Asatru Folk Assembly - December 02, 2025


Ásatrú Holidays - December 2025

Hosted by
Steve McNallen
Mentioned
King Eric Eric Bloodaxe Skalgrimr Kveldolfsson Queen Gudhildr King Gunhildr Common Era King Saurd Dessir Frigg Eil Skalagrimson Founder McNallan Hail El Scholar Hail King Sour Asgirður Björnsdóttur Steve McNallan Githya Sheila McNallan Erskalgrímsson Ernenbjörn Rögenvald Sextraith and 6 more
Blood, Sweat, & Tears Just Mean More #afa #asatru #ásatrú #asatrufolkassembly #shorts 12⧸3⧸25 Victory Never Sleeps, Ep 178 - Guðrúnarkviða in þriðja ｜ Oddrúnarkviða ｜ Atlakviða

Episode Stats


Length

15 minutes

Words per minute

118.52

Word count

1,818

Sentence count

107

Harmful content

Hate speech

13

sentences flagged


Summary

Summaries generated with gmurro/bart-large-finetuned-filtered-spotify-podcast-summ .

Eil Skalagrimson was an Icelandic poet, warrior, farmer, and runemaster. His skills as both a scald and berserker showed early on in life and would be carried with him for the rest of his days.

Transcript

Transcript generated with Whisper (turbo).
Hate speech classifications generated with facebook/roberta-hate-speech-dynabench-r4-target .
Hosts, guests, and mentioned names generated with spaCy (en_core_web_sm), reconciled against Wikidata.
00:00:00.000 Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, and folk of all ages, you know what time it is.
00:00:28.440 It's time for the Holidays, Holy Days, and Days of Remembrance for the month of December.
00:00:34.440 Welcome to the middle of the holiday season.
00:00:38.700 It is December. It is Yuletide coming up very soon.
00:00:45.980 Get your stockings ready, your trees put up, and hang that tassels.
00:00:52.340 Here we go.
00:00:55.180 First up this month, though, is the Day of Remembrance for our hero, El Skullergrimson, on December 9th.
00:01:04.080 And we follow that up on the 18th for the first Day of Remembrance for brand new hero, King Seward.
00:01:11.520 And then, just a few days after, Yule begins.
00:01:17.200 The 20th through the 31st, the 12 days of Yule.
00:01:20.840 Let's get down to it and talk about it all.
00:01:24.260 And, as I said, on December the 9th, just about a week away, the Day of Remembrance for Eil Skalagrimson, born 904, Common Era, passed away 995, Common Era, he lived a long life.
00:01:44.020 Eil Skalgrimson, born in 1904 Common Era, was an Icelandic poet, warrior, farmer, and
00:01:52.420 runemaster.
00:01:53.420 His parents were Skalgrimr Kveldolfsson and Bera Ingvar's daughter.
00:02:00.520 Skalgrimr was a renowned and respected chieftain back in Norway, but migrated to Iceland with
00:02:08.020 his wife and four children so he could be free from the influence of King Harald Ferherr.
00:02:15.140 Eyre's childhood was an extraordinary one.
00:02:18.780 He composed his first poem at the age of three and took revenge on another boy for cheating
00:02:24.300 in a game at the age of seven.
00:02:27.580 His skills as both a scald and berserker showed early on in life and would be carried
00:02:34.280 with him for the rest of his days.
00:02:38.460 Here I am at the hearth of my host Dingvar, the generous who grants gold to heroic men. 0.97
00:02:47.560 Three handed fosterer, you'll find no three year babe among bards more brilliant than
00:02:54.760 me.
00:02:57.600 He was also a master of the runes.
00:03:01.080 His most famous tale of rune magic involves healing a deathly sick woman.
00:03:05.920 A local landowner had attempted to cast a love spell with runes carved into a bone,
00:03:11.560 which was placed under her pillow, but had mistakenly cast a spell of illness on the
00:03:17.260 woman instead.
00:03:19.260 El burned the illness runes and carved a healing spell instead.
00:03:23.980 The woman's recovery was swift.
00:03:26.960 Upon healing the sick woman, he recited a poem and famously said,
00:03:32.000 Runes none should drave ever, who knows not to read them.
00:03:37.580 Later in his life, Eilus killed a retainer of King Erik Bloodaxe and Queen Gudhildr, 0.94
00:03:44.060 starting a blood feud that would last for the rest of their lives.
00:03:48.020 Queen Gudhildr sent her two brothers to take vengeance on Eilus,
00:03:52.300 but they were quickly sent to join their ancestors in Hell's Hall.
00:03:56.960 Once Erik Bloodaxe became king of Norway soon after, he declared Eil an outlaw and sent a company of men after him.
00:04:05.100 They too were killed in their attempt to subdue the war poets.
00:04:08.920 Before finally leaving Norway, Eil killed King Eiriker's son, Rögenvald, and placed a horse's head on a nitting pole, saying,
00:04:19.080 Here I set up a neet pole, and declare this neet against King Ereker and King Gunhildr.
00:04:27.080 I declare this neet that the land spirits there, and the land itself, so that all will
00:04:35.080 fare astray, not to hold nor find their places, not until they wreck King Ereker and Gunhildr
00:04:44.080 from the land.
00:04:47.080 After Eirik and Guthildr found themselves ruling the kingdom of Northumbria in England,
00:04:52.880 Eirik soon found himself shipwrecked in their new realm.
00:04:56.840 Eirik went to the home of his friend Ernenbjörn,
00:05:00.120 who advised him to offer his head to King Eirik in hopes that he would spare his life.
00:05:05.800 Arnborn made a case for Eirik, while Eirik himself composed a short poem for the king.
00:05:11.700 Erik and Gudhildr were not swayed by this and told Eil that his offenses against them
00:05:18.520 were too great to be forgiven.
00:05:21.100 His execution was ordered to take place the following morning.
00:05:25.420 Over what was supposed to be his last night on this side of the vale, Eil composed a twenty-stanza
00:05:31.820 poem in honor of King Erik.
00:05:34.520 When morning came, Eil recited the poem for the king, who was so impressed that he let
00:05:40.180 Eil live.
00:05:43.860 After fighting for the Saxon king Athelstan at the famous Battle of Brunnenburg, Eil
00:05:49.640 was rewarded two chests of silver for his service and returned to his farm in Iceland.
00:05:56.260 He remained prominent in local politics as he had truly become a legend among his folk.
00:06:02.860 He lived to the age of 90 and passed beyond the Vale just before Iceland began converting
00:06:08.480 to Christianity.
00:06:10.560 He was revived by five children, all of which he had with his wife, Asgirður Björnsdóttur.
00:06:19.460 Erskalgrímsson lived a legendary life of adventure and poetry, of love and war.
00:06:26.400 His might and skill as a warrior helped win the most famous battle in Anglo-Saxon history,
00:06:33.400 and his prowess in poetry was the height of long tradition of Nordic verse.
00:06:39.200 His legacy has lasted over 1,000 years, and it will last thousands more.
00:06:46.700 Hail el Skaldgrimmsen!
00:06:49.900 Hail the Ossetree Folk Assembly!
00:06:53.100 And following after the very interesting and magnanimous life of Eil, we have the Day of
00:07:02.800 Remembrance on December 18th for King Sauard, who passed away in 626 of Common Era.
00:07:15.160 During the turbulent times of the English Heptarchy, the seven Saxon kingdoms had begun their unfortunate
00:07:22.020 conversions to the foreign faith of Christianity. The kingdom of the East Saxons was not unaffected 0.77
00:07:29.460 by this, with the bishop Meltus attending to the Christians in the Essex city of London.
00:07:37.120 King Sebert, father of Sextraith and Saurd, abandoned his troth to the Iser in 604, becoming
00:07:45.800 the first Christian king of Essex.
00:07:49.180 When he died in 616, his two sons took over as kings and ruled the East Saxons jointly.
00:07:57.620 Neither of them accepted Christianity, but openly and proudly continued hailing the Aesir 0.94
00:08:03.880 and rightly restricting Christianity among their people. 0.99
00:08:08.480 When the kings happened upon Meltus, bishop of London, they were quite annoyed when he 0.99
00:08:14.780 would give the Eucharist to Christians but not to his kings. Allegedly they said
00:08:20.720 to him, Why do you not offer us the white bread that you used to give to our
00:08:27.320 father and which you still give to the people? Malthus told them that unless
00:08:34.580 they would be baptized in the name of Christ, the white bread would do them no
00:08:39.260 good. They responded that they did not need to bathe, but they did want some of the bread
00:08:45.640 being handed out to their people. The bishop continued to refuse until the kings became
00:08:51.440 very angry and banished him from their kingdom altogether. While these heroes were later
00:08:57.700 killed in battle with the West Saxons, their dauntlessness in the face of encroaching Christianity 0.99
00:09:03.360 is admirable. When the world around them, and even their own father, abandoned the holy 0.99
00:09:09.100 Isir, King Sexred and King Saurd stood loyal and true. May we all find the courage to keep
00:09:17.400 on the path that is true. Hail King Saurd. Hail the Alcetru Folk Assembly.
00:09:25.780 And after the Days of Remembrance for this month, we have the Yuletide season. Our biggest,
00:09:32.480 brightest and best holiday of the year, 12 Days of Celebration.
00:09:40.440 YOL is the 12-day period in December in which we hold our biggest celebrations.
00:09:46.720 During the YOL season, we celebrate our families and our tribes and the bonds that hold us
00:09:52.680 strong.
00:09:53.940 We celebrate our ancestors.
00:09:56.700 We celebrate our gods and the wild hunts.
00:09:59.180 We celebrate the bright fires of the hearth that keeps us warm
00:10:03.980 And we celebrate the rebirth of the sun
00:10:07.080 We have made it halfway through the harshest time of the year
00:10:11.280 The sun begins to stay in the sky a little longer each day
00:10:15.880 Moving us closer and closer to the fruitful and warm summer
00:10:20.380 We celebrate by gathering together to feast and sing songs
00:10:26.100 We put up our yule trees and our wreaths.
00:10:29.800 We bake cookies and give presents.
00:10:33.260 We build strong bonds and traditions that our children remember and pass on.
00:10:38.640 It is a joyous time of the year.
00:10:41.660 We begin the yule season on the 20th of December, called Mother's Night.
00:10:47.120 During Mother's Night, we celebrate our ancient mothers, the Desir,
00:10:51.000 who kept the hearth flames burning bright. 0.99
00:10:55.100 One way to celebrate this is distinguish all the lights in the house.
00:11:00.420 Light a candle to represent the hearth flame.
00:11:03.440 And if you have children, give them pots and pans.
00:11:07.360 Starting at the central part of your home, or the hearth,
00:11:10.880 usually the kitchen and the stove, which can be a literal hearth if you have a fireplace,
00:11:15.880 let the children chase the ill-whites, or the bad energy, from each room
00:11:20.740 by running through the house and banging the pots and pans.
00:11:24.200 As you go through each room, light a waiting candle.
00:11:28.320 You are bringing the light of the hearth, of the goddess Frigg, of the Dessir, into each room to bless it.
00:11:37.240 You can say something simple with each candle you light.
00:11:41.100 Like, the goddess Frigg bring love and light into this room.
00:11:45.820 Or, the Dessir bless this home and all who live within it.
00:11:50.380 Yol ends on December 31st, a time when people can make oaths for themselves for the coming year.
00:11:58.200 An AFA tradition started by our esteemed founder, Stephen McNallan, focuses on celebrating 12
00:12:06.500 also true virtues, industriousness, justice, courage, generosity, hospitality, moderation,
00:12:17.420 community, individuality, truth, steadfastness, loyalty, and wisdom.
00:12:26.620 Each night, we light a candle in honor of each of these virtues.
00:12:31.460 Founder McNallon has videos for each of these days on our YouTube channel,
00:12:35.500 and we recommend that everyone take some time to watch them.
00:12:39.400 I'll link it in the description.
00:12:43.800 Alrighty, y'all.
00:12:44.940 That is the end of the descriptions and the talks about the holidays, holy days, and days of remembrance for the month of December.
00:12:53.600 But you know, I can't leave you without one last plug.
00:13:00.300 Coming up this weekend, this Saturday, December 6th,
00:13:04.600 dedication for our Hof, the 5th Hof of the Auschwitz Folk Assembly,
00:13:10.620 Threuz Hof. 0.80
00:13:12.440 I'll be there, the Ausheria Gothi, many of the Witten, the Gotar,
00:13:17.740 the folk builders, apprentices, the founder of our church,
00:13:23.260 and his wonderful wife, Founder McNallan, and Githya McNallan will be there,
00:13:29.200 along with tons and tons of members.
00:13:32.820 At this point, as I'm speaking to you, 2 o'clock in the afternoon,
00:13:38.200 on the 2nd of December, 136 people are RSVP'd.
00:13:45.840 If everybody shows up, that is a fabulous thought.
00:13:51.900 And just about, only 20 short of an AFA record for attendance at one of our events.
00:13:59.100 I bet you we can get there if you guys come out.
00:14:02.580 Alrighty, y'all.
00:14:04.140 I'll see you in Austintown, Ohio this weekend.
00:14:07.720 And until next month,
00:14:10.320 Hail El Scholar Grimson.
00:14:13.740 Hail King Sour. 1.00
00:14:17.140 Hail the Eiseer. 1.00
00:14:19.560 Hail the Folk. 1.00
00:14:20.400 hail the afa and hail victory have a good one y'all
00:14:50.400 Thank you.