Viking Gods and Norse Mythology Vocabulary

Odin trades an eye for wisdom. Thor goes fishing for the Midgard Serpent. Still, Loki is never far from trouble. In short, the Viking gods are a large and quarrelsome family. In fact, their stories are crowded with giants, dwarves, monsters, magic horses, and a great tree that holds the nine worlds together. So this glossary is your guide to who is who, and to the Viking words you will meet along the way.

Jump to the glossary: Gods and other beings · Other mythology words · Everyday Viking words

Norse mythology has two families of gods. The Aesir, led by Odin and Thor, live in Asgard. The Vanir, among them Njord, Freyr, and Freyja, are gods of the sea, the harvest, and good fortune. The two families once fought a war, then made peace and traded hostages. As a result, Njord, Freyr, and Freyja are counted among the gods of Asgard. However, against them all stand the giants, the jotnar. They are the gods’ greatest rivals, yet they are also, again and again, their lovers, parents, and in-laws.

In fact, the Vikings passed their myths along by word of mouth and wrote very little of them down. Runestones, carved picture stones, and skaldic poetry give us glimpses, but most of what we know comes from two Icelandic books written after Iceland became Christian: the Prose Edda, composed around 1220 by the poet, historian, and chieftain Snorri Sturluson, and the Poetic Edda, an anonymous collection of mythological and heroic poems preserved in a manuscript (the Codex Regius) from around 1270. Both were written down roughly 150 to 200 years after the Viking Age ended, so read them as precious, late, and sometimes Christian-tinted windows into the old beliefs.

How to Use This Glossary of Viking Words

Gods, Goddesses, and Other Beings – Viking words for the gods, goddesses, giants, and dwarves of the myths, A to Z, from Aegir to Vor. So use the Jump to letters to skip ahead.

Other Norse Mythology Vocabulary – more Viking words for the groups, places, creatures, and wonders, such as the Valkyries, Bifrost, and Valhalla. Also, this section has its own Jump to letters.

Spelling – We use plain English spellings without accents, so Thor rather than Thor. Viking words are spelled many ways in English, so we spell each one the same way across our site.

Links – A linked name has its own story on our site. Every entry also has its own anchor, so you can share a link to a single name.

Related pages – Odin alone goes by more than 150 names, gathered on Names of Odin and What They Mean, and the Viking Timeline sets the myths beside the history. To find a name fit for the sagas, try our Viking Name Generator. Finally, this page grows as we tell more of the stories.

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Viking Words for Gods, Goddesses, and Other Beings

Jump to: A · B · D · E · F · G · H · I · J · K · L · M · N · O · R · S · T · U · V · Other words ↓

A–E

Aegir – Giant (jotunn) of the sea, often counted among the gods, and famous host of the gods’ feasts, where his ale brews itself. Husband of Ran. Also, Snorri says he lived on the island of Hlesey.

Andvari – A dwarf who guarded a hoard of gold in a waterfall. When Loki forced him to give it up, Andvari cursed his ring, Andvaranaut, and the curse follows the treasure through the Volsung legend. For that reason, he is often compared to Alberich of the German Nibelungenlied, who owns a cloak of invisibility.

Annar – Father of Jörð (Mother Earth) by Nott (the Night).

Aurvandil (Aurvandill) – Husband of the seeress Gróa. Thor carried him out of Jötunheim in a basket across the icy rivers Élivágar; one of his toes stuck out and froze, so Thor broke it off and threw it into the sky, where it became the star called Aurvandil’s Toe (Snorri’s Prose Edda, Skáldskaparmál).

Baldur – Gentle and wise son of Odin and Frigg. Everything in creation swore never to harm him except the mistletoe, which seemed too young to ask. So Loki put a sprig of mistletoe in the hand of Baldur’s blind brother Hod and guided his throw, killing Baldur. Later, he will return after Ragnarök.

Bor – Son of Buri and father of Odin, Vili, and Ve.

Bragi – Norse god of poetry and eloquence. Son of Odin and husband of Idun.

Brokkr – A dwarf who bet his head against Loki that his brother Eitri (also called Sindri) could forge finer treasures than the Sons of Ivaldi. While Brokkr worked the bellows, Eitri made the golden boar Gullinbursti, the ring Draupnir, and the hammer Mjölnir; Brokkr won the bet, but since Loki’s neck was not part of it, he sewed Loki’s lips shut instead (Snorri’s Prose Edda, Skáldskaparmál).

Buri – Ancestor of the Norse gods. The primeval cow Auðhumla (Auðhumla) licked him free from blocks of salty ice over three days.

Day – Son of Night and Delling. Rides around the earth on his horse Skinfaxi.

Dag – See Day.

Earth – Daughter of Night and Annar. Lover of Odin and mother of Thor. Also known as Fjorgyn and Jörð.

Eir – Goddess of healing. Snorri calls her the best of physicians.

Elli – ‘Old age,’ the old nurse of Utgard-Loki, who wrestled Thor and brought him down to one knee. Utgard-Loki later revealed that she was old age itself, which no one can withstand forever (Snorri’s Prose Edda, Gylfaginning).

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F–I

Fafnir (Fáfnir) – Son of Hreidmar, who killed his father for the gold the gods had paid for the death of his brother Ótr, then took the shape of a dragon to guard it on Gnitaheath. The hero Sigurd killed him from a pit dug in his path, stabbing him through the heart from below.

Forseti – God of justice. Son of Baldur and Nanna.

Freyja – Main goddess of the Vanir. Daughter of Njord and sister of Freyr.

Freyr – Important god of the Vanir. Son of Njord and brother of Freyja.

Frigg (Frigg) – Chief goddess of the Aesir, wife of Odin and mother of Baldur. She knows the fates of all beings, though she never speaks of them.

Fulla – Goddess servant of Frigg.

Gefion (Gefion) – Goddess linked with the plow and with unmarried women. She tricked King Gylfi of Sweden: promised as much land as she could plow in a day and a night, she turned her four giant-born sons into oxen and tore away the island of Zealand.

Gróa – A völva (seeress), wife of Aurvandil. She sang spells to loosen the shard of Hrungnir’s whetstone stuck in Thor’s head, but when Thor told her that her husband would soon be home, she forgot her charms for joy, and the stone stayed where it was (Snorri’s Prose Edda, Skáldskaparmál).

Gullveig – A mysterious woman in the Völuspá whom the Aesir stab with spears and burn three times; three times she is reborn. As a result, her treatment seems to spark the war between the Aesir and the Vanir. Still, some scholars identify her with Freyja.

Heimdall (Rig) – Watchman of the gods, who guards Bifrost and will blow the horn Gjallarhorn at the start of Ragnarök. Son of nine mothers. As Rig, he fathers the three classes of human society: thralls, free farmers, and nobles, in the poem Rígsþula.

Hel – Daughter of Loki who rules Hel (sometimes called Helheim), the realm of those who die of sickness or old age.

Hermod – Son of Odin. Rode to Hel in an attempt to rescue his brother Baldur.

Hod – Blind son of Odin, whom Loki tricked into killing his brother Baldur. He will return after Ragnarök.

Honir – Long-legged, indecisive god. Sent to the Vanir to seal the truce between them and the Aesir. He will survive Ragnarök.

Hreidmar (Hreiðmarr) – A dwarf, father of Regin, Fafnir, and Ótr. When Loki killed Ótr, who was in the shape of an otter, the gods paid Hreidmar the gold of Andvari, cursed ring and all, and his son Fafnir killed him for it.

Hrungnir – The strongest of the giants, with a heart, head, and shield of stone. After racing Odin to Asgard on his horse Gullfaxi, he got drunk and threatened the gods, then met Thor in a duel at Grjotunagardar, where Thor’s hammer shattered his whetstone and killed him, though a shard lodged in Thor’s head (Snorri’s Prose Edda, Skáldskaparmál).

Hugi – ‘Thought,’ the small figure who beat Thialfi in three footraces at Utgard. Utgard-Loki later revealed that Thialfi had been racing against thought itself (Snorri’s Prose Edda, Gylfaginning).

Idun – Guardian of the golden apples of youth and wife of Bragi.

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J–N

Jarnsaxa – A giantess (jotunn), mother of Magni by Thor. One late poem also names her among the nine mothers of Heimdall.

Jörð – See Earth, mother of Thor.

Kvasir – Wise poet created from the spittle of the Aesir and Vanir.

Lofn – Goddess of illicit unions.

Logi – ‘Flame,’ the giant who beat Loki in an eating contest at Utgard by eating the meat, the bones, and the wooden trough as well. Utgard-Loki later revealed that Logi was wildfire itself (Snorri’s Prose Edda, Gylfaginning).

Loki – Trickster god, son of the giant Fárbauti and of Laufey. Also known as Lopt (‘air’), the Sly One, and the Shape Changer. Blood-brother of Odin, father of Fenrir, Jörmungandr and Hel, and bound until Ragnarök.

Magni – Son of Thor and the giantess Jarnsaxa. Will inherit Thor’s hammer Mjölnir with his brother Modi after Ragnarök.

Mani – See Moon.

Mimir (Mimir) – Wise god of the Aesir. Sent with Honir to the Vanir as a hostage to seal the truce. The Vanir beheaded him, but Odin preserved the head with herbs and charms and still seeks its counsel.

Modgud – Maiden who guards Gjallarbru, the gold-roofed bridge over the river Gjoll on the road to Hel.

Modi – Son of Thor; his mother is not named in the sources. Will inherit Thor’s hammer Mjölnir with his brother Magni after Ragnarök.

Mokkurkalfi (Mökkurkálfi) – ‘Mist-calf,’ the clay giant the giants made at Grjotunagardar to stand beside Hrungnir: nine miles tall, with the heart of a mare. He was so frightened at the sight of Thor that he wet himself, and Thialfi brought him down (Snorri’s Prose Edda, Skáldskaparmál).

Moon – Son of Mundilfari. Guides the moon on its course.

Nanna – Wife of Baldur and daughter of Nep.

Nari (Narfi) – Son of Loki and Sigyn. After Loki’s other son Vali (not Odin’s son Vali) was turned into a wolf and tore Nari apart, the gods bound Loki with Nari’s entrails.

Nep – Father of the goddess Nanna, son of Odin.

Night (Nótt) – Daughter of the giant Norfi (not Loki’s son Narfi) and mother of Day. She rides across the sky on her horse Hrimfaxi, whose foaming bit drips the morning dew.

Njord (Njord) – Vanir god associated with wind and sea. Husband of Skadi and father of Freyja and Freyr.

Norns – The three women who shape destiny at the Well of Urd beneath Yggdrasil: Urd (‘what has become’), Verdandi (‘what is becoming’) and Skuld (‘what shall be,’ also ‘debt’).

Nott – See Night.

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O–S

Od – Missing husband of Freyja, whom she constantly mourns.

Odin (Odin; Woden, Wotan) – Chief of the Aesir and ruler of Asgard. God of wisdom, poetry, magic, runes, battle, and the dead. Also called the All-father, the Terrible One (Yggr), the One-eyed, and the Father of Battle. His disguises include Bölverkr, Gangrad, Grimnir, and Harbard. See our full list of Names of Odin and What They Mean.

Ran (Ran) – Wife of Aegir, who dragged drowning men into the sea with her net.

Regin (Reginn) – A smith, son of Hreidmar and brother of Fafnir and Ótr, who fostered the hero Sigurd. He made Sigurd the sword Gram and urged him to kill Fafnir for the gold, but plotted to kill Sigurd as well, and Sigurd, warned by the birds, killed him first.

Rind – Mother of Vali by Odin. Snorri counts her among the goddesses, but other sources call her a giantess or a human princess.

Roskva (Röskva) – Thialfi’s sister, a farmer’s daughter who became Thor’s servant along with her brother after he lamed one of Thor’s goats. She traveled with Thor to Utgard but took no part in the contests there (Snorri’s Prose Edda, Gylfaginning).

Saga – Goddess and drinking companion of Odin.

Sif – Wife of Thor, whose golden hair was cut off by Loki.

Sigurd (Sigurðr) – The dragon-slayer of Norse heroic legend, called Siegfried in German. Fostered by the smith Regin, he killed the dragon Fafnir with the sword Gram; when he burned his finger cooking the dragon’s heart and put it in his mouth, he understood the speech of birds, who warned him that Regin meant to kill him (Poetic Edda; Völsunga saga).

Sigyn – Wife of Loki. When the gods bound him, she held a bowl over his face to catch the venom dripping from a serpent. Each time she empties it, the drops make him writhe, and the earth shakes.

Sjofn – Goddess of human passion.

Skadi (Skadi) – Giantess and goddess of winter, skiing, and the hunt. Wife of Njord, though the marriage failed: he hated her mountains, and she hated his seashore.

Skrymir (Skrýmir) – The enormous giant whom Thor and his companions met in the forest on the way to Utgard. The “hall” where they sheltered for the night was his glove, and Thor’s hammer blows on his sleeping head seemed to him no more than a falling leaf or acorn; he was Utgard-Loki in disguise (Snorri’s Prose Edda, Gylfaginning).

Sol – See Sun.

Sun – Daughter of Mundilfari and guide of the sun.

Syn – Goddess of the accused at trial.

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T–V

Thialfi (Þjálfi) – Thor’s servant, a farmer’s son who split a thigh bone of one of Thor’s goats for the marrow, laming it, and so was taken into Thor’s service with his sister Roskva. He lost three footraces to Hugi at Utgard and stood beside Thor against Hrungnir, bringing down the clay giant Mokkurkalfi (Snorri’s Prose Edda, Gylfaginning and Skáldskaparmál).

Thor – God of thunder and strength, protector of gods and humans against the giants. Son of Odin and Earth (Jörð), husband of Sif, and wielder of the hammer Mjölnir. Also called Oku-Thor, ‘Thor the charioteer,’ for the goat-drawn chariot he drives across the sky.

Thrud – Daughter of Thor. Promised to the dwarf Alvis.

Tyr (Tyr) – God of war and oaths. When the gods bound the wolf Fenrir, Tyr placed his right hand in the wolf’s mouth as a pledge of good faith, and lost it. Snorri calls him Odin’s son, but the poem Hymiskviða makes him the son of the giant Hymir.

Ull – God of archery and skiing; son of Sif and stepson of Thor.

Utgard-Loki (Útgarða-Loki) – ‘Loki of the Outyards,’ the giant king of Utgard, not to be confused with the god Loki. He set Thor, Loki, and Thialfi contests they could not win, then revealed that he had been Skrymir all along and that every contest was an illusion (Snorri’s Prose Edda, Gylfaginning).

Vali – Son of Odin and Rind, born to avenge Baldur; he killed Hod when he was only one night old. In the end, he will survive Ragnarök.

Var – Goddess of marriage oaths.

Ve – Son of Bor and brother of Odin and Vili.

Vidar – The silent god, son of Odin and the giantess Grid. At Ragnarök he avenges Odin by killing the wolf Fenrir, and he survives into the new world.

Vili – Son of Bor and brother of Odin and Ve.

Vor – Goddess who knows all. Snorri says she is so wise and searching that nothing can be hidden from her.

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Other Viking Words from Norse Mythology

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A–G

Aesir (Aesir) – A group of warrior gods led by Odin who inhabit Asgard.

Aptrganga (plural aptrgöngur) – ‘Re-walker,’ a dead person who walks again. The sagas use the word for revenants that are not called draugr, and scholars usually discuss them as draugar.

Asgard – Home of the Aesir and one of the nine worlds. Snorri places Odin’s hall Valhalla here, and the bridge Bifrost joins it to Midgard.

Berserkers – Warriors who fought in a wild frenzy. Snorri’s Ynglinga saga says Odin’s men went into battle without armor, ‘as mad as dogs or wolves,’ biting their shields.

Bifrost (Bifrost) – A shimmering, rainbow-colored bridge that reaches from Asgard to Midgard. Heimdall guards the bridge from the Jötnar.

Draugr (plural draugar) – The walking dead of the sagas: a corpse that rises from its grave mound to haunt and harm the living. For example, the best known is Glam, whom the outlaw Grettir wrestles in Grettis saga.

Einherjar – Band of dead warriors in Valhalla awaiting Ragnarök.

Élivágar – ‘Ice waves,’ the venomous rivers that flowed from the spring Hvergelmir in Niflheim into Ginnungagap at the beginning of the world; the first giant, Ymir, formed from their poison. Thor once waded across them carrying Aurvandil.

Fenrir – Monstrous wolf, son of Loki and the giantess Angrboða. The gods bound him with the magic fetter Gleipnir, which cost Tyr his hand. At Ragnarök he breaks free and swallows Odin, and Vidar avenges him.

Gjallarhorn – ‘Loud-sounding horn,’ the horn of Heimdall, whose blast can be heard in all worlds. At the start of Ragnarök he will blow it to wake the gods (Snorri’s Prose Edda, Gylfaginning).

Gnitaheath (Gnitaheiðr) – The heath where Fafnir lay on his gold in the shape of a dragon, and where Sigurd killed him from a pit dug in his path.

Gram (Gramr) – Sigurd’s sword, with which he killed the dragon Fafnir. Regin made it so sharp that it split his anvil and cut through a tuft of wool drifting downstream (Snorri’s Prose Edda, Skáldskaparmál); in the Völsunga saga it is reforged from the broken sword of Sigurd’s father, Sigmund.

Grani – Sigurd’s gray horse, of the line of Odin’s horse Sleipnir, which Odin in disguise helped him choose (Völsunga saga). Grani carried Fafnir’s gold, and Sigurd rode him through the wall of fire to Brynhildr.

Grjotunagardar (Grjótúnagarðar) – Hrungnir’s home on the border of Jötunheim, where he waited for Thor with his stone shield and his whetstone, and where the two fought their duel (Snorri’s Prose Edda, Skáldskaparmál).

Gullfaxi – ‘Golden mane,’ the horse of the giant Hrungnir, which raced Odin’s Sleipnir all the way to Asgard and lost only narrowly. After Hrungnir’s death Thor gave it to his young son Magni, and Odin complained that it should have gone to him (Snorri’s Prose Edda, Skáldskaparmál).

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H–N

Haugbúi (plural haugbúar) – ‘Mound-dweller,’ a dead person who lives on inside the grave mound. Unlike a roaming draugr, a haugbúi stays at its grave and attacks only those who trespass there; it inspired Tolkien’s barrow-wights.

Haustlöng – ‘Autumn-long,’ a skaldic poem by Thjóðólfr of Hvinir from the early 900s, describing scenes painted on a shield: Loki’s betrayal of Idun to the giant Thjazi, and Thor’s duel with Hrungnir. Snorri quotes it in the Prose Edda and drew on it for his own telling of both myths.

Himinhrjot (Himinhrjóðr) – The biggest ox in the giant Hymir’s herd. Thor cut off its head to bait his hook when he went fishing with Hymir and hooked the Midgard Serpent (Snorri’s Prose Edda, Gylfaginning, where Brodeur’s translation spells it Himinbrjotr).

Hrimfaxi – Horse of the goddess Night.

Hymiskviða – ‘The Lay of Hymir,’ a Poetic Edda poem. Thor and Tyr fetch a huge brewing kettle from the giant Hymir so that Aegir can brew ale for all the gods, and while there Thor goes fishing with Hymir and hooks the Midgard Serpent.

Jörmungandr – The Midgard Serpent, son of Loki and Angrboða. Odin threw him into the sea, where he grew until he circled all of Midgard, biting his own tail. Thor once hooked him while fishing with the giant Hymir; at Ragnarök they kill each other.

Jötnar (singular jotunn) – The giants, the gods’ great rivals, who live in Jötunheim. Even so, several gods have giant mothers, wives, or lovers, among them Skadi, Grid, and Jarnsaxa.

Jötunheim – ‘Giant-home,’ the land, or lands, of the jötnar, cut off from the worlds of gods and humans by barriers that cannot be crossed in the usual way. The Eddas usually place it to the north or east; in Snorri’s tale of Utgard, Thor reaches it by traveling east over the sea.

Lokasenna – ‘Loki’s Flyting,’ a Poetic Edda poem set at a feast held by Aegir. Loki trades insults with the gods one by one, accusing them of shameful deeds, until Thor arrives and threatens him, and Loki leaves the hall.

Midgard – ‘The middle enclosure,’ the world of humans. Odin, Vili, and Ve made it from the body of the giant Ymir and walled it with his brows to keep out the giants (see Ymir’s death).

Mjölnir – Thor’s hammer, forged by the dwarf brothers Brokk and Eitri (also called Sindri) after Loki bet his head against their skill. It never misses and always returns to Thor’s hand. However, its one flaw is a short handle.

Muspell (Múspell) – The hot, glowing world of fire in the south, which Snorri says existed before the earth and which the giant Surt guards. Sparks and embers from it fell into the Yawning Void, Ginnungagap, and were set in the heavens as lights (Prose Edda, Gylfaginning). See also Muspellheim.

Muspellheim (Múspellheimr) – ‘Home of Muspell,’ Snorri’s name for the same fiery southern realm. In the Prose Edda its sparks and glowing masses light the southern part of the void, and the gods set the embers and sparks in the heaven (Gylfaginning).

Nine Worlds – The worlds held together by Yggdrasil. The Völuspá speaks of nine worlds, but no source lists them all in one place, so modern lists vary. Most include Asgard, Vanaheim, Alfheim, Midgard, Jötunheim, Svartalfheim, Niflheim, Muspelheim, and Hel.

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R–Y

Ragnarök – ‘Fate of the gods.’ The final battle, in which giants and monsters destroy the world of the gods and most of the gods with it. Afterward a green earth rises from the sea, and a few gods and two humans, Lif and Lifthrasir, survive to renew it.

Skinfaxi – Horse of the god Day.

Sleipnir – Eight-legged horse ridden primarily by Odin. Son of Loki, who changed into a mare, and the stallion Svadilfari.

Tanngrisnir and Tanngnjóstr – Thor’s two goats, ‘teeth-barer’ and ‘teeth-grinder,’ which pull his chariot. Thor can kill and eat them and raise them again with his hammer the next morning, as long as their bones are kept whole (Snorri’s Prose Edda, Gylfaginning).

Thrúðvangar (Þrúðvangar) – ‘Plains of strength,’ Thor’s realm, where his hall Bilskirnir stands, the greatest house known, with 540 rooms (Snorri’s Prose Edda, Gylfaginning). The poem Grímnismál calls Thor’s home Thrúðheimr instead.

Thrymskviða (Þrymskviða) – The Poetic Edda poem of the giant Thrymr, one of the best known in the collection. Thrymr hides Thor’s hammer Mjölnir and will give it back only if Freyja marries him, so Thor goes to the wedding dressed as the bride, with Loki as his bridesmaid, and when the hammer is laid in the bride’s lap he seizes it and strikes down the giants.

Utgard (Útgarðr) – ‘Outyard,’ the stronghold of the giant Utgard-Loki in Jötunheim, where Thor, Loki, and Thialfi were beaten in rigged contests. When Thor turned back to smash it, it had vanished, leaving only a wide plain (Snorri’s Prose Edda, Gylfaginning).

Vafþrúðnismál – ‘Vafthrudnir’s Sayings,’ a Poetic Edda poem. Odin, disguised as Gagnrad, visits the wise giant Vafthrudnir for a contest of knowledge with their heads as the stakes. Stanza 31 says venom from the Élivágar became the first giant, Ymir.

Valhalla – Odin’s enormous hall, roofed with shields, where half of those slain in battle feast and train for Ragnarök. Meanwhile, the other half go to Freyja’s field, Fólkvangr.

Valkyries – ‘Choosers of the slain.’ Warrior women who serve Odin, deciding who falls in battle and bringing chosen heroes to Valhalla.

Vanaheim (Vanaheimr) – ‘Home of the Vanir,’ where Njord was raised before he was sent to the Aesir as a hostage (Poetic Edda, Vafþrúðnismál; Snorri’s Prose Edda, Gylfaginning). It is usually counted among the nine worlds.

Vanir – A group of gods linked with fertility, wealth, and magic, including Njord, Freyr, and Freyja. They fought a war with the Aesir, then made peace and exchanged hostages.

Vatnajökull – ‘Water glacier,’ Iceland’s largest ice cap. It is a real place, not a site in the myths; our Ginnungagap post uses a photo of one of its ice caves to picture the ice side of the void.

Yggdrasil – The great ash tree whose roots and branches bind the nine worlds together.

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Everyday Viking Words

Not all Viking words come from the myths. These Viking words name the people, places, and things of daily life. Berserkers and draugr, for instance, are in the list above.

Álfablót – The ‘elf sacrifice,’ a private blót held at farmsteads in late autumn, after the harvest, and led mainly by the woman of the house. Strangers were not welcome: the skald Sigvatr Thórðarson was turned away from farm after farm while traveling in Sweden during one (his poem Austrfararvísur).

Bearded axe (skeggøx) – An axe whose blade hooks down below the head, the “beard” (Old Norse skegg), giving a wide cutting edge on a light head. In a fight the hook could pull an enemy’s shield or weapon out of the way.

Broad axe (breiðøx) – The Dane axe: a two-handed battle axe with a broad, thin blade on a shaft up to about 5½ feet (1.7 meters) long. It is one of the main weapons shown on the Bayeux Tapestry.

Dísablót – A blót, or sacrificial feast, in honor of the dísir, female spirits linked with fate. It seems to have been held at the Winter Nights or near the spring equinox; in Sweden it fell in late February or early March at Gamla Uppsala, alongside a great fair and assembly.

Hird – The sworn band of warriors who lived with a king or chieftain and fought at his side.

Jarl – A chieftain or nobleman. In the poem Rígsþula, Jarl is the first of the noble class; the English word “earl” comes from it.

Jól – Yule, the Norse midwinter festival around the winter solstice: days of feasting, ceremonial drinking, and oath-swearing. It later merged with Christmas, and its name still means Christmas in Swedish and other Northern European languages.

Karl – A free farmer, the middle rank of Viking society. In Rígsþula, the free farmers descend from Karl.

Longhouse – The long, timber-framed hall where a Viking family lived, cooked, and slept, often with its animals under the same roof.

Longship – The long, narrow Viking warship, driven by oars and a single square sail.

Runes – The letters of the runic alphabet. In the Viking Age it had 16 letters, the Younger Futhark, carved on runestones, wood, and bone.

Saga – A prose story of Iceland’s kings, families, and heroes, written down mainly in the 13th and 14th centuries (see how we know the Vikings in writing). Saga is also the name of a goddess; see Saga above.

Seiðr – A kind of magic used to see and shape the future. Snorri’s Ynglinga saga says Freyja first taught it to the Aesir.

Skál – ‘Cheers!’ The Scandinavian toast, still said today as skål in Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish. The word means ‘bowl,’ after the drinking vessels of old.

Skald – A poet, often in a king’s service, who praised his deeds in intricate verse. The gift of poetry came from the mead of poetry that Odin stole.

Thing – The assembly of free men that made laws and settled disputes. Iceland’s Althing, founded in 930, still meets today as the country’s parliament (see the founding of Iceland).

Thrall – A slave, the lowest rank of Viking society. Rígsþula tells how Heimdall, as Rig, fathered the three classes: thralls, free farmers, and nobles.

Vetrnætr (Winter Nights) – The days that began winter at the end of autumn, probably a festival of about three days marked with blót, drinking, feasting, and games. It was also a time for sacrifices to the dísir (see Dísablót).

Viking – In Old Norse, viking meant a sea raid or expedition, and a vikingr was someone who went on one. Today the word names the whole people and their age, from the attack on Lindisfarne in 793 to Stamford Bridge in 1066.

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Keep Exploring the Viking Words

Every linked name among these Viking words opens a full story. So start with Thor’s fishing trip for the Midgard Serpent, or read how Ragnarök ends the world of the gods.

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