Volcanoes in Old Norse Mythology details how Viking Age Icelanders, migrating from Scandinavia to a new and volcanically active environment, used Old Norse mythology to understand and negotiate the hazards of the island. These pre-Christian myths recorded in medieval Iceland expound an indigenous Icelandic theory on volcanism that revolves around the activities of supernatural beings, such as the fire-demon Surtr and the gods Odin and Thor. Before the Icelanders were introduced to Christianity and its teachings, they formulated an indigenous theory of volcanism on basis of their traditional mythology much like other indigenous peoples across the world.
- Front Cover
- Half-title
- Borderlines
- Title page
- Copyright information
- Table of contents
- Introduction
- Translations, References, and Special Characters
- Special Characters
- Chapter 1. Old Norse Mythology between Environment and Literature
- Old Norse Mythology in a Comparative Perspective
- Indigenous Perspectives on Myth and Environment
- Interpretations of Old Norse Mythology in the Context of Environment
- Silence
- Analogy
- Compression and Restructuring
- Mode of Interpretation
- Chapter 2. An Indigenous Theory of Volcanism in Iceland
- A History of Icelandic Volcanism
- Volcanism in Icelandic Literature
- Geomythology
- Hallmundarkviða: An Indigenous Icelandic Theory of Volcanism
- Hallmundarkviða: Between Pre- Christian and Christian Tradition
- Chapter 3. Volcanism in Old Norse Cosmogony
- The Sources of the Creation Myth
- The Volcanic Nature Image in Snorri’s Creation Myth
- The Indigenous Theory of Volcanism in Snorri’s Creation Myth
- Chapter 4. Volcanoes in the Social Order of Old Norse Mythology
- The Mead Myth
- Critical Review of Snorri’s Mead Myth
- Hávamál and Háleygjatal
- The Mead Myth and the Southern European Tradition
- The Mead Myth and Volcanism
- Vǫluspá 47– 52
- Þórr and Hrungnir’s Duel
- Hrungnir: The Stone Jǫtunn
- The Duel in a Comparative Perspective
- Chapter 5. Volcanoes as a Cosmological Principle in Old Norse Mythology
- Risk Perception in Volcanic Zones
- Narration and Emotion
- Cosmology and Emotions
- Bibliography
- Primary sources
- Secondary literature
- Index
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