Sorcery and Religion in Ancient Scandinavia

Начало книги

This book is written as an attempt to describe the traditions and beliefs of the Ancient Europeans. I have studied the subject for almost two decades and yet I can only list two books about this subject, The Golden Bough, by the anthropologist Sir James Frazer, and Fedrekult i Norge (“Ancestral Cult in Norway”), by the missionary and historian Otto Emil Birkeli, as any real help when writing this book. I have been forced to look for answers mainly in the etymology and original texts, but also in old fairy tales, traditional songs and Norwegian folklore.

My hypotheses in this book are based on the claim that all the tribes of Ancient Europe originally had the same religion, whether they lived in Europe or had emigrated to North-Africa or different parts of Asia. Even though the deities, myths and traditions discussed in this book generally speaking are Scandinavian, it does not mean they are only Scandinavian. I am describing common Ancient European beliefs.

Читать дальше →