About this Site

The Myth behind the Site: The Mead of Poetry

As told in the Icelandic "Edda", the God Odin gained the three vessels filled with a magical drink, the Mead of Inspiration
- named Odhroerir ("Frenzy-Stirrer") - after great efforts and trickery from a giant that had hidden it away in a hill, but not used it.
Since then Odin grants a drink from it to worthy poets, which transforms their work from good craftsmanship into an inspired work of art,
and from that time humans have been known to receive Odin's gift of creative madness.

The three vessels that contained the mead of poetry are symbolized in three interlocking drinking horns.
The original can be seen on old Gotlandic picture stones; today the above stylized version is in use, and also part of Odin's Gift's logo.

The Icelandic skalds, composers of praise poetry and songs for their lords, considered Odin their patron deity.
But this is just one of his copious aspects, as he is a God of ecstasy in all its guises - self-transcendence, rapture and insight are his hallmarks.
These aspects are mirrored in the about 200 poetic synonyms (heiti) and complex metaphors (kenningar) for Odin
that were handed down to us by the skalds! Some of these you will find in our poems here, which try to capture and mirror what Odin is.
And, of course, the other deities of the Norse pantheon!

Let us share the Mead of Poetry. You are invited to post your own Norse-themed / heathen poems here for the world to see.
Poetry lives by being read and shared, and what better place for this than the web? Read here how to Submit a Poem. Go ahead !

Acknowledgments

I say a big, heartfelt "Thank you!" to the many poets and artists that gave their permission to display their works.
Without their generosity, this collection would simply not be possible. Over the years, I have received many encouraging emails
with positive feedback, from sincere appreciation to glowing praise, and I would like to pass that praise on to all you skalds out there!

I have placed most of my own poems under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives License, so you may use them privately
and publicly without contacting me, as long as the poem remains unchanged, including copyright notice and the License below the poem.

Dedication

I dedicate this collection to Odin, the Poets' friend and Patron of skalds, Giver of divine inspiration, Master of Fury and Seeker of Ecstasy.
May the Wanderer inspire many of us.

"And a drink I got
from the precious mead
taken from Odhroerir.
Then I began to thrive
and be wise,
and to grow and to prosper." - Havamal

Be reading you!
Michaela

Ohdhroerir image licensed from 123RF.

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