vahalla

Valhalla, sometimes transliterated Valhall and spelled Valhǫll in Old Norse, is a central location in Norse mythology. The name derives from valr, the slain, and hǫll, hall, literally meaning “hall of the slain.” In myth it is the great hall of Odin in Asgard, where the einherjar, warriors who have fallen in battle, reside after death. The slain are selected by the valkyries, divine maidens who serve Odin and ferry worthy warriors to Valhalla.

Within Valhalla the einherjar feast and train, fighting by day and healing by night while awaiting Ragnarok, when they will fight on Odin’s side. The hall is described in medieval sources as having many gates; the Prose Edda notes that there are 540 doors, through which 800 warriors may pass at a time.

Valhalla figures prominently in the Poetic Edda and the Prose Edda, forming a key element of Norse cosmology and beliefs about the afterlife and heroism. Its imagery has influenced later literature and popular culture, where it is often invoked as a symbol of a heroic, warrior’s afterlife, in contrast to other realms associated with the dead.