This article picks up where my original list of The 10 Best Norse Mythology Books leaves off. If you’ve already immersed yourself in the kinds of beginner-level books that that article recommends and you find yourself wanting to go further into the ancient mythology and religion of the Norse, this list is for you. (This article was last updated in August of 2019.)
The first four books here are intermediate level books that will deepen the reader’s understanding of Norse mythology and religion in general. then come two more primary sources in addition to those already described in the beginner level list. The last four books deal with particular aspects of the subject: Odin, magic, the afterlife, and the relationship between the ancient Norse and Celtic religions.
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1. dictionary of northern mythology by rudolf simek
rudolf simek is one of the leading scholars of Norse mythology and religion today. Dictionary of Northern Mythology is his magnum opus.
As its title implies, this book consists of a dictionary or encyclopedia of alphabetical entries for virtually any proper name you can find in the study of Norse mythology. While this intent and structure make it similar to John Lindow’s Norse Mythology (#10 on the beginner level list), the two books have different scopes and target audiences. Lindow’s book is written for newbies and is therefore more accessible, which is why it is on the first list. simek’s book is written for scholars and serious laymen. consequently, it is much more detailed and complete, which is why it is on this list.
This is one of those books cited by virtually every other credible book in the field that has appeared since its publication, and for good reason. As a convenient reference and go-to source for key subject terms and topics, the Dictionary of Northern Mythology is second to none. click here to view or purchase the northern mythology dictionary on amazon.
2. The Viking Way: Magic and Mind in Late Iron Age Scandinavia by Neil Price
Neil Price is an archaeologist who specializes in the Viking Age of Northern Europe. His great gift, aside from the great depth of his knowledge of the ancient Norse world, is his ability to find connections and implications in a body of data that hundreds of people before him have missed.
That skill and wealth of knowledge are on full display in Viking form, which is actually Price’s doctoral thesis. In the Viking manner (which used to be subtitled Religion and Warfare in late Iron Age Scandinavia), Price regales the reader with lavish descriptions of the techniques the Vikings used in their practice of magic and their practice of warfare, as well as the position the two occupied within the religion and worldview of the Vikings in general. in the end, price can reach far-reaching conclusions that reshape our understanding of that religion and worldview.
I’ve written a full Viking style review here.
click here to view or purchase viking form on amazon.
3. Myths of the Pagan North: Gods of the Norsemen by Christopher Abram
christopher abram’s myths of the pagan north consist, in the author’s own words, of “a story of myth-making in medieval scandinavia”. traces the transmission and development of Norse myths from the Viking Age well into the medieval period that followed. Our current knowledge of the Norse myths overwhelmingly comes from literary sources that were written during this time period, so Abram’s survey covers essentially the entire lifetime of the myths in the forms in which they have come down to us.
In addition to providing what is probably the best overview and analysis of literary sources in a single volume to date, Abram considers a central paradox of sources: Generally speaking, the more information a source provides, the The less reliable the source becomes, and the more reliable sources tend to be those that provide the least amount of information. Abram argues that rather than abandon problematic sources (such as the Eddas) or naively take them at face value as faithful preservations of pre-Christian tradition, we should approach them as steps in the ongoing process of the development of the Norse myths, which continues to this day. the present day.
Ultimately, Abram allows us to see the Norse Myths as more than just static relics of a bygone time. instead, we can see them as stories that are constantly transforming and adapting, and you and I are potential participants in that process. click here to view or purchase myths from the pagan north of amazon.
4. Norse Religions in the Viking Age by Thomas A. dubois
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thomas a. Dubois Norse Religions in the Viking Age places Norse religion in its proper anthropological and historical context.
The religion of the Vikings did not exist in a vacuum, and Dubois refreshingly focuses on the many permutations it underwent across time and space, the other traditions by which it was influenced, and those that in turn They were influenced by her. shows how it was part of the relentless process of give and take that characterized the ancient and medieval European world in general, paying special attention to the reciprocal interactions with the religions of the Sámi, the Celts, the Romans and, yes, even the Christians.
dubois shows how Norse religion was never a monolithic or static phenomenon. the core elements of one people’s cult traditions might have been surprisingly foreign to the people in the next valley, not to mention another settlement hundreds of miles across the ocean. the differences over time could have been even more marked.
Norse Religions in the Viking Age is therefore essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the religion of the Vikings more fully than is possible simply by studying it as an isolated and uniform phenomenon. click here to view or buy norse religions viking age from amazon.
5. heimskringla: the story of the kings of norway by snorri sturluson
the heimskringla is one of the two main works of the famous medieval icelandic scholar snorri sturluson; the other, of course, is the prose edda (found on the beginner level list).
the heimskringla is a collection of sagas recounting the legendary lives of ancient and medieval Norwegian kings. while the heimskringla is not as directly related to mythology or religion as the prose edda is, it does provide a wealth of extremely valuable information along the way. this is especially true of the first saga in the set, the saga of the ynglings or the ynglinga saga. the first part of that saga is devoted almost entirely to discussing the deeds and abilities of the gods and goddesses. other sagas in the collection shed clues to the pre-Christian religious practices of the Norse.
read m. Hollander’s translation is by far the best English translation out there. While most other translations are clumsy and/or dated, Hollander’s reads like great literature. click here to view or purchase the heimskringla from amazon.
6. germania by tacit
The Roman historian Tacitus has left us the most complete account of the Germanic tribes as they were during the time of the Roman Empire. his germania, written around AD 100, covers virtually every aspect of the life and customs of the Germanic tribes, including extensive discussions of their religion.
Some of Tacitus’ comments agree very well with what we know of the religion of the Norse, the descendants of some of the tribes Tacitus wrote about. others help flesh out the image by giving us something to compare with the dark spots in later Old Norse sources. others sound like middle ground between later Norse religion and earlier Proto-Indo-European religion, giving us a glimpse of the development of Germanic religion over time.
germania is a must for anyone interested in the religion of the Germanic tribes, as well as anyone who wants to better understand the religion of the Norse and/or other Germanic peoples. click here to view or buy germania on amazon.
7. the one-eyed god: odin and the (indo-)germanic männerbünde by kris kershaw
The main purpose of Kris Kershaw’s One-Eyed God: Odin and the (Indo-)Germanic Männerbünde is to explain why Odin was thought to have only one eye. in the myths, of course, he sacrificed it for wisdom, but why was the particular symbolism of a lost eye chosen to represent that?
To answer that question, Kershaw considers much of the rest of the body of symbolism that was related to Odin and his cult among the Vikings, such as the many roles of the god and the animals with which he was associated. But to understand the origin and meaning of these symbols, as well as their relationships to one another, Kershaw takes us much further back in time. The religious practices of the Proto-Indo-Europeans and their descendants in India, Greece, Ireland, and elsewhere are discussed as part of Kershaw’s analysis.
Military societies of men (“warbands” or männerbünde) figure especially prominently, as one of Odin’s primary roles was as leader of the divine warband. Kershaw’s descriptions and analyzes of these societies, including their offshoots in the Norse world, the berserkers, and úlfheðnar, are among the most detailed and revealing in existence.
The One-Eyed God is essential reading for anyone especially interested in Odin, his worship, and the exultant military groups, such as the berserkers, who were especially connected to him. click here to view or buy the one-eyed god on amazon.
8. trolldómr in early medieval scandinavia by catharina raudvere
This 100-page essay on Viking Age magic by catharina raudvere is probably the best scholarly introduction to pre-Christian Norse magic (or trolldómr, the word raudvere uses to refer to it) in existence. Included as one of three pieces in Witchcraft and Magic in Europe, Volume III: The Middle Ages, Edited by Bengt Ankarloo and Stuart Clark.
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raudvere covers the different types of magic in the Viking world (runic magic, galdr, seiðr, etc.) as well as more general Norse views on what magic was and how it fit into the rest of their belief system . the Icelandic sagas here prove to be a particularly fruitful source of examples. Personally, I found raudvere’s discussion of how the Norse attributed awesome powers to the spoken word especially illuminating, but the entire essay is filled with a great deal of insight.
trolldómr in early medieval Scandinavia is highly recommended for anyone who wants to understand Norse magic as the Vikings themselves did. Click here to view or purchase Witchcraft and Magic in Europe, Volume III: The Middle Ages on Amazon.
9. The Road to Hell: A Study of the Conception of the Dead in Old Norse Literature by H.R. ellis davidson
the road to hell: a study of the conception of the dead in old norse literature is the first major book written by hilda roderick ellis davidson, the esteemed old norse scholar who is also the author of north european gods and myths , one of the books on the beginner level list. Although The Way To Hel was originally published in 1943 (before H.R. Ellis acquired the “davidson” part of the name from it), it remains remarkably current. scholars today often cite it.
The Road to Hell deals with Viking Age perceptions of what happened to a person after death, as well as the ongoing interactions between the dead and the living. the latter comprised of such things as burial customs, ancestor worship, occasional destruction of the corpses of the dead who turned out to be rogues, visionary journeys to the land of the dead, and necromancy.
Along the way, the book also contains extensive discussions of the Old Norse conception of the “soul” or the parts that make up a person, magic, and the overlap between dead ancestors and other types of beings such as elves, spirits from the earth. , the Valkyries, the elusive dísir and others.
The Road to Hell remains perhaps the most prominent study of Viking Age conceptions of death and the afterlife, and is therefore essential reading for anyone interested in the subject. those who are interested in the associated topics mentioned above will also find it extremely useful. click here to view or purchase the road to hel on amazon.
10. Myths and Symbols in Pagan Europe: Early Scandinavian and Celtic Religions by H.R. ellis davidson
towards the end of h.r. Ellis Davidson’s highly productive life focused his attention on the mythology and religion of one of the Germanic peoples’ neighbors, the Celts. Myths and symbols in pagan Europe was the greatest achievement of his during this period.
The book compares the mythology and religion of the Celts with that of the Norse and other Germanic peoples, illustrating many of the powerful and compelling commonalities between the two traditions. this approach is especially important since the sources for our knowledge of the Celtic and Germanic peoples are few and written at a late date, usually by people who had already converted to Christianity. none of them provide anything close to a complete or complete picture, but they all have clues to contribute.
what ellis davidson did in this book was to collect those clues and provide as complete or comprehensive a picture as possible of the pre-christian religion of northern europe. the fact that he drew on both Celtic and Germanic sources enabled him to form and present a more complete picture than would have been possible based solely on material from either of those two closely related traditions.
Myths and Symbols in Pagan Europe is highly recommended for anyone interested in Celtic or Norse/Germanic mythology. for those who are interested in both, this book is simply indispensable. click here to view or purchase myths and symbols in pagan europe on amazon.
If you liked this list, you might also be interested in these other guides of mine:
• The 10 best Norse mythology books
• The 10 best books about the Vikings
• resources to learn the Old Norse language
• The 10 best books on runes
• The 10 best Celtic mythology books
• The 10 best Egyptian mythology books
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