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08.02.2020

Norse theology

The Vikings, it seems, did not express their beliefs about the divine in the abstract, philosophical language of theology or philosophy. Instead, they employed concrete imagery and narrative forms within their myths to convey their understanding of divinity. While these myths are unique and powerful, they leave us pondering how the Vikings perceived divinity itself, rather than just the actions and stories of specific gods.

Fortunately, we can glean insights into their theological perspective from these myths, even though they didn't explicitly articulate a theological framework. Formulating a Norse theology involves extracting the theological implications embedded in the depictions of the gods within the myths.

To grasp this concept of divinity, it's essential to first define what we mean by the divine. Describing the divine is an inherently challenging task, as it transcends our everyday, mundane experiences. One of the most profound descriptions of the divine comes from the German philosopher of religion, Rudolf Otto, in his 1917 book "The Idea of the Holy." Otto characterized the divine, which he termed the numinous, as something radically different from ordinary life, emerging from a separate plane of existence. When confronted with the numinous, individuals experience an overwhelming sense of their own insignificance in the face of something infinitely greater. It carries both a majestic, awe-inspiring aspect (the mysterium tremendum) and a blissful, comforting quality (the mysterium fascinosum or fascinans).

The Norse gods, alongside their other attributes, were embodiments of this universal and inscrutable force, shaped by the specifics of the Viking world. This made them highly suitable representations of the divine in that time and place.

Certain deities embodied particular facets of the numinous more than others. For instance, Odin, the powerful and cunning chieftain who ruled through arcane wisdom and magical prowess, naturally invoked the sublime and formidable side of the divine. In contrast, gods like Tyr or Freya were more straightforwardly benevolent, community-oriented, and comforting, making them effective symbols of the gentler aspects of the numinous.

In Norse mythology, the most commonly used term for "god" was "áss" or "æsir" in the plural, and the corresponding term for "goddess" was "ásynja" or "ásynjur" in the plural. These words are derived from Proto-Germanic roots, indicating "pole, beam, rafter" or "life, vitality." This strongly suggests that the Vikings perceived their gods as the "poles" or "vital forces" upholding and sustaining the cosmos and its order.

This notion aligns closely with the depiction of the gods in their myths. The gods were integral to the cosmos, not external manipulators of it. They emerged alongside the cosmos during its creation and would fall with it during Ragnarok, the Norse belief in the end of the world. However, the gods weren't just ordinary members of the cosmos; they were analogous to rulers within the Norse social hierarchy. They established and maintained the order of the cosmic system to which all other beings in the cosmos were subject.

The gods ruled over other beings, and, like medieval rulers protecting their subjects from external threats, the gods were responsible for safeguarding the cosmos from the chaotic forces of the giants who sought to destroy it. Language, myth, and social practices all converged to reinforce this central aspect of implicit Norse theology.

Norse theology

Norse theology

There Was No Norse “Supreme Being”

While the power of the Norse gods was extreme, it wasn’t total. There was no “supreme being” in the Norse religion. Instead, even the gods were subject to limitations. These limitations basically fell into two categories.

First, since the Vikings worshiped many gods, each of which had a personality and role distinct from the others, no one deity possessed all of the powers that were attributed to the gods as a whole. Some gods were better warriors than others; some were wiser than others; some were more skilled than others at blessing lands, crops, livestock, and people with prosperity and fertility; and so forth.

Perhaps the most telling example of this is Odin, who was famed for his almost unmatched knowledge and wisdom. Yet even he had to go on numerous trying quests to learn that lore; it wasn’t simply innate within him. (See, for example, the tales of Odin’s Discovery of the Runes, Why Odin Is One-Eyed, and The Mead of Poetry.)

The second way in which the gods’ power was limited was that even they couldn’t escape being subject to fate. They, too, were doomed to have various misfortunes befall them, to suffer, and ultimately, at Ragnarok – Old Norse Ragnarök, “Final Fate of the Gods” – to die.

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