Whether they focus on Thor's powerful hammer, the wailing Valkyrie,
the palatial home of the gods - Asgard - or ravenous wolves and fierce
elemental giants, the Norse myths are packed with rowdy incident. But
at the centre of their cosmos stands a gnarled old ash tree,
Yggdrasil, from which all distances and times are measured. When the
old tree creaks, Ragnarok - the end of the world and of the gods
themselves - is at hand. It is from this tree that Odin, father of the
gods, hanged himself in search of the wisdom of the dead: a disturbing
image of divine sacrifice far removed from the feasting and fighting
of his otherworld home, Valhalla. And an image so problematic for
thirteenth century Christians that they left it out when they wrote
the myths down. From Asgard to Valhalla is the first book to show how
and why the Norse myths have so powerfully resonated from era to era:
from Viking-age stories of ice and fire to the epic poetry of Beowulf;
and from Wagner's Ring to Marvel Comics' Mighty Thor. Heather
O'Donoghue, who is an expert on Old Norse culture, shows in what ways
the Norse myths have impacted on the western mind, across the fields
of literature, art, music and politics. She considers the wider
contexts of Norse mythology, including its origins, medieval
expression and reception in post-medieval societies right up to the
present. From Asgard to Valhalla is a book that will intrigue and
delight anyone who is keen to understand how the Norse myths have so
profoundly shaped, and continue to shape, the western cultural
heritage.
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The Remarkable History of the Norse Myths
Produktdetaljer
ISBN
9780857730435
Publisert
2015
Utgave
1. utgave
Utgiver
Vendor
I.B. Tauris & Co Ltd
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Digital bok
Forfatter