Tales of Valhalla: Norse Myths and Legends - Paperback

by Martyn Whittock (Author), Hannah Whittock (Author)

A vivid retelling of Norse mythology that explores these legendary stories and their significance and influence on the Viking world.

Valhalla and its pantheon of gods and heroes have always fascinated readers, whether it is how these tales illuminate the Viking world or influence cultural touchstones like J. R. R. Tolkien, whose Middle Earth is heavily indebted to Germanic and Norse mythology, as well as Hollywood and comics culture.In Tales of Valhalla, the Whittocks have dramatically retold these rich stories and set them in context within the wider Viking world. Including both myths--stories, usually religious, which explain origins, why things are as they are, the nature of the spiritual--and legends--stories which attempt to explain historical events and may involve historical characters but are told in a non-historical way and often include supernatural events--Tales of Valhalla is an accessible and lively volume that brings these hallmarks of world literature to a new generation.

Author Biography

Martyn Whittock is the author of numerous history books, including Mayflower Lives: Pilgrims in a New World and the Early American Experience and Tales of Valhalla: Norse Myths and Legends. He has been a consultant for the BBC, English Heritage, and the National Trust (UK). He lives in Oxford, England.

Hannah Whittock has a Masters of Philosophy from Cambridge in Anglo-Saxon, Norse, and Celtic studies. She has co-written three books on Viking and Anglo-Saxon history and has written journal articles on Anglo-Saxon frontiers and coinage produced during the Viking Wars. She reads Old English and Old Norse.