Roles of the Northern Goddess

by H.R. Ellis Davidson

Book Overview

While much work has been done on goddesses of the ancient world and the male gods of pre-Christian Scandinavia, the northern goddesses have been largely neglected. Roles of the Northern Goddess presents a highly readable study of the worship of these goddesses by men and women. With its use of evidence from early literature, popular tradition, legend and archaeology, this book investigates the role of the early hunting goddess and the local goddesses...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0415136113
• ISBN13: 9780415136112
• Release Date: April 1998
• Publisher: Routledge
• Length: 220 Pages
• Weight: 1.00 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 6.2" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Comparative Study Yields Solid Information

Davidson has produced a useful book on Northern European Goddess history and tradition. She draws on early literature, legend, folk traditions (and records of now extinct folk traditions), and archaelogy to construct several categories of functioning for the Goddesses. She discovers Goddesses who are both nurturing and demanding, healing and destructive, revered and feared. Davidson includes Celtic, Norse, Finnish, and Latvian Goddesses, and frequently compares them to Mediterranean and Near Eastern Goddess roles. She first considers the Goddess as Mistress of the animals, examining her roles as Hunting Goddess, Ruler of the Wild, Guardian of the diary [sic] herds, as Dog and Horse Goddess. Next, she examines the Goddess as Mistress of the Grain, considering the most ancient roots associating Goddesses with fertility of the earth, the connection between Goddess and plough, the possibility of Goddess as Corn Spirit, and how the Grain Goddess of the North differed from Grain Goddesses of more temperate regions.Davidson then takes up the Goddess as Mistress of the Distaff and Loom, looking both the context of Goddess and weaving in the ancient world as well as the differences in Northern Europe. She considers the Oseberg wall-hagnings, retrieved from a burial site, and illuminates Goddess figures found there. She also examines the interplay between weaving and destiny, the Goddess as Weaver of Fate.In addition, she considers the domestic role of the Goddess as Mistress of the Household. She discusses Guardians of the home, the association between Goddess and fire and water, and the role of the Goddes in the birth and nurturing of children. Finally, she examines the Goddess as Mistress of Life and Death, writing of her role as healer and in the realm of death. She also considers Northern European funeral rites and how they help us understand the roles of the Goddess.Davidson points out that when we sentimentalize the Goddess, as so many white-light-bunny-fluff-goddess-of-the-week books do, we lose a great deal. She draws on Jung in her synthesis that the Goddess is both attractive and nurturing as well as repulsive and frightening. In her conclusion she points out that the Goddess was much more than simply the "Great Mother." The book has a useful index and an excellent bibliography. It was poorly copy edited, however, with several typos. I also wish that Davidson had done a better job of separating out the layers of history through which she excavates. The meaning of stone-age evidence is poorly differentiated from the meanings of myths recorded in the middle ages or folk practices recorded in the 17th century. This is a significant problem which the book poorly addresses.Five stars for depth and breadth, but knocked down to four stars for the failure to explicitly consider the impact of various historical contexts on the available evidence and on her interpetation of it.(If you'd like to discuss this book or review, click on the "about me" link abo

Excellent Book

Hail! I highly recommend this book to those whom walk the Way of the Lady(Freya). Freya is a goddess of witchcraft(called seithr in Old Norse), love, and nature(lets also remember that the word witch is Anglo Saxon, thus Teutonic). I suggest reading this book next to Witchdom of the True by Edred Thorsson. For Frith and Kinfolk, Isenwulf Wodheart

Truly Outstanding

I'm a typically quite cynical of 'Religion' and 'Women's Studies' books that contain the word 'Goddess' in the title. I have seen far to many horrible goddess orientated books that are simply geared to make money off of a relatively gullible and uneducated few. Hilda Ellis Davidson has constructed a modern masterpiece within the pages of 'Roles of the Northern Goddess.' This work is a rare find for those who are interested in the goddesses and women of ancient Northern Europe. It is extremely well researched and cited. Her bibliography contains approximately three hundred entries. Though I have purchased the paperback, I should have bought the hardcover: it is a valuable edition to my library.