Gullveig is a female figure in Norse mythology associated with the legendary conflict between the Æsir and Vanir. In the poem Völuspá, she came to the hall of Odin (Hár) where she is speared by the Æsir, burnt three times, and yet thrice reborn. Upon her third rebirth, she began practicing seiðr and took the name Heiðr.
The Æsir lift Gullveig on spears over fire as illustrated by Lorenz Frølich (1895)
In Norse mythology, the Æsir–Vanir War was a conflict between two groups of deities that ultimately resulted in the unification of the Æsir and the Vanir into a single pantheon. The war is an important event in Norse mythology, and the implications for the potential historicity surrounding accounts of the war are a matter of scholarly debate and discourse.
Óðinn throws his spear at the Vanir host, illustration by Lorenz Frølich (1895)
Gullveig is executed, illustration by Lorenz Frølich (1895).
"The Æsir Against the Vanir" (1882) by Karl Ehrenberg.
Óðinn with Mímir's body, illustration by Georg Pauli (1893)