When I think about the popular version of Nordic mythology, I must say two things – Marvel films and Nordic Mythology by Neil Gaiman. And this post will be about these things today.

Nordic mythology is nothing but Vikings religion from 7-11th century while the written version is from 13th century known as anonymous poetry pieces called Poetic Edda but there is also the Prosaic Edda by Snorri Sturluson. I spent some time last year learning about these myths and then I read Nordic Mythology by Neil Gaiman. This writer is known for creating such things like Sandman. He wrote scripts and talented graphic designers created one of the most important series of comic books of modern popular literature. Now the series is also available on Netflix. I haven’t seen the series but I really recommend these books… Albums… I don’t how to call it! So, Nordic Mythology by Neil Gaiman is his version of these myths. If you want to learn about this mythology more, you definitely need to find more sources…

Now few words about Marvel. Such characters like Thor, Odin and Loki are based on mythology but popular film Thor is quite different than the Nordic god that Nordic believed in. This Thor we know is the version of the typical popular hero. He’s changed the way it fits pop-culture. The real Thor looked a little bit differently but not all myths agree with it. I mean there are few versions of his appearance. The next thing is his anger and brutality. Nordic mythology is quite bloody so no wonder that Vikings were just the same! If you want to now how gods are described in mythology, then watch programs about Vikings because Marvel films won’t teach you the truth. The same thing with Loki. He’s the one who likes jokes but it’s not the only thing that we know about him… Thor and Loki had their wives, children and films doesn’t show it… Because such films like Thor: Thunder and Love wouldn’t make sense then… Mythological characters doesn’t fit completely the popular vision… Ragnarok is also changed in the film Thor: Ragnarok… And there is a Scandinavian series on Netflix which I think is a very interesting continuation of their own mythology… Probably culturally and scientifically more interesting than Marvel films… And the title of it is Ragnarok. So, Marvel is a good entertainer and that’s all that I can say probably… But I still love it, you know!

Another place where you can find German mythology and folklore (Nordic mythology is the branch of German because people from Scandinavia have their roots in Germanic race; English is also part of this huge family of languages called Germanic languages…) is Richard Wagner’s musical plays… We all know the Ride of the Valkyries and we often don’t realize it!

So, Norman mythology is a forgotten part of European culture but now creators and writers started searching for inspiration in those medieval myths and we deal with it more again these days…

That’s a wrap for this week. And that’s the end of everyday posts era. I will come back on Thursday with the post about the Hamlet from National Theater Live that I’m going to see on Wednesday. I will see it in the cinema in Warsaw though. Oh! And Benedict Cumberbatch plays there.

See ya on Thursday then!

AA