Myths and Symbols in Pagan Europe: Early Scandinavian and Celtic Religions

by H.R. Ellis Davidson

Most people know of Valhalla, the World-Tree and the gods of Norse mythology, or the strange hunts and voyages of the ancient Irish tales. Yet, few people realize the significance of the similarities and contrasts between the religions of the pre-Christian people of north-western Europe. The Celts and Germans and Scandinavians had much in common in their religious practices and beliefs, and this is the first serious attempt that has been made to compare them. There are striking resemblances in their ideas about battle-goddesses and protective spirits, holy places, sacrificial rituals, divination and ideas about the Other World; and Myths and symbols in pagan Europe poses questions like: do such parallels go back to early times or are they owing to late Viking contact?

Genres: Mythology, History, Religion, Nonfiction, Paganism, Anthropology, Spirituality

268 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1988

About the author

Hilda Roderick Ellis Davidson was an English antiquarian and academic, writing in particular on Germanic paganism and Celtic paganism.

Reviews

[Sharon Reamer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read this book - at least in parts - at least five six times. It has such a richness of information about both Celtic and Germanic religions and their overlap - that it is too much to absorb in one reading. I'm just about to read some parts of it again.

This book is one of the few I've come across that tries to synthesize potential crossovers and influences of Celtic to Germanic religion (and vice-versa). There are chapters on the Otherworld versus the concepts of death and the afterlife (Davidson's specialty) as well as descriptions of individual deities, their strengths, their possible confluences with other deities and how their influence changed through time.

There is a wealth of good references - even if they are a bit dated - in the index as well.

Highly recommended to any casual or even well-read follower of Celtic and Germanic mythology.

My most recent reread uncovered even more things that I had missed or glossed over on the last read. The parts about the synthesis of the pantheons I found particularly important.

I seem to need to reread this book on a regular basis.

[Jaybird Rex · Rating 5 out of 5]

Probably the best companion out there for Prudence Jones' History of Pagan Europe, this is "dry" scholarship blessedly free of New Age nonsense. I didn't read it straight through so much as I jumped around and explored at will -- the book's fairly conducive to that. No doubt it could use an update, but what couldn't?

[Cwn_annwn_13 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Davidson has done a great job with this book in setting out to show the similarities in the religious/cultural practices and beliefs of the Germanic and Celtic heathens. My personal belief is that the Gods of the Norse and other Germanics are the same Gods as those that the Celts worshipped, even if the names, lore and rites differed in various ways. She draws heaviest from the Irish sources instead of Welsh, Brit and continental Celts for drawing comparisons to Germanic peoples but even those are far from being totally neglected. Personally I don't how anybody could deny, even coming from the academic egghead perspective , that Odin and the Irish/Welsh/Gaelic Lugh/Lleu are anything other than the same God after reading this book.

[I V A N A · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simultaneously one of the most fascinating and dense books I have ever read. It’s as though every sentence is rife with about 3 pages worth of information to be extrapolated from it! Nonetheless, completely and utterly worth reading for any individual interested in Northern European mythology, belief systems, and history.

[Ondřej]

It is Wind among men, Waverer to the gods,
Neighing One to the Mighty Powers,
Shrieker to the giants, Whistler to the elves,
while in Hel they say Breath of Storm.

[Bad Tim · Rating 5 out of 5]

a little dry and scholarly, but fascinating. it explores the similarities and differences of celtic and norse religion and their roots in indo-european culture.

[Siegbald TheReader · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bit dry as other readers alredy stated, but indeed rich in information.
I could enjoy to read bit more about the Celtic customs and deities, I felt that the Norse had overhelmed the book, and I noticed that a Celtic god (Taranis) was mistaken by an other Celtic god (forgot which one), so the Celtic part could use a fine tuning.

Not easy to read as it's not some new age magic cook book, but worth the time and effort.

[Viktor House · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little difficult to read, but a great book nevertheless.

[Ashley Lindsay · Rating 5 out of 5]

I never regret reading H.R. Ellis Davidson. Without fail she always has some insight found nowhere else.

[Rick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thorough but never uninteresting. Really enjoyed not only her breadth of knowledge surrounding the mythology but the cultures that were centered around these myths.

[Roel Albertsson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Took me a while to read, loads of information. But interesting none the less.

[The Night Owl's Nook · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this book. It's short, yet it feels like it has a lot of information to absorb for just one sitting, but I'll be happy to read it again.

[Ethel M. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was entranced by the book from the very first page. The author's command of language is exceptional

[Riley M. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Learned a lot of new things about old pagan beliefs of Celtic and Germanic peoples, such as the wide variety of sources for omen-reading and who did it, many types of sacrifices and related rituals, the importance of burial mounds, trees and groves, cult animals, and symbolic uses of heads and skulls, just to name a few. Well researched, and lacking in the wild speculations some of these sort of books can get into.
I’d also recommend it any Celtic or Germanic reconstructionists as it’s quite scholarly and doesn’t try to cover up the less pleasant stuff.

[Mae]

I think I read this about 10 years ago, but the details are fuzzy. If it's the book I think it is, it served me well as a survey of Norse and Celtic myth (I'm mostly familiar with "Classical" Greco-Roman mythology). But I want to read it again to be sure.

[Maya · Rating 4 out of 5]

For a full review of the book please see my website: Myths and Symbols in Pagan Europe: Early Scandinavian and Celtic Religions

[Tim · Rating 4 out of 5]

copy-pasted from my Librarything account: very scholarly, not easy-reading and it is advised to read this book a few times to grasp it all. But it IS very interesting to see how the pagans relied on the gods and what influence these gods had.

[Colin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not Davidson's best work, but still fairly interesting . . . and requiring little-to-no knowledge of Celtic and Germanic linguistics.

[Cicely · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredibly scholarly and detailed!

[Suzanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very detailed, scholarly info re: pagan Europe. Discusses in depth pre-Christian Scandinavian and Germanic religion and compares them w/ the Celts.

[George · Rating 3 out of 5]

a decent anthropological study of some of the beliefs and religious practices of ancient European cultures.

[Loree Iverson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Academically-sound and very interesting.

[Jimmyle · Rating 5 out of 5]

fascinating fact and insight on roots of contemporary ritual. rare and meaningful examples, including Druid.

[Sean McGrath · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dry but informative about the surprisingly numerous similarities between celtic and scandinavian mythologies