The Old Norse god Freyr : new perspectives in mythology and religion

The Old Norse God Freyr: New Perspectives in Mythology and Religion has roots in a round table discussion involving a number of experts that took place in Iceland in 2018, and contains an in-depth, up-to-date analysis of the sources and arguments relating to the nature of this enigmatic Nordic god. As the various chapters show, source materials concerning Freyr are comparatively limited in comparison to those relating to the other major Old Norse gods such as Thor and Odinn, and partly as a result of this, understandings of this god have tended to vary over the course of time. Starting with an overview of the key concepts involved in such an examination, such as religion, myth, ritual and function, the chapters in the first part of the book go on to consider the various types of source material presently available that have been said to relate to any discussion of Freyr, noting their strengths and weaknesses, age, distribution and context. Starting with the archaeological sources, these chapters go on to consider the place names associated with the closely related figures of Ingi and Freyr; the literary evidence available to us in the shape of poetry and prose; and the folkloric evidence that scholars in the past have seen as being potentially connected with the god. The second part of the book proceeds to draw on this evidence in three discursive chapters that consider more closely the function of the god, who has regularly been said to be most connected to the field of fertility. As scholars note here, the god, who is also said to have had a particular association with the Swedes, also appears to have had a close connection to rulership and even warfare. The editors believe that this new work will allow readers to make their own informed arguments about the figure of Freyr, his nature and background, his family, and not least his key role in the Nordic religions of the past.