CINXE.COM

<!DOCTYPE html><html><head><title>Dictionary of Northern Mythology - Rudolf Simek - Google Books</title><link rel="stylesheet" href="/books/css/_ff77d0f0508c7e0bad470e7d6b7f28fa/kl_about_this_book_kennedy_full_bundle.css" type="text/css" /><link rel="stylesheet"href="https://fonts.googleapis.com/css2?family=Product+Sans:wght@400"><script src="/books/javascript/atb_ff77d0f0508c7e0bad470e7d6b7f28fa__en.js"></script><link rel="canonical" href="https://books.google.com/books/about/Dictionary_of_Northern_Mythology.html?id=MZ24QgAACAAJ"/><meta property="og:url" content="https://books.google.com/books/about/Dictionary_of_Northern_Mythology.html?id=MZ24QgAACAAJ"/><meta name="title" content="Dictionary of Northern Mythology"/><meta name="description" content="For two and a half thousand years, from 1500 BC to AD 1000, a culture as significant as the classical civilisation of the Mediterranean world settled an immense area in northern Europe that stretched from Iceland to the Black Sea. But the sources of our knowledge about these societies are relatively few, leaving the gods of the North shrouded in mystery. In compiling this dictionary Rudolf Simek has made the fullest possible use of the information available -Christian accounts, Eddic lays, the Elder Edda, runic inscriptions, Roman authors (especially Tacitus), votive stones, place names and archaeological discoveries. He has adhered throughout to a broad definition of mythology which presents the beliefs of the heathen Germanic tribes in their entirety: not only tales of the gods, but beings from lower levels of belief: elves, dwarfs and giants; the beginning and end of the world; the creation of man, death and the afterlife; cult, burial customs and magic - an entire history of Germanic religion.RUDOLF SIMEK is Professor of Medieval German and Scandinavian literature at the University of Bonn in Germany."/><meta property="og:title" content="Dictionary of Northern Mythology"/><meta property="og:type" content="book"/><meta property="og:site_name" content="Google Books"/><meta property="og:image" content="https://books.google.com.sg/books/content?id=MZ24QgAACAAJ&printsec=frontcover&img=1&zoom=1&imgtk=AFLRE71OoTZp6MGvFulY9ZN-mQgQU44Pez2pmg8k6YYURqe3nhQJrmM7tOYReojaoWqm3Q6Sy3tQrHJ19zBh_LkP1dQm2a1k_BIIeMEfbQDHh_GaY9_89flG_0JxUeyLWaIaBnyewdau"/><link rel="image_src" href="https://books.google.com.sg/books/content?id=MZ24QgAACAAJ&printsec=frontcover&img=1&zoom=1&imgtk=AFLRE71OoTZp6MGvFulY9ZN-mQgQU44Pez2pmg8k6YYURqe3nhQJrmM7tOYReojaoWqm3Q6Sy3tQrHJ19zBh_LkP1dQm2a1k_BIIeMEfbQDHh_GaY9_89flG_0JxUeyLWaIaBnyewdau"/><script></script><style>#gbar,#guser{font-size:13px;padding-top:1px !important;}#gbar{height:22px}#guser{padding-bottom:7px !important;text-align:right}.gbh,.gbd{border-top:1px solid #c9d7f1;font-size:1px}.gbh{height:0;position:absolute;top:24px;width:100%}@media all{.gb1{height:22px;margin-right:.5em;vertical-align:top}#gbar{float:left}}a.gb1,a.gb4{text-decoration:underline !important}a.gb1,a.gb4{color:#00c !important}.gbi .gb4{color:#dd8e27 !important}.gbf .gb4{color:#900 !important} #gbar { padding:.3em .6em !important;}</style></head><body class=""><div id=gbar><nobr><a target=_blank class=gb1 href="https://www.google.com.sg/search?tab=pw">Search</a> <a target=_blank class=gb1 href="https://www.google.com.sg/imghp?hl=en&tab=pi">Images</a> <a target=_blank class=gb1 href="https://maps.google.com.sg/maps?hl=en&tab=pl">Maps</a> <a target=_blank class=gb1 href="https://play.google.com/?hl=en&tab=p8">Play</a> <a target=_blank class=gb1 href="https://www.youtube.com/?tab=p1">YouTube</a> <a target=_blank class=gb1 href="https://news.google.com/?tab=pn">News</a> <a target=_blank class=gb1 href="https://mail.google.com/mail/?tab=pm">Gmail</a> <a target=_blank class=gb1 href="https://drive.google.com/?tab=po">Drive</a> <a target=_blank class=gb1 style="text-decoration:none" href="https://www.google.com.sg/intl/en/about/products?tab=ph"><u>More</u> »</a></nobr></div><div id=guser width=100%><nobr><span id=gbn class=gbi></span><span id=gbf class=gbf></span><span id=gbe></span><a target=_top id=gb_70 href="https://www.google.com/accounts/Login?service=print&continue=https://books.google.com.sg/books%3Fid%3DMZ24QgAACAAJ%26q%3DDictionary%2Bof%2BNorthern%2BMythology%26redir_esc%3Dy%26hl%3Den&hl=en&ec=GAZACg" class=gb4>Sign in</a></nobr></div><div class=gbh style=left:0></div><div class=gbh style=right:0></div><div role="alert" style="position: absolute; left: 0; right: 0;"><a href="https://books.google.com.sg/books?id=MZ24QgAACAAJ&q=Dictionary+of+Northern+Mythology&redir_esc=y&hl=en&output=html_text" title="Screen reader users: click this link for accessible mode. Accessible mode has the same essential features but works better with your reader."><img border="0" src="//www.google.com/images/cleardot.gif"alt="Screen reader users: click this link for accessible mode. Accessible mode has the same essential features but works better with your reader."></a></div><div class="kd-appbar"><h2 class="kd-appname"><a href="/books">Books</a></h2><div class="kd-buttonbar left" id="left-toolbar-buttons"><a id="appbar-view-print-sample-link" href=""></a><a id="appbar-view-ebook-sample-link" href=""></a><a id="appbar-patents-prior-art-finder-link" href=""></a><a id="appbar-patents-discuss-this-link" href="" data-is-grant=""></a><a id="appbar-read-patent-link" href=""></a><a id="appbar-download-pdf-link" href=""></a></div><div class="kd-buttonbar right" id="right-toolbar-buttons"></div></div><div style="display: none"><ol id="ofe-gear-menu-contents" class="gbmcc"><li class="gbe gbmtc"><a class="gbmt goog-menuitem-content" id="" href="https://www.google.com/accounts/Login?service=print&continue=https://books.google.com.sg/books%3Fop%3Dlibrary&hl=en">My library</a></li><li class="gbe gbmtc"><a class="gbmt goog-menuitem-content" id="" href="http://books.google.com.sg/support/topic/4359341?hl=en-SG">Help</a></li><li class="gbe gbmtc"><a class="gbmt goog-menuitem-content" id="" href="https://books.google.com.sg/advanced_book_search">Advanced Book Search</a></li></ol></div><div id="volume-main"><div id="volume-left"><div id=menu_container ><div id="menu_scroll_wrapper"><div id="menu_scroll" role="navigation"><div id="gb-get-book-container"><a id="gb-get-book-content" href="https://books.google.com.sg/books?id=MZ24QgAACAAJ&sitesec=buy&source=gbs_atb">Get print book</a></div><p id="gb-get-book-not-available">No eBook available<p><h3 class=about_title><a name="buy_anchor"></a></h3><div id=buy class=about_content><div id=buy_v><ul style="list-style-type: none; padding-left: 0; margin: 0;"><li><a style="white-space:normal" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/search?index=books&linkCode=qs&keywords=9780859915137" dir=ltr onMouseOver="this.href='http://www.amazon.com/gp/search?index\x3dbooks\x26linkCode\x3dqs\x26keywords\x3d9780859915137';return false" onMouseDown="this.href='/url?client\x3dca-google-gppd\x26format\x3dgoogleprint\x26num\x3d0\x26id\x3dMZ24QgAACAAJ\x26q\x3dhttp://www.amazon.com/gp/search%3Findex%3Dbooks%26linkCode%3Dqs%26keywords%3D9780859915137\x26usg\x3dAOvVaw2FAk1BvHTG7RThTjlnuApU\x26source\x3dgbs_buy_r';return true"><span dir=ltr>Amazon.com</span></a></li><li><a style="white-space:normal" href="http://www.mphonline.com/books/nsearch.aspx?do=detail&pcode=9780859915137" dir=ltr onMouseOver="this.href='http://www.mphonline.com/books/nsearch.aspx?do\x3ddetail\x26pcode\x3d9780859915137';return false" onMouseDown="this.href='/url?client\x3dca-google-gppd\x26format\x3dgoogleprint\x26num\x3d0\x26id\x3dMZ24QgAACAAJ\x26q\x3dhttp://www.mphonline.com/books/nsearch.aspx%3Fdo%3Ddetail%26pcode%3D9780859915137\x26usg\x3dAOvVaw3FryDltiMv1Oj2uZI9YZON\x26source\x3dgbs_buy_r';return true"><span dir=ltr>MPH</span></a></li><li><a style="white-space:normal" href="https://www.popular.com.sg/catalogsearch/result/?q=9780859915137" dir=ltr onMouseOver="this.href='https://www.popular.com.sg/catalogsearch/result/?q\x3d9780859915137';return false" onMouseDown="this.href='/url?client\x3dca-google-gppd\x26format\x3dgoogleprint\x26num\x3d0\x26id\x3dMZ24QgAACAAJ\x26q\x3dhttps://www.popular.com.sg/catalogsearch/result/%3Fq%3D9780859915137\x26usg\x3dAOvVaw3vsrUc3yyc5eGNgN_ddEfP\x26source\x3dgbs_buy_r';return true"><span dir=ltr>Popular</span></a></li><li><hr style="margin-right: 20%; color: #666;"></li><li><a style="white-space:normal" href="https://books.google.com.sg/url?id=MZ24QgAACAAJ&q=http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/247499383&clientid=librarylink&usg=AOvVaw2AScJNKoHa65DnQ1d0rhV3&source=gbs_buy_r"><span dir=ltr>Find in a library</span></a></li><li><a class="secondary" style="white-space:normal" href="https://books.google.com.sg/books?id=MZ24QgAACAAJ&sitesec=buy&source=gbs_buy_r" id="get-all-sellers-link"><span dir=ltr>All sellers</span> »</a></li></ul></div></div><div class=menu id=menu><div class="menu_content" style="margin-bottom:6px"><div style="margin-bottom:4px"></div><div style="margin-bottom:3px"></div><div></div></div></div><div class="sidebar-hr"></div><div class="ebook-promo"><a href="https://play.google.com/store/books"><img border="0" src="/googlebooks/images/ebook_promo.png" /><h3 class="section">Shop for Books on Google Play</h3><p class="ebook-promo-description">Browse the world's largest eBookstore and start reading today on the web, tablet, phone, or ereader.</p><p class="ebook-promo-clickme">Go to Google Play Now »</p></a></div><div class="sidebar-hr"></div><div><div id="navbarContainer" class="gb-navbar"></div><script>_OC_InitNavbar({"child_node":[{"title":"My library","url":"https://books.google.com.sg/books?uid=114584440181414684107\u0026source=gbs_lp_bookshelf_list","id":"my_library","collapsed":true},{"title":"My History","url":"","id":"my_history","collapsed":true}],"highlighted_node_id":""});</script></div></div></div></div></div><div id="volume-center"><div id="scroll_atb" role="main"><div class=vertical_module_list_row><div id=ge_summary class=about_content><div id=ge_summary_v><div class="hproduct"><table id="summary_content_table" cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0><tr><td id="bookinfo"><h1 class="booktitle"><span class="fn"><span dir=ltr>Dictionary of Northern Mythology</span></span><span class="subtitle"></span></h1><div class="bookcover"><img src="https://books.google.com.sg/books/content?id=MZ24QgAACAAJ&printsec=frontcover&img=1&zoom=1&imgtk=AFLRE73Lkx8y5FQGWQJZzCwcvVjz3GCb2l6D6l1KLoOzCIPISJYoOOuoQiFBrRDRaFX7TJS69DmVRabCI8_CdWC5tUgs9-m8JpYktcjaJn8MP-v-UoIT_Q6bMQu115SCIrYtQddmtr03" alt="Front Cover" title="Front Cover" width=128 border=1 id=summary-frontcover ></div><div class="bookinfo_sectionwrap"><div><a href="https://www.google.com.sg/search?tbo=p&tbm=bks&q=inauthor:%22Rudolf+Simek%22" class="secondary"><span dir=ltr>Rudolf Simek</span></a></div><div><span dir=ltr>D.S. Brewer</span>, 1996 - <a class="secondary" href="https://www.google.com.sg/search?tbo=p&tbm=bks&q=subject:%22Religion%22&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0"><span dir=ltr>Religion</span></a> - <span dir=ltr>424 pages</span></div></div><div id=synopsis><div id=synopsis-window><div id=synopsistext dir=ltr class="sa">For two and a half thousand years, from 1500 BC to AD 1000, a culture as significant as the classical civilisation of the Mediterranean world settled an immense area in northern Europe that stretched from Iceland to the Black Sea. But the sources of our knowledge about these societies are relatively few, leaving the gods of the North shrouded in mystery. In compiling this dictionary Rudolf Simek has made the fullest possible use of the information available -Christian accounts, Eddic lays, the Elder Edda, runic inscriptions, Roman authors (especially Tacitus), votive stones, place names and archaeological discoveries. He has adhered throughout to a broad definition of mythology which presents the beliefs of the heathen Germanic tribes in their entirety: not only tales of the gods, but beings from lower levels of belief: elves, dwarfs and giants; the beginning and end of the world; the creation of man, death and the afterlife; cult, burial customs and magic - an entire history of Germanic religion.RUDOLF SIMEK is Professor of Medieval German and Scandinavian literature at the University of Bonn in Germany.</div></div></div><div class="search_box_wrapper"></div></td> </tr></table><div id="summary-second-column"></div></div></div></div></div><div class=vertical_module_list_row><h3 class=about_title><a name="about_author_anchor"></a>About the author <span style="color:#666; font-weight:normal">(1996)</span></h3><div id=about_author class=about_content><div id=about_author_v><div class=textmodulecontent><p>Angela Hall leads a team of architects at SAS Institute Inc. who implement analytic focused solutions that uncover hidden patterns to make improvements such as eliminating waste and fraud. A SAS user since 1995, Angela enjoys working with OLAP data structures and developing custom applications using stored processes. She received a BS in statistics from N.C. State University and an MBA with an emphasis in technology management from the University of Phoenix. A previous chair of the American Society of Quality's Raleigh, North Carolina, chapter, she has also co-chaired a Southeast SAS Users Group (SESUG) section and continues to present papers at SAS Global Forum conferences.</p> </div></div></div></div><div class=vertical_module_list_row><h3 class="about_title">Bibliographic information</h3><div class="about_content" id="metadata_content" style="padding-bottom:.3em"><div class="metadata_sectionwrap"><table id="metadata_content_table"><tr class="metadata_row"><td class="metadata_label">Title</td><td class="metadata_value"><span dir=ltr>Dictionary of Northern Mythology</span></td></tr><tr class="metadata_row"><td class="metadata_label"><span dir=ltr>Author</span></td><td class="metadata_value"><a class="primary" href="https://www.google.com.sg/search?tbo=p&tbm=bks&q=inauthor:%22Rudolf+Simek%22&source=gbs_metadata_r&cad=2"><span dir=ltr>Rudolf Simek</span></a></td></tr><tr class="metadata_row"><td class="metadata_label"><span dir=ltr>Translated by</span></td><td class="metadata_value"><span dir=ltr>Angela Hall</span></td></tr><tr class="metadata_row"><td class="metadata_label"><span dir=ltr>Edition</span></td><td class="metadata_value"><span dir=ltr>illustrated, reprint, revised</span></td></tr><tr class="metadata_row"><td class="metadata_label"><span dir=ltr>Publisher</span></td><td class="metadata_value"><span dir=ltr>D.S. Brewer, 1996</span></td></tr><tr class="metadata_row"><td class="metadata_label"><span dir=ltr>ISBN</span></td><td class="metadata_value"><span dir=ltr>0859915131, 9780859915137</span></td></tr><tr class="metadata_row"><td class="metadata_label"><span dir=ltr>Length</span></td><td class="metadata_value"><span dir=ltr>424 pages</span></td></tr><tr class="metadata_row"><td class="metadata_label"><span dir=ltr>Subjects</span></td><td class="metadata_value"><div style="display:inline" itemscope itemtype="http://data-vocabulary.org/Breadcrumb"><a class="primary" href="https://www.google.com.sg/search?tbo=p&tbm=bks&q=subject:%22Religion%22" itemprop="url" dir=ltr><span itemprop="title">Religion</span></a></div> › <div style="display:inline" itemscope itemtype="http://data-vocabulary.org/Breadcrumb"><a class="primary" href="https://www.google.com.sg/search?tbo=p&tbm=bks&q=subject:%22Religion+History%22" itemprop="url" dir=ltr><span itemprop="title">History</span></a></div><br><br><a class="primary" href="https://www.google.com.sg/search?tbo=p&tbm=bks&q=subject:%22Religion+/+History%22&source=gbs_metadata_r&cad=2"><span dir=ltr>Religion / History</span></a><br/><a class="primary" href="https://www.google.com.sg/search?tbo=p&tbm=bks&q=subject:%22Social+Science+/+Folklore+%26+Mythology%22&source=gbs_metadata_r&cad=2"><span dir=ltr>Social Science / Folklore & Mythology</span></a></td></tr><tr class="metadata_row"><td>&nbsp</td><td>&nbsp</td></tr><tr class="metadata_row"><td class="metadata_label"><span dir=ltr>Export Citation</span></td><td class="metadata_value"><a class="gb-button " href="https://books.google.com.sg/books/download/Dictionary_of_Northern_Mythology.bibtex?id=MZ24QgAACAAJ&output=bibtex"><span dir=ltr>BiBTeX</span></a> <a class="gb-button " href="https://books.google.com.sg/books/download/Dictionary_of_Northern_Mythology.enw?id=MZ24QgAACAAJ&output=enw"><span dir=ltr>EndNote</span></a> <a class="gb-button " href="https://books.google.com.sg/books/download/Dictionary_of_Northern_Mythology.ris?id=MZ24QgAACAAJ&output=ris"><span dir=ltr>RefMan</span></a></td></tr></table></div><div style="clear:both"></div></div></div><script>_OC_addFlags({Host:"https://books.google.com.sg/", IsBrowsingHistoryEnabled:1, IsBooksRentalEnabled:1, IsBooksUnifiedLeftNavEnabled:1, IsZipitFolderCollectionEnabled:1});_OC_Run({"is_cobrand":false,"sign_in_url":"https://www.google.com/accounts/Login?service=print\u0026continue=https://books.google.com.sg/books%3Fid%3DMZ24QgAACAAJ%26q%3DDictionary%2Bof%2BNorthern%2BMythology%26redir_esc%3Dy%26hl%3Den\u0026hl=en"}, {"volume_id":"MZ24QgAACAAJ","is_ebook":false,"volumeresult":{"has_flowing_text":false,"has_scanned_text":false,"can_download_pdf":false,"can_download_epub":false,"is_pdf_drm_enabled":false,"is_epub_drm_enabled":false},"sample_url":"https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=MZ24QgAACAAJ\u0026source=gbs_atb_hover","is_browsable":false,"is_public_domain":false}, {});</script><div id="footer_table" style="font-size:83%;text-align:center;position:relative;top:20px;height:4.5em;margin-top:2em"><div style="margin-bottom:8px"><a href="/intl/en/googlebooks/about.html"><nobr><nobr>About Google Books</nobr></nobr></a> - <a href="/intl/en/googlebooks/privacy.html"><nobr><nobr>Privacy Policy</nobr></nobr></a> - <a href="/intl/en/googlebooks/tos.html"><nobr><nobr>Terms of Service</nobr></nobr></a> - <a href="http://books.google.com.sg/support/partner/?hl=en-SG"><nobr><nobr>Information for Publishers</nobr></nobr></a> - <a href="http://books.google.com.sg/support/answer/180577?hl=en-SG&url=https://books.google.com.sg/books?id=MZ24QgAACAAJ&q=Dictionary+of+Northern+Mythology&redir_esc=y&hl=en&v=MZ24QgAACAAJ&is=atb"><nobr><nobr>Report an issue</nobr></nobr></a> - <a href="http://books.google.com.sg/support/topic/4359341?hl=en-SG"><nobr><nobr>Help</nobr></nobr></a> - <a href="https://www.google.com.sg/"><nobr><nobr>Google Home</nobr></nobr></a></div></div></div></div></div><script>(function() {var href = window.location.href;if (href.indexOf('?') !== -1) {var parameters = href.split('?')[1].split('&');for (var i = 0; i < parameters.length; i++) {var param = parameters[i].split('=');if (param[0] == 'focus') {var elem = document.getElementById(param[1]);if (elem) {elem.focus();}}}}})();</script>