Gods and Myths of Northern Europe [Mass Market Paperback]

H.R. Ellis Davidson (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0140136274 | ISBN-13: 978-0140136272 | Publication Date: January 1, 1995

This title surveys the pre-Christian beliefs of the Scandinavian and Germanic people. It provides an introduction to this subject, giving basic outlines to the sagas and stories, and helps identify the character traits of not only the well known but also the lesser gods of the age.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Hilda Davidson (1912-2006) was a lecturer and Vice-President of Lucy Cavendish College, Cambridge.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Mass Market Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics) (January 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140136274
• ISBN-13: 978-0140136272
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.5 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #58,286 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #39 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction > Fairy Tales

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Still good after all these years, October 9, 2001

By 

Kenneth Robinson (USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: Gods and Myths of Northern Europe (Mass Market Paperback)

Though first published some 40 years ago, this volume remains useful as a serious, yet accessible overview of Norse mythology. But, as a starting point to those new to the subject, I would recommend The Norse Myths by Kevin Crossley-Holland, which is a wonderfully evocative account of the Northern pantheon.

Davidson's book is a fine overview of the subject from a more scholarly perspective. It is a book of modest scope and the author is conservative in her assertions. At times her diffidence is endearing, at others it is frustrating. Clearly, the book is a product of its time. Overall, it has withstood the test of time and I anticipate it will be used for decades to come.

41 of 47 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Scholarly Overview of Norse Deities & Myth, April 23, 2001

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Elderbear (Loma Linda, Aztlan) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

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This review is from: Gods and Myths of Northern Europe (Mass Market Paperback)

Davidson provides an accessible, scholarly overview of Norse deities and mythology. Three of her eight chapters give us an overview of the nordic cosmos and themes, the rest tell us stories of the deities.

Odin and Thor each get their own chapters, as well as sharing a chapter on their attributes as underworld deities. Freyr and Freya also receive a chapter dedicated (mostly) to them as fertility deities. Yet another chapter considers sea deities, and a catch-all chapter discusses the remaining gods.

Perhaps the greatest shortcoming of this overview is Davidson's failure to discuss the differences between the Aesir and the Vanir. Although these are pointed out, the significance is not discussed in detail. Could the warrior cult of the Aesir have edged out the fertility cult of the Vanir during the chilling of the climate that has taken place over the past 2,500 years or so? Does this competition reflect the Indo-Kurgan invasions that Gimbutas wrote about, where we see the gods of the victors gaining supremacy over the deities of the conquered? What of the giants? Do they represent deeper, primal forces and archetypes? Or are they the gods of yet an earlier culture?

Those who seek a "Norse" Wicca, will do well to read about the Vanir, Freyr & Freyja. This chapter lays out a nice outline of the nordic fertility tradition (which is congruent with Wicca, unlike the battle tradition of Odin & Thor). Davidson discusses the roles of the "volva" or witches/seers and their magic or "seithr."

This is an excellent comprehensive overview for somebody who would like an introduction to the Norse Mythos. It should be followed by Metzner's Well of Remembrance (sorts out Aesir and Vanir issues, as well as shamanic practices) and Crossley-Holland's Norse Myths (retells the myths). Then, the serious student ought to dive into the Eddas themselves.

(For further discussion, click on the "about me" link above & drop me a line. Thanks!)

51 of 63 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Older history, but still useful....., June 23, 2001

By 

Dianne Foster "Di" (USA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Gods and Myths of Northern Europe (Mass Market Paperback)

H.S. Ellis Davidson wrote GODS AND MYTHS OF NORTHERN EUROPE around forty years ago, when other people's belief systems were viewed as myths and Christianity was viewed as "the one true religion" even by scholars. Although Davidson was objective as she could be and still be published, a modern scholar would have less concern with what other people think. Still, this book is a useful place to begin if you seek to know more about the gods of the Germans, Swedes, Danes and other northern people.

Davidson relies on three main sources, Procopius (writing in the early 6th Century in Byzantium), Tacitus (writing in the later Roman Empire), and Snorri Sturlson who attempted to set down the story he found in Iceland in the Prose Edda in the early Middle Ages.

Davidson says of Sturlson, "There is little doubt that on the whole Snorri has given us a faithful picture of heathen mythology as he found it in the poets." Davidson has some reservations about the Prose Edda, however, because it records what had heretofore been an oral tradition. However, all early history has an oral basis, including the Bible. Modern archeology is providing much evidence that what is found in these older texts has a basis in fact.

Why should you read this book? If you are an opera fan, you will learn more about the Valkyries, Valhalla, and the Ring Cycle. If you're a fan of literature you will gain insight into the symbols contained in poems and prose. You might better understand Beowolf or Elliot's poem "The Wasteland." If you are interested old paintings, you might better understand some of the attributes of saints, or other "holy" people. Tarot readers may better understand the cards. If you puzzle over fairytales and nursery rhymes you may find enlightenment.

Those with an interest in WWII will come to understand where Hitler obtained some of his ideas (a student of German history he was familiar with the warrior tales which he used to rally his own troops). Those who are interested in the underpinnings of the current neo-Nazi movement may find some interesting material in these pages.

Sadly, northern stories have become tainted by the interest of modern terrorists, but they have an intrinsic worth any serious student of religion will recognize. It doesn't take much imagination to see that the tales of Christian saints and even Christ as depicted in northern Europe were heavily influenced by Northern "mythology".

A good part of the Roman Catholic traning I received as a child, including praying to various saints for special favors, is rooted in northern mythology in disguise (and I wouldn't have had it any other way). For one seeking understanding of forebears (even Protestants) this book is a delightful discovery.

When I was a child and "it" thundered and lightening struck, my Protestant-converted-to-Catholic mother (who attended seances on Fridays with my Dutch Reformed Grandmother) always said "it" was god and his angels bowling in heaven. Davidson tells of Woden and Odin rolling their chariots across heaven, the root of the word "thunder" from the Thor, the thunder god, and the rolling of heads of the dead.

You may recognize the analogy in the tales of Washington Irving, who wrote about Rip Van Winckle and bowling and Ichabod Crane and thuderous hooves of a headless horseman. Irving like my mother was Dutch. The Dutch have not forgotten their "myths" and I suspect neither have the Germans or other northern people. We've just disguised them in our religion, poems, tales and other artistic forms--thank Goodness.