For centuries, they have been stereotyped as marauding barbarians arriving in their helmeted hordes to pillage their way across Britain. But now a group of academics believe they have uncovered new evidence that the Vikings were more cultured settlers who offered a "good historical model" of immigrant assimilation.The evidence is set to be unveiled at a three-day Cambridge University conference starting today, when more than 20 studies will reveal how the Vikings shared technology, swapped ideas and often lived side-by-side in relative harmony with their Anglo-Saxon and Celtic contemporaries. Some may have come, plundered and left, but those Vikings whodecided to settle rather than return to Scandinavia learnt the language, inter-married, converted to Christianity and even had "praise poetry" written about them by the Brits, according to the experts.The conference, entitled "Between the Islands", draws on new archeological evidence, historical studies and analysis of the language and literature of the period, and shows that between the 9th and 13th centuries, the Vikings became an integral part of the fabric of social and political life that changed Britain and Ireland far more profoundly than previously realised. The academics hope it will tip the balance still further in the "raiders or traders" question. Scholars will argue that they should be seen as an early example of immigrants who were successfully assimilated into British and Irish culture.Their so-called "invasion" led, to some extent, to the creation of trans-national identities, a process that has particular relevance to modern Britain.

Dr Fiona Edmonds, of Cambridge University's department of Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic, said: "The latest evidence does not point to a simple opposition between Vikings and natives. "Within a relatively short space of time – and with lasting effect – the various cultures in Britain and Ireland started to intermingle. Investigating that process provides us with a historical model of how political groups can be absorbed into complex societies, contributing much to those societies in the process. There are important lessons that can be gained from this about cultural assimilation in the modern era." Dr Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, who is co-organising theconference......

In Norse mythology, Ragnarok ( "fate of the gods") is the battle at the end of the world. It will be waged between the gods (the Aesir, led by Odin) and the evils (the fire giants, the Jotuns and various monsters, led by Loki). Not only will the gods, giants, and monsters perish in this apocalyptic conflagration, but almost everything in the universe will be torn asunder.In the Viking warrior societies, dying in battles was a fate to admire, and this was carried over into the worship of a pantheon in which the gods themselves were not everlasting, but would one day be overthrown, atRagnarok.Exactly what would happen, who would fight whom, and the fates of the participants in this battle were well known to the Norse peoples from their own sagas and skaldic poetry.

The Voluspa (Prophesy of the Völva (shaman)), the first lay of the Poetic (or Elder) Edda, dating from about 1000 AD, spans the history of the gods, from the beginning of time to Ragnarok, in 65 stanzas. The Prose (or Younger) Edda, written two centuries later by Snorri Sturluson, describes in detail what would take place before, during, and even after the battle. What is unique about Ragnarok as an armageddon tale is that the gods already know through prophesy what is going to happen: when the event will occur, who will be slain by whom, and so forth. They even realize that they are powerless to prevent Ragnarok. But they will still bravely and defiantlyface their bleak destiny.

Portents Ragnarok will be preceded by the Fimbulwinter, the winter of winters. Three such winters will follow each other with no summer in between. As a result, conflicts and feuds will break out, and all morality will disappear. The wolf Skoll and his brother Hati will finally devour Sol and her brother Mani respectively, after a perpetual chase. The stars will vanish from the sky, plunging the earth into darkness. The earth will shudder, so violently that trees will be uprooted, and mountains will fall, and every bond and fetter will snap and sever, freeing Loki and his son Fenrir. This terrible wolf's slavering mouth will gape wide open, so wide that his lower jaw scrapes against the ground and his upper jaw presses against the sky. He will gape evenmore......

© 1999, Jimmy Joe. All Rights

Even if you can't pronounce it, you have likely heard of the great World Tree called Yggdrasil. It's part of Norse mythology, and is literally the central part as this ash tree is believed to grow up through of all the various worlds, connecting them.I've always envisioned this tree with its roots in the underworld (Niflheim) and its highest branches in the realm of the Gods (Asgard). Well, that's not really how it's laid out after all. There are 3 roots to Yggdrasil, and under each of the roots is one of the mythological worlds: Asgard, Niflheim (or Hel), and Jotenheim. The trunkof the tree runs through the realm of man, Midgard.The tree is not simply a supporting structure for these worlds, there are other landmarks and inhabitants as well.

Under each of the roots, is a sacred well, one of which is tended to by the Norns. These 3 women control time and destiny by weaving threads, much like the 3 Fates of Greek myth. They also water the roots of Yggdrasil with the water from that well. There are also several animals that live in Yggdrasil. A bird (a rooster or an eagle) living among the branches, a dragon that chews the roots, and a squirrel that runs up and down the trunk with messages between them. Four deer or stags are also living in the branches of the great tree, representing the 4 directions. At Ragnarok, Surtr(leader of the fire giants) will set fire to the tree and bring about the end of the world. Two humans, Lif and Lifthrasir, will survive the destruction by hiding among the branches of Yggdrasil and will repopulate the world after this great battle of the Gods. A few more details. Yggdrasil is pronounced "IGG-drah-sill", according to some Asatru message boards, and the name is translated to mean "terrible steed", though sometimes also called Odin's steed or Odin's horse. The tree is associated with Odin because the God hung from the branches for 9 days in order to learn the mysteries of the runes.

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NORSE MYTHOLOGY, pre-Christian religious beliefs of the Norse people. The Norse legends and myths about ancient heroes, gods, and the creation and destruction of the universe developed out of the original common mythology of the Germanic peoples and constitute the primary source of knowledge about ancient German mythology. Because Norse mythology was transmitted and altered by medieval Christian historians, the original pagan religious beliefs, attitudes, and practices cannot be determined with certainty. Clearly, however, Norse mythology developed slowly, and the relative importance of different gods and heroes varied at different times and places. Thus, the cult of Odin, chief of the gods, may have spread from western Germany to Scandinavia not long before the myths were recorded; minor gods including Ull, the fertility god Njord, and Heimdallmay represent older deities who lost strength and popularity as Odin became more important. Odin, a god of war, was also associated with learning, wisdom, poetry, and magic.

Most information about Norse mythology is preserved in the Old Norse literature, in the Eddas and later sagas; other material appears in commentaries by the Danish historian Saxo Grammaticus and the German writer Adam of Bremen (fl. about 1075). Fragments of legends are sometimes preserved in old inscriptions and in later folklore.Gods and Heroes. Besides Odin, the major deities of Norse mythology were his wife, Frigg, goddess of the home; Thor, god of thunder, who protected humans and the other gods from the giants and who was especially popular among the Norse peasantry; Frey, a god of prosperity; and Freya, sister of Frey, a fertility goddess. Other, lesser gods were Balder, Hermod, Tyr, Bragi, and Forseti; Idun, Nanna, and Sif were among the goddesses. The principle of evil among the gods was represented by the trickster Loki. Many of these deities do not seem to have had special functions; they merely appear as characters in legendary tales.

Many ancient mythological heroes, some of whom may have been derived from real persons, were believed to be descendants of the gods; among them were Sigurd the Dragon-slayer; Helgi Thrice-Born, Harald Wartooth, Hadding, Starkad, and the Valkyries. The Valkyries, a band of warrior-maidens that included Svava and Brunhild, served Odin as choosers of slain warriors, who were taken to reside in Valhalla. There the warriors would spend their days fighting and nights feasting until Ragnarok, the day of the final world battle, in which the old gods would perish and a new reign of peace and love would be instituted. Ordinary individuals were received after death by the goddess Hel in a cheerless underground world...

People come to Northern Norway not only for the auroras and to see its Arctic landscape, but also to hunt for trolls, the mythical creatures rumored to hide in the forests and mountainsides.These "nordmenn" (men of the north) are generally believed to have supernatural powers and offer good luck. Supposedly, trolls are as blind as a bat and can't see their own hand in front of them. Legend says the worst thing you could do near a troll is to be happy; they hate happiness and things that make people happy. So we have to be careful to not make a troll mad.Trolls can only come out of their hiding-places after sunset and they disappear again beforesunrise.

Most trolls live to be hundreds of years old and there are plenty of rock formations with troll-like features. In fact, legend says trolls hate daylight and if they are caught in the sun, they turn to stone. Direct exposure to the sun can cause them to crack, turn into stone and possibly burst. Because of their extremely shy nature, ability to transform themselves and other supernatural skills, they continue to fascinate visitors from generation to generation. After three days of traveling from the capital Oslo to Trondheim and passing through Bergen, also known as the city of fish, we had not seen a troll. But on the other hand, we could see the spectacular panorama of the fjords. In Norwegian, the word "fjord" means "bay that penetrates inland." The North Sea coastline breaks inland ina highly complex manner creating the landscape. We took a boat in order to cross one of fjords we encountered on our way. The colors are very strong as if they had been painted, and the only sounds we hear are from gulls that get close enough to eat breadcrumbs from our hands. Fjords appear to be lakes, but they are actually a marriage of enormous mountains and ocean that seem to be waging an eternal battle below. According to my travel brochure, "When the sun disappears at the end of November, you can experience the magical Northern Lights, the spectacular colorful light show that lasts for hours. Until the sun returns again at the end of January, you can experience the blue daylight that is unique to North Norway." It's not summer, when 24 hours of daylight can be fully exploited foractivities, ......

In the United States, we think of elves as Santa’s little helpers. In Iceland, elves are a bigger deal.Icelandic elves don’t work in Santa’s workshop. They are an independent lot, with magical powers. They aren’t even associated with Iceland’s Santas, which number 13. That’s right: Iceland has 13 Santas, brothers each with a weird name and bad habits. They’re like a crude version of Snow White’s footmen, the Seven Dwarfs.Every culture has its mythology. Iceland’s is strong, with roots in age-old Nordic sagas. Mention elves here and the skeptics and cynics will roll their eyes, but just as many Icelanders will relate an elf storypassed on from friends or passed down from uncles, aunts or grandparents. How deeply does this belief reside among the human population of Iceland? Well, highway engineers and construction crews take elves very seriously. Elves live in rock outcroppings.

In the United States, road builders have certain salamanders, spotted owls and other endangered wildlife species to contend with when plotting a route. In Iceland, it’s the elves. Mischief befalls Icelandic road builders who can’t recognize good elf domain, including breakdowns of heavy equipment and even worker mishaps and injuries. It is said to have happened on more than one job site, enough to take the mythology seriously. Consequently, road planners here consult with an elf expert before routing a road or highway through rock piles that maybe elf habitat. According to elf seer Erla Stefansdottir, “Elf Central” in Iceland is this town, just a few kilometers southwest of Reykjavik, the Iceland capital. The town, she said, has “the richest elf and spirit populations” in all of Iceland. Elves, gnomes, dwarves, angels, light-fairies and “the hidden people” are all classes of what Stefansdottir calls elvin beings. To learn more about Hafnarfjordur’s wee population, visitors can sign up for the town’s Hidden Worlds tour, a guided walk of about 90 minutes. It includes a stroll through Hellisgerdi Park, where the paths wind through a 7,000-year-old lava field planted with tall trees and potted bonsai trees in summer, and said to be peopled with the town’s largest elf colony. Tour guide Sibba Karlsdottir is not an elf,......

A casual reading of the surviving sources paints a rather unflattering picture of Loki. He is presented as a thief, a liar, a father to monsters and murderer of the Sun god Balder. But he's also the source of many of the items most treasured by the Norse gods: Thor's hammer, Odin's horse, Sif's golden hair.All of these things were brought to Asgard through Loki's efforts. Upon closer consideration, a more nuanced picture of Loki emerges. By exploring Loki's role among the gods and among men, we can learn more about this not-so-merry prankster and the society that described him in so many stories.Although Loki made his home with the gods, he was achild of the Jotuns.

Snorri Sturlsson, the 12th century author of the Eddas, wrote... "Also numbered among the Æsir is he whom some call the mischief-monger of the Æsir, and the first father of falsehoods, and blemish of all gods and men: He is named Loki or Loptr, son of Fárbauti the giant; his mother was Laufey or Nál; his brothers are Byleistr and Helblindi." Interestingly, Helblindi ("One Who Blinds With Death") is one of the kennings or poetic titles awarded to Odin. In another poem -- the Lokasenna -- Loki said,     "Remember, Othin, in olden days     That we both our blood have mixed;     Then didst thou promise no ale topour,     Unless it were brought for us both." Other sources claim Odin was the child of the giants Bor and Besla. These sources name his brothers as Vili and Ve, or as Hønir and Lothur (variants include Lodur or Lodhur). The Völuspá saga describes how these three created man:     "Then from the host three came,     Great, merciful, from the God's home:     Ash and Elm on earth they found,     Faint, feeble, with no fate assigned them     Breath they had not, nor blood nor senses,     Nor language possessed, nor life-hue:     Odhinn gave them breath, Haenirsen......