Today I am back with three more gods thats spins around and plays a big part in the common life of a viking.
In the last post we learned about Odin, the leader of the goods. Thor, the war and world order god and Freya, the good of fertility.
To day we are going to look closer on Heimdal, Loki and Hel
Heimdal
Heimdal was according to Norse mythology the guardian of Bifrost, the rainbow that was connecting the Gods world with man`s. It is said that he is son of 9 mothers and they again are sisters. It is said that Heimdal didn't need more sleep than a bird and he had a sight that stretched for 1000 kilometers. In addition to this his hearing was so good that he could hear the gras sprout and the wool grow on the cheeps back. These were some of the reasons the other Gods selected him to be the guardian of the Bifrost. He also had a hughe, golden, horn that he was supposed to blow when ragnarok(the end of the world) was here.
Loki
Loki was known as the trickster amongst Gods and he often lured them into some deals that always benefited Loki himself. He was the stepson of Odin and stepbrother to Thor. And it is said that he was born a jotne/giant, but Odin found him deserted on a battle filed and brought him home to Valhalla. Loki plays a big part amongst the Gods and especially along side with Thor. It seems that Loki is the one that is brought into Valhalla just to make trouble for Thor.
But in some stories he also is the one that helps Thor out of different problems Thor so often run into.
The common viking could blame Loki if something went wrong at the farm or in battle. It is also said that he is to be blamed for Ragnarok to happened. It all started when Loki got another, blind, God to shot an arrow that killed Blader, one of the Gods in Valhalla. After that Loki was put in some kind of prison where he got to know the Fenriswolf and the Midgardserpent, together with these two he break free from prison and all hell(Ragnarok) breaks lose. Loki dies after Heimdal cuts his head of, but Loki manage to wound Heimdal deadly so he also dies right after taking Lokis head. And this is how the world endes looked uno with eyes of the vikings.
Hel
Hel is the daughter of Loki and the ruler of the dead in the underworld. She is said to be half blue and half human colored, som also say that she is part human and part skeleton, and she is the sister of the Fenriswolf and the Midgards serpent. She lives in Niflheim which is the vikings underworld. Every viking that dies either of disease or of old age comes to Niflheim and has to serve Hel for eternity. That is why the vikings saw it as the best to die in battle so they could be sendt to Odin in Valhall. And that is probably one of the Vikings fought their battles with so much furie and fearfulness and their opponent feared them.
Hope you found history lesson to be of interest. To read part 6 click here
Until next time, stay safe, warm and dry
Kindest regards Gyldenhorn