Middle Georgia Norse Pagan Kindred

09/06/2026

Gersemi and Hnoss are minor twin goddesses in Norse mythology who embody beauty and precious treasures.

Family and Background

Parents: They are the daughters of the major Vanir goddess Freyja and the elusive god Óðr.

Lineage: Their uncle is Freyr, making them part of the Vanir tribe of deities.

Relationship: Most traditions describe them as identical twin sisters, and some scholars suggest they may represent two names for the exact same mythological figure.

Meaning of Their Names

Hnoss: Her Old Norse name translates directly to "treasure" or "jewel". According to Snorri Sturluson’s Prose Edda, she is so lovely that whatever is beautiful and valuable is named hnossir (treasures) after her.

Gersemi: Her Old Norse name also means "treasure" or "costly thing". Like her sister, her name became a descriptive noun in Old Norse used to designate precious and lovely objects.

Role in the Sagas

Scarcity of Myths: Neither sister actively participates in any major surviving narrative or plot in Norse mythology.

The Sources: They are known primarily through references in Snorri Sturluson's Gylfaginning and Skáldskaparmál (citing the 12th-century skald Einarr Skúlason).

09/06/2026

Bestla is a giantess (jötunn, a member of the ancient race of frost giants) in Norse mythology who is the mother of the chief gods Odin, Vili, and Vé.

Family and Lineage

Parents: She is the daughter of the giant Bölþorn.

Siblings: She has an unnamed brother. Many scholars believe this brother is Mímir, the wise guardian of the well of knowledge.

Husband: She married Borr, the son of Buri (the first god created).

Children: She gave birth to Odin, Vili, and Vé, the three brothers who defeated the primordial giant Ymir and created the world.

Key Roles and Mentions

Mother of Gods: Odin is frequently called "Bestla's son" in ancient Norse poetry and stories.

Cosmic Link: Her marriage to Borr connects the primal, chaotic world of the giants with the ordered world of the Æsir gods.

09/06/2026

09/06/2026

Knattleikr is an ancient Norse and Icelandic ball game characterized by extreme physical violence, heavy wooden bats, and all-day endurance matches.

How the Game Was Played

The Setup: Teams played on large flat fields or frozen lakes, often running from early morning until nightfall.

Equipment: Players used wooden bats or sticks (called kattr or knattsprettr) to strike a hard, heavy ball similar in size and weight to a modern baseball.

The Rules: Exact written scoring rules did not survive in the Sagas of Icelanders, but matches featured team captains, referees, penalty boxes, and heavy body contact.

Combat: Wrestling, tackling, and hitting opponents with both the ball and sticks were standard parts of the sport, frequently resulting in broken bones.

Social Purpose

Conflict Resolution: Matches served as a controlled outlet for community rivalries, but they regularly escalated into real-world feuds or physical violence.

Testing Status: The brutal sport tested a man's physical strength alongside his emotional restraint under extreme pressure.

Key Sagas Featuring Knattleikr

Egil's Saga: Features a famous scene where a young 12-year-old Egil Skallagrímsson gets heavily bruised during a match. Angered by losing and being struck by an older boy, Egil later retaliates by splitting his opponent's skull with an axe.

Grettir's Saga: Describes intense gameplay with a hard ball that caused severe bleeding and injuries upon impact.

Gísli's Saga: Details bitter disputes and community rifts that routinely erupted from competitive matches.

09/05/2026

The kraken is a legendary, giant sea monster from Scandinavian and Norse folklore said to dwell in the deep waters off the coast of Norway, Iceland, and Greenland.

- Origins and History

Early roots: Tales of massive sea beasts date back to the 12th and 13th centuries in Old Norse literature, including references in the Orvar-Oddr saga where characters encounter island-like sea monsters (hafgufa).

The Name: The word comes from the Norwegian word krake, which means an unhealthy animal or something twisted and crooked.

Formal descriptions: In the 18th century, Danish-Norwegian bishop Erik Pontoppidan wrote detailed accounts of the beast in his Natural History of Norway, describing it as a floating, island-sized creature with many arms.

- Mythical Powers and Description

Appearance: Folklore paints it as a colossal cephalopod, resembling a giant octopus or squid. Stories claimed it was so huge that its back looked like an island when it surfaced.

Attacking ships: Sailors feared the monster because it could wrap its powerful tentacles around a ship and crush it.

Whirlpools: It was believed that when the beast plunged back down into the ocean depths, it created massive whirlpools that could suck nearby ships underwater.

- Real-World Inspiration

Giant Squid: Scientists believe the legend comes from real-life sightings of the giant squid, which grows to enormous lengths and lives in the deep ocean.

09/05/2026

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09/04/2026

Jörmungandr, also called the Midgard Serpent, is a monstrous sea snake in Norse mythology that grows large enough to encircle the entire world

- Family and Early Life

Parents: He is the son of the trickster god Loki and the giantess Angrboða.

Siblings: His brother is the giant wolf Fenrir, and his sister is Hel, the queen of the underworld.

Banishment: Odin throws the young serpent into the deep ocean because the gods fear a dark prophecy about him.

- The World Serpent

Size: The serpent lives in the great ocean and grows until his body wraps all the way around the earth of Midgard.

Tail Biting: He holds his own tail in his mouth, forming a giant circle like an ouroboros.

Symbol: He represents the boundary of the world, chaos, and the grim inevitability of fate.

- Rivalry with Thor

Arch-Enemies: Jörmungandr and the thunder god Thor hate each other deeply.

The Fishing Trip: Thor once goes fishing in a boat and catches the serpent on his hook. Before Thor can kill him, a terrified giant cuts the fishing line, letting the monster sink back into the deep water.

- Ragnarök

The Final Battle: When the end of the world arrives, Jörmungandr lets go of his tail and wriggles onto the land, poisoning the sky and sea.

Mutual Destruction: Thor strikes the serpent with his hammer, Mjölnir, and kills the beast. However, Thor takes only nine steps before he collapses and dies from the snake's venom.

09/04/2026

Arve of Grimfrost with Professor Henrik Williams of Uppsala University at the amazing Rök runestone.

Professor Williams is one of the world leading runologists and he may very well have solved the final riddles and mysteries of the Rök runestone.

It was a privilege to hear him explain them in person at the actual runestone.

09/03/2026

Alvíss is a dwarf in Norse mythology whose name means "All-Wise". He is best known from the Alvíssmál poem in the Poetic Edda.

The Story of Alvíss and Thor

The Betrothal: Alvíss came to Asgard to claim Thor's daughter, Þrúðr (Thrud), as his bride, stating she had been promised to him while Thor was away.

The Trick: Disliking the match, Thor did not use brute force. Instead, he claimed that because the dwarf was so small, he had to prove his vast wisdom to win the bride.

The Wisdom Test: Thor forced Alvíss to name various cosmological elements—such as the earth, heaven, sun, and moon—in the distinct languages of men, gods, elves, vanir, giants, and dwarves.

The Petrification: Alvíss answered every single question correctly, but Thor prolonged the contest until dawn. Because he was a dwarf, the first rays of sunlight turned Alvíss into stone.