A particular, recurring feature of Old Norse myths and legends is an encounter between creatures of This World [gods and human beings] and those of the Other [giants, giantesses, dwarves, prophetesses, monsters and the dead]. Concentrating on cross-gendered encounters, this book analyses these meetings, and the different motifs and situations they encompass, from the consultation of a prophetess by a king or god, to sexual liaisons and return from the dead. It considers the evidence for their pre-Christian origins, discusses how far individual poets and prose writers were free to modify them, and suggests that they survived in medieval Christian society because [like folk-tale] they provide a non-dogmatic way of resolving social and psychological problems connected with growing up, succession from one generation to the next, sexual relationships and bereavement.
Reviews
An inspiring and readable study [.] invaluable for anyone working in the field of Old Norse studies. SAGA-BOOKA very useful and thought-provoking book. SPECULUM
Thorough and impressive. [...] Gives thoughtful and precise readings of the Old Norse texts. JOURNAL OF ENGLISH AND GERMANIC PHILOLOGY