Einherjar
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In Norse mythology the einherjar or einheriar, were spirits of warriors who had died bravely in battle. The name is Old Norse for "one-army-ers" (singular would be einheri and the etymology may be from a Common Germanic aina-harj-arja-). It is often interpreted as "outstanding fighter", but might also signify "those who are all [now] in one army", because when alive on earth they were in many armies and bands, but now they are all in the Army of the Dead.
After they die, the valkyries escort half of the slain from the battlefield to Valhalla (these are the "einherjar"), which is part of Asgard (commonly described as the "Norse Heaven"); the other half went to Folkvangr (Freyja's hall). The Grimnismál describes Valhalla as having 540 doors, and through each of them, eight hundred (a hundred in norse was equal to 120) could march abreast, indicating the size of the hall and the numbers of the einherjar (times two halls).
Every day they are awakened by Gullinkambi, a rooster, and march out to the great field of Idavoll in the heart of Asgard to fight against each other in merry (and mortal) combat. At dusk, when they are all cut to pieces, save perchance a few, they are miraculously healed, and march back into Valhalla, where Andhrímnir, the cook of the gods, has prepared a meal for them from the pork of Sæhrímnir, a pig that is reborn every day, and the mead milked from Heiðrún, a goat feeding on the leaves of Yggdrasil. The einherjar then spend the evening and night in feast, served by lovely valkyries, until they all fall asleep, solidly drunk. And yet, they never experience hangovers or other mishaps from this daily inebriation.
The years of training should make the einherjar a formidable contribution to the forces of the Æsir at Ragnarök, when Odin will call them up to fight the forces of Hel and the giants.
The traditional nordic name Einarr is derived from Einherji and is still quite widespread in Scandinavia and Iceland.
Einherjar in Modern Fiction
- The concept of Einherjar plays a prominent role in the 2000 Sony PlayStation video game Valkyrie Profile. In this game, the player takes the role of a Valkyrie, Lenneth, charged with the task of recruiting and training the deceased souls of mortals before sending them to Asgard, where they would take part in Ragnarok.
- Einherjar is the name of a sacred sword (Diviner) used by the protagonist of the game Riviera: The Promised Land, Ein.
- In the computer strategy title Age of Mythology, Einherjar are a special class of "myth unit" which can be summoned up by Norse civilizations who are aligned with a particular god. They take the appearance of similar, fully-armored knights and are quite powerful.
- In the Game Boy Advance title Mega Man Zero 4, the 8 bosses refer to themselves as the "Einherjar" and their purpose is to carry out the Ragnarok -- the destruction of Area Zero, a critical area in the game.
- Einherjar is the name of one of the most prominent regiments/clans/guilds in several online games, including Shattered Galaxy, World of Warcraft, Guild Wars, EVE, and more. See http://www.ituroncavalry.com for more information.
- Einherjar is also the title for attaining Realm Rank 10 (the original highest rank) in the realm of Midgard (based on the norse peoples) in the popular MMORPG by Mythic Entertainment, Dark Age of Camelot.
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da:Einherjer de:Einherjer (Mythologie) es:Einherjer fr:Einherjar it:Einherjar he:איינהרייר lv:Einheriji lt:Einherijai nl:Einherjar ja:エインヘリャル no:Einherjer pl:Einherjer pt:Einherjar ru:Эйнхерии fi:Einherjar sv:Einhärjar