Dictionary of Norse Myth and Legend [Paperback]

Andy Orchard (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1999

This is an A-Z guide to the mythology of the Vikings, with over 400 articles covering myths, gods and goddesses, giants, dwarves, elves and other supernatural creatures. It aims to provide an insight into a folklore tradition which has inspired talents as diverse as Wagner and Tolkien. A general historical introduction provides an overall perspective, and background material on the archaeology and social framework of the Norse world is provided.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

There is much more to Norse myths than Wagnerian sopranos, and Orchard provides a reasonably priced survey of both the tales themselves and the characters who inhabited and created them. After an explanatory preface, a brief discussion on the nature of the sources, a short explanation of spelling and pronunciation conventions employed, and a list of illustrations come 187 pages of alphabetical entries ranging from one to several paragraphs. Topics covered include various sagas and other poetic and literary works, gods and heroes, real and mythical places, social and religious customs, literary practices and practitioners, and non-Norse historians of the Norse. Many entries have liberal quotations from the sagas or other literary or historical works. Entries are liberally cross-referenced. The writing is clear and accessible. Illustrations, which are black and white, include photographs and line drawings.

There is an extensive bibliography, with titles grouped into reference books and general sources, primary sources, translations of primary sources, and secondary sources. Each title in the bibliography has been assigned a unique number, which is referenced in the dictionary entries. Appendixes include lists of the names and titles of Odin, the ruler of the gods; the names of the principal dwarfs; the names of the giants; and the names of the troll wives, giantesses, and Valkyries. There is a separate index of authors and passages cited in the text.

This volume should work equally well for a reference librarian looking for a quick answer, or someone doing a report who needs more information. It is suitable for high-school and medium-to-large public libraries and most academic libraries with mythology collections. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Andrew Orchard was born in North London in 1964, and is a sometime Scholar of both Exeter College, Oxford, and Queens' College, Cambridge. He is currently University Lecturer in the Department of Anglo Saxon, Norse and Celtic at Cambridge, where he teaches Old English, Old Norse and Insular Latin as a fellow of Emmanuel College. In addition to producing a wide range of scholarly works on the literature and learning of the medieval period, he has led walking tours in the mountains of Iceland for a number of years. This is his third book.

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Cassell; 2nd edition (March 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0304351342
• ISBN-13: 978-0304351343
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 7.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,006,339 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ian Myles Slater on: A Compact Edition, October 25, 2003

By 

Ian M. Slater "aylchanan" (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Cassell's Dictionary of Norse Myth & Legend (Cassell Reference) (Paperback)

I have been reading serious books about Norse mythology since the mid-1960s (I don't remember when I first encountered versions for children), and have studied the primary sources in translation, and, to a very limited (and amateurish) extent, in the original languages. This is exactly the sort of reference book / handbook I used to dream about, and which seemed to be available only as watered-down introductions for schoolchildren, or, if reasonably scholarly, in German. A recent example of the latter, by Rudolf Simek, has been translated by Angela Hall, as "Dictionary of Northern Mythology" (1993). The end of the twentieth century, has, in fact, seen several works of this sort, solidly based in scholarship, yet simple enough for those unfamiliar with the subject to enjoy. To my great pleasure, they are even being written in English.

This example is a re-set, mass-market edition of the 1997 "Cassell Dictionary...," which was published in both hardcover and trade paperback editions. The textual contents appear to be identical (I do not have a copy at hand to compare, so I am relying on memory), although, given the changes, it will be useful in the future to give references to Orchard by head-words, rather than page numbers. The original illustrations have been omitted; against this loss, the mass-market edition is in print.

The contents are extremely impressive. All of the major, and almost all of the minor, figures of Norse myth and legend from Scandinavian sources, together with other Germanic materials, and other relevant texts and archeological and other sources are catalogued and concisely described or defined. (The coverage of heroic legend is limited to the major figures, particularly those attested outside Scandinavia. Unfortunately, some of the more reliable and interesting correspondences to Migration-Age history, such as the names of the Niflung / Burgundian royal family, are slighted.)

There are cross-references to related articles - none, so far as I have noticed, leading in circles (as I have seen in too many reference works). Major critical issues are covered briefly and clearly, and with impressive objectivity (compare the discreet entry on "Beowulf," with due regard for the scholarly consensus, to the author's own views in his own 1995 book on the subject, "Pride and Prodigies...").

The difficult problem of transcribing Norse and Anglo-Saxon names, with their unfamiliar characters, has been solved by a few simple rules, clearly explained; exceptions are made for some very familiar forms, like Odin and Thor, where consistency would have called for accent marks. This will annoy purists, and perhaps those who have studied the relevant languages a little, but is far less intimidating to the uninitiated.

The articles are supplied with bibliographic references, in cryptic-looking letter-number combinations which direct the reader to numbered items in four separate bibliographies (references, primary sources, sources in translation, and studies). With something like 800 titles to deal with, this saves space, and avoids the problem of keeping track of whether or not an item appears in one or more places, and in full or short form. Although it looks confusing, I have found that the alphanumeric system makes it relatively easy to check the references. There is also an index of medieval passages and authors cited in the text.

An attractive feature is a set of appendices cataloguing such things as the names and titles of Odin, the names of Dwarfs, of Giants, and of "Troll-wives, Giantesses and Valkyries" (the last set showing so much overlap and confusion that grouping them together was probably the most practical solution). As in the articles, names are supplied with translations, if the meaning is reasonably clear.

Among recent works actually written in English, the most nearly comparable is John Lindow's "Norse Mythology: A Guide to the Gods, Heroes, Rituals, and Beliefs." It differs in offering fewer, but longer, articles, with much more extended discussions of critical issues, literary problems, and rival interpretations. It omits some of the items of in the "Dictionary," but also covers some topics which Orchard only mentions. Lindow's bibliography seems much less comprehensive, but he includes essays on both the primary sources and the secondary literature (including how to evaluate on-line offerings). I have both, and would not give up either, but Orchard clearly offers the better bargain to a novice looking for a single reference source, covering more material, with a simpler-looking approach to each item.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A very nice dictionary with great content, April 9, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Dictionary of Norse Myth and Legend (Paperback)

I would rather have given this book 4.5 stars. The only drawback to me is that I wish there were more illustrations/pictures in here. The ones that are in here are fascinating but I would have loved seeing more. There are more Norse terms in here than I could have imagined and the definitions are well written.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Small entries, but unique focus on Anglo-Saxon sources and heroic poems, February 11, 2009

By 

Neorxnawang - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Dictionary of Norse Myth and Legend (Paperback)

Focused primarily on Norse sources, Andy Orchard's handbook provides additional information that the other two dictionaries (see links below) lack in areas of Anglo-Saxon sources and the heroic poems and sagas. For example, Barnstokkr only receives an entry in Orchard's dictionary. Orchard also seems to provide the best etymologies (and more of them) than the other two dictionaries, and even includes some very handy name lists towards the end of the work.

On the down side, the entries can be a little short and a little too brief in comparison to the other two dictionaries, and as a result this work is the thinnest of the three.

As I've pointed out above, this is (as of the time of writing this) one of three English language dictionaries covering Germanic mythology and paganism. All are of independent value to those with a serious interest in the subject matter, and I recommend getting a hold of all three. The other two are:

John Lindow's "Dictionary of Norse mythology"
Norse Mythology: A Guide to Gods, Heroes, Rituals, and Beliefs

Rudolf Simek's "Dictionary of Northern Mythology":
Dictionary of Northern Mythology