The Norse gods

Aegir or Hler: He is usually depicted as an old man with a long white beard.The meaning of his name is associated with water. Aegir was the god of the seashore or ocean, and called the ruler of the sea. He was a personification of the ocean, and caused storms with his anger. Sailors feared Aegir, and thought he would sometimes surface to destroy ships. Because he was sometimes accused of sinking merchant vessels for the gold and other valuables they carried, he became known for his greed.

Baldur: The son of Odin and Frigg, was described as a very handsome and wise god. Some consider him to be a god of light since he was so bright (intelligent), light shined from him. Balder's wife was Nanna and they had a son named Forseti. At one point Balder had a foreboding dream. Odin rode to Hel's realm to wake a volva from the dead to find out the meaning of Balder's dream. Frigg asked all things to swear not to hurt Balder but didn't ask the mistletoe because it was so young. Loki, diguised as an old woman, visited Frigg and found out Balder was invunerable to everything but mistletoe. Loki then made a dart out of mistletoe and tricked the blind god Hod into throwing it at Balder -- all the other gods were playing games by throwing various items at Balder --, thus killing him. Nanna died of heartache after Balder's death and was burned with him on his funeral boat -- along with his chopped up horse and an unfortunate dwarf who Thor kicked in at the last minute. Hermod rode to Hel's realm and got her to agree to let Balder return to the living if all things would weep for him. One giantess named Thokk, Loki in disguise, refused to weep, so he remained dead and was cremated on his funeral boat, hringhorni. He is supposed to come back to life after the Ragnarok.

Loki: Was a giant, but he became a member of the gods when Odin made Loki his blood brother. He is the god of mischief, a trickster, and very cunning. After causing the death of Balder, he was bound by the gods until the Ragnarok, at which time, he will be freed.

Odin: Is the leader of the gods. He also had many functions including being a god of war, poetry, wisdom, and death. It was from his throne that he could see over all the world. The valkyries would serve mead which forever flowed from the udder of Odin's goat, Heidrun. They also served the warriors meat that came from the boar Saehrimnir, which the cook Andhrimnir would prepare for eating by boiling it in the cauldron Eldhrimnir. The boar magically came back to life before the next meal. After eating, the warriors would go outside the hall and fight each other to the death. They were, of course, brought back to life before the next feast. All of this fighting was practice for when Odin would lead the Einheriar in the final battle, Ragnarok.
Odin had a spear named Grungir which never missed its mark and a bow which unleashed ten arrows with every pull. He also owned a magic ring called Draupnir which created nine of itself every night. It was this ring that Odin laid on his son Balder's funeral pyre and which Balder returned to Odin from the underworld. Another one of Odin's prized possesions was his wonderful steed named Sleipnir which had eight legs.
Odin sacrificed himself for knowledge by hanging on the world tree, Yggdrasil, thereby learning the runes. Another sacrifice he made for wisdom was his eye. He gave it up in order to drink from the Well of Mimir which bestowed great knowledge upon him. Because of this, he is typically depicted as having one eye. He is also depicted as wearing a cloak, being old, having a long grey beard, and wearing a wide brimmed hat down low over his face to conceal his one-eyed visage.
Odin was destined to die at Ragnarok; Fenris-Wolf swallowed him. Knowing his fate, he still chose to embrace it and do battle. He was the god of warriors and kings, not the common man.

Frigg: She is the goddess of marriage and the wife of Odin. Another name for Frigg was Saga. Some people call Saga a goddess of history or a goddess of poetry, because the word Saga is connected to the word for history, and also refer to her as a daughter of Odin.

Tyr: He was the god of war, and the only god brave enough to put his hand in the Fenris-Wolf's mouth so the gods could bind it. When the wolf was bound, it bit off his right hand. In the Norse culture the right hand was given for a pledge, which could be why the right hand was placed in the wolf's mouth. It has also been noted, however, that the offering of the right hand is to show that it is free of weapons. A left handed person was sometimes considered evil because he could use a weapon with his left hand even though he shook with his right hand.

Thor: Quite possibly the best-known Norse god. He was the son of Odin and a member of the Aesir, and the god of thunder. He would smash the giants' heads with his mighty hammer Mjollnir. To wield this awesome weapon he needed iron gloves and a belt of strength. Mjollnir would return to Thor's hand after being thrown and was symbolic of lightning. Thor would ride around middle-earth in his wagon drawn by two goats. His wife was Sif, but not very much is known about her.
He was foremost of the gods to the common man, who would call on him to ensure fertility, and widely worshiped. Hammer shaped amulets, a symbol of Thor because it was his weapon, were worn about the neck well into the christianization of Scandinavia. There are molds from that time which contain both cross and hammer shapes, side by side.

Freya: Goddess of fertility and war. She was the daughter of Njord, and the sister of Frey. Her daughters, by Od (no, not Odin, Od.), are named Hnoss, who is so beautiful that whatever is valuable and lovely is named "treasure" after her, and Gersemi.

Frey: God of weather and fertility. He ruled over the land of the light elves, Alfheim. He was the son of Njord and Njord's sister, and the brother of Freya. His step-mother was Skadi. He owned the ship Skidbladnir which was made for him by dwarves. It could sail on the land, sea, or through the air. It was large enough to hold all the gods, but it could be folded up and fit into a pocket. He also owned a chariot drawn by two boars, Gullinbursti and Slidrugtanni. He could ride Gullinbursti through the sky. It was made by dwarves for Loki to give to Frey. His wife was Gerd, a beautiful giantess who he fell in love with when he espied her from Odin's throne. He sent his servant, Skirnir, to win her for him. For this task, Frey lent Skirnir his sword which "swings itself if wise he who wields it" and his horse.

Heimdall: He watches the rainbow bridge, Bifrost , for the coming of the frost giants at the Ragnarok, when he will sound his horn, Gjallar. In the Ragnarok, he and Loki will kill each other. He never sleeps, can see in the dark, and can hear sheep wool growing.
Fenrir-Wolf: Fenrir is a gigantic and terrible monster in the shape of a wolf. He is the eldest child of Loki and the giantess Angrboda. The gods learned of a prophecy which stated that the wolf and his family would one day be responsible for the destruction of the world. They caught the wolf and locked him in a cage. Only the god of war, Tyr, dared to feed and take care of the wolf

who was beowulf

By this time, a young thane and nephew of Hygelac, named Beowulf, had heard of the event in Heorot. Beowulf was the strongest and the bravest warrior in the world. Beowulf was determined to aid Hrothgar against Grendel: to win the glory of slaying the dreadful demon. Beowulf took fourteen of Hygelac's bravest thanes with him.
Beowulf was the son of Ecgtheow and Hygelac's unnamed sister. On his father's side, Beowulf belonged to the family known as the Wægmundings, including Wiglaf (whom you will meet in the next part of the tale).
Hygelac was the son of Hrethel, king of the Geats. Hygelac had also two older brothers, Herebeald and Hæthcyn. Hæthcyn had accidentally killed Herebeald in a hunting trip. Hæthcyn succeeded his father, but Ongentheow, king of the Swedes, had killed him in the Battle of Ravenswood. So Hygelac was the current king of Geatland, in southern Sweden.
Beowulf arrived at Heorot with his 14 companions. They met Wulfgar, Hrothgar's messenger and adviser. Beowulf entered the hall of Heorot, wearing his splendid corslet, made by the master smith, Weland (Wayland). Beowulf then introduced himself to the Danish king.
When Hrothgar heard that the young Geatish hero wished to aid him in slaying the monster Grendel, the king and his wife Wealhtheow warmly welcome Beowulf and his warriors as guests.
Here, Beowulf had told them that he had previously killed in five giants and a sea monster. Not every Danes received him warmly. Unferth thought the young hero was reckless braggart. Unferth had heard that Beowulf had lost a swimming race against Breca in the sea, while they wore full mail shirt armours and their swords.
Beowulf told Unferth, what really happened. Beowulf became separated from his swimming opponent, when he became involved in a life and death struggle against the sea monster. Beowulf despatched the monster with his sword.
Hrothgar became very fond of his young guest that he promised to reward Beowulf, if he managed to kill Grendel. Beowulf knew that the monster has carried no weapons, so Beowulf declared that he would confront the monster without the use of his sword.
After a supper and a long talk between Hrothgar and Beowulf, the king and his retainers left the hall and went to bed, leaving Beowulf and his followers to guard the hall.
Late at night, Grendel left his underwater lair, and stealthy entered the hall. All of his companions fell to sleep in the hall, while Beowulf waited in the dark. Grendel killed one of the sleeping Geatish warriors.
When Grendel went and attacked the next victim, Grendel was not only surprised to find him awake, but his prey had actually prevented him from crushing his victim. For once in his life, Grendel knew fear and pain. Pain, because Beowulf's grips on his monstrous hands were so strong, that he could not disengage from the hero. Grendel felt agony, as he felt Beowulf crushed his hands and fingers. Beowulf was relentless.
A deadly struggle ensued, as the monster tried to escape. Beowulf's companions watched in awe, before they joined in the fray, to protect their leader. They tried to hack at the monsters with their swords, to no avail. Grendel was invulnerable to all weapons of war.
Finally, Grendel felt excruciating pain, as Beowulf tore off one of his arms from his shoulder. His lifeblood sprouted from the large wound. Grendel immediately fled from Beowulf and Heorot, and returned to his watery home, to die in great agony, because his wound was mortal.
In Heorot, Hrothgar and his subjects were wakened from titanic struggle between the Geatish hero and the monster, found Beowulf holding Grendel's missing arm as prove of his victory. They all knew that Beowulf had dealt a death blow to the creature that had killed many of Hrothgar's warriors.
In the morning, the people of Heorot celebrated the death of Grendel. The Danes arranged a great funeral pyre to the Geatish warrior, who was murdered by Grendel, last night.
Hrothgar's bard recorded Beowulf's late night feat. The bard made comparison of Beowulf with the hero, Sigemund (Siegmund in German literature and Sigmund in the Norse).
The bard also told of the war between the Danes and the Frisians. Hildeburh, the sister of King Hnæf of the Danes, had married Finn, the king of Frisians. War had broken out between the two tribes at Finnsburh. Hildeburh's brother and son were killed in the fighting. Hengest became the new leader of the Danes. An uneasy truce was settled between the Danes and the Frisians. Hengest broke the peace, when the thane, Hunlafing incited the new king, to take vengeance upon the Finn and the Frisians. Finn, Hildeburh's husband, was killed and his hall was looted.
As Hrothgar had promised, he rewarded the young hero with splendid armour, helmet and a banner depicting a wild boar. Hrothgar also gave the hero the sword of belonging to his father, Healfdene.
Beowulf had also received precious cup, which was a family heirloom. By giving the ancestral sword to the hero, it indicated that Hrothgar would like to adopt Beowulf as a son and make him heir, instead of his own son, Hrethric.
Wealhtheow was aware of her husband's intention, anxiously asked Hrothgar to give whatever gifts he wish to Beowulf, but not to deprive one of her sons, the right to rule after him. Wealhtheow also bestowed some more gifts to Beowulf – a necklace and a corslet. The Danish queen also appealed to Beowulf to be kind to her sons.
The poem hint at that Hrothulf, Hrothgar's nephew, would one day betray Hrothgar.

Mother's Revenge

The Danish king and his thanes thought they could sleep peacefully in the mead-hall at night, but their peril was far from over. Grendel may have died in his lair, from his wound and loss of blood, but Grendel's mother mourned for the loss of her monstrous offspring.
Grendel's mother was even more hideous and evil than her son (Grendel) was. The night when the Danes celebrated victory, Grendel's mother decided to avenge her son's death upon the unsuspecting Danes.
When the Danes and his honour guests were asleep, Grendel's mother snatched one of Hrothgar's thanes, murdering him while he slept. The creature immediately returned to her home, taking the thane's carcass with her.
Beowulf was not sleeping in the hall that night. When they found that one of the thanes was missing, Hrothgar knew that Grendel's mother had killed Aeschere, a loyal adviser. Everyone was distressed that they faced a new crisis, but Beowulf promised to kill Grendel's mother.
They tracked the monster to the lake, where they found Aeschere's severed head, which distressed everyone. They found the lake filled with unnamed serpents in the water.
Beowulf armed himself with a mail corslet and borrowed the sword from Unferth; the sword was called Hrunting (Unferth was the one who taunted Beowulf the previous day).
Beowulf then dived into the water, seeking the lair of Grendel's mother. Grendel's mother sensing human intruder in the water, snatch Beowulf. Other creatures in the water, also attacked the hero, but his corslet protected him. At the bottom of lake, Grendel's mother brought the hero to a vaulted chamber – the lair of Grendel and his mother. He immediately swung his sword (Hrunting) right on the beast's head. Though the Hrunting was a powerful sword in the battlefield, it was useless against Grendel's mother.
Discarding the sword, Beowulf tried to fight the creature of the fens with his bare hands. Grappling with the monster by its shoulders, he flung Grendel's mother to the ground. The monster leaped back to her feet, and tried to dash the hero to the ground. The creature then drew her dagger, but his corslet saved his life.
Beowulf saw another sword in the hall. The mighty weapon was possibly forged by a giant. It was larger than any sword even seen, and it was too heavy for one person to life the massive sword, except Beowulf. The Geatish warrior seized the sword by the hilt, and delivered a powerful stroke that severed the monster's head. With the death of Grendel's mother, Beowulf had avenged Æschere, the Danish thane.
As the hero explored the subterranean cave, Beowulf found that the vaulted hall was filled with weapons and treasures. Beowulf was not interested in the treasures; he had sought Grendel, who had escaped from Heorot. Beowulf found that Grendel had bled to death, but he severed Grendel's head to take back with him, as proof of his victory. The giant's sword melted from the poisoned blood. Beowulf discarded the now useless sword, and retrieved Unferth's sword, Hrunting.
Hrothgar and his followers thought their brave champion must have died fighting Grendel's mother, so they sadly returned to Heorot, after waiting for hours for the hero's return. But the Geatish warriors stayed and waited for their leader's return.
Beowulf returned to the surface with Grendel's head. Beowulf's followers were relieved that their leader was still alive, and rejoiced that their hero had overcome Grendel's mother. His followers carried Grendel's head, as they returned to Heorot.
There was great rejoicing when Hrothgar and Danish thanes saw that their saviour had returned triumphantly with Grendel's head.
Once again, there was victory celebration, and Beowulf gave his account of what had happened. When the Danes went to bed, they knew that they no longer needed to fear any more creatures that would attack Heorot.
The next morning, Beowulf announced his need to return home. Hrothgar was sad that the young hero would leave so soon, since he loved his guest like a son of his own. Hrothgar gave some more gifts for the Geatish hero. Beowulf returned the Hrunting (sword) that he borrowed from Unferth. Beowulf returned to his ship and sailed back to Geatland, ladled full of Danish treasures and gifts.
In Geatland, Hygalec and his wife Hygd had joyfully welcomed the king's nephew's safe return from Denmark. Once again, Beowulf recounted his adventure in Heorot, his fight with Grendel, and later with Grendel's mother.
Beowulf also foretold doom in the Danish royal house. Freawaru, the daughter of Hrothgar, was due to marry Ingeld of the Heathobards, so to end the feud between the Scyldings and the Heathobards. But Ingeld would not forgive the Danes for taunting him over his father's death on his wedding day.
Beowulf would then display the gifts he had won, through friendship with Hrothgar, before the hero gave away most of his gifts.

what is ragnarok

The Ragnarok, or end of the world, has been prophesied. When Mirmir no longer guards his well, Yggdrasil's root will begin to rot. The Nidhog dragon will finally succeed in knawing through the root that ends at Hvergelmer well. The Norns will be alarmed at the pollution of the Urdh well and the yellowing of the leaves of the world tree. Odin's sacrificed eye lies in Mirmir's well and sees what is to come. He knows that nothing can stop Fibulwinter, three years with endless winter, which will be followed by Ragnarok.

The days will grow colder until even Urda well freezes solid. Storm and sleet will pound the World-Tree. One of Yggdrasil's branches will break and fall, striking Jormungand, the world serpent, which immediately will let go of its tail. The Hel ship Naglfar will become visible in the mist. The wolves Skoll and Manegarm will get closer and closer to Sun and Moon, which they have chased for eons. Fenrir wolf and and the Hel-wolf Garm will break their chains. Giants will release Loki from his fetters on the mountain. Nidhoggr will leave the roots of Yggdrasil and head toward Asgard. Behind him will march all the Giants. Heimdall will see all this, and will take up the Gjallarhorn to blow the warning.

Loki will lead monsters and Giants to attack the Gods in the great battle of Ragnarok on Vigrid plain. The leader of the Fire Giants, Surt, will attack Freyr, who will be armed only with a deer's antler. Freyr will stick his deer horn through Surt's eye, but then Surt will kill him with his flaming sword. Thor's son Magni will send a killing arrow toward Nidhoggr's head. Side by side, Odin and Thor will fight Fenrir and Jormungand. Odin will put his spear, Gungnir, in Fenrir's chest, but the wolf will crush Odin to the ground. Thor will kill Jormungand with his hammer, Mjollnir, but then will take nine steps backwards and fall down, poisoned by the serpent's venom. Tyr will kill the wolf dog Garm. Vidar will take revenge for Odin. The enemies Loki and Heimdall will their spears at each other at the same time and both will die. Modi will be surrounded by Giants, but Magni and Vidar will rescue him.

The winds will increase and blow Yggdrasil from every direction until the great World-Tree falls. The Dark Elves forge will tip and the World-Tree will burn. The Bifrost Rainbow Bridge will collapse and one by one each of the Worlds will fall. The remaining Aesir will escape in Freyr's ship, Skidbladnir. It will be almost taken by the Hel-ship Naglfar. Midgard will then be destroyed by fire, and will sink back into the sea.

This final destruction will be followed by a rebirth, the Earth reemerging from the sea. Seven sons of the dead Aesir will return to Asgard and rule the universe