Freya was the arrestingly beautiful Norse goddess of blessings, love, and fertility. A member of the Vanir tribe known for her skill in divination, she could be both a gentle ruler and a fierce warrior. Folkvangr, domain of the Norse goddess Freya, was a meadow where half of all who died in battle spent the afterlife.

Understanding the Context

She dwelled in Sessrumnir, a hall built in the shape of a ship, mimicking actual Norse burial customs. Unlike most deities, the mythological father of Freyr and Freya was fated to survive the cataclysmic destruction of Ragnarök and be reborn into the world. Njord, with an oar by the sea, from an 1893 Swedish edition of the Poetic Edda. Internet Archive Public Domain Njord was a popular god among the Norse, and seafarers in particular.

Key Insights

The other half went to Fólkvangr, a nearby meadow ruled by the goddess Freya. Asgard was connected to Midgard, the realm of humanity, via the Bifrost, a rainbow bridge guarded by Heimdall. As the home of the gods, Asgard was the preeminent realm in Norse mythology —a place of unearthly size, grandeur and beauty.