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/

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/

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/

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/

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/

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/

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/

Some Norse mythology enthusiasts are strangely terrified of Christian influence in our sources. And some will even go so far as advise others to ignore some of our most important sources, believing them to be full of corruption. In this episode, we'll talk about why there is no real need to be afraid of Christian influence in Norse mythology, and about how to recognize it when you see it.

Sources:

• “Dictionary of Northern Mythology” by Rudolf Simek, 2007
• “Mímir: Two Myths or One?” by Jacqueline Simpson, 1965
• “The Conversion of Scandinavia: Vikings, Merchants, and Missionaries in the Remaking of Northern Europe” by Anders Winroth, 2012
• “The King, The Champion and the Sorcerer” by Lotte Motz, 1996
• “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/