North European

These pages will cover general myths from the Scandanavian regions of Europe that often were spread by the Vikings so that similar tales apear in the British Isles, Germany, Belgium and in some cases Northern france.

Beowulf was not a monster but a man imortalised in an epic British poem.

Beowulf was the nephew of the king of Gotaland, southern sweeden. around the time of his birth in neighboring Denmark lived the then king Hrothgar,a rekowned warrior & victor of many battles. He had build a massive island fortress on what is now Zeatland. To mark his victories and the peace that they had brought him he had build a massive hall in which to hold feasts and banquets. The building went quickly and was vast & gloriously adorned, at the first feast given to mark its opening the great hall was names "Herot" or "the heart".Proud was the king and warriors that feasted there ,so much so that the celebrating went on for days. Day after day the celebration continued until it roused a mighty enemy of man, the GRENDEL a loathsome fen monster. This creature was half man half feind and dwelt in the fens close to where Herot now stood.

Champion after champion would attempt to kill the Grendel who had now made his home in the empty hall, all failed ,eventualy the challenges dwindled and the hall was abandoned to the monster. For a further twelve years the hall remained in the possesion of the fearsome Grendel, many tried and failed to kill the creature, far and wide had the tale spread but still without success for the Danes. King Hrothgar grew old and helpless to aid his people and the Grendel was still terrorising the land around the Great Hall.

Meanwhile beowulf had grown to manhood, tall and strong he heard of the tales and sought the permission of his King to travel to Denmark . Eager to test his strength he chose fourteen loyal comrades and he set sail for the coast of Denmark. King Hrothgar had heard of Beowulf and his strength,said to be equal to that of thirty normal men, his heart was lifted that one so strong would try to free them of the terror that was the Grendel.

The king asked Beowulf how he planed his deed and was stunned when he replied that Beowulf would use only his bare hands. Beowulf reasoned that all who had used weapons on the Grendels tought hide had not even marked it and failed, he would use his famed strength alone. Other than waiting in the darkness of the great hall for Grendel the plan was simplicity in itself.

On the night of the attempt Beowulf and his companions waited until Grendel left the great hall. After entering they barred the doors and settled down to wait. When the Grendel returned he was stunned to find the doors barred and in a rage smashed them down. Immediatly attacking the first man he reached and tore him to shreds. Grabbing for his next victim the Grendel was shocked to suddenly find himself gripped by the wrist in a vice like hold. Never had one so strong held the beast, forgetting his planned victim the Grendel turned on Beowulf.

Beowulf's other companions in the darkness grabbed for thier weapons and futilely tried to inflict some damage on the raging monster but were unable to strike propperly without hitting Beowulf. The fight between Beowulf and Grendel raged the length of the hall smashing tables and furniture in thier wake, but Grendel was unable to break the bold on his arm. In rising panic Grendel tried to make for the doors of the great hall and escape, but still the hold on his wrish remained. Tighter & tighter the hold became until in a last attempt to free himself the grendel wrenched his arm so mightily that his whole arm was torn from his shoulders.

Fleeing from the hall the Grendel left a trail of blood and gore in his wake, the severed arm Beowulf placed over the entrance of the great hall for all to see thier victory. The king on seeing this great deed promptly began a celebration in the great hall, unfortunately these were cut short by the Grendel's enraged mother who came to get revenge for the fatal wound that had been caused to her son.

Beowulf drove the Grendel's mother from the hall and persued her to a nearby lake where her lair was below the waters. Entering the lake Beowulf swam deep to the hidden caverns below, this time suited in armour and with his sword Beowulf prepared to do battle. long was the fight with the Grendels kin and barely had beowulf marked her, his sword was to small to inflict serious damage on her. Tiring Beowulf rested and looked around him,many were the weapons strewn around him from previous battles. but one cought his eyes. A huge sword , to big for most men to wield , but with his strength he was able to. The sword was a relic of an earlier mighty race and gave Beowulf new strength and hope. Swinging it fiercly he attacked once more,taken by suprise Beowulf cut the head from Grendel's mother in one blow, such was the power of him and the sword. Now that she was dead Beowulf had time to explore the caverns and in a recess at the rear he found the now dead Grendel. With the sword he cut the head of the Grendel. Acid blood poured over the blade and melted it leaving Beowulf with only the hilt, this and the head of Grendel was all that he carried from the underwater caverns.

After much celebrating and rest Beowulf and his party decided to return home,king Hrothgar rewarded them well ,even giving Beowulf his own saddle, ornate and decorated in gold, thanking the king they took thier leave and returned whence they had came.

comes when he is much older and has become king in his own right, and in the fiftieth year of his reign.....the Fire-Dragon.

FIRE-DRAGON..

For fifty years Beowulf's reign was peaceful until came to the land the terror of a Fire-Dragon. It would fly from its lair at night lighting up the sky with its blazing breath, burning houses and farms in its wake. This Dragon was not newly arrived to the land but had been disturbed by an opportune thief. The Dragon had spent three hundred years peacfully in its hidden lair,when quite by chance a traveler had stumbled upon the hidden entrance. In need of a place to rest over night this traveler had slept the night in the lair and on waking discovered the vast hoard of gold and treasure. Thinking that the Dragon wouldnt miss just one precious goblet he helped himself, sadly he was mistaken.

So died Beowulf and the Fire-Dragon, as to the Dragons vast hoard of treasure, that was burried with him in a massive cairn and the remains of the Dragon were thrown into the sea. 

VALKYRIES... (or Valkyrs, or choosers of the slain)

Though not creatures of mythology as such, I though I would include the Valkyries as they were winged Maidens and could fly. These were the maidens in Norse mythology, sent by Odin to conduct souls of slain heroes to Valhalla.The heroes were brought to Valhalla after they died to prepare for the climactic struggle of Ragnarok at the end of the world.. The Valkyries, warlike maidens, carried the slain heroes from the field of battle to Asgard. These maidens served Odin, but their chief duty was to preside over battles and decide who would live or die.

WERE-WOLF...refer to Generalpage

Fenrir (or Fenris the Wolf), in Scandinavian mythology was the monster child of the evil god Loki.Loki had planned to release Fenris to eat the heavens and would get larger and larger as it ate. It was captured and kept chained by magic until Ragnarok (Judgment Day), when he is destined to break loose, spread his jaws to heaven and earth, and, breathing fire, devour Odin and the world.

In Scandinavian folklore, these giant, monstrous creatures often possessed magic powers. Hostile to people, they lived in castles and haunted the surrounding areas after dark. If exposed to sunlight, they burst or turned to stone. In later folklore, trolls often appear as human-sized or as elves that are similar to the Irish leprechauns, the delightful cobblers and owners of buried treasure. In the plays of the Norwegian dramatist Henrik Ibsen, especially 'Peer Gynt' and 'The Master-Builder', trolls are used to suggest human self-destructive instincts.

Awinged, two-legged dragon with a barbed tail, The Wivern often appears on heraldic shields and symbolizes guardianship.

BASILISK...

Thebasilisk, or cockatrice, was a serpent so horrible that it killed with a glance. Pliny the Elder described it simply as a snake with a small golden crown. By the Middle Ages it had become a snake with the head of a cock or sometimes a human head. It was born of a spherical egg, laid during the days of Sirius, the Dog Star, by a 7-year-old cock. The egg was then hatched by a toad, The sight of a basilisk was so dreadful that if the creature saw its own reflection in a mirror it supposedly died of fright. The only way then to kill it was to hold a mirror before it and avoid looking at it directly. The original of the basilisk could have been a horned adder or the hooded cobra of India.

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