Asatru - Norse/Nordic Paganism - Ambiguities in Europe



There is some uncertainty in terms of what Nordic Paganism is, where it originated from, and who it is for when Nordic Pagans in the United States talk of their European roots or ancestors. 


  • Asatru or Heathenry is often described by Nordic Pagans as the religious manifestation of the cultural legacy of “Northern European” peoples, or even, as in the Runestone text mentioned above, of “Europeandescended” peoples. 
  • The lack of clarity regarding which particular linguistic or cultural group the contemporary religion is derived from or connected to is remarkable, given the variety of countries and language groups that have existed in Europe and especially Northern Europe from ancient times to the present. 


Many Nordic Pagans seem to have a propensity to "essentialize" Northern Europe, and occasionally Europe in general, as the "country of our ancestors," without specifying which ancestors lived in which region, spoke which language, and so on. 


  • Because most Nordic Pagans base their religion on the worship of Odin, Thor, and other gods from Old Norse–Icelandic literature, it appears that the religious heritage of one region of Northern Europe is being used as a convenient shorthand for respecting the collective religious heritage of a more diverse group of past peoples and cultures, that of pre-Christian Northern Europe. 
  • The general ambiguity of American Nordic Pagan views of the Northern European "homeland" is a poignant commentary on the distance that separates American Heathens and Asatru followers from their spiritual ancestors' homelands, but it also helps to mediate conflicting definitions of Nordic heritage and divergent loyalties toward different specific regions of Northern Europe. 
  • However, some Nordic Pagans are very educated and eloquent about the regional variations of old Northern European culture and religion, and they travel to meet with their Pagan counterparts in Iceland and other countries. 
  • Heathens and Asatruar who gain a thorough understanding of the texts, traditions, and languages of pre-Christian Northern European peoples are highly respected in their communities, and they frequently publish articles in Asatru or Heathen magazines, as well as compete in lore contests at Things and other important events. 


Nordic Paganism's Origins 


Nordic paganism is a type of reconstructed paganism. 


  • The main source materials are literary works produced in medieval Iceland in the Germanic-Scandinavian language known as Old Norse or Old Icelandic, which is very close to contemporary Icelandic, between the years 1100 and 1300. 
  • Modern Nordic Pagans think that these writings retain pagan ideas from long before Iceland's conversion from Norse Paganism to Christianity in the year 1000, which will be explored in more detail later. Modern Nordic Pagans value a number of different types of literature. 
  • The Poetic Edda, for example, is a collection of mostly mythological poems, with individual Eddic poems recounting the world's past creation and future destruction, the nature of the Norse universe, the adventures and misadventures of the various gods, as well as the exploits of certain nondivine heroes and heroines. 


A companion book, the Prose Edda, authored by medieval Icelandic scholar and politician Snorri Sturluson, has more material on the same subjects. 

Odin, the one-eyed deity of knowledge, battle, magic, and poetry, among other abilities and duties, is the Norse gods' commander. 

Other notable Norse deities include Thor, the dependable protector of humanity who wields a hammer to slay malevolent giants and other foes; 


  • Tyr, god of war and oaths; 
  • Frigg, Odin's wise wife; 
  • Baldur, Odin's son, fated to be slain by his own brother and then return from death to rule the world; 
  • Loki, the sometimes harmful, sometimes helpful god of guile and trickery; 


Other supernatural creatures, such as Elves and Landspirits, are revered in both old Norse tradition and contemporary Nordic Paganism, and are portrayed in less depth in Old Norse literature. 


The Poetic Edda and the Prose Edda are the most important sources of information on pre-Christian Norse religion in Iceland and Scandinavia, but another category of texts, novel-like narratives known as the Sagas, is just as important for providing a realistic picture of Icelandic life and society in the early centuries of Icelandic history. 


The so-called Family Sagas, which account of families, feuds, and political maneuverings among the earliest generations of Icelandic settlers after the arrival of the first Vikings in the latter third of the ninth century CE, are particularly important. 



Modern Nordic Pagans draw most of their knowledge of Norse organizations like the Thing and the godi, as well as ceremonial practices like the Blot, from the Sagas. 


  • The Sagas also had a significant effect on contemporary views about the morals and ethics of ancient Pagans, with the heroes and heroines of the Sagas acting as role models in the same way as Jews and Christians regard prominent figures from the Old and New Testaments. 
  • Despite the fact that the Eddas and Sagas are by far the most revered and important books among contemporary Nordic Pagans, other texts and sources of knowledge are extensively shared and debated. 
  • Snorri Sturluson's Heimskringla is a semihistorical, semimythological narrative of ancient Norwegian monarchs that includes information about gods, rituals, and life and culture on the Scandinavian mainland (as opposed to the Icelandic focus of the Sagas). 
  • Skaldic poetry, an ancient Icelandic form dating back to the Viking era, provide vivid stories about warrior heroes and gods. 



There are other writings that aren't Norwegian or Icelandic. 


  • Beowulf, a medieval AngloSaxon epic about Scandinavian warrior life, is a prized literary gem from England. 
  • More fragmentary Anglo-Saxon texts, such as the Nine Spells Charm (Rodrigues 1993), provide insight into AngloSaxon variants of Norse Paganism, such as the Norse Odin worshipped as the Anglo-Saxon Woden in England.
  • The poem The Dream of the Rood, which combines Christian and Norse Pagan motifs in strange and startling ways. 
  • The Merseburg Charm, a fragmented German book, describes charms and incantations including mythical material. 
  • The Nibelungenlied, a German epic, is well-known as an example of warrior ethics. 


Folk and fairy stories from Germany and Scandinavia are also prized as representations of Nordic sensitivity toward life and environment. 


  • The Gesta Danorum, a Latin history of the Danes written by an ancient monk named Saxo Grammaticus, offers alternative and often startlingly different versions of Eddic mythology and gods. 
  • Germania, a Roman historian's description of German tribes on the outskirts of the Empire, is also regarded as the oldest documented literature connected to Germanic-Scandinavian peoples. 


The majority of Nordic Pagans read these works in English translation, while academic Pagans study the native languages. 

The importance of many nontextual sources of knowledge regarding historical Nordic life and culture is considerable. 



The ancient kings' graves in Denmark and Sweden, as well as Viking tombstones and runic inscriptions on the Baltic island of Gotland and the site of the first Icelandic Thing parliament at Thingvellir, are all places of Nordic Pagan pilgrimage. 


  • From documentary programs on the Discovery Channel television network to archaeological publications, discussions of the history and importance of such sites are closely followed in both popular and academic media. 
  • The ancient Scandinavian writing and symbol system, known as runes, has sparked considerable interest among contemporary Nordic Pagans, who believe the runes have mystical, ceremonial significance. 



While it is undeniably true that contemporary Nordic Pagans have a very favorable, even idealized view of previous Nordic history and culture, their perspective is not without flaws. 

  • They are only interested in reconstructing a few elements of the Vikings' and other previous Nordic peoples' worldviews and lifestyles, and they admit that there are other characteristics, such as slavery and wanton brutality, that they would rather leave in the past. 
  • Many Nordic Pagans are aware of academic disputes over Nordic history and are aware that, like current Nordic Paganism, contemporary knowledge of the Nordic past is always changing via the collision of different views and interpretations.


You may also want to read more about Asatru, Norse Paganism and Nordic Pagans here.


You may also want to read more about Paganism here.

Be sure to check out my writings on Religion here.




Online Resources


American Asatru Associations




Icelandic Asatru Association


Ásatrúarfelagi≥ (Asatru Fellowship of Iceland). At http://www.asatru.is.


Icelandic Photography



Statistical Information


  • Hagstofa Islands (Office of Statistics, Government of Iceland). 2004. “Ísland ítölum 2002–2003” (Iceland in Numbers). Reykjavík, Hagstofa Islands. At http://www.hagstofa.is.


Asatru Publications Available Online


  • “The Asatru Folk Assembly: Building Tribes and Waking the Spiritual Path of OurAncestors.” Available at http://www.runestone.org/




By Jai Krishna Ponnappan
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