Posts

Showing posts from February, 2018

Vintage NorsePlay: a 1960s Ben Cooper Halloween Viking mask.

Image
From those costume-in-a-box sets with the thin plastic mask with the stapled on rubberband you might remember as a kid. The  Norwegian  color scheme'd  horned helmet's painted eyes with the sort-of rosemåling banding's a surprising combination of elements. #    #    # Guillermo Maytorena IV knew there was something special in  the Norse Lore when he picked up a copy of the d'Aulaires'  Norse Gods and Giants  at age seven. Since t hen he's been fascinated by the truthful potency of Norse Mythology, passionately read & studied, embraced Ásatrú, launched the  Map of Midgard  project, and spearheaded the neologism/brand NorsePlay.   If you have e mployment/ opportunities in  investigative mythology,  field research, or product development to offer,  do contact him .

tabletop your Journey to Ragnarok.

Image
Michele Paroli's crowdfunded project Journey to Ragnarok got funded in only 5 hours, a testament to the power of NorsePlay. This tabletop adventure role-playing module for Dungeons & Dragons 5th edition is scheduled to ship this month, and takes players through open settings for all the Nine Worlds. [game illustration by Andrea Guardino of Ranger "Ulfhednar", Wolf Pack Fighter.] #    #    # Guillermo Maytorena IV knew there was something special in  the Norse Lore when he picked up a copy of the d'Aulaires'  Norse Gods and Giants  at age seven. Since t hen he's been fascinated by the truthful potency of Norse Mythology, passionately read & studied, embraced Ásatrú, launched the  Map of Midgard  project, and spearheaded the neologism/brand NorsePlay.   If you have e mployment/ opportunities in  investigative mythology,  field research, or product development to offer,  do contact him .

the footprints of Njord.

Image
In Georges Dumézil 's From Myth to Fiction: The Saga of Hadingus, the author backtracks the Cinderella story where a mate is selected by their feet to Skadi 's picking of Njörðr, including the mentioning of ancient Scandinavian rock carvings and petroglyphs of feet perhaps being representations of the perfect feet of the divine, which by contest Njörðr must have possessed. [Rock carvings of feet from Skjelin in Østfold County, Norway. Photo by Jørn Bøhmer Olsen.] #    #    # Guillermo Maytorena IV knew there was something special in  the Norse Lore when he picked up a copy of the d'Aulaires'  Norse Gods and Giants  at age seven. Since t hen he's been fascinated by the truthful potency of Norse Mythology, passionately read & studied, embraced Ásatrú, launched the  Map of Midgard  project, and spearheaded the neologism/brand NorsePlay.   If you have e mployment/ opportunities in  investigative mythology,  field research, or product development t

the sword dance of Odin's virgins?!?

Image
The sword dance of the Vestal Virgins (?!?) in front of the sacred tree in Vikingland! Mario Bava's Erik the Conqueror (1961) was an imitation of 1958's The Vikings , but done with Bava's flair for colour, lighting, and directness. Odin's Vestals were inserted to create more pagan handholds for an Italian audience, giving the heroes some forbidden fruit to court, and to feature the popular Kessler Twins, Alice & Ellen. #    #    # Guillermo Maytorena IV knew there was something special in  the Norse Lore when he picked up a copy of the d'Aulaires'  Norse Gods and Giants  at age seven. Since t hen he's been fascinated by the truthful potency of Norse Mythology, passionately read & studied, embraced Ásatrú, launched the  Map of Midgard  project, and spearheaded the neologism/brand NorsePlay.   If you have e mployment/ opportunities in  investigative mythology,  field research, or product development to offer,  do contact him .

find the TV Vikings among the Saxons.

Image
Three character figures from the Vikings TV series put out by First Legion thrown into the mix with Russian plastic Saxon figures. [composed by The Playset Addict.] #    #    # Guillermo Maytorena IV knew there was something special in  the Norse Lore when he picked up a copy of the d'Aulaires'  Norse Gods and Giants  at age seven. Since t hen he's been fascinated by the truthful potency of Norse Mythology, passionately read & studied, embraced Ásatrú, launched the  Map of Midgard  project, and spearheaded the neologism/brand NorsePlay.   If you have e mployment/ opportunities in  investigative mythology,  field research, or product development to offer,  do contact him .

always celebrate with our Gods.

Image
" The Gods are alive, well, and eager to party. " ~ Diana Paxson of The Troth [ Viking Feast painted by Harvey Dunn (1884–1952).] #    #    # Guillermo Maytorena IV knew there was something special in  the Norse Lore when he picked up a copy of the d'Aulaires'  Norse Gods and Giants  at age seven. Since t hen he's been fascinated by the truthful potency of Norse Mythology, passionately read & studied, embraced Ásatrú, launched the  Map of Midgard  project, and spearheaded the neologism/brand NorsePlay.   If you have e mployment/ opportunities in  investigative mythology,  field research, or product development to offer,  do contact him .

if no conversion, then cursive Futhark.

Image
In a no-conversion scenario, a cursive Futhark might have developed. The idea's still a valid one, and if we re-embrace & restore ritual/artistic/communicative use of the runes as way of building Asatru/Heathen Worldview, then something more script-like could evolve, a more truly connected cursive, and become useful. We would love to see a font developed from this. [by Erik Parsels of Middle Earth Craftworks.] #    #    # Guillermo Maytorena IV knew there was something special in  the Norse Lore when he picked up a copy of the d'Aulaires'  Norse Gods and Giants  at age seven. Since t hen he's been fascinated by the truthful potency of Norse Mythology, passionately read & studied, embraced Ásatrú, launched the  Map of Midgard  project, and spearheaded the neologism/brand NorsePlay.   If you have e mployment/ opportunities in  investigative mythology,  field research, or product development to offer,  do contact him .

silhouettes of the Gods.

Image
Interior illustration from a recent edition of Kevin Crossley-Holland's Norse Myths , art by Jeffrey Alan Love. #    #    # Guillermo Maytorena IV knew there was something special in  the Norse Lore when he picked up a copy of the d'Aulaires'  Norse Gods and Giants  at age seven. Since t hen he's been fascinated by the truthful potency of Norse Mythology, passionately read & studied, embraced Ásatrú, launched the  Map of Midgard  project, and spearheaded the neologism/brand NorsePlay.   If you have e mployment/ opportunities in  investigative mythology,  field research, or product development to offer,  do contact him .

or it's Skidbladnir in a bookish disguise.

Image
The Norse Myths introduced and retold by Kevin Crossley-Holland . Wood engravings by Jane Lydbury. Designer binding by Hannah More. Deerskin over sculpted boards to suggest a longship. [Available at Priscilla Juvelis Books, $2,500.] #    #    # Guillermo Maytorena IV knew there was something special in  the Norse Lore when he picked up a copy of the d'Aulaires'  Norse Gods and Giants  at age seven. Since t hen he's been fascinated by the truthful potency of Norse Mythology, passionately read & studied, embraced Ásatrú, launched the  Map of Midgard  project, and spearheaded the neologism/brand NorsePlay.   If you have e mployment/ opportunities in  investigative mythology,  field research, or product development to offer,  do contact him .