Paganism

Loyalty and Fidelity in “The song of Roland” The Song of Roland focuses on the battle of Saragossa between King Charlemagne’s bold and valiant men of France and King Marsille’s Pagan (Muslim) Spaniards. It’s through this battle brought on by Ganelon’s repute and revenge toward his stepson; Charlemagne’s nephew; Count Roland that the cultural values and conflicts between Western Europe and the Islamic world came to light. There is a vast amount of cleverly executed detail on the thoughts and…

This is an interesting adaptation of a pagan practice. Instead of taking revenge on his son he chooses to go to God and die. It’s a strange way to Christianize the tale. There was no forgiveness or atonement for sin. It was merely a choosing of God over the pagan practice of revenge killing. Honestly, this seems just an easy way to sneak in God into an otherwise completely pagan practice. The idea of a death-price has no place in Christianity and therefore the poet saw an opportunity to just…

In my art history courses at Southern Methodist University, the concept of spoliated artifacts has arisen in lectures and discussions many times. An idea I found intriguing, I have done quite a bit of reading on the topic, and have found the writings of ancient spolia expert Dale Kinney to be particularly impactful; specifically her chapter, “The Conccept of Spolia” in Conrad Rudolph’s A Companion to Medieval Art (2006). This article has an incredible meticulousness in documenting the…

Different Views on the Same Time Period Both feast days Halloween and All Souls’ Day come from one Celtic habit when it was celebrated the beginning of second part of the year. Since the Celts knew only two seasons, namely the darker half of the year and the brighter half of the year. Under the name of Halloween is this feast recognised in English speaking countries, especially in the USA, Canada and the British Isles whereas All Souls’ Day is celebrated in Christian countries. However, the…

Tapestries are a source of continual fascination to contemporary audiences. Something about these gothic textiles is evocative of a magic of bygone eras. One of the most romantic and most iconic examples of this is The Unicorn in Captivity. The enormous hanging is over 8”x12” and is stunningly detailed throughout. The woven, not embroidered, scene illustrates fantastical beasts and animals whose nature has frustrated historians for generations. Some argue that the work is a product of the…

The interaction with the monstrous and the supernatural within Anglo-Saxon literature is certainly well documented, perhaps most famously in the Anglo-Saxon epic, Beowulf. Though the three creatures Beowulf faces are creations of the imagination, they are presented by the poet in very different ways. The man-eating beast known as Grendel is more of a monstrously misshapen reflection of bi-pedal humans that is spawned from ancient evil, whereas the dragon is a bit more conventional. This…

Abstract In the movie The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, there are many different Christian symbols. Two of the main characters in this movie are related to the two main characters in the Bible. Alsan, “The great lion” symbolizes Jesus Christ, while the white witch symbolizes Satan. A young boy named Edmund, is portrayed as a traitor to his family and all the good characters of Narnia because he sided with the white witch. Keywords: Symbolism, Christianity, Jesus…

Snorri’s treatment of Odin can arguable be represented to the contemporary Christian audience as God, or seen as symbolizing a monotheistic deity similar to the Christian God, Loki is portrayed as demonic, as Satan, or even as the Antichrist. This divergence between Odin and Loki was fundamentally impacted by later Christian influences and attitudes which affected the myths transition from oral poetry to written word. By critically comparing the roles which Loki fulfilled in Snorri’s Edda and…

Knocking on wood is considered to be good luck. This superstition was first documented in 1905 the first people to believe in or create this superstition are the British, Pagans and Americans. The countries in the world where this superstition is believed are the United Kingdom, Ireland, and most of North America. It is believed in many other countries as well. This irrationality started before Christianity was a religion. Tree worshipper-mostly Pagan cultures, like the Celts- laid their…

Paganism is an enormous religion. Like Christianity, it has many subsets within itself. This specific subset of Paganisms is the Norse Pagans. These Pagans focus themselves on Odinism. They call themselves the followers of Astru. This religion is an original, indigenous form of heathen religion. The word heathen and pagan are interchangeable, and synonymous. Odinism is a life affirming religion. They value everything that sustains, promotes, enriches and enhances life. The end of life to Pagans…