4 ms·
Some context -- Snorri has 500 years of dark-ages obscuring whatever he wants to say [1]. I am utterly unconvinced that what Snorri writes is what the original
by cobbzilla 4y ago
Some context -- Snorri has 500 years of dark-ages obscuring whatever he wants to say [1]. I am utterly unconvinced that what Snorri writes is what the original Vikings believed.
[1] The Prose Edda was written in the early 13th century; the earliest recorded Viking raids on Britain are late 8th century; original Viking culture/beliefs must be even older.
- krapp 4y agoSnorri was also a Christian writing about his culture's former pagan beliefs to a Christian audience. Recontextualizing other religions and their practices into a culturally acceptable form (ie other gods were really just powerful sorcerors or demons leading people astray) was standard practice at the time.
- cobbzilla 4y agototally agree, and you can learn a lot from Snorri, but that doesn’t make what he says about ancient traditions actually true — best to add whatever the archaeology & other forensic science says and take the whole picture.
- bazoom42 4y agoYou cant apply the term “dark-ages” to Scandinavia or Iceland.