Norse Gods
Vanir- old branch of gods [Vanaheim]
war with Aesir- main branch of gods [Asgard]
war ends, some Aesir & Vanir exchange homes as sign of good faith- the 3 below
Njord- Vanir wind god, mate of Nerthus, an earth mother goddess [Gaea?]
Frey[r] -Njord's son, Vanir fertility god; sunlight, rain, peace, rule Alfheim/ lord of
elves; has boar named Gullinbursti with golden bristles whose radiance can turn
night to day; has boat big enough to hold all the gods, but folds down to pocket size
Frey sat on Odin's 'seeing throne', saw Gerd, a giantess [Jotun] & feel in love
so hard he was pining away; Njord sent servant Skirnir to discover problem, then
assigned him to help Frey win Gerd; Skirnir goes to Gerd with Frey's marriage
proposal, offers apples of youth- rejected, offers Odin's magic ring, Draupnir, which
produces 8 new rings every nine days-rejected, resorts to threats & curses; Gerd
agrees to marry Frey, but delays 9 days to prolong Frey's agony
Freya -Frey's twin sister; Vanir goddess of love [Aphrodite?], lust, beauty, fertility,
gold, sorcery, war, death; husband Od, 2 children -Hnoss & Gersimi; beautiful,
flowers fell blooming from her hair & tears became gold or amber; has chariot
pulled by 2 black/ gray cats; falcon-feather cloak- fly fast; rides boar [possibly her
shape-changed human lover, she was often mocked by Loki for 'riding her lover in
public]; she chooses 1/2 fallen warriors to have afterlife at her residence, the other
1/2 go to Odin's Valhalla; Friday is named after either her or Frigg
Freya saw 4 dwarves making a beautiful necklace, Brisingamen. she wanted
it badly & asked the dwarves for it. they agreed, provided she slept with each of
them for payment; Loki saw her & told Odin [her lover at the time?], who was
outraged at such whorish behavior; Odin told Loki to steal the necklace from her;
Loki had to disguise himself as a flea to get in, then bit her so he could get access to
the necklace; Freya complains about the theft to Odin, who agrees she can have it
back if she starts a nasty war for him; she complies and Odin sends Heimdall after
Loki [he has the necklace], who tries to escape in the shape of a seal; Heimdall
chases down Loki, fights him, and returns the necklace to Freya
The Aesir
Odin "All-father"
 grandson of Buri [released by Authumla the cow licking ice]; son of Bor &
Bestla; brother of Vili & Ve
 wife Frigg- sons Balder & Hod[ur]
 giantess Fjorgyn -Thor
 giantess Grid -Vidar
 giantess Rind -Vali
 possibly Heimdall, Tyr, Bragi
 human hero & king descendants
Animals
 horse -Sleipnir, 8 legs, gray, like wind, travels through air; gift & child of Loki
-the gods forced Loki to delay the builder of Asgard's fortifications so they
wouldn't have to pay him; Loki distracted the builder's horse-helper in the
form of a mare
 ravens -Huginn [thought] & Munin [mind/memory] -fly over world and
bring back news/ gossip
 wolves- Geri & Freki [hungry/ ravenous]- since Odin doesn't eat food [except
beer, mead, & apples of youth?], he feeds the wolves his food
Possessions
 Draupnir -ring, see Frey/Gerd
 Gungnir -magic spear, never misses always kills, magic runes on it, made
from Yggdrasil-ashwood
Characteristics
 old-ish, bearded, wide hat [see Gandalf!], one eye [often wears patch] offered his eye to Mimir [guardian of the well of knowledge] for one drink of
the well to gain wisdom
 wise, wanderer, doesn't need to eat, leads wild hunt, possible origin of Santa
 prophecy, poetry, war, cunning/ trickery; has magic from Freya [unusual for
a male]; allowed human sacrifice
Residences [Asgard]
 Gladheim -presides over judges
 Valaskjalf -silver home with all-seeing throne [Hlidskjalf]
 Valhalla -hall of fallen warriors, gathered for Ragnarok by Valkyries -battle
maidens who serve Odin
Frigg -"wife/ beloved/dear one"
 daughter of Fjorgynn [earth], wife of Odin
 patron of married women [Hera?], childbirth, love, fertility, motherhood
 home at Fensalir "marsh hall" -bogs often sacred to her
 depicted with distaff/ spinning wheel [stars of Orion's belt often called
Frigg's distaff; planet Venus =Frigg's star]
 slept with Odin's brothers Vili & Ve when Odin wandered too long
 prophetess, but never revealed her info
 Friday named after either her or Freya; some speculate the two goddesses
were the same being, based on similarities in name & possessions -necklace,
cloak, shape-shifting
 companions Eir -a possible Valkyrie known for her medical skill & Fulla -her
maid & confidant [sister?]
Tyr [Tiu in German: Tuesday]
 war, sky god [may have been original chief Norse god, supplanted by Odin]
 god of justice, legalities, public assemblies, fair treaties
 considered bravest of gods, hardy, pray for victory in combat
 so brave he pledged his hand to Fenrir when binding him - "one armed/
handed god"
Hodur & Balder -sons of Odin & Frigg
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Hodur was blind
Balder ["the good" "the Beautiful"] was god of youth, beauty, innocence; was
wise, gracious, eloquent, shining, pretty
Balder's wife was Nanna, son Forseti
Balder's home was Breidablik in Asgard -silver roof, gold pillars, nothing
impure could enter
Balder dreamt of danger; interpreted as death omen; mother Frigg, to avoid
death, gets a promise from everything except mistletoe [she thought it wasn't
dangerous] to not harm Balder; Loki discovers weakness; everyone play
game of 'try to hit Balder' -nothing thrown harms him; Loki finds Hodur off to
the side, not participating because he's blind & has nothing to throw; Loki
gives him mistletoe-dart and guides his hand; Balder dies from mistletoe
dart; Vali kills Hodur; Hermod goes to Hel to beg for Balder's life [see Helmonsters]; Loki punished for his role [see Loki]
Bragi -god of poetry/ skaldic art
wife Idun [Ithunn] -keeper of apples of youth
Heimdall -guardian of Bifrost
 9 sisters bore him
 gold teeth, "white/ shining one"
 horse named Gulltop; sword Hofuth; horn -Gjallarhorn [sound @ Ragnarok]
 lives on little sleep, has good hearing & 100-mile sight
 ancestor of humanity's classes: Heimdall/ Rig went wandering. Stayed 3
nights with Ae & Edda [wife]- fathered Thraell "Laborer" who married
"Slavegirl" and was the ancestor of serfs/slaves/ thralls; stayed with Afe &
Amma- fathered Karl "Farmer" who married Snor & was ancestor of free
laborers/ peasants/ farmers; stayed with a 3rd couple- fathered Jarl "Earl/
Lord" who married Erna, daughter of "Chieftain" & produced Kon "warrior/
King" -ancestor of warrior/ noble class
Thor
 son of Odin & Fjorgynn
 strength, thunder god
 wife "golden-haired" Sif [her golden hair was cut by Loki as a malicious
prank, Thor threatened to kill Loki unless fixed; Loki gets dwarven-spun gold
to replace hair]; stepson Ull [Rind?]- god of justice, hunting, & dueling; taught
man to ski, invented snowshoes
 with giantess Jarnsaxa -sons Magni & Modi
 kingdom [in Asgard] Thruthheim, residence -Bilskirnir [largest residence in
Asgard, 540 rooms]
 wagon pulled by goats -would break Bifrost if he drove over it
 Mjolnir -short handled hammer, produces thunderbolt, returns to him when
thrown, unbreakable
 iron mittens, strength girdle/ belt -doubles strength
Loki -giant/ god, adopted by Odin
 son of Farbauti & mother Laufey
 brother of Helbindi & Byeleist
 wife Sigyn; sons Nar[f]i & Vali-2
 with giantess Angrboda -father of Hel, Fenrir, Jormungand
 with Svadilfari the Stallion- [as mare]mother of Sleipnir
 trickster god; cunning, whimsical/ capricious, semi-malicious, shapeshifter
 after Balder's death, because of the role[s] he played in the incident, Loki's
son Vali was turned into a wolf & killed Loki's other son Nari, whose guts
were used to bind Loki under a venom-dripping snake; wife Sigyn held cup to
catch venom, but had to empty it at intervals; when venom hit Loki, it was
painful & his writhing caused earthquakes; his children with Angrboda were
bound by the gods