Viking Religion Facts: Which Gods They Believed In And More!

The Vikings is a term used to collectively denote the Scandinavian explorers, warriors, and traders who at first traded, raided, explored, and then settled in many parts of Europe like Northern Europe, the North Atlantic Islands, and Asia.

The Vikings are known for their conquests from around the eighth century to around the middle of the 11th century. The age of the Vikings lasted from the first raid they carried out in Northern England on the Lindisfarne monastery in 793 to the Battle of Hastings in 1066.

This age had a profound impact on the history of the medieval times of Ireland, Great Britain, Scandinavia, and many other European nations. Many scholars disagree on the exact size of the Scandinavian settlement in different parts of the British Isles.

People who believed in the old Nordic religion revived the beliefs of the Vikings with the help of myths handed down through written sources. They primarily relied on Norse poems known as Elder and Younger Edda.

The Viking world could adopt the concept of a Christian God, the Christian missionaries, and the Christian churches.

Norse paganism and pagan beliefs are sometimes mentioned in the Viking sagas. Norse mythology can be traced back to the 13th century and most probably it arose from North Germanic religion.

If you like reading about this article, you may also like reading about the Viking god Freya facts and the Viking gods facts.

Viking Religion And Beliefs

Prior to Christian influence, the formidable Vikings had their own belief system, known as Norse Mythology.

They did not recognize other belief systems or religions. The belief systems that arose prior to the Christian religion had many economic, ecological, and cultural ties.

The gods on whom Norse mythology focuses are Thor, Odin, Loki, and Frey. According to the Vikings, death in a battle was the most honorable way to depart from life.

They believed that death in the midst of war would ensure a soldier a position in Valhalla. Valhalla is a majestic hall, that is ruled by Odin.

They believed that opulent banquets were held each night at Valhalla. Preparations were also made at Valhalla to help Odin in the apocalyptic battles before the end of the world or Ragnarok. The majority of the Norsemen had converted to Christianity by the end of the 10th and 11th centuries.

However, even then, many of them continued to believe in pagan rituals till the later part of the Medieval period. Today, initiation to the Norse religion is made through informal rites and ceremonies.

Conversion is allowed for any human who believes in their core beliefs. However, membership in certain circles may be restricted.

The Old Norse Beliefs

What were the old Norse beliefs? Old Norse as a religion was rooted in oral tradition and rituals. It was an integral part of daily life. The pagan chieftains held a role similar to that of a priest. Pagan worship involved the sacrifice of horses.

The concept of an afterlife in the Norse religion was not unified. Some believed that the fallen warriors who departed to the afterlife from the battlefield would go to Valhalla.

They would live merrily with the ruler until the Ragnarök. However, this belief was not widespread.

Some of the people believed that there was no concept of an afterlife. The 'Hávamál' believed that any bad stroke of luck was better than to be burnt as a body on the funeral pyre, after all, corpses did not have any value.

Many believed that the process of life went on for some time even after death. However, it was inseparable from the body. If people were evil when alive, they could persecute the living ones when dead.

They needed to be killed more than once before they were finished with their task. Some of the records implied that the burial mounds had the company of a mistress, a wife, or a servant as the dead needed company.

All in all, the beliefs surrounding the afterlife were rather gloomy. The people believed that the dead passed through slow stages to a dark and misty world called Niflheim.

Mysticism, Magic, Animism, and Shamanism

Are the concepts of mysticism, magic, animism, and shamanism central to the Norse religion?

Practices central to the old Germanic religion involved animal and human sacrifice. These were conducted in open lands or in forests and groves.

The Roman authors have repeatedly mentioned the sacrifice of the prisoners of war to appease the gods of victory. A detailed account of a sacrificial feast can be found in a saga about a Norwegian king.

It is narrated that cattle were sacrificed and the blood of the animals was sprinkled inside and out. The meat was consumed and toasts were made to Njörd, Freyr, and the ruler of Valhalla.

Private sacrifices included the smearing of an elf mound with the blood of a bull or the sacrifice of an ox to a deity. Volva were the women with prophetic gifts. The Volva practiced divination, visited the homes of the people, and foretold the destinies of the children.

They were in all probability linked with the fertility gods or the Vanir. Temples were rare in the Pagan religions.

However, some wooden ones were most probably built in the later ages. A major religious center was located in Northeast Sweden at Upsala.

Priests And Kings

What role did the priests and the kings play in allying the common people with the Christian church?

Around 950, Håkon the Good as a royal attempted to establish the Christian religion with his authority. However, soon enough the King realized that he would lose the support of the pagan chieftains if he remained persistent.

He abandoned his idea of establishing Christianity and send back his Anglo-Saxon bishops to Anglo-Saxon England. However, Harald Bluetooth of Denmark was more successful apparently. His runestone at Jelling is famous and tells the story of how he converted the Danes to Christianity.

This story is supported by the fact that Danish coins from his rule had Christian images on them. Also, there are German records regarding the establishment of bishops in various Danish towns.

Localized And Ancestral Deities

Who were the localized and ancestral deities in Norse mythology and the Viking world? Amulets with Thor's hammer were very popular in the Viking Age.

In the Norse myths, there were four main deities. The old gods were remembered as minor deities. They also believed in several other supernatural beings.

The religion of the Vikings was polytheistic. The Norse gods can be classified into three different types: Aesir, Vanir, and Jotnar. The Aesir were the gods of the clan or the tribe. They represented kingship, craft, order, and many other things.

The Aesir included Thor and Odin. The Vanir were the gods of forces of nature and the fertility of the Earth. The Vanir included Freyja and Freyr.

The Jotnar were the giant gods who were in perpetual war with the Aesir. The Jotnar represented destruction and chaos. In Asatru and in Germanic religion, there were four main gods.

Odin (Woden in Germanic) was the god of poetry, magic, riches, and the dead. He was considered to be the ruler of Valhalla. It is Odin who gave his name to Wednesday.

Thor was the sky god who yielded a hammer, protected the law and the community, and controlled the weather. Thor gave his name to Thursday. Freyr was the founder of the royal dynasty of Sweden. He was the fertility god and was represented with a phallic statue.

Freyja was the fertility goddess. She was also considered to be the goddess of love and beauty. It was believed that she was the sister of Freyr.

Freyja was also called Frigg. She was Odin's wife. She gave her name to Friday.

The other gods included Njord, Tyr (Germanic Tiu), Ullr, and Loki. Njord was the father of Freyja and Freyr. He was the god of sea and lakes as well as ships. Tyr was the god of sacrifice, battle, and justice.

He gave his name to Tuesday. Ullr was the god of winter, death, and hunting. Loki was the trickster.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly factsfor everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for Viking religion factsthen why not take a look atViking women facts, or Viking culture facts.