Odin's Wild Hunt

About the legend

Being

Oskoreia / Åsgårdsreia (the Wild Hunt)

Cultural meaning

In Norwegian folk belief, the oskoreia was a roaring host that rode through the air in the dark time around Christmas. It was said to be made up of restless dead, and people feared it. Stories of such a wild ride through the winter sky were told across northern Europe.

Fun fact

In the old Norwegian tales, the ride could stop at a farm at Christmas and eat the flatbread and butter made for the holiday, if the food had not been blessed before it was put away. So people made sure to bless their Christmas food!

Cultural notes

In Norway the wild ride was called the oskoreia or åsgårdsreia. Andreas Faye, whose collection of Norwegian legends appeared in 1833 and in a larger edition in 1844, described it as a noisy host of restless dead, souls who had been neither good enough for heaven nor bad enough for hell, and it rode above all around Christmas. People threw themselves to the ground when it passed. In Norwegian tradition the ride was usually led by Guro Rysserova, a big, fearsome woman with a long tail, and in Setesdal by Sigurd Snaresvend. Odin as its leader belongs above all to Swedish and Danish tradition: Faye notes that in Skåne the roaring was called Odin's hunt (Odens Jagt). In Jutland the hunter was also called Odin's hunter. The name itself is disputed. The national romantics of the 1800s explained it as 'the Asgard ride', and Peter Nicolai Arbo painted it as Åsgårdsreien in 1872, while Ivar Aasen linked oskorei to an Old Norse word meaning 'dreadful'. Similar tales were told in Germany (die Wilde Jagd) and England (Woden's Hunt). Odin's eight-legged horse Sleipnir, his ravens Huginn and Muninn, his wolves Geri and Freki, the Einherjar of Valhalla and the eye Odin gave at Mímir's well to drink its wisdom come from Snorri Sturluson's Edda.

About this retelling

Original story inspired by folklore An original story inspired by the Scandinavian folk belief in the Wild Hunt — Åsgårdsreia or Oskoreia.

Stories of a wild ride through the winter sky around Christmas are genuine Scandinavian folk belief, and Odin, Sleipnir, the ravens and the wolves come from Snorri's Edda. In Norway people feared the ride, and it was usually led by others than Odin; Odin as its leader is borrowed from the traditions of Skåne and Jutland. In this retelling the fear is replaced with wonder, and the Hunt hunts no one. An earlier version of this story said that only brave hearts can see the riders. That was our own idea, and we have taken it out: looking and hiding under a blanket are both all right. Solveig, her family and Grandma's telling of the tale were created for Nordic Tales.

Sources

• Norske Folke-Sagn (1844), «Aasgaardsreia» — Andreas Faye
• The Younger Edda (Gylfaginning), Rasmus B. Anderson translation — Snorri Sturluson
• Wikipedia: Oskorei (Norwegian)
• Wikipedia: Wild Hunt

Themes

• courage
• wonder
• respect
• curiosity
• Odin
• Wild Hunt
• Åsgårdsreia
• Oskoreia
• Sleipnir
• Norse mythology
• winter
• Christmas
• Norway
• northern lights
• Valhalla
• Einherjar
• folk tradition

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