The viking age had a period of change within the religion of Scandinavia. Many think that Vikings are pagans, who had deep hate towards the Christian Church. But this is misleading and untrue. What is true is that at the beginning of the Viking age, almost all the vikings were Pagan, but the vikings had many gods, and they accepted the Christian god alongside their own Gods. Most scholars today believe that the viking attacks on Christian Churches had nothing to do with religion, but more to do with the fact that monasteries were typically both wealthy and poorly defended, making them an easy target for attack.

The 54 Gods

There were about 54 gods in the Viking religion, some of them are major ones but I won’t name them because someone else would work on that:

Major gods

Baldr - God of beauty, innocence, peace, and rebirth. Consort: Nanna. Dead, Killed by Loki, who tricked his blind brother Hodr into killing him with a spear of mistletoe.. His death began Ragnarok. Borr - Father of Óðinn, Vili and Ve. Consort: Bestla Bragi - God of poetry, music and the harp. Consort: Iðunn. Dead, killed in the Dwarven tusk boar battle at Ragnarok. Búri - Ruler of Prehistory, the first god and father of Borr. Dagr - God of the daytime, son of Delling and Nótt. Delling - God of dawn and father of by Nótt. Eir - Goddess of healing. Ēostre - Goddess of spring. Elli - Goddess of old age. Forseti - God of justice, peace and truth. Son of Baldr and Nanna. Fitch - God of ruling and arbitration. Son of Eir and Gmot. Freya - Goddess of love, fertility, and battle. Consort: Óðr. Committed Suicide during Ragnarok. Freyr - God of fertility. Consort: Gerð. Dead, killed by Surtr in Ragnarok. Frigg - Goddess of marriage and motherhood. Consort: Óðinn. Can also be pronounced "Frigga". Fulla - Frigg´s handmaid. Gmot - God of the moon. Brother of Re`es and Weth. Gefjun - Goddess of fertility and plough. Hel - Queen of Neifelheim, the Norse underworld. Heimdallr (Rígr) - One of the Æsir and guardian of Ásgarð, their realm.. Killed by Loki. Hermóðr - The heroic son of Odin.Tried to rescue Balder. Hlín - Goddess of consolation and protection. Höðr - God of winter. Killed by Vali. Hœnir - The silent god. Iðunn - Goddess of youth. Consort: Bragi. Jörð - Goddess of the Earth. Mother of Þórr by Óðinn. Kellaa - God of Accounting. Killed by Fitch. Kvasir - God of inspiration. Killed by Dwarves. Lofn - Goddess of forbidden loves. Loki - Trickster and god of mischief . Consort: Sigyn (also called Saeter). Killed by Heimdallr. Magni - god of strength. Son of Thor. Máni - God of Moon. Mímir - Óðinn´s uncle. Decapitated by Vanir. Nanna - Goddess of joy and peace, an Ásynja married with Baldr and mother to Forseti. Died because of Baldur's death. Nerþus - A goddess mentioned by Tacitus. Her name is connected to that of Njörðr. Njörðr - God of sea, wind, fish, and wealth. Killed in Ragnarok. Nótt - Goddess of night, daughter of Narvi and mother of Auð, Jörð and Dagr by Naglfari, Annar and Delling, respectively. Odin - The "All Father" God of war, also associated to wisdom, poetry, and magic (The Ruler of the gods). Swallowed by Fenrir. Sága - An obscure goddess, possibly another name for Frigg. Ran - Godess of the sea. Sif - Wife of Thor. Goddess of battle. Sjöfn - Goddess of love. Skaði - Goddess of winter; Njörðr's wife. Snotra - Goddess of prudence. Sol (Sunna) - Goddess of Sun. Swallowed by Skoll. Thor (Donar) - God of thunder and battle. Consort: Sif. Killed by Jormungandr. Thruer - daughter of Thor and Sif. Tyr - God of war. Also the god of the skies. Killed by Garm. Ullr - God of ski/winter, hunt, and duel. Son of Sif. Váli - God of revenge. Vár - Goddess of contract. Vé - One of the three gods of creation. Brother of Óðinn and Vili. Víðarr - God of the forest, revenge and silence. Vör - Goddess of wisdom. Weth - Goddess of anger. Yggdrasil - Goddess of life. Tree of life. Connects the 9 worlds.

Lesser figures

Ægir - Ruler of the sea. Consort: Rán. Andhrímnir - Cook of the gods. Aurvandil - A minor character in the Skáldskaparmál with cognates in other Germanic tales.

Viking Beliefs

Vikings believed in Giant sea serpents, Giant Fish, Evil committed by Loki, A rainbow to Asgard(A mythical place where the gods lived) and Ice Giants.

Conclusion

The Vikings had many Beliefs which have grown become movies and myths today. By the boys of CGS!

http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Norse_gods_and_goddesses http://www.vikings-history.com/viking-gods/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norse_mythology http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/primaryhistory/vikings/beliefs_and_stories/ http://www.viking-mythology.com/ http://www.rosala-viking-centre.com/gods.htm http://www.missgien.net/vikings/myth.html http://www.rosala-viking-centre.com/gods.htm http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Norse_gods_and_goddesses http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norse_mythology http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/primaryhistory/vikings/beliefs_and_stories/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norse_religion