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Norse mythology belongs to the wider tradition of North Germanic and Proto-Germanic mythology and originated in the religious culture of the Scandinavian peoples.
Norse mythology is the body of myths associated with the North Germanic peoples of Scandinavia. It developed from Proto-Germanic folklore and Old Norse religion, describing gods, supernatural beings, heroes, the structure of the cosmos, creation, death, and the destruction and renewal of the world. Although rooted in pre-Christian beliefs, the mythology continued in Scandinavian folklore after Christianization and remains influential in modern culture and Germanic Neopaganism. Most surviving accounts were recorded in medieval Iceland, especially in the 13th-century Prose Edda by Snorri Sturluson and the anonymously compiled Poetic Edda. Additional evidence comes from skaldic poetry, sagas, runic inscriptions, archaeological objects, place names, and later folk traditions. Because these sources were written after the pagan period and were often shaped by Christian authors, scholars reconstruct earlier traditions by comparing them with other Germanic and Indo-European mythologies.
Norse mythology belongs to the wider tradition of North Germanic and Proto-Germanic mythology and originated in the religious culture of the Scandinavian peoples.
Its scope includes myths about gods such as Odin, Thor, Freyja, and Loki; supernatural beings; heroes; creation; the Nine Worlds; Ragnarök; and the rebirth of the world.
The principal written sources are the Prose Edda, the Poetic Edda, skaldic poetry, and Old Norse sagas, most of which were recorded in medieval Iceland.
Archaeological artifacts, runestones, amulets, place names, comparative mythology, and historical linguistics provide additional evidence for older beliefs.
The surviving material is incomplete and was recorded after Christianization, so scholars must distinguish earlier traditions from later Christian influence and euhemerization.
The body of myths belonging to the North Germanic peoples and their descendants.
The pre-Christian religious tradition practiced by Scandinavian peoples before and during the Viking Age.
The reconstructed body of stories and beliefs shared by early Germanic-speaking peoples.
A 13th-century handbook of Old Norse poetry and mythology written by Snorri Sturluson.
A medieval Icelandic collection of mythological and heroic poems derived from older oral traditions.
The presentation of gods or supernatural beings as historical humans who were later worshiped or as figures reshaped by Christian interpretation.
The study of similarities among mythologies to identify shared origins and reconstruct earlier traditions.
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