Okay, so my posting on Google+ about this video ended up as a comment here. Way to go to take the social out of the social media, Google. Where's my Mjölner??
Thank you so much for this kind of videos. As a Spaniard, I find Norse Mythology really really interesting. It is nice to learn new things, so a huge yay goes for you! :D
Thank you so much for doing this! I'm fascinated by norse mythology, but I've never been able to find good sources on it, since most people in America are much more preoccupied with the learning of Greek mythology. Hopefully I'll eventually get the Norse pronunciations down, as they are still hard for me to keep straight in my english-speaking brain :)
English equivalents! Sun and Mon = Sun and Moon Tues = Tiwes or Tiw (Tyr) Wednesday = Wodan's (Odin's) day Thur = Thor Fri = Frigga (Frigg) Saturday = Saturn, a roman god :)
Thank you for doing this! I just wish I spoke Sweedish, as the proper pronunciation of these characters' names is very hard to keep straight in my English-speaking brain.
Sun/Moon chariots reminds me of something I may have read about in Greek mythology, while that representation of Thor reminded me of a painting depicting the Archangel Michael. There are familiarities / crossovers between Norse mythology and others such as the gates of the underworld opening before Ragnarok and the Book of Revelations etc etc.
Ok so, I pretty much had most of the days figured out, but was trying so hard to think of where Lördag originated. Oh, Laundry day.......... fair enough!
When it comes to the origin of "lørdag", you're partly right. It's actually form the Norse word "laugardagr". And in Norway, "å lauge" is also still today a word for "å vaske" or in Swedish, "att tvätta" (to wash). It's not commonly used here anymore, but at least it's still in the Norwegian dictionary. Also found out that "att löga" still is in the Swedish dictionary as well. Also it means "to wash". In the Norse era it was commonly used for that day of the week you were supposed to take a bath and wash clothes.
Minuscule nitpick: I know the English "th" is difficult for many non-native speakers, but please don't cheat by using an "f" in its place. Then you sound Cockney. ;-) Thursday not Fursday. I remember watching Victor Borge (ja jag vett han var dansker) but he over stressed the "th" for comic effect. Yes, it took me awhile to pronounce "sju". My Swedish friends say I have it down pretty well. But they still laugh. Takk!
Not everyone realizes that they do it. And aside from that his English is astounding. I can pick up a bit of accent but not much at all, certainly less than so many others I've talked to.
I thought Fenrisulven got bound with two separate chains both of which he broke and then the dwarves forged a magic silk rope that bound him that he couldn't break so he bit off Tyrs hand!?
I suspect that Saturday may be for the giants, but the info is lost. I was reading the Icelandic Rune Poem, and glanced at the Old Norse section, under the Thurisaz stanza. I distinctly saw the word Saturnus there, obviously meaning Saturn. Saturday is named after the Roman God Saturn. Thurisaz is connected with a type of giant called Thurses. So, I drew my connections through these pieces of information. Like I said, I only suspect that Saturday is connected to the giants. I don't say it, as if it is proven, which it isn't.
Thank you very much Martin. I always enjoy he episodes. But why do the week days in english are so much similar to swedish one. Do the whole world follow swedish mythologies then?
Vikings and Anglo-Saxons shared a lot of things, their heathen religions were very similar. Same characters but with different (yet similar) names. So when the Anglo-Saxons invaded/migrated to the british isles, they probably brought with them the names of their days of the week, which were pretty much the same as viking ones. And later on, vikings invaded the british isles constantly, so there was probably even more influences from there.
Well, the entire middle area of Great Britain was ruled by the Danerule... and they spoke Old Norse. They influenced the germanic language the Anglo-Saxons brought across and turned it into Old English... which pretty much sounds like English but with a really strange welsh/nordic accent. Old English shares many words with languages like modern Icelandic or Swedish.
Norse Mytologi, are not the same from land to land. There are two version of Balder and his brother Höder. In the islandic are he a god, in the Danish (Saxo) are he mortal. (Saxo Gramaticus, Saxo live from ca. 1160 and 60 - 70 year from; he wrote in latin) In the islandic are his brother, a blind god, i danish, are he a mortel warrier the cut Thors hammer in two. In islandic version has Mjolner a short hammer shaft, in danish a long - and after he meating Höder, are this now short. In danish version, are Balder dead because he love Höders belove, Nanna, and steal her - he's the village here. Balder are not a noble God, in Saxo. But a Criminal.
Technically, they named that god Saturnus, after the planet Saturn. The thought that the planets that were visible during certain times of the year were actual gods. Jupiter, Mars, Venus and Mercury were also gods to them, but even though they had the names of the planets and were visible during the year they were also pretty much ripoffs of Greek gods, like Afrodite (Venus) and Ares (Mars) etc.
Saturday.....Roman name Saturn. Who was the God, Saturn? Saturn's Greek origin would be Cronos. The Roman God/Titan. Father of Jupiter and Neptune... So basically....Saturday is the only day not named after a Norse legend.
