The session covered:
Germanic Creation Myths–
Creation mythology belonging to the Germanic tribes, including the Angles and Saxons who were settling in Britain from c400AD onwards, and there is a familiar pattern of a Sky God who mated with Mother Earth to produce the various elements of the universe.
Scandinavian Creation Myths–
The creation mythology that belonged to the Scandinavian peoples (including the Danes and Norwegians who were moving into Britain from c800 AD onwards) where it is the god Odin who is credited with creating the Earth, the sky, stars, sun, moon, and the first people. It is suggested that Odin started his career as the Germanic god Woden, a god of wind and stormy weather, and also a god of battle and a god of the dead. By 800 AD he had also acquired the attributes of the old Germanic sky god, and emerged as the creator of the universe and the leader of the gods.
The Scandinavian creation myths are very dynamic, with an original chaos that is all about two regions of ice and fire that clash together in the Great Void.
The first living creatures were a giant called Ymir and a cow called Audumla who feeds the giant with her milk, and Buri & Bor who are the ancestors of the gods, emerge from out of the melting ice. Ymir produces a son, who is the first of the Frost Giants. Bor and the Frost Giantess Bestla produce three sons Odin, Vili and Ve (it is suggested that Vili and Ve are just aspects of Odin, so we would have Odin as the “three in one”).
Last Updated on November 28, 2016