is the first I've heard of a belief in reincarnation. Can you give me some leads on where you got it?

If you read through the Poetic Edda you will find what some call the 3 Helgi lays. Which speak of (if my memory serves correctly) three different heros named Helgi. The second is descended from the first and the third from the second. The Viking Age Norse believed that certain "qualities" as well as obligations were bequeathed and passed on after one's death. Signs of this belief is present in the structure of those lays. However because of how certain translations are worded some have attempted to used this as evidence for belief in reincarnation among The Pagan Norse. One author especially notorious for this is Eddred Thorsson, a Norse Neo-Pagan writer.

Problem is though the chances of that being true are very slim. Especially when you look at the archaeological evidence. What the grave goods that are found speak of is actually the opposite. They didn't believe the dead were truly "dead". That life of some kind was still to be had in the grave, or more likely in many instances, the family burial mound. A good example of what I'm talking about. The abundance of what at the time of burial were perfectly good metal tools and weapons. Many of them good quality steel, well for that epoch anyway. When you consider the amount of work and effort necessary to make even a simple usable knife back than as good quality ore was not easily available you realize that there is a good chance that they saw those grave goods as being something that the dead person needed. This is exactly the opposite of a culture that believes the body is simply just an empty shell after death. Now another option as to the "reincarnation" thing is the AllFather's role as a God of the Dead. Probably in a necromantic sense than in what we think of reincarnation.

If you want a good read on the subject of death and the afterlife amongst the Viking Age Norse you should read The Road to Hel. It's a bit dated but it's damn good.

I'm familiar with Thorsson and don't think much of his work. A lot of it is based on a silly and quite inauthentic late-19th century German "revival" of Germanic paganism.

BTW, a long time ago I wrote a book on the runes called The Enchanted Alphabet in which I tried to trace the rune meanings back to their earliest meanings, and explored the psychosocial background in which they arose. It's been out of print for a long time, but you can usually find a decent copy on Amazon if you look for it.

I like to post occasional articles for my Norse religious friends. This article popped up in my email (Witches and Pagans subscription) and I shared it here. The explanation that De Leonist provided is outstanding!