In the first blog in this recurring series, I explained the purpose of it, which was to look at the history of the Norse figures after which each of the Viking River Cruises Longships are named. We’re working through the list of Viking Longships alphabetically, so this time it’s the turn of Alsvin, who gave his name to the Viking Longship Alsvin, naturally.

Who was Alsvin?

This time, I’m not looking at a Norse god, or even a Norse goddess. When translated, ‘Alsvin’ means ‘very swift’ and it was the very appropriate name given to one of the two horses responsible for pulling the sun across the sky in a celestial chariot driven by the sun goddess, Sol.

More about Alsvin

Alsvin, sometimes spelt ‘Alsvior’, was aided in his task of pulling the sun chariot by Arvakr, whose name translates as ‘Early riser’. Understandably, you may have some trouble swallowing the notion of horses pulling the sun through the sky. However, as it turns out the gods had it covered and attached cooling iron bellows to the horses’ shoulders so that they wouldn’t burn up.

Both of the horses played another important role too. Today, we commonly associate the sun with providing us with both heat and light but in Norse mythology, the sun provided just the heat, while the shimmering manes of Alsvin and Arvakr generated the daylight.

Interesting facts

It could be that Alsvin contributed to an intriguing archaeological find, when in 1902, the Trundholm Sun Chariot was unearthed in a Denmark peat bog on the island of Zealand. It comprises two bronze discs which represent both sides of the sun – one for the sky at night, the other in the day. I say Alsvin could have contributed, because the artefact features only one horse, and there’s every chance it was intended to represent Arvakr. This and the fact that the artefact has been dated to between 1800-1600BC led some to believe the artefact wasn’t of Norse origin, though curators at the National Museum of Denmark are confident that it is.

Viking Longship Alsvin enjoys a kinship with her Norse namesake thanks to her eco-friendly solar panels and spacious sun deck.