Synopses & Reviews
Richard North offers a complete revision of our view of Anglo-Saxon and Scandinavian paganism and mythology in the pre-Viking and Viking age. He discusses the pre-Christian gods of Bede's history of the Anglo-Saxon conversion with reference to a god known as Ingui. Using expert knowledge of comparative literary material from Old Norse-Icelandic and other Old Germanic languages, North reconstructs the slender Old English evidence in an imaginative and original treatment of poems such as "Deor" and "The Dream of the Rood."
Review
"Heathen Gods in Old English Literature is a clever book, packed full of interesting data and provocative speculations, bristling with erudition. For its part, Cambridge University Press has, as usual, produced a good-looking and well-proofread book....North has undisputed integrative talent, imagination, and intellecual courage. His book is filled with astute observations, inspired guesses and exciting analyses." Oren Falk, Envoi
Synopsis
Richard North offers an interesting view of Anglo-Saxon and Scandinavian paganism and mythology in the pre-Viking and Viking age, with special reference to a pre-Christian god known as Ingui. He reconstructs the slender Old English evidence in an imaginative and original treatment of poems such as Deor and The Dream of the Rood.
Description
Includes bibliographical references (p. 343-354) and index.
Table of Contents
Preface; List of abbreviations; 1. Nerthus and Terra Mater: Anglian religion in the first century; 2. Ingui of Bernicia; 3. Inguiâs cult remembered: Ing and the ingefolc; 4. Wodenâs witchcraft; 5. âUoden de cuius stirpeâ: the role of Woden in royal genealogy; 6. Aspects of Ingui: -geot and Geat; 7. The cult of Ingui in Beowulf; 8. Inguiâs marriage: natural phenomena; 9. Inguiâs death: the world-tree sacrifice; 10. Paulinus and the stultus error: the Anglo-Saxon conversion; Bibliography; Index.