How old is Norse mythology?
Are there myths in Norse mythology that trace back to an ancient Indo-European heritage from thousands of years ago?
The three siblings Hel, Fenrir the wolf, and Jörmungandr. In the background sits their mother, Angerboda. (Image: Emil Doepler)
Elise Kjørstad
JOURNALIST
PUBLISHED 24 February 2025 - 00:01
Norse mythology is primarly known from the Prose Edda by Snorri Sturluson and Poetic Edda, both written down in the 13th century.
Some of the poems probably date back to the Viking Age.
But how old are the Norse gods and myths really? Are there traces of them even further back in time?
When people spoke Old Norse
Norse mythology is linked to the time when people spoke Old Norse, which was from 700 to 1350 CE, says Bernt Ø. Thorvaldsen. He is a professor at the University of South-Eastern Norway's Department of Languages and Literature Studies. He researches Norse literature and mythology.
"As a complete system, it's probably correct to say that Norse mythology existed during the Old Norse period before Christianity arrived, and for some time afterwards," says Thorvaldsen.
Little is known about when and how the myths originated, but there are some clues in archaeological material, place names, and ancient literature.
Such as Odin being mentioned long before the year 700.
More:
https://www.sciencenorway.no/viking-age-archaeology-culture/how-old-is-norse-mythology/2470404
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Adding a site which popped up. Encyclopedia Britannica info. regarding some Nordic mythical beings, FYI:
https://www.britannica.com/event/Ragnarok
= new reply since forum marked as read
The 3000-year-old Bjørnstad Ship had room for more than 50 people. There’s a 4-metre-long picture of the ship on a rock wall just south of Sarpsborg, in southeastern Norway. Today the ship’s pictograph lies in a field. But thousands of years ago, it was carved into a beautiful spot on the beach, by a fjord that has long since disappeared. (Photo: Erik Irgens Johnsen, Museum of Cultural History)
It may be that people from the North went to the Mediterranean with "Viking ships" as early as 3000 years ago.
Bård Amundsen
JOURNALIST
PUBLISHED 19 June 2020 - 15:13
In recent years, archaeologists who study Norway during the Bronze Age have discovered a great deal of new information. Some now have a completely different perspective on this period. Colleagues in Sweden and Denmark feel the same way.
They see evidence of a first Viking Age.
The thing is, it happened three thousand years ago. What we now call the Viking Age actually dates from just a thousand years ago.
Big ships
People who lived in Norway 3000 years ago were far less primitive than many have imagined. They were not hunters who still lived a Stone Age kind of life.
The ships built by Norwegians, Swedes and Danes during the Bronze Age may have had a crew of over 50 men. People from Scandinavia went to England in ships like these. They probably made their way down the great rivers in Europe.
They may have used the ships to travel to Finnmark in northern Norway.
And perhaps to Italy in the south.
People were linked to the sea
As many as 90 per cent of all Bronze Age petroglyphs (rock carvings) in Norway feature ships, both large and small. They have now begun to attract the attention of archaeologists.
Why were people in Norway 3000 years ago so focused on ships?
When Norwegians learn about the many petroglyphs found in their country during history class in school, the teacher and textbook probably describe them as mythological images of ships, transporting passengers into the realm of death. Essentially, they were thought to be some kind of religious images.
But would it be too unbelievable if the ships were real?
People in Norway, Sweden and Denmark during the Bronze Age travelled far and wide. They were mobile people.
They travelled all the way to Spain and Italy.
More:
https://www.sciencenorway.no/archaeology-bronze-age-ships/was-there-a-viking-age-in-norway-2000-years-before-the-vikings/1698522
