Myths are narratives about gods and cosmic order; religion also includes ritual, places, social relationships, and everyday choices. An exciting story about Þórr does not by itself show how a particular farm worshipped him.
The fullest narratives were written in the Christian Middle Ages. They may preserve older poetry while also reflecting literary organisation, learned interests, and Christian concepts.
Opera, Romantic nationalism, comics, films, and games have created new Nordic visual worlds. Horned helmets, a precisely mapped nine-world system, and sharply bounded divine “portfolios” feel ancient but are often modern simplifications.
Source criticism does not remove the myths’ enchantment. It reveals which voice is speaking: a Viking-Age poet, a thirteenth-century Icelandic author, an archaeological object, or a modern artistic creation.