Einherjar
In Norse mythology, the einherjar (singular einheri; literally "army of one", "those who fight alone")[1][2] are those who have died in battle and are brought to Valhalla by valkyries.
In Valhalla, the einherjar eat their fill of the nightly resurrecting beast Sæhrímnir, and valkyries bring them mead from the udder of the goat Heiðrún.
[3] In the poem Grímnismál, Óðinn (disguised as Grímnir) tells the young Agnarr Geirröðsson that the cook Andhrímnir boils the beast Sæhrímnir, which he refers to as "the best of pork", in the container Eldhrímnir, yet adds that "but few know by what the einheriar are nourished.
"[4] Further into Grímnismál, Odin gives a list of valkyries (Skeggjöld, Skögul, Hildr, Þrúðr, Hlökk, Herfjötur, Göll, Geirahöð, Randgríð, Ráðgríð, and Reginleif), and states that they bear ale to the einherjar.
Sinfjötli accuses Guðmundur of having once been a female, including that he was "a witch, horrible, unnatural, among Odin's valkyries" and that all of the einherjar "had to fight, headstrong women, on your account".
In addition, High says that Óðinn sends valkyries to every battle, that they allot death to men, and govern victory.
However, High adds that food is not a problem because there will never be too many people in Valhalla that the meat of Sæhrímnir (which he calls a boar) cannot sufficiently feed.
High responds that it is strange that Gangleri is asking if Óðinn, the All-Father, would invite kings, earls, and other "men of rank" to his home and give them water to drink.
High continues that atop Valhalla stands the goat Heiðrún, and it feeds on the foliage of the tree called Læraðr.
[14] The einherjar receive a final mention in the Prose Edda in chapter 2 of the book Skáldskaparmál, where a quote from the anonymous 10th century poem Eiríksmál is provided (see the Fagrskinna section below for more detail and another translation from another source): What sort of dream is that, Odin?
I aroused the Einheriar, bade them get up to strew the benches, clean the beer-cups, the valkyries to serve wine for the arrival of a prince.
Haakon expresses concern that he shall receive Óðinn's hate (Lee Hollander theorizes this may be due to Haakon's conversion to Christianity from his Norse religion), yet Bragi responds that he is welcome: 'All einheriar shall swear oaths to thee: share thou the Æsir's ale, thou enemy-of-earls!
[18] In chapter 8 of Fagrskinna, a prose narrative states that, after the death of her husband Eric Bloodaxe, Gunnhild Mother of Kings had a poem composed about him.
The composition is by an anonymous author from the 10th century and is referred to as Eiríksmál, and describes Eric Bloodaxe and five other kings arriving in Valhalla after their death.
Eric arrives, and Sigmund greets him, tells him that he is welcome to come into the hall, and asks him what other lords he has brought with him to Valhalla.
[20] According to John Lindow, Andy Orchard, and Rudolf Simek, scholars have commonly connected the einherjar to the Harii, a Germanic tribe attested by Tacitus in his 1st-century AD work Germania.
[21] Simek says that since the connection has become widespread, "one tends to interpret these obviously living armies of the dead as religiously motivated bands of warriors, who led to the formation of the concept of the einherjar as well as the Wild Hunt [...]".
