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/

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/

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/