Hello!

Terribly sorry to bother you but I wanted to ask about the historical fact behind an action I see frequently in your books and the show connected to them. Did the Danes really believe that in order to be accepted into Valhalla they needed to die with sword (or whatever, maybe they wielded an ax) in hand? Or was it more of a security? I know that dying honorably in battle was the best way but was there a specific demand for your weapon to be in your hand? If so I think that many men would have been cheated from their glorious afterlife… It’s a pretty interesting tradition, one that I believe might have been held in many war-like civilizations (but to be honest I am merely a very young, inexperienced history buff, so maybe I’m just very mixed up).

Yours,

An Aspiring History Aficionado

Kate McComack-Morris