Norse Tale: Idunn's Capture
The kidnapping of Idun, the Norse goddess
In an expedition between the Gods, Odin, Loki and Hoenir, a giant named Thjazi in his eagle form captures the God Loki and takes him into the air. He made him swear to bring out from Asgard the Goddess Idunn and her golden apples, which confer youth, strength, and eternal life.
loki facts: The cunning trickster god
Loki as cowardly as he is, accepts and once in Asgard, he lures Idunn into a forest, where he says he has found apples similar to his own and that they must be compared immediately.
Idun and her golden apples
But Goddess Idunn does not accept, she is not a warrior goddess, and she has nothing to defend herself from a threat without the other Gods. Loki agrees to be his guardian and advises him to get some fresh air from time to time, so she agrees to follow him.
The giant Thjazi (enemy of the Gods) then arrives in the form of an eagle and removes the Goddess Idunn, under Loki's eyes.
The Gods discovered it and knew that Loki had had Idunn captured to survive a threat from a giant.
A council of the Gods was asked by Odin Father of Everything, very angry because they were getting old and weak, the council asks to destroy time, this creation they made at the dawn of the universe, but Odin refuses, the Gods ask for an operation of liberation of Idunn, Odin refuses also, he does not wish the death of a god.
The Gods threatened Loki with death if he did not find a solution to their problems of immortality.
Odin therefore forced the God Loki under threat, he became afraid and swore to bring Idunn back to Asgard, and the Goddess Freya then lent him his falcon form, under which he flew to Thrymheim, the house of the giant Thjazi in the mountains, and took advantage of the absence of the giant Thjazi to take Idunn, whom he had transformed into nuts.
But Thjazi notices this on his way home, and turns into an eagle to pursue Loki. The Gods on the fortifications of their city in Asgard, seeing Loki returning then pursued by Thjazi, form a large pile of wood at the gates of Asgard, and once Loki has landed, set fire to it, so that he burns Thjazi's feathers and that it falls inside Asgard. He is then put to death by the Gods.
Idunn gives all the Gods his golden apples and so they find youth, strength, and eternal life.
The Revenge of the Viking Goddess Skadi
Following the death of the giant, his daughter Skadi took up arms and marched against Asgard at the head of an army of several giants who volunteered for this battle. The Gods who have just regained their peace and life, look at this army at their gates. Odin refused the war and began negotiations with Skadi. As a sign of reconciliation, the Aes offered her gold, but she refused.
A Gift for Skadi the Norse Goddess
However, she obtained other things in compensation: she was offered to choose a husband from among the Aes, but she could only choose him by looking at his feet. So they all hide behind a curtain and only let them appear. She then saw an extremely beautiful pair of them, and declared:
"This is the one I choose, there can't be much ugly in Balder" But it is actually the God Vane Njörd. She then asked for another compensation that seemed impossible to her: to make her laugh. Loki then attached her "purses" to a goat's beard, she then gave a smile. Faced with this small success, Odin took Thjazi's eyes, threw them into Asgard's sky and made them two stars, then gave her the title of goddess of winter and darkness.
Skadi accepts peace with the Gods and Njörd becomes her husband.
The difficulties of a couple of Nordic Gods
The life of the divine couple is difficult, because Skadi loves the mountains and Njörd the sea. To choose whether they will live by the sea or in the mountains, they spend time at each other's homes. Upon their return, Njörd declared:
"Haizable are the mountains to me, I was not there for long, only nine nights. The howling of wolves horrified me, compared to the singing of swans."
Then Skadi replied:
"Sleeping on the shores of the sea because of the birds' cries. She wakes me up from the open sea every morning, the seagull. »
They then decided to spend six months of the year in the mountains and six months at sea.
All the MENVIKING team hope that you enjoyed this Nordic legend
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