World Mythology: Norse and Celtic

Norse Mythology

Much of Norse mythology is drawn from the Icelandic sagas, The Elder Edda and The Younger Edda, compiled in the Middle Ages. According to these myths, the world was created from a great void when Odin and his brothers killed the Frost Giant Ymir and it will end when the Giants kill Odin and his comrades in battle. Fighting is a central element in the stories and is the way in which a warrior can die nobly and reach the warriors’ paradise, Valhalla.

Text from: Bearne, Eve. “Classical Mythology.” The Cambridge Guide to Children’s Books in English, edited by Victor Watson, 1st ed., Cambridge University Press, 2001. Credo Reference, https://search.credoreference.com/articles/Qm9va0FydGljbGU6MTEwMDI1Mg==?aid=95497.

Celtic Mythology

Group of traditional stories and beliefs ascribed to Celtic cultures. Evidence of their mythology can be gleaned from altars, inscriptions, and images in continental Europe, especially France (ancient Gaul), and in Britain, and from the mythological tales of Ireland and Wales. Many deities were probably local and tribal in character, but those with commonly attributed functions may have been known under more than one name, indicating a wider significance, such as the Gaulish Ogmios, Irish Oghma, and the Welsh Gwydion, gods of civilization, identified with Heracles or Hercules. Celtic mythology is closely connected to medieval literature, many of its characters and themes being represented in such romances as the legend of King Arthur.

Text from: Helicon, editor. “Celtic Mythology.” The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia with Atlas and Weather Guide, Helicon, 2018. Credo Reference, https://search.credoreference.com/articles/Qm9va0FydGljbGU6NTYzNjY0?aid=95497.

Image from: “Gods and Goddesses: Shapeshifters in Antiquity.” Shapeshifters: A History, by John B. Kachuba, 1st ed., Reaktion Books, 2019. Credo Reference, https://search.credoreference.com/articles/Qm9va0FydGljbGU6NTM4NTI2MA==?aid=95497.