The
Elder Gods
The Otherworld of Early England
Stephen Pollington
Inscriptions from the 1st century AD provide
the earliest physical evidence for a Germanic presence in Britain.
From at least that time until the conversion of the Anglo-Saxon
kings in the late 600s Britain had, to varying degrees, a heathen
Germanic culture. After a presence of six centuries a new group
of heathens arrived. Scandinavians brought with them beliefs,
attitudes and a world view that were much like those that survived
in Anglo-Saxon England. The Scandinavian arrival extended the
Northern European heathen period to almost a thousand years.
The purpose of the work is to bring together a range of evidence
for pre-Christian beliefs and attitudes to the Otherworld drawn
from archaeology, linguistics, literary studies and comparative
mythology. The rich and varied English tradition influenced the
worldview of the later mediaeval and Norse societies. Aspects
of this tradition are with us still in the 21st century.
70 black & white illustrations
£29
528 pages
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