There is some evidence that certain women had priestly functions, perhaps a near relation of the gthi, and occasionally acting for him. Such a woman was called gydja and might even own a temple. The god Frey had a young priestess in his temple, regarded as his consort... -from "Scandinavia: Worship and Its Accessories" Highly readable and densely informative, this general survey of Celtic and Scandinavian mythology and its beliefs and practices, first published in 1948, remains an excellent resource. The author, a well-regarded expert on the subject, explores: .nature worship .deities and lesser supernatural beings .mythical heroes .magic and divination .creation stories .magic and morality .and more. Readers in comparative mythology and fans of Arthurian, Celtic, and epic fantasy fiction will find this book a delight. British scholar JOHN ARNOTT MACCULLOCH (1868-1950) wrote numerous books on ancient mythology, including Religion of the Ancient Celts, The Childhood of Fiction: A Study of Folk Tales and Primitive Thought, Mythology of All Races, Religion: Its Origin & Forms, and Medieval Faith and Fable.

The author compares Celtic mythology and religion with the beliefs of early Scandinavian society. Vikings and Norsemen who raided British shores ruled parts of Britain for centuries. The religion of the Scandinavians was the same as the religious beliefs and practices of their fellow Teutonic and Germanic tribes, and their chief deities and religious rituals were like those of Teutonic people anywhere.

The study of Old Norse Religion is a truly multidisciplinary and international field of research. The rituals, myths and narratives of pre-Christian Scandinavia are investigated and interpreted by archaeologists, historians, art historians, historians of religion as well as scholars of literature, onomastics and Scandinavian studies. For obvious reasons, these studies belong to the main curricula in Scandinavia but are also carried out at many other universities in Europe, the United States and Australia a fact that is evident to any reader of this book. In order to bring this broad and varied field of research together, an international conference on Old Norse religion was held in Lund in June 2004. About two hundred delegates from more than fifteen countries took part. The intention was to gather researchers to encourage and improve scholarly exchange and dialogue, and Old Norse religion in long-term perspectives presents a selection of the proceedings from that conference. The 75 contributions elucidate topics such as worldview and cosmology, ritual and religious practice, myth and memory as well as the reception and present-day use of Old Norse religion. The main editors of this volume have directed the multidisciplinary research project Roads to Midgard since 2000. The project is based at Lund University and funded by the Bank of Sweden Tercentenary Foundation.

Thomas DuBois unravels for the first time the history of the Nordic religions in the Viking Age. "A seminal study of Nordic religions that future scholars will not be able to avoid."—Church History

This book studies two Viking families who appear in the records of the Atlantic littoral as pagan raiders and reinvent themselves as established Christian rulers.