Valhalla

Valhalla (Old Norse Valhöll, "Hall of the slain") is Odin's hall in Norse mythology, the home for those slain gloriously in battle, (known as Einherjar), who are welcomed by Bragi and escorted to Valhalla by the valkyries. The main gate is called Valgrind which is described in Grímnismál as a "sacred gate" behind which are the "holy doors" and "there are few who can tell the manner by which it is locked". The hall itself has five hundred and forty doors, so wide that eight hundred warriors could walk next to each other, walls made of spears, a roof made of shields and benches covered with breastplates. It is said that there is room enough for all those chosen. Here, every day, the slain warriors who will assist Odin in Ragnarök, the gods' final conflict with the giants, arm themselves for battle, and ride forth by the thousands to engage in mock combat on the plains of Asgard. At night they return to Valhalla to feast on roasted boar and drink intoxicating mead. Those who do not get to Valhalla end up in the home of the dead (Hel), a place beneath the underworld (Niflheim), or one of various other places. Those who are lost at sea, for example, are taken to Ægir's hall at the bottom of the sea.

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Valhalla

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Listen...

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The wind tells a story,
one that took place a long time ago -

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- when Yggdrasil, the Tree of Life,
stood in the centre of the world.

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In Asgard,
land of the gods of the Vikings.

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Here lived the one-eyed Odin,
king of the gods -

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- and the mighty Thor,
god of thunder.

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From all over Asgard, the gods
would gather here, in Valhalla -

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- the greatest castle of all.

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Here they received the worship
of mortal men -

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- which gives strength
and life to gods.

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From Valhalla,
Odin surveyed the three worlds -

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- and from here,
he sent out his ravens.

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To gather news from faraway lands.

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Beyond the land of Utgard -

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- home of the race of trolls
whom men called giants -

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- the lords of darkness and chaos...

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Beyond Utgard was Midgard,
land of humankind.

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Home of proud Vikings
and industrious farmers.

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From time to time,
the gods went to Midgard -

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- to visit their human worshippers.

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