After the success of the SFF badge collection 2021, I am pleased to present something new for this year’s Norsevember; the Norsevember Badge Collection!
It’s a way to add a little something extra to the event that encourages people to take part but also benefit from it and learn new things. I hope you like the designs and fancy taking part!
The Badges
The Sleipnir Badge
Sleipnir is Odin’s eight-legged horse. But did you know it came to be born after Loki shapeshifted into a mare and was impregnated by the stallion Svaðilfari?
Sleipnir features in both the Poetic and Prose Eddas aswell as The Saga of Hervör and Heidrek and The Völsunga saga.
There are a lot of sagas, many of which reference or expand on the stories and lore encountered in the Eddas. They really help expand your knowledge not only of the stories and lore of the Norse, but also the way they felt and thought, what influenced their world view and societies.
Read any of the Sagas to earn this badge (though I recommend trying a few!)
The Valknut Badge
The Valknut is made of three interlocking triangles and is sometimes called Odin’s knot.
It appears on several runestones and pictorial memorial stones that date from the Viking Age including grave goods from the Oseberg ship burial in Norway. The name itself is a modern creation, and means “knot of those fallen in battle.”
Whether this is accurate or not, this knot is often associated with death in some way whilst accompanying imagery usually features Odin or his symbology. It’s one of the most widely known Norse symbols but we just don’t have much knowledge about it. Evidently, the allfather does.
You may never know as much as Odin, but spread some knowledge yourself with a Norse related blog feature or video to earn this badge.
The Yggdrasil Badge
Yggdrasil is the world tree, which holds the 9 worlds. All the people of Midgard, the fires of Muspelheim, the home of the Gods in Asgard. They’re all nestled within Yggdrasil’s ancient branches.
You can read about Yggdrasil in both the Prose Edda and the Poetic Edda, along with many other creation myths and stories of the Gods.
Many suggest starting with the Poetic Edda as it is a little more accessible and informative, but both have their merits.
Read the Poetic Edda or the Prose Edda (or of course, both) to earn this badge.
The Vikingr Badge
To go aviking was to go raiding, and there are a number of book series about these rampaging Norsemen that capture the imagination of so many.
There are books too though about Norse society at home, about the Gods, runes, archaeology, culture and of course the historical characters of legend like Erik Bloodaxe. There are some brilliant audiobook versions too and exciting graphic novels.
There are so many different Norse books to read, there’s at least something to interest almost anyone.
Read and review any Norse inspired book to earn this badge.
The Longship Badge
The people of modern day Scandinavia – Norway and Denmark in particular (though often covered by the blanket term Norse we use out of laziness these days) raided, explored and traded around the world. They couldn’t have done it without their trusty longships.
Share your longship from last year’s event or sign up for one this year if you don’t have a personal longboat to sail the event on. Do this and earn your Longship Badge.
The Rune Badge
Odin, impaled his heart with his own spear and hung on the world tree for nine days and nights to perceive the meaning of the runes. The runes were symbols that sprang from the Well of Urd (the source of fate) and the Norns used these runes to carry that fate up the trunk and branches of Yggdrasil to the nine worlds.
Odin made his sacrifice at such risk because he knew the runes conveyed deep meaning, and if he could understand their meaning he would gain profound wisdom and power.
Fortunately, you don’t need to go quite that far to gain some wisdom and earn the Rune Badge. Simply share 5 Norsevember posts or tweets from the community during the event and it’s yours.
Odin’s Ravens Badge
Odin has two ravens, Huginn and Muninn. They fly all over the world, watching and listening, before reporting the information back to the All Father.
They see what others don’t see. They hear what others don’t hear. They know what others don’t know.
To earn their badge, tweet a lesser known Norse-related fact that other people may be unfamiliar with.
The Mjölnir Badge
Mjölnir is mighty Thor’s distinctive hammer, used to smash many a giant across a wedding hall. There is much more to Thor than his hammer, though.
As with Thor, there are a whole pantheon of Gods and Goddesses with their unique traits, stories and often mythological possessions.
Add the Mjölnir Badge to your collection by tweeting the name of the God you are most interested or intrigued by – and why. Remember to use the #Norsevember hashtag.
The Loki Badge
Loki – The Trickster God.
The cause of and solution to most of the Gods problems – and yours.
Loki loves mischief and games. To earn his badge, you’ll have to prove yourself worthy of his challenge.
Loki has compiled an extensive list of dares, ranging in difficulty. If the runes fall in your favour, he might grant you this badge with minimal effort. If not, you’ll have to go a little further, or maybe even cause some (harmless) mischief within the community. Your challenge lies at the end of a random number generator.
To prove it’s not rigged, Loki has enlisted the aid of a number of helpers throughout the 9 worlds. Contact the event organiser to cast your runes.
Spells and Spaceships 
Love this!
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I’m inspired! Just wrote a little piece of flash fiction about a barbarian. Perhaps, he’s Norse? LOL. Love the badges!
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Thanks!
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