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Teutonic Mythology #1
Teutonic Mythology, Volume 1
TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE.
" I THINK Scandinavian Paganism, to us here, is more interesting than any other. It is, for one thing, the latest; it continued in these regions of Europe till the eleventh century; 800 years ago the Norwegians were still worshippers of Odin. It is interesting also as the creed of our fathers ; the men whose blood still runs in our veins, whom doubtless we still resemble in so many ways. . . . There is another point of interest in these Scandinavian mythologies, that they have been preserved so well."— CARLYLE'S " HERO-WORSHIP ".
What Mr. Carlyle says of the Scandinavian will of course apply to all Teutonic tradition, so far as it can be recovered; and it was the task of Grimm in his Deutsche Mythologie to supplement the Scandinavian mythology (of which, thanks to the Icelanders, we happen to know most) with all that can be gleaned from other sources, High-Dutch and Low-Dutch, and build it up into a whole. And indeed to prove that it was one connected whole; for, strange as it seems to us, forty years ago it was still considered necessary to prove it.
Jacob Grimm was perhaps the first man who commanded a wide enough view of the whole field of Teutonic languages and literature to be able to bring into a focus the scattered facts which show the prevalence of one system of thought among all the Teutonic nations from Iceland to the Danube. In this he was materially aided by his mastery of the true principles of Philology, which he was the first to establish on a firm scientific basis, and which enabled him to trace a word with certitude through the strangest disguises.
The Comparative Mythology of all nations has made great strides since Grimm first wrote his book ; but as a storehouse of facts within his special province of Teutonic Mythology, and as a clue to the derivation and significance of the Names of persons and things
in the various versions of a myth, it has never been superseded and perhaps it never can be. Not that he confines himself to the Teutonic field; he compares it at every point with the classical mythus and the wide circle of Slavic, Lettic and occasionally of Ugric, Celtic, and Oriental tradition. Still, among his Deutsch kindred he is most at home; and Etymology is his forte. But then etymology in his hands is transfigured from random guessing into scientific fact.
There is no one to whom Folk-lore is more indebted than to Grimm. Not to mention the loving care with which he hunted up his Kinder und Haus-marchen from all over Germany, he delights to detect in many a nursery-tale and popular custom of to-day the beliefs and habits of our forefathers thousands of years ago. It is impossible at times to forbear a smile at the patriotic zeal with which he hunts the trail of his German gods and heroes ; the glee with which he bags a new goddess, elf, or swan-maid; and his indignation at any poaching Celt or Slav who has spirited away a mythic being that was German born and bred: " Ye have taken away my gods, and what have I more ?"
The present translation of the Deutsche Mytlwlogie will, like the last (fourth) edition of the original, be published in three volumes ; the first two of which, and part of the third, will contain the trans lation of Grimm's text, and the remainder of the third volume will consist of his own Appendix and a Supplement.
The author's second and third editions (1844 and 1854) were each published in 2 vols., accompanied by an APPENDIX consisting, first, of a short treatise on the Anglo-Saxon Genealogies, and secondly, of a large collection of the Superstitions of various Teutonic nations. This Appendix will form a part of our Vol. III. After Grimm's death his heirs entrusted to Prof. E. H.
" I THINK Scandinavian Paganism, to us here, is more interesting than any other. It is, for one thing, the latest; it continued in these regions of Europe till the eleventh century; 800 years ago the Norwegians were still worshippers of Odin. It is interesting also as the creed of our fathers ; the men whose blood still runs in our veins, whom doubtless we still resemble in so many ways. . . . There is another point of interest in these Scandinavian mythologies, that they have been preserved so well."— CARLYLE'S " HERO-WORSHIP ".
What Mr. Carlyle says of the Scandinavian will of course apply to all Teutonic tradition, so far as it can be recovered; and it was the task of Grimm in his Deutsche Mythologie to supplement the Scandinavian mythology (of which, thanks to the Icelanders, we happen to know most) with all that can be gleaned from other sources, High-Dutch and Low-Dutch, and build it up into a whole. And indeed to prove that it was one connected whole; for, strange as it seems to us, forty years ago it was still considered necessary to prove it.
Jacob Grimm was perhaps the first man who commanded a wide enough view of the whole field of Teutonic languages and literature to be able to bring into a focus the scattered facts which show the prevalence of one system of thought among all the Teutonic nations from Iceland to the Danube. In this he was materially aided by his mastery of the true principles of Philology, which he was the first to establish on a firm scientific basis, and which enabled him to trace a word with certitude through the strangest disguises.
The Comparative Mythology of all nations has made great strides since Grimm first wrote his book ; but as a storehouse of facts within his special province of Teutonic Mythology, and as a clue to the derivation and significance of the Names of persons and things
in the various versions of a myth, it has never been superseded and perhaps it never can be. Not that he confines himself to the Teutonic field; he compares it at every point with the classical mythus and the wide circle of Slavic, Lettic and occasionally of Ugric, Celtic, and Oriental tradition. Still, among his Deutsch kindred he is most at home; and Etymology is his forte. But then etymology in his hands is transfigured from random guessing into scientific fact.
There is no one to whom Folk-lore is more indebted than to Grimm. Not to mention the loving care with which he hunted up his Kinder und Haus-marchen from all over Germany, he delights to detect in many a nursery-tale and popular custom of to-day the beliefs and habits of our forefathers thousands of years ago. It is impossible at times to forbear a smile at the patriotic zeal with which he hunts the trail of his German gods and heroes ; the glee with which he bags a new goddess, elf, or swan-maid; and his indignation at any poaching Celt or Slav who has spirited away a mythic being that was German born and bred: " Ye have taken away my gods, and what have I more ?"
The present translation of the Deutsche Mytlwlogie will, like the last (fourth) edition of the original, be published in three volumes ; the first two of which, and part of the third, will contain the trans lation of Grimm's text, and the remainder of the third volume will consist of his own Appendix and a Supplement.
The author's second and third editions (1844 and 1854) were each published in 2 vols., accompanied by an APPENDIX consisting, first, of a short treatise on the Anglo-Saxon Genealogies, and secondly, of a large collection of the Superstitions of various Teutonic nations. This Appendix will form a part of our Vol. III. After Grimm's death his heirs entrusted to Prof. E. H.
456 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1835
About the author
Jacob Grimm
6,058 books2,400 followersGerman philologist and folklorist Jakob Ludwig Karl Grimm in 1822 formulated Grimm's Law, the basis for much of modern comparative linguistics. With his brother Wilhelm Karl Grimm (1786-1859), he collected Germanic folk tales and published them as
Grimm's Fairy Tales
(1812-1815).
Indo-European stop consonants, represented in Germanic, underwent the regular changes that Grimm's Law describes; this law essentially states that Indo-European p shifted to Germanic f, t shifted to th, and k shifted to h. Indo-European b shifted to Germanic p, d shifted to t, and g shifted to k. Indo-European bh shifted to Germanic b, dh shifted to d, and gh shifted to g.
This jurist and mythologist also authored the monumental German Dictionary and his Deutsche Mythologie .
Adapted from Wikipedia.
Indo-European stop consonants, represented in Germanic, underwent the regular changes that Grimm's Law describes; this law essentially states that Indo-European p shifted to Germanic f, t shifted to th, and k shifted to h. Indo-European b shifted to Germanic p, d shifted to t, and g shifted to k. Indo-European bh shifted to Germanic b, dh shifted to d, and gh shifted to g.
This jurist and mythologist also authored the monumental German Dictionary and his Deutsche Mythologie .
Adapted from Wikipedia.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
August 24, 2010
Grimm's Teutonic Mythology is really difficult to describe, and even more difficult to give a rating to. His four volumes of texts are full of really interesting material, but it is so poorly organized that it's barely readable. Often one finds, for instance, references in either different formats or possibly even confused, or that the information introduced is only discussed after a few digressions. Grimm also uses various languages without translating them (of course, the intended audience probably knew all the languages used, but modern readers will find this difficult). One of the main complaints of the texts is that Grimm rarely gives interpretations, and even when he does they're generally linked by poor argumentation and little evidence.
In the end, if this were all actually organized it would be very interesting, as some of the data he has in here, both linguistic and cultural, is fascinating, but as it stands it's really a muddle.
In the end, if this were all actually organized it would be very interesting, as some of the data he has in here, both linguistic and cultural, is fascinating, but as it stands it's really a muddle.
January 26, 2022
This is not a mythology book like you might have read as a kid, full of stories about various gods and goddesses. This is an academic book teasing out who they are and where they came from. There is a lot of Latin in here and a lot of German. The book is fine, once you know that. Fair warning though, this is an extremely difficult book to read on a Kindle or like device. The footnotes are not set apart so you know you’re reading a footnote. The end result is each section is like reading 3-4 books all at the same time.
September 12, 2012
As much how I love mythology sometimes I get confuse when there are foreign words whether they are part of the paragraph. Nevertheless it is a good reference for anyone who are in dire need to know more of Norse Mythology.
January 5, 2022
Grimm flows from English to Latin to Old High German(without being translated), which is necessary for his thesis but it makes the reading incredibly challenging. An important and worth while read if you want to take the time.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews