The Saga of Vanadís, Völva and Valkyrja

the old manuscripts. There is Hermann Pálsson 18 , whose deep and wide knowledge about
the Celtic and Sámi roots of the Islandic culture is unprecedented. He was so generous as
to give me access to some of his unpublished material on völvur and it was he who
introduced me to Þorgerður Hörgabrúður. I am forever grateful to him for that. Haraldur
Bessason, former professor at the University of Winnipeg and former rector at the
University of Akureyri, introduced me to some of the wonders of Völuspá and Njáls
Saga, when I attended his course in 1995. Einar Pálsson passed away before I ever took
the chance to converse with him about his exciting ideas, which in so many ways relate to
mine, but his courage shines through his books, which are a wonderful inspiration.
For the archaeomythological context and the connection to other myths and
historical material I rely mainly on Marija Gimbutas and her books on the Goddess of
Old Europe. Mara Keller and Joan Marler’s class “The Goddess of Prehistory” gave me
important support and knowledge to link to my ideas. So did their friendship and the
book From the Realm of the Ancestors edited by Joan. Mara’s knowledge and deep
understanding of the divine female, and therefore her insight into my work, kept me
going through the dark valleys. The archaeomythology group that met in Greece in 1998:
Joan and Mara, Rose Frances, Cristina Biaggi, Miriam Robbins Dexter, Michael Dames,
Lucia Birnbaum, Heide Göttner-Abenroth, Kristina Berggren, Nanos Valeoritis and more,
have all given me pieces of treasures, gersemar 19 , invaluable in this work. Betty
Meador’s books on Inanna and Enheduanna are among the foundations of my thinking
and writing, as well as my spiritual nourishment. Her devotion to the poems of
Enheduanna is an example for me to try to follow. This work would not have been
possible without the knowledge gathered from James Mellaart and Dorothy Cameron,
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