From Asgard to Valhalla : the remarkable history of the Norse myths / Heather O'Donoghue.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

O'Donoghue, Heather.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Mythology, Norse--History.

Mythology, Norse.

Mythology, Norse--Influence.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (233 p.)

Place of Publication:

London, [Eng.] ; New York : I. B. Tauris, 2008, c2007.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Whether they focus on Thor's powerful hammer, the wailing Valkyrie, the palatial home of the gods - Asgard - or ravenous wolves and fierce elemental giants, the Norse myths are packed with rowdy incident. But at the centre of their cosmos stands a gnarled old ash tree, Yggdrasil, from which all distances and times are measured. When the old tree creaks, Ragnarok - the end of the world and of the gods themselves - is at hand. It is from this tree that Odin, father of the gods, hanged himself in search of the wisdom of the dead: a disturbing image of divine sacrifice far removed from the feasti

Contents:

Cover; Contents; List of Plates; Acknowledgements; A Note on Proper Names; Introduction; Part One: The Earliest Sources of Old Norse Mythology; 1. Creation and Cosmos; 2. Gods and Giants; 3. Heroes and Humans; 4. Afterlife and Apocalypse; Part Two: The Reception of Norse Myth; 5. The Viking Legacy; 6. Romantic Revolutions; 7. The Rise of Racism; 8. Contemporary Myths; Epilogue; Timeline; Bibliography; Index

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 205-208) and index.

ISBN:

9786612618833

9781350127395

1350127396

9781441615954

1441615954

9780857730435

0857730436

9781282618831

1282618830

9780857712752

0857712756

9786000002299

6000002297

OCLC:

710975836