Myths of The Norsemen Written by: Helen A. Guerber

Odin, Frigga, Thor, Tyr, Bragi, Idun, Niord, Frey, Freya, Uller, Forsei, Heimdall, Hermod, Vidar, Vali, The Norns, The Valkyrs, Hel, Aegir, Balder, Hoder, Loki, these are the Aesier or the Gods. The myths of the Norsemen was such an awesome book! I could not get enough of Odin and his companions. I learned so much about these God beings. Even the Giants, Dwarfs, Elves, and the sagas involving the mortals. It was so fascinating to learn about how the Norsemen defined themselves, and their beginnings.Also, to learn about the different worlds Midgard being the mortal world.  I kept making notes and really enjoyed what culture I discovered reading this book. Unlike the Celtic culture I was delighted to see that the Norsemen cared for their wives and that there were Gods who would bless happily married couples and want there to be love in a marriage. There was great honor and worship in the mortals who followed there Gods, but there was also the weak and evil. Even with the Gods they too like the Greek Gods did all they could to get out of unsavory deals they may have been forced to make. It was also interesting to learn that the Gods were not all immortal and relied upon another Immortal god to keep them young and strong. The book really went into detail to help you figure out how the Gods worked in the Scandinavian world especially with the days and seasons. I really found it fascinating how the old cultural ways of these people influenced so many saying and practices of today. This was a great book to learn a decent amount of the Norse Mythos. I hope to read more on the Norse culture and their heroes and Gods/Goddesses. Something that really was amazing is that these people had such faith in their culture and ways that the wooden posts on their homes would have generations of knowledge carved upon them as well as the stories of their Gods and heroes. When Christian and other world powers were forcing them from their native lands they took their wooden posts with them and sailed the seas. When they reached a port and body of water they would cast the wood into the sea and wherever it landed finally would be where they would make their new home regardless of the conditions. Quite remarkable that most of the tales and stories from these people are taken from these surviving posts.