ENGL 1500: Vikings, Myth and Sagas (Midterm)

Valhalla

This place's name translates to "hall of the slain" and is described as a gigantic mead hall in which the Einherjar (Odin's army) feast and fight day and night while they await Ragnarok. Some think of it as "Viking Heaven," the place where warriors who die heroic deaths go in the afterlife

Odin

This god is considered the chief of the Aesir. He is missing one eye and often roams the earth with his spear and tall hood or hat. He is associated with poetry, wisdom, magic, shamanic visions, and death.

Thor

This god is renowned for his physical strength and is considered especially friendly to humans. He is famed as a giant/troll killer and rides a chariot drawn by two goats. He is honest but dim-witted. His weapon of choice is a hammer and he is associated with war, storms, lightning, and farming.

Sleipnir

This eight-legged horse is renowned for its speed, and is the ride of choice for Odin.

Frigg

This goddess is the wife of Odin and is considered exceedingly wise, although Odin often ignores her counsel. She is portrayed primarily as a wife and a mother, and she tried to prevent Baldr's death by extracting oaths from all creatures that they would not harm him.

Sif

This goddess is renowned for her beauty and is traditionally the wife of Thor. According to one legend, after Loki cut her beautiful golden hair, she had dwarves construct golden hair that magically grew just like natural hair.

Gangleri

What fake name does King Gylfi travel under as he wanders the world seeking wisdom in Gylfaginning?

Loki

This trickster god is actually half-Aesir and half-troll and is known to shape-shift. He delights in stirring up trouble and famously gets the Aesir into and out of trouble quite often. He is evicted from Asgard after engineering Baldr's death and will side with the giants, trolls, and monsters at Ragnarok.

Ymir

This proto-giant was murdered at the beginning of time, and the entire world was carved out of his remains. His blood became the seas, his bones the mountains, his flesh the earth, his skull the sky, his eyes the heavenly lights.

Bifrost

This rainbow bridge is the passage way from Midgard into Asgard and is guarded by Heimdall. It shatters at Ragnarok.

To describe the origin and structure of Norse cosmos

What is the primary purpose of Gylfaginning, the first part of the Prose Edda?

True

In the Prose Edda, Yggdrasil is described as a great tree that reconnects the nine realms.

Odin

Known for his unmatched wisdom and his sacrifice to gain knowledge

Loki

A trickster who often causes trouble among the gods

Thor

A god of strength, known for his hammer, Mjolnir

Baldr

A gentle and beloved god associated with light and beauty

Midgard, Asgard, Niflheim, Jotunheim

Which of the following are realms mentioned in the Prose Edda?

Midgardsormr, Jormungandr

This gigantic serpent circles Midgard and contains the seas in its coils. It bites its own tail as it circles the world, and Thor and the giant Hymir went fishing for it once. It is probably a child of Loki and will slay many of the Aesir at Ragnarok. It is called which two names?

Utgarda-Loki

This shape-shifting magical trickster deluded Thor with "visual tricks", and sought to humiliate Thor (and the Aesir by extension) via a series of rigged games (an eating contest, a footrace, a drinking contest).

To explain the poetic language and kennings of skaldic poetry

What is the primary purpose of Skaldskaparmal within the Prose Edda?

Bragi

In Skaldskaparmal, which figure tells the stories that explain the origins of kennings?

The Mead of Odin

According to Skaldskaparmal, what is poetry metaphorically called?

True

The stories in Skaldskaparmal are framed as a dialogue between Aegir and Bragi.

False

Skaldskaparmal includes a complete and systematic dictionary of old norse kennings, arranged alphabetically.

Odin's rear - consuming the mead that comes from here means the reader is consuming 'bad poetry'

According to Bragi in Skaldskaparmal, why is there bad poetry in the world? Where did it come from?

His testicles were tied to a goat and when the goat shook around, Loki was screaming

According to Skaldskaparmal, how does Loki accomplish the impossible task of making the giantess laugh after her father (the giant Thjazi) was murdered?

Ygg

Which of the following is an attested heiti (poetic synonym) for Odin?

horse of the sea

Which of the following is a common kenning for "ship"?

an eagle

What animal does Odin shape-shift into to escape with the stolen mead of poetry?

Quickly scan the doorways for potential enemies

According to "Sayings of the High" (Havamal), what should one do before entering a building?

A store of common sense

According to "Sayings of the High" what is the best burden "a man can bear on the road"?

Do not get too drunk

What piece of advice does Odin give listeners of "Sayings of the High" -- even though he himself turns around and confesses he has often failed to observe it (like at Fialar's)?

The glory of reputation

According to "Sayings of the High", even though "cattle die, kinsmen die, [and] the self must also die" what is the one thing that never dies?

It is an ancient custom for an intruding wanderer to bet their life on a riddle contest

In "Vafthrudnir's Sayings", why do Odin and the giant have a riddle contest?

"What did I whisper in Baldr's ear?"

In "Vafthrudnir's Sayings" what is the trick question that Odin uses to win?

They are wisdom poems, supplying audiences with everyday wisdom as well as arcane myth-lore

"Grimnir's Sayings", "Vafthrudnir's Sayings", and "Sayings of the High" are all gnomic didactic poems. What does that mean?

Thor's fishing trip: he fishes up the Midgard Serpent

"Hymir's Poem" crams many stories into its brief narrative. What famous tale about Thor does it relate?

Hurls insults and lewd (usually true) accusations at the gods

In "Loki's Quarrel", Loki shows up to a feast of the Aesir and does what?

Eddic

The poems in the Poetic Edda are considered to be