World of Warcraft is backed with rich lore contents which undoubtedly entices most of the community. Today, a research paper highlights the deep connection and influence of Norse mythology in the World of Warcraft universe and how the two fantasies are somewhat "parallel" from each other.
Norse
Let's start off by defining Norse. Norsemen are considered as the full-time seafarers and traders during the Viking Age which are of the same kin as the Vikings themselves. The only main difference was the occupation of the two. While the Norsemen were seafarers and full-time traders, the Vikings were the farmers and are also warriors by "noble birth." (they are also known to be good at sailing).
Norsemen are famous for their Norse Mythology which encompasses the culture of the tribe and how they perceive the world as it once was. Just like how rich their culture was, World of Warcraft has taken the inspiration in developing a profound lore into their world which we all relish today. And a student has now taken an in-depth research about the parallelism between Norse Mythology and World of Warcraft universe.
Norse Mythology and World of Warcraft
The connection between Norse Mythology and World of Warcraft may run deep but just like any other context that uses reference, Blizzard distorted and/or incorporated twists for some characters to create an entirely new figure in the WoW universe. Here is a list of some:
Yggdrasil is also known as the World Tree in Norse Mythology.
Magni Bronzebeard is the mix between three Norse characters namely: Magni, Modi and Brokkr
Thorim is related to Thor in Norse Mythology
Thrall has a lot of resemblance to the character Njal in the Njal Saga
Aside from characters, there are also connections between Norse Weaponry and WoW Artifacts in the game. According to the researcher, here's some of the artifacts in the game that has some implications from Norse:
Tirion with the Ashbringer
Varian with the Shalamayne
Arthas with the Frostmourne
Morgrainne with the Corrupted Ashbringer
If you want to learn more about the entire story behind the characters and weapons, you can simply check out the unfinished research here. What do you think of the connections between Norse Mythology and World of Warcraft? Share your thoughts in the comments down below!
