Review (PDF) Myths Of The Norsemen: From The Eddas And Sagas
Over the centuries, Northern mythology has exerted much influence on Western customs, language, and literature. Its principal theme of the perpetual struggle of the beneficent forces of nature against the injurious, and its twin characteristics of dark tragedy and grim humor, tinge much European literature and music, most notably Wagner’s Ring Cycle.In this volume, a noted scholar of myth and folklore has assembled a rich collection of Northern mythology as preserved in the Eddas and sagas of Iceland. These are perhaps the purest versions of the original myths, thanks to the island’s remoteness and lack of contact with outside influences. Both grand and tragical, the age-old tales tell of the creation of the world; the heroic deeds of such gods and heroes as Odin, Thor, and Siegfried; the machinations of the evil Loki; the fantastical adventures of giants, dwarfs, and elves; the twilight of the gods; and much else. Sixty-four marvelous, atmospheric illustrations add an additional dimension of charm.In this convenient, reliable edition, Myths of the Norsemen offers not only hours of reading entertainment but also valuable insights into the nature and meaning of myth and how it constitutes part of the deep and ancient wellspring of Western culture.
Paperback: 480 pages
Publisher: Dover Publications (December 21, 1992)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0486273482
ISBN-13: 978-0486273488
Product Dimensions: 5.4 x 1 x 8.5 inches
Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #305,200 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #42 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Poetry > Regional & Cultural > European > Norse & Icelandic Sagas #743 in Books > Religion & Spirituality > Religious Studies > Comparative Religion #841 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Social Sciences > Folklore & Mythology
Beware this book.It is apparently written for older children, but is based much on unidentified sources or the author's own imagination, and is filled with careless, factual errors.Guerber often refers vaguely and randomly to "some mythologists", "old Northmen", "ancient Northern nations", "Northern races", "the Scandinavians", "some authorities", "some accounts" as sources, only once actually mentioning Snorri Sturluson under the odd misspelling "Snorro - Sturleson". She presents unsourced desciptions and information found in no extant medieval texts. A typical example, one of many, concerns Ãgir:"He was supposed to occasion and quiet the great tempests which swept over the deep, and was generally represented as a gaunt old man, with long white beard and hair, and clawlike fingers ever clutching convulsively, as though he longed to have all things within his grasp. Whenever he appeared above the waves, it was only to pursue and overturn vessels, and to greedily drag them to the bottom of the sea, a vocation in which he was thought to take fiendish delight."The writing is good and makes Ãgir come alive. But every detail is modern invention, whether invented by Guerber or some literary source from which Guerber took it without attribution. Guerber continues with more bogus information that Ãgir married his sister. Such passages abound. This might be reasonable in a work which presented itself as a retelling and reworking of Norse mythology (yet even retellings for younger children mostly stick closer to the originals). Who "supposed" Ãgir to be as Guerber presents him? What does "generally represented" mean when no representation of Ãgir has ever been found? Ãgir was "thought to take fiendish delight" by whom?
Myths of the Norsemen: From the Eddas and Sagasby H. A. GuerberThe errors in this work are fairly typical for the period that it was written. Romanticizing the Norse and Arthurian Myths seemed to be a very legitimate pastime for numerous Victorian era authors. While most of the book is in clearly and well written prose, at best it should be consider along the lines of a, "Historical Novel", or as a semi-serious children's text on Norse mythology. There are just too many errors and outright fabrications for serious study. Additionally, while there might be a small amount of justification for an academic and scholarly comparison between Norse Mythology and Greek Mythology, what is presented in the last chapter of this book is not one. Guerber's unsupported and exceptionally vague reference's to non-identifiable ethereal sources is very frustrating. Let's face it, there are not an infinite number of sources for this information, different translations are one thing but changing the myths and alluding to, "other", unspecified sources of wisdom is quite unacceptable. I am of the opinion that many of these sources were contemporaries of Guerber's and she was sighting them in this work. It would be like me using Harrison's, "The Hammer and The Cross", as a validation for what I thought the true meaning of the Edda's were and then publishing it as a fact.O.K., now that I've slammed this work and author fairly hard let me lay out two or three reasons why I think anyone interested in the Norse and Germanic Myths should own a copy, or in my case two copies, (one paperback and one hardback). Firstly, the illustrations are very well done. Granted that they are seldom historically accurate and very Victorian or Wagner like, but well done none the less.
Myths of the Norsemen: From the Eddas and Sagas Sagas of the Norsemen: Viking and German Myth (Myth & Mankind , Vol 5, No 20) The Viking Anthology: Norse Myths, Icelandic Sagas and Viking Chronicles Norse Mythology: Great Stories from the Eddas The Myths and Religion of the Incas: An illustrated encyclopedia of the gods, myths and legends of the Incas, Paracas, Nasca, Moche, Wari, Chimu and ... 240 fine art illustrations and photographs GREEK MYTHOLOGY: Greek Gods Of Ancient Greece And Other Greek Myths - Discovering Greek History & Mythology - 3rd Edition - With Pics (Greece, Greek, Egyptian ... Greek History, Mythology, Myths Book 1) Primal Myths: Creation Myths Around the World Night Wolf: A Novel of Viking Age Ireland (The Norsemen Saga Book 5) Fin Gall: A Novel of Viking Age Ireland (The Norsemen Saga Book 1) The Lord of Vik-lo: A Novel of Viking Age Ireland (The Norsemen Saga Book 3) Dubh-linn: A Novel of Viking Age Ireland (The Norsemen Saga Book 2) Norse Mythology: A Concise Guide to Gods, Heroes, Sagas and Beliefs of Norse Mythology Eirik The Red and Other Icelandic Sagas (Oxford World's Classics) Viking Language 1: Learn Old Norse, Runes, and Icelandic Sagas (Viking Language Series) The Popol Vuh, the Mythic and Heroic Sagas of the Kichés of Central America The Sagas of Icelanders: (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition) The Vinland Sagas. The Norse Discovery of America. Heimskringla: the Norse King sagas The Vinland Sagas: The Norse Discovery of America (Penguin Classics) The Sagas of Icelanders: A Selection
