Dead warriors of Norse mythology
This article is about ghostly warriors in Norse mythology. For the band, see
Einherjer
. For the sports club, see
Einherji
.
Valhalla
(1905) by
Emil Doepler
In
Norse mythology
, the
einherjar
(singular
einheri
; literally "army of one", "those who fight alone")
[1]
[2]
are those who have died in battle and are brought to
Valhalla
by
valkyries
. In Valhalla, the einherjar eat their fill of the nightly resurrecting beast
Sæhrimnir
, and valkyries bring them
mead
from the udder of the goat
Heiðrun
. The einherjar prepare daily for the events of
Ragnarok
, when they will advance for an immense battle at the field of
Vigriðr
.
The einherjar are attested in the
Poetic Edda
, compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources, the
Prose Edda
, written in the 13th century by
Snorri Sturluson
, the poem
Hakonarmal
(by the 10th century
skald
Eyvindr skaldaspillir
) as collected in
Heimskringla
, and a stanza of an anonymous 10th century poem commemorating the death of
Eric Bloodaxe
known as
Eiriksmal
as compiled in
Fagrskinna
.
An
etymological
connection exists between the einherjar and the
Harii
, a
Germanic people
or figures from early Germanic folklore attested in the 1st century AD, and scholars have connected the einherjar to the eternal battle of
Hjaðningavig
and the
Wild Hunt
. The einherjar have been the subject of works of art and poetry.
Attestations
[
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]
Poetic Edda
[
edit
]
Three valkyries bearing ale in Valhalla (1895) by
Lorenz Frølich
In the poem
Vafþruðnismal
,
Oðinn
engages the wise
jotunn
Vafþruðnir
in a game of wits. Disguised as
Gagnraðr
, Oðinn asks Vafþruðnir "where men fight in courts every day." Vafþruðnir responds that (here
einherjar
is translated as
einheriar
):
All the Einheriar fight in Odin's courts
every day;
they choose the slain and ride from battle;
then they sit more at peace together.
[3]
In the poem
Grimnismal
, Oðinn (disguised as
Grimnir
) tells the young
Agnarr Geirroðsson
that the cook
Andhrimnir
boils the beast
Sæhrimnir
, which he refers to as "the best of pork", in the container
Eldhrimnir
, yet adds that "but few know by what the einheriar are nourished."
[4]
Further into
Grimnismal
, Odin gives a list of valkyries (Skeggjold, Skogul, Hildr,
Þruðr
, Hlokk, Herfjotur, Goll, Geirahoð, Randgrið, Raðgrið, and Reginleif), and states that they bear ale to the einherjar.
[5]
Towards the end of the poem, another reference to the einherjar appears when Oðinn tells the king
Geirrod
(unaware that the man he has been torturing is Oðinn) that Geirrod is drunk, and that Geirrod loses much when he loses his favor and the favor of "all the Einherjar."
[6]
In the poem
Helgakviða Hundingsbana I
, the hero
Sinfjotli
flyts
with Guðmundur. Sinfjotli accuses Guðmundur of having once been a female, including that he was "a witch, horrible, unnatural, among Odin's valkyries" and that all of the einherjar "had to fight, headstrong women, on your account".
[7]
Prose Edda
[
edit
]
"Valkyrie" (1834?1835) by
Herman Wilhelm Bissen
In the
Prose Edda
book
Gylfaginning
, the einherjar are introduced in chapter 20. In chapter 20,
Third
tells
Gangleri
(described as king
Gylfi
in disguise) that Oðinn is called
Valfoðr
(Old Norse "father of the slain") "since all those who fall in battle are his adopted sons," and that Oðinn assigns them places in Valhalla and
Vingolf
where they are known as einherjar.
[8]
In chapter 35,
High
quotes the
Grimnismal
valkyrie list, and says that these valkyries wait in Valhalla, and there serve drink, and look after tableware and drinking vessels in Valhalla. In addition, High says that Oðinn sends valkyries to every battle, that they allot death to men, and govern victory.
[9]
In chapter 38, High provides more detail about the einherjar. Gangleri says that "you say that all those men that have fallen in battle since the beginning of the world have now come to Odin in Val-hall. What has he got to offer them food? I should have thought that there must be a pretty large number there." High replies that it is true there are a pretty large number of men there, adding many more have yet to arrive, yet that "there will seem too few when
the wolf
comes." However, High adds that food is not a problem because there will never be too many people in Valhalla that the meat of Sæhrimnir (which he calls a
boar
) cannot sufficiently feed. High says that Sæhrimnir is cooked every day by the cook Andhrimnir in the pot Eldhrimnir, and is again whole every evening. High then quotes the stanza of
Grimnismal
mentioning the cook, meal, and container in reference.
[10]
Further into chapter 38, Gangleri asks if Oðinn consumes the same meals as the einherjar. High responds that Oðinn gives the food on his table to his two wolves
Geri and Freki
, and that Oðinn himself needs no food, for Oðinn gains sustenance from wine as if it were drink and meat. High then quotes another stanza from
Grimnismal
in reference. In chapter 39, Gangleri asks what the einherjar drink that is as plentiful as their food, and if they drink water. High responds that it is strange that Gangleri is asking if Oðinn, the All-Father, would invite kings, earls, and other "men of rank" to his home and give them water to drink. High says that he "swears by his faith" that many who come to Valhalla would think that he paid a high price for a drink of water if there were no better beverages there, after having died of wounds and in agony. High continues that atop Valhalla stands the
goat
Heiðrun
, and it feeds on the foliage of the tree called
Læraðr
. From Heiðrun's
udders
flow
mead
that fills a vat a day. The vat is so large that all of the einherjar are able to drink to their fullness from it.
[11]
In chapter 40, Gangleri says that Valhalla must be an immense building, yet it must often be crowded around the doorways. High responds that there are plenty of doors, and that crowding doesn't occur around them. In support, High again quotes a stanza from
Grimnismal
. In chapter 41, Gangleri notes that there are very many people in Valhalla, and that Oðinn is a "very great lord when he commands such a troop". Gangleri then asks what entertainment the einherjar have when they're not drinking. High responds that every day, the einherjar get dressed and "put on war-gear and go out into the courtyard and fight each other and fall upon each other. This is their sport." High says that when dinner time arrives, the einherjar ride back to Valhalla and sit down to drink. In reference, High quotes a stanza from
Grimnismal
.
[12]
In chapter 51, High foretells the events of Ragnarok. After the god
Heimdallr
awakens all the gods by blowing his horn
Gjallarhorn
, they will assemble at a
thing
, Oðinn will ride to the well
Mimisbrunnr
and consult
Mimir
on behalf of himself and his people, the world tree
Yggdrasil
will shake, and then the
Æsir
and the einherjar will don their war gear. The Æsir and einherjar will ride to the field
Vigriðr
while Oðinn rides before them clad in a golden helmet, mail, and holding his spear
Gungnir
, and heading towards the wolf Fenrir.
[13]
In chapter 52, Gangleri asks what will happen after the heavens, earth, and all of the world are burned and the gods, einherjar and all of mankind have died, noting that he had previously been told that "everyone will live in some world or other for ever and ever." High replies with a list of locations, and then describes the re-emerging of the world after Ragnarok.
[14]
The einherjar receive a final mention in the
Prose Edda
in chapter 2 of the book
Skaldskaparmal
, where a quote from the anonymous 10th century poem
Eiriksmal
is provided (see the
Fagrskinna
section below for more detail and another translation from another source):
What sort of dream is that, Odin?
I dreamed I rose up before dawn
to clear up Val-hall for slain people.
I aroused the Einheriar,
bade them get up to strew the benches,
clean the beer-cups,
the valkyries to serve wine
for the arrival of a prince.
[15]
Heimskringla
[
edit
]
An illustration of valkyries encountering the god
Heimdallr
as they carry a dead man to Valhalla (1906) by
Lorenz Frølich
At the end of the
Heimskringla
saga
Hakonar saga goða
, the poem
Hakonarmal
(by the 10th century
skald
Eyvindr skaldaspillir
) is presented. The saga relates that king
Haakon I of Norway
died in battle, and yet though he is Christian, he requests that since he has died "among heathens, then give me such burial place as seems most fitting to you." The saga relates that, shortly after, Haakon died on the same slab of rock that he was born upon, that he was greatly mourned by friend and foe alike, and that his friends moved his body northward to Sæheim in North
Hordaland
. Haakon was there buried in a large burial mound in full armor and his finest clothing, yet with no other valuables. Further, "words were spoken over his grave according to the custom of heathen men, and they put him on the way to Valhalla." The poem
Hakonarmal
is then provided.
[16]
In
Hakonarmal
, Oðinn sends forth the two valkyries Gondul and Skogul to "choose among the kings' kinsmen" and who in battle should dwell with Oðinn in Valhalla. A battle rages with great slaughter. Haakon and his men die in battle, and they see the valkyrie Gondul leaning on a spear shaft. Gondul comments that "groweth now the gods' following, since Hakon has been with host so goodly bidden home with holy godheads." Haakon hears "what the valkyries said," and the valkyries are described as sitting "high-hearted on horseback," wearing helmets, carrying shields and that the horses wisely bore them.
[17]
A brief exchange follows between Haakon and the valkyrie Skogul:
Hakon said:
'Why didst Geirskogul grudge us victory?
though worthy we were for the gods to grant it?'
Skogul said:
'Tis owing to us that the issue was won
and your foemen fled.'
[18]
Skogul says that they shall now ride forth to the "green homes of the godheads" to tell Oðinn that the king will come to Valhalla. In Valhalla, Haakon is greeted by
Hermoðr
and
Bragi
. Haakon expresses concern that he shall receive Oðinn's hate (
Lee Hollander
theorizes this may be due to Haakon's conversion to Christianity from his Norse religion), yet Bragi responds that he is welcome:
'All einheriar shall swear oaths to thee:
share thou the Æsir's ale, thou enemy-of-earls!
Here within hast thou brethren eight,' said Bragi.
[18]
Fagrskinna
[
edit
]
In chapter 8 of
Fagrskinna
, a prose narrative states that, after the death of her husband
Eric Bloodaxe
,
Gunnhild Mother of Kings
had a poem composed about him. The composition is by an anonymous author from the 10th century and is referred to as
Eiriksmal
, and describes Eric Bloodaxe and five other kings arriving in Valhalla after their death. The poem begins with comments by Oðinn:
'What kind of a dream is it,' said Oðinn,
'in which just before daybreak,
I thought I cleared Valh?ll,
for coming of slain men?
I waked the Einherjar,
bade valkyries rise up,
to strew the bench,
and scour the beakers,
wine to carry,
as for a king's coming,
here to me I expect
heroes' coming from the world,
certain great ones,
so glad is my heart.'
[19]
The god Bragi asks where a thundering sound is coming from, and says that the benches of Valhalla are creaking?as if the god Baldr had returned to Valhalla?and that it sounds like the movement of a thousand. Oðinn responds that Bragi knows well that the sounds are for Eric Bloodaxe, who will soon arrive in Valhalla. Oðinn tells the heroes
Sigmund
and
Sinfjotli
to rise to greet Eric and invite him into the hall, if it is indeed he.
[20]
Sigmund asks Oðinn why he would expect Eric more than any other king, to which Oðinn responds that Eric has reddened his gore-drenched sword with many other lands. Eric arrives, and Sigmund greets him, tells him that he is welcome to come into the hall, and asks him what other lords he has brought with him to Valhalla. Eric says that with him are five kings, that he will tell them the name of them all, and that he, himself, is the sixth.
[20]
Theories and proposed etymological connections
[
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]
The 8th-century
Tangelgarda stone
depicts a figure leading a troop of warriors all bearing rings.
Valknut
symbols appear beneath his horse.
According to
John Lindow
, Andy Orchard, and
Rudolf Simek
, scholars have commonly connected the einherjar to the
Harii
, a
Germanic tribe
attested by
Tacitus
in his 1st-century AD work
Germania
.
[21]
[22]
[23]
Tacitus writes:
- As for the Harii, quite apart from their strength, which exceeds that of the other tribes I have just listed, they pander to their innate savagery by skill and timing: with black shields and painted bodies, they choose dark nights to fight, and by means of terror and shadow of a ghostly army they cause panic, since no enemy can bear a sight so unexpected and hellish; in every battle the eyes are the first to be conquered.
[22]
Lindow says that "many scholars think there may be basis for the myth in an ancient Odin cult, which would be centered on young warriors who entered into an ecstatic relationship with Odin and that the name
Harii
has been
etymologically
connected to the
-herjar
element of
einherjar
.
[21]
Simek says that since the connection has become widespread, "one tends to interpret these obviously living armies of the dead as religiously motivated bands of warriors, who led to the formation of the concept of the
einherjar
as well as the
Wild Hunt
[...]". Simek continues that the notion of an eternal battle and daily resurrection appears in book I of
Saxo Grammaticus
'
Gesta Danorum
and in reports of the eternal battle of
Hjaðningavig
.
[23]
According to
Guðbrandur Vigfusson
(1874), the concept of the einherjar links directly to the Old Norse name
Einarr
. Vigfusson comments that "the name Einarr is properly = einheri", and points to a relation to the term with the Old Norse common nouns
einarðr
(meaning "bold") and
einorð
(meaning "valour").
[24]
See also
[
edit
]
Look up
einherjar
in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
Notes
[
edit
]
- ^
Simek, Rudolf (1993).
Dictionary of Northern Mythology
. Translated by Angela Hall. p. 71.
- ^
Orchard (1997:36) and Lindow (2001:104).
- ^
Larrington (1999:46).
- ^
Larrington (1999:54).
- ^
Larrington (1999:57).
- ^
Larrington (1999:59).
- ^
Larrington (1999:119)
- ^
Faulkes (1995:21).
- ^
Faulkes (1995:31).
- ^
Faulkes (1995:32).
- ^
Faulkes (1995:33).
- ^
Faulkes (1995:34).
- ^
Faulkes (1995:54).
- ^
Faulkes (1995:55?56).
- ^
Faulkes (1995:69).
- ^
Hollander (2007:124?125).
- ^
Hollander (2007:125).
- ^
a
b
Hollander (2007:126).
- ^
Finlay (2004:58).
- ^
a
b
Finlay (2004:59).
- ^
a
b
Lindow (2001:104?105).
- ^
a
b
Orchard (1997:36).
- ^
a
b
Simek (2007:71).
- ^
Vigfusson (1874:121).
References
[
edit
]
- Faulkes, Anthony (Trans.) (1995).
Edda
.
Everyman
.
ISBN
0-460-87616-3
- Finlay, Alison (2004).
Fagrskinna, a Catalogue of the Kings of Norway: A Translation with Introduction and Notes
.
Brill Publishers
.
ISBN
90-04-13172-8
- Larrington, Carolyne (Trans.) (1999).
The Poetic Edda
.
Oxford World's Classics
.
ISBN
0-19-283946-2
- Lindow, John
(2001).
Norse Mythology: A Guide to the Gods, Heroes, Rituals, and Beliefs
.
Oxford University Press
.
ISBN
0-19-515382-0
- Hollander, Lee Milton (Trans.) (2007).
Heimskringla: History of the Kings of Norway
.
University of Texas Press
ISBN
978-0-292-73061-8
- Orchard, Andy (1997).
Dictionary of Norse Myth and Legend
.
Cassell
.
ISBN
0-304-34520-2
- Simek, Rudolf (2007) translated by Angela Hall.
Dictionary of Northern Mythology
.
D.S. Brewer
ISBN
0-85991-513-1
- Vigfusson, Gudbrand
(1874).
An Icelandic-English Dictionary: Based on the MS. Collections of the Late Richard Cleasby
.
Oxford at the Clarendon Press
.
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