Harald Fairhair Harald Fairhair (Old Norse: Haraldr hárfagri, Norwegian: Harald Hårfagre; c. 850 – c. 932) was remembered by medieval historians as the first King of Norway. According to traditions current in Norway and Iceland in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, he reigned from c. 872 to 930. Most of his life remains uncertain, since the extant accounts of his life in the sagas were set down in writing around three centuries after his lifetime. Background[edit] The only[citation needed] contemporary sources mentioning him are the two skaldic poems Haraldskvæði and Glymdrápa, which have been attributed to Þorbjörn Hornklofi or alternatively (in the case of the first poem) to Þjóðólfr of Hvinir. His life is described in several of the Kings' sagas. Saga descriptions[edit] The unification of Norway is something of a love story. The earliest narrative source which mentions Harald, Íslendingabók notes that Iceland was settled during his lifetime. Later life[edit] Haraldshaugen Issue[edit] Other children:
A history of the Viking world – in 10 extraordinary objects | Art and design New Valkyrie, 800 This little pendant from Denmark was unearthed just over a year ago. It is the only known three-dimensional Viking-age valkyrie. Literally "choosers of the slain", valkyries were imagined as terrifying spirits of war and companions of the god Odin, female figures who ushered dead warriors from the battlefield to Valhöll, the hall of the slain (called Valhalla by the Victorians). Figures like this may represent a range of supernatural forces including goddesses, valkyries or spirits. Weighing scales, 1000-1200 Contact with the Islamic world introduced the use of precious metals as a means of exchange in the ninth century. Hunterston brooch, 700 Our stereotypical view of the Vikings is bloodthirsty raiders, destroying everything they came across. Vale of York Hoard, 900s This is the whole Viking world in one cup. Hogback tombstone, ninth-11th centuries Ardnamurchan burial, late ninth/early 10th century Hiddensee hoard, late 10th century Winchester manuscript, 1031
Odin Major god in Norse mythology Odin (;[1] from Old Norse: Óðinn, IPA: [ˈoːðinː]) is a widely revered god in Germanic mythology. In Norse mythology, from which stems most surviving information about the god, Odin is associated with wisdom, healing, death, royalty, the gallows, knowledge, war, battle, victory, sorcery, poetry, frenzy, and the runic alphabet, and is the husband of the goddess Frigg. In wider Germanic mythology and paganism, the god was known in Old English as Wōden, in Old Saxon as Wōdan, and in Old High German as Wuotan. Odin is a prominently mentioned god throughout the recorded history of the Germanic peoples, from the Roman occupation of regions of Germania through the tribal expansions of the Migration Period and the Viking Age. In Old English texts, Odin holds a particular place as a euhemerized ancestral figure among royalty, and he is frequently referred to as a founding figure among various other Germanic peoples, such as the Langobards. Attestations[edit] 36.
Board Game: VIKINGS: The North American Saga This is an old Norse game that is found in many Viking and Norse sites. It consists of a board (which can be cardboard or even paper) and game pieces. Students can make their own board and playing pieces and challenge each other to games until there are two champions of the class. The appendix includes a starting board layout and information on the game. The Old Norse played and a lot of board and card games in the winter. Can you guess why? Hnefatafl (or hneftafl) [Nhev-eh-TAH-full] means the "king's board or game". SET-UP: Hnefatafl simulates a Viking raid. On the set-up diagram (above) attacking warriors are represented by the horizontal striped circles while the defenders are vertically striped. For our game, the attackers are made of antler disks, the defenders of glass drops, and the king is pewter. The attackers' goal is to capture the king. This can be done by surrounding the king on all four sides of the center square. Players play only one piece at a turn.
Werewolf witch trials The Werewolf witch trials were witch trials combined with werewolf trials. Belief in werewolves developed parallel to the belief in witches, in the course of the Late Middle Ages and the Early Modern period. Like the witchcraft trials as a whole, the trial of supposed werewolves emerges in what is now Switzerland (especially the Valais and Vaud) in the early 15th century and spreads throughout Europe in the 16th, peaking in the 17th and subsiding by the 18th century. The persecution of werewolves and the associated folklore is an integral part of the "witch-hunt" phenomenon, albeit a marginal one, accusations of werewolfery being involved in only a small fraction of witchcraft trials.[1] Estonia[edit] In Estonia, accusations of magic, which were often about enchanted potions, were rare, while the belief in magic was common. Thiess[edit] The werewolf was not always regarded as evil in the Baltic. Hans the Werewolf[edit] See also[edit] References and sources[edit] References Sources Elmar M.
HERBAL CORRESPONDENCES: Magic Herbs - Herb Magick Herbs, resins, and other organic materials can be used in a variety of forms such as their natural form, dried, or in oils, powders, and incenses. And while there may be differences in the way they are used, the properties of the herbs and resins and their effects remain the same. Herb applies to a wide range of plants, including: grasses, trees, shrubs, weeds, roots, barks, and the flowers of any plant used for healing, magic spells and rituals, witchcraft, Wicca, or other purposes. Herbs and their by-products have been used for thousands of years by humans and other animals for healing. Herbs have many possible uses: Charms and Sachets Incense Bath Oils Teas The correspondences listed here include each herb's botanical name, common name, ruling planet, dominant element, any associated deity, and its magical properties. The first two lists are "quick and dirty" references. SUN: peony, sunflower, saffron, cinnamon, laurel MOON: hyssop, rosemary, moonflower, moonwort, garlic Dill: Love.
Wulfing The Wulfing navy on the move, an illustration from the poems on the Wulfing Helgi Hundingsbane The Wulfings, Wylfings or Ylfings[Note 1] (the name means the "wolf clan") was a powerful clan in Beowulf, Widsith and in the Norse sagas. While the poet of Beowulf does not locate the Wulfings geographically, Scandinavian sources define the Ylfings (the Old Norse form of the name) as the ruling clan of the Eastern Geats.[1] In Old Norse sources, the clan figure prominently in the Heimskringla and in Sögubrot, where Hjörvard and his son Hjörmund belong to it. It is also mentioned in the Lay of Hyndla and in Skáldskaparmál where Eiríkr the Wise was one of its members. However, its most famous member was Helgi Hundingsbane who had two poems of his own (Helgakviða Hundingsbana I and Helgakviða Hundingsbana II), in the Poetic Edda, and whose story is also retold in the Völsunga saga. Location[edit] According to the Norse sagas, the Wulfings ruled the Geatish petty kingdom of Östergötland. [edit]
Spiritual Spells: Herbal Magick Book of Shadows Many Wiccans, Pagans, Magicians, and Conjure folk pride themselves on their knowledge of herbs, and which ones can be used in which ways. Every herb and root has a medicinal and a magical property of some sort. Each shows its properties by its form, shape, and spirit; this is the Doctrine of Signatures. The herbs used in Witchcraft and Wicca magick are not always the same as those used in Conjure, so we provide two lists here, covering the most popular herbs in both traditions. Two books that we recommend to our own Coven members, and which we believe will set you on the path of discovery about the wonderful subject of herbal spell-crafting are: