History Raids with Fjorn

For the Norse, Yggdrasil was their world(s) tree. That’s right, world(s)—because they conceived their cosmos as having 9 worlds, not just 1. This raid therefore aims to plunder the heart of their cosmos to better understand Yggdrasil’s role and its symbolism in the Norse world(s)view. We won’t talk about everything (like Odin’s well-known sacrifice upon it), but I’m sure you’ll still leave this raid with some plunder you didn’t have before.

Featured Object: AM 738 4to, 43r

Sources & Further Reading:

Plunder more Viking history, Norse mythology, and medieval sagas at fjorntheskald.com!

Like fantasy stories set in a world with a deep, rich history? Yes, there’s always Tolkien…but check out fjörn’s free web novel (written under his other pen name, fëolnir) at feolnir.com!

= “Firesong” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

You probably haven’t heard about a Norse woman who single-handedly saved her family from a political turmoil in Scotland, settled part of Iceland, distributed land, arranged marriages for her kin, and maintained a respected reputation that was remember for generations? Of course not. This International Women’s Day special tells the story of a woman named Aud. The only problem is…her story isn’t always the same. In fact, some people know her better as Unn the Deep-minded. So while we celebrate the accomplishments of an impressive medieval woman, we’ll also talk about how she was remembered, why her story varies, and what it all says about the society remembering her.

Please note that the audio used in this raid comes from an older podcast I originally released in 2018. The audio is therefore old, but the content and research still hold up to my current standards.

Want visuals? This raid is also a video at youtube.com/@fjorntheskald!

You can also find more plunder, from interactive lessons to digital maps, at fjorntheskald.com!

For instance, you can explore Aud’s journey to Iceland through this interactive digital map!

Primary Texts:

Scholarship:

♫ = “Firesong” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

It’s not a stretch to say that Midgard and Asgard are the two most important worlds of the Norse cosmos, for they are the homes of us humans and our gods. But…have you ever wondered why they’re both conceived of as fortresses? It’s not a coincidence. In this raid, we’ll go through the must-know details of both Midgard and Asgard; but, more importantly, we’ll also discuss why the Norse used fortifications to describe them. If you’ve already plundered my previous raid on The Migration Period, you’ll know that it’s all part of that lovely longue durée.

Want visuals? This raid is also a video at youtube.com/@fjorntheskald!

You can also find more plunder, from interactive lessons to digital maps, at fjorntheskald.com!

Sources & Further Reading:

♫ = “Firesong” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

The Norse imagined the creation of the cosmos as a story of ice and fire—but it’s really nothing like the more well-known Song of Ice and Fire that people prefer to talk about now. Well, perhaps they used to until a certain show ended on a less-than-popular note. But I digress. In this raid, we’re delving a little deeper into the Norse story of creation. We’ll be forced to reckon the universe’s first genealogy, during which we’ll have to face the fact that Odin was born of mixed races and turned against his own kin. Pretty brutal. But guess what? One savage slay gave us the whole world. I guess it was worth it, then? Oof.

Want visuals? This raid is also a video at youtube.com/@fjorntheskald!

You can also find more plunder, from interactive lessons to digital maps, at fjorntheskald.com!

Sources & Further Reading:

♫ = “Firesong” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

This is our third and final raid covering the scanty sources we have for Norse Mythology. To most people, sagas are an odd and obscure group of medieval literature mostly from the equally odd and obscure Iceland. Their content typically covers things like feuding farmers or campaigning kings (occasionally featuring whack-a-mole spectral seals and red-shirt Norwegian companions). For this raid, however, we’re going to talk about 3 genres that occasionally give us some unique insight into Norse Mythology. Sadly, though, we don’t have much to work with…but the plunder is still more rewarding than you might expect!

Reminder: this raid is originally a YouTube video! If you want visual aids, wander here: youtube.com/@fjorntheskald

Looking for more to plunder? Try Fjorn’s website: fjorntheskald.com. He even offers interactive versions of his videos there!

♫ = “Firesong” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

When it comes to love in the medieval North, these are some of the most essential stories to know. We start things off with a fairly detailed discussion about Freyja, the free-spirited goddess of love and war, including her ferocious cats and her experience with magic, aka seiðr. After that, we cringe (and laugh) through the stories of Freyja’s annoying suitors, cry about the bear-curse love story of Bjorn and Bera, and finally scream about the destructive love Icelandic triangle between Gudrun, Kjartan, and Bolli. And if all of that isn’t enough, we even discuss a few Icelandic love spells. What’s not to love about this history raid?

Note: this audio was recovered from the original recording, which was published back in 2019 via my old podcast.

Reminder: this raid is originally a YouTube video! If you want visual aids, wander here: youtube.com/@fjorntheskald

Looking for more to plunder? Try Fjorn’s website: fjorntheskald.com. He even offers interactive versions of his videos there!

♫ = All music by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

When it comes to ‘primary’ source material about Norse mythology, few are better than the Prose Edda—but everyone hates on its 13th-century Icelandic author, the infamous Snorri Sturluson. There’s plenty of good reasons for that, but I think people take for granted that he was much less salty than his Danish contemporary, Saxo Grammaticus. This raid is about their salty source material, how it helps us understand Norse mythology, and how later authors remembered/rewrote old lore for their own times.

Reminder: this raid is originally a YouTube video! If you want visual aids, wander here: youtube.com/@fjorntheskald

Looking for more to plunder? Try Fjorn’s website: fjorntheskald.com. He even offers interactive versions of his videos there!

♫ = “Firesong” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

The first remnants of Norse Mythology we’re discussing are, of course, eddic and skaldic poetry. They’re not the friendliest sources for those unfamiliar with the lore, but they are, perhaps, the most ‘reliable’ of the scanty source material we have to work with. Yet, even though their origins are often in the Viking Age, you’ll learn that things are never so straightforward—especially with poetry. So join me by the hearthside to toil over the writing, remembering, and reshaping of lore though very easy-to-understand poetry (that was very not-so-easy-to-understand).

Reminder: this raid is originally a YouTube video! If you want visual aids, wander here: youtube.com/@fjorntheskald

Looking for more to plunder? Try Fjorn’s website: fjorntheskald.com

♫ = “Firesong” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Like the creation of the Norse cosmos, our coverage of Norse Mythology begins with a great void. Instead of cows licking salty ice, however, we’re facing the challenges of oral traditions and material culture without contemporary context. This raid is therefore a brief overview of those remnants from the void: our scanty sources for a worldview that once thrived in the speech, performance, and memories of the Norse.

Reminder: this raid is originally a YouTube video! If you want visual aids, wander here: youtube.com/@fjorntheskald

Looking for more to plunder? Try Fjorn’s website: fjorntheskald.com

♫ = “Firesong” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

I almost titled this raid “How to Train a Viking,” and, to be honest, it would have worked just as well. Why? Because the Viking Age came to an end because…well, you should probably listen to this episode. In sum, we cover how Viking legends became Christian kings and, more importantly, why they chose to do so. We also take a moment to step back and summarize where my history raids will go from here. Spoiler: Norse Mythology is next.

Reminder: this raid is originally a YouTube video! If you want visual aids, wander here: youtube.com/@fjorntheskald

Looking for more to plunder? Try Fjorn’s website: fjorntheskald.com

♫ = “Firesong” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)