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    History

    Norse Mythology: The Unofficial Guide

    What makes Norse mythology “norse”? Why does Thor kill giants? What do the myths tell us about Loki’s gender identity? The world of popular media is always happy to provide a modernized re-telling of ancient stories with a heavy scoop of creative license, but on “Norse Mythology: The Unofficial Guide”, we’ll dive into the original tales directly from the sources and learn together from experts in the field about what these stories really mean and how they would have affected the lives of the ancient people of the pagan north.

    Contact me any time at waelhraefn (at) gmail (dot) com!

    Advertise

    Copyright: © Wælhræfn

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    Latest Episodes:
    Episode 39 - The Worship of Good and Evil May 16, 2026
    Show notes

    Are the gods the good guys or the bad guys? On that note, did ancient Norse people ever worship the jötnar? This week we take a look at what it really means to be a god in the Norse mind. Two surprising sources will help inform our analysis: a horse phallus preserved in herbs and an Icelandic volcano. Don't miss it!

    Sources:

    • Giants” by Margaret Clunies Ross in Pre-Christian Religions of the North volume II, 2020
    • “Cyclical Rituals” by Jens Peter Schjødt, also in Pre-Christian Religions of the North volume II, 2020.
    • “Ritual responses to catastrophic volcanism in Viking Age iceland: Reconsidering surtshellir cave through bayesian analyses of AMS dates, tephrochronology, and texts” by Kevin Smith, et al in the Journal of Archaeological Science volume 126, 2021.
    • “Lausavísa from Óláfs saga Tryggvasonar in Heimskringla 1” by Diana Whaley in “Poetry from the Kings’ Sagas 1: From Mythical Times to circa 1035. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 1.” 2012.
    • “The Poetic Edda”, transl. by Carolyne Larrington, 2014
    • “The Prose Edda”, transl. by Anthony Faulkes, 1995

    Contact:

    • Write in: waelhraefn (at) gmail (dot) com
    • Join the Discord: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://discord.gg/Nvw5hmkRsW⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

    Music:

    Celebration by Alexander Nakarada (www.serpentsoundstudios.com) Licensed under Creative Commons BY Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

    Episode 38 - Eating Hearts and Drinking Blood May 18, 2025
    Show notes

    This time we dig into a rarely discussed aspect of Norse mythology: stealing your enemy's power by eating their heart or drinking their blood. But just who's power can be stolen by way of this gory ritual? Animals? Monsters? Humans? Let's find out together.

    Sources:

    • “Heimskringla Volume 1, The Beginnings to Óláfr Tryggvason” transl. by Alison Finlay and Anthony Faulkes, 2011
    • “Gesta Danorum” transl. by Karsten Friis-Jensen and Peter Fisher, 2015
    • “The Saga of King Hrolf Kraki” transl. By Jesse Byock, 1998
    • “The Dating of Eddic Poetry: Evidence from Alliteration” by Haukur Þorgeirsson, 2016
    • “Dating the Old Norse Poetic Edda” by Christopher Sapp, 2022
    • "Eaten hearts and supernatural knowledge in Eiríks saga rauða" by Andrea Maraschi, 2018
    • “The Poetic Edda”, transl. by Edward Pettit, 2023
    • “The Prose Edda”, transl. by Anthony Faulkes, 1995

    • Contact:

    • Write in: waelhraefn (at) gmail (dot) com
    • Join the Discord: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://discord.gg/Nvw5hmkRsW⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

    Music:

    Celebration by Alexander Nakarada (www.serpentsoundstudios.com) Licensed under Creative Commons BY Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

    Episode 37 - Dead Women in Black Jul 13, 2024
    Show notes

    After a nice, long break, NMTUG is back to cover a relatively obscure topic in Norse mythology: the dísir. What makes the dísir distinct from valkyries, norns, and other death-entangled women? Let's find out.

    Sources:

    • “The Merseburg Spells” by Joseph S. Hopkins, 2023

    • “Dísir” by John Lindow in Pre-Christian Religions of the North volume III, 2020

    • “Dictionary of Northern Mythology” by Rudolf Simek, 2007

    • “Norse Mythology: A Guide to the Gods, Heroes, Rituals, and Beliefs”, by John Lindow, 2002

    • “The Poetic Edda”, transl. by Carolyne Larrington, 2014

    • “The Prose Edda”, transl. by Anthony Faulkes, 1995

    Contact:

    • Write in: waelhraefn (at) gmail (dot) com
    • Join the Discord: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://discord.gg/Nvw5hmkRsW⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

    Music:

    Celebration by Alexander Nakarada (www.serpentsoundstudios.com) Licensed under Creative Commons BY Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

    Episode 36 - Blue as Hel Sep 09, 2023
    Show notes

    Time for another deep dive! This time into the mysterious origins of the one called Hel: the daughter of Loki and the sister of two giant monsters. Who does she own upon death? The answer may not be quite as simple as you think.

    Sources:

    • “Dictionary of Northern Mythology” by Rudolf Simek, 2007

    • “Gesta Danorum” transl. by Karsten Friis-Jensen and Peter Fisher, 2015

    • “Norse Mythology: A Guide to the Gods, Heroes, Rituals, and Beliefs”, by John Lindow, 2002

    • “The Road to Hel” by Hilda Roderick Ellis, 1968

    • “Worlds of the Dead” by John Lindow and Anders Andrén in Pre-Christian Religions of the North volume II, 2020

    • “The Poetic Edda”, transl. by Carolyne Larrington, 2014

    • “The Prose Edda”, transl. by Anthony Faulkes, 1995

    Contact:

    • Write in: waelhraefn (at) gmail (dot) com
    • Join the Discord: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://discord.gg/Nvw5hmkRsW⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

    Music:

    Celebration by Alexander Nakarada (www.serpentsoundstudios.com) Licensed under Creative Commons BY Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

    Episode 35 - Volsunga Saga Part III: The Fearless Heart Aug 13, 2023
    Show notes

    In our final installment of Völsunga Saga (for now), it's what you've all been waiting for: We finally cover the tale of Sigurðr, the most famous of all Norse heroes who slew the dragon Fáfnir, and his tragic love with the valkyire Brynhildr. There's fire, murder, mayhem, and one ring to curse them all. Don't miss it!

    Sources:

    • “Dictionary of Northern Mythology” by Rudolf Simek, 2007
    • “The Saga of the Volsungs”, transl. by Jesse Byock, 2004, supplemented by some of my own translations from the source text
    • “The Poetic Edda”, transl. by Carolyne Larrington, 2014
    • "The Prose Edda", transl. by Anthony Faulkes, 1995

    Contact:

    • Write in: waelhraefn (at) gmail (dot) com
    • Join the Discord: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://discord.gg/Nvw5hmkRsW⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

    Music:

    Celebration by Alexander Nakarada (www.serpentsoundstudios.com) Licensed under Creative Commons BY Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

    Episode 34 - Volsunga Saga Part II: To Serve the Boatman Jul 10, 2023
    Show notes

    Story time continues with our second installment of the Saga of the Volsungs wherein another character goes to Valhöll without dying in battle, a valkyrie causes countless deaths for her own gain, and Sigmund's magic sword finally receives a name. Don't miss it!

    Sources:

    • “The Saga of the Volsungs”, transl. by Jesse Byock, 2004, supplemented by some of my own translations from the source text
    • “The Poetic Edda”, transl. by Carolyne Larrington, 2014
    • "The Prose Edda", transl. by Anthony Faulkes, 1995

    Contact:

    • Write in: waelhraefn (at) gmail (dot) com
    • Join the Discord: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://discord.gg/Nvw5hmkRsW⁠⁠⁠⁠

    Music:

    Celebration by Alexander Nakarada (www.serpentsoundstudios.com) Licensed under Creative Commons BY Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

    Episode 33 - Volsunga Saga Part I: The Sword in the Tree May 27, 2023
    Show notes

    It's story time again! And this time we're digging into what might be the most famous legendary saga ever to come out of Scandinavia: The Saga of the Vǫlsungs. As we dig in, it'll become clear how all of the principles we've talked about on the show so far come together to produce a story with a distinct Norse flavor, and one that has inspired tropes that have been repeated in story after story for the last thousand years. It's a long one this time, and I hope you enjoy it!

    Sources:

    • “The Saga of the Volsungs”, transl. by Jesse Byock, 2004, supplemented by some of my own translations from the source text
    • “The Poetic Edda”, transl. by Carolyne Larrington, 2014
    • "The Prose Edda", transl. by Anthony Faulkes, 1995

    Contact:

    • Write in: waelhraefn (at) gmail (dot) com
    • Join the Discord: ⁠⁠⁠https://discord.gg/Nvw5hmkRsW⁠⁠⁠

    Music:

    Celebration by Alexander Nakarada (www.serpentsoundstudios.com) Licensed under Creative Commons BY Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

    Episode 32 - Associated with Fire Apr 24, 2023
    Show notes

    How many times have you heard in the past that Loki is associated with fire? It's true, in fact, but how many people who told you Loki was associated with fire ever provided any examples of that association? In this episode, we'll dig in to why your answer to that last question is "none of them", and what this association with fire really means. By the way, are you familiar with the Ash Lad?

    Sources:

    • “Loki, the Vätte, and the Ash Lad: A Study Combining Old Scandinavian and Late Material”, by Eldar Heide, 2011
    • “The Poetic Edda”, transl. by Carolyne Larrington, 2014
    • "The Prose Edda", transl. by Anthony Faulkes, 1995

    Contact:

    • Write in: waelhraefn (at) gmail (dot) com
    • Join the Discord: ⁠⁠https://discord.gg/Nvw5hmkRsW⁠⁠

    Music:

    Celebration by Alexander Nakarada (www.serpentsoundstudios.com) Licensed under Creative Commons BY Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

    Episode 31 - Read Saxo with AtiWati Mar 29, 2023
    Show notes

    Our special guest today, AtiWati, has academic chops but prefers to keep his anonymity online. He currently moderates the r/Norse subreddit which is one of the largest academically-oriented internet communities focusing on Norse history and mythology. Today we'll be diving into Ati's specialty: the criminally under-discussed work Gesta Danorum by Danish author Saxo Grammaticus. We'll be talking about some of its unique stories, how it reinforces other Norse mythological sources, what Saxo sought to achieve when writing it, and why you should definitely not skip out on reading it.

    Disclaimer:

    Digital piracy may be illegal where you live. Don't do it.

    Contact:

    • Write in: waelhraefn (at) gmail (dot) com
    • Join the Discord: ⁠https://discord.gg/Nvw5hmkRsW⁠

    Music:

    Celebration by Alexander Nakarada (www.serpentsoundstudios.com) Licensed under Creative Commons BY Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

    Episode 30 - The Dark Tale of Wayland Mar 22, 2023
    Show notes

    For our first excursion into Norse hero material, we'll be discussing two versions of a story about a character known across Norse, English, and German sources as Wayland the Smith. Prepare yourself for valkyries, dwarves, kidnapping, maiming, murder, intrigue, revenge, flying machines, and two surprising cameos from Sigurd the Dragonslayer and maybe even William Tell?

    Sources:

    • “The Context of Völundarkviða” by John McKinnel, 1993
    • “Velents þáttr smiðs” as published on heimskringla.no
    • “The Poetic Edda”, transl. by Edward Pettit, 2023
    • “The Poetic Edda”, transl. by Carolyne Larrington, 2014

    Contact:

    • Write in: waelhraefn (at) gmail (dot) com
    • Join the Discord: ⁠https://discord.gg/Nvw5hmkRsW⁠

    Music:

    Celebration by Alexander Nakarada (www.serpentsoundstudios.com) Licensed under Creative Commons BY Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

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