# Talk:Einherjar

What's about non-christian version?
My articles with sources have been censured. You have motivation I suppose, (I know that my English isn’t so good! I’m only a Viking) but there’s still a big problem to be impartial in Wiki! When articles speak about Norse mythology we have only the Christians’ opinion! What about Asatruar opinion? For us it isn’t mythology!  Today Christians are quiet and Honest and I respect them, but history claims and proves that Christians were like ayatollahs over hundreds of years!  How can one think that they give us the truth on our Viking and pagan beliefs?: All serious Historians agree with this(2)(Boyer, Renaud, Mabire, Musset, Barthelemy…) (Christians were inspired by vitae latina and bible) 
Here my article:
Einherjar were the Fylgjas (spirits) of exceptional warriors whom have died bravely in a fight, the weapon in their hands! They escaped for their greater satisfaction from “the straw’s death”. That means “natural death in their bed”. In that case of death the spirits take the way for Hel where the quiet and mysterious Hela, Goddess of death, who has half face in the shadow of darkness and the other part in the brightness of the life, led them on a ship which follows the current of one of the twelve rivers Eligavar. One of these rivers brings them in the country of Gimle (same as Greek Champs-Élysées). But for the Einherjar another great destiny awaited them! The Valkyries raised these glorious fighters to bring them in Asgard. Part of these heroes go in Valhöll, with Odin, the other part with Freyja. To explain this choice between Odin and Freyja, the oral transmissions (Odal Property) explain that the warriors reserved for Odin are those of them which dedicate their life with the war and the battles, that one names “the offensive ones”. The warriors reserved for Freyja are those of them which carry out engagements to protect their families their clans and their goods that one names “the defensive ones”. The historian Else Roesdahl noticed that in the burials containing weapons: in those of Norway the warriors had shields (defensive), and in Denmark they had only their weapons of attacks (offensive) (1).sources: “Vikings, investigation into the secrecies of the Masters of the sea” Science and life n°80 April 2004. article from Anne Nissen Jaubert (national Institute of preventive archaeological research) 
All of Gods animals have their own name! Animals had an important place in Viking society they do love them! Their Gods are so concerned of their good being, that they reborn them when they died like the pig Sæhrímnir , like the Thor’s goat (Thor preserve the bones of his goat to reborn it)
We have to remember that it's the Christian clerks whom wrote and translated sagas, written a few centuries after the Viking era, they wanted to explain to pagan that Einherjar prepared for a final combat at the time of ragnarök. But this version is contradicted in the Odal Properties, and also by the historians, as for the bad faith of their authors whom wanted to destructed pagan believes!(2)  I propose that in each article we expose the opinion of non Christians. Thorgis 16:49, 9 December 2006 (UTC)

I agree; each article should strive to give the opinions of every interest group. I didn't remove the content to try to censor anything. I didn't remove it purely because of your English, either. The problem is that on this Wikipedia we try to stay completely neutral in regards to subjects, without making judgment calls or assuming things of the reader.
But for the Einherjar another great destiny awaited them! The Valkyries raised these glorious fighters to bring them in Asgard. Part of these heroes go in Valhöll, with Odin, the other part with Freyja.
We usually try to avoid things such as the words "great" and "glorious". Describing people as "heroes" would probably be frowned upon as well. Descriptors that exist to make things look good or bad should be substituted with more neutral terms. If you take out things such as that, and still want the information in the article afterwards, I'd be happy to rewrite it for you in proper English. Voretustalk 06:48, 11 December 2006 (UTC)
Thank you Voretus for your explanations and for your kind proposition. I understand what you mean, and I’m sorry for my engish. I’ll take care to stay completely neutral in regards to subjects. I’m not accustom yet with Encyclopedic definition! If you think that the following information is better, I accept your help to translate in good English with changing few words if  I still write not neutral sentences.
Here the new article: Historians know (1) that a large majority of Norse Mythology have been wrote or translate by Christians few centuries after Viking period. Another point of view  explains the choice for Odin’s Einherjar and Freyja’s one, the oral tradition (Odal Property) explains that the Odin’s warriors are those whom dedicate their life to fight, that one names “the offensive”. Freyja’s warriors are those whom only fight to protect their families their clans and their goods, that one names “the defensive”. The historian Else Roesdahl noticed that in the burials containing weapons: in those in Norway the warriors had shields (defensive), and in Denmark they had only their weapons of attacks (offensive) (2).
For the oral tradition the other spirits whom had a “a straw death” that means, natural death or  “none-fighting” death, they go to Hel, where: "the quiet and mysterious Hela the Goddess of death, who has half face in the shadow of darkness and the other part in the brightness of the life”, led them on a ship which follows the current of one of the twelve rivers Eligavar. One of those rivers brings them in country of Gimle (same as Greek Champs-Élysées)
In Norse mythology Gods’animals have their own name. Animals had an important place in Viking society .Their Gods are so concerned for their good being, that they reborn them when they die, like the pig Sæhrímnir or the Thor’s goat. (Thor preserve the bones of his goat to reborn it)
sources: (1) "L'Islande Médiévale" Régis Boyer, Guide belle lettres des civilisations ISBN 2-251-41014-7 "Le Christ des barbares" Régis Boyer, les Editions du cerf 1987 ISBN 2-204-02766-9
(2) sources: “Vikings, investigation into the secrecies of the Masters of the sea” Science and life n°80 April 2004. article from Anne Nissen Jaubert national Institute of preventive archaeological research
Thorgis 13:34, 11 December 2006 (UTC)

Alright, here's a rewrite to the best of my ability—

A large majority of Norse mythology has been written or translated by Christians a few centuries after the Viking period (1). 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 that a difference between the two cultures in regards to burials containing weapons. In those in Norway the buried warriors had defensive shields, and in Denmark they had only offensive weapons (2).
According to the oral tradition, the spirits that die a natural or non-fighting death go to Hel where "the quiet and mysterious Hela 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 Eligavar. One of those rivers brings them to the country of Gimle (same as the Greek Champs-Élysées)
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 goat, which was brought back to life with bones that Thor had preserved.
Then substitute (1) with:

<ref>[[Régis Boyer]]. "L'Islande Médiévale", Guide belle lettres des civilisations ISBN 2-251-41014-7. "Le Christ des barbares" Régis Boyer, les Editions du cerf 1987 ISBN 2-204-02766-9.</ref>
and substitute (2) with:

<ref>[[Anne Nissen Jaubert]]. “Vikings, investigation into the secrecies of the Masters of the sea”. Science and life n°80 April 2004. [[National Institute of Preventive Archaeological Research]]</ref>
and add {{subst:reference}} near the end of the article for a references section.
I hope that helps. Voretustalk 16:17, 11 December 2006 (UTC)

Dear Voretus, thank you very much indeed for your help! Thorgis 17:35, 11 December 2006 (UTC)
No problem, my Viking friend. Voretustalk 17:44, 11 December 2006 (UTC)

Has anyone explored the theory that the translation was intended to be something more like "one man army" or the more modern "an army of one"?  I remember seeing that somewhere, but I can't seem to find it now. --Dunkelza (talk) 02:36, 12 April 2008 (UTC)

The name should literally mean "one-harrier," from the Old Norse word "herja" meaning "to harry or lay waste." So you're quite right, "army of one," "one-army-er," etc should all be acceptable :) It is somewhat relatable to the Japanese idiom 一騎当千 (Ikkitousen) meaning "one knight who is the match for a thousand (other knights)." Gyozilla (talk) 17:47, 27 May 2008 (UTC)

Too much Pop Culture
the pop culture section is larger than the actual article.  So stupid.
~~  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.173.71.35 (talk) 21:39, 8 December 2008 (UTC) 

I am currently writing a new version of the article from scratch. :bloodofox: (talk) 01:32, 9 December 2008 (UTC)

Is the term Einherjar a (collective) singular or a plural? If it is a plural, what would the singular form be? Thanks.  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 188.60.187.214 (talk) 20:11, 1 November 2009 (UTC) 

The term Einherjar is plural, the singular would be Einheri. Can't find an English language source right now, but see for example the modern Norwegian article on the subject.  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 193.90.49.187 (talk) 02:46, 16 December 2009 (UTC)

Could we possibly have a small Etymology section for Einherjar? I believe I read somewhere that it translates as "one-army" refering to the belief that all friend and foe would fight beside eachother regardless of past battles and such, the idea being that all warriors were united to defend the gods. Has anyone else heard of that?  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 92.2.72.39 (talk) 01:10, 4 December 2009 (UTC) 

Could someone provide the correct pronunciation. At first, I assumed that it was "Ine hair yarr", but then I realized that the Norse "ei" would make it "Eyn hair yarr". But the band Unleashed, in their song "Chief Einherjar", pronounce it "Eyn harr yarr". Since they're Scandinavian, I'd assume that their pronunciation is more expert than mine. Thoughts? 174.89.233.172 (talk) 07:35, 26 May 2012 (UTC)

It's probably one of these: [ˈai̯nhɛrjar], [ˈɛi̯nhɛrjar], [ai̯nˈhɛrjar], [ɛi̯nˈhɛrjar]. Unfortunately, I have no idea about the correct length of the last two vowels. Peter238 (talk) 11:21, 26 July 2015 (UTC)
Forvo has information at http://forvo.com/search/einherjar/.
—Wavelength (talk) 14:41, 26 July 2015 (UTC)
Thanks, but neither of the recordings is the Old Norse pronunciation. I assume that's what the anon is asking about. Peter238 (talk) 14:48, 26 July 2015 (UTC)
It depends on the period and dialect, but [ˈɛɪnhɛrjar] is close enough, I think. The first syllable has a diphthong, none of the unstressed vowels are long. --Florian Blaschke (talk) 12:22, 27 July 2015 (UTC)