Gods and Humans in Medieval Scandinavia: Retying the Bonds (Cambridge Studies in Medieval Literature, Series Number 103)

The coming of Christianity to Northern Europe resulted in profound cultural changes. In the course of a few generations, new answers were given to fundamental existential questions and older notions were invalidated. Jonas Wellendorf's study, the first monograph in English on this subject, explores the medieval Scandinavian reception and re-interpretation of pre-Christian Scandinavian religion.This original work draws on a range of primary sources ranging from Prose Edda and Saxo Grammaticus' History of the Danes to less well known literary works including the__Saga of Barlaam__and the Hauksbók manuscript (c.1300). By providing an in-depth analysis of often overlooked mythological materials, along with translations of all textual passages, Wellendorf delivers an accessible work that sheds new light on the ways in which the old gods were integrated into the Christian worldview of medieval Scandinavia. Cover 1 Half-title 3 Series information 4 Title page 5 Copyright information 6 Epigraph 7 Table of contents 9 List of illustrations 10 Acknowledgments 11 Chapter 1 Retying the Bonds 13 Overturning the Old Gods 13 Responses to Demonization 18 Theologia tripertita: The Three Parts of Theology 20 The Bonds 29 Chapter 2 The Hierarchy of Disbeliefs in Antipagan Polemics 35 The Wisdom of Solomon 36 Nachor’s Speech in Barlaams saga 39 The Applicability of the Hierarchical Model to Norse Materials 48 Chapter 3 Universalist Aspirations in Hauksbók 55 From Exhortation to Historicization 57 Manuscript Context 63 Universal Pagan Gods 73 Chapter 4 The Byzantine Gods of Saxo Grammaticus 83 Doctrine 87 Practice 89 The Upper Story 92 Chapter 5 Gods and Humans in the Prose Edda 96 Interpretations and Valorizations 97 Demonology 99 Analogy 103 The Edda Prologue in Codex Wormianus 112 Epilogue: Óðinn and Odysseus 121 Notes 134 1 Retying the Bonds 134 2 The Hierarchy of Disbeliefs in Antipagan Polemics 143 3 Universalist Aspirations in Hauksbók 150 4 The Byzantine Gods of Saxo Grammaticus 167 5 Gods and Humans in the Prose Edda 172 Epilogue: Óðinn and Odysseus 184 Bibliography 190 Editions and Translations 190 Secondary Sources 195 Index 212 The coming of Christianity to Northern Europe resulted in profound cultural changes. In the course of a few generations, new answers were given to fundamental existential questions and older notions were invalidated. Jonas Wellendorf's study, the first monograph in English on this subject, explores the medieval Scandinavian reception and re-interpretation of pre-Christian Scandinavian religion. This original work draws on a range of primary sources ranging from Prose Edda and Saxo Grammaticus' History of the Danes to less well known literary works including the Saga of Barlaam and the Hauksbk manuscript (c.1300). By providing an in-depth analysis of often overlooked mythological materials, along with translations of all textual passages, Wellendorf delivers an accessible work that sheds new light on the ways in which the old gods were integrated into the Christian worldview of medieval Scandinavia. The coming of Christianity to Northern Europe resulted in profound cultural changes. In the course of a few generations, new answers were given to fundamental existential questions and older notions were invalidated. Jonas Wellendorf's study, the first monograph in English on this subject, explores the medieval Scandinavian reception and re-interpretation of pre-Christian Scandinavian religion. This original work draws on a range of primary sources ranging from Prose Edda and Saxo Grammaticus' History of the Danes to less well known literary works including the Saga of Barlaam and the Hauksbók manuscript (c.1300). By providing an in-depth analysis of often overlooked mythological materials, along with translations of all textual passages, Wellendorf delivers an accessible work that sheds new light on the ways in which the old gods were integrated into the Christian worldview of medieval Scandinavia. The coming of Christianity to Northern Europe resulted in profound cultural changes. In the course of a few generations, new answers were given to fundamental existential questions and older notions were invalidated. Jonas Wellendorf's study, the first monograph in English on this subject, explores the medieval Scandinavian reception and re-interpretation of pre-Christian Scandinavian religion. This original work draws on a range of primary sources ranging from Prose Edda and Saxo Grammaticus' History of the Danes to less well known literary works including the Saga of Barlaam and the Hauksbok manuscript (c.1300). By providing an in-depth analysis of often overlooked mythological materials, along with translations of all textual passages, Wellendorf delivers an accessible work that sheds new light on the ways in which the old gods were integrated into the Christian worldview of medieval Scandinavia List of Illustrations page viii Acknowledgments ix 1 Retying the Bonds 1 2 The Hierarchy of Disbeliefs in Antipagan Polemics 23 3 Universalist Aspirations in Hauksbók 43 4 The Byzantine Gods of Saxo Grammaticus 71 5 Gods and Humans in the Prose Edda 84 Epilogue: Óðinn and Odysseus 109 Notes 122 Bibliography 178 Index 200 The first monograph in English on the medieval Scandinavian reception and re-interpretation of pre-Christian Scandinavian religion. Contextualizes the canonical Prose Edda by drawing on a range of less well known texts. Translations are provided of all quotations from medieval texts. Jonas Wellendorf. Series Numbering From Publisher's Website, Viewed July 26, 2018. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.