Posted on 10/09/2020 3:43:44 AM PDT by Candor7
Pretty sure Ragnar was a Dane.
:)
I remain amazed at the history of the spread of Christianity, especially in the post-Rome period. Today, with the real growth of neo-paganism, we have a preception difficulty in what made so MANY tribes, cultures and individuals abandon the beliefs of prior centuries for the martyred G-d.
Here you have an expansive and aggressive Viking / Scandinavian society that starts with wipe-out raids of remote Christian enclaves of Scotland and Ireland in the 800s. Undefended and rich in donations, these were ideal targets for these believers in Odin/Thor and Company. Yet, by 995, Olaf I of Norway converted and was shortly followed by Saint Olaf (Olaf II 1015-28) who really proselytized for Christianity. By the 1200s, most of Scandinavia outside Lapland and the Viking diaspora from Greenland to the Mediterranean to the Kyiv Rus’ of the Ukraine were mostly Christian.
It has been ages since I read one of these 'tomes' but I smile when I see that they still have that 1950s era "Approved by the COMICS CODE AUTHORITY". Most people would find the political/cultural storm that created this in the 50s rather wild. I wonder how big the CCA is in today's business-place? Does it need more than a closet to conduct business?
NEWS FLASH - Just looked 'CCA' up to find that it has gone defunct when even "Archie Comics" dropped their oversight in 2010! Ave Atque Vale CCA
I find Viking names interesting, such as Gorm the Skull Crusher. It gives you some insight into their occupations.
I’m pretty sure Ivar had RAD - Reactive Attachment Disorder...
At one time ya couldn't swing a hammer or a sword without hitting one of these. ;^) By contrast Yggdrasil has always sounded like an over-the-counter pain remedy.
Preincarnations? ;^)
Thor spends a night with a mortal woman and the next morning he says, ‘I have to tell you who I am,’” he began. “‘I’m Thor.’ She says, ‘You’re Thor? I can hardly walk.” ...........................
:^)
Thordis?
How times have changed.
That issue is from 1978 IIRC...
Yikes!
That reminds me of an old nightmare I had of: “suffocation by thunder thighs”...
Christianized Viking Music from ancient days, dating from 1208:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=53&v=e4dT8FJ2GE0&feature=emb_logo
Árstíðir - Heyr himna smiður (Icelandic hymn) in train station.
Viewers of the Histgory series, Vikings already know what they looked like and how they celebrated their religion with human sacrifices and nights of open sexual congress.
Ah, those were the good times for some of my ancestors.
Don’t look so sad I know it’s over
But life goes on and this old world will keep on turning
Let’s just be glad we had some time to spend together
There’s no need to watch the bridges that were burning
Lay your head upon my pillow hold your warm and tender body close to mine
Hear the whisper of the raindrops blowing soft against the window
And make believe you love me one more time for the good times
If you haven’t, maybe you would enjoy a novel by Neal Gaiman called “ American Gods.” Also made into a TV show carried by Amazon Prime.
I’m not so sure the old gods are gone. Gaiman certainly did not think so.
https://www.amazon.com/American-Gods-Neil-Gaiman/dp/0380973650
Thanks for the lovely poetry.
Ugh... No wings, red-hair, huge beard, etc...
That jpg depiction is almost as accurate about Thor as the movie Heimdalhr was...
Like depicting Jesus as played by an Innuit...
The book is good, the TV adaptation loses a little in translation... But it still worth a watch IMO.
looks like a barn.
The poetry is from a CW song by Willie Nelson called “The Good Times”
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