Take Animals And Humans: Recurrent Symbiosis In Archaeology And Old Norse Religion Penned By Kristina Jennbert Depicted In Digital Copy

is a remarkable book that is perhaps most surprising in terms of its authorship, sitelinkKristina Jennbert uses principally zooarchaeological data here to reformulate our knowledge of Norse beliefs, and particularly humananimal relations within those beliefs.
This approach is in clear contrast to most research on the subject which instead uses archaeological research merely as illustrative material where interpretations may support textual sources.
Jennbert's nonzooarchaeological roots are occasionally revealed, for example in her misuse of the term 'breeds', but that does nothing to detract from the general persuasiveness of her arguments.


This is a dense text, far from being a light and easy read, a problem that can no doubt be partly attributed to its having been translated.
Archaeologists, and probably others with a less profane interest in the subject, will find much here to provoke thought and question prior assumptions though.
This is a very accessible discussion of the place of animals in Old Norse ON society and religion.
I was pleasantly surprised by the breadth of the discussion, Jennbert has an interesting chapter on how animals were used on farms and in daily life, as well as the more esoteric associations you would expect from this book the association of gods with particular animals, fylgja, shapeshifting etc.


I've read a reasonable amount of literature on ON religion and society, but still found many new details and ideas in this book to interest me.
As a layperson with no formal education in ON studies, I found Jennbert's style very easy to read and would recommend this book for anyone looking for an unusual but enlightening approach to ON life.
Exploring the relationship between animals and humans in Scandinavia from the Roman Iron Age to the Viking Period, this book interprets Old Norse mythologyin which imaginary creatures with strong characters were inventedand examines the importance of animals in the human world.
According to Old Norse perceptions, real and fantasy animals in Midgard became mouthpieces for human characteristics and reflections of peoples social position.
With the aid of animals, humans could also show who they really were as well as control higher powers.
Combining

results from archaeology and Old Norse texts, this account discusses the functional, symbolic, and cognitive meanings of animals and the implications of animal rights.
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