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Poem : The Valiant Elf

3/31/2014

The Valiant Elf

The ugly Jotun stood well over twenty feet tall,
In his anger he tried to smash the Elf like a gnat.
Below stood the Elf, at just four feet, very small,
The Jotun missed the Elf, who moved quick as a cat.

The Jotun swung again, his weapon made of stone,
Fleet of foot, the Elf made sure the Jotun missed.
All the little Elf had was a sword that brightly shone,
Furious, the Jotun shook at the Elf his mighty fist.

The valiant Elf quickly tired of the ugly Jotun's game,
Then when one of the Jotun's lunges came up just shy,
The Elf calmly wasted no time, and took careful aim,
As the Giant's head lowered, he put his sword in his eye.

The Jotun screamed in pain, and fell hard on the ground,
It was an awful roar, that the badly injured Jotun cried,
The Elf covered his ears to protect them from the sound,
And watched as the fierce Jotun slowly laid down and died.

- Glenn Bergen, ( Ravensheart ), © Copyright, 2014.

Walking Alone

3/30/2014

To truly understand our Gods we must look beyond the Eddas and the Sagas. We must reach out to them with our minds and our hearts while at the same time looking inwards at our Tru selves. NO ONE can help you find the Gods ! The path to the Gods must be walked alone, and the final destination is enlightenment !

Once found you must hold on to them as though you were clinging to the side of a mountain by your fingertips. There is no final achievement in your relationship with the Gods. There is always more to know, more wisdom to seek, and a deeper depth of understanding. Knowledge is a deep well that can never be filled. Just when you think you have reached the pinnacle, the top of the mountain, you realize that you stand only at the base of their greatness. The glory is in the challenge, and the goal, and faith is the power that gives us the strength to go on.

- Glenn

Poem : Hel : Queen Of Darkness

3/29/2014

Hel : Queen Of Darkness

Quickly judged to be evil because of her mother and father,
The Gods considered a lengthy trial not worth the bother.
Thrown into a dark misty world that is both cold and wet,
Forced by Odin himself to suffer every day with regret.

Made by the Mighty Gods to share half of all she does own,
In a crowded world of millions, Mistress Hel stands all alone.
She cares for those who die of illness, or old age in their beds,
It is surely a daunting task, and one that she very much dreads.

And yet Hel still stands proudly in Eljudnir, her great misty hall,
As she waits for the foretold day when the Old Gods will fall.
Until that fateful day Hel bides her time, and patiently waits,
And solemnly greets all those who come through her gates.

- Glenn Bergen, ( Ravensheart ), © Copyright, 2014.

Ragnar Lodbrok Day

3/28/2014

Ragnar Lodbrok : A Day Of Honor

3/28/2014

Ragnar Lodbrok is one of my favorite Vikings ! Oh, who the hell am I kidding, all the great Viking warriors are my favorites. There is something very special about Ragnar though, and the way he went a Viking. He did not sail into unknown lands, or to monasteries to raid their gold. No, not Ragnar Lodbrok ! He sailed right up the Seine River and sacked the city of Paris. And being a Pagan, and not really liking the Christians very much, the S.O.B. did it on one of their holiest days of the Christian year, Easter. You have really got to love a Viking with a little style, and a little flare ! Ragnar in the legends is said to have descended from Odin himself, though a lot of the great warriors were said to have been descended from Gods. It also says that Ragnar married twice. First the Viking woman Lathgertha, and later the Swedish princess Thora. He is mentioned briefly in the Anglo - Saxon chronicles as having several sons, Halfdan, Ubba, and Ivar the boneless. They are also mentioned in the Sagas, Heimskringla, and the History of the Danes, by Saxo Grammaticus.

Enough of the family tree ! Lets sink our teeth into the great warrior that he was ! By the 840's Ragnar, through numerous raids had gained in both wealth, and prominence throughout the Viking community. Though sources do say that he never reached the level of acclaim of his son Ivar the Boneless, he was still a man feared by his enemies, and much appreciated for his skills by his own people. By the year 845 he was ready for the most daring raid of his life, the attack against the Franks, and their Christian King Charles the Bald.

In that year, Ragnar gathered up his men and ships, and sailed them up the river Seine terrorizing the inhabitants along the way, and taking as much plunder as he could find. Charles the Bald, as quickly as possible, pulled his countrymen together and formed an army to oppose the daring Vikings. Then he made a classic error that non - military men in command will sometimes do. He divided his forces, splitting them in two,and posting them on both sides of the river. Ragnar, who was an experienced warrior, knew exactly how to deal with this. He took his whole force and attacked the smaller of the two armies, and quickly defeated them. He took the eleven prisoners he had captured, and hung them in full view of Charles the Bald's other force on the opposite side of the river. This so demoralized the Franks, and their king, that they wanted nothing more to do with the Viking raiders. Ragnar then sailed easily up the Seine River and sacked and looted Paris, to the dismay of the Frankish army. This took place on March 28th, 845. Charles the Bald, a coward in my eyes, decided it was better to make peace with the Viking leader Ragnar Lodbrok, and offered him 7000 pounds of silver to leave his lands in peace. He would even let the Vikings keep all of their plunder. ( Not that he could do anything about it !) Ragnar was more than happy to oblige him !

This Danegeld did nothing to stop further incursions into the Frankish lands, and if anything it acted as a magnet drawing more and more raiders to the Kingdom of the Franks to exact more ransom from their kings. Later Viking raiders would sack the city of Rouen as well ! Finally, the Frankish kings grew tired of this, and gave land to the Vikings on the coast, using them as a barrier to protect their great cities up river. These Vikings were called the Normans, and their land was called Normandy. A descendant of these early French - Vikings ultimately would attack Britain and sit on their throne. He was the great King of England known as William the Conquerer.

There are actually several accounts of the way Ragnar Lodbrok died. The heroic version I prefer is the one in which his ship became wrecked on the shores of Northumbria, and he was taken prisoner by King Aella. The king had Ragnar thrown into a pit of poisonous snakes. As he was being bitten to death he cried out in defiance : " How the little pigs would grunt if they knew how the old boar suffers. " That is how I would like to envision his demise.

On March 28th of every year we in the Asatru religion honor Ragnar Lodbrok as a wonderful example of a Viking Warrior, a great leader, and a man of great daring. We also honor him on this date because it is when he attacked, and defeated the Frankish army under Charles the Bald, and sacked Paris. Although it does not make up for the destruction of our religion and temples by the Christians, the fact that he did it on Easter Sunday makes it just a little more special !

All Hail Ragnar Lodbrok !!!

P.S. Don' t forget to catch the story of Ragnar Lodbrok, in 'The Vikings', on the History Channel every Thursday night !

Glenn Bergen

Go with Odin's wisdom, Freyja's love, and Thor's protection !

Ragnar Attacks Paris

3/27/2014

The attack on Paris by Ragnar Lodbrok . The attack is said to have taken place on Easter Sunday.

Map by Sven Rosborn.

In 845 Ragnar sailed southward with a force said to consist of 120 ships and 5,000 Viking warriors, he landed in what is now France and ravaged West Francia, in the western section of the empire of the Franks. Rouen was pillaged and then Carolivenna. The raiders then attacked Paris with their fleet. Charles the Bald' s army, was placed to guard the Abbey of St. Denis, but fled when the Danish Vikings hung their Frankish prisoners right in front of their eyes. Charles paid Ragnar a huge amount of money not to destroy the city. Ragnar Lodbrok, according to Viking sources, was satisfied with no less than 7,000 pounds of silver in exchange for sparing the city.

Glenn Bergen

Go with Odin' s wisdom, Freyja' s love, and Thor's protection !

Poem : Honor

3/27/2014

Honor

Honor is the highest of tributes, it can never be bought,
Can never be taken for granted, and cannot be assumed.
A lesson never learned, no matter how many times taught,
And those who think it given without effort are surely doomed.

Honor can be won in a fight, or with a single word left unsaid.
By a simple deed by someone, with a sense of wrong and right,
This distinction can be won by the living, as well as by the dead,
It hangs on the honored one like a gold arm ring shining bright.

Honor is to our faith, and to our Gods, the highest of reward,
A high tribute of recognition only for those who are deserved.
Whether won in the cause of peace, or at the end of a sword,
For those who earn the honor, a place with the Gods is reserved.

- Glenn Bergen, ( Ravensheart ), © Copyright, 2014.

Poem : War Ship

3/26/2014

War Ship

Their dragon ship was skillfully crafted for war,
Made to sail across oceans to a distant shore.
Built for speed, with a keel shaped to be fast,
Yet constructed to be strong, and made to last.

With thirty strong warriors seated on each side to row,
They pull hard on the oars as they are tossed to and fro.
In bad weather they are forced to grab a bucket and bale,
When the weather is good, they quickly hoist up the sail.

Their ship is their bed chamber, dining hall, their home,
In their ocean fortress the ocean' s expanse they roam.
There are sixty men on this ship which is dutifully manned,
With one of their own up in the mast searching for land.

When the voyage is over and the distant shore is within reach,
They row into the shallows, pull their ship up on the beach.
Five of the men are left to guard the ship through the night,
While the rest of the warriors head inland looking for a fight !

- Glenn Bergen, ( Ravensheart ), © Copyright, 2014.

Honor The Gods : Be Self Sufficient !

3/25/2014

Poem : The Light Of Faith

3/25/2014

The Light Of Faith

Many years ago, out of the darkness, I saw a flickering light,
As I now remember, it was nothing more than a distant glow,
A single flame always just out of reach burning ever bright,
With each step closer it brought me further from all I know.

I no longer wish to go back, I have now traveled much too far,
The path is shorter to their glory, than the darkness left behind,
I have reached out to their heaven, much like reaching for a star,
And I no longer fear what is ahead of me, or what I might find.

I know there is a special place hidden deep within their shine,
But I am sure that as of yet I have not earned the right to sit,
Or even claim a seat in their circle of honor that I can call mine.
For now I keep moving towards the light, and do as the Gods see fit.

- Glenn Bergen, ( Ravensheart ), © Copyright, 2014.

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