Norse mythology and Scandinavian folklore: gods, trolls and Ragnarök
The Norse stories are the best-documented paganism in Europe and also the most misunderstood. They were written down by Christians in Iceland, centuries after the conversion, by people who loved the old poems enough to save them. That double perspective — inside the tradition and outside it — is part of why they feel so strange and so compelling.
First published in August 2026.
A tree, nine worlds and a quarrelsome squirrel
Norse cosmology rests on a vast ash, Yggdrasil, whose branches and roots hold the nine worlds together. At its base lie the wells of fate and wisdom; an eagle perches at the top, a serpent gnaws the roots, and the squirrel Ratatoskr runs up and down carrying insults between them. The tree is not a metaphor for nature in the modern sense. It is a structure linking gods, giants, humans, elves, dwarfs and the dead, and it is always under threat.
The nine worlds are usually given as Asgard for the gods, Vanaheim for the Vanir, Alfheim for the elves, Midgard for humans, Jötunheim for the giants, Svartalfheim for the dwarfs, Niflheim for ice and mist, Muspellheim for fire and Hel for the dead. The exact list shifts between sources, which is a useful reminder that Norse mythology was never one authorised system.
The gods and what they paid
Odin
Odin is the All-Father, but not a benevolent patriarch. He is a god of war, poetry, frenzy and the dead, and he is defined by what he will lose. He gave an eye to the well of Mimir for wisdom. He hung on Yggdrasil for nine nights, pierced by a spear, to learn the runes. He traded his son Baldr's safety for the knowledge that Baldr would die. His ravens, Huginn and Muninn — Thought and Memory — fly over the world each day and report back. His spear, Gungnir, never misses. His horse, Sleipnir, has eight legs.
Odin gathers the slain in Valhalla, where they fight and feast until Ragnarök. It is a warrior's afterlife, but it is also a machine for producing an army. The poetry is clear-eyed about the cost: the heroes who die in battle are not saved, they are recruited.
Thor
Thor is the thunder god, protector of gods and humans, and owner of Mjölnir, the hammer that always returns to his hand. He is strong, direct and frequently outwitted — in Þrymskviða he has to dress as a bride to get his hammer back. His great enemy is Jörmungandr, the world serpent, who circles Midgard and bites his own tail. Thor once went fishing with the giant Hymir and hauled the serpent up to the boat; the giant cut the line. The two will meet again at Ragnarök.
The episode shows how Norse myth works: the gods are not omnipotent. Thor can kill giants all day, but the serpent is always there, and the last battle is one he does not survive.
The end that is also a beginning
Ragnarök opens with Fimbulvetr, three winters without summer, and with the breaking of bonds. Fenrir the wolf escapes, Jörmungandr rises from the sea, Surtr comes from the south with fire, and Heimdall blows the Gjallarhorn. Odin is swallowed by Fenrir; Thor kills the serpent and dies of its venom; the world burns. Then the sea rises, the earth reappears, and a handful of survivors — including Baldr, back from death — begin again.
This is not simply apocalypse. The Norse imagination holds destruction and renewal in the same hand, which is one reason the stories have travelled so well into modern fantasy.
After the gods: trolls, hidden people and the nisse
When the Viking Age ended, the gods did not vanish; they shrank into the landscape. In Scandinavian folklore, trolls are huge, slow and often stupid creatures who live in mountains and caves and turn to stone in sunlight. The landscape explains itself: a strange rock is a troll caught at dawn, a mountain is a troll's hat. In Iceland the hidden people, the huldufólk, live in rocks, and road projects have been rerouted around sites said to be their homes — something that surprises visitors until they see how seriously the tradition is treated.
The nisse, or tomte in Sweden, is a farm spirit: a small bearded figure who helps with the animals when he is respected and causes chaos when he is not. At Christmas he expects a bowl of porridge with butter. He is the ancestor of the modern Scandinavian Santa, and a reminder that much Christmas folklore began as pre-Christian housekeeping.
Where to find these stories today
The texts are the best door in: the Poetic Edda and Snorri's Prose Edda contain most of what is described here. After that, Iceland is the place to read the landscape, from the rocks said to house the hidden people to the volcanic ground that makes Ragnarök easy to picture. In Scandinavia, the troll stories belong to mountains and caves, and the nisse still appears on Christmas cards and porridge bowls every December.
Frequently asked questions about Norse mythology
Is Norse mythology the same as the Viking religion?
It is the religion of the Norse peoples, Vikings included, but not limited to them. The same gods were worshipped across Scandinavia, Iceland and the Norse settlements, and the stories were written down after the conversion, mainly in Iceland in the thirteenth century.
What are the main sources for Norse mythology?
The Poetic Edda, a collection of older poems preserved in the Codex Regius (c. 1270), and the Prose Edda by Snorri Sturluson (c. 1220). Snorri was a Christian writing a handbook for poets, which shapes how the myths reach us.
What is Ragnarök?
The end of the world in Norse mythology: a final battle in which most of the gods die, the world burns and then rises again from the sea with a handful of survivors. It is destruction and renewal at once.
Do Scandinavians still believe in elves and trolls?
Not literally, for most people, but the traditions remain culturally important. In Iceland, surveys have found a significant minority who say they believe in hidden people or are unsure, and road planners have occasionally avoided rocks associated with them.
More from the Mythical Mondays series
- Irish folklore: banshees, selkies and the Tuatha Dé Danann
- Scottish folklore: kelpies, selkies and the Loch Ness Monster
- German folklore: myths, legends and folktales
- All Mythical Mondays posts
If you enjoyed this edition, share it with a friend who likes stories, and tell me which country you would like to see next.