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cat In world mythology, the domestic cat is often venerated or feared as a witch in disguise or as a witch’ s“ creature.” In Norse mythology, the goddess Freya, who had magical powers, had a chariot drawn by two gray or black cats.
cauldron A large pot or kettle used for boiling. In“ Thor and Hymir Go Fishing,” Thor goes in search of Hymir’ s huge cauldron because the gods need it for brewing ale. Later, in“ Loki’ s Mocking,”( see under Loki), the sea god Aegir gives a banquet for the gods. He brews the ale in the cauldron that Thor and Tyr took from Hymir. The cauldron features in many medieval tales, especially those in which witches brew magic broths.
cock A rooster; a male chicken. Also, a beacon or a warning device of evil things to come.
According to a myth, when the three cocks crow, they announce the coming of Ragnarok, the final struggle between the gods and the giants at the end of the world. Fjalar( 1), the red cock, crows to wake up the giants in Jotunheim. Gullinkambi, the golden cock, awakens the gods and dead heroes in Asgard. An unnamed rust-red bird crows at the doors of Hel( 2) to awaken the spirits of the underworld. They are named only in Voluspa, generally considered to be the first poem in the Poetic
Edda.
Svipdagsmal, a poem often included in the Poetic Edda but which appears to have been written down in the 17th century, names Vithofnir as the cock that awakens the giants or perhaps the gods. Either way, according to the poem, the giants fear this cock and attempt to kill him before he can crow and bring about the end time.
Cocks were used as sacrificial animals to accompany the dead on their journeys to the afterlife.
Codex Regius A 13th-century manuscript found in the 17th century in a farmhouse in Iceland. Bishop Brynjolfur Sveinsson presented it to the king of Denmark, and it became part of the royal collection for several centuries.
Roughly half of the manuscript is composed of the poems that make up the Poetic Edda, a principal source of stories and information on Norse mythology. This portion is formally known as the Codex Regius of the Poetic Edda and scholars refer to the manuscript as GKS 2365 4to.
The other half of the document contains the
Prose Edda by Snorri Sturluson and some of his other works, such as the Nafnathulur and his poem Hattatal; this portion is known as the Codex Regius of Snorra Edda. It also contains two 13th-century works of skaldic poetry. The manuscript number for this portion is GKS 2367 4to.
Until 1971, the manuscript was preserved in the Royal Library of Copenhagen, Denmark. In that year, it was returned Iceland and is now in the Árni Magnússon Institute in Reykjavik.
cow This female mammal is noted for the nurturing properties of her milk. In many world mythologies, she is the symbol of the Great Mother and of creation. In the Prose Edda and the Poetic
Edda of the Norse, the cow is named Audhumla.
creation The mythology of each people has its own story of how the world was created. In Norse mythology, at the beginning there was a swirling chaos of mists and fog, freezing cold, howling winds, and terrifying fire.
The following story of the creation is from Snorri Sturluson’ s Prose Edda; his major sources were the poems Voluspa, Grimnismal, and Vafthrudnismal.
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