Old Norse mythology--comparative perspectives / edited by Pernille Hermann, Stephen A. Mitchell, Jens Peter Schødt, with Amber J. Rose.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Hermann, Pernille, editor.

Series:

Publications of the Milman Parry Collection of Oral Literature ; no. 3.

Publications of the Milman Parry collection of oral literature ; no. 3

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Mythology, Norse.

Religion.

History.

Scandinavia--Religion--History.

Scandinavia.

Genre:

History.

Physical Description:

xvii, 397 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm.

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, Massachusetts : The Milman Parry Collection of Oral Literature, Harvard University, 2017.

Summary:

"Old Norse mythology is elusive: it is the label used to describe the religious stories of the pre-Christian North, featuring such well-known gods as Odin and Thor, yet most of the narratives have come down to us in manuscripts from the Middle Ages mainly written by Christians. Our view of the stories as they were transmitted in oral form in the pre-Christian era is obscured. To overcome these limitations, this book assembles comparisons from a range of theoretical and analytical perspectives--across media, cultures, and disciplines. Fifteen scholars from a wide range of fields examine the similarities of and differences of the Old Norse mythologies with the myths of other cultures. The differences and similarities within the Old Norse corpus itself are examined to tease out the hidden clues to the original stories." -- Publisher's description

Contents:

Part one. Theoretical and conceptual comparisons. Pre-Christian religions of the north and the need for comparativism: reflections on why, how, and what we can compare / Jens Peter Schjødt

Methodological challenges to the study of old Norse myths: the orality and literacy debate reframed / Pernille Hermann

Framing the hero: medium and metalepsis in old Norse heroic narrative

The Æsir and their idols / Jonas Wellendorf

Part two. Local and neighboring traditions. Blótgyðjur, Goðar, Mimi, incest, and wagons: oral memories of the religion(s) of the Vanir / Terry Gunnell

Volund was here: a myth archaeologically anchored in Viking age Scania / Torun Zachrisson

The temple, the tree, and the well: a topos or cosmic symbolism at cultic sites in pre-Christian northern Europe? / Olof Sundqvist

The mythic sun: an aerial perspective / Thomas A. Dubois

Comparing Balto-Finnic and Nordic mythologies / John Lindow

Part three. Global traditions. Snorri and the Jews / Richard Cole

Creation from the fire in Snorri's Edda: the tenets of a vernacular theory of geothermal activity in old Norse myth / Mathias Nordvig

Óðinn, charms, and necromancy: Hávamál 157 in its Nordic and European contexts / Stephen A. Mitchell

Vermin gone bad in medieval Scandinavian, Persian, and Irish traditions

Baldr and Iraj: murdered and avenged / Emily Lyle

Ymir in India, China

and beyond / Michael Witzel.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780674975699

0674975693

OCLC:

992437464

Publisher Number:

99974753242