The Norse Pantheon is one of the more detailed for which we have information, although like the Finnish pantheon a lot of what we know about it comes from a single person’s editorialized writing on the matter. Closely connected to the fairly well-documented Norse mythos, however, is the continental Germanic and Anglo-Saxon mythoi. Neither are well documented, and the one attempt to bring the Anglo-Saxon pantheon (in Dragon #263) created much of it from whole cloth. Of course, that’s pretty necessary with such sparse information.
There are many other characters in the various Norse sagas who could potentially be deities, and many of them are giants. Many of them, like the wives of the male deities, should be near-divine immortal beings; others such as Skadi and Aegir are full deities but whether they should be included in the giantish pantheon or not is something I will need to consider. Treating them in much the way Nathair Sciathach is handled may be best. In addition, for the purposes of the D&D multiverse, a tie-in to the Greek Gigantomachy might also be worthwhile. In addition, the Vanir is very lightly detailed in Norse mythology; some scholars hold it as a merging of pantheons from different groups, but considering the lack of comparative battle in what we know of Anglo-Saxon and Continental Germanic mythology while also having clear analogs of some of the Vanir deities, that seems unlikely. However, there’s enough of them to sketch out an ephemeral pantheon, while also describing the rest as highly reclusive and mysterious.
Norse Deities:
—Aegir (1e DD, 2e L&L), often described in myth as a giant.
—Baldur (1e DD, 2e L&L)
—Bragi (1e DD, 2e L&L)
—Forseti (1e DD, 2e L&L)
—Frey (1e DD, 2e L&L)
—Freya (1e DD, 2e L&L)
—Frigga (1e DD, 2e L&L)
—Gerda (Dragon #110), a giantess and wife of Freyr, likely not an agricultural goddess as described in Dragon
—Gullveig (Dragon #110)
—Heimdall (1e DD, 2e L&L)
—Hel (1e DD, 2e L&L)
—Hermod (Dragon #110)
—Idun (1e DD, 2e L&L)
—Loki (1e DD, 2e L&L)
—Magni (1e DD)
—Mimir (Dragon #110)
—Modi (1e DD)
—Njord/Niord (Dragon #110)
—Norns (1e DD, 2e L&L)
—Odin (1e DD, 2e L&L)
—Ran (Dragon #110)
—Sif (1e DD, 2e L&L)
—Skadi (Dragon #110), actually a giant
—Surtur (1e DD, 2e L&L), already done here on the blog.
—Thor (1e DD, 2e L&L)
—Thrym (1e DD, 2e L&L), already done here on the blog.
—Tyr (1e DD, 2e L&L, F&A)
—Uller (1e DD)
—Valkyries (1e DD, 2e L&L), a collective “deity” of less-than-divine individuals.
—Vidar (1e DD)
—Volundr (Dragon #110), aka Wayland the Smith, not described as a god in mythology but likely was in the early period of Germanic mythology
Other Possible Norse Deities:
—Andhrimnir, the cook of Valhalla.
—Bergdis, a giantess whose bane indicates she may have been a goddess.
—Byleistr, Loki’s brother, may have once been a storm deity.
—Dagr, the personification of Day.
—Eir, a goddess said to be the best doctor; other sources have other individuals by the same name including a Valkyrie.
—Elli, personification of Old Age; Thor wrestles her and loses because no one can defeat old age.
—Gefjon, a goddess, possibly associated with Freyja or Frigg, known as “the Giving One”
—Glenr, the husband of Sol, the personification of the sun.
—Gna, a messenger goddess.
—Helblindi, another of Loki’s brothers.
—Hlin, possibly another name for Frigg, who protects mankind.
—Hnoss, a daughter of Freyja and Othr, representing jewels
—Hothr, the blind god who killed Baldr
—Hoenir, involved with the creation of mankind by giving them reason
—Irpa, a goddess of unknown function
—Jorth, an earth goddess and mother of Thor
—Kvasir, alternately described as an Aesir and a Vanir, but also the name of a drink made from chewed berries
—Laufey/Nal, Loki’s mother.
—Lothurr, an early god connected to the creation of mankind, who gave them their good looks and life-giving warmth.
—Lofn, a goddess who brings together men and women in marriage who had been forbidden to do so.
—Lytir, possibly a Swedish god, and possibly Freyr.
—Mani, personification of the moon and brother to Sol.
—Meili, a son of Odin.
—Nanna, wife of other Baldr or Hothr.
—Narfi/Norr, possibly two different entities, Loki’s son or the “father of the night,” who might be the same
—Rindr, mother of Odin’s son Vili.
—Saemingr, either Odin’s son or Freyr’s son.
—Saga, a goddess who drank with Odin, and thus maybe another name for Frigg.
—Sigi, one of Odin’s sons.
—Sigyn, Loki’s wife.
—Sjofn, apparently a goddess of love and marriage.
—Snotra, a goddess whose name means “clever.”
—Sol, a goddess who personifies the sun.
—Syn, a goddess who is the guardian of the gate.
—Thjalfi, a companion and in later sources clearly Thor’s servant, but probably originally a god in his own right.
—Thorgerthr Holgabruthr, a goddess along with Irpa, who appears in the Jomsvikinga Saga.
—Thruthr, two individuals by this name appear, one being Thor’s daughter and sister to Magni and Modi, and a daughter of Odin and a Valkyrie.
—Vali, son of Odin and Baldr’s avenger.
—Var, a goddess of contracts between men and women, in other words, marriage.
—Vegdeg, a son of Odin.
—Vili and Ve, brothers of Odin, and together the first three gods.
—Vor, a goddess supposedly so wise and careful she never misses anything.
Anglo-Saxon deities, drawn primarily from the writings of Bede, an early Christian scholar; these versions are heavily embellished:
—Eostre (Dragon #263)
—Hred (Dragon #263)
—Ing (Dragon #263)
—Mannus (Dragon #263), actually continental Germanic
—Nerthus (Dragon #263), actually continental Germanic
—Thunor (Dragon #263)
—Tir (Dragon #263)
—Woden (Dragon #263)
Other possible Anglo-Saxon deities:
—Hengist and Horsa, the mythological brother-leaders of the Angle armies during the invasion of Britain; likely a remembrance of a Germanic version of the Dioscuri (Castor and Pollux).
—Saxnot, eponymous ancestors of the Saxons, and possibly a version of Tyr or Freyr.
Continental Germanic Deities, mostly from Romano-German inscriptions in Latin:
—Alaisiagae (Baudihillia and Friagibis or Beda and Fimmilena), a pair of deities who might be related to law and justice.
—Alateivia, possibly a goddess of healing.
—Alcis, divine twins described as Germanic versions of the Dioscuri, Castor and Pollux.
—Arvolecia, possibly a goddess of healing.
—Aueha, possibly a goddess of rivers.
—Baduhenna, possibly a goddess of war.
—Garmangabis, a goddess whose name might mean “the richly giving one.”
—Haeva, possibly a protector-goddess of families and children.
—Hariasa, either a war goddess related to the name of a Valkyrie or “the goddess with lots of hair.”
—Harigast, possibly a war god, a version of Odin.
—Harimella, possibly a war goddess with an army-impeding function
—Hellivesa, a goddess, possibly related to the Elle river.
—Hludana, likely an earth goddess, possibly etymologically related to a name for Thor’s mother.
—Lubicae, possibly a group of healing goddesses.
—Meduna, probably a goddess of springs, possibly Celtic.
—Nehalennia, possibly a goddess of seafaring, shown at times with a basket of fruit, a dog, and a ship; maybe related to Nerthus or the “Isis” worshipped by Germans described by Tacitus.
—Ostara, possibly a goddess of spring, related to the above-mentioned Eostre.
—Phol, possibly a version of Freyr.
—Ratheihiae, possibly a goddess of fate, as a “wheel goddess” as in the wheel of fate.
—Requalivahanus possibly a god of darkness, although an inscription indicates fruit was offered to him.
—Ricagambeda, a goddess whose name might mean “the strong lady.”
—Saitchamiae, possibly a goddess of magic.
—Sandraudiga, goddess whose name may be related to Zundert or “the truly rich one.”
—Sinthgunt/Sinhtgunt, from an inscription where she is called “Sunna’s Sister,” possibly a battle or star goddess, or less likely a moon goddess (normally the Germanic peoples saw the moon as male).
—Sulevia, an individual goddess, but also possibly a group of goddesses.
—Sunna, female personification of the sun.
—Tamfana, a goddess with an autumnal festival.
—Vagdavercustis, possibly a goddess of war.
—Vihansa, possibly a war goddess.
—Volla, possibly a version of Freyja.
Very nice! Besides, are you aware that there was a series of mini-articles in Dragon Magazine that suggest the “new” Tome of Magic priestly spheres to the deities of the pantheons found in 2e L&L?
Yep! They were part of Sage Advice.
Cool! I have gathered them in one PDF file.