Scandinavian Mythology: Introduction by H.R. Ellis Davidson (1969)

Source: Viking and Norse Mythology, pp. 6-15 We tend to think of Scandinavian mythology as the beliefs of the Vikings, those tough adventurers who were the scourge of Christian lands in the ninth and tenth centuries, whose ships sailed all the seas of the known world, and who left traces of their activities from Greenland to the …

After the Bronze Age: Conclusion by Hilda Ellis Davidson (1969)

Source: ‘Part II: After the Bronze Age,’ Chariot of the Sun and Other Rites and Symbols of the Northern Bronze Age, 1969, pp. 180-183.   It is now possible to attempt an answer to the question asked at the beginning of the second section of this book. The main symbols of the Bronze Age seen …

After the Bronze Age: The Twins by Hilda Ellis Davidson (1969)

Source: ‘Part II: After the Bronze Age,’ Chariot of the Sun and Other Rites and Symbols of the Northern Bronze Age, 1969, pp. 176-179. The symbol of two male figures side by side, sometimes holding axes and apparently associated with the sun, was clearly important in the Bronze Age, and Sprockhoff (1954, pp. 87-90) has …

After the Bronze Age: Birds by Hilda Ellis Davidson (1969)

Source: ‘Part II: After the Bronze Age,’ Chariot of the Sun and Other Rites and Symbols of the Northern Bronze Age, 1969, pp. 174-176. The bird costumes of the Bronze Age are echoed in traditions of the later heathen period. The water birds, swans, ducks and geese, who are associated in the Bronze Age with …

After the Bronze Age: The Stag by Hilda Ellis Davidson (1969)

Source: ‘Part II: After the Bronze Age,’ Chariot of the Sun and Other Rites and Symbols of the Northern Bronze Age, 1969, pp. 172-174.   The stag was of great importance among the Celtic peoples in the Roman period, and appears in a prominent position on the Gundestrup bowl, with a god-like figure thought to …

After the Bronze Age: The Horse by Hilda Ellis Davidson (1969)

Source: ‘Part II: After the Bronze Age,’ Chariot of the Sun and Other Rites and Symbols of the Northern Bronze Age, 1969, pp. 167-172. The horse continues to be a symbol of great religious significance throughout the pagan period. Once more there is a dearth of evidence in the centuries following the Bronze Age, and …

After the Bronze Age: Goat by Hilda Ellis Davidson (1969)

Source: ‘Part II: After the Bronze Age,’ Chariot of the Sun and Other Rites and Symbols of the Northern Bronze Age, 1969, pp. 166. Some of the figures on gold bracteates of the Migration period have been identified as goats, but it is difficult to make a clear distinction between goats and horned horses or …

After the Bronze Age: Farm Animals by Hilda Ellis Davidson (1969)

Source: ‘Part II: After the Bronze Age,’ Chariot of the Sun and Other Rites and Symbols of the Northern Bronze Age, 1969, pp. 163-166. The Bull The bull loses his ancient importance in later heathen times in the north, and is replaced by the horse. The same seems to be true of Celtic paganism where …

After the Bronze Age: The Sacred Marriage by Hilda Ellis Davidson (1969)

Source: ‘Part II: After the Bronze Age,’ Chariot of the Sun and Other Rites and Symbols of the Northern Bronze Age, 1969, pp. 161-163. The concept of the sacred marriage is not very evident in the literature of the later heathen period, but there are significant clues pointing in that direction. Sets of tiny plates …

After the Bronze Age: Trees by Hilda Ellis Davidson (1969)

Source: ‘Part II: After the Bronze Age,’ Chariot of the Sun and Other Rites and Symbols of the Northern Bronze Age, 1969, pp. 159-161. Sacred groves are known to have been important in the cults of the Germanic and Celtic peoples, and there is evidence that the tree was an important symbol in the Celtic …