cats in norse mythology

Mark has lived in Greece and Germany and traveled through Egypt. The more dogs one had, the greater one’s show of wealth and success. Interestingly, though Freyja's cats certainly catch the popular imagination, Old Norse literature never recorded the names of the goddess's cats. The dog acted as a kind of psychopomp, guiding the soul from the realm of life to the land beyond death. Today, we tend to think of the self as having two or three components: a body, a mind, and perhaps a soul. With pets, as with so many other aspects of life, the fundamental differences between the people of the past and those of the present are really quite small. Meaning "lord". Prior to interment, the bear was eaten and only its bones were placed in the grave (Jennbert, 147). The cat was no doubt imported to Scandinavia through trade with either the Phoenicians or Romans and the first cats to make the trip were probably smuggled out of Egypt. Declawing is Like Trimming Nails. In Norse mythology, the god Ing was also known by the name 'Yngvi freyr', which means 'lord Ing'. This site is written and maintained on behalf of Seti and Loki by their pets, Jenny and Simon of Kemet Design. This name is derived from the Old Norse word 'freyr', which means 'lord'. Declawing is actually the surgical amputation of the first joint of … Do you know what Maneki Neko means, and how Burmese cats were created? Norse Pets in the Viking Age. Cats, then, played an integral part in the lives of the people of Scandinavia whether they stayed home on their farms or went raiding as Vikings. Garm is said to have kept the souls of the dead safely behind Hel’s walls while also keeping the living from trespassing in trying to bring a soul back to the land of the living. She is … In Norse mythology, Freyja, the goddess of love, beauty, and fertility, is depicted as riding a chariot drawn by cats. Some Rights Reserved (2009-2020) under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license unless otherwise noted. Besides cats as Freyja’s favorite and the mystical guides of the seeress, they also feature in the myth of Fenrir, the great wolf who will break free at Ragnarok, the end of the world and twilight of the gods, and in the tale of Thor’s contest at the castle of the giant Utgarda-Loki. The goddess Freyja taught the chief god Odin the art of witchcraft and sorcery.It seems evident that ever since the Viking times cats have been associated with magic and witchcraft. It is possible short-haired cats brought by the Vikings interbred with long-haired cats introduced by the Crusaders and this cross resulted in the new breed. These bears were then known as “house bears” (Viking Answer Lady, 10). It is the home of Odin and many of the Norse gods. Freyja is the owner of the necklace Brísingamen, rides a chariot pulled by two cats, is accompanied by the boar Hildisvíni, and possesses a cloak of falcon feathers. Cats are sacred to Freya, the goddess of love and beauty, one of the original fertility … It may be that Frigg’s association with dogs is a later development intended to further differentiate her from Freyja and her cat-drawn chariot but utilizing similar imagery. In Norse mythology, Freya was the goddess of war, love, and sex. https://www.ancient.eu/article/1313/. Later scholars (such as Rudolf Simek and John Lindow) dispute Snorri’s interpretation, however, pointing out that the dog who guards Hel has no name and that Garm is identical to the great wolf Fenrir as both are loosed at Ragnarok and both kill the war-god Tyr who sacrificed his hand to bind Fenrir. Ancient History Encyclopedia Foundation is a non-profit organization. (171). … During this period, devout... 3. Cat Mythology covers many things. Large fines were levied on people who allowed their house bear to get loose and damage someone else’s property (Viking Answer Lady, 10). 11 cats from mythology You could opt for Leo , the fifth astrological sign of the zodiac, or get really creative with one of these legendary cat-inspired names. The dogs could bear the souls through the border area from the land of the living to the land of the dead…but dogs were not only conductors to the realm of the dead, they also acted as guards at the entrance of the underworld so that the living could not enter and the dead could not leave. Whether the Norse domesticated other wild animals as pets is unknown but certainly possible. Like Bast, she was a goddess of hunting and warfare as well as a goddess of love and beauty and the cat was her sacred animal. … As this serpent was large enough to encircle the world, the cat was a great deal heavier than it appeared and the giants were secretly impressed by his strength. Web. Dogs had collars which sometimes identified them or their owners and leashes and leads were used as they are today. At the same time, however, Garm is called “best of hounds” by Odin in the Grimnismal section of the Poetic Edda when he lists the best things in all the cosmological realms. Cats were the favorite animal of the fertility goddess Freyja, who was also the goddess of love and luck. She was often called upon in matters of the heart. Bibliography The importance of the dog to its master is emphasized by the inclusion of dogs in Odin’s great hall of Valhalla in the afterlife. The great Icelandic sagas mention dogs accompanying their masters to Valhalla after death. The Norse goddess Freya (Freyja) had a chariot drawn by two large grey or blue cats (possibly Norwegian Forest Cats) called "Gib-cats" in the Prose Edda (a collection of Norse tales compiled in 1220AD by Icelandic historian Snorri Sturluson). Last modified January 18, 2019. But if Freya was the goddess of the feminine, why were her cats male? In Norse mythology the cat was closely associated with Freyja, the goddess of love, sex, attraction, and even crops. Ellis Davidson notes: Dog skeletons, sometimes several at a time, are found along with those of horses and cattle in the great Scandinavian ship-burials of the Viking Age, and both large hunting dogs and smaller breeds in individual graves…In Scandinavian myth and legend the dog is the guardian of the underworld and one reason for putting a dog into a grave might be to provide a guide for the dead. I’ve included the following poem because, to me, it shows how cats are loved and revered not just in ancient history, but even today. Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mythological felines. Many... 2. The line that separates self and other is fairly absolute and unalterable. Freyja’s cat-driven chariot. Cat Names Based on Norse Mythology: Elves and Dwarves. 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