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Rated 5 out of 5 by SHHG from Love Norse Mythos! I love this course so much that I took it twice. I am so inspired that I checked out 6 books from my local library on Norse Mythology, bought a book on Norse Gods & Goddesses, and am in the process of reading them all concurrently. I love it!

Date published: 2025-11-02

Rated 5 out of 5 by KurtC from Great introduction to Norse Mythology I knew of Dr Crawford from his youtube channel, and i am interested in early medie4val history, so this was a natural course. Dr Crawford is clearly expert in the subject, and is clear in imparting what he (or we) know, what is speculation, and what is erroneous pop culture. It is a great overview and background. i could suggest a few more explanatory graphics and diagrams, and Dr Crawford's gentle voice can be more soothing than engaging at times. but these are quibbles. this is a good course.

Date published: 2025-11-01

Rated 4 out of 5 by Loving_Girlfriend98 from Best Thing Ever! Listining to this gives me an entertaining time to look at our history and their history! I just love how Awesome people can do Awsome things, even if it has some not-so-good-words while having non-inopropriate pics.

Date published: 2025-06-03

Rated 5 out of 5 by Mimir 9 from An excellent introduction to Norse Mythology When I saw that Great Courses had a Norse Mythology course by Jackson Crawford I wanted it right away. I have two of Jackson Crawford's books and I am impressed by both the detail and Jackson Crawford's intuition into the Norse culture. I am very pleased with the course. It covers every aspect and will give me many enjoyable hours immersed in the Old Norse culture and experience.

Date published: 2024-06-28

Rated 4 out of 5 by Freda from Hard to hear No one else may have this problem, but I had to return this course because I couldn’t clearly hear the presenter. He speaks conversationally and drops his voice. Admittedly, I am hard of hearing but I can hear all the other courses I have purchased. I am disappointed in this technical issue because otherswise the course if good.

Date published: 2024-04-29

Rated 5 out of 5 by hobbitgp from Fascinating lecture series This course was a great introduction to Norse mythology for me. You get the real story behind the modern film versions. For example, I learned that Loki and Thor are not brothers or even half brothers. I'm not as impressed with Odin as I once was. Turns out he is a bit of a jerk. I liked Dr. Crawford's presentation style. His sitting rather than standing reminds me of what a good storyteller would do. The logic progression of the course also appealed to me. I'm glad I bought the course. It was well worth the money.

Date published: 2024-01-16

Rated 5 out of 5 by Tom the Human from Great as an audio course! I listened to this course on audio, which is my preferred way of learning. As others have mentioned, it can be a very different and underwhelming experience when watching on video. The course is pretty comprehensive and I learned some new things about the Norse myths, as well as appreciated the presenter's perspective on what I already knew. Recommend for audio learners!

Date published: 2023-12-30

Rated 2 out of 5 by DaGeek from I’ll Never Know… This could be a great course, but I will never know. I am not a big fan of Wondrium’s new talking head presentation production style, especially when they are seated. It was especially problematic with this presenter as he had a slow, deliberate style of presentation. Add in his very low voice, and I was drifting off if exercising or actually nodding when I was sitting down to watch. Plus it all came across as exceedingly pedantic. I had just finished watching, Classical Mythology by Elizabeth Vandiver, which I would highly recommend, and I thought this would be a good follow up. I’ll never know, I was just not tough enough to power through. I watched the first 2 units and part of the third. I gave up. Perhaps it gets better as it goes along, or if you have a deep interest in the subject.

Date published: 2023-12-07

Trailer

01: Meeting the Norse Gods of the Viking Age

Where did a hammer-wielding guardian of the gods, a murderer and comic sidekick, a mysterious one-eyed leader, a world-encircling serpent, a doomed final battle, and other Norse myths come from? Learn what we owe to the Poetic Edda and its adaptation in the Prose Edda for the fascinating stories you’ll encounter throughout this course.

35 min

02: Fate and the Norse Worldview

Our understanding of Viking cultural values comes to us from those upheld (and broken) in the Norse myths. Focus on the profound Norse sense of fatalism and the importance of reckless courage—both of which add up to make the especially crucial concept of being a drengr: A person who, whether they live or die, is often celebrated in a saga.

25 min

03: The Norse Art of Mythic Storytelling

One way to better understand the stories of Norse mythology, and the way those stories are told, is to think about dreams. Using a key story from Norse mythology (the tale of how Odin got the mead of poetry from the gods’ enemies), compare two versions that highlight the “dream logic” inherent to much of Norse mythology.

27 min

04: The Norse Gods Are Characters with Flaws

A popular story of the Norse gods mocking one another is the perfect introduction to a pantheon that includes Thor, Odin, Loki, and Freyja. But the roles of these gods, as you’ll learn, are often not as clear-cut and one-dimensional as popular treatments and assumptions would have us believe.

28 min

05: The Norse Creation: Dawn of Strife

In the beginning, “many ages before the earth was shaped,” there were two realms: watery Niflheim to the north and fiery Muspell to the south. So begins the Norse creation myth, which is narrated together with the myth of how the gods die at Ragnarok. Learn how it all began.

28 min

06: First Humans, the Nine Realms, and Yggdrasil

Explore how Norse mythology describes the creation of humankind from two pieces of driftwood. Then step back for a broader look at the Norse mythos and our human place within it. Take a trip through distinct realms (for gods, humans, the dead, and others), then climb Yggdrasil, the enormous ash tree whose roots bind them.

27 min

07: Loki and His Children

Meet the complicated, ambivalent figure who lives alongside the gods but compulsively troubles them. Among the stories recounted here include the worst of Loki’s affairs (with an anti-goddess named “sorrow-offerer”) and his three ill-prophesied children: the huge wolf Fenrir, the goddess Hel, and the world-sized serpent Jormungand.

27 min

08: Balder’s Death: Tragic Murder of a God

Odin’s son, Balder, was a god so beloved (in fact, his Old Norse name is likely related to ancient words for brightness and light) that his shocking death is one of the principal stories of the “Eddas.” Consider two different angles on this story—one of which offers more logical coherence by omitting the presence of the trickster Loki.

27 min

09: Ragnarok: The Final Battle and Fall

The world is destroyed by evil, repopulated by good, then threatened anew by surviving evil. Ragnarok isn’t the final triumph of good envisioned by mainstream Christianity—but is it a cycle of ages akin to that envisioned by the ancient Maya? Explore a Norse apocalypse that seems amoral and simply inevitable.

28 min

10: Thor among the Gods’ Enemies

Take a closer look at some of the most important stories of Thor’s exploits as fighter and defender against the gods’ enemies. Some of these tales emphasize his dangerousness; others are imbued with humor. Above all, Thor is a god of the common people, willing to embark on hard work, while shrugging off occasional humor at his expense.

26 min

11: Thor among the Gods

How does Thor comport himself in situations that put him at a terrible disadvantage? What is this most popular of all the Norse gods without his hammer (which in “Thrym’s Poem” is stolen right from under his nose)? What does modern archaeological evidence tell us about Thor’s overwhelming popularity?

28 min

12: Odin, Lord of War and the Dead

There’s little Odin does that’s readily understandable to humankind. Still, peel back some of the layers of intrigue surrounding the lord of war and the dead, including the important myth of his hanging, his hall of men killed in battle (Valhalla), his spear, his ability to communicate with the dead, and more.

30 min

13: Odin and Wisdom

Continue your look at the Norse god Odin with this consideration of his prominent connection with death and the dead. The key to this connection: Odin’s overriding quest for wisdom—a harrowing, fascinating journey that results in the loss of an eye and his hanging from a tree for nine nights.

30 min

14: A Second Family of Gods? The Vanir

The “Eddas” usually refer to the gods collectively as “the Aesir.” But there’s another term for a more specific family of gods that occurs now and then: “the Vanir.” Meet the three Vanir whose names we know (the obscure Njorth and his twin children, Frey and Freyja) and consider some of the many social differences between families of the gods.

27 min

15: Valkyries and the Goddess Freyja

Turn now to the single-most often-named goddess and the prize the gods’ enemies constantly seek to seize. Any encounter with Freyja includes an encounter with the most prominent female figures in Norse mythology at her command—the Valkyries, positioned somewhere between mere mortals and the divine.

29 min

16: Dwarves, Elves, Trolls, and Zombies

Not all the supernatural characters of the Norse myths are high and mighty gods or their cosmically powerful enemies. Spend some time with the lesser supernatural beings that translators call dwarves, elves, trolls, and zombies. How do Norse depictions of these creatures differ from those of 21st-century pop culture?

26 min

17: Odin and the Rise of the Volsungs

Great human heroes account for most of the mythical saga material that comes down to us outside of the “Eddas.” The most important of these mythical heroes is the Volsungs. Get to know this family of celebrated warriors, whose fortunes are shaped by strange magic and the meddling of the Odin.

28 min

18: The Fall of the Greatest Volsung Hero

Sigurth, regarded as the single greatest hero of all, was groomed like his father, Sigmund, by Odin. Follow the epic story of Sigurth, including his training under the dwarven smith Regin and his unfortunate death in bed, not battle, which denies him entrance into Odin’s hall of dead heroes, Valhalla.

28 min

19: Viking History Becomes Volsung Myth

Conclude the saga of the Volsungs (the most famous and celebrated sequence of legends from medieval Scandinavia) with Guthrun, her surviving brothers Gunnar and Hogni, and her children. Also compare accounts of the Volsungs as depicted in the Poetic Edda, the Saga of the Volsungs, and early historical accounts.

28 min

20: Shieldmaidens, Berserkers, and Bear Men

Go beyond the Volsungs and encounter particular (and quite peculiar) heroes and villains, including shieldmaidens, berserkers, and bear men. You’ll come face to face with skilled warriors who were outside the social norms—and perhaps even the social realities—of medieval Norse society.

26 min

21: Norse Religion, Sacrifice, and Festivals

Consider the relations between the Norse gods and normal, everyday human beings. What does it look like to compare pre-Christian Norse paganism with the Judeo-Christian communities of today (including their holy days)? What can we learn from relics unearthed from archaeological sites, such as Lunda?

31 min

22: Norse Magic: Spells, Curses, and Runes

The worldview of the medieval Norse didn’t deny human beings access to some of the power of the gods. Rather, it embraced the belief that mortals could have a limited command of them. The secret was: spells, runes, blessings, oaths, and curses. Learn about Norse magic channeled through the spoken and written word.

30 min

23: After Life: Hel and Valhalla

What happens when we die? Discover how the Norse myths address this question with a journey into two postmortem destinations: Valhalla (for the men who die in battle) and Hel (for everyone else). Also, consider an outsider’s eye-witness account of the Viking conception of death, as illustrated by a cremation in a ship.

29 min

24: The Enduring Appeal of Norse Mythology

Consider why stories and characters from Norse myth remain so popular today (albeit in a distorted form), and how they’ve shaped iconic works of modern literature and film. Also, get tips on the best way to explore the terrain of these myths, both in their earliest sources and in the landscape that still exists.

33 min

Overview Course No. 60020

Thor, Odin, Loki, Freyja, the Valkyries, Valhalla, Ragnarok—many of the places we encounter these and other names, places, and events from Norse mythology in daily life and pop culture are connected to the medieval sources in name only.

Join Jackson Crawford, a translator of Old Norse, for a rousing introduction to the original stories, characters, and themes of Norse mythology in these 24 lectures. Packed with gods, anti-gods, magical figures, human heroes, religious practices, and literary devices, this course lays bare the reasons for our enduring fascination with these undeniably dramatic tales. It also connects the dots to Icelandic sagas of human heroes and to the culture and worldview of the Viking peoples.

You’ll spend time in the company of an incredible pantheon of characters, including Thor, who wasn’t necessarily the god of thunder we think of him as, and Freyja, commander of the Valkyries (more a job with special perks than a species of creatures). You’ll also enjoy spirited retellings of stories where the first members of humankind are molded by the gods from two pieces of driftwood; Odin travels to Hel to dig up a dead witch and interrogate her about what his son’s premonitions of his own death means; and multiple generations of a marshy district in Iceland must deal with the ravages of an “again-walker” (akin to a zombie).

With his expertise, Dr. Crawford will deepen your acquaintance with these sources, and leave you with plenty to remember in the eerie tales and timeless wisdom of the Norse gods and heroes.

About

Jackson Crawford

I'm a translator of old Norse, and I love introducing new audiences to the original stories, characters, and themes that also continue to influence our popular culture, perhaps now more than ever.

ALMA MATER

University of Wisconsin, Madison

INSTITUTION

University of Colorado, Boulder

Jackson Crawford is a Resident Scholar at the University of Colorado Boulder’s Center of the American West. After more than a decade as an instructor in Norse mythology and Old Norse language and literature at such institutions as the University of Colorado Boulder; the University of California, Berkeley; and the University of California, Los Angeles, he became a full-time public educator and translator for all things Old Norse in 2020. He received his MA in Linguistics from the University of Georgia and his PhD in Scandinavian Studies, focusing on Old Norse language and literature, from the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

Among other accomplishments, Jackson has built up a large YouTube following and has served as an Old Norse language and runes consultant on major multimedia projects, including some of today’s most popular films and video games. His translations of the primary sources of Norse mythology include The Poetic Edda: Stories of the Norse Gods and Heroes; “The Saga of the Volsungs” with “The Saga of Ragnar Lothbrok”; The Wanderer’s “Hávamál”; and Two Sagas of Mythical Heroes: “Hervor and Heidrek” & “Hrólf Kraki and His Champions.”