Book details
The Children of Odin: The Book of Northern Myths
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Metadata
- Gutenberg ID
- 24737
- Title
- The Children of Odin: The Book of Northern Myths
- Language
- en
- Book source
- Project Gutenberg
- Description max 80 words
-
Padraic Colum's retelling of Norse mythology brings the magic of Asgard to life, featuring Odin, Thor, and Loki in epic sagas of creation, trickery, and the inevitable Twilight of the Gods.
- Summary up to 500 words
-
In Padraic Colum's *The Children of Odin*, the Norse gods dwell in Asgard, a fortress built by a mysterious giant stranger who demands the sun, moon, and Freya as payment. Loki intervenes, delaying the deadline until a giant mare seduces the builder's horse, causing the wall to be finished prematurely. The gods are forced to pay the price, but Loki later tricks the giant into forfeiting the reward by claiming the gods would not pay if the wall were finished early. Odin, the All-Father, seeks wisdom by sacrificing an eye at Mimir's well and later wins the magic mead from giants. Thor defends the gods against giants, including a contest with the giant Hrymer where he battles a world-serpent and a mile-wide kettle. The narrative shifts to the tragic tale of Baldur, whose death sparks a chain of events involving Loki, the Valkyrie Brynhild, and the hero Sigurd, who slays the dragon Fafnir and wins a cursed hoard. Sigurd's death and the subsequent curse lead to the Fimbul Winter and Ragnarök. During the final battle, Fenrir the Wolf devours Odin, Thor dies fighting the world-serpent Jörmungand, and Loki is slain by Heimdall. The World Tree burns, and the sun and moon are eaten by wolves. However, a new world emerges from the ashes, populated by the survivors Lif and Lifthrasir, with the younger gods Vidar, Vali, Modi, and Magni preserving the memory of the old gods and the wisdom of the past.
- LLM editorial rating
- 4.2/5
- Download URL
- https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/24737.epub.noimages
- Local file path
-
data/epubs/pg24737.epub - Downloaded at
- 2026-07-03 20:24 UTC
People
Authors
- Padraic Colum
Classification
Categories
- Mythology
- Juvenile literature