Norse Myth: 6 Biggest Misconceptions

[@wheatgrowssweet]

Ran across one of your translations on Audible and said "Hey, I know that voice!"

[@fab006]

Audible is how I found his KZbin channel! I had heard him recommended before but never gave it a try.

[@mariafury1047]

Thank you for starting with the Thor and Loki misconception!

[@Lazycandle]

Heking marvel

[@beajoh]

If anything, it's Loki and Odin who are brothers, ritualistic blood brothers based upon an oath they swore together.

[@JebemTiZivot]

Furthermore on the Jotnar not being Giants, the word jotunn as it was originally translated into English was derived from the Proto-Germanic “etunaz” which means Devourer, which then turned into the Old English word “eóten” which has the same meaning. Then when the French took over England in 1066CE and French words replaced many English words, the word for the jotunn, “eóten” was replaced with the Old French word “geant” which is why theyre called “giants” today. Etymologically, Devourers would be the most accurate term.

[@Sanguivore]

Great info!

[@Haldrada1066]

"eóten" does sound an awfully lot like the word "eat," just throwing that out there.....

[@JebemTiZivot]

@@Haldrada1066 Well the roots are quite similar, eat came out of the word etan which very well could have branched off of etunaz as well.

[@Miggy19779]

We still have a derivative of eoten in English, though you only see it in Dungeons and Dragons or other similar mythology: Ettin, the two headed giants (just giants in older literature) directly frome eoten, and cognate with jotun, both derived from etunaz as you said.

[@Sanguivore]

@@Miggy19779 Y’know, I don’t know why I never made that connection before, LOL.

[@finnmacky7106]

Well stated. I think Odin is much more complicated than most people think.

[@EzraYalanBenjamin]

@@everythingisalie3517 No, because Odinn is a Deity of Death originally, later expanded to cover wisdom of the hard won and bitter kind, strategy, magic, frenzy and so forth. Buddha is more of a transcendentalist, reunicative ascetic pacifistic, even at times rational and sceptical figure. They really arent very similar at all.

[@EzraYalanBenjamin]

@@everythingisalie3517 they are only really comparable in a very loose way. In the same way that Herakles and Jesus are loosely comparable as they share Solar symbolism and become gods after death. Yet, Herakles is obviously a heroic fighter and conquerer- whereas Jesus clearly is not. Its the same kind of thing with Odinn and Buddha. Their teachings, mysteries and cults would be very different- as would the ethics and practices of their followers. As are the spheres they each rule over from a metaphysical perspective. Also, the prescence of Buddha statues does not confirm either Buddhists in Scandinavia or syncretism with Odinn. They were most likely trade goods.

[@EzraYalanBenjamin]

@@everythingisalie3517 the connections are, again, loose ones. The fundamental meaning of their cults/ mysteries are very different. On a metaphysical level they are very different spirits. That would become especially apparent to those of us who engage in actual Pagan spirituality instead of just mediation. Meditation may give a deep insight into the specific set of ideas, symbolism and practicies which go with Buddhism etc. However, as far as Pagan spirituality goes it must be looked at from the standpoint (so far as it is possible) of a Norseman, not a Budhhist. Pagan ritual , even resonstructed, is quite different and has a different objective to meditation. The same with what fragments we have of Galdr, Seidr and other forms of spirit journeying and "magic". I'm not saying there is no worth at all to what you have noticed. However, the teachings of Odinn would not be to stand above and renounce Greki and Freki/ Greed and Ravenouness. The teachings of Odinn would be to use them for ones own ends- his name itself means "frenzy". Frenzy is an alien state to the Budhha. Thus, they are comparable only in a very loose sense. Oh, and on a final note- 1) dont underestimate the effectiveness and perspective that can come from analysing reading material 2) dont make assumptions about what a person may or may not practice in addition to analysis of myth and history.

[@EzraYalanBenjamin]

@@everythingisalie3517 and again, its a very loose comparison which has little to do with what Odinn actually is/ represents, and also has little to do with Norse spirituality.

[@EzraYalanBenjamin]

@@everythingisalie3517 We are all entitled to our beliefs- but I don't agree. On several points. Buddha was not a shaman, he was a reununciative ascetic. Shamanism is a method of practice which is heavily in line with Nature and natural magic. Buddhist philosophy, however, sees Nature as illusion and seeks to escape it completely. I really don't think that Norse mythology is an allegory for the meditation process. It may be one small part of the overall meaning of the myth cycle- but I would not reduce it to one simplistic explanation. There are links between Norse traditions and India- but those links are with early forms of what we call Hinduism. Both traditions are Indo-European in origin. Buddhism is an ofshoot of Hinduism which overturns many of its core ideas- many of which are Indo-European in nature. If Buddhism overturns many Hindu ideas, it likely will have overturned many Norse ones too. Potential Christian influence on Norse mythology does not invalidate it. In fact, from what we know from other Indo-European sources that the church has not tampered with- it seems mostly unaltered. Dr Crawford has himself said that linguistic analysis indicates minimal tampering. I'm well aware that Odinn is portrayed as a shaman- but remember also that he is a god. A god which is very different to the Buddha. A god would not need to meditate in order to be certain of his conclusions. Saying "thats why its called comparative" does not change the fact that these links are extremely cursory and loose. Put simply, I dont buy it. Sorry.

[@kingbeauregard]

Some of the stories of Odin make me think of a crazy meth-dealing biker: a dangerous unpredictable badass who can control himself when he wants to, but will drag you with a chain if you get in his way.

[@NotSpockToo]

Your description made me think of Ian McShane as Mr. Wednesday/Odin in American Gods.

[@alanbarnett718]

I think that's about right. Only more so.

[@uialion1740]

Regarding the whole concept of "Loki being the god of fire" I suspect that is a misunderstanding of Logi from the eating contest at Utgardaloki's hall. Most people wouldn't know the difference if they hadn't read or heard the tale.

[@hennobrandsma4755]

What might have added to that misconception, was that in WestGermanic there is a root log- for fire (present in West Frisian “lôge” flame, and also more hidden in Dutch “in lichterlaaie” (aflame, burning A). In Wagner’s time this would have been known in philological circles.

[@Thulzor]

When Thor is wielding his hammer and defending us there is thunder but the thunder isn't his purpose and maybe it would be more accurate to say that he is a thunder god than The God of Thunder since he is the reason there is thunder but it isn't his purpose.

[@joemamajoastar8708]

I don't know as much as I'd like but Thor is more of a god of strength and bravery from my point of view

[@ΜέλαναςΙσκιος]

well, its kind of a distinction without a difference, most gods doings in most religions are like what you said, they are the reason without it being explicitly their job/purpose/active doing

[@septegram]

Seeing the groundhog (prairie dog?) leap away at 52 seconds just as the twang happens cracked me up.

[@lawnerddownunder3461]

Omg that's hilarious!

[@henrimourant9855]

The wisent (european bison) actually still exist in Europe (after having been reintroduced in the wild). They are a different species from american bison.

[@henrimourant9855]

@Samael The wisent went extinct in eastern europe in 1919 after soldiers killed the last ones in the Bialowieza forest either during the Russian civil war or the Polish-Soviet war. They were successfully reintroduced to the forest in 1932 I think by the polish government at the time which had bought them from zoos around the world.

[@henrimourant9855]

@Samael There's some other places where they have been reintroduced recently but the biggest herds (and where they have been the longest) are in the Bialowieza forest in Poland and Belarus.

[@henrimourant9855]

@Samael Actually sorry I think the last ones were shot by poachers in 1921 not soldiers in 1919 but there were very few left because German soldiers during WW1 had killed most of them. I got a bit confused about the timeline.

[@AB8511]

@@ThW5 also Czech republic

[@marvalice3455]

Also even more heavily hybridized than American bison

[@thegiantmimir4664]

"Mixed tape" is an updated reference, to be sure. "Playlist" might be a more modern one? I can remember making mixed tapes, but I think that says a lot about my age.

[@000Mazno000]

"Mixtape," to modern rappers, is a compilation of songs that don't necessarily flow together like a comprehensive album would. Startup rappers would probably be showing off their mixtape to try and get signed to a record deal.

[@alivecoy]

lmao i was thinking the same thing im 21 and cant remember what a mixtape is

[@ophieb2320]

Either way, its fire

[@yugen]

the cool kids still make mix tapes, but they're hard to find in the wild

[@sameash3153]

@@000Mazno000 that's called a demo tape to 99% of the rest of the music world.

[@Hvitserk67]

In Norway we have an actual mountain area of approx. 3500 Km2 (approx 900000 acres) which is called Jotunheim/en (or the home of the "Jotnes" - jotnene). The area is very mountainous with the highest peaks up to approx. 2500 meters (approximately 8200 feet). The mountains and peaks are in a modern figurative sense, of course, the Jotnes (jotner - plural of jotun) or the giants mentioned in Norse mythology. According to mythology, this is the place where Utgard (Útgarðar) is located and where the Jotnes live.

[@alanbarnett718]

Yep, Norway has trolls. I've seen the movie!

[@upamanyu5431]

Bit late to the party but have you played the 2018 God of War? Is the Jotunheim shown at the last any similar to that mountainous region in Norway?

[@iamshakma4231]

That's awesome!

[@feakhelek1]

@@alanbarnett718 That movie was terrible, and I watched the whole thing.

[@alanbarnett718]

@@feakhelek1 Aw, c'mon, the guy loved trolls and it was his job to exterminate them. Total tear jerker! 🥲

[@markadams7597]

The baby buffalo are so cute! Interesting about the gods' personalities. It's similar to the believers' conception of angels (angels seemed to be identified by their activity rather than their appearance or presence). Also, your chronological presentation for Snorri and the Poetry Edda is very helpful. It would certainly be interesting to understand the etiology for codifying the Norse oral traditions. Great vid, as usual. Ty.

[@williameichmann3037]

The Dr's videos never, ever disappoint. Thank you for making these videos. There's people who pay a fortune for university degrees to listen to content like this; yet here it is, available to anyone with an internet connection. The world is a better place with you in it, Dr. Crawford.

[@asorlokirunarsson9864]

Hey, Icelander here. I love this video and it's much appreciated, but I'd like to add to your thoughts on the name Mjölnir, Þór's hammer, and I would think it is more connected with the Icelandic word "mylja" which means "grind" or even more likely it relates to the word "mölva" which means "break" or "crush." Still love the video and would like more of this

[@nichole1715]

My knowledge on this subject is extremely limited, but I just wanted to mention that молния (molniya) is the Russian word for lightning. So maybe molniya, and the word Mjölnir go back to the same root word? I just know there were some Norse people who lived in Russia a really long time ago and perhaps the word 'molniya' comes from them? I have no knowledge of Icelandic though, so of course these are only my assumptions. =)

[@asorlokirunarsson9864]

@@nichole1715 yes absoloutely. That sounds about right. Mylja and monliya could have been the same word originally, but then evolved into different directions especially since there really aren’t that many lightnings in Iceland and therefore Thor’s would not necessarily be connected to lightning but rather crushing

[@FiikusMaximus]

Could you say there is a lot of Norse "mythconceptions"?

[@ShinbrigTV]

YYYYYYYEEEEEEEAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!

[@joshuakotwas6635]

myth-ception :)

[@kearansheppard12]

Yeth

[@JagerLange]

Re: the translations lacking spiritual/ritual detail - I'm currently reading about post-Roman Britain and the same complaint has been made about people like Bede who seemingly purposefully omitted details of "pagan" ritual and lifestyle from texts written by and intended for a Christian audience. That sounds maddeningly un-historian-y to do, but then the texts in question (Norse or English) weren't supposed to be all-encompassing (more's the pity).

[@terminator572]

There's also the fact that when these texts were compiled, the Church held a very considerable grasp on society as a whole, even more so in academia. Who in their right mind would go against their literal boss just to preserve some historicity?

[@JagerLange]

@@terminator572 Yes, an unfortunate truth - which is funny since it led to mass untruths.

[@donkeysaurusrex7881]

Wisent are still around (though they have been gone from places that spoke Old Norse for a very long time), and their wild populations in Europe are growing now. Always wondered if there was an Old Norse word for them. Wonder if they had a word for the aurochs.

[@therat1117]

Yes, actually. The word is úrr. It's cognate to aurochs, the German word. English's native word is near identical to the Old Norse word: 'oure', although it became obsolete a while ago.

[@faramund9865]

Ye I’m tired of people saying ‘god of’. It’s, in my humble opinion, more accurate to say that x god is associated with x thing. Woden being associated with death, war, nobility, poetry, wisdom, spears, bearshirts, magic, runes. He’s not ‘the god OF those things. It’s just things he’s associated with, parts of his personality and story.

[@skyworm8006]

They sometimes even claim the true or original forms of gods are impersonal elemental spirit type things. I'm not sure if these elemental spirit things exist at all except in their imagined fantasy of pagan religions, but they certainly don't work in any European mythologies.

[@cyansloth1763]

Yes same with ancient Egyptian deities; they were definitely taken literally but they were also allegorical and associated with various elements but they’re not “god of “

[@jabur81]

When I first glanced at your comment I thought “bearshirts” was “bullsh*t.” And it still works.

[@faramund9865]

@@jabur81 No it doesn't.

[@ttaibe]

I thought that the idea of Thor and Loki being brothers predated Marvel. As a child I read some (older) Dutch children books where Loki and Thor were brothers too. But I dont know when Marvel's Thor came out first.

[@wenzelplot]

In Post-Modern mythological retellings of the Sagas in Danish, they are often depicted as brothers in the more family/kid friendly books. This is definitely a trend that was earlier than Marvel I reckon, but when you look at the more skeptical or mature retellings they're usually not seen as brothers. It's a fun misconception nonetheless.

[@ttaibe]

@@wenzelplotInteresting to know! I learned only recently (2-3 years ago) that Thor and Loki werent brothers...

[@godikke]

@@wenzelplot Could you give an example? Cause I have never seen this misconception in any Danish books on the topic. And I have been teaching and working as a school librarian for several years.

[@marvalice3455]

@@godikke I've seen it in a bunch of kids books in America that predate the comics. No idea why they claimed this

[@hotspurre]

There's a conception out there that Odin and Loki are blood brothers, that they have sword brotherhood to each other. This probably comes from Lokasenna, when Loki demands a place at Aegir's table (after he murdered some of Aegir's servants,) on the basis that Odin swore to never take drink unless Loki is also offered drink as well. So Loki may be more of an uncle to Thor, so to speak, but if you, as a storyteller, want to make them more equal it's not a stretch to make them brothers (say, Odin adopts Loki,) instead.

[@MysticHeather]

That moment when the camera started to fall and you just continued explaining as if nothing else was happening while catching it and righting it, well done sir

[@LordOz3]

I wonder how much of the whole "God of X" questioning comes from games such as Dungeons & Dragons? The D&D book "Dieties & Demigods" categorized gods by their portfolios, and later versions of the game continue to have gods labelled as gods over certain interests or domains. This could cause people to assume that's a natural way to categorize divine beings if it's the only way they've been exposed to them.

[@adrianwebster6923]

It is more likely stemming from people trying to compare them to the Greek olympian gods some of whom did have domains, though even these sometimes overlapped and certainly all had personalities. The Greeks also had a tendency to try and relate other culture's gods to their own. A habit that Christianity picked up in various ways, including creating whole backstories fitting a culture's heroes into the judeo-christian narrative. Some older anthologies like Edith Hamilton's Mythology make references to Thor as a god of thunder and Tyr as the god of war etc.

[@uialion1740]

Further to Adrian's point there are a number of polytheist faiths that had gods or goddesses devoted to domain of something for example, or even the view of modern Shinto with spirits for something. I think a number of the broader public are not able to see past those perspectives. It is also possible from a theological point of view that Christianity says there is one God of everything, so multiple deities implies different responsibilities maybe?

[@therat1117]

@@uialion1740 Eh, it's mostly the way people are taught about Greco-Roman deities combined with fantasy literature, as mentioned above. Pagan theology simply works too differently from Abrahamic theology to function analogously. And Shinto is... well it's complicated and I'm not educated enough to talk about it definitively.

[@evrorion58]

This guys pronunciation of the old R is on point. Source: am norwegian.

[@user-sx1mm1sl6u]

1.4 K Likes and still no dislikes, this is something only Dr Crawford can do

[@CharlesOffdensen]

Beautiful scenery!

[@NotAppIicabIe]

So I saw someone mention this channel somewhere. And this being my first video I ever watched from this channel, I'm stunned. Buffalo are one of my favorite animals!!!

[@mythosandlogos]

Incredibly useful to have all of these in one place. Thank you. PS, What a beautiful backdrop.

[@MaxWelton]

Item number 5 makes me appreciate Marvel a bit more. Its media insists that Marvel Loki is the “god of mischief,” which I view as an attempt to decouple Norse gods from elemental associations. But Thor *is* marketed as God of Thunder, so what can you do…

[@RoyalKnightVIII]

Those bisons ar so beautiful! :) Yes the wisent is mentioned! They're finally back in many European countries. Like the American Bison the poor European bison, aka the Wisent, had a similar fate but luckily is being brought back :)

[@lilithlives]

Buffalo and incredible landscapes of Wyoming, Norse myths clarified. Best one-stop shopping experience I've had in a long time. More, please?

[@SirChubbyBunny]

On the topic of Thor and Loki being brothers, where did the misconception that Loki and Odin have a father/son one start? Was it always with Marvel or did it start somewhere else? I remember that was a plotline in Son of the Mask and it was bizarre.

[@misterchubbikins]

If I were to make an educated guess I would think that Odin title of The All Father might play a role in that. Somewhere the use of all father may have been misinterpruted to cause odin to be viewed as the father of loki.

[@antona.8659]

I assume Stan Lee have read those basic stories from Eddas translated to English where Thor and Loki appear to be some kind of buddy cop duo and thought his reinterpretation of them would work better if he made them siblings.

[@thomassimmons4381]

Dr. Crawford, I listen to and read everything you put out, and love your work and 'accessibility.' I just received your new "Two Sagas" book and cant wait to get into it. But I have to say, there is ONE BIG misconception that unfortunately, you continue to perpetuate, and I really wish you would examine this. You frequently refer to Yule (Jol) as being near the winter solstice. This is simply false. It was always the full moon of mid-late January, and Dr. Andreas Nordberg at U. Uppsala has made this very clear.. Haakon moved Jol from Jan to Dec to coincide with christmas. *Even* the Danish Tourist site plainly states that Jol was historically in late January!

[@kalgrave497]

Dr Crawford thank you for your videos sir, you are a fountain of knowledge that i enjoy drinking from any chance i get. i am a huge fan of Norse culture and mythology and you help keep a real and historic view of things and it is greatly appreciated as a lover of a history it is hard to find someone honist such as your self

[@misterchubbikins]

6 norse myths: I'm just here for the buffalo.

[@barbaramelone1043]

I've read a story about Loki bringing fire to men, by stealing it from a giant. I'd think that would be where the idea that he is the god of fire comes from, but that story doesn't seem to be part of canon?

[@Sanguivore]

Sounds like that may be an adaptation of the story of Prometheus Pyrkaeus to me. EDIT: Come to think of it, this makes me curious if there is any linguistic connection between the words “Jötunn” and “Titan.”

[@morlath4767]

Can I just thank you for avoiding the pun of MYTHconceptions? Thank you! Also, a great topic for the video and I enjoyed how you explained them. The giants and gods being different was something I still keep thinking even if I know the Marvel description isn't anywhere near true. As well as the concept of the gods being "gods of" being something I just cna't seen to shake off no matter how much I've reread and written this down in my notes. Also, I love the fact you're open about how we just don't know the answers. I have seen a lot of "experts" on the internet (even those who have written books) say that things are definivetly one way or another.

[@dklaus4889]

Also in Kashubian (Pomeranian) language we have word "môlniô" which means thunder. And what is worth mentioning, Pomerania lays only Baltic see across from Scandinavia.

[@andybeans5790]

3:58 Good catch, I thought I was falling over for a second there

[@paulaunger3061]

Lovely buffalo with their cute little calves! :D Although you had four tab links to other videos at the end which made it difficult to see them all ;p Love this kind of vid and I'm looking forward to your Great Courses debut :)

[@hitrapperandartistdababy]

I’m very happy I found this channel

[@andrewk612]

1.4k+ likes, 0 dislikes. The marvel folk haven’t found this yet

[@LemonadeMouthSomebod]

Hey Doc, thanks for catching me there, almost tipped over from all the breath taking views

[@00Saphronics]

i lov ur videos, where else can i learn abt norse while also seeing cool mountains and little buffalos in the background?? 👍🏻

[@thehippie3610]

There is one that is really popular recently that I would love to have you talk about. Is Loki genderfluid?

[@Brinkalski]

I don't know if it's totally fair/appropriate to put our conceptions of gender onto people or characters of the past, as they probably had their own views on gender. However, there is a story where Loki becomes a female horse to lure away a male horse, which in turn helps the Aesir. This might lead to implications where Loki's manliness is called into question, making him "ragr" because he becomes feminine. More wise people than me could probably answer this question better, but I hope this helps a little. Tl;dr, Loki might not be "genderfluid", but medieval Scandinavian conceptions of gender might not be totally similar to ours to begin with

[@misterchubbikins]

@@Brinkalski define "ours" cuz I can't imagine the ancient scandanavians didn't recognize that there were biological difference between man and woman.

[@Brinkalski]

@@misterchubbikins Certainly, but our current concept of gender and the identity associated with it should not be retroactively applied to people of the past.

[@misterchubbikins]

@@Brinkalski our current concept of gender is only capable of existing in a privileged society of people whose biggest crises are existential. Accounting for the fact that old germanic a norse tribes were pragmatic people because each day consisted of surviving to the next day, their concept of gender and gender identity can be summed up by those who have dangly parts and those who do not.

[@Blokewood3]

A point about the size of the Jotuns: while I agree that "giant" might be a little misleading as a term, there are several examples of Jotuns being depicted as larger than the gods. 1. Thor, Loki, Thjalfi, and Roskva were all able to sleep in the mitten of Skrymir (Utgard-Loki in disguise). 2. After Thor's duel with Hrungnir, Hrungir's leg falls across Thor's neck, and none of the gods can left it off of Thor until Magni arrives. 3. When Thor stays with Hymir, everything seems to be big. Hymir's cattle are described as huge, he has a cauldron a mile deep, and he keeps insulting Thor as a puny little weakling.

[@kjartanruminy6297]

since when has loki been associated with fire, ive never heard of that

[@thorkellhyden9694]

The band Man O War I think

[@onenof10]

I think early scholars tried to tie his name to Logi and there’s the interaction with the Utgarda-Loki where he nearly out eats a fire in Saxo Grammaticus. That’s... about it as far as I am aware.

[@therat1117]

@Kylian Da Silva Might just be his opinion that it's a spurious connection. Which I would agree with, as it's linguistically dubious. Logi in Old Norse is from *laugiz, which would never produce a word with an unvoiced 'k' in any descendant Germanic language. It's more likely from *luka (English descendant: lock) which would imply 'binder' or 'trapper' which corresponds more to the actual myths Loki shows up in.

[@kjartanruminy6297]

@@therat1117 I come from Iceland and speak icelandic and sure Logi means fire or a flame and Loki and logi sound similar but I always associated his name with the word lok in icelandic which in this case means a lid (because this word has several meanings but I thought of it in this way)

[@therat1117]

@@kjartanruminy6297 Could be related, yeah. Thanks :)

[@odinncool]

Thank you, this is very enlightening

[@thor7912]

My name is Thor and I approve this message.

[@callisastapp7160]

Baby bison...this is the content we're here for

[@BlackHermit]

I find the last one particularly interesting. Odin is such a mystery.

[@mohammedyousef4005]

Fun fact odin does seem to actually be one of Santa's inspiration

[@Celticelery]

Alternative title: Marvel at these 6 misconceptions of Norse Mythology! Experts Don't want you to know number 4!

[@mohammedyousef4005]

Not really their depection of odin is suppressingly accurate

[@zephyrbiscuit4547]

Hi Dr. Jackson Crawford, I have a few questions about these myths though: 1. When Thor is tricked by Utgard-Loki he is told to wrestle a grandmother giant (and only lifts her toe) to later realize it's Time. Doesn't this imply that giants are still much larger than the gods? 2. I've seen the theory that Loki and Logi were cognate with Logi being a God of fire.

[@therat1117]

'Logi' and 'Loki' aren't cognate. 'Logi' just means 'fire' and is not particularly related to any god, and g and k aren't interchangeable in Germanic languages. Loki's name more probably means 'binder' or 'trapper'. Which is cooler.

[@zephyrbiscuit4547]

@@therat1117 OK thanks

[@Blokewood3]

In your first example, Thor, Loki, Thjalfi and Roskva also all manage to spend a night in what they think is a building, but turns out to be a giant's mitten!

[@stardeath_rainrunner810]

Another big misconception is that laufey is a joutnar, both marvel and god of war put that in their stories and lots of other media say it to

[@freyatilly]

Nice getting that sorted out

[@Demothones]

I’m confused. Is all this stuff still canon? I thought that the Disney retcons took precedence over the Eddas.

[@Doubledig]

Thanks for the very informative videos Jackson. Do you have a video talking about Mimir?

[@kumikaneit]

The word for lightning he mentions is not limited to Russian but to the general slavic language family. It is the same in the balkan slavic languages.

[@LilscottyRS]

I would love a video from you if you went through some of the gods and goddesses and described each of the personalities! Tia!

[@trishdeneen]

Thank you for addressing the complexity and god/goddess of issues.

[@colonyofcellsiamamachine6175]

marvel mythology seems to have ice demons with ice powers like iceman and the dark skinned elves. In norse mythology, many seem to think the dwarves and the dark elves are the same.

[@УрошКалиниченко]

It's actually pretty crazy how often we USE older forms of English in phraseology today. Entire Bible translations, and certain verses we often use, like John 3:16 "For God hath so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him shall not perish, but have everlasting life" bruh, if people spoke like that in their day to day lives, that would be crazy. I wonder if a thousand years down the line, they pick up a KJV Bible from the US, and it became a common misconception that we spoke like that now

[@Quazi-moto]

Thanks for clearing these up. Glad to see your channel growing as it deserves to.

[@MarcelGomesPan]

I have ”always” assumed Mjolnir’s etymology to be from ”mjol” ( modern Swedish ”mjöl” ). In other words flour. Mjolnir thus meaning ”miller” the one that turns something into ”flour”. Understood a bit like ”pulverizer”. In modern Swedish the hammer is called Mjölner. But that might be too simple?

[@MercurialAscent]

Dr. Crawford, thank you so much for not approaching the buffalo on foot. As much as some may like to see you without, we like you in your jeans still lol

[@Mmu12059]

It's encouraging to know that Norse myth as we currently possess does actually have firm roots in pre-Christian times. Would you happen to know of any good sources summarizing the evidence for this?

[@uyamuya1343]

Does "vísundr" happen to be etymologically related to "bison?" It seems like it could be, but I also don't know if "v" in old norse would become/be "b" in english. Seems like it would be "w" instead.

[@hunterwoolum2115]

They are related, though you are right to guess that vísundr would become a w-word ("wisent") in English. Bison comes to English from Latin (through French), which in turn was a Latin/Greek rendering of the Proto-Germanic *wisundaz that vísundr descends from.

[@jonrolfson1686]

"Vísundr" is indeed cognate with Bison and with the form ‘Wisent,’ (/ˈviːzənt/ or /ˈwiːzənt/), another common form of the name of The European bison (Bison bonasus), also known as the European wood bison. Closely related sounds represented orthographically in Latin-derived writing systems as B, bh, p, ph, tend to shift, in various ways, to their Grim’s Law described derivative forms, represented in Latin-derived writing as f, v, and sometimes as w.

[@faramund9865]

I got a nice misconception: Woden and the Aesir came from Turkey and the Vanir lived in the delta of the river Don. *Looks sharply at Snorri*

[@ErickTosar]

If you recall marvel's movie "Thor" the first one, you'll notice MCU do not points out Loki and Thor as brothers.

[@sweeneytodd3076]

there is a guy named ahmed ibn fadlan he is a arabic traveler he made a story back then when he met the vikings and he saw the tree i think what i have understand of the book that the tree is located at moscow his book called the last message

[@RyderLComics]

Very interesting about the jotnar not actually being giants. God of War sort of helped clear that up even without the direct translation of "devourer" about how it's just a seperate race instead of a species of Giants or something

[@EivindurToftegaard]

From what I've been able to gather, Lokki/Loki, has connotations to knots and webs (spiders).

[@bobxbaker]

i ran across a very interesting take on the jotunn and the other gods, basically the jotunn are more like pre-existing gods before society, so they are more gods of nature and chaos meanwhile the other gods like thor, loki, odin, freya, balder etc are more about society and order, but mostly about the dichotomy between nature and society as both probably have their versions of chaos and order. if you were to draw any parallels it would be like comparing the olympian gods to the titans kind of. also something people are talking about wether thor is a god of thunder or not or in what distinction. i'd say he's a cause of thunder but he doesn't really wield it. when he rides the sky on his wagon pulled by his 2 rams that causes thunder as they travel across the sky or when he hits something or someone that is a source of where the thunder came from. for example if you were to hear it as a normal mortal you'd say "oh thors at it again, i wonder who or what he is hitting now" or "well well, thor is going somewhere it seems like". but that's about as much i can tell from it. all the stories are pretty fun or at the very least interesting i'd say. totally worth looking into.

[@NineWorldsFromDrew]

5:56 - I’d have to say that other interpretations of Norse mythology in various media across history have done this, as well. Many early modern artworks depicting such figures, for example, have usually made the Aesir and Vanir look more like mortal humans, and have portrayed the Jotunn as simply.... well.... giant in form. A particularly niche example of different interpretation is the video game Too Human, which is meant to portray the early events of Ragnarok from the perspective of Baldr. While there is a deliberate re-writing of the very nature of many aspects of the mythology, to fit in with Too Human’s idea of a “future technology but in the distant past” narrative, the game portrayed the Jotunn in fact as living sapient clockwork-looking machines, while the Aesir are humans who have gained power through experimenting with cybernetics. Interestingly, Loki gets completely re-written, as the first of such experiments, having been fused with raw Jotunn technology, which eventually makes him defiant of the Aesir. His punishment looks exactly the same as it’s described in the Eddas, but it’s really just an artificial construct.

[@professorsogol5824]

0:49 A yellow bellied marmot or a white tailed prairie dog? (I think the former)

[@lucasfreeman9469]

Hey Jackson, huge fan of your videos! You don't seem like the kind of guy that's into electronic entertainment, but I'm really curious what you'd think about the way that the most recent God of War video game approaches norse mythology.

[@wintermute1]

baby bison are indeed cute, and their parents are intimidating. I'm sort of in awe thinking of Commanche and other plains Indians riding up beside one of those beast at breakneck speed and spearing one or shooting it with an arrow

[@elizabethchavez7915]

Mange takk for informasjonen. I thought your video was very informative.

[@olamarvin]

But what about the Norwegian word "loge" (nynorsk) which means flame? I thought Loki's name was related to that, but I could be biased because I love the Wagnerian character so much.

[@Bultjaevel]

Never thaught about that. Could have some relation since it's Låga in swedish. Låga, Loge = Loke(Loki in swedish) seems plausible.

[@MyaKHamilton]

There is no etymological connection according to scholars such as Dr. Crawford himself. Loge comes from Old Norse logi which meant flame. Loki on the other hand might mean to lock or to be locked but scholars haven't come to an agreement on this. Logi is actually a figure with whom Loki has an eating contest, in the story where Thor and Loki meet Útgarða-Loki.

[@lunda2222]

He (Loki) was tricked into an eating competition with Loge (a fire spirit) in one of the sagas "Thor's Journey to Utgard). As far as I understand Loge also means hat/cap or "lue" in modern Norwegian..

[@olamarvin]

@@MyaKHamilton Gotcha, thanks!

[@Haldrada1066]

It's interesting that mjollnir is associated with a Russian word for lightning, but could it also be related to the words malleus or maul, from Latin meaning hammer? I await any linguist to come wreck me in the comments.

[@septegram]

Is Skrymir not a Jotun? Because his glove is big enough for Odhinn, Thorr, Loki, and Their servants to use as shelter.

[@septegram]

@@jameswoodard4304 I know what the video is about; I watched the whole thing. I know Dr. Crawford says the Jotnar are not gigantic in size, but it appears Skrymir is, since our travelers use his glove as a hall in which to sleep. So I was asking if he is or is not a Jotun. Obviously, if he's something else, the point is moot, but I remember him being a Jotun and his hall being of prodigious, even *gigantic* size. When Thorr tries to lift his "cat" (actually Jormungandr), He does so by getting under it. So there's plenty of reason to see Skrymir as being of giant size, which is why I asked. Would you care to actually answer my question instead of snarkily assuming I didn't watch the video or something?

[@septegram]

@@jameswoodard4304 No, my question was "is he not a Jotun?" Because Dr. Crawford said they are not giant-sized, but Skrymir is enormous. That's what confused me, and continues to.

[@stefanobuckley4879]

Late to the party, but still a bit confused about the size of the jötnar. Wouldn't the fact that Thor & Loki went into the glove of a jötunn (Utgard-loki), which they thought was a building because it was so big, make us believe that at least one of the jötnar are massive?

[@nicholasoneal1521]

Yes, some of the Jotnar are large, but not nearly all of them.

[@lyric8006]

Enjoyed seeing the buffaloes.

[@twistysunshine]

Baby buffalo are so cute!!

[@timberulfur]

What about the fact the some Jótun's are gods/goddess them selfs like Angrboda Jótun goddess of Wolves mother of Fenrir,Jormungandr,Hela

[@MyaKHamilton]

From what I understand there is no historical basis for this claim. Angrbǫða was just a Jǫtunn woman with whom Loki had sexual relations.

[@timberulfur]

Ok right just like Skadi is not Goddess of winter right

[@tompatterson1548]

If you wanna play a cleric of loki in D&D, pick the trickery domain.

[@katpagan4821]

As a modern Norse/pagan/Wiccan -yes I am one of those- thank you for work here. I love your videos and your knowledge. Reading the myths and researching I will agree about your last statement that it seems that Odin sometimes or most often times is the most chaotic god of them all. Thank you for wisdom and the bison, we have them in abundance down in here in the High Plains around Amarillo.

[@AbsolXGuardian]

I'm curious, where did the translation "giant" come in then? And where/when did that become "species of very tall and power people"

[@yugen]

I have no idea (to be clear) but I would imagine "giant" to mean something like "big man", which we might jokingly call a boss or leader today (or, more likely, a reference to some vague or abstract powerful entity such as a storm with thunder and lightning). That would very easily come to mean "species of very tall and power[ful] people" through various interpretations, translations, and transcriptions.

[@yugen]

@@xunqianbaidu6917 " Having those two other predominant contexts, the term for Norse mythology just became conventional." You explained *what* happened, but I think people are more curious as to *how* or *why*, but i'd be surprised if there's any clear answers to those questions.

[@hisheighnessthesupremebeing]

Was Ymir/Ymer a giant.. and if so wasn't he a bit bigger then your average god?

[@erikwignes7777]

Enjoy these videos. I find them to be one way I can explore my personal heritage. I am curious about your thoughts regarding the relationship of Norse mythology to J.R.R Tolkien's work.

[@feakhelek1]

He has a video about Dwarven names from The Hobbit.

[@nerdyvalkyrie6109]

I wish I knew more about the female Goddesses' stories though. I think some of those stories got stamped out. There's just too many women who exist in name only in those myths. Goddesses like Eir or the myriad of named valkyries with no stories attached. It's weird.

[@forodinssake9570]

I'm not sure if that's what you meant but you sounded like you think the European Bison is no more roaming Europe, when there's still plenty of them especially in Poland and parts of Eastern Europe

[@jeffreylohrenz7102]

Are you in Thermopolis Herr Crawford? It sure looks like you are...I'd really like to see you adress all the Scandinavian names for waterways and waterfalls in Park county, "Cody" area...Alfheimr falls, citadel of Asgard falls, so on....dearly, from another Wyoming boy...

[@PureDWhiteCloud]

Interesting! 🤠

[@erlinggaratun6726]

Visundr - What did it sunder? Ve's (sacred place) or vier (stringy plant)? Something else?

[@magnusgranskau7487]

What if yggdrasil is what is commonly seen when taken phsycadelics (fleinsopp/liberty caps) the column/tree form? its hard to believe that they didnt know about the mushroom and did not eat it.or atleast "shaman" . When i¨ve eaten it in the mountains of Norway, ive seen tree branches curling around and seen why the first letter/rune that was chosen for my name was not by accident. but ofc this might have nothing to do with any of it, but it did happen to me, so why not someone else that i share blood with and that grew up in the same natural surrondings as me?

[@csrencz6942]

Mythconceptions. It was right there, Dr.

[@derekstaff]

Since this is an old video, I wouldn’t be surprised if I don’t get any response to this. But I am curious: why, if the Jotunn are not especially large (which I suspected as I’ve read retelling of the Eddas), was the term “giants” applied to them in English translations and descriptions?

[@nicholasoneal1521]

The term Giant was applied to Jotnar as part of an attempt by Christians to synchronize it with Greek mythology. In Greek mythology, the Giants were a race of divinities who battled the gods.

[@overlookers]

This video got that big American Gods energy

[@dominomasked]

Dr. Crawford's Buffo Babies!

[@colinp2238]

I think that the assinging of gods to a role is more of a way to associate a9or compare?) them with classical Greek and Roman entities. I agree with the description of Thor, that he is not the god of thunder but is thunder personified. I think the reason why the Marvel comics colour the giants blue is either to demonise them or because they identify them with the Frost Giants or even the trolls. Odinn ancestry is from the giant Yimir, in the creation myth. Marvel colour Thor as a modern Scandinavian rather than a red giant, so they are as relaible as Mel Gibson.

[@thehillz726]

Would it be inaccurate to potray both the norse deities and Jutin as giants with superficial cultural differences?