NORSE / SCANDINAVIAN / VIKING MYTHOLOGY

The name Norse referred to people and language of the ancient Scandinavians (Norwegians, Swedish, Danish, and Icelandic). Technically, the word Norse means Norwegian, but it loosely included the Icelanders, Swedes, and the Danes. A few books group Finnish mythology in with the Norse but the old beliefs of Finland form a separate tradition although there are some interesting parallels.

Scandinavian consisted of part of the Germanic people and language. Some scholars and historians believed that all Germanic tribes originated from Scandinavian Peninsula (Sweden and Norway) and Jutland (Denmark).

Norse mythology encompasses not only German mythology but also Scandinavian mythology and Viking mythology; all refer to the pre-Christian religion of the Norwegian, Swedish, Icelandic, and Danish peoples.

Since the ancient Germanic people left no written records, we had to heavily rely on classical Greek and Roman historians, as sources of information. Of course, we also depend upon archaeology as well.

The Norse mythological system as we currently have it comes down to us mainly from the Icelandic Eddas and sagas which were written down a few centuries after the Christianization of the north. There has been much research trying to discern the true ancient religion as practiced by the people of the Scandinavian countries as opposed to the representation we are given in the written sources.

	FAQS: What's a Scandinavian versus someone who's Nordic?
	FAERIES:
	SCANDINAVIAN FAIRY TALES:
	NORSE GODS: Baldr, Thor and Odin to name a few.
	NORSE HISTORY:
	NORSE RELIGION:
	NORSE WORLDS:
	SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY
	TWILIGHT OF THE GODS: The sky will fall into a pit of flame and the earth will sink into the sea.
	VIKING MYTHOLOGY: