Story

With its branches in the heavens and its roots in the underworld, the Cosmic Tree is a common feature of religions and mythologies around the … Read more

Like other world religions, Viking paganism included an apocalyptic vision predicting that the existing world will be destroyed by cosmic forces and characters, and will … Read more

This lively epic inspired Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings. It is really two separate legends, linked by a supernatural ring that brings brutal tragedy to all … Read more

The area was given the name Jotunheimen, meaning “The Giants home”, by Norwegian poet Aasmund Olavsson Vinje in 1862. Jotunheimen is said to be the … Read more

Loki is a god in Norse mythology who is often simply described as the ‘trickster’ god for his love of playing pranks on both his … Read more

During the pagan era, Odin was respected as the mysterious and omniscient god of war, wisdom, death and fate. Sacrifices were often made to him, … Read more

This tragic love story forms the central thread of the 13th-century Laxdaela Saga, probably based on real 10th and 11th-century people and events. The beautiful and … Read more

Viking pagan mythology is dominated by eternal conflict between the gods and their archenemies, the giants. Among the gods, the role of ‘chief giant-basher’ belonged to … Read more

The sagas reveal that surprisingly complex laws and legal procedures played an important role in the Viking lands. These form the background to another supposedly … Read more

Two medieval manuscripts, Graenlendinga Saga and Eirik’s Saga, claim that in the early 11th century, 500 years before Columbus, Viking men and women reached North America. They describe how … Read more