Norse mythology, stories of the Norse deities, is preserved in
Eddic poetry and in
Snorri Sturluson's guide for
skalds, the
Poetic Edda. Depictions of some of these stories can be found on
picture stones in
Gotland and in other visual records including some early Christian crosses, which attests to how widely known they were. The myths were transmitted purely orally until the end of the period, and were subject to variation; one key poem, "Vǫluspá", is preserved in two variant versions in different manuscripts, and Snorri's retelling of the myths sometimes varies from the other textual sources that are preserved. There was no single authoritative version of a particular myth, and variation over time and from place to place is presumed, rather than "a single unified body of thought". In particular, there may have been influences from interactions with other peoples, including northern Slavs, Finns, and Anglo-Saxons, and Christian mythology exerted an increasing influence.
Deities Old Norse religion was
polytheistic, with many anthropomorphic gods and goddesses, who express human emotions and in some cases are married and have children. One god,
Baldr, is said in the myths to have died. Archaeological evidence on the worship of particular gods is sparse, although placenames may also indicate locations where they were venerated. For some gods, particularly
Loki, there is no evidence of worship; however, this may be changed by new archaeological discoveries. Regions, communities, and social classes likely varied in the gods they venerated more or at all. There are also accounts in sagas of individuals who devoted themselves to a single deity, described as a
fulltrúi or
vinr (confidant, friend) as seen in
Egill Skallagrímsson's reference to his relationship with Odin in his "
Sonatorrek", a tenth-century skaldic poem for example. This practice has been interpreted as heathen past influenced by the Christian cult of the saints. Although our literary sources are all relatively late, there are also indications of change over time. Norse mythological sources, particularly Snorri and "Vǫluspá", differentiate between two groups of deities, the
Æsir and the
Vanir, who fought
a war during which the Vanir broke down the walls of the Æsir's stronghold,
Asgard, and eventually made peace utilizing a truce and the exchange of hostages. Some
mythographers have suggested that this myth was based on recollection of a conflict in Scandinavia between adherents of different belief systems. Major deities among the Æsir include
Thor (who is often referred to in literary texts as Asa-Thor),
Odin and
Týr. Very few Vanir are named in the sources:
Njǫrðr, his son
Freyr, and his daughter
Freyja; according to Snorri all of these could be called
Vanaguð (Vanir-god), and Freyja also
Vanadís (Vanir-
dís). The status of
Loki within the pantheon is problematic, and according to "
Lokasenna" and "Vǫluspá" and Snorri's explanation, he is imprisoned beneath the earth until
Ragnarok, when he will fight against the gods. As far back as 1889
Sophus Bugge suggested this was the inspiration for the myth of
Lucifer. Some of the goddesses—
Skaði,
Rindr,
Gerðr have their origins among the
jötnar. The general Old Norse word for the goddesses is
Ásynjur, which is properly the feminine of
Æsir. An old word for goddess may be
dís, which is preserved as the name of a group of female supernatural beings.
Localised and ancestral deities Ancestral deities were common among Finno-Ugric peoples and remained a strong presence among the Finns and Sámi after Christianisation. Ancestor veneration may have played a part in the private religious practices of Norse people in their farmsteads and villages; in the 10th century, Norwegian pagans attempted to encourage the Christian king Haakon to take part in an offering to the gods by inviting him to drink a toast to the ancestors alongside several named deities.
Þorgerðr Hölgabrúðr and Irpa appear to have been personal or family goddesses venerated by
Haakon Sigurdsson, a late pagan ruler of Norway. There are also likely to have been local and family fertility cults; there is one reported example from pagan Norway in the family cult of
Vǫlsi, where a deity called Mǫrnir is invoked.
Other beings The
Norns are female figures who determine individuals' fate. Snorri describes them as a group of three, but he and other sources also allude to larger groups of Norns who decide the fate of newborns. It is uncertain whether they were worshipped. The
landvættir, spirits of the land, were thought to inhabit certain rocks, waterfalls, mountains, and trees, and offerings were made to them. For many, they may have been more important in daily life than the gods. Texts also mention various kinds of
elves and
dwarfs.
Fylgjur, guardian spirits, generally female, were associated with individuals and families.
Hamingjur,
dísir and
swanmaidens are female supernatural figures of uncertain stature within the belief system; the dísir may have functioned as
tutelary goddesses.
Valkyries were associated with the myths concerning Odin, and also occur in heroic poetry such as the Helgi lays, where they are depicted as princesses who assist and marry heroes. Conflict with the and (often glossed as
giants and
giantesses respectively) is a frequent motif in the mythology. They are described as both the ancestors and enemies of the gods. Gods marry but 's attempts to couple with goddesses are repulsed. Most scholars believe the were not worshipped, although this has been questioned. The Eddic have parallels with their later folkloric counterparts, although unlike them they have much wisdom.
Cosmology Several accounts of the Old Norse cosmogony, or creation myth, appear in surviving textual sources, but there is no evidence that these were certainly produced in the pre-Christian period. It is possible that they were developed during the encounter with Christianity, as pagans sought to establish a creation myth complex enough to rival that of Christianity; these accounts could also be the result of Christian missionaries interpreting certain elements and tales found in the Old Norse culture and presenting them to be creation myths and a cosmogony, parallel to
that of the Bible, in part to aid the Old Norse in the understanding of the new Christian religion through the use of native elements as a means to facilitate conversion (a common practice employed by missionaries to ease the conversion of people from different cultures across the globe. See
Syncretism). According to the account in
Völuspá, the universe was initially a void known as
Ginnungagap. There then appeared a ,
Ymir, and after him the gods, who lifted the earth out of the sea. A different account is provided in
Vafþrúðnismál, which describes that the world is made from the components of Ymir's body: the earth from his flesh, the mountains from his bones, the sky from his skull, and the sea from his blood.
Grímnismál also describes the world being fashioned from Ymir's corpse, although adds the detail that the emerged from a spring known as
Élivágar. In Snorri's
Gylfaginning, it is again stated that the Old Norse cosmogony began with a belief in Ginnungagap, the void. From this emerged two realms, the icy, misty
Niflheim and the fire-filled
Muspell, the latter ruled over by fire-,
Surtr. A river produced by these realms coagulated to form Ymir, while a cow known as
Audumbla then appeared to provide him with milk. Audumbla licked a block of ice to free
Buri, whose son
Bor married a named
Bestla. Some of the features of this myth, such as the cow Audumbla, are of unclear provenance; Snorri does not specify where he obtained these details as he did for other parts of the myths, and it may be that these were his inventions.
Völuspá portrays
Yggdrasil as a giant ash tree.
Grímnismál claims that the deities meet beneath Yggdrasil daily to pass judgement. It also claims that a serpent gnaws at its roots while a deer grazes from its higher branches; a squirrel runs between the two animals, exchanging messages.
Grímnismál also claims that Yggdrasil has three roots; under one resides the goddess Hel, under another the frost-þursar, and under the third humanity. Snorri also relates that Hel and the frost-þursar live under two of the roots but places the gods, rather than humanity, under the third root. The term
Yggr means "the terrifier" and is a synonym for Oðinn, while
drasill was a poetic word for a horse; "Yggdrasil" thereby means "Oðinn's Steed". This idea of a cosmic tree has parallels with those from various other societies, and may reflect part of a common Indo-European heritage. The Ragnarok story survives in its fullest exposition in
Völuspá, although elements can also be seen in earlier poetry. The Ragnarok story suggests that the idea of an inescapable fate pervaded Norse worldviews. There is much evidence that
Völuspá was influenced by Christian belief, and it is also possible that the theme of conflict being followed by a better future—as reflected in the Ragnarok story—perhaps reflected the period of conflict between paganism and Christianity.
Afterlife in the
Rök runestone Old Norse religion had several fully developed ideas about death and the afterlife. Snorri refers to multiple realms which welcome the dead; although his descriptions reflect a likely Christian influence, the idea of a plurality of other worlds is likely pre-Christian. Unlike Christianity, Old Norse religion does not appear to have adhered to the belief that moral concerns impacted an individual's afterlife destination. Warriors who died in battle became the
Einherjar and were taken to Oðinn's hall, Valhalla. There they waited until Ragnarok when they would fight alongside the Æsir. According to the poem
Grímnismál, Valhalla had 540 doors and a wolf stood outside its western door, while an eagle flew overhead. In that poem, it is also claimed that a boar named
Sæhrímnir is eaten every day and that a goat named
Heiðrún stands atop the hall's roof producing an endless supply of mead. It is unclear how widespread a belief in Valhalla was in Norse society; it may have been a literary creation designed to meet the ruling class' aspirations since the idea of deceased warriors owing military service to Oðinn parallels the social structure between warriors and their lord. There is no archaeological evidence clearly alluding to a belief in Valhalla. According to Snorri, while one-half of the slain go to Valhalla, the others go to Frejya's hall,
Fólkvangr, and those who die from disease or old age go to a realm known as
Hel; it was here that Baldr went after his death. The concept of Hel as an afterlife location never appears in pagan-era skaldic poetry, where "Hel" always references the eponymous goddess. Snorri also mentions the possibility of the dead reaching the hall of
Brimir in
Gimlé, or the hall of
Sindri in the
Niðafjöll Mountains. Various sagas and the Eddic poem
Helgakviða Hundingsbana II refer to the dead residing in their graves, where they remain conscious. In these thirteenth century sources, ghosts (
Draugr) are capable of haunting the living. In both
Laxdæla Saga and
Eyrbyggja Saga, connections are drawn between pagan burials and hauntings. In mythological accounts, the deity most closely associated with death is Oðinn. In particular, he is connected with death by hanging; this is apparent in
Hávamál, a poem found in the
Poetic Edda. In stanza 138 of
Hávamál, Oðinn describes his self-sacrifice, in which he hangs himself on Yggdrasill, the world tree, for nine nights, to attain wisdom and magical powers. In the late
Gautreks Saga, King Víkarr is hanged and then punctured by a spear; his executioner says "Now I give you to Oðinn". ==Cultic practice==