Iceland is the last Christian northland, and missionaries seem to be more moderate or less influential. Latin did not expel the literary language of the North. People are still telling old stories in Mandarin, but the author and time are gone.
The oldest Ada Sutra, Eldar Ada's manuscript, was written around 1200, that is, 200 years after the introduction of Christianity. There are 29 ancient songs in the book, and there are 34 similar songs found in other places. These songs have no titles, and the names of authors and editors are unknown. Scholars have determined that they are very old, dating from 850- 1 150.
This is the "Viking Age". These pirates sent the legendary songs heard by the residents in the lower reaches of the Rhine back to Scandinavia and Iceland, and then they were recited by the bard and polished into the form handed down today. These oral songs were not written until the middle of13rd century. This is the process of the Old Love Sutra.
-Young Ada, prose "New Ada Sutra", written by Snorri Lu Sen at the end of 12 century. The main body is a technical paper that teaches people to write poems, plus some ancient mythological materials, which are not available in the old Ada Sutra.
The Old Ada Sutra is more important and consists of many poems, which usually describe the same story, but they are not connected with each other. There is great epic material in it, which may be bigger than the Greek Iliad, but no Nordic poet rewrites the story before the Iliad like Homer did.
There is no genius in northern Europe to weld all the poems into a whole and become a beautiful and vast epic; No one even throws away the rough and ordinary content and deletes the childish and annoying repetition. Sometimes the old Ada Sutra lists several pages of names in a row.
Although the style is poor, the story itself is brilliant. The poets in the Old Ada Sutra seem to have a big concept, but they have no expressive skills. Many stories are great. Greek mythology can't be compared with it except the stories rewritten by a few tragic poets.
The best Nordic stories are tragic, describing men and women who are determined to die, and even deliberately choose to die, and they have long been planned properly. Heroes are the only light in the darkness.
Eternal fighting and desperate spirit.
Nordic mythology is in sharp contrast with southern Greek mythology in all aspects. Greek mythology is the world of literature, art and music, and it is the supreme paradise of happiness. Nordic mythology is the opposite.
Nordic mythology gives people the deepest impression, so we should push the sad and sad world image it depicts. What a strange and magnificent face the universe supported by the huge tree of life Yggdrasil presents. At one end of the universe is Muspelheim, the extremely hot world where the flame giant lives, and at the other end is Neverheim, the cold fog world forever blocked by ice and snow.
Between these two worlds is the residence of God and mankind. Fire and lava sometimes come from the south, and ice, snow and frost sometimes come from the north, threatening mankind and God forever. How tragic this description of "heaven" is, it can't be found in other national myths.
In the world of Greek mythology, there are only a few animal gods belonging to different kinds. Their appearance is idyllic, and the existence of monsters is just waiting for the conquest of gods and heroes.
However, Nordic mythology is full of all kinds of strange alien creatures, including giants, whose gloves will be mistaken for tall houses. There is a strange wolf named Fenrir; Who can swallow heaven and earth with his mouth open? Jormungandr; A big snake with a tail in its mouth surrounds the "atrium" of the world; Dwarfs with black faces and long noses are afraid of the sun and live underground; Hella, the god of death, is half blue and half meat.
What runs through all this is a miserable world view of fighting. The battle of eternal robbery enveloped the whole book, and the world of Nordic mythology was created and destroyed by the battle.
The myth of any nation has the legend of Genesis, but the Nordic myth tries to describe the destruction of the universe, which is the biggest difference between the northern Germanic myth and other national myths.
Moreover, Nordic mythology depicts the fantasy of the destruction of the universe, which is so painful and tragic that almost all myths on earth are unparalleled.
As small as human beings, its "birth" and "extinction" are really unreasonable. In the big flame of the end of the universe, there is a huge force, a crazy struggle between forces. In the tragic final battle, even the gods of Asgard, the "Kingdom of Gods", were wiped out. These fantasies have really reached the limit of human thinking.
Odin, the main god in Norse mythology, is the god of storm, the god of battle and the prodigal son forever. It is a polytheistic world, but in Greek mythology, the gods headed by Zeus have an eternal and unshakable position. After the tragic defeat, the giants who resisted the gods were thrown into the dark hell forever and never had a chance to stand up.
On the contrary, the gods of northern Europe have to constantly fight against giants. Giants are not only strong enough to resist the gods, but also the earliest birth of this universe, and their blood also flows in the veins of the gods.
Apart from Thor's hammer of thunder and Frey's sword of victory, the gods are often no match for giants in force and may not be superior to giants in intelligence alone. The fountain of wisdom gushed from the tree of life to the root of the giant country, and the giant Mimir was responsible for guarding the fountain. Even the wisdom that should belong to divinity is wrapped in the Nordic mythological world, and its roots are owned by giants.
Fighting to the death with an enemy who is superior to himself in all aspects is the fate experienced by the Germanic nation. From the era of great national migration, after the pirate period, the Germanic lifestyle was to fight, migrate and fight again. This is a turbulent life full of ups and downs. They put the fate of the country in battle, took risks to survive, suffered repeated defeats and battles, and had no regrets. The root of this attitude towards life can be found in myths and legends.
origin
At first, there was nothing in the world, no sand, no sea, no cool waves, no earth below, no heaven above, only the bottomless "abyss"-Ginnugagap.
In its north, it is a world with light fog and wind. This cold and foggy world is a "country of death" or "country of fog"-Neverheim. Twelve rivers flow southward from the spring of the "country of the dead"-Vigilmir. When the rivers flow into the "abyss", they will freeze and the ice layers will overlap, looking like overlapping icebergs, covering the bottomless "abyss".
From this foggy world to the south, there is an extremely hot world called "land of fire"-Muspelheim. There is a fire giant Surt guarding here. He often cuts glaciers with his sword, so scattered flames, riding hot air, blow to permafrost and melt its surface.
Black water vapor keeps rising from the surface of the ice layer and turns into clouds of frost, which surrounds the ice layer. Soon, the frost gas was heated and condensed into water droplets. Finally, Ymir, the ancestor of the frost giant, and a huge bull named Odhambra were born.
The smell of the cow is fragrant, and bitter milk drips from four breasts, so the giant sucks the bitter milk of the cow to maintain his life. After sucking enough milk and filling his stomach, Ymir was attacked by unbearable drowsiness and fell into a dreamless sleep on the ice.
In a deep sleep, sweat dripped from his left armpit, and a man and a woman, a deformed six-headed giant Thrudgelmir, was born from Ymir's feet. Since then, frost giants have multiplied in groups. Cows lick the salt and frost on the ice for a living.
One day, when it was licking a piece of salt, it suddenly showed its shiny long hair from the piece of salt, which was radiant and touching against the fire of fire nation. The next day, a beautiful male head appeared. On the third day, the magnificent body also appeared in the salt block, which was named by God as Buli, the ancestor of the protoss.
Ymir and Bligh went to war, so the fierce battle between the giant and the protoss began. Finally, Bligh was fatally struck by Ymir, fell dead on the ice sheet, and the giant won.
But at this time, Buli's son Bor married the giant Bestla and had three sons, Odin, Willy and Ve. These three gods just want to avenge their grandfathers and continue to fight the giants.
So after a fierce battle that shocked the universe, it is difficult to kill the giant Ymir. Odin pierced Ymir's chest with a pike, and blood gushed into a sea of blood, in which the giant was submerged.
There was only one man and one woman. Bergelmir, the son of six giants Thrudgelmir, and his wife swam across the sea of blood and fled to the other side of the world, where Jotunheim, a "country of giants", was established, where many frost trolls were bred and vowed to be enemies with the gods forever.
Then Odin began to create the world. First, he put Ymir's body in the center of the "abyss" and created the earth with Ymir's body. Blood becomes an endless ocean, bones become mountains, and countless hairs become trees.
Odin also chiseled the giant's skull into the sky, made clouds out of the brain marrow, and accumulated graupel and snow in it. The giant's body soon grew maggots, which attracted the attention of the gods and gave them human form.
Because the ice needs strong support, God only chose four Machamp creatures from this new creature to support it. Their names are Nordli, Soudry, Aostri and Vestri, so they are called the four directions of their separation-north, south, east and west.
God just keeps using the giant's eyebrows as a fence. The space inside is called "atrium"-Midgard, and the world is between "the land of death" and "the land of fire".
Then the gods took Mars from the "land of fire" and put it in the sky, creating the sun, moon and stars. The sun and the moon were put on the chariot, and then the gods chose a man (Mani, the moon) and a woman (Sol, the sun) of the giant to drive it.
In addition, the giant Nott was ordered to gallop in the sky on a black horse. Every morning, her son Dag takes over on a light horse, so day and night alternate.
The sun and the moon are chased and sometimes bitten by terrible wolves, forming "solar eclipse" and "lunar eclipse" Wolves always chase each other, and one day they will devour the sun and the moon, and that is the end.
After the creation was completed, Odin and his brother wandered around the coast and admired their achievements. Inadvertently, they found two branches washed ashore by the waves, so they created a man with one branch and a woman with the other elm branch.
Although the ancestors of human beings appeared, they still lacked spirituality with the body, so Odin gave human life and soul, Willy gave them reason and action, and ve gave them emotion, appearance and language.
So the men and women who were originally branches became loving, hopeful, living and dead creatures. They lived in the "atrium" with all kinds of gifts given by the gods and became the ancestors of mankind.
worldview
In people's understanding, this universe consists of nine worlds and is divided into three layers:
On the top floor, there is the "Kingdom of the Gods"-Asgard, which is the residence of the Aesir protoss, surrounded by a piece of green Yuan Ye -Idawald, just on the other side of a river that never freezes.
The river is shrouded in dense fog all the year round, and the fog layer keeps spinning and covering the river. The holy island is in the middle of the river. From time to time, there is a flame looming in the fog layer, which is lightning that breaks through the reverse white waves.
Asgard is full of magnificent castles with skyscrapers, and the surging waves keep biting the feet of the castles. On the hills where vultures crouch, there are endless palaces, the most solemn and magnificent of which is Odin's "Golden Palace" Gladheim.
-Valhalla, its hall, the hall of the soul, covered the roof with tassels of pike, and the seats were all wrapped in silver. In the center stands a golden throne, HLIDSKIJALF, from which Odin, the father of the gods, overlooks heaven and the earth.
"Tree of the World", its tall branches, shadows-Gladheim, castle, father of Odin, life. On the golden roof of the castle stands a rooster with a golden crown, which is responsible for waking up the gods every morning. As soon as the rooster crows, the red chickens in the dead countries in the lower world also respond, resulting in a noisy and harsh "time".
Odin led the gods to live together in this land. After a large meeting, Odin issued an order that there should be no bloodshed in this house of gods. The gods also built a large smelting furnace, produced many weapons and tools, and happily built their homes, so the golden age of the gods began.
In addition, there is another protoss-Vannier's living area-Wanahem, where everything between heaven and earth, ocean and wind are controlled by Vannier protoss.
And this protoss knows many mysterious spells that Odin, the father of the gods, doesn't know. The sun god Frey and the god of love and beauty Freya belong to this protoss.
In this layer, there is another creature named goblin or elf-elf, which is a creature transformed from Ymir corpse maggots. Although they are not gods, they still have great powers. Light goblins are particularly beautiful, dressed in elegant and transparent clothes, brighter than the sun.
They love light most, and they are kind-hearted goblins. Their place is called "the land of goblins"-Alfheim, which is the territory of the sun god Frey. The goblins are playing happily under Fery's bright light. They take care of flowers and plants, play with birds and butterflies, and sometimes see them dancing on the green grass on a moonlit night.
The second floor is the "atrium" where human beings live-Midgard, which means Middle-earth. Surrounded by the sea on all sides, you can reach the "Kingdom of God" where God only lives through the rainbow bridge with three colors (ice, fire and gas).
But giants who are enemies of God also live on this floor. Their field is called "the country of giants"-Jotunheim. The giant is tall, savage and tough, and has a terrible appearance.
In the far north, there is a giant eagle. When he waves his wings, a cold north wind will blow and head straight for the "atrium"-Midgard. Giantess is ugly and terrible, but there are also beautiful women, such as Frey's wife Gerda.
"Atrium"-Midgard is very rich, but the giant's residence is full of scary and ominous places such as rocks, cliffs and barren forests. The signpost from the human world to the "giant country" is a terrible "steel forest"-Jainveid; There is also legend that the other side of the sea is a "giant country".
In the north, Nidaville, the land of dwarves, is the territory of dwarves. There are also black dwarf, a troll, a dwarf or Kobolds, who live in Svartalfheim, the hometown of dwarfs. These are also creatures transformed from Ymir's corpse maggots.
These dwarfs are ugly. The long nose hangs loosely on the lips, and the skin is dirty and earthy. During the day, they hide in the dark and come to the ground at night. These dwarfs regard sunlight as their greatest enemy, because whenever they meet sunlight, they will turn to stone.
Their language is the echo of silence; Where do they live, or in deep caves, or between cracks in big rocks.
Of all the creatures in the universe, the dark dwarves are the best craftsmen, and many treasures are their masterpieces. At the same time, these black dwarf have all kinds of mysterious powers and profound knowledge. They also know runic characters, which can not only be engraved, but also understand their meanings.
At the bottom is the "country of death" or "country of fog"-Neverheim. This is a cold and foggy place, an eternal place, which only the dead can reach.
Its boundary is the holy grail of Styx, and there is a crystal bridge inlaid with gold on the river. The guardian of the bridge is Modgude, an old witch who looks like a skeleton. Anyone who wants to cross the bridge must pay bribes with blood. After crossing the bridge, you come to the gate of the underworld guarded by the ghost dog Gam.
In this dead country, there is an area called nast Dragon, where every evil victim passes by, and then he is immersed in an ice spring and bitten by a poisonous snake.
The southernmost part of the world is the "hometown of fire"-Muspelheim. It is not located in these three floors, but like -Niflheim, the land of the dead, it has existed even longer than the original giant Ymir.
Running through all this is a huge ash tree.
It originated in the past, flourished in the present and extended to the infinite future. Leaves are always green, its branches support the weight of the whole universe, and its roots run through the world, called:
"The Tree of the World"-ygdrasil.
This ash tree grew from the body of Ymir, a giant killed by Odin. Its huge root is divided into three main veins:
-Midgard, an "atrium" extending to mankind,
One extends to Jotunheim, the "land of giants",
One extends to the "country of the dead"-Neverheim.
Spring water gushes out beside the roots and nourishes them.
The spring water that extends to the atrium of the human world is the sacred well of fate-Urdar brunnr, guarded by the descendants of Nolvi, the father of Nott, and the three Noen goddesses at night, responsible for irrigating the roots with spring water and keeping the branches and leaves lush.
These three goddesses are called
"past"-urd
"Now"-Wildandy
"Future"-Skurd
They give life to the Son of Man and designate the luck of all beings.
Besides, next to the roots of the "land of giants", there is a well of wisdom guarded by the wise man Mimir. This gushing spring contains infinite wisdom and knowledge.
However, there is a black dragon named "Despair"-nidhogg lurking beside the roots of the "country of death". It and countless other snakes are eating the trunk.
In addition, at the top of the tree is an eagle, and a goshawk named Vedfolnir crouches between his eyes, staring at the sky and the ground with intense eyes.
There are also four big deer running among the branches, munching on new buds. The four big deer symbolize the wind in four directions, blowing the branches.
Ratatosk the squirrel jumped up and down, challenging the goshawk and the black dragon.
These are hurting the "tree of the world". When one day they kill the tree of death, the universe will collapse! Ymir is lying under this tree. The giant doesn't like being crushed by a heavy tree, so he keeps shaking his body to get rid of it. So the universe trembled. It was a terrible earthquake.
Twelve temples of Asgard in northern Europe
Twelve temples in Asgard
Notes on the gods belonging to the palace
-
1 Special Rudheim Raytheon Raytheon
2 Alvheim, the God of Yule Bow.
Frej, the god of abundance
3 Valaskjalv (Valaskjalv) The happy home of the tribal gods in asir.
4 socks Wabo Auden asir tribal god.
Frigga loves God and is Odin's wife.
5. Oden, the god of asir tribes.
Valhar Palace is the temple of the soul.
Bilskner, bisky.
Terry heim (Trymheim) Golden Cup Tjatse (Golden Cup Tjatse) Poseidon.
Skade, the mountain god, the daughter of Tjatse in Jinbei.
7 Brayda Brick (Breidablick) Bald (Bald) god of light, son of the Lord God Odin.
8 Himinborg, Heimdall, the patron saint of asir tribal gods.
9 Fokkwin (Folkvang) freya (Freja) goddess of spring, daughter of the god of Vanier tribe.
10 Gerrit Glitner Folter, God of truth and justice, son of god of light Budd.
1 1 noatun (Njord), the god of Vannier tribe.
12 (unverified) Vidal, god of the forest, son of the Lord God Odin.