A reading list for people interested in runes, Viking/Norse culture & mythology and Heathenism
Do Read:
Historical/Primary (Many are also public domain and can be found for free online)
The Poetic Edda, or Elder Edda (B) (I) (I have the Hollander translation, but the Larrington and Bellows translations have been well reviewed also)
The Prose Edda, or Younger Edda by Snorri Sturluson (B) (I) (A bit more of the blatant Christian influence, but a good read when you weed that out and understand Snorri’s reasoning behind it)
The Icelandic Sagas (Many of which are published in the book The Sagas of the Icelanders) (B) (I)
The Saga of the Jomsvikings (Hollander translation) (B) (I)
Njal’s Saga (I)
Heimskringla (B) (I)
Gesta Danorum (The History of the Danes) by Saxo Grammaticus (I)
The Anglo-Saxon, Norwegian and Icelandic Rune Poems (B) (I)
Scandinavian folk/fairytales (B) (I) (Though many were composed post-conversion, they will sometimes carry elements of pre-Christian beliefs and mythology within them. Many compilations exist, sometimes by specific country.)
Scandinavian Folk Belief and Legend by Reimund Kvideland (B) (I)
A Dictionary of Northern Mythology by Rudolph Simek (B)
A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic by Geir T. Zoega (I)
The Norse Myths by Kevin Crossley Holland (B)
The Viking published by Crescent Books (B) (I)
The Seed of Yggdrasil by Maria Kvilhaug (I) (low Amazon rating is for the publisher, not her)
The Religion of the Northmen by Rudolph Keyser (B)
Our Troth vol. I: History and Lore by Kveldulf Gundarsson (I) (Both this one and volume II have problems in that there is some misinformation and Pan-Germanic ideas in the writing, so I recommend it for intermediate learners in the hopes that people are more well rounded and able to pick things out if they decide to pick these up)
Our Troth vol. II: Living the Troth by Kveldulf Gundarsson (I)
Peace-Weavers and Shield Maidens: Women in Early English Society by Kathleen Herbert (B)
The Mead-Hall: The Feasting Tradition in Anglo-Saxon England by Stephen Pollington (B) (I)
Galdrs of the Edda by Lars Magnar Enoksen (I)
The History of Runic Lore by Lars Magnar Enoksen (B) (I)
Runes, Magic and Religion: A Sourcebook by John McKinnell and Rudolf Simek with Klaus Düwel (I)
Rudiments of Runelore by Stephen Pollington (B)
Texts and Contexts of the Oldest Runic Inscriptions by Tineke Looijenga (I)
Long Branches: Runes of the Younger Futhark by Ann Groa (B)
Norwegian Runes and Runic Inscriptions by Terje Spurkland (B) (I)
Arild-Hauges Runer (B) (I) (The site is in Norwegian, but can be translated to English via the button at the top of the page. It’s more limited in English, but still very good)
Norse Magic by D.J Conway (It’s basically a rehash of her Celtic Magic Book with a Norse veneer. Celtic Magic in turn was basically Wicca with a Celtic veneer.)
Anything by $ilver Ravenwolf (One could expand that to include topics beyond these)
The Rites of Odin by Ed Fitch (Similar to Norse Magic, this is basically taking Wiccan practices and applying a Norse veneer. It contains mead and drinking horn making instructions which may be of interest, but the rest is worth passing on.)
Pretty much anything else published by Llewellyn
The Book of Runes by Ralph Blum (I cannot say this enough)
Books by Stephen Flowers (aka Edred Thorsson) (His writing is full of influences from ceremonial magic traditions and other inauthentic inventions, and he fails to warn the reader when these are present. His books have some good information in them, but for the amount of misinformation there are much better books to read.)
(I) = Good for intermediate learners and beyond
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