Undirheimar Ep5 Eljudnir, Valhalla, Folkvangr, conclusion

[@keeperoftruth5951]

Thank you for such great content Martin. Hard to find a lot of these topics in English.

[@tribeofthefox]

Thanks, Keeperoftruth :-). It is hard to find these topics in any lanquage i guess. Both Dirkje and me are very selective in what we read. We read mostly Dutch books but also some English lanquage books. But in the end it is all about sitting down and journey. And even then there are a million things we don't figure out.

[@iollan286]

As far as I can tell, Valhalla seems to be not a place where people go who died on the battlefield, to relive the trauma of their deaths. Rather, it seems to be a place where those who are especially dedicated to the gods, go in order to endure harsh, rigorous training so that they may be reborn as good, noble, honorable men in their next lives. It seems that the suffering they endure is intended to train them to be effective servants of the gods when they are reborn. It seems that those who go to Valhalla are not sent there as punishment, nor go there by accident. Rather, it seems that they volunteer deliberately to go to Valhalla, purposely in order to endure the harsh training there, specifically because they are faithful and loyal to the gods, and want to serve them above all else. I know the eddas say that the einherjar remain in Valhalla until they are released to fight alongside Odin at Ragnarok. However, I see Ragnarok as simply a metaphor for the time of death and rebirth through which everything passes in an eternal cycle. Therefore when the eddas say that the einherjar will be released from Valhalla to fight alongside Odin at Ragnarok, I would take that as a metaphor for the einherjar being reborn into Midgard once again, to once again spend their lives fighting bravely for what is true and right. As for Folkvangr, it seems to be the same thing as Valhalla, except that Valhalla is for those who are to be reborn as good, noble, honorable men in their next lives, and so is ruled by Odin, a male god, whereas Folkvangr is for those who are to be reborn as good, noble, honorable women in their next lives, and so is ruled by Freya, a female goddess. As for the suffering which the einherjar endure, I have to assume that the suffering which the einherjar in Valhalla endure is meant to train them to face male hardships and struggles, and that the suffering which the einherjar in Folkvangr endure is meant to train them to face female hardships and struggles.

[@tribeofthefox]

Interesting theory! Thanks for sharing this :-).