Blót
Blót was a Norse sacrificial rite in which offerings were made to gods, spirits, or ancestors, often followed by a communal feast.
Animal sacrifice: The ritual killing of animals as offerings to divine or supernatural powers. Animals could be sacrificed during blót, with their blood and meat given ritual significance.
Heimskringla: A collection of sagas about Norwegian kings, written by Snorri Sturluson in the thirteenth century. Its account of a Swedish blót at Uppsala became a major source for later descriptions.
Hákon the Good: A tenth-century king of Norway, remembered in saga accounts of conflict between Christianity and pagan custom. Stories about his attendance at pagan feasts show blót’s political as well as religious stakes.
Christianization of Scandinavia: The gradual adoption of Christianity by Scandinavian societies, chiefly between the tenth and twelfth centuries. Conversion brought blót into conflict with Christian rulers, laws, and worship.
Sacred feasting: A communal meal whose food and setting carry religious significance. Participants commonly shared sacrificial meat after the offerings were made.
Adam of Bremen: An eleventh-century German chronicler who wrote about the archbishopric of Hamburg-Bremen and northern Europe. He described a major pagan sanctuary and sacrifices at Uppsala.
Jarl Hákon Sigurðarson: A late tenth-century ruler of Norway who resisted Christianization and supported traditional worship. Saga narratives associate his rule with the restoration of sacrifices and blót.
Thing of all Swedes: A Swedish assembly held near Uppsala, traditionally associated with royal authority and public decisions. Medieval accounts connect the assembly with a recurring public blót at Uppsala.
Hlaut: In Old Norse sources, the sacrificial blood associated with a blót. Hlaut was used in ritual acts connected with sacrifice, including sprinkling.
Eyrbyggja saga: An Icelandic saga depicting settlement, feuds, and religious change in western Iceland. Its scenes of communal worship and sacrifice offer a saga account of blót.