The Romans reported that Norse tribes worshiped the earth goddess Nerthus. Some scholars think she's twin sister of the sea god Njord. Her name sounds like a female version of his, just like his daughter's name (Freyja) is a female version of his son's (Frey).
🎨 Emil Doepler

#WyrdWednesday #Folklore #Mythology #Norse #Vikings #Scandinavia #Heathen #Heathenism

#WyrdWednesday In his 1555 book 'History of the Northern Peoples' Olaus Magnus describes a giant sea serpent 90m long living in caves & seas around Scandinavia that would attack livestock on land & pluck sailors from their boats. 🎨 Sea Serpent (Sjøormen) by Norwegian artist Theodor Kittelsen, 1892.

A lindworm is a huge dragon-like monster from the folklore of many European countries (including Germany and Scandinavia). Though otherwise serpent-like, lindworms are often depicted with forelimbs. Anything this monster sleeps on will increase in size as the monster grows, including piles of treasure.
🎨 John Bauer

#WyrdWednesday #Mythology #Folklore #Norse #Scandinavia #Germany #FairyTale #Monster #Snake #Dragon

#WyrdWednesday "Att ana ugglor i mossen" is a Swedish saying which translates as "Sensing owls in the bog", meaning that there's something suspicious afoot. 🎨 "The Pond" by Alfred Kubin
#WyrdWednesday Eerie nocturnal cries of shearwaters nesting on Scottish and Scandinavian islands were once thought to be made by trolls who inhabited the cliffs. Conservationists have used such tales of haunted cliffs to help locate breeding sites of rare species to aid their conservation.
Wouldn't be a #WyrdWednesday without Necropants! Need money? Icelandic tradition would advise (though I would not) you dig up a dead man and make from his skin Nábrók, Death Underpants. They're not stylish, but when you've got money, you set the style, right?

Wouldn't be a #WyrdWednesday without Necropants!

Need money? Icelandic tradition would advise (though I would not) you dig up a dead man and make from his skin Nábrók, Death Underpants. They're not stylish, but when you've got money, you set the style, right?

Scandinavian mermaids, called havfrue, sjörå, and other names, are harbingers of storms and are seen as fatal omens, sometimes even kidnapping sailors: better to avoid them at all costs, and avert ye eyes. #WyrdWednesday #LegendaryWednesday 🖼️: E. Jerichau-Baumann

Scandinavian mermaids, called havfrue, sjörå, and other names, are harbingers of storms and are seen as fatal omens, sometimes even kidnapping sailors: better to avoid them at all costs, and avert ye eyes. #WyrdWednesday #LegendaryWednesday

🖼️: E. Jerichau-Baumann