ásætt

ásætt is a scholarly term from Old Norse that denotes the ancestral lineages of the Æsir, the principal pantheon in Norse mythology. The word combines ás (a term linked to the gods or a deity) with ætt (lineage or clan), and it is used to refer to the family trees and kinship networks among the Æsir and their divine descendants as they appear in mythic narratives. The ásætt thus provides a framework for understanding how the gods are related and how divine lineages relate to the wider cosmology and mythic events.

In primary Norse sources, genealogies and relationships among the gods are described, but the compound ásætt is mainly a label used by scholars to discuss the idea of divine ancestry and dynastic succession within the Æsir. The concept is often contrasted with the Vanir, another major group of deities, in discussions of kinship and lineage, though the sources show that alliances and intermarriage between the Æsir and the Vanir occur in myth.

In modern Norse studies, ásætt helps organize discussions of how divine families establish legitimacy, authority, and intergenerational relationships within the pantheon. The term belongs to the broader vocabulary of kinship and clan terminology used in Norse literature and is encountered primarily in scholarly writings rather than as a frequent label in the sagas themselves.