Einherjar

In Norse religion, the einherjar or einheriar were spirits of warriors who had died bravely in battle. From Old Norse, the name means "one-harrier" (herja meaning "to harry / lay waste"). Thus it can be interpreted as "one-army-ers", "one-man-army", "army of one", or "outstanding fighter", but might also signify "those who are all [now] in one army", because when alive on earth they were in various 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 Fólkvangr (Freyja's hall). The Grímnismál describes Valhalla as having five hundred and forty doors, and through each of them, eight hundred could march abreast (a hundred, hundrað, in Old Norse could mean either 100 or 120), indicating the size of the hall and the numbers of the einherjar.

Every day the Einherjar 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 boar that is reborn every day, and the mead milked from Heiðrún, a goat feeding on the leaves of the Læraðr tree. The einherjar then spend the evening and night in feast, served by lovely valkyries, until they all fall asleep, solidly drunk.

The einherjar will stand with the forces of the Æsir at Ragnarök, when Odin will call them up to fight the forces of Hel and the giants.

A large majority of Norse mythology has been written or translated by Christians a few centuries after the Viking period. Another point of view explains a difference between Odin's Einherjar and Freyja's; the oral tradition, or Odal property, explains that Odin's warriors are "the offensive", or those who dedicate their life to fighting. Freyja’s warriors are "the defensive", or those who only fight to protect their families, clans or goods. The historian Else Roesdahl noticed a difference between the two cultures in regard to burials containing weapons. In [[Norway],] the buried warriors had defensive shields, and in Denmark they had only offensive weapons.

According to the oral tradition, the spirits that die a natural or non-fighting death go to Hel where "the quiet and mysterious Hel the goddess of death, who has half face in the shadow of darkness and the other part in the brightness of the life" leads them on a ship which follows the current of one of the twelve rivers Élivágar. One of those rivers brings them to the country of Gimlé (similar to the Greek Elysium).

In Norse mythology every one of the gods' animals has their own name. Animals had an important place in Viking society. The gods are said to be so concerned for their well-being, that they reincarnate them when they die, like the pig, Sæhrímnir, or Thor's goats, which were brought back to life with bones that Thor had preserved.

Einherjar in popular culture

Einherjar continue to play some role in modern Nordic music. For example, Einherjer is the name of a Norwegian Viking metal band and is also a song by Slovenian Death metal band Sweet Sorrow. Many of the bands songs feature a Nordic theme or setting. Similarly, the music also calls on a number of other traditional Norse beings, including Odin.

Einherjar are also found, though relatively uncommonly, in modern literature. For example, the Einheriar is the wild hunt called up by Susan in book The Moon of Gomrath by Alan Garner. Its members form a part of "The Old Magic" called up to counter the forces of evil, but are based on [[Celtic mythology |Celtic]] rather than Norse mythology.

In the table-top role-playing game Scion, published by White Wolf, Einherjar is one of the many Followers players can acquire as a birthright. They are some of the mightiest Followers published in Scion: Hero, and are literally five of Odin's Einherjar that he will "lend" you. They are immortal, but can still die since they are not invulnerable. However, after a battle, offering them a drink will immediately restore them to full health, and they expect this as reward for fighting for you. However, the game suggests that the Valkyries have continued collecting warriors up until the 1970s, so they are not all Viking warriors, but most likely soldiers that died between 1800 and 1970. Actually, Scion: Demigod (the next book in the series) states that the Valkyries are continuing their work of collecting souls for Odin and, because of the lack of "Nordic heroism" inherent in modern war tactics, are now taking the souls of heroic policemen and firefighters who die in the line of duty in addition to heroic soldiers.

The concept of Einherjar play a number of roles in a variety of video games today, identifying primarily with the powerful conceptualization of Nordic warriors. Usually, the Einherjar play a relatively unimportant part in the game, acting as a part of the name of an item, vehicle, or location. However, on occasion, Einherjar play a prominent role, as in the 1999 Sony PlayStation video game Valkyrie Profile and its sequels. There, the player assumes the role of a Valkyrie and the plot centers on locating and recruiting Einherjar for the battle of Ragnarok. Other games use the concept to denote especially important characters, as in the Game Boy Advance title Mega Man Zero 4, in which the eight bosses refer to themselves as the "Einherjar". These enemies are once fallen warriors resurrected by Dr. Weil, that possess great power and are difficult to defeat, similar in nature to the mythological Einherjar. In the game Age Of Mythology, Einherjar are one of the myth units created in Norse temples, specifically giant warriors created by worshipers of Heimdal, and wield an axe in each hand and blow on horns to boost unit morale, thereby increasing their attack for a short duration of time.

The massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) Dark Age of Camelot includes Einherjar as the title for a Midgard character of Realm Rank 10.

Also, Einherjar is the name of the main character's divine weapon (a Diviner) in the Game Boy Advance game Riviera: The Promised Land.

In the MMORPG Final Fantasy XI Einherjar is a battlefield system of ten large chambers. Each chamber is home to a horde of enemies and a boss-type monster. In the tenth chamber the players fight Odin.

In the MMORPG EVE Online, the Minmatar fighter drones are called "Einherji", a reference to Einherjar.

In the science fictional Battletech universe, "Eriksson's Einherjar" are a small mercenary unit hailing from the primarily Norse-descended Free Rasalhague Republic.

In Final Fantasy XII, there is a Rare Loot item called Einherjarum, most likely a reference to the Einherjar, especially when considering other mythological references throughout the series.

The Danish military main camp inside Basra Airstation, Iraq, was named Camp Einherjer.

The upcoming video game Too Human is heavily steeped in a hybrid techno-Nordic mythology, and while unconfirmed, will doubtless find some mention of the Einherjar. Freya is also found in the game.