Norse Religion

Old Norse religion, also known as Norse paganism, is a branch of Germanic religion which developed during the Proto-Norse period when the North Germanic peoples separated into a distinct branch. It was supplanted by Christianity and was forgotten during the Christianisation of Scandinavia. Scholars have reconstructed some aspects of North Germanic Religion utilizing historical linguistics, archaeology, toponymy, and records such as runic inscriptions. Many Old Norse works dated to the 13th-century provide information about Norse mythology. Old Norse religion was polytheistic, venerating a variety of gods and goddesses. These deities in were divided into two groups, the Æsir and the Vanir. Some sources reveal that the Æsir and Vanir were involved in a protracted ancient war until they ceased hostilities when they realized that they were equally powerful. Major deities among the Æsir are Odin (associated with wisdom, healing, death, royalty, the gallows, knowledge, war, battle, victory, sorcery, poetry, frenzy, and the runic alphabet, and depicted as the husband of the goddess Frigg), Thor (a hammer-wielding god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred groves and trees, strength, the protection of humankind, hallowing, and fertility), and Týr (patron of warriors and mythological heroes). Among goddesses was Skaði, a lesser deity associated with bowhunting, skiing, winter, and mountains). Earth was inhabited by other mythological races, including jötnar, dwarfs, elves, and landvættir. The Norns are female figures who determine individuals' fate, but it is uncertain that they were worshipped. The landvættir, spirits of the land, were thought to inhabit certain rocks, waterfalls, mountains, and trees where offerings were made to them. For many, landvættir may have been more important to daily life than the gods. Norse cosmology revolved around a world tree known as Yggdrasil, and various realms existing alongside Midgard, the habitation of human beings. Ancestral deities were common. Multiple afterlife realms existed, some of which were controlled by a particular deity. Old Norse religion was fully integrated with every aspect of life, including subsistence, warfare, and social interactions. Because traditions were transmitted orally, Old Norse religion focused heavily on ritual practices that served as aids to the memories of participants. Kings and chiefs playing a central role in conducting public acts of sacrifice. Various cultic spaces were used. Initially, outdoor spaces such as groves and lakes were typical. After the third century CE, cult houses seem to have been purposely erected for ritual activity, but this practice was not widespread. Norse religion featured practitioners of Seiðr, a form of sorcery that some scholars describe as shamanistic. Various forms of burial were conducted, including both inhumation and cremation, and the deceased were typically accompanied by a variety of grave goods. During the Viking Age, Norse people left Scandinavia and settled elsewhere throughout Northwestern Europe. Scandinavian settlers brought Old Norse religion with them to Britain in the latter decades of the ninth century, but converted to Christianity shortly after their arrival. A revival of interest in Old Norse religion occurred during the romanticist movement of the 19th century, inspiring a range of artworks. Serious academic research into the subject began in the early 19th century.