From (793–1066 AD) Vikings lived, raided, farmed and traded throughout the known world.
I wrote this back in November of 2019,
I heard the wolves of war howling as I read the world news a couple weeks ago. I thought about the Norse myth of Odin and his wolves. I put the thought to paper. Let’s pray to God that our world finds a path to peace.
In Norse mythology, Geri and Freki (Old Norse, both meaning "the ravenous" or "greedy one") are two wolves which are said to accompany the god Odin. They are attested in the Poetic Edda, a collection of epic poetry compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources, in the Prose Edda, written in the 13th century by Snorri Sturluson, and in the poetry of skalds. The pair has been compared to similar figures found in Greek, Roman and Vedic mythology, and may also be connected to beliefs surrounding the Germanic "wolf-warrior bands", the Úlfhéðnar. (wiki)
Geri and Freki are Odin’s companions that guard his throne and accompany him in battle and his quest for wisdom.
15 x 21, mixed media paper, pen, ink, and watercolor. Painting finished December 12th 2019
Odin’s journey to find wisdom is never-ending, and he is willing to pay any price, it seems, for the understanding of life’s mysteries that he craves more than anything else. On one occasion, he hung himself, cut himself with a spear, and fasted from food and drink for nine days and nights in order to discover the runes.
On another quest for wisdom occasion, Odin visited Mimir’s Well and sacrificed an eye (non dual sight), which scholars feel is the Well of Urd surrounded by the roots of the world tree Yggdrasil. Living there is a super natural being named Mimir, a shadowy creature whose knowledge of all things is renowned throughout the realms of the cosmic tree. Mimir became the wisest of wise beings from the waters of Urd.
Disclaimer: Most of what we know of Viking lore, culture, and their religion has been taken from fragments of stone carvings and writings of scholars hundreds of years after the viking culture was replaced by Christianity. The religion of Odin was practiced across Europe by pre-Christian tribes.
