In the Nordic world the horse was much more than just a transport animal for the living and the dead, it was considered a sacred, spiritual animal and, like a shaman, provided a connection between mortal and mythological beings to the realms of the unconscious and the supernatural. In Old Norse sources the horse is associated with supernatural powers over the elements, fertility and health. In the Íslendingasǫgur, echoes of the role of the horse as a transcendent animal are found, the horse was in fact often associated with the dead and the afterlife, given its ability to predict fate and foretell death. Þórr is the only exception among the gods who walks, does not ride, on Bifröst to Miðgarðr.īoth Grímnismál and Gylfaginning count twelve houses for twelve gods, but only eleven horses: Sleipnir, Glaðr, Gyllir, Glær, Skeiðbrimir, Silfrtoppr, Sinir, Gils, Falhófnir, Gulltoppr and Léttfeti. This transcendent role is perhaps one of the most important uses of horses in Eddic sources, since so many myths revolve around the interaction of various mythological worlds always separated from each other by fire, water, air or earth.īridges and horses are the main means of connecting these different kingdoms.īifröst, sometimes referred to as a rainbow, is said to burn where the red color shines, the Gylfaginning explains that all Æsir must traverse the asbrú (Bifröst) daily to reach their judgment seats, it is not clear exactly which worlds they are connected by the Bifröst, but Urðr's well is where the gods take their daily advice across the bridge. The horse was seen as a bridge between worlds, the primary form of transportation across the spaces between the living and the dead and beyond the boundaries of reality. To understand Sleipnir's role it is important to understand that the figure of the horse was, in Viking culture, strongly symbolic, playing an important role in religion, rituals and beliefs. In addition to this, Sleipnir is the iconic symbol of the shamanic role that the horse had as a medium between the world of the living and that of the dead. The same color of Sleipnir's mottled gray coat is a mix of black and white, or light and dark, reflecting the many ways a horse could represent both good and evil, light and dark. He was born of the deceiver Loki, who is a male god transformed into a mare, often associated with evil, and of Svaðilfari, a hardworking stallion associated with good intention. Óðinn's steed is gray, has eight legs, is faster than the wind when galloping over the sea, and is the product of sex between Svaðilfari and Loki. “.and better than any other Jǫtunheimr horse" “Sleipnir is the finest steed, the best horse of the Æsir”
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