Gods and Myths of Northern Europe

Surveys the pre-Christian beliefs of the Scandinavian and Germanic peoples. Provides an introduction to this subject, giving basic outlines to the sagas and stories, and helps identify the charachter traits of not only the well known but also the lesser gods of the age.Introduction
1 The Myth-Makers
2 The Sources of Our Knowledge
3 New Light on the Myths

1 The World of the Northern Gods
1 The Prose Edda
2 The Gods and Their World
3 Thor and the Giants
4 The Doom of the Gods
5 The Giants and the Dwarfs
6 Myths outside the Prose Edda

2 The Gods of Battle
1 Odin, Lord of Hosts
2 The Germanic War Gods
3 The Valkyries of Odin
4 The Berserks of Odin
5 The Worship of the War God

3 The Thunder God
1 Thor in the Myths
2 The Temples of Thor
3 The Hammer of Thor
4 The God of the Sky
5 Thor and His Adversaries

4 The Gods of Peace and Plenty
1 The Deity in the Wagon
2 Freyr, God of Plenty
3 Companions of Freyr
4 The Mother Goddess
5 The Goddess Freyja
6 The Power of the Vanir

5 The Gods of the Sea
1 Aegir and Ran
2 Njord, God of Ships
3 The Depths of the Sea

6 The Gods of the Dead
1 Odin and Mercury
2 Odin as a Shaman
3 The Realm of Odin
4 The Burial Mound
5 Thor and the Dead
6 The Dragon and the Dead

7 The Enigmatic Gods
1 Bragi and Idun
2 Mimir and Hoenir
3 The Twin Gods
4 Forseti
5 Heimdall
6 Loki
7 Balder

8 The Beginning and the End
1 The World Tree
2 The Creation of the World
3 The End of the World

Conclusion: The Passing of the Old Gods
Works of Reference
Names and Sources
Index

Hilda Davidson (1912-2006) was a lecturer and Vice-President of Lucy Cavendish College, Cambridge.