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Scandinavia",3,5,[37,122,292],{"id":38,"data":39,"type":25,"version":34,"maxContentLevel":34,"summaryPage":40,"introPage":47,"pages":54},"1a59fdc3-ad22-45c4-b373-f0420175c27e",{"type":25,"title":32},{"id":41,"data":42,"type":34,"maxContentLevel":34,"version":24},"5fe7659f-5dd1-4765-a664-ee85cd3ba3f9",{"type":34,"summary":43},[44,45,46],"The Norse were seafaring raiders from Scandinavia, who used agile longboats for hit-and-run attacks","Norse mythology spread through Europe as the Norse explored and colonized","Around 1000 CE, the Norse got as far as North America, long before Columbus arrived",{"id":48,"data":49,"type":50,"maxContentLevel":34,"version":24},"345912e6-d722-43ac-a45d-35b11632077b",{"type":50,"intro":51},10,[52,53],"Who were the Norse, and what did they believe?","How did Norse mythology influence our modern lives?",[55,69,84,89],{"id":56,"data":57,"type":24,"maxContentLevel":34,"version":34,"reviews":60},"d824ea8d-49ca-4c6c-b321-677a0ec67ee4",{"type":24,"markdownContent":58,"audioMediaId":59},"The Norse were a resilient, seafaring people who originated in Scandinavia. From the 8th century to the 11th century, they took to the ocean in agile longboats and raided coastal communities all over Europe.\n\nThese raiders, or Vikings, were known for their ruthless hit-and-run attacks: they would moor their boats at the edge of a town, plunder the buildings with devastating speed, then sail away before the enemy had time to respond.\n\nThese attacks gave the Norse a fearsome reputation, but there was more to their lives than violence and warfare. These people were also poets and performers, farmers and fishermen, and the practitioners of a rich and powerful belief system full of gods and giants, elves and dwarves, and worlds of fire and snow.\n\n![Graph](image://b520124e-c918-4e00-8d04-ef4eec76da70 \"Viking ship. Image: Public domain\")","3a0804a0-600f-4f82-a746-9e9aa78f8674",[61],{"id":62,"data":63,"type":27,"version":25,"maxContentLevel":34},"66821997-1854-45b6-9b1d-6b806059005d",{"type":27,"reviewType":64,"spacingBehaviour":24,"clozeQuestion":65,"clozeWords":67},4,[66],"Norse raiders, or Vikings, took to the seas using longboats between the 8th and 11th century",[68],"Vikings",{"id":70,"data":71,"type":24,"maxContentLevel":34,"version":25,"reviews":74},"1b672296-5998-44a8-b7ff-6d9f2998fb29",{"type":24,"markdownContent":72,"audioMediaId":73},"The Norse belief system was a folk religion, not an organized one. This meant there was no centralized church, priesthood, or set of practices, and the nature of worship could differ drastically from region to region, village to village and home to home.\n\nThere were more than 50 gods in the Norse pantheon, and different communities would devote their lives to whichever god felt most relevant to them. For example, a farming community might focus their worship upon a god of fertility, whereas a band of warriors would be more likely to worship a god of war.\n\nBut, despite these differences, there were some core beliefs which the majority of the Norse seemed to have in common, such as their ideas concerning the nature of the cosmos, the role of the gods, and the existence of supernatural beings. These fundamental principles were passed from person to person in the form of stories and poems, and many of these ideas thrived in Scandinavia for hundreds of years.","01b262a3-7f9e-4f13-8140-db677801384d",[75],{"id":76,"data":77,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},"8232a360-5bbc-4302-bb6f-6f6b63341006",{"type":27,"reviewType":25,"spacingBehaviour":24,"binaryQuestion":78,"binaryCorrect":80,"binaryIncorrect":82},[79],"What type of religion was belief in the Norse gods?",[81],"Folk",[83],"Organized",{"id":85,"data":86,"type":24,"maxContentLevel":34,"version":25},"cb2d4e2d-49c7-48c8-abe1-595d95555ea4",{"type":24,"markdownContent":87,"audioMediaId":88},"The Norse people, and their mythology, may have originated in Scandinavia, but, over hundreds of years, their ideas spread elsewhere. This was only natural for a seafaring people who engaged in so much exploration, colonization, and trade.\n\n![Graph](image://1544f9e4-5218-41f6-9e30-a4d19561453a \"Viking-style ship. Image: James Johnstone from Ecclefechan, Scotland, CC BY 2.0 \u003Chttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons\")\n\nFor instance, after the Roman Empire pulled out from Britain in 410 CE, a number of tribes from Scandinavia and Northern Germany moved in to take their place. These tribes were collectively known as the Anglo-Saxons, and they brought their gods with them. An altered version of Norse mythology became a dominant force in the country, and traces of its influence can still be seen in the names of landmarks throughout modern Britain.\n\nIn around 874 CE, the Norse also colonized Iceland, which had previously been mostly uninhabited. The people of Iceland wrote extensive accounts of Norse mythology, which are important sources for historians today. Without the colonization of Iceland, and the creation of sources which followed it, modern understanding of Norse mythology would be significantly less complete.\n\n![Graph](image://16494cb7-761e-4c1a-9fda-e12afd108015 \"A map of Viking voyages. Image: Szajci, CC BY-SA 4.0 \u003Chttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons\")","2c517e8a-72f2-460d-907b-9d4b2f9f5fb2",{"id":90,"data":91,"type":24,"maxContentLevel":34,"version":25,"reviews":94},"69cd5ee1-b3c4-4f06-8155-4d21e48535c5",{"type":24,"markdownContent":92,"audioMediaId":93},"Christopher Columbus is usually given the credit for being the first non-native to visit the Americas, after stumbling across the Bahamas during a voyage in 1492 CE. However, there is evidence to suggest that Norsemen set foot on the American continent almost 500 years earlier.\n\nNorse stories, or sagas, talk about Leif Eriksson, a man who sailed to a land in the distant west. At first, he encountered a gray, uninteresting island, which he called Helluland, or ‘Land of Flat Rocks.’ After that, he traveled south, and found a more plentiful location full of luscious meadows and wild grapes. He named this second location Vinland, or ‘Land of Wine.’\n\n![Graph](image://a7b9ae4b-6aaa-46cb-8eef-32d776de0d24 \"Leif Eriksson. Image: Public domain\")\n\nFor many years, modern historians thought that Helluland and Vinland were only legends. But, in 1960, a pair of Norwegian explorers, Helge and Anne Ingstad, found the remains of a Norse settlement in Newfoundland, Canada. The buildings dated back to around 1000 CE, and matched descriptions of Eriksson’s voyage.\n\nThis could have been an opportunity for Norse mythology to spread into a new continent, just as it spread across Europe. However, there is no evidence to suggest that Norse ideas were adopted by natives in the region.","78173fbb-35f7-4a31-bea5-c99e1f8cdb92",[95,102,113],{"id":96,"data":97,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},"e8599f3b-5d28-4fb5-9997-4d8cf6ac386e",{"type":27,"reviewType":24,"spacingBehaviour":24,"activeRecallQuestion":98,"activeRecallAnswers":100},[99],"What was the collective name for the tribes from Scandinavia and Northern Germany who took over Britain after the Romans departed in 410 CE?",[101],"Anglo-Saxons",{"id":103,"data":104,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},"fb0b3fc4-06d9-404a-bcb7-556d1b40fba8",{"type":27,"reviewType":34,"spacingBehaviour":24,"multiChoiceQuestion":105,"multiChoiceCorrect":107,"multiChoiceIncorrect":109,"multiChoiceMultiSelect":6,"multiChoiceRevealAnswerOption":6},[106],"Which colony of the Norse, established in 874 CE, is the source of most of the writings we have about Norse mythology today?",[108],"Iceland",[110,111,112],"Greenland","Finland","Vinland",{"id":114,"data":115,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},"c8114878-96eb-4e6a-9713-c4e87ec0fa9c",{"type":27,"reviewType":25,"spacingBehaviour":24,"binaryQuestion":116,"binaryCorrect":118,"binaryIncorrect":120},[117],"Norse sagas suggest that Leif Eriksson was the first European to visit North America, but does archaeological evidence support this?",[119],"Yes - evidence was discovered in 1960",[121],"No - evidence is yet to be found",{"id":123,"data":124,"type":25,"version":64,"maxContentLevel":34,"summaryPage":126,"introPage":133,"pages":139},"917e5989-e403-4d21-923d-621e57944688",{"type":25,"title":125},"Cosmology",{"id":127,"data":128,"type":34,"maxContentLevel":34,"version":24},"1ad9c543-59bb-431c-9d30-81dbf320e9ea",{"type":34,"summary":129},[130,131,132],"The first beings in Norse mythology were the jötnar","The first god was found in a salt lick by a hungry cow","The Norse cosmos had nine realms, all connected by the world tree: Yggdrasil",{"id":134,"data":135,"type":50,"maxContentLevel":34,"version":24},"dfd0e96b-c4bc-41db-9308-d4f47c37a29e",{"type":50,"intro":136},[137,138],"Who were the different types of beings in Norse mythology?","How did the Norse conceive of the cosmos?",[140,173,206,242],{"id":141,"data":142,"type":24,"maxContentLevel":34,"version":25,"reviews":145},"f9ec9c0f-329d-408d-ab0b-b8a934e4cfa7",{"type":24,"markdownContent":143,"audioMediaId":144},"According to Old Norse legends, the first beings to exist in the cosmos, before the appearance of gods and human beings, were the jötnar, pronounced 'yote-nar' (jɔtnɑz̠). The first jötunn was called Ymir, and he was formed from the meltwater of a frozen river. According to the Prose Edda, a 13th century text, Ymir had 'a man's form.'\n\nThe word 'jötnar’ is often translated as ‘giants,’ however not all jötnar were depicted as huge or monstrous. Because of this, it makes more sense to refer to these beings by the Norse word, jötnar, rather than trying to find an English equivalent.\n\n![Graph](image://6b81d068-cc9a-473e-aaf1-5f45b272ec65 \"A depiction of Ymir (center). Image: Public domain\")\n\nWhile the jötnar may have been human in form, they were far from human in nature. Some texts depict them as savage and monstrous, eating the flesh of men and horses. However, it is important to note that the Norse did not view them as evil beings. The people of Scandinavia generally believed that good and evil were subjective principles; one person’s ‘good’ was simply another person’s ‘evil'.","94e5024d-3417-41df-be70-10788e074fe2",[146,166],{"id":147,"data":148,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},"596e1917-ec64-4784-9dab-5571587cdfb4",{"type":27,"reviewType":34,"spacingBehaviour":24,"collapsingSiblings":149,"multiChoiceQuestion":153,"multiChoiceCorrect":155,"multiChoiceIncorrect":157,"multiChoiceMultiSelect":6,"multiChoiceRevealAnswerOption":6,"matchPairsQuestion":161,"matchPairsPairs":163},[150,151,152],"59365574-eade-424f-9379-ab8732f60ff4","7ca3b780-eb1e-4a29-8615-6cfa3762e1fa","959f6caa-11bb-49b4-9256-b6ce18087238",[154],"According to the Norse, who were the first beings in the cosmos?",[156],"Jötnar",[158,159,160],"Álfar","Dvergr","Valkyries",[162],"Match the pairs below:",[164],{"left":156,"right":165,"direction":34},"First beings in the cosmos",{"id":167,"data":168,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},"be5ba87e-29d3-43fd-b159-aab1234820c3",{"type":27,"reviewType":24,"spacingBehaviour":24,"activeRecallQuestion":169,"activeRecallAnswers":171},[170],"Did the Norse believe that good and evil were objective?",[172],"No - one person’s ‘good’ was another person’s ‘evil'",{"id":174,"data":175,"type":24,"maxContentLevel":34,"version":64,"reviews":178},"6104fe03-bf90-48de-9278-0736d786e725",{"type":24,"markdownContent":176,"audioMediaId":177},"After the jötnar, the next group of beings to form were the gods.\n\nThe Norse believed that the first ever god was found embedded in a salt lick by a hungry cow named Auðumbla. This god had a son, who bred with a jötunn, and their descendants branched out into two distinct tribes.\n\nOne of these tribes was the Æsir, who were fierce and proud, riding into battles with swords, axes and hammers. The other was the Vanir, who were more peaceful and magical, often associated with the natural world.\n\nThere was no sense that either the Æsir or the Vanir were more powerful than the other, but they did have different strengths and weaknesses, and each Norse community would bear this in mind when deciding which tribe to favor. For example, a group of Vikings might be drawn toward the warfaring Æsir, whereas a group of farmers would probably worship the Vanir instead.\n\n![Graph](image://e922e99e-c54a-41f4-b60a-197233dd354b \"A depiction of Thor, one of the Æsir. Image: Internet Archive Book Images, No restrictions, via Wikimedia Commons\")","57aee653-86d5-46be-9d4d-c4dcf8636762",[179,187,198],{"id":180,"data":181,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},"364eb702-1d6b-4baf-8d38-19dddb46ae2c",{"type":27,"reviewType":64,"spacingBehaviour":24,"clozeQuestion":182,"clozeWords":184},[183],"While the Æsir tended to be fierce and proud warriors, the Vanir were often described as more peaceful and magical",[185,186],"warriors","peaceful",{"id":188,"data":189,"type":27,"version":25,"maxContentLevel":34},"c78f8121-aa01-4959-80c2-c0443ee7f6a1",{"type":27,"reviewType":34,"spacingBehaviour":24,"multiChoiceQuestion":190,"multiChoiceCorrect":192,"multiChoiceIncorrect":194,"multiChoiceMultiSelect":6,"multiChoiceRevealAnswerOption":6},[191],"Who discovered the first Norse God, according to mythology?",[193],"Auðumbla the Cow",[195,196,197],"Fenrir the Wolf","Jörmungandr the Serpent","Níðhöggr the Dragon",{"id":199,"data":200,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},"8669c028-dc3a-4ead-a625-8d73ef2566d6",{"type":27,"reviewType":24,"spacingBehaviour":24,"activeRecallQuestion":201,"activeRecallAnswers":203},[202],"Who were the two tribes of Norse gods?",[204,205],"Æsir","Vanir",{"id":207,"data":208,"type":24,"maxContentLevel":34,"version":25,"reviews":211},"76353058-7c66-4426-8a65-f385ba0e2208",{"type":24,"markdownContent":209,"audioMediaId":210},"As well as gods and jötnar, the Norse believed in several races of supernatural beings, including dwarves, elves and trolls. Some of these races lived in the human world, while others had separate worlds of their own.\n\nNorse mythology also had a vibrant tapestry of mythical beasts. One of these was Fenrir, a monstrous wolf, who once managed to bite off the hand of a god.\n\n![Graph](image://87257ac0-f93d-4b1a-a0d5-58305b2018c1 \"A depiction of Fenrir. Image: Public domain\")\n\nAnother was Jörmungandr, a sea serpent so large that he could coil his body around the entire world.","daca12f1-4c17-4344-a1d4-b5d1dc67ea63",[212,231],{"id":213,"data":214,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},"c661c2b0-441d-4255-a30e-e0dc1fe5ee76",{"type":27,"reviewType":34,"spacingBehaviour":24,"collapsingSiblings":215,"multiChoiceQuestion":219,"multiChoiceCorrect":221,"multiChoiceIncorrect":223,"multiChoiceMultiSelect":6,"multiChoiceRevealAnswerOption":6,"matchPairsQuestion":227,"matchPairsPairs":228},[216,217,218],"3ec4c5e1-6104-45b7-b06e-34724bae5eec","cd35d908-53cf-4e16-a2d0-4fbd6f0eaae0","84a35f25-92b1-4379-ab03-db0486c9fc87",[220],"What is the name of the monstrous wolf in Norse mythology?",[222],"Fenrir",[224,225,226],"Jörmungandr","Hel","Sleipnir",[162],[229],{"left":222,"right":230,"direction":34},"Giant wolf",{"id":216,"data":232,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},{"type":27,"reviewType":34,"spacingBehaviour":24,"collapsingSiblings":233,"multiChoiceQuestion":234,"multiChoiceCorrect":236,"multiChoiceIncorrect":237,"multiChoiceMultiSelect":6,"multiChoiceRevealAnswerOption":6,"matchPairsQuestion":238,"matchPairsPairs":239},[213,217,218],[235],"Which monstrous being in Norse mythology is also known as the World Serpent?",[224],[222,225,226],[162],[240],{"left":224,"right":241,"direction":34},"World serpent",{"id":243,"data":244,"type":24,"maxContentLevel":34,"version":25,"reviews":247},"ca536b3b-ebfc-4841-9716-5696a42a35a8",{"type":24,"markdownContent":245,"audioMediaId":246},"The Norse believed that all of these different creatures and races lived in a cosmos divided into nine different realms.\n\nOne of these was Asgard, home to the Æsir. Another was Vanaheim, home to the Vanir. Jotunheim was the home of jötnar, while Midgard was the home of humans. The other realms were Alfheim, Muspelheim, Nidavellir, Niflheim, and Helheim.\n\nAll of these places were clustered around Yggdrasil, a giant, cosmic tree, whose roots and branches connected and supported the different realms.\n\nUnfortunately, none of this is described in much detail by Old Norse sources. The idea of Yggdrasil was so popular and well-established that few writers believed that it needed explaining. In a similar way, a modern writer might not bother to explain that the Earth orbits around the sun; they take it for granted that the reader will know this already.\n\n![Graph](image://6e5301e2-bc5a-4369-95e6-7b58bcb2d615 \"One artist's depiction of Yggdrasil. Image: Oluf Bagge, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons\")","e725af8a-2065-4690-9c37-8a661c3f09e7",[248,267,285],{"id":249,"data":250,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},"b4f9d00a-aa7f-45bf-b5d3-55005cbdeb68",{"type":27,"reviewType":34,"spacingBehaviour":24,"collapsingSiblings":251,"multiChoiceQuestion":255,"multiChoiceCorrect":257,"multiChoiceIncorrect":259,"multiChoiceMultiSelect":6,"multiChoiceRevealAnswerOption":6,"matchPairsQuestion":263,"matchPairsPairs":264},[252,253,254],"18a020c0-831c-4019-b916-0ba49b185816","44c5a138-bfcf-4424-b8b4-64fb3674f374","11c85784-4431-48c4-857d-8a878b6d5784",[256],"How many realms are there in Norse mythology?",[258],"9",[260,261,262],"2","1","8",[162],[265],{"left":266,"right":258,"direction":34},"Number of Norse realms",{"id":268,"data":269,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},"0336be29-d835-4674-9ad1-a38e924ee531",{"type":27,"reviewType":270,"spacingBehaviour":24,"matchPairsQuestion":271,"matchPairsPairs":272,"matchPairsShowExamples":6},6,[162],[273,276,279,282],{"left":274,"right":275,"direction":34},"Asgard","Home of the Æsir",{"left":277,"right":278,"direction":34},"Vanaheim","Home of the Vanir",{"left":280,"right":281,"direction":34},"Jotunheim","Home of jötnar",{"left":283,"right":284,"direction":34},"Midgard","Home of humans",{"id":286,"data":287,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},"7a209dd9-bd24-443e-9b5a-dbe41fe57c77",{"type":27,"reviewType":24,"spacingBehaviour":24,"activeRecallQuestion":288,"activeRecallAnswers":290},[289],"What is the name of the cosmic world tree in Norse mythology?",[291],"Yggdrasil",{"id":293,"data":294,"type":25,"version":25,"maxContentLevel":34,"summaryPage":296,"introPage":303,"pages":309},"905c9e70-8345-4b6a-92af-7c87d6ee17de",{"type":25,"title":295},"Sense of self",{"id":297,"data":298,"type":34,"maxContentLevel":34,"version":24},"8f9f9a41-4023-4210-86b0-ab71b73e7956",{"type":34,"summary":299},[300,301,302],"The Norse believed the self had four parts: Hugr (mind), Hamr (shape), Fylgja (follower), and Hamingja (luck)","After death, the parts of the self could travel to the afterlife together, separately, or occasionally stay behind","Dead warriors went to Valhalla or Folkvangr, while others were sent to Hel",{"id":304,"data":305,"type":50,"maxContentLevel":34,"version":24},"e98d0056-d128-4442-8d5e-6a7b901c7ea0",{"type":50,"intro":306},[307,308],"What was the Norse conception of self?","What did the Norse think about life after death?",[310,333],{"id":311,"data":312,"type":24,"maxContentLevel":34,"version":25,"reviews":315},"b3bfe911-b84c-4cfa-b22e-7d86a715fe42",{"type":24,"markdownContent":313,"audioMediaId":314},"When considering what it means to be a person, some religions think in terms of two distinct parts: the body and the soul, together representing a person’s self. For the Norse, however, the situation was a lot more complicated. They conceived of the self in four parts, which were often present all together, but which could also function separately.\n\nThe first of these was the Hugr, or ‘mind,’ which loosely represented a person’s personality. The Norse believed that the Hugr could separate from the rest of the self when a person was asleep or in a trance. Second was the Hamr, or ‘shape.’ This was the physical appearance of a person, but it wasn’t necessarily fixed. The Norse believed in shapeshifters, or hamrammr, who could change their external form.\n\nThe third part of the self was the Fylgja, or ‘follower.’ This was an external companion which often took the form of an animal, such as a cat or a raven, and which were invisible to most people, but not to everyone.\n\nFinally, the Norse believed in the Hamingja, or ‘luck,’ which was a guardian spirit who determined whether a person was lucky and happy in their life. The Hamingja was always female, even when the rest of the person was not. Hamingjas could be passed down from generation to generation, continuing to influence their fortunes.","6f6c7308-0bd6-4293-ae60-6f11af2b279d",[316],{"id":317,"data":318,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},"ec686524-39c1-4bfc-bd77-1e502dbb4a3c",{"type":27,"reviewType":270,"spacingBehaviour":24,"matchPairsQuestion":319,"matchPairsPairs":320,"matchPairsShowExamples":6},[162],[321,324,327,330],{"left":322,"right":323,"direction":34},"Hugr","Mind (personality)",{"left":325,"right":326,"direction":34},"Hamr","Shape (appearance)",{"left":328,"right":329,"direction":34},"Fylgja","Follower (animal companion)",{"left":331,"right":332,"direction":34},"Hamingja","Luck (guardian spirit)",{"id":334,"data":335,"type":24,"maxContentLevel":34,"version":25,"reviews":338},"b9338a36-a690-445e-a450-2546657f4c5f",{"type":24,"markdownContent":336,"audioMediaId":337},"Norse beliefs on life after death were far from simple. The four parts of the self could travel to the afterlife together, or separately, or not at all. Sometimes, a person’s Hamingja, or ‘luck,’ would pass to a newborn relative, especially if that relative had the same name as the deceased. At other times, the Hugr, or ‘mind,’ would remain locked within a corpse, and become a Draugr (‘mound-dweller’) trapped inside their grave.\n\nFor the parts of a person which did make it to the afterlife, they could end up in a number of locations. When a warrior died in battle, they could go to one of two places: Valhalla was the ‘Hall of Heroes,’ while Folkvangr was the ‘Field of the People.’ Drowned sailors, on the other hand, would go to the Realm of Rán, a coral cave system at the bottom of the ocean.\n\n![Graph](image://1a352640-876f-4732-84c2-615a257ea6f7 \"A depiction of Valhalla. Image: Emil Doepler, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons\")\n\nMost other people would go to Helheim, a dark, gray, underworld. ‘Hel’ translates as ‘hidden place,’ a meaning which is shared with the Christian word ‘Hell,’ but it is unclear which word came first, or whether either influenced the other. Within Helheim was a place called Náströnd, or ‘Corpse Shore,’ where murderers and adulterers were sent. Náströnd was a place of eternal suffering, where Níðhöggr the dragon would chew on the inhabitants until the end of time.\n\n![Graph](image://58aae0f6-4b40-4d06-9cd8-9f40748c51c4 \"A depiction of Náströnd. Image: Lorenz Frølich, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons\")","33875dc6-818e-44bc-8b5b-8bd262e0a8cc",[339,356,367],{"id":340,"data":341,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},"00314ec4-11d0-4767-9bd1-9e965af7b9fd",{"type":27,"reviewType":270,"spacingBehaviour":24,"matchPairsQuestion":342,"matchPairsPairs":343,"matchPairsShowExamples":6},[162],[344,347,350,353],{"left":345,"right":346,"direction":34},"Valhalla","The Hall of Heroes",{"left":348,"right":349,"direction":34},"Folkvangr","The Field of the People",{"left":351,"right":352,"direction":34},"Realm of Rán","Afterlife for drowned sailors",{"left":354,"right":355,"direction":34},"Náströnd","Afterlife for murderers",{"id":357,"data":358,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},"95906bbe-e63c-411f-b348-c4b2f60ca430",{"type":27,"reviewType":34,"spacingBehaviour":24,"multiChoiceQuestion":359,"multiChoiceCorrect":361,"multiChoiceIncorrect":363,"multiChoiceMultiSelect":6,"multiChoiceRevealAnswerOption":6},[360],"According to the Norse, did the four parts of the self travel to the afterlife together, separately, or not at all?",[362],"Sometimes together, sometimes separately, sometimes not at all",[364,365,366],"Together","Separately","Not at all",{"id":368,"data":369,"type":27,"version":25,"maxContentLevel":34},"0c201e1f-5540-4a2c-8b1e-c6b7b80ac6da",{"type":27,"reviewType":24,"spacingBehaviour":24,"activeRecallQuestion":370,"activeRecallAnswers":372},[371],"In Norse mythology, what is a Draugr?",[373],"A 'mound dweller' whose Hugr stays trapped in their grave when they die",{"id":375,"data":376,"type":26,"maxContentLevel":34,"version":64,"orbs":379},"b2661f0f-29c0-4515-84b6-f30932f8cd5d",{"type":26,"title":377,"tagline":378},"Norse Sources","From poems to prose",[380,494],{"id":381,"data":382,"type":25,"version":34,"maxContentLevel":34,"summaryPage":384,"introPage":391,"pages":397},"f8d28c34-7c47-4cc8-ab78-81392e980234",{"type":25,"title":383},"Norse sources",{"id":385,"data":386,"type":34,"maxContentLevel":34,"version":24},"8ccc34fa-b215-4ba3-9663-bcd2dd886ebe",{"type":34,"summary":387},[388,389,390],"The Norse had a written alphabet (Younger Futhark) but it was mainly used for recording history","Norse myths and legends were usually shared orally, often around fireplaces or feasts","The Poetic Edda and Prose Edda are the two main written sources of Norse mythology",{"id":392,"data":393,"type":50,"maxContentLevel":34,"version":24},"8ca6cbd8-acb3-4145-a3e2-eead12132fff",{"type":50,"intro":394},[395,396],"What makes Norse historical sources so scarce?","What challenges do the existing sources present to modern historians?",[398,419,445,465],{"id":399,"data":400,"type":24,"maxContentLevel":34,"version":25,"reviews":403},"1c2aa2f9-3c37-47cc-a22b-e7b46c5b4c1f",{"type":24,"markdownContent":401,"audioMediaId":402},"The Norse had a written alphabet called Younger Futhark, but this was mainly used to record historical events. When it came to religion, beliefs were communicated orally, with myths and legends often spoken around fireplaces or over hearty feasts.\n\n![Graph](image://075457b7-2b55-4738-a26c-49d036e85430 \"Norse storytelling. Image: Public domain\")\n\nThis convention poses a problem for modern historians, who have no way to access a story told orally almost 1000 years in the past. It is fortunate, therefore, that there are a handful of exceptions to the rule. Two important collections of Norse mythology were written in the 10th century and 13th century respectively: the *Poetic Edda* and the *Prose Edda*.\n\nThese sources are invaluable, but they only tell a small part of the story. The Norse belief system was rich and diverse, varying significantly from place to place, and many of these differences have been lost to the passing of time. Unless another written source emerges in the future, there will forever be gaps in our modern understanding of Norse mythology as a whole.\n\n![Graph](image://f8cd7bf7-60bb-4304-940d-6e2b4a08c615 \"Younger Futhark. Image: Public domain\")","60a54dd9-1029-46ce-89dd-732d2dffa437",[404,411],{"id":405,"data":406,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},"ebabfcd5-2057-459f-afb1-7ccdeb37289b",{"type":27,"reviewType":24,"spacingBehaviour":24,"activeRecallQuestion":407,"activeRecallAnswers":409},[408],"What was the name of the Norse written alphabet, usually used to record historical events?",[410],"Younger Futhark",{"id":412,"data":413,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},"67ffcec2-4ff3-4490-ac7c-275fc9572cfa",{"type":27,"reviewType":24,"spacingBehaviour":24,"activeRecallQuestion":414,"activeRecallAnswers":416},[415],"The two most important collections of Norse mythology, written in the 10th century and the 13th century, are what?",[417,418],"Poetic Edda","Prose Edda",{"id":420,"data":421,"type":24,"maxContentLevel":34,"version":25,"reviews":424},"73b5f091-7f9b-4246-a56b-7e2e745e86cf",{"type":24,"markdownContent":422,"audioMediaId":423},"The Norse people shared their myths and legends in the form of Eddaic poetry. This style of poetry was characterized by simple, straightforward language, which made it easy to pass orally from person to person, like sharing a catchy song.\n\nMany of these poems were never written down, and, centuries later, they have been forgotten. But not all of them suffered such a fate. At some point in the 10th century, a collection of 31 poems, known as the *Poetic Edda*, was compiled by an unknown author.\n\nFor hundreds of years, this collection was lost, until it came into the possession of an Icelandic bishop, Brynjólfur Sveinsson, in 1643. This marked an important turning point in the study of Norse mythology, as the *Poetic Edda* provides more insight than any other source.\n\nThe best known poem in the *Poetic Edda* is *Völuspá*, which describes the creation of the cosmos. One verse of the poem reads as follows: 'I remember the jötnar / born so long ago; / in those ancient days / they raised me. / I remember nine worlds, / nine giantesses, / and the seed / from which Yggdrasil sprang.'\n\n![Graph](image://ec912a7b-5980-4f44-a91e-6426f06ef13d \"Völuspá. Image: Public domain\")","0afe553d-0f0b-4c3a-b148-91ccd04f62e4",[425,434],{"id":426,"data":427,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},"93efc2f7-d512-4c78-8766-818f3378e578",{"type":27,"reviewType":25,"spacingBehaviour":24,"binaryQuestion":428,"binaryCorrect":430,"binaryIncorrect":432},[429],"Which of these poetry styles depicts Norse myths and legends in simple, straightforward language?",[431],"Eddaic Poetry",[433],"Skaldic Poetry",{"id":435,"data":436,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},"5b1cf0da-05ef-4cb9-a7b3-61038d6268f0",{"type":27,"reviewType":34,"spacingBehaviour":24,"multiChoiceQuestion":437,"multiChoiceCorrect":439,"multiChoiceIncorrect":441,"multiChoiceMultiSelect":6,"multiChoiceRevealAnswerOption":6},[438],"Who compiled the Poetic Edda – a surviving collection of Eddaic poetry?",[440],"An unknown author",[442,443,444],"Snorri Sturluson","Brynjólfur Sveinsson","Völuspá",{"id":446,"data":447,"type":24,"maxContentLevel":34,"version":34,"reviews":450},"254e435d-c058-4b31-adc1-88954e13fac1",{"type":24,"markdownContent":448,"audioMediaId":449},"Skaldic poetry was used by the Norse to describe real, historical events, such as victories in battle or the achievements of a king. This style of poetry was characterized by fancy language, complex rhyme schemes, and clever allusions to myths and gods. These poems were composed by official Skalds: poets who worked in service of a royal court.\n\nIn the 13th century, Skaldic poetry was showing signs of decline, with simpler, more accessible styles of poetry becoming more and more popular. In an effort to reverse this process, an Icelandic scholar, Snorri Sturluson, wrote the *Prose Edda*, which was essentially a handbook to teach prospective poets how to write Skaldic poetry of their own.\n\n![Graph](image://09154932-ac25-4fe9-8f84-5a4a838bff97 \"Snorri Sturluson. Image: Christian Krohg, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons\")\n\nThis handbook has proven invaluable to modern historians. Mythological allusions are an essential feature of Skaldic poetry, and Sturluson included a number of legends to make sure that the reader could make well-informed references. Some historians have questioned the reliability of Sturluson’s myths, as there are no other sources to corroborate against, but the *Prose Edda* is still widely regarded as an important historical source.\n\n![Graph](image://e786d5da-63bd-4b38-8fe2-9b07ac17c47a \"The Prose Edda. Image: Public domain\")","2aec7a90-3f00-46d8-92b5-361c608d213c",[451,458],{"id":452,"data":453,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},"ed05ca6d-c5b3-4b84-a652-feef02613730",{"type":27,"reviewType":25,"spacingBehaviour":24,"binaryQuestion":454,"binaryCorrect":456,"binaryIncorrect":457},[455],"Which of these poetry styles depicts Norse myths and legends in fancy, complex language?",[433],[431],{"id":459,"data":460,"type":27,"version":25,"maxContentLevel":34},"480b8c6e-8791-4737-a127-475a19425f98",{"type":27,"reviewType":34,"spacingBehaviour":24,"multiChoiceQuestion":461,"multiChoiceCorrect":463,"multiChoiceIncorrect":464},[462],"Who compiled the Prose Edda – a guide to Skaldic poetry and Norse mythology?",[442],[440,443,444],{"id":466,"data":467,"type":24,"maxContentLevel":34,"version":25,"reviews":470},"6475ed58-4f6e-4f3e-8a34-6dd4a417bccf",{"type":24,"markdownContent":468,"audioMediaId":469},"Alongside poetry, the Norse also composed sagas, which were exciting stories about famous heroes, some of them real and some of them imagined. Families used to gather in the longhouse for *sagnaskemmtun*, or ‘saga entertainment,’ where a saga was read aloud for the enjoyment of the entire household.\n\nMany of these sagas were written down by Snorri Sturluson, the Icelandic scholar who also wrote the *Prose Edda*, a handbook to Skaldic poetry. The majority of these sagas only contain fleeting references to myths and gods, usually appearing at the edges of the central story, but there is one notable exception: the *Ynglinga* saga.\n\nThe *Ynglinga* saga is the history of a line of kings, and it starts off with several chapters about the gods of Asgard and Vanaheim, from whom these kings were supposedly descended. Sturluson based this saga on an earlier version by a 9th century Skald, Thjódólf of Hvinir, and it is another valuable source for historians of Norse mythology.\n\n![Graph](image://891f02cc-fdb3-431d-a472-0865c76fc50f \"Scene from the Ynglinga saga. Image: Public domain\")","660fd68c-f7ca-4773-be2f-94e4594d9ce2",[471,478,485],{"id":472,"data":473,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},"0ac32e60-0ad0-4245-9a28-471921763be8",{"type":27,"reviewType":64,"spacingBehaviour":24,"clozeQuestion":474,"clozeWords":476},[475],"Alongside poems, the Norse also told sagas: stories of famous heroes, some real some imagined.",[477],"sagas",{"id":479,"data":480,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},"f6e749ea-b8f3-4f90-b7b0-ef1a205d15a7",{"type":27,"reviewType":24,"spacingBehaviour":24,"activeRecallQuestion":481,"activeRecallAnswers":483},[482],"Norse families used to gather around the fire for 'sagnaskemmtun', which means what?",[484],"Saga entertainment",{"id":486,"data":487,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},"b4e2121f-eed8-4905-bf69-e7c27ba9b853",{"type":27,"reviewType":34,"spacingBehaviour":24,"multiChoiceQuestion":488,"multiChoiceCorrect":490,"multiChoiceIncorrect":492,"multiChoiceMultiSelect":6,"multiChoiceRevealAnswerOption":6},[489],"Which saga describes a line of kings, tracing all the way back to the gods of Asgard and Vanaheim?",[491],"Ynglinga",[444,493,348],"Beowulf",{"id":495,"data":496,"type":25,"version":34,"maxContentLevel":34,"summaryPage":498,"introPage":505,"pages":511},"c444c950-5ff7-41d3-bb67-8577b5b96118",{"type":25,"title":497},"Other sources",{"id":499,"data":500,"type":34,"maxContentLevel":34,"version":24},"5e798926-925f-4440-9cd3-c07679874880",{"type":34,"summary":501},[502,503,504],"Foreign visitors like Ibn Fadlan and Adam of Bremen wrote about Norse mythology","Archaeological finds like religious tokens in graves also tell us about Norse beliefs","Historians are able to cross-reference these findings with other sources in order to decide what to trust",{"id":506,"data":507,"type":50,"maxContentLevel":34,"version":24},"6ed1a5f1-ff51-4897-96be-00753265764e",{"type":50,"intro":508},[509,510],"Apart from written records, what other types of source can we use to study the Norse?","How can these sources by used to make the written sources more reliable?",[512,545,567],{"id":513,"data":514,"type":24,"maxContentLevel":34,"version":34,"reviews":517},"6d4de3d8-d65e-43e3-bb2a-56e74e7b991e",{"type":24,"markdownContent":515,"audioMediaId":516},"Old Norse writings are not the only texts which a historian can use to study Norse mythology. There are also a number of accounts written by other cultures which came into contact with the Norse.\n\nFor example, Ibn Fadlan, a Muslim traveler in the 10th century, described a Norse funeral which included the sacrifice of a human slave, while Adam of Bremen, a German chronicler, wrote a similar account in the 11th century. After spending time in a Norse court, he said: 'There is also a spring there where the pagans are accustomed to perform sacrifices and to immerse a human being alive. As long as his body is not found, the request of the people will be fulfilled.'\n\n![Graph](image://e865df22-f6b0-47d5-a3af-839cb12b833a \"Adam of Bremen's writings. Image: Public domain\")\n\nOf course, outsider accounts must always be handled carefully. Sacrificial ceremonies, which the Norse called blóts, are mentioned in Norse sources, but worshippers usually sacrificed animals rather than humans. Muslims and Christians were both natural opponents to Norse religion, and their descriptions of human sacrifice may have been manufactured in an effort to paint the Norse in a negative light.","b9320242-6441-4fd5-8179-1d7ca8fe49bc",[518,534],{"id":519,"data":520,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},"cebf1d3a-37b2-4fb6-9148-0a0b8ac22435",{"type":27,"reviewType":270,"spacingBehaviour":24,"matchPairsQuestion":521,"matchPairsPairs":522,"matchPairsShowExamples":6},[162],[523,525,528,531],{"left":442,"right":524,"direction":34},"Wrote the Prose Edda",{"left":526,"right":527,"direction":34},"Thjódólf of Hvinir","9th century Skaldic poet",{"left":529,"right":530,"direction":34},"Ibn Fadlan","Muslim traveler",{"left":532,"right":533,"direction":34},"Adam of Bremen","German chronicler",{"id":535,"data":536,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},"39fd52fe-2e3a-40c2-a9b3-6c0374ec0738",{"type":27,"reviewType":34,"spacingBehaviour":24,"multiChoiceQuestion":537,"multiChoiceCorrect":539,"multiChoiceIncorrect":541,"multiChoiceMultiSelect":6,"multiChoiceRevealAnswerOption":6},[538],"What is the Norse word for a sacrificial ceremony?",[540],"Blót",[542,543,544],"Slót","Blét","Slét",{"id":546,"data":547,"type":24,"maxContentLevel":34,"version":25,"reviews":550},"5b0d9c75-d6fc-4d8f-84a1-65faa335610a",{"type":24,"markdownContent":548,"audioMediaId":549},"For a historian of Norse mythology, written sources are invaluable, but archaeological evidence can also be used to understand belief systems of the past.\n\nAn important example of this is human burial. Religious tokens have been discovered in Old Norse graves, such as pieces of jewelry depicting a particular god, and finding depictions of different gods in different regions of Scandinavia helps to establish geographical differences in belief.\n\n![Graph](image://7e53a171-af64-4309-8cf1-ddd420696def \"Depiction of goddess Freya. Image: The Swedish History Museum, Stockholm from Sweden, CC BY 2.0 \u003Chttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons\")\n\nThe grave itself can also be enlightening. Some graves, for example, were shaped like boats, because the Norse believed that a boat would carry their souls into the afterlife.\n\nHistorians can also study the ruins of religious buildings. Temples to the Norse gods were never common, but a number of examples have been discovered, including a large religious site at Uppsala, Sweden. Discoveries like this one suggest a ceremonial side to Norse mythology which is not depicted in written sources.\n\n![Graph](image://fdc11003-3df3-4bdd-b900-4a11e6b44cab \"Uppsala site today. Image: OlofE, CC BY-SA 3.0 \u003Chttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/>, via Wikimedia Commons\")","c9dbde9a-0810-4343-a6af-39e740f642d5",[551,558],{"id":552,"data":553,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},"3dc8bbda-a61a-444f-a27d-0370c07fc7be",{"type":27,"reviewType":24,"spacingBehaviour":24,"activeRecallQuestion":554,"activeRecallAnswers":556},[555],"How have graves helped historians to identify which Norse gods were most popular in different regions?",[557],"The graves in different regions contain jewelry depicting different gods",{"id":559,"data":560,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},"cc0dce39-d6c2-41a9-b046-1de247bba733",{"type":27,"reviewType":25,"spacingBehaviour":24,"binaryQuestion":561,"binaryCorrect":563,"binaryIncorrect":565},[562],"Norse temples aren't common, but where has one important example been found?",[564],"Uppsala, Sweden",[566],"Odense, Denmark",{"id":568,"data":569,"type":24,"maxContentLevel":34,"version":25,"reviews":572},"80860dd6-1aa8-4f04-80fd-7be4cb04d6c1",{"type":24,"markdownContent":570,"audioMediaId":571},"When historians only have access to a small number of sources, it can be difficult to decide which pieces of information to trust. Even a comprehensive source, like Snorri Sturluson’s *Prose Edda*, could be riddled with inaccuracies, and with no other texts to cross-reference it against, those inaccuracies might never be identified.\n\nOccasionally, patterns can be spotted between sources. A good example of this is the religious site at Uppsala. In his Ynglinga saga, Sturluson described how the Æsir built a temple at Lake Mälaren, and, hundreds of years later, archaeologists found the temple of Uppsala on the exact same spot. This temple was not really built by gods, but the discovery was still an important validation of Sturluson’s work.\n\nIn instances when validation is harder to come by, historians must rely on intuition, making their own decisions about which sources to trust. We might never achieve a perfect understanding of Norse mythology, but, with the sources available, plus some well-informed guesses, historians have painted as extensive a picture as they could manage.","34527110-4207-4189-8e29-13ff529a6502",[573],{"id":574,"data":575,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},"bfd40d25-793d-4628-8cc2-4ce8a12556d1",{"type":27,"reviewType":24,"spacingBehaviour":24,"activeRecallQuestion":576,"activeRecallAnswers":578},[577],"In the Ynglinga saga, Sturluson described a temple at Uppsala. Centuries later, what happened?",[579],"Historians found a temple at the exact same spot",{"id":581,"data":582,"type":26,"maxContentLevel":34,"version":64,"orbs":585},"345a8333-e202-4227-a28b-6b8aaef818b3",{"type":26,"title":583,"tagline":584},"Norse Gods","From Odin to Hel",[586,723,806],{"id":587,"data":588,"type":25,"version":34,"maxContentLevel":34,"summaryPage":590,"introPage":598,"pages":604},"ab5a8912-c571-4dc0-b42c-7122357ab3d7",{"type":25,"title":589},"The Æsir",{"id":591,"data":592,"type":34,"maxContentLevel":34,"version":24},"f60129a3-85d4-4967-9c35-db75fbef6454",{"type":34,"summary":593},[594,595,596,597],"Odin was the god of war and poetry, who once traded his eye for wisdom","Frigg (Odin's wife) could see into the future, but is rarely mentioned in Norse texts","Thor (Odin's son) had a hammer, Mjöllnir, that returned to his hand after he threw it","Baldur (Odin's son) was supposed to be invulnerable to harm, but he was killed by a mistletoe-tipped arrow",{"id":599,"data":600,"type":50,"maxContentLevel":34,"version":24},"cc7c8e3b-cb85-4600-bbee-cc5949ca59ff",{"type":50,"intro":601},[602,603],"Who were the main Æsir gods?","How did belief in the Æsir influence Norse society?",[605,649,666,692],{"id":606,"data":607,"type":24,"maxContentLevel":34,"version":25,"reviews":610},"1c632709-8dd2-479f-8a4a-a80c9f586b65",{"type":24,"markdownContent":608,"audioMediaId":609},"Odin was one of the most prominent gods in Norse mythology, receiving mentions in almost every poem in the *Poetic Edda*, as well as the *Prose Edda* and a number of sagas. His presentation in these sources is not always consistent, but he is generally depicted as an old, bearded man with a missing eye. According to legend, he removed this eye himself, exchanging it for a drink from a well of knowledge.\n\nAs a member of the Æsir, Odin was a god of war, and his halls at Valhalla were an afterlife for fallen heroes. He was also heavily affiliated with wisdom and learning. One poem in the *Poetic Edda*, known as *Hávamál*, or ‘Sayings of the Old One,’ is entirely made up of words of wisdom attributed to Odin: 'no worse provision can he carry with him / than too deep a draught of ale.'\n\nOdin was also the god of poetry, which means the anonymous poets who wrote the *Poetic Edda* would probably have idolized him. This is a potential problem for modern historians, because Odin’s prominence in these texts might be a result of this bias. If a farmer or fisherman had been asked their opinion, they might not have said that the god of poetry was quite so central to their lives, but, unlike the poets, they never wrote these opinions down.\n\n![Graph](image://5db06d1a-603a-41ef-a8b6-55a5f598102b \"A depiction of Odin. Image: Public domain\")","c5905e06-268e-4046-bb61-7cc7d3d17d07",[611,630,642],{"id":612,"data":613,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},"e373fd5e-b127-4413-b717-9de64d85caa1",{"type":27,"reviewType":34,"spacingBehaviour":24,"collapsingSiblings":614,"multiChoiceQuestion":618,"multiChoiceCorrect":620,"multiChoiceIncorrect":622,"multiChoiceMultiSelect":6,"multiChoiceRevealAnswerOption":6,"matchPairsQuestion":626,"matchPairsPairs":627},[615,616,617],"e338bdaf-8c1b-4a9b-b9b9-d79c26e238cd","c7b86b79-d927-4d95-9401-98c8b6ffbc2b","680ea1c3-de74-41b0-94ac-586bdb4e9f53",[619],"Who was the Norse god of war, wisdom, and poetry?",[621],"Odin",[623,624,625],"Frigg","Thor","Baldur",[162],[628],{"left":621,"right":629,"direction":34},"God of war, wisdom, poetry",{"id":631,"data":632,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},"2512c89e-46fa-4be0-8e9d-22e5fbbfb17a",{"type":27,"reviewType":34,"spacingBehaviour":24,"multiChoiceQuestion":633,"multiChoiceCorrect":635,"multiChoiceIncorrect":639,"multiChoiceMultiSelect":21,"multiChoiceRevealAnswerOption":6},[634],"How is Odin generally depicted in Norse sources?",[636,637,638],"Old man","Bearded","One eyed",[640,641],"Golden helmet","Wooden leg",{"id":643,"data":644,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},"f22e45d7-7c73-4eb0-9873-51ee683689f1",{"type":27,"reviewType":24,"spacingBehaviour":24,"activeRecallQuestion":645,"activeRecallAnswers":647},[646],"One poem in the Poetic Edda, known as Hávamál, is entirely made up of what?",[648],"Words of wisdom attributed to Odin",{"id":650,"data":651,"type":24,"maxContentLevel":34,"version":25,"reviews":654},"b1e0c05a-ac03-48e5-b7fe-ba11ff85f662",{"type":24,"markdownContent":652,"audioMediaId":653},"Frigg was the wife of Odin, and, according to the *Prose Edda*, most of the other Æsir were her descendants. This gave her a high position within the hierarchy of the gods, as mother or wife to all the rest. Despite this, neither the *Poetic Edda* nor the *Prose Edda* talk much about her personality or accomplishments, and the main thing that modern historians know about her is that she had the power to see into the future.\n\n![Graph](image://9457df21-0544-4284-9a9e-890d6778c377 \"A depiction of Frigg. Image: Public domain\")\n\nThis lack of coverage may be linked to gender. Norse women actually had a lot of freedom and responsibility compared to other cultures of the time, and in families where the men spent time away, raiding and trading, the women were empowered to run the household and engage with the politics of the local community.\n\nHowever, the vast majority of the gods were men, and poets of the time did not show much interest in female deities like Frigg. She may have been valued by certain Norse communities, but not by the writers of the sources which survive today.","faf48766-9e96-4578-9af5-bddfa4aae9c3",[655],{"id":615,"data":656,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},{"type":27,"reviewType":34,"spacingBehaviour":24,"collapsingSiblings":657,"multiChoiceQuestion":658,"multiChoiceCorrect":660,"multiChoiceIncorrect":661,"multiChoiceMultiSelect":6,"multiChoiceRevealAnswerOption":6,"matchPairsQuestion":662,"matchPairsPairs":663},[612,616,617],[659],"Which of these Norse gods can see into the future?",[623],[621,624,625],[162],[664],{"left":623,"right":665,"direction":34},"Can see into the future",{"id":667,"data":668,"type":24,"maxContentLevel":34,"version":34,"reviews":671},"989eba6c-54a5-46ba-b537-af7c45481f2a",{"type":24,"markdownContent":669,"audioMediaId":670},"Thor, the god of thunder, was the firstborn son of Odin, and a jötunn named Jörð. His hammer, Mjölnir, was forged by dwarves, and had the power to return to his hand after he threw it. The *Poetic Edda* describes a battle between Thor and a group of jötnar, where 'Mjöllnir hurled forth towards the savage crew, / and slew all the mountain-giants.'\n\n![Graph](image://116247de-7d57-4f06-9b05-61462fdc11d3 \"A depiction of Thor. Image: Public domain\")\n\nThor was an Æsir, like his father, and wildly popular among Viking warriors. They tried to replicate his strength and bravery when they took to the battlefield, although there is no evidence to suggest that a Viking ever used a hammer as a weapon, with archaeological evidence suggesting that swords and axes were preferred.\n\nThor was not only popular amongst Viking warriors. Adam of Bremen, the German chronicler who spent time in Sweden during the 11th century, wrote a description of the temple of Uppsala: 'the mightiest of them, Thor, occupies a throne in the middle of the chamber.' As well as this, hammers have been found in a number of Norse graves, including the graves of women, who may have thought of Thor as a protective, patriarchal figure.","d8a59f86-dddd-4823-992f-9f4d075e7b53",[672,683],{"id":616,"data":673,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},{"type":27,"reviewType":34,"spacingBehaviour":24,"collapsingSiblings":674,"multiChoiceQuestion":675,"multiChoiceCorrect":677,"multiChoiceIncorrect":678,"multiChoiceMultiSelect":6,"multiChoiceRevealAnswerOption":6,"matchPairsQuestion":679,"matchPairsPairs":680},[612,615,617],[676],"Who was the firstborn son of Odin?",[624],[621,623,625],[162],[681],{"left":624,"right":682,"direction":34},"God of thunder",{"id":684,"data":685,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},"d4e8df02-8ccd-4f29-a07a-096cf862259c",{"type":27,"reviewType":25,"spacingBehaviour":24,"binaryQuestion":686,"binaryCorrect":688,"binaryIncorrect":690},[687],"What was the name of Thor's magical hammer?",[689],"Mjöllnir",[691],"Gleipnir",{"id":693,"data":694,"type":24,"maxContentLevel":34,"version":34,"reviews":697},"aad69de2-a67e-486f-918a-c8fad851ed42",{"type":24,"markdownContent":695,"audioMediaId":696},"Baldur was the brother of Thor, and another son of Odin and Jörð. He was beautiful and princely, and invulnerable to physical harm. According to the *Prose Edda*, 'He is best, and all praise him; he is so fair of feature, and so bright, that light shines from him.'\n\n![Graph](image://2f810889-43a0-4f93-b07c-4dbb0cd8bc7c \"A depiction of Baldur. Image: Public domain\")\n\nAccording to Norse stories, the other gods used to amuse themselves by throwing rocks and shooting arrows at Baldur, enjoying how the projectiles bounced off his invulnerable skin.\n\nUnfortunately, this game had dire consequences, after Loki, the god of chaos, discovered that mistletoe had the power to damage Baldur in a way that nothing else could. A mistletoe-tipped arrow proved fatal for Baldur, although the *Poetic Edda* does suggest that he will be resurrected again in the future.\n\nWith themes of goodness, suffering and resurrection, some historians believe that the mythology of Baldur was inspired by stories of Jesus Christ. Before Christian ideas arrived in Scandinavia, at some point in the 8th century, Baldur might have been a very different god, one whose nature has since been lost.","691ac915-05c0-4bc8-90d1-d07149f2b690",[698,709,716],{"id":617,"data":699,"type":27,"version":25,"maxContentLevel":34},{"type":27,"reviewType":34,"spacingBehaviour":24,"collapsingSiblings":700,"multiChoiceQuestion":701,"multiChoiceCorrect":703,"multiChoiceIncorrect":704,"multiChoiceMultiSelect":6,"multiChoiceRevealAnswerOption":6,"matchPairsQuestion":705,"matchPairsPairs":706},[612,615,616],[702],"Which Norse god of light and courage was supposedly invulnerable to harm?",[625],[621,623,624],[162],[707],{"left":625,"right":708,"direction":34},"Invulnerable to harm",{"id":710,"data":711,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},"74e5fb45-bece-4dd8-9076-bfa3f2e56b41",{"type":27,"reviewType":25,"spacingBehaviour":24,"binaryQuestion":712,"binaryCorrect":714,"binaryIncorrect":715},[713],"What tribe of gods did Thor, Odin and Frigg belong to?",[204],[205],{"id":717,"data":718,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},"4dd39c6b-846e-49e1-8f1f-a24e319a5a93",{"type":27,"reviewType":24,"spacingBehaviour":24,"activeRecallQuestion":719,"activeRecallAnswers":721},[720],"What substance did Loki discover to be Baldur's weakness?",[722],"Mistletoe",{"id":724,"data":725,"type":25,"version":34,"maxContentLevel":34,"summaryPage":727,"introPage":734,"pages":740},"8b83ec8f-d10c-4412-b4b4-06097f5fc4fe",{"type":25,"title":726},"The Vanir",{"id":728,"data":729,"type":34,"maxContentLevel":34,"version":24},"79ca4c0f-41f3-48d3-9074-9eb9049d4595",{"type":34,"summary":730},[731,732,733],"Freya, a Vanir goddess, traveled in a cat-drawn chariot and could shapeshift into a falcon","Freyr (Freya's brother) was another Vanir god who controlled rain, sun, and the earth's fertility","Freyr was widely worshiped by farmers, and sometimes depicted with a fertility symbol like a large phallus",{"id":735,"data":736,"type":50,"maxContentLevel":34,"version":24},"9c8f2eb3-0203-4a2a-84b9-9c580ba4a07d",{"type":50,"intro":737},[738,739],"Who were the main Vanir gods?","How did belief in the Vanir influence Norse society?",[741,772],{"id":742,"data":743,"type":24,"maxContentLevel":34,"version":34,"reviews":746},"01d84155-a36d-46b3-a81c-438624b5b1ef",{"type":24,"markdownContent":744,"audioMediaId":745},"Freya was a member of the Vanir, and the most prominent of all the Norse goddesses. Like the rest of the Vanir, she had a close affinity with the natural world, and was said to travel in a chariot pulled by cats. She could see into the future, and had the power to shapeshift into a falcon.\n\n![Graph](image://47fc0c94-bf53-4866-b5fc-3cbeb54ceecc \"A depiction of Freya. Image: Public domain\")\n\nFreya was also presented as a sexual, erotic being. One story describes her having sex with four dwarves in return for a beautiful, golden necklace, while she may also have been Odin’s concubine. However, in later years, and probably following Christian influence, Freya’s sexual promiscuity was reframed in terms of love and relationships. The *Prose Edda*, for example, says: 'It is good to pray to her concerning love affairs.'\n\nSome scholars have argued that Freya and Frigg are actually the same person, or at the very least that they are both derived from a single, older god. There are certainly similarities between them: both can see into the future, have relations with Odin, and there is also a mention of Frigg being able to turn into a falcon, just like Freya.","ca2f6dd1-ca77-42ff-9db1-1c6e3332f85b",[747,765],{"id":748,"data":749,"type":27,"version":25,"maxContentLevel":34},"56d7e5f4-2c06-4b29-8a5f-ca744e904cdf",{"type":27,"reviewType":34,"spacingBehaviour":24,"collapsingSiblings":750,"multiChoiceQuestion":754,"multiChoiceCorrect":756,"multiChoiceIncorrect":758,"multiChoiceMultiSelect":6,"multiChoiceRevealAnswerOption":6,"matchPairsQuestion":761,"matchPairsPairs":762},[751,752,753],"acaca025-1b45-47f5-a696-ebb6ddb41505","b9610d7b-226b-4b1b-82c9-e96b4dd02f10","a32e24fb-e628-45c4-94db-48ffc1be8a30",[755],"Which Norse god was associated with love and nature?",[757],"Freya",[759,623,760],"Loki","Týr",[162],[763],{"left":757,"right":764,"direction":34},"Love and nature",{"id":766,"data":767,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},"730053b0-69e6-4231-8337-4907869de8e8",{"type":27,"reviewType":64,"spacingBehaviour":24,"clozeQuestion":768,"clozeWords":770},[769],"In Norse mythology, Freya travelled in a chariot pulled by cats.",[771],"cats",{"id":773,"data":774,"type":24,"maxContentLevel":34,"version":25,"reviews":777},"00800e41-5e47-41a8-86a2-6a0e4a906ac2",{"type":24,"markdownContent":775,"audioMediaId":776},"Freyr was the brother of Freya. The *Prose Edda* describes how 'he rules over the rain and the shining of the sun, and therewithal the fruit of the earth.' He was a member of the Vanir, but also an honorary member of Æsir, after joining them at the end of a war between the two tribes.\n\nFreyr was one of the most widely worshiped of the Norse gods, especially amongst farming communities, whose lives were so reliant on favorable weather conditions. Harvest festivals would be held in his name, and an animal, such as a boar, would be sacrificed in his honor.\n\nBoars were associated with the wild, natural world, and for this reason they were believed to be sacred to Freyr. He was said to have owned a gold-bristled boar of his own, Gullinbursti, who shone in the dark and could run faster than any horse.\n\n![Graph](image://b2ed872c-97fa-445c-a830-03a4a09d0a7f \"A depiction of Freyr. Image: Public domain\")\n\nArchaeological evidence has found that Freyr was often depicted with a symbol of fertility amongst the Norse. According to Adam of Bremen, the 11th century chronicler: 'His likeness, too, they fashion with an immense phallus.'","5d6d6139-4d97-4374-a6c4-8deba6bf068d",[778,790,799],{"id":752,"data":779,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},{"type":27,"reviewType":34,"spacingBehaviour":24,"collapsingSiblings":780,"multiChoiceQuestion":781,"multiChoiceCorrect":783,"multiChoiceIncorrect":785,"multiChoiceMultiSelect":6,"multiChoiceRevealAnswerOption":6,"matchPairsQuestion":786,"matchPairsPairs":787},[751,748,753],[782],"Which Norse god was associated with weather and fertility?",[784],"Freyr",[759,757,760],[162],[788],{"left":784,"right":789,"direction":34},"Weather and fertility",{"id":791,"data":792,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},"6bc48dd1-9540-4c78-86d8-81dbac2d8b89",{"type":27,"reviewType":25,"spacingBehaviour":24,"binaryQuestion":793,"binaryCorrect":795,"binaryIncorrect":797},[794],"What was the name of Freyr's gold-bristled boar, who shone in the dark and could run faster than any horse?",[796],"Gullinbursti",[798],"Eikþyrnir",{"id":800,"data":801,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},"8ac20541-6b60-46b2-ab43-e296c6cbb264",{"type":27,"reviewType":24,"spacingBehaviour":24,"activeRecallQuestion":802,"activeRecallAnswers":804},[803],"Which two gods do some scholars believe were actually the same person, owing to the fact they can both see into the future, and both have relations with Odin?",[805],"Freya and Frigg",{"id":807,"data":808,"type":25,"version":25,"maxContentLevel":34,"summaryPage":810,"introPage":818,"pages":824},"b97b334c-cea1-470b-be81-260452fdf333",{"type":25,"title":809},"Other gods",{"id":811,"data":812,"type":34,"maxContentLevel":34,"version":24},"dfd836c0-e0ca-4872-8d66-0ac30f6d59b7",{"type":34,"summary":813},[814,815,816,817],"Heimdall was the watchman of the gods, with the sharpest senses in the cosmos","Týr, a god of war and justice, known for his bravery when losing his hand to Fenrir","Loki, the god of chaos, could shapeshift and change gender, and often tricked the other gods","Hel, the daughter of Loki, ruled the underworld and was half black, half the color of flesh",{"id":819,"data":820,"type":50,"maxContentLevel":34,"version":24},"e1d8be2f-f0b6-4482-b6f6-c43e0c1be83d",{"type":50,"intro":821},[822,823],"Who were the some other important gods?","How did belief in these other gods influence Norse society?",[825,847,888,905],{"id":826,"data":827,"type":24,"maxContentLevel":34,"version":25,"reviews":830},"7e80872a-fb44-49eb-84b2-154eb610d440",{"type":24,"markdownContent":828,"audioMediaId":829},"Heimdall was a bright, white, glittering god, famed for his brilliant senses, which are described in the *Prose Edda*: 'He sees equally well night and day a hundred leagues from him, and hears how grass grows on the earth or wool on sheep.'\n\nOn account of these senses, he served as a watchman for the rest of the gods. The only way to enter Asgard, the realm of the Æsir, was across a rainbow bridge called the Bifröst, and Heimdall supposedly lived at the entrance, keeping watch for any enemies who might try to cross, while also drinking ample amounts of mead, a fermented honey drink which the Norse often drank at feasts. This is referenced in Grímnismál, one of the poems in the *Poetic Edda*: 'there the gods' watchman, in his tranquil home, / drinks joyful the good mead.'\n\nHeimdall carried a magical horn called the Gjallarhorn. He would blow this horn when enemies were sighted, and, according to the *Prose Edda*, 'its blast can be heard in all worlds.' When the horn was not being used as a warning, he used it as a vessel for his mead.\n\n![Graph](image://9084804e-4beb-493a-8441-d9ce4c033c71 \"A depiction of Heimdall. Image: Public domain\")","f8ecb0a1-08f1-41c2-99a3-2a29c5c8208a",[831,838],{"id":832,"data":833,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},"52941003-04ae-455e-98d9-5e01bf7b126f",{"type":27,"reviewType":64,"spacingBehaviour":24,"clozeQuestion":834,"clozeWords":836},[835],"In Norse mythology, Heimdall was the watchman of the gods.",[837],"Heimdall",{"id":839,"data":840,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},"1ca25d73-5447-4666-a0b9-1e29286c6dd5",{"type":27,"reviewType":25,"spacingBehaviour":24,"binaryQuestion":841,"binaryCorrect":843,"binaryIncorrect":845},[842],"What was the name of Heimdall's magical horn?",[844],"Gjallarhorn",[846],"Hjiminhorn",{"id":848,"data":849,"type":24,"maxContentLevel":34,"version":25,"reviews":852},"77a5a968-f35f-4c25-a2b9-8dc4415f2d7e",{"type":24,"markdownContent":850,"audioMediaId":851},"Týr was a god of war, described by the *Prose Edda* as 'the bravest and most valiant,' but he was also heavily associated with law and justice. War and law were closely intertwined within Norse society, with battles often used to settle legal disputes between two groups, after one community was slighted by the actions of another.\n\nTýr seems to be one of the oldest gods in Norse mythology, with Roman historians making reference to him as early as the 2nd century. By the time the *Poetic Edda* and the *Prose Edda* were written, Týr’s importance to the Norse seems to have waned a little, but he still receives a number of mentions in both texts, including a story about his hand being bitten off by Fenrir, the giant wolf.\n\n![Graph](image://044ee491-eb85-4ab6-badf-679453941a5e \"A depiction of Týr. Image: Public domain\")\n\nThe *Poetic Edda* and the *Prose Edda* give different accounts of Týr’s parentage. The Poetic Edda explains that he is the son of a jötunn, Hymir, and includes a scene where he meets his grandmother, a being with 900 heads. The *Prose Edda*, on the other hand, describes him as a son of Odin, just like so many of the other gods.","ed48ac0c-8265-494f-ae8c-4dcb1d6804d6",[853,864,871],{"id":753,"data":854,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},{"type":27,"reviewType":34,"spacingBehaviour":24,"collapsingSiblings":855,"multiChoiceQuestion":856,"multiChoiceCorrect":858,"multiChoiceIncorrect":859,"multiChoiceMultiSelect":6,"multiChoiceRevealAnswerOption":6,"matchPairsQuestion":860,"matchPairsPairs":861},[751,748,752],[857],"Who was the Norse god of justice?",[760],[759,757,784],[162],[862],{"left":760,"right":863,"direction":34},"Justice",{"id":865,"data":866,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},"06ee8a73-78dd-40ee-9c92-2f189e0894c9",{"type":27,"reviewType":24,"spacingBehaviour":24,"activeRecallQuestion":867,"activeRecallAnswers":869},[868],"Týr was associated with war as well as law. Why were these elements closely linked in Norse society?",[870],"Battles were often used to settle legal disputes between two groups",{"id":872,"data":873,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},"f8e15f6b-eb4e-45e5-83bd-cc97b5407d33",{"type":27,"reviewType":270,"spacingBehaviour":24,"matchPairsQuestion":874,"matchPairsPairs":876,"matchPairsShowExamples":6},[875],"According to different sources, what was Týr's lineage?",[877,879,882,885],{"left":621,"right":878,"direction":34},"Father (according to Prose Edda)",{"left":880,"right":881,"direction":34},"Hymir the jötunn","Father (according to Poetic Edda)",{"left":883,"right":884,"direction":34},"A being with 900 heads","Grandmother (according to Poetic Edda",{"left":886,"right":887,"direction":34},"Heidrun the goat","None of these",{"id":889,"data":890,"type":24,"maxContentLevel":34,"version":25,"reviews":893},"e05038f5-3703-4780-8113-7d1645c1f06c",{"type":24,"markdownContent":891,"audioMediaId":892},"Loki was the son of a jötunn, a member of the Æsir, and the god of cunning and chaos. He had the power to shapeshift, as well as changing gender, which allowed him to deceive and confuse the other gods whenever he wished it.\n\nHowever, Loki was not always a source of deception. His relationship with figures like Thor and Odin seem to vary from source to source, but he definitely serves as an ally in a number of stories. His inconsistent allegiances are probably a reflection of his chaotic nature, with the gods never quite sure which side he was going to take.\n\nChaos, for the Norse, was something distinctly dangerous. Their mythology did not concern itself with good and evil, and focused instead on the balance between order and chaos. In general, chaos stemmed from Loki and the jötnar, while the other gods tried to maintain order.\n\n![Graph](image://d32777f1-0e79-4293-914b-9c365a244108 \"A depiction of Loki (right). Image: Public domain\")","cd0f77df-8468-48b4-83c5-5d47d014237d",[894],{"id":751,"data":895,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},{"type":27,"reviewType":34,"spacingBehaviour":24,"collapsingSiblings":896,"multiChoiceQuestion":897,"multiChoiceCorrect":899,"multiChoiceIncorrect":900,"multiChoiceMultiSelect":6,"multiChoiceRevealAnswerOption":6,"matchPairsQuestion":901,"matchPairsPairs":902},[748,752,753],[898],"Who was the Norse god of chaos?",[759],[757,784,760],[162],[903],{"left":759,"right":904,"direction":34},"Chaos",{"id":906,"data":907,"type":24,"maxContentLevel":34,"version":25,"reviews":910},"db2d8238-0390-4e00-8438-7b315e44ddf1",{"type":24,"markdownContent":908,"audioMediaId":909},"Hel, daughter of Loki, presided over the Norse underworld, which was also known as Hel. According to the *Prose Edda*, she was 'half black and half flesh-colored.'\n\n![Graph](image://796c7fed-3267-4e5d-918b-f0ce2551b64e \"A depiction of Hel. Image: Public domain\")\n\nBeyond these facts, not much is known about Hel, with neither the *Poetic Edda* nor the *Prose Edda* examining her role in much detail. This has led to some scholarly debate regarding her role within Norse mythology. Some historians have argued that Hel was never an actual goddess, but simply a literary device used to personify the underworld.\n\nOthers have argued that Hel was a late addition to Norse mythology, possibly inspired by Christian ideas of Satan, although archaeological evidence suggests that Hel predates Christian influence. A Norse medallion from the 1st century depicts a man walking downhill toward a woman holding a scepter. This image is open to interpretation, but it might be an early depiction of a soul descending to meet with Hel.","4ee0fac1-0193-43fc-a2b9-ed2bc19b7ede",[911,922],{"id":217,"data":912,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},{"type":27,"reviewType":34,"spacingBehaviour":24,"collapsingSiblings":913,"multiChoiceQuestion":914,"multiChoiceCorrect":916,"multiChoiceIncorrect":917,"multiChoiceMultiSelect":6,"multiChoiceRevealAnswerOption":6,"matchPairsQuestion":918,"matchPairsPairs":919},[213,216,218],[915],"In Norse mythology, who was the daughter of Loki and queen of the underworld?",[225],[222,224,226],[162],[920],{"left":225,"right":921,"direction":34},"Goddess of death",{"id":923,"data":924,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},"5f5e50ab-9204-47cc-9913-f132509f7f20",{"type":27,"reviewType":64,"spacingBehaviour":24,"clozeQuestion":925,"clozeWords":927},[926],"Some historians think that Hel was never an actual goddess, but a literary device used to personify the underworld.",[928],"underworld",{"id":930,"data":931,"type":26,"maxContentLevel":34,"version":35,"orbs":934},"09da8afe-16d5-4bdd-9291-a8e02022d69e",{"type":26,"title":932,"tagline":933},"Beings and Beasts","From elves to sea monsters",[935,1035,1156],{"id":936,"data":937,"type":25,"version":25,"maxContentLevel":34,"summaryPage":939,"introPage":946,"pages":952},"ea29d57c-f71e-4d44-906b-49742d4b7023",{"type":25,"title":938},"Mythical races",{"id":940,"data":941,"type":34,"maxContentLevel":34,"version":24},"c1b7a2bf-bf65-4734-b284-d47f89248f6a",{"type":34,"summary":942},[943,944,945],"The Prose Edda describes two types of elves: light elves and dark elves","Dwarves in Norse mythology were master metalworkers who turned to stone in sunlight","Valkyries chose which warriors would go to Valhalla, and sometimes who would live or die",{"id":947,"data":948,"type":50,"maxContentLevel":34,"version":24},"b0ef948f-3dfe-4fb1-beda-0c0806cd2437",{"type":50,"intro":949},[950,951],"What did the Norse believe about Elves and Dwarves?","What did the Norse believe about Valkyries?",[953,977,1001],{"id":954,"data":955,"type":24,"maxContentLevel":34,"version":25,"reviews":958},"887d6e57-e066-4d16-8c9b-2f083f6bb743",{"type":24,"markdownContent":956,"audioMediaId":957},"The *Prose Edda* provides a comprehensive description of elves, or álfar, which are presented as tall, mysterious, magical beings. Sturluson actually mentions two types of elf: light and dark. The light elves are 'fairer than the sun to look at,' while the dark elves are 'blacker than pitch.'\n\n![Graph](image://6f91315b-95f7-4747-8bee-a63f33d928f9 \"A depiction of light elves. Image: Public domain\")\n\nThe *Poetic Edda* also mentions elves, with one poem, *Völundarkviða*, featuring an elf as the main protagonist. However, the *Poetic Edda* makes no reference to light elves and dark elves. This has led some historians to question whether this division was invented by Sturluson, perhaps as a result of Christian influence, considering the clear parallels with the Christian concept of angels and demons.\n\nThe elves seem to have had a positive relationship with the gods, especially the Vanir, whereas their relationship with humans was more enigmatic. In some sagas, they are the cause of human illnesses, while in others, they offer cures.","177cc7da-4d16-446f-b316-747acfe31429",[959,970],{"id":150,"data":960,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},{"type":27,"reviewType":34,"spacingBehaviour":24,"collapsingSiblings":961,"multiChoiceQuestion":962,"multiChoiceCorrect":964,"multiChoiceIncorrect":965,"multiChoiceMultiSelect":6,"multiChoiceRevealAnswerOption":6,"matchPairsQuestion":966,"matchPairsPairs":967},[147,151,152],[963],"What is the Norse word for 'elves'?",[158],[156,159,160],[162],[968],{"left":158,"right":969,"direction":34},"Norse word for 'Elves'",{"id":971,"data":972,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},"e405a509-14c9-4e88-9883-a2683a45dcd3",{"type":27,"reviewType":25,"spacingBehaviour":24,"binaryQuestion":973,"binaryCorrect":975,"binaryIncorrect":976},[974],"Which of these sources distinguishes between light elves and dark elves (while the other source does not)?",[418],[417],{"id":978,"data":979,"type":24,"maxContentLevel":34,"version":25,"reviews":982},"2561be78-df22-41d6-b0db-1acc6f0166a8",{"type":24,"markdownContent":980,"audioMediaId":981},"The dwarves, or *dvergr*, were master metalworkers who lived deep underground in networks of mines and tunnels, and who turned to stone if they came into contact with the sun. \n\nThey provided the gods with many valuable, magical items including Thor’s hammer, Mjöllnir, and Freyr’s gold-bristled boar, Gullinbursti. These were both produced after Loki initiated a challenge amongst the dwarves to see which of them could craft the most impressive object.\n\nThe *Poetic Edda* and the *Prose Edda* give conflicting accounts of the origin of dwarves. The *Poetic Edda* describes how the dwarves were made from the blood of Ymir, the first jötunn. The *Prose Edda*, meanwhile, suggests that the dwarves were maggot-like creatures who burrowed through Ymir’s flesh, until the gods discovered them and decided to imbue them with reason.\n\nThere is no indication that the dwarves in Norse mythology were small in stature, no more than the jötunn were large. It is unclear when the word ‘dwarf’ became attached to the concept of shortness, but, in the modern world, this idea has become firmly established.\n\n![Graph](image://dadb6937-4967-49a2-b75f-f2ed662c40ec \"A depiction of dwarves. Image: Public domain\")","7aa3cb60-d5cc-455d-a2ba-a9473d362d47",[983,994],{"id":151,"data":984,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},{"type":27,"reviewType":34,"spacingBehaviour":24,"collapsingSiblings":985,"multiChoiceQuestion":986,"multiChoiceCorrect":988,"multiChoiceIncorrect":989,"multiChoiceMultiSelect":6,"multiChoiceRevealAnswerOption":6,"matchPairsQuestion":990,"matchPairsPairs":991},[147,150,152],[987],"What is the Norse word for 'dwarves'?",[159],[156,158,160],[162],[992],{"left":159,"right":993,"direction":34},"Norse word for 'Dwarves'",{"id":995,"data":996,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},"fe1d1c90-22a8-4ccc-9892-87c8210cd103",{"type":27,"reviewType":24,"spacingBehaviour":24,"activeRecallQuestion":997,"activeRecallAnswers":999},[998],"In Norse mythology, what happened to dwarves that came into contact with the sun?",[1000],"They turned to stone",{"id":1002,"data":1003,"type":24,"maxContentLevel":34,"version":25,"reviews":1006},"3961e5ef-95f1-425c-86f0-680520d9106d",{"type":24,"markdownContent":1004,"audioMediaId":1005},"The Valkyries were the ‘Choosers of the Slain’: a group of female spirits who would ride across battlefields on the backs of horses, deciding which warriors were deserving of a place in Odin’s hall of Valhalla. In certain accounts, they would also choose which warriors should live or die in the first place, an idea which gave them a sinister, fatalistic aura.\n\nThe Valkyries were also vicious fighters who could engage in a battle when they were needed, as described in the *Poetic Edda*: 'Helmeted valkyries came down from the sky / – the noise of spears grew loud – they protected the prince.' There is no suggestion that the Valkyries were immortal or invulnerable, but they were probably too powerful to be slain by any human hand.\n\n![Graph](image://6f86e17f-d9f4-4eff-8046-9881d60edc22 \"A depiction of valkyries. Image: Public domain\")\n\nSome historians believe that the concept of Valkyries must have been based upon real women warriors. This interpretation grew in popularity in 2017, when DNA analysis of an exhumed Norse warrior found evidence that the warrior was female. However, those findings have since been challenged, and the idea of female warriors within Norse society remains a controversial, unproven theory.","0a88911f-1275-4e25-b3c5-bc43cda3c600",[1007,1018,1027],{"id":152,"data":1008,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},{"type":27,"reviewType":34,"spacingBehaviour":24,"collapsingSiblings":1009,"multiChoiceQuestion":1010,"multiChoiceCorrect":1012,"multiChoiceIncorrect":1013,"multiChoiceMultiSelect":6,"multiChoiceRevealAnswerOption":6,"matchPairsQuestion":1014,"matchPairsPairs":1015},[147,150,151],[1011],"In Norse mythology, who were known as Choosers of the Slain?",[160],[156,158,159],[162],[1016],{"left":160,"right":1017,"direction":34},"Choosers of the slain",{"id":1019,"data":1020,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},"de32120f-e2e7-4c11-9e2d-bb5c5516efb8",{"type":27,"reviewType":25,"spacingBehaviour":24,"binaryQuestion":1021,"binaryCorrect":1023,"binaryIncorrect":1025},[1022],"Some historians think that Valkyries are evidence of female warriors in Norse society. What is the status of this theory?",[1024],"Controversial and unproven",[1026],"Widely accepted",{"id":1028,"data":1029,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},"9df82e31-766f-46ec-b414-a741c2b7695d",{"type":27,"reviewType":24,"spacingBehaviour":24,"activeRecallQuestion":1030,"activeRecallAnswers":1032},[1031],"The Prose Edda and the Poetic Edda describe two different origins of dwarves. What were they?",[1033,1034],"Poetic Edda: they were made from the blood of the first jötunn","Prose Edda: they were maggots in the body of the first jötunn",{"id":1036,"data":1037,"type":25,"version":34,"maxContentLevel":34,"summaryPage":1039,"introPage":1047,"pages":1053},"5918f0e0-a908-4758-b01b-a33b00d42c54",{"type":25,"title":1038},"Monstrous creatures",{"id":1040,"data":1041,"type":34,"maxContentLevel":34,"version":24},"dedd8378-ca61-48f1-9c01-b6b4a0554a0a",{"type":34,"summary":1042},[1043,1044,1045,1046],"Jörmungandr, the World Serpent, encircled Midgard with his tail in his mouth","Fenrir, the monstrous wolf, was bound in Asgard by a magical chain called Gleipnir","Níðhöggr, the giant dragon, chewed on Yggdrasil's roots and the bodies of the damned","Hafgufa, a sea monster, could swallow ships and was sometimes mistaken for an island",{"id":1048,"data":1049,"type":50,"maxContentLevel":34,"version":24},"a3623e5e-fae6-4765-bf3e-6f2d1abfd834",{"type":50,"intro":1050},[1051,1052],"What's the origin story of the most feared creature in Norse mythology?","How did monstrous creatures shape the narratives in Norse myths?",[1054,1074,1093,1118],{"id":1055,"data":1056,"type":24,"maxContentLevel":34,"version":25,"reviews":1059},"a6f9b6f8-0d83-4d3a-952d-25cb09be341e",{"type":24,"markdownContent":1057,"audioMediaId":1058},"Jörmungandr, or the World Serpent, was an immense snake whose coils encircled the entirety of Midgard, the realm of humans. The Norse believed that Midgard was a wide, flat disk with an ocean around the edges, and Jörmungandr lay at the bottom of this ocean with his tail tucked into his own mouth.\n\nJörmungandr’s father was Loki, and his sister was Hel. According to the *Prose Edda*, Odin was nervous about the dangerous nature of Loki’s children, and eventually decided to banish them. Hel was sent to live in the underworld, while Jörmungandr was thrown to the bottom of the sea.\n\nDespite this banishment, Jörmungandr is never presented as Odin’s enemy. Instead, the World Serpent is the recurring enemy of Thor. Several poems in the *Poetic Edda* describe confrontations between the god of thunder and the World Serpent, and they are prophesied to one day kill each other in battle.\n\n![Graph](image://a3f703d3-8850-4ae2-806d-0538667ab4ec \"A depiction of Thor and Jörmungandr. Image: Public domain\")","c0b64cea-21c2-4e22-b9df-6bc465426178",[1060,1067],{"id":1061,"data":1062,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},"4210052d-fc27-44a7-9729-dcc243bfc981",{"type":27,"reviewType":25,"spacingBehaviour":24,"binaryQuestion":1063,"binaryCorrect":1065,"binaryIncorrect":1066},[1064],"In Norse mythology, who banished Jörmungandr to the bottom of the sea?",[621],[624],{"id":1068,"data":1069,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},"2afdee39-70bf-4549-9734-b6e6e24c0edb",{"type":27,"reviewType":25,"spacingBehaviour":24,"binaryQuestion":1070,"binaryCorrect":1072,"binaryIncorrect":1073},[1071],"In Norse mythology, who is Jörmungandr's recurring enemy?",[624],[621],{"id":1075,"data":1076,"type":24,"maxContentLevel":34,"version":34,"reviews":1079},"2a7c0fe3-ddd2-415e-afc9-d9b048484cfc",{"type":24,"markdownContent":1077,"audioMediaId":1078},"Fenrir was a giant, monstrous wolf, the son of Loki and sibling to Jörmungandr and Hel. He was an important figure in Norse mythology, as evidenced by the number of references in the *Poetic Edda* and the *Prose Edda*, as well as depictions of a monstrous wolf on several runestones unearthed by modern archaeologists.\n\nFenrir was so large and dangerous that the gods made efforts to bind him. No normal chain would have been capable of such a feat, so they turned to the dwarves for help.\n\nAccording to the *Prose Edda*, the dwarves made a chain for Fenrir using six magical ingredients: 'the noise a cat makes when it moves, 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.'\n\nThis chain, Gleipnir, was successful, but the Norse did not expect it to hold Fenrir forever. They believed that, at the end of the world, the chain would break and Fenrir would devour Odin.\n\n![Graph](image://f839417a-8ac0-413d-b826-7db088c90405 \"A depiction of Fenrir and Odin. Image: Public domain\")","dbf959fb-0a5d-44ab-852e-43ba49f97c3d",[1080,1086],{"id":1081,"data":1082,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},"45103b3d-0763-4d99-b655-42e1a63b0a4d",{"type":27,"reviewType":24,"spacingBehaviour":24,"activeRecallQuestion":1083,"activeRecallAnswers":1085},[1084],"In Norse Mythology, which monstrous wolf was son of Loki?",[222],{"id":1087,"data":1088,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},"02bc7964-565b-47cc-80e1-5d75b29dd4bf",{"type":27,"reviewType":25,"spacingBehaviour":24,"binaryQuestion":1089,"binaryCorrect":1091,"binaryIncorrect":1092},[1090],"What was the name of the magical chain used on Fenrir?",[691],[226],{"id":1094,"data":1095,"type":24,"maxContentLevel":34,"version":25,"reviews":1098},"9895e9d9-741c-413b-96c0-b05c921c310b",{"type":24,"markdownContent":1096,"audioMediaId":1097},"Níðhöggr was a giant dragon who lived under Yggdrasil, the World Tree. He would chew on the tree’s roots, hoping to kill it, and to drag the cosmos into a state of chaos. Some myths suggest that he was trapped by the roots, and that, if he ever broke free, it would mark the end of the universe.\n\nThe *Poetic Edda* explains how Níðhöggr also played a role in the afterlife, chewing on the bodies of murderers and adulterers for all eternity: 'There Níðhöggr sucked / the blood of the slain.' However, this idea may have been a late addition to Norse mythology, with the concept of eternal suffering probably inspired by Christian teachings on the afterlife.\n\nIn terms of physical form, Níðhöggr was closer to a giant snake than to our modern conception of a dragon. Archaeologists are yet to discover any physical depictions of him, but the *Prose Edda* includes his name on a list of serpents.\n\n![Graph](image://5c60f72d-bc57-41a0-8074-d5e9f022903a \"A 17th century depiction of Níðhöggr. Image: Public domain\")","d7fdc049-ec99-401e-8f0b-7d9688f83558",[1099],{"id":1100,"data":1101,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},"30cc1aa0-2c62-4ce4-8ed3-40094ad0ee0c",{"type":27,"reviewType":34,"spacingBehaviour":24,"collapsingSiblings":1102,"multiChoiceQuestion":1106,"multiChoiceCorrect":1108,"multiChoiceIncorrect":1110,"multiChoiceMultiSelect":6,"multiChoiceRevealAnswerOption":6,"matchPairsQuestion":1114,"matchPairsPairs":1115},[1103,1104,1105],"4393b631-50f4-439e-89c9-21e311fa3544","f8343dbc-cca9-4788-979f-6d92da817fa9","fdcf6ced-e208-4287-af20-218f674b86eb",[1107],"Which monstrous dragon in Norse mythology gnaws on the roots of Yggdrasil?",[1109],"Níðhöggr",[1111,1112,1113],"Hafgufa","Surtr","Mare",[162],[1116],{"left":1109,"right":1117,"direction":34},"Chews on the roots of Yggdrasil",{"id":1119,"data":1120,"type":24,"maxContentLevel":34,"version":34,"reviews":1123},"1c24b7e8-79bc-43d6-bd63-420f581bf308",{"type":24,"markdownContent":1121,"audioMediaId":1122},"Hafgufa was a monstrous sea creature with jaws so large that it could swallow a ship. Its name appears briefly in the *Prose Edda*, as part of a list of whales, but no further information is given.\n\nFor a full account of the creature, historians must turn to *Konungs skuggsjá*, or ‘King’s Mirror,’ another Old Norse work written in the mid-13th century.\n\nThis text explains how the Hafgufa lived off the coast of Iceland, and, when sitting still, could easily be mistaken for an island. It hunted other creatures by belching vomit into the surrounding water, then waiting for hungry fish to swarm. When a suitable number of fish had gathered, the Hafgufa closed its mouth and swallowed them in a single gulp.\n\nIt is arguable whether or not the Hafgufa should be included on a list of mythical creatures. At the time, it was never associated with the gods, or magic, or other realms. The Norse simply believed that it was a dangerous creature who inhabited the deepest ocean, no less real than a shark or a whale. In hindsight, we can label Hafgufa as a mythical beast, but to terrified sailors setting out on long journeys, it was probably anything but.\n\n![Graph](image://ad291bbf-09ea-49fc-8874-f3cf15761edf \"A depiction of Hafgufa. Image: Public domain\")","3d354573-25bd-42bc-9fe8-8f67884b339e",[1124,1135,1142],{"id":1103,"data":1125,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},{"type":27,"reviewType":34,"spacingBehaviour":24,"collapsingSiblings":1126,"multiChoiceQuestion":1127,"multiChoiceCorrect":1129,"multiChoiceIncorrect":1130,"multiChoiceMultiSelect":6,"multiChoiceRevealAnswerOption":6,"matchPairsQuestion":1131,"matchPairsPairs":1132},[1100,1104,1105],[1128],"Which monstrous sea creature in Norse mythology swallows ships and belches vomit?",[1111],[1109,1112,1113],[162],[1133],{"left":1111,"right":1134,"direction":34},"Swallows ships and belched vomit",{"id":1136,"data":1137,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},"b792e043-7864-4e99-a5ab-a4aeee658c48",{"type":27,"reviewType":24,"spacingBehaviour":24,"activeRecallQuestion":1138,"activeRecallAnswers":1140},[1139],"A detailed account of Hafgufa can be found in a source called 'Konungs skuggsjá'. What does this name translate as?",[1141],"King's Mirror",{"id":1143,"data":1144,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},"06a5d5b6-abe6-493d-8c2b-4f339a9be784",{"type":27,"reviewType":270,"spacingBehaviour":24,"matchPairsQuestion":1145,"matchPairsPairs":1147,"matchPairsShowExamples":6},[1146],"What did Odin do to each of Loki's children?",[1148,1150,1152,1154],{"left":225,"right":1149,"direction":34},"Sent to the underworld",{"left":224,"right":1151,"direction":34},"Sent to the bottom of the sea",{"left":222,"right":1153,"direction":34},"Bound by a magical chain",{"left":1109,"right":1155,"direction":34},"Not a child of Loki",{"id":1157,"data":1158,"type":25,"version":35,"maxContentLevel":34,"summaryPage":1160,"introPage":1167,"pages":1173},"1a627add-7a0d-4e06-abf0-0cd1471ce4d9",{"type":25,"title":1159},"Other beings",{"id":1161,"data":1162,"type":34,"maxContentLevel":34,"version":24},"22903b9d-686f-4cc7-8c73-0a17b903aa56",{"type":34,"summary":1163},[1164,1165,1166],"Sleipnir, Odin’s eight-legged horse, was born from Loki and Svadilfari","Huginn and Muninn, Odin’s ravens, brought him news from Midgard every day","Auðumbla, the primeval cow, nourished Ymir and helped birth the first god, Búri",{"id":1168,"data":1169,"type":50,"maxContentLevel":34,"version":24},"7c6cf714-f96b-4861-bf2f-85b6062f00b8",{"type":50,"intro":1170},[1171,1172],"Which unusual creatures did Odin spend most of his time with?","Which primordial creature nourished the universe's first beings?",[1174,1202,1225],{"id":1175,"data":1176,"type":24,"maxContentLevel":34,"version":34,"reviews":1179},"e9e760a3-88fe-4f26-acce-311d091b0d7b",{"type":24,"markdownContent":1177,"audioMediaId":1178},"Sleipnir was Odin’s horse, a fast and powerful mount, easily distinguishable from other horses by the fact that he had eight legs. The *Poetic Edda* states that 'Odin is the best of the Æsir, Sleipnir \\[the best\\] of horses.' His name means ‘slippy’ or ‘slippery one,’ probably based on the idea that he was too fast for anyone to catch.\n\nSleipnir’s origin story is an interesting one. His father was Svadilfari, another magical horse who was famed for his great strength. According to the *Prose Edda*, Loki transformed himself into a female horse, then used this form to seduce Svadilfari. Loki, still disguised, went on to give birth to Sleipnir. This story is a clear indicator of Loki’s chaotic personality, as it does not follow the usual rules of nature.\n\nIn Norse culture, horses were a symbol of strength and virility. They also had a divine quality to them, and some people believed that horses had the power to communicate directly with the gods.\n\n![Graph](image://7afd4e4e-d1cb-458e-98c4-9dac7e8e43e8 \"A depiction of Sleipnir. Image: Public domain\")","43759202-1509-4f2a-821a-a70b7d3fc9b6",[1180,1191],{"id":218,"data":1181,"type":27,"version":25,"maxContentLevel":34},{"type":27,"reviewType":34,"spacingBehaviour":24,"collapsingSiblings":1182,"multiChoiceQuestion":1183,"multiChoiceCorrect":1185,"multiChoiceIncorrect":1186,"multiChoiceMultiSelect":6,"multiChoiceRevealAnswerOption":6,"matchPairsQuestion":1187,"matchPairsPairs":1188},[213,216,217],[1184],"What is the name of Odin's horse?",[226],[222,224,225],[162],[1189],{"left":226,"right":1190,"direction":34},"Eight-legged horse",{"id":254,"data":1192,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},{"type":27,"reviewType":34,"spacingBehaviour":24,"collapsingSiblings":1193,"multiChoiceQuestion":1194,"multiChoiceCorrect":1196,"multiChoiceIncorrect":1197,"multiChoiceMultiSelect":6,"multiChoiceRevealAnswerOption":6,"matchPairsQuestion":1198,"matchPairsPairs":1199},[249,252,253],[1195],"How many legs did Sleipnir have?",[262],[258,260,261],[162],[1200],{"left":1201,"right":262,"direction":34},"Number of Sleipnir's legs",{"id":1203,"data":1204,"type":24,"maxContentLevel":34,"version":25,"reviews":1207},"da35a01e-6ee1-4dee-803d-68fc89d577c6",{"type":24,"markdownContent":1205,"audioMediaId":1206},"Huginn and Muninn were a pair of talking ravens who lived on Odin’s shoulders. The *Prose Edda* describes how, every morning, Odin sent them to fly over the human realm of Midgard. They would return to his shoulders at the end of the day with news and information.\n\nThe association between Odin and ravens is extremely old – a helmet from the 6th century, discovered in a Swedish grave, depicted a figure accompanied by a pair of birds – and this long standing connection is easy to explain. Ravens are associated with death and battlefields, while they are also extremely intelligent. These same characteristics are often attached to Odin, which makes ravens an appropriate match.\n\n![Graph](image://39e4b3ee-132f-46c6-b801-409969998841 \"A depiction of Huginn and Muninn. Image: Der Künstler ist Robert Krausse, CC BY-SA 4.0 \u003Chttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons\")\n\nThe names Huginn and Muninn are the Norse words for ‘thought’ and ‘memory.’ This has led some historians to argue that the ravens were never conceived of as real creatures. Instead, they might have been a metaphor for Odin’s Hugr, or ‘mind,’ which he was able to send out into Midgard while his physical body stayed behind in Asgard.","53df02b0-7f3e-4f52-b38b-71a17dde4d88",[1208,1219],{"id":252,"data":1209,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},{"type":27,"reviewType":34,"spacingBehaviour":24,"collapsingSiblings":1210,"multiChoiceQuestion":1211,"multiChoiceCorrect":1213,"multiChoiceIncorrect":1214,"multiChoiceMultiSelect":6,"multiChoiceRevealAnswerOption":6,"matchPairsQuestion":1215,"matchPairsPairs":1216},[249,253,254],[1212],"How many ravens did Odin have?",[260],[258,261,262],[162],[1217],{"left":1218,"right":260,"direction":34},"Number of Odin's ravens",{"id":1220,"data":1221,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},"4f98f363-9e6e-4766-87d5-42f7330bcb60",{"type":27,"reviewType":64,"spacingBehaviour":24,"clozeQuestion":1222,"clozeWords":1224},[1223],"Every morning, Odin sent his ravens to fly over Midgard, gathering news and information.",[283],{"id":1226,"data":1227,"type":24,"maxContentLevel":34,"version":35,"reviews":1230},"18c0820a-a426-45fb-a8f2-95b0978b7a3c",{"type":24,"markdownContent":1228,"audioMediaId":1229},"Auðumbla was a primeval cow who fed Ymir, the first jötunn, with her milk. She is only ever mentioned in the *Prose Edda*, so modern historians must rely on a one-sided account of her role in Norse mythology.\n\nThis role, it seems, was to nourish the universe's first beings. This should come as no surprise, considering the importance of cows within Norse society as providers of milk and meat.\n\nAs well as Ymir, who drank from four rivers of milk which flowed from her udder, Auðumbla was also heavily involved with the birth of Búri, grandfather of Odin. The *Prose Edda* explains how she licked a salt stone for three days, eroding it away until she discovered Búri hidden within.\n\n![Graph](image://bd0357a4-6639-4d10-8af9-4a99daac6a2e \"Image: Public domain\")\n\nYmir was the progenitor of all jötnar, while Búri was the progenitor of all gods, and it is interesting to note how Auðumbla served as a link between the two factions. In later stories, they were usually pitted as enemies to one another, but, at the beginning of time, the gods and the jötnar shared a common relationship with Auðumbla.","e06a1497-e72f-4cd8-be14-fe05a8d4c410",[1231,1249],{"id":1232,"data":1233,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},"397d5a61-51f9-483f-ade3-f3a93846dae9",{"type":27,"reviewType":270,"spacingBehaviour":24,"matchPairsQuestion":1234,"matchPairsPairs":1236,"matchPairsShowExamples":6},[1235],"What do the names of Odin's animal companions translate as?",[1237,1240,1243,1246],{"left":1238,"right":1239,"direction":34},"Huginn (raven)","Thought",{"left":1241,"right":1242,"direction":34},"Muninn (raven)","Memory",{"left":1244,"right":1245,"direction":34},"Sleipnir (horse)","Slippy",{"left":1247,"right":1248,"direction":34},"Auðumbla (cow)","Not one of Odin's companions",{"id":1250,"data":1251,"type":27,"version":25,"maxContentLevel":34},"c5886759-664b-4353-ae12-947b48380320",{"type":27,"reviewType":25,"spacingBehaviour":24,"binaryQuestion":1252,"binaryCorrect":1254,"binaryIncorrect":1256},[1253],"In Norse mythology, Auðumbla nourished the world's first beings. But what was she?",[1255],"A primordial cow",[1257],"A primordial goat",{"id":1259,"data":1260,"type":26,"maxContentLevel":34,"version":64,"orbs":1263},"c992d44c-e782-43de-b484-d1239ac3d62b",{"type":26,"title":1261,"tagline":1262},"The Nine Realms","From Asgard to Helheim",[1264,1347,1460],{"id":1265,"data":1266,"type":25,"version":64,"maxContentLevel":34,"summaryPage":1268,"introPage":1276,"pages":1282},"33df2d70-1eb9-4f21-bd98-3ecae6a89ac2",{"type":25,"title":1267},"Asgard, Midgard, Vanaheim",{"id":1269,"data":1270,"type":34,"maxContentLevel":34,"version":24},"b16814bc-fa9d-46bf-b048-eb0054f68241",{"type":34,"summary":1271},[1272,1273,1274,1275],"Asgard was the realm of the Æsir, full of divine palaces","Midgard, or 'middle enclosure,' was the realm of human beings","Asgard was connected to Midgard by the rainbow bridge Bifröst","The nature of Vanaheim, realm of the Vanir, is largely unknown",{"id":1277,"data":1278,"type":50,"maxContentLevel":34,"version":24},"7661d83e-7b74-4fe9-8574-a86d16df0eff",{"type":50,"intro":1279},[1280,1281],"What was the key difference between Asgard and Midgard?","Who are the main inhabitants of Vanaheim?",[1283,1306,1335],{"id":1284,"data":1285,"type":24,"maxContentLevel":34,"version":64,"reviews":1288},"d7acfd5f-c9cd-4827-8497-a60aca81f5ae",{"type":24,"markdownContent":1286,"audioMediaId":1287},"Asgard was the realm of the Æsir, a place which was never described in too much detail, but which seems to have been full of large, divine palaces. Asgard was connected to Midgard, the realm of humans, by a rainbow bridge called the Bifröst.\n\n![Graph](image://cc83973f-6401-49b3-b23c-833eb3f5a4d6 \"A depiction of Asgard. Image: Public domain\")\n\nAccording to the *Poetic Edda*, Asgard was divided into 12 smaller sub-realms. One of these sub-realms was Valhalla, a beautiful golden hall where Odin gave an afterlife to half of all warriors who died in battle. Another was Fólkvangr, a verdant field where Freya provided for the other half. Thrudheim was the home of Thor, Breidablik was the home of Baldur, and Himinbjörg was home of Heimdall. The rest of the sub-realms are never mentioned, and historians are unlikely to ever find out what they were.\n\nSturluson’s *Prose Edda* offers an interesting take on Asgard, saying that it was a real city in Asia, hence the similarities between ‘Asia’ and ‘Æsir.’ This is known as ‘euhemerism:’ the belief that mythological accounts must be based upon real world people, places and events.","d7da509b-2a5a-4f85-9763-2bc7cea73dbc",[1289,1296],{"id":1290,"data":1291,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},"638ad1f7-9c11-4c5b-a6c9-9a79724a10e3",{"type":27,"reviewType":24,"spacingBehaviour":24,"activeRecallQuestion":1292,"activeRecallAnswers":1294},[1293],"Asgard, the realm of the Æsir, was connected to Midgard by what?",[1295],"The Bifröst: a rainbow bridge",{"id":1297,"data":1298,"type":27,"version":34,"maxContentLevel":34},"54ca6983-862f-44f0-9ad5-c093e7df3a21",{"type":27,"reviewType":34,"spacingBehaviour":24,"multiChoiceQuestion":1299,"multiChoiceCorrect":1301,"multiChoiceIncorrect":1303,"multiChoiceMultiSelect":6,"multiChoiceRevealAnswerOption":6},[1300],"According to the Poetic Edda, Asgard was divided into how many sub-realms?",[1302],"12",[1304,262,1305],"10","6",{"id":1307,"data":1308,"type":24,"maxContentLevel":34,"version":25,"reviews":1311},"c3459d21-5810-4c49-8e77-d00475f7b34d",{"type":24,"markdownContent":1309,"audioMediaId":1310},"Midgard was the realm of humans, otherwise known as the real world. It was the only realm to which the Norse had access, with all the others beyond human reach, although there are plenty of examples of other beings visiting Midgard, including gods and jötnar.\n\n![Graph](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8d/Fall_of_Midgard_%281521875506%29.jpg/800px-Fall_of_Midgard_%281521875506%29.jpg?20190626210209 \"A depiction of Midgard. Image: Alex Indigo from Santa Clara, CA, CC BY 2.0 \u003Chttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons\")\n\n‘Midgard’ translates as ‘middle enclosure,’ with the word ‘middle’ referring to the position of the realm in relation to all the others. In terms of the vertical positions of the nine realms on the World Tree, Yggdrasil, Midgard is somewhere near the middle, with Asgard above and Helheim below.\n\n![Graph](image://8d40730b-b2f7-47d0-ad9c-b58275028ee1 \"An attempted depiction of the Norse cosmos. Image: Public domain\")\n\nAs for the word ‘enclosure,’ this links to the idea of innangard and utangard, a principle discussed by a number of modern scholars. Innangard, or ‘inside the fence,’ refers to a society which is orderly, law-abiding, and civilized. Utangard, or ‘outside the fence,’ refers to a society which is chaotic and wild. Asgard, realm of the Æsir, would have been the ultimate example of innangard, while Midgard, realm of humans, was striving to achieve a similar sense of law and order.","7e1362ee-cd1f-435d-87f8-d43ff0220414",[1312,1319,1328],{"id":1313,"data":1314,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},"51139a98-f958-4125-9e50-4dd5014d9c89",{"type":27,"reviewType":24,"spacingBehaviour":24,"activeRecallQuestion":1315,"activeRecallAnswers":1317},[1316],"What is the literal translation of 'Midgard'?",[1318],"Middle enclosure",{"id":1320,"data":1321,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},"b090a56e-9ac1-4ba7-bdee-6d64676899c1",{"type":27,"reviewType":25,"spacingBehaviour":24,"binaryQuestion":1322,"binaryCorrect":1324,"binaryIncorrect":1326},[1323],"Which Norse term, meaning 'inside the fence', describes a society which is ordered and civilized?",[1325],"Innangard",[1327],"Utangard",{"id":1329,"data":1330,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},"b7bc66b1-9773-4bd4-bcde-92ff4d26ab2d",{"type":27,"reviewType":25,"spacingBehaviour":24,"binaryQuestion":1331,"binaryCorrect":1333,"binaryIncorrect":1334},[1332],"Which Norse term, meaning 'outside the fence', describes a society which is chaotic and wild?",[1327],[1325],{"id":1336,"data":1337,"type":24,"maxContentLevel":34,"version":64,"reviews":1340},"948dcf09-2e13-4082-9249-6e6def9c1b52",{"type":24,"markdownContent":1338,"audioMediaId":1339},"Vanaheim was the realm of the Vanir, but virtually nothing is known about its nature. It is mentioned once by name in the *Poetic Edda*, with no further information provided, apart from the fact that it was somewhere to the west of Asgard. The realm is also mentioned in the *Prose Edda*, but only in passing.\n\nWriters at the time may have taken prior knowledge of Vanaheim for granted, assuming that the nature of the place was so well-known that it did not need to be explained. This is true of Norse cosmology in general; for example, no source provides a clearly defined list of the nine realms, because writers assumed that everyone knew them already.\n\nIn an effort to understand what Vanaheim might have looked like, historians have studied its name. Asgard and Midgard both end with the word -gard, or ‘enclosure,’ which links to the idea of innangard, and suggests that both realms are neatly ordered and self-contained.\n\nThe fact that Vanaheim ends differently, with -heim, or ‘home,’ might suggest a more chaotic environment. This is probably because the Vanir were aligned with the natural world, which was considered less orderly than our structured, civilized society.\n\n![Graph](image://d4fb0ad6-62f0-46a0-8d25-f88d71950553 \"No one knows what Vanaheim looked like. Image: Public domain\")","cb8b13f5-c01f-4186-ae5d-7af83d283f93",[1341],{"id":1342,"data":1343,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},"c288c1e5-ca05-4c1b-bc3e-d7d966a21bea",{"type":27,"reviewType":24,"spacingBehaviour":24,"activeRecallQuestion":1344,"activeRecallAnswers":1346},[1345],"Which godly realm is barely described in Norse sources, making it hard for historians to study?",[277],{"id":1348,"data":1349,"type":25,"version":25,"maxContentLevel":34,"summaryPage":1351,"introPage":1358,"pages":1364},"0714ab69-e308-4b45-9702-5a357d6916e9",{"type":25,"title":1350},"Jotunheim, Alfheim, Nidavellir",{"id":1352,"data":1353,"type":34,"maxContentLevel":34,"version":24},"ad512bf8-7511-44f7-b558-ace7e8113117",{"type":34,"summary":1354},[1355,1356,1357],"Jotunheim was the wild, chaotic home of the jötnar","Alfheim was the bright, beautiful realm of the elves","Nidavellir was the dark, gold-filled home of the dwarves",{"id":1359,"data":1360,"type":50,"maxContentLevel":34,"version":24},"a4a56f0f-df0c-4554-9fe9-c5728d9ccdfb",{"type":50,"intro":1361},[1362,1363],"What unique characteristics define Jotunheim, Alfheim, and Nidavellir?","Who are the notable inhabitants of these Norse realms?",[1365,1395,1419],{"id":1366,"data":1367,"type":24,"maxContentLevel":34,"version":25,"reviews":1370},"3bc6dcc1-e32d-423b-93f4-5255b0a3fe56",{"type":24,"markdownContent":1368,"audioMediaId":1369},"Jotunheim was the home of the jötnar, and is generally presented as a vast, chaotic wilderness which surrounded the more civilized realms. If Asgard was the ultimate example of innangard, or ‘inside the fence,’ then Jotunheim was the ultimate example of utangard, or ‘outside the fence.’ The capital of Jotunheim was called Utgard, which might have been a reference to this concept.\n\nCompared to several of the other realms, there is plenty of information about the nature of Jotunheim, mainly because so many myths and stories were set there. When the gods traveled into Jotunheim, they encountered deep forests, biting winters, and towering, frozen peaks, a landscape which was probably inspired by the wilder reaches of Scandinavia.\n\nAccording to the *Poetic Edda*, Jotunheim was divided from Asgard by the river Ífingr: 'Ifing the river is called, which divides the earth / between the sons of jötnar and the gods.' Another river, the Vimur, also flows through Jotunheim. In one story, a jötunn tries to drown Thor in the water.\n\n![Graph](image://d56af8e5-8fe6-4a03-9275-cb43215bee57 \"A depiction of a jötunn in Jotunheim. Image: Public domain\")","76c4e4bc-e1ce-4660-9506-1e2c818aa713",[1371,1377],{"id":1372,"data":1373,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},"3d0654a1-d16e-488b-9255-cd2f560fa907",{"type":27,"reviewType":64,"spacingBehaviour":24,"clozeQuestion":1374,"clozeWords":1376},[1375],"Jotunheim is the home of jötnar: a chaotic wilderness with deep forests and biting winters.",[280],{"id":1378,"data":1379,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},"5f262809-b61a-4bf7-9da3-fdbeb9456763",{"type":27,"reviewType":270,"spacingBehaviour":24,"matchPairsQuestion":1380,"matchPairsPairs":1382,"matchPairsShowExamples":6},[1381],"Match these locations in Jotunheim to their descriptions:",[1383,1386,1389,1392],{"left":1384,"right":1385,"direction":34},"Ífingr","River between Jotunheim & Asgard",{"left":1387,"right":1388,"direction":34},"Vimur","River where Thor almost drowned",{"left":1390,"right":1391,"direction":34},"Utgard","Capital city of Jotunheim",{"left":1393,"right":1394,"direction":34},"Himinbjörg","Not a place in Jotunheim",{"id":1396,"data":1397,"type":24,"maxContentLevel":34,"version":25,"reviews":1400},"cd6da5b4-0bbc-49c8-8f90-048b5eec41d0",{"type":24,"markdownContent":1398,"audioMediaId":1399},"Alfheim was the realm of the elves, and, while little is known about it, it is generally believed to have been bright and beautiful, just like the beings who lived there.\n\n![Graph](image://33f2f065-6337-4493-9539-3dfcce2c3a23 \"A depiction of Alfheim. Image: Public domain\")\n\nInterestingly, one poem in the *Poetic Edda*, titled *Grímnismál*, attaches the Vanir god Freyr to the realm of Alfheim. This connection has troubled modern historians, who have struggled to come up with a convincing explanation for it. Some have suggested that the Vanir and the elves were actually a single group, with Freyr as their leader, but the existence of Vanaheim undermines this interpretation. If the elves and the Vanir were a single people, they would not have needed two realms.\n\nAccording to the *Prose Edda*, only the light elves lived in Alfheim, while the dark elves lived somewhere deep underground in a place called Svartálfaheim. However, the *Poetic Edda* never mentions Svartálfaheim, and it is generally seen to be analogous with Nidavellir, the subterranean realm of dwarves.","b76dbfe9-8595-4efd-ba4f-3882163f75e7",[1401,1412],{"id":1402,"data":1403,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},"6b2586f1-e5f3-4e13-8c82-a625a8a377e8",{"type":27,"reviewType":34,"spacingBehaviour":24,"multiChoiceQuestion":1404,"multiChoiceCorrect":1406,"multiChoiceIncorrect":1408,"multiChoiceMultiSelect":6,"multiChoiceRevealAnswerOption":6},[1405],"According to the Poetic Edda, where did elves live?",[1407],"They all lived in Alfheim",[1409,1410,1411],"They all lived in Svartálfaheim","Light elves in Alfheim & dark elves in Svartálfaheim","Dark elves in Alfheim & light elves in Svartálfaheim",{"id":1413,"data":1414,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},"1b5966ae-f1ce-476a-9d27-bf4246cb5bb5",{"type":27,"reviewType":34,"spacingBehaviour":24,"multiChoiceQuestion":1415,"multiChoiceCorrect":1417,"multiChoiceIncorrect":1418,"multiChoiceMultiSelect":6,"multiChoiceRevealAnswerOption":6},[1416],"According to the Prose Edda, where did elves live?",[1410],[1407,1409,1411],{"id":1420,"data":1421,"type":24,"maxContentLevel":34,"version":25,"reviews":1424},"4423c57d-497b-4b8b-8124-cf5084677125",{"type":24,"markdownContent":1422,"audioMediaId":1423},"Nidavellir was the home of dwarves. The only description of the place comes from *Völuspá*, the best known poem in the *Poetic Edda*, which says: 'Stood to the north / a dark field / Halls of gold / Sindri's Clan.' Sindri was a famous dwarf in Norse mythology, who helped to craft Thor’s hammer.\n\nThe *Prose Edda* confuses things with the introduction of Svartálfaheim, home of dark elves, which might just have been another name for Nidavellir. In general, historians believe that the *Prose Edda* gives an inaccurate account of this particular realm; for example, Sturluson thought that ‘Sindri’ was the name of the golden hall, rather than the dwarf who lived there, presumably because he misread the lines in *Völuspá*.\n\nThis serves as an important reminder regarding the reliability of Norse sources. Sturluson could have made other mistakes in his writing of the *Prose Edda*, and on occasions when there is not a second source to cross-reference against, like the *Völuspá* description of Nidavellir, historians might never be able to identify Sturluson’s error.\n\n![Graph](image://4eb5bf10-018a-4aea-9f9e-3ec99655ab2c \"A depiction of Nidavellir. Image: Public domain\")","558ba283-2f99-4fb8-9eee-86515acf9ff7",[1425,1444,1453],{"id":1426,"data":1427,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},"3a6fce43-a635-4988-b1f4-b26ab08c035b",{"type":27,"reviewType":34,"spacingBehaviour":24,"collapsingSiblings":1428,"multiChoiceQuestion":1432,"multiChoiceCorrect":1434,"multiChoiceIncorrect":1436,"multiChoiceMultiSelect":6,"multiChoiceRevealAnswerOption":6,"matchPairsQuestion":1440,"matchPairsPairs":1441},[1429,1430,1431],"9df576ff-8060-4b9a-8361-35ea613abf70","0440deea-4462-440c-bbe1-9ed3b033d25e","850f50a8-634d-4d7d-afc9-3cb2e870cbb3",[1433],"In Norse mythology, which dwarf assisted in the creation of Thor's hammer?",[1435],"Sindri",[1437,1438,1439],"Kvasir","Mímir","Thökk",[162],[1442],{"left":1435,"right":1443,"direction":34},"Helped to craft Thor’s hammer",{"id":1445,"data":1446,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},"a55d4469-37b9-428c-9c8f-e630abdbd636",{"type":27,"reviewType":25,"spacingBehaviour":24,"binaryQuestion":1447,"binaryCorrect":1449,"binaryIncorrect":1451},[1448],"In Norse mythology, where did the dwarves live?",[1450],"Nidavellir",[1452],"Alfheim",{"id":1454,"data":1455,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},"fdb22690-d9dc-44d0-8f51-c5df3f4c612a",{"type":27,"reviewType":24,"spacingBehaviour":24,"activeRecallQuestion":1456,"activeRecallAnswers":1458},[1457],"What mistake does the Prose Edda make in relation to Sindri and Nidavellir?",[1459],"Sturluson thought Sindri was the name of a hall, not the name of a dwarf",{"id":1461,"data":1462,"type":25,"version":25,"maxContentLevel":34,"summaryPage":1464,"introPage":1471,"pages":1477},"9206a90d-ee34-47be-a704-080856614f14",{"type":25,"title":1463},"Niflheim, Muspelheim, Helheim",{"id":1465,"data":1466,"type":34,"maxContentLevel":34,"version":24},"82547e3d-f290-4431-bbc5-235b4de5746d",{"type":34,"summary":1467},[1468,1469,1470],"Niflheim was a realm of fog and ice, while Muspelheim was a realm of heat and fire","The fires of Muspelheim melted the ice of Niflheim, creating Ymir and Auðumbla","Helheim was the realm of the dead, ruled by the goddess Hel",{"id":1472,"data":1473,"type":50,"maxContentLevel":34,"version":24},"52788d65-ec87-4ff0-a83b-251482a4cbfb",{"type":50,"intro":1474},[1475,1476],"What are the key characteristics of Muspelheim and Niflheim?","What was the significance of Helheim to the Norse?",[1478,1507],{"id":1479,"data":1480,"type":24,"maxContentLevel":34,"version":25,"reviews":1483},"0ed2d15e-68bc-4fd1-8e26-2652d47aa24e",{"type":24,"markdownContent":1481,"audioMediaId":1482},"Niflheim was a realm of fog and ice, while Muspelheim was a realm of heat and fire. The two existed before the other realms were created, floating together in an endless void called Ginnungagap. The *Poetic Edda* describes this time: 'That was the age when nothing was; / There was no sand, nor sea, nor cool waves, / No earth nor sky nor grass there, / Only Ginnungagap.'\n\nOver time, the realms of Muspelheim and Niflheim drew closer together, and when the fires of Muspelheim met the ice of Niflheim, the ice began to melt. This meltwater created Ymir the jötunn and Auðumbla the primordial cow. Ymir was later killed by Odin, and the remnants of his body transformed into the other realms of the cosmos.\n\nAfter the creation of the other realms, Niflheim and Muspelheim were occupied by frost jötnar and fire jötnar respectively. One of these fire jötnar was Surtr, a powerful being with a shining sword, who was prophesied to fight with Freyr at the end of the world.\n\n![Graph](image://0fb35f1c-5cb3-40eb-abb2-22cc5680c79d \"A depiction of Niflheim. Image: JoanT.V, CC BY-SA 4.0 \u003Chttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons\")\n\n![Graph](image://99a91ebd-3811-46e3-a51c-7cf77b3c7849 \"A depiction of Muspelheim. Image: Public domain\")","2db805aa-01c2-49c2-ac94-bb6a46d81179",[1484,1493,1500],{"id":1485,"data":1486,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},"f15d1b31-719a-45bb-9329-08671f42f066",{"type":27,"reviewType":25,"spacingBehaviour":24,"binaryQuestion":1487,"binaryCorrect":1489,"binaryIncorrect":1491},[1488],"Which of these Norse realms was a realm of fog and ice?",[1490],"Niflheim",[1492],"Muspelheim",{"id":1494,"data":1495,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},"cbc78c0b-152d-47c2-8937-b028dabbaa85",{"type":27,"reviewType":25,"spacingBehaviour":24,"binaryQuestion":1496,"binaryCorrect":1498,"binaryIncorrect":1499},[1497],"Which of these Norse realms was a realm of heat and fire?",[1492],[1490],{"id":1501,"data":1502,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},"0e6a9228-9a09-4f21-ad53-557ebcadfeaa",{"type":27,"reviewType":64,"spacingBehaviour":24,"clozeQuestion":1503,"clozeWords":1505},[1504],"Niflheim and Muspelheim existed before the other realms, floating together in an endless void called Ginnungagap.",[1506],"Ginnungagap",{"id":1508,"data":1509,"type":24,"maxContentLevel":34,"version":25,"reviews":1512},"d46d3cfa-b009-4a28-8676-851bd175db6f",{"type":24,"markdownContent":1510,"audioMediaId":1511},"Helheim was the realm of the dead: a cold, dark place, and probably underground, much like a real grave. Some accounts suggest that Helheim is positioned at the bottom of the cosmos, maybe beneath the roots of Yggdrasil, while others describe it as part of Niflheim, the primordial realm of fog and ice. The term ‘Niflhel’ is even used in a number of old poems, so perhaps Niflheim and Helheim were conceived by some people to be the exact same place.\n\nThe goddess Hel, daughter of Loki, resided in Helheim along with the spirits of the dead. According to the *Prose Edda*, she lived in a vast, damp hall called Éljúðnir, along with several servants and slaves. One of these slaves was Ganglati, a name which translates as ‘lazy-walker,’ who seems to have been associated with slowness and indolence.\n\nWhile Helheim does not sound like a particularly appealing place to live, it was never meant to be a place of torment and suffering. In many ways, life in Helheim was no different to life in Midgard, and the dead spent their time eating, drinking, fighting and sleeping, just like they did when they were still alive.\n\n![Graph](image://21a0cc21-0f76-4e2f-8865-2b259358df2c \"A depiction of Hel in Helheim. Image: Public domain\")","b415eb93-8a2f-4881-a06b-d3a65c752b54",[1513,1529,1537],{"id":1514,"data":1515,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},"73bff86d-2e0a-4391-9329-cdbb50d34a5d",{"type":27,"reviewType":270,"spacingBehaviour":24,"matchPairsQuestion":1516,"matchPairsPairs":1517,"matchPairsShowExamples":6},[162],[1518,1521,1524,1526],{"left":1519,"right":1520,"direction":34},"Thrudheim","Home of Thor",{"left":1522,"right":1523,"direction":34},"Breidablik","Home of Baldur",{"left":1393,"right":1525,"direction":34},"Home of Heimdall",{"left":1527,"right":1528,"direction":34},"Éljúðnir","Home of Hel",{"id":1530,"data":1531,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},"63802a4a-bb62-4eef-b4c6-ac5d6dff93cb",{"type":27,"reviewType":24,"spacingBehaviour":24,"activeRecallQuestion":1532,"activeRecallAnswers":1534},[1533],"According to different sources, what are two possible locations of Helheim?",[1535,1536],"Beneath the roots of Yggdrasil","Somewhere in Niflheim",{"id":1538,"data":1539,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},"52668c4f-62ca-4863-8748-5bcb1232ee5a",{"type":27,"reviewType":24,"spacingBehaviour":24,"activeRecallQuestion":1540,"activeRecallAnswers":1542},[1541],"Which two beings were created from meltwater when Muspelheim and Niflheim drew closer together?",[1543,1544],"Ymir the jötunn","Auðumbla the primordial cow",{"id":1546,"data":1547,"type":26,"maxContentLevel":34,"version":35,"orbs":1550},"d5778dce-2b3c-49e1-aabc-842313bc880e",{"type":26,"title":1548,"tagline":1549},"Stories and Legends","The tales once told around fires",[1551,1665,1799,1891],{"id":1552,"data":1553,"type":25,"version":34,"maxContentLevel":34,"summaryPage":1555,"introPage":1563,"pages":1569},"63b5a6f2-3895-44d4-9f7f-48e83976f783",{"type":25,"title":1554},"Stories of creation",{"id":1556,"data":1557,"type":34,"maxContentLevel":34,"version":24},"506ce5b5-b065-402d-8549-18ab34138cc0",{"type":34,"summary":1558},[1559,1560,1561,1562],"The universe began with a realm of ice and a realm of fire floating in a void","Ymir, the first jötunn, was born from melting ice droplets","Odin and his brothers created the cosmos from Ymir’s corpse","The first humans, Ask and Embla, were created from fallen trees",{"id":1564,"data":1565,"type":50,"maxContentLevel":34,"version":24},"bddbdea6-c841-4ee8-9520-8dea0e44215b",{"type":50,"intro":1566},[1567,1568],"How did the Norse believe that the universe was born?","How did the Norse believe that humans first came into existence?",[1570,1626],{"id":1571,"data":1572,"type":24,"maxContentLevel":34,"version":34,"reviews":1575},"9a39fbf5-9771-4dfc-b94e-25081fa52686",{"type":24,"markdownContent":1573,"audioMediaId":1574},"**The Creation of the Cosmos**\n\nThe *Poetic Edda* and the *Prose Edda* both describe the creation of the cosmos. According to these sources, the universe began with a realm of ice and a realm of fire floating side by side in a void. As these realms crept slowly toward each other, the ice began to melt, and the droplets gathered into the shape of a jötunn. His name was Ymir, and, when he slept, more jötnar were born from the sweat of his armpits.\n\nAs the ice continued to melt, Auðumbla the primordial cow took form. While nourishing Ymir with her milk, she began to lick away at a salt stone, until she revealed Búri, the first ever god. All other gods were descended from him, after some breeding with jötnar along the way, and these gods included three powerful brothers: Odin, Vili and Ve.\n\nOne day, Odin and his brothers decided to kill Ymir. His corpse was transformed into a new cosmos, with his flesh forming the earth, his bones forming the rocks, his blood forming the ocean, and his skull forming the sky. Midgard, the home of humans, was made from Ymir’s eyebrows.\n\n![Graph](image://5242a63a-4c38-41b1-9ca7-3e9886184b6a \"Creation of the cosmos. Image: Sokol_92, CC BY-SA 3.0 \u003Chttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons\")","2ea8ff0d-df22-45f3-82d0-f79723dd1b24",[1576,1587,1601,1608],{"id":1577,"data":1578,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},"4be4373e-4e0a-4e95-8a05-179f58efa65f",{"type":27,"reviewType":34,"spacingBehaviour":24,"multiChoiceQuestion":1579,"multiChoiceCorrect":1581,"multiChoiceIncorrect":1584,"multiChoiceMultiSelect":21,"multiChoiceRevealAnswerOption":6},[1580],"Which of the following did the Norse believe happened at the start of the cosmos?",[1582,1583],"Two realms of fire and ice were floating in a void","Meltwater formed the first being",[1585,1586],"A realm of snow was surrounded by brimstone","Meltwater formed the nine realms",{"id":1588,"data":1589,"type":27,"version":25,"maxContentLevel":34},"1be5e85b-e85f-4110-a613-03e393a1d879",{"type":27,"reviewType":15,"spacingBehaviour":24,"orderAxisType":270,"orderQuestion":1590,"orderItems":1592},[1591],"Place these beings in the order that they were created:",[1593,1595,1597,1599],{"label":1543,"reveal":1594,"sortOrder":4},"",{"label":1596,"reveal":1594,"sortOrder":24},"Auðumbla the cow",{"label":1598,"reveal":1594,"sortOrder":25},"Búri the first god",{"label":1600,"reveal":1594,"sortOrder":34},"Odin, Vili and Ve",{"id":1602,"data":1603,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},"764a09b0-75c4-4e9e-89d5-1be6550a62f1",{"type":27,"reviewType":24,"spacingBehaviour":24,"activeRecallQuestion":1604,"activeRecallAnswers":1606},[1605],"After Ymir took form, where did the other jötnar come from?",[1607],"They were born from the sweat of his armpits",{"id":1609,"data":1610,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},"4841dc89-d6eb-4475-be83-97658c46a8b7",{"type":27,"reviewType":270,"spacingBehaviour":24,"matchPairsQuestion":1611,"matchPairsPairs":1613,"matchPairsShowExamples":6},[1612],"When Odin and his brothers killed Ymir, what did each part of his body become?",[1614,1617,1620,1623],{"left":1615,"right":1616,"direction":34},"Flesh","The earth",{"left":1618,"right":1619,"direction":34},"Bones","The rocks",{"left":1621,"right":1622,"direction":34},"Blood","The ocean",{"left":1624,"right":1625,"direction":34},"Skull","The sky",{"id":1627,"data":1628,"type":24,"maxContentLevel":34,"version":34,"reviews":1631},"2d58b693-72d3-4885-8b21-3910578085a2",{"type":24,"markdownContent":1629,"audioMediaId":1630},"**The First Humans**\n\nThe first ever humans, according to the *Poetic Edda* and the *Prose Edda*, were created from fallen trees. After manufacturing the cosmos from Ymir’s corpse, Odin and his brothers began to explore the new realms, and in one place they found a beach, with two tree trunks lying side by side. The trunks resembled a man and a woman, but they were completely lifeless and inert.\n\nOdin and his brothers decided to imbue the trunks with life. Odin blew the breath of life into them, while one of his brothers (Vili) provided movement and intelligence, and the other (Ve) provided speech, hearing and sight. By the time they were finished, the first humans had been created, and Odin named them Ask and Embla.\n\nAsk and Embla were given the realm of Midgard and encouraged to build a home. They were the mother and father of all future humans, like the Christian concept of Adam and Eve.\n\n![Graph](image://c53a8aa5-1227-4b0c-8b56-ad5ad500aaa1 \"Ask and Embla. Image: Public domain\")","5cbf2692-63c0-40b4-8f49-917bba787160",[1632,1639,1648],{"id":1633,"data":1634,"type":27,"version":25,"maxContentLevel":34},"175ad066-db67-4043-8bb9-97092f59a835",{"type":27,"reviewType":24,"spacingBehaviour":24,"activeRecallQuestion":1635,"activeRecallAnswers":1637},[1636],"According to Norse Mythology, what were the names of the first ever humans?",[1638],"Ask and Embla",{"id":1640,"data":1641,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},"63c8e781-f48c-4c7f-80f0-860717bebdfa",{"type":27,"reviewType":25,"spacingBehaviour":24,"binaryQuestion":1642,"binaryCorrect":1644,"binaryIncorrect":1646},[1643],"In the Norse story of the world's first humans, which objects were given life?",[1645],"Two logs",[1647],"Two rocks",{"id":1649,"data":1650,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},"995c6bbb-1808-47da-80b0-9df494df0d90",{"type":27,"reviewType":270,"spacingBehaviour":24,"matchPairsQuestion":1651,"matchPairsPairs":1653,"matchPairsShowExamples":6},[1652],"What did Odin and his brothers each give to the first humans?",[1654,1656,1659,1662],{"left":621,"right":1655,"direction":34},"Breath of life",{"left":1657,"right":1658,"direction":34},"Vili","Movement and intelligence",{"left":1660,"right":1661,"direction":34},"Ve","Speech, hearing, sight",{"left":1663,"right":1664,"direction":34},"Valir","Not involved",{"id":1666,"data":1667,"type":25,"version":64,"maxContentLevel":34,"summaryPage":1669,"introPage":1677,"pages":1683},"2c40d8e4-36e8-4af5-a550-52e34971425e",{"type":25,"title":1668},"Stories of gods",{"id":1670,"data":1671,"type":34,"maxContentLevel":34,"version":24},"c5a8d286-6b43-43d5-87e0-4dc3b1380ba7",{"type":34,"summary":1672},[1673,1674,1675,1676],"Freya's visit to Asgard sparked fear and war between the Æsir and Vanir","The Æsir and Vanir ended their war by exchanging gods, and creating Kvasir","Odin once sacrificed an eye to drink from Mímisbrunnr, and gain wisdom","When Loki cut off Sif's golden hair, he was forced to make amends by getting her a golden headpiece",{"id":1678,"data":1679,"type":50,"maxContentLevel":34,"version":24},"147ecaea-6de1-4a22-8780-7a1a94d195a5",{"type":50,"intro":1680},[1681,1682],"Why did the Æsir and the Vanir go to war?","How did Odin lose his eye?",[1684,1720,1764],{"id":1685,"data":1686,"type":24,"maxContentLevel":34,"version":34,"reviews":1689},"f82b2c2a-57ea-438a-8efd-ead810aa0884",{"type":24,"markdownContent":1687,"audioMediaId":1688},"**The Æsir-Vanir War**\n\nThe *Poetic Edda* never goes into much detail about interactions between the Æsir and the Vanir, but the *Prose Edda* does, with an account of a battle between the two tribes.\n\nAccording to this story, the two sets of gods used to live peacefully in their respective realms, until Freya, of the Vanir, paid a visit to Asgard. When she arrived there, she showed the Æsir some powerful magic, which impressed and frightened them in equal parts.\n\nThe Æsir began to fear the Vanir, and eventually these feelings erupted into war. The Æsir marched on Vanaheim, attacking the realm using weapons and brute force, while the Vanir fought back using subtle forms of magic. In the end, the two sides were evenly matched, and they were forced to sign a truce.\n\nAs part of this truce, some of the Vanir moved to Asgard, while some of the Æsir moved to Vanaheim. Freya was probably one of the Vanir who moved to Asgard, and may even have become an honorary Æsir. The gods from both tribes also spat into a cauldron, and this saliva was turned into a man named Kvasir, the wisest human who ever lived.\n\n![Graph](image://5bc1f836-8f91-4f27-a845-68ba19817494 \"Æsir-Vanir War. Image: Public domain\")","17510f25-c11c-495f-a618-8c30d437bca0",[1690,1701,1712],{"id":1429,"data":1691,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},{"type":27,"reviewType":34,"spacingBehaviour":24,"collapsingSiblings":1692,"multiChoiceQuestion":1693,"multiChoiceCorrect":1695,"multiChoiceIncorrect":1696,"multiChoiceMultiSelect":6,"multiChoiceRevealAnswerOption":6,"matchPairsQuestion":1697,"matchPairsPairs":1698},[1426,1430,1431],[1694],"After the Æsir-Vanir war, what was the name of the man created from the spit of the gods?",[1437],[1435,1438,1439],[162],[1699],{"left":1437,"right":1700,"direction":34},"Created from the spit of gods",{"id":1702,"data":1703,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},"ca1a326a-8ebe-4822-a324-c6bb2bc47d3e",{"type":27,"reviewType":34,"spacingBehaviour":24,"multiChoiceQuestion":1704,"multiChoiceCorrect":1706,"multiChoiceIncorrect":1708,"multiChoiceMultiSelect":6,"multiChoiceRevealAnswerOption":6},[1705],"What sparked the war between the Æsir and the Vanir?",[1707],"Freya frightened the Æsir with a display of magic",[1709,1710,1711],"Freyr frightened the Æsir with a display of magic","Loki tricked a member of the Vanir into killing Baldur","Loki tricked a member of the Vanir into killing Frigg ",{"id":1713,"data":1714,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},"904a1ffe-1b14-480d-bed9-660948c71e86",{"type":27,"reviewType":24,"spacingBehaviour":24,"activeRecallQuestion":1715,"activeRecallAnswers":1717},[1716],"When the Æsir-Vanir war was resolved by a truce, what two steps were taken to solidify peace between the two factions?",[1718,1719],"Some Vanir moved to Asgard, and Æsir moved to Vanaheim","Gods from both sides spat into a cauldron, and the saliva became a man",{"id":1721,"data":1722,"type":24,"maxContentLevel":34,"version":25,"reviews":1725},"0b629da1-2e0e-4e5e-8174-b976ef5bed94",{"type":24,"markdownContent":1723,"audioMediaId":1724},"**Odin’s Lost Eye**\n\nThe *Prose Edda* also tells the story of Odin’s lost eye, an event which took place beneath the roots of Yggdrasil. At the end of one of these roots was Mímisbrunnr, a well which granted wisdom to anyone who drank there. Mímir was a divine being who guarded the well, and after drinking from it regularly, he was full of knowledge and wisdom.\n\nWhen Odin heard about Mímisbrunnr, he decided to pay the place a visit, and asked Mímir whether he could drink from the water. However, Mímir told him that he could only drink from the water if he sacrificed one of his eyes. Odin considered this for a moment, then he gouged out one of his eyes and dropped it into the well. Mímir was satisfied, and finally allowed Odin to drink.\n\nAt the end of the Æsir-Vanir War, Mímir was one of the Æsir who traveled to live with the Vanir. After a disagreement, the Vanir chopped off his head, but Odin managed to rescue it. He embalmed the head with preservative herbs, then cast a spell so that Mímir would still be able to speak, offering counsel and wisdom whenever Odin needed it.\n\n![Graph](image://d871c71c-4c46-4240-8d7b-a8c95aa65a7a \"Odin's lost eye. Image: Public domain\")","c30478b3-c098-48d3-9d02-6ef6f09b6654",[1726,1737,1748],{"id":1430,"data":1727,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},{"type":27,"reviewType":34,"spacingBehaviour":24,"collapsingSiblings":1728,"multiChoiceQuestion":1729,"multiChoiceCorrect":1731,"multiChoiceIncorrect":1732,"multiChoiceMultiSelect":6,"multiChoiceRevealAnswerOption":6,"matchPairsQuestion":1733,"matchPairsPairs":1734},[1426,1429,1431],[1730],"Whose embalmed head eventually became a trusted advisor to Odin?",[1438],[1435,1437,1439],[162],[1735],{"left":1438,"right":1736,"direction":34},"Guarded the well of wisdom",{"id":253,"data":1738,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},{"type":27,"reviewType":34,"spacingBehaviour":24,"collapsingSiblings":1739,"multiChoiceQuestion":1740,"multiChoiceCorrect":1742,"multiChoiceIncorrect":1743,"multiChoiceMultiSelect":6,"multiChoiceRevealAnswerOption":6,"matchPairsQuestion":1744,"matchPairsPairs":1745},[249,252,254],[1741],"After visiting Mímisbrunnr, how many eyes did Odin have left?",[261],[258,260,262],[162],[1746],{"left":1747,"right":261,"direction":34},"Number of Odin's eyes",{"id":1749,"data":1750,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},"8df487fd-d3f6-4c62-8421-e19db37381fc",{"type":27,"reviewType":270,"spacingBehaviour":24,"matchPairsQuestion":1751,"matchPairsPairs":1753,"matchPairsShowExamples":6},[1752],"Match the name to the description.",[1754,1757,1759,1761],{"left":1755,"right":1756,"direction":34},"Mímisbrunnr","Well of knowledge",{"left":1438,"right":1758,"direction":34},"Guardian of knowledge",{"left":621,"right":1760,"direction":34},"Seeker of knowledge",{"left":1762,"right":1763,"direction":34},"Eyeball","Price of knowledge",{"id":1765,"data":1766,"type":24,"maxContentLevel":34,"version":34,"reviews":1769},"6a2300f8-4279-451d-b535-766df0f11781",{"type":24,"markdownContent":1767,"audioMediaId":1768},"**Sif’s Golden Hair**\n\nIn another story, Thor, god of thunder, was married to Sif, a goddess with beautiful, golden hair. Most of our knowledge about Sif comes from a story in the *Prose Edda*, which describes how Loki decided to cut off her locks as a practical joke.\n\nWhen Thor found out what had happened, he grabbed hold of Loki and threatened to break his bones, until Loki promised to replace Sif’s hair with a golden headpiece.\n\nLoki traveled to Nidavellir, where he spoke to the Sons of Ivaldi, a talented group of dwarves. After receiving a golden headpiece from them, Loki went to a second group of dwarves, and challenged them to produce an object of equal quality. They created several magical items, including Gullinbursti the gold-bristled boar, a golden ring which self-replicated every nine days, and Thor’s hammer, Mjöllnir.\n\nWhen Loki returned to Asgard, the gods judged that Mjöllnir was the most impressive of the objects that he had brought with him, but they were also pleased with the golden headpiece. It was soft and shining and beautiful, and, when placed upon Sif’s head, it attached to her scalp like a real head of hair.\n\n![Graph](image://8be677dd-316e-4f4f-ae80-0b498adb8eb5 \"Loki and Sif. Image: Public domain\")","2740c99b-5105-4c18-96fe-82726fa1b814",[1770,1779,1788],{"id":1771,"data":1772,"type":27,"version":25,"maxContentLevel":34},"0f9eccee-451e-4b30-9810-eecb285255e5",{"type":27,"reviewType":34,"spacingBehaviour":24,"multiChoiceQuestion":1773,"multiChoiceCorrect":1775,"multiChoiceIncorrect":1777},[1774],"What was the name of the Norse goddess whose hair was chopped off by Loki?",[1776],"Sif",[623,757,1778],"Seth",{"id":1780,"data":1781,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},"7a0d50ff-373c-4f30-9723-67d34c2a7916",{"type":27,"reviewType":25,"spacingBehaviour":24,"binaryQuestion":1782,"binaryCorrect":1784,"binaryIncorrect":1786},[1783],"Which group of dwarves did Loki convince to make a golden headpice as a replacement for Sif's lost hair?",[1785],"Sons of Ivaldi",[1787],"Sons of Sindri",{"id":1789,"data":1790,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},"9fbff65b-0e9b-41b9-8e55-96ff91d6cf46",{"type":27,"reviewType":34,"spacingBehaviour":24,"multiChoiceQuestion":1791,"multiChoiceCorrect":1793,"multiChoiceIncorrect":1797,"multiChoiceMultiSelect":21,"multiChoiceRevealAnswerOption":6},[1792],"Along with Sif's golden headpiece, what other items did Loki bring back from Nidavellir?",[1794,1795,1796],"Gullinbursti the gold-bristled boar","A golden ring which self-replicated","A magical hammer called Mjöllnir",[1798],"A magical chain called Gleipnir",{"id":1800,"data":1801,"type":25,"version":25,"maxContentLevel":34,"summaryPage":1803,"introPage":1811,"pages":1817},"b9663f26-f81a-4bc7-a144-8d5af95ba2f4",{"type":25,"title":1802},"Stories of monsters",{"id":1804,"data":1805,"type":34,"maxContentLevel":34,"version":24},"e3c877ff-5ad6-4400-abc7-ebfa195724db",{"type":34,"summary":1806},[1807,1808,1809,1810],"Fenrir, the giant wolf, was bound in Asgard by the gods","Týr sacrificed his hand in order to bind Fenrir with a magical chain","Thor once went fishing for Jörmungandr, using an ox head as bait","Loki once turned into a horse to sabotage a jötunn's who wanted Freya's hand in marriage",{"id":1812,"data":1813,"type":50,"maxContentLevel":34,"version":24},"87c1d2a5-ff5f-4b46-9f23-8bd237ec6af2",{"type":50,"intro":1814},[1815,1816],"How and why did the gods chain up Fenrir?","How did Loki come to give birth to an eight-legged horse?",[1818,1831,1862],{"id":1819,"data":1820,"type":24,"maxContentLevel":34,"version":25,"reviews":1823},"53169a44-b8e1-45ae-b991-f27bb52808d0",{"type":24,"markdownContent":1821,"audioMediaId":1822},"**The Binding of Fenrir**\n\nThe binding of Fenrir, the giant wolf, is a story told in the *Prose Edda*. The Norse believed that Fenrir was the child of Loki and a jötunn, a pair who also parented two other beings: Hel the goddess and Jörmungandr the serpent. The gods feared these monstrous siblings, and sent Hel away to live in the underworld, while banishing Jörmungandr to the bottom of the sea. As for Fenrir, the most monstrous of all, the gods decided to keep him bound in Asgard where they would be able to keep a watchful eye on him.\n\nThe gods knew that Fenrir would refuse to be bound, so they decided to deceive him, telling him that they wanted to wrap him in chains as a test of his monstrous strength. To make sure the binding would succeed, Odin turned to the dwarves for help, asking them to craft the strongest chain ever made.\n\nWhen the chain arrived, Fenrir was suspicious, and said that he would only perform the test of strength if one of the gods agreed to put their hand into his mouth as a show of faith. Týr, the god of justice, offered up his hand, while the other gods bound Fenrir with the dwarven chain. \n\nWhen Fenrir realized that he could not escape, he bit off Týr’s hand. This sacrifice was symbolically important to the Norse, who also made sacrifices during feasts and ceremonies, in an effort to maintain order against chaotic beings like Fenrir.\n\n![Graph](image://6d67398a-b66d-495d-b058-e096e3e14424 \"Binding of Fenrir. Image: Public domain\")","ee9f8243-d1f2-4669-b90e-f811d0e79a9f",[1824],{"id":1825,"data":1826,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},"898fe4d5-a11c-4508-aa68-631f595d0c46",{"type":27,"reviewType":24,"spacingBehaviour":24,"activeRecallQuestion":1827,"activeRecallAnswers":1829},[1828],"How did the gods convince Fenrir to put on his magical chains?",[1830],"They told him it was a test of his strength",{"id":1832,"data":1833,"type":24,"maxContentLevel":34,"version":25,"reviews":1836},"e883ed8f-7458-4e82-8f93-bfc14572bac4",{"type":24,"markdownContent":1834,"audioMediaId":1835},"**Thor Goes Fishing**\n\nThor’s fishing trip appears in both the *Poetic Edda* and the *Prose Edda*. One day, the god of thunder paid a visit to the jötunn Hymir. As part of this visit, they rowed out to Hymir’s favorite fishing grounds, but Thor demanded to move into deeper waters. Hymir was nervous about this, because he knew Jörmungandr lurked in the deepest waters of the ocean, but Thor was insistent.\n\nWhen they reached the deepest part of the ocean, Thor dropped his line into the water, using the head of an ox as bait. Something huge and powerful took hold of the line, and it took all of Thor’s strength to yank the creature free from the water. Sure enough, there was Jörmungandr, vast and ferocious and spitting poison.\n\nThor grabbed his hammer, meaning to kill Jörmungandr, but before he had the chance, Hymir panicked and cut the line. Jörmungandr sank back down to the bottom of the ocean, completely unharmed, and Thor was furious. He shoved Hymir overboard, then returned to shore without him. This story was extremely popular with the Norse, who admired Thor for his strength and willpower. Archaeologists have discovered a number of stones throughout Scandinavia with depictions of this fishing trip carefully carved upon the surface.\n\n![Graph](image://3003a75c-2a99-4f82-8b34-3cc76e84ba28 \"Thor goes fishing. Image: Public domain\")","095b636f-6e02-4638-bf02-2f74ab1735be",[1837,1844,1855],{"id":1838,"data":1839,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},"04d47a7f-8c0d-4670-a3d7-5678a2055237",{"type":27,"reviewType":25,"spacingBehaviour":24,"binaryQuestion":1840,"binaryCorrect":1842,"binaryIncorrect":1843},[1841],"In one famous Norse story, who does Thor go fishing with?",[880],[1543],{"id":1845,"data":1846,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},"29925d3d-212d-4a3f-839b-870433803a56",{"type":27,"reviewType":34,"spacingBehaviour":24,"multiChoiceQuestion":1847,"multiChoiceCorrect":1849,"multiChoiceIncorrect":1851,"multiChoiceMultiSelect":6,"multiChoiceRevealAnswerOption":6},[1848],"What did Thor use as bait when he fished Jörmungandr up from the bottom of the sea?",[1850],"The head of an ox",[1852,1853,1854],"The head of a goat","The feet of a horse","The feet of a pig",{"id":1856,"data":1857,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},"bc20d3e6-3a22-4290-81f5-9e8fcf57544f",{"type":27,"reviewType":24,"spacingBehaviour":24,"activeRecallQuestion":1858,"activeRecallAnswers":1860},[1859],"When Thor fished up Jörmungandr, Hymir panicked and cut the line. In a fit of anger, what did Thor do to him?",[1861],"Shoved him overboard, and returned to shore without him",{"id":1863,"data":1864,"type":24,"maxContentLevel":34,"version":25,"reviews":1867},"005f3ad1-976b-4fa0-a04b-46175c10943d",{"type":24,"markdownContent":1865,"audioMediaId":1866},"**The Fortification of Asgard**\n\nThe *Prose Edda* also describes how a jötunn once visited Asgard, and offered to build a formidable wall around the entire realm in return for Freya’s hand in marriage. The gods were reluctant, but Loki suggested agreeing to the deal on the condition that the jötunn could complete the wall in a single season, a feat which seemed impossible.\n\nTo the surprise of the gods, the jötunn began to build the wall with astonishing speed, largely thanks to the help of his giant horse, who had the strength to carry enormous pieces of stone. The gods turned on Loki, ordering him to slow the jötunn down. Loki transformed himself into a female horse, then seduced the jötunn’s steed, leading the animal away into the woods.\n\nWithout the horse’s support, the jötunn failed to finish the wall in time, and, as punishment for this, Thor came out and smashed the jötunn’s skull. Meanwhile, Loki emerged from the woods and gave birth to Sleipnir, the eight-legged stallion who went on to become Odin’s horse. This unusual birth was a chaotic event, as it disrupted the established laws of nature, while Odin’s mastery of the steed was symbolic of a return to order.\n\n![Graph](image://18bcf491-f750-45d5-a29e-f09e2379dabd \"Loki as a horse (in the distance). Image: Public domain\")","4709a6c5-0cce-4e8b-825b-6316e445abfc",[1868,1875,1884],{"id":1869,"data":1870,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},"9f919c6a-1a4f-4fb4-b1c9-a7df099bc317",{"type":27,"reviewType":34,"spacingBehaviour":24,"multiChoiceQuestion":1871,"multiChoiceCorrect":1873,"multiChoiceIncorrect":1874,"multiChoiceMultiSelect":6,"multiChoiceRevealAnswerOption":6},[1872],"Whose hand in marriage was promised to a jötunn on the condition he could build a wall around Asgard in a single season?",[757],[623,621,624],{"id":1876,"data":1877,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},"2957a05c-fa0e-4e36-95d1-9974dc1227b5",{"type":27,"reviewType":25,"spacingBehaviour":24,"binaryQuestion":1878,"binaryCorrect":1880,"binaryIncorrect":1882},[1879],"Why was the jötunn who built a wall around Asgard able to work so quickly?",[1881],"He was helped by a horse",[1883],"He was helped by a troll",{"id":1885,"data":1886,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},"7224bf25-b919-4f54-aeab-ae03585c7585",{"type":27,"reviewType":24,"spacingBehaviour":24,"activeRecallQuestion":1887,"activeRecallAnswers":1889},[1888],"How did Loki distract the horse who was helping a jötunn to build a wall around Asgard?",[1890],"He shapeshifted into a horse, then seduced the jötunn’s steed ",{"id":1892,"data":1893,"type":25,"version":25,"maxContentLevel":34,"summaryPage":1895,"introPage":1902,"pages":1908},"0489eed5-7354-4ce1-8105-1e6612672320",{"type":25,"title":1894},"Stories of collapse",{"id":1896,"data":1897,"type":34,"maxContentLevel":34,"version":24},"a4ba18f2-314a-4d12-a0cb-2dd55f939a34",{"type":34,"summary":1898},[1899,1900,1901],"Loki once tricked another god into shooting Baldur, leading to his death","Odin punished Loki by bounding him in a cave, with venom dripping on his face","Ragnarök is a prophecy for a cosmic battle, which will end with a whole new world",{"id":1903,"data":1904,"type":50,"maxContentLevel":34,"version":24},"d45c931f-81d0-4500-8cc0-b18c9b11a21f",{"type":50,"intro":1905},[1906,1907],"What happened to Baldur, the most pure of the Norse gods?","Which prophecy foretells the end of the cosmos?",[1909,1944],{"id":1910,"data":1911,"type":24,"maxContentLevel":34,"version":25,"reviews":1914},"6b75bc40-88f8-48bb-8e56-cdd2cab93285",{"type":24,"markdownContent":1912,"audioMediaId":1913},"**The Death of Baldur**\n\nIn one of Norse mythology's most famous stories, the *Prose Edda* describes the death of Baldur – a god so perfect and pure that he was supposedly invulnerable to physical damage.\n\nThe other gods used to amuse themselves by shooting arrows at him, feeling confident that the projectiles would cause no harm. However, this changed when Loki discovered that Baldur had a single weakness: mistletoe. Loki had a special arrow constructed, then tricked one of the other gods into firing it at Baldur, killing him instantly.\n\nOdin and Frigg, Baldur’s parents, were horrified. Frigg spoke to Hel, pleading for her to bring Baldur back to life, but Hel said she would only do so if every being in the universe shed tears over Baldur’s death. Every being did so, apart from Thökk the jötunn, who was probably Loki in disguise. Because of Thökk, Hel refused to bring Baldur back from the dead.\n\nLoki was punished for his role in all this. Odin tied him to a rock and cast him into a cave, where a venomous snake dripped poison on his face for the rest of eternity. Each drop of poison made Loki shiver, causing earthquakes throughout the realm of Midgard.\n\n![Graph](image://76ccf5f4-de3a-41a7-a26f-b64d1c1bcbf8 \"Death of Baldur. Image: Public domain\")","645bf633-6ea6-4e7e-b9d9-19ed7e0c76e6",[1915,1926,1933],{"id":1431,"data":1916,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},{"type":27,"reviewType":34,"spacingBehaviour":24,"collapsingSiblings":1917,"multiChoiceQuestion":1918,"multiChoiceCorrect":1920,"multiChoiceIncorrect":1921,"multiChoiceMultiSelect":6,"multiChoiceRevealAnswerOption":6,"matchPairsQuestion":1922,"matchPairsPairs":1923},[1426,1429,1430],[1919],"In Norse mythology, who was the only being who refused to cry when Baldur died?",[1439],[1435,1437,1438],[162],[1924],{"left":1439,"right":1925,"direction":34},"Refused to cry when Baldur died",{"id":1927,"data":1928,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},"0b4a1b20-8f82-411a-a15f-12b32bdf366b",{"type":27,"reviewType":24,"spacingBehaviour":24,"activeRecallQuestion":1929,"activeRecallAnswers":1931},[1930],"When Loki discovered that Baldur was vulnerable to mistletoe, what did he do?",[1932],"He tricked another god into shooting Baldur with a mistletoe arrow",{"id":1934,"data":1935,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},"aeb80a88-88ee-4e9f-92a4-13bcc7d55b49",{"type":27,"reviewType":34,"spacingBehaviour":24,"multiChoiceQuestion":1936,"multiChoiceCorrect":1938,"multiChoiceIncorrect":1940,"multiChoiceMultiSelect":6,"multiChoiceRevealAnswerOption":6},[1937],"As punishment for his role in the death of Baldur, Loki was thrown into a cave. In this cave, what dripped onto his face?",[1939],"The venom of a snake",[1941,1942,1943],"The tears of the gods","Scalding water from Muspelheim","Freezing water from Niflheim",{"id":1945,"data":1946,"type":24,"maxContentLevel":34,"version":25,"reviews":1949},"428d26fa-dbbf-4235-865d-3317c5dbdad3",{"type":24,"markdownContent":1947,"audioMediaId":1948},"**Ragnarök: Doom of the Gods**\n\nThe *Poetic Edda* and the *Prose Edda* also speak about Ragnarök – not a story of something that happened in the past, but a prophecy for events in the future. According to this prophecy, the cosmos would end with a terrible, biting winter. All the trees would fall down, the mountains would collapse, and the stars would turn utterly dark.\n\nThen an army of jötnar would march on Asgard, led by the fire jötunn Surtr. Loki would be with them, shaken free from his chains, and so would his sons, Fenrir and Jörmungandr. The gods would ride out to fight them, with Odin leading the charge along with the fallen warriors of Valhalla. Thor and Jörmungandr would slay each other during the battle, as would Heimdall and Loki, and Freyr and Surtr. As for Odin, he would be devoured by Fenrir the wolf.\n\nWhen the battle was over, a new world would rise from the darkness. In this new world, Baldur would return from the dead to lead a new age of gods, while two humans would survive, Líf and Lífþrasir, whose descendants would repopulate Midgard.\n\n![Graph](image://2b084ce8-fbd6-44c3-9841-61eb6590affd \"Ragnarök. Image: Public domain\")","c1fc4854-ce0d-4645-af97-3b9873b2ffaa",[1950,1961,1968,1978],{"id":1104,"data":1951,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},{"type":27,"reviewType":34,"spacingBehaviour":24,"collapsingSiblings":1952,"multiChoiceQuestion":1953,"multiChoiceCorrect":1955,"multiChoiceIncorrect":1956,"multiChoiceMultiSelect":6,"multiChoiceRevealAnswerOption":6,"matchPairsQuestion":1957,"matchPairsPairs":1958},[1100,1103,1105],[1954],"At Ragnarök, which fire jötnar is prophesized to lead an army of jötnar to Asgard?",[1112],[1109,1111,1113],[162],[1959],{"left":1112,"right":1960,"direction":34},"Powerful fire jötnar",{"id":1962,"data":1963,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},"36baed80-ba65-4ba6-9acc-51e08bc85ac7",{"type":27,"reviewType":24,"spacingBehaviour":24,"activeRecallQuestion":1964,"activeRecallAnswers":1966},[1965],"What was the Norse name for the prophesized end of the cosmos?",[1967],"Ragnarök",{"id":1969,"data":1970,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},"01c190eb-b0f9-4a2b-b64a-f86186634e06",{"type":27,"reviewType":270,"spacingBehaviour":24,"matchPairsQuestion":1971,"matchPairsPairs":1973,"matchPairsShowExamples":6},[1972],"Which pairs of beings are prophesized to fight one another at Ragnarök?",[1974,1975,1976,1977],{"left":624,"right":224,"direction":34},{"left":621,"right":222,"direction":34},{"left":837,"right":759,"direction":34},{"left":784,"right":1112,"direction":34},{"id":1979,"data":1980,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},"87a9df57-5beb-4fb3-a0ff-d3dbba8bdc80",{"type":27,"reviewType":34,"spacingBehaviour":24,"multiChoiceQuestion":1981,"multiChoiceCorrect":1983,"multiChoiceIncorrect":1984,"multiChoiceMultiSelect":6,"multiChoiceRevealAnswerOption":6},[1982],"When the battle of Ragnarök was over, which god was prophesized to rise from the dead, and lead a new age of gods?",[625],[621,624,757],{"id":1986,"data":1987,"type":26,"maxContentLevel":34,"version":34,"orbs":1990},"69236530-ccb9-4cb2-9ed0-8ad585a99be9",{"type":26,"title":1988,"tagline":1989},"Decline of Norse Mythology","Where did the Old Gods go?",[1991,2161],{"id":1992,"data":1993,"type":25,"version":34,"maxContentLevel":34,"summaryPage":1995,"introPage":2003,"pages":2009},"a8a82bbd-d2b6-4abe-9422-b422c70231d4",{"type":25,"title":1994},"The rise of Christianity",{"id":1996,"data":1997,"type":34,"maxContentLevel":34,"version":24},"a4d1e5c3-5447-4870-9a38-fe40e3330374",{"type":34,"summary":1998},[1999,2000,2001,2002],"The first Christian missionaries arrived in Scandinavia in the 8th century","Harald Bluetooth converted Denmark to Christianity in 960 CE","Olaf Tryggvason aggressively pushed Christianity in Norway in the 11th century","Iceland adopted Christianity as the official religion in 999 CE, but allowed private pagan practices",{"id":2004,"data":2005,"type":50,"maxContentLevel":34,"version":24},"7a286869-0116-4a82-9cca-100a73cc693a",{"type":50,"intro":2006},[2007,2008],"How did the rise of Christianity impact Norse mythology?","What were the political implications of Norse conversion to Christianity?",[2010,2043,2065,2088,2117],{"id":2011,"data":2012,"type":24,"maxContentLevel":34,"version":25,"reviews":2015},"4a292cb2-cb03-4999-9f60-9afea97b94ad",{"type":24,"markdownContent":2013,"audioMediaId":2014},"The first Christian missionaries arrived in Scandinavia towards the beginning of the 8th century, at a time when Christianity had already become a dominant force in the rest of Europe. They began to preach to the Norse, asking them to embrace Jesus Christ and the cross.\n\n![Graph](image://1297cd6c-ee64-4b49-a1de-c6abee8048af \"Christians in Scandinavia. Image: Pouazity3, CC BY-SA 4.0 \u003Chttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons\")\n\nInitially, the Norse regarded Jesus just like any other god. His existence did not disprove any of their other beliefs, no more than the existence of Odin disproved the existence of Thor. When the first churches were built in Scandinavia, there were often Norse gods and creatures carved into the wood alongside pictures of Jesus, while gravestones have been discovered with the cross of Jesus and the hammer of Thor depicted side by side.\n\nOver time, though, the idea of Jesus began to erode away at the other gods. He promised something that the others did not: divine salvation, and an eternal home in the paradise of Heaven. On top of this, there was a political benefit to conversion, with Scandinavian rulers embracing Christianity in return for deals and alliances with the Christian kingdoms of Europe.\n\n![Graph](image://1d4f5ee7-b70e-40dd-b479-740347f57373 \"Scandinavia. Image: Public domain\")","5bd76af7-eaf1-423c-8fcf-e6d834f4abce",[2016,2027,2036],{"id":2017,"data":2018,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},"a80d1f5e-1d6b-4f8b-bc02-b675fb877e5a",{"type":27,"reviewType":34,"spacingBehaviour":24,"multiChoiceQuestion":2019,"multiChoiceCorrect":2021,"multiChoiceIncorrect":2023,"multiChoiceMultiSelect":6,"multiChoiceRevealAnswerOption":6},[2020],"When did Christianity first arrive in Scandinavia?",[2022],"8th Century",[2024,2025,2026],"6th Century","10th Century","14th Century",{"id":2028,"data":2029,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},"78f8eac4-c2b1-4cc7-98b7-e59a2043e125",{"type":27,"reviewType":25,"spacingBehaviour":24,"binaryQuestion":2030,"binaryCorrect":2032,"binaryIncorrect":2034},[2031],"To begin with, did belief in Jesus come at the expense of the old Norse gods?",[2033],"No - the Norse saw him as another member of the pantheon",[2035],"Yes - the Norse knew there could only be one true God",{"id":2037,"data":2038,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},"19469103-be6c-4209-a61f-d57e435be5b2",{"type":27,"reviewType":24,"spacingBehaviour":24,"activeRecallQuestion":2039,"activeRecallAnswers":2041},[2040],"In the long term, why did the idea of Jesus start to erode at the old Norse gods?",[2042],"He promised something that the other gods did not: divine salvation",{"id":2044,"data":2045,"type":24,"maxContentLevel":34,"version":25,"reviews":2048},"f3f5b49c-15e6-41ba-941f-191f83028c4b",{"type":24,"markdownContent":2046,"audioMediaId":2047},"The Christianization of Denmark began in the 8th century, but without much success. The king at that time was Ongendus, who one missionary described as 'more savage than any beast and harder than stone.' Ongendus was loyal to the old gods, and most of his subjects took a similar stance.\n\nThis changed in 960 CE, when a new king, Harald Bluetooth, converted to Christianity. He supposedly made this decision after watching a Christian monk hold a piece of hot iron in the palm of his hand without receiving any burns, but there were political reasons too. Otto the Great, the Holy Roman Emperor, was present at Harald’s conversion, and subsequently became a powerful friend to the Danes.\n\nHarald proceeded to ban his subjects from worshiping the old gods. In private, some families may have stuck to their beliefs, but this resistance did not last for long. Without public expression and communal storytelling, the old way of thinking was lost.","a86e026d-e63e-4b95-8d20-9ebb970140c5",[2049,2058],{"id":2050,"data":2051,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},"3029f994-71d8-473b-a5cd-eb97149ebf11",{"type":27,"reviewType":25,"spacingBehaviour":24,"binaryQuestion":2052,"binaryCorrect":2054,"binaryIncorrect":2056},[2053],"Which King of Denmark first converted to Christianity, in the year 960 CE?",[2055],"Harald Bluetooth",[2057],"Ongendus",{"id":2059,"data":2060,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},"fb3a240d-da39-427b-8121-cf8104f77152",{"type":27,"reviewType":24,"spacingBehaviour":24,"activeRecallQuestion":2061,"activeRecallAnswers":2063},[2062],"What was the political motive behind Harald Bluetooth's conversion to Christianity?",[2064],"He wanted to befriend the Holy Roman Emperor",{"id":2066,"data":2067,"type":24,"maxContentLevel":34,"version":25,"reviews":2070},"b8cba46b-60e5-4c77-a726-57645ef8ebf6",{"type":24,"markdownContent":2068,"audioMediaId":2069},"Snorri Sturluson’s Heimskringla saga tells the story of Christianity in Norway, beginning with the conversion of Haakon the Good at some stage in the 10th century. He began to set up churches and to welcome missionaries into the kingdom, but these developments were not always popular. Near Trondheim, for example, three churches were burned to the ground by angry Norsemen.\n\n![Graph](image://15afc54a-6ba5-45cf-9b69-5420e4857285 \"Missionaries in Norway. Image: Public domain\")\n\nTwo generations later, Haakon Sigurdsson Jarl, a staunch believer in the old gods, ascended to the Norwegian throne. He tried to save the Norse belief system by introducing ‘state paganism,’ an official version of Norse mythology with the backing of the state behind it.\n\nBut state paganism did not last. Haakon Sigurdsson was followed by Olaf Tryggvason, who was so aggressively Christian that he ordered the destruction of Norse holy sites, as well as the conversion of subjects by pressing a knife to their throats. While Olaf’s zealousness may have been overstated by Christian writers, there is little doubt that, from the 11th century onwards, Norse mythology was no longer welcome in Norway.","e697d761-a5f0-48f7-8080-2e22fee16aac",[2071],{"id":2072,"data":2073,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},"0fb0c1aa-b40d-4d94-a8d9-70aec0fcff84",{"type":27,"reviewType":270,"spacingBehaviour":24,"matchPairsQuestion":2074,"matchPairsPairs":2076,"matchPairsShowExamples":6},[2075],"Match each of these Norwegian kings to their descriptions:",[2077,2080,2083,2086],{"left":2078,"right":2079,"direction":34},"Haakon the Good","The first Norwegian king to convert to Christianity",{"left":2081,"right":2082,"direction":34},"Haakon Sigurdsson Jarl","Pushed back against Christianity in Norway",{"left":2084,"right":2085,"direction":34},"Olaf Tryggvason","Pushed back against paganism in Norway",{"left":2087,"right":887,"direction":34},"Olof Skötkonung",{"id":2089,"data":2090,"type":24,"maxContentLevel":34,"version":34,"reviews":2093},"9632a2c8-c452-4da0-bb8c-25c2ee5aebb0",{"type":24,"markdownContent":2091,"audioMediaId":2092},"Sweden enjoyed a period of mutual toleration between Christianity and the old belief system. The first Christian king, Olof Skötkonung, took the throne toward the end of the 10th century, and made an agreement with worshipers at the temple of Uppsala that neither religion would try to infringe upon the other.\n\nThis tentative coexistence came to an end in the 11th century. At that time, two brothers-in-law were competing to become king of Sweden. Inge the Elder was a devoted Christian, while Blot-Sweyn believed in the old gods.\n\nAccording to the *Orkneyinga* saga, written by an unknown author, Inge burned down Blot-Sweyn’s house while Blot-Sweyn was still inside it. He then proceeded to purge the old belief system from the kingdom: 'He took great pains to root out those evil ways.'","b428b220-1d34-45f5-883b-97f49a3a5fc9",[2094,2103,2110],{"id":2095,"data":2096,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},"41954c64-9346-4475-9c73-e5e99f2da8ef",{"type":27,"reviewType":25,"spacingBehaviour":24,"binaryQuestion":2097,"binaryCorrect":2099,"binaryIncorrect":2101},[2098],"In the 11th century, two brother-in-laws were competing to become king of Sweden. Which one was a devoted Christian?",[2100],"Inge the Elder",[2102],"Blot-Sweyn",{"id":2104,"data":2105,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},"d2f0f998-c0ff-4cba-949f-85bd8f55382d",{"type":27,"reviewType":25,"spacingBehaviour":24,"binaryQuestion":2106,"binaryCorrect":2108,"binaryIncorrect":2109},[2107],"In the 11th century, two brother-in-laws were competing to become king of Sweden. Which one believed in the old gods?",[2102],[2100],{"id":2111,"data":2112,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},"ff2bdbe2-068e-4ba2-9b63-22a0012906b6",{"type":27,"reviewType":64,"spacingBehaviour":24,"clozeQuestion":2113,"clozeWords":2115},[2114],"According to the Orkneyinga saga, Inge the Elder burned Blot-Sweyn alive, before purging the old gods from Sweden.",[2116],"Orkneyinga",{"id":2118,"data":2119,"type":24,"maxContentLevel":34,"version":25,"reviews":2122},"06269d96-fac3-4b0a-b5b5-0f7416efaee5",{"type":24,"markdownContent":2120,"audioMediaId":2121},"Olaf Tryggvason was a fiercely Christian king of Norway. In the 10th century, he sent a Christian missionary to Iceland, who managed to convert some influential Icelanders, but also murdered several poets after they insulted his beliefs. He was outlawed for these crimes, and forced to flee back to Norway.\n\nThese events created a tense environment in Iceland. The government held a meeting in 998 CE, and the Christians and the Norse who gathered in attendance both insulted one another’s gods. A year later, they met again, and this time it was decided that a solution needed to be found.\n\nThe leader of the assembly, Thorgeirr Thorkelsson, believed in the old gods. However, he also recognized the need for national stability. After a day and a night of meditation on the issue, he suggested that Christianity should become the official, national religion of Iceland, but that the old belief system would still be legal if people wished to practice it in the privacy of their homes. Both the Christians and the pagans agreed to this plan, in an event known as the *kristnitaka*.","7279366e-c600-49d7-ac1c-d158a6dd4b61",[2123,2143,2154],{"id":2124,"data":2125,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},"9f66dba6-24b2-48f8-8e62-210e3f0bb67b",{"type":27,"reviewType":34,"spacingBehaviour":24,"collapsingSiblings":2126,"multiChoiceQuestion":2130,"multiChoiceCorrect":2132,"multiChoiceIncorrect":2134,"multiChoiceMultiSelect":6,"multiChoiceRevealAnswerOption":6,"orderAxisType":24,"orderQuestion":2138,"orderItems":2140},[2127,2128,2129],"e8568fcc-a43e-48a6-ae81-95c694ea6e67","6462a20c-c111-484a-90d3-ae4ce93e674e","017f0943-41cc-4220-a239-32e2b33190fe",[2131],"When did Denmark and Iceland convert to Christianity?",[2133],"10th century",[2135,2136,2137],"11th century","18th century","20th century",[2139],"Put these events in order:",[2141],{"label":2142,"reveal":2133,"sortOrder":4},"Denmark and Iceland convert to Christianity",{"id":2127,"data":2144,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},{"type":27,"reviewType":34,"spacingBehaviour":24,"collapsingSiblings":2145,"multiChoiceQuestion":2146,"multiChoiceCorrect":2148,"multiChoiceIncorrect":2149,"multiChoiceMultiSelect":6,"multiChoiceRevealAnswerOption":6,"orderAxisType":24,"orderQuestion":2150,"orderItems":2151},[2124,2128,2129],[2147],"When did Norway and Sweden convert to Christianity?",[2135],[2133,2136,2137],[2139],[2152],{"label":2153,"reveal":2135,"sortOrder":24},"Norway and Sweden convert to Christianity",{"id":2155,"data":2156,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},"f097f113-f8d4-46dc-b24a-03119d1b58eb",{"type":27,"reviewType":24,"spacingBehaviour":24,"activeRecallQuestion":2157,"activeRecallAnswers":2159},[2158],"In 998 CE, Iceland made Christianity their official religion, but still allowed the old gods to be worshiped in private. What did this decision become known as?",[2160],"Kristnitaka",{"id":2162,"data":2163,"type":25,"version":25,"maxContentLevel":34,"summaryPage":2165,"introPage":2173,"pages":2179},"402e252c-3e7d-4c53-abb1-1e69b8b01b63",{"type":25,"title":2164},"Corruption of Norse Mythology",{"id":2166,"data":2167,"type":34,"maxContentLevel":34,"version":24},"baf870b8-cf26-422c-992c-ff8dd8af66da",{"type":34,"summary":2168},[2169,2170,2171,2172],"The Poetic Edda was written during the spread of Christianity in Scandinavia","The Prose Edda was written by a Christian who didn't believe in Norse gods","Because of this, both texts may have been corrupted by Christian beliefs","The Sámi preserved some Norse mythology until the 18th century, when Christian missionaries converted them",{"id":2174,"data":2175,"type":50,"maxContentLevel":34,"version":24},"9c3b2b30-be27-42be-8d62-4f9330fa310e",{"type":50,"intro":2176},[2177,2178],"How did Christianity influence the original Norse mythology?","In what ways might our understanding of Norse mythology be distorted due to this influence?",[2180,2212,2225],{"id":2181,"data":2182,"type":24,"maxContentLevel":34,"version":25,"reviews":2185},"9e97dab0-f8f4-46d9-bd72-7866397e2aad",{"type":24,"markdownContent":2183,"audioMediaId":2184},"The two main sources for Norse mythology, the *Poetic Edda* and the *Prose Edda*, were written in the 10th century and 13th century. In other words, the Poetic Edda was written while Christianity was spreading through Scandinavia, while the *Prose Edda* was written after Christianity had firmly taken root. Sturluson, himself, was a devoted Christian, who did not believe in the gods and legends he was writing about.\n\nBecause of this, there is every chance that the two sources, in particular the *Prose Edda*, give a corrupted account of Norse mythology. For example, some historians believe that the figure of Baldur was inspired by Jesus, and that, in older versions, he would have been depicted very differently. \n\n![Graph](image://44a8a827-4a4d-4f9d-bb31-ad67c3c0746e \"A depiction of Baldur. Image: Public domain\")\n\nAnother example is Náströnd, a place of eternal suffering which was probably inspired by the Christian idea of Hell. Meanwhile, Sturluson’s division of light elves and dark elves feels like an allegory for angels and demons.\n\nThese corruptions mean that our modern understanding of Norse mythology will always be flawed. The rise of Christianity did not simply destroy the old belief system; it also made sure that the finer details of that belief system would fail to survive the passing of time.","4225544c-666c-4d59-896d-a6585b9edaec",[2186,2197],{"id":2187,"data":2188,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},"5468bcea-cc33-4bef-b8a9-23763cb4ee8b",{"type":27,"reviewType":34,"spacingBehaviour":24,"multiChoiceQuestion":2189,"multiChoiceCorrect":2191,"multiChoiceIncorrect":2193,"multiChoiceMultiSelect":6,"multiChoiceRevealAnswerOption":6},[2190],"Which of these sources were written after the spread of Christianity into Scandinavia, opening up the possibility that they might have been corrupted?",[2192],"Both of these",[2194,2195,2196],"Neither these","The Poetic Edda","The Prose Edda",{"id":2198,"data":2199,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},"2f3a8453-d173-43d8-ba5e-dc4293e2da53",{"type":27,"reviewType":270,"spacingBehaviour":24,"matchPairsQuestion":2200,"matchPairsPairs":2202,"matchPairsShowExamples":6},[2201],"Match these details from Norse mythology to the Christian parallels they might have been corrupted by:",[2203,2205,2207,2210],{"left":625,"right":2204,"direction":34},"Jesus",{"left":354,"right":2206,"direction":34},"Hell",{"left":2208,"right":2209,"direction":34},"Light and dark elves","Angels and demons",{"left":2211,"right":887,"direction":34},"Æsir and Vanir",{"id":2213,"data":2214,"type":24,"maxContentLevel":34,"version":25,"reviews":2217},"b9391545-5afc-426e-8954-c1d5901cf26f",{"type":24,"markdownContent":2215,"audioMediaId":2216},"It is easy to find parallels between Christianization and the Ragnarök prophecy. According to the *Prose Edda*, Ragnarök was a changing of the guard, when the old gods were killed and Baldur was resurrected to replace them. If Baldur is viewed as an analogy for Christ, this narrative matches Christianization perfectly: the old gods passed away, and Jesus took their place.\n\nThese parallels may not be a coincidence. In fact, some historians believe that this ending to the Ragnarök story was deliberately introduced by Christians, who wanted to justify their own position under the guise of religious narrative. Older versions of the myth may have ended very differently, with the remains of the cosmos collapsing into the sea, leaving nothing but darkness behind.\n\nWe might never know the truth about this matter, but whether or not the myth of Ragnarök was deliberately modified by Christians, one thing is certain: the prophesied death of the Old Norse gods was an event which truly came to pass.\n\n![Graph](image://05242495-c3b3-4c33-8ed4-2d955d964b20 \"Ragnarök. Image: Emil Doepler, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons\")","88695204-8910-4609-afdf-f14a25cec27f",[2218],{"id":2219,"data":2220,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},"0ec637d3-78ec-4fc0-844f-3720a03e5b47",{"type":27,"reviewType":24,"spacingBehaviour":24,"activeRecallQuestion":2221,"activeRecallAnswers":2223},[2222],"The death of the gods at Ragnarök might be seen as an allegory for what?",[2224],"The Christianization of the Norse",{"id":2226,"data":2227,"type":24,"maxContentLevel":34,"version":25,"reviews":2230},"6a41b5fc-01d1-413c-b7d9-373c0566e4b7",{"type":24,"markdownContent":2228,"audioMediaId":2229},"It's also worth mentioning the Sámi people: a remote community who inhabit northern Scandinavia. Their isolation was like a shield against the influence of Christianization, and subtle aspects of Norse mythology managed to survive in this region as late as the 18th century.\n\n![Graph](image://1a8feaa7-25de-4e14-9ba6-672ae9c9f609 \"Sámi people. Image: Preus  museum MFF.002136, CC BY 2.0 \u003Chttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons\")\n\nFor example, the Sámi worshiped a deity called Thora Galles. This god of thunder was usually depicted with a hammer in hand, and was clearly inspired by the concept of Thor in Norse mythology. There is plenty of evidence of trade and exchange between the Sámi and the Norse, so it should come as no surprise to find a reference to Norse mythology in Sámi culture.\n\nHowever, even the beliefs of the isolated Sámi could not survive forever. In the 1720s, Thomas von Westen, a Christian missionary, made a concerted effort to convert them. This process included the burning of sacred items and the destruction of sacred sites. By the time it was all over, the final bastion of Norse mythology had been lost.","92f8b58e-8649-481d-a51a-326cd0cbc2e4",[2231,2242,2249],{"id":2128,"data":2232,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},{"type":27,"reviewType":34,"spacingBehaviour":24,"collapsingSiblings":2233,"multiChoiceQuestion":2234,"multiChoiceCorrect":2236,"multiChoiceIncorrect":2237,"multiChoiceMultiSelect":6,"multiChoiceRevealAnswerOption":6,"orderAxisType":24,"orderQuestion":2238,"orderItems":2239},[2124,2127,2129],[2235],"When did the Sámi people finally convert to Christianity?",[2136],[2133,2135,2137],[2139],[2240],{"label":2241,"reveal":2136,"sortOrder":25},"Sámi people convert to Christianity",{"id":2243,"data":2244,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},"54b1effc-ef80-4e58-9656-c8698d405b6e",{"type":27,"reviewType":64,"spacingBehaviour":24,"clozeQuestion":2245,"clozeWords":2247},[2246],"The Sámi people of northern Scandinavia were remote enough to avoid Christianization for hundreds of years.",[2248],"Sámi",{"id":2250,"data":2251,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},"9cc1b356-fbd7-40e3-bc8d-b2cf1860ff70",{"type":27,"reviewType":24,"spacingBehaviour":24,"activeRecallQuestion":2252,"activeRecallAnswers":2254},[2253],"What was the name of the Christian missionary who burned Sámi sacred items?",[2255],"Thomas von Westen",{"id":2257,"data":2258,"type":26,"maxContentLevel":34,"version":25,"orbs":2261},"73185a7d-7adf-4743-a979-d647a82d5677",{"type":26,"title":2259,"tagline":2260},"Return to Old Ways","Are the Old Gods making a comeback?",[2262,2346],{"id":2263,"data":2264,"type":25,"version":25,"maxContentLevel":34,"summaryPage":2266,"introPage":2273,"pages":2279},"55682603-1259-4f8f-bcd3-ca1c36c1ec5c",{"type":25,"title":2265},"Origins of Ásatrú",{"id":2267,"data":2268,"type":34,"maxContentLevel":34,"version":24},"82019f4e-f881-439d-86ca-0aa6e3eb25bd",{"type":34,"summary":2269},[2270,2271,2272],"Ásatrú was founded in 1972 by Icelandic poet Sveinbjörn Beinteinsson","The Icelandic government recognized Ásatrú as an official religion despite opposition","Ásatrú membership grew rapidly in the 1990s under Jörmundur Ingi Hansen",{"id":2274,"data":2275,"type":50,"maxContentLevel":34,"version":24},"b2a13511-6c94-4a87-b880-3e23340bc4ad",{"type":50,"intro":2276},[2277,2278],"What key events led to the establishment of Ásatrú?","Who were the significant figures in the origins of Ásatrú?",[2280,2304,2328,2341],{"id":2281,"data":2282,"type":24,"maxContentLevel":34,"version":25,"reviews":2285},"d233ee3e-6f72-4620-bd5d-4ca0c8107be7",{"type":24,"markdownContent":2283,"audioMediaId":2284},"In the early 20th century, the idea of Heathenry began to develop in parts of Europe. This religious movement was a counter to Christianity, and embraced old gods and traditions, not just from Norse mythology, but from forgotten belief systems all over Europe.\n\nAt some point, news of this movement reached an Icelandic shepherd and poet, whose name was Sveinbjörn Beinteinsson. He believed that the old gods were still alive in Iceland, and he had been performing Launblót, or secret offerings, since he was young. Now, he wanted to start a religion which focused purely on the Norse gods. He said: 'Icelanders could have their own faith, and nourish it no less than imported religions.'\n\nDuring the 1970s, he met with like-minded friends, and explained his new ideas. His friends were impressed, and, on the first day of summer in 1972, the Ásatrú movement was formed. The word ‘Ásatrú’ comes from Old Norse, and translates as ‘faith in the Æsir.’\n\n![Graph](image://b58f495e-b221-4046-8cb5-4088ee70bcb9 \"Ásatrú worship. Image: Haukurth, CC BY-SA 3.0 \u003Chttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons\")","72588b02-850b-4525-ae61-483fce78164a",[2286,2293],{"id":2287,"data":2288,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},"f689f122-88d8-4d67-89d4-0b269e3dbe88",{"type":27,"reviewType":24,"spacingBehaviour":24,"activeRecallQuestion":2289,"activeRecallAnswers":2291},[2290],"What is the name of the modern pagan religion founded by Sveinbjörn Beinteinsson?",[2292],"Ásatrú",{"id":2294,"data":2295,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},"c8fdcd60-213a-41b6-993f-11173939d98c",{"type":27,"reviewType":34,"spacingBehaviour":24,"multiChoiceQuestion":2296,"multiChoiceCorrect":2298,"multiChoiceIncorrect":2300,"multiChoiceMultiSelect":6,"multiChoiceRevealAnswerOption":6},[2297],"What does 'Ásatrú' mean?",[2299],"Faith in the Æsir",[2301,2302,2303],"Faith in Asgard","Servants of the Æsir","Servants of Asgard",{"id":2305,"data":2306,"type":24,"maxContentLevel":34,"version":25,"reviews":2309},"f7d99482-c204-40e6-9d58-e8e59b965336",{"type":24,"markdownContent":2307,"audioMediaId":2308},"A few months after the founding of Ásatrú, its followers went to the Icelandic government and asked for official recognition as a new religion. This recognition would have granted them the power to perform weddings, as well as collecting church taxes.\n\nThe Christian Bishop of Iceland, Sigurbjörn Einarsson, took issue with Ásatrú’s application. For starters, he said that polytheistic religions were not welcome in the country. On top of that, he drew links between Ásatrú and the Völkisch movement in Nazi Germany, which had also tried to reinstate pre-Christian gods. This connection was something that the followers of Ásatrú had to vehemently deny.\n\nDespite this opposition from the Christian church, the Icelandic government recognized Ásatrú as an official religion. At that time, the movement consisted of barely 20 individuals, but it was now as official as any other religion in Iceland, even Christianity.","0f8f8d90-75fa-4b1b-a1b4-aacad4e1a757",[2310,2321],{"id":2129,"data":2311,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},{"type":27,"reviewType":34,"spacingBehaviour":24,"collapsingSiblings":2312,"multiChoiceQuestion":2313,"multiChoiceCorrect":2315,"multiChoiceIncorrect":2316,"multiChoiceMultiSelect":6,"multiChoiceRevealAnswerOption":6,"orderAxisType":24,"orderQuestion":2317,"orderItems":2318},[2124,2127,2128],[2314],"When did Ásatrú first develop?",[2137],[2133,2135,2136],[2139],[2319],{"label":2320,"reveal":2137,"sortOrder":34},"Development of Ásatrú in Iceland",{"id":2322,"data":2323,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},"78665a42-b6e4-4d68-b720-8249c201f7d1",{"type":27,"reviewType":64,"spacingBehaviour":24,"clozeQuestion":2324,"clozeWords":2326},[2325],"Despite opposition from the Bishop of Iceland, the Ásatrú were officially recognized by the Icelandic government.",[2327],"Bishop",{"id":2329,"data":2330,"type":24,"maxContentLevel":34,"version":25,"reviews":2333},"7494ede8-6a9c-460b-a5ff-a3f43701acf8",{"type":24,"markdownContent":2331,"audioMediaId":2332},"After receiving recognition as an official religion, the followers of Ásatrú decided to hold a public blót, a form of religious festival. This was a significant occasion, marking the first public display of Norse mythology since the Christianization of Iceland almost 1000 years earlier. Journalists from all over the world showed an interest, with many of them flying in to attend.\n\nUnfortunately, the blót was underwhelming. The ceremony was held on Sveinbjörn Beinteinsson's farm, with a rudimentary statue of Thor acting as the centerpiece, and a meal of roasted lamb. Traditionally, a blót involved the sacrificing of an animal, so a cock was beheaded in the kitchen while the rest of the meal was being cooked.\n\nOverall, there were as many journalists in attendance as actual followers, and one of them declared that the entire event 'could hardly have been simpler or more pedestrian.'\n\n![Graph](image://1832696e-80a5-46c3-bf33-bc87749e09f1 \"A modern blót. Image: Public domain\")","c719ae6d-5f77-4e60-9ffd-7b9325127ecc",[2334],{"id":2335,"data":2336,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},"c2f6c8b9-0cbe-4155-91f6-be9900f8666d",{"type":27,"reviewType":24,"spacingBehaviour":24,"activeRecallQuestion":2337,"activeRecallAnswers":2339},[2338],"How did the followers of Ásatrú celebrate their religion's official recognition?",[2340],"They held Iceland's first public blót in 1000 years",{"id":2342,"data":2343,"type":24,"maxContentLevel":34,"version":25},"0e567b59-e328-4b9a-88d5-e617f980f3b5",{"type":24,"markdownContent":2344,"audioMediaId":2345},"In its early years, Ásatrú struggled for numbers, and ten years after its initial foundation, the religion still had fewer than 100 members. This was partly because Beinteinsson was not a natural media spokesperson, and struggled to promote the religion.\n\nThis changed in the 1990s, when Beinteinsson passed away, and was replaced by Jörmundur Ingi Hansen. He was charming and charismatic, and oversaw a rapid rise in membership numbers, passing 600 in 2002. In the summer of 2000, Ingi Hansen oversaw a religious festival with more than 1000 attendants, a major improvement on the blót held in 1973.\n\n![Graph](image://5479a526-8082-4fbb-b1c1-49d3316b3175 \"Jörmundur Ingi Hansen. Image: Photograph by Jónína K. Berg, CC BY-SA 3.0 \u003Chttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons\")\n\nThe size of Ásatrú has been increasing ever since, and, in 2021, the religion officially passed 5000 members. For context, this is about 2% of the Icelandic population, whereas 75% of the population still identify as Christians.","5a551a0a-24b0-466e-9f88-fb72e04dd3b0",{"id":2347,"data":2348,"type":25,"version":25,"maxContentLevel":34,"summaryPage":2350,"introPage":2357,"pages":2363},"aeef478f-77d9-46cb-bc69-a52db385647f",{"type":25,"title":2349},"Beliefs and practices",{"id":2351,"data":2352,"type":34,"maxContentLevel":34,"version":24},"e1707438-aeec-476e-b2c9-2ac8daf4013f",{"type":34,"summary":2353},[2354,2355,2356],"Ásatrú has a relaxed belief system, letting worshipers practice in their own way","Ásatrú's main festival, the blót, involves reciting the Poetic Edda and sharing food and drink","Ásatrú opposes animal sacrifice (unlike traditional Norse mythology) and promotes harmony with nature",{"id":2358,"data":2359,"type":50,"maxContentLevel":34,"version":24},"c7e80b5f-2d07-482d-a4f7-663ca3b7c283",{"type":50,"intro":2360},[2361,2362],"What key beliefs are central to Ásatrú?","Which of Ásatrú's practices have proven controversial?",[2364,2377,2401,2406],{"id":2365,"data":2366,"type":24,"maxContentLevel":34,"version":25,"reviews":2369},"9d6a9ee4-0f8c-46a0-bcca-77c309b3a767",{"type":24,"markdownContent":2367,"audioMediaId":2368},"The Ásatrú faith has a relaxed, unregulated belief system, with individual worshipers welcome to practice in whatever way seems best to them. This reflects the style of Old Norse religion, which never had a centralized set of beliefs or practices, and which varied greatly from person to person.\n\nIn 1992, Jörmundur Ingi Hansen, the leader of Ásatrú at the time, outlined his own ideas about the nature of the faith. He said, 'the world is split into two in its nature, divided into constructive forces, the æsir, and the destructive forces which we call jötnar.' Ásatrú, he went on to explain, was simply the idea to side with the Æsir by living your life in a respectful, orderly way.\n\n![Graph](image://949f7ecf-a7cb-45e8-a4e7-d4dc0841c0ae \"Ásatrú offering. Image: Ingwina, CC BY-SA 4.0 \u003Chttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons\")\n\nÁsatrú also associates itself with environmentalism. For example, in 2003 they opposed the construction of the Kárahnjúkar Hydropower Plant. This opposition involved the planting of a *nidstang*, a type of wooden pole which the Norse used to use when they wanted to curse their enemies.","3cc2581a-c09a-45cf-aa5a-25778b4e8dd6",[2370],{"id":2371,"data":2372,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},"a49331f1-4311-41be-8dde-5772b2b264d1",{"type":27,"reviewType":24,"spacingBehaviour":24,"activeRecallQuestion":2373,"activeRecallAnswers":2375},[2374],"Ásatrú associates itself with environmentalism. What did they do to protest a new powerplant in Iceland? ",[2376],"They planted a 'nidstang' – a pole that is meant to curse enemies",{"id":2378,"data":2379,"type":24,"maxContentLevel":34,"version":25,"reviews":2382},"2e3750b1-39ae-4119-a460-8b24c00bd8b5",{"type":24,"markdownContent":2380,"audioMediaId":2381},"Ásatrú’s central religious festival is the blót. Worshipers will gather in an open place, like a field or a forest, and words from the *Poetic Edda* will be recited. When the ceremony is complete, the congregation will move indoors for food and drink.\n\nTraditionally, a blót involves the sacrificing of an animal, and at their first ever blót, the followers of Ásatrú beheaded a cock. However, in recent years, the movement has rejected the idea of animal sacrifice. In general, they promote a harmonious bond with the natural world, and slaughtering an animal for the sake of ceremony does not fit with this message.\n\nThe most important blóts in the Ásatrú calendar are Jólablót, on the winter solstice, Sigurblót, on the First Day of Summer, Sumarblót, on the summer solstice, and Veturnáttablót, on the First Day of Winter. It is likely that traditional Old Norse worshipers held their major blóts on the same dates.\n\n![Graph](image://4ef033db-cc6f-4bc2-aaae-d6bad7d773f4 \"Offerings at a blót. Image: Gunnar Creutz, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons\")","734d408c-e8b4-4272-8183-4ed2264fec3a",[2383],{"id":2384,"data":2385,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},"74f1556a-35a8-46c0-8cea-83ceb0cd57bd",{"type":27,"reviewType":270,"spacingBehaviour":24,"matchPairsQuestion":2386,"matchPairsPairs":2388,"matchPairsShowExamples":6},[2387],"What are the four main festivals in the Ásatrú calendar?",[2389,2392,2395,2398],{"left":2390,"right":2391,"direction":34},"Jólablót","The winter solstace",{"left":2393,"right":2394,"direction":34},"Sigurblót","The first day of summer",{"left":2396,"right":2397,"direction":34},"Sumarblót","The summer solstace",{"left":2399,"right":2400,"direction":34},"Veturnáttablót","The first day of winter",{"id":2402,"data":2403,"type":24,"maxContentLevel":34,"version":25},"8388a1d0-3377-4646-b6f7-819e45bc2fc5",{"type":24,"markdownContent":2404,"audioMediaId":2405},"Since the foundation of Ásatrú in 1972, the followers have wanted to build a temple, or hof, where they could perform their blóts and ceremonies. However, this has proven to be a lot more difficult than expected.\n\nIn 2006, the mayor of Reykjavík suggested that they could build the temple on the side of a wooded hill called Öskjuhlíð, but the council decided that the site was too close to Reykjavík Airport. In 2008, a new proposal was drawn up to build the temple on the other side of the same hill, and this time the plans were accepted. The temple was supposed to be built into the cliffs in an organic, timeless style.\n\nHowever, before construction could start, Iceland was hit by a banking collapse, and Ásatrú suffered significant losses. The project was pushed back until 2015, then pushed back even further by technical problems on the construction site. As of 2022, construction is still ongoing.","058b3e27-7aef-4acf-81cc-ac4cf0fd3d95",{"id":2407,"data":2408,"type":24,"maxContentLevel":34,"version":25,"reviews":2411},"e5fdbee7-cd66-4592-b915-cdaab66063a7",{"type":24,"markdownContent":2409,"audioMediaId":2410},"The views of the Old Norse do not necessarily translate into the modern world, and this has led to a number of controversies. For example, in its early years, Ásatrú engaged in animal sacrifice, before deciding that the practice was immoral. They also spoke out against abortion, but they later retracted these views.\n\nÁsatrú has also been accused of promoting white supremacy, and not just by the Bishop of Iceland, who accused them of having a Nazi ideology in 1972. In the 1980s, one of their members tried to introduce a racial element into the religion, an idea built upon Icelandic nationalism and the concept of ethnic Nords. However, this racial ideology was rejected by the other members, and the proponent was forced to leave the group.\n\nIn recent years, Ásatrú has worked hard to become more modern, open-minded, and forward-thinking. On their website, they explain that 'bigotry or hatred towards others can never be compatible with the company's policies.'","999d5b46-13ea-43dc-87de-1a1e53f3f5a3",[2412,2423],{"id":2413,"data":2414,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},"d5e68318-cc2e-45d1-8531-617d2c8cb0c5",{"type":27,"reviewType":34,"spacingBehaviour":24,"multiChoiceQuestion":2415,"multiChoiceCorrect":2417,"multiChoiceIncorrect":2419,"multiChoiceMultiSelect":6,"multiChoiceRevealAnswerOption":6},[2416],"What traditional practice did the Ásatrú initially engage in, but later decide was immoral?",[2418],"Animal sacrifice",[2420,2421,2422],"Human sacrifice","Public nudity","All of these",{"id":2424,"data":2425,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},"e1487bfd-e361-44ce-bd38-1295d7c6d15d",{"type":27,"reviewType":24,"spacingBehaviour":24,"activeRecallQuestion":2426,"activeRecallAnswers":2428},[2427],"In the 1980s, an Ásatrú member tried to introduce a racial element to the religion. How did the other members respond?",[2429],"They rejected the proposal, and forced this member to leave",{"id":2431,"data":2432,"type":26,"maxContentLevel":34,"version":25,"orbs":2435},"b2876c94-7416-45cc-b052-61ac9c759f18",{"type":26,"title":2433,"tagline":2434},"Influence on the Modern World","From language, to literature, to music",[2436,2514],{"id":2437,"data":2438,"type":25,"version":25,"maxContentLevel":34,"summaryPage":2440,"introPage":2447,"pages":2453},"e7516e89-4a0e-41aa-8a0d-8c0e8390caac",{"type":25,"title":2439},"Influence on modern language",{"id":2441,"data":2442,"type":34,"maxContentLevel":34,"version":24},"fdd76053-a3e0-4286-b962-784be99d634f",{"type":34,"summary":2443},[2444,2445,2446],"Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday are named after Norse gods","The word 'nightmare' comes from a Norse demonic creature called a mare","Many European place names, like Odense and Tórshavn, are named after Norse gods",{"id":2448,"data":2449,"type":50,"maxContentLevel":34,"version":24},"440043a9-20e1-45eb-abd2-fc0ebb772ea2",{"type":50,"intro":2450},[2451,2452],"Which common English words originated from Norse mythology?","Which modern place names originated from Norse mythology?",[2454,2474,2491],{"id":2455,"data":2456,"type":24,"maxContentLevel":34,"version":25,"reviews":2459},"3f8e1eea-477a-4ef7-8b27-76bbeb667653",{"type":24,"markdownContent":2457,"audioMediaId":2458},"Despite the decline of Norse mythology, it lives on in the English language. Most English-speakers say the name of a Norse deity at least once per day without even knowing they’re doing it.\n\nFrom 43 CE to 410 CE, England was part of the Roman Empire. The official language was Latin, and the days of the week were named after Roman gods. In many European languages, such as French and Spanish, that is still the case. Tuesday is named after Mars (*mardi* and *martes* in French and Spanish, respectively). Wednesday is named after Mercury (*mercredi* and *miércoles*), Thursday is named after Jove (*jeudi* and *jueves*), and Friday is named after Venus (*vendredi* and *viernes*).\n\nHowever, when the Romans left Britain, they were replaced by the Anglo-Saxons. Many of them brought Norse mythology with them, and some days of the week were changed. Tuesday, for example, is Týr’s Day. Wednesday is Odin’s Day, or Wodin’s Day, a name by which he was also known. Thursday is Thor’s Day, and Friday is Frigg’s Day. All of this means that, even though the Norse gods are only worshiped by a few thousand people today, their names are still spoken, in the days of the week, by billions of people every day.\n\nThe other days of the week still have Roman origins. Monday is named after the moon, Sunday is named after the sun, and Saturday is named after Saturn.","512f6c76-1411-496e-965e-0b45f11a6789",[2460],{"id":2461,"data":2462,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},"788035c7-3673-4496-b7c9-33b67bb7a3d2",{"type":27,"reviewType":270,"spacingBehaviour":24,"matchPairsQuestion":2463,"matchPairsPairs":2465,"matchPairsShowExamples":6},[2464],"Match these days of the week to the gods they were named after:",[2466,2468,2470,2472],{"left":2467,"right":760,"direction":34},"Tuesday",{"left":2469,"right":621,"direction":34},"Wednesday",{"left":2471,"right":624,"direction":34},"Thursday",{"left":2473,"right":623,"direction":34},"Friday",{"id":2475,"data":2476,"type":24,"maxContentLevel":34,"version":25,"reviews":2479},"ba25c9ac-d431-4fce-b456-88bcd72451d3",{"type":24,"markdownContent":2477,"audioMediaId":2478},"As well as days of the week, the English language is dotted with other words which owe their origins to Norse mythology.\n\nFor example, a lesser known creature in the Norse belief system was something called a mare. This demonic beast would sit on the chest of a sleeping individual, and when that person woke up, they would be exhausted and sweat-drenched, with their hair all tangled into knots. The modern word ‘nightmare’ is a reference to this creature, but most people are unaware of the connection.\n\n![Graph](image://27669724-2e06-4db4-ab94-4d7e5935d5bd \"A mare. Image: Tulip Hysteria / Go to albums, CC BY 2.5 \u003Chttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5>, via Wikimedia Commons\")\n\nNorse mythology is also the source of the word ‘troll,’ with the *Prose Edda* describing an encounter between a human rider and an aggressive troll woman, who is probably a type of jötnar. In recent years, the word ‘troll’ has enjoyed a resurgence, often being used to describe an internet user who posts inflammatory comments online. Not many people will consciously associate the word with Norse mythology, but that is where it originally came from.","0423c29b-ebe1-4955-94d9-9ff72b29765e",[2480],{"id":1105,"data":2481,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},{"type":27,"reviewType":34,"spacingBehaviour":24,"collapsingSiblings":2482,"multiChoiceQuestion":2483,"multiChoiceCorrect":2485,"multiChoiceIncorrect":2486,"multiChoiceMultiSelect":6,"multiChoiceRevealAnswerOption":6,"matchPairsQuestion":2487,"matchPairsPairs":2488},[1100,1103,1104],[2484],"Which monstrous creature in Norse mythology sit on chests when people sleep?",[1113],[1109,1111,1112],[162],[2489],{"left":1113,"right":2490,"direction":34},"Sits of chests when people sleep",{"id":2492,"data":2493,"type":24,"maxContentLevel":34,"version":25,"reviews":2496},"bfc502d7-a059-4caf-a4a4-bbdf84b3ed43",{"type":24,"markdownContent":2494,"audioMediaId":2495},"We can also see the influence of Norse mythology in a number of place names throughout Europe. Odense is the third largest city in Denmark, and named after Odin.\n\nThe capital of the Faroe Islands is Tórshavn, or ‘Thor’s Haven,’ In Sweden, Fröslunda, Frösåker, Frösön, Fröseke, Frösve, and Frösakull are all named after Freyr.\n\n![Graph](image://e8b7c98d-6dcb-4854-a566-32ede65aff49 \"Tórshavn. Image: Stig Nygaard from Copenhagen, Denmark, CC BY 2.0 \u003Chttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons\")\n\nTheophoric (named after gods) place names can also be found outside of Scandinavia. In Britain, for example, 39 places are named after Odin, or Wodin, including Wanstead, Wanston, and Wambrook. Many of the people who live in these locations have no idea that their hometown is named after a Norse god.\n\nThe prevalence of different names in different areas is a useful tool for historians. For example, almost all the locations with Týr in their name are in Denmark, whereas the locations with Freyr in their name are in Norway and Sweden. As for Odin and Thor, their names can be found in all three countries. These distribution patterns tell us a lot about the popularity of each god in different geographical regions.","4a5484cd-e564-457c-a6ed-72f95ccf08e7",[2497,2504],{"id":2498,"data":2499,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},"22dfc160-9f73-439b-88ce-80f880ddcdc4",{"type":27,"reviewType":24,"spacingBehaviour":24,"activeRecallQuestion":2500,"activeRecallAnswers":2502},[2501],"What is the meaning of 'theophoric'?",[2503],"Named after gods",{"id":2505,"data":2506,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},"619994ed-9ed5-4138-9809-10d193b8fafd",{"type":27,"reviewType":34,"spacingBehaviour":24,"multiChoiceQuestion":2507,"multiChoiceCorrect":2509,"multiChoiceIncorrect":2511,"multiChoiceMultiSelect":6,"multiChoiceRevealAnswerOption":6},[2508],"Which of these English words does not come from Norse mythology?",[2510],"Atrocity",[2512,2513,2469],"Nightmare","Troll",{"id":2515,"data":2516,"type":25,"version":25,"maxContentLevel":34,"summaryPage":2518,"introPage":2525,"pages":2531},"d848a965-2ec2-46bf-bb1c-18f18f37c509",{"type":25,"title":2517},"Influence on modern media",{"id":2519,"data":2520,"type":34,"maxContentLevel":34,"version":24},"2af99a44-bf37-44e6-87dc-8af87df22916",{"type":34,"summary":2521},[2522,2523,2524],"JRR Tolkien's 'The Lord of the Rings' was inspired by Norse mythology, especially the Prose and Poetic Eddas","Marvel's Thor comics, created by Stan Lee, draw heavily from Norse legends like Mjöllnir and Asgard","Wagner's opera 'Der Ring des Nibelungen' popularized the idea of horned Viking helmets, which is actually historically inaccurate",{"id":2526,"data":2527,"type":50,"maxContentLevel":34,"version":24},"ec0b4cc9-db70-4bab-bc89-07922810fcf0",{"type":50,"intro":2528},[2529,2530],"How did 'The Lord of the Rings' draw from Norse mythology?","How did Norse mythology inspire one of the most famous pieces of music in the world?",[2532,2545,2560,2573],{"id":2533,"data":2534,"type":24,"maxContentLevel":34,"version":25,"reviews":2537},"184ed38c-4f92-40b9-9332-499db5ee2de5",{"type":24,"markdownContent":2535,"audioMediaId":2536},"JRR Tolkien, the distinguished author of *The Lord of the Rings*, was also a professor of language and history. When he was working at Leeds University in the 1920s, he started a society called *The Viking Club*, where he and his colleagues would study Norse mythology. These studies left a mark on Tolkien, and Norse mythology came to heavily influence his writing.\n\n![Graph](image://f8763b9b-2619-4a1a-8087-a3a4f912bf61 \"The Lord of the Rings. Image: Zanastardust, CC BY 2.0 \u003Chttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons\")\n\n*The Lord of the Rings* includes the mythical races of elves and dwarves. Tolkien’s elves had magical powers and supernatural beauty, just like the elves described in the *Prose Edda*, while his dwarves lived deep underground and were accomplished metalworkers, just like the *Poetic Edda*’s dwarves. \n\nTolkien also explained that the character of Gandalf, a wise old man with god-like powers, was inspired by tales of Odin, while Middle Earth, where the story is set, is a reference to the realm of Midgard.\n\nAll of these links to Norse mythology proved strikingly popular with readers. In a list of the bestselling books of all time, *The Lord of the Rings* comes in third.\n\n![Graph](image://ae01c66d-eab8-42ee-9754-13dbcd14be39 \"A depiction of Odin. Image: Public domain\")","38f38ed3-8c77-40ea-bde1-b27bfa9e39cd",[2538],{"id":2539,"data":2540,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},"5c0d0d6f-7ae5-4d77-a51b-629d9236b081",{"type":27,"reviewType":34,"spacingBehaviour":24,"multiChoiceQuestion":2541,"multiChoiceCorrect":2543,"multiChoiceIncorrect":2544,"multiChoiceMultiSelect":6,"multiChoiceRevealAnswerOption":6},[2542],"In 'The Lord of the Rings', the character of Gandalf (a wise old man with god-like powers) was inspired by which Norse god?",[621],[624,1438,1437],{"id":2546,"data":2547,"type":24,"maxContentLevel":34,"version":25,"reviews":2550},"bb84111e-2286-4b05-ae00-5e97292490a3",{"type":24,"markdownContent":2548,"audioMediaId":2549},"During the 1960s, a new superhero comic was launched in America by Marvel Comics: *The Mighty Thor*.\n\nIn this comic, the hero was a god from Asgard who traveled to Earth to protect humanity. He carried a magical hammer named Mjöllnir, just like the Thor in Norse mythology, while his parents were Odin and Frigg.\n\nThese comics proved wildly successful, and new editions are still being published today. The comics are not entirely loyal to Old Norse sources, but they do draw heavily upon the subject material. In various editions, the comic book Thor has teamed up with the characters of Loki, Heimdall and Baldur. He has gone to war against Surtr the fire jötunn and Jörmungandr the world serpent. He has visited Helheim, traveled to Nidavellir, and fought against dark elves.\n\nLooking back on all this in 2002, the creator of the comic, Stan Lee, had this to say: 'I decided readers were already pretty familiar with the Greek and Roman gods. It might be fun to delve into the old Norse legends.'","72efaa99-dd3d-460f-9de6-1c6686b5594d",[2551],{"id":2552,"data":2553,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},"aaa108b5-d25d-48fc-abf8-6be30d3aa5a9",{"type":27,"reviewType":25,"spacingBehaviour":24,"binaryQuestion":2554,"binaryCorrect":2556,"binaryIncorrect":2558},[2555],"What was the name of the 1960s Marvel comic that drew heavily on Norse mythology?",[2557],"The Mighty Thor",[2559],"The Mighty Loki",{"id":2561,"data":2562,"type":24,"maxContentLevel":34,"version":25,"reviews":2565},"c4d1da51-e330-4f3f-b7d9-6dc3598dc3f8",{"type":24,"markdownContent":2563,"audioMediaId":2564},"In recent years, the film industry has profited from Norse mythology. *The Lord of the Rings* was adapted into a trilogy of films, the third of which won eleven Oscars, which no other film in the history of the awards has bettered. As for The Mighty Thor comics, his character became an integral part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which has made more money than any other film franchise in history.\n\nEarlier than all that, in the 1930s, Disney released *Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs*. These dwarves were miners, like the dwarves in Norse mythology, but that is where the parallels end. Apparently, when Tolkien first watched the film, he was horrified by the inaccurate treatment of the dwarves, with slapstick humor, childish personalities, and work-time whistling.\n\n![Graph](image://fb4a4ef4-eafd-4452-8613-696256690e49 \"Dwarfs in Snow White. Image: Public domain\")\n\nThe names of the dwarves in *The Lord of the Rings* and *Snow White* is a useful demonstration of Tolkien and Disney’s differing approaches to Norse mythology. Tolkien took the names of his dwarves from the *Poetic Edda*, remaining carefully loyal to the source material. The Disney dwarves, on the other hand, were arbitrarily called Doc, Grumpy, Bashful, Sleepy, Happy, Sneezy, and Dopey.","a40b32c5-68ca-4a01-8b42-a02314172b2a",[2566],{"id":2567,"data":2568,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},"80528af6-dc70-496f-aca0-8818666669a3",{"type":27,"reviewType":24,"spacingBehaviour":24,"activeRecallQuestion":2569,"activeRecallAnswers":2571},[2570],"In the 1930s, which Disney movie featured a race from Norse mythology?",[2572],"Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs'",{"id":2574,"data":2575,"type":24,"maxContentLevel":34,"version":25,"reviews":2578},"83288148-14ff-4709-a6b7-8d3e2ca912d5",{"type":24,"markdownContent":2576,"audioMediaId":2577},"Richard Wagner, the German composer, was heavily influenced by Norse mythology. One of his most famous works, *Der Ring des Nibelungen*, adapted several Norse myths into the medium of opera, and included the characters of Odin, Frigg and Freya, plus several Valkyries, and a distorted retelling of the events of Ragnarök. This opera was first performed in 1869, and remains popular among audiences today.\n\nUnfortunately, *Der Ring des Nibelungen* is the source of one of the most enduring misconceptions about the Norse people: that their helmets were adorned with long, curved horns. This detail was invented by Wagner’s costume designer, Carl Emil Doepler, without being based on any historical evidence. Historical drawings show that Norse warriors wore simple iron caps.\n\n![Graph](image://64025c54-e930-432f-9bbf-a732191e5e5c \"Ride of the Valkyries. Image: Public domain\")\n\nDespite this inaccuracy, *Der Ring des Nibelungen* is still a striking example of Norse mythology influencing the modern world. One of the songs in the opera, *The Ride of the Valkyries*, is one of the most iconic pieces of music ever composed. The Norse belief system may no longer be widely worshiped, but there is no denying its enduring impact on the world today.","117a52bd-8235-402e-a2b7-c583343f5687",[2579,2588,2595],{"id":2580,"data":2581,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},"096c45c5-c2d7-4fbb-a64f-346ca391d035",{"type":27,"reviewType":25,"spacingBehaviour":24,"binaryQuestion":2582,"binaryCorrect":2584,"binaryIncorrect":2586},[2583],"Which Wagner opera adapted a number of Norse myths?",[2585],"Der Ring des Nibelungen",[2587],"Die Laune des Verliebten",{"id":2589,"data":2590,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},"ae93c93a-5789-4257-a954-be134406b01e",{"type":27,"reviewType":24,"spacingBehaviour":24,"activeRecallQuestion":2591,"activeRecallAnswers":2593},[2592],"What enduring myth about the Norse people did 'Der Ring des Nibelungen' lead to? ",[2594],"That vikings wore horned helmets",{"id":2596,"data":2597,"type":27,"version":24,"maxContentLevel":34},"855ffb9c-9879-4fe9-ab84-0e0d280a89a4",{"type":27,"reviewType":15,"spacingBehaviour":24,"orderAxisType":24,"orderQuestion":2598,"orderItems":2600},[2599],"Put these Norse-inspired media in the order they were first released: ",[2601,2603,2606,2609],{"label":2585,"reveal":2602,"sortOrder":4},"1869",{"label":2604,"reveal":2605,"sortOrder":24},"Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs","1937",{"label":2607,"reveal":2608,"sortOrder":25},"The Lord of the Rings","1954",{"label":2557,"reveal":2610,"sortOrder":34},"1962",{"left":4,"top":4,"width":2612,"height":2612,"rotate":4,"vFlip":6,"hFlip":6,"body":2613},24,"\u003Cpath fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" stroke-width=\"2\" d=\"m9 18l6-6l-6-6\"/>",{"left":4,"top":4,"width":2612,"height":2612,"rotate":4,"vFlip":6,"hFlip":6,"body":2615},"\u003Cg fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" stroke-width=\"2\">\u003Cpath d=\"M12.586 2.586A2 2 0 0 0 11.172 2H4a2 2 0 0 0-2 2v7.172a2 2 0 0 0 .586 1.414l8.704 8.704a2.426 2.426 0 0 0 3.42 0l6.58-6.58a2.426 2.426 0 0 0 0-3.42z\"/>\u003Ccircle cx=\"7.5\" cy=\"7.5\" r=\".5\" fill=\"currentColor\"/>\u003C/g>",1778228170418]