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Recommended reading about Norse mythology, religion etc? Pic not rel I think

>>3334 Just don't read too much Christian ramble or you'll go insane.

>>3336 I try to avoid that.

Neil Gaiman have a book on Norse myths, is not a twist or anything , its just him retelling the old stories. Is legit.

>>3342 yah I have it, reading it for second time currently. but I want more.

>>3344 What about the Edda? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prose_Edda

>>3345 Hmmm, I even found it on sale for cheap. Gonna get it.

First the Poetic Edda by Benjamin Thorpe. Then the Norron Ordbok to help do your own translations and get a better understanding of the allegories the stories present. Dictionary of Northern Mythology by Rudolf Simek since it gives certain details about archaeological analysis and linguistics that challenges certain narratives by certain historians. Germania by Tacitus not so much because it deals with legend but because it gives a fairly honest commentary about the Germanic peoples, how they were organized, the variety of tribal nations, and some basic information about their religion and laws such as executions performed on criminals by hanging or drowning in a bog although the latter was challenged by Simek by mentioning forensic evidence that shows that many of the bodies had evidence of fatal illnesses instead of execution. The Golden Bough since it is a good starting place for analysis. Sorcery and Religion in Ancient Scandinavia by Varg Vikernes since he uses linguistic evidence to back up his analysis and he is a folk pagan revivalist. Reflections on European Mythology and Polytheism also by Varg Vikernes for the same basic reasons.

>>3345 The Poetic Edda (AKA the Elder Edda) is much better since it is far closer to the original stories while the Prose Edda (Younger Edda AKA Snorri's Edda) is basically a Christianization of Northern Germanic (Nordic) legend with key examples being the misrepresentation of Helheim (underworld) as a place of misery while Helheim was described in one poem in the Elder Edda as a place of hospitality for the deceased until familial rebirth. Also, Ragnorak in the Younger Edda is tied into Christian Armageddon by having Loki depicted as Lucifer and Heimdall depicted as Archangel Michael. Loki is even depicted as Lucifer by seeming more sinister than he was in the Elder Edda while gods like Odin are depicted as more one dimensional in the Younger Edda.

>>3356 Damn, Germania by Tacitus is hella expensive there..

>>3342 I was gonna start off with this. It's really interesting coming fresh off of American Gods and reading it. Loved how it kept to the tone of the myths I read as a kid.

>>3358 You could probably find a free version posted online especially on a public domain site or Archive.org. Same goes for Benjamin Thorpe's Poetic Edda.

>>3360 I don't kinda like reading on my PC or phone, will check local libraries first too

One should be just as wary of sources colored by nationalist bias or new age pagan revival bias as those colored by Christian bias.

>>3334 This is a cool resource to my mind: https://norse-mythology.org/

Just read Varg's books.

>>3415 >Varg Vikernes Fedora tier.

>>3439 I hate the fedora atheist meme. It's used to shut down any real criticism of the religious. It's just like when normals keep saying cringe over and over without elaborating when someone disagrees with their behaviour.

>>3459 Any meme response to anything is highly destructive to any serious conversation. 4chan (with the help of youtube and twitter) has destroyed the public dialog

>>3459 >>3460 Both objectively wrong answers Meme questions and criticism gets meme answers When someone starts using arguments like "skydaddy" is gonna get trolled When someone starts asking serious questions like theodicy he is gonna spark a serious discussion as i have seen with my own eyes numerous times in imageboards(which are not even places of serious discussion) As for what >>3460 says you conveniently forgot to mention that behind public discourse are very serious interests that want to derail the discussion to favour their side of the argument. Public dialog has always been manipulated no matter the medium used or the era concerned. Are you seriously suggesting that some teens posting frogs and fedoras or on the other hand some pc police types are to blame? Hillarious imagine living in >2019 and being unable to realize what a campaign looks like.

Norse mythology is all bunk. People thought the real mythology was vikings without horns but it goes much further. We have pretty much no direct written accounts of norse's religious traditions, most material we have was written by christians hundreds of years after most of the populations converted. We dont even know if everyone actually believed in Hel or Valhalla or if they were just regional traditions.

>>3463 Ideally they'd get no answer. Making low quality responses to low quality statements does not stop the original statement from being stupid; all it does is produce more low quality discussion. You might get catharsis, and maybe even a small boost in your ego from having bested someone in an online debate, but in the long term, a "meme" conversation has no real value to anyone. But if you absolutely can't get over the urge to respond to a low quality post, at least have the decency to make your own posts good.

>>3465 >"meme" conversation has no real value to anyone are we browsing the same internet? The internet were arguments are won and public opinion is shaped by the wittiest one line arguments? It has no value to someone who wants to seriously investigate a topic-but for the rest it has become the major tool for shaping opinion and as such it holds tremendous value.That is why its everywhere and isnt going to go away anytime soon no matter how obnoxious it is. As for OP i have to rec Gods and Myths of Northern Europe by Davidson then you can move to the poetic Edda but not before just as you wouldnt start on greek mythology with the iliad/odyssey Also Norse Mythology: A Guide to the Gods, Heroes, Rituals, and Beliefs by John Lindow seems to be good (i havent read this one)

I like this https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hulduf%C3%B3lk >In 1982, 150 Icelanders went to the NATO base in Keflavík to look for "elves who might be endangered by American Phantom jets and AWACS reconnaissance planes

>>3467 That's lovely but it's in the same category as the Yippies attempting to levitate the Pentagon by joining hands around it. I don't think anyone expected to find elves. It also reminds me of pic related.

Trying to get a grasp of pre-christian European religion is pretty much impossible. It has been watered down by Christian scholars and by those claiming to having had some secretive knowledge. A good example is the Druids. Not only were they persecuted by Christians, they were also said to have been secretive. One of the worst things about older cultures was the belief that knowledge should be retained within the higher classes or in the case of some pagan cultures passed to a select part of the society like certain women would only be passed the knowledge and secrets of their culture and religion. I guess they imagined the world would end before their culture so the idea of spreading the information to as many people as possible didn't occur to them. In a way it seems kind of fitting. I always think of the Neil Gaiman book American Gods. A god needs people to remember them to survive. Viking gods have pretty much all but died by that theory. We remember the names, but little else. The main part that should be taken away is the emphasis on being one with nature. Just acknowledging the life around you, especially in the setting of a forest can be pretty nice. We often look back on the mysteries of ages long forgotten yet we also dismiss parts of it we don't like. Human sacrifices were prevalent in European paganism. Just look up "bog bodies" or mass graves found in Germany and other places in Europe. If that is one of the steps to become closer to those gods, then you will never achieve being one with them without doing something like that. I'm not criticizing those that would like to find pride in their cultural past but think of it like this: We have a handful of stories on mythology from dead European religions, yet next to nothing on how they worshiped or how they prayed. You mine as well dance a jig and spit on your hand and slap a bald mans head because that's about as likely a form of real prayer as any other.