Norse Wars: Luke Skywalker cuts off Grendel's arm.


Luke cutting off the wampa's arm after reclaiming his lightsaber in the ice cave is much like a combination of Beowulf tearing off Grendel's arm in Heorot and killing Grendel's mother with the ancient magic sword he retrieves in the monsters' cavernous grotto lair.

We could also point out that Anakin & Luke both lose hands whilst fighting a Dark Side figure, sort of like Tyr's sacrifice of his hand to Fenrir, and that the name of ice planet Hoth appears to be linguistically derivative of Norse God Höðr as Høtherus, this latter name being Saxo Grammaticus' more heroic version of that figure in his Gesta Danorum: The History of the Danes.

Does all this make the technologically scavenging Jawas & Ugnauts species of dwarves? Is the blaster-wielding aggro Princess Leia in essence a space-shieldmaiden? Are nigh-invulnerable Krayt dragons really children of Níðhöggr? Would the Emperor's Crimson Guard be derived from Viking Varangians? Is Snoke's Ring secretly Andvaranaut? Why does Aurek-Besh's angularity seem to stylistically resemble the Runes?

George Lucas himself a few times stated that Star Wars was a universalist re-dressing of mythological ideas written to present the value of heroism to a modern audience, and all the above Norsespotting makes this evident. Maybe next time you marathon the nine saga films, take a more discerning look. And may the Norse be with you.

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Guillermo Maytorena IV knew there was something special in the Norse Lore when he picked up a copy of the d'Aulaires' Norse Gods and Giants at age seven. Since then he's been fascinated by the truthful potency of Norse Mythology, passionately read & studied, embraced Ásatrú, launched the Map of Midgard project, and spearheaded the neologism/brand NorsePlay. If you have employment/opportunities in investigative mythology,  field research, or product development to offer, do contact him.

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