Re:An obsessive scholar who rescued Iceland’s ancient litera...
by krapp on Wednesday May 12, 2021 @06:00AM
(#27128560)
Unfortunately, Snorri Sturlson was no historian. What he wrote down was a Christian reframing of Norse mythology as political and religious propaganda, leaving almost no trace of the original, native mythology for the historical record.
[ Parent
| on HN ]
Re:An obsessive scholar who rescued Iceland’s ancient litera...
by goto11 on Wednesday May 12, 2021 @09:01AM
(#27129814)
Is that fair? Since we have no pre-Christian sources to compare to, it is hard to say how fairly Snorri represent the tradition. (Obviously the bit where he explains the Norse gods as descendants of princes of Troy is of dubious authenticity.)
Re:An obsessive scholar who rescued Iceland’s ancient litera...
by krapp on Wednesday May 12, 2021 @08:53PM
(#27137166)
That's exactly the problem - we don't know. There are many elements that look suspiciously like attempts at Christian syncretism, like Baldr's death and resurrection, and Ragnarok (a fiery apocalypse survived by one man and one woman, where one God reigns supreme.)
All we know is that there was Christian influence, because Snorri was a Christian, living and writing in Christianized Scandinavia to a Christian audience.