Names and Sources

In accordance with the usual English custom, I have throughout this book simplified Old Norse and other unfamiliar names when this seemed desirable, in particular omitting accents and final r, and replacing the letter ð by d and þ by th. In the following list of names and sources which may be unfamiliar to the reader, the Old Icelandic or Old English form has been given in brackets where a change has been made.

The following may serve as a rough guide to pronunciation of Old Icelandic names:

ð – voiced sound of th, as in English then

þ – voiceless sound of th, as in English thin

á – as oa in English broad

– as o in English not

ø – as eu in French peur

æ – as ai in English air

au – as ou in English loud

The final r is not pronounced as a separate syllable, therefore Garmr and similar words are not pronounced as two syllables. The accent normally falls on the first syllable.

ADAM OF BREMEN: Author of the History of the Archbishops of Hamburg-Bremen, Gesta Hammaburgensis ecclesiae pontificum (translated by F. J. Tschan, Columbia University Press (New York) 1959), who lived in the eleventh century.

AEGIR (ÆGIR): God of the sea.

AESIR (ÆSIR): Race of the gods to which Odin and Thor belong

ALFHEIM: Home of the light elves

AGNI: Early king of Sweden, married to Skialf, who caused his death

ALAISIAGAE: Female supernatural beings, connected with the war god, called ‘goddesses’ on an altar of the Roman period on Hadrian’s Wall

ALCIS: Twin gods, said by Tacitus to be worshipped by the Germans

ANDVARI: Dwarf who possessed a golden treasure, taken from him by Loki to pay the ransom for Otter

ANGLO-SAXON CHRONICLE: Set of annals in Anglo-Saxon, giving a year by year record of events, begun in Wessex in the mid ninth century and continued, in a number of local versions, until the Norman Conquest

ANGRBODA: ‘Boder of Grief’, giantess on whom Loki begot monsters

ASGARD (ASGARðR): Home of the gods

ASKR: ‘Ash tree’. Name of the first man created by the gods from a tree on the sea-shore

AUðHUMLA: ‘Rich hornless cow’. The primeval cow which nourished the first being, Ymir, and licked the ancestor of the gods out of the melting ice

AURVANDIL (AURVANDILL): The husband of a seeress who tried to charm the whetstone out of Thor’s head, whose toe Thor threw up to become a star

BALDER (BALDR): Son of Odin, called the Beautiful, slain by Hoder

BALDRS DRAUMAR: ‘Balder’s Dreams’, poem in the Edda telling how Odin sought to discover the fate of Balder. Also known as Vegtamskviða

BATTLE OF THE GOTHS AND HUNS: Name given to poem in Hervarar Saga, a survival of earlier heroic poetry (translated by N. Kershaw, Anglo-Saxon and Norse Poems, Cambridge University Press, 1922)

BAUGI: Brother of Suttung, the giant who held the mead of inspiration

BEDE (BEDA): Known as the Venerable. Scholar and historian in the Northumbrian monastery of Jarrow in the eighth century, who wrote many Latin works, including A History of the English Church and People (translated by Leo Sherley-Price, Penguin Classics, 1955)

BEOW: Or Beaw. Name occurring in genealogies of Anglo-Saxon kings, thought by some to be a heathen deity of fertility

BEOWULF: Anglo-Saxon epic poem, surviving in one MS. of about A.D. 1000, known by the name of its hero, Beowulf of the Geats (translated by David Wright, Penguin Classics, 1957)

BERGELMIR: Giant who survived the flood caused by the blood of the slaughtered Ymir

BERSERKS (BERSERKIR): Warriors possessed by battle fury, usually impervious to wounds

BEYLA: ‘Bee’ (?). Companion of Byggvir, a minor inhabitant of Asgard, mentioned in Lokasenna

BIARKI (BOðVAR-BIARKI): ‘Little Bear’. Famous Danish warrior who could fight in bear form, follower of King Hrolf

BIFROST (BIFRǪST): Rainbow bridge linking earth and heaven

BOBD: Female spirit of battle in Irish sagas, who often appeared in bird form

BOE (BOUS): Son of Odin and Rinda in Saxo, who avenges Balder’s death

BOR (BORR): Son of Buri and father of Odin

BRAGI: God of poetry, married to Idun. Also the name of the ninth-century Icelandic poet, Bragi Boddason

BRIAN BORU (BORUMH): Christian High-king of Ireland, who fell at Clontarf in 1014 fighting against the Vikings of Dublin and their allies

BRISINGAMEN (BRÍSINGAMEN): ‘Necklace of the Brisings’ (?). The great treasure of Freyja, thought to be a necklace, obtained from the dwarfs

BROSINGAMENE: A great treasure, thought to be a necklace or collar, said in Beowulf to be taken from Eormanric Hama

BRYNHILD (BRYNHILDR): Valkyrie and princess, loved by Sigurd the Volsung but married to King Gunnar. Burned herself to death when Sigurd was killed

BURI (BÚRI): First being created from the primeval ice, father of Bor

BYGGVIR: From bygg, barley (?). One of the minor companions of the gods, mentioned in Lokasenna

CAEDMON (CÆDMON): Anglo-Saxon poet of the seventh century who was famous for his Christian poems on Biblical subjects. His story is told by Bede

CODEX REGIUS: Icelandic MS. of the thirteenth century (now in Copenhagen) containing a number of poems about the gods and heroes, known as the Edda

COIFI (CEFI): High priest of the heathen gods in Northumbria in the seventh century, according to Bede’s account

DARRAðARLJÓð: ‘Lay of the Spear’. Poem preserved in Njál’s Saga, a chant of supernatural women before battle (translated by N. Kershaw, Anglo-Saxon and Norse Poems, Cambridge University Press, 1922)

DÍSIR: Female supernatural beings

DONAR: Thunder god worshipped by the heathen Germans

DRAUGR: Inhabitant of a grave mound who is restless after death

DRAUPNIR: Gold ring of Odin, from which other rings are produced

DREAM OF THE ROOD: Name given to Old English Christian poem about Christ’s Cross, preserved in the Vercelli Book of the tenth century, and also written in runes on a carved cross of about the seventh century at Ruthwell (translated by R. K. Gordon, Anglo-Saxon Poetry, Everyman Library, 1927)

EDDA: Name given to collection of poems preserved in the Codex Regius, known as the Elder Edda to distinguish them from the Prose Edda written by Snorri Sturluson (translated by L. M. Hollander, Texas University Press, 1929, 1962)

EDWIN: King of Northumbria who was converted to Christianity in the seventh century

EGILS SAGA: Story of Egill Skallagrímsson, the famous poet and adventurer who lived in Iceland in the tenth century. One of the longest and best known of the Icelandic family sagas (translated by E. R. Eddison, Cambridge University Press, 1930)

EGILS SAGA OK ÁSMUNDAR: One of the legendary sagas in the Fornaldar Sǫgur collection, telling of the adventures of two foster-brothers

ERIC BLOODAXE (EIRÍKR BLOðØX): Norwegian king of the tenth century who was driven out of Norway and reigned in Northumbria, where he finally died in battle

EIRÍKS SAGA RAUðA: Saga of Eric the Red, an Icelander who discovered Greenland and settled there in the tenth century. One of the Icelandic family sagas. Also known as þorfinns Saga Karlsefnis (translated by G. Jones, World’s Classics, 1961)

ERIC THE VICTORIOUS (EIRÍKR INN SIGRSÆLI): Famous Swedish king of the tenth century

EIRÍKSMÁL: Tenth-century poem composed at the death of Eric Bloodaxe (translated by N. Kershaw, Anglo-Saxon and Norse Poems, Cambridge University Press, 1922)

ELENE: Old English poem about St Helena, attributed to the poet Cynewulf (translated by R. K. Gordon, Anglo-Saxon Poetry, Everyman, 1927)

ELLI: ‘Old Age’. The old woman who outdid Thor in a wrestling match in the hall of Utgard-Loki

EYRBYGGJA SAGA: One of the longer Icelandic family sagas, the history of the people living at Snæfellsness in western Iceland (translated by Paul Schach, University of Nebraska Press, 1959)

EXODUS: Old English poem about the departure of the Israelites from Egypt (translated by R. K. Gordon, Anglo-Saxon Poetry, Everyman, 1927)

EYVIND KELDA (EYVINDR KELDA): Descendant of Harald Fairhair who worked magic and was drowned by Olaf Tryggvason

FAFNIR (FÁFNIR): Dragon who guarded a golden treasure and was slain by Sigurd the Volsung

FENRIR: The wolf, said to be son of Loki, who was bound by Tyr, and will break free at Ragnarok

FIMBULVETR: The ‘mighty winter’, to last for three years on end, which is to precede Ragnarok

FJǪRGYNN: Mother of Thor, thought to be a fertility goddess. Also found in the masculine form Fjǫrgyn

FLATEYJARBÓK: MS. book containing a version of the sagas of the Norwegian kings, with short episodes interpolated, written in the Flatey monastery, Iceland

FLÓAMANNA SAGA: One of the Icelandic family sagas, telling of an expedition to Greenland from Flói, Iceland

FOMOIRI: Company of supernatural beings in Irish mythology, hostile to the Tuatha Dé Donann

FORNALDAR SǪGUR: ‘Sagas of Old Time’, a series of legendary and heroic sagas, written late, with some romance material but also preserving some early traditions and verses (edited Jónsson, Reykjavik, 1950)

FORSETI: Son of Balder, named as a law-giver among the gods, worshipped in Frisia

FREYFAXI: ‘Mane of Freyr’. Horse of hero of Hrafnskels Saga, dedicated to the god Freyr. Also name of horse in Vatnsdœla Saga

FREYJA: Sister of Freyr, daughter of Njord, a powerful goddess of fertility among the Vanir

FREYR: Son of Njord and one of the Vanir, the chief god of fertility in Norway and Sweden

FRIDLEIF (FRIðLEIFR): Frideuus in Saxo. An early king of Denmark, the son of Frodi III

FRIðÞJÓFS SAGA: Story of the hero Fridiof the Bold, one of the sagas in the Fornaldar Sǫgur (translated by R. B. Anderson, in Viking Tales of the North, Scott (Chicago), 1889)

FRIGG: Wife of Odin and Queen of Asgard, associated with fertility

FRIJA: Wife of Wodan, worshipped by the heathen Germans

FRODI (FROðI): Frotho in Saxo. Name borne by several legendary kings of Denmark, thought to have been the Danish equivalent of Freyr

GARM (GARMR): Hound of the Underworld, who will break loose at Ragnarok and kill Tyr

GAUTREKS SAGA: One of the legendary sagas in the Fornaldar Sǫgur collection, the story of King Gautrek

GEFION (GEFJUN): Goddess worshipped at Leire, who ploughed round Zealand and made it into an island

GEIRROD (GEIRRØðR): Giant hostile to the gods, slain by Thor

GERD (GERðR): Fair maiden of the Underworld, wooed by Freyr

GERMANIA: Account of the way of life, customs, and religions of the German tribes, written by the Roman historian Tacitus in A.D. 98

GILLING (GILLINGR): Giant killed by the dwarfs who made the mead of inspiration

GINNUNGAGAP: Space preceding creation, in which the worlds were made

GÍSLA SAGA: One of the Icelandic family sagas, the story of the outlaw Gisli (translated by George Johnston, University of Toronto Press, 1963)

GJALLARBRÚ: ‘Resounding bridge’, the bridge crossed by Hermod on his way to the realm of Hel to seek Balder

GJALLARHORN: ‘Echoing horn’, horn of Heimdall, to give warning of danger to Asgard

GOðI: Priest of a heathen temple in Iceland, who presided over the local assembly and had his own followers

GOLDMANE (GULLIFAXI): Horse of the giant Hrungnir, which he raced against Sleipnir

GREGORY OF TOURS: Bishop of Tours in the sixth century, author of History of the Franks (translated by O. M. Dalton, Oxford University Press, 1927)

GRENDEL: Monster who attacked the Danish king’s hall, and was slain by Beowulf, as recounted in the Anglo-Saxon poem

GRÍMNISMÁL: Poem in the Edda, the utterance of Grímnir, who is Odin in disguise

GULLINBURSTI: ‘Golden-bristled’. Golden boar made by the dwarfs, owned by Freyr

GUNGNIR: Spear of Odin

GUNNAR HELMING (GUNNARR HELMINGR): Hero of short humorous story inserted into Flateyjarbók, a Norwegian who impersonated the god Freyr in Sweden

GYLFI: Early king of Sweden who let Gefion take Zealand. Appears in the Prose Edda as the questioner of the gods in the section called Gylfaginning (the beguiling of Gylfi)

GYMIR: Father of Gerd, and said to be the same as Aegir

HADDING (HADDINGR): Famous hero in Denmark. Hadingus in Saxo

HADDINGJAR: The Haddings. Pair of brothers sometimes named among early kings of Norway or Sweden, thought to have been twin deities

HAETHCYN (HÆðCYN): Second son of Hrethel, king of the Geats in Beowulf, and slayer of his brother

HAGBARD (HARBARðR): Lover of Signy, put to death by her father. Hagbarthus in Saxo

HAKI: Early king of Norway, sent to sea in a burning ship as he was dying

HÁKONARMÁL: Tenth-century poem by Eyvindr Finnsson on the death of the Norwegian king Hakon the Good (translated by N. Kershaw, Anglo-Saxon and Norse Poems, Cambridge University Press, 1922)

HAKOΝ THE GOOD (HÁKON GÓðI): Christian king of Norway in the tenth century

HALFDAN THE BLACK (HÁLFDAN SVARTI): Early king of Vestfold, Norway in the ninth century

HARALD FAIRHAIR (HARALDR INN HÁRFAGRI): ‘Harald with the fine hair’, the king of Norway who united most of the country under his rule in the ninth century

HARALD WARTOOTH (HARALDR HILDITǪNN): King of Denmark who worshipped Odin

HARðAR SAGA: One of the Icelandic family sagas, the story of Hord the outlaw

HÁVAMÁL: ‘Utterance of the High One’. Poem in the Edda, purporting to be spoken by Odin (translated by D. E. Martin Clarke, Cambridge University Press, 1923)

HAUKSBÓK: One version of Landnámabók, giving an account of the settlement of Iceland

HAUSTLǪNG: Ninth-century poem about the gods, by þjóðólfr ór Hvini

HEIDRUN (HEIDRÚN): Goat which provided mead for Valhalla, fed on the World Tree

HEIMDALLARGALDR: Lost poem about Heimdall, quoted by Snorri

HEIMDALL (HEIMDALLR): God called the White, who kept watch over Asgard

HEIMSKRINGLA: ‘Round world’. History of kings of Norway, compiled from old sagas and poems by Snorri Sturluson (translated by E. Monsen and A. H. Smith, Heffer, 1931)

HEL: Daughter of Loki, given the rule of the kingdom of death, name also used for the kingdom itself

HELGAKVIðA: Lay of Helgi. A number of Helgi lays in the Edda have different titles in various editions. They are concerned with Helgi Hjǫrvarðsson and Helgi Hundingsbani, and, as the latter was linked with the Volsung family, lays about him are sometimes called Vǫlsungakviða and Vǫlsungakviða hin forna (this last contains the episode of Helgi and Sigrun)

HELGI THE LEAN: Early settler in Iceland, of mixed faith, who came out from the Hebrides

HELGRIND: ‘Death gate’, between the worlds of the living and the dead

HELI AND: Old Saxon poem of the ninth century about Judgement Day

HEOROT: Hall built by the Danish king Hrothgar, as recounted in Beowulf

HEREBEALD: Son of King Hrethel of the Geats, killed accidentally by his brother, according to Beowulf

HERMOD (HERMÓðR): Son of Odin, who rode to Hel to seek Balder

HERVARAR SAGA OK HEIðREKS: One of the legendary sagas in the Fornaldar Sǫgur collection, the story of King Heiðrekr and his descendants (translated by N. Kershaw, Stories and Ballads of the Far Past, Cambridge University Press, 1921)

HILDISVÍN: ‘Battle Pig’. Boar owned by Freyja, and also name of helmet possessed by Swedish kings

HLIðSKJÁLF: Seat of Odin from which he can look out to all worlds

HODER (HǪðR): Hotherus in Saxo’s account. A god, said to be blind, who slew Balder, but a hero in Saxo

HOENIR (HŒNIR): A god, renowned for his silence

HÓLMGANGA: ‘To go to the island’. Term used for the official duel, fought at an accepted duelling place, which at Thingvellir in Iceland was an island beside the place of assembly

HORD (HǪRðR): Famous outlaw, hero of Harðar Saga

HRAFNKELL: Hero of Hrafnskels Saga Freysgoða, one of the Icelandic family sagas, where he is represented as a worshipper of Freyr (translated by G. Jones, Four Icelandic Sagas, Princeton, 1935)

HRAFNSMÁL: Poem by Þorbjǫrn Hornklofi, composed in the ninth century, about the followers of Harald Fairhair. Also known as Haraldsmál and Haraldskvœði (translated by N. Kershaw, Anglo-Saxon and Norse Poems, Cambridge University Press, 1922)

HRETHEL (HREðEL): King of the Geats in Beowulf and grandfather of the hero of the poem

HROLF KRAKI (HRÓLFR KRAKI): Famous warrior-king of Denmark, whose story is told in one of the legendary sagas, Hrólfs Saga Kraka (translated by G. Jones, in Eric the Red and other Icelandic sagas, World’s Classics, 1961)

HROTHGAR (HROðAR): King of the Danes who built the hall Heorot and was visited by Beowulf

HRUNGNIR: Giant who was killed in a duel with Thor

HUGI: ‘Thought’. Youth who competed with Thialfi in a race in the hall of Utgard-Loki

HUGINN: From hugi, thought. One of Odin’s ravens

HÚSDRAPA: Tenth-century poem by Ulfr Uggarson describing various mythological scenes

HYMIR: Sea giant with whom Thor went fishing on his expedition to catch the World Serpent, as told in the poem Hymiskviða in the Edda

HYNDLULJÓð: Lay of Hyndla, a giantess who appears as the rival of Freyja and is persuaded to reveal the ancestry of Ottar. A poem in the Edda

IBN FADLAN: Arab traveller and diplomat who visited Swedish settlers on the Volga in the tenth century and left an account of them

IDUN (IðUNN): Wife of Bragi and goddess who guarded the golden apples of youth for the gods

ING: God or hero of Anglo-Saxon tradition, connected with Denmark, and the founder of the royal dynasty of Bernicia

INGIMUND: Icelandic settler, the story of whose family is told in Vatnsdœla Saga, one of the Icelandic family sagas

IRMINSUL: Pillar which supports the world in Germanic tradition

JOMSBORG: Viking stronghold, said to be built by Harald Gormsson of Denmark, somewhere on the coast of Wendland, in the late tenth century. Held by garrison known as Jomsvikings

JORDANES: Historian of the sixth century who wrote a history of the Goths, De origine actibusque Getarum (translated Mierow, Princeton, 1915)

JOTUNHEIM (JǪTUNHEIMR): Realm of the Jǫtnar, or giants

KALEVALA: National epic of the Finns, put together from old lays by Elias Lonnrot (translated by W. F. Kirby, 1907)

KETILS SAGA HŒNGS: One of the legendary sagas telling the story of the Norwegian hero Ketill, in the Fornaldar Sǫgur series

KJALNESINGA SAGA: One of the Icelandic family sagas, containing legendary material similar to that in the Fornaldar Sǫgur

KORMÁKS SAGA: One of the Icelandic family sagas, the story of Kormak, a poet and adventurer of the ninth century (translated by L. M. Hollander, New York, 1949)

KVASIR: Called the wisest of the gods, a being made from the saliva of the Aesir and Vanir, from whose blood was made the mead of inspiration

LANDNÁMABÓK: Book of the settlement of Iceland, originally written by Ari the Wise in the eleventh century, but added to by others

LEMMINKAINEN: Hero of some of the lays in the Kalevala, who was killed and brought to life again by his mother

LODUR (LÓðURR): One of the gods said to take part in the creation of man

LIF (LÍF): ‘Life’. Said in Vafþruðnismál to be preserved through Ragnarok in order to found a new race of men

LIFTHRASIR (LÍFÞRASIR): ‘Eager for life’ (?). Companion of Lif

LOGI: ‘Flame’. Competitor who outdid Loki in an eating contest in the hall of Utgard-Loki

LOKASENNA: ‘Loki’s Mocking’. Poem in the Edda which describes Loki mocking and abusing all the gods and goddesses in turn

LOKI: Inhabitant of Asgard who frequently causes mischief, and who was bound under the earth for his part in the slaying of Balder, to break loose at Ragnarok

LYTIR (LÝTIR): God who according to a story in Flateyjarbók was worshipped by the Swedes

MAGNI: Son of Thor and the giantess Járnsaxa, who survives Ragnarok and has part possession of Thor’s hammer

MANANNÁN MAC LIR: Celtic god of the sea

MENGLAD (MENGLǪð): ‘Necklace-glad’. Maid of supernatural realm, wooed by Svipdagr in the Edda poem Svipdagsmál

MERSEBURG CHARMS: Two pagan spells found in 1841 in a ninth-century MS. in the Merseburg Cathedral Library.

MIDGARD (MIDGARðR): The world of men, midway between the gods and the giants

MIDGARD SERPENT (MIðGARðSORMR): The World Serpent, curled round the earth, beneath the sea, which is to break loose at Ragnarok

MIMIR (MÍMIR): Also found as Mímr and Mími. A wise being associated with the World Tree and the Spring of Urd. Put to death by the Vanir, after which his head was kept by Odin and consulted in time of perplexity

MIMINGUS: Old man from whom Hotherus (Hoder) obtained a magic sword with which to kill Balder, in Saxo’s account

MIST-CALF (MǪKKURKALFI): Clay man made by the giants to support Hrungnir in his duel with Thor

MISTLETOE (MISTILLTEINN): Name of a wonderful sword possessed by Hromund Greipsson and others

MJOLLNIR (MJǪLLNIR): Hammer of Thor, made by the dwarfs, to protect the gods from their enemies

MODGUD (MOðGUðR): Maiden who kept the bridge on the road to Hel

MOTHERS: Group of female deities connected with plenty who were worshipped by the Germans and Celts in Roman times

MUSPELL (MÚSPELL): Realm of fire, the heat from which helped in the creation of the world. The sons of Muspell ride out against the gods at Ragnarok

MUSPILLI: Name given to a German poem about the end of the world, where this word is used. The poem is in a tenth-century MS.

MUNINN: From muna, to remember. One of Odin’s ravens

NAGLFAR: Ship of dead men’s nails, which is to bring Loki and the giants against the gods at Ragnarok

NANNA: Wife of Balder, who died at his funeral and was burned with him

NEHALENNIA: Goddess of plenty worshipped on the Island of Walcheren in Roman times

NERTHUS: Fertility goddess worshipped in Denmark in the first century A.D., as described by Tacitus

NIðHǪGGR: Serpent at the foot of the World Tree, also described as a flying dragon, who feeds on corpses

NIFLHEIM: The abode of darkness, beneath the roots of the World Tree

NJÁLS SAGA: Also called Brennu-Njáls Saga. Longest and most famous of the Icelandic family sagas, the story of the burning of the Icelander Niall and his family (translated by Bayerschmidt and Hollander, Allen & Unwin, 1956)

NJORD (NJǪRðR): God associated with ships and the sea. The father of Freyr and Freyja, and one of the Vanir

NORNA-GEST (NORNA-GESTR): ‘Stranger of the Norns’. Hero of a tale inserted into Olaf Tryggvason’s saga in Flateyjarbók (translated by N. Kershaw, Stories and Ballads of the Far Past, Cambridge University Press, 1921)

OD (ÓðR): Husband of Freyja, who deserted her

ODIN (ÓðINN): Leader of the Aesir, god of battle, inspiration, and death

OLAF ELF OF GEIRSTAD: Oláfr Geírstaðaálfr. Early king in Vestfold, Norway, to whose burial mound men sacrificed after his death

OLAF THE HOLY: St Olaf, great Christian king of Norway, 1016–30

OLAF TRYGGVASON: King of Norway 995–1000, who set out to convert the country to Christianity

OROSIUS: Paulus Orosius, author of Historiae adversum Paganos, a history of the world, in the fifth century A.D.

ǪRVAR-ODDS SAGA: One of the legendary sagas in the Fornaldar SǪgur collection, the story of the hero Odd and his travels abroad

OTTER (OTR): Son of Hreidmar, killed by Loki

OTTAR THE SIMPLE (OTTARR HEIMSKI): A worshipper of Freyja, helped by her to discover his ancestry, as told in the Edda poem Hyndluljóð

PAUL THE DEACON: Paulus Diaconus, author of a history of the Lombards, Historia Langobardorum, in the eighth century (translated by Foulke, New York, 1907)

PHOL: Vol (?). Mentioned with Volla in the 2nd Merseburg Charm, and thought to be a fertility deity

PROCOPIUS: Greek historian of sixth century B.C. who wrote a history of the Gothic Wars

PROSE EDDA: Book about poetic imagery and diction by Snorri Sturluson, containing many myths and quotations (translated by Brodeur, Oxford University Press, 1916, and partially by J. I. Young, Bowes & Bowes, 1954)

RAGNAR LODBROK (RAGNARR LOðBRÓK): ‘Leather-breeks’. Famous hero who slew a dragon, and whose sons conquered England, in Ragnars Saga Loðbrókar, one of the Fornaldar Sǫgur (translated by O. Schlauch, 1949)

RAGNAROK (RAGNARØKR): ‘Destruction of the powers’. Term used to describe the end of the world, when the monsters slay the gods, and Midgard and Asgard are destroyed

RAGNVALD OF ORKNEY (RǪGNVALDR): Famous Earl of the Orkneys, 1135–58, poet and adventurer

RAGNVALD RETTILBEINI (RǪGNVALDR): Son of Harald Fairhair of Norway, who practised witchcraft and was finally put to death by his father

RAN: Wife of the sea god Aegir, who catches drowned seamen in her net, and gives them hospitality in her halls

RAGNARSDRÁPA: Ninth-century poem by Bragi Boddason about the gods

RATATOSK (RATATOSKR): Squirrel who runs up and down the World Tree

RAUD (RAUðR): Worshipper of the heathen gods, especially Thor, in Northern Norway, put to death by Olaf Tryggvason

REDWALD (RÆDWALD): King of East Anglia in the seventh century, who was partially converted to Christianity

REGIN (REGINN): Famous smith, son of Hreidmar, who slew his father and helped Sigurd the Volsung to slay his brother Fafnir, the dragon

RÍGSÞULA: 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 (RǪKVA): 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

SEIðR: 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 Vǫlsung

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

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

SIGURD THE VOLSUNG (SIGURðR): Also called Fáfnisbani, slayer of Fafnir the dragon. Famous hero of the Volsung family

SIGVAT (SIGVATR ÞORDARSON): Icelandic poet of early eleventh century

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

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

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

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

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

SKÍðBLAðNIR: Magic ship of Freyr

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

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

SKJǪLDUNGA 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

SǪGUBROT: 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 Skallagrímsson (translated by N. Kershaw, Anglo-Saxon and Norse Poems, Cambridge University Press, 1922)

STARKAD (STARKAðR): 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

SVAðILFARI: 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

SVIPSDAGSMÁL: Poem in the Edda about the supernatural journey of Svipdagr to woo Menglad. Also known as Grógaldr and Fjǫlsvinnsmál

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

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

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

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

THIðRIKS SAGA: þiðriks Saga of Bern, written in Norway in the thirteenth century, containing German material

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

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

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

THORGERDA (ÞORGERðR HǪLGARBRÚðR): ‘Bride of Helgi’. Goddess worshipped by the Jarls of Halogaland, and connected with Freyja

THORGRIM (ÞORGRÍMR ÞORSTEINSSON): Brother-in-law of hero of Gísla Saga, whom Gisli killed; called the priest of Freyr

THORHALL (ÞORHALLR VEIðIMAðR): ‘The hunter’. Worshipper of Thor who took part in expedition to Vineland

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

THORD FREYSGOðI (ÞÓRðR): Thord priest of Freyr. A name found in several Icelandic genealogies, though little is known of him

THRYM (ÞRYMR): Giant who stole Thor’s hammer. The story of its recovery is told in the Edda poem Þrymskviða

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

TÎWAZ: 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

TÚAΤΗA DÉ 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 (URðR): One of the Norns who guarded the spring by the World Tree

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

VAFÞRÚðNISMÁL: Dialogue poem in the Edda between Odin and Vafþruðnir the giant

VAÏNÄMÖINEN: Great magician of Finnish epic Kalevala

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

VALHALLA (VALHǪLL): ‘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

VALI (VÁLI): Son of Odin and Rind, who avenges Balder by killing Hoder, and who survives Ragnarok

VANIR: The race of gods to which Njord, Freyr, and Freyja belong, connected with fertility

VATNSDŒLA SAGA: One of the Icelandic family sagas, telling of the men of Vatnsdale (translated by G. Jones, Princeton, 1944)

VE (VÉ): Son of Bor and brother of Odin

VIDAR (VÍDAR): Son of Odin, who avenged him by slaying Fenrir

VIGA-GLÚMS SAGA: One of the Icelandic family sagas containing much early material. The story of Glum, a famous Icelandic fighter and poet (translated by Sir E. Head, London, 1866)

VIGRID (VÍGRÍðR): Plain on which the last great battle is fought

VIKAR (VIKARR): Norwegian king who was sacrificed to Odin

VILI: Son of Bor and brother of Odin

VINELAND (VINLAND): Settlement of the east coast of America established by Icelanders from Greenland

VITAZGJAFI: ‘Certain giver’. Name of a field beside the temple of Freyr in Viga-Glúms Saga

VOLSUNG (VǪLSUNGR): Founder of the Volsung family, father of hero Sigmund

VǪLSUNGA SAGA: One of the best-known of the Fornaldar Sǫgur, telling of the history of the Volsung family, and especially of the famous hero Sigurd (translated by O. Schlauch, New York, 1949)

VǪLUSPÁ: ‘Sooth-saying of the vǫlva’. Poem in the Edda telling of the beginning and ending of the worlds. The Shorter Vǫluspá is another poem about the origin and doom of the gods

VǪLVA: Woman with powers of divination, a seeress

WACHILT: Giantess mother of Wade in Germanic tradition, said to live under the sea

WADE: Giant remembered in Anglo-Saxon and Danish tradition. Connected with great stones and with the sea, father of Weland the Smith

WÆLCYRGE: ‘Chooser of the slain’. Term used to translate the names of the Furies in Old English word lists of eighth and ninth centuries

WELAND: Supernatural smith of the early Anglo-Saxon tradition. Vǫlundr in Old Norse poetry

WIDIA: Son of Weland. Wittich in German tradition

WILLEBRORD: Bishop of Utrecht. Missionary in the Netherlands in the eighth century. Life written by Alcuin of York (translated by C. H. Talbot, The Anglo-Saxon Missionaries in Germany, London, 1954)

WILLIAM OF MALMESBURY: Writer of twelfth-century Latin history of the kings of England, Gesta Regum Anglorum (translated by Sharpe in the G. Bell Bohn Library, 1847, 1876)

WODAN: Or Wotan. God of battle and death worshipped by the heathen Germanic peoples

WODEN: God of battle and death worshipped by the Anglo-Saxons in England

WULFSTAN: Lupus. Anglo-Saxon Archbishop of York, 1002–23. His homilies have survived, and the most famous is Sermo Lupi, a sermon about the sins of the nation (ed. Whitelock, Methuen, 1939)

YGGDRASILL: Probably ‘Horse of Yggr (Odin)’. The World Tree, forming the centre of the worlds of gods, men, and giants

YMIR: Primeval giant, from whose body the world was formed

YNGLINGA SAGA: First section of Snorri’s Heimskringla, which gives an account of the early kings of Sweden, the Ynglings, from whom the Norwegian kings were descended

YNGLINGS (YNGLINGAR): Royal dynasty of Sweden

YNGLINGATÁL: Ninth-century poem by þjóðólfr ór Hvíni, giving a list of the early kings, how they died and where they were buried, from which Snorri took much of his information for Ynglinga Saga