The Sacred Flame
The Sacred Flame Podcast is about the pre-Christian traditions of Northern Europe hosted by Mathias Nordvig and Amina Otto. It's available on Buzzsprout and most podcasting platforms. The Sacred Flame Podcast comes out twice a month with information and perspectives on Northern European traditions, mythology, history, and philosophy.
Mathias Nordvig has a PhD in Old Norse mythology and teaches Scandinavian studies at the University of Colorado-Boulder.
Amina Otto has an MA in Old Norse and Gaelic studies and is doing a PhD in Norse-Gaelic Viking culture at Glasgow University.
The Sacred Flame
Odin and Loki: Queer sexuality in the Viking Age
In episode 8, I tackled sex and sexuality in a broad perspective. I would be remiss not to follow that up with a deep dive into what we today call queer sexualities and categorize with the LGBTQ+ acronym. Are there sources from the medieval period, the Viking Age, and before that, which can help illuminate these subjects? Some scholars and practitioners of Nordic paganisms suggest there are -but what does it look like with a critical eye toward the pre-Christian context; a period that did not (at least as far as we know) have a language for expressing queer sexuality like we do today? I'll unpack the stories that are often used as examples of pre-Christian attitudes to queer sexuality and take a deep dive into them. After that, I'll offer some additional thoughts on how we should approach the stories, the material culture from the Viking Age, and our current situation.
Please NOTE: if you're looking to have biases confirmed in this episode, please understand that this is not how a critical perspective on our story-world functions. I do hope that you'll find inspiration from what I say. As always, I expect you as listeners to form your own opinions and interpret what I say as recommendations for further development of your own thoughts!
SHOW NOTES
How Copenhagen Became The "Gay Village Of Northern Europe" - Jetset Times
Valkyrie fra Hårby - Birka female Viking warrior - Wikipedia
Viking warrior women? Reassessing Birka chamber grave Bj.581 | Antiquity | Cambridge Core
A female Viking warrior confirmed by genomics - PMC (nih.gov)