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106-418: The game was split up into missions, with story cutscenes between. The players could control the protagonist valkyrie, along with a party of up to three recruited Einherjar. During missions, the player was presented with a map of points which cost AP, or stamina, to move between; AP replenished over time or could be purchased through in-app purchases. AP was also used to heal after battles, or freeze enemies during

212-420: A gýgr named Bestla . Some of the features of this myth, such as the cow Audumbla, are of unclear provenance; Snorri does not specify where he obtained these details as he did for other parts of the myths, and it may be that these were his inventions. Völuspá portrays Yggdrasil as a giant ash tree. Grímnismál claims that the deities meet beneath Yggdrasil daily to pass judgement. It also claims that

318-673: A memorial stone ; carving his hammer on the stone also served this function. In contrast to the few runic fragments, a considerable body of literary and historical sources survive in Old Norse manuscripts using the Latin script , all of which were created after the Christianisation of Scandinavia , the majority in Iceland. The first extensive Nordic textual source for the Old Norse Religion

424-482: A "cultural paganism", the re-use of pre-Christian myth "in certain cultural and social contexts" that are officially Christian. For instance, Old Norse mythological themes and motifs appear in poetry composed for the court of Cnut the Great , an eleventh-century Christian Anglo-Scandinavian king. Saxo is the earliest medieval figure to take a revived interest in the pre-Christian beliefs of his ancestors, doing so not out of

530-459: A "cultural patchwork" which emerged under a wide range of influences from earlier Scandinavian religions. It may have had links to Nordic Bronze Age : while the putatively solar-oriented belief system of Bronze Age Scandinavia is believed to have died out around 500 BCE, several Bronze Age motifs—such as the wheel cross—reappear in later Iron Age contexts . It is often regarded as having developed from earlier religious belief systems found among

636-498: A battle. At each point on a map, the players entered a 3D area; there, the players could fight monsters and collect treasure chests. Combat had the player tapping their party's character portraits when their action bar was full, and swiping up with the correct timing to use their special abilities. A combo gauge was slowly filled to allow special attacks. Characters used weapons which were collected from chests and defeated enemies; weapons could be combined and upgraded, and in-game currency

742-520: A broader Germanic religion found across linguistically Germanic Europe; of the different forms of this Germanic religion, that of the Old Norse is the best-documented. Rooted in ritual practice and oral tradition, Old Norse religion was fully integrated with other aspects of Norse life, including subsistence, warfare, and social interactions. Open codifications of Old Norse beliefs were either rare or non-existent. The practitioners of this belief system themselves had no term meaning "religion", which

848-614: A desire to revive their faith but out of historical interest. Snorri was also part of this revived interest, examining pagan myths from his perspective as a cultural historian and mythographer. As a result, Norse mythology "long outlasted any worship of or belief in the gods it depicts". There remained, however, remnants of Norse pagan rituals for centuries after Christianity became the dominant religion in Scandinavia (see Trollkyrka ). Old Norse gods continued to appear in Swedish folklore up until

954-578: A detailed description of a ship burial . Since the literary evidence that represents Old Norse sources were recorded by Christians, archaeological evidence, especially of religious sites and burials is of great importance, particularly as a source of information on Norse religion before the conversion. Many aspects of material culture —including settlement locations, artefacts and buildings—may cast light on beliefs, and archaeological evidence regarding religious practices indicates chronological, geographic and class differences far greater than are suggested by

1060-455: A female being of the same name , may be ferried away by valkyries to Odin's martial hall Valhalla , or may be chosen by the goddess Freyja to dwell in her field Fólkvangr . The goddess Rán may claim those that die at sea, and the goddess Gefjon is said to be attended by virgins upon their death. Texts also make reference to reincarnation . Time itself is presented between cyclic and linear, and some scholars have argued that cyclic time

1166-569: A form of sorcery that some scholars describe as shamanistic . Various forms of burial were conducted, including both inhumation and cremation, typically accompanied by a variety of grave goods. Throughout its history, varying levels of trans-cultural diffusion occurred among neighbouring peoples, such as the Sami and Finns . By the 12th century, Old Norse religion had been replaced by Christianity, with elements continuing into Scandinavian folklore . A revival of interest in Old Norse religion occurred amid

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1272-489: A literary creation designed to meet the ruling class' aspirations since the idea of deceased warriors owing military service to Oðinn parallels the social structure between warriors and their lord. There is no archaeological evidence clearly alluding to a belief in Valhalla. According to Snorri, while one-half of the slain go to Valhalla, the others go to Frejya's hall, Fólkvangr , and those who die from disease or old age go to

1378-456: A new conversion process to Christianise this incoming population. The Nordic world first encountered Christianity through its settlements in the already Christian British Isles and through trade contacts with the eastern Christians in Novgorod and Byzantium . By the time Christianity arrived in Scandinavia it was already the accepted religion across most of Europe. It is not well understood how

1484-538: A particular deity. Transmitted through oral culture rather than through codified texts, Old Norse religion focused heavily on ritual practice, with kings and chiefs playing a central role in carrying out public acts of sacrifice. Various cultic spaces were used; initially, outdoor spaces such as groves and lakes were typically selected, but after the third century CE cult houses seem to also have been purposely built for ritual activity, although they were never widespread. Norse society also contained practitioners of Seiðr ,

1590-587: A realm known as Hel ; it was here that Baldr went after his death. The concept of Hel as an afterlife location never appears in pagan-era skaldic poetry, where "Hel" always references the eponymous goddess. Snorri also mentions the possibility of the dead reaching the hall of Brimir in Gimlé , or the hall of Sindri in the Niðafjöll Mountains . Various sagas and the Eddic poem Helgakviða Hundingsbana II refer to

1696-463: A region in the center of the cosmos. Outside of the gods, humanity, and the jötnar, these Nine Worlds are inhabited by beings, such as elves and dwarfs . Travel between the worlds is frequently recounted in the myths, where the gods and other beings may interact directly with humanity. Numerous creatures live on Yggdrasil, such as the insulting messenger squirrel Ratatoskr and the perching hawk Veðrfölnir . The tree itself has three major roots, and at

1802-586: A religious context among adherents of Germanic Neopaganism . The historical religion of the Norse people is commonly referred to as Norse mythology . Other terms are Scandinavian mythology , North Germanic mythology or Nordic mythology . Norse mythology is primarily attested in dialects of Old Norse , a North Germanic language spoken by the Scandinavian people during the European Middle Ages and

1908-419: A serpent gnaws at its roots while a deer grazes from its higher branches; a squirrel runs between the two animals, exchanging messages. Grímnismál also claims that Yggdrasil has three roots; under one resides the goddess Hel, under another the frost-þursar, and under the third humanity. Snorri also relates that Hel and the frost-þursar live under two of the roots but places the gods, rather than humanity, under

2014-496: Is Njörðr's unnamed sister (her name is unprovided in the source material). However, there is more information about his pairing with the skiing and hunting goddess Skaði . Their relationship is ill-fated, as Skaði cannot stand to be away from her beloved mountains, nor Njörðr from the seashore. Together, Freyja, Freyr, and Njörðr form a portion of gods known as the Vanir . While the Aesir and

2120-489: Is Ásynjur , which is properly the feminine of Æsir . An old word for goddess may be dís , which is preserved as the name of a group of female supernatural beings. Ancestral deities were common among Finno-Ugric peoples and remained a strong presence among the Finns and Sámi after Christianisation. Ancestor veneration may have played a part in the private religious practices of Norse people in their farmsteads and villages; in

2226-486: Is again stated that the Old Norse cosmogony began with a belief in Ginnungagap, the void. From this emerged two realms, the icy, misty Niflheim and the fire-filled Muspell , the latter ruled over by fire- jötunn , Surtr . A river produced by these realms coagulated to form Ymir, while a cow known as Audumbla then appeared to provide him with milk. Audumbla licked a block of ice to free Buri , whose son Bor married

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2332-739: Is apparent in Hávamál , a poem found in the Poetic Edda . In stanza 138 of Hávamál , Oðinn describes his self-sacrifice, in which he hangs himself on Yggdrasill, the world tree, for nine nights, to attain wisdom and magical powers. In the late Gautreks Saga , King Víkarr is hanged and then punctured by a spear; his executioner says "Now I give you to Oðinn". Textual accounts suggest a spectrum of rituals, from large public events to more frequent private and family rites, which would have been interwoven with daily life. However, written sources are vague about Norse rituals, and many are invisible to us now even with

2438-523: Is engineered by Loki , and Baldr thereafter resides in Hel , a realm ruled over by an entity of the same name . Odin must share half of his share of the dead with a powerful goddess, Freyja . She is beautiful, sensual, wears a feathered cloak, and practices seiðr . She rides to battle to choose among the slain and brings her chosen to her afterlife field Fólkvangr . Freyja weeps for her missing husband Óðr and seeks after him in faraway lands. Freyja's brother,

2544-576: Is one reported example from pagan Norway in the family cult of Vǫlsi , where a deity called Mǫrnir is invoked. The Norns are female figures who determine individuals' fate. Snorri describes them as a group of three, but he and other sources also allude to larger groups of Norns who decide the fate of newborns. It is uncertain whether they were worshipped. The landvættir , spirits of the land, were thought to inhabit certain rocks, waterfalls, mountains, and trees, and offerings were made to them. For many, they may have been more important in daily life than

2650-475: The Landnámabók , recounting the settlement and early history of Iceland, and the so-called sagas of Icelanders concerning Icelandic individuals and groups; there are also more or less fantastical legendary sagas . Many skaldic verses are preserved in sagas. Of the originally heathen works, we cannot know what changes took place either during oral transmission or as a result of their being recorded by Christians;

2756-434: The jötnar were not worshipped, although this has been questioned. The Eddic jötnar have parallels with their later folkloric counterparts, although unlike them they have much wisdom. Several accounts of the Old Norse cosmogony, or creation myth, appear in surviving textual sources, but there is no evidence that these were certainly produced in the pre-Christian period. It is possible that they were developed during

2862-528: The Poetic Edda , a collection of poems from earlier traditional material anonymously compiled in the 13th century. The Prose Edda was composed as a prose manual for producing skaldic poetry—traditional Old Norse poetry composed by skalds . Originally composed and transmitted orally, skaldic poetry utilizes alliterative verse , kennings , and several metrical forms. The Prose Edda presents numerous examples of works by various skalds from before and after

2968-595: The North Germanic peoples separated into a distinct branch of the Germanic peoples . It was replaced by Christianity and forgotten during the Christianisation of Scandinavia . Scholars reconstruct aspects of North Germanic Religion by historical linguistics , archaeology , toponymy , and records left by North Germanic peoples, such as runic inscriptions in the Younger Futhark , a distinctly North Germanic extension of

3074-464: The Valkyrie Profile series but trying to retain its charm. Producer Yoshinori Yamagishi mentioned his favorite way of drawing out emotion in players was through music and sound effects, helping to both immerse new players in the world of the game and play upon the nostalgia of series fans. The game utilizes a mixture of music from the franchise and new compositions. After fans requested more focus on

3180-570: The de facto ruler of Norway, and although he agreed to be baptised under pressure from the Danish king and allowed Christians to preach in the kingdom, he enthusiastically supported pagan sacrificial customs, asserting the superiority of the traditional deities and encouraging Christians to return to their veneration. His reign (975–995) saw the emergence of a "state paganism", an official ideology which bound together Norwegian identity with pagan identity and rallied support behind Haakon's leadership. Haakon

3286-762: The romanticist movement of the 19th century, during which it inspired a range of artworks. Academic research into the subject began in the early 19th century, initially influenced by the pervasive romanticist sentiment. The archaeologist Anders Andrén noted that "Old Norse religion" is "the conventional name" applied to the pre-Christian religions of Scandinavia . See for instance other terms used by scholarly sources include "pre-Christian Norse religion", "Norse religion", "Norse paganism", "Nordic paganism", "Scandinavian paganism", "Scandinavian heathenism", "Scandinavian religion", "Northern paganism", "Northern heathenism", "North Germanic religion", or "North Germanic paganism". This Old Norse religion can be seen as part of

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3392-428: The sagas of Icelanders , in particular, are now regarded by most scholars as more or less historical fiction rather than as detailed historical records. A large amount of mythological poetry has undoubtedly been lost. One important written source is Snorri's Prose Edda , which incorporates a manual of Norse mythology for the use of poets in constructing kennings; it also includes numerous citations, some of them

3498-483: The 10th century, Norwegian pagans attempted to encourage the Christian king Haakon to take part in an offering to the gods by inviting him to drink a toast to the ancestors alongside several named deities. Þorgerðr Hölgabrúðr and Irpa appear to have been personal or family goddesses venerated by Haakon Sigurdsson , a late pagan ruler of Norway. There are also likely to have been local and family fertility cults; there

3604-524: The 12th century, Christianity was firmly established across Northwestern Europe. For two centuries, Scandinavian ecclesiastics continued to condemn paganism, although it is unclear whether it still constituted a viable alternative to Christian dominance. These writers often presented paganism as being based on deceit or delusion; some stated that the Old Norse gods had been humans falsely euhemerised as deities. Old Norse mythological stories survived in oral culture for at least two centuries, being recorded in

3710-513: The 13th century by Snorri and Gesta Danorum , composed in Latin by Saxo Grammaticus in Denmark in the 12th century, are the results of heavy amounts of euhemerization. Numerous additional texts, such as the sagas , provide further information. The saga corpus consists of thousands of tales recorded in Old Norse ranging from Icelandic family histories ( Sagas of Icelanders ) to Migration period tales mentioning historic figures such as Attila

3816-400: The 13th century. How this mythology was passed down is unclear; it is possible that pockets of pagans retained their belief system throughout the 11th and 12th centuries, or that it had survived as a cultural artefact passed down by Christians who retained the stories while rejecting any literal belief in them. The historian Judith Jesch suggested that following Christianisation, there remained

3922-534: The Althing in 999, an agreement was reached that the Icelandic law would be based on Christian principles, albeit with concessions to the pagan community. Private, albeit not public, pagan sacrifices and rites were to remain legal. Across Germanic Europe, conversion to Christianity was closely connected to social ties; mass conversion was the norm, rather than individual conversion. A primary motivation for kings converting

4028-568: The Bishops of Hamburg), written between 1066 and 1072, which includes an account of the temple at Uppsala , and Saxo Grammaticus ' 12th-century Gesta Danorum (History of the Danes), which includes versions of Norse myths and some material on pagan religious practices. In addition, Muslim Arabs wrote accounts of Norse people they encountered, the best known of which is Ibn Fadlan 's 10th-century Risala , an account of Volga Viking traders that includes

4134-574: The Christian institutions converted these Scandinavian settlers, in part due to a lack of textual descriptions of this conversion process equivalent to Bede's description of the earlier Anglo-Saxon conversion. However, it appears that the Scandinavian migrants had converted to Christianity within the first few decades of their arrival. After Christian missionaries from the British Isles—including figures like St Willibrord , St Boniface , and Willehad —had travelled to parts of northern Europe in

4240-687: The Christianization process and also frequently refers back to the poems found in the Poetic Edda . The Poetic Edda consists almost entirely of poems, with some prose narrative added, and this poetry— Eddic poetry—utilizes fewer kennings . In comparison to skaldic poetry, Eddic poetry is relatively unadorned. The Prose Edda features layers of euhemerization , a process in which deities and supernatural beings are presented as having been either actual, magic-wielding human beings who have been deified in time or beings demonized by way of Christian mythology . Texts such as Heimskringla , composed in

4346-482: The Einherjar like the original Valkyrie Profile , and Yamagishi did not want to create something after the most recent console games as it might interfere with game development plans, he decided to create a story that centers on an Einherjar from the beginning of the series story. Yamagishi stated that development was a much shorter length of time than the usual Valkyrie title. He also intended there to be cliff hangers in

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4452-535: The Germanic Iron Age peoples. The Germanic languages likely emerged in the first millennium BCE in present-day Denmark or northern Germany, after which they spread; several of the deities in Old Norse religion have parallels among other Germanic societies. The Scandinavian Iron Age began around 500 to 400 BCE. Archaeological evidence is particularly important for understanding these early periods. Accounts from this time were produced by Tacitus; according to

4558-622: The Good had converted to Christianity while in England. On returning to Norway, he kept his faith largely private but encouraged Christian priests to preach among the population; some pagans were angered and—according to Heimskringla —three churches built near Trondheim were burned down. His successor, Harald Greycloak , was also a Christian but similarly had little success in converting the Norwegian population to his religion. Haakon Sigurdsson later became

4664-456: The Helgi lays, where they are depicted as princesses who assist and marry heroes. Conflict with the jötnar and gýgjar (often glossed as giants and giantesses respectively) is a frequent motif in the mythology. They are described as both the ancestors and enemies of the gods. Gods marry gýgjar but jötnar 's attempts to couple with goddesses are repulsed. Most scholars believe

4770-551: The Hun ( legendary sagas ). Objects and monuments such as the Rök runestone and the Kvinneby amulet feature runic inscriptions —texts written in the runic alphabet , the indigenous alphabet of the Germanic peoples —that mention figures and events from Norse mythology. Objects from the archaeological record may also be interpreted as depictions of subjects from Norse mythology, such as amulets of

4876-598: The Norse interacted closely with other ethnocultural and linguistic groups, such as the Sámi , Balto-Finns , Anglo-Saxons , Greenlandic Inuit , and various speakers of Celtic and Slavic languages. Economic, marital, and religious exchange occurred between the Norse and many of these other groups. Enslaved individuals from the British Isles were common throughout the Nordic world during

4982-595: The Norwegian woman Ragnhild Tregagås —convicted of witchcraft in Norway in the 14th century—and spells found in the 17th century Icelandic Galdrabók grimoire also sometimes make references to Norse mythology. Other traces, such as place names bearing the names of gods may provide further information about deities, such as a potential association between deities based on the placement of locations bearing their names, their local popularity, and associations with geological features. Central to accounts of Norse mythology are

5088-541: The Old Norse Religion was Tacitus ' book, the Germania , which dates back to around 100 CE and describes religious practices of several Germanic peoples , but has little coverage of Scandinavia. In the Middle Ages, several Christian commentators also wrote about Scandinavian paganism, mostly from a hostile perspective. The best known of these are Adam of Bremen 's Gesta Hammaburgensis ecclesiae pontificum (History of

5194-542: The Vanir retain distinct identification, they came together as the result of the Aesir–Vanir War . While they receive less mention, numerous other gods and goddesses appear in the source material. (For a list of these deities, see List of Germanic deities .) Some of the gods heard less of include the apple-bearing goddess Iðunn and her husband, the skaldic god Bragi ; the gold-toothed god Heimdallr , born of nine mothers ;

5300-738: The Viking Age, Norse people left Scandinavia and settled elsewhere throughout Northwestern Europe . Some of these areas, such as Iceland, the Orkney and Shetland Islands , and the Faroe Islands , were hardly populated, whereas other areas, such as England, Southwest Wales, Scotland, the Western Isles, Isle of Man, and Ireland, were already heavily populated. In the 870s, Norwegian settlers left their homeland and colonized Iceland , bringing their belief system with them. Place-name evidence suggests that Thor

5406-523: The Viking Age. Different elements of Old Norse religion had different origins and histories; some aspects may derive from deep into prehistory, others only emerging following the encounter with Christianity. In Hilda Ellis Davidson 's words, present-day knowledge of Old Norse religion contains "vast gaps", and we must be cautious and avoid "bas[ing] wild assumptions on isolated details". A few runic inscriptions with religious content survive from Scandinavia, particularly asking Thor to hallow or protect

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5512-569: The afterlife. Snorri refers to multiple realms which welcome the dead; although his descriptions reflect a likely Christian influence, the idea of a plurality of other worlds is likely pre-Christian. Unlike Christianity, Old Norse religion does not appear to have adhered to the belief that moral concerns impacted an individual's afterlife destination. Warriors who died in battle became the Einherjar and were taken to Oðinn's hall, Valhalla. There they waited until Ragnarok when they would fight alongside

5618-531: The ancestor of modern Scandinavian languages . The majority of these Old Norse texts were created in Iceland , where the oral tradition stemming from the pre-Christian inhabitants of the island was collected and recorded in manuscripts. This occurred primarily in the 13th century. These texts include the Prose Edda , composed in the 13th century by the Icelandic scholar, lawspeaker , and historian Snorri Sturluson , and

5724-712: The ancient god Týr , who lost his right hand while binding the great wolf Fenrir ; and the goddess Gefjon , who formed modern-day Zealand , Denmark . Various beings outside of the gods are mentioned. Elves and dwarfs are commonly mentioned and appear to be connected, but their attributes are vague and the relation between the two is ambiguous. Elves are described as radiant and beautiful, whereas dwarfs often act as earthen smiths. A group of beings variously described as jötnar , thursar , and trolls (in English these are all often glossed as " giants ") frequently appear. These beings may either aid, deter, or take their place among

5830-451: The archaeologists Andrén, Kristina Jennbert, and Catharina Raudvere stated that "pre-Christian Norse religion is not a uniform or stable category", while the scholar Karen Bek-Pedersen noted that the "Old Norse belief system should probably be conceived of in the plural, as several systems". The historian of religion Hilda Ellis Davidson stated that it would have ranged from manifestations of "complex symbolism" to "the simple folk-beliefs of

5936-423: The arrival of Christianity has generated consciousness of Old Norse religion as a distinct religion. Old Norse religion has been classed as an ethnic religion , and as a "non-doctrinal community religion". It varied across time, in different regions and locales, and according to social differences. This variation is partly due to its transmission through oral culture rather than codified texts. For this reason,

6042-567: The base of one of these roots live the Norns , female entities associated with fate. Elements of the cosmos are personified, such as the Sun ( Sól , a goddess), the Moon ( Máni , a god), and Earth ( Jörð , a goddess), as well as units of time, such as day ( Dagr , a god) and night ( Nótt , a jötunn). The afterlife is a complex matter in Norse mythology. The dead may go to the murky realm of Hel —a realm ruled over by

6148-486: The cosmological tree Yggdrasil to gain knowledge of the runic alphabet, which he passed on to humanity, and is associated closely with death, wisdom, and poetry. Odin is portrayed as the ruler of Asgard , and leader of the Aesir . Odin's wife is the powerful goddess Frigg who can see the future but tells no one, and together they have a beloved son, Baldr . After a series of dreams had by Baldr of his impending death, his death

6254-466: The country was fully Christian by the early 12th. Olaf Tryggvason sent a Saxon missionary, Þangbrandr , to Iceland. Many Icelanders were angered by Þangbrandr's proselytising, and he was outlawed after killing several poets who insulted him. Animosity between Christians and pagans on the island grew, and at the Althing in 998 both sides blasphemed each other's gods. In an attempt to preserve unity, at

6360-403: The dead residing in their graves, where they remain conscious. In these thirteenth century sources, ghosts ( Draugr ) are capable of haunting the living. In both Laxdæla Saga and Eyrbyggja Saga , connections are drawn between pagan burials and hauntings. In mythological accounts, the deity most closely associated with death is Oðinn. In particular, he is connected with death by hanging; this

6466-742: The early 20th century. There are documented accounts of encounters with both Thor and Odin, along with a belief in Freja's power over fertility. Norse mythology , stories of the Norse deities, is preserved in Eddic poetry and in Snorri Sturluson 's guide for skalds , the Poetic Edda . Depictions of some of these stories can be found on picture stones in Gotland and in other visual records including some early Christian crosses, which attests to how widely known they were. The myths were transmitted purely orally until

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6572-517: The earth out of the sea. A different account is provided in Vafþrúðnismál , which describes that the world is made from the components of Ymir's body: the earth from his flesh, the mountains from his bones, the sky from his skull, and the sea from his blood. Grímnismál also describes the world being fashioned from Ymir's corpse, although adds the detail that the jötnar emerged from a spring known as Élivágar . In Snorri's Gylfaginning , it

6678-508: The eighth century, Charlemagne pushed for Christianisation in Denmark, with Ebbo of Rheims , Halitgar of Cambrai , and Willeric of Bremen proselytizing in the kingdom during the ninth century. The Danish king Harald Klak converted (826), likely to secure his political alliance with Louis the Pious against his rivals for the throne. The Danish monarchy reverted to Old Norse religion under Horik II (854 – c. 867). The Norwegian king Hákon

6784-455: The encounter with Christianity, as pagans sought to establish a creation myth complex enough to rival that of Christianity; these accounts could also be the result of Christian missionaries interpreting certain elements and tales found in the Old Norse culture and presenting them to be creation myths and a cosmogony, parallel to that of the Bible , in part to aid the Old Norse in the understanding of

6890-638: The end of the period, and were subject to variation; one key poem, "Vǫluspá", is preserved in two variant versions in different manuscripts, and Snorri's retelling of the myths sometimes varies from the other textual sources that are preserved. There was no single authoritative version of a particular myth, and variation over time and from place to place is presumed, rather than "a single unified body of thought". In particular, there may have been influences from interactions with other peoples, including northern Slavs, Finns, and Anglo-Saxons, and Christian mythology exerted an increasing influence. Old Norse religion

6996-399: The events of Ragnarök when an immense battle occurs between the gods and their enemies, and the world is enveloped in flames, only to be reborn anew. There the surviving gods will meet, and the land will be fertile and green, and two humans will repopulate the world. Norse mythology has been the subject of scholarly discourse since the 17th century when key texts attracted the attention of

7102-540: The exchange of hostages. Some mythographers have suggested that this myth was based on recollection of a conflict in Scandinavia between adherents of different belief systems. Major deities among the Æsir include Thor (who is often referred to in literary texts as Asa-Thor), Odin and Týr . Very few Vanir are named in the sources: Njǫrðr , his son Freyr , and his daughter Freyja ; according to Snorri all of these could be called Vanaguð (Vanir-god), and Freyja also Vanadís (Vanir- dís ). The status of Loki within

7208-452: The form of three gifts. After the cataclysm of Ragnarok, this process is mirrored in the survival of two humans from a wood; Líf and Lífþrasir . From these two humankind is foretold to repopulate the new and green earth. Old Norse religion Old Norse religion , also known as Norse paganism , is a branch of Germanic religion which developed during the Proto-Norse period, when

7314-660: The game exceeded one million downloads. Norse mythology Norse , Nordic , or Scandinavian mythology , is the body of myths belonging to the North Germanic peoples , stemming from Old Norse religion and continuing after the Christianization of Scandinavia as the Nordic folklore of the modern period. The northernmost extension of Germanic mythology and stemming from Proto-Germanic folklore , Norse mythology consists of tales of various deities, beings, and heroes derived from numerous sources from both before and after

7420-486: The god Freyr , is also frequently mentioned in surviving texts, and in his association with the weather, royalty, human sexuality, and agriculture brings peace and pleasure to humanity. Deeply lovesick after catching sight of the beautiful jötunn Gerðr , Freyr seeks and wins her love, yet at the price of his future doom. Their father is the powerful god Njörðr . Njörðr is strongly associated with ships and seafaring, and so also wealth and prosperity. Freyja and Freyr's mother

7526-488: The god Thor's hammer Mjölnir found among pagan burials and small silver female figures interpreted as valkyries or dísir , beings associated with war, fate or ancestor cults. By way of historical linguistics and comparative mythology , comparisons to other attested branches of Germanic mythology (such as the Old High German Merseburg Incantations ) may also lend insight. Wider comparisons to

7632-600: The gods Odin commands Lenneth to choose human souls to be Einherjar, and so before they die, heroes are made to fight in the final war between the gods. Lenneth is unsure if the world should end, and as she grows fond of them, she may help stop the final battle. The game was unveiled by Square Enix in April 2016. The games graphics were developed by Square Enix 's CGI making subsidiary Visual Works. The game's development staff included producer Yoshinori Yamagishi, composer Motoi Sakuraba , and scenario writer Bun-O Fujisawa. The game

7738-479: The gods they venerated more or at all. There are also accounts in sagas of individuals who devoted themselves to a single deity, described as a fulltrúi or vinr (confidant, friend) as seen in Egill Skallagrímsson 's reference to his relationship with Odin in his " Sonatorrek ", a tenth-century skaldic poem for example. This practice has been interpreted as heathen past influenced by the Christian cult of

7844-436: The gods. Texts also mention various kinds of elves and dwarfs . Fylgjur , guardian spirits, generally female, were associated with individuals and families. Hamingjur , dísir and swanmaidens are female supernatural figures of uncertain stature within the belief system; the dísir may have functioned as tutelary goddesses . Valkyries were associated with the myths concerning Odin, and also occur in heroic poetry such as

7950-453: The gods. The Norns , dísir , and aforementioned valkyries also receive frequent mention. While their functions and roles may overlap and differ, all are collective female beings associated with fate. In Norse cosmology , all beings live in Nine Worlds that center around the cosmological tree Yggdrasil . The gods inhabit the heavenly realm of Asgard whereas humanity inhabits Midgard ,

8056-411: The gods. The cosmos in Norse mythology consists of Nine Worlds that flank a central sacred tree , Yggdrasil . Units of time and elements of the cosmology are personified as deities or beings. Various forms of a creation myth are recounted, where the world is created from the flesh of the primordial being Ymir , and the first two humans are Ask and Embla . These worlds are foretold to be reborn after

8162-454: The idea of an inescapable fate pervaded Norse worldviews. There is much evidence that Völuspá was influenced by Christian belief, and it is also possible that the theme of conflict being followed by a better future—as reflected in the Ragnarok story—perhaps reflected the period of conflict between paganism and Christianity. Old Nordic religion had several fully developed ideas about death and

8268-504: The intellectual circles of Europe. By way of comparative mythology and historical linguistics , scholars have identified elements of Germanic mythology reaching as far back as Proto-Indo-European mythology . During the modern period, the Romanticist Viking revival re-awoke an interest in the subject matter, and references to Norse mythology may now be found throughout modern popular culture . The myths have further been revived in

8374-675: The less sophisticated". During the Viking Age , the Norse likely regarded themselves as a more or less unified entity through their shared Germanic language, Old Norse . The scholar of Scandinavian studies Thomas A. DuBois said Old Norse religion and other pre-Christian belief systems in Northern Europe must be viewed as "not as isolated, mutually exclusive language-bound entities, but as broad concepts shared across cultural and linguistic lines, conditioned by similar ecological factors and protracted economic and cultural ties". During this period,

8480-407: The most widespread deities were the gods Odin and Thor . This world was inhabited also by various other mythological races, including jötnar , dwarfs , elves , and land-wights . Norse cosmology revolved around a world tree known as Yggdrasil , with various realms existing alongside that of humans, named Midgard . These include multiple afterlife realms, several of which are controlled by

8586-403: The mythology of other Indo-European peoples by scholars has resulted in the potential reconstruction of far earlier myths. Only a tiny amount of poems and tales survive of the many mythical tales and poems that are presumed to have existed during the Middle Ages, Viking Age, Migration Period, and before. Later sources reaching into the modern period, such as a medieval charm recorded as used by

8692-436: The mythology, Thor lays waste to numerous jötnar who are foes to the gods or humanity, and is wed to the beautiful, golden-haired goddess Sif . The god Odin is also frequently mentioned in surviving texts. One-eyed, wolf - and raven -flanked, with a spear in hand, Odin pursues knowledge throughout the nine realms. In an act of self-sacrifice, Odin is described as having hanged himself upside-down for nine days and nights on

8798-431: The name of a deity. Magnus Olsen developed a typology of such place names in Norway, from which he posited a development in pagan worship from groves and fields toward the use of temple buildings. Personal names are also a source of information on the popularity of certain deities; for example, Thor's name was an element in the names of both men and women, particularly in Iceland. Andrén described Old Norse religion as

8904-459: The new Christian religion through the use of native elements as a means to facilitate conversion (a common practice employed by missionaries to ease the conversion of people from different cultures across the globe. See Syncretism ). According to the account in Völuspá , the universe was initially a void known as Ginnungagap . There then appeared a jötunn , Ymir , and after him the gods, who lifted

9010-435: The only record of lost poems, such as Þjóðólfr of Hvinir 's Haustlöng . Snorri's Prologue eumerises the Æsir as Trojans , deriving Æsir from Asia , and some scholars have suspected that many of the stories that we only have from him are also derived from Christian medieval culture. Additional sources remain by non-Scandinavians writing in languages other than Old Norse. The first non-Scandinavian textual source for

9116-471: The pagan period, including medieval manuscripts, archaeological representations, and folk tradition. The source texts mention numerous gods such as the thunder-god Thor , the raven -flanked god Odin , the goddess Freyja , and numerous other deities . Most of the surviving mythology centers on the plights of the gods and their interaction with several other beings, such as humanity and the jötnar , beings who may be friends, lovers, foes, or family members of

9222-406: The pantheon is problematic, and according to " Lokasenna " and "Vǫluspá" and Snorri's explanation, he is imprisoned beneath the earth until Ragnarok , when he will fight against the gods. As far back as 1889 Sophus Bugge suggested this was the inspiration for the myth of Lucifer . Some of the goddesses— Skaði , Rindr , Gerðr are jötnar origins. The general Old Norse word for the goddesses

9328-539: The plights of the gods and their interaction with various other beings, such as with the jötnar , who may be friends, lovers, foes, or family members of the gods. Numerous gods are mentioned in the source texts. As evidenced by records of personal names and place names, the most popular god among the Scandinavians during the Viking Age was Thor the thunder god , who is portrayed as unrelentingly pursuing his foes, his mountain-crushing, thunderous hammer Mjölnir in hand. In

9434-533: The plot, and lingering mysteries like a typical RPG to keep players interested. Post-release, Yamagishi said that they listen for how players feel and make adjustments accordingly to keep the game interesting for long term investment. The worldwide server of the game was shut down on August 31, 2020. The Japanese server of the game was shut down on April 27, 2021. RPGFan summed up their review as "wasted opportunity, collect-a-thon, and genuinely bad freemium ideas rolled into one package". The publication also condemned

9540-443: The runic alphabet. Numerous Old Norse works dated to the 13th-century record Norse mythology , a component of North Germanic religion. Old Norse religion was polytheistic , entailing a belief in various gods and goddesses . These deities in Norse mythology were divided into two groups, the Æsir and the Vanir , who in some sources were said to have engaged in an ancient war until realizing that they were equally powerful. Among

9646-399: The saints. Although our literary sources are all relatively late, there are also indications of change over time. Norse mythological sources, particularly Snorri and "Vǫluspá", differentiate between two groups of deities, the Æsir and the Vanir , who fought a war during which the Vanir broke down the walls of the Æsir's stronghold, Asgard , and eventually made peace utilizing a truce and

9752-464: The scholar Gabriel Turville-Petre , Tacitus' observations "help to explain" later Old Norse religion. Tacitus described the Germanic peoples as having priests, open-air sacred sites, and seasonal sacrifices and feasts. Tacitus notes that the Germanic peoples were polytheistic and mentions some of their deities trying to perceive them through Roman equivalents, so Romans could try to understand . During

9858-766: The surviving texts. Place names are an additional source of evidence. Theophoric place names, including instances where a pair of deity names occur near, provide an indication of the importance of the religion of those deities in different areas, dating back to before our earliest written sources. The toponymic evidence shows considerable regional variation, and some deities, such as Ullr and Hǫrn , occur more frequently, than Odin place-names occur, in other locations. Some place-names contain elements indicating that they were sites of religious activity: those formed with - vé , - hörgr , and - hof , words for religious sites of various kinds, and also likely those formed with - akr or - vin , words for "field", when coupled with

9964-471: The third root. The term Yggr means "the terrifier" and is a synonym for Oðinn, while drasill was a poetic word for a horse; "Yggdrasil" thereby means "Oðinn's Steed". This idea of a cosmic tree has parallels with those from various other societies, and may reflect part of a common Indo-European heritage. The Ragnarok story survives in its fullest exposition in Völuspá , although elements can also be seen in earlier poetry. The Ragnarok story suggests that

10070-602: The time of its first settlement. Scandinavian settlers brought Old Norse religion to Britain in the latter decades of the ninth century. Several British place-names indicate possible religious sites; for instance, Roseberry Topping in North Yorkshire was known as Othensberg in the twelfth century, a name deriving from the Old Norse Óðinsberg ("Hill of Óðin"). Several place-names also contain Old Norse references to religious entities, such as alfr , skratii , and troll . The English church found itself in need of conducting

10176-422: The title for many reasons, including selling basic game features for a premium such as the ability to change the speed of combat. Siliconera noted the game's generosity compared to other freemium games based on established franchises, in that most games make the purchase for powerful or popular characters, and The Origin starts players with two powerful characters, Sennah and Jeanne. Within two weeks of release,

10282-414: The Æsir. According to the poem Grímnismál , Valhalla had 540 doors and a wolf stood outside its western door, while an eagle flew overhead. In that poem, it is also claimed that a boar named Sæhrímnir is eaten every day and that a goat named Heiðrún stands atop the hall's roof producing an endless supply of mead. It is unclear how widespread a belief in Valhalla was in Norse society; it may have been

10388-534: Was polytheistic , with many anthropomorphic gods and goddesses, who express human emotions and in some cases are married and have children. One god, Baldr , is said in the myths to have died. Archaeological evidence on the worship of particular gods is sparse, although placenames may also indicate locations where they were venerated. For some gods, particularly Loki , there is no evidence of worship; however, this may be changed by new archaeological discoveries. Regions, communities, and social classes likely varied in

10494-428: Was killed in 995 and Olaf Tryggvason , the next king, took power and enthusiastically promoted Christianity; he forced high-status Norwegians to convert, destroyed temples, and killed those he called 'sorcerers'. Sweden was the last Scandinavian country to officially convert; although little is known about the process of Christianisation, it is known that the Swedish kings had converted by the early 11th century and that

10600-416: Was only introduced with Christianity. Following Christianity's arrival, Old Norse terms that were used for the pre-Christian systems were forn sið ("old custom") or heiðinn sið ("heathen custom"), terms which suggest an emphasis on rituals, actions, and behaviours rather than belief itself. The earliest known usage of the Old Norse term heiðinn is in the poem Hákonarmál ; its uses here indicates that

10706-402: Was released on April 28 of the same year for iOS and Android devices. After ten years since a new Valkyrie Profile title was released, and having been asked many times by fans when a new entry would be released, Valkyrie Anatomia: The Origin began its development. Square Enix was also looking to use one of their intellectual properties to create a social game , and someone proposed using

10812-516: Was the Poetic Edda . Some of the poetic sources, in particular, the Poetic Edda and skaldic poetry, may have been originally composed by heathens, and Hávamál contains both information on heathen mysticism and what Ursula Dronke referred to as "a round-up of ritual obligations". In addition there is information about pagan beliefs and practices in the sagas , which include both historical sagas such as Snorri Sturluson 's Heimskringla and

10918-754: Was the desire for support from Christian rulers, whether as money, imperial sanction, or military support. Christian missionaries found it difficult convincing Norse people that the two belief systems were mutually exclusive; the polytheistic nature of Old Norse religion allowed its practitioners to accept Jesus Christ as one god among many. The encounter with Christianity could also stimulate new and innovative expressions of pagan culture, for instance through influencing various pagan myths. As with other Germanic societies, syncretisation between incoming and traditional belief systems took place. For those living in isolated areas, pre-Christian beliefs likely survived longer, while others continued as survivals in folklore. By

11024-424: Was the most popular god on the island, although there are also saga accounts of devotés of Freyr in Iceland, including a "priest of Freyr" in the later Hrafnkels saga . There are no place-names connected to Odin on the island. Unlike other Nordic societies, Iceland lacked a monarchy and thus a centralising authority which could enforce religious adherence; there were both Old Norse and Christian communities from

11130-477: Was the original format for the mythology. Various forms of a cosmological creation story are provided in Icelandic sources, and references to a future destruction and rebirth of the world— Ragnarok —are frequently mentioned in some texts. According to the Prose Edda and the Poetic Edda poem, Völuspá , the first human couple consisted of Ask and Embla ; driftwood found by a trio of gods and imbued with life in

11236-412: Was used to increase the chance of better equipment being generated. In-game currency was also purchasable through in-app purchases. The setting is inspired by Norse mythology ; the setting is divided up into nine worlds, including Midgard and Asgard . The story takes place before the plot of the original Valkyrie Profile . The protagonist is Lenneth Valkyrie, who is preparing for Ragnarok . Lord of

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