Myth, materiality, and lived religion : in Merovingian and Viking Scandinavia / edited by Klas Wikström af Edholm [and four others].

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Wikström af Edholm, Klas, editor.

Series:

Acta Universitatis Stockholmiensis. Stockholm studies in comparative religion ; 40.

Stockholm studies in comparative religion ; 40

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Religion, Prehistoric--Scandinavia.

Religion, Prehistoric.

Civilization, Viking--Social life and customs.

Civilization, Viking.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (viii, 438 pages) : illustrations.

Other Title:

Myth, Materiality, and Lived Religion

Place of Publication:

Stockholm : Stockholm University Press, [2019]

Summary:

"The authors of the present volume, Myth, Materiality, and Lived Religion, focus on the material dimension of Old Norse mythology and the role played by myths in everyday life. More broadly expressed, the collection looks at the social, ceremonial and material contexts of myths. This topic has been underexplored in previous research on Old Norse myths, despite its important theoretical implications. However, discussions around materiality, in a more general sense, have for a long time been significant for historians of religion, especially archaeologists. Myth, Materiality, and Lived Religion seeks to make the case for the relevance of materiality to literary historians and philologists as well. Questions relating to the theme of materiality and lived religion are posed in this book, including: What do myths tell us about the material culture of the periods in which they were narrated? What role did myths or mythical beings play in connection to, for instance, illnesses and remedies during the Viking Period and the Middle Ages? How did ordinary people experience participation in a more formal sacrificial feast led by ritual specialists? The editors of this book are all associated with the Department of Ethnology, History of Religions and Genders Studies at Stockholm University, Sweden"-- Publisher's description.

Contents:

Gold is red : Sigurõarkviða en skamma 49-50 / Merrill Kaplan, Response by Agneta Ney

Halls, gods, and giants : The enigma of Gullveig in Óðinn 's Hall / Tommy Kuusela, Response by Eldar Heide

Mercury-Wotan - Óðinn : One or many? / Jens Peter Schjødt, Response by Peter Jackson Rova

Myth on stone and tapestry : Ragnarøk in pictures? / Anders Hultgård, Response by John Lindow

Ormhäxan, dragons, parturition and tradition / Stephen Mitchell, Response by Judy Quinn

Re-interpretations of Gotlandic picture stones based on the reflectance transformation imaging method (RTI) : Some examples / Sigmund Oehrl, Response by Anne-Sofie Gräslund

Gold foil figures and Norse mythology : Fact and fiction? / Margrethe Watt, Response by Olof Sundqvist

Finitude : Human and animal sacrifice in a Norse setting / Christina Fredengren and Camilla Löfqvist, Response by Klas Wikstrom af Edholm

Understanding embodiment through lived religion : A look at vernacular physiologies in an Old Norse milieu / Frog, Response by Margaret Clunies Ross

Animals and the Blót in the Old Norse sources and ritual depositions of bones from archaeological sites / Ola Magnell, Response by Kristin Armstrong Oma

Configurations of religion in late Iron Age and Viking Age Scandinavia / Andreas Nordberg, Response by Maths Bertell

Tangible religion : Amulets, illnesses, and the demonic seven sisters / Rudolf Simek, Response by Olaf Sundqvist

What does Óðinn do to the Túnriðor? An interpretation of Hávamál / Frederik Wallenstein,Response by Terry Gunnell.

Notes:

Description based on print version record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.