Gods and Myths of Northern Europe

by H.R. Ellis Davidson and H.R. Ellis Davidson

Book Overview

Surveys the pre-Christian beliefs of the Scandinavian and Germanic peoples. Provides an introduction to this subject, giving basic outlines to the sagas and stories, and helps identify the charachter traits of not only the well known but also the lesser gods of the age.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0140136274
• ISBN13: 9780140136272
• Release Date: January 1965
• Publisher: Penguin Books
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 0.42 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.1" x 7.8"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

Excellent little intro to Northern myth!

I liked this book- I found it easy to read and understand, and it was not as "dated" as one would think. Really covered a lot of area about Norse myth, and I would definitely recommend it to those interested in the subject! Lots of focus on the deities and the roles they served as well, which is sometimes overlooked in books like these.

Reawakening the Norse Myths.

This book provides a fine introduction to the myths of Northern Europe. The book examines the few remnants we have in the forms of epic poems and prose, written by Christian writers after the fact - the Eddas, Beowulf, and the Viking sagas. From these sources, especially the Edda, the author reconstructs the myths and stories relating to the Norse gods and their subsequent twilight in Ragnarok. Then, the author seeks to answer various questions about this myth and determine whatever relation it may have had to the original religion of the Northern European peoples. The figures of Odin, Thor, Loki, Balder, and the rest of the Norse gods play an important part in our European cultural heritage and it is nice to see them presented in an introduction as here. Whatever underlying mental constructs are behind such accounts as that of Ragnarok (the Twilight of the Gods) they certainly appear to be universal to the human race, as revealed in all forms of apocalyptic literature. Ultimately these beliefs died a rather easy death at the hands of the Christian worldview. Whatever your personal opinion about the replacement of the pagan beliefs by Christianity and whether or not the pagan beliefs should be resurrected or remain buried, you will certainly profit from reading this book and it will help you to better understand Northern Europe in pre-Christian times. Finally, it must be noted that in many ways, at least in my opinion, the society of the Vikings was superior to our own. I admire the strong sense of individualism that the Vikings expressed and enjoy greatly reading about their heroic feats.

Excellent Scholarly Work

Hail! Anyone whom is interested in studying anceint Northern European(English, German, Dutch, Scandinavian) pagan beleifs should most definitely purchase this book. Those whom are interested in learning about REAL witchcraft(the word witch is Anglo Saxon, thus Teutonic and NOT Celtic), will find the section on the Vanir(Earth Gods) very interesting and insightfull(after all, Frey and Freya literally translate to "Lord"[bread/power weilder] and "Lady"[bread/power maker]). I highly recommend this book to those whom are interested in ALL aspects of Northern Heathenism(which is not limited to warriors, but also judges, lawyers, wizards, tradesman, witches and farmers as well).

Scandinavian Mythology

Although this book is not as in depth as others. It gives a very good overview of the society that is Asgard. I would recommend it to anyone interested in Scandinavian mythology. A good follow-up would be Snorri.