Nordic Myth Assignment

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Nordic Myth Assignment

• Grade 10 English
• Mr. Bryan
• September 22, 2003

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Norse Mythology

• Introduction
• Creation of Gods
• Creation of World
• Creation of Humans
• World Tree -Yggdrasil
• Myth Comparison
• Artistic Relation
• Genealogy
• International Origin
• Myth Characters

• Other Creations
• Worlds
• Sayings
• Interesting Facts
• Conclusion

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Introduction

• Norse Mythology is a very interesting type of
  mythology. Although there are different versions
  of some stories with some unique twists in them,
  most of the stories have the same idea. The
  Norse were very violent and strong people but
  their mythology is like no other, and actually
  has a lot of peace in the stories.

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Creation of Gods

• There were 2 regions. One was Niflheim, in the
  north, it was the world of cold and ice where
  cold and darkness rules. In the south there was
  Muspelheim, a world of fire and flame. In
  between these two regions was a void name
  Ginnungagap. Frost and mist from Niflheim poured
  into Ginnungagap but flame and heat from
  Muspelheim also poured into Ginnungagap. The
  flame and frost mixed and created two giant
  beings Audhumla, a giant cow, and Ymir. Ymir
  fed off the milk of Audhumla. Audhumla licked an
  ice block and freed a giant called Buri.
• Buri had a son named Bor. Bor had 3 sons named
  Odin(spirit), Vili(wild), and Ve(holiness). They
  formed the race called Aesir. They were a race
  who wanted to unleash their power, but before
  they could unleash their power they had to
  destroy figure of power who might oppose them,
  Ymir. They killed Ymir and pushed his bleeding
  body into Ginnungagap. The blood from his wounds
  filled Ginnungagap and drown all the frost giants
  except Begelmir.

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Creation of the World

• Aesir raised the dead body of Ymir and formed the
  world from it. The blood became the sea and the
  lakes, the flesh formed the earth, the bones
  became the mountains, and the broken bones became
  rocks and pebbles. The skull became the dome of
  the sky. From the eyebrows a wall (Midgard) was
  created all around earth. This great wall was
  made to protect the next creation (humans) from
  the frost giants in Niflheim.

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Creation of Humans

• Odin, Hoenir and Lodur were looking at the great
  creation they had made. The gods wanted to
  create a kind of being that would respect and
  worship them. They came to two trees, Odin
  breathed life and spirit into them. The trees
  then came alive as man and woman. Hoenir gave
  humans the gift of understanding, and Lodur gave
  them the gift of outward form and their five
  senses.

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The World Tree - Yggdrasil

• There is one ash tree that stood there . The
  stagest thing about this ash tree is that nobody
  knows where it came from or how it got there.
  This tree named Yggdrasil was the force that kept
  the universe there. As long as Yggdrasil was
  there all humans, gods, and worlds would remain.
  The trees trunks passed through three worlds,
  the realm of Aesir, Niflheim and the land of the
  dead. This tree also held the Spring of Fate
  guarded by Past, Present, and Future. As long as
  Yggdrasil was alive the day of doom would never
  come.

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Myth Comparison

• The Norse Mythology is one of a kind. It is a
  very unique and different kind of Mythology.
  Many myths portray the gods as beautiful and very
  kind to their creations. In Norse Mythology the
  gods are almost always portrayed as very strong,
  violent characters who fought for everything.
• Norse Mythology is the mythology which J.R.R.
  Tolkien used to create his ideas.

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Artistic relation

• Though the use of Norse mythology has been
  forgotten, art has seemed to be like the gateway
  to modern society to experience Norse mythology.
  For example the renown author J.R.R Tolkein
  manipulating his Trilogy Lord of The Rings

The forge of the ring 1984, oil on canvas
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Gene alogy
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Other Perceptions of deities
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International Origins

• The Norse were generally
• based in northern Europe,
• mainly Iceland.
• They were also based in
• Scandinavia. It is not easy to
• tell exactly where the Norse
• were based because very
• little was drawn as maps.

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International
Origin(Cont.)
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Myth Characters

• There are too many mythical characters show, but
  here are the most important out of the bunch.
• Audhumla The ancient cow. The first form of
  life. She fed Ymir
• Baldur God of light, love, peace, and beauty.
  Most kind and gentle god.
• Buri First god. He was licked from the ice by
  Audhumla.
• Beyla Goddess of ale
• Byggvir God of ale
• Bor Son of Buri
• Fenris Huge wolf. The gods were even scared of
  it
• Forseti God of Justice
• Frey God of sunshine, rain, peace, fertility and
  earth. Lord of the elves.
• Freya Lady, mistress. Goddess of love and magic.

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Myth Characters (cont.)

• Frigg Lady, mistress. Goddess of childbirth and
  marriage. Highest in rank of goddesses. She is
  Mother of the Gods
• Hel Goddess of the underworld. Also known as
  the Concealer. Rules the dead that do not die in
  battle
• Hugin Raven of thought
• Jord Earth goddess
• Loki Fire. The god of mischief and of all
  fraud. Loki could either help the gods or harm
  them.
• Midgard Serpent A giant serpent. Lives at the
  bottom of the ocean
• Munin Raven of memory
• Njord God of winds and seas
• Odin Spirit. God of battle, death,
  inspiration, wisdom and hanged men
• Thor God of thunder, law and order
• Ymir The first living creature. His body
  created gods and earth
• This is just some of the mythical characters.
  There are still many more.

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Other Creations

• The gods created many things like the dwarves
  under ground who had skills in forging metal.
• Above the earth to keep man and woman warm the
  gods created the sun and the moon which were
  driven across the sky by children in chariots.
  The giants were unhappy with this creation and
  they sent two wolves after the chariots. This is
  why the chariots move across the sky quickly.

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Worlds of the Norse

• The Norse had many worlds, here is a list.
• Muspelheim Land of brightness and flame
• Niflheim Land of cold and darkness
• Ginnungagap void between Muspelheim and
  Niflheim.
• Jotunheim Where frost giants live, region of ice
  and frost
• Earth Realm of humans
• Midgard Great wall to protect humans
• Darkalfheim region under earth were dwarves
  lived
• Alfheim Land of the Elves
• AsgardHome of Aesir gods, Protected by rainbow
  bridge (Bifrost).

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Sayings

• Brave men can live well anywhere
• A coward fears everything
• The path to a good friends house
• Is straight
• Though he is far away
• To one, tell your thoughts
• but be wary of two
• All know what is known to three

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Interesting Facts

• Ragnarok The day of doom, the day when
  everything will come to an end. Its the day the
  wolves catch the sun and moon. All the evil will
  go to Asgard and battle with the gods.
• Happy endings are often rare in Norse Myths
• Shakespeare got Hamlet storyline from an old
  Norse Myth.
• J.R.R. Tolkiens The Lord of the Rings trilogy
  was based on the old Norse world.
• God/desses ate apples of youth to remain young.
• Gods were not role models, they were undignified,
  often in trouble, and used trickery to get away
  from their problems
• Strength was the focus of myths

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Conclusion

• Norse Mythology is a very interesting kind of
  mythology. Many people thought of the norse
  people as violent and mean, but these people
  definitely had a interesting religion and stories.

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By

• Jesse Romano
• Jared Root-McCaig
• Elissa Ralph
• Eric Thompson
• Jessica Simmons
• Alysia Scott
• Koby
• Andrew Olsen