A divine being belonging to the pantheon of the Æsir.
The word áss denotes a single divine figure within the collective of the Æsir, the pantheon that dominates Old Norse cosmology. The Æsir were led by Óðinn and included Þórr, Týr, Baldr, and several other gods with distinct functions.
The Æsir stood in continual tension with the giants and maintained a complex relationship with the Vanir, a separate divine collective with whom they eventually made peace after the mythological Æsir-Vanir War.
Attestations
- Völuspá 1
- The opening stanza invokes the memory of the Æsir and elves.