Hey Brat-halla readers,
Curiosity caught up with me recently (don’t worry, I’m not a cat) and I was wondering something… how familiar with Norse mythology were you before finding Brat-halla? If you were familiar with the mythos, how did you learn about it (books, shows, comics, etc)?
I’d consider myself very familiar with Norse mythology before my Brat-halla days, and most of my knowledge was originally from books. In the fifth and sixth grade, the public library was right across the street from my school, and I would go there every day after school to read (as one of those scrawny straight-A students, I found the place to be mysteriously bully-free) . After I got through reading all the Hardy Boys, Nancy Drews and Encyclopedia Browns (the mystery phase hit between my science fiction and fantasy novel phases), I drifted into the mythology books. That’s where it all began for me.
I was somewhat familiar with Norse mythology. I read a few books on the Greeks and was curious about the other pantheons. But I really only knew the basics; Thor, Odin, Loki, Ragnarok, Balder. It was all pretty cool, but my interest in all mythology waned after a bit.
Brat-Halla actually got me re-interested in Norse mythology, especially what little is written about Hermod. The cute little speedster needs more to do. *subtle hint*
@Tygie – The little speedster will be one of the leads in the next storyline… just letting ya know. ^_^
When I was about 7, my father finished half the garage, and moved my brother and I out there and there was one book shelf with his old school stuff, and a copy of a text book on Greek mythology. For years it frustrated me, being the only book in the entire house I couldn’t actually understand. I took every opportunity to learn mythology so I could understand the bloody thing, and chanced into some Norse in the hunt.
I’m not a expert on the subject matter, and I suspect most of what I’ve picked up has been scrubbed for young readers, but I can read the comic without having to run for a reference book every time you make a joke or introduce a new character.
Some mythology books, some Language Arts, some Ah! My Goddess, a little Symphony of the Sword via eyrie.net, that’s about it.
I ditto Bounty in that I also enjoyed the fact that I didn’t have to run towards a wiki/textbook to understand most of the jokes or know about any of the characters beyond my vague recollections to enjoy the comic. You’ve got a good thing going, here.
Norse mythologi is “childrens godnightstories” for us. When it was thunderweather the eldery said: Thor is angry or Freya is angry.
If red cloud passes fast over the sky its the “Ride of the Valkyrians” and so on.
I’ve actually been religiously involved in Nordic religions of Asatru, and Odinizm for about the last 23 years. I learned from friends parents in Denmark and a few other Nordic countries.
Well, this is my first time posting. I discovered this comic on Tuesday next week and proceeded to completely slack off work until I caught up.
I just wanted to say, guys this is an awesome comic. I am really enjoying it … you manage to keep the laughs coming while writing a gripping storyline and liekable characters. Keep up the good work.
And, now on toic, I knew a bit about Norse mythology. Got into via Greek myth (as a youngster) and a truly excellent book by Neil Gaiman called “American Gods”. But I also only knew the basics and have enjoyed learning more while reading this.
Anyway, just wanted to give you guys some encouragement. You have a firm fan here!
I’ve been a mythology buff for years…
Hel, I once corrected my Mythology professor, in front of the whole class.
(So much for my A…)
I started with the Greek myths back in elementary school and soon ran through the entire mythology section in the library. Then I moved onto Lord of the Rings and Science Fiction. Since my grandfather was from Norway, I was always interested in the Norse pantheon other than the one presented by Thor in Marvel comics. I also enjoy some of the old sagas, if they have been translated well, I can’t stand trying to decode the old prose, movies, museums and the occasionally we done viking movie. I probably know the Norse gods the best of all the myths, unless you ask me to spell their names.
I read the Lord of the Rings in middle school, and fell in love with it. I then also began researching like material at the library. Norse mythology filled that void. I bring up Lord of the Rings because I eventually realized that Tolkien ripped a lot of his material right out of Norse myth and legend. I guess every writer has his muse!
Norse myth, he says. I’ve actually known some of it (and been learning it) for quite some time before I set eyes on Brat-halla. I don’t even remember how I managed to stumble across the comic; I just know that it hooked me ’cause there was this jubilant little part of my brain that went, “WOOOOO NORSE MYTH!” and that was that.
Also. Best. Loki. Ever. Just thought I’d say that.
I’m with most of the other posters who were into mythology, but really only knew a lot about Greek and Roman myths. I’ve heard of most of the big stuff, but couldn’t have picked the other guys out of a lineup before reading this comic.
BTW you guys are doing a great job – love the comic!
Every thing I know about Norse mythology I learned from Jack Kirby.
Started out with my Dad relating Greek and Russian myth cycles when I was really young.. Check out Chernobog and Koschei for some Loki-type behavior.. I got into the Norse cycle in middle school(a game called Faxanadu prompted it), and I run into more Norse references in Western culture than any other mythos(save Lovecraft.. wonder why). Have you checked out the connection between the word Aesir with the ancient Zarathustran word for demon? It was Aesir. The proto-indo-european language is RIFE with coincidences like that. Makes one think. The world’s myth cycles all follow a pretty similar thread, even when you get over here to the States and it’s Native population. Odin’s Ravens sound awfully similar to the Raven of Haida myth, and of course anything with feathers once you get into the Meso-American cultures. Snakes and birds.
I’d read a lot of sagas (and wrote the TSR game Saga), knew the vanir/aesir and the seid magic cycles, and a fair amount of the basics. Memorized some of the classic lines (e.g. “No man should trust a woman’s words, or what a woman speaks, spun on a wheel are women’s hearts …” and “Naked stand I, men are treacherous too, fairest they speak when foulest they think, many a maid is decieved”).
I really enjoy the webcomic.
I am also a follower of the old ways like Nigmatica but only for the past 8 years actively. I have read both of the Eddas a couple of times and several of the Sagas. I have taken 2 classes at the university on Norse classics and am currently involved in a class learning and translating Old Norse. My minor is in Scandinavian Studies.
I heard about this comic from another reader that was in my kindred. I have to say that I agree with Joline about Loki. And so that you know, my professor that taught all those Norse classes reads the comic and doesn’t cringe like she does on so many other things. She even referenced it in class as one of the more amusing and somewhat accurate renditions of the gods personalities (except for the whole back to little kids thing).
Keep up the good work and bring back HOD!!!
I’m a practicing Heathen. So I’ve been working hard to familiarize myself with the Sagas and Eddas and Archeological Findings of my spiritual Ancestors for that past 5-6 years.
My girlfriend was the one who found this web-comic, I spent the next two days catching up with all I missed.
Members of the Kindred I attend for Blots love my new Thor Hoodie I got for Yule (what lied beneath was my new Loki T-Shirt! Muahahah!)
I got started as a general mythology interest when I was pretty young and found a book of Greek myths in the local library. I drifted into other cosmologies from there, including Norse. Most of them I’ve forgotten, but Norse and Greek/Roman are the ones that have stuck with me.
Plus, I’m an anime fan, and the Ah! My Goddess OVAs were some of the first things I saw, so that re-sparked the interest.
I have to say I didn’t know a whole lot about Norse mythology. I knew a little bit about Thor and Loki from what Marvel batched up (or botched, depending on your point of view) and picked up some more from the video game Too Human (which gets a lot of it surprisingly right, if you can suffer through it), plus a dash about Odin from an English class back in the seventh grade. I know enough to get the gist of what’s on Brat-halla, but there could be some things I miss on occassion.
Still, that doesn’t inhibit the enjoyment I get out of reading this comic at all. You’ve truly managed to create something wonderful, and I still go through the archives every now and then and read the whole strip for kicks. Keep up the amazing work!
I’ve known about Norse myths since I read my fathers comics when I was around 3 or 4 yrs.
Then of course I had the obligatory school education in fourth grade and around eight grade I realized I properly should begin to call myself asatru.
Now I very dedicated to finding Norse myth in modern literature/film/comics, drawing funny stories with the gods myself and being a gydja in my local blòt-guild.
And as a scientist I’m a devote Loki-worshiper, as I believe hes the one your should use when you are dealing with gene manipulation and other suspicious skills.
My first exposure to Norse mythology was reading Thor comics at my grandpa’s barber shop.
I think it was seventh or eighth grade when I went from obsessively reading Greek myths to obsessively reading Norse myths. That lasted for a year, but then it seemed that a lot of really good fantasy novels would refer to that mythos or use it as the base for the story. That’s why I started reading Brathalla in the first place. It’s been fun remembering details from years ago.
I first got into mythology when I was very young, via our family set of Childcraft books–a set of reference books for children, for those of you who haven’t had the pleasure. As I got older, I sought out mythology books at the library to learn more, and I eventually came across a books of Norse myth round about the fifth grade. While I would say I’m generally better versed in Greek myth than Norse, I know enough that I rarely need to look up a reference from this comic.
I am very familiar with the mythology, which is what drew me to the comic.
–Colin
Being Asatru this is a bit more than myth to me. So I have to say I have been familiar with the gods and godesses of the Norse since childhood.
Find this comic very entertaining.
When I was very young we moved around a lot and I never really got a chance to do much reading other than what my mother had in her collection (mostly sci-fi and fantasy – fairies, wizards, dragons… that sort of stuff). The only time I really got into the whole Norse (and other) myths was when I was in my late teens and discovered that several of my friends were religiously into the various pantheons (they were pagan, wiccan, asatru, etc). With a bit of prompting from my friends (and the loan of some of their books) i managed to read and understand a bit more. Sadly I still don’t quite understand it as some things are very contradictory, but at least I know enough to laugh in the right spots
As for the comic itself, I found it around the Christmas holidays while surfing for more comics to read online. I actually read it twice over and even looked up some of the references so I could understand it better. I don’t really have a favourite character, I love them all… they are all quite fun in their own ways. I even showed the comic to a few of my friends and they howled with delight.
Like a couple of others here, I’m a practicing Heathen. I learned a lot of the myths my Norwegian Grandmother, and more from luking in the library.
I discovered the comic a short while ago. Very funny.
I’ve been into mythology (mainly Greco-Roman and Norse) for as long as I can remember, starting with tales from my Great-grandfather, who died when I was 5. I do know that I was given a copy of Bullfinch for Christmas when I was 6 (I was an early reader) and whenever I had money, I tended to spend it on books about folk tales or dinosaurs (but that’s another story). In high school I discovered Wagner, Tolkien, and sci-fi/fantasy and started reading Marvel’s Thor (from the start – but didn’t deem it worth buying my own copy until the 10th issue).
I came into Brat-halla with a deep background, but I am still learning from you. I especially love your interpretation of Hel, by the by, and the interplay of the varied pantheons.
I’ve fallen inlove with mythology when i was around 12 years old. Ofcourse at the time it was just greek, i never paid much attention to norse. As an anime fan though I stumbled upon Matantei Loki ( a anime that like a cross of detective conan and norse mythology) that got me really interested in Norse. i started reading their stories then.
The comic was introduced to me by my boyfriend. I love the fact that you brought the other pantheons in, and the rivalry. (i loved the interpretation of the reek and roman being one group XD). I also liked the way you protrayed the characters in their child stage. Hod was never really a favorite of mine, he was the boring one for me, but in this comic he’s becime my favorite (especially the hod comics).
Been into Norse beliefs for about 18 years now, and knew of the old tales for…longer than that.
Pleasantly surprised to see other Asatruar here. Ves thu hael!
We learnt about Norse mythology at school when I was about ten. This was a Waldorf school in Scotland, though, and before the introduction of the National Curriculum, when it was okay to teach kids useful and interesting stuff instead of the pre-packaged, boil-in-the-bag crap that passes for education these days…
…Sorry. Nearly diverted onto my favourite rant there. Focus…
We were taught a hell of a lot, looking back. Pretty much everything you’ve referenced here is sparking memories of my old teacher telling us the stories, and the images my young mind associated with them. I always loved Loki best of all; Stealing Sif’s hair “for a laugh” (and the image of Sif lying asleep, clad only in her hair, was probably another formative mental image, but let’s not go there right now…), he was the archetypal naughty kid. To begin with, at least. I wasn’t best pleased when he went all dark and unpleasant…
Oh, and Hod and Hel have become new favourites of mine since I met your interpretation. And Frigg is one hot momma of a goddess, too…
So, yes, I was familiar with the mythology, but in a vaguely-remembered, back-of-the-mind kind of a way. Enough to get the references in “American Gods” and “The Long, Dark Teatime of the Soul” and, more relevantly, in Brat-Halla.
Top comic, by the way.
I study archaeology and Scandinavian languages with a focus on Old Norse. So I’ve both read and translated my share of sagas and eddic poetry.
Found the comic by chance (Probably some other webcomic linked here)
I was going to reply to everyone individually, but wow, this was a great response–thanks, everyone for participating. I see a number of people here that know more about the Norse than I do. I like that. But it’s also good to hear that the comic relates to people with such a wide range of knowledge of the Norse.
The primary reasons for this research… I was putting together a Norse reference section, and I was wondering whether I should make it a generic reference section or link it directly to the characters in the character description pages I’m building (to keep the references specific to the characters in Brat-halla). I’m thinking I should just go ahead and do both.
Thanks again, everyone. Your comments have given me some good ideas for stuff to put into these reference sections. It’s also inspired some new ideas for future Brat-halla stories too.
Norse Mythology you say.
lucky for me i grew up with these stories. just hearing about the adventures of Þór ( Thor) Loka ( Loki) Óðinn ( Odin) and all the rest just became a part of me. When reading the hobbit for the first time in english and reading the sagas and pros for class i realised that Tolkien had taken all the names for the dwarfs from Völuspá and even Gandalf was a name for a dwarf there. I consider my self very lucky being able to read the stories of the Æsir in the mother language. oh and if you didn’t know already where i might come from i am an Icelander.
great comic by the way. got my intressed again in the ancient believes again
After reading all those above me, I kind of feel… lame with how I found out about Norse Mythology. I had always kind of found the Egyptian mythology to be extremely interesting, and as such, when Age of Mythology came out as a PC game, I jumped on it. Through that I became more acquainted with the Norse, and it just kind of took off from there. Since then, I’ve been reading and exploring more and more of the world’s mythologies, though Norse, Egyptian and Aztec are still (and probably always will be) my personal favorites.
Interestingly enough, I discovered Norse mythology through graphic novels when I was a kid. Danish writer/illustrator Peter Madsen (as linked). I grew up with his comics and the animated movie, plus what I later read and was taught in school, being Danish and all. Sadly, it doesn’t seem like the comics or the movie was ever translated to English, but have a look on the website to see how a Dane interpreted the Norse gods in comic book form (and how they are thusly seen in the mind’s eye of most Danes aged 10-35)
Well, I did miss out on the Egyptian/African pantheons until High School, but they were about as chaotic as you can get.. although Up’uat and Thoth were fascinating characters, along with everyone’s favorite divine mortal Imhotep(the great architect). And Seth would give Loki a run for his money, in my opinion.. You should also check out Zulu myth cycles, look for a god by the name D’lata. Very nasty individual, made Shaka seem like pablum. And, as I recall, I read a few papers attempting to link Isis cult worship to fertility Goddess’s around the would, and Frigg falls into that category.
Honestly, I’d love to see all the Gods and Demi-Gods of chaos and evil in a story.. talk about plots within plots.. and what about Skoll, the wolf that will eventually catch the Sun and eat it, leaving the world to freeze, with the frozen fish thinking their frozen thoughts? My Lord(meant in an un-ironic manner, I’m a Christian, believe it or not), I love mythology. The different facets of the same attributes reflected throughout the world is fascinating. Even Thor’s laziness falls into line with with Lazy Dragon (Lung somthing.. memory is hazy this early).. He was lord of storms and floods, but his laziness resulted in drought and famine, and he was eventually exiled to Earth for his trouble making. As I recall, didn’t Thor do some mortal time as well?
I was a big mythology buff for awhile, so I’ve read many of the myths from many pantheons before now. Course then theres also the Scion games I’ve played, and the Valkryie webcomic there -> http://www.sgvy.com/ , and also reading the old Thor DC comic (which was of course, not so much well either). So not much counts as accurate except the traditional myths, but the others are fun too.
Enjoyed mythology in grade school. My introduction to the Norse mythos was in Junior High with The Children of Odin:
http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/ice/coo/index.htm
Have been reading the sagas and mythology since i was a little kid.
Being Icelandic it is part of my heritage, i am also a practicing member of Ásatrú(Norse Religion) and a member of Viking re-enactment and crafts groups.
Stumbled upon this comic through a link from i think it was Menage a 3 but could have been LFGComic, Least i could do or Userfriendly.(yes i read WAY too many web comics)
HKG
I’ve read books (fiction mostly), and as a result I’m familiar with the terms. I also learned about vikings in school (seafarers who liked to wear silly hats were very interesting for me). I even resarched them for an art mythology project, but I ended up going with greek. I was always a fan of Loki and Valkyries. Strong, scary women who kicked ass, what’s not to like?
I did not envy them their skimpy leathers, I mean hell, they lived in northern Europe where it’s cold 3/4 of the year. Talk about drafty. I followed this comic cos it was about norse mythology.
Er, I’d say it was probably mostly metal that got me interested in specifically Norse mythology. Like many young lads I was always interested in that kinda thing, and enjoyed casual reading on mythological subjects, but I suppose Manowar got me really interested in the Norse myths. I know they don’t exactly get everything right (I don’t mind liberties being taken if it results in an AWESOME song :p), but it was a definite starting point for me.
i’ve always had an interesst in mythology and gained a greater familiarity with it through a fantasy series i read throught middle and early high school that had a fair share of norse and other mythological figures featured and that’s how i gained the majority of the knowledge i had as far as deities and domains. the rest i found out through a little reasearch. the comic being about norse mythology is what gt me reading.
i’d also like to thank you for reminding me of my love of mythology and helping me decide what i want to do with my life
I actually have a pretty interesting foot into Norse myth. My grandad was actually a 6th gen Swede immigrant to the good ole USA, and inbetween watching The Price is Right and Golden Girls, he’d sometimes tell me stories of the Old Gods. Mostly Thor( I loved Thor yaaay Thor! I used to always ask to be told about Thor’s migranes). But one thing that always puzzled me was that every time he told a story, no matter how many times he told it, it would change slightly.
When I got old enough to be introduced to the library, the first thing I looked up was, of course, Norse myth, which further intrigued me because even those stories were slightly different, sometimes even from one book to the next, and I learned that day what an ‘oral history’ was and why exaggeration makes things hard on historians. That got me interested about all myth(was it all like that??), so from then on, every book and electronic artical I looked up was about a different myth. Got quite a large array of knowledge now, and still building!
But Norse has always been my favorite.
I come from an archaeological family, and was weaned on Greek mythology. Learning about other mythologies (Norse, Celtic, Japanese, etc) just came naturally.
I knew about a great deal of the myths, from egypt to to japan to the norse! which is why I love how you have bent the legends around your work so effortlessly!
Extremely familiar . . . I’m a Norse Folktru Reconstructionist Heathen and studying these myths—and the cultures which produced them—is an important part of my folkways and beliefs.
Love the strip regardless of, aaaah, all that book larnin’
I was reasonably familiar with Norse mythology, but then my wife is currently writing a series of fantasy books that also involve comedic versions of the gods of the Norse, Greeks and other pantheons. Thanks to her, I got a great insight into just how deep the norse materials go, and have a very rough idea who would win in a fight between Thor and Zeus
Fairly familiar, but not with all the details, was more familiar with Greek and roman (from learning Latin in high school)
I first encountered Norse Mythology at age seven in a very vintage set of Compton’s Encyclopedias (circa 1938, I think), with which I honed my reading skills. WHen I was in 2nd grade I found a book about the Greek (using the Roman names) gods. I was very interested, and began looking for more information, which naturally led me to Bulfinch’s Mythology, which, as you may know, deals not only with Greek, but also Norse mythology. I did and still do read massive amounts of stuff, and so I soon became aware of the more popular myths (Forging of Mjolnir, Contest with Utgaard-Loki, ect. Later, like a lot of people, I was further exposed to Norse Myth though Marvel’s Thor and through D&D’s appropriation of it.Still, it was pretty much an also-ran to the Greeks.
That is until 2001, when I read the late Poul Anderson’s last novel (I think), War of the Gods. It presented the Norse myths in an entirely new way for me (I highly recommend it to anyone who wants a deeper understanding of the, well, basic alienness, in many ways, of Norse culture to modern and how that is reflected in its doomed deitie). I became very intrigued by them and began studying them more closely, something I’m still doing.
I got into the mythos by reading Snorri Sturlson’s Eddas in school and the myths were also in Bullfinch’s mythology. I liked the fact that the Norse gods, unlike other pantheons, were not eternal – they were going to die someday in a huge Armageddon-like battle. I love Thor as a comic character but Marvel butchered the myths that reading their comic versions of the stories is like having wisdom teeth pulled without novocaine. Yeah, I’m a purist, I admit it, but I LOVE Brathalla!! A laugh for you – I’ve dressed up as Loki for Halloween and costume parties and I play with dolls! Actually, I collect Asian-ball-jointed dolls (these are limited edition dolls hand crafted by designers in Japan and other Asian countries and are REALLY popular among fans of Japanese and Asian culture!) and think its a hoot that my favorite Norse character is a doll person in your comic! Y’all are made of so much win it would be hard to fit it all in this little comment line! Keep up the wonderous work!!
About my interest in Mythology…
The first time I ever heard of a pagan pantheon was in Asterix and Obelix, and that was before I can remember. Then I learnt to read, and I read anything I could lay hands on. Among that, fantasy reading inevitibably read to mythology (the greek/roman was the most abundant)
I do remember LOVING the Norse Gods for being kick-ass, drunken, fighting each other all the time pantheon (man out of spit was the first myth I read).
I have a pretty good memory (regarding *important* stuff like this, not those stupid calculus equations) and so remember practically all the myths I’ve read.
And so, one night, when I ran into a link to brathella… (have no idea where, it was right after reading 73 chapters of FMA)
Started reading. Was forcefully removed from the computer (family couldn’t sleep from all the laughing). Finished two days later (family again forced me to eat and sleep).
And have been reading this since then.
So thanks for all the laughter and knowledge… even if the occassional references sends me to five hours of wiki-ing.
I’ve been studying mythology and ancient religions (focus on Norse, Celtic and Classical) for over 25 years now. I started in my teens reading books and watching documentaries, and then moved on to University and took courses along with my Archaeolgoy degree. I basically started off with Norse and moved on from there. I still love it and keep up with it all (I also have a passion for epic literature, but that’s for another time).
My archaeology degree focused on northern European prehistoric and early historic civilizations especially, and since I had a great fondness for Bronze Age and Iron Age cultures, it was easy to fit in the mythology and religion courses along with it all. (My undergraduate thesis was on Danish iron age archaeology – I was effectively banned from doing anything Celtic because I knew too much about it, but it was easy to switch to a Scandinavian country.)
And would you believe it all started with my parents. Both of them were actualy pretty savvy about Norse mythology despite their very Celtic (and, in my father’s case, Aboriginal) upbringing. They introduced me to it all and I’ve never looked back.
Strangely enough, my father’s interest in anything Norse is still pretty strong. Especially since my family is from the Island of Newfondland and there are several Viking sites around the island (L’anse aux Meadows being the most popular and well known one).
Yay, Vinland!
By the way, thanks to this awesome comic (which I spent two hours blabbing like a crazed fangirl to a friend because I just HAD to tell him all about it), I’ve now got a huge massive crush on Hod(r). The cute little emo goth thing he’s got going there…so adorable!
And (not) little Thor is screamingly funny. And Loki…and pie, what’s not to love about that? Everyone loves pie (and there are at least 10 cats out there in the world that belong to friends that I insisted just HAD to be named Loki). And Sif…too cute and one day Thor HAS to decide she’s not gross because I’m rooting for the itty bitty couple. And the Pantheon Games was probably my favourite story arc…Balder up against all those hottie goddesses (swimwear competition – briliiant)! And…and…er…um…
Oh dear, I’m doing that fangirl thing again.
This comic rocks!
[...] I’d like to thank all the readers that chimed in during the Conducting Some Research post. I knew we had a lot of knowledgeable readers when it comes to mythology, but I wasn’t sure [...]
Dont forget, modern translations of old sagas shows that woman were equal to men. Christianity has supressed that information.
In modern version The Valkyrias was female warriors of the goddess Freya. Collecting fallen heros (both men and woman) from the battlefields and bring them tom the hall of Freja -Sessrumnir in Folkvang.
And this is what I get for not checking in more often, during the job move.
I’ve actually been obsessed with mythology since 2nd grade (22 years now, off and on), starting with Egypt thanks to a class field trip. Thor comics got me to Norse Mythology, but it wasn’t until high school I discovered the eddas, and the actual organization of the pantheon. Since then, I’ve gotten a bit.. irritated.. with Marvel’s Thor, what with Loki being a Snidely Whiplash villain and Thor’s adopted brother, but that’s just the purist in me. (and on that note, let me gush over the use of Iddun’s apples to make Loki younger, so he can feature more prominently.. huzzahs all around!)
About 4 years ago now, I met the woman who would be my wife, and we begun our first conversation with me prattling at length about Siegfried, the Norse hero who is the source of her family’s name. It seems that her family traces their line back to Ragnar Lodbrok, the Norse Viking leader who sacked Paris by sailing up the River Saine and was married to the last daughter of Volsung’s line. And Volsung, of course, was son to a Valkyrie and given a magic sword by Odin (the original source of the Arthurian Legend, before the Saxony brought it to England), so she was, she explained, a descendant of Odin himself.
We have a good laugh, but I still think its awesome.
Tried to get her to name our son Ragnar, but she wouldn’t have it. I at least got Kitsune in as the middle name, so my myth-geek as appeased.
I’ll shut up now.
Heh.
As the descendant of Icelanders who immigrated to US/Canada, I have always been interested in “my” culture, although I have also always had a fascination with mythology and stories in general. (Technically I am supposed to be descended from Ragnar Lodbrok as well!) I am a little sad that enough generations have passed here that I don’t know the Icelandic language, except for a few words, so I couldn’t read the sagas in Icelandic, but I did read several of them in translation as a child. As I got older, my fascination with mythologies (Norse and other) became a fascination with science fiction and fantasy as well. These are the stories that we use to tell ourselves how and why the world and people are the way they are, and the reason so many fantasy stories are based on mythology is because these themes still ring true to us.
By the way, Manitoba has the largest population of Icelanders outside of Iceland. Once upon a time the settlement there was actually called “New Iceland.” If you want to see how Vikings party, check out the “Islendingadagurinn” summer festival at Gimli, Manitoba – how many summer parades include a full wooden replica of a dragon longship??
I too was one of those annoying straight-A students with a voracious appetite for the written word. My particular forte was languages (6 and counting), the serious study of which inevitably leads to an interest in the related culture. And so it was that a schoolboy fascination with latin led to an infatuation with the Roman pantheon and eventually a degree in Classics!
I was born, along with at least a dozen generations of maternal ancestors, in Wales – so I’ve had the whole Celtic thing going on from a young age. My father’s family tracks back to northern England with a surname whose etymology suggests a possible Norse connection, hence the interest there. In fact, it was while doing some on-line research in that area that I stumbled upon the delights of Brat-halla and, like many of those who have already commented, felt compelled to devour the entire back catalogue in one sitting. As you can imagine, the Pantheon Games arc was a particular favourite!
Congratulations on a strip that manages to be not only unapologetically witty and intelligent but damn funny as well.
I was born, along with at least a dozen generations of maternal ancestors, in Wales – so I’ve had the whole Celtic thing going on from a young age. My father’s family tracks back to northern England with a surname whose etymology suggests a possible Norse connection, hence the interest there. In fact, it was while doing some on-line research in that area that I stumbled upon the delights of Brat-halla and, like many of those who have already commented, felt compelled to devour the entire back catalogue in one sitting. As you can imagine, the Pantheon Games arc was a particular favourite!
Congratulations on a strip that manages to be not only unapologetically witty and intelligent but damn funny as well.
[...] Conducting Some Research – Brat-halla [...]