Book I, Chapter 19
The Norse temple and associated cult at Uppsala was one of the last major bastions of the Norse religion during the attempted Christianization of Scandinavia in the 10th and 11th centuries. Razed in 1044 and rebuilt in 1056, the original temple featured statues of the gods Odin, Freyr and Thor on a triple throne, a sacred well and a sacred grove. When the temple was first destroyed by Christian Crusaders, many of the priesthood managed to evacuate to Berk, where they formed the core of...
— The Second Flowering Of Yggdrasil: An Analysis Of The Norse Resurgence, 1710
Tropes That Appear In This Chapter:
- Converting for Love: Attempted but ultimately defied with Ruffnut who refuses to convert to Christianity after accepting Magnus’ marriage proposal, in spite of Father Henriksson's constant attempts to get her to convert.
- Everyone Can See It: It’s apparently an open secret at Magnus’ court that Astrid and Hiccup are sleeping together.
- Implausible Deniability: Fishlegs catches Murchadh and Brogan trying to break into the dragon broodery. They claim they were sent to get potash and dried kelp at the village stores and they thought that the broodery was the stores.
- Meaningful Rename: Given the tradition of giving hideous names in Berk, people often take new names into adulthood, just as Snotlout decides to call himself Sigurd Trondsson (meaning "Victory Guardian, Son of Prosperity") when he leaves for Constantinople.
- Mistaken for Racist: When Fishlegs catches Murchadh and Brogan trying to break into the dragon broodery, they ask him to unlock it for them with the air of thinking that it was locked to keep foreigners out.Brogan: So can you let us in so that us outsiders can do our errands for our betters?
- Straw Misogynist: Einar makes it no secret to Wulfhild that she is just a political chess piece to him, taking the time to remind her of "her place" after Magnus undermines him by swearing his oath to Hiccup and Astrid.
- Worthy Opponent: Despite coming in second place, Snotlout acknowledges that at least he lost to a "proper viking" like Gunnar. And he doesn't hold a grudge, even offering Gunnar a ride on Hookfang.
