Knowra Old Norse religion Old Norse religion Old Norse religion was the pre-Christian religious tradition of Scandinavia and Norse communities. It encompassed gods, ritual practices, myths, and beliefs about the cosmos and the fate of the dead.
Norse mythology : The body of myths about Norse gods, heroes, cosmology, and the world's fate. Its surviving stories preserve much of what is known about the religion's divine world.
Blót : A Norse sacrificial rite involving offerings, often accompanied by a communal feast. Blót was a central means of maintaining relations between worshippers and divine powers.
Poetic Edda : A collection of Old Norse mythological and heroic poems preserved chiefly in a medieval Icelandic manuscript. Its poems are among the richest sources for myths and cosmological ideas.
Yggdrasil : The world tree in Norse mythology, whose branches and roots connect multiple realms. It gives a concrete image of the interconnected cosmos described in Norse myth.
Christianity in medieval Scandinavia : The Christian traditions that became dominant in Scandinavia during the Middle Ages. Conversion replaced or reinterpreted public cults while older practices persisted unevenly.
Æsir : The principal group of gods in Norse mythology, including Odin, Thor, and Týr. They formed the central divine family in many accounts of Norse belief.
Yule : A midwinter festival celebrated in pre-Christian Germanic and Norse traditions. Its seasonal feasting and later Christian adaptation illuminate ritual continuity and change.
Prose Edda : A medieval Icelandic handbook of poetics and mythology written by Snorri Sturluson. It preserves mythic narratives while reflecting a Christian author's aims and framework.
Ragnarök : The foretold destruction of the gods and the world, followed by renewal, in Norse mythology. Its story frames divine life within a cycle of catastrophe and rebirth.
Germanic paganism : The diverse pre-Christian religious traditions of Germanic-speaking peoples. Norse religion belongs to this wider family but developed distinctive regional forms.
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