Norse Mythology - Essay

Norse Mythology - Essay

Norse Mythology
The red-blooded, rip-roaring, gung-ho, fearsome, Vikings worshiped their beloved gods with every breath they took. Vikings believed in the honor of being a warrior, living and dying like one. The Vikings knew all of their loyalty and hardship would pay of when they died in the battlefield. Their gods were just as honorable but just like any family or kingdom there is always drama and heartache. Between the gods many partners, children and schemes their stories entertain us still today. Vikings lived their life's to please their gods and to one day be greeted into Valhalla.Their idea of Heaven was Valhalla. Warriors only; you had to die in battle first and be escorted by beautiful blonde Valkyries. Here you could clash in battle all day long, your cleft limbs and deep wounds miraculously restored at the close of play. Then you spent all night carousing, feasting, getting roaring drunk and discussing the day's fun. So welcome to the Norse pantheon, which is not just Norway but the rest of Scandinavia - which includes Denmark and Sweden. The Vikings who were Swedes traveled mostly eastwards, and the Danes and Norwegians traveled mostly westwards. Iceland came into the equation and did its own Viking things from 800 A.D. Something which helped enormously was that all these people spoke the same Norse language, and would have known their own Kingdoms under the names of Danmark, Vastergotland, Ostergotland and Svealand. Colonies and footholds were established all over the place, from Greenland to England - where their heritage includes Norfolk and Humberside with many Norse-named villages in between. So Norse mythology went everywhere within reach. Even today, several days of the week and also the sun are named for Norse Gods.
The god of gods was Odin; he could not travel the world without being recognized, he wears a
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huge wide-brimmed hat. He also (thanks to Loki) rides an eight-legged horse named Sleipnir into battle. He's also very...

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