Ancestor worship is often assumed by contemporary European audiences to be an outdated
and primitive tradition with little relevance to our societies, past and present. This book …

THREE PROPOSED LATE IRON-AND VIKING-AGE MORTUARY HOUSES were recently
excavated in Central Norway. Excavations and geoarchaeological investigations imply …

Over the last two or three decades, chronological, spatial and social religious variation has
been an increasingly significant area of study in the research into pre-Christian Scandinavia …

In this chapter we survey and analyse evidence for processions and their possible functions
in Viking Age Scandinavia. We propose two forms of processional movement, and examine …

Previous studies of the dísir have tended to focus on either their links with fertility or use of
the term to designate a wide range of supranatural female figures. This study reassesses the …

A multi-disciplinary investigation of the links between people and animals, in reality and
representation. Domestic animals played a range of roles in the imaginative world of …

This article examines stanzas 4-8 of Sigvatr Þórðarson's poem Austrfararvísur which
describe the famous confrontation between the Christian skald and the inhospitable pagan …

In Old Norse mythology, gods like Freyja, Odin, and Thor are usually characterized as
human-like creatures: they walk and ride animals, eat, grow old, and even die. Was there …

Introduction Almost all cultures have cult leaders, often even different kinds of such leaders,
at an official level of society. Some people are regarded as more skillful or useful than others …

Abstract In the Poetic Edda, a multitude of understandings and ideas exist concerning the
Otherworldly collective known as the álfar (Old Norse pl., sg. álfr). While the understandings …