King Odin’s Wisdom Class 12: Summary & Exercise | Major English | NEB English Guide
King Odin’s Wisdom
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Retold by Padraic Colum
About the storyteller and the story
King Odin’s Wisdom [Norse Mythology]
This folk tale was retold by Padraic Colum. Padraic Colum was born in Ireland in 1881. He wrote many books and plays. He wrote numerous story collections for children. He moved to America in 1914 and started publishing children's books of folklore, like 1920's Children of Odin: Nordic Gods and Heroes. He also wrote folklore books from Greece, Celtic Britain, and Hawaii, and won numerous Newbery Honor awards later on. He died in 1972 at 90 years old.
Odin is one of the most significant Gods in Germanic mythology. Most of the information what we hear about him comes from Norse myths. Odin is the major figure in Norse mythology because he helped in the formation of the world. He was the king of the Aesir tribe and was the God of war, earth, sky, wisdom, poetry and magic. One of his most prominent features is his single, piercing eye. His other eye socket is vacant because he sacrificed his eye for the sake of wisdom. He did this sacrifice to drink from the well of wisdom, gaining knowledge to help the world. Odin rides an eight-legged horse and is accompanied by a raven and a wolf, who tell him what is happening all over the world.
Norse mythology is the main source from which most of the information we know about Odin comes. This mythology includes Odin’s wisdom, death, royalty, knowledge, and battles. The myths related to this mythology are the stories of the North Germanic people. Norse mythology includes stories about different gods, beings, and heroes. In Norse mythology, Odin is described as a very wise, one-eyed old man. He has the most diverse traits of all the gods.
Odin is regarded as the most important and oldest of all the Norse gods. He was the wisest of them all. The other gods always went to him for advice when they needed help. He is famous for sacrificing himself and giving up his right eye, especially to gain wisdom. He got this wisdom not just for himself but also to help humanity.
For Odin, the title "All-Father" is more of a literary theme. He has two sons: Baldur with his first wife, Frigg, and Thor with Jord. Odin wanted to know everything and learn about hidden things. To gain this wisdom and knowledge, he hanged himself on Yggdrasil, the tree of life, for nine days and nine nights. This act helped him a lot to understand the runes and gain knowledge of the other world.He made a big sacrifice to gain wisdom and learn about the world's sorrows and troubles. He gained wisdom from the well of the giant called Mimir. By providing one of his eyes to Mimir, he became one-eyed.
SHORT SUMMARY
King Odin’s Wisdom [Norse Mythology] Summary
Write a short summary of "King Odin’s Wisdom".
The story starts with king Odin search for wisdom to save Asgard and Midgard from the fright of giants. While seeking wisdom, he encounters the giant Vafthrudner. He passes the riddles of Vafthrudner and proves his wisdom. Later, Odin reaches Mimir's well. He sacrifices his right eye in exchange for water. This act of sacrifice grants him unparalleled wisdom in his life. After drinking the water of the well, he is able to foresee the events of both present and future and also protect his realms from fear. Through this Odin's trip, the story emphasises the significance of sacrifice, courage and wisdom in facing challenges and fulfilling one's duties.
MAIN SUMMARY
King Odin’s Wisdom [Norse Mythology] Summary
Write the summary of the story "King Odin’s Wisdom".
King Odin is the oldest king of all the Norse gods. He is famous for his sacrifices for both the worlds ie. world of humans and worlds of gods. He wants to protect Asgard and Midgard from the terror of giants, so he needs to gain more wisdom for his mission.
He comes to learn about Mimir's well from his two messengers, a raven and a wolf. He wants to drink water from that well so that he can get wisdom. For this, he disguises himself as a wanderer. Then, he travels to Mimir's well.
On his way to Mimir’s well, Odin meets a giant named Vafthrunder. Since Odin appears as a giant to giants, Vafthrunder also sees him as a giant. Odin already knows about Vafthrunder from his messengers and even knows that Vafthrunder provides wisdom to people. Odin asks Vafthrunder for proving him wisdom. Vafthrunder agrees to let him wisdom but sets a condition: Odin must answer his three riddles.
If Odin gives a wrong answer of Vafthrunder's questions, his head will be cut into pieces. Odin agrees to this challenge but Vafthrunder also has to answer Odin's questions.
Odin gets ready to answer Vafthrunder’s questions. When Vafthrunder asks three riddles, Odin answers all the riddles correctly. Vafthrunder is thoroughly shocked to hear the answers because Odin is one of the few to get his riddles right. Now, it is Odin’s turn to ask Vafthrunder questions.
When Odin starts asking questions, Vafthrunder comes to realizes that the person in front of him is Odin because Odin only knows the answers to those questions.
Odin asks Vafthrunder what it costs to drink water from the well of Mimir. Vafthrunder says that there is no cost of water because the water is priceless. According to him, after drinking water, people can know the present and the future.
After that, Odin moves to Mimir's well. When he gets there, he finds Mimir guarding the well. Odin asks what it costs to drink water from the well. Mimir informs him that it will cost his right eye. After hearing this, Odin agrees. Mimir provides him a horn full of water. Odin drinks the water and takes out his eye and gives it to Mimir. The pain is quite intolerant for Odin, but Odin doesn't show his pain. Later on, Mimir throws Odin's eye into the well, and Odin keeps on watching it sink. Now, Odin can easily see the present and the future. In this way, Odin becomes able to save Asgard and Midgard from the giants.
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
King Odin’s Wisdom Exercise
1. What did the Giant do to those who went to him and why did they fail to answer his riddle?
Answer:
The giant asked riddles to those who went to him. They had to answer his riddles. If they couldn't answer his riddles, he'd take their heads off. His questions were really tough to answer. The answers of his riddles were known only by the smartest gods and giants.
2. What condition did Vafthrudner (Giant) set to Odin in the case of failing to answer each other's answer?
Answer:
Vafthrudner set the condition to Odin saying that if Odin couldn't answer his riddle, he'd lose his head. He also said if he couldn't answer his question, he'd even lose his head.
3. What were the three questions that the Giant Vafthrudner asked the God Odin? What were Odin's replies?
Answer:
The giant Vafthrudner asked God Odin three questions which are as follows:
a. What's the name of the river between Asgard and Jotunheim?
b. What are the names of the horses that drive the day and night across the sky?
c. What's the name of the plain where the final battle will happen?
God Odin's answers were:
1. Ifling is the river's name.
2. Skinfaxe and Hrimfaxe are the horses' names.
3. The plain of Vigard.
4. Why did Odin move to Mimir's well?
Answer:
Odin moved to Mimir's well to drink its water and gain wisdom. Odin had a deep belief that the water would help him protect Asgard and Midgard from all the problems created by the giants.
5. Why was Vafthrudner unable to answer Odin's first question?
Answer:
Vafthrudner was unable to answer Odin's first question because only Odin knew what his last words to Baldur would be. These last words to Baldur, his beloved son, were quite personal and hard for others to make a guess.
6. Who is Mimir? What price did Odin pay him to get wisdom from him?
Answer:
Mimir is a giant who is guarding the well of wisdom under the great root of Yggdrasil, the root that grew out of Jotunheim. He is the one who drinks water from the well of wisdom every day. He is the wisest being in the entire world. To get wisdom from him, Odin paid him his right eye as a price. Odin did this to gain wisdom and understand the world's sorrows and troubles of present and future. After giving his right eye to Mimir in exchange for wisdom water, Odin became known as the one-eyed god.
7. Give brief Introduction of Odin, Mimir and Vafthrudner.
Answer:
The introduction of these three characters are given below.
Odin: Odin is one of the oldest and the most significant characters of all the Norse gods. He is mostly renowned for his wisdom and sacrifices.
Mimir: Mimir is a giant and a caretaker of the well of wisdom. He provides with knowledge to those people who try to search for it.
Vafthrudner: Vafthrudner is an another giant. He is encountered by Odin. He is also recognised for his wisdom and different riddles.
8. What became clear to Odin after he drank water from the well of wisdom? What did he see after in the world?
Answer:
After Odin drank water from the well of wisdom, he could easily see the future clearly. He saw all the sorrows and troubles that would come to humans and Gods. He also got idea why these sorrows and troubles had to happen. He noticed how they could be endured so that by being noble during these hard times, Gods and humans would create a force that would one day, far in the future, destroy the evil that caused terror, sorrow, and despair in the world.
9. What was the price to be paid to drink from Mimir's well? Why did Odin sacrifice his eye? Explain in brief.
Answer:
The price to be paid to drink from Mimir's well was the right eye of king Odin. He sacrificed his eye to achieve wisdom and insight into the mysteries of the world. He believed that it was necessary for him to fulfill his responsibility as a protector of Asgard and Midgard.
10. There was a terrible pain to Odin while giving his right eye to Mimir. But he made neither groan nor moan. What was the reason? Give your logic.
Answer:
There was a terrible pain to Odin but there was no groan or moan from him. The reason was that he gave his eye for wisdom. Odin understood very well that sacrifice and gain are parts of life. The wisdom which he gained was more valuable to him than his eye. He could understand the world and its various aspects, so he endured the pain without any groans or moans. This event clearly shows that you can't get anything without sacrifice.
11. What happened when Odin drank water from the well?
Answer:
When Odin drank water from the well, he gained both wisdom and knowledge of the present and future.
12. How did the eye of Odin stay in the water then?
Answer:
After taking Odin's eye, Mimir let it sink deep into the well of wisdom. Odin's eye stayed at the bottom, shining through the water as a sign to everyone who came there of the price the father of the gods paid for his wisdom.
13. What moral lesson did you learn from the story?
Answer:
From the story, we learnt a moral lesson regarding the importance of contribution, sacrifice and wisdom in overcoming different challenges in our live. This story mainly highlights the dedication of king Odin towards his responsibility as a protector as well as his eagerness to make individual sacrifices for the greater deeds.
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