The Northern Path

In today’s Wall Street Journal, Tom Shippey reviews the latest installment in Bernard Cornwell’s “Saxon Tales” series set in Anglo-Saxon England. The Burning Land continues the story of Uhtred Uhtredsson, a ninth-century Northumbrian who was brought up as a Heathen by the occupying Danes and as a grown man becomes an unwilling vassal of King Alfred (who is anything but “Great” in this anti-history).

The Burning Land concerns the battle for Mercia, which was partly occupied by the Danes. Uhtred has finally joined his Danish blood-brother Ragnar in the North, but Alfred’s family pleads with him to fight for the English. Uhtred has saved Alfred’s skin any number of times, but is always rejected and betrayed afterward because he is not a good obsequious Christian. For Uhtred still has a Heathen soul, and that’s why I love him.

Most of this series is enjoyable historical fiction, with an emphasis on the “fiction” part — Cornwell uses the gaps in the historical record to rewrite history with a starring role for his fictional hero Uhtred. But The Last Kingdom, the first book in the series which treat’s Uhtred’s boyhood and coming of age, is really something special. In a tale of adventure, with blood and guts interspersed with lyrically moving passages on the Heathen worldview, Uhtred grows up into a Heathen warrior, with a understanding of fate and honor and a fierce love for his adopted family.

I’ll read the latest book because of the vivid writing and my continuing interest in Uhtred and his adventures, but if I really want to be moved, I’ll go back and reread the beginning of Uhtred’s story, a tale that truly sings.

Fredrik Gregorius, a scholar of religion at the University of Lund, has just defended his dissertation on contemporary Asatru in Sweden: Modern asatro: att konstruera etnisk och kulturell identitet [Modern Asatru: Constructing Ethnic and Cultural Identity].  The dissertation is in Swedish, but a member of Sveriges Asatrosamfund has reviewed the dissertation in English on YouTube. Six pages of the dissertation are in English, and there is a brief English summary available on the university website cited above:

The purpose of the study is to examine contemporary followers of Asatru in Sweden. Central to the study is the way Asatru today can be seen as an ethnic religion. Due to this will the ideas about Asatru as a folk religion among followers and the idea of Asatru as a form of “sed”, a term that can roughly be translated as a form of custom, be explored. Related to the idea of ethnic identity and Asatru is the question as to why people living in Sweden today feel a connection and identifies themselves with a culture that ceased to exist around a thousand years ago. In order for such a relationship to exist is it necessary for a follower of Asatru to imagine some form of essential cultural identity that defies other cultural changes. That is some form of cultural and ethnic essentialism. The study deals primarily with Sweden but Asatru in other countries, especially the United States are also included due to the influence they have on the Swedish scene. Chapter 1 serves as an introduction; discussion of methodology, previous studies and also presents some definitions used. Chapter 2 deals with the theories used in the study. Chapter 3 presents an historical background from which Swedish Asatru appears. Chapter 4 gives an historical background to the Swedish Asatru scene. Chapter 5 presents an overview of the Asatru scene in Sweden today regarding numbers of followers, why people join, and so forth. Chapter 6 presents ideas about culture in the Swedish Asatru scene. Chapter 7 deals with the attitude towards nature. Chapter 8 deals with the ideas about gods and goddesses in Asaru. Chapter 9 is about religious rituals like modern forms of “blot”. Chapter 10 discusses the use of magic, like rune magic and sejd, in Asatru. Chapter 11 serves as a form of analysis and deals with the relationship between Asatru and other social fields.

Chas Clifton recently reviewed Emma Restall Orr’s book Living With Honour: A Pagan Ethics. Even before reading the book, I found the review (and accompanying discussion) well worth reading, and they have already pushed me to think more about how Heathen values relate to other systems and about the nature and origin of my own ethical values.

In one sense, the Heathen concern with family and community bonds, and with honor and reputation have always made sense to me: growing up in a New England village of 1,100 souls with relatives in neighboring towns, I knew that any actions I took would be a reflection upon my entire family as well as myself. I lived (and still live) in a culture where reputation definitely matters.

I find this culture satisfying in many ways but am less inclined to idealize it than my coreligionsts who come from the city or suburbs. People have always escaped to the city because they found their close-knit communities to be stifling, and I don’t ever want my decisions to be guided primarily by “what the neighbors would think,” which to me is a form of cowardice.

I’m afraid that I have nothing more profound to contribute on the nature or origin of Heathen ethics, and I don’t know that I will have a whole lot in common with Orr. However I’ve already found the review and discussion on Clifton’s blog to be delightfully refreshing, if only because an arbitrary system of rules laid down by [insert deity here] simply wasn’t part of the equation.

There are some deep archives of scholarly material in Old Norse studies and archaeology being made available for free in PDF format. Goody the first: the Viking Society for Northern Research is making nearly its entire publishing archive, from 1895 until the present, available for free. For more info, see their web publications page.

Goody the second: the Scandinavian archaeological journal Fornvännen has made its entire journal from 1906-2005 available in PDF as well.  There is a free-text search facility, and while most of the articles are in Swedish, Danish or Norwegian, there are numerous English abstracts as well as entire papers in English.

The third issue cannot really be called a goody since it involves protracted litigation, but Google has reached a settlement (pending court approval) with book authors and publishers over its large-scale book scanning program. When I first read James Gleick’s rather breezy Op-Ed piece in the New York Times, my heart leapt: all of those inaccessible out-of-print scholarly books finally made available to us readers, standing outside the academy with our noses pressed against the glass!

By now the company has digitized at least seven million titles. Many are old enough to be in the public domain — no issue there — and many are new enough to be available in bookstores, but the vast majority, four million to five million, are books that had fallen into a kind of limbo: protected by copyright but out of print. Their publishers had given up on them. They existed at libraries and used booksellers but otherwise had left the playing field.

As a way through the impasse, the authors persuaded Google to do more than just scan the books for purposes of searching, but go further, by bringing them back to commercial life. Under the agreement these millions of out-of-print books return from limbo. Any money made from advertising or licensing fees will go partly to Google and mostly to the rights-holders. The agreement is nonexclusive: If competitors to Google want to get into the business, they can.

This means a new beginning — a vast trove of books restored to the marketplace.

This access to copyrighted books would be provided through Google’s so-called Public Access Service, and while it may prove to be a great leap forward, it could be cumbersome and will involve (as yet undetermined) fees for individuals. After reading the FAQ at the Association of American Publishers’ website, I am guardedly optimistic.

2. If approved by the court, what will the settlement offer?

If approved, the settlement would provide:

• More Access to Out-of-Print Books — Generating greater exposure for millions of in-copyright works, including hard-to-find out-of-print books, by enabling readers in the U.S. to search these works and preview them online;
• Additional Ways to Purchase Copyrighted Books — Building off publishers’ and authors’ current efforts and further expanding the electronic market for copyrighted books in the U.S., by offering users the ability to purchase online access to many in-copyright books;
• Institutional Subscriptions to Millions of Books Online — Offering a means for U.S. colleges, universities and other organizations to obtain subscriptions for online access to collections from some of the world’s most renowned libraries;
• Free Access From U.S. Libraries — Providing free, full-text, online viewing of millions of out-of-print books at designated computers in U.S. public and university libraries; and
• Compensation to Authors and Publishers and Control Over Access to Their Works — Distributing payments earned from online access provided by Google and, prospectively, from similar programs that may be established by other providers, through a newly created independent, not-for-profit Book Rights Registry.  The Book Rights Registry will locate rightsholders, collect and maintain accurate rightsholder information, and provide a way for rightsholders to request inclusion in or exclusion from the project.

3. In what new ways will this agreement enable users to access books?

The agreement significantly expands access to millions of in-copyright books through Google Book Search.

Specifically, readers will be able to access books through:

• Preview — Allows users to freely preview a limited number of pages of in-copyright works to help users decide if the book is right for them to buy. Generally, out-of-print books will be available for preview, and in-print books will not unless the rightsholder decides to activate previews through their participation in this settlement or through the Book Search Partner Program.
• Consumer Purchase — Offers individual users the ability to purchase access to view an entire in-copyright book online.  The rightsholder may set the price or allow the price to be set by a Google algorithm.
• Institutional Subscription — For academic, corporate, and government organizations.  Gives members of the institution full access to in-copyright, out-of-print books.
• Free Public Library Access — Authorizes free, full-text, online viewing of in-copyright, out-of-print books at designated computers in U.S. public and university libraries at no charge to the library or the reader, with added revenues to the rightsholders through per page printing fees.
• Future Services — The agreement allows for other services and uses, such as Print-On-Demand, Consumer Subscription and others, to be agreed in the future.

I hope that the court will approve the settlement, and that they can move forward with this project.

The second edition of Neil Price’s The Viking Way: Religion and War in the Later Iron Age of Scandinavia is now available on Amazon. This is a groundbreaking study of the archaeological evidence for Heathen religious practices, and I’ve been eagerly awaiting the second edition. Here’s a description from Oxbow books:

The Viking Way: Religion and War in the Later Iron Age of Scandinavia, second edition. by Neil Price

Magic, ritual and sorcery are prevalent themes in medieval Icelandic sagas, but do they reflect reality or are they a literary and poetic construct? Neil Price’s thesis examines the literary and archaeological evidence for Old Norse sorcery and especially the important link between religion and war. He traces evidence for Viking mytholgy and cosmology, for the function, practice and practitioners of sorcery and war rituals. What he reveals is that violence played a crucial role in early medieval power systems in Scandinavia and in particular where there existed `a gender-encoded control of organised violence’. The evidence is placed within the context, and in comparison with, Germanic and circumpolar societies, and the archaeological evidence is accompanied by many excellent illustrations. second edition (Oxbow Books, forthcoming 2007)

Praise for the first edition of The Viking Way
“One of the most important contributions to Viking studies in recent years, quite possibly in recent decades … an exceptional book … essential reading” Dr. Matthew Townend, Antiquity

“This will be the starting point for any discussion of early northern religion from now on … this book is about to become famous … it is the sense of being invited back-stage in history to discover not magic realism, but the reality behind the magic” Professor Martin Carver, Fornvännen

“Takes the reader on an exciting journey … anyone reading Price’s book will never again be able to romanticise the Vikings and their time … here the terror and madness of the Viking Age Odin cult and its war-fixation emerge unvarnished … a book that is going to be debated for a long time to come” Professor Gro Steinsland, Collegium Medievale

“A big, packed, inspirational book … one of those that moves archaeology forwards, gives it nourishment and opens new avenues” Professor Else Roesdahl, Kuml

“This refreshing, thoroughly researched and inspirational book sheds exciting new light on the Viking Age. I am already recommending it to all my students” Dr. Terry Gunnell, University of Iceland

“A fresh and stimulating analysis which unites archaeology and ethnography and makes excellent use of both” Professor Richard Bradley, University of Reading

“A ground-breaking work of research in archaeology and the humanities, with an impact that will be felt for many years … it has turned our view of this period upside down” Professor Helle Vandkilde, University of Aarhus

In Sweden the book has received prizes from the Royal Academy of Letters, History and Antiquities and the Royal Gustav Adolf Academy, and in 2005 the author was awarded the prestigious King Oscar II Prize from Uppsala University.

The Troth’s reference work Our Troth: Vol. 2: Living the Troth is now available at Amazon.com. According to the Amazon blurb, “Volume 2 covers the Heathen holy year, lore and rites for the major holidays, and ways to work Heathenry into every facet of life. It includes an extensive glossary and reading list for further study.”

I’ve just finished Land of Wooden Gods, the first book in Jan Fridegård’s trilogy set in Viking-era Sweden. This trilogy should provide a bracing antidote for tendencies to romanticize Viking-era Heathen religion or tribal society. The story takes place near ninth-century Birka, and there is action and drama aplenty, including raids, fights, and one of the great nine-year blots at Uppsala.

However, the heroes are the household thralls, and we are given a very unsentimental view of their lives and challenges. The chieftain is not a noble warrior who doles out rings, but a bowlegged bully with food in his beard and a penchant for exposing babies. Holme the smith, the male protagonist, is trying to make a living and protect his family in a savage era. Fridegård narrates the tale with a cool, dispassionate, almost clinical tone that provides an ironic contrast to the vivid plot.

Religion certainly looms large in the story, where the Heathen majority are visited by eager Christian missionaries. But the overall view of religion of any sort is largely cynical, as befits a work of social realism.

The translation by Robert Bjork includes a lengthy essay placing Fridegård and his smith-hero in the larger context of Scandinavian literature. The book is out of print, but there are plenty of used copies at Amazon.com. It should provide an interesting read for anyone seeking an imaginative but unsentimental view of what it might have been like to live in a Heathen society on the verge of conversion.

The Winter 2007 issue of the American Saami journal Baiki has a review of an English-language reference work on the Saami:

The Saami: A Cultural Encyclopedia
Ulla-Maija Kulonen, Irja Seurujärvi-Kari and Risto Pukkinen (eds.) Helsinki, Finland: Sumoalaisen Kirjallisuuden Seura, 2005, 498 pages.

The review was quite positive, and indicates that the book would be of interest to the general lay reader. The book is available in the US from Finnbooks. Their website goes on to describe the book in more detail:

The multidisciplinary book is an outcome of a project launched and coordinated by the Saami Studies Work Group at the University of Helsinki. It presents the national character of the Saami and its manifestations from a point of view within the Saami culture itself. It is part of the great change in Saami research, which began in the 1970’s: the shift from Lappology to Saami Studies. In general and specialized articles, the encyclopedia presents not only the languages, history, mythology, folklore, music, economy, livelihoods and media of the Saami but also the indigenous peoples’ movement, human rights questions, education, art and social conditions. The nature and environment of Sápmi (Saamiland) are also dealt with as important background factors. Words and concepts that are characteristic of Saami culture are defined, and there are etymological articles about many Saami words. The encyclopedia is illustrated with numerous photographs and maps.

As this book aims to ensure that the voices of the different Saami groups themselves are heard, particular emphasis has been given to information about their own minority groups, such as the Kola Peninsula, Inari and Skolt Saami, who until now have been largely ignored by mainstream Saami Studies.

The book is a result of the efforts of more than 50 writers, which represent a number of academic institutions in Finland, Sweden, and Norway as well as various Saami institutions.

Yesterday there were some interesting reviews of a new Tolkein novel, The Children of Hurin, edited by Tolkein’s son Christopher. The NPR program Here and Now interviewed literature professor Michael Drout. The host was struggling to understand the appeal of heroic literature, and Drout made some interesting points about the Northern hero who fights on even when the battle is lost, and about the role played by individual efforts in Tolkein’s fiction.

Drout also had some observations on Túrin, the novel’s hero. As he writes in more detail at his blog:

I found Tolkien’s engagement with the Sigfried legend more obvious in this version of the story than in others, though that may reflect my own reading rather than the text itself. Of course the seed of the Túrin story is the Kullervo cycle from the Finnish Kalevala, but I think that at least one impulse in Túrin is to tell the story of a dragon slayer who isn’t some kind of Nietzchean/Wagnerian “ubermensch” (a bit piece of evidence, I think, is the inclusion of a dwarf named Mîm). Tolkien detested the kind of heroism that Wagner drew out of the Nibelungenlied and the Völsungr Saga: the hero who is superior in some existential way to everyone else and thus somehow deserves to crush everything in his path. By taking the physically most powerful hero, the original dragonslayer, but putting him under the curse of Morgoth and showing how he suffers, Tolkien approaches the Sigfried story in a very different, and more humane, way.

Meanwhile, Andrew O’Hehir’s Salon review discusses the synthesis of Pagan material and Manichean / Christian outlook that adds so much tension and interest to Tolkein:

I came away from “The Children of Húrin” with a renewed appreciation for the fact that Tolkien’s overarching narrative is much more ambiguous in tone than is generally noticed. As has been much discussed, he was a devout Catholic who tried, with imperfect success, to harmonize the swirling pagan cosmology behind his imaginative universe with a belief in Christian salvation. Salvation feels a long way off in “The Children of Húrin.” What sits in the foreground is that persistent Tolkienian sense that good and evil are locked in an unresolved Manichaean struggle with amorphous boundaries, and that the world is a place of sadness and loss, whose human inhabitants are most often the agents of their own destruction.

It’s nice to see a modern work in the epic genre discussed as though heroic literature is important.