What did the northern peoples believe in, what did they fear, and what cruel rituals did they practice in the Middle Ages? How did the Scandinavians preserve their pagan myths? Why is Norse mythology so popular worldwide? This book by renowned mythology and medieval scholar V. Ya. Petrukhin introduces the reader to the worldview of the pagan Scandinavian people. Using the Edda and sagas, ancient art and religious monuments, and archaeological discoveries, the author reconstructs Scandinavian beliefs. The culture of the Germans during the Great Migration Period and the Scandinavians was closely linked to the culture of the Slavs and Rus', so the book compares the myths and legends of the Scandinavians and Ancient Rus'.
The author tells how the Scandinavians viewed the Heavenly Asgard and the earthly Midgard, Utgard—the world 'beyond the fence,' describes the Scandinavian pantheon and the construction of Asgard, sacrifices and the worship of gods, funeral rituals, witchcraft, and prophecy.
The book also examines Scandinavian tales of the first Russian princes: the death of Oleg the Prophet and the Saga of Odd the Arrow, the wolf prince Igor, and the legends of Hakon the Good and Olaf Tryggvason, as well as the place of ancient myth in modern civilization.