Dr. Terry Gunnell is professor of Folkloristics at the University of Iceland at Reykjavik, where he teaches Old Nordic religion and mythology, Scandinavian Folk Tales and Traditions; Icelandic Legends, Folk Beliefs and Society; Tolkien; and much more. He received his PhD in Icelandic Studies at the University of Leeds, is a prolific writer, and the editor of the books ‘Legends and Landscape’ and ‘Masks and Mumming in the Nordic Area.’

Topics in this engaging hour include: Gunnell’s favorite Old Norse deity; the Old Nordic worldview; their relationship with people, the earth, nature, the elements; the peoples who make up the Nordic or Scandinavian cultures; Odin, Thor, Loki, Freya and other gods; how women were much more central in the older traditions as the majority of priests; a spirituality based in the present; the landscape; the film The 13th Warrior; the role of human beings in Norse mythology; Icelandic developments and the impact of Irish slaves; the Vikings; dreams, omens and the dead; JRR Tolkien, The Hobbit, and Nazi Germany; the popular presence of fantasy including Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, The Narnia Chronicles; our yearning for mythology; and much more.

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For more information, visit godspeedinstitute.com

Article originally appeared on Progressive Radio Network (http://beta.progressiveradionetwork.com/).