THE SEERESS’S CULTURAL MEMORY: RECENTERING THE VÖLVA FIGURE IN CONTEMPORARY ADAPTATIONS OF NORSE MYTHOLOGY

This thesis examines the völur, arguing that these mythic figures actually encompass a broader range of Nordic women than are typically considered. They are magically empowered, usually through their association with and proximity to prophecy and divinity, and are thus tasked with ensuring cultural memory is preserved in much the same way the speaker of “The Seeress’s Prophecy” does. The examination follows an analysis of various Giantesses from the second era of the God of War video games series, an adaptation of Angrboda from The Witch’s Heart by Genevieve Gornichec, and Freydís Eiríksdóttir from Vikings: Valhalla. Each of these women prove to be a völva figure in their own unique ways, and thus carry with them the cultural memory as a form of preservation in the face of apocalypses.