JOTUN: As Beutiful as Valhalla Itself

I never questioned before why Norse mythology is by and far my favorite mythos.
I attributed it to my fascination with apocalyptic events, and Ragnarok is the pinnacle of
such things, or how Thor is one of my favorite Marvel heroes. When we were told we
could write these blogs on anything tangentially relevant, I knew one of my blogs would
have to be on the game JOTUN. As I replayed Jotun to take notes on its incredibly detail
of its source material, however, I had an epiphany and it became clear why I love Norse
mythology so much. Rather than draw up any comparisons, the most efficient way to explain
JOTUN would be to summarize the game.

The game starts with an Icelandic woman’s narration. I should mention now that this game
also made me REALLY want to learn to speak Icelandic because this game makes it sound
gorgeous with all the narration in the game being in Icelandic modeled after Old Norse.
The narrator is the woman drowning, who wakes up in Jotunheim afterwards, in awe of
Yggdrasil stretching high above her. It is soon explained that she is a shield maiden named
Thora, daughter of her village’s chief and named after Thor when her birth was accompanied
by 9 days of intense thunder. Another voice begins narrating about the trials of gods and
how it is Thora’s choice to undertake them. While not explicitly stated at the start, the game
intentionally gives away the identity of the voice; Wells of Mimir act as restoration points
for both health and power uses, and when you first use one the voice describes it as
“[the well] for which I sacrificed my eye.” Yes, it’s Odin himself, and he plays a pivotal
role in the game’s conclusion that I will not spoil, but can assure you is glorious.
The game then settles in to its main formula: there are several areas with a mostly linear
order of progression, but each area has multiple sub areas to be attempted in any order.
Thora must acquire the mystic rune in each sub area to form the passage to that section’s
Jotun. Each area also has an Apple of Ithunn that permanently increases you maximum
health, as well as a monument to a god who will grant you a new power. The game does
not put these directly in your path, however, and some of them are surprisingly easy to
miss entirely. The gods who give you powers are not restricted to the most famous ones,
but rather are chosen based on how important they are to Norse culture. Loki and Thor
are obvious candidates who provide a doppelganger ability and astral hammer, but the
first power you obtain is the healing of Frigg, Asgard’s queen. The second power
(one I completely missed my first time played) is Heimdall’s shield.

As you travel through the nine realms the detail becomes ever more stunning and I lost track of how many times I legitimately stopped playing for a couple of minutes just to take in the gorgeous visuals that put even AAA games to shame. There are countless details that show the how dedicated the game is to its mythological roots. The hub world is Ginnungagap itself, where a pair of ravens perch on whatever exit leads to the next area required to progress. In the second area, Nidavellir, the first part has you riding down the neverending roots of Ygrdrassil with a massive depiction of Nidhoggr gnawing on the world tree’s roots. In the second part should you reach the heart of the dwarves workshop Thora will elaborate on the roles their smithwork plays in the lives of the Aesir. In Nifleheim at the serpent’s lake one can see the ominous if not downright terrifying of silhouette of Jormungandr below the surface of the lake. Every Jotun represents a corrupted version of their rune, such as how Jera, meaning harvest, is an overgrowth of toxic spores and thorny vines. One of my personal favorite touches is that instead of gathering parts of a magic seal or keys and the like, the way Thora breaks magic barriers is by gathering the nearby Disir to open the way for her.

Everything I’ve talked about thus far isn’t even past the halfway point of the game, and it
only escalates from here as the game becomes an intense exploration of the depths of the
most hostile realms, culminating in Thora proving herself worthy of Valhalla. Which brings
me to my concluding point. Before i played Jotun i only thought of Norse myth as really badass.
It is badass, but Jotun showed me that it’s also breathtaking in its sheer wonder;
the beauty of the game reflects the depth of its source material. To compare, Greek
myths were always interesting but rarely ever breathtaking in any depiction.
Judaism and Kabbalah are filled to the brim with fascinating creatures and tales,
but again there’s little beauty and mostly wrathful and misanthropic tales of man’s folly.
Jotun showed me that Norse myth is beautiful for this exact reason.
Rather than focus on gods punishing mortals, Norse myth is so entertaining because
it’s about gods leading the way for mortals rather than trying to control them.
Old Norse culture didn’t centralize the idea of a wrathful overseer or damnation;
they portrayed gods as beings with their own existence not necessarily intertwined with
mortals, and mortals could fight valiantly for a chance to live in eternal glory alongside them.
It’s a system about rewarding those who prove themselves rather than punishing those
who don’t conform. For that reason it is both incredibly badass and beautiful beyond words.

Similarities between Odin and Jesus: Why Icelanders Would Accept a Foreign God

  It is odd that the Vikings, who worshiped a pantheon of mostly war gods would convert to a religion based on forgiveness and peace, but there is a surprising amount of overlap between the myths of the Aesir and the story of Christ. First, there is a heavy emphasis on martyrdom and self-sacrifice. Odin sacrifices one of his eyes to gain knowledge of the future so he can avert Ragnarok, and Tyr loses one of his hands to imprison the wolf Fenrir. Jesus creates wine and bread for the poor out of his blood and body, respectively. Next, both Odin and Jesus achieve apotheosis by sacrificing their own lives. Odin hangs himself on the world tree Yggdrasil for 9 full days, and gains knowledge about magic runes, charms, and information about the other gods. He then shares his magic and wisdom with mankind. After dying on the cross, Jesus resurrects and ascends to Heaven. In addition, they are both impaled in some way. Odin has his side pierced with his own spear, and Jesus by the infamous Spear of Destiny, as well as the nails and the crown of thorns. What they were martyred on is also important. There is a concept called the axis mundi, a “world pillar” that is the center of the planet and connects heaven and earth. The world tree Yggdrasil is a clear example. Trees are rooted in the ground and reach towards the sky. In the case of Jesus, his body on the wooden cross is the axis, acting as the bridge connecting God to humanity.

  There are elements of folk hero tales in their mythologies as well. Odin had a habit of disguising himself as a mortal human, as seen in the poem of Harbard. He would often travel around and dispense wisdom to the common people, and taught humans writing, rune magic, and poetry. This wanderer persona was the primary inspiration for Gandalf from Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings. Jesus is obviously famous for the many miracles he performed, and for the lessons he taught to his disciples. Most of the miracles performed by Jesus were healings, exorcisms, or forgiveness of sins.

  Considering that the sagas were written after Christianization, I think the reason Iceland was open to conversion at this time was that the country was in the middle of a decades-long blood feud which affected nearly every family. Lots of people were being killed for petty offenses, which probably had nothing to do with them and were committed long ago. I think the idea of a god of atonement who forgave people and wiped away their sins would have been very attractive to Icelanders. Especially since they were phasing out of the Viking raider mindset and were settling down as farmers. Getting into Valhalla through bravery on the battlefield was not as likely at that point.

Vikings in Vikings

Truitt Glover

Vikings in Vikings

            Lately I’ve been watching the History channel show, Vikings. So far, I’ve finished season 1 and I have to say that it’s really good. But some of the more fascinating things I found about it were the way in which it was historically accurate and how it really connected to all the things we’ve been reading in class. Now it’s a TV show and of course with that there comes some liberties taken that aren’t necessarily “historically accurate.” But what sets this show apart is how it deviates from the usual depiction of Vikings in pop culture, and the effort the producers put in to make this as authentically true to the historical Vikings as they could. The way in which the series takes inspiration from historical accounts and literature, like the texts we’ve read in class, really makes me appreciate it even more .

            One of the things I noticed most about Vikings is how true to some first-hand accounts, like Ibn Fadlan’s, it is in depicting customs and events. In the show, there is a funeral for a slain Earl that goes down just like the funeral that Ibn Fadlan described in his writings. One of the Earl’s slave girls chooses to die with her master and is prepared for the ceremony. A funeral boat is made and filled with parts of dead animals and such. The slave girl has sex with all the Earl’s men, then her throat is slit and she is burned on the boat with the Earl. I was surprised at how much the show was dedicated to getting this shocking ceremony historically accurate, considering how little care is given to other depictions of the Vikings in pop culture. 

            Another example of this is how the Vikings cleaned themselves in the morning. Ibn Fadlan tells of how the Vikings he encountered all washed their hair and blew their nose in the same bowl of water. Disgustingly enough, the show stays true to this and depicts this custom in a scene. It was cool, but also gross. 

            Furthermore, Ibn Fadlan describes the Vikings themselves as tall and tattooed from head to toe, just as the Vikings in the show are shown to be. Being very interested in the historical accuracy of this depiction, I even did some research on if the clothes and hairstyles of the Vikings were accurate, and guess what, they were. All of these things really contribute to the experience of watching Vikingsand seeing for ourselves how these people lived. Having studied and read about the Viking sagas in class, my experience with the show has only been enriched. It’s really cool to read about these stories of blood feuds and raids and strange customs and then to see them put into action in a mostly historically accurate TV show. I highly recommend Vikingsas I have a great appreciation for the way in which the show is made and how true it is to the sagas and accounts we have read. 

Shields; The Plot Anti-Armor of Nordic Sagas

Having read Egil's, Njal's, and Grettir the Strong's sagas, I've noticed a common trend to shields; they break. A lot. For a big heavy man made circle of wood that's sole purpose and function is to withstand attack, it sure seems like they do a pretty awful job at it. Also, the attacks that they break to in some cases just don't in my mind hold enough power to shatter it, and not to mention the fact that these blows almost always end up killing the person wielding it, which spurs an entirely different series of questions.

Before looking into if shield breaking is actually a common occurrence in battle, I can see why the authors would decide to make these less realistic blows a part of their stories; they're awesome. Giving a hero somewhat supernatural strength, especially when it comes to battling it out with an adversary, makes heroes all that more heroic. A great way of proving that heroic strength is just by making it harder for the hero to win, but then have them pull through it anyways. So if a normal person could kill with a well placed sword strike, the big mighty hero can do the same through a shield. That's why it's like "plot anti-armor", it's purpose in the writing is for it to break and the person holding it die to make the hero look good!

So, I decided to get into it. See what I could find and learn about old Nordic shields, how they are made, and if these blows could actually split them down the center. Here's what I found;

Old Nordic shields of the time during the sagas are made of spruce, pine, or fir wood, with a metal dome in the center. Inside the dome is an iron bar that is used to hold the shield, the dome being to protect the hand. Being from 1/4"-1/2" thick in the center, they are made to balance sturdy with the fact that they have to be carried around, a shield being too heavy also being slower and harder to use in a fight. An example is actually given on how six wooden planks are glued and butted together, and the iron dome is attached with nails. And with this example, the people who made it decided to give it a go and see how a blow would damage it (Super amazing god send source that you should go look at: http://www.hurstwic.org/history/articles/manufacturing/text/viking_shields.htm):

 Above, this guy's using a shield replica of the same design and materials to make this as accurate as possible for both the shield and the ax he's about to hit it with (plus he has a really cool looking helmet). In the source, it also states that no "wind up" was given to the blow to make it more accurate to an "in battle" situation. (The attention to detail in how they did this is amazing)

From this side, the ax cut right through, but the damage to the shield itself doesn't look that bad! Until...

                                          

Oh... yikes. Turns out, these shields are actually very breakable, and even split apart, shatter, and allow blows to even pass through to the person wielding them if they are unlucky enough. 

                                       

After pulling the ax back out, the shield planks show more clearly how much damage just one hit made. Now, this is only on a direct hit that a shield will split apart like this, and the source emphasizes that these plank shields are not to be used like a wall. Instead, as the heroes (or anyone who manages to block with the shield they're using) typically do in the sagas, the shield is instead intended to glance away blows, the force of the hit on a turned shield having much less impact and power to damage it with. 

In conclusion, my initial guess that these shields are normally able to take a blow like this is correct, to a degree? Only if used right (or lucky enough) will these shields block an attack, and it is very possible for them to break and leave the person who was holding it hurt or dead. Regardless, it still serves an incredible mental image to think of someone getting chopped in half, even with their shield 

up trying to block the blow, and I can see why the authors would use that element in their heroic battles.

The Journey to Magic told by Coins

Shadow is a very quiet character in American Gods, recently released from prison with nothing to lose, considering his wife recently passed away in an accident. He has a bit of an obsession with coins, especially when he learns about coin tricks when he spends his three years in prison for a crime he didn’t commit. These coins keep popping up throughout the book, suggesting they are more than they seem. I think these coins show a progression of Shadow diving deeper into this mythical world that is suddenly surrounding him when he returns from prison.

            It begins with Shadow learning about these coin tricks while he is in prison, which indicates that he is different than other men. Shadow was chosen by Mr. Wednesday for particular reason, showing this man had something that other people did not. I think this starts with the desire to learn these coin tricks, showing that Shadow harbors a need for perfection and knowledge. His life is totally changed after going to jail, which was normal before. When released, Shadow was exposed to this world with mythical creatures and magic.

            He is then teased with a golden coin by Mad Sweeney, who himself isn’t described as fully human. Sweeney continues this allusive idea of coins, of which he grabs a bright and large gold coin from midair. This is the beginning of Shadow’s deal with Mr. Wednesday, locking him into work for this mysterious man who he knows nothing about, other than that he is not normal. He is given the gold coin by Sweeney after having a fight in a bar, which he eventually throws into his late-wife’s grave. This symbolizes his induction of some sort into this world that seems to be very dangerous, especially since he is simply a human without any powers of any kind (or so we think).

            Shadow continues his journey into this insane realm of creatures and dream-like experiences. Mr. Wednesday takes him to visit his friend, Czernobog, along with his family Zorya Utrennyaya, Zorya Vechernyaya, and Zorya Polunochyaya. All the Zorya’s are sisters, who have an ability to tell fortunes, in varying levels of honesty. Shadow interacts with each sister, but is most curious about Zorya Polunochyaya, the midnight sister who only comes out at night. She shares with him the duties her and her sisters hold, speaking of their task involving protecting the universe from whatever monster is hidden in the stars. At the end of their conversation, she reaches up to the moon and takes out a large silver dollar coin out of thin air. Shadow spends time trying to figure out how she hid it, when in reality he has been placed into a magical world that no longer follows the regular rules of Earth. This silver coin shows Shadow continuously falling into this world where magic is possible, even though he would have never thought it before.

            These magic coins keep popping up throughout the novel, and I assume they will continue to as Shadow becomes more involved in this alternative universe with magical creatures and mythical powers. 

World Building in Writing: A look at American Gods in regards the importance of building a world.

          World Building in literature and other media is one of the most important things and or aspects of such literature or media because without a world to exist inside of, obviously, a story cannot take place or even begin to be written. While the person building said world has ultimate power in that they can choose anything and any form that they wish for their world to take: there are still things that must be done for the world to be able to have a good story.

          The first thing that must be done is that, no matter how fantastical or off the walls crazy the world is, it needs rules. This rule even counts in a story in which the world said story takes place in seem to have no rules; the one rule being that there are no rules. Without rules, nothing that happens in a story makes sense or needs to. This presents a problem since the logic of the world and why things are they way they are in the world will be reasonless. Without rules for events  in a story to take place by, there is no reason that such events in a story need to be that way and also therefore: no reason for those events to have taken place.

          Another thing that must be done is that a story must have conflict. The creator of the story is free to choose whatever happens in said story, including the conflict so it does not matter if the conflict be something small like a day to day personal conflict, or something large like a war. Without conflict a story cannot begin to happen, anyone who experiences the media made without conflict in the story would get quickly bored with said story at which point, they will quit. Most worlds have several conflicts at a time.

       American Gods:
         Within the world of American Gods, there are several rules. The main rule that exists, however, is that the world in which the story takes place in our world except more than one deity exists. Other rules that occur in this world include the fact that these gods are tied to how people think about them and how often people think about or worship them. A rule connected with this previous rule is that if the gods are not worshipped or thought about enough: they will cease to exist and will die. Also a rule is that the gods in this story can die. Another rule is that gods are created all the time, even when people don't mean to worship or create gods. This rule is most visibly seen in the form of the new gods.
         There are two chief conflicts in American Gods: 1. The Old gods and New Gods are at odds and the old gods are in danger of disappearing. and 2. The main character just lost everything haing to do with his old life except his name in has been unceremoniously thrust into the one thing that makes this story different from the real world. The second half of the latter rule is one that occurs for most characters in most stories if you think about it.

Tolkiens Mirrors- The similarities of the peoples of Middle Earth and Northern Europe- Haradrim surprise appearance

It has certainly been remarked upon before that the writings of Tolkien contain extensive allusions to the Viking sagas and eddas, and none more so than their peoples, which i will outline below.

Rohirrim: More viking than the extensively naval numenorean kingsoms of Gondor and the so called black numenoreans, outwardly, even as represented in the books, these lads seem to be the viking archetype, apart from the horses, which could be argued as a kenning for the horses representing boats on the plains the peoples of Rohan tended to live in, with distinct companies (The Riders of Gamling, The Eored, Theodens House guard) of calvalry somewhat analogous to a longship crew and containing many famed heroes from the same province. Their equipment for these wars would be largely the cheaply made (as opposed to a sword) steel axe, Spears, Shields, shortbows and the occasional sword, as well as Chain mail with a gambeson, or padded armor, and vambraces, a leathern breastplate and a notably unhorny helmet. They seemed, as far as the books would suggest, to be at once a nomadic and a sedentary people, maintaining a number of walled settlements and villages, such as the towns of the Westfold and Edoras, and a unified nation with a king capable of maintaining treaties and stability for long periods of time, leading to the beacons of Arnor and the eventual charge at the Pellenor fields.

Gondor: The second most viking. Rather than a god of death or battle or wisdom, they revered Ulmo with an Umlaut, a sea god that was the equivalent of a neutral poseidon, though he occasionally helped his people by revealing relics or passing messages, or even guranteeing a ship fair travel. UNTIL THE WAVES CAME. This destroyed their civilization, aka Numenor, and they proceeded to travel to Eriador, where they founded the kingdoms of Arnor, Gondor, and the eastern settlement of Laketown. After fighting orcs forever, literally since they landed although one time in particular it was werewolves, they eventually established a mighty empire that was ultimately brought low by Sauron in the first war of the ring, though, similarly to Rome after its first good sacking, it never really recovered and just started to kinda crumble away, although after beating up the BFG it seems to be on the rise. Arguably the single most French(Specifically post Charles Martel France) nation.

Black Numenoreans: Similar in appearance to the Numenorians of Gondor, or the "Fair Numenoreans", the black Numenoreans are noted to be much more "Swarthy", due to the fact that they go do piracy in Far Harad. Almost universally reviled, these guys strike me as the Irish from the readings we have done thus far. In almost every instance of Ireland being named, they were either made slaves, betrayed someone, or screwed up, just like the Black Numenorians.

Haradrim: Probably middle easterners, as they were described as very dark of skin. Notably they are all considered evil, which is probably the result of either Tolkien villainizing them for allying with the Orcs and Sauron, personal bias Aka racism, or a direct connection to the Moors on the Spanish peninsula. The latter is actually supported by the idea of the Rohirrim horse kenning being boats, as at the time, the Moors used huge galleys that were vastly larger than viking longships, and this echoes the Oliphaunt v. Cavalry action seen in the text.