Myths & Events
The creation, the death of Baldr, the binding of the wolf, and Ragnarök itself.
Ragnarök
The doom of the godsThe prophesied end of the world: three winters without summer, the wolf freed, the gods and giants slaying each other on the plain of Vígríðr, the world burned by Surtr — and then reborn, green, from the sea.
The Creation of the WorldSköpun heimsins
CosmogonyHow everything began: fire and ice met in the void Ginnungagap, quickened into the giant Ymir, and the gods built the world from his slain body and made humans from two trees on the shore.
The Death of BaldrDauði Baldrs
The pivotal tragedyLoki's masterstroke of malice: the invulnerable god of light killed by a blind man's mistletoe dart, the failed ransom from Hel, and the vengeance that binds Loki until the end of the world.
The Binding of FenrirFjöturr Fenris
The gods' great deceptionHow the gods bound the wolf they had raised: two burst chains, a silken ribbon of impossible things, and the hand of Týr — the myth of what oath-breaking costs.
The Æsir–Vanir WarVanastríð
The first war in the worldThe war between the two families of gods, opened by Odin's spear-cast, ended by truce, hostage-exchange, and a peace sealed in shared spittle — from which came Kvasir, and eventually the Mead of Poetry.
The Mead of PoetrySkáldskaparmjöðr
The theft that made poetsBrewed from the blood of the wisest being, hoarded by a giant in a mountain, and stolen by Odin through seduction and shapeshift — whoever drinks it becomes a poet.
The Theft of MjölnirÞrymskviða
The bridal-veil heistThor wakes to find his hammer stolen and the ransom is Freyja's hand — so the mightiest god goes to the wedding as the bride. The funniest poem in the Edda, with a body count.
Thor's Fishing TripHymiskviða
The day the apocalypse got hookedThor rows out with the giant Hymir, baits a hook with an ox-head, and pulls the Midgard Serpent itself to the gunwale — the most-carved scene in Norse art.
Thor's Journey to ÚtgarðrFör Þórs til Útgarða
The contest of illusionsThor and Loki's expedition to the giant-king's castle, where every contest is rigged with cosmic stand-ins — the myths' great comedy of perception, and Snorri's best sustained story.
The Building of Asgard's WallBorgarsmíðin
The contract the gods never meant to honourA lone builder offers to wall Asgard in one winter for the sun, the moon, and Freyja. The gods take the bet on Loki's advice — and when the work runs on schedule, they change the terms.
The Flyting of LokiLokasenna
The night Loki roasted every godLoki crashes the gods' feast and insults every deity in turn — cowardice, adultery, unmanly magic — and the terrible part is that most of it is true. Only the mention of Thor ends it.
Odin's Sacrifice on the TreeRúnatal
The self-hanging that won the runesNine nights Odin hung on the windy tree, wounded by his own spear, given to himself, starving, screaming, and finally seizing the runes from the depths. The core mystery of the Norse religion.
The Making of Askr and EmblaAskr ok Embla
The creation of humankindThree gods walking the new shore found two trees, 'capable of little, fateless', and gave them breath, a working mind and warmth. Every human is driftwood the gods stopped to finish.
The Duel with HrungnirHólmganga Þórs
The first formal duelMyth's first scheduled duel: Thor versus the stone-headed strongest of giants, a clay decoy with a mare's heart, a whetstone shattered in mid-air — and a shard in Thor's skull forever.
The Otter's RansomOtrgjöld
The gold that started the Völsung tragedyLoki kills an otter that was a magician's son, and the gods must fill and cover the skin with gold — extorted from Andvari, cursed on delivery, and fatal to everyone downstream.
The Binding of LokiLoki bundinn
The gods' vengeanceAfter Baldr's death and the feast of insults, the gods hunt Loki to a mountain hideout, net him from a salmon's shape, and bind him under dripping venom with his own son's entrails, where he lies until Ragnarök.