Valhalla
Odin's hall of the slain, whose 540 doors each let out 800 warriors: 432,000 in all, a number that recurs in other traditions.
- Appears in
- Grimnismal (Poetic Edda); Prose Edda; Eiriksmal
- Meaning
- 'Hall of the slain'
- Ruler
- Odin
- Residents
- The einherjar, warriors who died in battle
- Doors
- 540, with 800 warriors each (Grimnismal 23)
What is Valhalla known for?
Valhalla, Old Norse Valhöll, 'hall of the slain', is the great hall in Asgard where Odin gathers warriors who died in battle. These einherjar fight each other by day and feast by night, preparing for the final battle of Ragnarök. Valkyries choose the slain and serve them in the hall.
The fullest early description is in Grimnismal, a poem in the Poetic Edda preserved in a 13th-century Icelandic manuscript. Its rafters are spears and its roof is made of shields. Stanza 23 says the hall has 540 doors, and 800 warriors go out of each one to fight the wolf.
Multiplied out, 540 × 800 is 432,000. Some modern writers link this to the 432,000 years of the Hindu Kali Yuga and the 432,000 years Berossus gave the pre-Flood kings of Babylon. Scholars generally treat the match as a coincidence or a later borrowing, not evidence of a shared ancient source.
Valhalla's 540 doors and 800 warriors give the 432,000 figure in the site's number-match comparisons.
Mentioned on these pages
- PlaceAsgard
Sources
- Poetic Edda: Grimnismol, trans. H. A. Bellows (sacred-texts.com)Primary text
- Wikipedia, 'Valhalla'Reference
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