Davidson's review of Norse Mythology goes far beyond the usual summaries and cursory explorations of other authors. Here, in her typically broad scope and style, she incorporates data from the Eddas, archeology, Sagas, and practically anything else she can think of to provide as complete a picture as possible of the Northern heathen imagination of pre-christian Europe. It is absolutely essential reading for anyone interested in the Northern European ancient folk religion.
Davidson's method is conservative and thorough, and she avoids making wild speculations in her analysis. Furthermore, this book in particular is very accesible, but it also covers a huge amount of material in considerable depth given the modest length of the book. This therefore begs for repeat readings and reviews of key elements. Her chapter on Yggdrasil is extremely illuminating, for example, because she goes beyond the simple depictions offered by some scholars, and tries to get into the minds of the heathens who actually held these symbols dear.
Those with Germanic/Northern European ancestry will find this work especially relevant, since it explains so many aspects of the folk religion and rituals of their ancestors, and the deep wisdom that they convey in their symbols. Outstanding and very readable reference, and a classic in the field, ranking with the best works of Dumezil, Turville-Petre, Lindow, Simek, and Orchard. The only drawback is her conclusion, which is quite dated, where she speculates that the heathen religion was doomed to failure, since the pagans were longing for something which Christianity provided. No disrespect to Christianity, but that's a terrible oversimplification, which overlooks the bloody and ruthless conversion methods of the Scandinavian kings. I'm reminded of a tour of a Norwegian church where I was informed that the conversion efforts in Norway "encountered considerable resistance". I laughed out loud at the sheer nerve of such a statement...those stubborn heathens, so resistant to new ideas; I can't imagine why when the king was threatening to slaughter your entire family if you didn't convert. Saying that such efforts "encountered resistance" borders on insult and seems to justify such cruel methods, but there you have it. Whatever the case, Davidson should know better! One wonders what Davidson's reasoning might be for the steady increase in neopagan and reconstructionist paganism. Does Christianity, by the same logic, have some kind of 'fatal flaw' that people are longing for, and so leading them to convert to such systems?
Still, an excellent resource overall. I hope this review has been helpful to you.
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Top reviews from other countries
alessandro
Ottimo libro per comprendere la mitologia norrena
Reviewed in Italy on November 3, 2017
Loddfafnir
Readable and well researched.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 20, 2016
