Did Bethesda IGNORE The Old Nord Religion of Skyrim? | #elderscrolls #skyrim

#morrowind #lore #tes #eso #oblivion #skyrim #bethesda
The Nords of Skyrim have a rich religious history. Nordic totem gods are described in texts such as Varieties of Faith in the Empire and Michael Kirkbride’s The Nords’ Totemic Religion.
Unfortunately, Skyrim largely discarded the Totem Gods in favor of the Imperial pantheon.
Skyrim ripped away the things that made Nords so unique. It could've easily been on par with the world building present in Morrowind.
Unfortunately Bethesda pushed the Nordic gods to the backdrop because they wanted to keep the Nine Divines as a touchstone of the series that fans brought on in Oblivion.
- Imagine having Shrines for the Nordic totem gods in the wilderness of Skyrim. We could have had shrines of Alduin, Dibella, Jhunal, Kyne, Mara, Orkey, Shor, Stuhn, and Tsun and each of them could have offered interesting and unique bonuses.
- Imagine having a Nordic temple faction in Skyrim and a dedicated questline just like the Tribunal Temple in Morrowind.
What a missed opportunity!

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I'm Kamy, The Magicka Addict! The Elder Scrolls game series provides me with a joy that I haven't found in any other games. I have always played as a pure mage in every Elder Scrolls game and this channel will focus on Elder Scrolls lore along with Magic and Spell related content from Morrowind and Elder Scrolls Online. I will also showcase magic themed mods for Skyrim.
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[WakkasLove]

Makes you understand better why the Stormcloaks are clinging so hard to Talos.

[vasily]

They really nerfed the Nord lore in Skyrim

[Hero_Of_Old]

Don't some of the bandits refer to the old pantheon?

[nikolasvalentine]

To bring them back, you must join the Stormcloak and drive away the imperial culture out of Skyrim 👓

[nicolasnamed]

Unpopular opinion but I actually like they went with the direction they did in the game. The previous Nord lore didn't really make them feel like a people, because not everyone in a society can be heroes or even warriors, and unlike the Dunmer the Nords don't keep slaves so it changes the opportunities each individual Nord has. Lots of people are just farmers and other laymen/women doing what they can in a hard land.
Additionally, the imperialization of the Nordic pantheon is very similar (though ofc not as far gone) to the real life christianization of Scandinavia, which the Nords so obviously draw from.
Lastly, the civil war in Skyrim isn't something born of glory or honor, it's born of desperation and people uncertain and scared about the future of Skyrim AND The Empire. I think Talos worship is a clear parallel to previous worship of Shor (Lorkhan), but this time the Nords are refusing to give up Talos because there is no benefit, the empire is weak rather than strong, the Thalmor are the enemy rather than the defeated foe.

Anyway, I think it's easy to take for granted the version of Skyrim we have and say "Oh this would've been so much cooler!", but would it have been? Would we have connected to the world as much? I think the yearning for the old ways is a function that serves the roleplay aspect of the game very well.

My main gripe is just that the Dragonborn can't become high king of Skyrim, because I think there is a case to be made for an independent Skyrim and it is bullshit that the Nords faith have to suffer for the Empire's war. I just can't in good conscience ever side with the Stormcloaks because the game sorta predicted the future and they remind me so much of the current ethnonationalist (read: Neo-Nazi) movements globally, but especially in the United States.
(And I gotta say, as an American, the Nords of Skyrim and their values feel very familiar to my homeland even if that comparison isn't clear on the surface. Just stop and think about it for a moment.)