Customer Reviews

Norse Mythology: A Guide to Gods, Heroes, Rituals, and Beliefs

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

John Lindow's "Norse Mythology: A Guide to the Gods, Heroes, Rituals, and Beliefs" is one of three important reference works on the subject currently or recently available, following Rudolf Simek's heavily linguistic "Dictionary of Northern Mythology" (German edition 1984, translated by Angela Hall, 1993) and Andy Orchard's "Cassell's Dictionary of Norse Myth & Legend" (and slightly variant titles, 1997). Each of the three takes a different approach, and I have found them nicely complementary.

Lindow's coverage, which is well-described in the subtitle, is not as complete in some areas. He does not try to match Simek on, say, Roman-era inscriptions, or Orchard on individual Icelandic sagas. In what he does cover, he is generally more comprehensive, and sometimes, I think, clearer (as on, say, the limited evidence for Norse religious practices). Lindow's discussions of methodologies and theories are informative, useful, and at times even entertaining. On this basis, it might well be a better book than the other two for beginners, although it should appeal to a more advanced readership as well. There is, of course, a trade-off, and some will prefer Orchard's more extensive coverage. (Where beginners in Norse mythology are concerned, Simek might be left to those approaching from a fairly advanced linguistic-oriented background, anyway.)

The black and white illustrations are well-chosen, and most of them are clearly reproduced. Bibliographic notes to the articles are supplemented by a section of bibliographic essays (including Internet resources). Again, he provides less raw information than Simek and Orchard, but his presentation is better, and, once again, probably much more useful to a novice. (Mind you, I've been reading in the field since the middle 1960s, and took several relevant courses at UCLA in the 1970s, so I'm using a little imagination; but he tends to suggest books I then found helpful, and many I have wished had been available when I needed them.)

Those already familiar with some earlier popular works on Norse mythology will probably recognize the cover art (part of a reconstructed medieval tapestry), which, most notably, has long been used on the cover of H.R. Ellis Davidson's "Gods and Myths of Northern Europe" (Penguin). Ironically, as Lindow informs the reader (see caption, page 251), the consensus that it was intended to portray Odin, Thor, and Frey has been challenged in recent scholarship.

First of all, a friend of mine to whom I borrowed this book was a little disappointed that it was dictionary-style. There are paragraph- to page-sized entries on a wide variety of subjects, listed in alphabetical order. If you're looking for a good cover-to-cover read on Norse mythology, I highly recommend H. R. Ellis Davidson's "Gods and Myths of Northern Europe".

I own three of these dictionary-style books on Norse mythology, probably THE three such books: Lindow (this book), Rudolf Simek's "Dictionary of Northern Mythology" and Andy Orchard's "Dictionary of Norse Myth & Legend" (or whatever the current publisher's calling it these days).

Of the three, Lindow is by far the most accessible and user-friendly to the layperson. There's a wealth of information here, and it's written and presented very well and with a healthy amount of humor (one doesn't often see the poem "Thrymskvida" described as featuring "Thor in drag").

That said, it's also true that this book doesn't contain the hoard of detailed, otherwise obscure information that Simek and Orchard have to offer. On more than one occasion I went to look up something in Lindow and was surprised that it wasn't there. For example, I find it odd that there's an entry for Ratatosk (a squirrel that inhabits the world tree Yggdrasil, a relatively minor character), but not one for, say, Svartalfaheim (in some accounts, one of the Nine Worlds of Norse mythology, realm of the "black elfs", or dwarfs).

The bottom line is, if you have a casual interest in Norse mythology and want a well-written, simple reference, then Lindow's your man. If you want practically everything there is to know about Norse mythology that's available in English, well, Simek or Orchard are probably your best bet.

But even if you're going whole hog and decide to get Simek or Orchard, get Lindow too, if for no other reason than that he's an absolute blast to read.

This isn't an introduction to the Scandinavian myths, but instead is more a commentary on the information known about the Scandinavian myths. The reader must have a working knowlege of the Scandinavian myths before reading this book. For example, "Ymir" is referred to early in the text without elaboration. If you go to the section titled "Ymir," all you learn is that Ymir was "the proto-giant killed and dismembered by the gods to create the cosmos." You are left wondering what is the STORY behind how this happened.

The writer is well-versed in the subject, and his comments are interesting and reliable, but somehow the pleasure of narrative in the mythical stories is lost. One example is the entry on "Berserks: Furious warriors, in mythology associatd with Odin." The author quotes one line about them from the old stories, then dismisses them: "Other than this passage, berserks seem to have belonged more to the world of men than of gods, which agrees with the project of euhemerism Snorri had adopted with 'Ynglinga saga'...the connection between wolf-skins and berserks supports one of the suggested etymologies for medieval Icelandic "berserkr, namely, 'bear-shirt'..."

As you can see, the vocabulary of the book is aimed at scholars. The book seems to be a conversation about Scandinavian myths for scholars, clarifying the sources of the myths.

The author dismisses my favorite book on Scandinavian myths by Kevin Crossley-Holland, "The Norse Myths," as "not recommended." However, Crossley-Holland's book is just the sort of work to engage the interest of the general reader in the subject--which this book, unfortunately, doesn't.

Still, the book is well-written and interesting as an additional source on the Scandinavian myths. The book's dryness is alleviated by good photo illustrations.

This book is a fairly comprehensive overview of Norse Religion/Mythology. As a Forn SidR (Norse Heathen/Asatru) practitioner, I do reccomend this as a resource to co-religionists. It covers sacrifice, religion, an extensive listing of gods, mythological figures, and a good treatment of the lore, time, gender roles, etc... and a really good list of other sources and a thoughtful discussion of them.

I was so excited to see one of my most favorite books Mythology of All Races Vol II Eddic by John Arnott Mac Cullouch suggested (nobody seems to cite it) along with an analysis of recent Eddic translations [though surprised to see no mention of the Blackwell/Thorpe Eddas Norronea Edition, and I was kind of hoping Lindow would have discussed the George Webbe-Dasent Prose Edda from the 1840's because its on my to buy list]. The research is very very solid and I think overall extremely accurate. Lindow also lists electronic sources and the need for quality control/media literacy when using the web. Its easy & accessible as a good general treatment with the bulk of the book being an alphabetical listing of gods, figures, stories, etc... I've already picked up things I have never thought about from the entries.

This works well as a beginner's text (like after the essential 5 starter books- Prose Edda, Poetic Edda, Sagas of the Icelanders, Norse Myths by Kevin Crossley Holland, and Gods & Myths of Northern Europe by HR Ellis Davidson, but before reading Simek's Dictionary of Northern Mythology cover to cover and looking up half the citations or delving into deep theory like Paul Bauschautz, Rosalie Wax, Carol Clover, or EOG Turville Petre) as well as a really nice supplement for experienced practitioners/Norse Mythology buffs (question is do the authors of new books on Norse Mythology know that outside of academia, probably 75% of book sales come from the Heathen/pagan community-LOL), though this book does not treat any one topic with extreme depth. It is an easy read, I finished it in just over 4 hours. For the hardcore citations with lore locations, I would stick with the Rudolf Simek, but this book is a really nice accessible addition to a Heathen or Norse Mythology library at all levels.

The reason I gave it 4 stars was not so much for the brevity, to
be complete in a work of this scope would be a 2000 page book at least, and the book does not portend to be greatly detailled, just a general survey and it does a great job at that, but because Lindow did not include a bibliography, only a brief review of literature, and I would very much have liked to look at the sources he used, especially because it seems like it was written as a starter text or a book to be used in a college class on European Mythology as something one would read over a few classes, or a general reference guide.

I wasn't all that versed in Norse myth *until* I purchased and read this book. You get everything you need to fully understand Norse myth. You get geography, socioeconomic issues, religious history, and linguistics. Unusual concepts, such as "kennings", were clearly explained with examples. I also liked the encyclopedic entries for major and minor characters and traditions (ex. Mead of Poetry). Each entry included related entries and outside sources.

Before I read this book, I couldn't weave together a basic outline of Norse mythology. (Be very careful of internet websites!) I finally feel *confident enough* to pursue further readings in Norse mythology. Thanks, Dr. Lindlow!

Along with Dictionary of Northern Mythology by Rudolf Simek this is an excellent reference to Norse myth and I would recommend that any serious student of Norse myth have both books around.

This work provide a dictionary-type approach to introducing the various individuals, themes, and places of Norse myth. These are particularly useful when addressing more obscure topics (like the Disir) in the myths because the the discussion tends to be a scholar's digest of what is known.

When I reviewed Simek's work I thought it was exceptional as far as dictionaries of mythology went. Now I am beginning to understand that it is not unique in that regard. This book belongs on the bookshelf right next to it. Like Simek's work, this book draws from textual studies archaeology, and etymology to provide a fairly substantial, though not comprehensive, reference to the Norse myths. In particular, each entry has a "further reading" section so it is perfect as a place to start research.

I have to further agree with Ian Miles Slater on the quality of the illustrations. These contribute greatly to the book.

Lindow's "Norse Mythology" is a great reference, but it's primarily that -- a reference. If what you want is stories, I'd recommend Kevin Crossley-Holland's "The Norse Myths" for a good overview of the mythology.

While John Lindow's dictionary touches on a few continental Germanic subjects, like the Matres and Matrones and the Merseburg Incantations, he otherwise stays firmly in the realm of Norse mythology, and for that it's a necessary handbook.

In at least the 2001 edition, the dictionary does make a few mistakes that I've noticed; Sif incorrectly listed as the mother of Móđi and Magni, and it has some other problems, like having no article on valkyries (??). That said, the book does a solid job of separating theory from fact and contains plenty of valuable original content.

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:

Andy Orchard's "Norse Myth and Legend":
Dictionary of Norse Myth and Legend

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

This book by itself is really not that good. So why did i give it a 4 out of 5, the reason is this book is a great reference when combind with and actuall norse mythology book such as the Prosse Edda or The norse myths book. the Prosse edda can be quite comfusing when trying to keep the name and places in order and whos related to who and how. This book clarifies those things and makes the text in the Prosse edda more clear.

Again this book does not retell the myths. It give a brief overview of how the myths started and some of the beliefs of the norse people but where it excells is descriptions of the gods and locations.
If you want the full effect of this book get it with the prosse edda.

This book was a wonderful academic resource regarding Norse culture and mythology.

The author breaks down several resources into a consolidated format and presentation to demonstrate aspects of the mythology, heroes, and culture. He draws on Snorri, as well as other authors and documents that are not often cited. His insight into things is quite impressive.

For any serious student of Norse history, mythology, etc, this book is a must-have.