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The Assembly of The Elder Troth would like to welcome you to our website. Please click on the links to the left to enter the relevant area of our site. Heil and welcome to the Articles section of the Assembly of The Elder Troth website. Here you can find items written by many wide and varied folk. The idea is to provide a venue for discussion, debate and education amongst the folk by giving people an individual flavour to the information provided. Every article here is the work of its' author. Copyright rests with the Author, reproduction is prohibited without the authors permission. Our Father's Godsaga Retold for the Young Reviewed by Dirk Schmitt Author: Viktor Rydberg - Translator:
William Reaves The foremost thing about a translation, is of course, just how closely it captures the original feel of the work that is being translated. Seeing as Swedish is a language which I have no command of, I am incapable of making an accruate determination in this regard. However, as with anything, a story has to have a flow, and internal consistancy. In this regard the translation works. It is easy to read, with a style that allows it to be read as a continuous story. Viktor Rydberg - The Man Viktor Rydberg was born in 1828 and died in 1895. He was a Swedish poet, journalist, and scholar, whom is considered by some as a heretic, whose ideas on Germanic mythology are a cobbled together mish-mash, trying to be squeezed into some contiguous whole. Others see him as a visionary whom, whilst he did make some errors, caught the spirit of the Germanic mythology and provided a story which turned into an epic, similar in nature to the Illiad. Godsaga, the Book The work is, in a word, impressive. Whilst some of the ideas, being forced into a continuum epic style of work tend to be a bit out of line with even reasonable thought, the majority of the books story simply works. The book has a value in that it has a central story which can be identified as the basis of the style of the works which are still with us today in their fragmented form. This book was first published in 1887 and has stood the test of time as a work which brings the Germanic mythos to life. The rear of the book contains a detailed mythological dictionary which is certainly of use to anyone interested in ther Germanic mythos and the theories of Rydberg. Illustrated by the works of renouned children's artist John Bauer (1882-1918), reproduced at relevant sections of the book. The work travels through the events of the world's creation, then to the age of peace, followed by the age of sin and discord. Those whom are already familiar with the Germanic mythos will instantly recognise the form of these sections and their subsections. For those unfamilar, it will provide a good introduction to the major concepts. The creation deals with the time of chaos, the world tree, primal beings, the underworld, Bor's sons, the primeval artists, Odin's self sacrifice, the destruction of the frost giants, the outpost by Hvergelmir, the World-mill and the Creation of the World. The Primeval Age of Peace deals with the peace compact, the treasures of the Gods, the creation of man, Heimdall as the Culture Bringer and his Runes, the Aesir, Thor and Egil's friendship and the Ivaldi family. The Age of Sin and Discord deals with the Runes of witchcraft, the giants, Thor's journey to the Giant Hymir, Thor's campaign against the Giant Geirrod, the theft of Thor's hammer, how Asgard got its wall and Odin his horse, the competition amongst the primeval smiths, the Mead in Byrgir's Well, Odin at Fjalar's, the judgemetn o f Volund's artwork and the entire Volund myth, the flight of Ivaldi's sons, the first Fimbul-winter, the death of Baldur, the climax of the Fimbul-winter, migration of the tribes from the North, Od-Svipdag and Freyja, Halfdan's campaign to the north, Egil's death, the proposal from Frey to Gerd, the war between the Aesir and the Vanir, The norns and the otherlands and then finally Ragnarok. There are a couple of illustrations providing the view of the map of the Germanic Worldview as well as a map of the Germanic Underworld. In short, this book is well worth the money, and whilst Rydberg may not be 100% on the mark all the time, there is definitely sufficient value in this work to recommend it to anyone interested in the Germanic Mythos. Available directly from iUniverse for $25.95 USD plus postage (Hardcover) HOME | Articles Home | Top Of Page Images and Contents Copyright © Assembly of The Elder Troth 2002 - 2007 or as specified. For communications regarding this website please e-mail webmaster@aetaustralia.org Page maintained by Schmitt Services Last Update: Wednesday, December 7, 2005
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