| 1 | [[foldercontrol]] |
| 2 | |
| 3 | !!The Gods |
| 4 | |
| 5 | [[folder:Óðinn | Odin | Wōden]] |
| 6 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/odin_05.jpg]] |
| 7 | A god of wisdom, war (emphasis on [[TheBerserker fury]]), poetry, magic, frenzy and death who is the head of the Aesir. Famously one-eyed, as he sacrificed his other eye in exchange for said wisdom. Modern interpretation of him varies. Some see him as a noble god and respect him for the theme of self-sacrifice and view his ruthless actions as necessary for preventing Ragnarok. Others see this as something of a MisaimedFandom. They see him as being quite like Zeus -- a philanderer and major-league jerk. Also, Wednesday is named after him ("Wodin's day," Wodin being one of his many names). |
| 8 | ----- |
| 9 | * TheAce: He was considered the god of war, death, frenzy (literal and figurative), magic, nobility, poetry, healing, the pursuit of knowledge and the runic alphabet itself. |
| 10 | * TheAlcoholic: Apparently, he subsists upon naught but mead and wine. He's never really described as suffering from the negative effects of it, but then again, he is the god of frenzy and berserkers... |
| 11 | * AlwaysAccurateAttack: His spear Gungnir never misses its target. |
| 12 | * AnimalMotifs: He is associated with ravens. He has two ravens called Huginn ("thought") and Muninn ("memory" or "mind"). He's also titled "Raven-God" by The Prose Edda. He's also associated with wolves, he has two wolves by his side called Geri ("the ravenous") and Freki ("greedy one"). In The Prose Edda, he's destined to be killed by Fenrir, a colossal wolf. Odin is also the one who set the wolves, Hati ("One Who Hates" or "Hater") and Skoll ("One Who Mocks" or "treachery"), on the sun and moon when they refused to move. |
| 13 | * TheBeastmaster: Commonly described as having a pair of wolves, Geri and Freki, by his left and right side, and two ravens, Huginn and Muninn, on his left and right shoulders. |
| 14 | * TheBerserker: The trope namers were consecrated to his worship. Additionally, his very name is a synonym for the fury and rage of battle, and that was part of his domain as the god of war. |
| 15 | * BigGood: An interpretation of his actions is that everything he does--good or bad--is to stall Ragnarok. |
| 16 | ** Subverted, in the sense that Norse Gods didn't guide themselves by these moral standards. Quite on the contrary, Odin was quite keen on preserving the order of things imposed by the Aesir as opposed to everyone else and no matter the cost. This means that while the majority of the dead (children, women, the sick and elderly, commoners and thralls) were living dreadful lives in Helheim (this too is up to debate) just because they weren't "worthy enough" of Paradise, the Aesir and the warriors Odin choose lived lives of leisure and excess in Asgard. It says lots that when Jotun and the dead come to take Asgard, neither the Vanir, Alfar, Dvergar, or any other race for that matter, come to help the Aesir. |
| 17 | ** Zig-zagged. Putting things in perspective, what Aesir and Jotunn are fighting for is the control of Midgard (a.k.a. Manaheimr, the "World of Humanity"). Given the fluctuating cosmology of the Norse, that could mean the whole cosmos or just another of several worlds (usually nine, but sometimes there were more or less) or even just a province. So, when Ragnarok comes, the other worlds remain mostly unafected and just carry on as normal. In other words, it could be seen more like a geopolitical struggle between opposed factions, devoid of any moral meaning. |
| 18 | * BlindSeer: Halfway there; he sacrificed an eye at Mimir's Well for knowledge. |
| 19 | * BloodKnight: The ''god'' of Blood Knights. He actively incites war through his trickery and fights for the sheer joy of it. He does not particularly care about why the war is being fought, so much as ''that'' it is being fought. |
| 20 | * BrutalHonesty: Odin is pretty open about acknowledging that people should not trust him, going so far as using himself as an example of the disloyalty of men. One of his many titles is ''oath-Breaker'' after all. |
| 21 | * TheCasanova: When in his human guise, he is often depicted as a notorious charmer of mortal women. |
| 22 | * CleverCrows: Had a pair of ravens that would circle the world every day and whisper in his ear the secrets they found at the end of the day. Evidently, they weren't perfect since Odin is portrayed as far from omniscient even with them ''and'' the ability to view any place in the nine worlds. He still gets tricked a few times. |
| 23 | * CoolHorse: The eight-legged steed Slepnir. |
| 24 | * {{Crossdresser}}: Oh yes. He even DisguisedInDrag so he could impregnate Rindr. |
| 25 | * DeathGlare: Is called ''Báleygr'', flaming eye. |
| 26 | * DecompositeCharacter: Much as with Freya and Frigg, Odin and Odr were the same god until they started becoming regarded as separate entities for unknown reasons. |
| 27 | * DoubleStandardRapeDivineOnMortal: In Saxo's account, Odin raped Rindr so that she would give birth to Vali. Subverted in that some accounts note this as the reason Odin was banished from Asgard for a while. Norsemen were ''very'' not okay with sexual assault of upper-class women. |
| 28 | * EatenAlive: His fate is to be devoured whole by Fenrir during Ragnarok. |
| 29 | * EyeObscuringHat: Odin gave one of his eyes for a drink from the well of wisdom and wore a very wide-brimmed hat to conceal it. The hat part of RobeAndWizardHat may come from this, via ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings''. Many re-tellings indicate it is impossible for Odin to go without concealing his missing eye somehow. |
| 30 | * EyeScream: He tore out his own eyed as a toll for a drink from the Well of Knowledge. |
| 31 | * EyepatchOfPower: He is often depicted as having one over his lost eye. |
| 32 | * FlightStrengthHeart: He is the god of war, magic and poetry. |
| 33 | * GeniusBruiser: Being both a warrior god and a trickster, and a god of wisdom. |
| 34 | * GodOfKnowledge: In addition to being the god of war, Odin was also a god of knowledge, wisdom and magic, a theme that features prominently in his stories. One story says that Odin hung himself from the branches of Yggdrasil the world tree for nine days and nine nights until just as he was about to die discovered the runes and claimed them for himself, coming back to life in the process. Another story says that Odin sacrificed one of his eyes to drink from the well of Mimir and gained knowledge in doing so. |
| 35 | * TheGrimReaper: or at least one of them, literally, he visited battlegrounds after the battle had concluded, too select the best warriors to take them to Asgard (he was also a psychopomp), and was sometimes called Grímr and Grímnir, that is to say, the "hooded", the "masked one", the "sinister, terrible or cruel", quite fitting for his frightening persona. |
| 36 | * HandicappedBadass: Odin is famously one-eyed, having gouged it out himself in exchange for wisdom. |
| 37 | * HeroesLoveDogs: He had two pet wolves called Freki and Geri, to whom he would give all the meat served to him. |
| 38 | * IconicItem: His spear Gungnir is among the most famous weapons in the mythos, probably second only to Mjolnir. |
| 39 | * IconicOutfit: Is known for the wide-brimmed hat he wears when in disguise. He's often depicted with a scarf or eyepatch to cover his missing eye, as well. |
| 40 | * ImmortalGenius: Though primarily the TopGod of Myth/NorseMythology, was also the god of knowledge, having sacrificed one of his eyes in exchange for wisdom. Not only do his ravens continuously supply him with information, but he's actually a poet. Unfortunately, he's also a trickster on par with Loki, making him a bit more morally ambiguous than most gods of knowledge. |
| 41 | * IDidWhatIHadToDo: In his mind, ''anything'' justifies delaying or preventing [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt Ragnarok]]. |
| 42 | * HasAType: All of his sons are born from jotnar women. This even includes Baldr and Hodr, as Frigg is the daughter of Fjörgynn, a jotunn. |
| 43 | * HornyVikings: Played straight. The earlier depictions of Odin show him with a dank helmet with horns/bird crests. |
| 44 | * IHaveManyNames: [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_names_of_Odin As American Gods put it; 'I have as many names as there are winds and as many titles as there are ways for men to die.']] |
| 45 | ** To put it in perspective: half of Odin's names seems to be about how mighty, wise and awe-inspiring he is. [[GoodIsNotSoft The other half is about how terrifying he is]]. |
| 46 | * JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Odin can come off as a real jerk at times, but would often wander the earth testing mortals, punishing and rewarding them. |
| 47 | * JerkWithAHeartOfJerk: many other times, he just does whatever he wants to, like bullying Thor by the river (maybe stalling, so that Thor won't find her wife Sif sharing her bed with her "secret lover"), sometimes he will start wars among men for no reason, or even kill guests and break truces to instigate discord (this is how he started the unsuccesful war with the Vanir), or promise his undying love to a wide-eyed maiden to get her to help him steal the mead of poetry from her father, just to name a few. |
| 48 | * KarmaHoudiniWarranty: Unlike many gods, whatever crimes Odin may have committed he is destined to die at Ragnarök. Some people perceive this as punishment for a betrayal of Loki or his treachery in general. Another story has Odin being banished from Asgard and replaced as a king for a period of ten years as punishment for the rape of Rindr which he undertook to father Vali. Note that this is something that could have happened in the Norse society which was proto-democratic. If a king was disliked by the people, they had the right to get rid of him (just as the king had the unspoken right to defend himself from any attempts at dethroning). |
| 49 | * MagicalHomelessPerson: He is frequently encountered by humans in the guise of a cloaked lonely traveller on the road or in lonely places. Odin may be doing this to teach and educate, to test humans with regard to the hospitality they are capable of showing to a seeming elderly one-eyed homeless wanderer, or else ForTheLulz as a TricksterGod. |
| 50 | * MagicIsEvil: Downplayed. Vikings considered the use of magic to be dishonorable and feminine (in a bad way), with male practicioners being one step above outcasts (though their services were still used on the sly). This caused a bit of cognitive dissonance considering one of their premier gods was a wizard who was perfectly willing to [[MagicIsFeminine crossdress]] and do other unmanly things to get what he wanted. Some stories involve Odin getting temporarily outcast from Asgard as a result. |
| 51 | * MagicKnight: Possibly the UrExample because he is both a berserker god and a trickster. |
| 52 | * NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: One of those names is "killer," followed by [[SarcasmMode no less charming]] names like "''God of Gore''," "''god of the hanged''," "''ruler of gallows''," "''Battle Wolf''," "''ruler of treachery''," "''terrible one''," "''Lord of the Undead''" and "''[[TheOathBreaker Oathbreaker]]''." |
| 53 | * {{Necromancer}}: he likes waking up the dead to ask annoying questions, keeps a reanimated embalmed head as a talking companion, likes visiting tumuli, he even knows how to raise [[OurZombiesAreDifferent draugar]] from their mounds, and makes friends with wolves and ravens (famed carrion-eaters). |
| 54 | * OneHitKill: His spear Gungnir always kills whoever or whatever it strikes. |
| 55 | * OldBeggarTest: He is quite fond of doing these whenever he goes on journeys in Midgard. |
| 56 | * OurLichesAreDifferent: given the fact that he was hanged and stabbed with a spear and remained nine nights in that state, it is not altogether impossible that he might even be an undead god (like Osiris, or Mimir too). In some legends he is even an ally and teacher of some lich-like draugar lords. |
| 57 | * ThePhilosopherKing: Demonstrated in the ''Hávamál'' ("sayings of the high one") poem, which is written as a collection of Odin's thoughts, opinions, and advice on proper social conduct, how to lead one's life in a successful manner, and how to show wisdom in one's actions. |
| 58 | * ProperlyParanoid: He lives in constant fear that [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt Ragnarok]] will start. He thus abstains from eating, and only drinks the mead produced by his [[MakesSenseInContext nanny goat]] in case someone tries to poison his food. |
| 59 | * RedRightHand: No matter what form he took, it would always be missing an eye. |
| 60 | * RobeAndWizardHat: Very commonly depicted wearing them and possibly the UrExample. |
| 61 | * ScrewDestiny: He understands that Ragnarok will come, but that's not going to stop him from trying to prevent it. |
| 62 | * SecretIdentity: Odin has a habit of visiting Earth in human guise. Depending on his behavior, he may be an AngelUnaware or a DevilInDisguise. |
| 63 | * SelfFulfillingProphecy: many of the things he does trying to stall Ragnarok just end up ensuring it goes exactly as prophesized. He exiles Hel and puts he in charge of the underworld. He orders Fenrir to be tamed and failing to do so decides to have it fettered with a sword keeping his mouth wide open. He even throws Jormungandr into the sea, giving him plenty space and enough food to grow to a disproportionate size. Even though he tries not to intervene with the death of Baldr, Frigg does everything possible to avoid this destiny, in doing so leaving Baldr without the possibility of a glorious warrior death, instead dying of an allergy to end up in Helheim. Even when the Aesir decide to chain Loki with the guts from his own child, he just stands there and says nothing, knowing full well that when Loki gets free, Ragnarok will ensue. |
| 64 | * TheSmartGuy: Odin sacrificed one of his eyes to gain wisdom. He also has two pet ravens whose names, Huginn and Muninn, are translated as "Thought" and "Memory" that fly all over the world and essentially act as scouts. |
| 65 | * StrongAndSkilled: Odin invokes this by his sacrifice of one of his eyes in exchange for wisdom, which allows him to outwit and undermine his enemies. He has essentially willingly given up some of his ability in direct combat in exchange for being a superior tactician but is a great warrior nonetheless being incredibly strong and having a multitude of experience in battle. |
| 66 | * TopGod: King of the Gods. This however, came with caveats, probably because of the elective nature of early germanic kingship. Since in the Eddas he never decided on his own what the Aesir should do when there is crisis ahead, but the ''thing'' of the gods (and goddesses) reunited to decide such things instead, he was mostly a figurehead. He even got deposed, several times, when he was deemed unfit to rule. |
| 67 | ** In ''Gesta Danorum'', he exiled himself ot of shame when he discovered that Frigg had slept with a goldsmith to make him steal his talking golden statue to make jewelry out of it. Mitodinn replaced him for many years, until he came back. |
| 68 | ** Also in ''Gesta Danorum'', when it became public knowledge how he had abused Rind, transforming himself in a wandering witch to top it all, he was deposed and Ullr (''Ollerus'') ruled Asgard instead. |
| 69 | ** One obscure myth, ''Fjölsvinnsmál'' mentions Loki sitting in Hlidskjalf to oversee the dwarves building up Lyfjaberg for Menglöd, while Odin himself, under the guise of the giant Fjölsvid, is tasked with guarding the entrance of the castle. Not a very kingly duty. |
| 70 | ** Zig-zagged, as he was a god of traveling, and sometimes he would go away for months if not years, leaving Asgard and the Aesir to rule themselves. Once he was gone for so long, that everyone thought he wouldn't return, so his two brothers began dividing his inheritance, sharing Frigg between them. Given that Frigg was among the deities that could sit on Hlidskjalf, it's safe to assume she sometimes officed as his deputy. |
| 71 | ** Even Freyr was sometimes considered Odin succesor, especially in Sweden, and he was among the handful of gods who could use the throne-tower of Hlidskjalf (It came with a price though, as he fell madly in love with the giantess Gerd while sitting on it to oversee the worlds below) |
| 72 | ** Subverted, also, taking into account that other godly tribes did not recognize Odin as their leader. The Jotunn, who could be seen as "archaic deities" did not respect Odin at all (take Hrungnir for example). The Vanir also rejected Odin's authority, and formidable rivals as they were, they were mostly left alone. It could be said that Odin was barely the Aesir's chieftain in a good day. |
| 73 | * TrademarkFavoriteFood: Doesn't subsist on anything other than mead. |
| 74 | * TricksterGod: Many forget that while Loki was the God of Mischief, Odin was just as much of a trickster as him (possibly why they were blood brothers). He would routinely disguise himself (even in drag if the need arose) and would play cons and speak in half-truths to achieve the highest net gain possible. The only thing that made him different from Loki was that Odin knew how to pick his battles and was ''King of a tribe of {{War God}}s''. |
| 75 | * TwistingTheProphecy: it could be argued that he doesn't try to avoid destiny but instead does what he can to get the best outcome from an adverse fate. He initiates the Aesir-Vanir war to make a truce and get Njörd, Freyr and Freyja as hostages, thus getting their support. He sends Hoenir among the Vanir so that he too will come after Ragnarok and be among the survivors, together with Magni and Modi. He puts Hel in charge of the underworld, then allows Baldr to be killed to return from the dead once Ragnarok has passed. He lets the best fighters die and instigates wars among men just to harvest the best warriors to join the ranks of the Einherjar. He knows full well that he is destined to die in Ragnarok, so why fight it anyways? He might even be orchestrating the last war with Loki, to have his own [[DyingMomentOfAwesome glorious warrior death]]. |
| 76 | * VoluntaryShapeshifter: One of Odin's specialties, also a trait he shares with Loki. |
| 77 | * WanderingWizard: Quite possibly the TropeMaker, or at least TropeCodifier. Many tales tell of how Odin spends his days wandering Midgard to gain knowledge. |
| 78 | * WarGod: He's the god of war and patron of berserkers. He started the first war in the world. Most tellingly, he is the only god in the surviving Norse myths who is explicitly and unmistakably associated with war, which perhaps tells something of his centrality to warfare as far as the Norse were concerned. |
| 79 | ** Zig-zagged, when one considers that he never fights face-to-face with the warriors, but rather prefers to influence the outcome of battles using magic and manipulation to achieve his goals. He was rather a shamanic-poet, inspiring the warriors into trance-like states and giving advice to warrior-kings, never quite putting himself in direct danger in the battlefield. He was the god of warriors, but not a warrior himself, rather promising a glorious afterlife to the best fighters, and visiting the battlefield after conflict, together with valkyries, ravens and wolves, to collect the souls of the best combatants. It was noted multiple times that while Thor and Tyr were noble, honorable warriors, Odin was a morally questionable dark-magician by norse warrior standards. |
| 80 | * WarriorPoet: He's the god of war, poetry, and -- among other things -- wisdom. |
| 81 | * WellIntentionedExtremist: Everything he does is meant to delay Ragnarok. |
| 82 | * WizardBeard: Sometimes. It gives him the appearance of a GrandpaGod. |
| 83 | * WizardClassic: The UrExample, an elderly (possibly bearded) god of wisdom who often traveled wearing a simple cloak and wide-brimmed hat, though he had a spear instead of a staff. |
| 84 | [[/folder]] |
| 85 | |
| 86 | [[folder:Frigg]] |
| 87 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/frigg.jpg]] |
| 88 | Odin's wife, who is sometimes confusingly conflated with Freyja. She ruled over motherhood, women and the home. |
| 89 | ----- |
| 90 | * BlessedWithSuck: She could see into the future but do nothing to change it. |
| 91 | * DecompositeCharacter: She and Freya seem to have started out as the same goddess before they started to be worshipped as separate entities for unknown reasons. |
| 92 | * DreamingOfThingsToCome: She had dreams of Baldr's death just as he did. They're what spurred her into making him (almost) invulnerable. |
| 93 | * AFamilyAffair: Cheated on Odin with his brothers -- though the circumstances were a little unusual. Odin had been out on a journey and been gone so long that the Aesir thought he wouldn't come back, so his two brothers divvied up his possessions, "but his wife Frigg they shared between them." When Odin returned home he took his wife back. |
| 94 | * TheHighQueen: Regal and majestic but also very benevolent. |
| 95 | * MasterOfThreads: Frigg is a goddess associated with weaving among other things. |
| 96 | * OurGiantsAreBigger: She is the daughter of Fjörgynn, which makes her a full giantess like his other mistresses. |
| 97 | * ProperLady: She provides patronage to women, motherhood and the home, and traditional female activities. |
| 98 | * ReasonableAuthorityFigure: She was the only other person Odin trusted to sit on Hliðskjálf. |
| 99 | * TextileWorkIsFeminine: She is the goddess of weaving, and frequently depicted with either a spinning wheel or a distaff (a precursor to the spinning wheel). |
| 100 | * TheChessmaster: she skillfully manipulated her husband more than once and usually gets what she wants, usually with significant political consequences. |
| 101 | ** When the Longobards (then named ''Vinili'') were about to go to war against the Vandals, their ruler, Gambara told her sons to ask Frigg for help over Odin. She made sure her husband gave them victory, whether he liked it or not. |
| 102 | ** They both betted over the sons of King Hraudungr. Odin helped Geirrod and Frigg favoured Agnar, but when he was put out of the game, she decided that if she couldn't win, nobody would. |
| 103 | ** She took pity on King Rerir and his wife when they prayed for sons, so she send them a giantess-handmaid with a magic apple, thus initiating the Völsung Cycle. |
| 104 | ** In the ''Gesta Danorum'', she conspired with a slave-goldsmith (and lover) to steal a magical, talking golden statue that belonged to Odin, to melt it and make jewelry for herself. Needless to say, Odin wasn't pleased. |
| 105 | ** Distressed by the possibility of his favourite son dying, she decided to extract oaths from every last thing in the world, animate or inanimate, not to harm him in any way. Not even Odin could do that. |
| 106 | * WholesomeCrossDresser: ''Historia Langobardorum'' shows that she had much to teach Odin when it came to which tribes he should be favoring, which she does by having a bunch of women disguise themselves with beards and present themselves to her husband. |
| 107 | [[/folder]] |
| 108 | |
| 109 | [[folder:Baldr | Balder | Baldur]] |
| 110 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/baldr_6.jpg]] |
| 111 | Odin and Frigg's son and the god of beauty, who developed over time into the PuritySue of the pantheon. He married Nanna and is the father of Forseti, and in Asgard he lives in a palace called Breidablik. He was immune to damage from anything except mistletoe, and Loki killed him by tricking his blind brother Höðr into throwing a magic spear made of it at him. |
| 112 | ----- |
| 113 | * AdaptationSpeciesChange: He's a demigod in the ''Gesta Danorum'' instead of a full god. |
| 114 | * AchillesHeel / WeaksauceWeakness: To mistletoe.[[note]]However, it is believed originally he was killed by a ''sword'', the "mistletoe-arrow" only coming in the version recorded by Creator/SnorriSturluson because of other sources telling of a magic sword named "Mistletoe." The confusion may have risen from Snorri taking the word for it and thinking Baldr was killed by an actual mistletoe.[[/note]] |
| 115 | * BackFromTheDead: |
| 116 | ** Some texts describe him as returning from Hel after Ragnarök has taken place, probably another sign of Christian influence on the character. |
| 117 | ** At least one version of the legend of his death had the bargain with Hel ''succeed'' and Baldr being brought back to life, upon which the flowers of the mistletoe turned white, as a sign that the wrong that had been done had now been made right. This version is extremely obscure, though -- almost all the tellings of the myth have the bargain with Hel fail and Baldr staying dead. |
| 118 | * BeautyEqualsGoodness: He is the god of beauty, is described as being handsome, and is heavily associated with goodness. |
| 119 | * BishieSparkle: He's said to be so beautiful that he literally ''glows'' with light. |
| 120 | * DreamingOfThingsToCome: He had dreams of his death, along with his mother. |
| 121 | * HijackedByJesus: Early Christian scholars insisted that Baldr was the Norse corruption of Jesus Christ. See MessianicArchetype. |
| 122 | * KilledOffForReal: Thanks to Loki, who both tricked his brother into killing him and made sure he couldn't be resurrected; however, some sources say he will return after Ragnarök. |
| 123 | * LightIsGood: Though it's exclusive to myths hijacked by Jesus; in some stories, he wasn't so pleasant. In ''Literature/GestaDanorum'', he is outright [[LightIsNotGood villainous]]. |
| 124 | * LovedByAll: The god of light, beauty, purity, and the summer sun. He was so loved that, when he died, all objects alive and dead wept for him (except the giantess Thökk, often presumed to be Baldr's murderer in disguise, Loki). |
| 125 | * MessianicArchetype: As a benevolent god who was unjustly killed but will resurrect at the end of the world and usher in eternal paradise, it's no wonder he was conflated with Jesus by Norse-to-Christian converts. |
| 126 | * NiceGuy: He's described as the "fairest spoken" and "most gracious" of the gods in the ''Prose Edda''. |
| 127 | * NighInvulnerability: Thanks to Frigg making (almost) everything in the world swear not to harm him. |
| 128 | * PrettyBoy: He's usually described as this. |
| 129 | * PurityPersonified: Especially in later sources. |
| 130 | * RoyalBrat: In the ''Gesta Danorum.'' |
| 131 | [[/folder]] |
| 132 | |
| 133 | [[folder:Höðr | Hodur]] |
| 134 | [[quoteright:229:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/hodr.jpg]] |
| 135 | Odin and Frigg's son, the god of winter and darkness, and Baldr's and Hermod's blind brother. He is tricked ([[DependingOnTheWriter depending of the source]]) by Loki into using mistletoe to murder his brother Baldr. |
| 136 | ----- |
| 137 | * AdaptationNameChange: He's named Hotherus in the ''Gesta Danorum.'' |
| 138 | * AdaptationSpeciesChange: The ''Gesta Danorum'' makes him a human as well. |
| 139 | * BackFromTheDead: Mentioned as returning to Asgard along with Baldr after Ragnarok has taken place. |
| 140 | * BettyAndVeronica: ''Gesta Danorum'' has him be the Betty to Balderus Veronica for Nanna's Archie. |
| 141 | * BlindMistake: His killing of Baldr in Snorri's version of Baldr's death. |
| 142 | * CastingAShadow: As an opposite to his brother's LightEmUp. |
| 143 | * CoolSword: Wields the magic sword, Mistilteinn (Mistletoe), in the ''Gesta Danorum.'' |
| 144 | * DarkIsNotEvil: The darkness and winter god Hodr killing Baldr is not his fault, and while he is killed for it by Vali, he will come BackFromTheDead after Ragnarok with Baldr. Even in stories where he intentionally kills Baldr, it's due to Baldr being [[LightIsNotGood evil]] and antagonizing him first. |
| 145 | * AnIcePerson: god of winter. |
| 146 | * SuperStrength: One of Hodr's most notable characteristics is his strength. He is said to be of sufficient strength in the Eddas, and when euhemerized as a [[BadassNormal Human]] in the ''Gesta Danorum'' and other tales, he is able to beat a demigod Baldr two out of three times, chase Odin and Thor around, and even smash Thor's mighty weapon. |
| 147 | * UnwittingPawn: Loki tricked him into killing Baldr. |
| 148 | [[/folder]] |
| 149 | |
| 150 | [[folder:Hermóðr | Hermod]] |
| 151 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/hermod.jpg]] |
| 152 | Odin and Frigg's son, and Baldr and Höðr's brother. He acts as the messenger of the gods. In one version of Baldr's death story, he is the only one brave enough to go to the underworld and seek an audience with Hel. Hermod asked Hel to allow Baldr to return among the living gods but failed to get everything to shed a tear for him in order to bring him back. |
| 153 | ----- |
| 154 | * ActionSurvivor: Some sources say he is one of the survivors of Ragnarok. |
| 155 | * CanonImmigrant: Older Germanic texts, among them ''Beowulf'', but also others, mention a jutish king named Hermodr or Armodr, who was killed while bathing - and with a conflicting reputation to boot. This king may actually be the mortal "source" for this god, having him elevated to Odin´'s stable boy (since Odin is quite capable of travelling to Hel by himself). |
| 156 | * ChuckCunninghamSyndrome: The above story is all that he's known to have done. |
| 157 | [[/folder]] |
| 158 | |
| 159 | [[folder:Þórr | Thor]] |
| 160 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/thor_58.jpg]] |
| 161 | Son of Odin and a jotun variously called Jörð ("Earth"), Fjörgyn, or Hlóðyn, and married to Sif. A GodOfThunder with a volatile temperament and the favorite god of the average Norse farmer (Odin was preferred by the warrior aristocracy who found his more chaotic and bloodthirsty ways more conducive to their ideals of [[BloodKnight Drengskapr]]). Carries the title "Friend of the humans" (or, possibly, "Man's Best Friend") and would fight giants and various demonic threats to the gods and mankind. He was also considered the protector of slaves. Also, has Thursday named after him (literally "Thor's Day"). |
| 162 | ----- |
| 163 | * AdaptationDyeJob: He is often interpreted with either blonde hair or red hair. There is no actual reference to his hair color in the Poetic Edda with the closest to his hair is a passage "his hair is fairer than gold," but fair might describe it as beautiful than any indication of lightness in his hair. Still, while Thor's hair being red best suits his FieryRedhead temperament, his red hair is an invention of Christians attributed to a god long past his prime. |
| 164 | * AnimalMotifs: He was commonly associated with goats (which drew his chariot). |
| 165 | * BigEater: Several myths depict Thor as having exceptional appetite. In "The Lay of Thrym" he famously eats an entire ox and eight salmons in one sitting, and washes it down with three barrels of mead. |
| 166 | * BigGood: The strongest of the Aesir and dedicated protector of humanity. Unlike Odin, who was very much partial to nobility and warriors (he was their patron after all), Thor was fond of commoners, farmers, fishermen and thralls, and some say his halls were big enough to acommodate them after death. |
| 167 | * BloodKnight: Thor loves battle more than anything and would often go out of his way to fight strong opponents. |
| 168 | * BoisterousBruiser: He had an appropriately thunderous personality and was prone to boasting of his deeds. |
| 169 | * BreakTheHaughty: Subverted in one story. Thor is utterly perplexed when he comes across a giant named Skrymir that he can't kill with one hit from Mjolnir. His pride is shaken even further when Skrymir presents him with challenges that leave him only barely able to lift the paw of a cat, unable to out-wrestle an old woman, and incapable of finishing a drinking horn. Then it's revealed that all of these challenges were illusions created by Utgard-Loki. In actuality, he had lifted Jormungandr (thus lifting a part of a serpent long enough to wrap around the Earth), fought with the conceptual embodiment of old age, and lowered the sea level as that horn was connected to the ocean. Skrymir was also an illusion of Utgard-Loki's who was never actually struck, as he was hiding behind a mountain at the time. Thor's angry blows from earlier had actually carved entire valleys through a mountain range through each swing, leaving the giant terrified. Outraged at this trickery, Thor tries to kill Utgard-Loki, only for the illusionist to simply vanish into thin air rather than face the thunder god's wrath. |
| 170 | * BrokeYourArmPunchingOutCthulhu: When Ragnarök comes, he will kill Jörmungandr, but be fatally poisoned in the process. |
| 171 | * CallOnMe: Thor defended Midgard without being asked, but when the Jötnar were causing trouble in Asgard, the [=Æ=]sir would often cry for Thor, who would storm in to take care of the issue. [[SpeakOfTheDevil Loki inadvertently calls Thor on himself]] once. |
| 172 | * DisguisedInDrag: Close to being the trope originator given a humorous tale (''Thrymskvida'') where he had to impersonate Freyja. |
| 173 | ** Although if Loki was not there with his silver tongue, it's likely the Jötnar would have realized they were being tricked. |
| 174 | * TheDreaded: Thor was widely feared among his enemies. He once had to face an enormous clay golem in combat. The golem saw Thor, and promptly ''pissed itself so hard it melted.'' That's right. [[Website/BadassOfTheWeek Thor is such a terrifying opponent that he caused a clay golem to grow an excretory system solely so it could piss itself in terror of him.]] |
| 175 | ** In ''Lokasenna'' Loki insults the other gods, feeling safe because he is protected by [[SacredHospitality sacred hospitality]]. When Thor shows up he flees because Thor [[MilitaryMaverick does not give a damn when about such codes when it protects someone evil]]. Defied , it must be said, given that Loki still dauntingly stands up to Thor face to face for three insulting exchanges, until he finally gives up, not out of fear it seems, but because he knows he is not welcome anymore and he said everything he had to say. Before he goes away, he curses the halls of Aegir to burn, leaving the Aesir to treat themselves to that bitter ending. Needless to say, the tension between nephew and uncle could be cut with a knife. |
| 176 | * DumbMuscle: To an extent, although in some stories he's got HiddenDepths, making it ObfuscatingStupidity. |
| 177 | * FieryRedhead: Hot-blooded and red-haired, with those two traits being linked together by the Norse. |
| 178 | * GenderIsNoObject: He would not back away from attacking a giantess or a female monster despite that the laws of the Norsemen (endorsed by Odin) considered the harming and killing of women monstrous.[[note]]Witches, women warriors and shieldmaidens were fair game though, if the sagas are to be considered, and taking into account that giantesses could be all three of these at the same time, and very skilled too, they were deemed formidable, and quite dangerous opponents.[[/note]] |
| 179 | * GodOfThunder: One of the most famous examples. |
| 180 | * HappilyMarried: To Sif, who we know little about. [[note]]That does not prevent Sif from having secret lovers, though, as mentioned by Harbard (Odin in disguise) and Loki in Lokasenna. Some suspect that this "mysterious lover" was actually Loki, given the fact that he could get close enough to her (i.e. sharing a bed) to shave her head.[[/note]] |
| 181 | * HeroicBastard: Is the son of Jörð, who is one of Odin's mistresses. |
| 182 | * HotBlooded: It doesn't take much to set Thor off on a smashing rampage. |
| 183 | * IconicItem: His hammer Mjolnir is ''the'' iconic symbol of the mythos, historically used by worshipers of the Norse gods to mark their faith, and probably the most famous mythological weapon worldwide that isn't a sword ''or'' a spear. |
| 184 | * InvincibleHero: He almost always succeeds at everything without much struggle. The only exceptions are one story where a giant tricks him with several {{Impossible Task}}s -- and he still comes far closer than expected to achieving all of them -- and his getting poisoned and killed by Jormugandr at Ragnarok, which arguably also falls into the impossible-task category since [[YouCantFightFate avoiding it would require defying Fate itself]]. |
| 185 | * LetsGetDangerous: In a couple of stories, he is surprisingly clever; he even outwits Odin once. |
| 186 | * MagicStaff: Though not nearly as well-renowned as his hammer, one story mentions Thor being lent a magic staff by a giantess, Gridr. Rather noteworthy, in that some scholars debate whether it was more of a shepherd's staff in design, or more akin to an iron wand used by Norse sorceresses. |
| 187 | * ManlyTears: Thor was said to have wept the greatest for Baldr's death. |
| 188 | * MilitaryMaverick: He's a heroic war god known for ''not'' playing by the rules. This includes some of the most absolute laws in the Norse world, such as SacredHospitality or WouldNotHitAGirl - he'll break either or both at once if it means defending Asgard or Midgard from giants and monsters. |
| 189 | * MutualKill: Against Jormungandr. |
| 190 | * OnlyTheChosenMayWield: Mjolnir, as you may know from his Marvel counterpart. But unlike his comic book version, Mjolnir doesn't place value in one's worth as a person. Instead, it's so ridiculously powerful that anyone weaker than Thor would be ''disintegrated'' by it if they tried to wield it. Even Thor wears a magic belt and glove, Megingjord and Jarngreipr respectively, to increase his strength to safely wield it. Only three other characters could wield the hammer beside Thor, they were the giant Thrymr (the one who stole it), and Thor's sons, Magni and Modi, who are said to inherit the hammer after Ragnarok. |
| 191 | * PapaWolf: He tricked Alvíss into talking until dawn, where the sunlight turned him to stone. His crime? he fell in love with Thor's daughter, Thrud and came to claim her as his bride. |
| 192 | * {{Protectorate}}: He is the Friend of Humans and Protector Of Midgard, titles he received for his role in defending Midgard, the human world, from giants. He's also the god of order, in direct contrast to Odin. |
| 193 | * RedIsHeroic: Thor was notedly a FieryRedHead and a great hero to the Norse. |
| 194 | * SensitiveGuyAndManlyMan: Thor is the Manly Man, being a very BloodKnight-y kind of guy, compared to the more sly Sensitive Guy Loki. |
| 195 | * ShockAndAwe: God of thunder, natch. |
| 196 | * SpaceIsAnOcean: While most would use such things as Slepnir and Bifröst to pass through the nine worlds, Thor preferred to wade his way across. He did have a chariot with two goats for transporting other people, though. This is used to describe why rainbows follow thunderstorms. (Some stories claim that Thor wasn't actually allowed to ''use'' the Bifröst for fear he'd break it since he was so big and heavy.) |
| 197 | * SparedByTheAdaptation: Thor was so popular, he essentially survived the transition to Christianity and had new stories connected to him for several hundreds of years. Thus, he is the hero of a JustSoStory telling of how he made a famous mountain pass in Norway. Also a case of AdaptationDisplacement, as a ''church'' features prominently in the narrative. |
| 198 | * ThunderHammer: Mjölnir is the TropeMaker and TropeCodifier. It is both a powerful weapon and an instrument that can provide blessings. |
| 199 | * UnstoppableRage: Thor is almost constantly in one of these. As he's constantly angry and can get irritated very easily which will invoke his rage. |
| 200 | * VitriolicBestBuds: With Loki, at least in many myths. Loki delights in annoying and teasing Thor, who retaliated by threatening to beat him up, but they often go on journeys together and work well as a BrainsAndBrawn team. Modern retellings of the myths vary greatly in the depictions of their relationship; in some retellings Thor can't stand Loki at all and just puts up with him because he needs his cunning -- in other retellings Loki detests Thor, who mistakenly thinks they are good buddies. In yet other retellings they're genuinely friends, but end up fighting a lot because Loki can't resist getting into mischief. In these retellings the friendship is generally broken beyond repair after Balder's death. |
| 201 | * WolverinePublicity: If there's a heroic Norse god in modern media, it's Thor. Appropriately, Marvel Comics is the most obvious example. |
| 202 | * WrestlerInAllOfUs: If he wasn't hammering the problem away, he was wrestling or slamming it into the ground. One of his lesser epiphets was being the God of Wrestling (or perhaps bare-handed fighting in general). Ironically, the only major surviving story involving this had him ''losing'', but credit where it is due for actually making the ''embodiment of senescence'' have to put in effort to beat him. |
| 203 | * WouldHurtAChild: when he finds the child of Egil, Thjalfi, broke the bone of his goat to suck the marrow, leaving it lame after resurrection, he was about to drop the hammer on the whole family. Luckily, he changed his mind when he saw the whole family cowering in terror. He decides to take the boy, and his sister, Röskva, as servants instead. He has no qualms about smitting giant women and children though. |
| 204 | [[/folder]] |
| 205 | |
| 206 | [[folder:Týr]] |
| 207 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tyr_7.jpg]] |
| 208 | A noble war (emphasis on protection) god, confused with the Roman Mars, Tuesday is named after him (one of his names is Tiw so it is "Tyr's day"). He is attributed as a god of justice and martial honor (due to historical evidence suggesting he was called upon in courts), and he was the only god who did not fear Fenrir. Known as "the one-handed god." |
| 209 | ----- |
| 210 | * AnArmAndALeg: Lost his arm as the price for binding Fenrir the wolf. |
| 211 | * BodyMotifs: Hands and arms, one of his most famous myths is that he lost his hand to bind Fenrir the wolf. There is also a magical sword called ''Tyrfing'' meaning "Tyr's Finger" or "Finger of Tyr". |
| 212 | * DemotedToExtra: Etymologically the name "Tyr" can be traced back to the Proto-Germanic god Tīwaz, who was likely the original TopGod of the Germanic pantheon (the name shares its Indo-European root with "Zeus" and "Jupiter", and in fact ''means'' "god", which implies that at one time, he was ''the'' god). At some point, however, he was apparently replaced in this role by Odin (or Wōden), and, likely as a result thereof, he only appears in three of the surviving tales, and is only important in one of them. |
| 213 | * DisabledDeity: He sacrificed his arm to bind Fenrir. |
| 214 | * TheFettered: Some interpretations of his character--he's perfectly okay with Fenris eating his hand, as fair compensation for betraying his trust since they had been rather good friends up to that point with Tyr being the only god willing to feed and spend time with him. |
| 215 | * HandicappedBadass: Even after losing his arm he still plays a vital part in Ragnarok, killing Garm. |
| 216 | * HonorBeforeReason: Rather than try to kill Fenris like some of the other gods want to do (for things he hasn't even done yet), he opts for imprisonment, as the god of justice and retribution. |
| 217 | * MasterSwordsman: Was said to be one of the best warriors in Asgard prior to losing his hand. Even afterward, he's lost none of his skill once he switched to his left hand. |
| 218 | * MutualKill: With Garmr. |
| 219 | * NiceGuy: Tyr is by far one of the gentler deities. Even seeing Fenrir who would one day be the doom of the gods as a small pup and a friend to him. |
| 220 | * WarGod: Is often interpreted as one in popular culture, though there's no explicit framing of him as such in surviving Norse myths, unlike Odin. It should be noted that as with other mythologies, no god in Norse myth is the god of something to the exclusion of any other. |
| 221 | ** Some Roman writers dealing with tribes distantly related to the Scandinavians seemed to believe him to be the local equivalent to Mars, however. But this is complicated by some tribes, such as the Goths, who saw "Mars" as an ancestor of their ruling class. Tyr never fathers any of the human classes in mythology, contrary to Heimdall and Odin in some national myths. |
| 222 | [[/folder]] |
| 223 | |
| 224 | [[folder:Víðarr]] |
| 225 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/vidar_6.jpg]] |
| 226 | Vidarr is the son of Odin by Gríðr, a jötunn who aided the gods against Loki. During the events of the Ragnarök, while Thor fights Jörmungandr, Týr fights Garm, and Freyr fights Surtr, it falls to Víðarr to fight Fenrir. Rising to the challenge, he not only avenges his father but survives both the battle and the Ragnarök. This earns him a reputation as a god of vengeance. He is also known as the "Avenger of the Gods." |
| 227 | ----- |
| 228 | * ActionSurvivor: One of the survivors of Ragnarok. |
| 229 | * DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu: And the only god to manage it without [[BrokeYourArmPunchingOutCthulhu breaking their arm in the process]]. |
| 230 | * ImprobableWeaponUser: Uses his good leather boots to kick off Fenrir's top jaw, through the earlier version simply has him use his foot to bend Fenrir's jaw open before shoving Odin's spear down his throat and into his heart. |
| 231 | * OddJobGods: God of space (in the sense of distance), silence, vengeance, and footwear. |
| 232 | * OneManArmy: Some versions have it that he comes out the Ragnarök '''''completely unscathed'''''. |
| 233 | * TheQuietOne: A fact referenced by one of his nicknames: The Silent God. |
| 234 | * {{Revenge}}: Takes revenge on Fenrir by killing him after he kills Odin. |
| 235 | * SuperStrength: The Prose Edda describes his strength as being nearly equal to that of ''Thor.'' |
| 236 | %%* ThoseTwoGuys: With Váli. |
| 237 | * TranquilFury: His specific kind of vengeance in contrast to Váli's more outwardly "hot" brand of revenge. |
| 238 | * YouKilledMyFather: To Fenrir, who kills Odin at Ragnarok. |
| 239 | [[/folder]] |
| 240 | |
| 241 | [[folder:Váli]] |
| 242 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/vali.jpg]] |
| 243 | A son of Odin and the giantess Rindr, Váli was conceived specifically to avenge Baldr's death. He does this when he's less than a day old by killing [[UnwittingPawn Höðr]] and later helps the other [=Æ=]sir capture Loki. Like his brother Víðarr, he ultimately survives Ragnarök. |
| 244 | ----- |
| 245 | * ActionSurvivor: Survives Ragnarok. |
| 246 | * ChildByRape: His equivalent in the ''Literature/GestaDanorum'' is explicitly so, and other sources also imply as much about him. |
| 247 | * EnfantTerrible: He murders his half-brother barely a day after being born. |
| 248 | * OneSteveLimit: Averted; one of Loki's sons by his wife Sigyn is also named Váli. |
| 249 | * {{Revenge}}: Exists for this very purpose. |
| 250 | %%* ThoseTwoGuys: With Víðarr. |
| 251 | [[/folder]] |
| 252 | |
| 253 | [[folder:Freyja | Frøya]] |
| 254 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/freyja_0.jpg]] |
| 255 | Mostly [[LoveGoddess a love goddess]] and fertility goddess, but also is connected to bloodthirst, as she rides into battle herself to claim half of the fallen dead for her hall, Folkvagnr—and gets first pick before Odin himself to boot. Because of this, she is heavily associated with the Valkyries and is often even regarded as their queen. She and the goddess of magic and witches. Along with Freyr, her twin brother, and her father Njord, she is a fertility deity of Vanaheimr. Also the patron of warrior women and witches. Her name is the origin of the word for "lady" in several Germanic languages ("Frøken" in Danish and Norweigan, "Fröken" in Swedish, "Frau" in German). In Scandinavia, Friday is named after her (''Fredag''). |
| 256 | ----- |
| 257 | * ActionGirl: She is the leader of the Valkyries. When she gets angry, she can make the whole of Asgard shake. |
| 258 | %%* AmazonBrigade: Her Valkyries. |
| 259 | * AnimalMotifs: Cats, the animals that pull her chariot. |
| 260 | * AllWitchesHaveCats: She is the goddess of seidr, a form of magic considered exclusively feminine, and her cart is drawn by two cats. Since Norse religion was often considered tantamount to witchcraft by medieval Christians, this makes Freyja the indirect TropeMaker. |
| 261 | * AmazonChaser: She is the resident LoveGoddess who takes half the souls of the warrior slain for herself. |
| 262 | * BodyToJewel: Her tears would eventually turn to gold. |
| 263 | * {{Chickification}}: The majority of fiction based on Norse Mythology ignores her ActionGirl aspects and the fact that she was associated with seidr, making her a witch-goddess too by logic, instead only showing her as a LoveGoddess. |
| 264 | * DecompositeCharacter: Maybe. The similarity between her name and Frigg's has a lot of academics arguing about a possible connection. Freya and Frigg ''do'' appear alongside each other in a couple of Norse poems, but it's still possible they evolved divergently from one figure. Alternately, she may be synonymous with Gullveig, the Vanir witch the Aesir tried to murder. |
| 265 | * FertilityGod: Freyja is one of the most important gods of the Norse pantheon, being the goddess of war, sex, love, beauty, gold and fertility. She is associated with rye fields (which Scandinavians heavily relied upon). |
| 266 | * FullBoarAction: Had a pet boar that she often used as a mount (or to draw her chariot) for battle. Said porcine familiar's name was Hildisvini, which literally translates as Battle-swine. |
| 267 | * GodOfKnowledge: She is is mostly a Love Goddess and fertility goddess but is also the goddess of seidr, a form of magic considered exclusively feminine (with some exceptions -- for instance, she taught it to Odin). |
| 268 | * GoodBadGirl: Despite her wantonness, she was of benevolent nature. |
| 269 | * HairTriggerTemper: When Loki tells her that Thrym will only return Mjölnir if she marries him she is so angry that the whole of Asgard shakes from her tantrum. |
| 270 | * HotWitch: She was the goddess of seidr, a type of Norse magic. And was noted to be extremely attractive. |
| 271 | * KickingAssInAllHerFinery: Some myths describe her as wearing beautiful, flowing white dresses. When ActionGirl mode is called for, she just straps a breastplate and sword over the dress. |
| 272 | * IHaveManyNames: She gave a different name for herself in every nation she searched for her husband Oder in. |
| 273 | * LivingLieDetector: Her magic necklace glows when a lie is told. |
| 274 | * LoveGoddess: Freyja is to the Aesir what Aphrodite was to the Olympians. |
| 275 | * {{Psychopomp}}: Lead the Valkyries to the battlefields to choose and lead the souls who would enter the Folkvang and reclaim that of women who go down fighting. |
| 276 | * SatelliteLoveInterest: Has one in her husband, Oðr. All that is known about him comes from her, when he would leave and she would wander the world looking for him, weeping. Much speculation exists as to who he might have been if he was a separate god or another name or aspect of Odin. |
| 277 | * ShapeShifter: Is said to be able to transform into an eagle. |
| 278 | * SlutShaming: Subverted in the ''Lokasenna,'' where Loki attempts to slut-shame Freyja, only for her father Njord to defend her by saying that there is nothing wrong with a married woman having a lover. The thing is that what Loki was shaming her for was that the lover in question happened to be [[BrotherSisterIncest Freyr]]. |
| 279 | * ReallyGetsAround: In a NeverLiveItDown moment, she slept with four dwarf siblings in the course of a night in exchange for a necklace she wanted, though [[Literature/SorlisTale this particular story]], is very likely a Christian addition, making it yet another early case of {{demonization}} by slanderous SlutShaming... That said, she really ''did'' get around a lot. |
| 280 | * WorldsMostBeautifulWoman: The most beautiful of all the goddesses, and apparently the ''second'' most beautiful woman in the world (Freyr's wife Gerd holds the top position). Two of the most famous myths kick off because someone wants her for their wife; the giant who builds the wall around Asgard asks for her as payment, along with the sun and the moon, and Thrym steals Mjolnir to blackmail the gods into making Freyja marry him. |
| 281 | [[/folder]] |
| 282 | |
| 283 | [[folder:Freyr | Frøy]] |
| 284 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/freyr_0.jpg]] |
| 285 | Freya's brother; they were both part of the Vanir, the other group of gods opposing the Aesir, until they ended up being hostages as part of a truce alongside their father Njord. A god of fertility and sex, generally more benevolent than his sister, who ultimately dies in Ragnarok as he gave up his magic sword for the love of a giantess. His name means "lord." Like many fertility deities, Freyr was also an agricultural deity primarily responsible for good harvests and therefore prosperity. |
| 286 | ----- |
| 287 | * AlternateCompanyEquivalent: To [[Myth/ClassicalMythology Apollo]]; both are sun-related gods associated with sexuality, and are not the only light related deities in their pantheon (the situation of replacement in the written myths is actually inverse: Apollo replaced Helios as the sun god, while Baldr replaced Freyr as a light god). Though do note that the actual sun in Norse mythology is a goddess (see below). |
| 288 | * AmbiguouslyBi: or at the very least queer-friendly. His priests in Sweden were known to be rather effeminate, dancing to the song of bells and cymbals, and possibly wearing rather feminine [[WholesomeCrossdresser dresses]]. This would be not unexpected, given that the Vanir were more sexually open-minded, and not all the Norsemen were vikings and warriors nor had the same disdain for effeminacy as latter became the rule. |
| 289 | ** In a bit of a [[NoodleIncident noodle incident]], in ''Gesta Danorum'' Freyr and Freyja, under the guises of Fródi and Gunwara, seem to have been abducted by giants until ther warrior Eirik liberates them from their influence. A trio of giant brothers, all of them names Greppr (collectively, "the Grepps") commited all kind of sexual debauchery and acts of cruelty, including explicitly having relations with men, during their rule. One of them was [[AbhorrentAdmirer deeply in love]] with Gunwara, keeping her in a tower and killing any suitor foolish enough to ask for her hand. More telling perhaps is the intimate relationship that one of the Grepps had with Frodi (Freyr alternate persona), jealously coveting the young king and expressely showing his affection toward him. Frodi himself would ignore any cruel act attributed to his "intimate friend" (even sleeping with his [[ArrangedMarriage wife]]) and holds him very close, at least until a more handsome and eloquent warrior comes around. Only an obscure reference to the myth remains in the little known icelandic ''Kórmaks saga'', where Freyja is called ''sýrar greppa'' or "Sýr of the Grepps". |
| 290 | * AnimalMotifs: Usually pigs but also horses. |
| 291 | * BiggerIsBetterInBed: As the god of fertility and sex, most depictions of Freyr show him with a very large erect phallus. |
| 292 | * ChekhovsGun: He gives his sword to Skirnir so his shield man could help him to win Gerd's heart. It isn't until Ragnarok that this event has a huge impact -- Freyr fails to stop Surt since he is without a weapon, allowing Surt to burn the world. |
| 293 | * CombatPragmatist: Doesn’t matter whether it is a sword or a discarded antler. If Freyr can pick it up, he can kill you with it. |
| 294 | * ComboPlatterPowers: His domains include [[LightEmUp light]], [[WeatherManipulation sunshine, rain]], [[GreenThumb growth and the fruits of the earth]], [[FluffyTamer the livestock]], all forms of fertility, pleasure, peace and prosperity. |
| 295 | * CoolBoat: His ship Skidbladnir, described as the best of all ships. It is large enough to carry all the gods, can't be sunk, always sails the right direction with a gentle breeze, and can be folded into his pocket. |
| 296 | * DemotedToExtra: He was one of the three main gods of the Norse pantheon and stood alongside Odin and Thor, and was actually more worshiped than Odin, however where Odin and Thor are well-known names today Freyr is anything but.[[note]]This may have to do with the fact that the Vanir were mostly worshipped in center-west Scandinavia, especially Sweden, were the cult of Freyr was probably one of, if not the most important state cults. On the other hand, Odin was particularly popular in Denmark, and Thor, while universally recognized in the continent, was the most popualr god in Iceland, where the Eddas were written.[[/note]] |
| 297 | ** He does get a lot of atenttion in ''Gesta Danorum'', under the guise of legendary king Frodi. Up to six incarnations of the same character show in the legendary Danish dynasty as compiled by Saxo Grammaticus, using a variety of unknown sources, including oral tradition and folklore, most of them sadly lost to time. Saxo seems to have rescued a lot of different mythological events not preserved anywhere else, with some parallel to the Icelandic Eddas. Many scholars and mythology aficionados prefer to just ignore this work as a heavily distorted pseudo-historical book, but it still has enough curious events to give a different perspective on Norse mythology. Frodi himself gets a lot of spotlight in the course of the first six tomes, although multiplied into six different monarchs all named the same and probably given credit for the feats of others, though all of that is commonplace in mythology. Still, if he did just half of the feats attributed to him, he would very well qualify as a trickster god and a strategic genius. |
| 298 | * DecompositeCharacter: With the mythical danish king Frodi, both are sons of a man who was chosen as a husband by his feet, both lived at the same time and were attributed with establishing the so-called Frodi-peace, and in general seems identical, nonetheless they are treated as different characters. Frodi has six incarnations in ''Gesta Danorum'', namely Fródi Haddingson, Fródi Havarrson "the [[GagPenis Vigorous]]", Fródi Fridleifson the Valiant, Fródi Dansson the Peaceful, most of them seem to be but different pseudo-historical incarnations of the same god. |
| 299 | %% * FertileFeet |
| 300 | * FertilityGod: Freyr was one of the Vanir, who are generally considered fertility gods, and he in specific was the god of virility, peace and prosperity. |
| 301 | * FullBoarAction: Had a boar made of gold by the dwarves, so detailed it even was covered in fur! |
| 302 | * TheGoodKing: In ''Literature/YnglingaSaga'', in which the gods are mortals, his reign is described as a peaceful era where everyone prospered. |
| 303 | * GodOfLight: Often associated with the [[ThePowerOfTheSun sun]] and light, though Baldr seems to have replaced him as that in myths HijackedByJesus. |
| 304 | * LoveAtFirstSight: To the jötunn Gerdr, however also something of deconstruction as it ends in his death and failure to save the universe at [[EndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt Ragnarok]]. |
| 305 | * MultipleChoicePast: Whether he and Freyja was born in Vanaheim and exchanged as a hostage following the [[DivineConflict Aesir-Vanir war]], or was born in Asgard following the war, also regarding if Skadi or Njord's sister is their mother. |
| 306 | * OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: It is often suggested that his original name was Yngvi, but was addressed so often as Freyr (Lord) out of respect that it eventually became the name most associated with him. |
| 307 | * OurElvesAreDifferent: Lord of the realm of the elves, Alfheim, and overall they were supposed to be like him. |
| 308 | * PrettyBoy: Not quite to the extent of Baldr, but he was said to be fair of face. |
| 309 | * ReluctantWarrior: He hates fighting and has an enchanted sword fight for him so he wouldn't have to make a decision to kill. He is powerful enough to kill giants with his hands but he prefers to be an agricultural god. |
| 310 | * WithThisHerring: Fought and killed the ''jotunn'' Beli with an antler after giving up his sword. |
| 311 | [[/folder]] |
| 312 | |
| 313 | [[folder:Bragi | Brage]] |
| 314 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bragi_2.jpg]] |
| 315 | The god of poetry, a son of Odin and the giantess Gunnlod, and the husband of Iðunn. |
| 316 | ----- |
| 317 | * TheBard: He's the god of bards essentially. |
| 318 | * CanonImmigrant: Consider that Odin himself also is reckoned a god of poetry and that the first RealLife Norse ''skald'' in tradition was named Bragi Boddason, some scholars believe this god actually is the skald elevated to godhood. Another thing that points toward this is that people were not supposed to be named after gods in nordic culture, whereas there were people named Bragi that we know of. |
| 319 | * DirtyCoward: Is called this by [[UnreliableNarrator Loki]] in Lokasenna, it is unclear if there is truth to this accusation. |
| 320 | [[/folder]] |
| 321 | |
| 322 | [[folder:Iðunn]] |
| 323 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/idun.jpg]] |
| 324 | Bragi's wife, the goddess of youth and spring, and the keeper of the golden apples that the gods use to maintain their immortality. The [=Æ=]sir's only clear agriculture deity, through Thor and Siv/Sif are suggested to have been associated with it as well. |
| 325 | ----- |
| 326 | * DamselInDistress: When kidnapped by the jötunn Thjazi. |
| 327 | * TheDitz: She's often portrayed as a bit of a scatterbrain. |
| 328 | * FountainOfYouth: The Norse gods are somewhat unique in that they are not innately immortal (as also demonstrated by Thor's wrestling match with the personification of old age) but need to eat Iðunn's apples to stay young. |
| 329 | * NoodleIncident / MissingEpisode: Iðunn's brother was killed (Loki blames it on Bragi, or rather, he blamed it on someone she was sleeping with, which may imply something else), but the story has unfortunately not survived. |
| 330 | * OurElvesAreDifferent: Is said to be the youngest daughter of the Elf Isvaldi's eldest set of children, and is thus of Elfin kin. |
| 331 | [[/folder]] |
| 332 | |
| 333 | [[folder:Njörðr | Njord]] |
| 334 | [[quoteright:282:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/njodr.jpg]] |
| 335 | A god of the wind, wealth, sea, sailors and fishing. He is the father of Freyr and Freyja and was sent to the [=Æ=]sir from the Vanir as a hostage at the end of the [=Æ=]sir-Vanir war. |
| 336 | ----- |
| 337 | * ArrangedMarriage: With the giantess Skaði. Occasionally it is said to have been a failed marriage (never consummated). |
| 338 | * AwfulWeddedLife: A tragic example. As a god of the sea, he couldn't be happy living with his wife Skadi in the mountains, whereas she couldn't be content living by the sea. |
| 339 | * BlowYouAway: He directed the way the wind blew. |
| 340 | * BrotherSisterIncest: He had Freyr and Freyja with his unnamed sister. Such practice was apparently common among the Vanir. |
| 341 | * FatherNeptune: An elderly man who serves as the god of the sea. |
| 342 | * FertilityGod: One of the Vanir, and the god of seafaring, wealth and crop fertility. |
| 343 | * LordOfTheOcean: The Norse God of the Seas. |
| 344 | * MayDecemberRomance: Somewhat complicated, since we're talking about immortal gods. However, Njord is usually depicted as an older man, and has two adult children, whereas Skadi is often depicted as a young woman, and lived with her (admittedly elderly) father before coming to Asgard. |
| 345 | [[/folder]] |
| 346 | |
| 347 | [[folder:Skaði | Skadi]] |
| 348 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/skadi_2.jpg]] |
| 349 | A giantess who is counted among the [=Æ=]sir due to her (failed) marriage to Njörðr. She was allowed to choose a husband from the [=Æ=]sir, but was only allowed to see their feet, resulting in her choosing Njörðr. Goddess of hunting, winter and skiing. |
| 350 | ----- |
| 351 | * ArchEnemy: To Loki. Of course, Loki is responsible for the death of her father. That didn't stop them from sleeping together at some point, as Loki points out in ''Lokasenna'', so either they slept together out of [[BelligerentSexualTension pure hatred]] or they ended their relationship on really bad terms. |
| 352 | * AvengingTheVillain: She originally came to the [=Æ=]sir seeking revenge for her father, [=Þjassi=]. Considering that he kidnapped Iðunn and tried to deprive the gods of their immortality, it's surprising that [[JerkassGods the gods]] treated her as well as they did. |
| 353 | * AwfulWeddedLife: A pretty tragic version. It's not that Skadi or Njord had anything against the marriage to begin with, they simply weren't right for each other. Skadi was a goddess of snow and skiing and obviously preferred the mountains, while Njord was a sea-god, who preferred to live by the seaside. |
| 354 | * TheComicallySerious: One of her challenges to the Aesir was that they had to make her laugh. This was thought to be impossible... until Loki literally tied his balls to a nanny-goat's beard, which was so absurd she couldn't help herself. |
| 355 | * MayDecemberRomance: Somewhat complicated, since we're talking about immortal gods. However, Njord is usually depicted as an older man, and has two adult children, whereas Skadi is often depicted as a young woman, and lived with her (admittedly elderly) father before coming to Asgard. |
| 356 | * NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: One possible meaning of her name is "damage." |
| 357 | * OddJobGods: She tends to be associated with skiing. |
| 358 | [[/folder]] |
| 359 | |
| 360 | [[folder:Heimdallr]] |
| 361 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/heimdallr.jpg]] |
| 362 | The Watchman of the Aesir, permanently guarding the Bifrost Bridge against any threat - a task made easier by the fact that he can see and hear everything that happens in the world, and never needs to sleep. Left his post once to outdo Loki in retrieving Freyja's necklace from some giants, and then again for their final (and mutually fatal) battle. Heimdall is said to have sired the human classes and passed on the secret of the runes to them. |
| 363 | ----- |
| 364 | * AngelUnaware: A key story focused on him depicts him staying with three different human families in disguise, and rewarding them based on their treatment of him. This is the creation of the human classes. |
| 365 | * ArchEnemy: To Loki. As they are each other's final opponents. |
| 366 | * CovertPervert: Guess whose idea it was to dress Thor in drag? |
| 367 | * ExtraParentConception: Has an unusual OriginStory, in some versions just appearing fully formed from the sea but in others being born to each of the sea god's daughters, of whom there were nine (one for each wave in a cycle). He may or may not also have a father in Odin. |
| 368 | * HyperCompetentSideKick: To Odin. Both can see everything that happens everywhere, but Odin needs to be sitting on his throne (or get the information from his ravens), while Heimdall just ''does''. |
| 369 | * LightIsGood: He represents the benefits of fire. |
| 370 | * MutualKill: With Loki. |
| 371 | * TheQuietOne: He is by far one of the more reserved deities |
| 372 | * TheRival: Both he and Loki have this dynamic. |
| 373 | * SuperSenses: He can see everywhere in the world. |
| 374 | * TripleShifter: He almost never leaves his post. |
| 375 | [[/folder]] |
| 376 | |
| 377 | [[folder:Vili and Vé]] |
| 378 | Odin's brothers. They took part in Ymir's murder and the creation of Earth/Midgard, but are otherwise rarely mentioned. |
| 379 | ----- |
| 380 | * BaitAndSwitchTyrant: Ynglinga Saga states that after Odin had been gone for an exceptionally long time, they decide he must be dead, and they were the default rulers of Asgard entitled to share Frigg between them. It's not as bad as feared; neither want to have relations with their brother's wife, they just want to rule as equals beside her and immediately step down when Odin returns. Loki twists the story to Frigg throwing herself on Odin's brothers while he was away, but he is dismissed. |
| 381 | * CharacterOverlap: They are possibly just alternate names for Hœnir and Lodurr(which might be an alternate name for Loki). |
| 382 | * ChuckCunninghamSyndrome: And you've read everything they were known to do. |
| 383 | * DependingOnTheWriter: ''Völuspá'' instead names Odin's brothers as Hœnir and Lóðurr. Lóðurr is likewise subject to ChuckCunninghamSyndrome, whereas Hœnir is mentioned a few more times (see below). |
| 384 | * TheDividual: They're never depicted apart, and are more or less treated as one person. |
| 385 | [[/folder]] |
| 386 | |
| 387 | [[folder:Hœnir | Høner]] |
| 388 | Another one of Odin's brothers, who according to the ''Völuspá'' assisted him in the creation of humanity along with Lóðr. He is mentioned as having been sent to the Vanir as a hostage at the end of the [=Æ=]sir-Vanir war along with Mímir. Judging by one of the last stanzas of ''Völuspá'', he is one of the few to survive Ragnarök. |
| 389 | ----- |
| 390 | * ActionSurvivor: He actually manages to survive Ragnarök despite never coming across as much of a Badass in what little is known of him. Some have stipulated that he owes his survival just to [[PutOnABus not being present in Asgard yet]] at the time of the final battle. |
| 391 | * BitCharacter: The kind of role he usually has. He is actually mentioned in several myths (often as part of a trio along with Odin and Loki), but he almost never does anything of any real consequence in any of them. |
| 392 | * TheDitherer: He passes all important decisions on to others. "Let others decide" is his CatchPhrase while with the Vanir. |
| 393 | * ExtremeDoormat: While with the Vanir, he was supposedly incapable of making decisions without Mímir's advice. |
| 394 | * OvershadowedByAwesome: He helped his brothers kill Ymir and create mankind, no small feat. Unfortunately his older brother is ''Odin''. |
| 395 | * PutOnABus / TheBusCameBack: He was sent away to the Vanir as a hostage in exchange for Njörðr, Freyr and Freyja, but they eventually send him back to the Aesir when they conclude he is useless without Mímir, and they kick Mímir out too by decapitating him and sending his head to Odin. |
| 396 | [[/folder]] |
| 397 | |
| 398 | [[folder:Kvasir]] |
| 399 | A god created from the saliva of all the [=Æ=]sir and the Vanir, he is the wisest of the gods. He was murdered by the dwarves Fjalar and Galar and his blood was the main component of the Mead of Poetry. |
| 400 | ----- |
| 401 | * ArtificialHuman: Made when the gods spat in a bucket. |
| 402 | * TheBard: The original one, in-story. |
| 403 | * MultipleChoicePast: ''Ynglinga saga'' dispenses with his origin of being created from saliva and instead just makes him one of the Vanir who was traded as a hostage to the [=Æ=]sir at the end of their war. |
| 404 | * SacrificialLamb: He only really features in the story where he gets killed. |
| 405 | %% * TheSmartGuy: |
| 406 | * SuperhumanTransfusion: Anyone drinking the mead made from his blood would gain a measure of his wisdom. |
| 407 | [[/folder]] |
| 408 | |
| 409 | [[folder:Sunna and Máni]] |
| 410 | The goddess of the Sun and the god of the Moon (contrary to Myth/ClassicalMythology, most Northern European religions don't see the Sun as masculine or the Moon as feminine), they are sadly the most easily forgotten deities of the pantheon, but seemingly were of quite the relevance, as they even had days sacred to them (Mánadagr, which became Monday, and Sunnundagr, which became Sunday). They run across the heavens, running away from two evil wolves that want to kill them. |
| 411 | ----- |
| 412 | * ActionGirl: Sunna, apparently, as she bears a shield and is at war with evil sky wolves. It's also worth note that her rune, Sowilo, symbolizes triumph, victorious warfare and divine mandate, which might implicate her role as a war goddess. |
| 413 | * CompositeCharacter: One of Sunna's epithets is also shared by Freyja. Both are known as warrior fertility goddesses of golden hair... |
| 414 | * CoolHorse: Sunna has two, Árvakr and Alsviðr. Máni's seemingly weren't cool enough to be named. |
| 415 | * DeityOfHumanOrigin[=/=]WasOnceAMan: In the ''Prose Edda'', it's claimed that they were once a normal girl and boy. Odin, [[JerkassGods being the asshole he is]], made them into the sun and moon and had them be persecuted by wolves until the end of time. |
| 416 | * FriendToAllChildren: Máni, who saved two kids, Bil and Hjúki, from their abusive father, who are now his faithful sidekicks. |
| 417 | * HairOfGoldHeartOfGold: Goes with being a solar goddess. |
| 418 | * TheHighQueen: It's been speculated that several prominent Norse goddesses were syncretized with Sunna. At any rate, many prominent female figures in Scandinavian history are named after the sun. |
| 419 | * LegacyCharacter: Sunna will supposedly be devoured by [[AnimalisticAbomination Sköll]], but she will birth another Sun that will replace her. According to some people, that already happened... maybe more than once... |
| 420 | * LightEmUp: As the embodiments of the sun and moon, this is a given. |
| 421 | * LightIsGood: Though only Sunna's shield Svalin stands between good light [[LightIsNotGood and a fiery inferno that would destroy the world]]. And, well, if Sunna is actually [[HairTriggerTemper Freyja]]... |
| 422 | * {{Lunacy}}: Máni, the moon. Apparently controls [[PlayingWithFire fire]]. |
| 423 | * TheManInTheMoon: Máni is the ur-example and has been suggested as the TropeNamer. |
| 424 | * ResurrectiveImmortality: Sunna is killed by Sköll at Ragnarok, but she's reborn as her daughter. |
| 425 | * PlayingWithFire: Both, apparently: Sunna for [[ThePowerOfTheSun obvious reasons]], and Máni is called "the fiery one" in Asgard. |
| 426 | * ThePowerOfTheSun: Sunna the sun. |
| 427 | * SolarAndLunar: Given their natures. |
| 428 | [[/folder]] |
| 429 | |
| 430 | [[folder:Forseti]] |
| 431 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/forseti_4.jpg]] |
| 432 | The son of Baldr and Nanna, lawmaker and god of justice and reconciliation. In Asgard he presides over a hall called Glitnir, acting as a judge and settling disagreements between the gods and mortal men. |
| 433 | ----- |
| 434 | * {{Foil}}: His skills in reconciliation are described as being contrary to Týr. |
| 435 | * MeaningfulName: "Forseti" means "the presiding one," and he did just that. His hall Glitnir's name means "Shining," and it's described as having a ceiling made of silver and shining gold pillars. |
| 436 | * OnlySaneMan: By virtue of his role as arbiter between disagreeing gods and men. |
| 437 | [[/folder]] |
| 438 | |
| 439 | [[folder:Mimir]] |
| 440 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mimir.jpg]] |
| 441 | The wisest of the Aesir. During the peacetime in the midst of the Aesir and Vanir war, he was one of the hostages given to the Vanir. |
| 442 | ----- |
| 443 | * ChessmasterSidekick: To Hœnir, [[TheManBehindTheMan secretly]]. Too bad for him, he was found out. |
| 444 | * DependingOnTheWriter: Odin's wisdom being provided by Mimir's disembodied head is one version of its origin; in another, Odin gains wisdom by sacrificing his eye in order to drink from the Well of Mimir underneath the World Tree. |
| 445 | * LosingYourHead: Of course, his head kept the ability to talk after it was separated from his body, and Odin used herbs to make sure it would not decay. |
| 446 | * OffWithHisHead: What the Vanir did to him after discovering that he was giving Hœnir advice, angry at being tricked. It was sent back to the Aesir. |
| 447 | * TheSmartGuy: All of Hœnir's seemingly thought-out plans were Mimir's. |
| 448 | [[/folder]] |
| 449 | |
| 450 | [[folder:Magni & Modi]] |
| 451 | The sons of Thor. Magni is his son by the giantess Jarnsaxa, while Modi's mother is never explicitly identified. |
| 452 | ----- |
| 453 | * ActionSurvivor: They both survive Ragnarok. |
| 454 | * BadassAdorable: Magni beat up the giant Hrungnir when he was only three days old. |
| 455 | * TheBerserker: Modi is sometimes invoked as a god of berserkers, given that his name can be translated as "wrath." |
| 456 | * BigDamnHeroes: Magni and Jarnsaxa save Thor from the giant Hrungnir. |
| 457 | * BitCharacter: Other than being Thor's son and Magni's brother and surviving Ragnarok, not much is known about Modi. |
| 458 | * CoolHorse: Thor rewards Magni with Hrungnir's horse, Gullfaxi, after he saves him. |
| 459 | * HeroicBastard: Magni is Thor's son via an affair with a giantess. No source identifies Modi's mother, though he's sometimes assumed to be Sif's son. |
| 460 | * SuperStrength: Magni's strength is described as being nearly equal to Thor's. |
| 461 | * TragicKeepsake: They inherit Mjollnir after Ragnarok and Thor's death. |
| 462 | * WarriorPoet: Modi, according to the ''Prose Edda''. |
| 463 | [[/folder]] |
| 464 | |
| 465 | [[folder:Ullr]] |
| 466 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ullr_2.jpg]] |
| 467 | The son of Sif, and god of justice, hunting, hand-to-hand combat, and dueling. He married Skadi and in Asgard lives in a place called Ydalir. |
| 468 | ----- |
| 469 | |
| 470 | * DisappearedDad: He is specifically described as Thor's ''step''son; the identity of his father is unknown. |
| 471 | * MissingEpisode: Like Tyr, he must have been an important good at some point, given the number of places named after him in Norway and Sweden. But no actual story about him survives aside from his name, attributes and function. |
| 472 | * OddJobGods: He's credited with the invention of snowshoes and teaching man how to ski. |
| 473 | * PrettyBoy: He's described as this in the ''Prose Edda''. |
| 474 | [[/folder]] |
| 475 | |
| 476 | [[folder:Sif]] |
| 477 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sif_2.jpg]] |
| 478 | The wife of Thor and mother of Ullr and Thrud. She was the goddess of wheat, and possibly fertility. Unfortunately, not much is known about her in the present. |
| 479 | ----- |
| 480 | * BornAsAnAdult: She is theorized to have been born out of a rowan tree. |
| 481 | * HairOfGoldHeartOfGold: Her most famous myth involves Loki getting dwarves to make her the trademark golden wig that she is most known for. |
| 482 | [[/folder]] |
| 483 | |
| 484 | [[folder:Thrud]] |
| 485 | [[quoteright:213:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/thrud.jpg]] |
| 486 | The daughter of Thor and Sif, and goddess of power and strength. She once tried to marry a dwarf named Alvis, only for Thor to turn the dwarf into stone. |
| 487 | ----- |
| 488 | * ActionGirl: Presumably, based on her name. There is a Valkyrie named Thrud, who may be the same person. |
| 489 | * InterspeciesRomance: May have[[note]]technically we only know that he was dating "Thor's daughter," but as far as we know, Thrud is the only one he had[[/note]] been in a relationship with Alvis, a dwarf. |
| 490 | [[/folder]] |
| 491 | |
| 492 | [[folder:Jörd]] |
| 493 | [[MotherNature Goddess of the earth]], the daughter of Annar and a giantess named Nott. In some sources, she is the mother of Thor. |
| 494 | ----- |
| 495 | * FlatCharacter: She never really got a role or much development. She's pretty much just a cosmic entity. |
| 496 | [[/folder]] |
| 497 | |
| 498 | [[folder:Gullveig / Heidr]] |
| 499 | A beautiful, immortal being born from the Vanir. The Aesir captured, speared and burned her three times, but to their confusion, she always came back just the same as she was before. She is the mother of all völva and her torture at the hands of the Aesir is what, in some sources, initiated the Aesir-Vanir war. She is a minor character in the myths, thought to be a local variation of Freja or Angerboda. |
| 500 | ----- |
| 501 | * DamselInDistress: The helpless Gullveig was captured and tortured by the Aesir, leading to the Vanir initiating a RoaringRampageOfRescue campaign against the Aesir. |
| 502 | * NiceJobBreakingItHero: She is implied to only have had the power of immortality when the Aesir found her and was as such relatively harmless compared to her superpowered kin. She was however the ''only'' deity in Norse mythology to be born immortal and it apparently and understandably didn't sit well with the Vanirs' enemies. The Aesirs' attempts at getting her KilledOffForReal however, not only ended up starting a war; but also gave Gullveig magic powers on top of her already disturbing immortality AND a reason to use these powers against them. |
| 503 | ** This is especially poignant in the interpretations where she is akin to Angerboda, who gives birth to what was, in the later attestations, considered ''the three most evil beings in the universe''. Beings that end up bringing about Ragnarok; [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt killing the Gods and consuming the world in the process]]. |
| 504 | * ResurrectiveImmortality: Her defining trait and something that [[OhCrap terrified the Aesir once they found out]]. Que them repeatedly [[AesopAmnesia trying to kill her using the exact same, failed, method every time]]. |
| 505 | * SuperpoweredEvilSide: As the witch Heidr. |
| 506 | * ThenLetMeBeEvil: On her third, rather horrible, death she transforms into the witch Heidr and proceeds to travel the world providing women with ill intent the power to use magic. It is presented as her way of giving the other gods the middle finger. |
| 507 | [[/folder]] |
| 508 | |
| 509 | !!Loki and Prominent Family Members |
| 510 | |
| 511 | [[folder:Loki]] |
| 512 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/loki_13.jpg]] |
| 513 | The blood brother of Odin, Loki is technically a god -- one of the [=Æ=]sir. As in Norse culture, once you are adopted, you are officially one of the tribe -- and therefore are a part of the family. So even though Loki was a child of jötnar (which were the primal forces in Norse Mythology), he was also one of the [=Æ=]sir. He's a TricksterGod who has been often turned into a {{Satan}} [[HijackedByJesus equivalent]]. Also known as "the sly god" and "father of the wolf." His parents are the giant Farbauti and the giantess Laufey, his biological brothers are Helblindi and Býleistr. |
| 514 | ----- |
| 515 | * AdaptationalVillainy: Mostly occurred due to later writers missing that there are two distinctly different entities in Norse mythology named Loki and then further conflating the stories and linking them incorrectly, creating even more confusion. On top of that, some of the myths written later appear out of nowhere and contradict the earlier versions. For example, in the older forms of the myth about Baldur's death, Loki is never even mentioned, and his involvement is very unclear. There is also no reason to believe there was ever a standard canon, let alone one syncing up understandings across different population centers. A major theme of Loki in the recorded stories seems to be '[[AnAesop it is dangerous to let someone into your kinship group who might cause trouble, even if he's useful and you like him a lot.]]' Even then, this is unlikely to have been part of his original conception. |
| 516 | * AlternativeCharacterInterpretation[[invoked]]: Some researchers have theorized that he was originally another aspect of Odin, while a more popular theory is that Loki is the same as Lóðurr, as Loki is often mentioned along with Odin and Hœnir in many tales and it would also explain why Lóðurr is never mentioned again. Some experts say that the benevolent Lóðurr is incompatible with Loki. Note that Loki actually appears rather benevolent in a few stories too. Most experts agree that it's very hard to make a clear statement about Loki's origin and true nature, which is in all appropriate. |
| 517 | * AnimalMotifs: He's associated with fish. In the Faroese ballad ''Loka Táttur'', Loki transforms a boy into a grain in the middle of a flounder's roe to hide him from a jötunn who wanted to murder the child, and Loki uses fishing as part of his ruse against the giant.[[note]]Fish is the main staple of the Faroese diet, and it's deemed to be Loki's domain (in the story, Odin's sphere of influence is grain/crops, while Hœnir's is swans/seabirds). The vital importance of fish in Faroese life is most likely the reason why Loki is the HeroProtagonist.[[/note]] He's also the inventor of the fishing net, and he once shape-shifted into a salmon to evade the [=Æ=]sir. |
| 518 | * ArchEnemy: [[SadlyMythtaken Not of Thor]] but of Heimdall and Skadi, the latter because he caused the death of her father Thjazi. Thor might have killed him, but it was Loki who started the fight that led to his death. Of course, whose idea was it to let a snake drip poison in the eyes of Loki? |
| 519 | ** It should be noted, though, that even then, Loki and Skadi were lovers at some point, probably after he made her laugh as one of the conditions for peace she imposed on the Aesir. |
| 520 | * AtLeastIAdmitIt: Lokasenna is him calling out the gods for pretending they are above him when in truth they have done just as bad if not worse things than him, but he doesn't cover up his crimes. |
| 521 | * AttractiveBentGender: He must have been sufficiently attractive as a milkmaid because he gave birth to several children during an eight-year period. |
| 522 | * AttractiveBentSpecies: By horse standards, Loki as a mare must have been quite alluring because the stallion Svaðilfari is DistractedByTheSexy, ignores the commands of his master, and chases after Loki into the woods. Loki later gives birth to the foal Sleipnir. Of course, given that most stallions are ''extremely'' well-known for running off after any mare they see, Loki might have just made sure that his mare form [[CrazyPrepared was in heat.]] |
| 523 | * BattleRapping: In addition to being TheTrickster, Loki was also known for being a master of flyting, a competition of exchanging insults in poetic verse. In the Lokasenna, he trounces the entire pantheon in one prolonged one vs all flyting match that only ends when Thor arrives and decides he'd rather just bash Loki's skull in. |
| 524 | * BigBad: Loki is the primary villain of Norse myth at least in most versions known to modern audiences. |
| 525 | * BigBadSlippage: The UrExample in the recorded myths as he started off as just a trickster, but eventually became the greatest enemy to the [=Æ=]sir. |
| 526 | * BigEater: In one story, he ''just'' loses an eating contest to [[AnthropomorphicPersonification the embodiment of fiery destruction]].[[note]]Both began at opposite ends of a table and met in the middle. Loki had stripped every bone clean, but Logi had eaten the meat, bones, and half of the table![[/note]] In spite of his great appetite, Loki remains the LeanAndMean to Thor's DumbMuscle; he's a VoluntaryShapeshifter, after all. |
| 527 | * BlowYouAway: One of his names means "loptr," which comes from a Norse word for "air." Even today he is associated with weather phenomena in folklore. |
| 528 | * ButtMonkey: Poor Loki goes from TheChewToy to IronButtmonkey to a [[TheWoobie Woobie]] to JerkassWoobie to WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds depending on when and which version of the myth is supposed to take place. |
| 529 | * CainAndAbel: To Odin, his bloodbrother. Defied, curiously, as neither of them ever broke their oath, even when Ragnarok became inescapable. Odin gives him a seat in the last feast they share because he still keeps the oath (remarkable, given that Odin is a self-confessed oath-breaker, so he must have valued his bond with Loki very deeply), and given Loki's numerous sexual escapades with most goddesses in Asgard, it's quite noteworthy that he never made any approaches toward Frigg, Odin's wife. All in all, Loki and Odin may have had their differences, but they still regarded each other highly. |
| 530 | * CallOnMe: When a farmer goes to pray to him to protect his child, he doesn’t even get half a word out before Loki appears before him. |
| 531 | * CanonForeigner: While most Norse gods have obvious Indo-European roots and equivalents in other Indo-European-derived religions (for example, Thor is a distant cousin of Zeus and Indra, and the [=Æ=]sir and Vanir are fairly clearly related to the Asuras/Ahuras and Devas/Daevas of Myth/{{Hindu|Mythology}}ism and UsefulNotes/{{Zoroastrianism}}), Loki doesn't even appear in other Germanic myths. He seems to be unique to Scandinavian traditions and nobody's entirely sure how he got there (which, you know, is [[TricksterGod appropriate]]). |
| 532 | ** Most of the Germanic sources are very scarce and often are second or third-hand sources leaving out many gods, so Loki's status could merely be a case of lack of [[MissingEpisode evidence]]. |
| 533 | * ChildByRape: Sleipnir is this for him, the result of Loki failing to outrun the stallion Svadilfari. |
| 534 | * CuddleBug: One of his kennings is "Cargo of Sigyn's arms". It basically means he's the little spoon for his wife in bed. |
| 535 | * CuteMonsterGirl: He's a Cute Monster Guy; while admittedly some giantesses receive this treatment, Loki is a rare good-looking male giant, and notably, most of his kids (male and female) are hideous monsters. |
| 536 | * DecompositeCharacter: Loki, as important as he is in the Icelandic Eddas, and his presence being identified in Scandinavian archeologial artifacts, is notably absent from ''Gesta Danorum'', written by Saxo Grammaticus and preserving various mythological traditions. However, there are many characters who seem to be him under different names, most of them in Book I, dealing mostly with mythological events: |
| 537 | ** ''Lotherus'' (''Lóder''), in Book I, child of Dan and Grytha (Grídr), he takes the throne from his brother Humble (who seems to be an expy of Heimdall). Described as annoying, arrogant and paranoic, exiling, killing or stripping any riches from any perceived rival to the throne. Died in an insurrection due to his various abuse. |
| 538 | ** ''Lyserus'' (''Lysir''), in Book I, enigmatic rover, friend of a “half blind man” (Odin) who presented him to the hero Hadding (Hoenir?), with whom he makes a solemn covenant of friendship, and who he helps prepare an attack against king Loker of Kurland before dissappearing suspiciously. |
| 539 | ** ''Loker'', tyrant of the Kurlanders in Book I. Hadding and Lysir attack the kind unsuccessfully, the “half-blind man” rescues Hadding in his horse, gives him a prophecy, and then hands him over to Loker once again, who sends him to king Handwan. Seems rather to help Odin to test Hadding before just vanishing from the tale. |
| 540 | ** ''Mit-Othin'', in Book I, the king who assumes in “Byzantium” (i.e. Asgard) when Odin goes in self-exile out of shame after Frigg conspired to have his talking golden statue melted with a goldsmith lover. Described as a “juggler”, proclaims that every god should have its own separate drink-offering. Not a particularly bad ruler, it seems, but when Odin returned, he traveled to Finland, being murdered its inhabitants. His barrow was said to be haunted, and he cursed his killers with a terrible pestilence, until his body was dug up, beheaded and impaled. |
| 541 | ** ''Utgarthilocus'' (''Utgarda-Loki''), in Book VIII, worshiped by king Gorm, asking him for fair weather. Later he sends Thorkill to visit the god, crossing sunless lands, grassless plains, talking with giants who generously give him fuel for fire after the hero insults their home repeatedly. He finds it living in a hideous and grisly cave, poorly illuminated, full of iron seats and swarms of serpents, and a small rivulet flowing onf sandy soil. The giant himself, covered in spiky hairs and surrounded by noxious fumes, has its hands and feet chained in in the deepest part of the cavern. Nobody knows for sure whether the giant is the same Loki from the Eddas, or if it was the giant Utgarda-Loki who was actually chained and this later was transferred to asa Loki, if they are different characters or just two versions of the same deity. |
| 542 | * {{Determinator}}: A trait shared by nearly all versions of his tales. When Loki gives his word, he ''keeps'' it, whether for good or ill. He'll keep on going even when the likes of Odin have given up. |
| 543 | * DisproportionateRetribution: A common interpretation of Lokasenna; what gets him punished by the Aesir is not the fact that he killed Baldr or that he insulted the gods, but rather that after he had roasted all the gods in Aegir's hall, they could not have parties there anymore because they could not forget that Loki had said to them and it ruined the mood. So basically Loki was condemned to eternal torture because he had made it so his friends couldn't party in someone's home. |
| 544 | * EvenBadMenLoveTheirMamas: Despite his BigBadSlippage, he does hold his mother, Laufey, in high esteem, to the point where he chose to call himself "Laufeyjarson" rather than "Farbautason." |
| 545 | * EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: Even in stories where he is depicted as malicious, he generally has a genuinely loving relationship with his wife Sigyn. Despite what pop culture might have told you, Vikings did not think less of women for cheating on or leaving their husbands, divorce was fine, and rape was abhorred. So if she stayed with him until the end, he must have at the least held love for her. In most versions Loki is also shown to love his children, setting his monstrous ones free in Ragnarök and avenging his youngest sons. |
| 546 | * EveryoneHasStandards: One thing he and the Aesir share is a disgust toward the Vanir's incestuous traditions. In recorded tales he also sided with the Aesir when they sentenced Odin to exile for raping Rindr. |
| 547 | * EvilGloating: According to Lokasenna, when calling out all the gods Loki puts salt in the wound of Tyr by gloating how his son (Fenrir) bit off Tyr's hand and then to Frigg's face that he was responsible for the death of her son, Baldr. |
| 548 | * EvilRedhead: Mostly as part of his equivalency with Satan by Christians, but he is often portrayed as a redhead as well as an evil, malicious soul, contrasting the noble and redheaded Thor. This is a fairly modern interpretation, however, as none of the old sources consider him a redhead. |
| 549 | * ExtremeOmnisexual: He's done it with men, women, giants, monsters, and at one point, a horse has done ''him.'' |
| 550 | * EyeScream: Sometimes his imprisonment specifically mentions that the serpent's venom drips into his eyes. |
| 551 | * EyesNeverLie: It's said to be the only way to identify him when he's transformed; his eyes do not change. |
| 552 | * FaceHeelTurn: Though the exact reasons differ from one tale to another (to be precise, places more weight on different crimes Loki committed), the Aesir eventually imprison Loki in a cave with a serpent dripping venom into his face for eternity. When Loki breaks free, [[BeingTorturedMakesYouEvil he will not]] [[{{Gotterdammerung}} be happy]]. |
| 553 | * FacialHorror: Had his lips sewn shut after losing a bet, and after he tore the stitches out his lips were scarred ever afterwards; one of his kenning names is Scar Lip. Modern adaptations often gloss over this, but there have been some depictions found of a face with its mouth sewn shut which are often interpreted as depictions of Loki. |
| 554 | * FieryRedhead: Not as much as Thor, but he has his moments. |
| 555 | * FlamingHair: Is sometimes depicted with this. Also, one of his kennings is actually "Flame-Hair," although this is likely a confusion with the god of fire, ''Logi''. |
| 556 | * ForgotAboutHisPowers: Twice in ''Þrymskviða''. He borrows Freyja's magic flying cloak to go and look for Mjöllnir when he already has magic flying shoes. He then disguises Thor as Freyja, hiding his face with a veil then shapeshifts himself into a handmaiden. He could have shapeshifted into a realistic Freyja to fool Thrym. Then again, Loki could very well have been trolling Thor by forcing him to dress up as a woman. |
| 557 | * TheFriendNobodyLikes: Even in the oldest known tales Loki is heard of, it's fairly clear Loki isn't known to have a great relationship with most of Aesir. In recorded stories, his relationship with them would continually sour until he becomes their enemies. Parly because of mistreatment by the other gods and partly because Loki himself is a massive troublemaker; which one plays a bigger role depends on the version. |
| 558 | ** Defied, on the other hand, as he is in quite popular among the goddesses, and usually goes with them for help. Freyja helps him repeatedly lending him her feather-cloak, and he did sleep with most of them at some point, so it's fairly easy to assume he kept on good terms after. He was charming, usually respectful (for a viking that is) and had no problem cross-dressing (in a hypermasculine society that considered that deeply disgraceful), so it's easy to see the appeal. |
| 559 | ** Played straight with as Odin, a infamous oath-breaker, kept their blood-oath until his last day, so it could be argued that he did like Loki a lot more than he was willing to admit out loud. |
| 560 | ** Deconstructed with Thor, as they were travel buddies, and the thunder god usually trusted Loki without hesitation (that's why Geirrod forced Loki to lure Thor weaponless to his fortress). Loki also talks him out of his rage and convinces him not to punish Thialfi and his family harshly, taking him as a page under his service instead. When he lost his hammer he went straight up to Loki for help before he told anyone else. And when he has to cross-dress against his will, Loki escorts him like some sort of emotional support. All in all, Loki's relationship with his nephew was a caring and supportive one, at least until things got tense. |
| 561 | * FriendToAllChildren: Is sometimes known as a god of fatherhood and protector of children, as seen in '''Loka Táttur'''. In said story, a farmer angers a giant who swears to kill his young son and the farmer in desperation prays to Loki to save his son after Odin and Hoenir fail. Loki manages to hide the boy as a fish in the water but when the giant catches on to what he's doing, he transforms the boy back and tells him to run into the nearby boathouse. The boy does that and when the giant follows him, he ends up stuck in the opening and Loki then takes the opportunity to kill him and returns the boy home. |
| 562 | * TheGadfly: When it comes to antics, he is either this or an outright {{troll}}. In one story, he is a literal gadfly, stinging a dwarf to distract him from crafting better items than those Loki had provided earlier (it was a bet). |
| 563 | * GenderBender: [[VoluntaryShapeshifter Frequently]]. His gender-fluidity is why some in the LGBTQ community consider Loki to be an icon. |
| 564 | * GoodIsNotSoft: If he truly is Lodurr, he is described as a benevolent figure. However, he's still not above playing dirty. |
| 565 | * HeelFaceRevolvingDoor: It's an even bet whether Loki will help or hinder at any given moment. In fact, many stories are kicked off by Loki causing some kind of trouble, the problem escalates, then he is being relied upon or forced to fix it. |
| 566 | * HeroicWillPower: In the story of the Andvaranaut, Loki is sent by King Hreidmarr to collect treasure in exchange for Odin and Hœnir's lives. He gets his hands on the ring Andvaranaut which was cursed by it's owner Andvari to drive it's bearer mad with greed. Loki falls under the ring's influence and refuses to part with it, until Hreidmarr demands Loki give to him if he wants his brothers to live and he gives it up. |
| 567 | * HijackedByJesus: ... and turned into {{Satan}}. As mentioned numerous times in the main page, it's impossible to tell which aspects of the recorded stories are not influenced by Christianity and Loki is particularly hit hard by this. |
| 568 | * IDidWhatIHadToDo: An interpretation for his reason for killing Baldr. Jötnar are meant to represent nature while gods are meant to represent culture (or "humans"), and Loki in particular represents what everyone dislikes but you have to face, such as an untimely death of a loved one. By trying to get everything that lives to promise not to harm Baldr, Frigg tried to break the laws of nature and stop death. Loki, enforcing the unavoidable, thus killed Baldr because no man can escape death. |
| 569 | * InformedAbility: A heavy case of DependingOnTheWriter, but his status as a trickster. In some stories, he does get the better of his opponents. In others, his tricks are so obvious that everyone immediately knows it was him, and he comes across as TooDumbToLive for even trying them. |
| 570 | ** A notable case is when he shaved Sif's head, which can vary widely in severity. Loki is sometimes said to shave her head to [[MaliciousSlander claim she cheated on her husband.]] It has been noted though that Odin as "Hárbard", the boatman, mentioned that Sif had a lover at home, an accusation that Loki also uses against her in Lokasenna. It is entirely possible that Sif secret lover was actually Loki, and that's how he got so close as to shave her in the first place. |
| 571 | * InTouchWithHisFeminineSide: He's the epitome of an effeminate male in Norse mythology; Loki is a [[GenderBender Gender-Bending]] PrettyBoy who has gotten pregnant more than once, and he thrives on pulling off pranks rather than engage in combat. He's often seen as the antithesis of what the macho Norse culture considers to be the ideal man. |
| 572 | * ItAmusedMe: Recorded tales of Loki seem to paint him as a god who doesn't really have long-term plans, he just does things he thinks will be fun in any given moment. A perfect example is shaving off all Sif's hair with a knife so sharp it would never grow back. . . and [[DidntThinkThisThrough not stopping to think]] that Sif's husband, the giant-smashing hammer-wielding God of Thunder, is unlikely to find this nearly as amusing as Loki does. Of course, the result of this is that the gods get some of their most powerful and iconic magic weapons and items, including Thor's hammer, so it did all work out in the end. |
| 573 | * JerkassGods: From the recorded tales, Loki has a pretty extensive list of nasty stuff he commits. Often, his reasons are also rather [[EvilIsPetty petty]] or just of the [[ForTheEvulz lolz]]: |
| 574 | ** In ''Prose Edda'', his plan to trick Hödr into murdering his own brother is regarded by many as the moment he crossed the MoralEventHorizon. Also, since Odin is Loki's blood-brother, he technically [[EvilUncle conspired to murder his nephew]]. |
| 575 | ** In ''Lokasenna'', Loki is invited to a party at [=Æ=]gir's hall and kills one of [=Æ=]gir's servants because he can't stand all the positive attention the other gods give said servants. He is promptly thrown out and then forces his way back in again by invoking his blood-brotherhood with Odin. Loki then continues to heckle and insult the other gods and tops it off by gloating that he was the mastermind behind Baldr's death to Frigg's face. |
| 576 | ** In ''Reginsmál'' & ''Völsunga Saga'', he kills Ottr and is forced to pay weregild to ransom Odin. Loki does this by robbing Andvari blind and taking his precious ring. Andvari curses the ring to bring misfortune to the owner, but Loki [[KarmaHoudini dodges this]] by handing the ring to Ottr's family causing them to start killing each other. |
| 577 | ** There's also the part where he shaved Sif's head for no good reason. |
| 578 | * KickTheDog |
| 579 | ** The list of things Loki does because ItAmusedMe in recorded tales is typically malice done for no real reason other than because he can. |
| 580 | ** Killing Baldr ''might'' be BecauseDestinySaysSo, but tricking his blind brother into doing so in one version of the tale is practically done just to rub it in. |
| 581 | * LadyKillerInLove: His relationship with Sigyn is implied to have started like this in most versions. Sigyn never had any rivals listed with her, meaning Loki had no mistresses after they married. However he had countless lovers, both male and female, before her. |
| 582 | * TheLancer: Typically takes on this role in tales where he has to assist another god, such as Thor as they visit Utgard and when they retrieve stolen Mjölnir. |
| 583 | * LargeHam: ''Lokasenna'' is one notable moment. When Loki gets on a roll, there's no shutting him up. |
| 584 | * LightIsNotGood: Over time, Loki acquired an association with fire (due to a RougeAnglesOfSatin -- Logi is the Norse personification of fire), and tends to be portrayed as a PrettyBoy much like [[{{Satan}} Lucifer]]. One of his origins was that he came out of a tree struck by lightning, and occasionally interpreted as representing harmful fire. |
| 585 | * LoopholeAbuse: A big fan of this in many tales. One tale has Loki betting his head, he manages to survive when he lost because he didn't bet his neck. In another, he's forced to kidnap and deliver Idunn to Thjazi, he saves her afterward because Thjazi didn't specify that Loki couldn't take her back. |
| 586 | * LovableTraitor: As shown, Loki's as apt to cause trouble as to end it. But the best one to undo the trouble Loki causes is Loki himself, and there are stories where he resolves troubles not of his own making far more handily than anyone else in Asgard could have. |
| 587 | * MakeMeWannaShout: One of his names is "Hvedrungr", meaning "roarer". |
| 588 | * ManipulativeBastard: One of the most prominent manipulators in mythology. |
| 589 | * MeaningfulName: Scholars have struggled for a very long time to ascertain the etymology of his name, but the philologist Eldar Heide has determined that Loki most likely means "knot," "tangle" or "loop." (Indeed, modern Danish still uses the word "løkke" as a possible synonym for all three words.) This works both literally and figuratively, as Loki is credited in-universe as the inventor of fishing nets, and he's the TricksterGod in the Norse pantheon who "ensnares" others with his mischievous and chaotic nature. |
| 590 | * MommasBoy: Commonly believed to be closer to his mother than his father, as Loki uses the matronymic Laufeyjarson. |
| 591 | * MisterSeahorse: |
| 592 | ** The most commonly accepted origin of Odin's steed Sleipnir; he was born when Loki assumed the form of a mare and let the stallion of a giant who was building Asgard's walls couple with "her" to sap his strength. |
| 593 | ** In some tales, after the death of his first wife Angrboða, Loki eats her heart and becomes pregnant. These tellings differ on whether the pregnancy results in the birth of either Hel or the first trolls. |
| 594 | ** In Lokasenna, Odin accuses Loki of having given birth to many children while the latter had lived as a milkmaid for eight years. |
| 595 | ** In one region, stories of Loki having children in female form were so common that it was accepted practice for men without mothers to claim their father had driven their mother off in disgust after learning "she" was actually the shapeshifted Loki. |
| 596 | * MultipleChoicePast: His birth story. He's either the son of two Jotnar, Farbauti and Laufey, or he was born [[BornAsAnAdult fully formed]] out of a burning tree that was struck by lightning. |
| 597 | * MutualKill: With Heimdall during Ragnarök. |
| 598 | * {{Nephewism}}: Sort of, not many stories tell about Thor and Odin, but there are plenty where Loki follows Thor on adventures and helps him out. |
| 599 | * NomDeMom: Is commonly given the surname "Laufeyjarson" (Laufey's son). Laufey is actually his ''mother''; his father's name is Farbauti. The reason for this is quite simple: Norse myth was originally transmitted through alliterative poetry, so calling him Laufeyjarson [[AddedAlliterativeAppeal simply rhymes better]]. |
| 600 | * NotSoDifferentRemark: It's commonly interpreted that pointing this out is what gets him punished in Lokasenna. When the gods shame him for being so deprived, he points out that they aren't any better themselves and have in fact done worse things than him. For this, the gods saw it fit to murder his children and leave him under a venomous snake. |
| 601 | * NotSoHarmlessVillain: Loki starts out as Odin's blood-brother and drinking buddy, and his "villainy" is mostly restricted to petty pranks against the other Aesir. Then he fathers two [[BeastOfTheApocalypse Beasts of the Apocalypse]] and tricks Hodr into murdering his own brother. |
| 602 | * OneSteveLimit: PlayedWith rather hilariously in one story, where he and Thor meet two men called Utgard-Loki (as in 'Loki of Utgard') and [[RougeAnglesOfSatin Logi]]. |
| 603 | * OrderVersusChaos: He's ''most definitely'' on the side of chaos; most tales (recorded or otherwise) show his mischief usually results in some form of mayhem. |
| 604 | ** Zig-zagged, however, as Norse mythology was more nuanced than that. It is not that clear cut if the giants were "chaos incarnate", representations of the forces of nature, monsters, foreigners, or just part of the "us vs. the other" mentality. That being said, the Aesir didn't represent good or order, but held their position in the top of the hierarchy by force. Order was only good as long as it was theirs, and they mantained it by any means possible. Thus, Loki was more of a tool for the Aesir than an "ally" or even a "friend". |
| 605 | ** Defied given that Loki was key to build the power of the Aesir in first place. Creating the first humans, Loki participated (as Lódur). Setting the sun and moon in motion? They put Hati and Skoll (his grandchildren) to chase them. Thor's super-powered weapon of mass destruction? Loki got it. Odin's infalible spear Gungnir and eight-legged horse Sleipnir? All thanks to Loki. Freyr's foldable ship and golden boar? Yeah, Loki's fault again. Oops, Thor forgot where he left Mjöllnir? Don't worry, uncle Loki will retrieve it for you. (Let's remember that the gods were nothing without their toys, so it is quite impressive that Loki got almost all of them) He was so important to build the world, that he probably was one of the few gods that could destroy it. |
| 606 | ** In line with this defiance, even the death of Balder has always been a suspicious matter among scholars. First we find the ''Gesta Danorum'' casts Balder in a totally different light, painting him almost as a psychopathic warlike prince, battling and dying without any intervention of Loki at all. Some have argued that in the Eddas, Frigg trying to keep his son alive at all cost is actually putting the order of the world at stake, so Loki has to intervene to fulfill what has been foretold. Even asking the whole world to cry in effort to resurrect Balder is actually attempting against the natural order, so "Let Hel hold to that she hath!" is a reminder to accept things like death, even of loved ones, as inevitable and natural. |
| 607 | * PapaWolf: Quite literally, as one of his sons is a wolf. This could possibly be one reason why Loki completely turns on the gods and starts Ragnarök even though he knows it's suicide, because after all of his children have been either ripped from him or horribly murdered, he doesn't see any other option than dying and taking Asgard with him. |
| 608 | * PlayingWithFire: [[DependingOnTheWriter Is sometimes associated with fire]]. This may be in part due to him being confused with the character Lo'''g'''i, the personification of fire, who, despite what you may think, is not just an alternate spelling for Loki. He is also confused with Lóðr/Lódurr, another name for Odin's biological brother Ve, which means burning. |
| 609 | * PrettyBoy: He's often described as "pleasing and handsome" (an alternate translation is "beautiful and comely," which is closer to our modern definition of this trope), and has a lithe frame. |
| 610 | * ReallyGetsAround: The myths aren't shy about how, even by the standards of the [=Æ=]sir, Loki likes to have sex with people in a variety of forms. |
| 611 | * SatanicArchetype: Christian writers often conflated Loki with old Scratch, and even Snorri's tales have some notably Satanic elements (kickstarting Ragnarök being the most obvious example). Considering that most sources on Norse mythology come from post-Christianity writers, it's very hard to tell how much of it is the original figure and how much is a later syncretization with Satan. Some scholars even theorize that Loki was created ''after'' Scandinavia's Christianization as an analog for Satan. |
| 612 | * ScarsAreForever: Tales commonly claim the ones he acquired when the dwarfs sewed his mouth shut are retained in all his transformations. Notably, however, the scars can also change; they're always on his lips, but they needn't stay in the same spot or shape. |
| 613 | * SensitiveGuyAndManlyMan: He's the wily Sensitive Guy to Thor's warrior Manly Man. |
| 614 | * ShadowArchetype: At his worst depictions, he can be seen as a shadow image of Odin, with all his bad sides taken up a notch. |
| 615 | * ShapeshiftingSeducer: AttractiveBentSpecies case aside, most tales seem to paint Loki has a reputation for getting knocked up by mortal men and trolls. |
| 616 | * ShapeshiftingSquick: Loki's seduction of Svadilfari aside, there are tales of his pregnancies, and the aforementioned stories of motherless men claiming their father drove their mother away in disgust upon realizing she was actually Loki in disguise. |
| 617 | * SlutShaming: He sure likes to point out how slutty the other goddesses are. Surprisingly, considering the times, Njord has no issue with married women having affairs and defends his daughter Freyja by saying that she has done nothing wrong. |
| 618 | ** To be fair his shaming is not so much "you have sex a lot" as "you have had sex with people no one should sleep with". His accusation of Gefjun is that she has sex even though she is meant to be a virgin goddess, Freyja slept with her own brother, and Frigg, the goddess of marriage, cheated on her husband. |
| 619 | * SissyVillain: Part of what identifies Loki as the "bad guy" of the Nordic mythos? He's a slender, effeminate-looking man who relies on trickery and magic over courage and forthrightness, as well as a bisexual who ''enjoys'' being penetrated so much he willingly turns into a woman for it, happily accepting pregnancy as acceptable in exchange for the pleasure. |
| 620 | * TraumaButton: Thunder and lightning are implied to be one for him. Certain tales claim Thor is the only one Loki truly fears. His father Farbauti was said to have lightning powers and it is implied they didn't have a good relationship. |
| 621 | * TricksterGod: One of, if not THE most famous examples. Loki is a mercurial agent of change and chaos within the Norse culture, and he frequently disrupts the status quo. In pop culture, he's known as the god of mischief (even though he's not directly referred to as this in the myths). |
| 622 | * {{Troll}}: Tales, recorded or not, often show how much Loki loves to make people mad and cause trouble just for the sheer hell of it. He thinks it's great fun to piss people off. |
| 623 | * TheVamp: As mentioned earlier, Loki once shapeshifts into a mare and uses all his marely charms to seduce the stallion Svadilfari in order to save Asgard from debt the [=Æ=]sir didn't want to pay. |
| 624 | * VitriolicBestBuds: In most recorded tales, to Odin and Thor, at least initially. |
| 625 | * VoluntaryShapeshifter: At last count, he's taken the form of a fly, a flea, a hawk, a salmon, a horse, and a woman -- the latter multiple times. |
| 626 | * WolverinePublicity: Alongside Thor, Loki tends to show up in adaptations a lot, often as the villain. |
| 627 | * WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds: One interpretation of his character. Loki was, originally, a decent guy. The serfs were particularly fond of him. But after the dwarves sewed his lips shut ([[TricksterGod after he managed to trick them out of chopping his head off]]), the other gods laughed at him, and he began to plot his revenge. |
| 628 | ** Also, because in Norse Mythology YouCantFightFate ''at all'', Loki is fated to help bring about TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt and from birth and there is ''nothing'' he or anyone else could do to change that. |
| 629 | [[/folder]] |
| 630 | |
| 631 | [[folder:Angrboða]] |
| 632 | The mother of Loki's monster children. The gods abducted her three children when they became aware of how dangerous they would become. Some scholars say she was a very powerful witch and that she had the ability to see into the future. She was confined to Hel and would not be released from the realm of the dead until Loki was unbound. |
| 633 | ----- |
| 634 | * ActionGirl: A competent fighter and a [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy proud giantess at that]]. |
| 635 | * AmbiguouslyEvil: A version of her story implies she knew her children would help destroy the world. |
| 636 | * BeatStillMyHeart: There are several myths that involve Angrboða's heart being consumed by Loki. The basic premise is that the [=Æ=]sir (specifically Odin) ambush her and try to kill her by setting her on fire. There are variations on how that ended, with one version saying she survived the three times she was burned, and another version saying that she died the third time with only her heart remaining intact. |
| 637 | ** One outcome of that has Loki eat her still-beating heart to make sure she remains dead. However, her malice was so strong that it manifested into the three monster children of Loki that he gave birth to. |
| 638 | * CuteMonsterGirl: Got this treatment as a giantess. |
| 639 | * TheGhost: All the is known about her is that she and Loki had children and that she died. Although some have speculated that she is the witch that was burned three times. |
| 640 | * MeaningfulName: Her name can be interpreted as either "the one who brings grief" or "she-who-offers-sorrow." Fenrir, Jörmungandr and Hel were all her children. [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt We all know what happened there]]. |
| 641 | * NoKillLikeOverKill: If you believe her to be the witch punished by the gods. She was speared and then set on fire three times and then Loki ate the remnants of her corpse. |
| 642 | * OutOfTheInferno: When the [=Æ=]sir want her dead, they try to burn her. There is one version of the myth that has her rise from the flames [[RuleOfThree three times]] unharmed. |
| 643 | * TheVamp: In the version where she knows her children will help their father end the world. |
| 644 | ** Contemporary artists tend to depict her with [[RavenHairIvorySkin black hair]] and in dark clothing. |
| 645 | [[/folder]] |
| 646 | |
| 647 | [[folder:Hel]] |
| 648 | [[quoteright:329:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/hel_4.jpg]] |
| 649 | Loki and Angrboða's only daughter, the last of their three children, and sometimes described as having been born from Loki himself after he ate Angrboða's heart. Goddess of Death and Graves and ruler of [[{{Egopolis}} Hel]] who welcomes the souls of those who died of old age, disease, or by accident. She is described as half of her body being that of a regular woman, the other half being rotten like a corpse. The myths never state which half, but people tend to represent it Two-Face style. |
| 650 | ----- |
| 651 | * AdaptationNameChange: In works published by Creator/MarvelComics, she is known as ComicBook/{{Hela}}. |
| 652 | * AllOfTheOtherReindeer: She was mostly an outcast and generally not very well perceived among all the other gods and mortals alike. |
| 653 | * BodyHorror: One half of her body looks normal. The other half looks like a corpse. |
| 654 | * CreepyAsymmetry: In some surviving texts, Hel, an entity linked to the realm of the dead, is described as her body being half flesh-colored and half dark. |
| 655 | * ColdHam: she is mostly stoic, calm and severe goddess who rules over the shadows of the death with indifference and a bit of disdain, but she has a penchant for using rather dramatic names for her possesions. Her hall is called "sprayed with snowstorms", it's theshold is a pitfall called "falling to peril", surrounded by the wall named "fence of the fallen ones". She sleeps in a bed called "sick-bed" surrounded by a set of curtains named "gleaming disaster". She eats using a dish called "hunger" and a knife called "famine", her servants are named "slow walkers" and Hel herself rides in a horse with three legs. |
| 656 | * DarkIsNotEvil: Isn't a malevolent goddess ''per se'', despite what people may think, and keeps her word when she gives it. Hel is referred to as a dark and shady place, but a peaceful one, a bit like Limbo. She herself doesn't torture the souls of the dead, she simply welcomes them and gives them a place to rest, only punishing the ones that committed a grave sin and sending them to Na-strond. See below. |
| 657 | * {{Egopolis}}: Hel is the ruler of Hel. |
| 658 | * FaceRevealingTurn: With the vertical asymmetry thing she probably gets this a lot... |
| 659 | * GodOfTheDead: She rules the realm of Hel, where those who die of old age or disease are stored until Ragnarok. Her name is related to the English word "Hell". |
| 660 | * HijackedByJesus: Her realm was originally played as dreary, but not exactly a place of torture. (To the Norse warriors, not going to the warrior's afterlife was the big torture in itself.) Christianity turned it into... well, [[{{Hell}} Hel]]. And like it says above, she was originally just patchwork colored, which progressed to either half a [[DemBones skeleton]]/rotting corpse or half [[FelonyMisdemeanor old woman]]. The older myths state that there are four afterlives (possibly even more). Those who die in battle go to Valhalla and Folkvagnr to prepare for Ragnarok. Those who drown belong to Ran. Those who die of sickness, old age or by accident go to Hel, which is dull and dreary, but not a bad place. Those who die after committing what the Norse regarded as sins[[note]]defined as actual transgressions, rather than the Jewish/Christian/Muslim definition of spiritual shortcomings[[/note]] (such as oathbreaking and murder) are punished by being sent to Na-strond, which is described as a monstrous fortress, located somewhere in Hel, woven from the poison-dripping skeletons of serpents, situated behind several deadly rivers, and where the damned wade through sucking blood and have nothing to drink but the urine supplied by a herd of foul-tempered black goats that roam the fortress. Some versions of the myths even state that Na-strond is where [[EldritchAbomination Níðhöggr]] goes to get his meals. |
| 661 | * IHateYouVampireDad: Resented her father for having made her look the way she did. |
| 662 | * ILoveTheDead: In ''Ynglingatal'', it is stated no less than three times that Hel has sex with the dead king. First, it is written: "''I do not deny that Hel is taking lustful pleasure in the corpse of Dyggvi''," then later: "''And Loki`s daughter has seduced the ruler of the people of Yng''" and last "''And Loki`s daughter (Hel) invited the king, the third in the row, to meet for lovemaking from the world of the living''." |
| 663 | ** Curiously, in ''Gesta Danorum'', translated to the latin goddess "Proserpina", she presents herself in the dreams of a dying Balderus, heartbroken after losing Nanna and fatally wounded in the battle with Hotherus, promising to receive him in her embrace. In the ''Ynglinga saga'' she is called poetically "glitnis gna" (that means, roughly, "goddess of Glitnir", the sacred hall of Balder and his son Forseti), and in ''Gylfaginning'', Hermod finds Baldr sitting in the high-seat, in the very hall of Hel, occupying a seat of honor. Some have argued that Hel and Baldr had a rather close relationship. That does give a whole new meaning to the last sentence of Thökk, "Let Hel hold to that she hath!", as in "do not tear the lovers apart". |
| 664 | * IWorkAlone: Dislikes interacting with the other Gods and avoids looking for trouble the way her father does. Indeed, she is perfectly satisfied with ruling over the souls of the guiltless non-combatants. |
| 665 | * IceQueen: Stoic, dour and cold. |
| 666 | * OvershadowedByAwesome: Seldom seen in the myths, apart from Baldr's death, since she would interfere with the other [=Æ=]sir's plans only when it concerned her directly. It makes sense, seeing as she was the embodiment of Death and the gods didn't die in every myth. Why would they want to go to her for anything other than resurrection? |
| 667 | * PlagueMaster: It was said that when a plague hit the countryside, she would ride from town to town on a three-legged horse with a broom and a rake. In villages where many--but not all--died, she used her rake. But when she used her broom... |
| 668 | * ReassignedToAntarctica: Was cast into the realm of Hel for the crime of... existing. Seer had told Odin that she could ''possibly'' become a threat in the future so Odin got rid of her while she was still a child. |
| 669 | * SoleSurvivor: Depending on how you interpret her lack of direct participation in Ragnarok, she may be destined to be Loki's only surviving child after the end and continue to rule over the dead. |
| 670 | * TwoFaced: A possible interpretation of her, although her description in the texts is pretty vague -- some have taken it to mean she's actually withered below the waist.[[note]]Like a pale-faced corpse while the body fluids drip down turning the lower parts black, get your head out of the gutter.[[/note]] |
| 671 | * TheRuntAtTheEnd: Of Loki and Angrboda's three children, she's the only girl, the only one who isn't an AnimalisticAbomination, and the only one who doesn't have a direct role in Ragnarok. |
| 672 | * TheUglyGuysHotDaughter: Inverted. Her father, Loki, has often been described as being rather attractive and alluring to a wide variety of lovers, as evidenced by the fact that he ReallyGetsAround. On the other hand, Hel herself is a TwoFaced woman with one half of her body appearing normal, while the other being a decomposing corpse. |
| 673 | * UndeadAbomination: Ignoring the whole "Underworld Goddess" thing, she is often described as being TwoFaced; half of her a living woman, the other half an emaciated corpse. |
| 674 | * WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Her final fate in Ragnarok is not mentioned. She might be destined to perish, though it's possible she managed to stay out of the final conflict along with the other goddesses. |
| 675 | * YouAreWorthHell: On the receiving end of this. She and the mortal King Dyggvi fell in love while he was alive. All that is known about him is that he died peacefully in his bed, which barred him from Valhalla and sent him to Helheim. He chose to die without glory so he could be with her. |
| 676 | [[/folder]] |
| 677 | |
| 678 | [[folder:Fenrir]] |
| 679 | Loki and Angrboða's first son, sometimes also called '''Vanargandr''' (the monster of the river Ván), '''Hróðvitnir''' (fame-wolf) and the '''Fenris Wolf''', the latter being the name by which most modern day Scandinavians refer to him. When the gods learn that he is fated to kill Odin, they bind and seal him when he's still young, with Tyr losing his arm in the process. When Ragnarok comes, he indeed kills Odin but is killed by Odin's son Vidar in return. |
| 680 | ---- |
| 681 | * AnimalisticAbomination: A gigantic wolf that can end the world. See below: |
| 682 | * AttackOfTheFiftyFootWhatever: His final size is such that when he opens his mouth, the lower jaw rests on the ground, and ''the upper jaw hits the sky''. In the ''Prose Edda'', it says "he would gape yet more if there were room for it." |
| 683 | * BeastOfTheApocalypse: Along with Jormungandr. Brothers and children of Loki, the two were imprisoned because of their prophesied role in Ragnarok. It doesn't work. When the end times do roll around, Fenrir is freed (when his sons, Skoll and Hati devour the Sun and the Moon), and Jormungandr crawls onto land, and the two of them lead the assault on Asgard, where they batter down the gates and slay Odin and Thor respectively. By this point Fenrir is so large that his upper jaw hits the sky when he opens his mouth, Jormungandr can encircle the earth, and the din they create is so loud that it causes the sky to split open, freeing Surtr and the sons of Muspel to make war on the gods. |
| 684 | * CanisMajor: His mouth is said to be so large that his upper jaw hits the sky! |
| 685 | * DecompositeCharacter: It is possible that Garmr and Skoll were other names for Fenrir, but Snorri wrote them as separate characters. |
| 686 | * TheDreaded: The Aesir, Odin in particular, fear him and his destiny. |
| 687 | * GlorySeeker: His desire to become famous is what allowed the Aesir to put bindings on him, as he believed facing danger was needed to gain fame. This is seemingly mocked by the other giants who nickname his son Hati "Hróðvitnisson" (Son of the famous wolf). |
| 688 | * GodOfEvil: May or may not have originally filled this role, since he is noted as [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fenrir#Theories sharing a similar mythology]] to [[UsefulNotes/{{Zoroastrianism}} Ahriman]]. |
| 689 | * HeroKiller: Destined to kill Odin, responsible for the maiming of Tyr, the harbinger of the world's end...yeah he counts. |
| 690 | * HorrorHunger: One of the reasons he must be chained up. |
| 691 | * TheJuggernaut: The gods couldn't even slow him down once he started to grow. |
| 692 | * JustEatHim: He eats Odin. |
| 693 | * KillTheGod: Kills Odin. |
| 694 | * MeaningfulName: Fenrir means "fen-dweller." Sometimes he is called ''Fenrisulfr'' which means "the fen-wolf." |
| 695 | * RoaringRampageOfRevenge: In all probability the reason he kills Odin. He was chained because the gods foresaw that he would cause a lot of trouble if he wasn't (which makes it a SelfFulfillingProphecy). Also, Odin makes an argument for a person making a name for himself, which could have inspired Fenrir and thus adding to the fire of hate in his heart. |
| 696 | * SealedEvilInACan: Bound for as long as the Sun and the Moon remain in the sky. Depending on the versions of the myth, his sons, Skoll and Hati, may be trying to do something about that. |
| 697 | * SelfFulfillingProphecy: Maybe he wouldn't have killed Odin if, you know, the gods didn't try to bind him for eternity. |
| 698 | * SiblingsInCrime: Fenrir and Jormungandr came into existence together and they leave it together, assaulting the very heavens and killing the gods. |
| 699 | * SupernormalBindings: The gods commissioned the dwarves to create the magical chain Gleipnir for him, which the dwarves forged from six impossible things, namely the sound of a cat's footfall, the beard of a woman, the roots of a mountain, the sinews of a bear, the breath of a fish, and the spittle of a bird. |
| 700 | * UsedToBeASweetKid: As a pup, he was loved by the gods to the point that they couldn't take the prophecy of him becoming a beast of destruction seriously and he was taken care of by his cousin Tyr. But he grew so fast that the gods started to fear him, except for Tyr who still fed and played with him. Then he tricked the wolf into becoming bound, severing the bond and making Fenrir lose trust in the gods entirely. |
| 701 | * YouKilledMyFather: Inflicted on him by the actual God of Vengeance no less. |
| 702 | * YouCantFightFate: Despite the gods' efforts, Fenrir murders Odin during Ragnarök. |
| 703 | [[/folder]] |
| 704 | |
| 705 | [[folder:Hati and Sköll]] |
| 706 | Fenrir's sons, and Loki's grandsons, Hati and Skoll are twin wolves who pursue Mani and Sol (the moon and the sun) across the night sky every night. At Ragnarök, they will finally capture their prey and help to bring about the end of the world. |
| 707 | ----- |
| 708 | * AnimalisticAbomination: Like their father, they're gargantuan lupine monsters who will kill and devour the AnthropomorphicPersonification of the sun and the moon. |
| 709 | * BeastOfTheApocalypse: Hati and Skoll's capture of the sun and the moon is a major part of Ragnarok, and one of the signs that the end is nigh. |
| 710 | * CanisMajor: Large enough to swallow the Sun and the Moon--though since Sol and Mani were personifications of light rather than giant balls of gas or rock this still makes them smaller than their father, Fenrir. |
| 711 | * DecompositeCharacter: In earlier myths, they and their father, Fenrir, may have been a single character. In at least one prior version of Ragnarök, it is Fenrir, not Skoll, who devours the sun. |
| 712 | * IHaveManyNames: Invoked with Hati; he has the mock last name "''Hróðvitnisson''" (son of fame wolf) and "''Måna-Garmr''" meaning "Moon-wolf." |
| 713 | * NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: ''Hati'' means "Enemy," "Hater," or "He Who Hates" and ''Sköll'' means "Treachery" or "Traitor." |
| 714 | * RevengeByProxy: Unable to avenge their father's binding by attacking Odin directly, |
| 715 | * SavageWolves: They are wolves and two of the most dangerous beings in Norse Myth. |
| 716 | * SiblingsInCrime: Share the goal of turning out all the lights in the universe. |
| 717 | %%* WolvesAlwaysHowlAtTheMoon: Now you know why. |
| 718 | [[/folder]] |
| 719 | |
| 720 | [[folder:Jormungandr]] |
| 721 | Loki and Angrboða's second son. When he is but a small snake, the gods toss him to the ocean to drown him. But he does not drown and grows ''big enough to circle Midgard itself'', hence one of his names being Midgardsomr (Midgard Serpent or World Serpent). He has a beef with Thor, up to the Ragnarök, where the two face off and kill each other. |
| 722 | ----- |
| 723 | * AlternateCompanyEquivalent: Can be compared to the Egyptian monster serpent Apep. Some scholars believe they might come from a myth of Proto-Indo-European origin that spread surprisingly widely, which would mean the legend is OlderThanDirt. In any case, both are huge serpentine menaces so the comparison is obvious, even if they're totally unrelated. |
| 724 | * AnimalisticAbomination: A giant snake who encircles the world and will help to end it. |
| 725 | * ArchEnemy: To Thor. He does fit in a pan-European-North African-Indo-motif about a beastly serpent/dragon fighting the sky god. |
| 726 | * AttackOfTheFiftyFootWhatever: As big or bigger than Fenrir. He wraps all the way around Midgard, with his tail in his mouth. When he joins his brother in the assault on Asgard, only a third of his body is able to emerge from the ocean. |
| 727 | * BeastOfTheApocalypse: With Fenrir. Brothers and children of Loki, the two were imprisoned because of their prophesied role in Ragnarok. It doesn't work. When the end times do roll around, Fenrir is freed (when his sons, Skoll and Hati devour the Sun and the Moon), and Jormungandr crawls onto land, and the two of them lead the assault on Asgard, where they batter down the gates and slay Odin and Thor respectively. By this point Fenrir is so large that his upper jaw hits the sky when he opens his mouth, Jormungandr can encircle the earth, and the din they create is so loud that it causes the sky to split open, freeing Surtr and the sons of Muspel to make war on the gods. |
| 728 | * BigLittleBrother: It's a testimony to his sheer size that he manages to be this to his older brother. As a reminder, Fenrir has children so large ''they can eat the sun!'' |
| 729 | * BreathWeapon: Exhales venom and will turn the ocean and air alike to poison at Ragnarok. |
| 730 | * TheDreaded: The Jotnar fear him, and by extension, many fear Thor, given his exploits against it. |
| 731 | * FluffyTheTerrible: His name can be translated as "huge stick" meaning he's essentially named "long boy". |
| 732 | * TheGreatSerpent: Well, this guy can coil around the entire Earth, "great" is an understatement. |
| 733 | * HeroKiller: Much like his older brother, he absolutely terrifies the gods and will eventually slay Thor. |
| 734 | * KillTheGod: He and Thor are destined to battle and kill each other at Ragnarök. |
| 735 | * KrakenAndLeviathan: The largest being in the ocean, dwarfing even the Kraken. As is the case with many of these beings, he more or less stays where he is until the end of days. |
| 736 | * MutualKill: He and Thor. The Thunderer manages to kill Jormungandr, but the latter's breath poisons him and he only makes it nine steps before keeling over dead. |
| 737 | * NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: His name can also be translated as "giant monster." |
| 738 | * {{Ouroboros}}: Some texts describe him as biting his own tail after growing so big. |
| 739 | * PoisonIsEvil: Drips and breathes poison, and will eventually strike against the Gods come Ragnarök. |
| 740 | * PoisonousPerson: His BreathWeapon. |
| 741 | * SeaMonster: The sea monster to end all sea monsters. There isn't an ocean in Midgard that doesn't have a part of him in it. |
| 742 | * SealedEvilInACan: Jormungandr is trapped in the ocean until Ragnarok. |
| 743 | * SiblingsInCrime: Fenrir and Jormungandr came into existence together and they leave it together, assaulting the very heavens and killing the gods. |
| 744 | [[/folder]] |
| 745 | |
| 746 | [[folder:Sigyn]] |
| 747 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sigyn.jpg]] |
| 748 | Loki's wife. Sigyn is known for her role in assisting Loki during his captivity. She would hold a bowl over his face to prevent the venom from touching it and would leave his side only to empty it. By him she bore two sons, Narfi and Vali. |
| 749 | ----- |
| 750 | * AllGirlsWantBadBoys: Her marriage to Loki has raised eyebrows for a long time seeing as divorce was completely acceptable in Viking times, so no one would question her for leaving her husband. Although it is possible that there is a [[SingleWomanSeeksGoodMan good husband]] underneath his chaotic exterior. |
| 751 | * BureaucraticallyArrangedMarriage: It is sometimes implied that Loki married Sigyn after he became Odin's blood brother as a way of establishing his position in Asgard. The results of the marriage vary: in some versions, it was a PerfectlyArrangedMarriage, while in others [[DomesticAbuse not so much]]. Another interpretation is that she was "given" to Loki by Odin so that he would abandon Angrboda. As soon as Loki saw how beautiful Sigyn was, he agreed. |
| 752 | * CuddleBug: Loki is called "the cargo of [her] arms" which means "the one she holds in her arms while they're in bed". |
| 753 | * HairOfGoldHeartOfGold: Most depictions of her show her to be blonde. She was also a very sympathetic character. |
| 754 | * HonorBeforeReason: Stays by Loki's side and in some versions of their story, endures verbal abuse from him instead of leaving him to return to Asgard. |
| 755 | * LastGirlWins: Unlike Frigg and Sif, Sigyn is never given a "rival", as in a mistress of her husband to compete against. Frigg has Jörd, Gunnlöd, Gridr etc etc. Sif has Jarnsaxa. Sigyn is never named as anyone’s rival meaning Loki gave up his [[LadyKillerInLove womanizing]] and man-eating ways for her. |
| 756 | * LoveMartyr: She's not blind to Loki's flaws. In some versions, he wouldn't exactly go out of his way to be kind to her, and he certainly didn't care to be loyal to her. |
| 757 | * MagicMusic: A kenning of hers is "galdr-fetter". "Fetter" is a kenning for god or goddess while galdr is a form of spell song. So she is basically the goddess of magic songs. |
| 758 | * MayDecemberRomance: She is often described as being significantly younger than Loki. |
| 759 | * MeaningfulName: Her name means "Victorious Girlfriend." |
| 760 | * NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: A lesser-known kenning for her is "harm woman". No context for this kenning has survived to the modern-day. |
| 761 | * ProperLady: Is depicted in most Renaissance-era artwork as one. |
| 762 | * SecondLove: In some versions of traditional lore, she is this to Loki when Angrboða dies. |
| 763 | * UndyingLoyalty: To Loki. Her steadfast loyalty is such a defining trait that in the Marvel comic books, Sigyn is known as the Goddess of Fidelity. |
| 764 | [[/folder]] |
| 765 | |
| 766 | [[folder:Narfi and Vali]] |
| 767 | The sons of Loki and Sigyn. Vali was transformed into a wolf by the gods and tore Nafri to shreds to punish Loki for his transgression against the gods in Asgard. Narfi's entrails were used to bind Loki beneath a venomous serpent. |
| 768 | ----- |
| 769 | * BodyHorror: What Vali did to Narfi and what was done with what was left of him. |
| 770 | * CainAndAbel: Unwillingly, Vali was forcefully transformed and made to kill his brother |
| 771 | * DisproportionateRetribution: Narfi did not deserve to die the way he did. Point of fact, he didn't deserve to die at all, as he was killed [[SinsofOurFathers for Loki's crimes.]] And Vali didn't deserve to be turned into a beast and devour his brother. |
| 772 | * ImAHumanitarian: Vali nearly devoured his brother. |
| 773 | * KilledOffForReal: Narfi, rather gorily too. |
| 774 | * OurWerewolvesAreDifferent: The reason Vali became a wolf was because the gods turned him into one. |
| 775 | * WeHardlyKnewYe: Very little is known about these two other than that Vali became a wolf and killed Narfi and that Narfi's entrails were turned to iron and used to bind Loki. |
| 776 | * WhatHappenedToTheMouse: There's no mention of what became of Vali after he became a wolf. |
| 777 | [[/folder]] |
| 778 | |
| 779 | !!Giants/Jötnar |
| 780 | |
| 781 | [[folder:[=Æ=]gir]] |
| 782 | King and personification of the sea, he was married to the sea-goddess Rán, with whom he had nine daughters who personified the waves. He thought Viking Vifilsson of Bornholm how to make dragon-ships. He is also known as Hler or Gymir. |
| 783 | ----- |
| 784 | * AnthropomorphicPersonification: Of the sea. |
| 785 | * BlueAndOrangeMorality: More so than most other characters. He can be very helpful, he is sociable and is on good terms with the gods, and does seem to have some sort of idea of right and wrong, but whatever wrong is it doesn't include sinking ships and brewing mead on human blood. |
| 786 | * CruelAndUnusualDeath: Subjugates his grand-nephew Snio to this by having him eaten by lice because Snio asked him how he would die. |
| 787 | * HappilyMarried: With Rán. |
| 788 | * MakingASplash: He is the king of the sea, this is mandatory. |
| 789 | * SiblingYinYang: He has two brothers -- Logi who personifies fire, and Kari who personifies wind. |
| 790 | [[/folder]] |
| 791 | |
| 792 | [[folder:Rán]] |
| 793 | Queen and personification of the sea, she was married to the sea-god [=Æ=]gir, with whom she had nine daughters who personified the waves. She once loaned her net to Loki. |
| 794 | ---- |
| 795 | * HappilyMarried: With [=Æ=]gir. |
| 796 | * LordOfTheOcean. A RareFemaleExample. While her husband [=Æ=]gir embodies the friendly aspect of the sea, Rán represents its sinister side, using her net to capture and drown sea-goers. |
| 797 | * MakingASplash: She is a sea goddess after all. |
| 798 | * WaterIsWomanly: Rán, the goddess of the sea, has supremacy over souls who lose their lives at sea, catching them using her net (her name means "plunder"). Together with her husband, a jötunn named [=Æ=]gir, she gave birth to nine daughters who personify sea waves. |
| 799 | [[/folder]] |
| 800 | |
| 801 | [[folder:Surtr]] |
| 802 | The Lord of the Fire Giants and King of Muspelheim, Surtr is destined to kill Freyr, and burn the world with the black sword Laveteinn at the peak of Ragnarok while his legions destroy the Bifrost. The real-life island of Surtsey in Iceland is named after him. |
| 803 | ----- |
| 804 | * CoolSword: Laveteinn, which is a FlamingSword. |
| 805 | * DependingOnTheWriter: His FlamingSword. Sometimes, it was always his but has no name, others it's Laveteinn and again always his, or Laevteinn used to belong to Loki and he somehow got it, or it's the sword Freyr gave away (although neither the last two explain how the sword grew enough for a Fire Giant to wield it). |
| 806 | * DestroyerDeity: Surt is Lord of the Fire Giants and will destroy the universe at Ragnarok. |
| 807 | * EvilIsBurningHot: He's the entity who annihilates the entire universe, simply ForTheEvulz. So, naturally, he's a giant made out of the fire. |
| 808 | * GenericDoomsdayVillain: The UrExample. He doesn't appear in any other myths, and his only role is described above - simply BecauseDestinySaysSo - and as noted below, his fate is left ambiguous after Ragnarok in most stories. |
| 809 | * HeroKiller: "At the end of the world he will go and wage war and defeat all the gods and burn the whole world with fire." |
| 810 | * HijackedByJesus: Is often depicted as a Satan-like figure elsewhere, which is fair considering what he actually does. Though many scholars think he is an old concept, since there are a few very old places named after him, many agree that his flaming sword is a loan from the Biblical story of The Garden of Eden. |
| 811 | * KarmaHoudini: Possibly. Though it's ambiguous if Surtr survives Ragnarok, no one is reported to have killed him during it. One version has him succumb to wounds caused by Frey after burning everything up but most do not. |
| 812 | * KillTheGod: Frey and anybody else who gets in his way. |
| 813 | * LargeAndInCharge: He's the king of all Fire Giants |
| 814 | * LightIsNotGood: His sword is stated to be "brighter than the Sun." It will be used to bring about the burning of the nine worlds. |
| 815 | * OmnicidalManiac: One of the major players at Ragnarok, and the one most directly responsible for the end of the world. |
| 816 | * OurGiantsAreBigger: He represents the "face" of the Fire Giants, the giants of fire, flame and magma who will ultimately destroy everything. |
| 817 | * PlayingWithFire: What else would you expect for the king of the Fire Giants? |
| 818 | * WhatHappenedToTheMouse: His fate after Ragnarok is left ambiguous in most stories. In the few that does, dies when the universe collapses into [[HoistByHisOwnPetard itself as his fire spreads]]. |
| 819 | [[/folder]] |
| 820 | |
| 821 | [[folder:Thrym]] |
| 822 | A giant that steals Mjölnir, and demands Freya as his wife if they want it back. On the advice of Loki, Thor dresses up as Freya, and eventually retrieves the hammer, after Loki hilariously manages to convince Thrym that Thor is Freya with increasingly unlikely explanations. When Thor retrieves his hammer, he kills Thrym and his sister. |
| 823 | ----- |
| 824 | * AndNowYouMustMarryMe: He steals Thor's hammer and demands that the gods gave him [[LoveGoddess Freyja]] as his wife in return for Mjölnir. Instead, on Loki's advice, the gods dress up Thor as Freyja to trick Thrym into returning the hammer and then using it to kill him. |
| 825 | * ArrangedMarriage: Attempts to arrange one with Freya. It goes bad for him. |
| 826 | * EntitledToHaveYou: With Freya. |
| 827 | * GenreBlind: Fails to see through Thor's PaperThinDisguise as Freya, and dies for it. |
| 828 | * TooDumbToLive: Probably should have thought a little more about how Freya looked, and maybe should not have stolen the hammer in the first place, or maybe should have demanded a better ransom, or just led the giants to attack Asgard, and abduct Freya, now that they lacked Thor's hammer. |
| 829 | [[/folder]] |
| 830 | |
| 831 | [[folder:Utgarda-Loki]] |
| 832 | Not to be confused with Loki, Utgarda-Loki was a giant living in Jotunheim, with the alias Skrymir. He challenges Thor, Loki, Thjalfi, and Röskva to complete different tasks, each more impossible than the last. Is a rare beast, as he actually survives despite being a giant. |
| 833 | ----- |
| 834 | * AnthropomorphicPersonification: Uses these to defeat the gods. Goes as follows: Hugi, the personified thought, Logi, the personified fire, Elli, the personified old age. |
| 835 | * DoNotTauntCthulhu: Averted. He humiliates the [[JerkassGods gods]] by making them attempt to do impossible feats, then reveals his tricks as soon as they leave Utgard, and then just vanishes along with the castle before [[HotBlooded Thor]] can take vengeance. Other giants are killed before getting to do half of what he did. |
| 836 | * FelonyMisdemeanor: He may have done more to the gods than any other giant, but he also did less than most of them tried to do. All Utgarda-Loki did was embarrass them with impossible tasks. But, when Thor learns what happened, he promptly tries to [[DisproportionateRetribution kill the giant]]. This is due to Norsemen [[SeriousBusiness not taking kindly]] to insults. |
| 837 | * GeniusBruiser: Stated to be among the strongest and slyest of the giants. |
| 838 | * AHeroToHisHometown: His parting words to Thor are a warning that he will protect his domain with deception and illusion if the Thunder God returns. |
| 839 | * MasterOfIllusion: Uses illusions to trick the gods; he disguises himself as a giant named Skrymir, disguises the Midgard Serpent as a cat, makes his own thought into Þjalfi's opponent, and fire into Loki's. |
| 840 | * OneSteveLimit: Averted. "Utgarda" isn't actually a part of his name, merely a prefix meaning "of Utgard," probably intended to differentiate him from his more famous namesake. |
| 841 | * OurGiantsAreBigger: While he is disguised as Skrymir, who thinks {{Mjolnir}} is just leaves hitting him, and whose gloves are the size of a house. |
| 842 | [[/folder]] |
| 843 | |
| 844 | [[folder:Thjassi]] |
| 845 | Thjassi is a giant who resided in Þrymheimr and often took the form of a large eagle. He once kidnapped the goddess Iðunn, cutting the gods off from their source of immortality, the golden apples Iðunn picked. Iðunn is eventually rescued thanks to Loki's efforts and Thjassi is killed. Thjassi's daughter Skaði later marries Njörður as compensation for her father's death. |
| 846 | ----- |
| 847 | * EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: His daughter Skaði was angered enough by his death that she prepares to attack Asgard single-handed, and one of her conditions for backing down is that the gods create a monument to honor him, which Odin does by taking Thjassi's eyes and turning them into stars. |
| 848 | * FeatheredFiend: Being able to shapeshift into an eagle did not make him any less of a monster. |
| 849 | * KickTheSonOfABitch: He uses some sort of power to prevent Odin, Hœnir, and Loki from getting any water in their pot to boil, then when they offer him some meat to get him to stop he leaves them with hardly any. It is not said if the Aesir or Loki actually owned the cattle they were cooking with or not, which would make Thjassi a thief of thieves at best and a regular jerk otherwise. |
| 850 | * AnOfferYouCantRefuse: He forces Loki to assist him in his scheme to capture Iðunn. |
| 851 | * VoluntaryShapeshifting: Into an eagle. |
| 852 | [[/folder]] |
| 853 | |
| 854 | [[folder:Logi]] |
| 855 | The personification of fire. In modern days, he is often confused for or combined with Loki, although he is quite explicitly a different person and in fact, competes against Loki in the most famous myth in which he appears. He is the son of the jötunn Fornjótr and the brother of [=Æ=]gir and Kári. |
| 856 | ---- |
| 857 | * AnthropomorphicPersonification: Of fire. |
| 858 | * BigEater: He not only bests Loki in an eating contest, he does so on the technicality that he devours ''everything'' on his side of the divide; meat, gravy, bones, wooden trencher, and all. |
| 859 | * MeaningfulName: Lo'''g'''i literally means "flame," and also suits him given his role as Lo'''k'''i's opponent. |
| 860 | * SiblingYinYang: His brothers are [=Æ=]gir, god of the sea, and Kári, a god of wind. |
| 861 | [[/folder]] |
| 862 | |
| 863 | [[folder:Glóð]] |
| 864 | The jötunn wife of king Logi/Hálogi, presumably to be identified with the personification of fire Loki competed against. Her name literally means "Glow," and she's the mother of two daughters by Logi named Eisa (Embers) and Einmyria (Ashes). |
| 865 | ----- |
| 866 | * PlayingWithFire: Given the meaning of her name and the names of her daughters with Logi, this is a given. |
| 867 | * RougeAnglesOfSatin: Often incorrectly associated with Loki instead of Logi. |
| 868 | [[/folder]] |
| 869 | |
| 870 | [[folder:Ymir]] |
| 871 | The primeval frost giant who emerged from the melting ice of Niflheim and Muspellheim at the primordial cosmos, and the ancestor to all jotunn. Was nourished by the milk of Audhumbla, the primeval ox. Was killed by Odin and his brothers, with Earth and the realm of men Midgard were created from his body. |
| 872 | ----- |
| 873 | * AnIcePerson: Was the first frost giant. |
| 874 | * DecoyProtagonist: Is killed as the first person in the mythology. |
| 875 | * {{Dishing Out Dirt}}/{{Green Thumb}}: Given the land itself was made from his flesh. |
| 876 | * GiantCorpseWorld: His corpse was used to construct at least the Earth or Midgard of the known realms, which is basically the entire Earth as humans know it. |
| 877 | * GreatFlood: Given his size, this is natural when he is wounded and torn apart. |
| 878 | * MotherOfAThousandYoung: Technically father, but given he was born and gave birth without female intervention, it doesn't really matter. He fathered new jotunns constantly while he was still alive, which meant there was already plenty around when Odin finally killed him. |
| 879 | * OurGiantsAreBigger: In this case, really big, since the Earth as Norse mythology knows it was made from his body. |
| 880 | [[/folder]] |
| 881 | |
| 882 | [[folder:Hrungner]] |
| 883 | A mountain giant with a triangular stone heart who owned the fastest horse in his world. After coming into Asgard uninvited he gets drunk and causes trouble that leads to him and Thor facing off at Grjottungard. |
| 884 | ----- |
| 885 | * TheAlcoholic: He boasted that he could drink all the ale in Asgard, then set out to do it. |
| 886 | * CoolHorse: Gold mane, which Odin probes him about because the Allfather wants it for himself. It turns out to be slower than Slepnir, whom Odin already owns but Odin still whines when Gold mane is later awarded to Magni. |
| 887 | * DirtyCoward: Him calling Thor one for threatening him with violence when Thor tells him to get out of Valhalla makes Thor more eager for the duel. |
| 888 | * DishingOutDirt: His head was as hard as stone, his heart was made of it and he fought with stone weapons. |
| 889 | * DuelToTheDeath: He was the first one to issue such a challenge to Thor, which Hrungner does after Thor berates him for his disrespectful conduct inside the hall of honored dead. |
| 890 | * {{Golem}}: The giants forged him a partner out of clay called Mokkerkalfe, who was nine leagues across at the chest, to help him against Thor, but Mokkerkalfe ended up being afraid of Thor. |
| 891 | * {{Jerkass}}: One could see why he was annoyed with Odin boasting about Slepnir but it seems a little much to try to kill Odin over, even for the time period. As he barges into Asgard chasing Odin the other gods assume he is a guest and offer him drinks but he takes their hospitality to mean that he gets ALL of their food and drink. Then he declares he will destroy Asgard and kill everyone after he has finished, [[IHaveYouNowMyPretty except Freyja and Sif]]. This guy is largely responsible for the giants' bad reputation. |
| 892 | * MonumentalTheft: He wants to take Valhalla from Asgard and move it to Jotunheim. |
| 893 | * OurGiantsAreBigger: While Thor does manage to kill Hrungner he is cut by shards of his shattered flint stone(or whetstone) weapon, pieces of which fly from Jotunheim and form a new mountain range on Midgard. His dead weight was too heavy for Thor to lift (because it had fallen on his neck) and all the gods who watched the duel to move off Thor. |
| 894 | * ScarsAreForever: A shard of his broken whetstone remained embedded in Thor's head after their fight. It was possible to remove but Thor never bothered to see the procedure through. |
| 895 | * WorldsStrongestMan: He was at one point the strongest man in Jotunheim. |
| 896 | [[/folder]] |
| 897 | |
| 898 | [[folder:Horik Ironhead]] |
| 899 | A nasty half-giant who tries to force the Swedish princess Hunvor to marry him. |
| 900 | ----- |
| 901 | * CoolSword: Angervadil, inscribed with Runic letters, which glowed in time of war and could even kill giants. |
| 902 | * DavidVersusGoliath: His duel with Viking. |
| 903 | * DirtyCoward: He has NighInvulnerability, but when Viking shows up he carries the sword Angervadil. The sword in question originally belonged to a brother of Horik and when he sees the sword he says he would have never accepted the duel with Viking if he had known he had the sword. This is despite him being half-giant and facing a seventeen-year-old boy. However, his [[FaceDeathWithDignity honor]] dictates he can't back out of an accepted challenge and has to fight Viking in an honest fight and is cleaved in half. |
| 904 | * NighInvulnerability: He can't be killed with ordinary weapons. |
| 905 | * StalkerWithACrush: Towards Hunvor. |
| 906 | * ThemeNaming: His brother-in-law Jokul is called ''Ironback''. |
| 907 | [[/folder]] |
| 908 | |
| 909 | !! Other characters |
| 910 | |
| 911 | [[folder:Valkyries]] |
| 912 | The Death Maidens, who sweep down on battlefields to carry the most valiant warriors to either Odin's hall or Freyja's, as she got half the battle-slain. |
| 913 | ----- |
| 914 | %%* AmazonBrigade: They're all female. |
| 915 | * AnimalMotifs: The valkyries are associated with birds. |
| 916 | * CombatMedic: One of them, Eir, is also the goddess of healing and medicine. |
| 917 | * GrimReaper: They were responsible for gathering the souls of slain warriors for Odin and Freyja's halls. In some versions of the myths, they were more proactive than usual for this trope, actively arranging for worthy warriors to get killed so that they could harvest their souls. |
| 918 | * LadyOfWar: They're all female, but they're also bold, fearless warriors and skilled tacticians. |
| 919 | * {{Psychopomp}}: They choose the slain to be taken to Odin or Freyja's halls to prepare for Ragnarok. |
| 920 | %%* WarIsGlorious: The spiritual embodiment of this entire concept. |
| 921 | %%* WarriorHeaven: The people they take go here. |
| 922 | %%* TheWildHunt: Led by Odin. |
| 923 | %%* WolverinePublicity: Mostly thanks to Wagner. |
| 924 | * {{Xenafication}}: In the mythology, they are most akin to grim reapers. Modern portrayals downplay or drop this entirely in favor of emphasizing their martial skills. |
| 925 | [[/folder]] |
| 926 | |
| 927 | [[folder:Norns]] |
| 928 | The multi-species group of women who oversee Fate and tend the WorldTree Yggdrasill. While Urðr, Verðandi and Skuld, who determine how long people live, are the main ones, there are reputed to be many more working with them. |
| 929 | ----- |
| 930 | * OurGiantsAreBigger: Urðr, Verðandi and Skuld were said originally to be giantesses. |
| 931 | * {{Psychopomp}}: According to Creator/SnorriSturluson, Skuld rode out with the Valkyries to decide fights and take the slain. |
| 932 | * WolverinePublicity: The idea that there ''are'' other norns apart from Urðr, Verðandi and Skuld has been largely forgotten in modern popular culture. |
| 933 | * YouCantFightFate: The fates the norns decided could not be averted. |
| 934 | [[/folder]] |
| 935 | |
| 936 | [[folder:Thjalfi]] |
| 937 | A human boy that was taken by Thor as a page, as payment for an injury his father did to one of his goats. Despite this rather awkward start to their relationship, he is mentioned in several other stories as a faithful and valuable companion to the Thunder God. |
| 938 | ----- |
| 939 | * BadassNormal: When you can hang with the god of thunder you know you're this. |
| 940 | * DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu: One story has him easily killing Mokkerkalfe, the [[{{Golem}} giant made from magically animated clay,]] [[OurGiantsAreBigger nine leagues wide across the chest.]] |
| 941 | * KidSidekick: Plays this role to Thor in some of the myths. |
| 942 | * SuperSpeed:[[DownplayedTrope Downplayed.]] He loses a foot race to the AnthropomorphicPersonification of Thought, but Utgard-Loki admits he's the fastest visitor the giant has ever hosted. |
| 943 | [[/folder]] |
| 944 | |
| 945 | [[folder:Garm]] |
| 946 | Hel's dog, who guards the gates to her realm. At Ragnarök, he will lead her legions against the rest of the world, and he and Tyr will slay one another. |
| 947 | ----- |
| 948 | * AngryGuardDog: The guard dog of Hel. |
| 949 | * DecompositeCharacter: The fact that he kills Tyr, who lost a hand to Fenrir, suggests to some scholars that he and Fenrir were originally one character. |
| 950 | * HellHound: Or Hel Hound as the case may be. |
| 951 | * MutualKill: With Tyr. |
| 952 | [[/folder]] |
| 953 | |
| 954 | [[folder:Níðhöggr / Nidhogg]] |
| 955 | One of the oldest beings in Norse myth, Níðhöggr is a dragon who has existed since creation. He sits beneath the entire WorldTree Yggdrasill itself, gnawing at its roots. One retelling states that he gnaws on oathbreakers, murderers, and thieves. But he basically stays at the roots, gnawing on them--ensuring they do not overgrow--until [[{{Gotterdammerung}} Ragnarok]], and when he joins in... well, ''that's'' when things get '''''really''''' bad for the rest of creation. Of course, [[CosmicHorrorStory he survives it]]. |
| 956 | ----- |
| 957 | * ArchEnemy: To the [[GiantFlyer enormous eagle]] Hraesvelgr[[note]]meaning [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Corpse Swallower]][[/note]] at the top of the WorldTree that it will fight during [[ApocalypseHow Ragnarok]]. Rattatosk, a squirrel, sends messages between the two (or rather, insults). |
| 958 | * EldritchAbomination: Is typically described in these sorts of terms. The simple fact he encompasses Yggdrasil's entire root system (which consists of multiple ''worlds'' with the likes of Midgard and Asgard being a simple branch of it), and has the power to unmake creation, all but confirm we aren't dealing with anything normal here. |
| 959 | * TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt: He plays a major role in and is a portent of Ragnarok. |
| 960 | * EnemyToAllLivingThings: His main purpose is to destroy the world tree Yggdrasil, and by extension all who live in the Nine Worlds. |
| 961 | * {{Gotterdammerung}}: Possibly Ragnarok's strongest player, which is generally not good for anyone else. |
| 962 | * HeelFaceTurn: At least one version states that he turns good after Ragnarok. |
| 963 | * KarmaHoudini: ''Völuspá'' ends with a description of Níðhöggr, with a corpse in his jaws, flying through the air. [[TheStinger And this comes after the description of the new world after the resurrection of Baldr]]. |
| 964 | * NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: Its name means "Malice-striker." He is also referred to as "''the dragon of the gloom''". |
| 965 | * NecessarilyEvil: One interpretation of his purpose, being a dangerous but necessary force gnawing at the WorldTree so its roots won't overgrow. According to Norse philosophies, [[BalanceBetweenGoodAndEvil this isn't necessarily mutually exclusive]] from the more common thought of him being an OmnicidalManiac. |
| 966 | * OmnicidalManiac: The general interpretation of his reason for eating the roots of the Yggdrasill is that he's actively trying to tear it down, and doom all worlds. |
| 967 | * OurDragonsAreDifferent: Our dragons are ancient, utterly gigantic, and very likely evil beings who seek the end of creation. |
| 968 | [[/folder]] |
| 969 | |
| 970 | [[folder:Audhumbla]] |
| 971 | The primeval ox that appeared along with Ymir after Niflheim and Muspellheim collided. Nourished Ymir, while simultaneously licking Burr from the salty ice, whose grandsons were Odin, Vile and Ve. |
| 972 | ----- |
| 973 | * SuperSpit: Her licking a rock created the first god... [[MakesJustAsMuchSenseInContext somehow]]. |
| 974 | * WhatHappenedToTheMouse: After Odin kills Ymir, and creates the world from him, Audhumbla just disappears from the myths. One can assume she drowned with most of the jotun. |
| 975 | [[/folder]] |
| 976 | |
| 977 | !!The Legendary Heroes |
| 978 | |
| 979 | [[folder:Sigurd]] |
| 980 | The heroic [[TheDragonslayer dragonslayer]] who with the aid of his foster-father Reginn and [[DivineParentage ancestor Odin]] slew Fafnir and got the girl. But, because [[HumansAreBastards people can act like figurative dragons]] he was slain in his bed by a boy, [[KickTheDog manipulated]] by his brothers in law. |
| 981 | ----- |
| 982 | * AdaptationalNameChange: "Siegfried" in Music/RichardWagner's work. |
| 983 | %%* CoolSword: Gram |
| 984 | * TheDragonslayer: Through not the only one, the most notable example in Norse mythology. |
| 985 | * TheHeroDies: Killed due to jealousy, which in itself was brought upon by greed. |
| 986 | * IdealHero: Subverted, actually. Sigurd ambushes Fafnir and strikes him hidden from below. He does not even tell Fafnir his name. This is purely out of pragmatism. |
| 987 | * TheKirk: He acts like a decent enough guy and otherwise only resorts to violence when attacked, like by Reginn. |
| 988 | * SpeaksFluentAnimal: After drinking Fafnir's blood. The birds then warn him of [[UngratefulBastard Reginn's betreyal]]. |
| 989 | * WorldsBestWarrior: And he is murdered in his bed. |
| 990 | [[/folder]] |
| 991 | |
| 992 | [[folder:Gudrun]] |
| 993 | The wife of Sigurd who later is made to marry Atli, king of the Huns. |
| 994 | ----- |
| 995 | * RoaringRampageOfRevenge: Delivers one on Atli, personally. |
| 996 | * ThickerThanWater: Despite her brother's murdering Sigurd, they are her brothers and no one but her is allowed to take revenge. This is standard Norse thinking. |
| 997 | * WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds: In the Volsung-Cycle, Gudrun has the most rough time of all the protagonists. First she is married to Sigurd who is killed by her younger brother at the behest of her older brother at the behest of Sigurd's [[GreenEyedMonster jealous ex Brynhildr]]. Then Brynhilde murders her child by Sigurd and she is coherced into marrying Atli by her parents. Atli ends up murdering her brothers while trying to get hold of Sigurd's dragon-gold which the brothers has inherited. At this point Gudrun snaps and murders her children by Atli and [[ImAHumanitarian tricks him into eating their hearts]] [[IAteWhat before revealing]] [[FamilialCannibalismSurprise the truth]] and stabs Atli to death. She then sets fire to Atli's hall, killing his men and destroying most of his estate in the process. |
| 998 | [[/folder]] |
| 999 | |
| 1000 | [[folder:Brynhildr]] |
| 1001 | A shieldmaiden and one of the Valkyries. Also known as Sigrdrífa. |
| 1002 | ----- |
| 1003 | * BroughtDownToNormal: When she was asked to decide the outcome of a battle, her decision angered Odin. He responded by making her mortal and locking her away in a castle. |
| 1004 | * GirlInTheTower: She's imprisoned in a castle on top of a mountain. |
| 1005 | [[/folder]] |
| 1006 | |
| 1007 | [[folder:Bodvar Bjarki]] |
| 1008 | The champion of king Hrolf Kraki. Possibly a variation of the Beowulf story, but it's not certain. |
| 1009 | ----- |
| 1010 | * {{Animorphism}}: Prince Bjorn is turned into a were-bear, and while under that spell begets Bodvar Bjarki. Much later, in the Battle of Hleidragard, Bödvar Bjarki's spirit charges into battle as a giant bear. |
| 1011 | * AlternateContinuity: If his legend shares its origin with Beowulf, it would be a case of an alternative telling of his story. |
| 1012 | * TheBerserker: Bödvar Bjarki turns into a bear in the final battle at the end of ''Hrolf Kraki's Saga''. |
| 1013 | * LastStand: [[spoiler: When he is overrun by Skuld's army of criminals and monsters, he turns into a giant bear]]. |
| 1014 | * OnlyTheChosenMayWield: Bödvar Bjarki's father Bjorn leaves his three sons three weapons struck into a wall of rock. When the sons later arrive to retrieve the weapons, every one of them can only take the one weapon intended for him: Elk-Frodi a short-sword, Thorir Dogfoot a battle-axe; only Bödvar can pull out the most precious weapon, a longsword. |
| 1015 | * WerewolfThemeNaming: Bodvar Bjarki reveals himself as a shape-changer at the Battle of Hleidragard: While Bodvar appears to sleep, his spirit fights in the shape of a giant bear. Interpreted literally, 'Bodvar Bjarki' means 'Little Battle-Bear'. |
| 1016 | [[/folder]] |
| 1017 | |
| 1018 | [[folder:Völsung]] |
| 1019 | The ancestor of [[Literature/TheSagaOfTheVolsungs the Völsungs]]. |
| 1020 | [[/folder]] |
| 1021 | |
| 1022 | [[folder:Viking Vifilsson]] |
| 1023 | The grandson of Logi and the first Viking, born on Bornholm. |
| 1024 | ----- |
| 1025 | * AllThereInTheManual: You have to read both ''Thorsten Vikingsson's Saga'' and ''Frithiof's Saga'' to connect all the dots of his story. You would not realize the point of [=Æ=]gir giving him the ship Ellida, if you don't know [=Æ=]gir is Viking's uncle, and you would only know that by reading both sagas. |
| 1026 | * AvengingTheVillain: Viking kills the half-giant Horik Ironhead, a StalkerWithACrush who tried to force Hunvor to marry him using threats of violence. He then has to deal with [[QuirkyMinibossSquad his nasty siblings]], who curses him with disease, invades Hunvor's lands, kills her father, and sends their [[TheBerserker berserker]] inlaw to kill him. |
| 1027 | * ChastityCouple: Won't marry Hunvor until they are 20, giving his enemies time to kidnap her. |
| 1028 | * CoolSword: Angervadil, inscribed with Runic letters, which glowed in time of war and could even kill giants. |
| 1029 | * DavidVersusGoliath: His duel with Horik Ironhead. Horik had NighInvulnerability, but Angervadil took away this advantage over him |
| 1030 | * DuelToTheDeath: First with Horik Ironhead, later with Horik's brother-in-law Jokul [[ThemeNaming Ironback]]. |
| 1031 | * HeroicLineage: The grandson of Logi. Also, becomes a legendary ancestor of two other heroes. |
| 1032 | * HeterosexualLifePartner: To Halfdan, his best friend. |
| 1033 | * MeaningfulName: Like the raiders that have him as their namesake, his name means "One of the inlet." |
| 1034 | * RomanticWingman: To Halfdan, so he can marry Hunvor's maid Ingeborg. |
| 1035 | [[/folder]] |
| 1036 | |
| 1037 | [[folder:Starkad]] |
| 1038 | ----- |
| 1039 | * MultiArmedAndDangerous: In some myths, he has eight arms. In others, he used to have multiple arms, but Thor cut off all but two. |
| 1040 | [[/folder]] |
| 1041 | |
| 1042 | [[folder:Harald Wartooth]] |
| 1043 | ----- |
| 1044 | * BloodKnight: This guy is actually called "''Wartooth''." He wanted to die in battle to go to Odin in Valhalla and started a war with Sigurd Ring, a kinsmen of his, leading to the apocalyptic battle of Bråvalla. At this point he could not stand and was partially blind, so they tied him to a chariot so he could charge his enemy. It did not stop until a servant of his thought the king had earned enough glory (or just realized what sort of lunatic he dealt with) and clubbed him to death. Another version has it that Odin himself came down and personally killed Harald. |
| 1045 | [[/folder]] |
| 1046 | |
| 1047 | [[folder:Ivar Widefame]] |
| 1048 | [[/folder]] |
| 1049 | |
| 1050 | [[folder:Wayland the Smith]] |
| 1051 | ----- |
| 1052 | * {{Expy}}: He is similar to Deidalos of Myth/GreekMythology, another UltimateBlacksmith held captive and forging his own wings to escape. |
| 1053 | %%* UltimateBlacksmith |
| 1054 | [[/folder]] |
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