Publications of the Milman Parry Collection

of Oral Literature No. 3

OLd NOrse MythOLOgy —

COMParative PersPeCtives
 OLd NOrse MythOLOgy—
COMParative PersPeCtives

edited by Pernille hermann,

stephen a. Mitchell, and Jens Peter schjødt
with amber J. rose

Published by
THE MILMAN PARRY COLLECTION OF ORAL LITERATURE
Harvard University

Distributed by
HARVARD UNIVERSITY PRESS
Cambridge, Massachusetts & London, England
2017
Old Norse Mythology—Comparative Perspectives
Published by The Milman Parry Collection of Oral Literature, Harvard University
Distributed by Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts & London, England
Copyright © 2017 The Milman Parry Collection of Oral Literature
All rights reserved

The Ilex Foundation (ilexfoundation.org) and the Center for Hellenic Studies
(chs.harvard.edu) provided generous financial and production support for the
publication of this book.

Editorial Team of the Milman Parry Collection

Managing Editors: Stephen Mitchell and Gregory Nagy
Executive Editors: Casey Dué and David Elmer

Production Team of the Center for Hellenic Studies

Production Manager for Publications: Jill Curry Robbins
Web Producer: Noel Spencer
Cover Design: Joni Godlove
Production: Kristin Murphy Romano

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Hermann, Pernille, editor.

Title: Old Norse mythology--comparative perspectives / edited by Pernille
Hermann, Stephen A. Mitchell, Jens Peter Schjødt, with Amber J. Rose.
Description: Cambridge, MA : Milman Parry Collection of Oral Literature,
2017. | Series: Publications of the Milman Parry collection of oral
literature ; no. 3 | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2017030125 | ISBN 9780674975699 (alk. paper)
Subjects: LCSH: Mythology, Norse. | Scandinavia--Religion--History.
Classification: LCC BL860 .O55 2017 | DDC 293/.13--dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017030125
 Table of Contents

Series Foreword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii

by David Elmer, Casey Dué, Gregory Nagy, and Stephen Mitchell

Foreword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix
by Joseph Harris

Preface: Situating Old Norse Mythology in Comparative Contexts . . . . . . . . . xiii

by Pernille Hermann, Stephen Mitchell, and Jens Peter Schjødt

Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xix

Part One. THEORETICAL AND CONCEPTUAL COMPARISONS

JENS PETER SCHJØDT Pre-Christian Religions of the North and

the Need for Comparativism: Reflections on Why, How, and
with What We Can Compare . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
PERNILLE HERMANN Methodological Challenges to the Study of
Old Norse Myths: The Orality and Literacy Debate Reframed . . . 29
KATE HESLOP Framing the Hero: Medium and Metalepsis
in Old Norse Heroic Narrative. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
JONAS WELLENDORF The Æsir and Their Idols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89

Part Two. LOCAL AND NEIGHBORING TRADITIONS

TERRY GUNNELL Blótgyðjur, Goðar, Mimi, Incest, and Wagons:

Oral Memories of the Religion(s) of the Vanir . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
TORUN ZACHRISSON Volund Was Here: A Myth
Archaeologically Anchored in Viking Age Scania . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
OLOF SUNDQVIST The Temple, the Tree, and the Well:
A Topos or Cosmic Symbolism at Cultic Sites
in Pre-Christian Northern Europe? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
THOMAS A. DUBOIS The Mythic Sun: An Areal Perspective . . . . . . . 191
JOHN LINDOW Comparing Balto-Finnic and Nordic Mythologies . . 223
Table of Contents

Part Three. GLOBAL TRADITIONS

RICHARD COLE Snorri and the Jews . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243

MATHIAS NORDVIG Creation from Fire in Snorri’s Edda:
The Tenets of a Vernacular Theory of Geothermal Activity
in Old Norse Myth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 269
STEPHEN A. MITCHELL Óðinn, Charms, and Necromancy:
Hávamál 157 in Its Nordic and European Contexts . . . . . . . . . . . 289
JOSEPH FALAKY NAGY Vermin Gone Bad in Medieval Scandinavian,
Persian, and Irish Traditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 323
EMILY LYLE Baldr and Iraj: Murdered and Avenged . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 341
MICHAEL WITZEL Ymir in India, China—and Beyond . . . . . . . . . . . . . 363

Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 381

vi
 Blótgyðjur, Goðar, Mimi, incest, and wagons
oral Memories of the religion(s) of the Vanir1

terry gunnell
University of iceland
Abstract: This article focuses on the recurring motifs concerning
the peculiarities of the religion of the gods referred to as the Vanir,
dra ing on a range of Old Norse accounts fro di erent ti es
including Landnámabók, Gísla saga Súrssonar, Hrafnkels saga, Vatnsdæla
saga, Ynglinga saga, Gunnars þáttr helmings, Gesta Danorum, and more.
Many of the aforementioned motifs (commonly concerning ritual
activities, religious centers, female religious leaders, and particular
types of animal) tend to be unexplained in the texts. Their recurring
patterns in the narratives nonetheless imply that in the oral tradi-
tions of Norway and Iceland people seem to have viewed the religious
activities connected with the “Vanir” (with their center in Sweden) as
having been di erent in nature to those encountered else here. The
also seem to have envisaged closer connections between the Vanir and
the landscape than existed between the Æsir and the natural environ-
ment. This evidence lends weight to the argument that, in spite of
recent arguments to the contrary, the religions associated with the
anir and the sir gods had a di erent nature and origin.

In 2010, Rudolf Simek wrote a now-famous “obituary” for the Vanir in which,
a ong other things he argued that there is no inherent di erence bet een the
gods [the Vanir and the Æsir] ascribed to by Snorri” (Simek 2010: 13). His general
argument, following the earlier ideas of Lotte Motz (Motz 1996: 123–24), is that
the idea of a special fa il of gods called the anir as essentiall a fig ent
of imagination from the thirteenth to the twentieth centuries” that began with

1 I would like to express my gratitude to the editors for their careful reading over of the text of this
article, and their suggestions for improvements.
Terry Gunnell

Snorri Sturluson’s Prose Edda (Snorri Sturluson 2005: 23, 30; 1998: 3). The aim of
this article is to add some support to the ripostes given by Clive Tolley and Jens
Peter Schjødt to Simek’s article, which have pointed to methodological weak-
nesses in Simek’s argument (Tolley 2011) and raised the suggestion that the
anir definitel had a di erent functional tendenc to the sir gods (Sch dt
2014: 22, esp. 25–30), an argument that the present author is less convinced of.2
Here, the focus will not be on function (stressed by Schjødt) or the early use of
the word “Vanir” for a group of gods (to which, like Tolley, the present author
has no objection), but rather on the degree to which the early oral tradition
of western Scandinavia3 (re ected in Old Norse poetr and the sagas) see s
to have vie ed those gods classed as anir as having been di erent in back-
ground, origin, and geographical association from the so-called Æsir (contrary
to Simek’s argument). Among other things, it will be argued that the western
Scandinavian view of Vanir “otherness” involved a strong sense that the reli-
gious practices of the so-called anir ere so e hat di erent to those associ-
ated with the so-called Æsir.4 This article will concentrate on evidence of those
religious practices re ected in the saga and eddic aterials.5 In addition to this,
attention will be paid to some interesting and revealing features concerning the
beliefs and practices relating to other gods which are not mentioned in written
medieval sources. While Tolley is right that in arguing that “absence of evidence

2 Among other things, Schjødt’s suggestion that “the Vanir are not thematised as warriors”
(Sch dt 2014: 30) see s to sidestep the fact that re r has a horse na ed Bl ugh fi/Bl h fr
(Blood-hoof) that he is described as being b fr r (battle-e perienced) kennings like
“as-Freyr”, “es-Freyr”, “él-Freyr” and “víg-Freyr” (for warrior) (Skáldskaparmál, pp. 19, 65, 89,
100, 265–66); and the archaeological and literary evidence of helmets crowned with images of
boars (the animal most closely associated with the Vanir; see below, note 14), which are more
likely to be related to the battle prowess of the boar than its relation to fertility (see Kovárová
2011). As I suggest here, like Þórr, the Vanir seem to have had a wide range of functions, ranging
from sovereignty (not least through genealogical connection to the Ynglingar), to close associa-
tions with magic and ritual (not least through Freyja’s connection with seiðr, discussed below),
battle-prowess, and fertility. See also Olof Sundqvist (2000: 136–55) on the genealogical connec-
tions between the Vanir and the Ynglingar kings.
3 On the West Norse bias of the accounts in Old Norse belief in Old Norse literature, see further
Andreas Nordberg’s article, “Continuity, Change and Regional Variation in Old Norse Religion”
(Nordberg 2012: 122–24).
4 It is also questionable whether the “Æsir” were commonly viewed as having existed as a united
pantheon (see Gunnell 2015).
5 The question of the degree to which this material has roots in the oral tradition is one that has
been argued for decades, and there is unfortunately too little space here to examine this point
in detail. Nonetheless, it might be stated that while there is little question that the sagas, Prose
Edda and eddic poems were recorded in a Christian environment, there is equally little doubt
that much of the material they preserve has a background in the oral tradition (see Gunnell 2008,
2013a, 2014). If the apparently historical writing did not have a basis in recognized concepts and
knowledge, it would not have been passed on or rewritten.

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 Blótgyðjur, Goðar, Mimi, Incest, and Wagons

is not evidence of absence” (Tolley 2011: 20; also Schjødt 2014: 22), it must also
be borne in mind that not all absences are “created equal”. As will be explained
in ore detail belo in the field of the histor of Old Norse th and religion
absence can sometimes be as informative as presence.
To start with, a review will be given of the extant (essentially literary)
“evidence” concerning the religious practices of the Vanir (said to include
essentiall N r r re r and re a) li ited as it is and the a s in hich the
Vanir are presented in the written sources in comparison to the other gods. Less
attention will be given to the extant myths dealing with the Vanir, which are
limited in number.
The paucity of Vanir myths in the extant literature certainly underlines
the fact that Snorri apparently knew much less about the religious worldviews
and practices associated with the Vanir than he did about about those related
to Óðinn or Þórr. This is probably natural since, as many scholars have stressed
(see, for example, Vikstrand 2001; Sundqvist 2000; and Brink 2007), a relatively
high number of Vanir-related place names point to their association with the
Uppland area of Sweden, an area probably unfamiliar to many Icelanders.6 This
association is, of course, backed up by Ynglingatal, Snorri’s account in Ynglingasaga
(ch. 9–10), and other saga accounts that also appear to have a background in the
oral tradition, such as Gunnars þáttr helmings (Ögmundar þáttr dytts pp. 109–15;
Flateyjarbók I, ch. 277–78).7 It might be remembered that Snorri’s personal
associations with Sweden were limited to his visit to Skara in Västergötland in
1218 (see further Sturlunga saga p. 238), and the same probably applies to his
personal knowledge of Swedish tradition. One should be careful about assuming
the advantages of t ent -first centur co unications hen considering the
Nordic world of the thirteenth century. As Sighvatr Þórðarson’s Austrfararvísur
(Verses on an Eastern Journey) in Ólafs saga helga (ch. 61) e ectivel de on-
strate, travel took time in this period. The Uppland area of Sweden was some
distance from Norway, where Snorri spent most of his time abroad, the distance
being further complicated by lakes and forests. It is thus likely that Snorri’s
personal knowledge of the mythology and pre-Christian religious activities of

6 Certainly, as Brink’s maps show, Vanir-associated place names are also found here and there in
western Norway (just as they are found in Iceland: see Svavar Sigmundsson 1992: 242–43), but
they are much less widely distributed than those associated with Þórr. The Freyr and Njǫrðr
place names in Sogn in Norway tend to be comparatively deep inland: see note 8 below. Their
particular association with Sweden is stressed by the fact that they are hardly found at all in
Denmark or the British Isles.
7 While there has been some discussion about the oral background of Gunnars þáttr helmings (see
Brink 1990: 51–52, cf. 55–62), it should be remembered that no trustworthy literary foreign
model has yet been suggested. Furthermore, as will be stressed below, almost all of the motifs in
the account echo ideas elsewhere closely associated with Vanir cult activities.

115
Terry Gunnell

the people of Uppland was essentially limited to Norwegian oral accounts (and
those of a few Swedes). As the Prose Edda demonstrates, his knowledge of the
eddic poem Skírnismál was also limited, as was his knowledge of the now-lost
ljóðaháttr poe about N r r and Ska i (Gylfaginning ch. 36 and 23). It seems
logical to assume that Sweden and Swedish traditions were “other” to him, and
somewhat more “other” than Danish traditions. The question is exactly how
“other” they were seen as being?
That Vanir worshippers were seen as “other” in Iceland would appear
to be immediately apparent in the use of the name “Freysgoði” for Hrafnkell
Hallfreðarson and Þórðr Özurarson “Freysgoðar”,8 mentioned in Hrafnkels saga
Freysgoða (ch. 2), Víga-Glúms saga (ch. 5) and Landnámabók (ch. S 316/H 276 S
325/H 286 S330/H 289 90 S 335 H 354 S 398/H 355) both of ho lived in
eastern and north-eastern Iceland.9 The expression immediately raises the
question of intriguing absences, and not least why the extant written sources
never refer to a “Þórsgoði” or “Óðinsgoði”. This in turn encourages questions of
h these particular en should specificall be referred to as re sgo ar . One
logical reason is that the ere di erent fro the nor and of course it tends
to be those people and things that are out of the ordinary that attract attention
and get into oral legends (like those connected with Hrafnkels saga, Vatnsdæla
saga, Gísla saga, and Víga-Glúms saga which contain most information about
Icelandic settlers who were worshippers of Freyr: see below).10 The impression
is that those original settlers ho orshipped re r ere seen as di erent
or “foreign”, comparable perhaps to Catholics in a Protestant nation, or even
Muslims, Hindus or Buddhists in a mainly Christian society.
Freyr, however, is not only associated with male goðar in the Icelandic
sources about the settlement. The Hauksbók version of Landnámabók (ch. H 276)
adds that Þórðr’s half-sister, Þuríðr, was referred to as Þuriðr “hofgyðja”, or the

8 According to Landnámabók (ch. S 316/H 276 S refers to chapters in Sturlub k H to chapters

in Hauksbók]), Þórðr’s forefathers came from Høyanger (“Heyangr”) on Sognefjord, an area
which contains a number of place names that would appear to be associated with Vanir worship
including Fretland, Fresvik and Nærøyfjord. It might also be noted that according to Víga-Glúms
saga (ch. 5), Þórðr’s wife was called Ingunn (a name with potential Vanir connotations).
9 One might also include in this list the goði Þórgrímr Þorsteinsson in Gísla saga Súrssonar (ch.
15 and 18), who appears to have focused his worship on Freyr in spite of being the grandson
of Þórólfr Mostra(r)skegg, a famous believer in Þórr (see Landnámabók ch. S 85 and H 73 and
Eyrbyggja saga ch. 4).
10 The expression would make sense if only two or three gods were worshipped in Iceland, and if
Þórr were the most common of these, as is argued in Gunnell forthcoming a. Naturally, as time
went on, and more interaction between settlers took place (not least in the form of intermar-
riage bet een fa ilies ith di erent religious backgrounds) one can e pect the di erences
between religious practices to have become less prominent, and some degree of blending to have
taken place.

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 Blótgyðjur, Goðar, Mimi, Incest, and Wagons

hof (temple?)11 priestess. It also states that the name of Þórðr and Þuriðr’s shared
mother was Álfheiðr, a name which has added interest considering Freyr’s
alleged connection to Álfheimr according to the fifth stan a of Grímnismál.12 (On
the close connections between the álfar and the Vanir, see further Gunnell 2007.)
While Þuriðr “hofgyðja” herself is never directly referred to as a
“Freysgyðja”, her role as priestess and her close association to a “Freysgoði”
remind us that in the extant written sources, the Vanir are the only northern
gods (in the later Iron Age) whose worship is said to involve females serving
in important religious roles (see below). Þuríðr’s association with Freyr also
seems logical considering her family, local Icelandic place names (Freysnes;
Freyshólar; and Njarðvík: Svavar Sigmundsson 1992: 242–43), and the other oral
traditions about the religious practices of the area that see to be re ected
in both the sagas and Landnámabók (see above). Among other things, it seems
logical to place her alongside another “hofgyðja” from the same general area
who is mentioned in pnfir inga saga (ch. 5), that is, Steinvör “hofgyðja”, who
apparentl var veitti h fu hofit (protected the hof). Both figures can in turn
be placed alongside the “ung ok fríð” (young and beautiful) priestess in Gunnars
þáttr helmings who was “fengin til þjónostu” (brought into service) with Freyr
and ho should est r a e re f rir hofsta nu ok llu v er ar l til
(have most control over the hof site and everything that belonged to it along
with Freyr) (Ögmundar þáttr dytts p. 112; see also Flateyjarbók I, ch. 277). In this
context, one might also bear in mind the statement in Ynglinga saga (ch. 4) that
re a served as the bl tg a (sacrificial priestess) of the gods in S eden (see
further below).
Another recurring idea that seems to have lived on in the family oral
traditions of the Icelanders with regard to the practices of Vanir worship-
pers is their connection with sacred horses, something which is mentioned in
both Hrafnkels saga (see ch. 3, in which half of Hrafnkell’s stallion Freyfaxi is
said to belong to Freyr); and Vatnsdæla saga, where we encounter a horse called
Freysfaxi (ch. 34).13 In this context, it might also be borne in mind that Ólafs
saga Tryggvasonar en mesta (in Flateyjarbók I, ch. 322) similarly mentions a herd
of stallions belonging to Freyr which were kept near his hof in Þrándheimr (on
these materials and others, see also Sundqvist 2000: 206–21). The idea of horses
having had special religious importance for the Germanic tribes receives earlier

11 On the nature of the hof (which is still disputed), see further Gunnell 2001 and the references
contained there. From here on, the word hof will be used in its original form in translations
rather than “temple”, which has a range of questionable associations.
12 For all references to the eddic poems in this article, see the versions of the poems contained in
Eddadigte 1961, 1964, and 1971, see Poetic Edda.
13 On Freyfaxi (and Freysfaxi), see further Elmevik 2003 and 2011: 352.

117
Terry Gunnell

support from Tacitus (Germania ch. 10) and perhaps also Bede s account of Coifi s
destruction of the temple in Northumbria (Historiæ Ecclesiastica Book II, ch. 13).
More directly relevant to the current discussion, however, are the ritual deposi-
tions found at Skedemosse in Öland, Sweden, from the pre-Roman to the late-
Viking period, which also seem to have placed emphasis on horses which appear
to have been eaten in ritual meals (see further Monikander 2010).
In the present context, it is again worth bearing absence in mind. It is note-
worthy that in the extant historical sources, no Nordic gods seem to have as many
associations with “sacred” animals directly connected with ritual activities as
the Vanir.14 To the horses one can add the boar (s narg ltr) on which the Swedish
king Heiðrekr was supposed to have sworn an oath at Christmas time, according
to the legendary Hervarar saga ok Heiðreks (Saga Heiðreks konungs ins vitra ch. 8), a
similar account being contained in the prose of Helgakviða Hjörvarðssonar (Poetic
Edda p. 26). Considering that Freyr and Freyja alone are directly associated with
boars in Nordic mythology (Skáldskaparmál ch. 35; Gylfaginning ch. 49; Hyndluljóð
st. 7), there would seem to be little question that these Swedish “sónargöltr”
oaths should also be associated with them.
Alongside the idea of animals being dedicated to the Vanir gods, or used
as symbols for them, one can place the account in Víga-Glúms saga (ch. 7) of
an area of ever-fertile land in north-east Iceland called ita g afi (sure-giver)
which seems to have been closely associated with Freyr.15 The idea of land being
dedicated to the gods in this way is, of course, given support by numerous place
names in Scandinavia (see, for example, Olsen 1926; Vikstrand 2001; and Brink
2007), and also the account in Eyrbyggja saga (ch. 4) and Landnámabók (ch. S 85/H
73) of Þórólfr Mostra(r)skegg directly dedicating land to Þórr “ástvin sin” (his
loving friend). Worth bearing in mind in this context is that no similar saga
accounts ever tell of land being dedicated to Óðinn (see further Gunnell forth-
coming a). While the account in Víga-Glúms saga, like that in Hrafnkels saga (ch.

14 The only exception is the description of the image of Þórr’s wagon in the hof in Þrándheimr
which is said to be pulled by goats in Ólafs saga Tryggvasonar en mesta in Flateyjarbók (I, ch. 268).
Nonetheless, nothing is actually done with the goats in this account and there are no accounts
of special ocks of goats being dedicated to rr (like the horses apparentl dedicated to re r).
The same applies to Óðinn’s wolves, whose real-world representatives would naturally be more
di cult to keep in fields. The fact that the thical boar belonging to re r is said to be ade
of gold (see Snorri Sturluson, Skáldskaparmál ch. 35) may also contain a faint memory of other
boar images—perhaps like those adorning the Benty Grange and Pioneer helmets, and also those
mentioned in connection with helmets in Beowulf. In addition to the horse and boar, one might
perhaps add the bull sacrificed to re r in Brandkrossa þáttr (ch. 1) and the bull sacrificed at the
vetrnætur in Þiðranda þáttr ok Þórhalls (ch. 2) (here seemingly associated with the arrival of the
dísir), bearing in mind that in Gísla saga (ch. 15) the vetrnætr are directly associated with Freyr.
15 parallel idea ight be re ected in the account of the sno never settling on the grave ound
of Þorgrímr Þorsteinsson in Gísla saga Súrssonar (ch. 18).

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 Blótgyðjur, Goðar, Mimi, Incest, and Wagons

5) telling of Hrafnkell s luck ith the breeding of livestock and fishing supports
the idea of re r being e cacious ith regard to fertilit it also adds eight to
the idea of the god’s close connections with particular spaces in the local living
environment, a pattern that will be discussed further below.
Other remnants that appear to point to the enduring key role of the Vanir
in ritual activities apparently practiced in both Iceland and Norway after the
settlement period can be seen in the wording of the so-called “hofeiðr” (hof-
oath) that was supposed to have formed part of early Icelandic law, Úlfjótslög,16
and the sacrificial toasts fro r ndhei r described in Hákonar saga góða (ch.
14). In the case of the former, one notes that two of the three gods called on to
itness the oath are anir ( re r and N r r) ho are acco panied b hinn
almáttki áss” (the mightiest god [áss]).17 N r r s presence here is particularl
intriguing if only because he is so rarely mentioned in other Icelandic sources,
in spite of appearing in two Icelandic place names (both called Njarðvík: see
Svavar Sigmundsson 1992: 242–43). Interestingly enough, both gods reappear
together in the sacred full (toasts) closel associated ith sacrificial activities in
Hákonar saga góða (ch. 14), made by Sigurðr Hlaðajarl “til árs ok friðar” (for good
harvests and peace).18 The account runs as follows:

Þat var forn siðr, þá er blót skyldi vera, at allir bændr skyldu þar
ko a se hof var ok t a annug f ng s n au er eir sk ldu hafa
e an vei lan st . t vei lu eiri sk ldu allir enn l eiga. ar var ok
drepinn alls konar smali ok svá hross, en blóð þat allt, er þar kom af,
þá var kallat hlaut, ok hlautbollar þat, er blóð þat stóð í, ok hlautteinar,
at var sv g rt se st kklar e v sk ldi r a stallana llu sa an
ok svá veggi hofsins útan ok innan ok svá støkkva á mennina, en slátr
sk ldi s a til annfagna ar. Eldar sk ldu vera i u g lfi hofinu
ok ar katlar fir. Sk ldi full u eld bera en s er ger i veisluna ok

16 See Landnámabók (ch. H 268); and also Hauksbók (Tillæg, ch. IX). l tslög, believed by many to
be the earliest Icelandic law (possibly going back, in part, to around 930) is also contained in
Þorsteins þáttr uxafóts (in Flateyjarbók I, ch. 201) and Brot af Þórðar sögu hreðu (ch. 1). On the dating
and trustworthiness of l tslög see further n Hnefill alsteinsson 1998: 44 50.
17 There is some dispute about who “hinn almáttki áss” was, but the likelihood must be that it was
Þórr, since Óðinn seems to have been little known in Iceland (see Gunnell forthcoming a). The
appearance of two Vanir gods in a hof oath apparently practiced by all Icelanders naturally raises
questions about the argument made in this article with regard to the Vanir worshippers being
“other” in Iceland. Nonetheless, the formula may also have been meant to cover all the relevant
gods worshipped in Iceland (Þórr, Freyr, and Njörðr being the names most prominent in extant
place names).
18 It might be noted that later in in the same saga (Hákonar saga góða ch. 16 17) other sacrificial
toasts are also made “til árs ok friðar”, but then only to Óðinn (rather strangely) and Þórr. On the
formula “til árs ok friðar”, see further Hultgård 1993: 224–54 and Sundqvist 2000: 176–79.

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h f ingi var sk ldi hann signa fullit ok allan bl t atinn sk ldi f rst
Óðins full—skyldi þat drekka til sigrs ok ríkis konungi sínum—en síðan
N ar ar full ok re s full til rs ok fri ar. var rgu nnu t tt
at drekka þar næst bragafull. Menn drukku ok full frænda sinna, þeira
er he g ir h f u verit ok v ru a inni k llu .

(It was an ancient custom that a blót (sacrifice) should take place in
which all farmers should come to the site of the hof and bring those
goods that they would need while the feasting was taking place. Every
man should have ale for this feast. Many cattle, sheep and horses were
killed there and all the blood that came from them was called hlaut,
while the containers in which the blood was caught were called hlaut-
bollar (hlaut-cups), and hlautteinar (hlaut-sticks), which were made like
aspergillum and were used to redden the altar completely and then the
walls of the hof inside and out, and then to splatter the people, the
sacrificial eat then being boiled for the gathering. There should be a
fire in the center of the oor and over this should be cauldrons. The full
(toast) should be carried around the fire b the chieftain ho had orga-
nized the feast, after which he should signa ( ark/sign/bless) the toast
and all the sacrificial eal. irst should be inn s full, which should be
drunk to the victory and state of his king; and then a full to N r r and
a full to Freyr for “ár ok friðr”. Then it was common for many men to
drink a bragafull (to Bragi?). They also drank a full to their relations who
had been buried. This was called a minni (memory toast).)

The wording of the passage implies a possible textual relationship with the
detailed descriptions of hof buildings and activities given in l tslög (see above),
Eyrbyggja saga (ch. 4), and Kjalnesinga saga (ch. 2). The formulaic wording of both
the full and the oath in l tslög suggest they have roots in a pre-Christian oral
formula that had ritual associations and connections to religious buildings.
Further, more direct connections between the Vanir gods and religious
buildings appear in other types of text that appear to have lived for some time
in the oral tradition in western Scandinavia before being recorded on parch-
ment, namely the eddic poems which have a better claim to antiquity than
the Icelandic family sagas. The texts in question are Grímnismál (st. 16) and
Vafþrúðnismál (st. 38) both of hich concern N r r. The for er states:

Nóatún ero en ellipto, Nóatún is the eleventh,

en ar Ni r r hefir here N r r has
s r u g rva sali ade hi self a hall
manna þengill prince of men

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 Blótgyðjur, Goðar, Mimi, Incest, and Wagons

enn meins vani lacking in harm,

hátimbroðom the high-timbered
h rg i r r . h rgr (altar) rules.

The latter runs:

Segðu þat it tíunda, Answer a tenth,

allz þú tíva røk since about the fate of the gods
ǫ you know everything, Vafþrúðnir:
hva an Ni r r u ko here did N r r co e fro
með ása sonom, to join the sons of the Æsir,
hofo og h rgo hof and h rgar
hann r r hunn rgo countless he rules over
ok varðat hann ásom alinn. and was not raised among the .

hile there is reason to take an odd e pression like h ti bro u h rgi

with a pinch of salt, bearing in mind that “hátrimbroðo” also appears after the
reversed for ula h rg ok hof in the seventh stan a of lusp , the striking
features here are not onl the connection the poe s ake bet een N r r and
sites of religious practice but also that N r r is the only god to be directly asso-
ciated with religious practices in these two poems. (It might be noted that even
though the Æsir gods build the hof and hörgr mentioned in lusp st. 7, it is not
stated who functions in them.) In both of the stanzas cited above, one also notes
that N r r is said to activel r a (control/rule) the hof.19
It seems natural to place these stanzas (and the other passages about ritual
practice noted above) alongside the famous words of Hyndluljóð st. 10, in which
Freyja, referring to Óttarr ungi, states:

H rg hann r ger i He ade e a h rgr

hlaðinn steinum, piled with stones;
nú er griót þat now that rock
at gleri orðit, has become [like] glass,
rauð hann í nýiu he reddened it in new
nauta blóði, bull’s blood;
æ trúði Óttarr Óttarr has always believed
á ásyniur. in goddesses.

19 In this context, it is worth bearing in mind st. 51 of Lokasenna here Ska i N r r s ife refers
to her “véom ok vǫngu (shrines and sacred fields) so ething that is arguabl backed up b
place-na e evidence of nu erous sites called Skedevi / Skedvi especiall in the east of
Sweden: see de Vries 1956–57: II, 161–62 and 335–40.

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While one can expect some degree of variation and reconstruction to have
taken place in the wording of accounts that were passed on in the oral tradi-
tion over centuries, prior to eventually being recorded, it would seem question-
able whether the stanzas noted above were composed by Christians—or even by
Icelanders, since no specially-constructed hof, h rgar, or so-called kulthus (cult-
houses) of the kind described in the sagas and eddic poems and later found in
archaeological excavations in mainland Scandinavia have ever been found in
Iceland (see further Gunnell 2001 and the references noted there). The above
stanzas would thus appear to have roots in earlier Nordic tradition, and a Nordic
tradition that had so e reason for connecting N r r and re a (N r r above
all and Freyja secondarily) to sacred spaces: once again, no mention is ever made
of a h rgr being dedicated to any other god. As noted above, the same ideas of
Vanir connections with religious practice, ritual, and hof are re ected in Snorri s
comments in chapters 4 and 10 of Ynglingasaga in hich N r r and re r are
called “blótgoðar”, and Freyja a “blótgyðja”. In terms of absence, it should be
borne in mind that Snorri makes no similar statements about either Óðinn or
Þórr (or even Frigg). Furthermore, while hof and hofgoðar are mentioned else-
where in Ynglinga saga in connection with the Æsir (ch. 2 and 5; cf. lusp st. 7),
Snorri stresses that re r reisti at pps lu hof ikit ( re r raised a large hof
at Uppsala), underlining once again the direct connections he saw as existing
between the Vanir (and especially Freyr), Uppland, and the religious activities
he describes elsewhere as taking place at Gamla Uppsala (Ynglinga saga ch. 15, 34
and 38; and Ólafs saga helga ch. 67). No similar statements are made about Þórr
(who is strangely near absent from Ynglinga saga).
Finally, it is worth considering Snorri’s words about Freyja, which under-
line that she, a woman, not only ruled after Freyr’s death, but also personally
h lt upp bl tu v at hon ein lif i eptir go anna (kept up the sacrifices
because she was the only surviving member of the gods) (Ynglinga saga ch. 10).
Freyja is also said to have been the one who introduced the Æsir to seiðr20 which
nu var t tt ( as co on a ongst the anir) in Ynglinga saga (ch. 4), an
idea which suggests yet further close associations between the Vanir and ritual-
istic activities. In both cases, as in Hyndluljóð, Freyja is said to play a particularly
active role in these rituals, even though the nature of this role is never described
in detail. One must assume that it was similar to that of the hofgyðjur noted
above.
The Vanir, however, are not only shown to be more closely associated with
religious buildings than other gods in the extant accounts. They are also depicted
as being more directly bound up with particular holy sites in the landscape, and not

20 On the nature of seiðr, see further Strömbäck 2000; and Price 2002: 91–232.

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least sites where they are supposed to “live on” after their deaths: in contrast
to inn and N r r ho are cre ated (Ynglinga saga ch. 8 and 9), Snorri, for
example, tells how:

er re r var dau r b ru eir hann le niliga hauginn ok s g u Sv u

at hann lif i ok var veittu hann ar r vetr. En skatt llu helltu
þeir í hauginn, í einn glugg gullinu, en í annan silfrinu, í inn þriðja
eirpenningum. Þá hélzt ár ok friðr. (Ynglinga saga ch. 10)

(when Freyr died, they carried him secretly into the grave mound and
told the Swedes that he was still alive and preserved him for three
winters. They poured the taxes into the mound, the gold going into
one window, while the silver went into another, and the bronze into a
third. Then the harvests and peace were maintained.)

As was noted above, the formulaic expression “ár ok friðr” seems to have been
closely associated with the Vanir in oral tradition (and rarely with other gods).
Snorri’s euhemeristic account is echoed in Ólafs saga Tryggvasonar en mesta
(Flateyjarbók I ch. 323) which gives more detail about how Freyr had been a
king in Uppsala, and, after his death, was placed in a grave mound with a door
and windows, and called a “veralldar guð” (god of the world).21 The Flateyjarbók
account ends by stating that “gerdu Suiar tremenn .ij ok settu þa j haug hea
honum þuiat þeir hugdu at honum mundi gaman þikia at læika ser at þeim”
(the S edes ade t o ooden figures and put the in the ound ith hi
because they thought he would like to entertain himself with them), describing
how these objects were later taken by grave robbers. The account then adds that
both figures ere later called re r and ent on to receive sacrifices in their
own right, one in Sweden and the other in Þrándheimr, as mentioned above.
Whatever the background of these accounts was, the idea of Freyr being
directly associated with a particular mound in the landscape known by the local
inhabitants ( herever it as) finds ver close parallels in the account in Ólafs
þáttr Geirstaðaálfs of the grave of King Ólafr Geirstaðaálfr, who, after his death,
was said to have had a grave mound made for him in which he was:

iotliga lagidr hea sinu onnu e klu fe ok eftir at haugrinn

aftr byrgdr. þa tók ok at letta manndaudnum. sidan gerde uaran mikit

21 This expression naturally raises further questions with regard to Óðinn’s supposed function as
ruler-god and “alföðr”. In addition to the meaning of the word Freyr (generally associated with
the meaning of “lord”, but see also Elmevik 2003 on possible links to fertility), this expression
underlines that for some people, Freyr was seen as the highest god.

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ok hallære. var þa þat rad tekit at þeir blotudu Olaf konung til árs ser ok
kolludu hann Geirstada alf. (Flateyjarbók II, ch. 6)

(quickly placed alongside his men with a great many riches and after
that the mound was closed. After that the number of deaths began to
reduce. Then commenced many bad harvests and poverty. The decision
as then taken to give sacrifices to ing lafr for good harvests and he
was called the Álfr22 of Geirstaðir.)23

Both narratives ould see to o er an e planation as to h the

Gulaþingslög (c.1250) felt it necessary to state that “Blot er oss oc kviðiat at vér
scolom eigi blota heiðit Guð. ne hauga. ne horga” (It is also stated regarding
sacrifices that e should not ake sacrifices to pagan gods or grave ounds or
altars) (Den Eldre Gulatingslova 1994: 52). Si ilar ideas ight also be re ected in
the statement from the thirteenth century Guta saga that the Gotlanders “troþu
[…] a hult ok a hauga, vi ok stafgarþa ok a haiþin guþ” (believed in groves, grave
ounds shrines and fenced-o areas as ell as the pagan gods) (Guta saga ch.
1). The parallels and probable associations between the buried and worshipped
Ólafr, son of Álfhildr, daughter of Álfarinn of Álfheimar (Flateyjarbók II, ch. 5)
and the buried and worshipped Freyr, ruler of Álfheimr (see above) are obvious.
To this list of holy sites in the landscape connected with Vanir gods, however, one
can perhaps add the island on which the fertility goddess Nerthus was supposed
to have lived when she was not traveling, according to Tacitus (Germania ch. 40),
which once again shows Vanir-associated gods being physically “anchored” to
sites in the landscape. To the best of my knowledge, no Old Norse account tells
of any natural places in the landscape in which the Æsir gods could physically
be found.24
The same idea of direct connections between the Vanir and the land-
scape ight also be re ected in the earlier- entioned account fro Ólafs saga
Tryggvasonar en mesta (Flateyjarbók I, ch. 322–23) about how one of the two
wooden images of Freyr stolen from his mound was taken from Uppsala to
Þrándheimr, where it went on to be worshipped until it was eventually destroyed
by Ólafr Tryggvason. This unique account of people transferring a statue of an

22 On the connections between the álfar and the Vanir, see above and also Gunnell 2007.
23 Alongside this account one might place that concerning the ever-green nature of the grave
mound of the Freyr-worshipper Þorgrímr goði noted above; and possibly also the account of the
field of ita g afi also noted earlier.
24 Here I am not talking of sacred buildings or landscape dedicated to the gods according to place
names, but rather accounts of particular places in the landscape in which they were supposed
to have lived. Of course, there are a range of other accounts telling of Icelanders “dying into”
and living on the landscape (see further Gunnell 2014), but the same does not ever apply to the
Æsir gods.

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Old Nordic god from one place to another (rather than simply constructing a
new one) would seem to contain a similar idea to that involved with the moving
of high-seat pillars and sometimes sacred earth from Norway to Iceland as part
of settlement practice, as for instance referred to in Landnámabók (ch. S 297/H
258; see further Gunnell 2009 and the references contained there). What seems
to be taking place in both cases is the moving of environmental sacredness, an
act which involves what James George Frazer and Arnold van Gennep referred
to as “contagious magic” (Frazer 1957: 14–6; van Gennep 1960: 7–9, 14).
Continuing this line of investigation about the idea of physical connec-
tion between the Vanir gods and landscape, and the subsequent transference
or spreading of the “goodness” of a god (or goddess) to other places perma-
nently or temporarily, it is worth considering a little further the Latin and
Norse narratives describing the seasonal ritual journeys made by wagons of
Nerthus, Freyr, and Lytir described in Germania ch. 40; and Hauks þáttr hábrókar
(in Flateyjarbók I, ch. 467). None of these accounts show direct literary borrow-
ings from each other, and the writers had not seen the Dejbjerg wagon (from
lland Den ark c. first centur BCE) or the Oseberg agon (c. 850 CE) no on
display in museums in Copenhagen and Oslo, both of which are believed to have
had a ritual purpose.25 It is equally certain that the writers had never viewed the
images of wagons shown as taking part in what appear to be ritual processions
on the Oseberg tapestr ( ra t 1956). Nor ould the have observed the proces-
sional road and sloping ramp leading into the huge hall recently discovered
behind the church at Gamla Uppsala,26 which one assumes might have allowed
wheeled vehicles to be drawn in and out; or the straight processional road
leading from what appears to be a building at Rösaring, in Uppland, Sweden,
which might conceivably have accommodated a wagon like that from Oseberg
(which cannot turn).27 In short, it would appear that each of the accounts telling
of sacred wagons noted above has an independent origin, and roots in local
oral tradition of some kind (see further Brink 1990: 61). Whether the accounts
in question are factually true is beside the point. What matters most here is
that for some reason, people believed them to have had some foundation in
realit . In short the appear to have had fir roots in oral tradition ust like the
numerous local legends recorded in Sweden and Denmark (including Dejbjerg)
telling of golden wagons hidden in lakes that the Swedish folklorist Bengt af
lintberg (1998) has co piled. Each account of the ourne of a god re ects the
same idea that goodness, focused in a spatial center, could be brought to bear on

25 For the Dejbjerg wagon, see “The Wagons at Dejbjerg”. With regard to the Oseberg wagon, see
Christensen et al. 1992: 119–23 and 248–49.
26 or details on recent and ongoing finds at a la ppsala see L ungkvist et al. 2015.
27 See further Sandén n.d.; 2002.

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Terry Gunnell

other places, as occurred also with Christian processions around a settlement or

the visitation of a bishop with a holy relic.
As I have noted elsewhere (Gunnell 1995: 54–57, 2006a, and 2011), the ritual
journey of Freyr and his wife across the Swedish landscape in wintertime, as
described in Gunnars þáttr helmings (Ögmundar þáttr dytts; Flateyjarbók I, ch.
278), contains not only the idea of a ritual procession but also strong elements
of drama and performance which are said to have encouraged active belief on
the part of those observing. Bearing this in mind, it is interesting to note that
when dramatic activities are most obviously implied by the extant literary
aterials concerning Old Norse tholog or religion the appear first and
foremost in connection with one of the few works that directly concerns the
Vanir. The work in question, the wholly dialogic eddic poem Skírnismál, with its
outdoor (st. 10, 15 and 32), night time (st. 1 and 10), and apparently midwinter
setting (st. 42), and its movement from a civilized, male, inside space to the wild,
female, outside space on the periphery represented by a woman called Gerðr
(lit. field/delineated space) ho is separated fro the rest of the orld b a
ring of fire (st. 17 and 18) also contains a strong ele ent of the processional.
Its action, which seems to link a central place (inhabited by gods) to a peripheral
sacral spot describes a ove ent hich could ell have had a basis in fifth-
or si th-centur sacral realit . Indeed this as a ti e hen an sacrificial
practices in Sweden seem to have been starting to move from outdoor spaces
on the periphery with close connections to female goddesses (cf. Grímnismál st.
7 and lusp st. 33) to the indoor spaces of the male ruler, in other words from
natural spaces to the man-made hall. In spite of this, it is probable that many of
these later indoor activities still needed the validation of some form of connec-
tion with the earlier sacred outdoor sites (see further Gunnell 2001; Fabech and
Näsman 2013; Jørgensen 2009; and Fredengren 2011).28
It is noteworthy that outdoor movement of the kind depicted in Skírnismál
is not a central feature of either monologic or dialogic Óðinic-focused eddic
dramatic poems, such as Vafþrúðnismál, Grímnismál, Eiríksmál, and Hákonarmál,29
all of hich are fir l situated in an internal hall environ ent. Skírnismál is
ver di erent and as noted above see s to have been co parativel less ell
known to Snorri. In addition to its movement between spaces, which essentially
involves one character (Sk rnir the Shining One ) oving fro one static figure
to another (from Njörðr to Freyr to the herdsman to the “ambátt” to Gerðr and

28 I would like to express my gratitude to Torun Zachrisson and Olof Sundqvist for their assistance
ith finding recent sources concerning this sub ect.
29 Eiríksmál and Hákonarmál both tend to be classed as skaldic poems rather than eddic works, but
their meter and form (not least their use of the dialogic form) show close associations with eddic
poetry. This subject is dealt with in more detail in Gunnell forthcoming b.

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back to Freyr [possibly thence to the grove of Barri]), the poem also contains a
number of very ritualistic features, ranging from the cutting of fresh wood for a
“gambantein” (power wand), to a seeming call on supernatural powers related
to di erent cardinal directions (st. 34) to the ph sical carving of runes hich
were evidently still seen as having magical power in the thirteenth century (st.
36: see further Gunnell 2006a and 2011). One also notes the near total absence
of the sir gods in the poe outside a strange reference to Sk rnir o ering
Óðinn’s ring Draupnir to Gerðr (st. 22). In the context of Skírnismál, this feature
sounds almost as suspicious as the suggestion in the introductory prose (taken
directly from Snorri’s Gylfaginning; see Gunnell 1995: 229–32) that Freyr had
usurped inn s high seat hen he first observed er r fro afar. Bearing in
mind that Snorri suggests elsewhere that Óðinn owned Freyr’s ship Skíðblaðnir
(Gylfaginning ch. 43; see also Grimnismál st. 43, cf. Ynglinga saga ch. 7), and that
rigg o ned re a s fia rha r / valfall / valsha r (bird costu e) (see
Þrymskviða st. 3–5 and 9 and Skáldskaparmál ch. G56 and 20; cf. Skáldskaparmál ch.
18), there is good reason to consider whether both the ring and the high-seat
were seen by some people as having originally been attributes of Freyr rather
than of Óðinn.30 Whatever the case, there is reason to believe that Skírnismál
originated in a di erent environ ent than the inic poe s even if its struc-
ture for and ove ent find certain parallels in the heroic Fáfnismál and
Sigrdrífumál (see Gunnell 2006a and 2011).
It seems natural to place both Gunnars þáttr helmings and Skírnismál along-
side various comments made by Saxo Grammaticus in his early thirteenth-
century Gesta Danorum about the ritualistic activities involved in the worship
of Freyr, which Saxo, like Snorri, associates directly with Uppsala. Naturally
Saxo, like Snorri, was writing over a century after Sweden had formally adopted
Christianity. Nonetheless, it is worth noting that Saxo (like Snorri) saw pre-
Christian ppsala (and S eden in general) as having not onl di erent beliefs
to those of the Danes but also uite di erent practices. ccording to Sa o
Starkatherus spent time with the “sons of Freyr” (Filiis Frø) in Sweden, where
he was disgusted by the “womanish body movements, the clatter of actors on
the stage and the soft tinkling of bells (e e inatos corporu otus scenic-
osque mimorum plausus ac mollia nolarum crepitacula fastidiret) at the time
of the sacrifices in ppsala (see Gesta Danorum, Book 6; see further Gunnell
30 Of course, it might be argued that Frigg was the original owner or that both women owned
si ilar costu es. ll the sa e Snorri o ers no poetic evidence to support rigg being the o ner
of such garb. Furthermore, unlike Freyja, Frigg rarely moves anywhere. As regards the idea of
re r s connection to the high-seat it ight be noted that a nu ber of throned figures (and
thrones/chairs) have no been found in archaeological finds both in S eden and else here (see
further Price 2002: 163 67). One onders hether all or an of these figures and thrones ere
originally related to Óðinn, or whether at least some might have represented Freyr.

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Terry Gunnell

1995: 76–79). While there is a faint possibility that Saxo is actually referring
to activities at the markets later held at Uppsala, described in Snorri’s Ólafs
saga helga (ch. 77) his description closel re ects aspects of da of Bre en s
earlier account of the same festivals contained in chapters 26 and 27 of his Gesta
Hammaburgensis ecclesi pontificum (c. 1050).31 Adam’s description, purportedly
based on the first-hand e perience of an infor ant and ritten hen the festi-
vals were still taking place, describes, among other things, the “multiplices et
inhonestae” (manifold and unseemly) incantations that could be heard at the
festival in a surrounding that, according to a later twelfth-century scholium,
was like a “teatrum” ( esta Hammaburgensis ecclesi pontificum ch. 26–27; see also
scholia 139).
da s account di ers slightl fro that of Sa o in that he suggests that
the festival, set in early spring, was also dedicated to the male Æsir gods, the
statues of “Wotan” and “Frikko” apparently standing on either side of a statue
of “Thor”.32 One wonders where the goddesses are, especially when other
accounts, such as that by Snorri in Ynglinga saga (ch. 29), stress connections
between the festival, a “Dísarsalr”, and a “dísablót”, an idea later supported by
the Upplandslög and Swedish tradition which both talk of a central “Dísæþing”
and market taking place at this time (Upplandslagen p. 169; see also Gunnell
2000). The discrepancies between these accounts are rarely discussed, but might
perhaps be answered if one considers the timing and nature of the nine-year
festivals, which took place at the beginning of the “male” time of the year (in
which planting, military activities and trade took place, all of which needed
“male” blessing: see further Gunnell 2006b). Like the Alþing in Iceland, they also

31 While Saxo may have read Adam’s account, his description contains no direct borrowings, and
di ers in several features.
32 Naturally, there are questions why, in a place commonly associated in oral tradition with Freyr,
Þórr is said to be the central god. One possibility (if the festival was not associated with the
“male” part of the year as suggested above, and the central gods alternated) is that Þórr had a
central role at this time because he was the god more associated with growth, as Ynglinga saga
(ch. 8) suggests: “Þá skyldi blóta í móti vetri til árs, en at miðjum vetri blóta til gróðrar, it þriðja
at su ri at var sigrbl t (Then sacrifices should be ade at the start of inter for good ears
in the iddle of inter sacrifices for gro th the third at the start of su er that as a sacri-
fice for victor ). ccording to this pattern ( hich is echoed in da s suggestion that the gods
had particular functions) sacrifices ore associated ith re r ould have taken place at the
start of winter (as suggested by Gísla saga: see note 14) hile the sacrifices at the start of the
summer would have been more associated with Óðinn (usually associated with victory). Those
closer to id inter ould then have centered on rr (although the ppsala sacrifice see s to
have taken place some time in February). As noted at the start (note 2), however, I am wary of
such simple functional interpretations. As underlined in the other original references given in
Gunnell forthcoming b, Þórr is regularly said to have a central role amongst the gods (not least
in accounts describing statues). His central role in Adam’s account might simply be based on
expectation rather than memory.

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involved the entire nation rather than a single local group, and thereby poten-
tially needed to involve all the representative gods of all those present (in other
words, all the groups represented). None of this detracts from the fact that the
activities associated with the Uppsala festivals (traditionally associated with
the Vanir by both Snorri and Saxo) were seen as being particularly visual and
dra atic and di erent fro those kno n else here (hence the attention that
they receive). As noted above, the validity of Adam’s and Saxo’s accounts seems
to be gaining ever more support from the wealth of archaeological evidence
that has been coming to light at Gamla Uppsala over the last few years. The like-
lihood must be that the format and nature of these festivals, situated in an area
marked out by the grave mounds of forefathers and close to another royal burial
area at Valsgärde, must have grown out of earlier Vanir rituals (considering the
strong traditional connections between the Vanir and the area).
Naturally the textual evidence listed above cannot be trusted as histor-
ical records concerning the state of things in Sweden during pre-Christian
times. Nonetheless, it does suggest that those behind these accounts would
have disagreed with Simek’s statement quoted at the start about there having
been no inherent di erence bet een the gods ascribed to both groups b
Snorri”. It also underlines that people in western Scandinavia, Denmark and
Ha burg-Bre en see to have vie ed the people of ppland as di erent
as “other” to themselves, especially concerning their religious practices, and
those concerning the Vanir in general. In the very least, it seems clear that
the oral tradition on which these accounts were based, which had been passed
on through time, regularly undergoing minor changes, and later came to be
recorded ainl in the thirteenth centur possibl in uenced b Christianit
seems to have retained vague memories of the religious activities associated
ith those believing in the anir having been di erent fro those kno n b
most people “at home”.
Of course it is possible that these di erences ere e aggerated b all the
authors in question as part of a “conspiracy” designed to suggest that the old
religion of the Swedes (which endured longer than in the other Nordic coun-
tries) was especially depraved. Perhaps the more prominent practical role of
women in the religion and the interest in animals and ritual drama noted above
were deliberately spotlighted alongside the incestuous activities of the Vanir33
as a means of underlining the pagan depravity of the Swedes in particular (a

33 These incestuous activities are only noted by Snorri in Ynglinga saga (ch.4): er N r r var e
nu haf i hann tta s stur s na v at at v ru ar l g. ru eira b rn re r ok re a.
En þat var bannat með Ásum at byggva svo náit at frændsemi” (ch. 4) (When Njörður was with
the Vanir, he had lived with his sister because that was the law there. Their children were Freyr
and Freyja. Such close relations amongst relatives were banned amongst the Æsir).

129
Terry Gunnell

view that Saxo Grammaticus seems to have held). Such an argument, however,
must be viewed as somewhat questionable, not least because, as has been noted
above, similar traits keep recurring in accounts that do not obviously borrow
from each other. These accounts appear to have a background in cultural
memories of tradition, among others those relating to early accounts that
were rife with details about the nature of the festivals that were held at Gamla
Uppsala from at least the mid Iron Age. As noted above, recent archaeological
finds suggest that the accounts given b da Snorri and Sa o concerning
the activities that took place around the large grave mounds in Gamla Uppsala
had some basis in reality. They also indicate that the activities which took place
on this site, reached by a kilometer-long processional avenue marked with tall
pillars o hich dead ani als see to have been hung ere ore spectacular
than those occurring at any other site so far discovered in Scandinavia, apart
from perhaps the Oseberg burial (and the Oseberg tapestry, noted earlier, is
believed to re ect the kind of activities that took place at funerals of this kind).
The grand processional route and the recently-discovered large hall found at
Gamla Uppsala towards which the route leads, with its three-meter wide doors
and hinges in the form of spears, demonstrate that, whatever was going on
at the festivals in Gamla Uppsala c. 800 CE, it was meant to attract attention.
In short, it was intended that it burn itself into the memory of those present,
and be passed on to those in foreign climes, in a somewhat similar fashion to a
televised American presidential inauguration, or a prominent terrorist attack.
The Icelandic evidence from Landnámabók and the sagas, along with the eddic
poems, suggests that the close associations people saw as existing between
ritual activities and the gods associated with the Vanir certainly seem to have
continued in the minds of those who encountered Vanir worshippers elsewhere
(in Norway and Iceland).
To sum up, both the oral tradition described in this article and the recent
archaeological evidence suggest that the religious activities and belief of the
anir (centered in S eden) had a slightl di erent nature and perhaps a
di erent origin to those connected to sir gods like rr and inn. If the
essence of these accounts can be trusted, it seems that somewhat like the
Catholic or Greek Orthodox churches in comparison to Lutheran churches, the
“religion” associated with the Vanir was viewed as being more ritualistic. It was
also seen as being less sexist and more connected to the local environment (and
perhaps also the forefathers buried in the environ ent). Such di erences to
my mind, were not solely related to function. The nuances of such Vanir ritual
and how it was enacted and understood by the original believers and later
Nordic peoples may never be fully accessible to us. Much will depend on what
new discoveries the archaeologists may reveal in the years to come.

130
 Blótgyðjur, Goðar, Mimi, Incest, and Wagons

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Heimskringla
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Hrafnkels saga
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Kjalnesinga saga
Íslenzk fornrit, 14. Ed. Jóhannes Halldórsson. Reykjavík: 1959. Pp. 1–44.

Landnámabók
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Snorri Sturluson. Edda: Prologue and Gylfaginning. 2nd ed. Ed. Anthony Faulkes.
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Sturlunga saga
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Upplandslagen
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Vatnsdæla saga
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V n nga saga
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Ögmundar þáttr dytts

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Þrymskviða: see Poetic Edda

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137
 Index
[Note: Entries beginning with ‘Þ’ are grouped at the end of this index.]
Abbo of Fleury, 304
Adalvard the Younger (bishop of
Sigtuna), 167
Adam of Bremen, 128–130, 163–182
Æsir (æsir), 42, 90, 102, 113–14,
121–22, 124, 127–28, 130, 194,
196, 227, 229, 233, 243, 251–54,
272, 291–92
Afghanistan, 364, 369
Albertus Magnus (fl. 1245), 245
Alexander of Lamprecht der Pfaffe
(ca. 1130), 256
Alken Enge, Jutland, Denmark, 294
alliteration, 199–200, 226
Alvíssmál, 74, 193–94, 215
Alþing, 128
Analogy, 8, 70, 233, 269, 276,
280–81, 284
Annales Regii, 271
anthropology, anthropologist(s),
10, 30, 36; anthropological
parallels, xvi
Antichrist, Der (1480), 262
anti-metalepsis, 67, 79, 81
Anund Jacob (Swedish king), 167
archaeology, archaeologist(s), 6, 8,
30, 95, 122, 129–30, 139–40,
143, 147, 149, 169, 172, 177–81,
215–16, 218, 226, 273–74, 280,
289, 294, 302
archetype, 5, 22
Ardeshir (Persian king), 330, 334, 337
Ariovistus (Germanic leader), 18
art, artist(s), 54, 63, 67, 70, 79, 262
artifact(s), artifactual, 6, 40, 54–55, 68,
179, 181, 217
Asdiwal, myth of, 10
Áslaug, 325, 331, 333, 337
Assmann, Jan, 17, 79, 344
Astaroð, 93
Atlakviða, 75
Atlamál, 75
Auðr hin djúpúðga (Auðr the Deep-
Minded), 344–45
Aurgelmir, 282–84
Australian aboriginals, myths of, 274
Austrfararvísur, 115
Austric populations, 364, 372
avenger, 233, 341, 348, 349–50,
352–53, 355–57
Avestan, 369
axial age, 17; religions, 18
Ælfric. See Marcarius and the
Magicians, Saul and the Witch
of Endor
Baldr/Balderus, 45, 140, 228, 229,
233, 248, 250–51, 253, 276, 342,
347–54, 357,
Baldrs draumar, 291, 293, 298, 309,
349, 353
Index
Balkans, 148
Barthólómeus saga postula, 93
Bellah, Robert, 17–21
Bergbúa þáttr, 280
bergbúi ‘mountain-dweller’, 283
Bergelmir, 283
Bestla, 347
Bible passages: I Chronicles, 168;
(Deutero-)Isaiah, 91; Exodus, 91;
Genesis, xiv, 194, 370; Jeremiah,
91–92; Mark, 303; Matthew, 303,
333; Psalms, 91–92; Romans,
245; I Samuel, 303; Wisdom of
Solomon, 91
“Biejjie-baernien såangoe Jeahnaj
eatnamisnie” (North Sámi
‘Beaivvi bártni soagnju
Jiehtanasaid máilmmis’) (The
Sons of the Sun in the Land of
the Giants), 207–8
“Biejjie-neijten sealadimmie” (North
Sámi ‘Beaivvi Niedda jápmin’)
(The Death of the Daughter of
the Sun), 208
birds, 64, 68–70, 142, 148, 205, 247;
augural, 353
bizarrerie (ativism reflecting older
mythic layer), 364, 369
blót (sacrifice), 93, 94, 98, 100–102,
117, 119–20, 122, 124, 128, 177,
246. See also sacrifice.
blótgyðjur ‘sacrifice priestess’, 117, 122
blóttré ‘sacrificial tree’, 177
boar(s), 118, 147
bones, 144, 145, 149–50, 177, 293, 364,
366, 368, 371, 376
book-prose theory, 29, 31, 33, 35
book-prose vs free-prose debate,
31–46
Borre style, 142
bracteate(s), 70, 71, 140, 145, 216
Bragi Boddason, 120, 232
bridal quest (motif R225), 203–5, 208
382
Brunhilde (queen), 175
bull, 121
Bundahis (Pahlavi cosmological text),
354–55
Byzantine Empire, 143, 151
Capitulatio de partibus Saxoniae
(Ordinances concerning Saxony),
175
Celebremus karissimi, 305
central place(s), 126, 143, 151, 155,
178, 179
Ch’i (son of legendary first Hsia king),
375
Charlemagne, 175; campaign of,
against the pagan Saxons, 176
charm(s), charm magic, 204, 208,
226–227, 289–290, 292–294, 299,
302, 308–9, 330, 336
Charon’s obol, 289, 302, 305–6
China, 18, 271, 350, 364, 371, 372,
374–376
Christianization, 8, 90, 94, 99, 105,
143, 217–218, 244, 264, 305
Chronica Slavorum of Helmold of
Bosau, 181
I Chronicles. See under Bible passages.
Cian, 326–328, 330, 334, 335–336
Clermont runic casket (also known as
the Franks casket), 78, 152
cnuimh (‘worm’ in Irish, variant of
cruimh), 326, 330
Commentariorum in Hiezechielem of St.
Jerome, 256,
communication, 29, 38, 40, 42, 115;
between ‘this’ world and the
‘other’ world(s), 11; oral, 42, 44;
strategies, 17; with the dead, x
comparativism(s), 4–5, 10, 14, 341;
icongraphic method of, 70;
méthode comparative, vii; Mircea
Eliade’s views on, 4–5; and struc-
tural models as heuristic tools
for reconstructing traditions, 4

comparison(s), 3–19, 23, 54, 78; of
Baldr’s death and Iraj’s, 341–357;
of Balto-Finnic poetry and West
Germanic poetry, 225–226; of
Finnic and Nordic mythology,
192–219, 224–235; of Hawaiian
and Nordic mythology, 19–23;
of Ilmarinen and the Wayland
tradition, 232; of Old Uppsala and
West Slavic materials, 163–82;
of pictorial representations of
Volund, 155; of Vanir gods to
other gods, 115, 130; of volcanic
activity and Old Norse literature,
273–281; of ‘worms’, 334
composition-in-performance, 32
Conán (the son of the Liath Luachra),
326–329, 334–336
Conciliorum Oecumenicorum Decreta
(Decrees of the Ecumenical
Councils), 244
Concilium Germanicarum, 175
Concilium Turonense, 175
contextualization of performance
practices, 36
conversion. See Christianization
cosmic: birth, 348; egg, 371; elements,
168; hall, 182; knowledge, 230;
model, 182; pillar, 176–178; refer-
ences, 167; symbolism, 168, 173,
177, 180; travel, 204, 206; well,
174
creation myth(s). See myth(s).
cross(es), 66, 155, 193, 206, 213;
Halton and Leeds, 69; Kirk
Andreas, Isle of Man, 79, 81
cult, cultic, 7, 94, 217–218; activities,
166; feasting, 169, 179; figures,
89–90, 95, 97, 100–101, 103, 105;
functions, 172; hall(s), 172, 178;
houses (hof, h rgar), 143–148, 155,
177, 179, 182; image(s), 176; prac-
tices, 91, 94, 102; site(s), 166–167,
Index
169, 173, 175, 176, 178, 181–82;
spring(s), 178; tree(s), 176–178;
well(s), 178. See also ritual
cultural diffusion, 199–200, 215;
memory, 53; studies, 30
dainas: Latvian, 204, 209–210, 212, 214
Dala-Guðbrandr, 95
Dante Alighieri (d. 1321), 245
De Bello Gothico (Gothic War) of
Procopius, 150
De Lapidibus (On Stones) of Marbod of
Rennes, 307
dead, the, 14, 69, 144, 205, 234, 290,
291, 293–294, 299–300, 303,
305–310, 344, 345
decapitation, 303–4
Decreta. See Conciliorum
Oecumenicorum Decreta
Dejbjerg, Jutland, Denmark, 125
demon(s), 92–94, 97–98, 175, 275, 370
demon-king, 350
Denmark, Danish, 60–61, 71, 78,
90, 99, 116, 125, 129, 143, 149,
167, 172, 181, 302, 304, 307, 330,
332, 353
Derrida, Jacques, 54
descent, 21, 149, 263, 337, 369
Descriptio insularum aquilonis
(Description of the Islands of
the North), Book 4 of Gesta
Hammaburgensis, 164
(Deutero-)Isaiah. See under Bible
passages
devils. See demons
diachronism, 342, 357; diachronic and
synchronic approaches, 44–46
dialogic poems, 34, 126
Diarmaid, 324, 326–29, 334–36
diegetic level, 79; extradiegetic
narrator, 71; extra- and intradi-
egetic worlds, 67
Dievs (Latvian sky god), 210
diffusion, 29, 199–200, 215, 218
383
Index
Dinkard (Pahlavi Zoroastran text), 354
Dioscuri (twin brothers of Greco-
Roman mythology), 215–16
direct speech, 73–76
dísablót, 128
Dísarsalr, 128
discourse: as concept, 15, 23; reli-
gious, 6, 90, 94; meta-discourse,
54; Óðinn-discourse, 15–16;
textual discourse, 73; Þórr-
discourse, 15
Divina Commedi (Divine Comedy) of
Dante Alighieri, 245
draugadróttinn ‘Lord of Ghouls’, 292
drinking, ceremonial, 143, 171
dróttkvætt, 33, 280
earth-egg creation myth. See under
cosmic
earthquake(s), 254, 276
East Anglia, England, 140, 304
Ecclesia, 246
edda. See eddic poems and Snorra edda
eddic poems, 30, 31, 32–34, 40–41,
73, 120, 122, 130, 215, 225–26;
aesthetics of, 32; composition-in-
performance of, 32; dating of, 32;
improvisation of, 33; medieval
collection of (i.e., Codex Regius
of the Elder edda, Poetic edda),
33, 41, 44, 53–54, 69, 79, 118, 227,
230, 234, 253, 255, 365, 367, 368;
memorization of, 33; oral back-
ground of, 33; provenance of, 32.
See also titles of individual poems
Egill (Volund’s brother), 142, 148, 153
Egill Skalla-Grímsson, 227
Egils saga Skalla-Grímssonar, 227
Egyptians, 18, 306; Egyptian art,
frames on, 55; Egyptian litera-
ture, 72
einherjar (slain human heroes), 171
Eiríks saga rauða, 299
Eiríksmál, 126
384
ekphrasis, 40
Eldgjá, 270
Eliade, Mircea, 4–5, 9, 11, 23, 168
Elijah, 256
Ella (king of England), 333, 337
Elucidarius, 256
emergence myth. See under myth(s)
Enarrationes in Psalmos (Expositions on
the Psalms) of St. Augustine, 246
Endor, witch of, 303
Enlightenment, the, 91
Enoch, 256
Enuma Elis (Babylonian creation
myth), 371
epic(s): 200, 202, 228, 355; Estonian,
199; Finnish, 199, 224–25; heroic,
79, 374; Indian, 374; Persian, 341,
345, 352, 355
Epitome of Roman History of Florus,
294n11
estate(s), royal. See central place(s)
ethnopoetics, 34
euhemerism, 246
Everriculum fermenti veteris of Erik
Pontoppidan, 90
evolution of religion. See religion
Exodus. See under Bible passages
Eyjafjallajökull (volcano), 270
Eyrbyggja saga, 118, 120, 292
Eyvindr skáldaspillir Finnsson, 356
Fáfnir, 56, 64, 66–68
Fáfnismál, 127
famine, 171, 271–72
Feldber. See under sanctuary
Fenian cycle, 324
Feraydun, 341, 346, 350–53, 354, 357
Ferdowsi, Abolqasem, 341
Ferryman’s Fee, 290, 305–6, 308
fettering, 230, 353–55; of Loki and
Zaddak, 353–55
feud(s), 146, 348–50, 357
fian (band of heroes), 326, 328
figurative interpretation, 245

Finland, 151, 192, 199–200, 202–3, 205,
215, 223–27, 229–30, 232–35
Finnish Literature Society
(Suomalaisen Kirjallisuuden
Seura), 199
fire(s), 69, 73, 96, 99, 120, 126, 146,
172, 193–94, 230, 231, 254,
269–72, 275–77, 280, 283–84,
296–97, 328, 350, 365, 373
lnir 356
folk songs, 192, 199–205, 209–12, 215,
224–28, 230
folklore, 6, 30, 35–36, 217, 273
folktale(s), 7, 231
Fourth Lateran Council, 244
frame: as ‘non-physical boundary’,
54; as physical border (parergon),
54, 58
frame narrative, 54; open, 56, 63;
portal, 60–61; unframed, 58, 80
Franks casket. See Clermont runic
casket
Frazer, Sir James George, 5, 23, 125
Frederick II (emperor), 252
free-prose theory, 29, 31, 33
Freyfaxi (horse in Hrafnkels saga), 117
Freyja, 115, 118, 121, 122, 127, 140,
298; as blótgyðja (sacrificial
priestess), 117, 122
Freyr, 21, 94, 98, 115–27, 140, 165, 168,
170, 177, 234–35, 356; Freyr kings
as ‘peace kings’, 21; Freysgoðar
(Hrafnkell Hallfreðarson; Þórðr
Özurarson), 116
Frigg, 122, 127, 347
Frösön church, Jämtland (earlier
called Hoffs kirkio), 177–78
gallows, 295–97, 301; placement of,
296
Ganander, Christfrid, 224, 230–32
Gangleri (pseudonym for Gylfi,
Swedish king), 41–42, 253, 276
Index
Garz (temple site), 180
Gautreks saga, 296
Geertz, Clifford, 10
Geirrøðr, 231
Genesis. See under Bible passages
genetic comparativism. See compara-
tivism
Genette, Gérard, 71–72
Gennep, Arnold van, 125
Geometric Period. See Greek
Geometric period
geothermal activity, 269–70, 273–77,
281, 284
Gerðr, 126–27, 356
Gesta Danorum of Saxo Grammaticus,
30, 45, 113, 127, 298, 302, 309,
323, 341
gesta episcoporum (‘the deeds of
bishops’): genre of, 164
Gesta Hammaburgensis ecclesiae
pontificum (History of the
Archbishops of Hamburg-
Bremen) of Adam of Bremen,
128, 163–173; Leiden manuscript
(Cod. Voss. Lat. 4º 123), 164. See
also Adam of Bremen
gesture(s), 42; hand, 42–44; in Codex
Upsaliensis, 43–44
Getica of Jordanes, 150
ghouls, 292–93
Ginnungagap, 277–78, 280, 365–66
Gísla saga Súrssonar, 34, 113, 116
Glaðsheimr, 170
Glomac (possible sacrificial site), 181
goðar, 116–17; blótgoðar, 122
Goðormr (god of the Danes), 94
Gospel of Nichodemus (apocryphal
gospel), 248
Gotlandic picture stones. See under
runestones and picture stones
Göttweiger Trojanerkrieg, Der, 263
Grænlendinga saga, 299
385
Index
Gráinne (daughter of Cormac, the
high-king of Ireland), 324, 326,
329, 335
Grani (Sigurðr’s horse), 66, 68–69, 71
Greco-Roman philosophical tradition,
91
Greek Geometric period (ca. 900–700
BCE), 56
Gregory I (pope, also known as ‘the
Great’), 175, 250–51
Gregory IX (pope), 244
Grettis saga Ásmundarsonar, 298
Gríma, 331
Grímnismál, 73, 117, 120, 126, 127,
170–71, 173, 197, 215, 281–82,
297, 368
Grógaldr, 291, 298
Groß Raden (possible sanctuary site),
180
Gudme, Fyn, Denmark, 172
Gudmund (Norwegian idol), 89–90,
104
u r narhv t, 75–76
Guðrúnarkviða I, 69, 75
guldgubber, 70
Gunnarr Gjúkason, 338; in the snake
pit, 140
Gunnarr helmingr, 98
Gunnars þáttr helmings, 21, 115, 117,
126, 127
Guta saga, 124
Gutzkow (temple site), 180
Gylfaginning, 42, 102, 103, 127, 150,
170–71, 173, 194, 197, 232, 234,
281–82, 284, 291, 341
Hadingus, 15–16, 298
Haftv d 329 30 334 336 37
hagiographic texts, 92, 94–95, 101
Haithabu (also Hedeby), 18
Hákon Hákonarson (king), 257
Hákon Sigurðarson (earl, often
referred to as Jarl Hákon), 99–100
Hákonar saga góða, 119
386
Hákonarmál, 126
Háleygjatal of E vindr sk ldaspillir
Finnsson, 356
Hálfs saga ok Hálfsrekka, 296
Hallb rn hali (poet) 300
Hallmundarkviða, 270, 273, 280–81, 283
Hamðismál, 75
Hár, 41–42, 232, 253, 276, 277
Haraldr hárfagri (king), 151
Haralds Biezais, 209, 211
Harthgrepa, 298–99, 309
Hatti texts, 375
haugbúi, haugbúar ‘mound-dweller(s)’,
297–98, 300–301, 309
Hauks þáttr Hábrókar, 125
Hauksbók, 116
Hávamál, 74, 174, 289, 291, 294–97,
299, 302, 303, 307–10
Hawaii, 19; traditional Hawaiian
society, 19–22
Hebrew Bible, 72, 370
Hegge, Norway: one-eyed figure from
church in, 300
Heimdallr, 35, 226
Heimskringla. See individual saga titles
Hekla, 270–71, 279
Helgakviða Hjörvarðssonar, 118
Helgakviða Hundingsbana I, 74, 75
Helgö, Lake Mälaren, Sweden, 148,
151, 172, 178
Helmold of Bosau (author of Chronica
Slavorum), 180–81
Hephaistos (Greek god), 152
Herder, Johann Gottfried von, 199,
224
Hermóðr, 248
Hermóðr’s Helreið, 248
hero, 54, 67, 69, 202–5, 209, 227, 301,
324–26, 337, 355; astral hero, 214;
culture hero, 204
heroic legend, 53, 54, 56, 78, 80;
heroic narrative, 53–54, 68,
76–77, 79; ‘heroic Edda’, 79;

Hervarar saga ok Heiðreks, 118, 177
Hevaa, Kaprio, Ingria, 201
hierophany, 5
Historia de Preliis Alexandri Magni
(History of the Battles of
Alexander the Great) of Leo
Neapolitaniensis, 256, 257
Historia Scholastica of Peter Comestor,
256
history of religions, 4–5, 10, 13
Hittite myths, 375
H r 229 347 350 353 54 356 as
a e ish reference 248 H r/
Høtherus, 348
Hœnir, 291
h rgar, 94, 121–22
hofeiðr’ ‘hof-oath’, 119
hofgyðjur, 122; Þuriðr ‘hofgyðja’,
116–17; Steinvör ‘hofgyðja’, 117
Hólar, Iceland, 39
horse(s), 103, 117–18, 120, 166, 196,
211, 212, 215, 260, 293; in relation
to the Vanir, 117; Freyfaxi, 117
Hrafnkell Hallfreðarson (‘Freysgoði’),
116
Hrafnkels saga Freysgoða, 113, 116–17,
118
Husaby, Västergötland, Sweden, 305
Hushang (legendary king in the
Shahnameh), 346
Hvergelmir, 173–74, 276–77, 281–83
Hymiskviða, 74, 102, 281
Hyndluljóð, 118, 121–22, 291, 298
Iceland, 7, 39, 43, 78, 100, 102, 103,
116, 118, 122, 125, 130, 155,
168, 218, 225, 227, 234, 250,
264, 269–84, 295, 308, 349, 363,
374, Icelanders, 115–119, 284,
Icelandic chieftain, 30; Icelandic
oral tradition, 113; Icelandic
place names, 117, 119; Icelandic
sagas (See sagas); Icelandic settle-
ment, 7, 116, 119, 125, 272, 344;
Index
Icelandic skalds, 30, 195
iconographic methods, 53, 70, 79
iconography, Christian, 303; rune-
stone, 63
idols(s), 89–101, 103–5, 171, 180; idol-
atry, 91–95, 101, 104
Illerup Ådal, Jutland, Denmark, 18
Ilmarinen (god of the heavens), 202,
228, 231–32, 235
image(s), 38, 40–42, 45, 56, 90–91,
92, 98, 100, 124, 125, 171, 174,
176, 192, 193–94, 196–98, 200,
203, 205–6, 208–9, 213–17, 246,
262–64, 270, 273–74, 276–84, 289,
295, 297, 300, 302–3, 333
India, 35, 257, 364, 369, 374, 375;
Indian hymn, 368; Indian Yama,
370
Indiculus superstitionum et paganiarum
(Index of Superstitions and
Pagan Practices), 175
Indo-Europeans, 4, 14, 202, 227,
324, 342, 344, 347, 353, 356–57,
363–64, 368, 370, 372, 374, 375,
376–77
Ingi Steinkelsson (Swedish king), 177
initiation, 151, 152, 155, 296
inquit, 73, 75, 76
Iraj (legendary character in the
Shahnameh), 341, 346, 350–52, 355
Iran, 369
Ireland, 324, 326
Irish analogs, 331; derbfine, 344; tradi-
tion, 324, 325–26, 335; cnuimh/
cruimh, 330
Irminsul, 176, 178
Isaiah, (Deutero-)Isaiah. See under
Bible passages.
Isis (Egyptian goddess), 218
Isle of Man. See Man, Isle of
Ívarr inn beinlaussi, 332–33
Jacobus de Voragine, 304
Jafnhár, 41, 42, 102
387
Index
Jamshid (legendary king), 346, 350,
352–53, 355
Järfälla, Sweden, 304
Järrestad, Scania, 179
Jeremiah. See under Bible passages
Jews, 243–64; blood libel against,
244; gyðingr, 247; Judaism and
anti-Judaism, 244–47, 263; júði,
247; massacres of, 244; pogroms
against, 244; ‘Red Jews’, 253–63;
special clothing or badges, 244;
‘Synogaga’ as blind, 248
Jokkmokk, Sweden, 207
Jóns saga ins helga, 39
Jordanes, 150
tunn, tnar ‘giant(s)’, 229, 233, 252,
277, 280, 282–84, 366
Joukavainen (giant), 230–31
Judaism. See Jews
Judei Nostri (Anglo-Norman text), 252
Jüngere Titurel, Der of Albrecht von
Scharfenburg, 256
Kalevala, Old (Kalevala taikka wanhoja
karjalan runoja suomen muinosista
ajoista), 227–28
Kalevala, 192–93, 199, 224, 228–34;
meter, 192
Kalevipoeg, 199
Kárr inn gamli (mound-dweller), 298
Káruljóð, 74
Kashmir, 369–70
Katla (volcano), 271–73
Kayumars, 346
kefli ‘rune stick’, 299, 302, 308, 309
Kiimasjärvi, 204
Kingu (Mesopotamian god), 371
Kinsarvik Church, Norway: antepen-
dium, 248–49
Kirk Andreas cross fragments, 79–80
Kjalnesinga saga, 120
Klamath tribe, 274
Konung Alexander, 257–61
Konungs skuggsjá, 257, 276, 279
388
Kráka (Crow), 325, 331–33, 337
Kristnitökuhraun, 273
Ku (Hawaiian god), 20–21
Kuhn, Thomas, 9
Kumlbúa þáttr, 298
Kun (of Hsia dynasty), 375
Kuutar, moon as a female deity in
some Balto-Finnic songs, 204
Kvikkjokk, Sweden, 207
Laki (volcano), 270, 271–72, 279
Lamprecht der Pfaffe, 256
landnám (settlement period), 113, 218,
271–72, 275
Landnámabók, 113, 116–18, 125, 130,
271, 275
landscape(s), 113, 122–26, 149, 172,
210, 270–71; as expressions of
cosmology, 167, 169
lapidary tradition, 307–8
Lateran Council, Fourth. See Fourth
Lateran Council
Latvia, x, 181, 192, 213; dainas
(see under dainas); Latvian
tradition(s), 192, 194, 197, 204,
209–14
lava, 270–84
laws, 79, 169, 244, 260, 275, 304,
308; Icelandic, Grágás, 295–96;
Icelandic, Úlfljótslög (Law of
Úlfljótr), 119–20; Langobardic,
Leges Langobardorum (Lombard
Laws), 175; Norwegian,
Ei sifa ingsl g: Kristinn r ttr hinn
forni (Law of Eiðsivaþing: Older
Christian Law), 100; Norwegian,
Frosta ingsl g (Law of Frostaþing),
308; Norwegian, Gulaþingslög
(Law of Gulaþing), 124; Swedish,
Upplandslagen (Law of Uppland),
128; Swedish, Västgötalagen
(Westgötha laws), viii
law-speaker(s), 43
Leach, Edmund, 10

Legenda aurea of Jacobus de Voragine,
304
Legendary Saga of St Óláfr, 95
Leges Langobardorum. See under Laws:
Langobardic
Lévi-Strauss, Claude, 10–11, 14
Liber Miraculorum (Book of Miracles)
of Herbert of Clairvaux, 273
lightning, 90, 165, 271
líkneski ‘likeness’, 90–91, 98
Líkneskjusmíð, 90
literacy, xi, 30–46, 199; alphabetic,
40, 45
Liutprand (king), 175
Liutprandi Leges. See under Laws:
Langobardic
ljóð ‘charm’, 290
ljóðaháttr meter, 34, 116
Ljóðatal, 289
Lokasenna, 73, 253, 264, 347
Loki, 35, 229, 243, 253–55, 261–62, 276,
347, 349–50, 353–55; represented
as a Jew, 248–53
Lönnrot, Elias, 192, 199, 224–25, 227,
233
Lono (Hawaiian god), 20–21
Lord, Albert B., 32
Luakini ritual cycle, 20–21
Lucius Annaeus Florus. See Epitome of
Roman History
lyng-ormr ‘heather-snake’, 330
Lytir, 99, 125
magic, 11–12, 15, 125, 127, 208, 224,
252, 290, 292–93, 298–99, 307–10,
326, 331, 350, 370, 375. See also
charm(s), charm magic
magician(s), 12, 299, 309, 352
Magnúss saga berfœtts, 296
Makahiki ritual cycle, 20–21
Man, Isle of, 67, 79–80; Manx carving,
68
Index
Mandi (Nuristani god), 370
manor(s), manorial residence(s). See
central place(s)
Manuchehr (legendary king in the
Shahnameh), 351–53, 355
manuscript(s), medieval, 32, 35,
41, 164, 234; art, 63; as arenas
for communication, 40, 44;
Carolingian, 63; Ottonian, 63;
production of in Sweden, 78;
verbal and visual representation
in, 43
manuscript(s), individual: AM 242
fol., Codex Wormianus (Prose
edda), 246–48; AM 748 4to
Fragments of the Elder and the
Younger Edda, 234; Cod. Voss.
Lat. 4º 123, Leiden manuscript
of Gesta Hammaburgensis ecclesiae
pontificum of Adam of Bremen,
164; DG 11 4to Codex Upsaliensis
(Prose edda), 42–44; Ny. kgl.
Samling 66, 8vo Gamle danske urte-
bøger, stenbøger og kogebøger, 307;
Ups C 528, Codex Bildstenianus
(Ett fornsvenskt legendarium), 304;
*Vatnshyrna manuscript, 280
Maori traditions, 372–73
Marbod, Bishop of Rennes, 307
Marcarius and the Magicians, Saul and
the Witch of Endor of Ælfric, 303
Margery Kempe, 245
Maríu saga, 100, 248
Mark. See under Bible passages
Matthew. See under Bible passages
medium, media, xvi, 30, 34, 39, 40–45,
53, 56, 68, 71–78, 81, 274; differ-
ences in, 34, 44–45, 78; and
mediation, 40, 53, 68; ‘medium
theory’, 53, 54, 76, 81; strategies,
42–43; studies, 30
389
Index
memory, 38, 66, 81, 343; collective,
45; communicative, 130, 344;
cultural, 53; function of in oral
and written cultures, 38; and
image(s), 38; toast ‘minni’, 120
Merovingian France, 147–48, 151, 172,
177–78, 181
Messuskýringar (commentaries on the
symbolism of liturgy), 247
metalepsis, 57, 71–72
Metamorphoses of Ovid, 276
Midas (king), and the Donkey’s Ears,
327
Middle East, 271, 324, 329
Midgard serpent (Old Norse
Miðgarðsormr), 140, 254
Mikael Agricola (‘father of Finnish
literature’), 223–32
Mímir/Mímr/Mími, 148, 235, 291–92,
303
modeling: as external memory
device, 343; heuristic value of,
343–57
models: scholarly or scientific, 7–9
M kkurk lfi 103 4 245
Molda-Gnúpr, 271
mortuary practices and beliefs, 294,
302–3
Moses, 168, 245
mound dweller(s). See haugúi, haug-
búar
Mount Mazama, 274, 281
Mount Sinai, 168
multiformity, 324
Mundilfœri, 195–96
murder, 91, 341, 350–51; -and-revenge
theme, 344–48, 350–53, 354–57;
triad, 343, 347; weapon, 329
Muspell, Muspellzheimr, 194, 196,
243, 253–56, 262–64, 277, 301,
366–67
myth(s): of Adam and Eve, xiv,
101, 245; of Cain and Abel,
390
370; creation, 269–70, 276–77,
280–82, 284, 363–77; of Ho-wori
and Ho-deri, 370–71; of Jacob
and Esau, 370; mythic, 191–219;
Nordic solar, x, 203–4, 212–16;
performance and non-verbal
aspects of, 45–46; of primor-
dial giant being dismembered,
196–97, 282, 369–75; of sun as
bird-egg, 200–202, 215, 230–31,
371, 373, 376; of sun as deified
earthling consigned to the sky,
191; of sun as female, 191, 195,
198, 204, 209, 212, 214; of sun as
unpersonified flame or disk, 191,
193, 196, 198, 213, 217; of sun
perennially chased by wolves,
191; of sun’s movement in Bronze
Age, 215; Snorri’s terms for, 193;
verbal dimension of, 30
myth-ritual configurations of temple,
tree, and well, 169
mythic oaks, 181, 204
mythological relationship, genetic, 4,
14, 16, 23, 323, 342
mythologies: Austric, 371, 373–74;
Austro-Thai, 371; Balto-Finnic,
205, 224–25, 234–35; Chinese,
4, 364, 375; Finnish, x, 223,
226, 228, 232; Greek, 274, 303;
Hawaiian, 19–22; Hittite, 104,
375; Indian, 372, 374–75; Indo-
European, xv, 14, 104, 357, 377;
Indo-Iranian, 364, 369; Iranian, x,
342; Japanese, 373; Laurasian, 4,
14, 363–64; Maori, 372; Nuristani,
369–70; Roman, 153
narratology, 71; narratological levels,
relationship between, 79
necromancy (necromantia, nás orð
‘corpse-words’), 290–91, 293, 309;
confusion with nigromantia, 290
Neoplatonism, 269, 282, 284;

Neoplatonic dualism, 277
New Philology, 40
Niðungr (king; also Niðhad), 148, 153
Niflheimr, 276–77, 281–82
N r r 115 16 119 120 23 126 and
Skaði, now-lost ljóðaháttr poem
about, 116
noose, 289–90, 296
Nordic-Baltic peoples, intercultural
relations of, 217
Norway, 56, 68, 89–90, 94, 98, 113, 115,
119, 125, 130, 147, 149, 248–49,
278, 300–302, 308, 356
Nuori-Juokawainen, 230
Nuristan, 369
oath(s), 96, 100–101, 118–20; hofeiðr,
119; lýrittareiðr, 100–101;
sónargöltr, 118
Oddrúnargrátr, 752
Odensbrunn (Óðinn’s well), Uppsala,
Tuna in Vendel (also Onsbrönn),
175
Odin. See Óðinn
Óðinn, 11–15, 97, 115, 118, 122–23,
127, 130, 232–33, 235, 247, 282,
347–50, 357, 369; cognomena
for (e.g., hangatýr, hangaguð,
hangadróttinn, heimþinguðr
hanga), 299–300; and creation,
196–97, 231; and Germanic
Mercury-Wodan, 15; as ‘god
of the Saxons’, 94; idol/image
of depicted, 140–41, 155, 165,
170–71, 193; as ‘Lord of Ghouls’,
293–98; and magic, 289–310;
as master of verse, 230; and
Mímis brunnr (Mímir’s well),
174, 291–92; ‘Óðinn-discourse’,
15–16; ‘Óðinn kings’ as ‘war
kings’, 21; as progenitor of
kings and chieftains, 21, 234;
and Rindr, 356; self-sacrifice on
Yggdrasill, 21–22, 102, 368; as
Index
shaman, 11–15; and Väinämöinen
compared, 230–31; with Þórr and
Týr as a divine trilogy, 228–29
Ögmundar þáttr dytts ok Gunnars helm-
ings, 21, 98, 115, 117, 126
Oisín (son of Fionn), 327–28, 335
Ólafr Geirstaðaálfr (king), 123
Óláfr Tryggvason (missionary king of
Norway), 97–99, 124
Óláfr Haraldsson (saint and king of
Norway), 94–95
Ólafs saga helga, 115, 122, 128
Ólafs saga Tryggvasonar en mesta, 117,
123, 124
Ólafs þáttr Geirstaðaálfs, 123
Old Icelandic Homily Book, 248–49, 252
Old Kalevala. See Kalevala, Old
Olof Skötkonung (Swedish king), 305
oral: art forms, 31; background of
sagas and poems, 31, 33, 44;
-derived texts, 32–33, 35; litera-
ture, 34, 207; poetry, 33, 76, 227;
‘remediation’ of oral poetry in
written medium, 76–78; tradi-
tion, 29, 31, 32, 114, 115, 120,
122–23, 125, 129–30, 224, 227,
230, 233, 325
orality and literacy debate, 29–45
ormr, Old Norse, ‘snake’, ‘dragon’
(cognate with Irish cnuimh/
cruimh, Persian kerm, and English
worm), 330
Oseberg, Norway, 125, 130
Othinus, 348–50, 356. See also Óðinn
Ovid. See Metamorphoses
pagan revival: among the Wends
(1134), 180
Päivätär (sun as a female deity in
some Balto-Finnic songs), 204–5
Päivölä songs, 204
Paltamo, Finland, 202
Pangu (P’an ku), 363–64, 371, 374
Parchim (possible sanctuary site), 180
391
Index
Parry, Milman, 32
Passio Sancti Eadmundi of Abbo of
Fleury, 304–5
performance, 29–30, 32, 34–36, 54, 68,
76, 226, 309; of myth, 38–45, 126.
See also under myth(s)
performance practices, conxtextual-
ization of. See contextualization
of performance practices
Persia, 337, 350–51. See also Iran
petroglyph(s): Bronze Age, 215
philology, 30, 36–37
Phoenicians, 152, 306
picture stones. See runestones and
picture stones
place names, 115–19, 124, 172, 216.
See also individual toponyms
Poetic Edda. See eddic poems; and
names of individual poems
Polynesian traditions, 377
pre-Christian: Scandinavia, 14–16,
22–23, 29, 39, 95, 127, 129, 163,
168, 176–77, 180–81, 192, 293;
Baltic mythology, 209; cultic
practices, 102, 115; deities, 102;
Icelanders, 273; oral formula,
102; Sámi beliefs, 206–7
Prester John, 257
primordial giant: emerging from
chaos ( ir Puru a) 376
emerging from primordial egg
(Polynesia/China), 376; of stone,
375–76; universe created from
body of slain (motif A642),
196–97, 282, 369–75
processional roads, 125–26, 130, 179
Procopius, 150
prophecy, 70, 92, 102–3, 149, 290, 299,
303; summoned, prophesying
dead (motif M301.14), 293, 299
Prose Edda. See Snorra edda
protagonist(s), 34, 76, 331, 344, 348,
392
352–53
Psalms. See under Bible passages
Puru a 363 65 371 374 376 77
Radogosc (temple site), 180
agnar k 197 212 227
Ragnarr loðbrók, 99, 103, 323–25,
330–38
Ragnars kvæði (Faroese ballad), 323
Ragnars saga loðbrókar, 99, 323, 330
k asa (de on) 370
Ralsiek (possible sanctuary site), 180
Ramsund. See under runestones and
picture stones
Randalín, 325, 331, 333–34, 337–38
reception of materials, 37, 39, 205,
234
reconstructing myths and religions,
xv, 3–11, 15–17, 23, 35–36, 191,
364
Red Jews, 252–63; identified with
the Four Horsemen of the
Apocalypse, 255–56; identified
with Gog and Magog, 255; identi-
fied with the Lost Ten Tribes of
Israel, 255;
religion(s), 4–23, 30, 79, 113, 115, 126,
129–30, 166–69, 177, 180, 225,
227, 244–45, 291, 304; ‘archaic’,
18; ‘axial’, 18; ‘different’, 6; Old
Norse, 4–7, 9, 11, 16–17, 23, 180;
Robert Bellah on evolution of,
17–22; ‘tribal’, 18
Remus, 153, 353, 370, 374
renewal of ritual structures. See under
ritual structures
gveda, 364, 368–69, 375
Richard the Lionheart (king), 244
riddle(s), 224, 332, 349
Rígsþula, 21
Rindr/Rinda, 233, 348–349, 356
ritual(s), 7, 9–12, 15, 17, 19–22, 40,
113, 118–22, 125–30, 143–47,

152, 155, 166, 169, 171–72, 175,
178–82, 206–10, 214, 216–18, 247,
293–97, 306, 308, 373–75; cycles,
20; landscapes, 169; pagan, 7, 175
ritual structures: renewal of, 146–47
Robert Grosseteste (fl. 1220s), 245,
252
Romans (book of the Bible). See under
Bible passages
Romulus, 153, 353, 370
Rösaring, Uppland, Sweden, 125
royal burial(s), 129, 166, 177; court,
148; dynasties, 153, 218, 323, 355;
ideology, 234, 347; lineage, 20,
140, 149, 151–52, 217, 234, 328,
347, 353; manor, 151, 178
Rudolf of Fulda, 176
runestones and picture stones, 53–81,
139–40, 154–55, 193, 212, 215–16,
297; Denmark, Ålum (Ålum 3, DR
96), 58; Denmark, Hunnestad 3
(DR 284), 60; Denmark, Jelling 2
(Dr 42), 61, 78; Norway, Alstad,
59, 65; Norway, Dynna, 59, 65;
Norway, Eggja, 59; Norway, Vang,
59; Sweden, Altuna (U 1161),
58, 139; Sweden, Ardre VIII,
154; Sweden, Årsunda (Gs 9),
139; Sweden, Drävle (U 1163),
140; Sweden, Gök (Sö 327), 53,
59, 66–71, 78–81, 139; Sweden,
Krogsta (U 1125), 58; Sweden,
Lärbro Stora Hammars I stone,
55, 297, 300; Sweden, Ledberg
(Ög 181), 140; Sweden, Möjbro (U
877), 58; Sweden, Ockelbo (Gs 19),
139–40; Sweden, Österfärnebo
(Gs 2), 139; Sweden, Prästgården
(U 855), 64; Sweden, Ramsund
(Sö 101), 53, 59, 65–71, 78, 80,
139; Sweden, Sanda stone, 216;
Sweden, Stora Runhällen (U
Index
1164), 62, 63; Sweden, Tjängvide I
(G 110), 140; Sweden, Västerljung
(Sö 40), 140; Sweden, Vittinge (U
1175), 139
sacrifice, 93, 97–103, 118, 120, 122–24,
127–28. See also blót (sacrifice)
Sæmingr (first of the Hlaðajarl line of
earls in Norway), 356
Saga Heiðreks konungs ins vitra. See
Heiðreks saga
sagas, 30–31, 33, 36–37, 95, 114, 117,
120, 122, 130, 275; fornaldars gur,
30, 80. See also titles of individual
sagas
saint(s): cephalophoric, 303, 308;
decapitated, 303; severed head of,
speaks so that searchers can find
it (motif V229.25), 304–5; statues
of, 90, 105
saints (individual): Saint Augustine,
246, 252; Saint Boniface, 175;
Saint Denis, 304; Saint Edmund,
304–5; Saint Erik, 178; Saint
Jerome, 247; Saint John the
Baptist, 303, 305; Saint Jón of
Hólar, 90; Saint Óláfr, 94–96; Saint
Sigfrid, 305
Salm, 346, 350–52, 355
Sámi (also Saami), x, 4, 11, 15,
149–51, 102, 191–92, 197, 205–9,
211, 214–18, 224, 376; ethnic
markers of, 149; noaidi (shaman),
206; reputation as smiths, 150;
shamanic drums, 206; as skrid-
fenni, 150
I Samuel. See under Bible passages
sanctuaries, possible Slavic sites:
Feldber, 180; Groß Raden, 180;
Parchim, 180; Ralsiek, 180; Wolin,
180; Wroklaw, 180
Sanskrit, 342, 364
Saul and the Witch of Endor, 303
393
Index
Saxo Grammaticus, 15, 31, 127–30,
279, 291, 296, 298–300, 303, 308,
323, 341, 348–50, 353–56
Schweindorf, East Frisia, 152
sculpture, 56, 63, 67, 71, 90, 141
seiðr, 114, 122
Sgáthán, 327, 335–36
Shahnameh (Book of Kings) of
Ferdowsi, 324, 329–30, 324, 326,
337, 341, 345–46, 350–55
shamanism, 11–15, 192, 223, 234, 368
Shingu (Kii Peninsula), 375
Sictona. See Sigtuna
Sigrdrífumál, 127, 291
Sigtuna (Sictona), 78, 164–65, 167
Sigurðarkviða in skamma, 75
Sigurðr Fáfnisbani, 54, 67–71, 75–81
Sigurðr Hlaðajarl, 119
Sigyn, 253–54, 276
singing contest, 230
Skaði, 116, 121, 253–54, 356
Skáldatal, 43
skald(s), 6, 43–44, 100, 195, 232, 234,
300
skaldic poetry, 30, 33–35, 40, 76, 78,
104, 126, 234
Skáldskaparmál, 103, 127, 193–95, 234
Skedemosse, Öland, Sweden, 118
Skírnismál, 73, 116, 126–27, 211, 356
Sk ld god of the Scanians 94
Skrýmir, 232
Sleipnir, 140
Snorra edda (Snorri’s Edda. Also
called The Younger Edda and The
Prose Edda), 30–31, 42, 44, 75,
104, 244–45, 248, 253, 257, 261,
263–64, 269, 273, 276–77, 280,
281. See also Gylfaginning and
Skáldskaparmál
394
Snorri Sturluson, 30, 31, 45, 113–15,
122–23, 126–30, 151, 170–74,
192–98, 218, 243–57, 261–64,
269–70, 272, 276–77, 281–84, 342,
348–51, 356
Soikkola, Finland, 203
solar myths. See myth(s).
Solomon, Wisdom of. See under Bible
passages
Sonatorrek, 227
song traditions: Balto-Finnic,
199–200, 202; Karelian, 202;
Latvian, 194, 209; Russian
Orthodox, 205; Scandinavian
ballad, 192, 200
soul traveling, 14
source(s): archaeological, 6, 95, 114,
122, 127–30, 95, 139–50, 169,
172, 177–82, 215–18, 226, 273–74,
280, 289, 294–95, 302–6; -critical
perspective, xv, 3, 6, 16, 23, 33;
‘indigenous’ vs ‘foreign’, 6–7;
textual, 29, 70, 164, 302. See also
titles of individual works
Speculum lapidum (The Mirror of
Stones) of Camillus Leonardi, 307
Spitiiura, 369–70
Starcatherus, 21
Steinvör ‘hofgyðja’, 117
Stjórn, 101, 264
Sturlunga saga, 115
Styrmir Kárason (prior of the
Augustinian house of Viðey), 94
sun. See myth(s)
Suomen Kansan Vanhat Runot (Ancient
Songs of the Finnish People), 199,
224
Surtr, 248, 254, 272, 282–83
Sutton Hoo, East Anglia: boat burial,
140; helmet, 140
Sveinn Ástriðarson, Danish king, 167

Sveins þáttr ok Finns, 95
Sv l 197 98
Sweden, 65–67, 77–79, 98, 113–118,
123–30, 139–41, 144, 148–51, 155,
172, 177–79, 226, 302, 348
symbolism, 10, 168, 173, 177, 180–82,
247
Synagoga, 248–49
Szczecin (temple site), 180
Ta’aroa (Tahiti creator god), 371, 373
Tacitus, Cornelius (author of Germania),
21, 97, 118, 124, 294, 369
Tågaberg, Scania, 304
Tähemõrsja (The Star Bride), 205, 209
Tahmures, 346, 353
Talmud, 244
Tantalos, 33, 46
Telemark, Norway, 90, 68
temple(s), 20, 96–99, 102, 117–18,
144, 147, 150, 153, 163–73, 180;
literary evidence for pre-Chris-
tian Slavic, 180; and sacrifices at
Uppsala as described by Adam of
Bremen, 163–73; Slavic configu-
rations of temple, tree, and well,
180. See also names of individual
Slavic temple sites
tephra, 271, 275, 281
Teutoburg forest, 293–94
text-context, 35–38; -image rela-
tionships, 42; textualization
(Verschriftlichung), 78–79
thick description, 10, 34
Thietmar of Merseburg (author of
Chronik), 181
Tikopia, 19
Tissø, Zealand, Denmark, 178–79
tongue, 294, 299–302, 305–10; ‘objects’
(See Charon’s obol)
topography, cultic, 163–82
topos, topoi, 78, 163, 167, 181, 245, 294
Torslunda, Öland, 140
Index
Torsmyra, ‘bog dedicated to the god
Þórr’, 179
Tóruigheacht Dhiarmada agus Ghráinne
(Pursuit of Diarmaid and
Gráinne), 324
Translatio S. Alexandri (Transfer of [the
Relics of] St. Alexander) of Rudolf
of Fulda, 176
transmission: of myths and narra-
tives, 29, 37, 39–40, 45, 54, 68,
250, 257, 324, 332, 342; oral, 76;
written, 68; written and oral, 73
treasure, 275–76, 331; buried, 275;
motif, 68–69
tree(s), 70, 94, 101, 163–82, 203–4, 207,
211, 216, 251, 289–97, 326, 329,
343, 368–69
trémaðr ‘tree-man’, 91, 99, 332, 337
treuddar, triangular-shaped stone
settings, 178
Triglav temple at Szczecin. See
Szczecin, temple(s)
tripartite structure, Dumézilian, 14,
343, 365
Troy, 42
Trundholm sun chariot, 196, 215
Tu Shan (Chinese legendary figure),
375
Tur (Iranian legendary figure), 346,
350–52, 355
typological comparativism. See under
comparativism(s)
Týr, 178, 228, 232; hand of, in Fenrir’s
mouth, 140
Ukko (god of thunder and/or the
sky), 202, 232
Ullikummi (giant of stone), 104, 375
universe: created from body of slain
giant (motif A642). See primor-
dial giant
Upelluri (primordial stone giant), 375
Uppåkra, Scania, 139–49, 154–55
395
Index

Uppsala, 21, 122–25, 127, 129–30, 149, vermin (including worms, small
151, 163–82, 207, 234, 297, 356, serpents, and maggots), 60, 61,
as cultic center, 21, 122, 124, 125, 90, 216, 324–37, 372
127, 129–30, 164–82, 234, 297, Viaticum, 306–8
356; as economic and political Viðarr, 140
center, 123, 128, 151, 234 Víga-Glúms saga, 116, 118
Urðr, well of (Urðar brunnr), 164, 167, Víkarr, 296
174, 368 Vili, 196, 347, 367
Útgarðar, 232 Virgil, 245
Vaðgelmir, 283 Virgin Mary, the, 90, 204, 212
Vafþrúðnismál, 74, 120, 126, 230, 231, Vita Anskarii auctore Rimberto (Life of
281–84 St. Ansgar of Rimbert), 181
Väinämöinen (god of the waters), Vita Prieflingensis (Prüfening Life), 180
202–3, 227–28, 230–35, itast ( helu ) iver 370
valgaldr ‘corpse-magic’, 293, 309 volcanic activity, volcanism, 269–84;
alh ll 69 163 167 170 74 234 298 Icelandic types, 270
Váli, 253–54, 261, 348–50, 355 Völsunga saga (also lsunga saga),
valkyrjur (valkyries), 171, 232 67–69, 332, 338
Vanir deities, 14, 113–30, 291; and the lsungakvi a, 74
álfar, 117, 124; association with olund (also elent lundr
Uppland, Sweden; and female lundr a land land) 69
ritual specialists, 116–17; inces- 74–75, 139–55, 232
tuous activities of the Vanir, 129; lundarkvi a, 74, 75, 139, 141–42,
and the landscape, 124; ‘obituary’ 149, 151, 154–55, 232
by R. Simek, 113; ‘otherness’ of, lundr lundr. See Volund
114; and place names, 116; ritual volundu, Anglo-Frisian runic inscrip-
activities connected to, 118–19, tion, 152
130 lusp , 74, 121–22, 126, 150, 174, 195,
Vápnfirðinga saga, 117 225, 227, 231, 244, 255, 261–64,
Varuna, Vedic, 15 272–73, 282, 291, 298, 353, 365–67
Varus (Roman general), 18 v lva ‘seeress’, 293, 298, 309
Vatnajökull, 271 wagons, 114, 212; journeys by, and
Växjö, Småland, Sweden, 305 their connections to the Vanir,
Vé, 196, 347, 367 125
Velent. See Volund Wayland. See Volund
Venerable Bede, the, 8 land. See Volund
vengeance, 253, 341, 351. See also well(s), 163, 167, 173–76, 178–80, 182.
avenger See also Óðinn: Mímis brunnr; Urðr,
verbal aspects, 30, 34, 42, 79, 227, 231, well of
234; and visual representations Widukind of Corvey, 176
in manuscripts, complementarity Wielent. See Volund
of, 43 William of Auvergne (fl. 1228), 245

396
 Index

Wisdom of Solomon. See under Bible Þorsteins þáttr bœjarmagns, 281

passages Þorsteins þáttr uxafóts, 298, 301–2, 309
witch of Endor, 290, 303 Þrándheimr, 117–19, 123–24
Wolgast (temple site), 180 Þriði, 41, 42, 253
Wolin (sanctuary/temple site), 180 Þrúðgelmir, 283
worldview, 10; Christian, 217; pagan, Þrymskviða, 74, 127, 226
6–7, 39, 115, 274, 284; religious, 7; Þuriðr ‘hofgyðja’, 116–17
Slavic, 181
Wroklaw (possible sanctuary site),
180
Yama (Vedic mythic figure), 346, 356,
369–71
Yggdrasill, 163, 167, 173–74, 178, 368
Yima (Iranian mythic figure), 369–71
Ymir, 197, 282, 284, 364–77
Ynglinga saga, 113, 117, 122–23,
127–29, 150–51, 230, 291–92, 300,
347, 356
Ynglings, 168
Younger Edda, the. See Snorra edda
Yü (first king of the Hsia dynasty),
375
Zahhak (Iranian legendary figure),
346, 350, 352–55
Þiðreks saga af Bern, 142
Þjazi, 232
Þóra, 330–31, 333–34
Þórðr gellir, 344–45
Þórðr Özurarson, as ‘Freysgoðar’, 116
Þorgarðr (wooden man), 99–100
orger r H rgabr r 100
Þorleifr jarlsskáld, 100, 300
Þorleifs þáttr jarlsskálds, 99, 300
Þórr, 15, 90, 94–99, 103–104, 114, 115,
116, 118, 119, 122, 128, 130, 139,
165, 170, 179, 193, 228, 231–32,
235, 242, 348–49, 376; as god of
the Englishmen, 94; and Hrugnir,
103; idol of, 90, 95–99, 165, 170;
and Ilmarinen, 228, 231–34; and
the Miðgarðsormr, 76, 140; and
M llnir 95 232

397