Interview on Norse Language and Myth

[@JacksonCrawford]

This is a somewhat discursive conversation, but a general theme is "the differences" (between Old Norse and Old English, between the Prose Edda and Poetic Edda, between the gods and the giants). Some basic timestamps are here: 0:59 What was Old Norse? An introduction to the language. 11:19 How are the Poetic Edda and the Prose Edda different? Starts with an intro. to the Prose Edda and Snorri Sturluson. 24:55 (continuing from the above) An intro. to the Poetic Edda. 31:32 Would the Norse have been quick to give up paganism for Christianity? 40:05 Who is god of what in Norse myth? How do these labels come to be? 42:38 What sort of ‘species’ are the giants? Are there any systematic differences between a god or goddess and a giant?

[@thehistoryofvikings269]

It was an honor, Dr. Crawford!

[@miro.georgiev97]

Would it be fair to compare the rivalry between the Æsir and the Jǫtnar to that of the Hatfields and McCoys? If they are to be considered as members of separate families rather than species, then the Hatfield-McCoy comparison would make a lot more sense. It's kinda the same deal with the Titans and Olympians, except they're both members of the _same_ divine family, with the Titans being the elder generation and the Olympians the younger (this sounds familiar...).

[@paulmanson253]

Jackson Crawford Dr. Crawford,it has been a pleasure to listen to the items you have produced. It just occurred to me that you have done a wonderful endaround to that weary modern academic requirement,"publish or perish ". You have indeed published and published a very great deal indeed. You in doing this have managed to reach an audience much larger than all but a tiny few academics. Using the varied interests published here on KZbin, any person interested enough to wade about till they find your content now has access to a calm reasoned explication of what is actually known from really a very limited series of documents. Added to that is what you have pulled from related disciplines such as linguistics and written contemporary documents,the precision of being able to hear,rather than just read about something I find interesting is just wonderful. English is indeed a Germanic language,but so damaged and twisted by history that modern Frisian,probably the closest to what English might have become,is entirely a foreign language rather than one step from dialect. I have encountered over the years quite a bit of this,but all too frequently garbled or added to to by someone with a chain to pull. So what you have done is important to me and I truly wish to say thank you for this. The Colorado imagery is a pleasure as well. Cheers.

[@hinterlandzaus]

Would you be open to doing a reading of Norse poetry then having a discussion afterwards on a podcast for a reddit poetry community?

[@concernedcitizen6313]

It's my understanding that "ek vil" and "ic wille" meant "I want (to)." Had they already become future auxiliaries at that time, or some time when those languages were in use?

[@PrestoNesto1234]

Interesting discussion. I like the discussion format. Would definitely be interested in more stuff like this if time allows.

[@concernedcitizen6313]

Very illuminating discussion, particularly regarding the "god of"-issue and the differences and similarities between the jotnar and the gods.

[@thebenis3157]

Very interesting interview, also almost entirely comprehensible for a beginner of Norse mythology such as me, which is definitely appreciated

[@theskoomacat7849]

It's so great to hear you interact with 'commoners'! Really helps spread the word.

[@xepharnazos]

*karls

[@juliaconnell]

awesome - thank you so much Dr Crawford - this is great

[@NorthworthySagasStories]

Very cool interview! I thoroughly enjoyed this and thanks for sharing and for making great content.

[@Jonassoe]

One thing I noted about giants (or jötnar) is that they seem very diverse. Some are hideous monsters, others are beautiful. Some are actually giant, others are human sized. Some are cowards, some are fierce warriors. Some are dumb as a pile of bricks, others are clever enough to cause trouble for the gods. They are only really characterized as what they need to be in order to fill a role as antagonists in a given story.

[@JonCarlo_]

good stuff! loving listening to this!!

[@traditionaltaekwondoramblings]

Please do another with him:-D pleeeeeaaaaaaseeee:-D

[@sunshinesilverarrow5292]

Thank you so much for sharing, I so enjoyed listening to this. Hugs & sunshine 🌞 N

[@daveh3997]

" . . .not a strong Mendelian genetics to Norse mythology," and I'm blowing coffee through my nose! No recessive gene for wolf, indeed! Nice interpretation of Snorri's Christian/biblical approach attempting to make a coherent story of the myths. That Snorri tried to structure the myths into a canonical text while the local folk continued telling the old tales makes sense. It seems more plausible than the oft-repeated new age claims of Christians actively suppressing the "old religion."

[@squirrel435]

Like if you were watching a pretty good movie, but it’s from 1978 so there’s disco in it...... 😂 I actually laughed out loud

[@jesusislukeskywalker4294]

oh it's all satyr. stay cool.

[@paulaunger3061]

That last question about whether a giant marrying a god becomes a god is an interesting one. I've wondered for a while about how different societies define 'god'. As Dr Crawford says, the Norse gods are personalities rather than roles like in the Greek pantheon - which would suggest two different concepts of 'god'. Meanwhile, I read somewhere that 'god spell' is Old English for 'good story' - especially, that is, the biblical story of Christ. So taking that definition, the god of X would be the 'good' of X - a person who represents the best example of X, rather than necessarily a supernatural being of great power.

[@jesusislukeskywalker4294]

dan means greek.

[@inregionecaecorum]

Thing is Trojans and all that, the world of Mycenean Greece was probably not that far from the world of the Norse when it comes to story telling and heroic deeds. When I was a child my dad used to tell bedtime stories about Beowuld, and Thor and about Odyseus and to my young mind it was much of a muchness.

[@BringNightmares]

No RSS feed? What a (sad) time to be alive... There goes my support for the podcast you were on..

[@M0S3ST0NE]

You are a Nobody ! Goodnothing

[@gregorymacdonnell7914]

@ Waples OH NO!!!!! PLEEEEEAAAASE dont withdraw your support!!! The world will be at a GREAT LOSS! The lack of an RSS feed makes it a sad time to be alive! You are a real head case Waffles. Go drink some Drain-O.