Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

10 results found

Asgard

(Encyclopedia)Asgard ăsˈgärd [key], in Norse mythology, home of the gods, also known as Aesir. It consisted of luxurious palaces and halls, in which the gods (whose chief was Odin) dwelled, conferred, and banque...

Bifrost

(Encyclopedia)Bifrost: see Asgard.

Heimdall

(Encyclopedia)Heimdall: see Asgard.

Valhalla

(Encyclopedia)Valhalla or Walhalla both: vălhälˈə, –hălˈə [key], in Norse mythology, Odin's hall for slain heroes. This martial paradise was one of the most beautiful halls of Asgard. The dead warriors, br...

Mimir

(Encyclopedia)Mimir mēˈmĭr [key], in Norse mythology, giant who guarded the well of wisdom. According to one legend Mimir was beheaded by the enemies of the gods of Asgard; his head was then preserved by Odin, w...

Woden

(Encyclopedia)Woden ōˈdĭn [key], in Germanic religion and mythology, the supreme god. His cult, although widespread among the Germanic tribes, was sometimes subordinated to that of his son Thor. With his brother...

Loki

(Encyclopedia)Loki lōˈkē [key], Norse giant (or deity) who personified evil. He hated the gods of Asgard and continually sought to overthrow them. His worst exploit was the murder of Balder, for which he was pun...

Ragnarok

(Encyclopedia)Ragnarok rägˈnərŏkˌ [key], in Norse mythology, the doom of the gods. According to prophecy the end of the world would follow a severe ice age, in which human civilization would be destroyed. Then...

Balder

(Encyclopedia)Balder bôlˈdər, bäl– [key], Norse god of light; son of Odin and Frigg. He was the most beautiful and gracious of the gods of Asgard. His mother extracted oaths from all things in nature not to h...

Germanic religion

(Encyclopedia)Germanic religion, pre-Christian religious practices among the tribes of Western Europe, Germany, and Scandinavia. The main sources for our knowledge are the Germania of Tacitus and the Elder Edda and...

Browse by Subject