Wolf Of The Bees: Germanic Shamanism And The Bear Hero
Undeniably, the Beowulf story as we have it was recorded long after the Christianization of Anglo-Saxon England. Nevertheless, the Old English epic preserves significant traces of native Germanic myth. Addressing itself to vestiges of this mythos, this paper connects animal imagery in Beowulf with i...
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Print Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
|
| Interlibrary Loan: | Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany) |
| Published: |
[1988]
|
| In: |
Journal of ritual studies
Year: 1988, Volume: 2, Issue: 1, Pages: 31-53 |
| Further subjects: | B
Shamans
B Sagas B Shamanism B Wolves B Folktales B Grizzly bears B Religious rituals B Animal tales B Etymology |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (Publisher) |
| Summary: | Undeniably, the Beowulf story as we have it was recorded long after the Christianization of Anglo-Saxon England. Nevertheless, the Old English epic preserves significant traces of native Germanic myth. Addressing itself to vestiges of this mythos, this paper connects animal imagery in Beowulf with its analogues in other early Germanic sources, both literary and iconographic. Most likely, the ubiquitous animal motifs reflect migration-age warrior cults that invoked strong beasts as eponymous protectors. In particular, literary, graphic and etymological evidence suggests that magico-religious attitudes toward the bearthe spirit companion of the strongest heroeswaned slowly while Iron-Age nations evolved into the Germanic states of feudal Europe. Ultimately, the belief in animal guardiansa belief shared by other, unrelated tribal peoplesprobably stems from prehistoric Germanic shamanism. |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 0890-1112 |
| Reference: | Kritik in "Response to Stephen O. Glosecki's "Wolf of the Bees, Germanic Shamanism and the Bear Hero" (1988)"
|
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Journal of ritual studies
|