Nordic religions in the Viking Age / Thomas A. DuBois.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

DuBois, Thomas A. (Thomas Andrew), 1960-

Series:

Middle Ages series

The Middle Ages series

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Mythology, Norse.

Christianity and other religions--Norse.

Christianity and other religions.

Physical Description:

x, 271 pages : illustrations, maps ; 24 cm.

Place of Publication:

Philadelphia : University of Pennsylvania Press, [1999]

Summary:

The popular image of the Viking as a horn-helmeted berserker plying the ocean in a dragon-headed long boat is firmly fixed in history. Imagining Viking "conquerors" as much more numerous, technologically superior, and somehow inherently more warlike than their neighbors has overshadowed the cooperation and cultural trade that characterized much of the Viking Age. In actuality, the Norse explorers and traders were players in a complex exchange of technology, customs, and religious beliefs between the ancient pagan societies of northern Europe and the Christian-dominated nations surrounding the Mediterranean.

In this fascinating new work, Thomas DuBoh unravels for the first time the history of the Nordic religions in the Viking Age and shows how these ancient beliefs and their oral traditions incorporated both a myriad of local beliefs and aspects of foreign religions, most notably, Christianity.

DuBois examines Angio-Saxon, Celtic, and Mediterranean traditions to locate significant Nordic parallels in conceptions of supernatural beings, cults of the dead, beliefs in ghosts, and magical practices. These beliefs were actively held alongside Christianity for many years, and were finally incorporated into the vernacular religious practice. The Icelandic sagas reflect this complex process in their inclusion of both Christian and pagan details.

This work differs from previous examinations in its inclusion of the Christian thirteenth century as part of the evolution of Nordic religions from localized pagan cults to adherents of a larger Roman faith.

Contents:

Introduction: Communities of Belief 1

Chapter 1 The Cultures and History of the Viking-Age North 9

Chapter 2 Religions in the Viking Age: Contexts and Concepts for Analysis 29

Chapter 3 Gods, Guides, and Guardians: Spiritual Aids 45

Chapter 4 Visitors from Beyond: Death, Afterlife, and the Problem of Ghosts 69

Chapter 5 Concepts of Health and Healing 93

Chapter 6 The Intercultural Dimensions of the Seior Ritual 121

Chapter 7 The Coming of the Cross: Religious and Artistic Effects 139

Chapter 8 Achieving Faith: Christian Themes and Pagan Functions 173.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [233]-258) and index.

ISBN:

0812235118

0812217144

OCLC:

40925957