Ancestor Worship and the Elite in Late Iron Age Scandinavia: A Grave Matter

Acknowledgements
Abbreviations
Introduction
Part 1. Theoretical considerations
Chapter 1. Old Norse religion: Approach, sources and method
1.1 Old Norse religion
1.1.1 What is ‘religion’?
1.1.2 What is ‘Old Norse’?
1.1.3 The non-static and heterogenous nature of Old Norse religion
1.1.4 Heterogenous conceptions of the afterlife in Old Norse religion
1.1.5 Gravemounds and ancestors in Old Norse religion
1.1.6 Folk vs. world religion
1.1.7 Paganism and Christianity
1.2 Primary sources
1.3 Method
Notes
Secondary sources
Chapter 2. Research on ancestor worship
2.1 The development of ‘ancestor worship’ as an academic term
2.2 Ancestor worship in Old Norse research
Notes
Secondary sources
Chapter 3. Ancestors in social anthropology: Definition and social use
3.1 ‘Ancestor worship’ – the problem with terminology
3.2 The role of ancestors in folk religions
3.3 Family, kinship and ‘superior ancestors’
3.4 ‘Superior ancestor worship’
Notes
Secondary sources
Chapter 4. Kings and gods in Old Norse religion
4.1 The myth of ‘sacral kingship’
4.2 Euhemerism – medieval propaganda or just history?
Notes
Secondary sources
Part 2. Case studies
Chapter 5. Introduction to the case studies
Note
Secondary sources
Chapter 6. Erik of Birka
Notes
Secondary sources
Chapter 7. The Ynglingar
7.1 Background on the Ynglingar
7.1.1 Sources
7.1.2 The Ynglingar and sacral kingship
7.1.3 Ynglingatal: authorial purpose
7.2 Freyr
7.2.1 Adam’s Templum
7.2.2 Adam’s account of human sacrifice
7.2.3 Icons and processions
7.3 Hálfdanr svarti
7.4 Óláfr Geirstaðaálfr
Notes
Secondary sources
Chapter 8. The Háleygjar
8.1 The Háleygjar and sacral kingship
8.2 Þorgerðr hǫlgabrúðr
Notes
Secondary sources
Chapter 9. The Settlers of Breiðafjǫrðr
9.1 Þórólfr Mostrarskegg
9.2 Auðr djúp(a)úðga
Notes
Secondary sources
Chapter 10. General conclusion
Primary sources
Index