Other editions of book Myths of the Norsemen

The prime importance of the rude fragments of poetry preserved in early Icelandic literature will now be disputed by none, but there has been until recent times an extraordinary indifference to the wealth of religious tradition and mythical lore which they contain. The long neglect of these precious records of our heathen ancestors is not the fault of the material in which all that survives of their religious beliefs is enshrined, for it may safely be asserted that the Edda is as rich in the essentials of national romance and race-imagination, rugged though it be, as the more graceful and idyllic mythology of the South. Neither is it due to anything weak in the conception of the deities themselves, for although they may not rise to great spiritual heights, foremost students of Icelandic literature agree that they stand out rude and massive as the Scandinavian mountains. They exhibit “a spirit of victory, superior to brute force, superior to mere matter, a spirit that fights and overcomes.”1 “Even were some part of the matter of their myths taken from others, yet the Norsemen have given their gods a noble, upright, great spirit, and placed them upon a high level that is all their own.”2 “In fact these old Norse songs have a truth in them, an inward perennial truth and greatness. It is a greatness not of mere body and gigantic bulk, but a rude greatness of soul.”3 The introduction of Christianity into the North brought with it the influence of the Classical races, and this eventually supplanted the native genius, so that the alien mythology and literature of Greece and Rome have formed an increasing part of the mental equipment of the northern peoples in proportion as the native literature and tradition have been neglected.

This new edition of H. A. Guerber's classic work contains all the original text and includes introductory matter from two earlier editions, along with indices, glossary, and pronunciation guide. It has been hand-edited and entirely reset in 446 pages along with 64 marvellous illustrations. It is a comprehensive overview of Norse legend and mythology, and a treasure trove of historical marvels, tales of glory and death, defeat and victory. As the author wrote in the forward: "The aim of this handbook is to familiarize the English student with the religion of his heathen ancestors, and to set forth, as clearly as possible, the various myths which have exercised an influence over our customs, arts, and literature." Drawing upon the rich legacy of the Eddas and Sagas, this work traces not only the full pantheon of the Northern gods and their foes, but also provides a fascinating insight into the historical origins of some of the main characters-who appear to have been based on real-life characters whose deeds immortalized them into legend-and gives a comparison with classical Greek mythological characters, showing the interrelatedness of the great Indo-European peoples. Read also of the Norse origins of well-known legends such as Sleeping Beauty, the Pied Piper of Hamelin, customs and rituals such as Yule, days of the week, and much, much more. Hélène Adeline Guerber (1859-1929) was a multilingual British historian who won fame for her dramatic retelling of Germanic, Norse, and Greek mythology. She also produced highly sought after works on ancient Greece, Rome, the Renaissance, the Reformation and the founding of the Thirteen Colonies in North America.

This book gives you something other books on Norse mythology do not. It contains 64 superb black and while illustrations which, for those who love mythology, are worth the price of the book alone. Also, this volume contains the most dramatic and compelling retelling of Ragnarok I have ever found.In this book, the myths are partly stories and partly explanations of what stories and their characters mean. So it does not feel that you are actually reading tales. For a more "direct" reading of the tales I use Crossley-Holland's "The Norse Myths."Also, I thought that too much was made of similarities between Greek and Northern mythology at the end of this book. Some comparisons feel artificial and strained. But one should keep in mind that this book was originally written in the 1920s, when linguists were very impressed, some would say "scandalized," by the apparent common origin of most European and some Asian languages. These languages, which today include all but three European languages, belong to the so-called Indo-European or Indo-Aryan group. It does appear that a number of characters in the Greek and Northern myths had a common Indo-Aryan prototype, but as already said, some similarities are farfetched and artificially constructed. The book contains a comprehensive index.