Volcanoes in Old Norse Mythology: Myth and Environment in Early Iceland (Borderlines)

La quatrième de couverture indique : "Volcanoes in Old Norse Mythology' details how Viking Age Icelanders, migrating from Scandinavia to a new and volcanically active environment, used Old Norse mythology to understand and negotiate the hazards of the island. These pre-Christian myths recorded in medieval Iceland expound an indigenous Icelandic theory on volcanism that revolves around the activities of supernatural beings, such as the fire-demon Surtr and the gods Odin and Thor. Before the Icelanders were introduced to Christianity and its teachings, they formulated an indigenous theory of volcanism on basis of their traditional mythology much like other indigenous peoples across the world." MYTH AND ENVIRONMENT IN EARLY ICELAND Front Cover 1 Half-title 3 Borderlines 4 Title page 5 Copyright information 6 Table of contents 7 Introduction 9 Translations, References, and Special Characters 11 Special Characters 11 Chapter 1. Old Norse Mythology between Environment and Literature 13 Old Norse Mythology in a Comparative Perspective 14 Indigenous Perspectives on Myth and Environment 20 Interpretations of Old Norse Mythology in the Context of Environment 33 Silence 34 Analogy 36 Compression and Restructuring 37 Mode of Interpretation 38 Chapter 2. An Indigenous Theory of Volcanism in Iceland 41 A History of Icelandic Volcanism 42 Volcanism in Icelandic Literature 43 Geomythology 47 Hallmundarkviða: An Indigenous Icelandic Theory of Volcanism 52 Hallmundarkviða: Between Pre- Christian and Christian Tradition 59 Chapter 3. Volcanism in Old Norse Cosmogony 63 The Sources of the Creation Myth 64 The Volcanic Nature Image in Snorri’s Creation Myth 67 The Indigenous Theory of Volcanism in Snorri’s Creation Myth 77 Chapter 4. Volcanoes in the Social Order of Old Norse Mythology 81 The Mead Myth 81 Critical Review of Snorri’s Mead Myth 83 Hávamál and Háleygjatal 85 The Mead Myth and the Southern European Tradition 88 The Mead Myth and Volcanism 94 Vǫluspá 47– 52 102 Þórr and Hrungnir’s Duel 114 Hrungnir: The Stone Jǫtunn 118 The Duel in a Comparative Perspective 122 Chapter 5. Volcanoes as a Cosmological Principle in Old Norse Mythology 127 Risk Perception in Volcanic Zones 128 Narration and Emotion 131 Cosmology and Emotions 134 Bibliography 145 Primary sources 145 Secondary literature 146 Index 161 La quatrième de couverture indique : "Volcanoes in Old Norse Mythology' details how Viking Age Icelanders, migrating from Scandinavia to a new and volcanically active environment, used Old Norse mythology to understand and negotiate the hazards of the island. These pre-Christian myths recorded in medieval Iceland expound an indigenous Icelandic theory on volcanism that revolves around the activities of supernatural beings, such as the fire-demon Surtr and the gods Odin and Thor. Before the Icelanders were introduced to Christianity and its teachings, they formulated an indigenous theory of volcanism on basis of their traditional mythology much like other indigenous peoples across the world." Volcanoes in Old Norse Mythology' details how Viking Age Icelanders, migrating from Scandinavia to a new and volcanically active environment, used Old Norse mythology to understand and negotiate the hazards of the island. These pre-Christian myths recorded in medieval Iceland expound an indigenous Icelandic theory on volcanism that revolves around the activities of supernatural beings, such as the fire-demon Surtr and the gods Odin and Thor. Before the Icelanders were introduced to Christianity and its teachings, they formulated an indigenous theory of volcanism on basis of their traditional mythology much like other indigenous peoples across the world.0