The Norse Myths

Kevin Crossley-Holland

Pantheon Books, 1980 - Religion - 276 pages

Here are thirty-two classic myths that bring the Viking world vividly to life. The mythic legacy of the Scandinavians includes a cycle of stories filled with magnificent images from pre-Christian Europe. Gods, humans, and monstrous beasts engage in prodigious drinking bouts, contests of strength, greedy schemes for gold, and lusty encounters. The Norse pantheon includes Odin, the wisest and most fearsome of the gods; Thor, the thundering powerhouse; and the exquisite, magic-wielding Freyja. Their loves, wars, and adventures take us through worlds both mortal and divine, culminating in a blazing doomsday for gods and humans alike. These stories bear witness to the courage, passion, and boundless spirit that were hallmarks of the Norse world.

Contents

• The Creation: 3
• The War of the Aesir and Vanir: 7
• The Building of Asgards Wall: 10

About the author

Kevin Crossley-Holland is a well-known poet, a prize-winning children's author, and a translator. Crossley-Holland has translated Beowulf and The Exeter Book of Riddles from the Anglo-Saxon. He has collaborated with composers Nicola Lefanu (The Green Children and The Wildman), Rupert Bawden (The Sailor's Tale), Sir Arthur Bliss, William Mathias, and Stephen Paulus. Crossley-Holland's book The Seeing Stone won the Guardian Children's Fiction Award, the Smarties Prize Bronze Medal, and the Tir na n-Og Award. The trilogy has won critical acclaim and been translated into twenty-five languages. His recent and forthcoming books are The Hidden Roads: A Memoir of Childhood, Bracelet of Bones and his new and selected poems The Mountains of Norfolk. Crossley-Holland often lectures abroad on behalf of the British Council and offers poetry and prose workshops and talks on the Anglo-Saxons and Vikings, King Arthur, heroines and heroes, and myth, legend and folk-tale. Kevin Crossley-Holland is an Honorary Fellow of St Edmund Hall, Oxford, a patron of the Society for Storytelling, and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. He lives on the north Norfolk coast in East Anglia with his wife and children.

Bibliographic information

• Title: The Norse Myths; Pantheon fairy tale & folklore library
• Editor: Kevin Crossley-Holland
• Contributor: Kevin Crossley-Holland
• Edition: reprint
• Publisher: Pantheon Books, 1980
• Original from: the University of Virginia
• Digitized: Jun 25, 2008
• ISBN: 0394500482, 9780394500485
• Length: 276 pages
• Subjects: Religion / Comparative Religion; Social Science / Folklore & Mythology