The Vikings existed between 793-1066 AD in Scandinavia. Writing in runes and speaking Old Norse, they were traders, conquerors, and seafaring raiders.
In search of abundance, power, prestige and food, they would go raiding parts of Europe. Regarding wealth, they searched for land, silver, gold, and gemstones.
Additionally, they were explorers and settlers who lived in Sweden, Iceland, Norway, and Denmark. During their lives, they would sail and go long ways past Scandinavia.
Norse folklore offered significance to the beliefs and tradition of the Norsemen. It incorporated divinities, jotuns, dwarves, fairies, monsters, and land spirits.
It includes numerous divinities such as Thor, Odin, Loki, Frigg, Njoror, and Freya.
It likewise included Niu Heimar (the nine realms) with the most renowned being Asgard and Midgard. Others are Niflheim, Jotunheim, Alfheim, Helheim, Muspelheim, Vanaheim, and Svartalfheim.
The Nine domains sat in the profound roots and boughs of Yggdrasil.
Yggdrasil, also known as the tree of life, grew in the stream of Urd and it is where the domains of the Nordic times were based.
Humans (Mankind) settled in Midgard, while some divine beings (divinities) populated Vanaheim and Asgard. Other divinities resided in other places including pixies in Alfheim, giants in Jotunheim, and dwarves in Svartalfheim.
Hel, the goddess of the domain of death rules Helheim. Yet another domain is Muspelheim, the place of flames, while Niflheim is the first realm of ice.
The Norsemen practiced their religion, and their convictions depended on divine beings. The absolute most celebrated were Thor, Odin, and Loki.
Other respected divine beings include Baldur, Freya, Njoror, Frigg, and Freyr among others.
Perhaps the most famed Norse divinity, is Thor the lord of thunder. He is known for Mjolnir, his magical mallet that would kill giants and flatten mountains.
He was in charge of guarding Asgard and protecting humanity. Asgard was the dwelling of supernatural beings. Thor was considered as the mightiest.
Another of the most notable Norse divinities, Odin was possibly the most impressive. Known as the Allfather, he was the lord of war, runes, and sorcery. He was additionally astute as he searched for wisdom in all possible ways.
In one of his undertakings to seek intelligence, he draped himself for nine nightfall's and daylights on Yggdrasil. For this, he was famed as the single-eyed intelligence pursuer.
As the King of Asgard, Odin was Thor’s real father and adopted Loki as his son.
The lord of trickery and mischief, Loki was half-monster, half-deity. His main purpose was to cause havoc on the divinities, and through his cunning, Baldur was murdered.
As the Queen of Asgard, she was Odin's significant other. Frigg is also the Goddess of home and motherhood. A practitioner who was extremely protective of her child Baldur.
There were distinctive types of giants in the Norse folklore known as Jatun. Their work was to devour and bring up chaos.
Regardless of being relatives of the deities, they were the main enemies and a menace to humankind. It is one reason Thor went after them.
The most well-known were the frost Jotuns that populated Jotunheim. Jotun Thiassi and his wife lived in Thrymheim, while Hrungnir lived in Griotunagardar.
Jarnvidjur or troll wives lived in Jarnvid while fire giants lived in Muspelheim.
During Ragnarok, Loki, a renowned divinity turned into the leader of frost giants. His parents were giants making him half-god, half-giant.
In modern times the mention of dwarves strikes a chord with short individuals. However, in Norse folklore, dwarves are known as mighty spiritual beings that are invisible.
History has it that they emerged from Ymir's body like maggots. It is after he was executed by Odin and his siblings.
Their home was underground in Svatalfheim, and their appearance was totally dark. On the off chance that they were exposed to sun rays, they would transform into stones.
These spiritual beings were craftspeople and exceptionally gifted. They were outstanding for making Skidbladnir, a boat owned by Freyr that had favourable wind consistently.
Mjollnir, Thor's wizardry hammer was likewise made by dwarves, Freya's great jewellery known as Brisingamen, and Gleipnir that bound Fenrir. Additionally, they made Odin's ring, Draupnir, and his spear Gungnir.
Elves were fascinating profound creatures in regard to Norse cosmology. Notwithstanding them being demi-divinities, they would have kids with humankind.
There were two kinds of fairies, the dark ones referred to as Dokkalfar and the light ones known as Ljosalfar. The latter were shining brighter than the sun and resided in Alfheimr.
The fairies would cause ailments for humanity, and for them to recuperate, they would have to proffer table sacrifices to the elves. Freyr, a Vanir divinity, was the leader of fairies.
It is said that people would transform into elves in the afterlife.
Land spirits, otherwise called Landvaettir assumed a critical part in the welfare of the land and those in it. They could curse or favour the land at will.
They were exceptionally respected to a point that Norsemen would withdraw dragon heads from the boats when mooring. This was a regulation that must be adhered to in Iceland. In the event that they didn't remove them, the land spirits would be scared and may curse the land.
There were a multitude of weapons owned by divinities in Norse mythology. The most well know are listed below.
The Gungnir was a spear owned by Odin, and he used it to start the Aesir-Vanir War. It was made by the dwarves and was known as the 'Swaying One'.
With the popularity of movies such as Thor, Mjolnir could be the most popular Norse weapon. It was also made by the skilled dwarves and was owned by Thor, the lord of thunder. It was a magic mallet that would murder monsters and level mountains.
Freyr's sword is likewise a striking Norse fanciful weapon. It would fight all alone to save the situation. The blade that murdered him was Sutr's however it is believed to be the one Freyr once possessed.
The messenger of Ragnarok likewise claimed a weapon known as Hofuo. He utilized the blade particularly while guarding Bifrost, the bridge that connected Midgard to Asgard.
Skofnung was an interesting weapon that had souls of faithful berserkers bound on the inside. On the outside, it had psychic hardness and sharpness.
