollywood jiberish but I wanted to make sure

24 Comments
2024/11/16
17:40 UTC

3

Does anyone have volume 1 and 3 of Ursula Dronke's translation of the Poetic Edda?

I have the second volume but I cannot find the first and third one. I know the third one is basically impossible to find outside of a university library, but I've read somewhere that the electronic version of the first volume is possible to find somewhere, I just couldn't find it myself. I would greatly appreciate it if anyone had it and was willing to send it to me.

0 Comments
2024/11/16
11:28 UTC

18

Is the Midgard Serpent male or female?

I've always been convinced that Jörmungandr was female, likely because all the books I read about Germanic mythology as a child were in German and Jörmungandr is called "die Midgardschlange" in German, which is female.

But I see that in this sub, Jörmungandr is also referred to as "he", while Wikipedia says "it".

11 Comments
2024/11/16
09:09 UTC

9

Netflix's "Twilight of the Gods"

Dear Norse mythology enthusiasts,

I would like to know your opinion on the Netflix series "Twilight of the Gods"

48 Comments
2024/11/15
23:12 UTC

16

What’s the actual cause of Fimbulwinter leading to Ragnarök

I’ve read many texts and I know there are many beliefs of how it starts but what is the most commonly accepted reason for the start of Fimbulwinter

27 Comments
2024/11/14
21:13 UTC

80

What was the actual reason for Loki’s punishment?

From yt videos i hear that its bc of Balder’s death (which is also said in google), from books i read that its because of the time he went to the feast in Aegir’s hall after being kicked out. I just gotta clear that out.

11 Comments
2024/11/14
15:25 UTC

3

Interaction between gods and mortals

So, I'm not an expert on Norse mythology by any stretch, but I have a good general grasp on it. And the thing that occurred to me is I've never seen any story of the gods interacting with mortals, like you see all the time in Greek myths. The stories are always about the gods doing god stuff with other gods, and there's never any mortal in it. And when there's a story about a mortal (full disclosure, Beowulf is the only one I know) the gods don't really play any part.

So, is my view accurate, or do I just not know enough?

5 Comments
2024/11/14
00:07 UTC

15

Norse mythology for bedtime stories

Hey everyone! I've been working on bedtime stories based on classic fairy tales for a while now, and I'm ready to dive into something new: Norse mythology! I'm hoping to find captivating myths that could be adapted into soothing, yet engaging bedtime stories.

What are your favorite Norse myths or stories that you think would work well for this?

EDIT: The most reccomended was "Thor and Utgard-Loki", and so the first audiobook was made: https://www.naptimestories.com/stories/thor-and-utgard-loki/

15 Comments
2024/11/13
20:07 UTC

1

Name pronunciation help

Hello. I was reading online and came across the Norse goddess of the sea, and am curious how to pronounce her name.

I see it's Rán. How is it pronounced? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R%C3%A1n#:\~:text=In%20Norse%20mythology%2C%20R%C3%A1n%20(Old,nine%20daughters%2C%20who%20personify%20waves.

3 Comments
2024/11/13
04:42 UTC

3

Do we have guesses/ideas/etc as to who is Frigg's mother??

maybe a wife for Fjörgynn?? am begining to think that Frigg's father (Fjörgynn) is related to Thor's mother like the 2 are brother and sister; but for Frigg's mother I would like to hear ypu opinions

28 Comments
2024/11/12
23:32 UTC

10

The Sacrifice of Sumar & Vetr - Original Chant + Performance by Maggie Moon

0 Comments
2024/11/12
22:07 UTC

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