Reconstructing the Seasonal Year
The pre-Christian Norse year was structured by seasons, lunar and solar cycles, agricultural rhythms, and recurring communal observances. This section examines what the surviving sources actually tell us about that calendar—and where reconstruction necessarily begins.
Research & Reconstructions
Vetrnætr
Attested term · Seasonal observance · Ongoing reconstruction
Vetrnætr (“Winter Nights”) marks the opening of winter in the surviving Old Norse sources, but its duration, timing, and relationship to associated ritual observances require careful reconstruction. This research examines the attestations individually before considering what they may reveal collectively.
Dísablót
Attested term · Ritual observance · Ongoing reconstruction
Dísablót (“sacrifice to the dísir”) is an attested type of blót in the surviving Old Norse sources. At least one Dísablót is explicitly placed at Vetrnætr, while other attestations occur in different narrative settings without a fixed date. The surviving evidence therefore supports Dísablót more securely as a type of ritual observance than as the name of one universally dated festival.
