Scandinavian Folk Belief and Legend

by Reimund Kvideland, Henning K. Sehmsdorf (Editor)

Here is a rich compendium of hundreds of legends, stories, beliefs, and magic collected from oral sources in preindustrial Scandinavia. In this rural society, the people lived close to nature and believed themselves an integral part of it. This volume focuses on beliefs that illustrate the central aspects of a traditional worldview, rather than on prose narratives considered for their literary value.

Genres: Folklore, Nonfiction, Mythology, History, Religion, Spirituality, Scandinavian Literature

429 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1988

Reviews

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great collection of translated folklore from the Scandinavian countries, with notes. Most of the collection is from the 18th and 19th centuries, so the "folk-tellers" themselves are obscured. But the editors show close attention to context, such that can be found. Moreover, they include the archive sources for every piece, so one can find the pieces in the orginal languages. I enjoyed peaking into the religious beliefs - how strange and how distant I feel from them. The book reinforces the difficulties of comprehension of human beings.

[aja · Rating 4 out of 5]

again, more research. i got the most use out of the chapter & section notes, but there were some rly great stories in this one. most of the stuff about ghosts i'd already found in the jacqueline simpson book, but i got a lot of great info about witches & magic in this one.

[Em · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really nice, well-organized collection of folk legends. As far as I can ascertain the translations are quite good. Extremely accessible to the casual reader without losing any of its scholarly appeal.

[Jude Connolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

The mythologies/folk beliefs should've been divided into what was before and after the influence of Christianity since so much of it changed as a result, but it was still generally helpful.

[James Norton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Written for an academic readership, this book boils down old tales and legends to the barest of outlines, compressing epics (or at least fully realized tales) into paragraph-long riffs. It's an incredible way to warehouse a tremendous volume of lore and legends, and it makes for fascinating reading.

[Casey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent collection. it was used as the main text in a Scandinavian folk literature class I took.

[Catherine Schaff-Stump · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really useful and fun for research. Talk to me about the politics of milk.