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49th out of 108 books
—
188 voters
Norse Mythology: A Guide to the Gods, Heroes, Rituals, and Beliefs
by
John Lindow
Norse Mythology explores the magical myths and legends of Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Iceland and Viking-Age Greenland and outlines the way the prehistoric tales and beliefs from these regions that have remained embedded in the imagination of the world.
The book begins with an Introduction that helps put Scandinavian mythology in place in history, followed by a chapter that e...more
The book begins with an Introduction that helps put Scandinavian mythology in place in history, followed by a chapter that e...more
Paperback, 384 pages
Published
October 17th 2002
by Oxford University Press
(first published 2001)
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I was very happy with this book; the table of contents and the cross referencing between subjects were excellent, the introduction was good. The information had depth and a lot more information that several other similar guides I have leafed through recently (and did not even bother to review, as they were so basic).
Illustrations were not over done and were from historic finds, usually with enough information that one can go off and look up the finds in question.
Actually, I was meaning to retur...more
Illustrations were not over done and were from historic finds, usually with enough information that one can go off and look up the finds in question.
Actually, I was meaning to retur...more
This, along with Rosenberg's World Mythology are my favorite books on mythology. My thing with Lindow's book is that he actually has chunks of the Prose and Poetic Eddas. And since the Poetic Edda is written by Snorri Sturlusen, one of my favorite authors, I naturally appreciated that. He also paraphrases quite well, has a limited amount of pictures but at the same time puts the ones he does have to great use and the way that the book is set up almost like a dictionary and still manages to take...more
Although this book is more of an encyclopedia than anything else, it gives unusual details on people and places in Norse mythology, all drawn from selected original texts. My favorite entry was the lengthy one on how the Proto-Germans incorrectly compared the Roman days of the week based on the planets to the Proto-German gods, creating the days of the week used in the English speaking world, even though those names for the days of the week are not used in Germany or Scandinavia, where they exis...more
Aug 15, 2007
Carl
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Beginning students or enthusiasts of Old Norse mythology
It isn't as comprehensive as Simeck's (sp?) dictionary, but it is an excellent, concise yet adequatetly thorough handbook of the major elements of Norse Mythology by perhaps the leader in the field today (okay, I'm a bit biased, being at Berkeley. How's that for alliteration, by the by?) I typically require or strongly recommend this book for my own students. It's been said (by whom, I'm not sure, though I suspect there are many) that Old Norse mythology (or literature) is a mythology of names,...more
A fairly decent primer on Norse mythology, though I noticed some inconsistencies and flat out wrong information. For example, Sif is listed as being the mother of Magni and Modi, whereas under Magni his mother is listed (correctly) as Jarnsaxa the giantess, and under Modi there is no mother listed (as the Eddas and sagas do not give us a name). There may well be other misstatements that I missed.
This book was hard for me to rate, because when I started reading it, I was expecting a narrative text divided into chapters that neatly explained rituals, beliefs, etc. Instead, I found that this book is an encyclopedic Reference text, which is fine if you know what you are looking for, but makes things a great deal more difficult for the person who is looking for a basic overview/introduction. With that said, I would rate it a great deal higher as a Reference selection than I would as a genera...more
Sep 11, 2012
Kathleen
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
non-fiction,
mythology
This book is well written, but not organized as I would like it to be. It's an encyclopedia of concepts and deities, rather than a narrative account of Norse Mythology (which is what I wanted).
However, it was definitely useful for me as I was reading the Edda. Whenever a word or name came up that I was unfamiliar with, I could just look it up in the handbook. I think that's primarily what this book is for: a supplementary text for reading the prose or poetic eddas. It's not meant to be read on...more
However, it was definitely useful for me as I was reading the Edda. Whenever a word or name came up that I was unfamiliar with, I could just look it up in the handbook. I think that's primarily what this book is for: a supplementary text for reading the prose or poetic eddas. It's not meant to be read on...more
I approached this book expecting a narrative and was in that regard disappointed, but Lindow has created a thorough and valuable desk reference full of context, insight, and occasionally sly bits of humor.
Nov 04, 2012
Mimesis
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
people seriously into norse mythology
Shelves:
mythology
The book contains detailed explanations of mythological terms (beings, places, concepts, ...). It can be read on itself or used when you need to check something when reading other works on Norse myths.
The book is designed as a guide and hence becomes a uselful reference. His work is solid and appreciated.
Very good Reference Book for Norse Mythology.
Good book. I was a little disappointed in its encyclopedic-entry format, rather than a narrative format. But good, nonetheless.
Great book for researching on these subjects! :)
May 17, 2013
Jessie Patterson
marked it as to-read
May 16, 2013
Jari
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May 14, 2013
Dany Torres
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May 12, 2013
Nimasha Perera
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May 11, 2013
Jeremy Jones
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May 11, 2013
Quill
marked it as to-read
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