![]() However, archaeological evidence helps hint at personal devotion to specific gods people felt connected to, with accompanying customs and rituals being a standard part of everyday life. Of course, what it was exactly the Vikings believed with regard to all these different Norse gods and the world they lived in is hard to pin down. The integrated nature of the Norse mythological framework in daily life is betrayed by the word síður, meaning 'custom' – the closest concept the Old Norse language had to religion. As such, we only have the "tips of the narrative icebergs" (Schjødt, 219) when it comes to the Norse gods. Peeling back the layers of history in order to form a properly detailed and accurate picture of the myths, beliefs, and customs as they actually were in the Viking Age is no mean feat, especially for an overwhelmingly oral society, as Scandinavia mostly was at the time. Its polytheistic pantheon, headed by the one-eyed Odin, contains a great number of different gods and goddesses who were venerated in customs integrated into the ancient Scandinavians' daily lives. ![]() ![]() Complete with a creation myth that has the first gods slaying a giant and turning his body parts into the world, various realms spread out beneath the World Tree Yggdrasil, and the eventual destruction of the known world in the Ragnarök, the Nordic mythological world is both complex and comprehensive. Norse mythology refers to the Scandinavian mythological framework that was upheld during and around the time of the Viking Age (c.
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