Think you know Thor? Loki? The Valkyries? Think again. Packed with gods, anti-gods, magical figures, human heroes, religious practices, and literary devices, the 24 lectures of Norse Mythology lay bare the reasons for our enduring fascination with Norse myths. Jackson Crawford also connects the dots between the Icelandic sagas of human heroes and the culture and worldview of the pre-modern Scandinavian peoples.
Norse Mythology
Think you know Norse myth from comic books, operas, film, and television? Uncover startling truths about Old Norse myths, sagas, gods, heroes, and monsters.
Rated 5 out of
5
by
Selina from
Detailed but it still covers a lot!
I found this series to be incredibly enlightening and helpful! It had always been so hard to find where to start with Norse mythology, especially when compared to Greek or Roman. Not only was this format easily accessible for a novice, I definitely learned more than had I struck out on my own!
There have been some comments on how he maybe sounds droning and I'd really like to say that I found his telling soothing and his inflections were appropriate to what he was reading.
This was insightful and provided a lot for someone who is curious to springboard off of into looking for more information! I will certainly be doing that.
Date published: 2023-07-25
Rated 5 out of
5
by
BGZredix from
A fascinating introduction
I greatly enjoyed this introduction to Norse mythology, about which I previously knew nothing (other than what I learned from Marvel comics . . .). The material is fascinating and Professor Crawford is knowledgeable, organized, and clear. My only caveat is that the many cruelties in the stories are passed by as if they're just to be expected in the beliefs of this particular culture. I wish there had been more analytical commentary on this aspect. Nevertheless, this has my highest recommendation for any interested in this area.
Date published: 2023-07-21
Rated 5 out of
5
by
Carol D from
Jackson Crawford is a Fantastic Professor
So, not so long ago, I came across this particular Scholar on videos he posted shortly before he did this course for the Teaching Company - and I'm really hoping he'll be coming back to do more. Maybe a more dedicated course on the Old Norse language? - anyway, I was impressed even then with his presentation of his content. I just finished watching this course and my admiration has only grown. It's informative, objective, and just an absolutely fun and fantastic listen. It's been a while since I've actually read any mythology but what little I remember reading as a kid was certainly watered down compared to the original sources that he discusses. Certainly, the stories of those long-ago sources are a heck of a lot much more grimmer. I've always loved mythology, learning about cultures ancient and modern, delving into stories, and just plain learning. This particular course is one of those that hits all of those for me. Professor Jackson does a fantastic job of presenting his material and building it up for us. For that alone, I'd recommend this particular course enthusiastically. Happily, not too long ago, I actually added it to my DVD collection too.
Date published: 2023-07-09
Rated 5 out of
5
by
Kim Kemal from
A ton more than you every realized you didn't know
A major goal of this course is to correct all the misinformation created by commercial products - movies, etc. And it does that, spectacularly. If you stay with it, you'll also learn a ton about aspects of Norse life and history that you never considered.
Finally, you will learn the correct pronunciation of people, places and things!
It's mostly a very fascinating teacher talking, not as CGI as the Marvel version. On the other hand, it's accurate! Plunge in!
Date published: 2023-01-17
Rated 2 out of
5
by
Sang Ze from
Poorly Done
This is the most boring of all the "great courses" I have purchased. The presenter is utterly boring, apparently reading off a machine. There are apparently two cameras in use, but he only looks at one. I wondered if, perhaps, he was crippled and unable to move. I will finish the course only because I paid for it.This is middle aschool stuff at best.
Date published: 2023-01-08
Rated 4 out of
5
by
Hoatzin from
Can I trust a man in a Stetson talking about Thor?
I think so. Dr. Jackson Crawford never actually wore a cowboy hat for these lectures, but I did notice a bolo tie. Having become seduced by Nordic myths and language, he has devoted his scholarly life to delving into linguistics, the most ancient sources he can find, and archaeology to dispel a millennium of adaptations, interpretations, and outright fabrications to reconfigure the Viking myths as closely as possible to those told by the ancient seafarers of Scandinavia and Iceland.
There is much to praise about this course. Dr. Crawford was very well organized, selected a broad range of sagas and covered subjects beyond the stories such as linguistics, rune stones, and the impact of Christianization on the transmission of the myth. Of course there are stories of Odin, Thor, Loki, and the other gods and Ragnarok. But there are also tales of dwarves and Valkyries and a host of others, both mortal and divine. There are no giants, and I’ll let him tell you why. I have read some of the Icelandic sagas (by another translator) but found Dr. Crawford’s presentation far more interesting and comprehensible as the lectures are thematically focused and he incorporates information often found in footnotes, makes amusing contemporary analogies, and offers modern translations (many of his own.)
The final lecture delves into sources for exploring Norse literature and life more in depth. This includes a short list of recommended translations, places to travel to in Scandinavia and Iceland where one can find vestiges of the Viking culture.
So why not a 5-star review? Dr. Crawford seemed to occasionally drop his voice at the end of sentences, so I missed the last two or three words. Depending on how tired I was, I sometimes rewound to catch them.
I thought there could have been more visual content. There were some nice art nouveau images of the major figures, some photos of relevant rune stones, and a few images I recognized from the National Museum in Reykjavik. But it was a shame listening to the extended description of a völva when I have a photo of a museum display of one in the exact costume. I won’t detail other instances.
However, the video is very useful when identifying names of individuals, sagas, etc. as my American ear Is not completely attuned to detecting unfamiliar diphthongs, the difference between voiced and non-voiced fricatives, etc.
The guide book is not comprehensive and not indexed, so it is often difficult to determine where to look for those “I remember hearing about . . .” details.
Date published: 2023-01-06
Rated 5 out of
5
by
Falconer from
I'm excited for this course!
I've been waiting for the course guidebook to arrive before I begin the course and it recently did. The materials are excellent and I'm thrilled with past courses. It's only my tight budget that prevents me from ordering more of these. I did, however, just order the Ancient Pharoahs course as well, and it should be arriving soon.
Date published: 2022-12-18
Rated 5 out of
5
by
Robert Rae from
Excellent Expertise
I loved this series. I loved his delivery and expertise on the subject matter. I specifically loved that he told the myths from start to finish as they are preserved in the source materials, flexing his story telling skills. I also loved he covered a few stories which I haven't heard over on his YouTube channel. This course gives you a very full view of they Mythology, language, runes, the concepts and world view of the Old Norse people of the time. He even does a deep dive of the cosmology which I haven't seen better explained elsewhere. I recommend this series regularly. Thanks Jackson!
Date published: 2022-12-14
Overview
About
Jackson Crawford is a Resident Scholar at the University of Colorado Boulder’s Center of the American West. After more than a decade as an instructor in Norse mythology and Old Norse language and literature at such institutions as the University of Colorado Boulder; the University of California, Berkeley; and the University of California, Los Angeles, he became a full-time public educator and translator for all things Old Norse in 2020. He received his MA in Linguistics from the University of Georgia and his PhD in Scandinavian Studies, focusing on Old Norse language and literature, from the University of Wisconsin–Madison.
Among other accomplishments, Jackson has built up a large YouTube following and has served as an Old Norse language and runes consultant on major multimedia projects, including some of today’s most popular films and video games. His translations of the primary sources of Norse mythology include The Poetic Edda: Stories of the Norse Gods and Heroes; “The Saga of the Volsungs” with “The Saga of Ragnar Lothbrok”; The Wanderer’s “Hávamál”; and Two Sagas of Mythical Heroes: “Hervor and Heidrek” & “Hrólf Kraki and His Champions.”
Trailer
01: Meeting the Norse Gods of the Viking Age
Where did a hammer-wielding guardian of the gods, a murderer and comic sidekick, a mysterious one-eyed leader, a world-encircling serpent, a doomed final battle, and other Norse myths come from? Learn what we owe to the Poetic Edda and its adaptation in the Prose Edda for the fascinating stories you’ll encounter throughout this course.
35 min
02: Fate and the Norse Worldview
Our understanding of Viking cultural values comes to us from those upheld (and broken) in the Norse myths. Focus on the profound Norse sense of fatalism and the importance of reckless courage—both of which add up to make the especially crucial concept of being a drengr: A person who, whether they live or die, is often celebrated in a saga.
25 min
03: The Norse Art of Mythic Storytelling
One way to better understand the stories of Norse mythology, and the way those stories are told, is to think about dreams. Using a key story from Norse mythology (the tale of how Odin got the mead of poetry from the gods’ enemies), compare two versions that highlight the “dream logic” inherent to much of Norse mythology.
27 min
04: The Norse Gods Are Characters with Flaws
A popular story of the Norse gods mocking one another is the perfect introduction to a pantheon that includes Thor, Odin, Loki, and Freyja. But the roles of these gods, as you’ll learn, are often not as clear-cut and one-dimensional as popular treatments and assumptions would have us believe.
28 min
05: The Norse Creation: Dawn of Strife
In the beginning, “many ages before the earth was shaped,” there were two realms: watery Niflheim to the north and fiery Muspell to the south. So begins the Norse creation myth, which is narrated together with the myth of how the gods die at Ragnarok. Learn how it all began.
28 min
06: First Humans, the Nine Realms, and Yggdrasil
Explore how Norse mythology describes the creation of humankind from two pieces of driftwood. Then step back for a broader look at the Norse mythos and our human place within it. Take a trip through distinct realms (for gods, humans, the dead, and others), then climb Yggdrasil, the enormous ash tree whose roots bind them.
27 min
07: Loki and His Children
Meet the complicated, ambivalent figure who lives alongside the gods but compulsively troubles them. Among the stories recounted here include the worst of Loki’s affairs (with an anti-goddess named “sorrow-offerer”) and his three ill-prophesied children: the huge wolf Fenrir, the goddess Hel, and the world-sized serpent Jormungand.
27 min
08: Balder’s Death: Tragic Murder of a God
Odin’s son, Balder, was a god so beloved (in fact, his Old Norse name is likely related to ancient words for brightness and light) that his shocking death is one of the principal stories of the “Eddas.” Consider two different angles on this story—one of which offers more logical coherence by omitting the presence of the trickster Loki.
27 min
09: Ragnarok: The Final Battle and Fall
The world is destroyed by evil, repopulated by good, then threatened anew by surviving evil. Ragnarok isn’t the final triumph of good envisioned by mainstream Christianity—but is it a cycle of ages akin to that envisioned by the ancient Maya? Explore a Norse apocalypse that seems amoral and simply inevitable.
28 min
10: Thor among the Gods’ Enemies
Take a closer look at some of the most important stories of Thor’s exploits as fighter and defender against the gods’ enemies. Some of these tales emphasize his dangerousness; others are imbued with humor. Above all, Thor is a god of the common people, willing to embark on hard work, while shrugging off occasional humor at his expense.
26 min
11: Thor among the Gods
How does Thor comport himself in situations that put him at a terrible disadvantage? What is this most popular of all the Norse gods without his hammer (which in “Thrym’s Poem” is stolen right from under his nose)? What does modern archaeological evidence tell us about Thor’s overwhelming popularity?
28 min
12: Odin, Lord of War and the Dead
There’s little Odin does that’s readily understandable to humankind. Still, peel back some of the layers of intrigue surrounding the lord of war and the dead, including the important myth of his hanging, his hall of men killed in battle (Valhalla), his spear, his ability to communicate with the dead, and more.
30 min
13: Odin and Wisdom
Continue your look at the Norse god Odin with this consideration of his prominent connection with death and the dead. The key to this connection: Odin’s overriding quest for wisdom—a harrowing, fascinating journey that results in the loss of an eye and his hanging from a tree for nine nights.
30 min
14: A Second Family of Gods? The Vanir
The “Eddas” usually refer to the gods collectively as “the Aesir.” But there’s another term for a more specific family of gods that occurs now and then: “the Vanir.” Meet the three Vanir whose names we know (the obscure Njorth and his twin children, Frey and Freyja) and consider some of the many social differences between families of the gods.
27 min
15: Valkyries and the Goddess Freyja
Turn now to the single-most often-named goddess and the prize the gods’ enemies constantly seek to seize. Any encounter with Freyja includes an encounter with the most prominent female figures in Norse mythology at her command—the Valkyries, positioned somewhere between mere mortals and the divine.
29 min
16: Dwarves, Elves, Trolls, and Zombies
Not all the supernatural characters of the Norse myths are high and mighty gods or their cosmically powerful enemies. Spend some time with the lesser supernatural beings that translators call dwarves, elves, trolls, and zombies. How do Norse depictions of these creatures differ from those of 21st-century pop culture?
26 min
17: Odin and the Rise of the Volsungs
Great human heroes account for most of the mythical saga material that comes down to us outside of the “Eddas.” The most important of these mythical heroes is the Volsungs. Get to know this family of celebrated warriors, whose fortunes are shaped by strange magic and the meddling of the Odin.
28 min
18: The Fall of the Greatest Volsung Hero
Sigurth, regarded as the single greatest hero of all, was groomed like his father, Sigmund, by Odin. Follow the epic story of Sigurth, including his training under the dwarven smith Regin and his unfortunate death in bed, not battle, which denies him entrance into Odin’s hall of dead heroes, Valhalla.
28 min
19: Viking History Becomes Volsung Myth
Conclude the saga of the Volsungs (the most famous and celebrated sequence of legends from medieval Scandinavia) with Guthrun, her surviving brothers Gunnar and Hogni, and her children. Also compare accounts of the Volsungs as depicted in the Poetic Edda, the Saga of the Volsungs, and early historical accounts.
28 min
20: Shieldmaidens, Berserkers, and Bear Men
Go beyond the Volsungs and encounter particular (and quite peculiar) heroes and villains, including shieldmaidens, berserkers, and bear men. You’ll come face to face with skilled warriors who were outside the social norms—and perhaps even the social realities—of medieval Norse society.
26 min
21: Norse Religion, Sacrifice, and Festivals
Consider the relations between the Norse gods and normal, everyday human beings. What does it look like to compare pre-Christian Norse paganism with the Judeo-Christian communities of today (including their holy days)? What can we learn from relics unearthed from archaeological sites, such as Lunda?
31 min
22: Norse Magic: Spells, Curses, and Runes
The worldview of the medieval Norse didn’t deny human beings access to some of the power of the gods. Rather, it embraced the belief that mortals could have a limited command of them. The secret was: spells, runes, blessings, oaths, and curses. Learn about Norse magic channeled through the spoken and written word.
30 min
23: After Life: Hel and Valhalla
What happens when we die? Discover how the Norse myths address this question with a journey into two postmortem destinations: Valhalla (for the men who die in battle) and Hel (for everyone else). Also, consider an outsider’s eye-witness account of the Viking conception of death, as illustrated by a cremation in a ship.
29 min
24: The Enduring Appeal of Norse Mythology
Consider why stories and characters from Norse myth remain so popular today (albeit in a distorted form), and how they’ve shaped iconic works of modern literature and film. Also, get tips on the best way to explore the terrain of these myths, both in their earliest sources and in the landscape that still exists.
33 min
