Welcome to the first episode in a short series about the stranger side of the Middle Ages. In this series, we will explore the culture and events that were everyday parts of a person's life throughout Europe during this medieval period of history. This was a time in which the world was still full of magic and mystery and, yes, terror.

Today, we climb into the minds of those intrepid and hardy folks who peopled the unbelievably hard lands in the north and who feared, in the bleakest hours of the night during the bleakest time of the year, their ancestor's return as part of the retinue of Odin's Army. Myths and legends appear in everything from collections of folklore to historical texts, such as The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles. These stories simply cannot be discounted in any study of the time period, because the people who told these stories were shaped by these stories. Their behaviors were results of this belief and, after today's episode, one can see why one toiled the fields during the warmer months so that leaving the house and venturing out into the icy forests was an absolute last resort.

I hope you enjoy the show.

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