Death in the Viking town
The Vikings were a great Guerrero town, a town that had to face hard winters, reaping was an arduous task, however they managed to innovate the way of navigating and managed to reach England and other distant countries. And, although they were surpassed in number they managed to conquer a large number of territories. Something that distinguished them from the other warriors is the conception of life after death, in the Christian faith they could only reach paradise if they had received the sacraments and had been good Christians, they were less free, since almost everything was punishable,And much of your profits were directed to the Church.
On the other hand, the Viking concept of paradise is very different, in my opinion it is better, they did not fear death, since you could reach Valhalla.To understand the Valhalla, it would be necessary to investigate how it was created, what it consists of and how it got there. The Valhalla is described in the Poetic Edda and in the prosaic Edda, which is collections of poems that were written in ancient Nordic and are the largest existing source about Scandinavian mythology and Germanic German legends. The Valhalla is located in the Odin Palace, in Asgard, where the warriors by Freja and Las Valkirias are welcome.
It has about five hundred forty doors, there is enough space for all the chosen ones, and all of them will help when the Ragnarök arrives;But those who failed to arrive are sent to Helheim (Kingdom of Darkness) and those who were lost in the sea go to the Hler Palace that is in the background.Helgakviða Hundingsbane II or second song of Helgi Hundingsbane, from stanza 30 to 50 describes the brief visit of Helgi to the Valhalla: “Superior was Helgi to all other king, like the great ash of the zarzay is that cervatillo that pearl theRocíomejor Animal is he that the others and their horns light the skies themselves.»A mound was made for Helgi.
But when he arrived at Valhalla, Odin invited him to govern all things along with him. Helgi said: "You must, oh wet, to all men the feet, turn on the fire, tie the dogs, look at the horses, give the pigs, before going to sleep" . In the gramnismámámal poem (Grimnir’s sayings) a detailed description of the Valhalla is made: “Easily recognize those who come to Odínaquella Mansion; roofing is with antlers, woven with shields, covered the floor of hearts.Thrymheim is the sixth, there inhabited Thjazi, the horrible giant; now he lives Skadi, clear girlfriend of the gods, his father’s former home.
Breidablik is the seventh, and there, Baldrse made a room; on this land well I know there are horrible things.Himinbjörg the eighth, and there, Heimdall governs, they say, the temples; the guardian of the gods drinks in the peaceful mansion, cheerful, the good hydromiel.Fólkvangong the ninth, there Freyja governs the allocation of seats in the rooms; half of the dead choose every day, and half are from Odin.Glitnir the tenth, of gold its foundations, and roofed with silver; and there Foreset lives Menudoy appeases lawsuits.Nóatún La Onceava, and there Njördse made a room; the prince of men, the affable, rigos temples of high walls.”(Laatru.It is, 2018) in Skáldskaparmál ("sayings on poetry") that it is a dialogue between Ægir and the god of Poetry Bragi: "There is a man named Aegir or Hlér: he lived on the island that is now called Hlésey.
It was an expert magician. He traveled to the rágard, but when Aesir knew from his trip, they received him well, although he was caused many hallucinations. And in the afternoon, when they were going to drink, Odín ordered the swords to bring to the palace, and they were so brilliant that there was no other light while they were drinking. Then they were the Aesir to their banquet and sat in their thrones twelve Aesir to judge, and they were called: Thor, Njörd, Frey, Týr, Heimdall, Bragi, Vidar, Vali, Ull, Hoenir, Foresetti, Loki: Likewise Aesirinas: Frigg, Freyja, Gefjun, Idun, Gerd, Sigyn, Fulla and Nanna. Aegeir seemed a superb show. All the walls were covered with beautiful shields: they also got drunk with hydromiel, and they drank a lot.
The one who was sitting next to Aegeir was Bragi, and shared the drink and talk;Bragi told him to say many things that had happened to the Aesir.”(Laatru.It is, 2018) Valhalla, as can be seen is described or mentioned in many poems, since it was where the gods resided and where the warriors aspired to arrive, it is an essential part of the conception of death, since their courage was courageousI would see in the end, a way to justify that they did not die in vain.In my opinion, this conception of value led them to be the great town that they were, they managed to conquer and explore several European territories such as England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, France and Russia, and colonized Iceland, Greenland and Vinland, according to Sagas.
What makes them different from other Western cultures, is that in general in others it is about preserving life, even today try to extend the life of the human being, the way in which a culture lives is isDetermined by his conception of death, but it must be accepted that it is the destiny of all, the end of the road, then, it is better to fear death and try to prolong life or accept that it is our destiny and expect to die with courage to enter to enterAl Valhalla.
Death for these Scandinavian peoples was an opportunity to be remembered, since if you were a good warrior and you died with honor and courage, sagas would be written in your honor and when you arrived at the Valhalla would be celebrated and there you would find your brothers and your loved ones, the need to be remembered has been very important for the human being since the beginning of time, we all leave this world, but if you think there is something beyond death and you know that someone is going to remember you can goIn peace, you are not alone in the uncertainty that as soon as you die you will fall into a vacuum, in the dark.
Today the Valhalla continues to influence popular culture, not in the same way, but it still has a presence and has not been forgotten, for example in the 1800 the monument to the Walhalla was made by order of Luis I of Baviera to exhibitBusts of German illustrres of antiquity, you can also find references to the Valhalla in music, art and literature, for example the Nibelungo ring (der Ring des nibelungen) are four epic operas composed of Richard Wagner between 1848 and 1874 thatIncludes the gold of the Rin (Das Rheingold), the Valquiria (Die Walküre), Sigfrido (Siegfried) and the sunset of the gods (Götterdämmerung).
The Valhalla is still important today, but not to the same extent as it was for the Scandinavian peoples, for the Viking warrior death was an aspiration, the heroes of the Sagas dictated what was desirable, the right thing;Life was a career and death was destiny, the most important thing, but the road should be brave, and its reward was worth it, a slightly crude conception of life, but thanks to it they became a great town thatinfluenced a lot and continues to influence the culture of many countries around the world.
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