Gods and Humans in Medieval Scandinavia: Retying the Bonds (Cambridge Studies in Medieval Literature, Series Number 103) - Hardcover

Wellendorf, Jonas

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 110842497X ISBN 13: 9781108424974

Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 2018

Synopsis

The coming of Christianity to Northern Europe resulted in profound cultural changes. In the course of a few generations, new answers were given to fundamental existential questions and older notions were invalidated. Jonas Wellendorf's study, the first monograph in English on this subject, explores the medieval Scandinavian reception and re-interpretation of pre-Christian Scandinavian religion. This original work draws on a range of primary sources ranging from Prose Edda and Saxo Grammaticus' History of the Danes to less well known literary works including the Saga of Barlaam and the Hauksbók manuscript (c.1300). By providing an in-depth analysis of often overlooked mythological materials, along with translations of all textual passages, Wellendorf delivers an accessible work that sheds new light on the ways in which the old gods were integrated into the Christian worldview of medieval Scandinavia.

About this title

Book Description

The first monograph in English on the medieval Scandinavian reception and re-interpretation of pre-Christian Scandinavian religion. Contextualizes the canonical Prose Edda by drawing on a range of less well known texts. Translations are provided of all quotations from medieval texts.

About the Author

Jonas Wellendorf is an assistant professor in the Department of Scandinavian at University of California, Berkeley. He is the author of multiple articles in journals and peer-reviewed anthologies and has also co-edited anthologies and an edition of an Old Norse rhetorical treatise.

Edition details

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication date: 2018
• ISBN 10: 110842497X
• ISBN 13: 9781108424974
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 220