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The end of the world in Scandinavian mythology : a comparative perspective on Ragnarök / Anders Hultgard.
Oxford Scholarship Online: Classical Studies Available online
Oxford Scholarship Online: Classical Studies- Format:
- Book
- Author/Creator:
- Hultgård, Anders, 1936- author.
- Language:
- English
- Subjects (All):
- Mythology, Norse.
- End of the world--Mythology.
- Mythology, Norse, in literature.
- Genre:
- Electronic books.
- Physical Description:
- 1 online resource
- Edition:
- First edition.
- Place of Publication:
- Oxford ; New York, NY : Oxford University Press, 2022.
- Summary:
- The End of the World in Scandinavian Mythology is a detailed study of the Scandinavian myth on the end of the world, the Ragnarök, and its comparative background, giving an historical perspective to contemporary human fears and hopes about the end of the world in the Ragnarök myth of cosmic destruction and cosmic renewal.
- Contents:
- Intro
- Halftitle page
- Title page
- Copyright page
- Dedication page
- Preface
- Contents
- List of Figures
- List of Abbreviations
- 1. Introduction
- Ragnarök-tradition and reception
- Ragnarök and other terms for the 'end of the world'
- Outline of research history
- Problems and purpose
- 2. The Historical and Social Contexts
- Natural environment, way of life, and society
- Central places and their significance
- Social groups
- The social contexts of the Ragnarök myth
- Skalds and their praise poetry
- Seeresses and their predictions
- The Ragnarök myth in popular tradition
- The milieus of the eddic poems
- 3. Vǫluspá: The Prophecy of the Seeress
- Eddic poems
- Vǫluspá: text, setting, and date
- The question of Christian influence
- Characteristic features
- Interpretation of Vǫluspá stanzas 38-66
- 4. Poetry and Mythographies
- Skaldic poetry
- Snorri's Edda
- Saxo and saga texts
- Ragnarök in the sources-a summary
- 5. Ragnarök Illustrated
- Problems of interpreting the iconography
- Discussion of the iconographic material
- 6. The Comparative Contexts
- The Christian context
- Early Islam
- Near Eastern conceptions
- Celtic remnants of a cosmic eschatology
- Greek and Roman conceptions
- Iranian traditions
- Ancient Indic traditions
- European and West Asian traditions
- 7. The Signs of the End and the Final Battle
- Signs heralding the end of the world
- Cosmic upheavals
- Frightening monsters and demonic adversaries
- Fettering and unleashing of demonic beings
- The great battle of the end
- 8. Destruction and Renewal
- The world succumbs
- A new world arises
- What does the comparative material tell us?
- 9. The Ragnarök Myth-Distinctive Features and Origins
- The distinctive character of the Ragnarök myth
- The origins
- A distinctive myth with Indo-European roots
- Bibliography
- Index
- Notes:
- Description based on online resource; title from digital title page (viewed on October 24, 2022).
- Other Format:
- Print version: Hultgård, Anders The End of the World in Scandinavian Mythology
- ISBN:
- 9780192692849
- 0192692844
- 9780191959332
- 0191959332
- 9780192692832
- 0192692836
- OCLC:
- 1346362959
- Access Restriction:
- Restricted for use by site license.
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