The Viking Spirit: An Introduction to Norse Mythology and Religion

I haven't done much research into this book prior to purchase, unlike my purchases for Michael Haag's books on the Knights Templar or Romulus Hillsborough's analysis on the Shinsengumi.This was a pure purchase on a whim in response to passing my first history class in college. Literally sat there and said "I like the cover, go". Just got it I'd say 2 hours ago, came home, skimmed through the book and MAN, that bibliography. It's been very apparent, at least to me, that finding a solid, well research, and widely circulated book like this is a treasure to any aspiring historian's collection of reference material and this fits my bill personally. I've read some chunks of the text just to know what I'm getting into and it's straightforward, doesn't go on tangents, and tells you the facts straight with plenty of notes you can flip to and get your references. This organization and structure alone, is why I hopped on the computer to type this review.As for the quality of the references, I've spotted some philosophical takes (which is ALWAYS appreciated when examining cultures, especially theological/social conepts) and a majority of the prints are recent so it's a matter of "you're getting relevant and recent references". Also from a variety of locations so you're not getting an entire bias of American works but rather Canada, Netherlands, Sweden Etc. so you also have a variety of outlooks on a relatively wide topic. Not to mention, consistent review over specific authors, meaning you're getting a clean line of understanding rather than jumping from 30 different authors. It's this that is stunningly impressive.Now it seems weird to post a 5-star review on "oh my god the bibliography is so good" even though I've only read the intro thus far, but my point is this: organized, thorough, research deserves praise, ESPECIALLY for widely circulated material such as this. This book is probably one of the first things you see on your Amazon search for Norse Mythology and for anyone interested in such non-fiction material who want the best bang for their buck when they can't readily find scholarly works, these books are stellar to have.To the author, Mr. McCoy I greatly look forward to my little pandemic summer of fun ahead for me, thank you for your work and research, I'm bound to dig some information myself.To the reader of this review, again it's digestible, easy to pick up, and fundamentally sound in terms of logos and references. If you're aspiring to go into such fields whether it be history, literature, theology, sociology, philosophy, I'd recommend this.

The Viking Spirit by Daniel McCoy was my second venture into Norse "religion" and Mythology. The book is probably as good a place to begin as any when digging into what actually remains of pre Christian Norse beliefs. The book is divided into two sections, the first one hundred twenty pages or so deal with Norse religion, followed by one hundred fourth eight pages of Norse myths.Dealing first with the myths, McCoy precedes each myth with an introduction to the myth, possible sources, possible Christian and or Middle Ages influence, and an educated guess at how much of the myth might actually be from original sources. This is a nice touch for those who might want to dig further for themselves for a more thorough interpretation.Norse religion, is addressed in the first portion of the book. McCoy is right up front about Norse religion in that it was never "systematized or codified during the Viking Age", nor was it recorded in a written language. The same can be said for the Viking myths, as the myths were not standardized, and the myths changed over time, and by different influences even within the Viking "nations".Using an analogy, think of a paleontologist, who finds a smattering of bone fragments, some larger and more complete, some hardly there, others missing entirely, mixed with other fragments of a different creature. He/she then attempts to piece together the original find, based upon incomplete skeletal remains, and then attempts to bootstrap together how that creature lived. That is my impression of the challenge facing the scholars who's goal is to compile Norse religion and mythology in their original forms. McCoy even rationalizes that the reader can invent their own means of interpretation and understanding of the Norse, as the beliefs of the Norse were constantly evolving.In closing, this was my second venture into Norse mythology. My first voyage was The Norse Myths by Kevin Crossley-Holland, about three years ago. I prefer the Crossley-Holland's work, if for no other reason, that it was my first experience with Norse myths. Rather than preceding his myths with an introduction to each, his note section, following the myths, he deals with each myth. KC-V also provides much more information in his note section for the interpretation of Norse mythology. If one is interested in understanding the Viking world through their mythology and religion, I'd submit that McCoy's book is the place to begin, then read Crossley-Holland's work. After that, if still wanting more, each author provides sources for further research.

This book is exactly what it says it is: an introduction to Norse mythology and religion. It doesn't delve deep into the core tenets of Norse religion, but it is a good starting point to begin understanding the Northern Way as it relates to its historical practice during the Viking Age.I found McCoy's writing style to be quite conversational and easy to follow, which makes it simpler to digest. This, to me, is its main selling point. Reconstruction and analysis of ancient religious practice can be pretty tedious, but McCoy makes it engaging and casual.The way the myths are presented isn't remarkable. Most readers will probably have heard these stories told before, in a myriad other ways. The differentiator in this book is that it presents the myths in the context of the Norse belief system. It's not isolated stories of olden times, like most introductions to mythology, it's the stories in the appropriate societal values and religious practice of the time. It does a decent job at discerning what is purely Norse and what are later Christian additions.I could not find the flaws other reviewers talk about, especially when it comes to "presenting a personal opinion as fact." I guess these reviewers must have missed the 25 pages of sources backing up McCoy's theories. The truth of the matter is that there is a LOT that we don't know about ancient Norse practice, and we will likely never know. This book does not pretend otherwise and it's not a guide to the new Asatruar.Overall, this is a good introductory book for people with an interest in learning more about Norse myth.

Lo compre para regalar. A la persona a le gustó, dice que son como diferentes capítulos por lo que es muy llevadero.Ha llegado en perfecto estado.

An easily overlooked book but as a Norse Pagan I found it very informative. It really does a great job of explaining the mythology and life of our ancestors.

Really fun read 🤩 Very informative, I would recommend this book to anyone interested in Viking culture!

Encantada con este libro, genial para principiantes en la cultura Nordica

Perfecto, gracias.