Cassell's Dictionary of Norse Myth and Legend

The Scandanavian imagination inspires our culture in hundreds of ways, from our words for days and months to customs common in most of our holidays to popular phenomena such as Harry Potter and the Tolkien legends. The entire cast of gods and trolls, heroes and monsters, lands and beliefs, receives a comprehensive survey in more than 1,000 entries, photos, charts, and quotations. Many entries draw upon recent archaeological discoveries which shed new light on ancient rituals and peoples, in many cases providing evidence that the even the most fanciful tales turn out to contain a core of factual history.