Northern Tradition

Beautiful goddesses, fierce warriors, formidable beasts, and Ragnarök itself—these magical tales have enthralled audiences for centuries. This classic collection of tales offers fascinating insights into Nordic cultures. This captivating book dives deep into the rich history of the region and recalls both the most popular and little-known tales of the north. This phenomenal compendium of northern European folklore is informed by archaeology and literature. Celebrating the intricacies of a long-lost world, Northern Mythology breathes new life into the tales of the distant past.

Shamanism is humanity’s oldest spiritual tradition. In much of the Western world, the indigenous pre-Christian spiritual practices have been lost. Yet at the northern fringes of Europe, Christianity did not displace the original shamanic practices until the end of the Viking age. Reconstructing the shamanic practices of the hunter-gatherers of Scandinavia, Evelyn Rysdyk explores the evolution of Norse shamanism from its earliest female roots to the pre-Christian Viking Age.

This wonderfully romantic tale is only found in the paper copies of The Eddas, an unnamed collection of Norse works. Snorri, an Icelandic historian and poet, doesn’t mention it elsewhere in his works. It is probably not much older than the 17th century. Being that we cannot trace its origin much further back than that, it is largely ignored. But I believe we do so at the risk of missing how these grand tales became what they are today.