blöt

Blót is a term from Old Norse describing a ritual sacrifice performed to honor the gods, spirits, and ancestors. In scholarly usage, blót can denote both the act of sacrifice and the accompanying communal feast in which the community participates. The word derives from Proto-Germanic *blōtą and is related to offerings and devotion; it is the standard historical term for sacrificial rites in Norse culture.

Practices varied by region and era but shared common structures. A goði or chieftain often presided in a hall, temple, or sacred clearing. Offerings commonly included animals such as cattle, pigs, or sheep, as well as grain and drink (mead or ale). The blood of the sacrificed animal might be offered to the gods or spilled on the ground, and the meat was roasted and consumed in a shared meal, reinforcing social bonds. Rites typically included spoken formulas, prayers, and libations; a sumbel, a separate drinking ritual, could accompany the occasion, with participants making toasts and oaths to the gods and to one another.

In later sources, especially Icelandic sagas and Snorri Sturluson’s writings, blót is described as a central facet of old religious life; the practice gradually declined with Christianization, though remnants persisted in local customs and, in modern contexts, in neopagan revivals such as Ásatrú where blót denotes a ceremonial gathering or sacrifice.