Mythology
Norse mythology
The peoples of the North, the Vikings and their ancestors, imagined a universe of nine worlds held together by a gigantic tree. The gods live in Asgard, humans in Midgard, and all around there are giants, dwarves and elves. They are brave gods but not immortal forever: they know that one day Ragnarök will come, the great final battle. Their stories were written down in Iceland in the thirteenth century, in the two Eddas.
Who they were, where, and how we know
The peoples of the North, in Scandinavia and later in Iceland, believed in these gods before becoming Christian: Iceland converted around the year 1000. The Viking age runs roughly from 793 to 1066, and the Vikings carried these tales as far as Greenland and the Atlantic coasts.
The Vikings did not write down their myths: they sang them and passed them on by word of mouth. What we know was written later, in Iceland, when the country was already Christian. The sources are two collections, the «Poetic Edda» (kept in a 13th-century manuscript) and Snorri Sturluson's «Prose Edda» (about 1220), plus the Icelandic sagas.
The world is a gigantic tree, Yggdrasil, with nine worlds among its branches and roots. The gods are Odin, the wise one who gave an eye for knowledge, Thor with his hammer, Freyja, Baldr and the cunning Loki, and everything moves towards Ragnarök, the end and rebirth of the world.
The cards
OdinAsgard · king of the gods a little scary
ThorAsgard and Midgard · god of thunder a little scary
LokiAsgard · god of trickery a little scary
FreyjaFólkvangr, Asgard · goddess of love not scary at all
FriggFensalir, Asgard · queen of the gods not scary at all
BaldrAsgard · god of light a little scary
TyrAsgard · god of courage a little scary
HeimdallBifröst, the rainbow bridge · guardian not scary at all
Yggdrasil, the World Treeat the centre of the nine worlds · cosmic tree not scary at all
The ValkyriesValhalla · warrior women a little scary
Fenriran island in a faraway lake · giant wolf scary
Jörmungandrthe ocean around Midgard · sea serpent scary
SleipnirAsgard · eight-legged horse not scary at all
Ragnarökall nine worlds · the end and the new beginning scary
YmirGinnungagap, the great void · primordial giant a little scary
Sigurd and the Dragon Fafnirthe heath of Gnitaheiðr · hero and dragon scary
The Krakenthe sea between Norway and Greenland · sea monster scary
Asgard and the Bifröst bridgethe sky of Norse myth · the home of the gods not scary at all
Huginn and Muninnabove all the worlds · Odin's ravens not scary at all
Trolls, elves and dwarvesScandinavia and Iceland · hidden folk a little scaryWho comes from whom
Tap a name: its parents and children light up. Names with a medallion open their card (with a finger: tap them twice).
Places of the myths
- Asgard
- the world of the gods, with the great hall of Valhalla.
- Midgard
- the world of humans, surrounded by the ocean where the serpent Jörmungandr lives.
- Bifröst
- the rainbow bridge joining Midgard and Asgard, guarded by Heimdall.
- Yggdrasil
- the gigantic ash tree that holds the nine worlds together.
Main sources
- Poetic Edda (13th-century manuscript)
- Snorri Sturluson, Prose Edda (about 1220)
- Icelandic sagas
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Who's behind this
Ciro Simone Irmici
I build websites, apps and games. I built the Atlas with artificial intelligence and I check every card and every source myself. I am not a scholar of mythology: I tell these legends with respect and always say where they come from. If you know a legend from your town, write to me.
More of my work: free audiobooks on YouTube · ebooks on Gumroad · Apple Books · music on Spotify and YouTube Music