New podcast series Echoes of History: Ragnarök, which takes a 'deep dive' into the fascinating imaginary world which guided the Vikings of the past, features Dr Eric Lacey, senior lecturer in English at the University of Winchester, who shares his expertise in Old Norse literature, language and myth.
The podcast is inspired by and accompanies the latest version of popular video game Assassin's Creed: Valhalla, the Dawn of Ragnarök, which sees players explore the world of Old Norse mythology, fighting to save the son of Odin from the gods' foes, the giants.
Echoes of History: Ragnarök discusses in-depth the Old Norse myths which inspired and informed the video game, from the creation of the mythological universe to the adventures of individual gods to Ragnarök, the destruction of the gods and world which ushers in a new era.
In all five episodes of the podcast, Dr Eric Lacey joins historians and storytellers to explore Norse mythology, commenting on various topics and discussing different ways that Christianity influences Old Norse mythology and Cosmology.
His inclusion in the podcast follows Dr Lacey's consultancy work with games developer Ubisoft for Dawn of Ragnarök, where he advised on language, naming, historical accuracy and Norse myth to help ensure historical authenticity in the game.
"Norse mythology is a fascinating and highly imaginative universe, which was deeply embedded in the lives and traditions of Scandinavian peoples in the Middle Ages," said Dr Lacey.
"The world was created by the god Odin and his brothers from the body of a giant, and there Odin and other gods such as Loki live alongside m agical creatures including elves, giants and dwarfs."
The Echoes of History: Ragnarök podcast is available to listen to on various platforms, including Spotify and Apple Podcasts, at this link: Echoes of History.
Eric teaches Old and Middle English, Proto-Indo-European, semantics, the history of the English language, and syntax and morphology.
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