Hello friends how are you? My name is Arith Härger
and today I'm going to show you 10 books I deemed to be necessary for Scandinavian studies
and because you actually asked me
this is the first video of this year
and I'm sure after the New Year's Eve-
you probably still feel a little bit drowsy
so I'll start the year with something less complex
let's take it slowly
even if you are already familiar with Scandinavian studies I think this video will also be useful to you
for most of us when we want to take the first step into Scandinavian studies
the first thing we do is jump into the classics - the Poetic Edda and the Prose Edda
in most cases our first contact is with the mythological accounts
but most of us live in a society that was shaped by Christianity
and most of us were raised with Christian principles and ideas and values
and it doesn't matter if you are an atheist or even if your childhood was spent away from any religion
we can't escape Christianity especially in Western societies
because it's so deeply rooted in our daily lives that people won't even perceive the little details
what we think it's a normal way of experience life through our own actions-
we are just unconsciously living according to the stipulated christian view of the world
because we are linked to a collective social mind
we are so used to certain ideas, and as such-
other mythological accounts won't make much sense to us
as I've said before, mythologies are not fantasy, they are an ethnical code in which traditions, language and history is printed
and those who are familiar with the culture to which that mythology belongs to
they will understand the true essence of those stories
stories that reflect a specific culture
so . . .
in our unconscious Jewish, Christian, Islamic minds, the pagan mythological accounts won't make much sense
they will only make sense in those parts that were influenced by the religions I have just mentioned
because they will sound familiar
but everything else will just feel out of place
so I don't advise starting with mythological accounts when dealing with Scandinavian studies
we should create an educated path, a well structured course, a logical thinking
to free our thoughts from the way we were taught how to think
so the first book I'll show you is this one
Ancient Scandinavia - an archaeological history from the first humans to the Vikings
by T. Douglas Price
I have said this before and I'll say it again, it's not just because I'm an archaeologist
but archaeology is fundamental to understand history
archaeologists are history's detectives
in hundreds of cases archaeology proved that historical facts were lies
and our society was built with many lies
small wonder the foundations of our societies tremble so much . . .
anyway . . .
archaeology also gave us many answers that were impossible to find in written records
so this book is perfect to start your Scandinavian studies
one of the most expensive books I have ever bought, but it's worth it
it's a great book to understand the history of Scandinavian societies
I know most people only want to focus on the Viking Age but-
to understand the Viking Age-
you need to understand the background of a society which led to the Viking Age
this book speaks of the first humans that arrived into the northern landscapes of Europe
around thirteen thousand years before our Common Era
archaeological findings giving a richly detailed portrait of the evolution of the human society
an archaeological history of Scandinavia from the arrival of the first humans, after the last Ice Age
to the end of the Viking period
if you understand the progression of a society and the cultural, religious and spiritual influences through time
you will better understand their- their way of thinking
therefore you will understand their mythologies
now for the second book I recommend one that speaks about Scandinavian History
even if it's solely focused on historical records
now that you have an archaeological background you will perceive what's true and what isn't
of course I recommend one that it's also based on archaeological findings
so I give you the Viking Diaspora by Judith Jesch
it's not the best of books, but not the worse, I think it's a very good book to start with
easy reading and fluent language
it will give you the basics to understand Scandinavian history, and of course, especially, the Viking period
a good synthesized history
and to start you don't need to delve into the subject
you can make it later on
but this book will certainly give you a good baggage, so to speak
so you can continue your journey in the pursuit of knowledge
now that you are starting to be familiarized with the archaeological and historical background of a society
you are starting to understand the cultural background
you are coming closer to understand the Scandinavian way of thinking
their spiritual understanding, their religious worldview
but you will come across a lot of strange words and terms
even if you are from a Scandinavian country
most of the vocabulary will feel strange because it's in Old Norse
Old Norse is not the official language of any nowadays country
only Icelandic language gets closer to Old Norse but it's not Old Norse
so you will need a good dictionary
I present to you: Dictionary of Northern Mythology by Rudolf Simek and translated by Angela Hall
this is a dictionary that you will constantly consult
it's very rich, very complete, it doesn't just tells you the meaning of the terms
but also gives you a little historical background and also the sources where you can find more knowledge about the subject
there isn't much to say, it's a dictionary but-
for... for me it's the best one for northern mythology
now you can finally jump into the classics: The Prose Edda and the Poetic Edda
although I advise you to start with the Prose Edda by Snorri Sturluson, the one and only
and why is that? Because if you are not familiar with the Scandinavian medieval poetry, yet
and the myths in general, just leave the Poetic Edda for later
you can get any Prose Edda, but I advise you to get one such as the one I have here
with lots of footnotes so you can better understand what you are reading
and an index at the end of the book, this is of great help because for instance-
if you want to find a specific deity or another mythological character or event
in the index it will tell you the exact pages where what you want to find actually is
instead of having to read it all, over and over again just to find a single name
it will save you loads of time
the Prose Edda isn't just based on Norse myths and not only influenced by Christianity
Snorri Sturluson also based its work in the Poetic Edda and that's the next book I want to show you
the Poetic Edda is a compilation of many oral traditions
and because you already have an archaeological and historical understanding
and also a certain familiarity with Norse myths
you will better understand the poems within the poetic Edda
it's a unique type of poetry - medieval Scandinavian poetry - so it might be a little bit dull to read
and especially hard to understand
the poetic Edda I have is a Dover Edition
which includes exceptionally detailed and complete translations by Henry Adams Bellows
lots of essential footnotes and before every poem a little introduction
to what you are about to read, a sort of summarized prose work for each poem
to give you a glimpse of what you are about to read and what it's actually about
that will help you a lot
now, we have already talked about Snorri Sturluson
and the sagas are also very important to Scandinavian studies
so the next book is the Heimskringla, History of the Kings of Norway by Snorri Sturluson
it's one of the best known of all sagas
a collection of sagas concerning various rulers of Norway
of course the historical accuracy is debatable
but now you have an archaeological and historical background
as well as mythological, so you will now be able to better reflect upon this work
just remember that the history of Kings
was written by those who were being paid by the Kings themselves
so expect a lot of nonsense and gibberish
these are works to extol the lineage of Kings
but with this work you will understand the social differences in ancient Scandinavian society
especially during medieval times
it's important to understand the social differences between Kings and Nobles
warriors and common folk and slaves
these social differences are reflected in archaeological findings and also in mythology
let me give you an example: the Norse afterlife is divided into many places for specific groups of people
and by knowing the social differences of medieval Scandinavia
you will better understand why women go into a certain place upon death
warriors go to Valhalla or Fólkvangr and slaves into Thor's Hall, and so on...
now since we are speaking of Sagas, the next book you should probably get your hands on
should be the The Saga of the Volsungs
this is the classic that influenced lots of people, including famous writers
and storytellers such as J.R.R. Tolkien
you can sit tight and read this epic adventure and let your mind flow
but this saga speaks about the origins of-
and the decline of the Volsung clan
there will be many hints to how the scandinavian society worked, especially in terms of the law
how things were conducted by the authorities of the time
and the social struggles, the responsibilities of the family
and how both genders were seen in these societies
so in other words, this is yet another source to comprehend the social life of medieval Scandinavia
and what remained of the old pagan world
this is also the tale that influenced the general idea we have of the Norse in pop culture
so you will be able to see how much rubbish we invented
that does not give the proper value to the real Sagas and to the History of scandinavian societies
the next book should definitely be the Sagas of the Icelanders
you should read this huge monster because of all the previous reasons I have given you
and because if you can read all of this just like the Heimskringla
you will be able to read any of the other sagas
which are more or less variations of all these Sagas you have read so far
in the sagas of the Icelanders
you will have important sagas most people used for the study or- and the comprehension of the Scandinavian society
and how the Norse did their celebrations, rituals
how they worshipped the gods and with what purpose
you are starting to enter into the spiritual and the religious and this is when you have to use your previous knowledge
to understand the pagan way of thinking
and...
what the influences of other religions were
you will draw a line between the pagan and the Christian
actually, you will also draw a line between the pagan religion practiced by the common social standards of Scandinavian history
and between the pagan spirituality of the common folk and other cults
now that you are entering in the religious world view of the ancient pagan Norse
you will want to read more about it, it's inevitable
the sagas tell you about many deities
but one in particular is always there - Odin
you will always find Odin in every tale because he became extremely important during medieval Scandinavia
Odin is actually portrayed in a medieval perspective
when Scandinavia was already greatly influenced by Christianity and as such,
Odin became a figure closely associated with the Christian God
Odin completely lost his functions as a true pagan God, as the god of war and death
this is a common mistake and it's inevitable because the written sources-
portray Odin as the Allfather; a medieval concept of this deity was one of the things that made you be familiar with the tales
because, unconsciously, you see the Christian God reflected in Odin
and vice versa
now is the time to leave behind that concept
since you already read about archeological findings
you are starting to see that Odin isn't the Allfather at all, but a cruller God
not that popular before the Viking Age and certainly not as popular as nowadays
a God worshiped by a tiny portion of the ancient Scandinavian society
mostly cults and a few worshipping here and there in great times of need or desperate events
the book The Cult of Othin, an essay in the ancient religion of the north by H. M. Chadwick
this is a very old essay but I still consider it one of the best
to help you to let go the concept of Odin being the Allfather
when dealing with the Norse gods people usually completely put aside all the other gods
and focus solely on Odin to the point that it almost seems like a monotheistic religion
if you see Odin as the Allfather, the wise, god of knowledge and creation
you are completely denying the pagan view
if you see Odin as one figure closely related to the Christian God, none of the other gods make much sense
and they just seem to hang around odin because Odin is the King
and somehow owns all the other gods
but when you start to see Odin as the pagan god of old
then a lot of things start to make so much sense
you will see that there is no king of the gods, all gods are free in their own way and all have a purpose
the gods are the reflection of the free will of humans
and that's why there is so much chaos and also balance
that's why every God makes a mistake but also good things
that's why the gods seem much more humane rather than perfect figures of goodness and order
if you are looking for good gods and evil gods in the Norse mythology, you won't find them
the Norse gods are both good and evil; the Norse gods are much more humane
and now the final book:
The Road to Hel, a study of the conception of the dead in the Old Norse literature, by Hilda Roderick Ellis
I don't know why the cover of my book is white
now to better understand the religion of the Norse we must turn to archeology
of course
archeology gives us so many answers about the dead
and understanding the dead and burials we come closer to understanding- the understanding of the underworld or the afterlife
in a Norse perspective, of course
the way people viewed the afterlife and the concept of death
is reflected on the burials and this is an important point you can't escape
if you truly want to understand the religious concept of the afterlife of the ancient Scandinavian societies
as an archaeologist I have "danced" with many bones
and in truth it all comes to that
the most important and most asked questions of all
are the ones that make us reflect on what will happen after we are gone
most of us can't conceive the idea that upon death everything is simply over
because the world is so much more complex
life is so much more complex, so why would Death be so simple and final?
well this is a great book to understand death and- in ancient Scandinavia
and from an archaeological perspective of course
it will give you a few answers to questions that couldn't possibly be answered in historical records
now you have 10 books to start your journey into Scandinavian studies
after this keep on reading works based on archaeological evidences as much as possible
because archaeology will keep giving a lot of answers and a lot of different, new and useful perspectives
and it will also give you new questions
to make people seek knowledge, but most importantly to seek the truth
alright friends thank you so much for watching, I hope you have enjoyed this video
and at some point during this video you could almost make a drinking game every time I said "Odin"
we could give it a try
anyway thank you so much for watching
see you on the next video and...
tack för idag! (thank you for today!)
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