The Origins of Yule - Viking Dragon Blogs
Norse Gods

The Origins of Yule

In Scandinavia they don't call it Christmas (Christ-Mass), instead they still retain the old pagan name for the Yuletide celebrations which they call Jul (pronounced Yule). Yule was a pagan festiva...
"Stream of Fire and Ice" by BoldFrontiers, https://www.deviantart.com/boldfrontiers/art/Stream-of-Fire-and-Ice-612162971
Norse Gods

The Beginning of the World

In the beginning was the Yawning Void in which was neither heat nor cold, light nor darkness, until a spark arose and kindled, feeding on itself, into a vast world of flame.   At the far end of th...
The Winning of Gerd - Gerd enthroned, with Skirnir standing over her: 1920 illustration by Harry George Theaker
Norse Gods

The Winning of Gerd

The Norse god Frey was the son of Njord of the Vanir and the brother of Freya. Like Njord and Freya, he was beautiful and well-beloved, and men sacrificed to him at marriages. But the story of Frey...
Jormungand towing Hymir & Thor through wild waves - Thor, the Giant's Kettle and the Midgard Serpent - The Viking Dragon Blog
Norse Gods

Thor, the Giant's Kettle, and the Midgard Serpent

   In between their epic battles and their prodigious journeys, the Norse gods were fond of feasting. Once they invited themselves to the hall of a giant named Aegir who kept a good table. Aegir d...
Painting of armored women riding war-horses through the clouds: "Valkyries" by W. T. Maud, retrieved from https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a6/Valkyries_by_W._T._Maud.jpg--Viking Dragon Blogs
Norse Gods

Brynhild's Origin and Brynhild's Love (Andvari's Curse, Part VI)

An earlier blog post described how the young hero Sigurd rode through a wall of fire to waken Brynhild, the beautiful armored woman who lay asleep within the enchanted ring. He had been told that s...
Sigurd bends over the sleeping Brynhild: "Siegfried und Brunnhilde" by Charles Ernest Butler, 1909, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Br%C3%BCnnhilde#/media/File:Charles_Ernest_Butler_Siegfried_und_Brunnhilde.jpg--Viking Dragon Blogs
Norse Gods

Regin's Death and Brynhild's Waking (Andvari's Curse, Part V)

An earlier blog post described how the young hero Sigurd killed the dragon Fafnir, who had once been human. Sigurd was egged on to this exploit by his foster-father Regin, who told Sigurd (truly) t...
Wedding guests staring at the sword Odin has thrust into the oak:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sigmund#/media/File:Sigmunds_Schwert_(1889)_by_Johannes_Gehrts.jpg-Viking Dragon Blogs
Norse Gods

Sigurd's Origin (Andvari's Curse, Part IV)

'Sigurd and the Dragon' described how Sigurd killed the dragon Fafnir, thus getting for himself fame, wealth, and Andvari’s curse. But even before he met Fafnir, Sigurd had inherited a complex load...
Fafnir Emerging From His Lair, Sigurd Facing Him, Sword in Hand; 'Sigurd and Fafnir' by Hermann Hendrich, 1906, via Wikimedia – Viking Dragon Blogs
Norse Gods

Sigurd and the Dragon (Andvari’s Curse, Part III)

'Fafnir and the Cursed Hoard' described how Fafnir and Regin murdered their sorcerer father Hreidmar for his treasure. Fafnir, the stronger of the two, drove Regin away and took the gold, and his f...
Fafnir and the Cursed Hoard (Andvari's Curse, part II) - Viking Dragon Blogs
Norse Gods

Fafnir and the Cursed Hoard (Andvari's Curse, part II)

Returning to Hreidmar’s house, Loki showed Odin the treasure and the ring, but concealed the curse. Odin saw that the ring was fair, and he resolved to keep it for himself.