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Norse Imports Follow for the REAL history! Products and content inspired by the historical sources and archeological finds.
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07/31/2026

Did the Vikings believe in reincarnation? The sources suggest that many of them did.

Reincarnation isn't just an idea borrowed from Eastern religions. It appears repeatedly in Old Norse literature.

In the Poetic Edda, Helgi and his valkyrie lover are said to be reborn across multiple lifetimes. Gautreks saga also refers to rebirth, and the traditions surrounding Saint Olav preserve the belief that he was the reincarnation of an earlier Viking Age king.

These examples don't necessarily mean every Norse person believed in reincarnation, but they do show that rebirth was part of the religious landscape preserved in the medieval sources.

The Norse belonged to the wider Indo-European family of cultures, and traditions of rebirth appear in many Indo-European religions at different times and in different forms.

The more you read the original texts, the more complex the old religion becomes.

07/30/2026

There were many great Christian Vikings. Saint Olav was not one of them.

On the last Wednesday of July, we remember the death of Olav Haraldsson at the Battle of Stiklestad in 1030—a man who would later be canonized as Saint Olav.

His supporters remembered him as a saint and the king who united Norway. But the medieval sources also describe a ruler who used violence, harsh punishments, and political force to consolidate his kingdom and advance Christianity. His conflicts were not only with followers of the old religion, but also with rival Christian leaders and Norwegian chieftains who resisted his rule.

Whether viewed as a saint, a conqueror, or both, Olav remains one of the most controversial figures of the Viking Age.

Scandinavia produced far greater rulers—kings like C**t the Great, Sweyn Forkbeard, Haakon the Good, and Harald Hardrada—whose legacies deserve far more attention.

History is rarely as simple as the stories we learn growing up.

07/27/2026

If there's one place every Viking history fan should visit, it's Vestfold.

This small region is packed with some of the most important Viking Age sites anywhere in the world.

You've probably heard of the great ship burials at Oseberg and Gokstad, the monumental burial mounds at Borre, and Kaupang, Norway's first known town. But that's only the beginning.

There are incredible places that many visitors never discover, like Istrehågan, the massive Farmannshaugen burial mound, Mølen at Nevlungshavn, and countless other archaeological sites scattered across the region.

If you're visiting Norway this summer—especially for Midgardsblot—take some extra time to explore Vestfold. You could easily spend days here and still not see everything.

And while you're here, be sure to check out Visit Vestfold for even more places to explore.

07/25/2026

Book 11 of the Odyssey contains one of the greatest descriptions of a pagan European sacrifice ever written.

To speak with the dead, Odysseus digs a trench, pours offerings of milk, honey, wine, and blood, and waits as the spirits gather from the underworld.

It's one of the oldest surviving firsthand literary descriptions of a European ritual and one of our earliest detailed visions of what the afterlife looked like before Christianity. The dead aren't in heaven or hell—they continue to exist in a shadowy world beneath the earth, where they can still remember, speak, and long for the life they lost.

Whether you're interested in Greek religion, Norse mythology, or the wider Indo-European world, this chapter is essential reading. Many of the same themes appear again centuries later across Europe in different forms.

It's an incredible reminder that some of our oldest stories are also some of our most important.

07/24/2026

The Odyssey is arguably Europe's oldest surviving story.

While there are older texts—like the Epic of Gilgamesh—and even older Indo-European myths that scholars can partially reconstruct, the Odyssey is the earliest complete European narrative that we can confidently connect to the tradition of Homer, usually dated to around the 8th century BC.

For nearly 3,000 years, people have read this story of wandering, homecoming, monsters, gods, sacrifice, and the longing to return home.

Its influence is everywhere. Literature, history, philosophy, religion, and even modern films all trace something back to Homer.

If you want to understand the foundations of European civilization, the Odyssey is one of the best places to begin.

07/23/2026

Everyone knows the Iliad and the Odyssey... but almost nobody knows what the Norse tradition says happens next.

The Greek epics end with Troy and Odysseus's journey home. But in the prologue to the Prose Edda, Snorri Sturluson tells a very different story.

According to that medieval account, Thor's ancestry goes back to the Trojan king Priam. After the fall of Troy, the family is said to have settled in Thrace, and many generations later Odin leads his people north into Germany and Scandinavia.

Was this real history? Almost certainly not in the literal sense. Medieval writers often connected their own peoples to famous figures from the ancient world. But it's a fascinating tradition that shows how Norse authors understood their own origins.

With the Odyssey back on the big screen... maybe Hollywood has the chance to finish the trilogy.

07/21/2026

Midgardsblot attendees—this is your chance to visit Norway's first town.

Most people have never heard of Kaupang, even though it was Norway's earliest known urban trading center. More than 1,000 years ago, merchants, craftsmen, and travelers from across northern Europe came here before the site was eventually abandoned.

On my Vestfold Viking Tour, we'll visit Kaupang, explore the museum and exhibition, and walk through the landscape where this remarkable Viking Age town once stood.

The tour also includes:
• Oseberg Burial Mound
• Gokstad Burial Mound

We'll pick you up right from Borre Church next to the Midgardsblot festival and have you back before the festival starts.

Tickets are available now through the Midgardsblot website.

07/18/2026

Were berserkers and úlfheðnar actually two different groups?

The answer from the sources is... probably not.

The names are confusing. Berserkr is traditionally translated as "bear-shirt" (though its etymology is debated), while úlfheðinn literally means "wolf-coat."

But when you actually read the saga literature, the úlfheðnar usually appear as a specific type of berserker rather than a completely separate warrior order.

What's even more interesting is that the sources connect berserkers with wolves far more often than bears. Wolf names, wolf-like behavior, howling, and wolf imagery show up again and again, while direct evidence that berserkers literally wore bear skins is much thinner than most people assume.

I go through all of the evidence in my upcoming book, The Männerbund: Over 4000 Years, releasing at the end of the month.

07/16/2026

Midgardsblot attendees get exclusive access to the best Viking tour in Norway.

If you're already coming to the festival, don't miss the chance to explore the heart of the Viking Age.

I'll pick you up from Borre Church, right next to the festival grounds, and we'll spend four hours visiting three legendary sites:

• Oseberg Burial Mound
• Gokstad Burial Mound
• Kaupang, one of Scandinavia's earliest and most important Viking trading towns

I'll be your guide throughout the tour, sharing the history, archaeology, and stories behind each location. We'll return before the festival begins, so you won't miss any of the day's events.

Tours run on August 13 & 15, departing at 11:00 AM.

Tickets are available now through the Midgardsblot website.

07/14/2026

Robert Eggers is back, and this time he's taking on Werewolves.

Most people see werewolves and Viking berserkers as completely separate stories. I don't.

The werewolf traditions of medieval Europe preserve a lot of themes that also show up in the older warrior societies of the Viking Age and, even earlier, the Indo-European Koryos. The stories changed over time, but many of the ideas carried on.

In this video I break down the new trailer and some of the history behind it.

And if you want to dive much deeper into the origins of these traditions, my new book on the Koryos and the Männerbund is coming out at the end of this month.

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