The
Northern Path: Norse Myths and Legends Retold ... 
And What They Reveal
by Dag Rossman
** CLICK HERE TO ORDER **
The website of Jodie Forrest and Steven Forrest: Alpha Lyra Consulting & Seven Paws Press
The
Northern Path: Norse Myths and Legends Retold ... ** CLICK HERE TO ORDER **
The website of Jodie Forrest and Steven Forrest: Alpha Lyra Consulting & Seven Paws Press
"A magnificent treasure!" --Lloyd Alexander, Newbery award-winning author of the Chronicles of Prydain
Why is Douglas "Dag" Rossman uniquely qualified to tell these Nordic tales as few have done since the storytellers of the Viking Age spun their yarns for kings and commoners? Who could better understand the tales' power and import in the lives of our ancestors than someone who tells them as the ancient storytellers did?
Read Dean Andersson's review here.
TABLE OF CONTENTS: THE NORTHERN PATH
By Douglas "Dag" Rossman
SECTION ONE: Voices from the Viking Age--the Tales Retold
Author's Note
Foreward: A Return to the Viking Age
Part One: Ice and Fire
The Creation
The Trials of Odin
War of the Gods
The Walls of Asgard
The Mead of Poetry
Gifts for the Gods
The Theft of Thor's Hammer
The Courtship of Gerd
Loki's Children
Part Two: The Oldest Troll Tale
Grendel and His Mother
Part Three: The Ring of Doom
Episode One: Otter's Blood Price
Episode Two: The Coming of Sigurd
Episode Three: Sigurd Meets the Dragon
Episode Four: Sigurd Awakens Brynhild
Episode Five: The Curse Strikes Agaon
Part Four: Hammer and Misteltoe
Thor's Visit to Utgard
Thor Goes Fishing
Thor's Duel With Hrungnir
Thor and the Giant Geirrod
The Apples of Idunn
Skadi's Choice
The Death of Balder
The Binding of Loki
Ragnarok, the Doom of the Gods
SECTION TWO: The Northern Path to Wisdom and Balance
Foreward: The Trailhead to the Northern Path
Chapter One: The Nature and Relevance of Myth
Chapter Two: Sources of the Norse Myths
Chapter Three: The Norse Mythic Worlds and Whence They Came
Chapter Four: "An Ash Tree I Know Called Yggdrasil..."
Chapter Five: The Many Faces of Odin
Chapter Six: Odin's Family--The Aesir and Asynjur
Chapter Seven: The Vanir Gods and the Elves
Chapter Eight: Foes of the Gods
Chapter Nine: Runestones and Dragons
Chapter Ten: To Ragnarok...and Beyond
Afterword: Echoes of Odin--Mythic Survival and Revival
End Notes
Selected Bibliography
For the past quarter century, Dag Rossman has followed The Northern Path with:
- The reflective mind of a scholar: Rossman has a Ph.D. in zoology, and has studied and taught Norse mythology for twenty-five years. His collection of original stories, Theft of the Sun, and Other New Norse Myths (Skandisk, 2001), fills in gaps and ties up loose ends left by the fragments of Norse manuscripts that we've inherited. With his wife, Sharon, he co-designed and installed the largest museum exhibit on Norse mythology ever displayed in the United States (Echoes of Odin: Norse Mythology in Scandinavia and America, Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum, Decorah, IA, Sept. 2000 through Jan. 2001).
- The wandering feet of an explorer: Rossman has amplified his understanding of the ancient Norse world by six trips to Scandinavia, visiting ancient monuments and absorbing the spirit of the land and its people.
The Northern Path recounts not just the Norse myths themselves and the worldview underlying them, but also what Rossman has learned from following The Northern Path for the past quarter-century. Learn how the worldview of your northern European ancestors can enrich your own life today.
- The heart and skills of a bard: For twenty-five years, Rossman has told these tales to contemporary audiences young and old. By candlelight, moonlight, firelight, and torchlight, he's watched these myths cast their spell over his listeners.
A review by C. Dean Andersson of the new book by Douglas "Dag" Rossman, The Northern Path: Norse Myths and Legends Retold. . .and What They Reveal. Reprinted with permission.
Like everyone drawn to the history and lore of Scandinavia and Northern Europe, I treasure the old stories and poems of the Gods, Goddesses, and Heroes. I remember years ago first discovering the Poetic Edda and Prose Edda and how reading them felt like coming home. Now, unexpectedly, I have re-experienced much of that original excitement. Through over-familiarity, I had forgotten how good the Eddaic stories are as stories. And how did I recapture old feelings of once new discoveries? I read the new book by Douglas "Dag" Rossman, The Northern Path: Norse Myths and Legends Retold. . .and What They Reveal.
Perhaps you have heard Dag retelling the myths and legends of the Northlands on one of his classic recordings, such as Hammer and Mistletoe or Ice and Fire. Maybe you've even been lucky enough, as I was a few years ago, to attend one of his storytelling performances. But for those of you unfamiliar with Dag and his work, here’s something from the back cover of The Northern Path: “For the past 25 years, he's not only studied Norse mythology but also told these tales to live audiences, as the Norse skalds told them centuries ago, and interacted with audiences about their meaning and relevance for today…. He has made the myths, the runes, and their wisdom part of his own personal journey.”
Now, in The Northern Path Dag has preserved in writing his storyteller versions of our favorite tales. That alone would make the book worth reading. As a writer myself, I admire the way in which his prose breathes life into the characters. For example, In his retelling of how Thor got his Hammer back, Thor's reluctance to dress as Freya has the appropriate comic touch when the bold and brawny Thunder God complains, "The guys will never let me live it down!" Others of the stories, however, are of course not funny at all. Dag retells the cosmic tragedy of Balder’s death in a way that produced for me appropriately strong emotions.
But wait, there’s more! The second part of the book is titled “The Northern Path to Wisdom and Balance.” And the afterward, “Echoes of Odin--Mythic Survival and Revival,” adds yet another reason why I appreciated this book so much. Therefore, yes, if you haven’t figured it out by now, I heartily recommend Dag’s new book to anyone young or old who has an interest in the Eddaic stories and Northern Lore. Whether discovering these stories and the Northern worldview for the first time or revisiting the tales and concepts of the Northern Path, in my opinion a better book than this one would be impossible to find. Read it yourself. Read it to your children. Give a copy to your local library. And have yourself some important, thoughtful fun!
"There's a strong sense of the story-teller's rhythm in Rossman's verson of these tales -- they beg to be read aloud at the fireside -- which is exactly right for the Norse myths. Rossman gives a brief description of the Eddas and of the scene of the old Viking homestead and hall -- the skald at the hearth, earning his living as a storyteller. The tales follow, and then afterward there is a wealth of wonderful extras: a discussion of myth, the place of myth, sources of the myths -- runestones, dragons, the Light Elves. He gives a table of the Elder Futhark, with runic meanings and commentary.At the end is an excellent bibliography. This book is ideal for a newcomer to the Norse material, for kids who are curious, and for the person who, like me, is somewhat familiar with the tales -- enough to particularly enjoy Rossman's take on them." --Sherwood Smith, Reading Riffs, September 2006.
ORDERING INFORMATION:
The Northern Path: Norse Myths and Legends Retold...And What They Reveal is a trade paperback, 6"x9", ISBN 0964911396, 252 pages, $15.95 plus $6 shipping priority mail. Click on the shopping cart icon for our secure online store:
WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING ABOUT THE NORTHERN PATH
"If you would be intitiated into the mysteries of our Nordic ancestors, then gather here on The Northern Path! Within these pages, Dag has revealed himself as a modern-day skald, expressing traditional wisdom wrapped in stories as stylistically engaging as they are non-pedantic. In his craft he has remained true to the Eddic sources and true to the tradition of the storyteller. Both his re-telling of the myths and his exposition are informed by his many years of deeply personal involvement with the Northern Path. Perchance therein lies his greatest strength."
--Edward W.L. Smith, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology, Georgia Southern University
"With his deep love and understanding of the substance and essence of the powerful Norse mythology, "Dag" Rossman gives us a magnificent trasure. In his retelling, these ancient myths gain us a renewed significance and freshness. They speak directly to our hearts and we all grow wiser for it."
"Dag Rossman breathes new life into these classic stories. Finding their relevance to today's world, he persuades us that the mystical power of these texts, once so essential to Viking culture, lives on. Feeling these narratives to his very core, Rossman conveys their deepest meaning with an assurance that audiences find entrancing. He invites readers to experience Loki, Balder, and the other colorful characters of old Norse mythology. He has us inhabit their world and mourn its destruction at Ragnarok. Beyond placing these narratives in their proper cultural context, he reveals their deeper truths about their own time and ours."
--Lloyd Alexander, Newberry award-winning author of the Chronicles of Prydain
--Kathleen Stokker, Professor of Norwegian, Luther College
"This is a fun book to read... Adults should enjoy these tales...and I suspect children would get a real kick out of having these read aloud to them... . This is a good retelling to begin an exploration of Norse mythology."
--David Bratman, Mythprint, vol. 44, #3, 2007
"[Kevin] Crossley-Holland's book [The Norse Myths] now has some real competition in readability and comprehensiveness
with Rossman's book on the market."
-- review, page 169, Imagination, Cognition and Personality
CAN'T GET ENOUGH NORSE MYTHOLOGY? Check out these other resources on our site:
Dag Rossman's other books and tapes available from Seven Paws Press.
Jodie Forrest's Nordic-Celtic historical fantasy trilogy -- The Rhymer and the Ravens: The Book of Fate, $13.95; The Elves' Prophecy: The Book of Being, $16.95; and The Bridge: The Book of Necessity, $16.95 -- is available from our secure online store, from any bookstore, from Amazon.com or from Seven Paws Press, POB 2345, Chapel Hill NC 27515, (919) 929-4287. The novels unfold in Nordic-Celtic ninth century Europe during the Viking Age, and in the mythic realms that parallel it: Elfland and Asgard. For more information about the philosophical framework of the world of these novels, see Dag Rossman's article, Ancient Nordic Spirituality, on this site, and our site's page about The Norse Runes.
Also see Jodie's articles on Odin As Mercury, Astrological Mars and the Norse God Tyr, and Freya As Venus.
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