1, 2) Haha Gaiman is not so bad. His book is ok for beginners but if you become more serious about studying Norse mythology you will need to be prepared to let go of a few of the ideas in his book.
3) Actually hel and hole do both derive from the same Proto-Indo-European root, specifically *kel- meaning “to cover or conceal”. But they are not exactly the same anymore by the time we get to the Germanic linguistic period. Hel comes from a sense of concealing the dead in the ground, but the word has taken on a religious underworld connotation in the Germanic language branches. Helsinki is different. It’s actually borrowed from Swedish Hälsing which derives from a word meaning “neck” and refers to a narrow body of water in this context.
4) If you’re referring to Bock Saga, no I haven’t read that. Modern mystical stuff isn’t really in my wheelhouse :)
5) Not just atheists, but there is a pretty common idea out there that Christianity was brutally forced upon the vikings (not true) and that all Christians ever wanted to do was ruin longstanding cultural ideas. Obviously Christianity was opposed to paganism, but the story is far more complex than people often make it out to be and people sometimes don’t realize that a medieval Christian could exist who was genuinely interested in pagan mythology for academic reasons.
6) To some degree yes. People don’t change their entire way of life overnight. Even today we have a Christ-centered holiday called Easter which is literally named after a pagan goddess, and which involves a bunch of rabbit and egg traditions that don’t come from Christianity. There was surely a lot more stuff like this in the times that immediately followed Christianization. There are examples of healing charms and things of that nature from the historical record that mention both Jesus and Odin. So for some, things were a lot less cut and dry.
Ooooh it’s happened again... an essay about one of my favourite subject.. Norse myths, gods, and Snorri ... now I’m compelled to pick up my copy of the ‘Edda’ and Snorri’s ‘On the Norse gods’ again. He should indeed be honoured.
Fully agree, Snorri was a giant in the scholarly world and did much to preserve some of the best stories ever told. I despise his negative rep when he should be honoured and revered for his accomplishments. A great essay as always!
Lots of thoughts.
1 I probably wouldn’t be here by for Neil Gaimen
2 Neil Gainen I get ya!
3 isn’t Hel - hole. If maybe some sort of prison in Helsinki?
4 has anyone come across as the Bok saga
5 maybe the prose has been lambasted because modern atheists look at old Christians in a bad light
6 which then leads me to say that were not earlier Christian’s more mystical than modern humans are and more connected to the pagan ways.
Finally, thank you!
1, 2) Haha Gaiman is not so bad. His book is ok for beginners but if you become more serious about studying Norse mythology you will need to be prepared to let go of a few of the ideas in his book.
3) Actually hel and hole do both derive from the same Proto-Indo-European root, specifically *kel- meaning “to cover or conceal”. But they are not exactly the same anymore by the time we get to the Germanic linguistic period. Hel comes from a sense of concealing the dead in the ground, but the word has taken on a religious underworld connotation in the Germanic language branches. Helsinki is different. It’s actually borrowed from Swedish Hälsing which derives from a word meaning “neck” and refers to a narrow body of water in this context.
4) If you’re referring to Bock Saga, no I haven’t read that. Modern mystical stuff isn’t really in my wheelhouse :)
5) Not just atheists, but there is a pretty common idea out there that Christianity was brutally forced upon the vikings (not true) and that all Christians ever wanted to do was ruin longstanding cultural ideas. Obviously Christianity was opposed to paganism, but the story is far more complex than people often make it out to be and people sometimes don’t realize that a medieval Christian could exist who was genuinely interested in pagan mythology for academic reasons.
6) To some degree yes. People don’t change their entire way of life overnight. Even today we have a Christ-centered holiday called Easter which is literally named after a pagan goddess, and which involves a bunch of rabbit and egg traditions that don’t come from Christianity. There was surely a lot more stuff like this in the times that immediately followed Christianization. There are examples of healing charms and things of that nature from the historical record that mention both Jesus and Odin. So for some, things were a lot less cut and dry.
Thank you again and I look forward to learning more. Lots to think about.
Ooooh it’s happened again... an essay about one of my favourite subject.. Norse myths, gods, and Snorri ... now I’m compelled to pick up my copy of the ‘Edda’ and Snorri’s ‘On the Norse gods’ again. He should indeed be honoured.
Thank you for a great essay
Fully agree, Snorri was a giant in the scholarly world and did much to preserve some of the best stories ever told. I despise his negative rep when he should be honoured and revered for his accomplishments. A great essay as always!