| The world... | Gods and creatures | The ships | The journeys |
The viking people imagined the world as a cirkel-round plate. In the middle of the world was the home of the gods, "Asgard", and in the middle of Asgard a giant tree took form "Yggdrasil". It growed from the underground threw the world of the living all the way up to the heaven wault. Outside and round the home of the gods was "Midgard", the place in the middle, where the humans had their living. The people splace was named Midgard because they felt themself living in the -middle-, between the gods world in the middle of the earth centrum and the giants living in cosmos out-border. In the sea round Midgard lives "Midgardsormen", a huge snake who keeps the world together by biting itīs own tail. Midgardsormen was of giant family. In"Utgard", the place outside, lives the creatures who are enemies of the gods and humans. It is all kinds of giants, black-goblins, aliens and evil powers. Utgard was dangerous for both gods and humans and therefore you pass that border with fare. Sometimes the gods had to pass threw this land in different tasks and you can read lots of stories about Thor when he challenges the giants.
Brons-statue of Thor with the hammer from "Eyafjord" on northern Island,1000:th century.
"Thor" Son of "Oden" and the god of thunder and lightning. He was also the physically strongest god. Thor was often travelling eastwards to fight the giants from "Jotunheim". He is also the god of rain and thundering and is often described when he travelles the sky in a wagon pulled by goats. The lightning comes from the wheels of this wagon, the thundering from the noice when he travelles in high speed over the landscape.
"Oden" was the god of the upperclass. He was the kings and leaders protector. Odens connections to death and war was obvious, and therefore he sometimes is connected as a death and war god. Two wolfs follows the gods trail and they are named "Gere" and "Freke". He is surrounded by many animals and also the wolf is connected with death. His horse "sleipner", who runs faster than any other horse because it has eight legs, is the death horse who carries the humans to the world of the dead. Oden has the ability to speak with the dead. His mother was the giant woman "Bestla" and was of giant family.
"Frey" was the god of weather and fertility. He ruled over the land of the light elves, "Alfheim".
"Frigg" Odens true wife and shares the highseat with her thrue husband. She is Odens equal and he ask her for advice.
"Balder" son of Oden and Frigg. Is described as the good son who nothing could harm, (except mistel tree). In the stories he dies and lives in world of dead where "Hel" the godess who rules in the world of the dead. Balder means "glorius" and he his sometimes described as the god of tears.
"Loki" according to tales an important giant.
"Modi" a son of Thor who will survive the "Ragnarok". His name means "courage".
"Ran" the wife of "Aegir", she was the sea godess of storms. She collects drown people in her net.
"Saga" godess who drinks with Oden in her hall. Thus some call her the godess of history.
"Heimdal" is a mysterious god. It is only described short parts in myths about him. When he is spoked about it is happening in very secret ways. Therefore you can believe that during viking era only a few special individs could share his thoughts. But he was a very powerful god during this time and many tells him as a very old god. The word "Heimdal" is put together by two words "heimr" who means the world and "dallr" who means the light in old scandinavian language. Heimdal is not connected with other gods or familys. He has no wife or child, but the human people is often named "Heimdals barn" (children of Heimdal).
"Njord" god of the wind and sea, father of "Frey and "Freya".
"Diserna" female powers often menchuned in connection with kingdoms. In authority of reproduction the also could have the function as help in birth.
"Nornorna" destiny-powers with connection to the worldtree and cosmos destiny, but they also influensed the single humams life.
"Valkyriorna" (Valkyries) was mythilogical women who had connections with battlefields and electionsplace. They where on place during battle, by horse and equipted with weapon and shield. After battle they took dead soldiers to "Odens" kingdom in "Valhall".
"Dvargarna" (dwarfs) was belonging to the underground world; they where professional blacksmiths and took metals from the mountains and stones. They made weapons and beatiful jewelry.
"Alverna" (elfs) was in connection with underground. They was in the world of death, gravehills, ground, and because life is flowing up from death they also represented reproduction.
"Vattarna" (goblins) was powers who belonged to nature landscapes. They where connected to single landscapes or regions in the authority of protecting powers. It was important to keep friendship with land goblins if you where supposed to settle down or travel threw unknown areas.
"Volvorna" is individual creatures who in many ways had a specific role in the myth and earth world. It is written stories that sometimes the"Voluspa", the woman who could see the future better than the goods.
Many other gods and sons/daughters of gods, their wifes and connections with giants humans creatures other people and intelligent animals are quite complicated and therefore i do not describe these gods for now.
The upper part of "Tjangvidestenen" from Gotland in Sweden can describe the dead hero or the god Oden when he arrives to death world "Valhall". The horse who carries the rider is Odens eight-legged horse "Sleipner".
Longships combined the functions oceangoing troop carriers and amphibious landing craft. Itīs remarkable shallow draft enabled a long ship to approach almost any beach or to invade deep inland or via a waterway only a few meters deep. The more than 60 warriors on the largest ships could jump over the low side of the hull within a few strides of land. A medieval prayer captured the terror: "From the fury of the Norsemen, good lord deliver us".
(Klick for a larger map)
The vikings had a vider horizon than all other europeans had before the big travels in 15:th and 16:th century. They travelled from "Vinland" in the west to "Miklagard" in the east, from the arktic areas to the "Mediterranian sea" and "North Africa".