Abstract
How did the old Norse peoples see their gods? How did they conceive of them and how did they define a deity? The answers to these questions may not be easy, given the limitations of the existing sources, but they may perhaps be revealed by the less obvious route of sexuality. That is to say, when analysing the sexual behaviour of Norse gods, in particular that which we normally see as immoral or inappropriate, a pattern arises that is consistent with divine identities and social conventions, suggesting that, far from being a Christian form of discrediting pagan pantheons, descriptions of sexual conduct may contain clues to a concept of deity.
Original language | Portuguese |
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Pages (from-to) | 309-320 |
Number of pages | 11 |
Journal | Scandia: Journal of Medieval Norse Studies |
Volume | 2 |
Publication status | Published - 2019 |
Keywords
- effeminacy
- emasculation
- transsexuality
- trickster
- polytheism
- morality
- deity
- theology
- sexuality
- Christianity