As a Dane, I have had many a non Scandinavian try and educate me on Norse mythology too and their knowledge is based on those godawful Marvel movies and comics.
They usually get very confused when they learn that Thor and Loki aren’t brothers. That Loki and Odin are the ones who are blood brothers. It’s like it doesn’t compute in their heads. And for those who don’t know, blood brothers in old scandinavian culture was two men slicing their hands and clasping their wounded hands together to mix blood. That was a way to forge an alliance and an oath of loyalty as strong as if you came out of the same womb. I’m pretty sure it was still practiced in more recent times as well. Probably died out when AIDS became the big scary thing, but I dunno. I just have vague memories of older people telling me about doing the blood oath when they were young.
In any case, it is just super fun to have your culture reduced to a cringe American comic book where Thor looks nothing like Thor and Valhalla looks like ass and literally none of the gods look right according to their descriptions in mythology. Couldn’t even give Sif her golden hair, could they?
Neil Gaiman’s book Norse Mythology, and especially the audiobook, is incredible. I’d venture a guess that it’s a fairer representation than, say, Marvel. I’ve also learned a bit of Norse cultural astronomy, and it’s hella cool. Like what we know today as Auriga was for the Norse “the battleground of the Aesir”, which is 1000x more dope than “oh, yeah, that circle is a, uhhhhhhhhhhh, charioteer”. Much of the other constellations they saw are lost to time and history, but it’s easy to start looking at the sky and imagining what they saw. Many cultures saw Draco, for example, and that may have been the world serpent. One wonders if, where the Greeks and Arabs saw a scorpion, the Norse saw a short-handled hammer, especially given their more northerly latitude which would have hidden the hook of Scorpius’ tail below the southern horizon.
As a Dane, I have had many a non Scandinavian try and educate me on Norse mythology too and their knowledge is based on those godawful Marvel movies and comics.
They usually get very confused when they learn that Thor and Loki aren’t brothers. That Loki and Odin are the ones who are blood brothers. It’s like it doesn’t compute in their heads. And for those who don’t know, blood brothers in old scandinavian culture was two men slicing their hands and clasping their wounded hands together to mix blood. That was a way to forge an alliance and an oath of loyalty as strong as if you came out of the same womb. I’m pretty sure it was still practiced in more recent times as well. Probably died out when AIDS became the big scary thing, but I dunno. I just have vague memories of older people telling me about doing the blood oath when they were young.
In any case, it is just super fun to have your culture reduced to a cringe American comic book where Thor looks nothing like Thor and Valhalla looks like ass and literally none of the gods look right according to their descriptions in mythology. Couldn’t even give Sif her golden hair, could they?
I am a bit surprised that the MCU is that far off. I thought they’d have a little more respect for the source material.
Add the ‘/s’ because it’s 2025 and sarcasm is dying.
Norse Mythology is absolutely sick.
Sick as in awesome?
Yes
It has its moments for sure. I still don’t know what mythology is more crazy, Norse or Greek. Probably Greek.
Neil Gaiman’s book Norse Mythology, and especially the audiobook, is incredible. I’d venture a guess that it’s a fairer representation than, say, Marvel. I’ve also learned a bit of Norse cultural astronomy, and it’s hella cool. Like what we know today as Auriga was for the Norse “the battleground of the Aesir”, which is 1000x more dope than “oh, yeah, that circle is a, uhhhhhhhhhhh, charioteer”. Much of the other constellations they saw are lost to time and history, but it’s easy to start looking at the sky and imagining what they saw. Many cultures saw Draco, for example, and that may have been the world serpent. One wonders if, where the Greeks and Arabs saw a scorpion, the Norse saw a short-handled hammer, especially given their more northerly latitude which would have hidden the hook of Scorpius’ tail below the southern horizon.