The Norns in Old Norse Mythology by Karen Bek-Pedersen (2013-12-05) Paperback – January 1, 1771

As I write this only two reviews are posted. The hardcover edition was released in 2011, and the two reviews from 2013 are of that version. I bought the Kindle version and read it in paper-white mode.Much of the material covered would be obscure to any but the most dedicated student of Norse lore, and particularly Icelandic lore, since much of the earliest preserved records of Scandinavia come from Iceland. You might be able to find specific documents online--possibly free--in the original language, if you knew exactly what to search for. You might find translations but again, you'd need to know exactly what to search for. This book is far from a simple regurgitation of easily-found internet material.Dr. Bek-Pedersen did the searching for us. This book is an extension of her dissertation work. Personally, I appreciate the endnotes after each chapter. They provide the detailed trail essential to academic study, and many of them add comments or insights that would be tangential or distracting to the main text. While endnotes are less convenient than footnotes--particularly in an eBook, where you can't just use a finger to mark the chapter's end--I find endnotes much less distracting, and therefore prefer them.The book includes many text excerpts from original material, much of it in the original Old Norse, followed immediately by translations in English. It's a good format. With a little online work I found I could follow the Old Norse just enough, going back and forth with the translation. Geeky, perhaps, but it gave me a sense of the original poetry, the sound, the rhythm. At times the old sagas are all about the story, and the rhythm is part of that story.By the way, if you ever thought daytime soap operas had crazy, convoluted, constructed conflicts, you should read some of these old sagas. Follow Gudrun, and weep. Over and over. No kidding.The author justifies a conscious choice to use some terms consistently in Norse, not English. Thus, after the introduction, you won't see "norns" as the plural form of "norn;" you'll see "nornir." The same thought process applies to other supernatural beings of Norse literature as they intersect with the nornir, or in some cases work in parallel. "Valkyrjur" for example, not Valkyries. As I dove in I wondered if this academic approach would distract but found it actually helpful. For one thing, it encouraged me to try reading the Old Norse instead of constantly skipping ahead to the translations. The small number of terms in Norse is NOT distracting.It's not a fast read. Hey, it's non-fiction. But if you have some interest in the subject it will reward your time. If nothing else, the next time someone refers to the Norns when you're around, you'll know more than they do. Way more.

Arrived swiftly and in perfect condition. I've only read the first few chapters but am already enthralled. This book weaves beautifully (_pun intended_) with another book on Nordic mythology I'm reading simultaneously: The Valkyries' Loom: The Archaeology of Cloth Production and Female Power in the North Atlantic, by Michèle Hayeur Smith. I highly recommend both as wonder-filled partners for a fascinating read.

I enjoyed this immensely. I am positive I will continue to reference back to this book as it is full of so much information. I appreciate everything from the references, notes, allowing the reader to see original text with translation after and the amount of thought that has gone into this work. Thank you for sharing this work with us!

This book is very well written. It is engaging, as well as thorough. It is a fascinating read as well as a good reference book. Definitely worth the price.

Bek-Pedersen casts into question the idea of past and future norns, dismisses the notion that Norns were the only ones who threaded fate, and points out the changeable nature of the literature over considerable extent of time. Bek-Pedersen also questions the conception of Norse heroes as fatalistic, meaning a given heroic utterance with reference to the Norns did not lessen questions of face and vengance. Frequently, mention of the Norns seems to have been a complaint about being put in a bad situation and having to kill someone.This is a fairly formal text-based scientific inquiry, seeking to separate the notion of norn from that of valkyrie, goddess, or witch.

The book which promised to be the only in depth scholarly study of the Norns available turned out to be a rehashing of information that could be found on a cursory search of the internet. It read more like a thesis and footnotes took up at least a third of the book. It was an expensive disappointment

I love this book. Firstly, it is about so much more than just the Norns. It covers many forms of supernatural female: Norns, Disir, Valkyrie. Lots of information about women’s practice that isnmt written about else where, like the dyngja. Seriously, it was great to read this book and be able to bring new information and ideas to my group about Heathen practice

This is a rare book. It is choc full of facts and information, shining a torch on the Norns. Who are quickly called the nornir. Scholarly, yet utterly readable. This is what I look for in my academic works. Dry, boring and way above my level this is not. It assumes you have little knowledge of the background, but tells you things you may already know in such a way you simply nod, as if listening to an friend.When you come to the juicy bits you did not know, you feel blessed and energised to be in the company of such knowledge: not lost and belittled by the over arching brain power of the writer as in some academic books.I have read John Matthews, Brian Bates, Bob Curran, Darren Oldridge, Robin Briggs, Owen Davies, Westwood and Simpson, Steve Roud, the slightly harder Stephen Pollington, Nigel Pennick and Bill Griffiths.My history heroes include, Richard Holmes, Mark Urban, Michael Wood, Ian Mortimer and David Cordingly.This joins those heroes of my library.I love it. thank you doing the research into this as I would not have known where to start.Oh, start here. Perfect! :)

Awesome book on the Norns. Really well-researched, lucidly presented, and original. First-class binding, as well. A book you will read and re-read.

One of the most interesting feminist perspectives within mythology for years. Hard to believe it sprang from a thesis. As far as I know it is the only book of its kind so far on the Norns and destined to become a standard text. The forensic approach, given the authors incomparable analysis within the sphere of etymology, opens an optic long overdue on a subject which too frequently suffers as a result of more traditional and comparative mythological methods.

I was perfectly happy and will not hesitate to buy from the store again