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.
The gods of Asgard, and their mythic stories of battles with frost-giants and monsters, hold a strong place in the popular imagination throughout the West, and particularly in Scandinavia; but those stories did not come out of a vacuum. Rather, they were part of a powerful and long-lasting pre-Christian religious tradition that extended beyond Scandinavia to Germany, England, and Ireland, as H.R. Ellis Davidson points out in Gods and Myths of Northern Europe.
Ellis Davidson, who taught at the universities of Cambridge and London, is not providing in this book a straightforward retelling of the stories of Europe’s pre-Christian northern mythology; readers who want that sort of thing would be better advised to look to books such as Neil Gaiman's Norse Mythology, Kevin Crossley-Holland’s The Norse Myths, or perhaps the Norse-myth sections of Edith Hamilton’s Mythology. Rather, Ellis Davidson’s interest is in reconstructing, as well as can be done, a sense of how this mythological tradition played a role in the lives of ordinary people across northern Europe.
Some of what unfolds in this book will already be familiar to readers who know their Norse mythology, particularly if one has read the Poetic Edda and Snorri Sturluson’s Prose Edda, two of the most important sources for the mythology. Odin, for example, traditionally presents a grim and forbidding character in his role as king of the gods, and therefore it is no surprise that various sources express a sense that “Odin cannot be trusted”, and even that there was “widespread indignation against the treachery of the god” (p. 50).
The peoples of the North feared and distrusted Odin, but they loved and respected Thor. “Of all the gods, it is Thor who seems the characteristic hero of the stormy world of the Vikings. Bearded, outspoken, indomitable, filled with vigour and gusto, he puts his reliance on his strong right arm and simple weapons. He strides through the northern realm of the gods, a fitting symbol for the man of action” (p. 73). The thunder god, wielder of the hammer Mjollnir, was also “preserver of the community where men pitted their strength and wits against the hardship of the weather and the attacks of their enemies” (p. 211). Thor’s ongoing presence in our culture as the protagonist of the Mighty Thor comic books and graphic novels, and as a cinematic hero in the Thor and Avengers films, shows the durable popularity of this archetypal figure.
As Freyr is a relatively muted presence in the Eddas, some readers may be surprised at the degree of emphasis that Ellis Davidson places on Freyr as fertility god, “the main deity who represents peace and plenty” (p. 103). One hears more about Freyr in this book than about figures more familiar to the modern reader (e.g., Loki and Baldur). Indeed, in the passages on Freyr and his sister Freyja, the goddess of love and beauty, Ellis Davidson engages the northern myths in a mythographic manner reminiscent of the work of James Frazer in The Golden Bough. In Ellis Davidson’s reading, the war that the Eddas describe between the two races of gods – the Aesir, like Odin and Thor, and the Vanir, like Freyr and Freyja – replicates a familiar mythographic pattern of conflict between sky gods of unearthly power on the one hand, and fertility gods of earthly renewal on the other.
That mythographic emphasis is also evident in the conscientious manner in which Ellis Davidson seeks out evidence, both textual and artifact-based, of the influence of northern mythology in the culture and landscape of Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, England, and Ireland. For example, when considering Odin’s importance as a god of the dead who oversees the translation of warriors’ souls to Valhalla, Ellis Davidson looks to evidence like “two birds on the lid of an early Anglo-Saxon cremation urn found at Newark [England]” or “figures of the horse and the wolf on certain cremation urns from early heathen cemeteries in East Anglia” (p. 147). Such evidence, by its very nature, is fragmentary, and therefore Ellis Davidson is appropriately tentative in the conclusions she draws.
Perhaps part of why this book means more to me now than it did when I first encountered it as a college freshman in Virginia in 1980 may have something to do with the fact that I have now travelled in all of the Scandinavian countries – seeing, in the process, how strong the hold of the old northern gods still is. It is not just that at any gift shop in Reykjavik, one can buy a T-shirt showing Odin riding his eight-legged horse Sleipnir, or a little statue of the war god Tyr putting his hand into the jaws of the wolf-monster Fenrir so that Fenrir will agree to be bound. It is something more substantial than that.
Our guide in Iceland, a young man named Lars who took us up onto a couple of the glaciers not far from Reykjavik, told us about his experiences during the massive eruption of the volcano Eyjafjallajökull in 2010. He had been camping with friends near Þingvellir (Thingvellir), the historic meeting-place of the first Icelandic parliament – an area where the disruptive impact of the smoke and ash being belched forth by the volcano should have been severe. Yet Lars told us that the smoke and ash stayed away from the area where he and his friends were camping; the skies remained blue, and Lars believed that it was because he had prayed to Odin and Thor. He was not kidding.
Gods and Myths of Northern Europe is composed in a spirit of respect and admiration for the ways of the Northmen. Ellis Davidson sees the northern myths as “a vigorous, heroic comment on life” (p. 213), based in a philosophy of life that celebrates courage and at the same time embraces “a sense of proportion” and “a keen realization of the strength of fate” (p. 217). Any serious student of the mythological traditions of Northern Europe will benefit from reading this book.
This provides an okay overview of Norse mythology. It jumps around a bit, though this is more a product of the author trying to pull together fragmented sources. Not a completely satisfying read, but not a bad first look at the names/habits/symbols in the Norse myths. Also, there is a pretty gruesome description of the Valkyries weaving with intestines, which is always a good time.
Another academic work on the Norse gods (not a storybook retelling at all), this concentrates more on the Northern people than Dumézil's work, surveying the practical meaning and historical base for many of the stories and concepts. Intriguing passages included the similarities between Freyja and Frigg; the relation between the powers of the volva or Odin's acquisition of knowledge and shamanism; and the reasons for Christianity's power over the heathens of the late period. A great archeologically-based examination of myth.
This is mainly a survey of what we know about the Norse/German/Old English gods and goddesses. (Not much.) Davidson looks at the archaeological remains as well as the old sagas and Eddas, concentrating mainly on Snorri's "Prose Edda" to see what has survived about Scandinavian mythology. What emerges is fascinating, and ultimately frustratingly sad. Fascinating because it's a glimpse at a mythology that isn't well known thanks to the Renaissance's obsession for Greco-Roman mythology and frustrating because there's not much chance that the real religious beliefs will ever emerge from the thick veneer of Christianity and bowdlerization that the centuries have hidden them under.
This book was excellent insight into the world of Norse Mythology which I find extremely interesting. It talked about the myths and then went on to explain how they related to the people who wrote them. Then, later she talked about how both Christianity influenced Norse mythology and how the Norse religion influenced Christianity. It makes me want to dive deeper into the realm of pre-Christian religions, specifically in Northern Europe. Would recommend to anyone with an interest in mythology or older world religions.
If you have hardly any knowledge whatsoever about the mythology of Northern Europe, an enormous but fascinating amount of knowledge is poured over you while reading this book.
It took me a while to get through this book, because it kept inspiring me to stop and look things up for more information. That's not a bad thing.
This shouldn't be your first book on the Norse myths; the author assumes some prior knowledge. She does give moderate review, but it's rather offhand. Read something like The Norse Myths by Kevin Crossley-Holland first.
Better than I thought it would be! Davidson is more thoughtful and devotional than a mere academic and portrays the gods and their worship poetically. Disappointed with the unsatisfying colonialist ending on the passing of the old gods.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
I reached for this book to get an overview of the Norse mythology, because I wasn’t happy with my (quite shallow) knowledge. Very informative and straight to the point, although I found myself struggling to keep my eyes open multiple times while reading :) I have to admit that I am not very passionate about the topic in general, so that might be the reason.
Good foundational understanding for people wanting to learn more about the people, culture, and beliefs found in Northern Europe. Comparisons between beliefs found among the Norse, Celts, or Germanic tribes are often given since they generally contained similar beliefs and can help inform other viewpoints. If you're looking for an in depth explanation or re-telling of the stories of Norse mythology this book will leave you wanting. The author provides brief explanations of those stories, but supposes that the author is already aware of them and just gives a brief recap. More scholarly than something like Neil Gaiman's Norse mythology book, but remains approachable for those who haven't studied the field extensively.
This is a book that really deserves a reprint, because it's getting hard to find. It sheds light on how little we actually know about Norse mythology, and also how entwined those stories are with other Germanic and Celtic traditions. Almost everything we do know was recorded by Christian writers hundreds of years later than the height of Norse influence. This book focuses on the actual religious thought and attitudes, rather than the mythology that is largely re-invented by modern audiences, and my own cursory searches haven't come up with anything more recent that is both this scholarly and also this readable. This one deserves more attention.
This book is a very brief very broad overview over several themes found in the Northern myths. If you've read the myths then there is no point reading this book, unless you have had some trouble with them. This book might help clarify a few things or help come up with some essay topics. There are a few comparative pieces between Snorri's work and Saxo's which I found quite interesting. If you're just an interested reader, this book doesn't have much value. If you're a researcher or scholar this book might be a good jumping off point, but has little usefulness for in depth study.
As others have mentioned this book bounces around a lot covering the subject and is an academic treatment of Northern European myths, gods and their cults rather than a narrative re-telling of the myths (compare with Robert Graves' Greek Mythology which is more the latter). You do get the gist of the main themes though along with the common strands across the different regions.
What I did find interesting was how close Marvel comics and the recent films have stayed to many of the core elements of the actual Norse myths.
I had to skim through most of the book, but it's interesting and easy to follow. It's not a mythology book only, but it also presents the life of various groups of people, their culture and belief system. Not the info I need for my thesis, hence the skimming. I think it's also somewhat outdated by now. Nevertheless, it's a good start for mythology enthusiasts.
Fabulous dive into the mythology and religions of the North. I found the path these beliefs took from the Near East to my ancestors fascinating. Davidson does a good, if frustrating, job of staying on topic. I plan on reading more of her to get the full picture.
Interesting, but not especially filled with new information. I'd seen a number of the contentions proposed in this book elsewhere. I'm not sure if that is because this book tends to be cited a lot, of if this book just tended to cite works that were also cited by others, but either way, it ends up being a good reminder of some ideas and proposals, but nothing especially ground-breaking. There were some interesting discussions, but I think the book does suffer from attempting to carve out realms for the various Norse gods in a way that would allow easy cross-referencing with other IE groups. As an example, Odin is compared to Mercury because he does share some aspects with him. However, Odin also has provenance over war (shared with Thor, Tyr, Freyr, and Freyja), magic (shared with Frigg and Freyja), and death (Shared with Freyr, Freyja, Hel, and at least one other, not to mention Thor as a protector of the dead). Based on this, it's difficult to identify Odin with any one deity from the other IE cultures because (as with several others) he fulfills multiple roles that overlap with other Norse deities. This may have been less of an issue if more discussion where accompanied with each of the arguments, but it felt like the process of the book was "contention," paragraph on why this might be including a few citations to sources that may support the contention, mention that contention may not be accurate, move on. So, instead of an in-depth discussion, we get a litany of ideas that are minimally discussed, along with a list of source citations that may or may not support the ideas.
On the readability side, the ebook is not great. The notes are numbered strangely, so you'll get note 1, note 1, note 1, note 2, note 1, note 1, etc., making it very difficult to identify which note is relevant to the passage without keeping a separate tracker of the notes. There also appear to be paragraphs that are not quotations, but are offset as block quotes. The readability issues cost the book a star, in my rating, but I think this book is more useful as a primer than as an in-depth tool.
“Cattle die, kinsfolk die, oneself dies the same. I know one thing only which never dies – the renown of the noble dead.” Hávamál
Growing up in Denmark, the culture, art and mythology of the Vikings play a central role in building one’s understanding of the common cultural background. As a child, I was a member of the Danish National Museum’s Children’s Club “Hugin & Munin Klubben”, named after Odin’s eponymous ravens, where we learned things like how to read (and write) the runic alphabets, learned about the legends and stories – and lots of other things.
And I have no doubt that it contributed to how big of a history geek I am today. I’m an unabashed egghead when it comes to history, so when I came across this slender paperback at a community bookcase, I decided to give it a try.
Doctor Ellis Davidson was an English folklorist, and this compact little work seems intended as a kind of “introductory primer”, encouraging the reader to delve deeper independently. She takes you through the latest (at the time of publishing) research on the mythology and pantheon of the Norse Gods, encompassing both the Icelandic Sagas, German legends and other supplementary sources. From a Danish perspective, it was quite refreshing to read her opinions on Saxo Grammaticus, the medieval Danish chronicler with a penchant for mixing chronological facts with mythology and semi-fiction. And she actually shed light upon some connections between Norse and Greco-Roman mythology I was previously unaware of, such as the identification of Odin with Mercury/Hermes (No spoilers, but the reason makes a lot of sense!).
That said, it is of course not flawless. And I wasn’t expecting it to be. If you take it for what it is, a slightly jumbled, somewhat compressed account of the cardinal points of a colourful mythology filled with deities that are strikingly relatable, fallible and human in their actions and dealings, written more than half a century ago, it is perfectly decent, enlightening entertainment.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
I appreciate the author’s implicit rejection of the provocative and exciting, though historically tenuous, speculations and theories which dominate contemporary, non-academic Viking discussions. Davidson gives us the facts, explores possible connections, and delivers credible insights and conclusions based on the best typographical and archaeological evidence (although much more of the former). I also appreciate Davidson’s thorough analysis of the Vanir, which often play a subordinate role to the Aesir in similar works. While the writing style is quite pedagogical, the content is entertaining by virtue of being based on Northern Germanic myths: meaning, impossible to make boring
I was a bit disappointed in this. I was expecting tales of the old mythology but what I got was someone telling me about them without actually telling all of the tale. It was interesting learning how far the Scandinavian myths traveled but I am not so sure they all can be as linked to Christianity as is put forward. This reads more like a doctoral dissertation than something for the common reader. Some sections are even just repeated but reworded. It is a long drawn out overview in my opinion. Not at all what I expected or was looking for.
This book is definitely of it's time. While it is really good at discussing what information we have, how we got it, how it's very incomplete and muddy due to it coming mostly from non-native authors and those outside the religion, it's biases make the overview a bit difficult to get through. The use of the term heathen is not only a bit jarring, but gets monotonous the further you go along. And the ubiquitous assumption that female deities having any sexuality or having to do with birth foster fertility cults shows up about halfway through. Check.
This is a very engaging read! The author manages to juggle the effort of covering the subject of the gods and religions of this time and region with great detail while remaining entertaining. If you're at all interested in Norse and Germanic mythology, religion and history, this is a must read! It's a very thoughtful intriguing study and it's got me going to a lot of the source texts it references.
A very good academic discussion of the myths of Northern Europe. It is a scholarly discussion of sources, rather than a straightforward narration of the stories, but very readable for that type of book. It was written in the 1960s and so some of the language is a little dated...and the age shows a little in the conclusion. I imagine nowadays there wouldn't be a view of Christianity as an inevitable successor in the same way. But taken in its own time and context, a very good book.
This was a fantastic treatise on the beliefs of Northern Europe before and at the beginning of the Christian era. Expansive and comprehensive but also well-written and it moved at a good clip. Ellis Davidson doesn't allow her work to get bogged down. In the era of the Marvel movie franchises and American Gods, it was nice to go back to the source and get a glimpse of where all these stories came from.
This book lived to my expectations and more. It is well-written and the information was well-ordered. Well, I did skip thumb through few pages, but the things I sought this book for were quite satisfying and they answered basic questions I had about Norse Mythology, like the origin of Gods, their traits, and the abiding wrangle between Christianity and Heathenism, like Thor and Jesus Christ.
The author's writing style is slow and repetitive. It feels as if she is trying to bulk out the book. The formation of the information is in a very confused style, central ideas of paragraphs are not clear and the topic changes regularly.
A very difficult read. I'd recommend reading a more moden book on Northern European gods.
An excellent introduction to Norse and Other Northern European mythology. Describes each of the major characters in the myths along with some of the stories of their exploits. I liked how the author interlinked the various gods and goddess’s of the regions explaining who was who to each of the tribes and so forth.
An enjoyable read that occasionally teeters into moments of academia. It’s not overly scholarly, but it’s a bit heftier than a casual pop history. I enjoyed some of the deeper dives into the mysterious deep past, but they were also overly qualified to the point of me wondering why the writer left it in at all with such reservations.