Bøger af Maria Kvilhaug

The BIG BOOK Heritage edition is out and this is the best edition yet.Maria Kvilhaug explores the parables of Old Norse myths, revealing spiritual mysteries and metaphysical speculation at the heart of Old Norse Paganism. The Edda poems were most probably created by Viking Age skalds who knew the art of making metaphorical riddles and how to hide messages behind words. Many poems are veritably incomprehensible without the knowledge it takes to decipher the riddles.When Snorri in the 1220's realized that young people were beginning to lose their understanding of the ancient form of Norse poetry, he wrote his book so that “young students of poetry may decipher that which has been subtly spoken”, adding that knowledge has been “cleverly disguised in runes”.Snorri based his work on old poems almost forgotten at the time, and it was not until 400 years later that an Icelandic family presented a secret leather manuscript that had remained hidden in their family for 500 years, to Bishop Brynjolv Sveinsson in 1643.Why was the manuscript hidden throughout the centuries? What were the real messages behind Old Norse poetry? Are the Norse myths truly just funny stories about gods, trolls and giants, or do they hide some deeper insights?Kvilhaug has researched the archeaology and background to the Edda Poems and Sagas of Northern literature, and historical folk lore data. She has translated the original ancient Norse manuscripts and approaches the Poems as metaphor for traditional ritual and rites of passage in the ancient cultures of Scandinavia. Her insights open up the poems to reveal a whole new world where The tree of life, the red-gold of wisdom and the goddess of death and renewal are central to an almost forgotten way of life.Written in a warm and friendly style, this book is informative, revolutionary and enlightening. It will change the way we view the Poetic Eddas, and perhaps help rebuild an understanding of the pagan past of the Northern peoples. It may even restore a rationalized familiarity with their true Northern god(s) and goddess(es).

The Great Knowledge is a cumulative treasure trove of information on magical and spiritual practices described in written sources dating back to the Iron and Viking Ages. Maria Kvilhaug provides a wealth of source material shining new light on the lore of old, the roles and practices that existed, healers, sorcerers, shapeshifters, berserkers, poets, initiation rites, the genderfluid, and the influence and invocations of spirit beings in the shapes of gods, trolls, giants, elves, norns. For those who have sought accurate, historical, and fact-based information on Seiðr, Volva's, Galdrar, and more, The Great Knowledge is the book that you have been waiting for.

Students of the Poetic Edda have long ignored a seemingly unassuming, yet most important mythical character: Namely the mead-offering Maiden that appears at the heart of many a myth and heroic legend. This study shows how the Maiden with the Mead appears at the climax of a ritual structure within the myths - a structure that clearly is based on Pagan initiation rituals. The Maiden is the aim of the initiation and its consecration. Her mead is the mead that transfers knowledge, wisdom and indeed resurrection to the initiate. The study also shows that although the Maiden appears with different names and different status (she may be a goddess, a valkyrie, or giantess)she is always the same being - the Great Goddess of light hidden in the utter darkness of death. Only the initiate that overcomes his fears may find her in that ghastly realm and bring himself and the Goddess back to life - and to resurrection. This study shows the immense importance of this underlying myth and the ritual which it reflects, and throws new light on Old Norse religious practice and how to interpret Edda poetry.

The Edda poems were written down in the Old Norse language by Icelandic scholars during the 11th to 13th centuries AD. They contain a poetical, metaphorical lore about Cosmos and the fate of mortals on the path to immortality. A lore that is, despite having been transmitted in writing by medieval monks and scholars, deeply steeped in ancient Pre-Christian beliefs.

Kvilhaug's book of The Goddess Iðunn uncovers her true associations and links through poetry and myths. Iðunn is often linked to concepts like youth and fertility, but why is this? Kvilhaug examines why she is so often linked to these concepts and offers to comparative view of the goddess to other myths that often depict similar goddess in the same light despite the fact that they do not share any actual source depicting them as such.

Norse myths are chock full with stories of heroism, gods, giants, dwarfs, along with strong elements of shamanism, pagan ritual, sorcery and shape-changing. With commentary by Maria Kvilhaug, this volume two book is a collection of Old Norse medieval texts concerning the gods Thor and Loki. It contains translations of six Edda poems, three Skaldic poems and all the relevant passages from Snorri Sturluson's Prose Edda. Maria's ability to use her skills in philology shines a light on the texts as she extracts hidden meaning with the lore. Discover the myths that uncover a strong root to animistic understandings of the world in which these stories were told, revealing a old world that was filled with elements of shape-shifting, sorcery and shamanistic style practices to our current, new world.

The most comprehensive guide to Norse literature, historical folk lore and more. Kvilhaug peels back the layers of the Eddas, Poems and Sagas to reveal hidden truths within Maria's background in research and archaeology is visible throughout with full illustrations, timelines and beautiful translations of passages providing the key to unlocking and deciphering the hidden wisdom within. Her exploration of modern interpretations, past parables, and related cultural mythos provides a deeper layer into the mysteries of Old Norse practices.