1 / 9

The North Men

The North Men. An Introduction to the Norse/Germanic Pantheon. Background. ‘Norse’ comes from the old word for ‘north’ Other related words include ‘Norman’ (Norman-Saxon) and ‘Normandy’ (region in France)

kenyon
Download Presentation

The North Men

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. The North Men An Introduction to the Norse/Germanic Pantheon

  2. Background • ‘Norse’ comes from the old word for ‘north’ • Other related words include ‘Norman’ (Norman-Saxon) and ‘Normandy’ (region in France) • The Norse, also known as Vikings, were from Scandinavia (modern day Finland, Sweden, Denmark), Germany and parts of England

  3. Background • Mainly farmers and explorers • Valued strength, courage, wisdom, prowess (like bo-staff fighting skills), and leadership • Did not put any faith in the future • Only the past and present are certain • Seen in today’s language…

  4. The Supernatural Races • Aesir • Primary race of gods • Lived in Asgard • Aged like mortals but renewed their youth by eating magic apples from the Tree of Life (Yggdrasil) • Vanir • Secondary race of gods • Reached a compromise with the Aesir and were allowed to live in Asgard

  5. The Supernatural Races • Giants • Two kinds: Frost-Giants and Mountain-Giants • Magicians who lived at Jötunheim • Constantly challenging the gods • Dwarves • Craftsmen who lived underground • Valkyries • “choosers of the slain” • Selected the bravest mortal fighters who died in battle to live in Valhalla • Only visible to men about to die in battle

  6. The Gods of the Vikings • Odin (Wodan, Wotan) • Ruler of the gods • Master of wisdom, magic, poetry, brave warriors • Had only one eye (interesting story) • Had two ravens fly around the world each day to bring back news • Frigga (Fricka) • Odin’s wife • Wise and also protected brave warriors that Odin neglected

  7. The Gods of the Vikings • Frey • God of agriculture, trade, peace • Freya (Freja) • Often combined with Frigga • Frey’s twin sister • Goddess of beauty and love • Tyr (Tiw) • More popular among Germans and Anglo-Saxons • God of war, public assemblies, legal matters

  8. The Gods of the Vikings • Loki (Loge) • God of trickery • Half-giant; preferred to live with the giants • Hel • Goddess of the Underworld • Half her face was human; half was blank • Thor • God of thunder • Short-tempered, but proud, brave…ultimate warrior • Protected peasant warriors

More Related