Editing Valhalla (section)

=== Death chants as appeals to Valhalla ===
Death chants were poetic compositions made to appease Odin and to earn a dead loved one's place in Valhalla. These death chants recorded a loved one's deed and accounted their victories to prove their worthiness to the hall of hero's.<ref name=":4" /> The witnesses of these death chants were often daughters of the dying Vikings who acted at intermediaries by recording these poems in runes or orally. “By witnessing and recording these poems, they are in essence lending their fathers’ deaths a certain amount of weight”.<ref name=":4" /> These rituals ensured that the deeds of the fallen would remain influential, securing their place among the honored dead in Valhalla. This also once again placed women as a central role in death and the procession of death in Viking society.