The Viking afterlife is more complex than “warriors go to Valhalla,” even when scholars focus on that aspect of Norse mythology. According to surviving sources, the afterlife has several places Vikings go when they die, including Valhalla, Sessrumnir, Hel, the bottom of the ocean and some earthly places on Midgard itself. Additionally, slaves, who were likely not considered Vikings at the time of their enslavement, are given to the care of Thor, according to “a single line in the Eddic Poem Harbard’s Song” (Price, p. 264).
Valhalla and Odin
Valhalla gets all the glory of a supernatural patriarchy and a lot more description than the other places of the dead. The hall itself has rafters made from spear shafts and golden shields as shingles. It shines in the distance. At the door a wolf hangs above the threshold; and eagle flies overhead.
Inside, the hall is extravagantly outfitted. Chainmail covers the benches, rather than blankets or fur. Heidrun, a goat, produces vats of divine mead. Eikthyrnir, a stag, has the purest water dripping from its antlers. Saehrimnir, a boar, is roasted and eaten in the evening as the warriors fight, play board games and drink. The next day, Saehrimnir and any of the warriors struck dead, rise again in time for dinner. When Ragnarök arrives, 800 warriors will leave Valhalla from its 540 doors to fight on Odin’s side.
Odin splits the forces of the dead with Freya getting half. Important to note is that Freya chooses who goes to Sessrumnir with her and the rest stay with Odin.
Sessrumnir and Freya
One of Freya’s names is “Valfreya,” meaning “Freya of the Slain.” Sessrumnir, or “Seat-Room” is her hall. Located in Folkvangr, meaning “Plain of Armies,” Snorri Sturluson calls the hall “large and beautiful.” Folkvangr is only mentioned in Grímnismál in the Poetic Edda, according to Dr. Jackson Crawford. His interpretation is that Freya doesn’t choose half of the dead as a part of her afterlife home. Rather, he offers a couple of interpretations of the stanza involving Folkvangr. Crawford says Folkvangr and Valhalla may be the same place, though Folkvangr could be a separate place. It is possible that Freya, as Odin’s wife and hostess in Valhalla gets to choose the best of the fighters. Crawford says we just don’t know, and it’s important to understand how little information is being interpreted into something much larger.
Hel and Hel
Hel is both the name of the place and the goddess who ruled it. The goddess Hel is a Goth in the modern sense of the word. She is “gloomy and downcast” (Price, p. 263). Her upper body is that worthy of a goddess, her lower body is corpse-like. She is also one of Loki’s offspring.
Hel’s halls are high, large, and numerous. It has little relation to the Hell of Christianity, at least as far as punishment goes. If warriors went to Valhalla and Sessrumnir, it is likely that other people of the Viking age went to Hel in the afterlife. The god Baldur goes to Hel when he dies as a result of one of Loki’s pranks, and a lovelorn Valkyrie also makes her way to Hel. Even an Odin Worshipper and Warrior poet believed Hel was waiting for him.
The Sea and Ran
Ran, the sea goddess, catches the drowned in her nets and takes them to her sea hall. When Ragnarök arrives, the sea-dead will crew Naglfar, “Nail-Ship.” Constructed from the fingernails of everyone who has died throughout history, Naglfar will be immense. Loki will be at the helm, and the giant Hrym will be its captain.
Midgard Homes of the Dead
Some of the dead reside in Earth’s own mountains or high places. Called “Holy Mountains” or “Helgafell,” these places are usually linked to prominent local clans. Inside, the dead are warm, feast, and drink heartily.
The Viking afterlife is varied and usually has no link to morality. Their perception of what happens to the dead is different from what most modern people believe, especially since it was colored by the coming Ragnarök so heavily.
Sources: Children of Ash and Elm: A History of the Vikings by Neil Price, 2022.
The Prose Edda by Snorri Sturluson, translated by Jesse Byock, 2005.
