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#Icelandic mythology
kin-mo0ds · 1 year
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Midnight Selkie 🌘
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aodhan-art · 3 months
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Askjell Gudmundsson, an enslaved Svartálfar engineer in a draugr-making factory, and a very interesting coin he's just found during a routine inspection.
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charliescreatures · 1 year
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Another sea beast from Librum Prodigiosum! The Múshveli, from Icelandic mythology! This is a large and dangerous ‘mouse whale’ which is said to be able to swallow a rowboat whole! With a long tail to swim at incredible speeds!
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ashildr-arts · 1 year
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homemadehorrors · 2 years
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Raudkembingur has bitten me twice this morning alone. 😡
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bestiarium · 2 years
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The Skoffín [Icelandic folktales]
Arctic foxes are small predatory mammals native to Iceland. Cats, on the other hand, are not native there and were introduced by humans. There is a local legend about a male arctic fox that bred with a female cat (note: this is not biologically possible, these two animals can’t produce offspring in real life). The result was a litter of Skoffíns, supernatural monsters that were incredibly dangerous. It is said that these creatures could somehow kill people by looking directly at them.
In one tale, all the people who exited a church building immediately dropped dead. The church’s priest correctly assumed that there must be a Skoffín sitting on the roof beam of the building. He thought of a solution and held up a large mirror when exiting the building. The Skoffín, having looked its own reflection in the eyes, immediately died.
Source: https://grapevine.is/mag/articles/2008/09/03/more-monsters-and-mythical-beings-skoffin/ (image source: a postal stamp from 2009 depicting a Skoffín. It was part of a series of stamps with local mythical creatures on them)
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spidermilkshake · 1 year
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Ancardia's Unusual Animals--the Hrökkáll
Classification: Beast (fish)
Habitat: Deoxygenated and polluted pools and wetland ranges in Tvearban and northern Akimmia.
            The Hrökkáll is an unusual fish native only to certain northerly areas of the world, which while commonly described as an eel, is truthfully closer in relation to a muskellunge. At full size, this creature of shallow polluted pools and acidic wetland waters measure only about 55 centimeters, and in the spring thousands of squirming juveniles can be found which measure about 2 centimeters in length. The Hrökkáll is the subject of a number of superstitions among the Isyldweragh and the Hurthlings of the Helm of the East region, chiefly of their being an omen of death or a bringer of bad luck. This perhaps has more to do with the habitat of the Hrökkáll, which can include secluded ponds and pools made completely toxic and impotable by mineral intrusion from arsenic, lead, and cinnabar (mercury) deposits close to the surface rather than the fish itself. The wiser Ice Dwarf or Highrock Hurthling realizes that the fish comes after the noxious pools, and simply knows better than to draw water or catch the fish of the polluted pools and fens.
            This elongate and heavy-scaled fish species is a predator, mostly targeting flying insects, small frogs and salamanders, and low-flying birds such as plovers and kingfishers. They grow somewhat stunted in places of high mineral pollution, but seem to be well-adapted to surviving in such adverse conditions. Their general submersion in acidic or toxic water protects them from many predators, and most live their whole 7 to 8 year lifespans in the same pools snatching mayflies and mosquito larva from the surface in spring and ambushing migratory birds skimming the water and the more foolish amphibians on the shores in autumn. Their juveniles, which hatch from eggs suspended from the stems of cattails, reed, and other water-loving plants at a few inches above water level, are sometimes taken by kingfishers and wandering gulls and seabirds, and in their wetland habitat the younger Hrökkáll less than 15 centimeters in length are often attacked by marsh-dwelling herons and snapping turtles, though somewhat rarely. The flavor of Hrökkáll flesh from the wetland-dwelling individuals is still said to be somewhat foul and metallic, with a constant aftertaste like clotted blood and something burnt no matter what cooking method and what spices are added to it. For this reason, whenever a Hrökkáll specimen is ever killed by locals, the flesh is generally ground up for either fertilizer or bait for other animals, and the only portions used by humanoids are the strong ribs and ray fins for primitive sewing needles, fishing tackle, and the hide and scales as a thin but tough leather used for belts, knuckle-guards, and some decorative features.
            Hrökkáll are neither particularly social or anti-social—usually content to bask along the surfaces of their native bogs and pools. In some situations, these fish can be densely packed at fifteen to a square meter, at which point some fighting can occur but is usually resolved by a number of the Hrökkáll leaping onto land and wriggling to a neighboring pool or fens. This species is hardy, not only surviving high levels of metallic toxins and acidity but able to live for up to three hours outside of water, provided the humidity is high. In other situations, particularly in warmer, murkier waters, Hrökkáll have been known to turn cannibalistic very quickly if risk of overcrowding looms, though this is a stress behavior and not otherwise seen in healthy limited populations. On rare other occasions, inexperienced brown bears may attack a great many of these fishes in a small pool by opportunity, only to realize after consuming one that they are highly toxic and unpalatable.
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coffeecryptidz · 1 year
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Merry bloody Christmas!
Ngl, that giant cat who eats people for not getting any clothes from Christmas is underrated sjhskzhbafhdhbulhdsaIDUFLd.
(Don't tag this as vore plz. This is not a fetish art and I am a minor)
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wildwithlight · 1 year
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Mikladalur's Kopakonan on the Faroe Islands
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lasagras · 9 months
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All right, so we've seen this post by @fuckyeahcoffeeandequality
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And they're absolutely correct. Some people actually say that Lofn and other goddesses are just different names or aspects of Frigg and/or Freyja, but I am wary of these claims since there are very few sources for norse mythology and there could be many reasons why there is much less written about the goddesses than the gods. But that's just me, and I am by no means an expert in the field. Snorri's Edda does say that Lofn unites those for whom marrige is forbidden, though, and that sounds pretty gay.
A little digression, bear with me I promise I have a point. Lavender has been used as a symbol for homosexuality and queerness for quite some time, and the colour purple even longer. "The Lavender Scare", "Lavender Menace" and "lavender marrige" are all terms and names from queer history, and the colour and the flower came to be empowering for queer people.
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WELL
In Icelandic, the name for lavender is 'lofnarblóm', literally translated as 'the flower of Lofn'. The plant is not native to the island and the word seems to be quite recent (the first written example of it I can find is from 1986), in all the other nordic languages they call it some sort of variation of lavendel, except for Faroese, where it appears to be called 'bath plant' (I'm so sorry, I don't speak Faroese). There are a few other words that start with lofnar-, most likely as a reference to the goddess, but most of them seem to be rather old and/or uncommon. I have no idea why 'lofnarblóm' was chosen as a translation for lavender. Knowing icelandic history, the queer connotation was probably not on purpose, but I can't help but get excited about the connection.
TL;DR: Lavender (aka the gay flower) is named after Lofn (aka the gay goddess in norse mythology) in icelandic
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ur-folk · 14 days
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Old Norse Folklore: Tradition, Innovation, and Performance in Medieval Scandinavia by Stephen A. Mitchell (published 2023, Cornell University Press)
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educationaldm · 1 year
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The massive scary Yule Cat from Icelandic Mythology has always amused me. I may have to write a One-Shot adventure for it some day. Homebrew monster stat-ed by Star Sail Games
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jonquilclegane · 6 months
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The importance of Sigyn
So many people keep declaring how Sigyn is not important, and does not fit into the Norse world. As for writers, as we know, they keep erasing her from their stories, even from the scene she's supposed to be in, as they seem to agree she's not required to the narrative and a very facultative extra ^^'
However, while reading Brian Branston's book "The Gods of The North" (1955), he states this:
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"MAIN CONTRIBUTION"
Also:
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"Prized northern attribute of faithfulness"
I mean, there is a Norse goddess, Var, whose speciality is to PUNISH the people who broke their vows ^^' ALSO, to believe that values like Faithfulness and Loyalty are only important to Christians is SO wrong and insulting to Vikings?
(I mean, now, we know she's even older than the Vikings, belonging to the Germanic pantheon, who is very ancient, by Loki's side, but still)
One last thing, that might explain why Icelanders have a special interest in Sigyn <3
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So not only does she protect them from earthquakes, BUT ALSO FROM VOLCANIC ERUPTIONS???
WE STAN A VERY IMPORTANT GODDESS. Very useful. Essential, most of all when you live in a part of Midgard where there are a lot of volcanoes, I think ^^'
I think that Pompei & Herculaneum people would have been glad to have her by their side ^^'
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charliescreatures · 11 months
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An unusual beastie from Librum Prodigiosum ! The Skeljaskrímsli, A cryptid from Iceland! First sighted in the 18th century, this beast is said to be as large as a hippo, lives near water and uses its claws for purchase during storms!
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briefbestiary · 6 months
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An unwanted creature, highly abhorrent to those who keep sheep. It is a notable detriment that has tendencies to wander ashore and stalk the coastlines, on the lookout for ewes to approach.
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sitting-on-me-bum · 6 months
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Iceland Volcano Lava Eruption Litli-Hrútur 2023 Reykjanes Peninsula Reykjavik IS Mavic 3 Pro Cine Fine Art Aerial Landscape Photography Iceland!
Elliot McGucken Master Fine Art Nature Photographer
By 45SURF Hero’s Odyssey Mythology Photography
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