DOCSLIB.ORG

Fornnordisk Religionsforskning Mellan Teori Och Empiri Forn

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Fornnordisk Religionsforskning Mellan Teori Och Empiri Forn Kungl.Kungl. GustavKungl. Gustav AdolfsGustav Adolfs AkademienAdolfs Akademien Akademien för försvensk svensk för folkkultursvensk folkkultur folkkultur är enär enriksakademi är riksakademi en riksakademi 126126 126 ACTAACTA ACTAACADEMIAE ACADEMIAE ACADEMIAE REGIAE REGIAE REGIAE GUSTAVI GUSTAVI GUSTAVI ADOLPHI ADOLPHI ADOLPHI CXXVI CXXVI CXXVI medmed säte sätemed i Uppsala. isäte Uppsala. i Uppsala. Sin Sin uppgift uppgift Sin attuppgift attfrämja främja att forskning främja forskning forskning rörande rörande rörandesvensk svensk folkligsvensk folklig folklig kultur, begreppet taget i vid mening, skall Akademien enligt sina stadgar ANDREAS NORDBERG • Fornnordisk religionsforskning mellan teori och empiri kultur,kultur, begreppet begreppet taget taget i vid i vidmening, mening, skall skall Akademien Akademien enligt enligt sina sina stadgar stadgar ANDREAS NORDBERG • Fornnordisk religionsforskning mellan teori och empiri ANDREAS NORDBERG • Fornnordisk religionsforskning mellan teori och empiri blandbland annatbland annat fullgöra annat fullgöra fullgöragenom genom att genom iatt sina i sina att skriftserier i skriftseriersina skriftserier offentliggöra offentliggöra offentliggöra forskningsrön forskningsrön forskningsrön inominom ämnesområdeninom ämnesområden ämnesområden som som den densom har hartillden tilluppgift har uppgift till attuppgift vårdaatt vårda att sig vårda sigom. om. Huvudseriensig Huvudserienom. Huvudserien är Actaär Acta Academiaeär ActaAcademiae Academiae Regiae Regiae Gustavi Regiae Gustavi Adolphi,Gustavi Adolphi, Adolphi, vars vars första förstavars nummer första nummer nummer utkom utkom 1933. utkom 1933. 1933. BlandBland övrigaBland övriga serier övriga serier kan serier kan nämnas nämnas kan Folklivsskildringarnämnas Folklivsskildringar Folklivsskildringar och och bygdestudier, bygdestudier, och bygdestudier, Kungl. Kungl. Kungl. GustavGustav AdolfsGustav Adolfs Akademiens Adolfs Akademiens Akademiens småskrifter småskrifter småskrifter och och Svenska Svenska och Svenska sagor sagor och sagor och sägner. sägner. och sägner. I dennaI denna bokI denna bok diskuteras diskuteras bok diskuteras förhållandet förhållandet förhållandet mellan mellan teori mellan teori och teorioch empiri empiri och vid empiri vidutforskandet utforskandet vid utforskandet ANDREAS NORDBERG av förkristenav förkristenav förkristen religion religion ireligion Skandinavien i Skandinavien i Skandinavien samt samt hur samthur dessa dessa hur faktorer dessa faktorer faktorerkan kan variera variera kan mel- variera mel- mel- ANDREASANDREAS NORDBERG NORDBERG lan lanolika olikalan discipliner. olikadiscipliner. discipliner. I centrum I centrum I centrumstår står frågorna frågorna står frågorna om omsoldyrkan, soldyrkan, om soldyrkan, anfäderskult anfäderskult anfäderskult och och och rituellarituella skördebruk.rituella skördebruk. skördebruk. Studien Studien Studienföljer följer dessa följer dessa frågors dessa frågors idéhistoriafrågors idéhistoria idéhistoria från från mitten mittenfrån av mitten av av 1800-1800- talet1800- talet till tilldagenstalet dagens till forskningsläge. dagens forskningsläge. forskningsläge. Det Det argumenteras argumenteras Det argumenteras för föratt andraatt för andra att delen andra delen av delen av av FornnordiskFornnordiskFornnordisk religionsforskning religionsforskning religionsforskning 1800-1800- talet1800- talet och ochtalet första första och delen första delen av delen 1900-taletav 1900-talet av 1900-talet var varformativ formativ var formativ för förstudiet studiet för av studiet förkris-av förkris- av förkris- ten tenreligion religionten religionoch och att deatt och landvinningarde att landvinningar de landvinningar och och misstag misstag och sommisstag som gjordes gjordessom dågjordes hardå harstort då stort harin- in-stort in- mellanmellanmellan teori teori teori och och empirioch empiri empiri flytandeflytande flytandepå dagenspå dagens på forskning. dagens forskning. forskning. KultenKultenKulten av av anfäder, anfäder,av anfäder, solen solen solenoch och vegetationsandar och vegetationsandar vegetationsandar i i i RedaktörRedaktörRedaktör för förskriftserierna skriftseriernaför skriftserierna är Akademiensär Akademiens är Akademiens sekreterare, sekreterare, sekreterare, docent docent Majdocent Maj Rein- MajRein- Rein- idéhistoriskidéhistoriskidéhistorisk belysning belysning belysning hammar,hammar,hammar, [email protected]. [email protected]. [email protected]. Distribution:Distribution:Distribution: SwedishSwedish ScienceSwedish Science Press Science Press Press BoxBox 118 118Box 118 SE-751 04 Uppsala ISSN 0065-0897 SE-751SE-751 04 Uppsala 04 Uppsala ISSN ISSN 0065-0897 0065-0897 UPPSALA 2013 E-post:E-post: [email protected]: [email protected] [email protected] ISBN ISBN 978-91-87403-02-6 ISBN978-91-87403-02-6 978-91-87403-02-6 UPPSALAUPPSALA 2013 2013 1 ACTA ACADEMIAE REGIAE GUSTAVI ADOLPHI 126 2 sid2 3 ACTA ACADEMIAE REGIAE GUSTAVI ADOLPHI CXXVI ANDREAS NORDBERG Fornnordisk religionsforskning mellan teori och empiri Kulten av anfäder, solen och vegetationsandar i idéhistorisk belysning UPPSALA 2013 Kungl. Gustav Adolfs Akademien för svensk folkkultur 4 Abstract Andreas Nordberg: Fornnordisk religionsforskning mellan teori och empiri. Kulten av anfäder, solen och vegetationsandar i idéhistorisk belysning. (Sources and theory in research into Old Scandinavian religion: Worship of ancestors, the sun and vegetation spirits from a perspective of the history of ideas.) Acta Academiae Regiae Gustavi Adolphi 126. Uppsala 2013. 426 pp. ISSN 0065-0897, ISBN 978-91-87403-02-6. The aim of the present work is to investigate, from a perspective of the history of scholarship and ideas, how the relationship between source materials and theory has affected empirical research into pre-Christian and later folk religion in the Nordic region. The study of pre-Christian religion in Scandinavia is a multidisciplinary undertaking. A broad range of issues have consequently been addressed, on the basis of widely differing, and not al- ways mutually congruent, source materials and disciplinary discourses. The processes involved are explored here from the standpoint of the history of religions and the history of scholarship and ideas, by means of three case studies concerning sun worship, ancestor worship, and the worship of vegetation spirits. The investigation takes as its starting point the cultural and religious research of the nineteenth century, in several respects a formative period for the study of pre-Christian religion in the Nordic countries. It is argued that the common view in some sections of Scandi- navian archaeology – that Bronze Age religion consisted of virtually monotheistic sun worship – is, in terms of the history of ideas, partly a legacy of Romanticism’s notions of an original ‘re- ligion of light’, nineteenth-century solar mythology, and evolutionist anthropology of religion’s theories about religion originating in a belief in ‘impersonal’ natural forces. The author further argues that the strong divergence of views between scholars of different disciplines, as to whether ancestor worship was a part of religion in pre-Christian times, was a result of their implicitly hav- ing proceeded both from differing definitions of the concept of ancestor worship and from differ- ent source materials, and also of their having preserved the legacies of distinct evolutionist theories on the origins of religion. In addition, it is argued that the rejection in the mid twentieth century of an exploration of agrarian folk religion in late folkloristic sources can be attributed to too far-reaching a functionalist showdown with evolutionist religious research, combined with purely personal academic conflicts of interest. The author concludes that the sun was in all likelihood an object of worship in pre-Christian times, though not in a ‘proto-monotheistic’ form, but as part of a more all-round, polytheistic religion; that ancestors and the dead were probably the object of great religious veneration, al- though it is not possible to determine today whether this manifested itself in explicit ancestor worship; and that the form of agrarian religion emerging from the source materials of folklore scholarship is, phenomenologically, so common, both in the immediate vicinity of Scandinavia and over a wider comparative horizon, that the Scandinavian folklore sources must reasonably be assumed to refer to the same religious phenomena. The author therefore argues that folkloristic religious research with a historical perspective should be given renewed prominence as a field of academic enquiry in Scandinavia. Keywords: animism, animatism, manism, sun worship, cult of the dead, ancestor cult, vegetation spirits, power, evolutionism, survivals, comparative mythology, nature mythology, folklore, folk- lore research, history of scholarship, history of ideas, history of science. © Författaren och Kungl. Gustav Adolfs Akademien för svensk folkkultur 2013 ISSN 0065-0897 ISBN 978-91-87403-02-6 Printed in Sweden 2013 Textgruppen i Uppsala AB 5 Till minne av Mimi 2012 Älskad, saknad, aldrig glömd. 6 7 Innehåll Förord . 11 Inledning . 13 Varför bry sig om gammal forskning? . 16 Från urindoeuropeisk religion till sentida skandinavisk folkreligion: något om nomenklaturen . 19 Disposition . 22 Del I. Brittisk antropologi och primitiv religion . 25 1. Klassisk evolutionism . 27 1.0.1. Kulturevolutionism: idéhistorisk bakgrund och grundtankar . 28 1.0.2. Den komparativa metoden och studiet av survivals . 33 1.0.3. Kolonial
Load more

Recommended publications
  • De Oud-Germaanse Religie (§§ 570 - 598) (De Vries) 1
    Dit document vormt een onderdeel van de website https://www.religies-overzichtelijk.nl Hier vindt u tevens de koppelingen naar de andere teksten en de indexen, de toelichtingen en de afkortingen Laatste bewerking: 26-09-2020 [l] De Oud-Germaanse religie (§§ 570 - 598) (De Vries) 1 1 De schepping van de wereld en de mensen volgens de Germaanse overlevering .............. 4 1.1 (§ 570-6) Inleiding tot de schepping van de wereld en de mensen volgens de Germaanse overlevering .......................................................................................................... 5 1.2 De scheppingsmythen ..................................................................................... 6 1.2.1 De mythe van Ýmir (SnE) ........................................................................... 7 1.2.1.1 (§ 570-1) Episode 1: de toestand vóór de schepping en het onstaan van Ýmir ........ 8 1.2.1.2 (§ 570-2) Episode 2: Auðumla en de schepping der goden ................................ 9 1.2.1.3 (§ 570-3) Episode 3: de slachting van Ýmir en de schepping van de wereld ......... 10 1.2.2 (§ 570-4) De mythe van de schepping van Askr en Embla (SnE) ........................... 11 1.2.3 (§ 570-5) De mythe van Odins vestiging in Ásgarðr (SnE) ................................... 12 1.3 De toestand vóór de schepping ....................................................................... 13 1.3.1 (§ 571-1) De toestand vóór de schepping in de literatuur .................................. 14 1.3.2 (§ 571-2) Verklaring van de overlevering t.a.v. de toestand vóór de schepping ....... 15 1.4 (§ 572) Het ontstaan van leven uit de polariteit van hitte en koude ........................... 16 1.5 (§ 573) De schepping van reuzen, goden en mensen uit een tweegeslachtelijk oerwezen 17 1.6 (§ 574) De voorstelling van de melk schenkende oerkoe ......................................... 18 1.7 (§ 575) De schepping van de wereld uit het lichaam van Ýmir .................................
    [Show full text]
  • This Answer Isn't Killing, but the Gaullic Figure Brut Visited the Island Of
    Round 01: This answer isn’t killing, but the Gaullic figure Brut visited the Island of Leogrecia after performing this action on a white hart. One god who did this to himself was the god of the following domains: sunsets, rebirths, jewelry, and flowers. That god did this to himself so corn could be grown. One animal that had this done to it was tossed into a weaving chamber. Another figure to suffer this fate is unable to turn his instrument upside down and was judged by the Muses against Apollo. For 10 points, name this act inflicted upon Marsyas, the process of removing the epidermis from a person. ANSWER: flaying [accept word forms, accept removal of skin or equivalents, such as skinning] Round 02: At his death, he was put into a mound with three doors, through which peasants offered gold, silver and copper. No one speaks to this figure, nor does he eat or sleep because he did the following action: while overlooking all the worlds, he looked north and saw a beautiful lady that lifts her arms up to irradiate the sky and the sea with a sensuous light. This figure’s father-in-law is married to Aurboda, and is named Gymir. Because he entrusted his sword and his horse to his servant Skirnir, he defeated the giant Beli using only an antler. He will be killed by the fire giant Surt. The owner of the folding ship Skidbladnir and the boar Gullinbursti, for 10 points, name this son of Skadi and Njord, a fertility god.
    [Show full text]
  • The Prose Edda
    THE PROSE EDDA SNORRI STURLUSON (1179–1241) was born in western Iceland, the son of an upstart Icelandic chieftain. In the early thirteenth century, Snorri rose to become Iceland’s richest and, for a time, its most powerful leader. Twice he was elected law-speaker at the Althing, Iceland’s national assembly, and twice he went abroad to visit Norwegian royalty. An ambitious and sometimes ruthless leader, Snorri was also a man of learning, with deep interests in the myth, poetry and history of the Viking Age. He has long been assumed to be the author of some of medieval Iceland’s greatest works, including the Prose Edda and Heimskringla, the latter a saga history of the kings of Norway. JESSE BYOCK is Professor of Old Norse and Medieval Scandinavian Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles, and Professor at UCLA’s Cotsen Institute of Archaeology. A specialist in North Atlantic and Viking Studies, he directs the Mosfell Archaeological Project in Iceland. Prof. Byock received his Ph.D. from Harvard University after studying in Iceland, Sweden and France. His books and translations include Viking Age Iceland, Medieval Iceland: Society, Sagas, and Power, Feud in the Icelandic Saga, The Saga of King Hrolf Kraki and The Saga of the Volsungs: The Norse Epic of Sigurd the Dragon Slayer. SNORRI STURLUSON The Prose Edda Norse Mythology Translated with an Introduction and Notes by JESSE L. BYOCK PENGUIN BOOKS PENGUIN CLASSICS Published by the Penguin Group Penguin Books Ltd, 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England Penguin Group (USA) Inc.,
    [Show full text]
  • THE MAGIC APPLES Chapter Five IT Is Not Very Amusing to Be a King
    THE MAGIC APPLES Chapter Five IT is not very amusing to be a king. Father Odin often grew tired of sitting all day long upon his golden throne in Valhalla above the heavens. He wearied of welcoming the new heroes whom the Valkyries brought him from wars upon the earth, and of watching the old heroes fight their daily deathless battles. He wearied of his wise ravens, and the constant gossip which they brought him from the four corners of the world; and he longed to escape from every one who knew him to some place where he could pass for a mere stranger, instead of the great king of the Æsir, the mightiest being in the whole universe, of whom every one was afraid. Sometimes he longed so much that he could not bear it. Then—he would run away. He disguised himself as a tall old man, with white hair and a long, gray beard. Around his shoulders he threw a huge blue cloak, that covered him from top to toe, and over his face he pulled a big slouch hat, to hide his eyes. For his eyes Odin could not change—no magician has ever learned how to do that. One was empty; he had given the eye to the giant Mimer in exchange for wisdom. Usually Odin loved to go upon these wanderings alone; for an adventure is a double adventure when one meets it single-handed. It was a fine game for Odin to see how near he could come to danger without feeling the grip of its teeth.
    [Show full text]
  • A Handbook of Norse Mythology
    A HANDBOOK OF NORSE MYTHOLOGY BY KARL MORTENSEN DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY UNIVERSITY OF COPENHAGEN ; ADJUNCT AT THE CATHEDRAL SCHOOL (ROYAL GYMNASIUM) AT ODENSB TRANSLATED FROM THE DANISH BY A. CLINTON CROWELL ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR IN BROWN UNIVERSITY 1 ' , . * ' ' - r , * - . l I I . , NEW YORK THOMAS Y. CROWELL COMPANY PUBLISHERS THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY COPYRIGHT, 1913, BY THOMAS Y. CROWELL COMPANY. Published March, 1913. This compilation © Phoenix E-Books UK AUTHOR'S PREFACE THIS popular presentation of the myths and sagas which took shape here in the North but whose foundation is common property of all the people who speak a Gothic-Germanic language, first appeared in 1898 and has been used since then in the study of Xorse Mythology in the high schools and universities of all the Scandina- vian countries. Since Professor Crowell has thought that the little book might also achieve a modest success in the youngest but richest and.mosi powerful branch which has grown iron, cur ccmin-on >;uot, I have without hesitation, accopte^ his friendly pro- posal to transjate.jc into English. I find r great satisfaction m, hav -;ig my work put into the world's most comprehensive lan- guage and placed before students in the United States, where I have so many friends, where so many relatives and fel- low-countrymen have found a home and a iii iv AUTHOR'S PREFACE future, and toward which country we Northerners look with the deepest admira- tion and respect for the mighty forces which are seeking to control material things and to break new ground in the infinite realms of the intellect.
    [Show full text]
  • Skírnismál Helgileikar
    Skírnismál helgileikar handrit handa börnum á íslenzku & in English a script for bairns ritual performance The Edda-poem Skírnismál is - as abyss of understanding - all about pure spirituality found in our reverent forefathers‘ knowledge our most precious ancient heritage ISBN 978 9935 409 83 6 Guðrún Kristín Magnúsdóttir Göia goði Óðsmál, http://www.odsmal.org [email protected] [email protected] Norræn menning, fræðasetur kt 550199-3009 non-profit cultural enterprise phones +354 5528080 gsm+354 6941264 research on allegory and symbolic language in Heathenry -- no intermediary-profit -- lowest possible prices for marvellous books by a rewarded author Amazon - books search Óðsmál / or Odsmal - educational material supported by Ministry of Education in Iceland for more books, search freyjukettir http://www.Youtube.com/goiagodi The abyss and pure wisdom contained in Heathenry revealed, symbolic language, allegory, metaphores, in Norse Mythology. Skírnismál - How to Perform and Understand the Ritual http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2y5wAoBKUAE and also; Edda Poem Þrymskviða https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bd36sEtq7Q4&feature=youtu.be SKÍRNISMÁL A script for bairns and grown-ups. Helgileikar (solemn ritual merry performance) at yule-tide /winter solstice, or any time, at blót, and feasts, at home, in an odeum, in school, and out in Nature, on any special event. THE SONG OF SKIRNIR A POEM FROM EDDA Our quest is to give the whole world a profound understanding of the beautiful, many thousand years old culture of our reverent, whole-hearted, earnest, intelligent, intuitive, peaceful, ethical, spirituallly minded, heathen/pagan ancestors. We should understand heathen yule, or winter-solstice, when days start to grow longer -- the sun rising low on the southern sky, the days very short.
    [Show full text]
  • Year 7: Myths and Legends Home Pack
    Year 7: Myths and Legends home pack Name: Form: Teacher: School week 7 W.C. 02.11.2020 Lesson 1: This week, you are going to look at the introduction of the human hero. Previously to this, our focus has been on characters who are Gods or part of the supernatural in some way. What is a hero? How many examples can you give of a hero? • • • • • • Below are Propp’s character conventions. These are characters you can expect to see in a traditional adventure story and what their role is. How do you think the heroic figure has changed over time? Think about what the Greek expectations were, then Roman and what we are familiar with today. Greek Roman Modern In the past, we have looked at heroes as masculine figures. Do you think this is still relevant today? Do we expect heroes to be masculine? Explain your thinking. Why is it important to have a human hero? How does it impact the story and the reader’s relationship with it? Lesson 2: What are the purpose of the following characters, according to Propp’s conventions. Do this from memory first and then you can look back to complete any that are missing. Hero – Villain – Doner – Helper – Princess – Dispatcher – Princess’ father – False hero - Read ‘The Sword in the Stone’. Does it fit any of the seven basic plots? Which one and why? How is Arthur presented as a heroic character? Use the questions below to help you: What is Arthur like? Arthur is presented as a heroic character as he is… How does the text show us this? This is shown when… The Sword in the Stone Our story begins in the fifth century with King Uther who reigned in the south of Britain.
    [Show full text]
  • Magical Music in Old Norse Literature
    BRITT-MARI NÄSSTRÖM Magical Music in Old Norse Literature No society ever existed without performing music, and most cultures dis- play many variants of music. Music also played and still plays an impor- tant part in different religious rites. From the days of yore, music has been intimately connected with the cult, whether it is performed as epic or lyric expressions. The Old Norse society was no exception to this statement and early finds from as far back as the Bronze Age reveal that different instrument were used in daily life. The most conspicuous specimens from this time are the bronze lures, which probably are depicted on the rock-carvings. They were made in two different ways — a simpler model made in the shape of a big horn and a more elaborate one made as a big S, which seems to appear in pairs: one curved to the left and the other to the right. Their size varied from 50 cm to more than 200 cm. (Jacobsson 1975: 7). Modern musicians have manageded to produce five notes on the bigger ones, but it is uncer- tain whether the lures were used to play melodies. The practice of blowing one note for where two or more horn players replaced each other in a relig- ious ritual has been suggested as a possible use of these huge bronze lures. (Lund 1994: 26-27). The great bronze shields from the same period seem to belong to the ritual ceremonies, of which we know hardly nothing. Accord- ing to one hypothesis, these were used as drums, but since ceremonial swords and axes also appear among these finds, it is also conjectured that the weapons could have been used in a ritual war dance.
    [Show full text]
  • Beasts-Of-War
    Beasts of War and Men of War A philological and archaeological interdisciplinary study regarding the imagery of beasts in war and warriors. Viking and Medieval Studies Master thesis in VMS4190 - Master’s thesis in Viking and Medieval Studies 60 Credits Daniel Ortensi Giner Spring semester 2020 Department of Linguistics and Scandinavian Studies (ILN), University of Oslo Summary The aim of this master thesis is to identify the impact of animals in the imagery of the societies in the Scandinavian Iron Age and the Viking age through written and archaeological sources. The figure of the animal is established in three levels and I will address them and the impact it had on the aforementioned societies, the animal itself, the beasts of war the savage warriors and the imagery of the animal in the context of savage warriors who used such imagery. The analysis of the animals and beasts of war is important to understand the further roles that they carried. Then we would proceed to the analysis of the savage warriors that used a relationship with animals, this would be mostly the Berserkr and the ​ ​ Úlfheðnar, which are very present in the literary corpus. Then, an analysis of the animal in the archaeological sources gives us another perspective which will add consistency to this study. This provided some interesting results which would be interesting to keep working on, such as the possibility of different warrior ranks or status that are identifiable through the analysis of the animals. 1 Foreword I would like to thank many people, first of all my supervisors Mikael Males and Vibeke Maria, who without whom I would have been unable to proceed with this study and have given me so much recommendations and had so much patience that I have nothing but words of thanks.
    [Show full text]
  • DRAGON Magazine
    DRAGON 1 77 30 SPECIAL ATTRACTION 47 The House in the Frozen Lands James Adams An AD&D® game adventure for investigative characters 47 Publisher OTHER FEATURES Mike Cook 8 The Cult of the Dragon Ed Greenwood Editor-in-Chief Dragons can be liches, too heres how Kim Mohan Editorial staff 16 For better or Norse: I Joel McGraw Patrick Lucien Price Expanding one of the most popular pantheons . Roger Moore 24 For better or Norse: II Carl Sargent Editorial assistance . and re-examining some of its most famous members Eileen Lucas Art, graphics, production 30 All about Elminster Ed Greenwood Roger Raupp Several pages from the life story of our favorite sage Kim Lindau 38 The role of computers Hartley and Pattie Lesser Subscriptions The debut of a column covering computers and game software Pat Schulz Advertising 44 Dragon damage revisited Leonard Carpenter Mary Parkinson Finishing the job we started a year ago Contributing editors 66 The Wizards Boy Nancy Varian Berberick Ed Greenwood A young thief learns about life and magic, the hard way Katharine Kerr This issue's contributing artists Kevin Davies THE ARES SECTION Larry Elmore Marvel Bullpen Valerie Valusek 78 Knowledge is Power John M. Maxstadt Jim Holloway Roger Raupp Skills and areas of knowledge for the GAMMA WORLD® game Richard Tomasic David LaForce Denton Elliott Bob Eggleton 84 The MARVEL®-Phile Jeff Grubb David Trampier Joseph Pillsbury Meet Ghost Rider . and three more of the same 88 Going for a Swim? William Tracy Deep sea adventuring guidelines for STAR FRONTIERS® characters 92 Piece of the Action Ken Tovar Gangsters and gats in PARANOIAs Alpha Complex DEPARTMENTS 3 Letters 64 TSR Previews 97 Dragonmirth 4 World Gamers Guide 94 Gamers Guide 98 Snarfquest 6 The forum 96 Convention calendar 101 Wormy COVER For the second issue in a row, we welcome a new artist to the cover of DRAGON Magazine.
    [Show full text]
  • Old Norse Elements in the Work of JRR Tolkien
    Old Norse elements in the work of J.R.R. Tolkien by Martin Wettstein When John Ronald Reuel Tolkien was 23 Years old, he had already learned Greek, Latin, Anglo Saxon, Old English, Finnish, Welsh and Gothic and had already invented two own languages, called Nevbosh and Qenya. Together with his interest in languages there came up an interest in myths and legends of the countries behind these languages and he read eagerly all the old legends he came across. During these studies he became aware of the fact that England itself had no own mythology. There was the Celtic, the Roman, the Norse and the Christian Mythology but none especially of England. The awareness of this fact and the lack of a mythology behind his own language, Qenya, made him write poems and short stories that told of events and persons as could have taken place in an English mythology. In the invention of these stories he was inspired by the Bible, the Edda [17][18], Celtic Tales, Fairy stories and the pieces of William Shakespeare, just to name the most important sources. In this Essay I would like to focus on the Norse elements that served as sources for the ideas of Tolkien. It is not the aim of this Essay to compare each idea Tolkien had with similar elements in the Norse Mythology. there are already more than enough articles on the ring as Norse element and the attempt to apply Odin to almost each of the Ainur or Tom Bombadil. It shall simply give an idea about how much this mythology served Tolkien as a source of inspiration.
    [Show full text]
  • Norse Influences on Tolkien's Elves and Dwarves1
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by The University of Sydney: Sydney eScholarship Journals... Norse Influences on Tolkien’s Elves and Dwarves1 Peter Wilkin Introduction The ‘mythology’ of J R R Tolkien, best known through his seminal work The Lord of the Rings [1954-5], has unquestionably had a more profound influence on the fantasy genre than any author before or since. To give a brief overview, Tolkien began what would come to be known loosely as the 'Silmarillion' in 1917 and continued developing his mythology intermittently right up until his death in 1973. In 1937 he published The Hobbit in which the hobbit, Bilbo Baggins, undertakes an adventure with a group of dwarves to recover a hoard of stolen treasure guarded by a dragon. Several years later at the insistence of his publishers, Tolkien began work on The Lord of the Rings which, after some ten years of interrupted writing, was released in three volumes (The Fellowship of the Ring [1954], The Two Towers [1954] and The Return of the King 1955]). The Lord of the Rings recounts Frodo Baggins' perilous journey to destroy the Ring of Power created by Sauron, the Dark Lord. Throughout this period Tolkien was also working on his broader mythology, which was published posthumously as The Silmarillion in 1977. Edited by his son Christopher Tolkien, and Canadian fantasy writer Guy Gavriel Kay, The Silmarillion relates the creation of the world, and the history of the Silmarilli, three jewels composed of the lights of Valinor that are stolen by Morgoth, the first dark lord.
    [Show full text]