Scandinavian history in the Viking age - Department of Anglo-Saxon ...

Scandinavian History in the Viking Age
[K25] M. Clunies Ross, Prolonged echoes: Old Norse myths in medieval northern society, 2 vols, The
Viking collection 7, 10 (1994-98) [UL 463:1.c.95.115-16]
[K26] H.R. Ellis Davidson, Viking and Norse mythology (1996) [UL 465:26.b.95.4]
[K27] C. Larrington, ‘Scandinavia’, The woman’s guide to mythology (1997), 137-61 [UL 1998.9.3417]
[K28] J. Hines, ‘Myth and reality: the contribution of archaeology’, (A61h):165-74
[K29] M. Clunies Ross, ‘The conservation and reinterpretation of myth in medieval Icelandic writings’,
(B235):116-139
The pantheon
As conventionally defined, the Norse pantheon was divided into two groups; the Æsir, whose functions
seem to have been heavily martial, and the Vanir, who were by contrast worshipped for fertility. The
validity of such a distinction for Viking-age Scandinavia is naturally slender, but has been seen as a
mythic exploration of the tensions between ‘old’ and ‘new’ divinities; it is notable that in verse the Æsir
seem to predominate in status, whereas place-names (K90 ff.) paint a much more ambiguous picture.
[K30] Ó. Briem, Vanir og Æsir, SI 21 (1963) [UL 599:01.c.1.5] (E.s.)
[K31] H.R. Ellis Davidson, Gods and myths of northern Europe (1964) [UL 9460.d.1156]
[K32] G. Dumézil, Gods of the ancient Northmen, transl. E. Haugen, Publications of the UCLA Center
for the Study of Comparative Folklore and Mythology 3 (1973) [UL 465:26.c.95.7]; a classic if
contentious study, cf. R.I. Page, ‘Dumézil revisited’, SBVS 20 (1978-81), 49-69
[K33] U. Dronke, ‘The war of the Æsir and Vanir in V²luspá’, (O52):223-38
[K34] L. Motz, The king, the champion and the sorcerer: a study in Germanic myth, Studia medievalia
septentrionalia 1 (1996) [UL 9002.d.3366]; with chapters on Odin, Thor and Frey
Odin
As the leading figure in the Norse pantheon, at least according to most literary sources, the role of Odin
has come under particular scrutiny. Various factors suggest that Odin’s role in mythological material has
been exaggerated: his identification with the Roman Mercury pales when compared to that of Thor with
Jove, while reports of cult-sites such as that of Uppsala (K115 ff.) by Adam of Bremen again place Thor
in prime position. For Odin’s role in the Valhalla myth see (K55 ff.); for a personal view by a devotee
(B523b).
[K36] E.O.G. Turville-Petre, ‘The cult of Odin in Iceland’, (O4):1-19
[K37] K. Hald, ‘The cult of Odin in Danish place-names’, (O20):99-109
[K38] S. Grundy, Miscellaneous studies towards the cult of Odinn (1994) [ASNC]
Thor
[K39] R. Perkins, Thor the Wind-Raiser and the Eyrarland Image (2001)
Other mythological figures
It is possible, if bold, to suggest that the pantheon represented the more ‘public’ face of Norse pagan
belief, but a wide scattering of (often frustratingly vague) sources confirm the worship of other
mythological figures, perhaps the recipients of more localised or private cults.
[K40] F. Ström, Diser, nornor, valkyrjor: fruktbarhetskult och sakralt kungadöme i Norden, KVHAA
handlingar, filologisk-filosofiska serien 1 (1954) [UL 500:05.c.64.1]
The giants
The role of giants in Norse mythology is ambiguous; they are at once presented as the ancestors,
adversaries, and prospective brides or husbands of the gods.
[K43] G. Steinsland, ‘Giants as recipients of cult in the Viking age?’, (K8):212-22
[K44] L. Motz, ‘The families of giants’, ANF 102 (1987), 216-36
Elves, dwarves, and dísir
[K45] The origins and roles of the figures known as elves, dwarves, and dísir in pagan mythology are
hotly disputed, but they may have been recipients of more local cults; in Sigvat’s Austrfararvísur
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