Drengsiðr Heathenism draws its foundation from a wide and varied body of historical sources rooted in the pre-Christian cultures of Northern Europe. Unlike later centralized religions, there exists no single canonical text. Instead, what survives is a fragmented corpus preserved across poems, sagas, legal codes, foreign accounts, and archaeological findings—each offering a partial view into a once-living tradition.
The most prominent literary sources include the Eddic poems (both those preserved in the Codex Regius and those surviving in separate manuscripts), the Prose Edda, and the Icelandic sagas, which together provide insight into cosmology, ethics, social order, and the lived expression of honor and reputation. These are supplemented by early external observers—such as Tacitus, Adam of Bremen, Bede, and Ahmad ibn Fadlan—whose writings, while filtered through their own cultural perspectives, provide valuable contemporary accounts of Germanic and Norse peoples.
Beyond written texts, Drengsiðr also relies on archaeological evidence, including runestones, burial practices, grave goods, and material culture, as well as comparative Indo-European and Germanic scholarship to help interpret gaps in the historical record. These sources are vast and continually expanding; as such, it is neither practical nor possible to produce an exhaustive list of every contributing work or artifact.
As a result, Drengsiðr is best understood as a reconstructionist and interpretive tradition—one that seeks to faithfully engage with the surviving record while acknowledging its incomplete and often indirect nature. The sources presented here represent the core literary foundation, not the full extent, of the tradition’s inspiration and study.
Mythological Poems
- Völuspá (The Prophecy of the Seeress)
- Hávamál (Sayings of the High One)
- Vafþrúðnismál (Vafthrúdnir’s Sayings)
- Grímnismál (Grímnir’s Sayings)
- Skírnismál (The Lay of Skírnir)
- Hárbarðsljóð (The Poem of Hárbard)
- Hymiskviða (Hymir’s Poem)
- Lokasenna (Loki’s Quarrel)
- Þrymskviða (Thrym’s Poem)
- Völundarkviða (The Poem of Völund)
- Alvíssmál (The Lay of Alvís)
- Baldrs draumar (Baldr’s Dreams)
- Gróttasöngr (The Song of Grotti)
- Rígsþula (The Lay of Ríg)
- Hyndluljóð (The Poem of Hyndla)
- Völuspá hin skamma (Short Prophecy of the Seeress)
- Svipdagsmál (The Lay of Svipdag)
- Grógaldr (Gróa’s Spell)
- Fjölsvinnsmál (The Lay of Fjölsvid)
Heroic Poems
- Helgakviða Hundingsbana I (The First Lay of Helgi Hundingsbane)
- Helgakviða Hundingsbana II (The Second Lay of Helgi Hundingsbane)
- Helgakviða Hjörvarðssonar (The Poem of Helgi Hjörvardsson)
- Frá dauða Sinfjötla (The Death of Sinfjötli)
- Grípisspá (Grípir’s Prophecy)
- Reginsmál (The Ballad of Regin)
- Fáfnismál (The Ballad of Fáfnir)
- Sigrdrífumál (The Lay of Sigrdrífa)
- Brot af Sigurðarkviðu (Fragment of a Poem about Sigurd)
- Guðrúnarkviða I (The First Lay of Gudrún)
- Guðrúnarkviða II (The Second Lay of Gudrún)
- Guðrúnarkviða III (The Third Lay of Gudrún)
- Sigurðarkviða hin skamma (A Short Poem about Sigurd)
- Helreið Brynhildar (Brynhild’s Ride to Hel)
- Dráp Niflunga (The Fall of the Niflungs)
- Oddrúnargrátr (Oddrún’s Lament)
- Atlakviða (The Lay of Atli)
- Atlamál hin groenlenzku (The Greenlandic Poem of Atli)
- Guðrúnarhvöt (Gudrún’s Inciting)
- Hamðismál (The Ballad of Hamdir)
Prose Edda
- Gylfaginning (The Tricking of Gylfi)
- Skáldskaparmál (The Language of Poetry)
Icelandic Sagas
- Njáls saga
- Egil’s saga
- Grettis saga
- Laxdæla saga
- Eyrbyggja saga
- Gísla saga Súrssonar
- Víga-Glúms saga
- Hrafnkels saga
- Vatnsdæla saga
- Kormáks saga
- Völsunga saga
- Hervarar saga ok Heiðreks
- Hrólfs saga kraka
- Ragnars saga loðbrókar
- Heimskringla
- Saga of the Ynglings
- Fagrskinna
- Morkinskinna
Lesser Known Sagas
- Landnámabók
- Íslendingabók
- Orkneyinga saga
- Færeyinga saga
Early Germanic and Comparative Sources
- Germania – Tacitus
- Gesta Danorum – Saxo Grammaticus
- Commentarii de Bello Gallico – Julius Caesar
- Gesta Hammaburgensis Ecclesiae Pontificum – Adam of Bremen
- Ecclesiastical History of the English People – Bede
- Risala – Ahmad ibn Fadlan
Laws & Customs
- Grágás
- Gulathing Law
- Frostathing Law
Archaeological & Runic Sources
- Runestones (e.g., Rök Runestone, Jelling Stones)
- Artifacts (amulets, bracteates, weapons, tools, etc.)
- Burial sites (ship burials, grave goods)
- Cultic sites (Temple sites, ritual deposit sites)
Drengsiðr 