The Religion of Ancient Scandinavia

by William A. Craigie

"The Religion of Ancient Scandinavia" by William A. Sir Craigie. Published by Good Press. Good Press publishes a wide range of titles that encompasses every genre. From well-known classics & literary fiction and non-fiction to forgotten−or yet undiscovered gems−of world literature, we issue the books that need to be read. Each Good Press edition has been meticulously edited and formatted to boost readability for all e-readers and devices. Our goal is to produce eBooks that are user-friendly and accessible to everyone in a high-quality digital format.

Genres: Mythology

72 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1914

About the author

Sir William Alexander Craigie was a Scottish philologist and a lexicographer.

A graduate of the University of St Andrews, he was the third editor of the Oxford English Dictionary and co-editor (with C.T. Onions) of the 1933 supplement. From 1916 to 1925 he was also Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon in the University of Oxford.

He lectured on lexicography at the University of Chicago while working on the Dictionary of American English and the Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue, a project he pioneered. Many twentieth-century American lexicographers studied under Craigie as a part of his lectureship, including Clarence Barnhart, Jess Stein, Woodford A. Heflin, Robert Ramsey, Louise Pound, and Allen Walker Read.

Reviews

[Monty Milne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was a bit disappointed by this, although the innate fascination of the subject means that I enjoyed it enough to give three stars. But it’s all far too slight and too dated. Craigie places importance on the work of the 11th century chronicler Adam of Bremen, whose work I am now encouraged to read. And he does raise some interesting questions about the relationship between Thor and Odin. This has always been a puzzle to me. Craigie’s theory is that Thor was the original chief god of the Scandinavians, later threatened by the growing importance of the cult of Odin, a Germanic import. Many later scholars agree, though it seems odd to me that Thor is often described as the son of Odin – if Thor came first, surely it should be the other way round. Certainly, Thor’s association with the Proto-Indo-European god of thunder, weather and the sky seems certain. But that alone doesn’t get us very far: so much else is lost in the mist of time.

[Bettie]

http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/46118

[Greg · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not great

Very dated material of extreme Christian bias. Some good but basic information. Abrupt ending with no real insights or understanding conveyed.