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INTERVIEW WITH HERI JOENSEN OF TÝR, Part Three
Heri (2nd from left) & Týr pose with Thor's hammer pendantsKS – Growing up as a child in the Faroes, were you taught about the Faroe Islands’ conversion to Christianity?HJ – Yeah, yeah! That’s the...
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ART CONTEST – Midwinter 2013
The Yule Goat (1912) by Swedish artist John BauerTHE CONTESTThe theme for the second Norse Mythology Blog art contest is midwinter. During the winter solstice on December 21, those of us living in the...
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THE THOR MOVIES AND NORSE MYTHOLOGY
Wired Magazine almost ran a feature on heathen theology. Almost.Devon Maloney of Wired Magazine contacted me in early November about Marvel’s new movie, Thor: The Dark World. She wrote that “one of...
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NORSE MYTHOLOGY IN POPULAR CULTURE
The dude on the cover of the June 2013issue of Viking magazine totally isn't me.Back in March, I was interviewed by Viking magazine for a feature on Norse mythology in popular culture. “Myths in the...
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ART CONTEST – Kid Winners, Midwinter 2013
We received a large number of entries from the 12 & under crowd for the second art contest at The Norse Mythology Blog. There are a lot of very talented young artists around the world who share an...
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ART CONTEST – Teen Winners, Midwinter 2013
We have a truly international group of winners in the teen division of the second art contest at The Norse Mythology Blog. I'm very happy that young adults from around the world are not only deeply...
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ART CONTEST – Adult Winners, Midwinter 2013
We received a very large number of very impressive entries in the adult division of the second art contest at The Norse Mythology Blog. Talented artists sent in wonderful works from Australia, Denmark,...
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WORLDWIDE HEATHEN CENSUS 2013: RESULTS & ANALYSIS
Why was a census needed?Heathens have been mostly invisible in major surveys of religious affiliation. When heathens do respond to surveys like those of the Pew Research Center and the U.S. Department...
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THOR, THE POPE & HOBBY LOBBY
The tweet that Hobby Lobby paid for me to seeYou meet such fascinating people on the internet.On Saturday night, I had a very interesting conversation on Twitter with a representative of Hobby Lobby....
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TOLKIEN ARCHIVES FIELD TRIP, Part One
Please don't smoke in the library, Professor Tolkien.On October 26, I led a group of my students on a field trip to see the J.R.R. Tolkien Collection at Marquette University in Milwaukee. Like the...
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TOLKIEN ARCHIVES FIELD TRIP, Part Two
Click here for Part One.Tolkien's background materials for Middle-earthTolkien made many charts and graphs to help him keep track of all the complicated elements of The Lord of the Rings. In addition...
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LETTERS FROM THE ELF CHURCH
All photographs in this article were taken by Ragnhildur Jónsdóttir, who also provided the captions. She has kindly allowed me to use them on The Norse Mythology Blog.Sunrise seen from inside the elf...
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SURVIVAL OF THE OLD WAYS
Vor Siður– newsletter of the Ásatrúarfélagið (“Æsir Faith Fellowship”Recently, while considering what to feature in a new post, I asked our Icelandic friend Kári Pálsson if he had written any articles...
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SIGURBLÓT: WHAT IS VICTORY?
Sunrise on Iceland's Selfoss waterfallNational Geographic photoToday is the first day of summer in Iceland, according to the Old Icelandic calendar. Over a thousand years after Iceland’s official...
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ART CONTEST – Midsummer 2014
The Main Midsummer Eve Bonfire (1915) by Nikolai AstrupTHE CONTESTThe theme for The Norse Mythology Blog's third art contest is midsummer. During the summer solstice on June 21, those of us living in...
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ANOTHER SIXTH GRADER ASKS ABOUT NORSE MYTHOLOGY AND NORSE RELIGION, Part One
Entrance to Central School in Glencoe ILOver the past few years, I’ve been contacted several times by curious students working on interview projects for school assignments. In 2011, I answered a set of...
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ANOTHER SIXTH GRADER ASKS ABOUT NORSE MYTHOLOGY AND NORSE RELIGION, Part Two
Click here for Part One.4. Why was Thor such an important character in Norse mythology?Thor (Iceland, 18th century)In the Norse myths, Thor is the protector of both gods and humans. Snorri introduces...
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ANOTHER SIXTH GRADER ASKS ABOUT NORSE MYTHOLOGY AND NORSE RELIGION, Part Three
Click here for Part One; click here for Part Two.7. What importance did Odin's spear have?Rock carving of large figure with spear(Sweden, Bronze Age)Many sources suggest that what we know as Odin’s...
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ART CONTEST – Kid Winners, Midsummer 2014
We received many wonderful works of art in the kids’ division of this year's Midsummer Art Contest. So many pieces were so good that – for the first time in three contests – we have a three-way tie for...
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ART CONTEST – Teen Winners, Midsummer 2014
This year's entries in the teen division of the Midsummer Art Contest were incredibly strong. These young artists are really quite impressive! It's interesting that they come from diverse locations...
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