Excerpt

The aim of the author has been to examine the pre-Christian records of Scandinavia and the Celtic world (primarily Ireland and Wales, but also including Continental evidence), as well as the later literary and folk material of these peoples, in an effort to reconstruct their original world- views. Needless to say, this is a very ambitious project, yet Davidson has been quite successful in carrying it out. Well known to students of Scandinavian folklore and mythology from her earlier studies, Gods and Myths of Northern Europe (1964) and Scandinavian Mythology (1982), she has demonstrated also in the current work an admirable knowledge of Celtic material, including the archaeological and literary evidence for Celtic religion and mythology.