fandomhigh | World Mythology, Monday, Period 3

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World Mythology, Monday, Period 3

The moment the students were seated, Ghanima launched into her lecture.

"Given that we're in the midst of winter," she began, "We'll start with the myths of a land known for its winter. Today, we journey to Northern Europe, to take on Norse mythology."

"Norse mythology is a collection of beliefs and stories shared by Northern Germanic tribes. It had no one set of doctrinal beliefs. The mythology was orally transmitted in the form of poetry and our knowledge about it is mainly based on the Eddas and other medieval texts written down during and after Christianization. Now, some aspects of Norse mythology passed into Scandinavian folklore

and have survived to modern day times. Others have recently been reinvented or reconstructed as Germanic neopaganism. The mythology also remains as an inspiration in literature, as well as on stage productions and movies."

"Most of the extant records on Norse mythology date from the 12th to 18th century, having gone through more than two centuries of oral preservation in what was at least officially a Christian society. At this point scholars started recording it, particularly in the Eddas and the Heimskringla. There is also the Danish Gesta Danorum by Saxo Grammaticus, where the Norse gods are more strongly Euhemerized. The Prose or Younger Edda was written in the early 13th century by Snorri Sturluson, who was a leading poet, chieftain, and diplomat in Iceland. It may be thought of primarily as a handbook for aspiring poets. It contains prose explications of traditional "kennings," or compressed metaphors found in poetry. These prose retellings make the various tales of the Norse gods slightly more systematic and coherent."

"The Poetic Edda, also known as the Elder Edda, was committed to writing about 50 years after the Prose Edda. It contains 29 long poems, of which 11 deal with the Germanic deities, the rest with legendary heroes like Sigurd the Volsung. Although scholars think it was transcribed later than the other Edda, the language and poetic forms involved in the tales appear to have been composed centuries earlier than their transcription."

Gathering from her stack of papers on her desk, Ghanima began her normal wandering of the room, passing out the first handout. "Scandinavians believed there are 'nine worlds,' the níu heimar. Note the boundaries between Niflheim, Jötunheimr, Hel, Niðavellir, Svartálfaheimr, and several other significant places like Utgarðr remain uncertain. Each world also had significant places within. Valhalla was Odin's hall located in Asgard. It was also home of the Einherjar, who were the souls of the greatest warriors. These warriors were selected by the Valkyries, Odin's mounted female messengers whose sparkling armor supposedly created the famed Aurora Borealis, or the northern lights. The Einherjar would help defend the gods during Ragnarok, when everyone would die in a great battle between the gods and their iniquitous enemies. A battle, incidentally, emphasising a good versus evil duality common to many ancient mythologies and no less present in Norse mythology. Niflhel was a hellish place in Hel, where oathbreakers and other criminals suffered torments."

"These worlds were connected by Yggdrasil, or the world ash root, a giant tree with Asgard at its top. Chewing at its roots in Niflheim was Nidhogg, a ferocious serpent. Asgard can also be reached by Bifrost, the magical rainbow bridge guarded by Heimdall, the god of vigilance who could see and hear a thousand miles."

She smiled as she wandered the room, occasionally stopping to speak directly at one student or another. "You many notice that the cosmology of Norse mythology also involves a strong element of duality," she said, "for example, the night and the day have their own mythological counterparts-- Dagr/Skinfaxi and Nótt/Hrímfaxi, the sun Sól and the chasing wolf Skoll, the moon Mani and its chasing wolf Hati, and the total opposites of Niflheim and Muspell in the origin of the world. There is also a high incidence of twins in Norse mythology. This might have reflected a deeper metaphysical belief in opposites as the foundation of the world."

"In light of this duality, today we shall study Ragnarök." Ghanima circled the class again, giving out the second handout. "The World begins, so the World must end. We've studied a few creation stories, now it's time to see what's on the other side of the mirror."

"Ragnarök, the 'Fate of the Gods',is the final battle waged between the Æsir, led by Odin, and the various forces of the giants or Jötnar, including Loki, followed by the destruction of the world and its subsequent rebirth. Not only will most of the gods, giants and monsters involved perish in this apocalyptic conflagration, but almost everything in the universe will be torn asunder and destroyed.

"What seems eschatologically unique about Ragnarök is that the gods know through prophecy what is going to happen — when the event will occur, who will be slain by whom, and so forth. They even realize that they are powerless to prevent it but nevertheless bravely and defiantly face their bleak destiny.

"On a linguistical note, the Old Norse Ragnarök is a compound of ragna, the genitive plural of regin, meaning "gods" or "ruling powers", and rök "fate". Ragnarøkkr is another form with a slightly different meaning, as "røkkr" means "twilight". In Danish ragnarok is also used as a synonym for chaos."

"According to Völuspá, it will be an axe age, a sword age, shields are cleft asunder, a storm age, a wolf age, before which the world plunges headlong'," she recited, eyes closed as she then repeated the phrase in Norse. "Yggdrasil, the World Tree, will groan and shudder, shaking from root to limb, and nothing will then be unafraid on earth or in the heavens or in Hel. " Ghani smiled softly, hopping up to sit on her desk. "Cheery, isn't it? Now, let's talk about the end of the world."

[OCD UP! Enjoy!]

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Armageddon-style!

Hyacinthe

Gratuity Tucci

Prince Sidon

Paris Geller

Molly Squidpiddge

Ahsoka Tano

Khadgar

Take notes, pass notes, wonder what, exactly, her idea of 'fun' is, since she's apparently read the Eddas in the original language...

Sidon, of course, did his best to take careful and detailed notes on the lecture, big question marks accompanying the proper names, reminding him to make sure of the spellings later. But when the handout started to be passed around, he couldn't help sighing in relief, shaking his hand slightly. He smiled a nod to Lady Ghanima, grateful. And then proceeded to fill the margins of the handout with notes as well.

Though his pencil seemed to go still once she started in about Ragnarök, the full force of his attention going straight to the lecture as he had to remind his heart to calm down a little.

Let's talk about the multiple worlds. Have you encountered this philosophy before you came to Fandom? If so, where? Does the existence of Fandom High as a reality nexus lend credence to this myth in your eyes?

"These are the Skaldic legends!" Hyacinthe said, more to himself than the class. Still, he seemed delighted. "So, yes, I suppose I had heard of multiple worlds before. Though I'd not given it credence."

"Interestingly, they use the word 'skald' to mean a poet or bard," Ghanima replied cheerfully. "So they are, indeed, 'skaldic' legends across all the worlds."

"And in my world, the Skaldi are the nation to our East," Hyacinthe said. "Followers of Odhinn, among others. Interesting, that they would take their name from the word for 'bard' rather than 'warrior,' for that is how we know them best."

Sidon cleared his throat a little, trying to focus a little on this aspect of the class for now without being to distracted by the more personal End of the World business.

"There are no stories or myths about multiple worlds my homeland, as far as I know," he offered, "but the worlds of the Norse are quite a bit different from the worlds connected through Fandom, aren't they? Here, they are connected through portals, if I understand correctly, but these worlds all seem connected by something more...tangible. More like realms than separate worlds, all connected to the same mythology and ideas, cohesive and related in a smaller context. Here, it is much more vast and wide and varied."

“Fandom is the first place I’ve encountered the idea of multiple worlds,” Khadgar said. “It’s said that there are multiple planes of existence in my world—for example, I was taught that the elementals exist in an entirely different plane under the surface of the world—but Fandom and stories like this are new to me. It’s rather exciting though, to think about what might exist in my universe that I don’t know about!”

Somewhere, an adult Khadgar was facepalming at this enthusiasm.

Let's talk about Ragnarök! Is it coming? Has it already been and gone? What do you think about the concept of an unbreakable destiny?

~~And no, we don't mean the WicDiv event. Wrong Ragnarök.~~

"Fate 'tis fate," Hyacinthe said with a shrug. "It can be misunderstood, misinterpreted, or confusing, but it isn't wrong. To believe you can stride above it is hubris in its purest form. Or so say the Hellenes."

"The Hellenes say a lot of things," Ghanima said crisply. "Some cultures hold that fate is a road, with infinite branches that all lead to the same place, some, those detours take you somewhere different from your original destination."

"Some think fate is a thing you choose, some would use that information to manipulate events into a temporary outcome favorable only to themselves. Some believe in it not at all, and some believe that the concept of 'fate' only leads to the entropy of the universe."

"For me, a universe of infinite surprises is much more appealing than any set fate. For what fun is being a precognitive if you only see the same thing day after day? It's more challenging and rewarding to strive for a future you have to earn, rather than one that is simply given to you."

"Who says that you would see the same thing day after day?" Hyacinthe asked. You know, hypothetically. "A life is made up of hundreds of moments, of snapshots in time. Who is to say you would always see the same one no matter how many times you look?"

"I suppose it would depend on how you See," she said. "If you can skip up and down the timeline merrily, then yes, it would be different."

"My gift is fairly limited, but my brother can see all roads, and all outcomes, at the exact same time. He cannot not see the ripples reaching the edge of the pond. The final result is always there."

"Thankfully, there is more than one future available for our universe at this point in time. If there was not, I am rather sure I'd have to put up with a lot more complaining about how I make him handle most of the politics. The variety in options keeps him busy."

"Among my people, we see the Lungo Drom, the Long Road," Hyacinthe said, wording it carefully. "Those with the dromonde can look forwards and sometimes backwords if they're strong enough."

Ghanima smiled broadly. "In my universe, backwards is easy enough, with the right training, though you are limited to those of your own line. The footprints are already on the road, as it were. But where the next footsteps will go? Where they will lead? What happens if the road intersects with another road?"

"The Norse myths hold that it does not matter what road you think you're taking, it's the one you've gone down before and will again, and your destination is fixed. Other cultures, my own included, disagree. Do some universes have fate while others do not? If so, why? It's a philosophical question that could easily drive men mad."

"I cannot speak to other worlds," Hyacinthe said. "I can only speak to the stories of my own. The Tsingani were given the dromonde as a gift and curse in one; as we denied Blessed Elua sanctuary, so to were we denied it, given no homeland and forced to wander. The dromonde is to help us see more true and thus, 'tis that which has yet to come that we bend our eye to, not that which has been."

And here Sidon let out a deep breath that he felt he'd been holding onto every since this topic was introduced.

"Back home," he said, his words particularly deep and grim, "we are in the midst of an event not unlike the one you've described for us. It was prophesized that the princess of the royal family of Hyrule would have the power to chase back Calamity Ganon when he arrived to destroy our precious land, with the help of her Champions, but they failed at their task. The Champions perished, and the only reason Hyrule still survives is because the Princess used every last ounce of her power to hold the Calamity at bay. But her power will not last forever, and the future of Hyrule looks so terribly grim indeed..."

He swallowed the hard lump in his throat, shaking his head. "So I do not know what to think about prophesies and fate and the like as of now. They have not exactly served us well in the past. I feel as though someone messed up the texts and we were supposed to have Ragnarök instead of salvation as well..."

"Prophecy can be tricky that way. When it says 'princess,' does it mean this one? Or the next? Or the one after her?" Ghanima replied. "Though perhaps, the thing you must keep in mind about Ragnarök is that it is a cycle. Afterward, the world will resurface anew and fertile, the surviving and returning gods will meet, and the world will be repopulated."

"Which is all well and good for the reemerging gods and populous," Sidon tried to be diplomatic, he tried very hard, but he simply could not help the faint undertone of bitterness in his words, "but what of the ones at the end of the cycle? What is the point of such a cycle? To cause that much pain and suffering for the sake of renewal? You spoke also of balance, so I suppose....it is....necessary...in this line of thinking that evil must triumph at times, as well as good, but Lady Ghanima! What a cruel and terrible thing to have to consider!"

"There are many cruel and terrible things to consider, when the fates of worlds hang in the balance," Ghanima said gently. "Which is worse? The slow death of a universe from entropy and stagnation? The violent upheaval but eventual balance of Ragnarök? The deaths of some so that the world may live, or the deaths of all through inaction? Sometimes, people think -- and do -- terrible things, because they believe it is the best course of action."

"We use myths to make sense of the world around us, and for ancient peoples of this planet, perhaps there was a massive earthquake, and this was the story they created to explain it. Or perhaps it really did happen. Or maybe both are true, or neither.

Have a question about material that Ghani touched on in-class but we didn't cover in the discussion? Ask here if you want to get your classmates involved.

She seems to find the idea of Ragnarök amusing. Sometimes, Ghani is a wee bit strange.

OMG, A CLASS ON WORLD-ENDING!

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World Mythology, Monday, Period 3

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During the Lecture

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Discussion: The Níu Heimar

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