You have probably heard somewhere that modern Heathens and followers of the old Norse ways celebrate Halloween as an important holiday but under the traditional name of Samhain. This is only partly true. The end of the harvest system at the end of October and the start of November was certainly an important time for…
Did the Vikings celebrate Halloween? The Norse warriors (and their children) certainly did not go trick or treating on the 31st of October, but this was still an important day in the Norse calendar. The end of October marks the end of the harvest season and the beginning of winter, which means long, dark days,…
The Vikings are infamous for raiding and terrorizing their neighbors in Britain and France and are known to have been active in the east around the Balkans and as far as Constantinople. But we hear very little about the Vikings in Spain and Portugal. Did the Vikings leave these nearby lands untouched? The Vikings were…
We are very excited about the release of the new The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power series. The first episode dropped on Amazon Prime on September 1 (2022). It is set thousands of years before the events of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings in the Second Age described in…
All Viking warriors were known by their neighbors to be strong, ferocious, and bloodthirsty. But among the Vikings themselves, there was an elite group of warriors known as the Berserkers. They were believed to fight with the ferocity of wild animals and to be immune to steel and fire. But did these warriors really exist,…
Valkyrie has quickly emerged as one of the most popular characters in the Marvel universe with her feisty attitude and cool fighting style. Yet another character based on Norse mythology, how does Valkyrie measure up against the Valkyries that inspired her? Who is Valkyrie in the Marvel Universe? In the Marvel universe, Valkyrie is not…
The term Vikings is often used as a generic term to refer to a wide and varied group of people, and it is not always clear who exactly those people are. We are very guilty of doing this! So today, let’s take a closer look at who exactly we are referring to when we use…
We often talk about “the Vikings”, but the people that we think of today as Vikings were not in fact a homogenous group. They were northern Europeans from present-day Denmark, Norway, and Sweden whose culture thrived between the 8th and 11th centuries. They also shared a seafaring culture of exploration, trade, and also pillaging. They…
The idea of Mimir catches the imagination as he is described as the disembodied head of an extremely intelligent being. He exists in a place at the base of the world where the wise, including Odin himself, travel to consult him and gain his wisdom. It is little surprise that Mimir has become a pop-culture…
Ragnar Lothbrok is the most famous Viking we know about today. But he was at least as famous for the vast number of warrior sons that he fathered as he was for his own exploits and deeds. Ragnar seems to have had at least nine sons and two daughters, though different sources record different lineages…
Samhain: Pagan vs. Norse Halloween
Did the Vikings Celebrate Halloween?
The Vikings in Spain
What’s the Connection between Norse Mythology and the Lord of the Rings?