"Of all of the Old Norse sources, only one describes Hel as a thoroughly unpleasant place: the Prose Edda of the thirteenth-century Icelandic scholar Snorri Sturluson. Snorri wrote many generations after Norse paganism had given way to Christianity and ceased to be a living tradition, and he had a habit of stretching the evidence available to him to present his pre-Christian ancestors as having anticipated aspects of Christianity.[6] His downright comically over-the-top portrayal of Hel is an excellent example of this tendency of his. For Snorri, the plate of the goddess Hel is called Hunger (Hungr), her servants Slow (Ganglati) and Lazy (Ganglöt), the threshold of her door Stumbling Block (Fallandaforað), her bed Illness (Kör), and her curtains Bleak Misfortune (Blíkjandabölr).[7] Few scholars accept such descriptions as being authentic products of the Viking Age.[8]"

http://norse-mythology.org/cosmology/the-nine-worlds/helheim/

Very interresting source. :)

We still can give to the devs the right to prefere this "version" of Nordic mythology inspiration to set their own story and narration.

But you have right to point out this fact if this guy teached this christianic influence as the truth about Nordic mythology.

One of the things that initially intrigued me about this game is how it takes place in a representation of norse mythology while the main character isn't norse herself. I started to wonder how much of it was her interpretation of it based on what she had been told, and what a hot mess it might be compared to the "canon" myth, if you will.

Senua's knowledge of Norse mythology comes from tales heard from her friend. It's a "he said, she said" situation where allot of self interpretation is involved.

Ähm... without Snorri, you would not even have 10% of norse mythology at all. and that the mythology is interpreted by a christian monk...well, c'est la vie.

While I agree that in many regards a less extreme portrayal of Hel would have been more interesting, I want to note two things:
1. For the purposes of Hellblade, such a version is actually very fitting.
2. This is the version most players will be familiar with, as it is the "common" portrayal of it.

But given that the Edda was the most accessible way to learn about the mythology back then, it makes sense that this is what Druth is basing his knowledge on. I'm reluctant to point out more of these intentional discrepancies without spoiling stuff.

Years ago, I have read a book that takes a psychological approach to the norse mythos... it was called "Odin Ein Gott auf der Couch" written by Horst Obleser... as far as I know it was never translated, and is out of print... but if your German is good enough, and you can find a copy of the book, I warmly recommend it for anyone even remotely interested in the subject matter...

it does take a look at the Edda prose as well...

the way the game utilises its setting is done quite well, even taking a "word of mouth" -approach to the mythology... as has been pointed out by MrFuzzles, Druth would not be overly familiar with the "real" version as it is...

just my 0.5 cents... :D

Unfortunately, this is true of most mythologies- it's a systemic flaw in the anthropology field that wasn't properly recognized as a problem until after hundreds of books were published.

Actually, the notion of "purity" here loses all meaning once you realize that every culture has been trading stories and ideas with each other for as long as they have been telling stories :)

indeed. and after all, the monks did a great job back then, conservating narrations from even a non-christian time. also, oral narration was even back then a worn out thing, as it did not greatly contribute to the development of modern society.

This.