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Norse Myths and Legends: Viking tales of gods and heroes
'A terrific, detailed introduction of these wonderful stories and the pantheon of characters in them . . . their writing is vivid and lively . . . a great addition to any library.'
Rosi Hollinbeck, San Francisco Book Review
'With recent volumes, such as Neil Gaiman's Norse Mythology and J.R.R. Tolkien's posthumously published The Legend of Sigurd & Gudrún , appealing more to readers strictly interested in creative takes on classic Norse tales, this title attracts new readers by offering solid retellings and contextual information that serve as a valuable introduction to this rich tradition.'
Library Journal
While the main focus of the book is on telling the stories, some scene-setting is provided at the beginning and each chapter also contains a section of commentary to explain what is going on and its significance. The Norse myths have gained widespread attention in the English-speaking world, partly through a Scandinavian diaspora, especially in the USA) and partly through a great interest in the myths and legends which lie behind Viking activity. Tolkien's 'Middle Earth', too, as seen in both The Lord of the Ring s and The Hobbit films is heavily indebted to Germanic/Norse mythology. The Whittock's book fills a gap in the market between academic publications and the interest-generating (but confusing) products of Hollywood and comic-culture. This is an accessible book, which both provides a retelling of these dramatic stories and also sets them in context so that their place within the Viking world can be understood. The book explores Norse myths (stories, usually religious, which explain origins, why things are as they are, the nature of the spiritual) and legends (stories which attempt to explain historical events and which may involve historical characters but which are told in a non-historical way and which often include supernatural events).
Rosi Hollinbeck, San Francisco Book Review
'With recent volumes, such as Neil Gaiman's Norse Mythology and J.R.R. Tolkien's posthumously published The Legend of Sigurd & Gudrún , appealing more to readers strictly interested in creative takes on classic Norse tales, this title attracts new readers by offering solid retellings and contextual information that serve as a valuable introduction to this rich tradition.'
Library Journal
While the main focus of the book is on telling the stories, some scene-setting is provided at the beginning and each chapter also contains a section of commentary to explain what is going on and its significance. The Norse myths have gained widespread attention in the English-speaking world, partly through a Scandinavian diaspora, especially in the USA) and partly through a great interest in the myths and legends which lie behind Viking activity. Tolkien's 'Middle Earth', too, as seen in both The Lord of the Ring s and The Hobbit films is heavily indebted to Germanic/Norse mythology. The Whittock's book fills a gap in the market between academic publications and the interest-generating (but confusing) products of Hollywood and comic-culture. This is an accessible book, which both provides a retelling of these dramatic stories and also sets them in context so that their place within the Viking world can be understood. The book explores Norse myths (stories, usually religious, which explain origins, why things are as they are, the nature of the spiritual) and legends (stories which attempt to explain historical events and which may involve historical characters but which are told in a non-historical way and which often include supernatural events).
288 pages, Paperback
Published October 12, 2017
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About the author
Martyn Whittock
92 books31 followersI graduated in Politics from Bristol University in 1980, where my degree special studies were in radical Christian politics and theology of the seventeenth century & also the development of the Soviet State.
I taught history for thirty-five years (as Head of History & Director of Humanities Faculty at a number of secondary schools in the UK). Latterly I was curriculum leader for Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural education at a secondary comprehensive school in the UK. During this time I developed an interest in early medieval history (especially Anglo-Saxons and Vikings), as well as continuing my interests in radical Christian millenarianism and also Soviet history.
I have acted as an historical consultant to the National Trust, the BBC and English Heritage. I am a Licensed Lay Minister, in the Church of England, with an active interest in theology.
I retired from teaching in 2016 to devote more time to writing, historical & political commenting & guest blogging.
I am the author or co-author of fifty-three books. These include school history textbooks and adult history books. The latter are written with the aim of making historical themes both engaging and accessible to adult readers.
I taught history for thirty-five years (as Head of History & Director of Humanities Faculty at a number of secondary schools in the UK). Latterly I was curriculum leader for Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural education at a secondary comprehensive school in the UK. During this time I developed an interest in early medieval history (especially Anglo-Saxons and Vikings), as well as continuing my interests in radical Christian millenarianism and also Soviet history.
I have acted as an historical consultant to the National Trust, the BBC and English Heritage. I am a Licensed Lay Minister, in the Church of England, with an active interest in theology.
I retired from teaching in 2016 to devote more time to writing, historical & political commenting & guest blogging.
I am the author or co-author of fifty-three books. These include school history textbooks and adult history books. The latter are written with the aim of making historical themes both engaging and accessible to adult readers.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
October 18, 2018
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January 21, 2023
I picked this up thinking it would be a good primer to Norse Mythology. What it ended up seeming to be was a pared down, confusing retelling of a combination of the Eddas. Despite being marketed as "accessible" I think that this text is best used by those who already have a fairly in depth understanding of Norse Mythology- it definitely reads as more for academics.
May 12, 2020
I read this book hoping to learn a little but I finished it more confused and a little angry. This book was very disappointing, I had expected more.
The authors described the mythology poorly; confusingly connecting characters and fitting together stories in strange places. The lack of emotion and incessant repetition of the two sources really drained the life out of the stories.
I understand that this book was written by academics, and they wanted to reproduce the mythological stories as acutely as possible, but their overly factual take really ruined the stories and made it an incredibly hard read.
The authors described the mythology poorly; confusingly connecting characters and fitting together stories in strange places. The lack of emotion and incessant repetition of the two sources really drained the life out of the stories.
I understand that this book was written by academics, and they wanted to reproduce the mythological stories as acutely as possible, but their overly factual take really ruined the stories and made it an incredibly hard read.
January 18, 2025
Diría que es un tanto simple y poco profunda está lectura pero te ayuda a introducirte en esta mitología y entender a grandes rasgos en que consiste. Por mi parte quiero conocer más a fondo los mitos nórdicos y seguirme maravillando con todo ese universo
September 26, 2025
Interesting at the beginning but then you notice the same stories are repeated over and over at different parts of the books. Seems like they wrote it by pieces and never really looked for a continuity.
January 29, 2018
This book is alright if you want to dip your toes into the world of Norse mythology. I would recommend it to young readers or people who want a quick simple sum up of Norse mythology.
August 8, 2021
Un libro interesante que resume/narra las principales historias de mitos nórdicos y relatos vikingos. Las introducciones a cada relato ayudan a entender el contexto en el que fueron escritos y son interesantes.
Sin embargo, el orden y la estructura en la que se narran las historias es un tanto confusa, y no ayudan a seguir los relatos. Se nombran hechos que se explican hasta más adelante, y se parten otras historias en diversos relatos.
En general es un buen libro, si bien no lo recomendaría a alguien que no tenga ya un conocimiento previo de la mitología nórdica.
Sin embargo, el orden y la estructura en la que se narran las historias es un tanto confusa, y no ayudan a seguir los relatos. Se nombran hechos que se explican hasta más adelante, y se parten otras historias en diversos relatos.
En general es un buen libro, si bien no lo recomendaría a alguien que no tenga ya un conocimiento previo de la mitología nórdica.
January 25, 2021
Muy buen libro, la manera en que te introducen a cada historia y el desarrollo de las mismas es perfecta para captar tu atención 100%
March 31, 2021
Muy ameno y entretenido. Neil Gaiman es perfecto para esta especie de cuentos cortos de la cosmogonía y teogonía nórdica.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews