VALHǪLL is the hall of Óðinn (Odin) in Norse mythology. The fullest descriptions of it are found in the Prose Edda (c. 1220–1230) of the Icelandic mythographer Snorri Sturluson and in the Eddic poem Grímnismál...

(Low German Wodan; south German Wuotan) Germanic god, described in the Edda as the chief of the Aesir (→ As) the husband of → Frigg. He is god of war, patron of heroes and ‘father of the dead’ (Walvater). He is served by the...

Odin or Odinn (Old Norse/Icelandic Óðinn, also known as Oden, Woden or Wodan), is considered the chief god in Norse mythology and Norse paganism. Like the Anglo-Saxon Woden it is descended from Proto-Germanic *Wōđinaz or *Wōđanaz. His name is...

Janne Teller, Odins o. Copenhagen. Centrum. 2000 (c1999). 495 pages. 328 kr. ISBN 87-583-2227-7. JANNE TELLER'S NOVEL Odins o (Odin's Island) is an intriguing, often amusing blend of Nordic mythology and poetry, modern love story, biting social satire, political and religious intrigue,...

RFID tags, the dime-sized devices that can track inventory from the factory to the store, are being embraced as one of the hottest of new technologies. But Patrick J. Sweeney II likens most available applications of RFID, or radio frequency identification, to the user-...

What's a huge plastic Santa Claus doing among palm trees in a seaside town in Turkey? The mayor's answer is simple: He's back home. Suleyman Topcu put up the statue in the Mediterranean town of Demre to honor its favorite son _ St. Nicholas, the...

Norway plans to buy greenhouse gas quotas for public officials when they fly aboard to help curb global warming, Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg said.In his annual News Year's Day speech Monday evening, Stoltenberg said the proposal would probably make the Norwegian government the first in...