Norse (Asterism Names)

Authors: Youla Azkarrula, Susanne M Hoffmann

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The approximate extent of Old Norse and related languages in the early 10th century (CC BY Wiglaf and Idjck).

The Old Norse culture is a Pre-Christian pagan culture in Northern Europe. Many sources on astronomical information are preserved in the works of (early) Christian missionaries, implying possible framing.

The Eddic myths were widespread in the North Germanic cultural area, which encompasses present-day Scandinavia (Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Iceland). They were written down in the 13th century in Iceland, predominantly in two literary works, the Prose Edda and the Poetic Edda, this way representing the most important sources of our knowledge on Norse mythology. The culture referred to here therefore includes the North Germanic peoples from the 13th century and earlier. An important factor in observing the sky at this latitude is the brightness of the midnight sun in summer. During several weeks, the sky at Iceland's latitude does not get dark or only for a very short time, which severely limits the possibility of observing stars during this period. Given the fact that Snorri’s Edda was written in Iceland and under the assumption that some of the myths describe celestial phenomena, this plays an important role in the localization of assumed constellations: for instance, the modern constellation of Scorpius, the Scorpion, is hardly visible, so, it won't be identified with any Norse constellation.

Sky

The origin of the Eddic myths remains disputed (Jonsson 1994, p. 41). In recent decades, some attempts have been made to map the sagas of the Edda onto constellations in the night sky. However, this fact does not negate Snorri's statement that the phenomena he describes are quite literally located in the sky (Sigurdson 2022, p. 239). Snorri Sturluson provides a systematic, sequential description of mythological cosmogony in his Edda. Gangleri, the protagonist of Gylfaginning, is told that in the beginning lights were assigned a staðr (place) and a path in the sky. Their movements marked the passage of time. The Sun is given salir (halls) and the stars staðir (places) by the gods (Æsir). These are the key terms in Gylfaginning for celestial locations and phenomena (Sigurdson 2022, p. 239). After that several places in the sky are described, some of which can be found here as constellations. The sky itself was created by the Æsir from the skull of the primeval giant Ymir, whom they had slain (Sturluson 2017, p. 21). Subsequently, they took sparks that had flown from Muspelheim, the realm of fire, and set them in the sky as stars (Sturluson 2017, p. 22).

Milky Way

the Milky Way serves as the embodiment of the world tree Yggdrasil. This ash tree is the largest and best of all trees, and its branches spread across the entire world (Sturluson 2017, p. 28). It has three roots, and beneath each one is a spring. Several literary scholars believe that locating Yggdrasil in the sky would be useful for understanding the topography of the Eddic myths. However, this is contradicted by the description of animals living in the tree (Lorenz 1984, p. 241). If we assume that the animals mentioned, such as squirrels and eagles, are also celestial objects/ constellations, then Yggdrasil forms a super-constellation containing these constellations, and equating it with the Milky Way becomes rather inevitable. Sigurdson (2022) and Jonsson (1994) also believe that this translucent white tree in the sky should be understood as a mythical analogue of the Milky Way (Sigurdson 2022, p. 238).

Solar System Names

Traditional Signs	Old Norse	English	Commentary
	Sól	Sun	Sól is a goddess
	Máni	Moon	Máni is a god
	Málsstjarna	Mercury	Odin's star
	Blóðstjarna or	Venus
	Friggjarstjarna		Frigg/Freyja's star
	Þrekstjarna	Mars	Týr's star
	Meginstjarna	Jupiter	Thor's star
	Gnógleiksstjarna	Saturn	"Star of Plenty", Njörðr's star

Due to the geographical latitude at which many inhabitants of ancient Scandinavia lived, summers are very bright and winters very dark. At the latitude of Iceland, there are even several weeks in summer during which hardly any stars can be observed at night. Likewise, there are several weeks in winter when the sun is barely visible and the moon rises only a few degrees above the horizon (or not at all, depending on its orbit's position). Under these unreliable conditions, it is unlikely that Old Norse peoples maintained detailed calendars based on the sun or the moon. In Eddic mythology, the sun and the moon are personified as the children of Mundilfari. The son, Mani, steers the course of the moon, and the daughter, Sol, that of the sun (Sturluson 2017, p. 24). Neither may ever stop on their paths, for both are pursued by wolves that wish to devour them. The wolf chasing the sun is called Sköll, and the one chasing the moon is called Hati. When Ragnarök begins, the downfall of the gods, both will be devoured by the wolves (Sturluson 2017, p. 25).

Here is an overview on Norse asterism names

Runes	Old Norse	Etymological Meaning, when possible	Commentary
	Asar Bardagi	Battlefield of the Æsir
	Aurvandils tá	Aurwandill's Toe
	Bifrǫst	Bifröst
		Charles's Wain
	Fiskikarlar	Fisherman
	Freyju vagn	Freyja's Chariot
	Freys sigð	Freyr's Sickle
	Himinbjǫrg	Heimdall's Castle
	Himinhjǫrð	Ox's Head
	Hræsvélgr	Eagle Giant
	Hvergelmir	Boiling Well
	Jormungandr	Midgard Serpent
	Mímis brunnr	Mimir's Well
	Rátatǫskr	Ratatosk
	Úlfs Keptr	Jaw of the Wolf
	Urðarbrunnr	Well of Urðr
	Ván	River Van
	Þjaza augu	Thiazi's Eyes
	Þórr	Thor
	Þórs vagn	Thor's Chariot

References

• References (general)