Nordic mythology in northern Europe

Nordic mythology originated from the worship of the sun and nature and is a unique myth system in Scandinavia. Its formation time is relatively later than other major myth systems in the world. The oral communication history of Nordic mythology can be traced back to 1-2 century, which was first popular in Norway, Denmark and Sweden, and spread to Iceland and other places with a group of immigrants around the 7th century. In the Middle Ages, Christianity prevailed throughout Europe. Because of its strong political attacks, most of the works that record Nordic myths are regarded as heresy and burned. So far, the Icelandic epic Eda and the Germanic epic Song of Nibelungen have been well preserved. Nordic mythology is a polytheistic system, which can be roughly divided into four systems: giant, god, elf and dwarf. Among them, the giant created the world and gave birth to the gods, but at the same time it is also the greatest enemy of the gods, which can be understood as a personalized natural force. The gods are divided into two tribes, the asir tribe headed by Odin and the Vannier tribe headed by Neil, the sea god, among which there are twelve gods. Elves and gnomes belong to demigods. They serve God. Their specific origin is still very vague, and they belong to a special creation in the Germanic region. There are many very special parts in Nordic mythology. For example, the creation of human beings first created women, and the material created is not the soil expressed in most myths, but a branch. A prominent feature is its geographical location. Because Scandinavia is located in the extreme north, it is cold all the year round, so the frost giant has a high position in mythology and often makes the gods feel headache. Secondly, the view of extinction and rebirth has the greatest influence. Different from other mythological systems, the gods in Nordic mythology are not perfect, and they themselves will face the fate of extinction. For example, Odin sacrificed his left eye in order to gain knowledge, and Kuya was hanged from a tree and was traumatized before he got a pike symbolizing strength. On the other hand, Nordic mythology holds that when everything dies, new life will be formed again, and everything in the world is in a cycle.

Nordic myth is a long-forgotten myth. The descendants of ancient Norwegians have abandoned this treasure for centuries. Nordic mythology first spread in Finland, Sweden, Norway and Iceland, and even in North America and Greenland. It was created by Scandinavians (the ancestors of the Vikings), one of the Germanic peoples, and later the Roman Empire collapsed. At this time, Scandinavians took the opportunity to develop (invade) other parts of Europe. The word "Viking" (meaning people living in bays and harbors) began at this time, and the descendants of heroes in Nordic mythology are the Germanic peoples in Scandinavia and the lowlands in northeastern Germany. They were born in a desolate and harsh natural environment and developed a brave and tenacious character. Wandering, fighting and hunting are their daily lifestyles. They often expedition to other countries under the leadership of bold and enterprising leaders, and win status and wealth from foreign countries that are not available at home.

The primitive culture of these victorious countries may not be superior to the countries they conquered, nor may their weapons and equipment be superior to each other. But they have fearless adventurous spirit and the courage to die, which is also the reason why the Germanic nation can invade the whole of Europe. These fearless Germanic warriors gradually expanded the scope of exploration. In 400 AD, they were bordered by the Rhine River and Danube River, and were adjacent to the Roman Empire. When the Roman countries declined, they constantly invaded the territory of the Roman Empire.

By the middle of the fifth century, the Germans were oppressed by Finns from east, west, north and south (that is, the northern Xiongnu who moved westward after the defeat of the Han Empire), which led to the great migration of ethnic groups. This is what Germans call the heroic age, and most of the heroes in Nordic legends are heroes of this era. As a result of this great migration, the Germans invaded Russia in the east, the French coast and Britten Island in the west, Spain, Italy Peninsula, Sicily and North Africa in the south, and even traveled as far as Greenland and some American continents. The Nordic myth that has been passed down to this day is the product of this nation. From the eighth century to the eleventh century, Vikings were the most terrible pirates in Europe, even comparable to national armies. Even if they land on land, they are as strong as the sea. It was a dark time in Europe. Because they often went out to fight and were influenced by Christianity, writing and art, Vikings began to have prayers, complicated sacrifices, exquisite sculptures and poems. So far, it is the heyday of Nordic mythology. However, the records of myths no longer exist in Germanic countries today. Instead, it is preserved in Iceland, a North Sea island full of volcanoes and glaciers. The Germanic God was completely forgotten by the Germanic nation, and the most important reason was the contact with the Roman Empire and the assimilation of Christianity through contact. Coupled with natural and man-made disasters, especially the "Thirty Years' War" of 16 18- 1648, Germany's inherent culture was incomplete and barren, and the legends of heroes fell into the abyss of forgetting and were buried in the long river of history.

/kloc-After 0/3rd century, the Viking power weakened, the influence of European churches increased greatly, Nordic myths began to be lost and banned in all parts of Europe, and the Vikings were forced to convert to Christianity and Catholicism and left Iceland in the form of poems and essays. These minstrels are called "Scudder". They were originally descendants of the lost Viking nobles and had a high level of knowledge. They can freely use all kinds of complicated similes and metaphors to record and create stories of Nordic myths and heroes, and they keep pace with the times. Some scholars say that the reason why Nordic mythology gives people such a sad but strange and heroic feeling can be said to be their masterpiece, because they are descendants of lost nobles who fled here. Therefore, my heart is naturally filled with the sadness of national ruin and exile in a foreign land. In addition, Iceland has a perennial ice and snow climate, and Iceland itself is a volcanic island formed by volcanoes. The land is rocky and barren, and the volcano on the island erupts from time to time, which is in sharp contrast with the cold weather. Therefore, it is not difficult to imagine how beautiful and heroic the Nordic myths written by these poets are full of tragic heroes.

At that time, only Christian priests could read. They are responsible for recording and saving documents. They hate pagan legends, manuscripts and songs and clean them up. Only some materials survived:-Beowulf in England,-Song of Nibelungen in Germany, some fragmentary fragments -Saga (Legend of Heroes), and-Eda, two poems of Icelandic mythology. In addition, the Germans thought that the ancient Chinese character Runenschrift originally used was a magical spell. If the language is shaped into words, it is equivalent to giving the enemy mysterious power. Therefore, today is not only the belief of the ancient Germans, but also the way of life.

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.

13rd century later, the old and new Ada (poetry anthology) and Felson Jasaga (prose anthology) were discovered one after another, both of which were written in new characters [because the Nordic people first used an ancient script called "Ford Huck", also called "Luna", which is said to be created by Odin, one of the three pillars gods, and belongs to the 9th century. Therefore, in the17th century, it is impossible to read it directly, and translation is needed. It was not until the17th century that it was re-circulated in the Germanic countries such as Northern Europe and Germany, and became the only treasure in the study of Nordic mythology.

——ElderEdda manuscript, the oldest Ada Sutra, was written around 1200, that is, 200 years after the introduction of Christianity. There are 29 ancient songs in the book, and 34 similar songs found elsewhere. 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.

-YoungerEdda, the "New Ada Sutra" in prose style, was written by SnorriSturluson at the end of12nd 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. They planned it long ago. Heroes are the only light in the darkness. What runs through all this is a tragic world view of fighting, which is in sharp contrast with the Greek mythology in the south. The battle of eternal robbery hangs over the whole myth, and the world of Nordic mythology is born and destroyed by war. The myth of any nation has the legend of Genesis, but Nordic mythology tries its best to describe the destruction of the universe.

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, always threatening mankind and the gods. 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 handful of half-man, half-beast, 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.

The myth of any nation has the legend of Genesis, but the Nordic myth focuses on describing 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 great 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 gushes from the tree of life to the root of a giant country, and the giant Mimir is responsible for guarding this spring. 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.