So I am making a firbolg cleric in my upcoming game and he is gonna worship Norse gods—he will be from a land far off from the main land in the homebrew world my dm has the game set in, so I want him to be ritualistic and devoted to his pantheon. What are some things I can do in game that’ll come off as Norse/Pagan
As far as I know, please correct me if I'm mistaken, there was ritual sacrifice of animals and then feasts/sharing of those animals during large community feasts. Mead, a lot of mead. Norse pagans also had very strong ancestor worship. I believe there was strong idolatry in their culture as well, at least a lot have been found in archaeological digs.
I am in no way an expert in pre-Christianity Scandinavia.
Thank you 😂 I’m no expert either that’s why I came here so I could get some ideas that would translate well into the game I know a bit about Norse stuff but not to much
if you want an essay, PM me. if you want a short sweet explanation, PM me and specify that
if you want some quirks that you can do to make it look like you know what you are talking about?
1. use the "elder Futhark" set of runes to cast your spells. these are the ones the heathen norse used, and they work really well for just about any spell. for example cone of cold would be Isa and Uruz, or spiritual weapon would be Tir and Ingwaz (I think).
2. use the original names for the days of the week (this is really good). moon-day, Tir's-day (pronounced Teeyew's-day), wodens-day(the original pronunciation of Odin), Thor's-day or Thunor's-day, Frey's-day or friy-day, Sæturn's-day, and sun-day.
3. dont worship a specific deity, but make a sacrifice (not necessarily an animal, it could be some ale or a portion of your meal) to the deity you would like support from, for example:
I take my dagger and I bury it as a sacrifice to to Tir before we go into battle.
I put my necklace on an alter in temple of Loki as a sacrifice before I try and pull off the most daring heist ever thought of
4. read up on the runes and norse mythology. for two reasons: number one, it will really help with the immersion, and number two, it is extremely interesting.
5. dont think of yourself as a cleric, think of your self as a wizard/druid who acts in a way that helps certain gods at certain times.
6. quote the Weird and the Mægan. imagine these like your personalty, history, and future all in one. the weird is like an onion. every action you take builds another layer. every Time you say kill someone it adds a layer of darkness, and every time you save someone it adds a layer of light. together all of this creates who you are and your being or (and now onto the next point) your mægan. this is basically a well, of your past present and future selves, all in one. the more good deeds you do the more it dilutes the "dark" water and helps you become a better person.
sorry if any of that was confusing. I hope it helps :)
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
“I will take responsibility for what I have done. [...] If must fall, I will rise each time a better man.” ― Brandon Sanderson, Oathbringer.
1. use the "elder Futhark" set of runes to cast your spells. these are the ones the heathen norse used, and they work really well for just about any spell. for example cone of cold would be Isa and Uruz, or spiritual weapon would be Tir and Ingwaz (I think). Runes were often used as decorations on items though. The "T-"rune was popular on weapons, for example (T for Tyr, one of the war gods).
You really didn't cast "spells" in that way in Norse mythology any more than a Catholic priest "casts" "baptism" or "the last rites". Using runes to cast spells can be a cool thing but it has nothing do with the actual ancient religion.
2. use the original names for the days of the week (this is really good). moon-day, Tir's-day (pronounced Teeyew's-day), wodens-day(the original pronunciation of Odin), Thor's-day or Thunor's-day, Frey's-day or friy-day, Sæturn's-day, and sun-day.
That's not how you would pronounce those words. Also Saturn is not a Norse deity. Saturday is called "Lördag" in the Scandinavian languages and it means they day that you washed yourself. From the old Norse "laugardagr".
3. dont worship a specific deity, but make a sacrifice (not necessarily an animal, it could be some ale or a portion of your meal) to the deity you would like support from, for example:
I take my dagger and I bury it as a sacrifice to to Tir before we go into battle.
I put my necklace on an alter in temple of Loki as a sacrifice before I try and pull off the most daring heist ever thought of
Loki wasn't reallya deity that was worshipped or sacrificed to. But different sacrifices for different tasks is a good idea. Don't forget to appease the gods of the sea before going out sailing!
4. read up on the runes and norse mythology. for two reasons: number one, it will really help with the immersion, and number two, it is extremely interesting.
5. dont think of yourself as a cleric, think of your self as a wizard/druid who acts in a way that helps certain gods at certain times.
This. But make sure that you and your DM both have the same idea when it comes to what's "real" in the world you play in.
6. quote the Weird and the Mægan. imagine these like your personalty, history, and future all in one. the weird is like an onion. every action you take builds another layer. every Time you say kill someone it adds a layer of darkness, and every time you save someone it adds a layer of light. together all of this creates who you are and your being or (and now onto the next point) your mægan. this is basically a well, of your past present and future selves, all in one. the more good deeds you do the more it dilutes the "dark" water and helps you become a better person.
Not sure what this has to do with Old Norse religion but if it fits the game world you play in, go for it.
1. use the "elder Futhark" set of runes to cast your spells. these are the ones the heathen norse used, and they work really well for just about any spell. for example cone of cold would be Isa and Uruz, or spiritual weapon would be Tir and Ingwaz (I think). Runes were often used as decorations on items though. The "T-"rune was popular on weapons, for example (T for Tyr, one of the war gods).
You really didn't cast "spells" in that way in Norse mythology any more than a Catholic priest "casts" "baptism" or "the last rites". Using runes to cast spells can be a cool thing but it has nothing do with the actual ancient religion.
2. use the original names for the days of the week (this is really good). moon-day, Tir's-day (pronounced Teeyew's-day), wodens-day(the original pronunciation of Odin), Thor's-day or Thunor's-day, Frey's-day or friy-day, Sæturn's-day, and sun-day.
That's not how you would pronounce those words. Also Saturn is not a Norse deity. Saturday is called "Lördag" in the Scandinavian languages and it means they day that you washed yourself. From the old Norse "laugardagr".
3. dont worship a specific deity, but make a sacrifice (not necessarily an animal, it could be some ale or a portion of your meal) to the deity you would like support from, for example:
I take my dagger and I bury it as a sacrifice to to Tir before we go into battle.
I put my necklace on an alter in temple of Loki as a sacrifice before I try and pull off the most daring heist ever thought of
Loki wasn't reallya deity that was worshipped or sacrificed to. But different sacrifices for different tasks is a good idea. Don't forget to appease the gods of the sea before going out sailing!
4. read up on the runes and norse mythology. for two reasons: number one, it will really help with the immersion, and number two, it is extremely interesting.
5. dont think of yourself as a cleric, think of your self as a wizard/druid who acts in a way that helps certain gods at certain times.
This. But make sure that you and your DM both have the same idea when it comes to what's "real" in the world you play in.
6. quote the Weird and the Mægan. imagine these like your personalty, history, and future all in one. the weird is like an onion. every action you take builds another layer. every Time you say kill someone it adds a layer of darkness, and every time you save someone it adds a layer of light. together all of this creates who you are and your being or (and now onto the next point) your mægan. this is basically a well, of your past present and future selves, all in one. the more good deeds you do the more it dilutes the "dark" water and helps you become a better person.
Not sure what this has to do with Old Norse religion but if it fits the game world you play in, go for it.
ok I dont want to argue, buuuuuut......
1. no but you do cast spells in DND, and the closest thing they have to that in norse mythology is the runes
2. no saturn is not a norse deity. he is a roman deity, but in old English (which I speak btw) the days of the week come from a few different religions. the norse (from the vikings that settled), the romans (they conquered England {before the vikings},) the French, from the Norman invasion (Sunday and Monday), and the norse picked up bits of religions from other places as well. when they first heard of christianity they made toasts to God as well as their gods.
3. you have no idea what you are talking about, all the gods were sacrificed too including Loki. Loki was never an "evil" god, he represents the cunning, mischievous and (admittedly) evil parts of us, but he was not evil. sacrifices were made to him and Thor at the same time sometimes.
4/5. the DM adjudicates everything, I was just trying to help with some flavour.
6. THIS IS THE NORSE RELIGION. THIS IS WHAT THEY BELIEVED!!!!! THEY DIDNT EVEN SEE THE GODS AS REAL BEINGS, BUT THE PARTS OF YOURSELF THEY REPRESENTED.
in other words, dont try and tell people what they know better. my brother and dad are both pagans, I have studied the myths as well. I listen to the Poetic Edda, and podcasts on the Norse. I have studied old English as a language. as someone from 800 AD would say..........bêon cyning
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
“I will take responsibility for what I have done. [...] If must fall, I will rise each time a better man.” ― Brandon Sanderson, Oathbringer.
Then don't. But if you do, please back up your claims.
1. no but you do cast spells in DND, and the closest thing they have to that in norse mythology is the runes
No, the two really don't have anything to do with each other. See the comparisson with Catholicism.
2. no saturn is not a norse deity. he is a roman deity, but in old English (which I speak btw) the days of the week come from a few different religions. the norse (from the vikings that settled), the romans (they conquered England {before the vikings},) the French, from the Norman invasion (Sunday and Monday), and the norse picked up bits of religions from other places as well. when they first heard of christianity they made toasts to God as well as their gods.
Old English is irrelevant, since the people of Scandianavia did not speak old English. One would guess that the brother of a self-professed pagan would know this.
3. you have no idea what you are talking about, all the gods were sacrificed too including Loki. Loki was never an "evil" god, he represents the cunning, mischievous and (admittedly) evil parts of us, but he was not evil. sacrifices were made to him and Thor at the same time sometimes.
Not in the real world, no.
6. THIS IS THE NORSE RELIGION. THIS IS WHAT THEY BELIEVED!!!!! THEY DIDNT EVEN SEE THE GODS AS REAL BEINGS, BUT THE PARTS OF YOURSELF THEY REPRESENTED.
This is demonstrably false. You obviously know very little about actual historical Old Norse religion.
in other words, dont try and tell people what they know better. my brother and dad are both pagans, I have studied the myths as well. I listen to the Poetic Edda, and podcasts on the Norse. I have studied old English as a language. as someone from 800 AD would say..........bêon cyning
Cool. I've studied history and philosophy at the University of Uppsala, you know the place of one of the holy sites of the Old Norse religion? I also read part of the Eddan in its original form when I studied Nordic languages. But hey, if a guy who has listened to podcasts and whose bro and dad are selfproclaimed "pagans" (here's a tip for you, no actual Asa-worshipper would call themself "pagan") says I'm wrong then it must be so.
Not sure why you start writing in Anglo-Saxon, that's not a language that people who worshipped the Norse gods in the 9th century would have as their native language. Old Norse is probably a lot more likely.
Then don't. But if you do, please back up your claims.
1. no but you do cast spells in DND, and the closest thing they have to that in norse mythology is the runes
No, the two really don't have anything to do with each other. See the comparisson with Catholicism.
2. no saturn is not a norse deity. he is a roman deity, but in old English (which I speak btw) the days of the week come from a few different religions. the norse (from the vikings that settled), the romans (they conquered England {before the vikings},) the French, from the Norman invasion (Sunday and Monday), and the norse picked up bits of religions from other places as well. when they first heard of christianity they made toasts to God as well as their gods.
Old English is irrelevant, since the people of Scandianavia did not speak old English. One would guess that the brother of a self-professed pagan would know this.
3. you have no idea what you are talking about, all the gods were sacrificed too including Loki. Loki was never an "evil" god, he represents the cunning, mischievous and (admittedly) evil parts of us, but he was not evil. sacrifices were made to him and Thor at the same time sometimes.
Not in the real world, no.
6. THIS IS THE NORSE RELIGION. THIS IS WHAT THEY BELIEVED!!!!! THEY DIDNT EVEN SEE THE GODS AS REAL BEINGS, BUT THE PARTS OF YOURSELF THEY REPRESENTED.
This is demonstrably false. You obviously know very little about actual historical Old Norse religion.
in other words, dont try and tell people what they know better. my brother and dad are both pagans, I have studied the myths as well. I listen to the Poetic Edda, and podcasts on the Norse. I have studied old English as a language. as someone from 800 AD would say..........bêon cyning
Cool. I've studied history and philosophy at the University of Uppsala, you know the place of one of the holy sites of the Old Norse religion? I also read part of the Eddan in its original form when I studied Nordic languages. But hey, if a guy who has listened to podcasts and whose bro and dad are selfproclaimed "pagans" (here's a tip for you, no actual Asa-worshipper would call themself "pagan") says I'm wrong then it must be so.
Not sure why you start writing in Anglo-Saxon, that's not a language that people who worshipped the Norse gods in the 9th century would have as their native language. Old Norse is probably a lot more likely.
he asked for pagan bud. the Anglo-saxons were also pagans, and they believed most of the same things that the norse did. my "self-proclaimed pagan" dad is a professor in sociology, who did one of his five degrees(Cambridge, Oxford, Manchester....etc) in history, and yes he does call himself a pagan. he doesn't " Worship Asa" he agrees with everything the "religion" (it was not actually a religion it was a set of morals and traits that were Immortalised in the form of myths). if this word pisses you off how about heathen? any better . Nothing I said was false. link -> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wyrd
yes people made sacrifices to Loki, just as they made sacrifices to Hella and Odin.(Woden).
listen m8. again I dont want to fight(key word here Want), but what was you "history degree" in?
I have read parts of the Poetic Edda in norse as well (not a lot) and most of it in English as well.
if you really asked what spells the norse cast, they wouldn't even know what you meant, I was making a dnd comparison. your comparison to catholicism was crap, as the term belief was only introduced with Catholicism.
can we drop this please
I made a post to try and help a dnd player, I have no doubt you are far smarter than me, as you have gone to the "university of Uppsala" and I am not out of high school yet, but really? this is not meant to be a debate.
He specifically mentioned "Norse gods". Which was also what you kept referring to (albeit in a very wrong fashion).
the Anglo-saxons were also pagans, and they believed most of the same things that the norse did. my "self-proclaimed pagan" dad is a professor in sociology, who did one of his five degrees(Cambridge, Oxford, Manchester....etc) in history, and yes he does call himself a pagan. he doesn't " Worship Asa" he agrees with everything the "religion" (it was not actually a religion it was a set of morals and traits that were Immortalised in the form of myths). if this word pisses you off how about heathen? any better . Nothing I said was false. link -> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wyrd
I think you need to sit down and talk to your dad, becuase you seem to have a lot of things confused. Heathen is a actually an even worse word since it specifically refers to someone have the "wrong" faith. Which the Norse did not, according to themselves. Sociology have nothing to do with religion and if your dad believes that the Old Norse religion was not a religion... Well, I'm guessing that's why he's not a professor of history.
yes people made sacrifices to Loki, just as they made sacrifices to Hella and Odin.(Woden).
Really? Wow. Can you please refer me to the archeological evidence for that? I'm sure the arcehological faculty would be excited to hear these news.
listen m8. again I dont want to fight(key word here Want), but what was you "history degree" in?
I have read parts of the Poetic Edda in norse as well (not a lot) and most of it in English as well.
Do you really want to make this into a peeing contest? Lol. Dude, you replied with a bunch of things that you thought was right but wasn't really, I corrected you and now you're upset that I didn't take your word for gospel. That's OK. It's OK to be wrong on the internet.
if you really asked what spells the norse cast, they wouldn't even know what you meant, I was making a dnd comparison. your comparison to catholicism was crap, as the term belief was only introduced with Catholicism.
Now you're just saying words.
can we drop this please
I made a post to try and help a dnd player, I have no doubt you are far smarter than me, as you have gone to the "university of Uppsala" and I am not out of high school yet, but really? this is not meant to be a debate.
And I made a post correcting you where you were wrong. You don't have reply if you don't want to. Like I said, it's OK to be wrong on the internet.
With deference to the argument, (where did that come from?) the player just wanted some generic culture tips. So let's get past all this RL conflict so we can get on with some fantasy conflict.
So here's mine:
Worship in ancient Scandinavia wasn't the same thing as in other parts of the world, it was more "honoring" than worshiping. There were sacrifices, but not usually to the degree that Mediterranean or middle eastern burnt offering sacrifices were used. Think of when you leave flowers at a grave. You're not really worshipping the deceaced, you're honoring them, but you're also making a sacrifice.(the flowers)
The Teutonic religion has two groups of gods, the Aesir & Vanir. The Aesir were the war-gods: Odin, Thor, Tyr & others, the Vanir were the agrarian Frey & Freya (and arguably their father Njord)
The people were both highly mystical and practical. A horse sacrificed to Odin would be the centerpiece of a block-party style feast. If you want to know if something is a spirit or living thing, try to kill it.
They were a very gender strong culture, but women's rights were better represented in Viking culture than in 1950s America. Priests & priestesses tended to be cross gender for the Vanir- with Frey having priestesses & Freya having priests (who wore skirts with bell-tassels.)
There weretwo primary types of magic practiced. Runar or Rune magic was male & associated with Odin. Germanic equivalent: Zauber. Seithr was female & was spirit magic~often described as necromantic but really the only thing necromantic about it was grave-sitting to Speak With Dead . Seithr was associated with Freya and could loosely be described as Hexeri in the Germanic equivalent.
Worship in ancient Scandinavia wasn't the same thing as in other parts of the world, it was more "honoring" than worshiping. There were sacrifices, but not usually to the degree that Mediterranean or middle eastern burnt offering sacrifices were used. Think of when you leave flowers at a grave. You're not really worshipping the deceaced, you're honoring them, but you're also making a sacrifice.(the flowers)
The Teutonic religion has two groups of gods, the Aesir & Vanir. The Aesir were the war-gods: Odin, Thor, Tyr & others, the Vanir were the agrarian Frey & Freya (and arguably their father Njord)
That's a very simplisitic view. For example, Freya was also worshipped as a goddess of war and Heimdall has been mentioned as both Aesir and Vanir.
The people were both highly mystical and practical. A horse sacrificed to Odin would be the centerpiece of a block-party style feast. If you want to know if something is a spirit or living thing, try to kill it.
They also believed ina very real and material afterlife. That's why you have all those fancy burial rituals where you gave the dead all matter of tools, weapons and stuff to be able to live a good life in the afterlife. One of the most common items, combs. Because you gotta look swag when partying in Valhalla.
They were a very gender strong culture, but women's rights were better represented in Viking culture than in 1950s America. Priests & priestesses tended to be cross gender for the Vanir- with Frey having priestesses & Freya having priests (who wore skirts with bell-tassels.)
Women also had the right to divorce and held the keys to the home. When it came to religion, the gods themselves were suprisingly gender-fluid. Tor dressed up as woman on at least a few occassions and Loki f***ed a male horse and gave birth to Sleipner. That's something you won't see in the MCU.
So I am making a firbolg cleric in my upcoming game and he is gonna worship Norse gods—he will be from a land far off from the main land in the homebrew world my dm has the game set in, so I want him to be ritualistic and devoted to his pantheon. What are some things I can do in game that’ll come off as Norse/Pagan
As far as I know, please correct me if I'm mistaken, there was ritual sacrifice of animals and then feasts/sharing of those animals during large community feasts. Mead, a lot of mead. Norse pagans also had very strong ancestor worship. I believe there was strong idolatry in their culture as well, at least a lot have been found in archaeological digs.
I am in no way an expert in pre-Christianity Scandinavia.
Thank you 😂 I’m no expert either that’s why I came here so I could get some ideas that would translate well into the game I know a bit about Norse stuff but not to much
Ask you DM what gods are worshipped in that part of the world? Wikipedia also has some good articles on Old Norse religion. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Norse_religion
I'd imagine Skade would be a fitting deity for a firbolg.
if you want an essay, PM me. if you want a short sweet explanation, PM me and specify that
if you want some quirks that you can do to make it look like you know what you are talking about?
1. use the "elder Futhark" set of runes to cast your spells. these are the ones the heathen norse used, and they work really well for just about any spell. for example cone of cold would be Isa and Uruz, or spiritual weapon would be Tir and Ingwaz (I think).
2. use the original names for the days of the week (this is really good). moon-day, Tir's-day (pronounced Teeyew's-day), wodens-day(the original pronunciation of Odin), Thor's-day or Thunor's-day, Frey's-day or friy-day, Sæturn's-day, and sun-day.
3. dont worship a specific deity, but make a sacrifice (not necessarily an animal, it could be some ale or a portion of your meal) to the deity you would like support from, for example:
I take my dagger and I bury it as a sacrifice to to Tir before we go into battle.
I put my necklace on an alter in temple of Loki as a sacrifice before I try and pull off the most daring heist ever thought of
4. read up on the runes and norse mythology. for two reasons: number one, it will really help with the immersion, and number two, it is extremely interesting.
5. dont think of yourself as a cleric, think of your self as a wizard/druid who acts in a way that helps certain gods at certain times.
6. quote the Weird and the Mægan. imagine these like your personalty, history, and future all in one. the weird is like an onion. every action you take builds another layer. every Time you say kill someone it adds a layer of darkness, and every time you save someone it adds a layer of light. together all of this creates who you are and your being or (and now onto the next point) your mægan. this is basically a well, of your past present and future selves, all in one. the more good deeds you do the more it dilutes the "dark" water and helps you become a better person.
sorry if any of that was confusing. I hope it helps :)
“I will take responsibility for what I have done. [...] If must fall, I will rise each time a better man.” ― Brandon Sanderson, Oathbringer.
You really didn't cast "spells" in that way in Norse mythology any more than a Catholic priest "casts" "baptism" or "the last rites". Using runes to cast spells can be a cool thing but it has nothing do with the actual ancient religion.
That's not how you would pronounce those words. Also Saturn is not a Norse deity. Saturday is called "Lördag" in the Scandinavian languages and it means they day that you washed yourself. From the old Norse "laugardagr".
Loki wasn't reallya deity that was worshipped or sacrificed to. But different sacrifices for different tasks is a good idea. Don't forget to appease the gods of the sea before going out sailing!
This. But make sure that you and your DM both have the same idea when it comes to what's "real" in the world you play in.
Not sure what this has to do with Old Norse religion but if it fits the game world you play in, go for it.
ok I dont want to argue, buuuuuut......
1. no but you do cast spells in DND, and the closest thing they have to that in norse mythology is the runes
2. no saturn is not a norse deity. he is a roman deity, but in old English (which I speak btw) the days of the week come from a few different religions. the norse (from the vikings that settled), the romans (they conquered England {before the vikings},) the French, from the Norman invasion (Sunday and Monday), and the norse picked up bits of religions from other places as well. when they first heard of christianity they made toasts to God as well as their gods.
3. you have no idea what you are talking about, all the gods were sacrificed too including Loki. Loki was never an "evil" god, he represents the cunning, mischievous and (admittedly) evil parts of us, but he was not evil. sacrifices were made to him and Thor at the same time sometimes.
4/5. the DM adjudicates everything, I was just trying to help with some flavour.
6. THIS IS THE NORSE RELIGION. THIS IS WHAT THEY BELIEVED!!!!! THEY DIDNT EVEN SEE THE GODS AS REAL BEINGS, BUT THE PARTS OF YOURSELF THEY REPRESENTED.
in other words, dont try and tell people what they know better. my brother and dad are both pagans, I have studied the myths as well. I listen to the Poetic Edda, and podcasts on the Norse. I have studied old English as a language. as someone from 800 AD would say..........bêon cyning
“I will take responsibility for what I have done. [...] If must fall, I will rise each time a better man.” ― Brandon Sanderson, Oathbringer.
Then don't. But if you do, please back up your claims.
No, the two really don't have anything to do with each other. See the comparisson with Catholicism.
Old English is irrelevant, since the people of Scandianavia did not speak old English. One would guess that the brother of a self-professed pagan would know this.
Not in the real world, no.
This is demonstrably false. You obviously know very little about actual historical Old Norse religion.
Cool. I've studied history and philosophy at the University of Uppsala, you know the place of one of the holy sites of the Old Norse religion? I also read part of the Eddan in its original form when I studied Nordic languages. But hey, if a guy who has listened to podcasts and whose bro and dad are selfproclaimed "pagans" (here's a tip for you, no actual Asa-worshipper would call themself "pagan") says I'm wrong then it must be so.
Not sure why you start writing in Anglo-Saxon, that's not a language that people who worshipped the Norse gods in the 9th century would have as their native language. Old Norse is probably a lot more likely.
he asked for pagan bud. the Anglo-saxons were also pagans, and they believed most of the same things that the norse did. my "self-proclaimed pagan" dad is a professor in sociology, who did one of his five degrees(Cambridge, Oxford, Manchester....etc) in history, and yes he does call himself a pagan. he doesn't " Worship Asa" he agrees with everything the "religion" (it was not actually a religion it was a set of morals and traits that were Immortalised in the form of myths). if this word pisses you off how about heathen? any better . Nothing I said was false. link -> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wyrd
yes people made sacrifices to Loki, just as they made sacrifices to Hella and Odin.(Woden).
listen m8. again I dont want to fight(key word here Want), but what was you "history degree" in?
I have read parts of the Poetic Edda in norse as well (not a lot) and most of it in English as well.
if you really asked what spells the norse cast, they wouldn't even know what you meant, I was making a dnd comparison. your comparison to catholicism was crap, as the term belief was only introduced with Catholicism.
can we drop this please
I made a post to try and help a dnd player, I have no doubt you are far smarter than me, as you have gone to the "university of Uppsala" and I am not out of high school yet, but really? this is not meant to be a debate.
see you around :)
“I will take responsibility for what I have done. [...] If must fall, I will rise each time a better man.” ― Brandon Sanderson, Oathbringer.
He specifically mentioned "Norse gods". Which was also what you kept referring to (albeit in a very wrong fashion).
I think you need to sit down and talk to your dad, becuase you seem to have a lot of things confused. Heathen is a actually an even worse word since it specifically refers to someone have the "wrong" faith. Which the Norse did not, according to themselves. Sociology have nothing to do with religion and if your dad believes that the Old Norse religion was not a religion... Well, I'm guessing that's why he's not a professor of history.
Really? Wow. Can you please refer me to the archeological evidence for that? I'm sure the arcehological faculty would be excited to hear these news.
Do you really want to make this into a peeing contest? Lol. Dude, you replied with a bunch of things that you thought was right but wasn't really, I corrected you and now you're upset that I didn't take your word for gospel. That's OK. It's OK to be wrong on the internet.
Now you're just saying words.
And I made a post correcting you where you were wrong. You don't have reply if you don't want to. Like I said, it's OK to be wrong on the internet.
You too.
With deference to the argument, (where did that come from?) the player just wanted some generic culture tips. So let's get past all this RL conflict so we can get on with some fantasy conflict.
So here's mine:
Worship in ancient Scandinavia wasn't the same thing as in other parts of the world, it was more "honoring" than worshiping. There were sacrifices, but not usually to the degree that Mediterranean or middle eastern burnt offering sacrifices were used. Think of when you leave flowers at a grave. You're not really worshipping the deceaced, you're honoring them, but you're also making a sacrifice.(the flowers)
The Teutonic religion has two groups of gods, the Aesir & Vanir. The Aesir were the war-gods: Odin, Thor, Tyr & others, the Vanir were the agrarian Frey & Freya (and arguably their father Njord)
The people were both highly mystical and practical. A horse sacrificed to Odin would be the centerpiece of a block-party style feast. If you want to know if something is a spirit or living thing, try to kill it.
They were a very gender strong culture, but women's rights were better represented in Viking culture than in 1950s America. Priests & priestesses tended to be cross gender for the Vanir- with Frey having priestesses & Freya having priests (who wore skirts with bell-tassels.)
There weretwo primary types of magic practiced. Runar or Rune magic was male & associated with Odin. Germanic equivalent: Zauber. Seithr was female & was spirit magic~often described as necromantic but really the only thing necromantic about it was grave-sitting to Speak With Dead . Seithr was associated with Freya and could loosely be described as Hexeri in the Germanic equivalent.
Sacrifices were a big thing. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bl%C3%B3t
That's a very simplisitic view. For example, Freya was also worshipped as a goddess of war and Heimdall has been mentioned as both Aesir and Vanir.
They also believed ina very real and material afterlife. That's why you have all those fancy burial rituals where you gave the dead all matter of tools, weapons and stuff to be able to live a good life in the afterlife. One of the most common items, combs. Because you gotta look swag when partying in Valhalla.
Women also had the right to divorce and held the keys to the home. When it came to religion, the gods themselves were suprisingly gender-fluid. Tor dressed up as woman on at least a few occassions and Loki f***ed a male horse and gave birth to Sleipner. That's something you won't see in the MCU.
Please keep posts on-topic and constructive. All personal banter should be kept in Private Messages.