Norse Mythology: The Unofficial Guide20 Kesä 2022

Episode 3 - Of Yggdrasill and the Cosmos

The universe according to Norse mythology is organized around a giant ash tree called Yggdrasill. But did you know that the motif of worshiping a giant, cosmically-central tree shows up in 8th-century Christian literature from England? And did you know the word "Yggdrasill" might be a reference to a story about Odin learning the runes by means of hanging himself? This episode doesn't cover everything the myths say about the famous World Tree, but it does dive into the importance of the great, cosmic ash to the ancient Norse and other pagan, Germanic societies.

Sources:

“Cosmology” by Mathias Nordvig in “Pre-Christian Religions of the North” Volume III, 2020
“Dictionary of Northern Mythology”, by Rudolf Simek, 2010
“Dream of the Rood”, transl. by Richard Hamer, 1970
“Evergreen Ash: Ecology and Catastrophe in Old Norse Myth and Literature”, by Christopher Abram, 2019
“Norse Mythology: A Guide to the Gods, Heroes, Rituals, and Beliefs” by John Lindow, 2001
“Sacred Tree and Holy Grove” by Joseph S. Hopkins at mimisbrunr.info, 2020
“The Forest in Old High German Literature” by Michael J. Swisher in “Amsterdamer Beiträge zur älteren Germanistik”, 1988
“The Poetic Edda”, transl. by Carolyne Larrington, 2014
“The Prose Edda”, transl. by Anthony Faulkes, 1995

Contact:

Write in: waelhraefn (at) gmail (dot) com
Join the Discord: https://discord.gg/Nvw5hmkRsW

Music:

Celebration by Alexander Nakarada (www.serpentsoundstudios.com). Licensed under Creative Commons BY Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

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Episode 39 - The Worship of Good and Evil

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Episode 38 - Eating Hearts and Drinking Blood

This time we dig into a rarely discussed aspect of Norse mythology: stealing your enemy's power by eating their heart or drinking their blood. But just who's power can be stolen by way of this gory ri...

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Episode 37 - Dead Women in Black

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Episode 36 - Blue as Hel

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Episode 35 - Volsunga Saga Part III: The Fearless Heart

In our final installment of Völsunga Saga (for now), it's what you've all been waiting for: We finally cover the tale of Sigurðr, the most famous of all Norse heroes who slew the dragon Fáfnir, and hi...

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Episode 34 - Volsunga Saga Part II: To Serve the Boatman

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Episode 33 - Volsunga Saga Part I: The Sword in the Tree

It's story time again! And this time we're digging into what might be the most famous legendary saga ever to come out of Scandinavia: The Saga of the Vǫlsungs. As we dig in, it'll become clear how all...

27 Touko 202356min

Episode 32 - Associated with Fire

How many times have you heard in the past that Loki is associated with fire? It's true, in fact, but how many people who told you Loki was associated with fire ever provided any examples of that assoc...

24 Huhti 202340min