Reddit Reddit reviews The Norse Myths (The Pantheon Fairy Tale and Folklore Library)

We found 24 Reddit comments about The Norse Myths (The Pantheon Fairy Tale and Folklore Library). Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.

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The Norse Myths (The Pantheon Fairy Tale and Folklore Library)
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24 Reddit comments about The Norse Myths (The Pantheon Fairy Tale and Folklore Library):

u/Powerslave1123 · 8 pointsr/Norse

I would highly recommended this book as an introduction to Norse mythology. It's easy to read without being dumbed down, and it's very fun and engaging. Really fantastic read.

u/Ysmildr · 5 pointsr/vikingstv

Okay, let me break this down for you in very simple terms:

Every single book I have bought on Viking history goes to extensive lengths IN THE FUCKING INTRODUCTION to detail how Women were treated vastly different to modern day societies (even books written in the 1930s acknowledge this) and that they were warriors. Every. Single. Fucking. Book.

But no, you, who have obviously never read into the subject, know better. You want a list of books? I can provide that.

Book one

Book two

Book three

>Hell's Angels podcast, I don't care

And that's your ignorance showing once again. The podcast is fully sourced and it's done by a guy who majored in History. I'm not sure if he has a Bachelors or a Masters, but he has a degree specifically in History, and he fully sources everything for his podcast. It's not at all some "feminist agenda" podcast, it's actually good history.

LINK

I'm fucking done dude. You are ignorant, and instead of learning about it you arrogantly rant about this stuff.

u/bilbo_elffriend · 4 pointsr/Norse

I am an norse enthusiast who has only superficial knowledge.

I found this book Norse Myths by Kevin Crossley-Holland. It is a book for people exactly like me - people who don't have extensive knowledge of the Norse Myths and are yet interested in the overall culture. The book has each myth as a story and it is cyclical - it begins with the creation of the world and ends with Ragnarok. So basically, it contains all the stories in the Eddas - in a much more reader friendly manner than the usual academic works.

All in all, a very enjoyable book. I'd highly recommend it.


...although, the price mentioned in Amazon seems pretty high. I bought a different version of the book at my place for less than half that price.

u/RedShirtDecoy · 4 pointsr/vikingstv

When I started watching this show a few years ago I ended up buying quite a few books about Norse Mythology and Asatru (the reconstruction religion that is becoming more popular).

Here are a few good ones

The Norse Myths This is a good basic breakdown of the stories in the Sagas/Eddas and is easy to read.

Viking Age: Everyday Life During the Extraordinary Era of the Norsemen This is a fantastic book that really isn't related to the myths (there is a religion section) but this is a great book that goes over the everyday lives of Vikings and their families. Everything from political structure down to what they ate and how they dressed. It also has great illustrations.

The Prose Edda: Norse Mythology (Penguin Classics) - one of the source materials of the myths.

The Sagas of Ragnar Lodbrok - I dont have this one personally but it is on my list to buy.

If you want to read about the reconstruction religion that has gained in popularity since the 70s check this book out. Essential Asatru: Walking the Path of Norse Paganism - This is another easy to read book that not only goes over the basics of the Myths/Gods but also goes over the ceremonies and rituals of those who choose to practice today what the Vikings practiced. Minus the live sacrifices... those have been replaced with food and drink thankfully.

If you are just wanting to dip your toes into learning about the myths I cannot recommend the first link more than enough. It is far easier to read than the Eddas/Sagas and from what I understand from other subs is a widely regarded starting point.

Also check out /r/norse and /r/asatru.

u/Ragnrok · 4 pointsr/Norse

Your new book? You're Kevin Crossley-Holland? That's awesome!

Anyway, I already have this one (and by the way, thank you for giving me not only an informative book, but on that looks freaking gorgeous). Should I buy the new one too?

u/marsipangrisen · 3 pointsr/norsemythology

I would suggest you taking a look at "The Norse Myths" by Kevin Crossley-Holland. A perfect guide into the norse mythology. It starts of with a brief explanation and then tells all the myths in a fantasy-novel style but always keeps the facts accurate.

Edit: Found it on amazon, and it's on sale!

u/dw_pirate · 3 pointsr/IWantToLearn

The Elder Edda is definitely the better of the two; Snorri's Edda is very christianized and therefore doesn't stay true to Norse mythology.

One of the best books would be Kevin Crossley-Holland's The Norse Myth. It's very simple to read yet keeps the essence of the myths.

u/ThorinRuriksson · 2 pointsr/asatru

I haven't read that one myself (though it wouldn't surprise me if /u/Aleglad has), but I can give another recommendation. The Norse Myths by Kevin Crossley-Holland is a fantastic prose retelling of many of our stories. He does a good job at combing all the versions of the stories he can find and trying to make educated choices on which version of things to use where the tellings diverge from one another. Including explanations of the differences between sources and why he chose the paths he did. Entertaining and informative.

u/ohnobananapeeeeeels · 2 pointsr/mythology

a good starter is this book http://www.amazon.com/Norse-Myths-Pantheon-Folklore-Library/dp/0394748468 (sorry about the link, i'm on mobile). the author puts the myths in order as best as he can, and in the back he has an appendix discussing the source material he used.

u/nillacat · 2 pointsr/books

For background reference, Wikipedia.

For the Norse myths, the poet Kevin Crossley-Holland's The Norse Myths is marvelous, and the end notes and bibliography are very thorough if you want to go further or read the sources.

For Greek, D'Aulaires' as others have suggested for lively tellings. Rose's Handbook of Greek Mythology for reference. Bullfinch is complete and standard but a little dull. Hesiod and the so-called Homeric Hymns are among the primary source material if you want to go further.

Ovid was a fine Roman poet who retold many of the Greek stories in the Metamorphoses - stories of Transformations. Roman mythology as we commonly think of it is largely derivative of Greek mythology, with the names changed, but Roman religion was a complicated layering of native beliefs and foreign cults. Still, for background to Milton, all you really need is a gloss relating the Greek and Roman names, so you can read the stories as told by Greeks or Romans.

Richard H. Wilkinson's Complete Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt and Reading Egyptian Art are good references.

(edited for formatting)

u/S4MH41N · 2 pointsr/asatru

Hmm. When I first started to learn about Norse culture, I started with The Norse Myths, then quickly branched over to the Poetic Edda. I thought this would be a more "true" and accurate leap into my learning. But having known that is was written after the Vikings had ended or were ending, I knew it could very well have had significant Christian influence injected into it, and it seemed so as the language was sometimes like reading straight from the Bible. So I didn't know if that was a very good source to use. I thought maybe the Havamal section would be the best from the book, as it contains wisdom for daily life during that time (which is what I'm after), as well as info on the Runes and their uses. A quick search of "Havamal" brought up the "Pocket Havamal" and I though, "aha! This must be a 'bible' type thing for Asatru." I quickly learned that to not be the case, and was stumped. Then, through this subreddit and some simple Amazon searches, I found out about the Practical Heathen's Guide, and thought maybe that would get me in the right direction.

After reading through some of the comments, it does seem the Practical Heathen's Guide would be superior to the Havamal for what I'm after. I can also see the Havamal being a difficult to interpret source due to its old style of writing and context. Maybe to find what I'm after, I should start in my own era, and let that experience connect me with the past, to form the link between ancient man and modern.

u/kyrie-eleison · 2 pointsr/books

This encyclopedia is great; not quite Bulfinch's cousin, but very informative.

For something more like Bulfinch, this book is a damn good introduction.

u/stumpdawg · 2 pointsr/AskReddit

no no you dont need any of that. what you do need is this http://www.amazon.com/Norse-Myths-Pantheon-Folklore-Library/dp/0394748468 "Norse Myths" it will tell you everything you need to know about how badass and awesome that the scandanavians really are

u/dbaker84 · 2 pointsr/asatru

I've recently been enjoying The Norse Myths by Kevin Crossley-Holland. Not exactly heavy reading, but it is very accessible and easy to pick up.

u/aleppe · 1 pointr/Norse

This was my first Norse book to buy on Amazon, I completely love it and recommend it.

u/HeyZeusChrist0 · 1 pointr/Norse

Is there any difference in the above book and the book by Kevin titled "The Norse Myths (Pantheon Fairy Tale and Folklore Library)?"
It can be found here:
http://www.amazon.com/Norse-Myths-Pantheon-Folklore-Library/dp/0394748468/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1375423728&sr=8-1&keywords=norse+mythology

u/tigerking615 · 1 pointr/todayilearned

I borrowed this from the library recently and it was pretty good. 8.5/10 would recommend:

https://www.amazon.com/Norse-Myths-Pantheon-Folklore-Library/dp/0394748468/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8

u/basement_wizards · 1 pointr/history

I believe this is the book that started my journey. There is one out there by Neil Gaiman but I found it lacking detail. https://www.amazon.com/Norse-Myths-Pantheon-Folklore-Library/dp/0394748468

u/beloitpiper · 1 pointr/Norse
u/Hard_Bent · 1 pointr/history

I really liked this book. The author writes in a way that is easy enough to follow without a bunch of prior knowledge.

u/Ghost_in_the_Mac · 1 pointr/asatru

Hello mate, I would recommend you this order: First of all, The Norse Myths:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0394748468/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_dp_ss_1?pf_rd_p=1944687622&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B002HLAF32&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=5ST3KMPDJ47HVWWV2AW4

The who´s who in nordic pantheon. Has the most known myths plus a superb introduction to cosmology. Myths are in chronological order, from Ginnungagap to Ragnarok. The writing is very good, adult-oriented with some touches of dry humor.

After it go for the 2 Eddas. Why is important to know about the myths or the gods? Because all the books you are going to read name or make references to the gods or to myths or both. You will want to know what on Midgard are they talking about.

After that, if you want to know more about Asatru specifically, read in this order:
The Asatru Edda
https://www.amazon.com/%C3%81satr%C3%BA-Edda-Sacred-Lore-North/dp/1440131783/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1473832369&sr=1-1&keywords=asatru+edda

The Norroena Society made a superb job publishing this Edda taking away all the christian influence. Really great job. They made with the Eddas what Dr. Viktor Rydberg did with the teutonic myths.

Next in line:
A Practical Heathen's Guide to Asatru

https://www.amazon.com/Practical-Heathens-Guide-Asatru/dp/0738733873/ref=pd_sim_14_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=8M3GCMHG28EVGP5090FX

Exactly what it says.

Now, if later on your path you feel the itch to learn more about teutonic myths, their social construct, history etc etc let me know that I can recommend more books depending on your needs.

u/nimesis23 · 1 pointr/booksuggestions

I had this book a few years back that was a pretty decent retelling of most of the stories. It wasn't too dense either. http://www.amazon.com/Norse-Myths-Pantheon-Folklore-Library/dp/0394748468