Weirdest Norse Myths
Though Norse pantheon and their stories have become a great source of inspiration for arts and daily life of us. But when researching the Norse mythology, we might find out some details that we can't help thinking they were somewhat awkward. Below are 6 Norse Myths that we think are the weirdest.
1. The world made of body parts
From the beginning of the cosmos, there was nothing but the complete darkness and void. Life began to appear when the lava melted the ice. The drop became the first giant Ymir in the primeval time. Then came other creatures: the first cow, the first gods, etc. Odin and his brothers were the third generation. They conspired to kill Ymir and use his body parts to fashion the world. And yes, they did. Odin and brothers used his blood for the ocean, brain for the cloud, skull for the sky, teeth for the cliffs, and bones for the mountains.
Odin and brothers used Ymir's body parts to fashion the world
2. The dwarves sewed Loki's mouth
On a typical day, Loki felt bored and set out to prank someone up in Asgard. He sneaked into the room of Sif who was Thor's wife. Sif was famous for heir beautiful golden hair and Loki intentionally cut her hair while she was sleeping. This aroused the wrath of Thor when he found out the culprit; however, Loki managed to bargain his way out by promising to make amends for Sif and Thor. Then he went to Svartalfheim the land of the dwarves and asked the dwarves to create some treasures. Loki claimed that the dwarves could not create any other treasure and bet his head for it. But then the dwarves managed to create the Mjolnir hammer of Thor, making Loki lose the bet. But with his fast talk, Loki got rid of being beheaded but the dwarves sewed his mouth with leather.
3. Thor disguised as a bride
One day, Thor woke up to find out that his Mjolnir hammer was lost. After some investigations, he found out that his Mjolnir hammer was stolen by the giant Thrymr. The giant claimed that he would give back the Mjolnir hammer when Freya became his bride which would never happen because Freya adamantly refused. The gods came up with an idea of dressing Thor as the bride Freya and came to the land of Thrymr. Thor married the giant Thrym when he was posing Freya. When no one noticed, he retrieved his hammer back and slew the giant Thrymr.
4. Loki mothered an eight-legged horse
Long long ago, there was a giant builder coming to Asgard and ask to build a protective wall. He asked to be paid with the Sun, the Moon, and Freya. The gods were shocked because the giant builder did his work very fast. They were afraid of losing the Sun, the Moon, and goddess Freya. Loki then came up with an idea to distract the giant and his horse. One night, Loki shapeshifted himself into a mare to lure the stallion of the giant builder. This made the stallion widely chased the mare, leaving his master with the incomplete wall. Deep in the jungle, the two horse chased after each other.
Then an eight-legged horse was born by Loki, making Loki become the mother of this steed. The eight-legged horse then was given to Odin the Allfather. (See more Sleipnir Odin's Horse)
5. Loki's notorious children
Besides the eight-legged horse, Loki had more children. With the giantess Angrboda, Loki had three notorious: Fenrir the giant wolf that ignited Ragnarok; Jormungandr the Midgard serpent that encircled the whole Midgard; and Hel the underworld queen. These children of Loki later became the main culprits of the Ragnarok: Fenrir swallowed Odin the Allfather, Jormungand poisoned the whole sky, and Hel led her dead army to fight with the gods. (See more the Children of Loki)
6. Mistletoe as a murder weapon
The Death of Baldur
Baldur was the beloved god in Norse myth and he was also the son of Odin. He had the dream of his own death. His dream was confirmed by a seeress in the underworld that people in the underworld were waiting for him and his death was the harbinger of Ragnarok. To protect her son, Frigg the wife of Odin decided to ask all the beings in the cosmos not to harm Baldur. She asked everyone except for the mistletoe which was too small to be noticed. Loki was the first to find out this and he took advantage of this. Loki showed up and tricked the blind Hodr into throwing the mistletoe arrow at the beloved god. And Baldur died on the spot. (See more The Death of God Baldur)
