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Odin and Valhalla on the largest of the Ardre image stones from Gotland, ca. 750 ADNorse mythology, Viking mythology or Scandinavian mythology refer to the pre- Christian religion, beliefs and legends of the Scandinavian people. It is the best-known version of the ancient Germanic mythology, which also includes the closely related Anglo-Saxon mythology. Germanic mythology, in its turn, had evolved from an earlier Indo-European mythology.
In Scandinavia and Iceland these beliefs held on the longest, and in rural areas some traditions have been maintained until today, recently experiencing a wider acceptance and revival as Ásatrú or Odinism.
While not being a revealed religion, that is one based on a book written by a prophet, but a collection of similar beliefs shared by Germanic tribes, the Eddas and other writings have long held a central role in our understanding of Norse mythology. The information about the gods, their roles and their relationships was transmitted orally, as well as written in runes. Today, the mythologyThis article is about a system of myths. For the 1942 book Mythology see its author Edith Hamilton. A mythology is a relatively cohesive set of myths: stories that comprise a certain religion or belief system. What is mythology? Myths are generally storie is a potent source of inspiration in literatureLiterature is literally "an acquaintance with letters" as in the first sense given in the Oxford English Dictionary; the term has, however, generally come to identify a collection of texts. The word "literature" spelled with a lower-case "l" can refer to (see Norse mythological influences on later literatureNorse mythology provides a rich and diverse source which many later writers have borrowed from or built upon. The most well-known example is probably The Lord of the Rings by J. Tolkien, although he was by no means the first writer to help himself to this) as well as stage and film.
1 Cosmology
In Norse mythology, the earth was believed to be a flat disc. AsgardThis article is about the realm of Norse Mythology. For other uses, see Asgard (disambiguation). Asgard is the realm of the gods, the Aesir, in Norse Mythology, thought to be separate from the realm of the mortals, Midgard. The walls surrounding Asgard we was located at the centre of this disc, and this was where the gods lived, and could only be reached by walking across the rainbow (the Bifrost bridge). The Giants lived in an equivalent abode called JotunheimJotunheim is the world of the giants (two types: rock and frost, collectively called Jotuns) in the Norse Mythology. From here they menace the humans in Midgard and the gods in Asgard (from whom they are separated by the river Iving). The chief city of Jo (giant-home). A cold, dark underground abode, called Niflheim, was ruled by a goddess called Hel. This was the eventual dwelling-place of most of the dead. Located somewhere in the south was the fiery realm of Muspell, home of the fire giants. Other overworldy realms includes Alfheim, home of the light-elves (ljósalfar), Svartalfheim, home of the dark-elves, and Nidavellr, the mines of the dwarves. In between these was Midgard, (OE "Middangeard", NE "Middle-earth"; the source of J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth), the world as we know it. Other names for this land was Middle Garden, and Middle-home.
