Oðinn
Norse All-Father, god of wisdom
Oðinn is an áss of the Æsir, commonly called the All-Father. He was the prominent god of the Norse pantheon, and his worship extended throughout Northern Europe. As a god, he is widely associated with wisdom, healing, death, royalty, execution, knowledge, conflict, sorcery, poetry, and written knowledge. He appears frequently in the Eddas.
His name is commonly referenced in place names throughout Europe, and the word Wednesday is believed to derive from Onsdag (lit. "Odin's Day"). In many Old English texts, Odin is frequently referenced as an ancestral figure among royal families seeking ties to divinity.
Due to similarities, scholars have proposed that Oðinn and Óðr are one in the same.
Sources:
- "The Viking gods". National Museum of Denmark.
- Schulte, Michael (2006), "The transformation of the older fuþark: Number magic, runographic or linguistic principles?", Arkiv för nordisk filologi, 121, pp. 41–74
- de Vries, Jan (1962). Altnordisches Etymologisches Worterbuch (1977 ed.). Brill. ISBN 978-90-04-05436-3.
- Orchard, Andy (1997). Dictionary of Norse Myth and Legend. Cassell. ISBN 978-0-304-34520-5.
- Birley, Anthony R. (Trans.) (1999). Agricola and Germany. Oxford World's Classics. ISBN 978-0-19-283300-6
- Thorpe, Benjamin (1851). Northern Mythology, Compromising the Principal Traditions and Superstitions of Scandinavia, North Germany, and the Netherlands: Compiled from Original and Other Sources. 3 vols. Volume 2 Scandinavian Popular Traditions and Superstitions. Lumley. OCLC 314195407
- Hollander, Lee Milton (1936). Old Norse Poems: The Most Important Nonskaldic Verse Not Included in the Poetic Edda. Columbia University Press
- Lindow, John (2001). Norse Mythology: A Guide to Gods, Heroes, Rituals, and Beliefs. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-983969-8.
- Davidson, Hilda Ellis (1990), Gods and Myths of Northern Europe, Penguin Books, ISBN 0-14-013627-4
Odin rides atop the horse Sleipnir (here depicted with four legs rather than his characteristic eight), holding his spear Gungnir by Lorenz Frølich
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