Tag: Vikings

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Norse Mythology: Frigg

Frigg (Old Norse Frigg, “Beloved”) is the highest-ranking of the Aesir goddesses. She’s the wife of Odin, and the mother of Baldur.

Frigg is depicted as a völva – a Viking Age practitioner of the form of Norse magic known as seidr. Seidr was a shamanic discerning fate and working within that structure to bring about changes – often weaving new events into being. In this way, Frigg and the Vanir goddess Freya are confused or by the Viking Age – combined into the same figure.

In the Viking Age, the völva was an itinerant seeress and sorceress who traveled from town to town performing commissioned acts of seidr in exchange for lodging, food, and often other forms of compensation as well. Similar to other northern Eurasian shamans, her social status was highly ambiguous – she was exalted, feared, longed for, propitiated, celebrated, and even scorned. This seems a very unlikely practice for a woman in Frigg’s position as the wife of a Chieftain and leader of the gods, Odín.

The Vanir goddesses Freya is often confused with Frigg in later writings – so much so that they are often the same figure. Freyja means “Lady” which is a title rather than an actual name. In the Viking Age, Scandinavian and Icelandic aristocratic women were sometimes called freyjur, the plural of freyja.

Odin’s has frequent absences from Asgard when he assumes the role of The Wanderer donning a ragged black cape and hat and walking among the mortals in Midgard. During Odin’s absences, Frigg assumes control of Asgard and the gods and she is the only other than Odín who may sit on Hliðskjálf – the high seat that enables sight anywhere in the Nine Worlds.

Frigg’s had a significantly elevated position among the Aesir but was treated cautiously because her weaving included not just fate but also the weather and her clothing was known to change appearance based on her moods.

Favoured people: Women; especially wives and mothers

Manifestation: She wears a belt which keys hang as common for the Viking Age ruler of the household

Attribute: Distaff from a loom

Element: Water

Constellation: In Norse cosmology, the constellation now known as Orion’s belt was called Frigg’s distaff or spindle

Runes: Mannaz, Pertho, Wunjo

Bird: Stork

Hall: Fensalir (“Marsh Hall”) is the after-death destination for happily married couples who can spend eternity together.

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Norse Mythology: Skadi

Skadi (Old Norse Skaði) is a frost giantess. Her name is identical to the Old Norse common noun skaði which means “harm,”. Her name may be related to the naming of landmass of “Scandinavia.”

Skadi’s domain is the highest peaks of the mountains where the snow never melts. She is an keen huntress and her bow, snowshoes, and skis are her most commonly mentioned attributes.

In the Norse cosmos, frost giants are forces of darkness, cold, and death. Skadi has particular associations with winter and was worshipped as a goddess of winter subsistence (skiing, hunting etc.).

Skadi is the daughter of the frost giant Thrazi, who died during an altercation with the Aesir gods. Skadi’s dresses in her armour and marches on Odín and the Aesir demanding reparation for her father’s death. Skadi and Odín negotiate two things of the Aesir: that the Aesir make her laugh (deemed an impossible task) and that she be provided her with her choice of husband. Both terms are met.

She hoped to marry Baldr – the handsome son of Odín and Frigg. After a trick by Odín to make her choose her husband by his feet – she marries the sea god, Njord who had the most handsome feet.

Unusual for a frost giantess, Skadi is allied with the Aesir. It is Skadi who ties a venomous snake over Loki’s head after Baldr’s death. Loki’s had boasted about being responsible for the trickery that led to her father’s death. This enmity towards Loki never faded from Skadi.

Origin: Daughter of the frost giant Theazi

Classification: Jotun or frost giantess

Manifestation: Skadi presents as a tall, strong, beautiful and athletic woman. She travels through the snow mountains on skis and snowshoes and hunts with a bow and arrows. She is often accompanied by wolves.

Attributes: Ice skates, skis, snowshoes

Creatures: Wolves, snakes

Colour: White

Realm: Skadi takes over her father’s domain called Thrymheimr but also dwells among the remote mountain peaks.

Offerings: Images of wolves and snakes. Traditional winter foods.

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Norse Mythology: Loki

Loki (Old Norse: Loki “knot/tangle”) is a wily trickster god of Norse mythology. While treated as a nominal member of the Aesir, he occupies a highly ambivalent and unique position among the gods, giants, and the other kinds of spiritual beings that populate pre-Christian Norse religion.

Loki is the father of three monsters with giantess and witch of the Iron Wood, Angrboda (Old Norse: “Anguish-bringer”). Their daughter Hel became the ruler of the underworld; Jormungand, a great serpent (also known as the Midgard Serpent encircled the entirety of Midgard sea) is fated to be slain and slay Thor during Ragnarok; lastly, Fenrir, the giant wolf who bites off one the god Tyr’s hands when chained by the Aesir and slays Odin during Ragnarok.

Loki also had a wife from among the Aesir – Sigyn (“Friend of Victory”) and two sons named Nari and Narfi, whose names might mean “Corpse.” They are sacrificed and their entrails used to bind Loki until he’ll break free at the beginning of Ragnarok.

Loki often runs afoul of societal expectations but also the “the laws of nature.” Loki is also a shape-shifter and in the form of a mare, he birthed Sleipnir, Odin’s shamanic stallion.

In many tales, Loki is a schemer, coward, shallow and focused only on his self-preservation. He’s also playful, malicious, and can be helpful. But all tales portray him as irreverent and immoral.

Loki’s recklessness finds him in the hands of the furious frost-giant, Thrazi who threatens to kill him unless he kidnaps the goddess Idunn. To save his own life, Loki agrees and shape-shifting again, steals Idunn away and delivers her to Thrazi. The Aesir then threaten him with death unless he rescues Idunn. He agrees to this for self-preservation and shape-shifting into a falcon and transforms Idunn again and carries her back to Asgard in his talons. Angered, Thrazi pursues him in the form of an eagle. When he has almost caught up with Loki, the Aesir gods light a fire around the perimeter of their fortress. The flames catch Thrazi’s feathers and burns him to death.

After Thrazi’s death, his daughter, frost-giantess Skadi, marches on Asgard demanding compensation for slaying her father. One of her demands is that the Aesir make her laugh, something which only Loki can accomplish.

Loki both helps and hinders the gods and the giants, depending on what course of action most benefits him at the time.

During Ragnarok, when the gods and giants engage in their fateful struggle and the cosmos is destroyed, Loki joins the giants and captains a ship made by Hel called Naglfar, “Deadmen’s nails,” that brings many of the giants to the battlefield. Loki and the Aesir god Heimdall will mortally wound each other.

Loki is best known for his malevolent role in the death of Odín and Frigg’s son Baldr. The prophesied death of the beloved god Baldr, Frigg secures a promise from every living thing not to harm her son. But no oath is obtained from a young mistletoe. Loki discovers this omission and carves a spearhead from the mistletoe. While the Aesir are enjoying testing the immortality of Baldr, Loki gives the spearhead to Baldr’s brother, the blind god Hodr who isn’t participating in the festivities. Loki aims for Hodr and Baldr is struck and dies.

After Baldr’s death, the Aesir god Hermod rides Sleipnir into the underworld to implore Hel to release Baldr. Hel demands that if Baldr is truly loved by everything and everyone, every being in the Nine Worlds must weep for Baldr and then she will release him from the Underworld. Loki disguises himself as a giantess named Thok (“Thanks”), who is the only one in the Nine Worlds who doesn’t weep for Baldr. In turn, he must remain with Hel in the Underworld.

For this last crime against the Aesir gods, he is bound within a cavern with a venomous serpent hanging above him, dripping poison onto his face (the viper care of Skadi). Loki’s very faithful wife Sigyn, sits beside him holding a bowl catch the venom. But when the bowl needs emptying, she mist leave Loki’s face unprotected and drops of venom fall onto his flesh and he writhes in agonised convulsions that cause earthquakes. Here, he will stay until breaking free at Ragnarok.

For many centuries of Norse mythology study, the meaning of Loki’s name has been elusive. A recent, the philologist Eldar Heide suggests from Nordic folklore in periods more recent than the Viking Age, Loki often appears in contexts likening it to a knot on a thread. In fact, in later Icelandic usage, the common noun loki means “knot” or “tangle.”

Manifestation: A master shape-shifter who appears in many guises.

Consort: Aesir wife Sigyn and the giantess Angrboda

Sacred animals: Wolves, snakes and possibly spiders (web-weaving).

Star symbol: Sirius also known as Lokabrenna (“Loki’s Brand”) in traditional Norse astrology

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Norse Mythology: Freyr

Freyr (Old Norse Freyr, “Lord”) is one of the Vanir gods and is also counted among the Aesir gods as a hostage after the Aesir-Vanir War.

Fryer’s father is the Vanir god Njord. Freyr has been the lover of numerous goddesses and giantesses and rumoured to include his own sister, Freya. Incest seems a common practice among the Vanir deities but not the Aesir.

Freyr was one of the most widely venerated divinities amongst the pagan Norse and other Germanic peoples. The reasons are easy to understand with the well-being and prosperity dependent on his benevolence which manifested in sexual and ecological fertility, bountiful harvests, wealth, and peace. His role governing fertility is symbolised in his golden-bristled boar Gullinborsti and its enormous, erect phallus.

It shouldn’t be surprising, then, that Freyr was a frequent recipient of sacrifices at the blessing of a wedding or the celebration of a harvest. During harvest festivals, the sacrifice traditionally took the form of his favored animal, the boar.

His prominence even among the Aesir is clear in being included among the receiptients of prized dwarf-made gifts like Skíðblaðnir, a ship which always has a favorable wind and can be folded up and carried in a small bag.

Freyr dwells is Alfheim – the homeland of the elves. Freyr is never stated as a ruler of the elves and the relationship between the gods and the elves is ambiguous in many cases.

On land, Freyr travels in a chariot drawn by boars. This is another mythological feature that was reflected in historical ritual. From medieval Icelandic sources, priestesses and/or priests of Freyr traveled throughout the country on a chariot which contained a statue of the god. A similar practice occurred with the early Germanic goddess Nerthus – a Proto-Germanic form of Freyr’s father’s name, Njord.

During Ragnarok at the doom of the gods, it is Freyr and the fire giant Surt who are fated to destroy each other.

Also known as: Frey; Fro; Frothi; Frodi; Yngvi; Ing

Classification: Vanir god

Favoured people: Seafarers; lovers; brewers

Iconography: In his shrine at Uppsala, Freyr was represented as a virile man with a large, erect penis. An alternative image portrayed him as a young boy traveling across the sea. His image was often featured on armor and weapons.

Attributes: A sword that is removed independently from its scabbard and creates carnage wherever it is directed at. A ship whose sails always attract favourable winds but could be folded up and carried.

Associates Colours: Brown, gold, green.

Mounts: A chariot drawn by two boars. A massive, golden-bristled boar. A horse named Bloody Hooves.

Place of Veneration: Shrine in Uppsala, Sweden, where it continued to be a place of veneration to Freyr long after most of Scandinavia had converted to Christianity.

Associated Runes: Ehwaz, Fehu, and Ingwaz.

Offerings to Freyr: The Yule boar, or a male pig, is the annual sacrificial boar offered to Freyr in winter. Libations of fresh water, barley wine, ale, or mead.

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The Hunger of the Gods

*** I received an ARC in return for an honest review ***

Publisher’s Description

Lik-Rifa, the dragon god of legend, has been freed from her eternal prison. Now she plots a new age of blood and conquest.

As Orka continues the hunt for her missing son, the Bloodsworn sweep south in a desperate race to save one of their own – and Varg takes the first steps on the path of vengeance.

Elvar has sworn to fulfil her blood oath and rescue a prisoner from the clutches of Lik-Rifa and her dragonborn followers, but first she must persuade the Battle-Grim to follow her.

Yet even the might of the Bloodsworn and Battle-Grim cannot stand alone against a dragon god.

Their hope lies within the mad writings of a chained god. A book of forbidden magic with the power to raise the wolf god Ulfrir from the dead . . . and bring about a battle that will shake the foundations of the earth.

Review

I recently read the dark fantasy The Hunger of the Gods (The Bloodsworn Saga, #2) by UK author John Gwynne.

The Hunger of the Gods follows directly from the The Shadow of the Gods with the imprisoned dragon-god Lika-Rifa freed by Queen Hekla and her dragon-born warriors – with the Tainted children made thralls and sworn to serve Lik-Rifa.

Bloodsworn and Tainted warrior Orka continues her hunt for Queen Hekla and vengeance for stealing her Tainted son Breca. But Orka has the blood of the wolf-god Ulfrir in her veins and aided by vessen monsters. She is formidable and ferocious when the wolf-blood overwhelms her.

Elevar of the Battle-grim warriors aims to fulfil the blood-oath to find another stolen Tainted child. But to battle Queen Hekla, her dragon-born warriors and the dragon-god Lik-Rifa, Elvar makes a thrall of a winged-god and using mad writings of Lik-Rifa, she raises Ulfrir the wolf-god from his bones and the winged thrall Skuld forges a collar for Elvar to make a thrall of Ulfrir. That accomplished, Elvar and her Battle-grim warriors follow after Lik-Rifa and wait for Ulfrir to regain his legendary strength before the battle which could remake or unmake the world.

Final Thoughts

The Hunger of the Gods continues the epic dark fantasy where Gwynne’s talent for reimagining Norse mythology and world-building is compelling.

Conclusion

A good sequel in the Bloodsworn Saga. An enjoyable dark fantasy of Norse-inspired sagas and mythology with extensive world-building and strong, well-defined characters. A recommended read!

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The Shadow of the Gods

Publisher’s Description

THE GREATEST SAGAS ARE WRITTEN IN BLOOD. 

A century has passed since the gods fought and drove themselves to extinction. Now only their bones remain, promising great power to those brave enough to seek them out.

As whispers of war echo across the land of Vigrio, fate follows in the footsteps of three warriors: a huntress on a dangerous quest, a noblewoman pursuing battle fame, and a thrall seeking vengeance among the mercenaries known as the Bloodsworn.

All three will shape the fate of the world as it once more falls under the shadow of the gods.

Review

I read The Shadow of the Gods (The Bloodsworn Saga, #1) by UK author John Gwynne.

The Shadow of the Gods follows three main characters: Orka a Bloodsworn warrior and Ulfir Tainted mother seeking her stolen Tainted son Brecca. Elvar from the Battle-Grim warriors on a quest for battle fame. The thrall Varg seeking vengeance. In this world where the old gods fought and died, their bones hold immense power for those brave and strong enough to seek them out through lands where monsters now roam.

Queen Hekla of the Raven-feeders is determined to free and the old dragon god Lik-Rifa from her imprisonment in a chamber beneath the earth and to whom the Dragon-born like Queen Hekla are sworn to serve and follow. But the magic required to free Lik-Rifa uses the blood of the Tainted (those sharing bloodlines of the dead gods). Tainted children were the easiest to make thralls of and steal away so their blood can be used to free Lik-Rifa.

The final battle will see fame found, saga tales returned the land fall as warriors seek power with the death of their enemies.

Final Thoughts

The Shadow of the Gods is a unique reimagining of Norse mythology with extensive world-building and strong, well-developed characters. The battle scenes are visceral and can be at times, gratuitous. The female characters are strong and independent which was pleasant to find in a dark fantasy.

Conclusion

A reimagining of Norse mythology with extensive world-building. A great read for those who enjoy dark fantasy, mythology and Norse-inspired fantasy. A recommended read!

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Freyja: Norse Mythology

Freya (Old Norse Freyja, “Lady”) is one of the preeminent goddesses in Norse mythology. She’s a member of the Vanir tribe of deities, but became a member of the Aesir gods after the Aesir-Vanir War. Her brother Freyr also became a member of the Aesir.

Freyja is the Norse goddess of love, fertility, beauty and fine material possessions. She is passionate and thrill-seeking and is often a “wild spirit” among the Aesir. Contrastingly, Freyja is also the archetype of the völva, a practitioner of seidr, a form of Norse magic and divination. It was Freyja who first taught the sedir to Odin, and eventually human witches learned the practice to. Her power over desire and prosperity, her knowledge and power are almost without equal – except Odin.

Freyja presides over the afterlife realm Folkvangr where she chooses half of the warriors slain in battle who dwell in her Hall, while Odin takes the first half of fallen warriors to dwell in Valhalla with him. Her role as battle leader and followed by the band of Valkyries who help decide the fates of men in battle.

Seidr is a form of pre-Christian Norse magic and shamanism that involves discerning the course of fate and working to bring about change – often by symbolically weaving new events into being. This power is incredibly useful in bringing about changes in human life.

In the Viking Age, the völva was an itinerant seeress and sorceress who traveled from town to town performing commissioned acts of seidr in exchange for lodging, food, and often other forms of compensation including clothing or anything she might need. Like other northern Eurasian shamans, her social status was highly ambiguous – she was exalted, needed, feared and scorned.

Freyja’s role amongst the gods is stated in the Ynglinga Saga with indirect hints elsewhere in the Eddas and sagas. In one tale, Freyja possesses falcon plumed cloak that allows the wearer to shift their shape into that of a falcon.

In the Germanic “politico-theological conception” based on the mythological model provided by the divine pair Frija and Woðanaz – deities who later became linked as Freyja/Frigg and Odin. In this Germanic concept, Woðanaz is the warband’s chieftain and Frija is its veleda (völva).

While late Old Norse literary sources form the basis of current knowledge of pre-Christian Germanic religions portray Freya and Frigg as being -at least nominally- distinct goddesses but the similarities between them run deep. Their differences are superficial and can potentially be explained by the Norse and Germanic tribes sharing close trade and marriage ties with Freya and Frigg split sometime before the conversion of Iceland to Christianity (around the year 1000 CE).

Freyja and Frigg are similarly accused of infidelity to their (similar) husbands. Alongside several mentions of free Freyja’s sexual practices in the Lokasenna and the Ynglinga Saga, Odin was once exiled from Asgard with his brothers Vili and Ve left in command. The two brothers apparently slept regularly with Frigg until Odin’s return. Many scholars have tried to differentiate between Freyja and Frigg by asserting that the former is more promiscuous and less steadfast than the latter.

Frigg is depicted as a völva herself. Once again in Lokasenna, after Loki slanders Frigg for her infidelity, Freyja warns him that Frigg knows the fate of all beings – a threat to perform seidr. Frigg’s weaving activities are likely an allusion to this role as well as the Norns are known to weave the fate of gods and men.

The name Freyja translates to “Lady” which is a title rather than a true name. In the Viking Age, Scandinavian and Icelandic wealthy women were sometimes called freyjur, the plural of freyja. The name “Frigg” means “beloved.” Frigg’s name therefore links her to love and desire which are areas that Freyja presides. Both goddesses fulfil the roles of the other: Frigg’s name is similar to the Freyja’s attributes.

Freyja’s most famous possession is her necklace the Brisingr forged by the dwarfs. While in the underground kingdom of the dwarfs, Freyja saw them create a necklace and she asked the dwarfs to give it to her. They refused at first but eventually gave it to her and the influence of her sexuality. Brisingr was once stolen by Loki but recovered by the god Heimdallr.

Freyja also has two large grey cats assumed to be lynxes which pull her chariot. Her role as the goddess of fertility is also shared with her brother Freyr and their shared close connection to the earth and the prosperity of crops. Her seemingly dual role as a battle goddess places her at the axes of life and death.

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Norse Witch: Gullveig

Gullveig is an important female figure mentioned in two stanzas in the Völuspá, one of the poems in the Nordic Poetic Edda. Her prominent role describes the events leading to the Aesir-Vanir War, the war between the two main tribes of deities in Norse mythology, the Aesir and the Vanir and the destruction of the worlds in Ragnarok.

Gullveig is introduced thus:

“I remember the first murder ever in the world, when Gullveig was pierced by spears and burned in Odin’s hall.

They burned her three times, she was reborn three times;

often killed–not a few times!-still she would live again.

They named her Heith

when she came into their homes, a sorceress who foresaw good things.

She knew magic, she knew witchcraft, she practiced witchcraft.

She was the pride of an evil family.

Then all the gods went to their thrones,

those holy, holy gods,

and came to a decision,

about whether they should endure

Gullveig’s depradations

or whether they

should seek revenge.”

These stanzas tell us that Gullveig was a practitioner of magic, often called the “seidr” (seiðr) in Old Norse. Magic was seen as highly ambivalent amongst the Norse. Its practitioners often provided valuable services, but their art inherently increased their personal power in ways that rulers felt threatened and others to be underhanded

There are scholars who believe that Gullveig is the Vanir goddess Freya by another name. Freya weeps tears of gold and owns the golden, jewel-studded necklace Brísingamen which is possibly the most precious piece of jewelry in Old Norse literature. She also teaches the sedir to Odín.

Other scholars believe that Gullveig is the ghost summoned in Hel and consulted about Frigg’s dreams that her favourite son Baldr will die. The ghost tells again of the coming of Ragnarok- the Doom of the Gods.

Source:

• The Poetic Edda: Stories of the Norse Gods and Heroes. Völuspá, stanzas 21-23. Jackson Crawford, pp. 6-7.

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Reimagining Norse Myths

One of my projects I’m working on at the moment is a reimagining the Norse Myths and involving my favourite Trickster folklore. I’m focusing on the god Loki and the events recounted in the myths leading up to Ragnarok.

I’m also fascinated by the roles of Odín and his selection of the best warriors fallen on the battlefield and how Freyja, goddess of desire takes the other half the best fallen warriors and is a leader of the Valkyries.

My love of Trickster folklore and legends includes one of my favourite Australian Trickster figures, Crow. Together with Loki, there’s a new story added to those known in the Norse myths.

In remaining ragnarok in a new way, I’ve ncorporated Icelandic and Australian-esque natural landscapes to create a new version of a mythos of ice and fire with tales from the Australian Alps to the desert heart.

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The Skogsrå

The skogsrå is one of the important genii loci, the spirit of the Forest from Scandinavia. She will appear to hunters mostly but also to some travellers through the forests of her domain.

The Skogsra is often described as human-like being, but with something uncanny about her. She’s often very beautiful but will have a tail or a back formed like a (rotten) tree trunk. The first morph (a tree trunk back) is common in Denmark, mid- and southern Sweden, but the tail is common in western and northern Sweden and Norway. Normally, the Skogsra has a a cow’s tail, but she can sometimes have a fox tail.

The Skogsra sometimes doesn’t appear to forest travellers as a young woman, but as an old and ugly hag. But these appearances are quite rare.

The Skogsra often approaches and tries to seduce men by various ways.

In folklore material, two types of men were most often approached by the Skogsra – charcoal-burners and hunters. Both of these groups of men were alone in the forest for long periods at a time.

In exchange for sexual encounters, a man might actually became her lover and the Skogsra could help him and grant rewards – like making sure his rifle never missed, and waking him if the charcoal stack was about to burn down. Both these are blessings made possible by the Skogsra and when the men are within her forest.

References

https://folklorethursday.com/folktales/skogsra-and-huldra-the-femme-fatale-of-the-scandinavian-forests/