_________________________________________________________________      Record: 1   36399760275693520000601      Title: Fragments of Ancient Beliefs: The Snake as a Multivocal Symbol   in Nordic Mythology.   Subject(s): MYTHOLOGY, Norse; SYMBOLISM in folk literature; SERPENTS   -- Mythology; SNAKES -- Symbolic aspects   Source: ReVision, Summer2000, Vol. 23 Issue 1, p17, 6p, 10bw   Author(s): Mandt, Gro   Abstract: Explores the significance of the snake symbol in Norse   mythology. Overview of Nordic mythology; Snake symbolism in Norse   mythology; Different aspects of snake symbolism; Transformation of the   snake symbol.   AN: 3639976   ISSN: 0275-6935   Full Text Word Count: 4900   Database: Academic Search Premier        FRAGMENTS OF ANCIENT BELIEFS: THE SNAKE AS A MULTIVOCAL SYMBOL IN                              NORDIC MYTHOLOGY                                         When approaching the study of prehistoric religions in areas and time   periods where no solid evidence (such as sacred texts or descriptions   of rituals) is preserved, traces of beliefs and practices must be   pieced together from a variety of disciplines. Fragments of mythology   found in folk traditions, legends, and fairy tales; elements of   ancient beliefs occurring in written records from later periods;   linguistic data revealing the names of deities and sacred places; and   archaeological findings all contribute to the vast symbolic repertoire   of material available for religious and mythological interpretation.      The Nordic snake is a recurring symbol both in written records   relating ancient myths and in material cultural remains from   prehistoric and early historic times. In this article I will explore   the significance of the snake from ca. 4000 B.C. to A.D. 1200 in the   Nordic area.      Overview       Throughout world cultures, powerful symbolic qualities have been   attributed to the snake, as demonstrated by its diverse manifestations   in religion, mythology, and art in a variety of societies for   millennia. From a naturalist's point of view, the snake achieved its

   unique position in the animal realm because of its shape and general   behavior. Snakes slither quickly; they often hide in crevices or   earthen caverns, they hibernate during the cold season, and they shed   their skins. Many are poisonous. They are considered to be enigmatic,   awesome creatures, and this ambiguity is reflected in people's beliefs   about them.      Visual representations of the snake include both naturalistic pictures   and abstract patterns associated with it, such as spirals, meanders,   zigzags, and wavy lines. The earliest known examples of the snake   motif in the shape of zigzag patterns occur in Neanderthal contexts,   ca. 40,000 B.C. (Gimbutas 1989, 19). Marija Gimbutas maintains that   the use of snake motifs represents one of humankind's earliest ritual   activities, and snake symbolism was primarily associated with the   female aspects of religion.      In Nordic material culture, naturalistic and abstract snake   representations are found from the late Stone Age, throughout the   Bronze and the early Iron Ages, to the Viking era and the early   medieval period. Written records referring to snakes (serpents as well   as dragons) appear only in the latter part of this timeframe, the   thirteenth century A.D., but are assumed to express beliefs and   traditions that are many centuries older.      Social, economic, and religious changes that took place in Nordic   culture are reflected in the changing attributes of the snake motif. I   will discuss these variations with an emphasis on their association   with female symbolism. Regarding more recent manifestations of the   snake symbol, where both written sources and material remains are   available, I will examine whether these two sets of data contradict or   support one another. Interpretation of earlier snake imagery will be   based partly on retrospective analyses and cross-cultural analogies   relating to universal concepts of the snake.      Snake Symbolism in Norse Mythology       Nordic culture maintained an oral tradition prior to its conversion to   Christianity around A.D. 1000. Knowledge of Norse cosmology of the   ninth to the eleventh centuries relies on memories of that period that   are reflected primarily in texts written after the conversion, 300-400   years later than the living tradition they reflect. The use of these   records, therefore, requires a considerable amount of caution, not   only because of the rime gap but also because of the likely Christian   influence on the narratives. Note also that the majority of the texts   were written by men, mainly monks, who had little or no knowledge of   the lore and practices of women (Davidson 1993, 107).

      Norse mythology and cosmology are derived from manuscripts such as the   Elder or Poetic Edda, the Scaldic Verses, and the Prose Edda and Sagas   (for example, Davidson 1993, 65). In these texts, the snake motif is   revealed as a cosmic symbol, occurring both in creation myths and   myths about the destruction of the world.      Norse people, the "Vikings" as they are known in popular imagination,   pictured the world as a circular disk, in the center of which stood   the home of the gods, Asgard. Outside and around Asgard lay Midgard   'the place in the middle' where humans lived. Outside Midgard was   Utgard 'the place outside' which was the home of the Giants,   adversaries of both gods and humans. The ocean held a huge serpent,   which wound itself like a belt around the world, biting its own tail   (fig. 1). This is Midgardsormen the World Serpent banished by the gods   who feared the vicious monster (Holtsmark 1990, 155).      A huge ash, Yggdrasil, the World Tree, grew in the center of the   world. It reached from the underworld, Helheim, through the world of   the living right into the firmament (Holtsmark 1990, 65). The ash grew   by a well, where, it was told, there were "more snakes than anyone can   tell" (73). One of the snakes, Nidhogg, gnawed at the roots of the   World Tree, while four red deer fed on its leaves (65).      The World Tree is also a cosmic symbol denoting the continuity and   reproduction of society. As a living organism, however, it is subject   to destruction and death. The inevitable end of the world, Ragnarok,   is symbolized by the snake and the red deer gnawing at the roots and   leaves of Yggdrasil (Steinsland and Sorensen 1994, 33). The myth of   Ragnarok tells about the final battle between gods and giants   (Davidson 1993, 74). Various allusions to snakes occur in the tales of   this catastrophe. In the Realm of Death is a hall braided by the   bodies of snakes, where venom drips from its roof. Here, the serpent   Nidhogg is described as a "dark dragon" that flies above the   battlefields with dead bodies in its feathers "sucking corpses"   (Holtsmark 1990, 174-75).      The World Serpent, Midgardsormen, plays an important role in the   destruction myth when it escapes its bonds and joins in the attack.   The god who takes up the struggle with the monster is Thor, the   Thunder God, who appears to have been one of the most popular gods of   the Norse pantheon. In addition to being a fertility god, he is   guardian of Cosmos. In that capacity, he is continually fighting the   Giants in order to maintain balance between the cosmic forces   (Steinsland and Sorensen 1994, 56). In the final battle of Ragnarok,   Thor manages to destroy the World Serpent, but in the act he dies,

   killed by the venom that the serpent spouts (Holtsmark 1990, 174).      The Snake Motif in Viking and Early Medieval Imagery       In the material culture from the same period as the Norse myths, the   late Iron Age, ca. A.D. 600-1000, the snake motif occurs even more   frequently than in the written records. Thanks to lavish burial   customs, numerous artifacts from everyday life and festive and   religious occasions have been preserved. The hallmark of the   decorative style of the Viking age is coiling, intertwined ribbons,   which give the impression of constant movement (fig. 2).      Although there is a preference for abstract forms, Nordic patterns   primarily render different species of animals; among the most favored   are serpents and dragons, the cosmic creatures of the myths   (Steinsland and Sorensen 1994, 200). Snakelike decorations occur on   women's jewelry and men's weapons, and they are carved in wood and on   memorial stones for the deceased. In the latter case, snakes are often   depicted together with runic inscriptions.      Artistic traditions from the Viking age persisted into the early   Christian era. The snake motif frequently appears as a decorative   element in the earliest religious structures, the wooden   stave-churches from the twelfth and thirteenth centuries A.D. Swarms   of twisting, winding snakes are frequently carved on the doorframes.   Heads of serpents or dragons adorn church roofs and are found on   keyhole-mountings and reliquaries. On memorial stones, the snake motif   occurs together with the Christian cross (see fig. 2).      Symbol of Ambiguity       The Norse snake manifests itself as an ambiguous or multivalent   symbol. To some extent, written texts and material imagery seem to   contradict each other. The serpents of the myths are presented as   monsters, associated with death and disaster, that fought against and   were chained by the gods. On the other hand, the snakes encountered in   the material culture appear to fulfill their ancient function as   guardians. It seems unlikely that the snake motif that decorates   jewelry and weapons symbolizes evil and destructive forces. On the   contrary, the snakes occurring in the decorative styles, or outlined   in the shape of finger-or arm-rings, were probably meant to protect   their owners.      In the Norse sagas are countless descriptions of mighty Viking   battleships, often referred to as "dragons." The largest and most   powerful of them was called Ormen Lange, the 'Long Serpent'. According

   to the saga-teller, Ormen Lange's stem was formed in the guise of a   golden dragon's head, and its stern was shaped like a coiling   serpent's tail (Snorres Kongesagaer 1942, 164). When the first Viking   ships were excavated in Norway in 1880 and 1904, the descriptions in   the Sagas were more or less confirmed. Although no actual dragon heads   were found, the shape of the stems, particularly on the Oseberg ship,   resembled the coiling head and tail of a serpent.      Proclaiming and equipping battleships as dragons may have had an   apotropaic function to frighten an enemy. It is plausible, however,   that the guardian aspect was also at work, and that the ships were   expressing the powerful properties of the dragon (Steinsland and   Sorensen 1994, 202). The linguist Else Mundal has suggested that the   dragon was a symbol of rulers and that only the most prominent   chieftains adorned their ships with dragons' heads (personal   communication).      Under close scrutiny, the function of the snake as a protector and   guardian is discernible even in the myths. The World Serpent,   Midgardsormen, is pictured as an awesome monster. By encircling the   world, however, the serpent serves an important function in the   Cosmos; it keeps chaos at bay and protects the world order. The   earliest kenning (poetic metaphor) for Midgardsormen, dating to the   ninth century A.D., is "belt," meaning "something that holds together"   (Else Mundal, personal communication). Thus, Midgardsormen represents   the Ouroboros, the cosmic snake that girdles the world. Another   serpent-monster of Norse and Germanic mythology is the dragon Favne,   which is custodian of an enormous gold treasure.      Female Aspects of Snake Symbolism       The ambiguity inherent in the symbolism of the Norse snake conforms to   various cross-cultural aspects of the motif: the snake is a cosmic   being associated with death and the afterlife; it functions as   guardian and custodian and as a ruling symbol (Eliade 1987a, 1987b).   In myths all over the world, the snake is portrayed with both positive   and negative qualities. The snake is assumed to possess evil and   deadly forces, in addition to being immortal, life generating, and a   symbol of good fortune. Associated with both demons and deities, in   some religions the snake is cursed and worshiped simultaneously.      In the Norse myths, however, the association of the snake with   fertility, birth, and regeneration seems to be lacking (Gimbutas 1989,   121). Gimbutas draws attention to these positive qualities when she   claims that the snake symbol is associated with female divinity. This   association is related to Gimbutas's concept of the Great Goddess of

   Old Europe. She envisages the snake as the symbol of life and   regeneration, fertility and growth (xix). Of particular interest is   the belief in the immortality of the snake inspired by its   reappearance in the spring after a period of winter hibernation and   its "renewal" by shedding its skin. Because of its alleged immortality   and its habitat in the earth and among stones, the snake represents a   link between the underworld of the dead and the realm of the living   and is believed to embody the energy of the ancestors (317). Within   this framework, the snake is benevolent, not evil. Although the   poisonous snake can kill, Gimbutas interprets this quality as a   representation of the death-wielding aspect of the Goddess (121,205,   209).      Gimbutas draws attention to the similarities between snake and bird   symbolism, pertaining especially to water birds such as swans, cranes,   storks, and geese, all of which have long, snake-shaped necks, and   that return each spring after spending the winter months in the south.   Both snakes and birds are seen as life energy incarnate and as   representing the souls of the dead (317). Both have death-wielding   aspects that are not considered evil, but are part of the natural   cycle of life.      Why are these important aspects of snake symbolism apparently lacking   in the tales of Norse snakes? I suggest that the snake's symbolic   meaning in the Nordic area has been transformed through the millennia   and that its life-generating, female aspects have been partly overlaid   and partly assimilated by later symbol systems. To explore this   possibility, I think it useful to examine material cultural remains   from periods before the Viking age, where written records are either   insufficient or altogether lacking.      The Snake Motif in the Preliterate Nordic Past       The earliest appearances of the snake motif in the Nordic area date to   the Neolithic, ca. 4000-3000 B.C. The motif is primarily found in rock   art, for example, at two large rock art sites in Western Norway,   Ausevik, and Vingen (Bakka 1973; Boe 1932; Hagen 1969; Walderhang   1994). The motif that dominates at these sites is red deer, but both   naturalistic snake depictions and abstract snake representations,   primarily in the shape of spirals, wavy bands, and zigzags, occur   frequently (fig. 3). Even human figures are depicted by means of   zigzags, the majority identifiable as female representations (fig. 4).      Similar decorations appear on some contemporary artifacts, for   example, on star-shaped "maceheads" (fig. 5), and on clay figurines   interpreted as "idols" (Bakka 1973, 170; Hagen 1969, 87). The

   maceheads are thought to be weights for digging sticks; they may also   have been used by women in food collecting (Vinsrygg 1979, 1987). In   addition to snake representations, both the macehead decorations and   the rock art include various other motifs that, according to Gimbutas   (1989, xxii), may be associated with a system of female symbols--such   as plant and eye motifs, triangles, fringes, net patterns, multiple   arcs, and hooks (see fig. 4). Even motifs interpreted as vulvas are   found (Bakka 1973, 159) (fig. 6).      Numerous rock art representations of red deer (the majority of which,   due to lack of horns, appear to represent the female of the species,   namely hinds) can also be explained within the framework of fertility   symbolism (see fig. 4). In folklore, legends, and songs from all over   Europe traces appear of ancient rituals centered on homed animals,   mainly deer, in particular hinds (Storm 1995). The European cervine   tradition is reflected in song games, such as "the Hind Game," in   which the main themes are life and death, sexual love, supernatural   heroic women and men, and the association of deer with water, trees,   and snakes.      During the Bronze Age, ca. 1800 to 500 B.C., the snake motif occurs   frequently in a variety of contexts, ranging from spirals and meanders   adorning jewelry and weapons, to naturalistic and abstract snake   representations in rock art. The snake motif often occurs in   association with the ship motif, and Gimbutas has suggested that even   the curving stems of the ships should be interpreted as the heads of   snakes (1987, 247) (fig. 7). Spirals, meanders, and zigzags are   depicted both on open-air sites (for example, Svensson 1989) and on   grave cists (fig. 8).      A naturalistic snake representation occurs in the most outstanding   late Bronze Age hoard from Faardal in Denmark. In addition to numerous   pieces of women's jewelery, a group of bronze figurines were found,   including a kneeling woman, a curving snake, and two single- and one   double-homed animal heads, the latter combined with a waterbird   representation. It is assumed that the woman steered the snake, and   she is referred to as the "Snake Goddess" (Brondsted 1966a, 203). The   association of snake and homed animal (red deer?), as demonstrated in   the Ausevik and Vingen rock art (see fig. 3) is noteworthy; it is also   found in much later Norse cosmology (see fig. 1).      In the early Iron Age, ca. 500 B.C. to A.D. 600, traces of snake   symbolism can be recognized in the decorative motifs on jewelry and   weapons and in more naturalistic shapes on memorial stones, as in the   large collection round on the Swedish island of Gotland (Nylen 1978).   Evidence of a potential association between the snake motif and female

   symbolism is, however, sparse in this period. The best illustration   appears on one of the memorial stones from Gotland, the so-called   Smiss Stone, dated A.D. 400-600. The decoration consists of a   crouching human figure, interpreted as a woman, who holds a winding   snake in each hand (fig. 9). She is referred to as the "Snake Witch"   (40). The figure is strikingly similar to a motif that Gimbutas   associates with the frog and interprets as an epiphany of the Great   Goddess or her uterus (Gimbutas 1989, 251). The "Snake Witch" is   considered simultaneously a symbol for burial and life; this is   amplified by the two snakes.      Naturalistic snake representations evident in two unique finds from   Denmark are undoubtedly related to ritual practices. Both are   decorated with scenes interpreted as illustrations of myths, including   human representations (deities?) and a variety of animal species,   among which are snakes. One find consists of two golden drinking horns   from Gallehus, dated to A.D. 400-450, of which only drawings are   preserved (Brondsted 1966b, 323). The other find is the large silver   cauldron from Gundestrup, dated to the first century B.C. (Davidson   1993, 25; Gorman 1987). Again, a relationship between snake and horned   animal (bull and/or stag) is attested to in the decorations on the   cauldron.      Transformation of the Snake Symbol       Although the empirical data which I have drawn attention to here are   relatively sparse, they seem to indicate that the symbolism of the   snake may have changed during the early Iron Age, between ca. 500 B.C.   and A.D. 400. In the Neolithic period, an association between snake   and woman is indicated both in rock art and on decorated maceheads. In   the Bronze Age, the "Snake-Goddess" of the Faardal hoard also suggests   a link between snake and woman. The appearance of snake motifs in   Bronze Age burials emphasizes the connection between snakes and a   death/rebirth symbolism. In the transition period between the late   Bronze Age and the early Iron Age, however, the association between   snake and woman becomes diffuse. One outstanding exception is the   "Snake Witch" of the Smiss Stone. Its function as a memorial stone for   a dead person stresses the death/rebirth symbolism of the snake. The   snakes of the Norse myths, if they indicate any gender, appear to be   male. The snake motif in the contemporary material culture, however,   does not seem to have been reserved for one or the other gender; it   occurs on women's and men's belongings alike. In the medieval period,   indications of an association between snakes and women are evident.   Legends include narratives that describe female saints who fought with   and conquered dragons. Through their victory over the dragons, the   saints gained the power to help women during childbirth (Egilsdottir

   1994).      I assume that the alterations that seem to occur in snake symbolism   can be explained by changes in the religious belief system. In a   culture's conversion to Christianity, there are examples of older   deities' being transformed into demons or assimilated by the new faith   (Else Mundal, personal communication). Symbols associated with the   earlier religion continued to exist within the framework of the new   faith, but with altered meanings. Visual symbols may retain their   morphological shape, whereas altered meanings manifest through the new   contexts in which the symbols appear. Former religious traditions can   exist as undercurrents in the official belief system and only   occasionally emerge in the material culture or in myths.      One example of such a potentially long-lasting symbolic symbiosis is   the combination of snake and deer. It is seen in the Neolithic rock   art at Ausevik and Vingen (see fig. 3), in the late Bronze Age hoard   from Faardal, in the pre-Roman cauldron from Gundestrup, in the Norse   myth of Yggdrasil (see fig. 1), in early medieval memorial stones (see   fig. 2), and in stave church decorations. The degradation of symbols   can also occur in the sense that once-important symbols can lose their   profound meaning over time and be turned into mere amulets, bringing   luck or preventing evil (Eliade 1958, 440).      The "change-of-religion" model may explain other puzzling features of   snake symbolism in Norse culture. It is easier to understand the   guardian role of the otherwise vicious snakes of the Norse myths if   the snake is seen as a once powerful sacred image turned into a mere   luck-bringing or evil-averting symbol. Female saints who became aids   in childbirth after killing dragons may reflect a symbolism rooted in   ancient myths that link snakes with the entire cycle of fertility,   creation, death, and rebirth. It is tempting to ask whether when the   dragon became a ruling icon adorning the mighty battleships of the   Vikings, male warriors took over an ancient personification of the   female deity. Perhaps even the death-wielding aspect of the snake--as   well as protection and regeneration--was included in the symbolism of   the battleships of the Vikings.      Conclusion       To exemplify the multiple levels of meaning in the Nordic snake motif,   I will conclude by telling a story about Thor, the Thunder God, and   Midgardsormen, the World Serpent. One of the more popular tales of its   time, the tale is retold in different versions in the written records,   and the scene is depicted on several memorial stones (fig. 10).  

   Once Thor went out fishing with one of the Giants. After they had   rowed far out on the ocean, Thor threw out his bait, an oxhead   (another horned animal), and it was swallowed by none other than the   World Serpent, Midgardsormen. When Thor tried to pull the serpent out   of the water, he stepped so firmly into the bottom of the boat that it   was crushed, and he, therefore, stood with both his feet planted at   the bottom of the sea. When Thor lifted his hammer to slay the   monster, however, the giant grabbed his own knife and cut the line so   that the serpent slid unharmed back into the ocean (Steinsland and   Sorensen 1994, 57).      Some scholars suggest that this myth is much older than the Viking age   and may originally have been part of a creation myth in which the gods   bound various monsters (Davidson 1993, 52). An alternative explanation   is that the myth indicates some type of crisis. Both the Thunder God   and the World Serpent are guardians of Cosmos, but in his attempt to   raise the serpent from the deep, Thor endangered the stability of the   world (Steinsland and Sorensen 1994, 58). The serpent sank down into   the water again, leaving the world safe for awhile only to await the   final disaster--the destruction of the world depicted in Ragnarok   (Davidson 1993, 83).      In my view, this myth illustrates a conflict between two competing   belief systems presented in symbolic form. The serpent can be seen as   the age-old, powerful symbol of life, death, and rebirth, perhaps   symbolizing a regenerating, all-inclusive female deity. This   interpretation is strengthened by the close association between snakes   and horned animals attested from the Neolithic period onwards. The   androcentric ideology of the Viking age transformed the serpent into a   vicious monster whom the gods of the new religion chained and banished   because they feared for their safety. Because the ancient symbol was   so strong, some of its positive qualities have been preserved, and the   serpent has retained its cosmic function as protector of dynamic   balance. The attempt by the powerful male Thunder God to destroy the   serpent may symbolize the battle between the old female symbols of   creativity, destruction and regeneration--representing the Great   Cosmic Cycle--and the new androcratic order. In the myth Thor has to   surrender. Perhaps this signals an admission that the old belief   system had not lost its power and the time had not yet come for a New   World Order. Only in the final battle of Ragnarok does Thor kill the   serpent, and he and the entire known world are destroyed along with   it.                                 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS                                         I would like to thank Ellinor Hoff for the drawings she produced for

   this article, and especially for the visual work on Norse cosmology,   as shown in fig. 1. Thanks as well to Svein Skate for his technical   computer support.      PHOTO (BLACK & WHITE): Figure 1. Norse cosmology picturing Midgard,   the worm of the living, surrounded by Midgardsormen, the World Serpent   that is biting its own tail. In the middle grows the ash Yggdrasil,   the Worm Tree, with snakes gnawing at its roots and deer feeding on   its leaves. (Drawing by Ellinor Hoff.)      PHOTO (BLACK & WHITE): Figure 2. A memorial stone from Uppland,   Sweden, dated ca. 1000 A.D. The runic inscription says that the stone   was erected by a woman, Gillog, who had let a "bridge" be built for   the soul of her daughter, Gullog. In addition to the cross, bridges   are Christian metaphors. The decorative style of the stone is the   so-called Urnes-style, including snake- and deerlike elements, typical   of Swedish memorial stones from this period. This particular stone is   special, however, because both the deceased, for whom the stone was   erected, and the person who erected it are women. (Drawing Ellinor   Hoff, after Page 1993, 164.)      PHOTO (BLACK & WHITE): Figure 3. Section of a panel from Vingen, the   large rock art site in Bremanger municipality, Sogn og Fjordane   County. Note the close association between the two snake   representations and a horned animal, probably a red deer (after Bakka   1973, 161, fig. 5).      PHOTO (BLACK & WHITE): Figure 4. Section of a panel from the rock art   site Vingen. The dominant motif is deer representations, although   human figures and line patterns occur frequently. The human figure in   the center is filled with zigzag lines, and the animals are endowed   with abstract-geometric body decorations (after Bakka 1973, 160, fig.   4).      PHOTO (BLACK & WHITE): Figure 5. Drawing of decorated star-shaped   macehead from Rogaland County (after Bakka 1973, 173, fig. 12).      PHOTO (BLACK & WHITE): Figure 6. Oval-shaped figure on a panel from   Vingen, interpreted as a vulva (after Bakka 1973, 159, fig. 3.).      DIAGRAM: Figure 7. Ship figures, one with "snake heads," on a panel   from Samnoy, Fusa municipality in Hordaland County (after Mandt Larsen   1972, Pl. 66a).      PHOTO (BLACK & WHITE): Figure 8. Zigzag decorations on fragments of   grave slabs from an early Bronze Age grave cist from Mjeltehaugen, on

   the island of Giske, Sunnmore (tracing by Gro Mandt).      PHOTO (BLACK & WHITE): Figure 9. The "Snake Witch" and various snakes   on the Smiss stone from Gotland. (Drawing Ellinor Hoff, after Nylen   [1978, 41]).      PHOTO (BLACK & WHITE): Figure 10. Section of a memorial from Altuna,   Sweden, dated ca. 1000 A.D. The picture shows Thor in the process of   slaying the monster Midgardsormen, that has just swallowed the ox   head. (Drawing by Ellinor Hoff, after Steinsland and Sorensen [1994,   57]).                                    REFERENCES                                         Bakka, E. 1973. Om alderen pa veideristningane. Viking 37: 151-87.      Boe, J. 1932. Felszeichnungen im Westlichen Norwegen 1: Die   Zeichnungsgebiete in Vingen und Henoya. Bergens Museums Skrifter 15.      Brondsted, J. 1966a. Danmarks Oldtid: Broncealderen 2. Kobenhavn:   Gyldendal.      -----. 1966b. Danmarks Oldtid: Jernalderen 3. Kobenhavn: Gyldendal.      Davidson, H. E. 1993. The lost beliefs of northern Europe. London:   Routledge.      Egilsdottir, A. 1994. St. Margarethe i Island: Legende og symbolik.   AmS-Smatrykk 38:87-101.      Eliade, M. 1958. Patterns in comparative religion. London and New   York: Sheed and Ward.      -----, ed. 1987a. The encyclopaedia of religion 4. New York:   Macmillan.      -----, ed. 1987b. The encyclopaedia of religion 13. New York:   Macmillan.      Gimbutas, M. 1989. The language of the goddess. San Francisco: Harper   and Row.      Gorman, M. 1987. Nordiskt och keltiskt. Sydskandinavisk religion under   yngre bronsalder och keltisk jernalder. Lund: Wallin and Dalholm.      Hagen, A. 1969. Studier i vestnorsk bergkunst: Ausevik i Flora.

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   Gro Mandt is a professor of archaeology at the University of Bergen,   Norway. Her research focuses on the interpretation and conservation of   rock art in western Norway and feminist/gender studies in archaeology.                             _________________      Copyright of ReVision is the property of Heldref Publications and its   content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a   listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission.   However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual   use.   Source: ReVision, Summer2000, Vol. 23 Issue 1, p17, 6p, 10bw.   Item Number: 3639976      This email was generated by a user of EBSCOhost who gained access via   the NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY account. Neither EBSCO nor NEW YORK PUBLIC   LIBRARY are responsible for the content of this e-mail.