Jotunheim: Jotun means giant, and Jotunheim is the realm of the giants.
Kvasir: A god formed from the mixture of the spittle of the Aesir and the Vanir, he became a god of wisdom. Kvasir was murdered by dwarfs, who made the mead of poetry from his blood. Later, he came back to life.
Laufey: The mother of Loki. Also called Nal, or needle, because she was so thin.
Lerad: A tree, probably part of Yggdrasil, which fed Heidrun, the goat that gives her mead to the warriors of Valhalla.
Lit: An unfortunate dwarf.
Loki: Odin’s blood brother, the son of Farbauti and of Laufey. The shrewdest, most cunning of all the inhabitants of Asgard. He is a shapeshifter, and his lips are scarred. He has shoes that allow him to walk in the sky.
Magni: Thor’s son, “the strong.”
Megingjord: Thor’s belt of might. Wearing it doubles his strength.
Midgard: “Middle yard.” Our world. The realm of humans.
Midgard serpent: Jormungundr.
Mimir: Odin’s uncle and keeper of the spring of wisdom in Jotunheim. A giant, perhaps also one of the Aesir. He was decapitated by the Vanir, and his head still gives wisdom and watches over the spring.
Mimir’s well: A spring or well at the roots of the world-tree. Odin traded an eye to take a sip of its water, scooped up in Heimdall’s Gjallerhorn.
Mjollnir: Thor’s remarkable hammer and most prized possession, made for him by Eitri. (Brokk worked the bellows.) Modgud: “Furious Battler.” She was the guardian of the bridge that leads to the land of the dead.
Modi: Thor’s son, “the brave.”
Muninn: One of Odin’s ravens. Its name means “memory.”
Muspell: The fiery world that exists at the beginning of creation. One of the nine worlds.
Naglfar: A ship, built from the untrimmed finger-and toenails of the dead. The giants and the dead from Hel who will battle the gods and the Einherjar at Ragnarok will travel on this ship.
Nal: “Needle.” Another name for Laufey, Loki’s mother.
Narfi: Loki and Sigyn’s son, Vali’s brother.
Nidavellir, also called Svartalfheim: Where the dwarfs (also known as dark elves) live beneath the mountains.
Nidhogg: A dragon who devours corpses and chews on the roots of Yggdrasil.
Niflheim: A cold, misty place, there at the start of everything.
Njord: A god of the Vanir, father of Frey and Freya.
Norns: The three sisters, Urd, Verdandi, and Skuld, who tend the well of Urd, or fate, and water the roots of Yggdrasil, the world-tree. They, along with other norns, decide what will happen in your life.
Odin: The highest and oldest of the gods. He wears a cloak and a hat and only has one eye, having traded the other for wisdom. He has many other names including all-father, Grimnir, and the gallows god.
Odrerir: A kettle for brewing the mead of poetry. “Ecstasy-giver.”
Ran: Wife of Aegir the sea giant, goddess of those who drown at sea, mother of the nine waves.
Ratatosk: A squirrel who lives in the branches of Yggdrasil and takes messages from Nidhogg the corpse-devourer at the roots to an eagle who lives in the upper branches.
Rati: The auger or drill of the gods.
Roskva: Sister of Thialfi, Thor’s human servant.
Sif: Thor’s wife. She had golden hair.
Sigyn: Loki’s wife, mother of Vali and Narfi. After Loki’s imprisonment, she stays with him beneath the ground, holding a bowl with which she protects Loki’s face from the venom of the serpent.
Skadi: A giant, daughter of the giant Thiazi. She marries Njord.
Skidbladnir: A magical ship, made for Frey by the sons of Ivaldi. It folds up like a scarf.
Skirnir: A light elf, Frey’s servant.
Skrymir: “Big fellow.” A particularly big giant, encountered by Loki, Thor, and Thialfi on the way to Utgard.
Skuld: One of the norns. Her name means “that which is intended,” and her domain is the future.
Sleipnir: Odin’s horse. The fastest of horses, eight-legged, the offspring of Loki and Svadilfari.
Snarler: Tanngrisnir, which means tooth-barer or snarler. One of the two goats who pull Thor’s chariot.
Son: A vat for mead.
Surtr: A huge fiery giant who wields a flaming sword. Surtr existed before the gods. Guardian of Muspell, the fire region.
Suttung: A giant, the son of Gilling. He takes vengeance on his parents’ killers.
Svadilfari: A horse belonging to the master builder who built Asgard’s wall. Father of Sleipnir.
Thiazi: A giant who disguises himself as an eagle to kidnap Idunn. Father to Skadi.
Thokk: Old woman, whose name means “gratitude” but is the single living creature who won’t mourn the death of Balder.
Thor: Odin’s red-bearded son, Aesir god of thunder. The strongest of the gods.
Thrud: Thor’s daughter, “the powerful.”
Thrym: Lord of the ogres, who wanted Freya for his bride.
Tyr: The one-handed god of war, a son of Odin; the stepson of Hymir the giant.
Ullr: Thor’s stepson. A god who hunts with bow and arrow and who skis.
Urd: “Fate.” One of the three norns. She determines our past.
Urd’s well: The well in Asgard tended by the norns.