OMI: Odin’s Migration Interactive
OMI: Odin Migration Interactive is a digital project I work on with my colleague Jorunn Joiner. The project aims to visualise the places and routes involved in the Odin Migration Theory, which posits that the Norse god Odin was a real man who migrated from somewhere in Asia. Our prototype map can be viewed here: https://www.omi.ht.lu.se
The prototype map with two case studies of Edward Daniel Clarke and Thor Heyerdahl.
What is the Odin Migration Theory?
The Odin Migration Theory was initially proposed by the medieval Icelandic historian Snorri Sturluson. In his account of Norway’s kings, Heimskringla, Sturluson argued that Odin had migrated North from a region in Asia near the river Tanais, now called the Don. This theory was popularised in the eighteenth century all across Europe. The Odin Migration Theory captivated many, as it had a powerful narrative for the construction of ethnic and cultural heritages in the period.
But the theory also had real staying power into the twenty-first century! Travellers and explorers like Fridtjof Nansen and Thor Heyerdahl remained fascinated by a possible link between the North and ancient civilisations, and the theory lives on in modern interests in Hyperdiffusionism.
Status and Aim of the Project
We have developed a prototype map with two case studies: Edward Daniel Clarke (1769-1822) & Thor Heyerdahl (1914–2002). We read both authors and, through close reading, mapped the journeys of both Clarke and Heyerdahl. The process of developing the map and the insights from these two case studies has been published as an Open Access chapter in The Exceptional North. Which means it can be read for completely free here!
We aim to further develop the project, with expanded features on the digital map, more analysis, and a self-contained database of travellers who are variously interested in and seek to investigate the Odin Migration Theory.
The overall goal of the project is to demonstrate that this map could be extended to include further case studies on transnational connections in the construction of Nordic heritage and identity.
Odin, from the title page of the Prose Edda
