Speak Useful Words or Say Nothing - Old Norse Studies
A strong book from cover to cover. Harris's contributions to Old Norse Studies are remarkable when read as individual endeavors, but when brought together, their collective insight and erudition is truly astounding. This book is a must-own for any scholar of Norse or casual reader of the literature.
The Norse world-conception.—Nature and Ufe stand in a constant relation of interchange—a fact that was apparent even to primitive peoples; for, as Swift puts it: "The most uncivilized parts of mankind have some way or other climbed up into the conception of a God. "3 And since their gods are really in effect, and so far as the moral aspect of this present life is concerned, unreached moral ideals, this "climbing" is natural to and worthy of a human soul. We dare not therefore, deny the ancients the capacity for fruitful ethical conceptions; nor should the vast disparity in conditions and institutions obscure for us the unity and continuity between them and us.
Bloodtaking and Peacemaking - Feud, Law and Society in Saga Iceland
William Ian Miller presents the arcane worlds of the Old Norse studies in a way sure to attract the interest of a wide range of readers.Bloodtaking and Peacemaking delves beneath the chaos and brutality of the Norse world to discover a complex interplay of ordering and disordering impulses. Miller's unique and engaging readings of ancient Iceland's sagas and extensive legal code reconstruct and illuminate the society that produced them.
The Road to Hel - A Study of the Conception of the Dead in Old Norse Literature
This book is a classic and for good reason. Dr Ellis carefully examines archaeology and textual sources in turn, looking at a wide range of topics regarding burial practices and views of the afterlife. Her discussion of funerary human sacrifice is very important, as is her discussion of cremation vs burial. While her book leaves a lot of avenues for further research (for example concerning Valkyries, or Norse views of necromancy), Dr Ellis has shown herself to be a giant on whose shoulders every future scholar in this area will have to stand.
From Asgard to Valhalla - The Remarkable History of the Norse Myths
Whether they focus on Thor's powerful hammer, the mysterious valkyries, the palatial home of the gods - Asgard - or ravenous wolves and fierce elemental giants, the Norse myths are packed with vivid incident. But at the centre of their cosmos stands a gnarled old ash tree from which all distances and times are measured. When the old tree creaks, Ragnarok - the end of the world and of the gods themselves - is at hand. It is from this tree that Odin, father of the gods, hanged himself in search of the wisdom of the dead: a disturbing image of divine sacrifice far removed from the feasting and fighting of his otherworld home, Valhalla.
