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''Heathen Gods in Old English Literature'' is a historical study of the literary references for several pagan deities in Anglo-Saxon England. Written by the English studies scholar Richard North of University College London, it was first published by Cambridge University Press in 1997. The book was released as the twenty-second monograph in the Press' series, "Cambridge Studies in Anglo-Saxon England", edited by Simon Keynes, Michael Lapidge and Andy Orchard. Prior to the book's publication, North had previously authored other studies of Anglo-Saxon paganism, such as ''Pagan Words and Christian Meanings'' (1991). ''Heathen Gods in Old English Literature'' details North's theory that the god Ing played a prominent role in the pre-Christian religion of Anglo-Saxon England, and highlights references to him in such texts as ''Beowulf'' and the sole surviving Anglo-Saxon copy of the ''Book of Exodus''. The book received a mixed reviewed in peer reviewed journals such as ''The Modern Language Review''. Critics argued that North's interpretations of the evidence were too speculative. ==Synopsis== In the opening chapter, entitled "Nerthus and Terra Mater: Anglian religion in the first century", North begins by describing the approach that he has taken in this particular study of Anglo-Saxon paganism. Highlighting how little information regarding pre-Christian beliefs was recorded in the surviving Old English literature, all of which was produced in the Christian period, he argues that scholars must approach the subject by looking at the literary evidence produced by related Germanic-language societies elsewhere in Europe. He argues that by studying both the 1st-century accounts of Tacitus regarding religion in continental Germania and the Late Medieval accounts from Iceland and Scandinavia, scholars can shed further light on lost aspects of Anglo-Saxon heathenism.〔North 1997. pp. 1–25.〕 Chapter two, "Ingui of Bernicia" looks at the concept of an Anglo-Saxon god named Ing. He discusses the existence of the ''Ingvaeones'', a tribe in first-century Germania, arguing that they may have been devoted to Ing. Drawing comparisons from the cult of Dionysus in the Classical world, North argues that "''Ing-'' was first a functional term for a human embodiment of Nerthus, then for a man representing Nerthus." Proceeding to discuss the role of the Vanir in Norse mythology, he deals with Ingvi-Freyr of Uppsala in Sweden and then Ingui of Bernicia in Northern England, ultimately concluding that in early Anglo-Saxon history, a deity named Ingui was believed to be the progenitor of Anglian kings.〔North 1997. pp. 26–43.〕 The third chapter is entitled "Ingui's cult remembered: Ing and the ''ingefolc''" and deals with the literary evidence for a figure called Ing in Anglo-Saxon England.〔North 1997. pp. 44–77.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Heathen Gods in Old English Literature」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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