Show Notes
This episode covers the very first war that ever occurred in the world. But why did it happen and who exactly is fighting who? Did the Aesir kill the goddess Freyja three times over? And who exactly are the Vanir? Are they original to the pagan tradition or did Snorri make them up to fill in some gaps? You might be surprised how hard some of these questions are to answer and you might be surprised at how weird modern scholarship can get sometimes.
Sources:
“Dictionary of Northern Mythology” by Rudolf Simek, 2010
“Gesta Danorum” Volume I, translated and edited by Karsten Friis-Jensen and Peter Fisher
“Heimskringla”, transl. by Alison Finlay and Anthony Faulkes, 2011
“In Defence of the Vanir” by Clive Tolley, 2011
“Norse Mythology: A Guide to the Gods, Heroes, Rituals, and Beliefs” by John Lindow, 2001
“Relative sá and the dating of Eddic and skaldic poetry” by Christopher D. Sapp, 2019
“The Role of Hostages in Roman Diplomacy with Sasanian Persia” by A. D. Lee, 1991
“The Vanir: An Obituary” by Rudolf Simek, 2010
“Vanir and Æsir” by John Lindow in “Pre-Christian Religions of the North” Volume III, 2020.
“Verses versus the Vanir: Response to Simek’s ‘Vanir Obituary’” by Frog & Jonathan Roper 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/
More from Norse Mythology: The Unofficial Guide
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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
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