Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
Excerpt from A Collection of Popular Tales: From the Norse and North German
The Norseman's god was a god of battles, and victory his greatest gift to men But this was not the only aspect under which the Great Father was revered. Not victory in the fight alone, but every other good gift came down from him and the Esir. Odin's supreme will was that treasure house of bounty towards which, in one shape or the other, all mortal desires turned, and out of its abundance showers of mercy and streams of divine favour constantly poured down to refresh the weary race of men. All these bless ings and mercies, nay, their very source itself, the ancient language bound up in a single word, which, however ex pressive it may still be, has lost much of the fullness of its meaning in its descent to these later times. This word was Wish, which originally meant the perfect ideal, the actual fruition of all joy and desire, and not, as now, the empty longing for the object of our desires. From this original abstract meaning, it was but a step to pass to the concrete.
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Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com
This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
Synopsis
Excerpt from A Collection of Popular Tales: From the Norse and North German
Tm: norsemen came from the East, and brought a common stock of tradition with them. Settled in the Mdinavian peninsula, they developed themselves through Hathenism, Romanism, and Lutheranism, in a locality lit tle exposed to foreign influence, so that even now the Dale man in Norway or Sweden may be reckoned among the most primitive examples left of peasant life. We should expect, then, that these Popular Tales, which, for the sake of those ignorant in such matters, it may he remarked, had never been collected or reduced to writing till within the last few years, would present a faithful picture of the national consciousness, or, perhaps, to speak more correctly, of that half consciousness out of which the heart of any r-e'oplc speaks in its abundance. Besides those world-old affinities and primeval parallelisms, besides those dreamy reenllections of its old home in the East, we should expect to hnd lts later history, after the great migration, still more dzatmctly reflected; to discover heathen gods masked in the garb of Christian saints; and thus to see the proof that a nation more easilv changes the form than the essence of its ianh. And clings with a toughness which endures for cen tuneAbout the Publisher
Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com
This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.