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Vikings ethics and norms
The ethics and norms of the Vikings
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The purpose of this myth for society is to exemplify viking virtues, belief of Ragnarok and archetypes to teach the society of the time and the modern audience. According to the nine noble virtues viking’s values were; courage, truth, honor, fidelity, discipline, hospitality, self reliance, industriousness and perseverance. The myth embodied this, especially courage, when Tyr sacrificed his hand to Fenrir’s jaw to prevent Ragnarok. Also, Tyr’s archetype of the god of honor, courage and justice is shown throughout the myth. Furthermore, this shows the belief of Ragnarok in Norse society, which historians can determine the family trees of gods that connects to other myths. Ultimately, the myth taught the society of the time and the modern audience
“Staring at his grotesquely muscled shoulders--stooped, naked despite the cold, sleek as the belly of a shark and as rippled with power as the shoulders of a horse--I found my mind wandering...He was dangerous” (155). Even from the first day Beowulf showed up at Hrothgar’s kingdom, Grendel knew he was dealing with something worse than a hero. Once they finally start to battle, the monster in Beowulf is fully revealed to Grendel and Grendel sees again the stupidity and meaninglessness in the human’s definition of a hero.“Grendel, Grendel! You make the world by whispers, second by second. Are you blind to that? Whether you make it a grave or a garden of roses is not the point. Feel the wall: is it not hard?...Hard, yes! Observe the hardness, write it down in careful runes. Now sing of walls! Sing!” (171). Beowulf forces Grendel to make a fool of himself and unlike Unferth who longs for a heroic death, Beowulf knows he is going to win and has no desire to die. His mindset of victory, groups him with monsters who have one goal, to kill and never be killed. This shatters the Anglo-Saxon ideals of heroism and in Grendel’s death, when he is surrounded by oblivious creatures who don’t have a purpose, the meaninglessness of it all, including the meaninglessness of heroic deeds becomes evident to the
Benjamin Franklin once said, “Idleness and pride tax with a heavier hand than Kings and Governments.” The same can be said about the pride of the major characters in the epic story “The Saga of the Volsungs” (translated by Jesse L. Byock). Every prominent figure from Sigi, to the last sons of Gudrun, suffers from his/her own pride. Pride causes a rippling effect that leads to jealousy, betrayal, and revenge throughout the epic. A hero’s own excessive pride leads to his own jealousy if challenged or leads to the jealousy of others who do not have as much wealth and power. Pride causes some characters to betray oaths, husbands, wives, and even other family members. When pride finishes driving jealousy and betrayal, pride then fuels the lust for revenge. As a part of their very culture, the people of Norse stories must seek out vengeance and/or wergild for broken oaths and killed family members as a matter of what? Pride. Envy, betrayal, and vengeance may be the driving factors behind the great epic: “The Saga of the Volsungs,” but where those three themes begin? What about the Norse culture makes these three sins so common and easily brought about? Pride. Pride is the catalyst for the three major themes of the story and the catalyst that leads to the end of the Volsungs.
An unknown author wrote the The Saga of the Volsungs in the thirteenth century, basing his story on far older Norse poetry. Iceland was settled by the Vikings about 870-930, who took there the famous lay of Sigurd and the Volsungs. Native Icelandic poets loved the story of Sigurd and the Huns, Goths, Burgundians, with whom he interacted. This prose story is based on traditional Norse verse called Eddic poetry, a form of mythic or heroic lay which developed before 1000 in the oral folk culture of Old Scandinavia. In The Saga of the Volsungs the hero Sigurd is the one who corresponds best with the hero Beowulf in the Anglo-Saxon tradition. George Clark in “The Hero and the Theme” mentions: “The form of Beowulf taken as a whole suggests both the ‘Bear’s Son’ folktale type (especially as we find it in Scandinavia) and the ‘combat myth’. . . .” (286). The “combat myth” is what this saga is. When Sigurd was born, he was the grandson of King Eylimi; when Beowulf was born, he was the grandson of King Hrethel. The king said of Sigurd that “none would be his like or equal” (55), and this proved true; Beowulf as a young man was so strong that “he was the strongest of all living men” (196). The similarities between Sigurd and Beowulf continue through both works.
While these aspects are important to the discussion of the narrative, there is another more important aspect to the story. While it is not necessary to relay the entire contents of the translation, it is important to know that the discourse is focused on the rise and fall of Sigurd the mighty dragon slayer. All events leading up to his birth merely foreshadow the coming of a great yet fated king. All events following his life and death merely relate the damnation suffered by him and his closest family members. That said, it can be stated that one of the most central aspects of the work is the role that fate and divine guidance play on the family and friends of Sigurd. This, in turn, says much about the importance of fate and religion to the medieval Norse peoples.
...Hagen committed a disgraceful murder and perished in a way unbecoming of knight: at the hands of a woman. In contrast, Njal’s death was a sacrifice, for the good of others. He welcomed his death and surrendered his family in order to prevent an endless civil war in Iceland. Njal went against Icelandic custom of avenging one’s kin. Instead, he adopted a new Christian principle of absolution, accepting insult and assault by his enemies. He proclaimed before he laid down to die, “Bear this bravely and don’t express any fear for its only a brief storm... Have faith that God is merciful, and that he will not let us burn both in this world and in the next” (Cook 220). Njal trusted in God that his martyrdom was for the good all people and would end the blood feud. His acceptance of death and ultimate sacrifice liberated Iceland from self-destruction and damnation.
The morality of revenge is often difficult to evaluate, and the struggle to determine whether it is the path to justice or evil subtlety permeates through J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit. In the novel, the morality of vengeance does not fall into the clearly set lines between good and evil. This grey area is a hallmark of Tolkien's background, for his religion and academic studies have conflicting stances on revenge. His faith criticizes revenge and promotes forgiveness, yet he was a scholar of Anglo-Saxon literature which portrays revenge as the noble route to justice. Since these two aspects of Tolkien's life greatly influenced his writing, he did not eliminate the existence of vengeance from the minds of his indignant characters. Instead, the novel cautions against revenge and its inherent dangers, though there are exceptions in which revenge is carried out without harmful effects. However, in order to evaluate the various episodes where revenge is discouraged in the narrative, there must be a consistent criteria for analysis.
In every tale, heroes fly or destroy buildings, but how many are just human? The unknown poet of describes a Swedish Geat warrior whose extraordinary strength, will and faith lead to his rise and fall as a man who fights monsters. The poet uses symbolism and irony to show that human beings battle for the greater good, if they choose to wage war on evil for fame and country.
This myth reveals about the daily life of the Fon that this society rely on agriculture. They needed the rain to get the necessary food that sustain them. According to this myth, they also believed that “the forces of nature were controlled by individual gods.” The story of this myth reveals how much the Fon people believed and trusted in prophecies. And finally, it demonstrates how inheritance was supposed to works for this society. The oldest son was the one to inherit the entire possession and wealth from their
Norse Mythology Norse mythology has become prevalent in modern culture, but this is possible only due to the compilations and prior analyses that have been done. The way that many are exposed to Norse mythology today is through modern media, specifically films. Three such films that include major elements of Norse mythology are Thor directed by Kenneth Branagh, Thor: The Dark World directed by Alan Taylor, and Avengers directed by Joss Whedon. All three of these films are part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) and fit together into one story. These films also create a fairly complex, modern interpretation of Norse mythology that is complete with major characters and elements of Norse mythology, such as the nine realms and their names, and characters like Odin, Loki, Thor and Heimdall.
The book entitled "Norse Mythology" by Karl Mortensen, is the book I chose to read for my first book report for this semester. The book was translated from the Danish by A. Clinton Crowell. Karl Mortensen was a doctor of philosophy whom attended the University of Copenhagen. The first part of the book is the general introduction. Here, you find the author's meaning of "Norse mythology" and where he got his information.
...t religious undertone, like in the themes of redemption and forgiveness. Those that follow the example of Jesus by acting as a servant or sacrificing their own life, are the heroes of Tolkien’s epic.
In this violent epic, Beowulf fights in order to get revenge on Grendel for terrorizing the Danes at Heorot. Grendel’s mother returns to kill the Danes and Geat warriors and fights Beowulf to get revenge for Grendel. This vicious cycle contradicts the Christian idea of forgiveness and peace. In the bible, Romans 12:17-21 says, “Repay no evil for evil, but give thought to what is honorable… live peaceably with all”. However, in the pagan warrior society, the honorable thing to do is seek justice for your kinsmen through a blood-fued or “wergirld”, death-price. In fact, in the beginning, the poet portrays Hrothgar as weak for being unable to destroy Grendel in order to keep his people safe and get revenge for the Dane’s whose lives had already been lost. The inability to exact revenge is considered shameful in Pagan society. Although the poet is Christian, struggle between revenge vs. forgiveness i...
A Heathen is Someone who is part of The Germanic branch of Indo-European.The original Heathens were the pre-Christian North European peoples who lived a thousands years ago in the lands around what is now called the North Sea. These included the peoples of Anglo-Saxon England, Scandinavia, Germany and Frisia (Friesland). One who does not belong to a widely held religion.Often The word Heathen is used as an insult by Christians against people who don't worship their (GOD). They tend to confuse Atheism, Paganism and Heathenism. Atheism is the lack of a belief in any form of a God. As in which Paganism is an umbrella term for polytheistic ,of non-Abrahamic Faiths. Where as a Heathen's worship the Germanic
Norse Mythology was believed by Scandinavians (Vikings) from the Nordic Countries. Norse Mythology or Scandinavian Mythology was more like a religion or a tradition of the natives of the Nordic Countries (Norse Mythology for Smart People). The Vikings were mostly the ones that believed in this along with the Norse (what the Scandinavians were called before their Christianization) and some Germans. They stopped believing in this religion when they were Christianized. Another reason why the religion didn’t spread throughout the world was because of the geography of its place of origin (Højbjerg).
Korstanje, M. (2012). Examining the Norse mythology and the archetype of Odin:The inception of Grand Tour. Tourism, an international Interdisciplinary Journal 60(4), 369-384.