I came across something during my research that I never really gave much thought to: the gods are effected as much by the environment as man is. Now of course I’ve played with the ideas of local gods and wights stemming from the geography of a lake, treacherous cliffs or a volcano, but I didn’t think much on the main gods of a mythos being shaped quite as much by the movement of peoples. They had their various functions and maybe a name change here and there, yet they stayed basically immutable until they were replaced new gods and forgotten. Not so.
In Norway, for example, Odhinn was primarily the god of warriors and kings. All of the royal dynasties could trace their lineages to the one-eyed god. Iceland however was established by men and women who wanted to avoid the warmongering and absolute power of kings and established an early form of democracy where the land holders were the law makers. Instead of being replaced, Odhinn was worshipped and respected as the god of poetry. The god’s primary purpose changed to fit the needs of the men who valued eloquence and skill in argument as highly as bravery and skill in battle.
I don’t have as clear cut examples from the other two main gods, Thor and Tyr, just yet, or any goddesses just yet. Tyr seems to be known primarily in Denmark and Germany, but not as well in the far north, while Thor is a relative late-comer, but spread out throughout Scandinavia as the god of the common man.
It obviously makes sense. You can go to any church in the South and another in Northern California and come away with the impression that God is two completely different beings.
This regionality is definitely something that I could find myself integrating in my stories as I flesh out the world of Midgard in the coming months.
