THOR’S HAMMER: THE BELIEFS OF THE OLD NORSE

Dr. Terry Gunnell is professor of Folkloristics at the University of Iceland at Reykjavik, where he teaches Old Nordic religion and mythology, Scandinavian Folk Tales and Traditions; Icelandic Legends, Folk Beliefs and Society; Tolkien; and much more. He received his PhD in Icelandic Studies at the University of Leeds, is a prolific writer, and the editor of the books ‘Legends and Landscape’ and ‘Masks and Mumming in the Nordic Area.’ Topics in this engaging hour include: Gunnell’s favorite Old Norse deity; the Old Nordic worldview; their relationship with people, the earth, nature, the elements; the peoples who make up the Nordic or Scandinavian cultures; Odin, Thor, Loki, Freya and other gods; how women were much more central in the older traditions as the majority of priests; a spirituality based in the present; the landscape; the film The 13th Warrior; the role of human beings in Norse mythology; Icelandic developments and the impact of Irish slaves; the Vikings; dreams, omens and the dead; JRR Tolkien, The Hobbit, and Nazi Germany; the popular presence of fantasy including Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, The Narnia Chronicles; our yearning for mythology; and much more. For more information visit www.godspeedinstitute.com.