As I design my Norse Minifigure society, it has occurred to me that I need more than just warriors. I already made a Viking king, but he was still technically a warrior as well. So, I am breaking the trend and venturing into another aspect of Viking society. Today, I introduce my Viking hofgothi, otherwise known as a priest. I imagine this one specifically as a priest of Odin. In fact, he will be the head priest of the All Father in my stories.

Some time ago, I reviewed the Ninjago Skull Sorcerer’s Dragon. I loved the set, and I really loved the Skull Sorcerer minifig. However, it never fit well in my builds before. Now, I have found a use for him. Vikings used knot designs in a lot of their artwork. While the Skull Sorcerer’s knot design is more Celtic than Viking, it is close enough for my fictional world. Similarly, the symbols on the robes are not runes, but again, close enough. I took the hood from the Garindan Minifigure than came with the Star Wars UCS Mos Eisley Cantina set. However, the black variant I used also comes in 13 other sets.

Sets including the black hood element as of December 2024:

• Disney: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Cottage (43242)
• Disney: Villains Icons (43227)
• Harry Potter: Gringott’s Wizarding Bank (76417)
• Marvel: Rocket’s Warbird Vs Ronan (76278)
• Monkie Kid: The Bone Demon (80028)
• Star Wars: 2023 Advent Calendar (75366)
• Star Wars: Dark Falcon (75389)
• Star Wars: Dark Trooper Attack (75324)
• Star Wars: Death Star Final Duel (75291)
• Star Wars: Emperor Palpatine foil pack (912169)
• Star Wars: Emperor Palpatine paper bag (912402)
• Star Wars: Emperor’s Throne Room Diorama (75352)
• Star Wars: Kylo Ren’s Shuttle (75256)
• Star Wars: Mos Eisley Cantina (75290)

I was a little inspired by the Vikings TV show as well. I have been watching the series on Netflix to get some ideas for my builds. Some episodes took place at a temple in Uppsala. The priests of the temple wore makeup that made them appear very pale. They also had dark makeup around their eyes. There is no reason to think actual Viking hofgothi looked like that… but it is amusingly dramatic. I used Lord Voldemort’s head from the Harry Potter theme to achieve a similar look.

Mysticism through ritual suffering.

I gave this Minifigure a gold-tipped spear and chain. The spear is from the Series 10 Warrior Woman. The chain is from the Pick-and-Build wall at the LEGO® Store (but also comes in over 70 sets). In Norse mythology, Odin has an ornate mystical spear named Gungnir. In order to discover the secret of the runes, Odin supposedly threw himself on his own spear and hung himself from Yggdrasil (the world tree) as a ritual sacrifice. For this reason, some believe Viking shamans used spears in their rituals. So, for my story, my hofgothi carries a spear. Not only that, but he is chained to his spear as a sort of symbolic suffering in order to learn mysticism much as Odin did.

What do you think of my custom Viking hofgothi Minifigure? Do you have ideas for Minifigures to populate my LEGO® Viking town? Let me know in the comments or reach out on social media.

Until next time,

-Tom

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