Acknowledgements Note on proper nouns Introduction 1. The Giant Killer: Thor in Old Norse mythology 2. Theorizing Thor 3. Christ versus Thor 4. Recovering the Past: Scholarship from the Enlightenment to National Romanticism 5. Thor in Denmark: From Klopstock to Grundtvig 6. Thor in Germany: From Grimm to Himmler 7. Thor in America: From Longfellow to Lee Notes Bibliography Index
An exploration of how the legend of Thor has been adopted, adapted and transformed through history.
Martin Arnold is Professor of Scandinavian Literature at Hull University. He is the author of The Vikings (Continuum, 2006).
In this clear and lively book, Martin Arnold has demonstrated how
closely the changing interpretations of a mythological figure
through the generations are intertwined with major socio-political
and cultural trends. I can heartily recommend it.
*Folklore*
A Times Literary Supplement Book of the Year, 2011
*Times Literary Supplement*
Like Arnold’s other recent books Thor aims for accessibility, and
its style is readable and inclusive, well-pitched to both early
students of Norse and a popular readership. The first three
chapters of the book alone provide students a valuable critical
introduction to the Norse mythological Thor … [T]his study’s
intrinsic scholarly value and relevance to contemporary popular
culture is without question … Thor: Myth to Marvel expands our
viewpoint of this figure which can so casually be dismissed as
simplistic in both its original meanings and later portrayals,
inviting us to consider wider context and engage again with Thor
and the continually recycled mythologies in which he plays a
role.
*European History Quarterly*
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