Norse Mythology

Reading Check and Short Answer questions on key points are designed for guided reading assignments, in-class review, formative assessment, quizzes, and more.

Stories 1-4

Reading Check

1. What does Surtr wait at the edge of Muspell for?

2. What kind of creature is Audhumla?

3. What species of tree is Yggdrasil?

4. What does Odin exchange an eye for?

5. What does Loki take from Thor’s wife, Sif?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. What motivates Odin and his brothers to kill Ymir?

2. What is Asgard?

3. For what purpose does Odin give the drinking horn, Gjallerhorn, to Heimdall?

4. What does Loki go to Svartalfheim to get the dwarves to do?

5. After Brokk and Eitri win the contest, what condition does Loki put on Brokk before being allowed to cut off Loki’s head?0

Paired Resource

“The Challenge of Thor”

• This accessible selection by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow from the section of Longfellow’s narrative poem Tales of a Wayside Inn called “The Saga of King Olaf” depicts Thor challenging Christ at the time of Christianity’s introduction to Scandinavia.
• How does Longfellow’s interpretation of Thor’s character compare to Gaiman’s? To whom is Thor boasting throughout this poem? How can you tell? Given Longfellow’s cultural context and the historical fact of Scandinavia’s conversion to Christianity, what point do you suspect Longfellow is making about Thor’s power and his ability to understand his fate? Based on your reading of Gaiman’s book, how would you guess believers in the old Norse religion would have reacted to Longfellow’s poem had it been written when they were alive to read it?

“Sif’s Golden Hair, How Loki Wrought Mischief in Asgard”

• This 13-minute audio features a storyteller from The Folktale Project retelling the story of Loki cutting Sif’s hair.
• This resource relates to the theme of The Bound Monster.
• How does this storyteller portray Loki’s motives for cutting Sif’s hair? Is this similar to or different from Gaiman’s portrayal? How do the two versions of this story portray the consequences to Sif? How do the other gods feel about Loki’s capacity to harm others? Do they have the power to stop him? Do they want to stop him? What does this tell you about the old Norse religion and its views of the gods, their powers, and their responsibilities? What does the old Norse religion convey about the inevitability of evil and the power of fate?

Stories 5-8

Reading Check

1. Whom does Freya blame when it looks like the stranger will successfully build the wall?

2. What kind of creature is Loki’s child, Jormungandr?

3. What does the ogre king Thrym steal from Thor in Story 7, “Freya’s Unusual Wedding”?

4. What causes Thrym to become suspicious of the disguised Thor at the feast in Story 7, “Freya’s Unusual Wedding”?

5. From what substance do Frey and Freya create Kvasir?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. In Story 5, “The Master Builder,” what does the stranger ask for in return for building the wall around Asgard?

2. What causes the stranger to fail to complete the wall around Asgard in time?

3. Why is Odin especially wary of Loki’s wolf-child, Fenrir?

4. Why is Freya so angry at Loki and Thor after Loki returns from bargaining with Thrym in Story 7, “Freya’s Unusual Wedding”?

5. How does Odin transport the mead of poetry back to Asgard?

Paired Resource

“What We Know About Women in the Viking Age Is Steeped in Cultural Bias”

• In this excerpt from the book The Real Valkyrie: The Hidden History of Viking Warrior Women by Nancy Marie Brown, the author explains how common misinterpretations of Norse women’s roles arose.
• What light does Brown’s argument shed on the stories involving Freya? Is it likely that Norse audiences would have understood and sympathized with her anger? What does this imply about the gods’ power and wisdom? How might this impact the way humans relate to these gods?

“The Myth of Loki’s Monstrous Children”

• This 6-minute Ted-Ed video by Iseult Gillespie retells the story of Loki’s children in animated form.
• This resource relates to the themes of The Self-Fulfilling Prophecy and the Inevitability of Fate and The Bound Monster.
• This video’s intended audience is young people--does the video soften any aspect of the story for its young audience? Which themes from Gaiman’s version are echoed in this video? Are there any significant story elements that have been eliminated from this version? What does this second version add to your understanding?

Stories 9-12

Reading Check

1. In the land of the giants, what does the large building with only one room turn out to be?

2. At Utgard, what animal does Thor prove too weak to lift?

3. Besides the apples of immortality, what does the eagle bargain with Loki for?

4. What kind of magical creature pulls Frey’s chariot?

5. What does Tyr send Thor to get from his mother and stepfather’s house in Story 12, “Hymir and Thor’s Fishing Expedition”?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. In the story about Thor’s goats, how does Loki seem to tempt Thialfi into danger deliberately?

2. What three things do the gods offer to Skadi as compensation for her father Thiazi’s death?

3. Describe Valhalla.

4. As soon as Frey is sure that Odin is busy in Valhalla, what does he surreptitiously do?

5. How does Hymir’s wife save Thor’s life when Thor fails to break Hymir’s drinking cup?

Paired Resource

“Norse Theology”

• This article by the author of The Viking Spirit, Daniel McCoy, discusses how Norse peoples conceived of the divinity of gods.
• This resource relates to the theme of Sacrifice.
• What key ideas does McCoy present about the Norse conception of the gods? How does this article shed light on the battles the gods constantly have to fight, particularly with the giants? How does the article shed light on the constant bargaining among the gods? How does the necessity for battling against the giants and bargaining with one another relate to Gaiman’s thematic concern with Sacrifice? What does McCoy say about the role of sacrifice in Norse culture?

“Thor and the Midgard Serpent”

• This translated excerpt from The Prose Edda of Snorri Sturluson tells the story of Thor’s attempt to fish for Jormungandr.
• This resource relates to the theme of The Self-Fulfilling Prophecy and the Inevitability of Fate.
• This brief story is a translation of one of the original sources of the story of Thor fishing for Jormungandr. What does this story convey about the inevitability of fate? How do its tone and choice of detail differ from Gaiman’s? How might these differences in the two tellings impact audiences?

Stories 13-15

Reading Check

1. In Story 13, “The Death of Balder,” whom does Thor summon to interpret a dream from the afterword?

2. What is the one thing in the world that Frigg does not ask if it means to harm Balder?

3. When Loki is hiding from the other gods in Story 14, “The Last Days of Loki,” what does he disguise himself as?

4. Because of Kvasir’s inferences from the pattern of ashes, what do the gods learn to make in Story 14, “The Last Days of Loki”?

5. What is Loki’s huge ship, Naglfar, supposed to be made of?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. What is the only source of unhappiness in Balder’s life?

2. Under what condition does Hel agree to allow Balder to return to the world of the living?

3. How does what happens to Loki in Story 14, “The Last Days of Loki,” explain the source of earthquakes?

4. When Ragnarok comes, who will comprise the two opposing armies?

5. How will Thor finally die during Ragnarok?

Recommended Next Reads 

American Gods by Neil Gaiman

• This fantasy novel blends folklore, mythology, religion, and American culture.
• Shared topics include gods and mythology.
• American Gods on SuperSummary

Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes by Edith Hamilton

• This classic nonfiction is a compendium of Greek, Roman, and Norse mythology.
• Shared topics include mythology, gods and goddesses, battles, and adventure.
• Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes on SuperSummary

The Prose Edda: Tales From Norse Mythology by Snorri Sturluson, translated By Jean I. Young

• This approachable translation of Sturluson’s 1220 codification of Norse myths offers another take on the stories Gaiman relates as well as many stories omitted from Norse Mythology.
• Shared themes include Self-Fulfilling Prophecy and the Inevitability of Fate, The Bound Monster, and Sacrifice.
• Shared topics are Norse mythology, adventure, gods and goddesses, and battles.

Loki and Sigyn: Lessons on Chaos, Laughter & Loyalty from The Norse Gods by Lea Svendsen

• This scholarly yet lively nonfiction account relates Loki’s and his wife Sigyn’s adventures and analyzes their significance within Norse culture.
• Shared themes include Self-Fulfilling Prophecy and the Inevitability of Fate, The Bound Monster, and Sacrifice.
• Shared topics include Norse mythology, adventure, gods and goddesses, and battles.

The Witch’s Heart by Genevieve Gornichec

• This fictional retelling of the story of the giantess Angrboda and her encounters with Odin and Loki offers a reimagining of a significant story from Norse mythology from another perspective.
• Shared themes include Self-Fulfilling Prophecy and the Inevitability of Fate, The Bound Monster, and Sacrifice.
• Shared topics are Norse mythology, adventure, and gods and goddesses.