1st Edition
Iron Age Myth and Materiality An Archaeology of Scandinavia AD 400-1000
Introduction Part I: A Mythical Narrative 1. The mythical cycle of Odin Part II: Words of Identity 2. Written sources on the pre-Christian past 3. Origin myths and political/ethnical affiliations Part III: The Constitution of 'Otherness' 4. Embodied in animals 5.Other ways of ‘being in the world’ Part IV: Materiality Matters 6. Commemorative places 7. The cosmic order of landscapes Part V: The Making of Norse Mythology 8. Knowledge production reconsidered 9. Hypothesis I: The Huns in Scandinavia 10. Hypothesis II: Attila and the recast of Scandinavian mythology 11. Stranger kings: Intruders from the outside realm
Biography
Lotte Hedeager is Professor of Archaeology and Head of the Department of Archaeology, Conservation and History at the University of Oslo, Norway.
"These theories can breathe new life into ancient myths and this book should appeal to anyone either with an interest in northern mythology or in material culture - or both." - Minerva Magazine
"Here is an excellent guide to material which shows the Migration period as a dynamic, creative, and exciting part of European history with just as vivid a story to tell as the Roman ruins beloved of western Europe." - Catherine Hills, Department of Archaeology, University of Cambridge UK, European Journal of Archaeology
"Lotte Hedeager writes with authority here on a fascinating subject and her eloquent prose, offering an interdisciplinary exploration of text and material culture, is beautifully illustrated with drawn examples from Scandinavia's rich iconographic record...The rich data that Headeager draws upon are astonishing - and the illuminative pleasure that this study can bring to familiar Old Norse favourites is worth the price of entry alone. However, it is the methodology of investigation, ordered presentation and quality of argument that truly inspire. It should be required reading for any student of past cosmology and iconography the world over." - Monika Maleszka-Ritchie - The Journal of Medieval Archaeology
