Giants, dwarves, wolves and dragons – the beings that accompany, threaten or belong to the gods.
14 articles in this field · All fields →
Between gods and humans dwells a third, half-hidden race: the elves (Old Norse álfar). They are bright and beautiful, or dark and earth-bound, half a …
Read more →At the feet of the father of the gods lie two wolves: Geri and Freki – both names mean „the greedy one". In the hall of Valhalla, Odin gives them …
Read more →The end of the world does not begin with thunder but with a rooster's crow — and it sounds three times over. Three birds, three worlds, one single …
Read more →On the roof of the hall of the slain stands a goat, and from her udder flows not a drop of milk but clear, bright mead. Beside her a stag lowers its …
Read more →Two black birds perched on the shoulders of a one-eyed god - few images are as tightly bound to Odin as this one. Their names are Huginn and Muninn …
Read more →Before Brokkr and Sindri forged the hammer, others were at work: the sons of Ívaldi. Three wonders came out of their forge – and the pride they took …
Read more →Far below, where the roots of the World Tree reach down into cold and darkness, lies a creature that never rests. Nidhoeggr gnaws - day after day …
Read more →Between crown and root of the World Ash Yggdrasil scurries a small, restless creature: Ratatoskr, the squirrel. It carries no strength and no weapon …
Read more →Without the giants there would be no Norse world – in the most literal sense. Out of a giant it arose, against the giants the gods fight, and with …
Read more →In Valhalla an eternal feast holds sway – provided by a single animal that never runs out: the boar Sæhrimnir.
Read more →Two wolves race across the firmament – one after the sun, the other after the moon. It is the oldest chase in the world, and it ends only when time …
Read more →Eight legs, a one-eyed rider and a road that leads all the way down into the realm of the dead: Sleipnir is no ordinary horse. He is Odin's most …
Read more →No horse draws the chariot of the strongest god, but two goats: Tanngrisnir („teeth-barer") and Tanngnjóstr („teeth-grinder"). When their cart rolls …
Read more →Almost everything that makes the gods mighty comes from a single set of hands: those of the dwarves. Thor’s hammer, Odin’s spear and ring, Freyja’s …
Read more →