![]() ![]() The popularity of the deities of the Norse pantheon is evident in the names of the days of the week in English, influenced by Germanic and Scandinavian languages brought to Britain before and during the Viking Age. Unknown (Public Domain) Days of the Week Named after Norse Gods A number of modern-day scholars have attempted to reconstruct pre-Christian Norse beliefs using textual and archaeological evidence, but any conclusions must finally be speculative because there is no written record of the tales before the arrival of the Christian missionaries. ![]() ![]() The Poetic Edda is a compilation of verses from around the 10th century while the Prose Edda is a narrative written by the Icelandic mythographer and scholar Snorri Sturluson (l. The two main sources for all extant Norse mythology are the Poetic Edda and the Prose Edda, both from the 13th century. Christian scribes preserved the tales either to argue against their validity or, it seems, as historical curiosities or for reasons that are unclear. As noted, the great tales of the gods and heroes were transmitted orally until the arrival of Christianity which, because it was based on the revelation of scripture, encouraged literacy. ![]() Although the pre-Christian Norse had the writing system of the runic alphabet, runes were used for brief messages such as inscriptions on memorials, not for longer works. ![]()
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