Ancestor worship is often assumed by contemporary European
audiences to be an outdated and primitive tradition with little
relevance to our societies, past and present. This book questions
that assumption and seeks to determine whether ancestor ideology
was an integral part of religion in Viking Age and early medieval
Scandinavia. The concept is examined from a broad
socio-anthropological perspective, which is used to structure a set
of case studies which analyse the cults of specific individuals in
Old Norse literature. The situation of gods in Old Norse religion
has been almost exclusively addressed in isolation from these
socio-anthropological perspectives. The public gravemound cults of
deceased rulers are discussed conventionally as cases of sacral
kingship, and, more recently, religious ruler ideology; both are
seen as having divine associations in Old Norse scholarship.
Building on the anthropological framework, this study introduces
the concept of 'superior ancestors', employed in social
anthropology to denote a form of political ancestor worship used to
regulate social structure deliberately. It suggests that Old Norse
ruler ideology was based on conventional and widely recognised
religious practices revolving around kinship and ancestors and that
the gods were perceived as human ancestors belonging to elite
families.
General
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!
Welcome to Loot.co.za!
Sign in / Register |Wishlists & Gift Vouchers |Help | Advanced search
