![]() Ýmir suckles Auðhumla while she licks Búri free from a salty rime stone Paintaing by: Nicolai Abildgaard (1743-1809). Ýmir had a few children who later represented a few of the races mentioned in Norse mythology. The heat and cold collided and created life – a giant called Ýmir and a cow called Auðhumla.Īuðhumla had four teats that milk flowed from and formed four rivers which Ýmir drank from. The world started empty, apart from cold in the North and heat in the South. Like all religions, Ásatrú has a creation story. But younger poems are probably Icelandic, so even if some disagree with who “owns” the Poetic Edda, Icelanders usually claim them as theirs. However, some of the poems probably came from Scandinavia and are older than the Icelandic settlement (Scandinavians most likely settled in Iceland in the 870s). It is believed they were written down in the 10th or 11th century. It is harder to date the Poetic Edda as it is a book of poems, which most likely were narrative poems to begin with. Snorri Sturluson as painter Haukur Stefánsson imagined him in 1930. Icelander Snorri Sturluson wrote Prose Edda (also known as Snorra-Edda) in the early 13th century. The two Eddas, Prose Edda and Poetic Edda, are basically the only sources we have on the mythology. Most of the world’s primary sources of Norse mythology are Icelandic. A few years ago, the fellowship began building a temple in Reykjavik, which will hopefully be finished soon. The Icelandic Ásatrú Fellowship is relatively big, with 5118 people registered in 2021 (3390 men and 1728 women). However, nature worship was common and still is in some ways, as seen in folktales and folk customs of later centuries. This is probably why there are nearly no sources on Ásatrú after the year 1000. ![]() Some Icelanders continued practising the old religion secretly, but the newly established Christianity laws allowed that. Especially people who had come from Ireland and many other parts of the British Isles. At that time, Icelanders converted wholly to Christianity, but there had been Christians living in Iceland until that point. They believed in the old Norse gods and practised that religion until 1000. Many of the first settlers in Iceland came from Norway. In Icelandic, the Æsir Religion is called Ásatrú. Chief goði, Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson, is in the middle. The Æsir religion is still practised today though obviously, it is not as widespread as before. In some ways, it is like Greek mythology and mythologies from cultures worldwide. Norse mythology is the sagas of the Æsir religion practised in Nordic countries and is believed to have originated in Sweden. I even took a Tolkien class once, and here I am, sharing my knowledge of these things combined. As an Icelander myself, I love Icelandic sagas, Norse Mythology and Tolkien’s work. Tolkien was inspired by Icelandic books written by both known and unknown Icelandic authors, such as the Sagas and Prose Edda. ![]() This sounds familiar to Icelanders and those who know Icelandic folklore and Middle Earth. Desolate landscapes, dwarfs, elves and wizards ![]() His brilliant stories were inspired by great folktales and legends and viewed through Tolkien’s cultural lens. His books are known worldwide, 70+ years after their release and will hardly be forgotten soon. Not many writers can pride themselves on having as good imagination as J.R.R Tolkien had. Words by Snædís, one of the expert local guides of Your Friend In Reykjavik Then you want to hear about Norse mythology and Icelandic folktales ![]() Have you read or seen The Lord of the Rings or the Hobbit? ![]()
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