Icelandic horse them. Horses played a significant part in Norse mythology, and several horses played major roles in the Norse myths, among them the eight-footed pacer named Sleipnir, owned by Odin, chief of the Norse gods. Skalm, a mare who is the first Icelandic horse known by name, appeared in the "Book of Settlements" from the 12th century. According to the book, a chieftain named Seal-Thorir founded a settlement at the place where Skalm stopped and lay down with her pack. Horses also play key roles in the Icelandic sagas "Hrafnkel's Saga", "Njal's Saga" and "Grettir's Saga". Although written in the 13th
Odin religious practices associated with the god. This multitude of names makes Odin the god with the most names known among the Germanic peoples. The modern English weekday name "Wednesday" derives from Old English "wōdnesdæg". Cognate terms are found in other Germanic languages, such as Middle Low German "wōdensdach" (Dutch "woensdag"), and Old Norse "Óðinsdagr" (Danish, Norwegian and Swedish "Onsdag"). All of these terms derive from Proto-Germanic *"Wodensdag", itself a Germanic interpretation of Latin "Dies Mercurii" ("Day of Mercury"). In Old High German, the name derived from Odin's was replaced by a translation of Church Latin "media hebdomas" ('middle of the