Northern Tales A digital archive of Old Norse mythology https://northerntales.se/en/ 2026-07-29T19:14:02.786Z Northern Tales Ratatoskr https://northerntales.se/en/evening-tales/ratatoskr/ 2026-07-29T19:14:02.786Z About the squirrel who ran up and down through Yggdrasil carrying insults between an eagle and a dragon, and who never delivered a message without making it worse. The Squirrel in the Tree https://northerntales.se/en/evening-tales/the-squirrel-in-the-tree/ 2026-07-29T19:14:02.786Z About Ratatoskr, the little squirrel who ran up and down the world's biggest tree carrying messages between an eagle and a dragon. Mímir's Draught https://northerntales.se/en/evening-tales/mimirs-draught/ 2026-07-29T19:14:02.786Z About the one who sits by the well and knows everything, and who cannot do a damn thing about it. Veðrfölnir https://northerntales.se/en/evening-tales/vedhrfolnir/ 2026-07-29T19:14:02.786Z About the hawk who sat between the eagle's eyes and saw the same thing as everyone else, only from a different angle. Níðhöggr's Teeth https://northerntales.se/en/evening-tales/nidhoeggrs-teeth/ 2026-07-29T19:14:02.786Z About the dragon who chewed on the roots every day, not because he had a purpose, but because he refused to stop. Hel's Half https://northerntales.se/en/evening-tales/hels-half/ 2026-07-29T19:14:02.786Z About the one who rules the dead no one wanted, and who knows it is the most honest realm of all. Ginnungagap https://northerntales.se/en/evening-tales/ginnungagap/ 2026-07-29T19:14:02.786Z About the void before everything, and how the world began with meltwater and a giant who sweated. The Hawk in the Crown https://northerntales.se/en/evening-tales/the-hawk-in-the-crown/ 2026-07-29T19:14:02.786Z About Veðrfölnir, the little hawk who sat on the eagle's nose and saw things that not even the eagle could see. The Dragon Who Chewed https://northerntales.se/en/evening-tales/the-dragon-who-chewed/ 2026-07-29T19:14:02.786Z About Níðhöggr, the dragon who chewed on roots every day and never wanted to admit why. The Bridge to Hel https://northerntales.se/en/evening-tales/the-bridge-to-hel/ 2026-07-29T19:14:02.786Z About Módguðr who guarded the bridge between the living and the dead, and who listened to every story. Three Gods Fall https://northerntales.se/en/evening-tales/three-gods-fall/ 2026-07-29T19:14:02.786Z About three gods who fell from Yggdrasil and asked a squirrel for help finding each other. The squirrel was happy to help. In his own way. Alvíss and the Dawn https://northerntales.se/en/evening-tales/alviss-and-the-dawn/ 2026-07-29T19:14:02.786Z About the dwarf who knew everything, the god who for once used his brain, and the sun that solved the problem. The Dwarf Who Knew Everything https://northerntales.se/en/evening-tales/the-dwarf-who-knew-everything/ 2026-07-29T19:14:02.786Z About a little dwarf who knew every name for everything, and about Thor who asked questions all night long. Skaði's Feet https://northerntales.se/en/evening-tales/skadis-feet/ 2026-07-29T19:14:02.786Z About the giant's daughter who stormed into Asgard to avenge her father, and who had to choose a husband by looking at feet, and who chose wrong, and who married him anyway, and who in the end went home alone to her mountains. Whose Feet? https://northerntales.se/en/evening-tales/whose-feet/ 2026-07-29T19:14:02.786Z About Skaði who got to choose one of the gods as her husband, even though she could only see their feet. The Hostage https://northerntales.se/en/evening-tales/the-hostage/ 2026-07-29T19:14:02.786Z About the war that ended with peace, the peace that ended with a severed head, and the god who looked like a leader despite never being one. The Head That Talked https://northerntales.se/en/evening-tales/the-head-that-talked/ 2026-07-29T19:14:02.786Z About the tall god who looked clever and his clever friend who became an advisor to Odin. Gefjon Plows Zealand https://northerntales.se/en/evening-tales/gefjon-plows-zealand/ 2026-07-29T19:14:02.786Z About the goddess who conned a king out of a piece of Sweden and dragged it west into the sea. The Old Woman and the Oxen https://northerntales.se/en/evening-tales/the-old-woman-and-the-oxen/ 2026-07-29T19:14:02.786Z About an old woman who received a gift from a king and turned it into an entire island. The Cauldron https://northerntales.se/en/evening-tales/the-cauldron/ 2026-07-29T19:14:02.786Z About Thor and Tyr who went to a giant's hall to fetch a cauldron, and about everything that went to hell along the way. The Big Cauldron https://northerntales.se/en/evening-tales/the-big-cauldron/ 2026-07-29T19:14:02.786Z About Thor and Tyr who travelled far away to fetch an enormous cauldron for a friend, and about the grumpy giant who did not want to give it up. Thjálfi's Steps https://northerntales.se/en/evening-tales/thjalfis-steps/ 2026-07-29T19:14:02.786Z About the boy who cracked a bone at dinner and paid with the rest of his life, and about what you see when you walk behind a god. The Boy Who Went with Thor https://northerntales.se/en/evening-tales/the-boy-who-went-with-thor/ 2026-07-29T19:14:02.786Z About Thjálfi, who did the dumbest thing you can do at a god's dinner table, and then got the best punishment in the world. Auðhumla https://northerntales.se/en/evening-tales/audhumla/ 2026-07-29T19:14:02.786Z About the cow who was there when it all began and who is never mentioned again, and about what happens to the one who is no longer needed. The Cow Who Started Everything https://northerntales.se/en/evening-tales/the-cow-who-started-everything/ 2026-07-29T19:14:02.786Z About Auðhumla, the very first cow in the whole world, who licked a god out of the ice and then wandered off. The Dating of the Eddic Poems https://northerntales.se/en/research/dateringen-av-de-eddiska-dikterna/ 2026-07-29T19:14:02.786Z The gap between oral composition and manuscript recording makes the dating of the Eddic poems one of the hardest problems in Old Norse philology. Snorri's Edda as a Source https://northerntales.se/en/research/snorres-edda-som-kalla/ 2026-07-29T19:14:02.786Z Snorri Sturluson is our richest source for Old Norse mythology, but his Christian learning, his aesthetic purposes, and his euhemeristic frame raise fundamental questions about the reliability of his testimony. Dumézil's Trifunctional Hypothesis https://northerntales.se/en/research/dumezils-trefunktionshypotes/ 2026-07-29T19:14:02.786Z Georges Dumézil argued that Indo-European societies and their myths reflect three fundamental functions: sovereignty, war, and fertility. The hypothesis has had enormous influence and met with equally forceful criticism. Christian Influence on Völuspá https://northerntales.se/en/research/kristet-inflytande-pa-voluspa/ 2026-07-29T19:14:02.786Z Völuspá depicts the destruction and rebirth of the world in images that strikingly resemble the Book of Revelation, sparking a long debate about whether the poem's eschatology is indigenous or Christian. Oral Tradition and Literate Culture https://northerntales.se/en/research/muntlig-tradition-och-skriftkultur/ 2026-07-29T19:14:02.786Z The Eddic poems were transmitted orally for hundreds of years before being written down, and understanding oral compositional and transmission technique is essential for interpreting the surviving texts correctly. The Archaeological Evidence https://northerntales.se/en/research/det-arkeologiska-vittnesbördet/ 2026-07-29T19:14:02.786Z Archaeology offers evidence about Old Norse religion that is independent of the medieval written sources, but interpreting finds and monuments requires engagement with textual and iconographic analysis. Gender and Power in the Mythology https://northerntales.se/en/research/genus-och-makt-i-mytologin/ 2026-07-29T19:14:02.786Z Old Norse mythology contains strong and autonomous female figures alongside a pronounced male dominance, and modern scholarship has examined how gender, power, and ritual competence interact in the mythology. Comparative History of Religion https://northerntales.se/en/research/komparativ-religionshistoria/ 2026-07-29T19:14:02.786Z Old Norse religion is increasingly studied in broader Indo-European, circumpolar, and Eurasian contexts, deepening understanding of individual motifs and raising questions about what is shared heritage and what is independent parallel.