Turville-Petre, Gabriel. The Cult of Óðinn in Iceland

• Author: Turville-Petre, Gabriel
• Title: The Cult of Óðinn in Iceland
• Published in: Nine Norse Studies
• Place, Publisher: Bristol, Viking Society for Northern Research, University College London
• Year: 1972
• Pages: 1-19
• E-text:
• Reference: Turville-Petre, Gabriel. "The Cult of Óðinn in Iceland." Nine Norse Studies. pp. 1-19. Bristol, Viking Society for Northern Research, University College London, 1972.

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Annotation

In this article, Turville-Petre investigates the absence of the cult of Óðinn in Iceland, and points to the links between the Norse god and kingship, especially in the light of comparative mythology and of the parallel that can be made between Óðinn and the chief Indian god Varuna. Egils saga is used only as an example of the importance that Óðinn has for poets. The author posits that Egill, an Icelander, must have been brought up in the faith of other Norse gods, and that he adopted the Óðinn-worship only due to his contacts with Norwegian chieftains – and due to his poet status.

Lýsing

Í grein sinni rannsakar Turville-Petre fjarveru Óðinsdýrkunar á Ísland og bendir á tenginguna milli Óðins og konungstignar, sérstaklega innan samanburðar goðafræði. Einnig tengir hann fjarveruna til þeirra líkinda sem finna má milli Óðins og indverska guðsins Varuna. Í greininni er Egils saga notuð sem dæmi til að sýna fram á mikilvægi Óðins fyrir skáld. Turville-Petre telur að Egill hafi líklegast verið alin upp í trú á aðra norræna guði en hafi seinna tekið upp Óðinsdýrkun vegna tenginga við norska höfðingja og vegna stöðu sinnar sem skáld.

References

Chapter 80: Sonatorrek: "Nowhere is this burning love for Óðinn expressed more clearly than it is in the Sonatorrek, in which Egill rebukes his 'patron', who has deserted him and deprived him of his sons. We cannot say that other Icelandic poets worshipped Óðinn as passionately as Egill did, but it is plain that he filled an honourable place in their conceptions of the divine world." (p. 9).

Links

• Written by: Barbora Davídková
• Icelandic translation: Andri M. Kristjánsson