Welcome to CHAPTER 82 of the Kinsmen Die podcast, home of fantasy fiction based on Norse mythology that’s written and read by me, Matt Bishop.In this podcast I read my first novel, Kinsmen Die, one chapter at a time. And, with each episode, when it makes sense, I provide some commentary about the source materials I’ve referenced in the text.This week we’re back with Frigg, the wife of Odin and Almother of Gladsheim.As readers we’ve learned quite a bit more than Frigg has since we last saw her in Chapter 77.And yet Frigg has learned a few things, too. First, through her visions she believes that her son Baldr’s life is threatened. Frigg and Odin learned that the mistletoe in which they’d hidden Baldr’s spirit—this is what makes him invulnerable—was vandalized and taken.Frigg believes that the witch Yelena was responsible for doing that. But she doesn’t know why or if Yelena was acting under her own initiative…for some reason…or another’s. Frigg, and Odin, also believe that Loki and perhaps Angrboda are involved in the plot on Baldr’s life. Odin left to summon Angrboda’s spirit and get answers. We know how that went — Odin was cursed by Angrboda and we last saw him wandering off into the wild forest near the Gjoll.We also know, from much earlier chapters, that Loki does intend to murder Baldr during Midwinter and that the Jotunn plan to attack Gladsheim about a month after Midwinter. However, Angrboda told Odin that Hodr would be the one to kill Baldr. So there’s some confusion here as to what will actually happen.With that short summary out of the way, let’s rejoin Frigg.I used Google Gemini to create this episode's art. It is an approximation of Gladsheim.You can find me online at: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Matt-Bishop/author/B073NK4HDC The show's public site is here: https://rss.com/podcasts/fensalirpodcast-kinsmendie/ The source for my short reading from Snorri’s Prose Edda is here: https://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/pre/pre04.htm The source for my reading from the Havamol is here:https://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/poe/poe04.htm Larrington’s translation of the Havamol can be found where books are sold online.

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“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.

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