NorsePlay.

  Illustrator David Wyatt's Asgard from his otherworldly exploration  Nine Worlds in Nine Nights  book by "Hiawyn Oram" ( Walker Books, 2019 CE). #    #    # 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 .

NorsePlay would like to take a moment this Yule to spot the influence of Frost Maiden turned Norse Goddess Gerðr within the figure of Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale figure, The Snow Queen. The above Edmund Dulac illustration (1911 CE) found in Stories from Hans Andersen , features a regally divine lady, diaphanously dressed with her pallid arms bared, the Northern Lights encircling her head, perhaps projected or reflected from her physical presence. This presentation of comfort in extreme cold would suggest jötunness heritage given to her. Hans Christian Andersen's original fairy tale (1844 CE) also features heroine Gerda whose name may indicate a storyteller's easy choice of one degree of character displacement from Gerðr. The Snow Queen herself probably trickles down into C.S. Lewis' Imperial Majesty Jadis, Queen of Narnia, whom those thankless rebels impugn as "The White Witch". Gerðr's known for the feature of her shimmering arms, part of why G...

The above is a reconstruction of a tapestry fragment found in the Oseberg ship burial made from this: This lacuna-ridden ~12" long by ~8" wide weaving might've escaped notice on many digs, maybe been accidentally dug through or pushed aside as random gauze to get at some shinier sword fittings or silver treasures, but when we look very, very carefully at it, we can make out some of the details. Found during the excavation in 1903 CE, the Oseberg Tapestry makes its way to us after more than a millennium from a prestigious funeral in ~834 CE. That survival's something beyond magic, and the reconstruction by Stig Saxegaard of Storm Studios from 2018 CE (note the not-present colours in the artifact are an artistic choice in the visual reconstruction), revealing what are probably hung men sacrificed to Odin is grimly amazing. This process could be seen as a metaphor for the reconstruction of Ásatrú, for archaeology's restoration of a picture of the past, and of the a...

There's a lot going on in this vintage David Andersen made Norwegian Sterling Silver Viking Brooch 1960s Saga Series piece. Looking at the details, we have a Torslunda-patterned figure wearing what appears to be a winged cloak, crescent moons & spirals adorning the upper lining, a square chestplate, a crosspiece binding the figure's feet, and some seemingly aerodynamic fins coming off the sides of its head. As stated in the reverse's engraving below, this figure was recast & reinterpreted from an artifact by famous Norwegian Silversmith David Andersen and released in a limited run. Given the visual cues this could be many things: Freyja in her falcon cloak with the huge chest placard as  Brísingamen  and the side headknotworks as an up-do , Loki in Freyja's borrowed cloak (in  Þrymskviða ) if we look closer at the encircled lips that could be a round scar from their having once been sewn shut (in  Skáldskaparmál ), perhaps even  Baldr as the ches...

  There's a lot of  great detail in this cosmological sketch print of  Die Neun Welten / The Nine Worlds  by E. Müller-Baden, c. 1900 CE. It almost looks like Yggdrasil's tertiary root is so far away from the main body of its subterranean structure that it's pretty slim pickings for Níðhöggr, who never actually does cause critical damage on The World Tree, so perhaps this offers a reason as to why. This diagram also solves the arboreal co-identification problem by specifically making Læradr the upper portion of Yggdrasil . There's also a more geographical separation between portions of  Niflheim depending if you're an oathbreaking victim unmercifully given to  Níðhöggr 's serpentine children (#2), or if you're a regular deceased (#9), which would probably spare Hel 's broader populace the gnashing of dragon teeth & wailing of the dishonourable. Though if any of you recall where the " Egisheim" Sea is cited from, do let me know. Below is ...

After having seen the amazing Franks Casket at The British Museum, and being very intrigued by the reproduction Franks Casket that YouTub e channel Crecganford sometimes has in his videos' background (it seems he won't gift it to me, I asked in a comment), I decided to see if I could find one, and was amused to instead find this clarification on an eBay listing: Heh! The fact that the vendor had to write this totally kills me, and says rather much about some consumers out there.  And if you know where I can get a Franks Casket reproduction, do let NorsePlay know in the comments below. #    #    # 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 n...

There's this sudden departure in Ragnarok S1 E2 where the teen jotun Fjor needlescratch hijacks the Edda High School's Spring Dance's DJ booth with his phone to put on a seething & primal track, and a ritual of choreography involving his sister Saxa & odd new kid in school Laurits unfolds in front of the student body who clears the floor for their weird leaning, quick, whip-jerk movements that the trio performs more for each other and its own process' sake, than to the surprised & awed room. The implied NorsePlay from this would be: How much of a different culture have the jotnar developed in their cosmological exile into frosty Jotunheimr (or flaming Muspelheimr) since the beginning of time?  The scene reveals a semi-supernatural music & dance tradition stepping out into view, impressing its way into a Midgardian small town world. Later episodes show the jötnar having to vote on a consensus for war by placing their hands upon an axe, and double-handedl...

To compliment the original logo vinyl cutout sticker on the driver's side of the NorsePlay-mobile , I recently commissioned a sticker for the passenger side! This more modern runic-based NorsePlay logo was inspired by the VolvaHaus music request entry , which I'd designed in 2020 CE for the front of a t-shirt. The trihorn is instead linearly styled into an "NP" monogram logo using a triple-intersected Elder Futhark Nauthiz  (ᚾ),  the letter N, and the top opening of the horns with  Pertho ( ᛈ), the letter P, which has been thought to represent a drinking vessel ,  or a gaming dice cup, all of which is apropos of NorsePlay. Plus the design happens to work as an abstract of pushrods and pistonheads to make for a great racing reference . The slim <1/32" lines made this sticker a challenge, but after much consultation they came out beautifully. [Orange, white, & red versions!] And as with our first sticker , NorsePlay would again like to raise its horn to Hea...

This may not be to everyone's style but there's something more modern & expressive in this Freya illustration by Stella Spente of Stockholm, Sweden. As a Goddess of Love, Freyja seems utterly joyful here on her skyward ride, holding aloft a völva's wand with radiant power, keys to Sessrúmnir's ownership all a-jangle at her hip, the glow of a thick torc-versioned Brísingamen adorning her neck, processional flowers vining the cart's posts.  There's a sense of purpose & fulfillment here in our Goddess, as though she rides out not only for herself, but to spread that love for those who've lucked into their own skyward ride of companionship. When not also being an amazing & formidable  War Goddess , it would be neat to think of Freyja riding forth much like this everyday to spread what is arguably the greatest of blessings.   And there's always the question of visually answering how a chariot gets drawn by her cats  Bygul & Trjegul, whic...

Here's the thing about  Brute Norse : It's my favourite podcast. Creator/host/p hilologist  Eirik Storesund is the punk rock academician you never knew you needed. Irascible, hypercritical, and occasionally crass, all blendered into the unapologetically erudite. That mixing of dwarf-burnt motor oil into Nordic spring water makes you wonder how that even works. BN 's not the same 101/105 intro course level re-tread over so much that it's churned into the shallowest of indistinguishable muddy ground material that everyone else does. There's almost always a Gods/Runes/Sources/Hot Takes Review series of things when a vid/podcaster starts out with different levels of success, style, or research. And if you've been consuming the ever widening gyre of cybervikingsphere offerings, it becomes increasingly harder to find something different with serious depth or with just 5% of something you haven't already heard elsewhere. Enter Brute Norse in 2017 CE. So far beyond ...

While I don't know Hong Kong's Genesis Pens from a knarr's oarhole, they're crafting a line of fountain pens called The Norsemen , and they're apparently out of stock, so maybe they've done something right. Pictured above is the matte-sanded Raven Black version. [translucent Yggdrasil-accented ink window on the Jötunn model.]    With four different designs named after Norse Lore-relevant aspects, their resin barrels are engraved with Nordic motifs, each slightly different from the other three. [opaque frosted, gold-engraved Sleipnir version, inked with matching Bungubox Ebisu Gold (note, the above writing sample is from a swapped in custom nib).] While these open editions retail at around $200 each, the pen has the looks of a $500 limited edition from a more known company, but the default nib is a Polished Steel #6 Jowo, which I have no experience with, though apparently from the above picture, it can be ground or swapped if you felt you needed to custom upgrade...

Given the current darkening of seasons, I've decided to finally examine what mythical Nordic horrors lie within the cinematic forest of Netflix's film  The Ritual (2017 CE, based on Adam Nevill's 2011 CE novel). Like other offerings in the folk horror subgenre, The Ritual also crosspollinates this with the tropes of a monster film , and given its Norse Lore context, it's definitely a NorsePlay from its following elements: 1. The Runes.  Mysteriously carved far too high up on tree trunks out in the middle of a nowhere wilderness forest adjacent to Sweden 's  270-mile King's Trail (Kungsleden), are various runes , mainly Othala (ᛟ), Algiz (ᛉ), and Nauthiz (ᚾ), two also visible as hanging ornaments/ amulet s in the cabin. There's alot in the Norse Lore pinned upon the runes, the most compelling being Odin's  Rúnatal where the Allfather lists the magical uses for them. 2. Human Sacrifice.  The hikers lose one of their party during the night, waking to fin...

  This family tree isn't the most comprehensive (nor correct, if you spot Gerriod being outside the line of descent for jötnar, and a few other things), but NorsePlay is posting it for the attractive & lateral thinking tree ring approach it takes. Note that Ginnungagap is given central primordial parentage, which since it's a place (or not-place, perhaps), is a markedly different way of looking at the Norse Cosmogony, though probably just incidentally serving the design. It would be pretty brilliant if someone were to run with this design to create something more encompassing. [Designed by Severino Ribecca.] #    #    # 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 ...