2. ‘(Swinger of) the Serpent of Wounds’: Swords and Snakes in the Viking Mind

Chapters in this book

1. Frontmatter i
2. Contents v
3. List of Figures and Tables vii
4. Acknowledgements x
5. List of Contributors xi
6. List of Abbreviations xii
7. Introduction 1
8. 1. Between Myth and Reality: Hunter and Prey in Early Anglo- Saxon Art 13
9. 2. ‘(Swinger of) the Serpent of Wounds’: Swords and Snakes in the Viking Mind 53
10. 3. Wreoþenhilt ond wyrmfah: Confronting Serpents in Beowulf and Beyond 73
11. 4. The Ravens on the Lejre Throne: Avian Identifiers, Odin at Home, Farm Ravens 94
12. 5. Beowulf’s Blithe-Hearted Raven 113
13. 6. Do Anglo-Saxons Dream of Exotic Sheep? 131
14. 7. You Sexy Beast: The Pig in a Villa in Vandalic North Africa, and Boar-Cults in Old Germanic Heathendom 151
15. 8. ‘For the Sake of Bravado in the Wilderness’: Confronting the Bestial in Anglo-Saxon Warfare 176
16. 9. Where the Wild Things Are in Old English Poetry 205
17. 10. Entomological Etymologies: Creepy-Crawlies in English Place-Names 229
18. 11. Beasts, Birds and Other Creatures in Pre-Conquest Charters and Place-Names in England 253
19. Index 283