Mind-Blowing Viking Gods Facts That You Didn't Know

The Viking seafarers had a keen interest in mythology.

They were believers in the fact that the earth was flat and was surrounded by sea on all sides. The Vikings thought that the earth was held by a grant tree called the world tree, or Yggdrasil, whose branches reached heaven while the roots reached hell.

The Vikings were not only brutal raiders who focused only on conquests. They also took an equal interest in literature and culture.

They developed and passed on the culturally rich Norse myths orally from one generation to the other. Most of the details of their mythology can be inferred from the inscriptions on the runes.

To our surprise, the Viking tribe was an adept worshipper of gods and believed in the power of other supernatural beings. The Norse myths had many Norse gods who were worshipped devoutly by the people of Scandinavia and beyond.

Since most of it was passed down orally, it is difficult to pin down the details of their mythology with accuracy. The Vikings believed in many gods and goddesses.

The Viking Gods were shown to be human with emotions and flaws and were depicted much more realistically. Even though the gods were believed to have magical powers, they were not immortal. At present, you get to know the names of many Norse gods from pop culture movies and comics that have characters named after the Vikings' gods.

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Who were Vikings?

The Vikings were a tribe of seafaring warriors and pirates that originated in Scandinavia in the eighth century and traded, raided, and pirated throughout Europe until the 11th century.

They were the ones that established Norse settlements in the northern parts of Europe, like the British Isles, Greenland, the Baltic Coast, Ireland, and Iceland. The Vikings have an impactful significance in the medieval history of Europe.

They authored the old and rich Norse mythology of the people of North Germany and introduced the powerful Norse gods to their culture.

The Vikings spoke Old Norse and followed the Old Norse religion. These Norsemen had their own laws and architecture, and their culture differed completely from the culture of other contemporary tribes. They were considered to be barbaric in nature as they dominated various portions of Europe from 793-1066 AD.

Even though they used ruthless violence to capture most places in Europe, they were one of the most law-abiding tribes of the period. In fact, the word 'law' comes from the Old Norse language. The Vikings were much ahead of their time. They gave more or less equal importance to both genders, which was rare at the time.

The female Viking had the power to own property and make firm decisions for her family. Instead of just being subordinate to their husbands, the Viking women had full authority over their families and ran households.

This strong position of women in Viking society could be a possible explanation for the presence of so many powerful female Norse gods in Norse mythology.

Who were the Viking Gods and Goddesses?

Odin was the most important and powerful Viking god, who was celebrated as the destroyer of the hermaphroditic giant, Ymir. Odin was the son of Bor, who was the ancestor of the Aesir tribe.

He was a glorious and wise god. Just like Odin was the most important god of the Norsemen, Odin's son, Thor, was the most popular Norse god. There are many other gods of the Vikings, but these two are the most celebrated ones.

The Vikings believed that Odin and his brothers Vili and Ve killed Ymir and created the mythological Norse universe with their blood, bones, and skin. He was the creator of the world and sat on a throne above the earth.

Odin's wife, Frigg, was the most powerful goddess of the Vikings. She possessed the magical power of peeking into the future. She was also a motherly god who cared deeply for people, especially women and children.

Odin had two ravens that acted as his reporters from Earth. They were Hugin and Mugin meaning thought and memory, respectively.

Thor was the god of thunder. He was one of the Viking warriors and was responsible for protecting Asgard (the place where the Gods lived) with his magic hammer, Mjöllnir. He was also one of the most powerful Norse gods. It is believed that lightning and thunder are produced by Thor's hammer.

The adopted son of Odin and the brother of Thor, Loki was not actually a god, but he had the magical powers of a shapeshifter. In mythology, Loki was a trickster who could take the shape of any persona.

Many other gods existed in Norse mythology, but researchers could only pin down information about a few of them. This is because most of their scripture was passed orally and there are limited written records.

Viking Gods Names

The Viking myth has many gods and goddesses. While the popularity of the Norse gods may indicate that they have been in vogue for centuries, in reality, they were strictly restricted to Scandinavia and there was very little information about them till the 19th century.

However, there are some popular gods of the Viking culture whose names are still heard till now.

Odin: Odin was the supreme deity of the Vikings, who believed that he was the creator of everything. He was the ruler of Asgard with two ravens, two wolves, and the Valkyries.

He was often known as the Raven God. At present, he is represented as a supreme leader, but in reality, this was not the case. The barbaric Vikings looked up to Odin as the god of war.

He was fond of the chaos in a battle, and the Vikings took inspiration from him to create chaos. Odin rested on the Estonian island.

Frigg: Odin's wife, Frigg, was an epitome of beauty, love, and fate. Frigg was the queen-goddess of Asgard and cared for everyone, especially the children and women.

Thor: Thor is a very popular god in Norse lore. One of Viking's greatest heroes, whose name was later used for comics and films, was the god of strength and thunder. Thor had a hammer, a magical belt, a chariot pulled by two goats, and iron gloves.

Loki: Loki was arguably the adopted son of Odin and the stepbrother of Thor. Loki was a villainous god in the Viking myth. He hatched a scheme to kill Baldur, the son of Odin and Frigg.

As a punishment, Loki was imprisoned with a giant snake that dripped its venom on Loki. This made Loki convulse so hard that the whole earth shook. Loki's son, Fenrir the Wolf, was destined to kill Odin.

Sif: Thor's wife, Sif, was the goddess of the harvest. It is believed that she had beautiful golden hair that everyone in Asgard loved.

However, Sif was also a victim of Loki's pranks. It is said that Loki cut Sif's hair. In a Viking saga, Sif's sadness for her hair has been described dramatically.

The saga says that on losing her hair, the goddess cried so much that her salty tears fell on the middle earth and crops did not grow for years. To prevent the consequences and Thor's angry beating, it is said Loki had to spin new hair for the goddess.

Freyja And Freyr: Freyja was one of the chief goddesses of the Norse pantheon. Freyr was the twin brother of Freyja.

They were the god and goddesses of the Vanir tribe. Freyja rode a chariot drawn by wild cats, while Freyr had a chariot that was pulled by a golden pig. Frey was the deity of the elves and dwarfs of the middle Earth.

The Three Norns: The three Norns, or the three goddesses, namely: What has been, What is, and What must be were goddesses of fate. The Vikings believed that they were connected to their fate by an invisible thread. Once they died, the goddess would span the thread.

Idunn: Idunn, the goddess of beauty and youth, had the duty of growing golden apples for other Norse gods and goddesses, which helped them stay healthy.

How many Viking Gods are there?

With such a huge list of wise, well-known gods and goddesses, it is normal for anyone to assume that the Viking gods had enormous power during the Viking era. However, this was not the case back then.

Rather, they were restricted only to their native lands, which made the accurate assumption of the number of Viking gods next to impossible for historians.

It was not until the 19th century, that historians started discovering facts about the supernatural beings of the Norse pantheon, and the names of one god after another came up in their research. The invention of printing technology fueled the spread of the references to their mythology throughout Europe.

The Norse gods also became a part of fantasy literature and science fiction stories for kids, where they were represented as heroes. It has not been possible for historians to find out the names of all the gods. The best description of Norse mythology comes from the Prose Edda, written by the Icelandic scholar Snorri Sturluson.

The Norse texts say that the Viking gods belong to two major clans: they are either from the Aesir family, or the family of sky gods, or from the Vanir family, or the family of earth gods. The Aesir family included Odin, Thor, Frigg, Loki, Hof, Baldur, Tyr, and Heimdall.

The highest authorities and representatives of the Aesir family are referred to as the main gods.

The other clan, called the Vanir clan, included all the fertility gods. The most popular members of this clan are Freyr, Njord, and Freyja.

Norse mythology says that these two clans were at war, but ultimately it was necessary for them to unite and utilize their combined powers for the prosperity of human lives. The Vikings have diverse tales and stories regarding their gods.

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