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Penguin Book of Norse Myths: Gods of the Vikings
Here are thirty-two classic myths that bring the Viking world vividly to life. The mythic legacy of the Scandinavians includes a cycle of stories filled with magnificent images from pre-Christian Europe. Gods, humans, and monstrous beasts engage in prodigious drinking bouts, contests of strength, greedy schemes for gold, and lusty encounters. The Norse pantheon includes Od...more
Paperback, 276 pages
Published
November 1st 2000
by Penguin Books, Limited (UK)
(first published July 12th 1980)
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What We Learned from "Thor" (skip if you remember the movie)
- The universe consists of nine realms.
- The gods live in Asgard, humans live in Midgard, and the Ice Giants live in Jotunheim.
- The nine realms are connected by the roots/branches of a tree called Yggdrasill.
- Odin is the Allfather, or most powerful.
- Thor is Odin's son and the god of thunder.
- Sif is one of the warriors from the movie.
- Loki is... well, you know who he is. The most cunning villain of all time.
This is what Marvel sho...more
May 17, 2007
John Campbell
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Everyone, especially nordic folk
Crossley-Holland turns the myths into a cultural event with an informative introduction and copious endnotes, which compose about a fourth of the book.
The stories themselves, though, come across as short folk tales for children (no offense intended to old Snorri Sturulson and company). The one exception, the prophecy of Ragnarok, which packs an entire mythical apocalypse of universal darkness and destruction into four pages. It's worth reading, re-reading, and a little memorizing. Start with:
Ax...more
The stories themselves, though, come across as short folk tales for children (no offense intended to old Snorri Sturulson and company). The one exception, the prophecy of Ragnarok, which packs an entire mythical apocalypse of universal darkness and destruction into four pages. It's worth reading, re-reading, and a little memorizing. Start with:
Ax...more
I knew a bit about the Norse Myths before reading this book, but then I read several novels that make extensive use of them (Gaiman, American Gods; Chabon, Summerland) and realized I wanted to learn more. I liked this retelling because Crossley-Holland takes and integrates the six primary literary sources (who knew?) and creates story cycle. When I was reading, I had strong contradictory feelings of familiarity and strangeness. Some of the character motivations are ones we're all familiar with,...more
Jul 17, 2007
Betsy
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
pagans and vikings
I love reading the Norse myths, and this one doesn't disappoint, with plenty of detailed stories. The very long introduction provides a welcome list of the pantheon, along with a map of the Norse 'world,' which makes it easier to keep track of these things. I revisit this book now and again for a good story; my favorites are probably the stories of Creation and Ragnarok (apocalypse).
Read with a flagon of ale and a roaring fire (preferably seated a reindeer pelt) to truly get into the mood.
Read with a flagon of ale and a roaring fire (preferably seated a reindeer pelt) to truly get into the mood.
I hugely enjoyed this re-telling of the myths. The tales are by turns strange, bizarre, outrageous, bloodthirsty and poignant. Crossley-Holland is a gifted writer and poet and brings emotional intensity and vivid realism to these intense and at times enigmatic stories. The detailed explanations and analysis of each tale at the back of the book are a useful and interesting resource.
There are two types of story in these myths - the wildly implausible adventures, including drinking bouts, seduction...more
There are two types of story in these myths - the wildly implausible adventures, including drinking bouts, seduction...more
I've been looking for suggestions for a good book about Norse Mythology for some time, and I found this in the Bibliography of American Gods (and the Sandman) on Neil Gaiman's homepage. This book is exactly what I wanted - a retelling of the Eddaic Poems in normal text / story form, easy to understand. Kevin Crossley-Holland has retold 32 Myths from collected sources, and always used the most likely source for the main story, sometimes embellishing small details from other sources.
There are all...more
There are all...more
An excellent retelling of a vital selection of Norse Tales, for anyone looking for a good survey. I read this in conjunction with two books about the Scandinavian and Celtic folklore communities, both by H.R. Ellis Davidson, and both excellent--GODS & MYTHS OF NORTHERN EUROPE and MYTHS AND SYMBOLS IN PAGAN EUROPE. These are fascinating and comprehensive--and the second title also gives a nice analysis in the ways in which the two mythologies, Celtic and Norse, interact or are subsumed (or es...more
An excellent book for someone lightly familiar with Norse Mythologies. It really brings the characters to life. The author does a great job of getting the readers into the stories and understanding on a simple level the basic mythology and history of the Norse. The author does pull from different sources, and sometimes incorporates those different sources to have a "complete" myth. I'm not sure if this is good or bad, as I'm uncertain as to what has been changed. The author also doesn't question...more
I bought this at a tiny occult bookshop near the British Museum in June and have been stretching it out ever since. The dork in me really, really enjoys Norse myths. And I liked the notes at the end of each tale, where Crossley-Holland explained which parts came from Snorri Sturluson and which came from Saxo Grammaticus and hi I am single.
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We are all familiar with the Norse Gods, whether we know it or not. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday are named after three of them, the Vikings occupied large parts of England and their culture was assimilated into ours. But even so, the Greek Myths seem to be held in higher esteem for the simple reason that the Victorians looked to the classical world for inspiration rather than the rather bloodier tales of our Norse neighbours.
The Norse belief that only through fame in this life would your name...more
The Norse belief that only through fame in this life would your name...more
When it comes to myths and folktales, I'm something of a purist. The cultural aspects are often as interesting to me as the stories themselves, so I like to feel like I'm getting something relatively authentic. Unfortunately, this usually means wading through painfully academic translations, skipping back and forth between sterile prose and dry footnotes, salvaging what entertainment is left in the stories.
Rather than simply translate-and-annotate, Crossley-Holland has compiled these stories fro...more
Rather than simply translate-and-annotate, Crossley-Holland has compiled these stories fro...more
As interesting and informative as this collection was, it also left me with an overwhelming feeling of sadness that so many of the myths (mentioned, but not included in this text for obvious reasons) exist only in a very fragmented form or have been lost altogether. So many figures were only mentioned once, so many stories alluded to in other myths but never told. Of the stories that have survived, many exist in more than one form with no way of to determine which is the original. These circumst...more
Oct 18, 2012
Allie
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
historical-fiction,
favourites
I had always meant to read the Norse myths but had never got around to it until recently. I'm so glad that I chose Kevin Crossley-Holland's retelling of these fascinating myths. He has skilfully drawn on multiple sources from pre-Christian and Christian Iceland and other Nordic countries; however most of all he draws from Snorri Sturluson's 'Prose Edda' (written in approx 1220). If you're not familiar with the myths, I would advise reading the 'introduction' beforehand; it contains a map of the...more
Kevin Crossley-Holland's The Norse Myths was one of my earliest formative introductions to the rich, violent, and magical world of Norse mythology and legend, and it helped entrench a lifelong love of the fatalistic and funny heroes, gods, demons, and sagas for me. The book is a fantastic overview of the mythology, going from the creation of the world to the Ragnarok, summarizing the most famous and integral of the Eddas and other assorted works. It provides this overview in a very readable form...more
I know absolutely nothing about the Norse myths. And, ironically, it was because of Marvel's Thor and Loki that I wanted to know more about them.
Kevin Crossley-Holland's book was one of the few my library possessed. But I am so glad I read it. Mainly because this thing has 32 Norse myths in easy-to-read format. He also included very helpful notes regarding each myth, and naturally had bibliography in case anyone wanted to read up on more of them.
I must say I'm a fan of Norse myths and I may have...more
Kevin Crossley-Holland's book was one of the few my library possessed. But I am so glad I read it. Mainly because this thing has 32 Norse myths in easy-to-read format. He also included very helpful notes regarding each myth, and naturally had bibliography in case anyone wanted to read up on more of them.
I must say I'm a fan of Norse myths and I may have...more
Like so many of the folk tales and myths of a particular culture, the problem one encounters in wanting to read "the Norse myths" consists at least in part in figuring out just what tales to read, and in what order; so many of them interrelate that it can be a dizzying prospect to even know where to start. In this, then, Kevin Crossley-Holland's excellent book is nothing short of stellar. Exhaustively researched, this collection retells a series of thirty-two Norse myths - some rightly famed, ot...more
I strongly recommend this book for anyone seeking a better understanding of Norse mythology. In addition to a fine retelling of 32 well known stories, it contains a lengthy, well written introduction that covers the Norse World, Cosmology, Pantheon of Norse gods, and literary sources and structures of the myths. There are also detailed notes, an excellent glossary identifying personal and geographical names, a comprehensive bibliography, and index.
The stories are written by the author in languag...more
The stories are written by the author in languag...more
When I first recieved this book I thought it would be like one similarly titled that I'd read before but I was greatly suprised to learn I was wrong. The other book had the more classic and popular myths whereas this book contained prose translations of all the norse myths/legends/sagas taken from Snorri Sturllsons Poetic Edda series. Which of course does contain some of the classics but there were many out of the 35 that I haven't heard let alone read before. And each new myth not only helped m...more
What a fantastic little book! A recommend from a colleague I found this gem to be amazing. I'd read the Norse mythology in middle school, and had been meaning to reread them for a while now. What makes this book fantastic though, are all the notes. Whereas I find that a lot of mythology books with notes can be very complex, Crossley-Holland makes his book accessible for any age. You can just read the myths, or if you want to go into more depth, read the notes as well. They're insightful, and hel...more
While I often prefer translations to retellings, I think that Mr. Crossley-Holland succeeded in striking a balance between fidelity to his sources and accessibility to a modern readership. He draws together the various myths into a cohesive and self-contained cycle; he adds context so that those of us who are not familiar with the typical Norse imagery and kennings can picture what is so richly described; and, by modernising the language and the medium of expression, I think that he revitalizes...more
This was a *great* introductory book for anyone interested in Nordic mythology. After watching the movie "Thor", I realized I had never really learned much about this body of mythology, so I went by the library on the way home :)
The author retells 32 myths in a very easy-to-read fashion, combining elements from multiple primary sources as he deems appropriate; the result is, in effect, a "Nordic myths for dummies" that is a very fun read. Copious notes are provided for each myth's rendition, dis...more
The author retells 32 myths in a very easy-to-read fashion, combining elements from multiple primary sources as he deems appropriate; the result is, in effect, a "Nordic myths for dummies" that is a very fun read. Copious notes are provided for each myth's rendition, dis...more
this is but one book of many to translate and encapsulate the Norse mythologies - from what I gather a lifetime could be spent in the study of the surviving medieval manuscripts that tell of the Gods of Scandinavia and Iceland - with Iceland's Snorri Sturluson garnering most of the credit for saving the stories. This particular book I found to be most enjoyable - finally I know a some small bit of the Gods of my Ancestors.
A wild ride through the Norse imagination. Interesting as a source text for Tolkien, too.
There are some really lovely myths in this collection and some astonishingly cruel and ugly ones as well, but it's definitely a recognizable world. The Norse idea of "ages" is quite interesting - the end of the gods, beginning of the age of men, etc.
But, the story of Balder. That's my favorite. He's so different from the other gods - kind, merciful, beautiful...and moral (shocker) - and the only one to sur...more
There are some really lovely myths in this collection and some astonishingly cruel and ugly ones as well, but it's definitely a recognizable world. The Norse idea of "ages" is quite interesting - the end of the gods, beginning of the age of men, etc.
But, the story of Balder. That's my favorite. He's so different from the other gods - kind, merciful, beautiful...and moral (shocker) - and the only one to sur...more
I enjoyed reading the myths from a culture more closely tied to my heritage than the Greek & Roman myths of my education. I wouldn't recommend this book, though, as it lacks depth. It reads more like the Mother Goose collection of stories. I was hoping for something more comparative to Edith Hamilton's Greek Myths. I'm on the look-out for something like that to keep learning about myth in that region/those cultures.
A wonderful retelling of the Norse myths recorded in the Prose & Poetic Eddas. The author does take some poetic license in his rendition, but in my opinion he captures the spirit wonderfully. And each myth has a note expanding upon it from a literary and historical perspective. Highly recommended for anyone interested in learning the basic stories of Norse mythology.
Apr 21, 2011
NaomiRuth
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
non-fict,
old-classic
I found this enjoyable and a good introduction to the Norse Myths. However, I will now look for a book that has the original poems (or closer to) instead of the re-tellings, just for more research into the myths. But as an introduction, it was good. I found the notes in the back very useful as well. A great research tool.
A great introduction to the myths, obviously well-researched, but also pleasantly told. There are extensive notes on each myth, which is good, but they are in a separate section at the end of the book, which I found annoying. I can't imagine that most readers would just read straight through without the explanations, so I would have preferred the notes to follow each myth.
Very nice introduction to the major Norse gods & myths. Crossley-Holland combines serious scholarship with a strong prose style to make the myths accessible to a cross-section of readers, the curious and serious alike. I found the extensive "Notes" section just as enjoyable as the myths themselves.
The myths themselves are excellently told and translated with some of the tone and style of the orinigals. However, I can't say I always agree with Mr. Kevin Crossley-Holland's sweeping statements in the notes section. He tends to play the academic and I got quite annoyed with him for it!
Crossley-Holland retells the Norse myths with assiduous attention to the proper mood and key themes that might have resonated with ancient Norse peoples. In the endnotes for each myth, he acknowledges the parts where he embellishes (for dramatic effect) and the parts that he took from which great storyteller. Seems like there are only a small handful of extant sources for these myths though, which surprised me. Many of the individual stories are very slim, episodes in the lives of the Norse gods...more
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Kevin Crossley-Holland is a well-known poet and prize-winning author for children. His books include Waterslain Angels, a detective story set in north Norfolk in 1955, and Moored Man: A Cycle of North Norfolk Poems; Gatty's Tale, a medieval pilgrimage novel; and the Arthur trilogy (The Seeing Stone, At the Crossing-Places and King of the Middle March), which combines historical fiction with the re...more
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“Lif and Lifthrasir will have children. Their children will have children.
There will be life and new life, life everywhere on earth. That was the end; and this is the beginning.”
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There will be life and new life, life everywhere on earth. That was the end; and this is the beginning.”
I don't watch movies except if somebody invited me to watch with them. Well, I don't have a choice. I better buy a copy of Avengers since you reco...more
Jun 03, 2012 09:19pm
Feb 25, 2013 01:42pm