norse cosmology

[granpa]

I added Svalinn to the image above.

Svalinn - Religion-wiki

In Norse mythology, Svalinn is a legendary shield which stands before the sun.
The name Svalinn means "cold" or "chill" and is derived from the verb svala means "cool"; svala sér means "to slake one's thirst" and svala-drykkr is a "icing draught".

In front of the sun does Svalinn stand,
The shield for the shining god;
Mountains and sea would be set in flames
If it fell from before the sun.
- Grímnismál 38, Henry Bellows' translation

 

[Whiterain]

Fantastic, Granpa.

I've seen celtic mythology also contains cosmology and some of it seemed more elaborate than what I have learned in Norse.
This does involve seasons and the measurement of seasons and time through the local bodies. This was used to determine the
seasons as well as good times for hunting as well as when it was time to raise crops.

Sea navigation also plays a role, no doubt, and that is in the works.

 

[granpa]

the aesir seem to be associated with midgard (actually they reside in heaven and come down to asgard each day to hold court) and therefore with humans
the vanir seem to be associated with elves.

maybe the jotun are associated with niflheim and dwarves. (or Náir)


Snorri Sturluson starts his epic history of the kings of Norway with Ynglinga saga, a euhemerized account of the Norse gods. Here Odin and the Æsir are men from Asia who gain power through their prowess in war and Odin's skills. But when Odin attacks the Vanir he bites off more than he can chew and peace is negotiated after the destructive and indecisive Æsir-Vanir War. Hostages are exchanged to seal the peace deal and the Vanir send Freyr and Njörðr to live with the Æsir.

 

[granpa]

 

[granpa]

Elf - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Men could be elevated to the rank of elves after death, such as the petty king Olaf Geirstad-Elf.

In addition to these human aspects, they are commonly described as semi-divine beings associated with fertility and the cult of the ancestors and ancestor worship. The notion of elves thus appears similar to the animistic belief in spirits of nature and of the deceased, common to nearly all human religions; this is also true for the Old Norse belief in dísir, fylgjur and vörðar ("follower" and "warden" spirits, respectively). Like spirits, the elves were not bound by physical limitations and could pass through walls and doors in the manner of ghosts, which happens in Norna-Gests þáttr.

There is a well-known example from Beowulf (Fitt I, vv. 111–14), where elves are included among "misbegotten creatures" condemned by God, and named alongside Germanic giants (ettins) and hell-devils (orcs).http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Álfar#cite_note-39

 

[granpa]

In Norse mythology, Miðgarðr became applied to the wall around the world that the gods constructed from the eyebrows of the giant Ymir as a defence against the Jotuns who lived in Jotunheim

 

[Gjallarhorn]

Based on this it would appear possible that there are
3 worlds associated with midgard (earth) and
3 worlds associated with niflheim (hades) and presumable
3 more worlds associated with muspelheim (heaven)

Heaven? The land of fire and Surtr? Wow you're pushing it.

 

[granpa]

fire giants
↓
Ymir and Auðumbla (hrimthurs)
↓
head➡Mimir?➡Aesir (Osiris, Ouranos)

forelegs➡male Jotunn (bolthorn?) (Titans)
midlegs➡female Jotunn (bestla?)
hindlegs➡6 headed son (Þrúðgelmir?)

abdomen?➡Vanir? (Venusians? Sons of Venus. i.e. Olympians)

blood➡maggots➡Brimir➡dwarves
ash tree➡Ask
elm tree➡Embla


the arguably late poem Hrafnagaldr Óðins states "The Allfather [i.e. the áss] has power, the álfar have skill, and vanir knowledge

 

[Gjallarhorn]

fire giants
↓
Ymir and Auðumbla (hrimthurs)
↓
head➡Mimir?➡Aesir
forelegs➡male Jotunn (bolthorn?)
midlegs➡female Jotunn (bestla?)
hindlegs➡6 headed son (Þrúðgelmir?)
abdomen?➡Bergelmir
blood➡maggots➡Brimir➡dwarves
ash tree➡Ask
elm tree➡Embla


the arguably late poem Hrafnagaldr Óðins states "The Allfather [i.e. the áss] has power, the álfar have skill, and vanir knowledge

The Aesir came from Borr, son of Bori, not Ymir.

And the fire giants did not exist until after Ymir, who was likely (given his origin) an ice giant.

 

[granpa]

I'm just going by what I've read.

Surtr - Everything2.com

In Norse Mythology, Surtr was a flame giant that lived in Muspellheim, south of Ginnungagap, is a world of fire and perpetual light. It is the complete opposite of Niflheim, while Surtr is not talked about much and is not described well, he is very involved in the destruction and creation process. Surtr is the first living entity, and it is his job to keep trespassers out of Muspellheim. Although owning your own world sounds amusing, it overall became very boring for Surtr and he began to practice with his flaming sword. The sword sent large amounts of sparks and flames into Ginnunagap. Eventually, the ice in Ginnunagap would melt, and turn into steam, which in the cold air turned into frost. As the frost again froze to the floor of Ginnunagap. From the frost, two giants were created: Ymir, and Audhumbia. Ymir milked Audhumbia, and from drinking so much milk, decided to take a mid-day nap.
While Ymir was sleeping, a large spark from Surtr's sword landed near Ymir, and caused him to sweat. From his sweat, three other giants were born. Which ended up being the sworn enemies of the Aesir.
After creating earth, from Ymir's body parts, Odin, Vili, and Ve decided that Midgard, needed light. So they travelled to Muspellheim, and collected some of the sparks from Surtr's blade. They took the two brightest, which became the sun, and the moon.
The destruction of the world, will come when Surtr and the giants ally each other. This will be the beginning of Ragnarok



http://www.northernpaganism.org/shrines/surt/about.html

http://books.google.com/books?id=8ChmztxVH3UC&pg=PA2&lpg=PA2&dq=surtr+sword+ymir

 

[granpa]

the aesir are many-eyed.
os - many
ir - eye (iris)

osiris = ouranos

even though the vanir (Venusians, sons of Venus, olympians) arent born with many eyes they can become aesir (sons of Eros) later in life.
I suppose that in theory anyone can become many-eyed or many-handed like the jotunn (100-handers)

evidently the many-eyed aesir dont get along well with the 100-handers that is why they had to built midgard to separate themselves.


In general, the Olympians are the gods who live on Mount Olympus, all of them somehow related to the supreme god Zeus. More specifically, the Twelve Olympians are the major deities of the Greek pantheon: Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Demeter, Athena, Hestia, Apollo, Artemis, Ares, Aphrodite, Hephaestus, and Hermes
http://www.sourcememory.net/art/anadolu/upis.html

 

[Gjallarhorn]

the aesir are many-eyed.
os - many
ir - eye (iris)

No.

"from Old Norse plural of as "god," related to Old English os, Gothic ans "god""
Online Etymology Dictionary

Æsir is the plural of áss, óss "god" (gen. &#257;sir) which is attested in other Germanic languages, e.g., Old English &#333;s (gen. pl. &#275;sa) and Gothic (as reported by Jordanes) anses "half-gods". These all stem from Proto-Germanic *ansis ~ ansuz, which itself comes from Proto-Indo-European *h&#8322;énsus (gen. h&#8322;n&#805;sóus) "life force" (cf. Avestan a&#331;h&#363; "lord; lifetime", ahura "godhood", Sanskrit ásu "life force", ásura "god" (< *h&#8322;n&#805;suró)). It is widely accepted that this word is further related to *h&#8322;ens- "to engender" (cf. Hittite hass- "to procreate, give birth", Tocharian B &#257;s- "to produce").

Æsir - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[granpa]

yes the aesir are certainly 'gods' and that is what the word came to mean but originally it meant 'many-eyed'.
(in norse -r is plural)

Plutarch ? Isis and Osiris (Part*1 of 5)

For their King and Lord Osiris they portray by means of an eye and a sceptre;
there are even some who explain the meaning of the name as "many-eyed"
on the theory that os in the Egyptian language means "many" and iri "eye";

 

[Gjallarhorn]

yes the aesir are certainly 'gods' and that is what the word came to mean but originally it meant 'many-eyed'.
(in norse -r is plural)

Plutarch ? Isis and Osiris (Part*1 of 5)

For their King and Lord Osiris they portray by means of an eye and a sceptre;
there are even some who explain the meaning of the name as "many-eyed"
on the theory that os in the Egyptian language means "many" and iri "eye";

That's unfortunate, because Osiris is the Greek reading, not Egyptian.

 

[granpa]

Online Etymology Dictionary


Osiris name of a principal god of Egypt, judge of the dead, from Latin Osiris, from Greek, from Egyptian Asar. Related: Osirian

 

[Gjallarhorn]

Online Etymology Dictionary


Osiris name of a principal god of Egypt, judge of the dead, from Latin Osiris, from Greek, from Egyptian Asar. Related: Osirian

Yes, Asar. Not Os-iris.

 

[Riverwolf]

yes the aesir are certainly 'gods' and that is what the word came to mean but originally it meant 'many-eyed'.

Which makes about as much sense as Snorri's pet theory that Asgard refers to Asia.

Actually study etymology, and learn what scholars have said, and don't try to discount them until you, yourself, speak all relevant languages yourself, as well as you speak English.

 

[granpa]

actually the greek form is Ir-on-os (eyes-great-many)
and then there is eros or Ir-os
we also have chir-on meaning hands-great
and we have chir-on-os meaning hands-great-many
and the cent-aurs meaning 100 hands

theres also os-op (many-eyes)

 

[Riverwolf]

actually the greek form is Ir-on-os (eyes-great-many)
and then there is eros or Ir-os
we also have chiron meaning hands-great
and the cent-aurs meaning 100 hands

Do you speak Ancient Greek fluently? To the point where if you went back in time you could carry out a conversation a random Athenian?

 

[Gjallarhorn]

actually the greek form is Ir-on-os (eyes-great-many)
and then there is eros or Ir-os
we also have chir-on meaning hands-great
and we have chir-on-os meaning hands-great-many
and the cent-aurs meaning 100 hands

Speaking out ones rear is known as flatulence, not argument.