The intro is very readable and concise, it makes very clear that the deities, religions, and cultures to be reviewed in further chapters were not static entities chillin' in a book for us to pick up all these years later and get a perfect snapshot of How It Was. It also describes some of the fallacious thinking of past religious scholars, the issues with source material - much of which is only available to us now because it was transcribed by Christian monks - and how some of the past thinking of religious scholars and psychologists is still useful.
Chapter One
The chapter opens with a brief introduction to the world and work of Snorri Sturluson. It goes on to provide a synopsis of the stories in Snorri's Edda as well as one that was inexplicably left out and an overview of what other works may be used for further myths and tales. It also takes the time to ask questions that have no doubt given the
savvy reader pause by now such as why Thor and Odin are referred to as
the Father of the Gods, why the Aesir and Vanir were at war in the first
place and more. It concludes by noting the lack of a complete record anywhere for all the myths extant even in Snorri's time and how the fragmented remnants and extant sources can still be used to allow for educated guesses and patchwork for some of the questions the reader is now carrying regarding the timelines of the myths and various aspects that do not align logically.
Thoughts
I find Snorri's explanation for the Norse Gods' origins somewhat charming, Davidson explains this from the introduction to Snorri's Edda:
"When men by their sins broke away from God, he explained in his preface, they lost true understanding of him, and had to begin again from the beginning. As they looked at the wonderful living world around them and the heavens above, they felt that these must have been formed by an almighty creator, one who ruled the stars and existed before them. When certain great heroes came into their world, they believed that these must be the gods, and gave them worship. In this way Snorri explained the existence of the old legends, firmly rejecting the idea that the ancient divinities were devils. He knew that there were many gods and goddesses, and suggested that they came first from Troy, and that Thor was perhaps a grandson of King Priam, thus linking the north to the ancient world. Among the sons of Thor he placed Odin the Wise, who shared with his wife Frigg great powers of magic. Odin and Frigg moved northwards to Germany, and then to Denmark, Sweden, and Norway, leaving one of their sons to rule each kingdom. In Sweden in particular Odin set up chiefs and a code of laws ‘after the pattern of Troy’, and here was the centre of his rule. His descendants were known as the Aesir."
Davidson, H. (1990-12-13). Gods and Myths of Northern Europe (p. 25). Penguin UK. Kindle Edition.
Which is...weird. Let's face it. But it does make sense in a way after all Europe was all about classical culture and the lost glories of Greece and Rome, Davidson also notes earlier that part of what Snorri was trying to do was record the Norse myths so the allusions to them in contemporary and older poetry and storytelling would not be rendered meaningless. In addition, linking the Norse to the Mediterranean may've lent some air of credibility to them this combined with his tactic of explaining their worship as a misguided hero worship that filled the gap left by the absence of God in their world seems to be a preemptive move to avoid censure and provide respectability to his tales and work. Pretty damn smart.
The tales outlined in the rest of the chapter are interesting but somewhat conflicting, as Davidson notes in the wrap up to the chapter, additionally they seem oddly placed. Ragnarok is listed early in the chapter which is an odd choice (at first glance) since it's the tale of the end of the Gods. But combined with the other omissions and 'errors' it serves to confirm that Snorri is working with fragmented tribal tales with overlapping characters and events.
