Longest Posting Streak - Get Your Rainbow On

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Forseti



In Norse mythology, Forseti is the god of justice. He is the son of the god Balder and his mother is Nanna. Forseti rules in the beautiful palace Glitnir, which serves as a court of justice and where all legal disputes are settled. Glitnir has a roof of silver that is supported by pillars of red gold. Forseti can be compared with the Teutonic god Fosite, who was worshipped on Helgoland.

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Heimdall



Heimdall is the god of light, the son of nine mothers (variously given as the daughters of Geirrendour the Giant or of Aegir).

He was born at the end of the world and raised by the force of the earth, seawater and the blood of a boar.

Because of his shining, golden teeth he is also called Gullintani ("gold tooth").

His hall is Himinbjorg, The Cliffs of Heaven, and his horse is Gulltop.

Heimdall carries the horn Gjallar.

He is the watchman of the gods and guards Bifrost, the only entrance to Asgard, the realm of the gods.

It is Heimdall's duty to prevent the giants from forcing their way into Asgard. He requires less sleep than a bird and can see a hundred miles around him, by night as well as by day.

His hearing is so accurate that no sound escapes him: he can even hear the grass grow or the wool on a sheep's back. At the final conflict of Ragnarok he will kill his age-old enemy, the evil god Loki, but will die himself from his wounds.

As the god Rig ("ruler"), Heimdall created the three races of mankind: the serfs, the peasants, and the warriors. It is interesting to note why Heimdall fathered them, and not Odin as might be expected. Furthermore, Heimdall is in many attributes identical with Tyr.

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Ve



Ve is one of a triad of ancient Scandinavian gods including Odin and Vili - sons of the primordial pair of giants Bor and Bestla. The three brothers created heaven and earth from the slain body of the primeval being Ymir and built the twelve realms. They also created the first pair of humans. The male was named Ask ("ash") and the female the named Embla ("elm"). Ask and Embla became the progenitors of the human race and Midgard was given to them as their residence.

In Norse myth, Midgar is the defensive fortress which the gods build about the middle portion of the Earth allotted to men in order to protect mankind from the giants. Midgard ("middle world") is on the same level as Nidavellir (land of the dwarfs), Svartalfheim (land of the dark elves/dwarfs) and Jotunheim (the land of the giants).

In Norse mythology, Ymir is the primordial giant and the progenitor of the race of frost giants. He was created from the melting ice of Niflheim, when it came in contact with the hot air from Muspell. From Ymir's sleeping body the first giants sprang forth: one of his legs fathered a son on his other leg while from under his armpit a man and women grew out.

The frost kept melting and from the drops the divine cow Audumla was created. From her udder flowed four rivers of milk, on which Ymir fed. The cow itself got nourishment by licking hoar frost and salt from the ice. On the evening on the first day the hair of a man appeared, on the second day the whole head and on the third day it became a man, Buri, the first god. His grandchildren are Odin, Ve and Vili.

Odin and his brothers had no liking for Ymir, nor for the growing number of giants, and killed him. In the huge amount of blood that flowed from Ymir's wounds all the giants, except two, drowned. From the slain body the brothers created heaven and earth. They used the flesh to fill the Ginnungagap; his blood to create the lakes and the seas; from his unbroken bones they made the mountains; the giant's teeth and the fragments of his shattered bones became rocks and boulders and stones; trees were made from his hair, and the clouds from his brains. Odin and his brothers raised Ymir's skull and made the sky from it and beneath its four corners they placed a dwarf.

Finally, from Ymir's eyebrow they shaped Midgard, the realm of man. The maggots which swarmed in Ymir's flesh they gave wits and the shape of men, but they live under the hills and mountains. They are called dwarfs.

Reference

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The Norse myths
When the Vikings came to Britain, they had their own pagan religion. They worshipped many gods. The old stories they told about gods, giants and monsters are known as Norse myths. In one story, Thor, the god of thunder, tries to prove his strength to the Giant King by attempting to lift a giant cat. But he could only lift one of its paws!

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Norse gods and goddesses
Odin was the ruler of the gods, and the god of magic, poetry and war. His wife was the motherly Frigg, and their son was Balder, who was kind and gentle. Freyja was goddess of love and fertility, and wept golden tears when she was unhappy. She had a twin brother Freyr, and their sacred animal was the boar.

Red-headed Thor ruled the skies, storms and thunder. He had iron gloves, a magic belt and a hammer. People loved Thor but did not trust Loki, the mischievous 'trickster god'. By a trick, Loki caused the death of Balder.

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The dead and Valhalla
A dead person was buried or cremated (burned) with some of their belongings, to take into the next world. Some Viking chiefs were given ship-burials, with treasure, weapons, and favourite dogs and horses buried with them.

Vikings believed that a warrior killed in battle went to Valhalla, a great hall where dead heroes feasted at long tables. Odin sent his warrior-maidens, the Valkyries, riding through the skies to bring dead warriors to Valhalla.

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Magic and monsters
Viking stories told how people lived in Midgard or Middle Earth, along with giants, elves and dwarfs. The gods and goddesses lived in a sky world called Asgard. Linking Midgard with Asgard was a rainbow bridge.

The Vikings told many tales of monsters, such as trolls, dragons, sea serpents, and the fierce wolf Fenrir (which the gods tried to keep chained up). Odin rode a magical horse named Sleipnir, which had eight legs.
[MENTION=16113]Dan1980[/MENTION]

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The Vikings and Christianity
Not much is known about how the Vikings worshipped their old gods. It's thought they had 'magic trees' and perhaps wooden temples. Some Vikings may have killed captives as human sacrifices. These old pagan customs died out after Vikings became Christians. People in Britain had been Christians long before Vikings settled here in the 900s. Soon most Vikings too became Christians. Viking leaders founded churches and put up painted stone crosses. However, some Vikings continued to follow their old religion at the same time.

Reference

[artyboy]

Viking warriors did not want to die in bed, because they were afraid they'd go to a foggy underworld called Niflheim. Better to die in battle and go to Valhalla.

hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm me neither!!!

[artyboy]

Vikings (Danish and Bokmål: vikinger; Swedish and Nynorsk: vikingar; Icelandic: víkingar), from Old Norse víkingr, were Norse seafarers, speaking the Old Norse language, who raided and traded from their Scandinavian homelands across wide areas of northern, central and eastern Europe, during the late 8th to late 11th centuries.[1][2] The term is also commonly extended in modern English and other vernaculars to the inhabitants of Viking home communities during what has become known as the Viking Age. This period of Norse military, mercantile and demographic expansion constitutes an important element in the early medieval history of Scandinavia, the British Isles, France, Kievan Rus' and Sicily.[3]