Table of Contents

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

About the Author

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