A sense of Aesgard
Published: Tue, 06/02/15
About 20 km South East from Uppsala there is the remains of a hill fort called Broborg. We paid a visit on our trip to Uppsala and walked around the perimeter of the ramparts. The fort dates back to the Bronze age and was still occupied in the 4th or 5th century. There is a tragic story of a woman called Grimsa who inherited the fort from her father, refused to marry and fell out with her brothers. Eventually her brothers assaulted and burned the fort, Grimsa dying in the flames.
It is a spectacular spot and you can see my pictures at http://iceandfire.org/sweden15.html, again scroll to the bottom of the page. When I have completed the page I will install some internal links .
Apart from the walk and the spectacular views it was interesting to stand in a genuine hill fort. It must have been a great place to live in the Iron Age. You would be able to command the local area, be relatively safe and have amazing views. If you had plenty of Trel’s to fetch and carry all you needed and enough warriors to guard the place then what is not to like?
I started to see Aesgard as an idealised fort like this one. I could also see why the Aseir were tempted to accept the help of the giant mason to rebuild the walls after the war with the Vanir. Some of the rocks used to build the ramparts were huge. It must have taken some serious physical effort to get all the stones in place as the fortifications were built.
The other connection was with Ivar’s ancestors. The Hafskjold family legend tells how Earling left his mother’s family stronghold, crossed the mountains to Dremensfjiord and built a hill fort which he dedicated to his supposed father Hoss. Hence Hosskol, the ‘Grey one’s hill’. Again I have a sense now of what Earling must have looked for in a suitable site. I have a great admiration for the effort and leadership that must have been needed to build a viable hill fort. I have a sense of the environment in which Earling and his descendants must have lived in until the security of a hill fort was no longer considered necessary.
That was part of the purpose of the trip. Enabling Venetia and I to see the land where Stav comes from and appreciate the connections to the past which still persist today.
Part of the point of the Stav Camp is to provide an opportunity to connect with the fundamentals of Stav through Ivar. Ivar grew up with the Hafskjold tradition. For the rest of his life he has kept that tradition alive and continued to develop his understanding and knowledge. Ivar does not teach very often these days so this is your best opportunity in the UK.
The Camp is in Somerset on the 10th to 12th of July. There is also the opportunity for three days pre-camp training too. Now I realise that Somerset is a long way from, well everywhere is a long way from somewhere. Somerset is actually quite accessible from London and we will collect from station etc if required. I know that people get very busy and three consecutive days is more than they can spare. And one hundred pounds is a lot of money, especially if you have to add the cost of travel etc on top. So I can see that actually being physically present at the camp is asking a great deal. So I am suggesting an alternative for those who would like to support the event but can’t actually be there in person. We will record as much of what Ivar says and demonstrates about Stav as possible and make this available on DVD within 21 days of the camp ending (it will probably be much sooner but I am giving myself some leeway). The cost
for this option will be £30 and you will be supporting the event and getting access to what Ivar teaches without having to leave your house. See http://www.stavcamp.org for the details. If you do go for the £30 option and then decide to come in person I will treat your payment as a deposit on the full cost.
regards
Graham