Hurstwic: Approaching Old Norse Religions
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- Опубліковано 24 чер 2019
- Approaching Old Norse religions: What the available sources can tell us about the pre-Christian religions of the North
A presentation and discussion with Ólöf Bjarnadóttir
at the Hurstwic Heathen Study Group
The two main written sources on Old Norse, pre-Christian religions are the Eddic poems and Snorra Edda written in Iceland in the early thirteenth century, a time when Iceland, along with most of Europe and Scandinavia, had converted to Christianity. Though undoubtedly largely originating in pre-Christian mythological material, these sources can therefore only confidently be said to reflect the contemporary knowledge of the subject at the time in which they were compiled. This reality has forced scholars of Old Norse religions to re-evaluate the evidence and broaden their field of research to include a wider range of extant written sources as well as the results of archaeological projects and place name research.
In this presentation, Ólöf introduces the main sources on Old Norse religions as well as discussing the problems and limitations of their use.
Ólöf Bjarnadóttir received the degree of Master of Arts from the University of Iceland. This presentation is, in part, based on her MA thesis.
The Hurstwic Heathen Study Group is an organization that meets monthly for informal presentations and discussions on topics of interest to heathens and to anyone with a passion for Norse-related topics.
www.hurstwic.com/training/clas...
If only content like this would "go viral" every now and again. Alas.
This video came up as a suggestion. Very insightful and actually quiet entertaining. Most worth the watch.
Really loved this discussion. I also walked away with new material to look into. Thanks for the upload!
If it’s “dead” then why is there a trace left with all the names and history? Hmmm I don’t believe are Ancestors were wrong!
1:33 - I enjoy the fact she laughs and excuses the slide she presents. But the reality is many students will go down this route, knowing the university will dare not hesitate to give them a passing grade and glowing review. It's an intellectual softball.
Why are comments disabled on most videos on your channel? I would think given the purpose of Hurstwic that community building would be important? There is so much the global community could offer that you've missed due to censorship.
So interesting, and so frustrating.
Those Irish genes are so obvious in the Icelanders
I'm deeply distributed an Icelandic scholar would label people in Estonia as Chuds in 2019. It's now long known Chuds were an isolated nation behind the Lake Pipus (Peipsi järv) which even got its name by their tribe name Чудское озеро, but never in myriad of years they have been in Estonia, which always have belonged to Estonians who gave the rise to proto-Finno-Ugric language and the rise of Läänemere Soome-ugrilased languages. Sad that such important details are so cast aside. Not in a millennia would have crossed my mind to insult Icelanders which such liberal take. Even ancient Icelandic sagas mention Estonia as the destination for their raids. Hoping this message could passed forward to her.
Why "norse" btw? This stuff went all the way down to the alps and even beyond them. The gods were the same. Only the local preferences in gods and some practices were different.
This
Christianity is one of, if not the best, documented religion especially from its founding years. Jesus is depicted as being a part of every racial group on earth. The Norse depict him blond, the Greeks depict him olive skinned, Arab Christians as Arab and Ethiopian Christians as Ethiopian. Her Uber skeptical approach is something I’ve noticed in almost all Scandinavian scholars and although caveats about very real gaps in our knowledge are warranted, I feel the pendulum tends to swing too far
Her insistence that it can't be a modern religion when it clearly already has become one is questionable. As if a new religion couldn't form off of the incomplete foundation of another. This happens organically all the time. Islam is an example of a religion that has formed off of the partial foundations of other religions and become its own separate religion with its own traditions. Norse neo-paganism is entirely a viable religious path. It isn't identical to the old religion, but it doesn't need to be. New religious traditions fill in gaps of the old and create a new religion.
this is a fair and valid point, and one i take issue with when it comes to historical reconstructionists, because there's not enough in the lore and archeology together to fully understand what they practiced or believed. It is also a sticking point with me that neo-heathens and reconstructionists both are more than happy to ignore those little pockets where the beliefs were never lost, carried on perhaps privately, when those families and tribes and clans are such an invaluable resource to gain knowledge from. They are living the history and everyone seems completely happy to ignore their existence. shameful, really.
So a seminar on ancient feminism?
No, just more female partitioning.
Christian women also have monastic life! You’re Lutheran background is showing
"this is a dead religion"... Ignores the thousands (maybe millions) of people practicing Modern Heathenry today. There is an Asatru temple under construction in Iceland! Yes the sagas, eddas, etc present contradictions. Have you read the Christian Bible? LOL. It's rife with contradictions. Is neo paganism identical to 9th century Norse practice? No. But all religions change over time. HumanS remake their religions though time.