Ancient Nord Culture and Religion

So I was wandering through Yngol Barrow on one of my recent playthroughs and I started to think about the Ancient Nords/Nedes culture and religion and after reading some books I realized there were many conflicting beliefs on the matter which obviously raised a few questions, whose answers brought up new question etc…

Who is the Head of the Nordic Pantheon?

The first source is Varieties of Faith in the Empire which states that the head of the pantheon was Shor but when he was killed at convention the Pantheon no longer had a chief although as we know Shor did not die for his aspects still wander as Shezzarines. On the other hand we have the book The Dragon War which reveals not only that the ancient Nords worshipped the Gods in totem form but also the chief of these Totems was the Dragon and therefore Alduin. This means that the head of the Nord pantheon is Shor but at the height of the Dragon Cult’s power, Alduin was. This then brings us to another question.

What are the totems seen in the many barrows of Skyrim?

As many of you most likely know these totems represent the Nordic Pantheon but which is which you may ask? Since most of the totems are seen in the barrows which include Dragon Claws (For a list see here) we can safely say that they were built during the time of the Dragon Cult (Late Merethic, very early first era). What this means is that at this time Dragons were still worshipped as Gods and Alduin would be at the head of the Pantheon and Shor not. So from this information here is my list of Totems — Gods.

  • Dragon — Alduin (Already explained)

  • Snake — Shor (Shor being ignored as God of Men is now represented as the Snake, lowliest of creatures)

  • Hawk — Kyne (Goddess of Air and Wind which can both be seen in a Hawk, maybe a link with the Skyforge)

  • Owl — Jhunal (God of knowledge)

  • Whale — Tsun (Guards the Whale-Bone bridge)

  • Wolf — Mara (Much like a Wolf-Mother of a wolf pack)

  • Moth — Dibella (Goddess of beauty, link to ancestor moths maybe? Elder Scrolls beautiful?)

  • Bear — Stuhn (Stuhn = Strength like a bear)

  • Fox — Ysmir (In one of many of his reincarnations Ysmir has a link to the fox. Hans the Fox, Pelinal has been linked to a fox (Here’s an image of Morihaus and a Fox, maybe Pelinal?)

As you can see there the list isn’t properly fleshed out yet although from the murals in the barrows and tombs we can see that 3 of the deities are female with 6 being male which shows a connection to the Nordic Pantheon. The next question that springs to mind is:

Why Are the Totems and Sealing-Doors in the Tombs?

The tombs which use the sealing-doors with animal murals are all from the Late Merethic Era/Early First Era meaning that they would exist at the time of the Dragon Cult (with the exception of Olaf One-Eye). What this means is that these tombs were made to bury the highest ranking Dragon Priests of the time and of course their servants and slaves (aka the Draugr). So in answer to the question and to quote Death of a Wanderer:

“So the symbols on the doors weren’t meant to be another lock. Just a way of ensuring the person entering was actually alive and had a functioning mind.”

“Then the doors…”

“Were never meant to keep people out. They were meant to keep the Draugr in.”

The next question would then be

Why Were the Draugr Buried with Their Honored Priests?

To quote Amongst the Draugr, the Draugr were needed to keep the Dragon Priests alive.

When the next group of draugr came to pay homage to the priest, I noted a sort of transferral happening. A distinct flow of life force between the adherents and the master.

It was here that I finally understood the dragon cult’s notion of resurrection. The second eternal life was only promised to those who ascended to the priesthood, but the lesser functionaries contributed their life force to sustaining them for eternity.

What about Olaf One-Eye?

Next we come to the exception to this rule which would be the famed Olaf One-Eye who did not worship the dragons but rather he captured them (or not, if you believe Svaknir and the Bards of Solitude). Olaf reigned from 1E 420 – 1E 452 and the last of the Dragon Cult had been destroyed by 1E 140. So why would Olaf bury himself with his slaves and servants like the Dragon Priests of olde? My belief is that after the Dragon Cults and the Dragons defeat the Jarls and Lords of Skyrim carried on the same practices of burying the dead since they knew no better way to do so and it only really stopped with the introduction of Ar’kay and the Halls of the dead.

I hope you find these somehow helpful and if you do I might add some more on the Word Walls seen in the tombs. Please feel free to comment and correct me in the comments (especially with the totems).