History of Valhalla

In Norse mythology, Valhalla is a majestic and huge hall located in Ásgarðr, the divine world ruled by Odin. When a Norse died in battle he could end up in two different places: one half had been personally chosen by Odin, to whom he had gone accompanying himself to Valhalla from the Valkyries, while the other half went instead to the Fólkvangr, a field dominated by the goddess Freia. Once in Valhalla, the dead gathered together with Odin to prepare for the events of the terrible Ragnarök. In the hall was placed a golden tree, the Glasir, and the ceiling of the hall was adorned with golden shields.

Valhalla is mentioned in the poetic Edda and in a few lines of an unknown 10th century poem commemorating the death of Eric Bloodaxe. Additionally, Valhalla has inspired many works of art and has become a term synonymous with martial hall.

The modern English term "Valhalla" derives from the Old Norse Valhöll, a name consisting of two elements: "valr" and "höll". Valr in other Germanic languages indicates the massacre, the carnage, the battlefield and the bloodbath. While the second term "höll" is an old Scandinavian name that still refers to the modern English room today. It literally means "covered place, room" and follows the Proto-Indo-European root.

Calvert Watkinshave, an American philologist and linguist, believes the Scandinavian term appealed to a name originating from another place in the afterlife, but the name is often used for a supernatural female entity who oversees it, as is the modern German name . "Hell" (Hölle). In Sweden, some mountains were traditionally considered as abodes of the dead, calling them Valhall, furthermore it is believed that "höll" may derive from hallr (rock) and therefore the term originally referred to an underground world and not to a hall.

Odin describes Valhalla, the shining gold, located in the kingdom of Glaðsheimr. There, every day Odin chooses those who fell in battle. The roof of the hall rests on spears, its roof is made up of shields and its benches are made of armor. A wolf hangs in front of its western door and an eagle flies over it.

Odin reveals other details about Valhalla: Valgrind is the name of the door placed in front of its doors which are five hundred and forty and through each of which eight hundred Einherjar can pass at the same time. This will happen when the Einherjar comes out to face the wolf Fenrir during Ragnarök. In Valhalla, the Heiðrún goat and Eikþyrnir the deer graze the fronds of the Læraðr tree, which grows in the hall. Heiðrún produces the inevitable mead as water drips from the horns of Eikiryrnir which forms the abyssal spring of Hvergelmir, from which all the waterways of the cosmos originate.

the hero Helgi Hundingsbane dies and sets out on a journey to Valhalla.

The prose follows after this verse, stating that a burial mound was dedicated to Helgi on his arrival in Valhalla, Odin asked Helgi to take care of some chores. , tie up the dogs, keep an eye on the horses and feed the pigs before he can go to sleep. Helgi returns to Midgard from Valhalla with a host of men. An unnamed young maid in the service of Sigrun, the wife of Helgi's Valkyrie, saw Helgi and her great band riding into the mound.

The concept of Valhalla continues to have an influence in modern culture. Some examples include the Walhalla Temple built by Leo von Klenze on behalf of Ludwig I of Bavaria around 1830-1847 in Germany. While in England, we have a museum built by August Smith around 1830 to house the figureheads of ships stranded on the Isles of Scilly.