The Myths of the Norsemen: From the Eddas and Sagas on Norse Mythology

Contents > List Of Illustrations > Introduction

• attestation: Northern mythology is characterised by a peculiar grim humour and a dark tragic thread found in no other race's religion, qualities that permeated English literature.

  "The most distinctive traits of this mythology are a peculiar grim humour, to be found in the religion of no other race, and a dark thread of tragedy which runs throughout the whole woof, and these characteristics, touching both extremes, are writ large over English literature."

• attestation: The Norse gods were described as standing out 'rude and massive as the Scandinavian mountains' and exhibiting a spirit of victory superior to brute force.

  "foremost students of Icelandic literature agree that they stand out rude and massive as the Scandinavian mountains. They exhibit "a spirit of victory, superior to brute force, superior to mere matter, a spirit that fights and overcomes.""

• attestation: The introduction of Christianity into the North supplanted native Norse genius through the influence of Classical Greek and Roman culture.

  "The introduction of Christianity into the North brought with it the influence of the Classical races, and this eventually supplanted the native genius, so that the alien mythology and literature of Greece and Rome have formed an increasing part of the mental equipment of the northern peoples in proportion as the native literature and tradition have been neglected."

• attribution: Carlyle described Norse mythology as a 'bewildering jungle of delusions' but acknowledged it had at its soul a spiritual force seeking expression.

  ""A bewildering, inextricable jungle of delusions, confusions, falsehoods and absurdities, covering the whole field of Life!" he calls them, with all good reason. But he goes on to show, with equal truth, that at the soul of this crude worship of distorted nature was a spiritual force seeking expression."

Contents > Chapter Ii: Odin

• attestation: Among Northern nations, souls were believed to escape from dead bodies in the shape of a mouse creeping out of the corpse's mouth.

  "It was generally believed among the Northern nations that the soul escaped from the body in the shape of a mouse, which crept out of a corpse's mouth and ran away, and it was also said to creep in and out of the mouths of people in a trance."