Gods and Myths of Northern Europe

RIGS?ULA: Poem in the Edda, telling how Rig (thought to be Heimdall) fathered the different classes of men

RING (HRINGR): Nickname of Sigurd, King of Sweden, who defeated Harald Wartooth of Denmark in Saxo’s account

ROSKVA (ROKVA): Farmer’s daughter who went with Thor to the hall of Utgard-Loki

SAX NOT: (Seaxneat to the Anglo-Saxons.) ‘Sword-companion’(?). God worshipped by the Old Saxons, and remembered as ancestor of the kings of Essex

SAXO GRAMMATICUS: Danish antiquarian of twelfth century who wrote a history of the Danes (Gesta Danorum), the first nine books of which contain much mythological material (translated by Lord Elton, Folklore Society, 1894)

SCEAF: Child who came over the sea to rule in Denmark, according to William of Malmesbury

SCYLD SCEFING: First king of the Danes according to Beowulf, who came over the sea and was set adrift in a ship after death

SEI?R: Form of magic and divination, said to be originated by Freyja

SIDONIUS: Sidonius Apollinaris, Bishop of Clermont, who left a number of Latin poems and letters, written in the fifth century (translated by W. B. Anderson, Heinemann, 1936)

SIF: Wife of Thor, with wonderful golden hair

SIGNY: Daughter of Sigar, king of Denmark, who loved Hagbard, the slayer of her brothers, and killed herself when he was put to death by her father, according to Saxo’s account

SIGMUND (SIGMUNDR): (Sigemund in Anglo-Saxon tradition.) Famous hero, father of Sigurd the Volsung

SIGRDRIFUMAL: Poem in the Edda, containing magic lore spoken by Sigrdrifa, a Valkyrie

SIGRUN (SIGRUN): Valkyrie, lover of Helgi Hundingsbani, who is said to be an earlier Valkyrie, Svafa, reborn

SIGURD THE VOLSUNG (SIGUR?R): Also called Fafnisbani, slayer of Fafnir the dragon. Famous hero of the Volsung family

SIGVAT (SIGVATR ?ORDARSON): Icelandic poet of early eleventh century

SIGYN: Wife of Loki who tended him when he was bound under the earth

SKADI (SKA?I): Daughter of Thiazi the giant, who married Njord, but left him to go back to the mountains

SKALDSKAPARMAL: ‘Poetic diction’. Second section of Snorri’s Prose Edda, containing many of the myths used by poets

SKEGGI (JARNSKEGGI): Worshipper of Thor in Trondheim, Norway, killed by Olaf Tryggvason

SKIALF (SKIALF): Wife of Agni of Sweden, who caused his death

SKI?BLA?NIR: Magic ship of Freyr

SKIOLD (SKJOLDR): Son of Odin, who ruled over Denmark and married Gefion. Ancestor of Danish kings

SKIRNIR (SKIRNIR): Servant of Freyr, went to woo Gerd for him, according to Edda poem Skirnismal

SKJOLDUNGA SAGA: Lost saga about early legendary kings of Denmark, surviving in sixteenth-century Latin version

SLEIPNIR: The eight-legged horse of Odin

SNORRI STURLUSON: Icelandic writer, who lived c. 1179–1241, author of the Prose Edda and Heimskringla

SOGUBROT: Fragmentary history of the Danish kings, in Icelandic MS. of about 1300

SOLOMON AND SATURN: Anglo-Saxon poem in dialogue form

SONATORREK: ‘Loss of the sons’. Ninth-century poem by Egill Skallagrimsson (translated by N. Kershaw, Anglo-Saxon and Norse Poems, Cambridge University Press, 1922)

STARKAD (STARKA?R): Famous hero who comes into the legendary sagas and Saxo’s history

STRATEGICON: Sixth-century Greek treatise on warfare

STRABO: Greek geographer, who described a number of the German tribes in the first century

SURT (SURTR): A fire giant from Muspell who burns earth and heaven

SUTTUNG (SUTTUNGR): Son of the giant Gilling, who took back the mead of inspiration from the dwarfs who killed his father

SVA?ILFARI: Sagacious horse of the giant who built the wall round Asgard; the sire of Sleipnir

SVEIN: King of Denmark, father of Canute, who conquered England 1014

SVIPSDAGSMAL: Poem in the Edda about the supernatural journey of Svipdagr to woo Menglad. Also known as Grogaldr and Fjolsvinnsmal

TACITUS: Roman historian, who lived A.D. 55–118. The Histories, Annals, and Germania, are three of his major works

THIALFI (?JALFI): Farmer’s son who went with Thor to Utgard

THIAZI (?JAZI): Giant who stole Idun and her apples of youth, and was slain by the gods when he chased Loki back into Asgard

THING (?ING): Public meeting for the passing of laws and hearing of law cases, held regularly at places of assembly

THI?RIKS SAGA: ?i?riks Saga of Bern, written in Norway in the thirteenth century, containing German material

THOKK (?OKK): Giantess who refused to weep for Balder, said to be Loki

THOR (?ORR): God of thunder, specially venerated in Norway and Sweden

THORBIORN BRUNARSON (?ORBJORN BRUNARSON): Eleventh-century Icelandic poet, of whom a few verses have survived

THORGERDA (?ORGER?R HOLGARBRU?R): ‘Bride of Helgi’. Goddess worshipped by the Jarls of Halogaland, and connected with Freyja

THORGRIM (?ORGRIMR ?ORSTEINSSON): Brother-in-law of hero of Gisla Saga, whom Gisli killed; called the priest of Freyr

THORHALL (?ORHALLR VEI?IMA?R): ‘The hunter’. Worshipper of Thor who took part in expedition to Vineland

THOROLF (?OROLFR MOSTRARSKEGG): ‘Beard of Most’. One of early settlers in Iceland, great worshipper of Thor, who came from island of Most in Norway

THORD FREYSGO?I (?OR?R): Thord priest of Freyr. A name found in several Icelandic genealogies, though little is known of him

THRYM (?RYMR): Giant who stole Thor’s hammer. The story of its recovery is told in the Edda poem ?rymskvi?a

THUNOR (?UNOR): Thunder god worshipped by the Anglo-Saxons

TIWAZ: God of battle worshipped by the Germans

TIW: Or Tig. Name under which Tiwaz was worshipped by Anglo-Saxons

TYR (TYR): One of the gods of Asgard, thought to be an early war god

TUA??A DE DONANN: Originally ‘peoples of the goddess Donu’, a spirit folk. The gods of pagan Ireland

ULL (ULLR): One of the gods of Asgard. Famous archer and skier

URD (UR?R): One of the Norns who guarded the spring by the World Tree

UTGARD-LOKI (UTGAR?AR-LOKI): The giant ruler of Utgard, a realm outside Asgard

VAF?RU?NISMAL: Dialogue poem in the Edda between Odin and Vaf?ru?nir the giant

VAINAMOINEN: Great magician of Finnish epic Kalevala

VALASKJALF: The seat of Odin, from which he could see all worlds

VALHALLA (VALHOLL): ‘Hall of the slain’. The dwelling of Odin where he welcomes those slain in battle, and where they spend their time fighting and feasting

VALKYRIE (VALKYRJA): ‘Chooser of the slain’. Female spirit attending the god of war, who helps to decide the course of battle and conducts the slain to Valhalla