Götter und Kulte der Germanen

by Rudolf Simek

Walhalla, Thor, Elfen und Trolle – noch immer sind die vorchristlichen Religionen der Germanen mitsamt ihren «barbarischen Kulten» (so Tacitus in seiner Germania) von einer Aura des Geheimnisvollen umgeben. Dazu beigetragen haben vor allem spätere Zeiten, die diese heidnischen Glaubensformen entweder verteufelten (wie etwa der Humanismus) oder wiederzubeleben versuchten (so die Romantik oder die sog. Nordische Renaissance).
Das vorliegende Buch liefert einen ebenso knappen wie informativen Überblick über die religiöse Welt der Germanen, über Opferkulte, Kultstätten, Götterwelt und niedere Mythologie sowie über Magie und Totenreich. Der Autor hält sich dabei bewusst vor allem an die authentischen Quellen und archäologischen Zeugnisse und zeigt, dass sich heute keineswegs mehr von einer einzigen oder gar einheitlichen Religion der Germanen sprechen lässt

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Religion

128 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

Rudolf Simek is an Austrian Germanist and philologist.

Simek studied German literature, philosophy and Catholic theology in the University of Vienna, before becoming a librarian and a docent at the institution. He taught among others in the universities of Edinburgh, Tromsø and Sydney. Since 1995 he is a Professor of German studies at the University of Bonn. Rudolf Simek is the editor-in-chief of Studia Medievalia Septentrionalia. 8 October 2013 Rudolf Simek received Honorary degree at the University of Rzeszów.

Reviews

[Sharon Reamer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book because I wanted a concise summary of Germanic mythology - and I have been looking for a book that could clearly separate in time (and space) some of the beliefs and cults behind the mythology and also supply locations for where the mythologies were employed. This book fulfilled those requirements in a very satisfactory way. It isn't a popular retelling of the Germanic/Nordic myths, so if that's what you are looking for, this book isn't it. But it's a straightforward attempt to show the differences in cultures across the span of millenia from late Bronze age until the middle ages. Recommended.

[Elliott Bignell · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fascinating read, but marred by the author's stylistic deformity in that he employs extraordinarily long sentences with deeply nested structure. For the first half or so I was backtracking repeatedly in an attempt to parse the syntax, and I half expected to reach the end and find three pages of verbs as in the sketch about the German academic. I found my pace about halfway and it became easier.

The Germanic myths are rivetting, but frustratingly very little of their substance is attested to by original sources. Archaeological evidence is equally sparse. There seems to have been some exchange with other pagan peoples, as with the Greeks and Romans, and some of the gods and figures may be loaded with co-identity. At the same time, as with the Greek myths, some sub-divine figures such as dwarves and elves appear to mythologise contemporaneous tribes with whom the Germanic peoples had contact.

The Norse left some physical traces of their worship in the form of sacrifices - most commonly objects rather than living things - barrows and other burial monuments. While the typical image of cremation in a ship would have been very rare due to resource expense, they do, interestingly, seem to have erected surrogate ships constructed of standing stones at burial sites. The whole belief system seems to have been less sanguinary and martial than Viking legends indicate, and the book indicates that the societies may even have been partly matriarchal.

All in all, a rewarding but sometimes frustrating work.

[Taria0508 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ein Buch über die Welt der Germanen. Dabei wird Wert auf Opferkult, Kultstätten, Götterwelt und ihre Mythologie gelegt. Auch Magie und das Totenreich spielen eine Rolle.

Ich fand es sehr interessant, jedoch war der Schreibstil des Authors etwas gewöhnungsbedürftig. Sehr lange, verschachtelten Sätze die einen den Anfang bzw denn Zusammenhang verlieren lassen.

[Natira · Rating 3 out of 5]

wissenschaftlicher Stil,
vermutlich hätte mir der Titel mehr gebracht, wenn ich über größeres (Vor-)Wissen im Bereich germanische Mythologie u. Kulte hätte
Interessantes gab es natürlich zu lernen, z.B. was "Kenning" bedeutet oder wie "leicht" es zu falschen Schlussfolgerungen kommen kannn

[In-Genius · Rating 3 out of 5]

A short insight about what we actually know about them pagan germanic tribes and their cult. No surprise, we don't know much.