Mythology

Name: __________________________________________________________ Date: ________________

Part Seven The Mythology of the Norsemen

Introduction Chapter 22 The Stories of Signy and Sigurd Chapter 23 The Norse Gods

1. What was Asgard like?

2. What was the Norse outlook on good and evil?

3. What was the choice the Norse hero made?

4. What was the central theme of the Norse mythology?

5. Briefly retell the story of Signy and Sigmund.

6. Whom did Sigurd rescue?

7. How does Sigurd die?

8. How did Balder die?

9. Describe Odin and his duties.

10. Who were the Valkyries?

11. Which days of the week were named after Norse gods?

12. Who ruled the Kingdom of Death?

13. How did Odin and his brothers make the world?

14. Who was the Thunder-god?

15. Who was Odin’s wife?

16. Who was Tyr?

17. Who was the Goddess of Love and Beauty?

18. What was Midgard?

19. What did the Norsemen believe would happen after Odin and the other gods were defeated by evil?

20. What, according to Hamilton, were the Norsemen’s two characteristics?

Pre-reading Vocabulary Worksheets - Mythology

Part Seven The Mythology of the Norsemen

Introduction Chapter 22 The Stories of Signy and of Sigurd Chapter 23 The Norse Gods

Introduction Part I: Using Prior Knowledge and Context Clues

Below are the sentences in which the vocabulary words appear in the text. Read the sentence.

Use any clues you can find in the sentence combined with your prior knowledge, and write what you
think the underlined words mean on the lines provided.

1. This is the conception of life which underlies the Norse religion, as somber a conception as the

mind of man has ever given birth to.

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2. The only sustaining support possible for the human spirit, the one pure unsullied good man can

hope to attain is heroism.

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3. The story of Siegfried is so familiar that that of his Norse prototype, Sigurd, can be briefly told.

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4. ... and all the sorrow of the world was turned to futility, for she refused to weep.

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5. This vision of a happiness infinitely remote seems a thin sustenance against despair.

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6. A paltry man and poor of mind is he who mocks at all things.

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Part II: Determining the Meaning Match the vocabulary words to their dictionary definitions.

____ 1. somber                        A. trivial, lacking in importance

____ 2. unsullied                      B. frivolous, having no useful result

____ 3. prototype                    C. not stained or tainted

____ 4. futility                          D. gloomy, depressing

____ 5. sustenance                  E. an original that serves as a model

____ 6. paltry                          F. the supporting of life or health