Óðinn from Lejre — or?

A small statuette of a seated person was discovered in Denmark in 2009. According to the accepted interpretation, this is a representation of the Norse god Óðinn, but the authors of the present article propose that it may instead represent a pre-Christian prophetess, a vǫlva. Regarding the methodolo...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Numen
Authors: Sommer, Bettina (Author) ; Warmind, Morten (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Brill 2015
In: Numen
Further subjects:B Óðinn Nordic mythology Norse religion vǫlva iconography
Online Access: Volltext (Verlag)
Description
Summary:A small statuette of a seated person was discovered in Denmark in 2009. According to the accepted interpretation, this is a representation of the Norse god Óðinn, but the authors of the present article propose that it may instead represent a pre-Christian prophetess, a vǫlva. Regarding the methodology of the identification of divine images, the authors argue that a particular god is not identified by an attribute, but rather created by the said attribute, as only the presence of a particular attribute can define the god. Caution should be taken when attempting to identify any image or icon with a particular god or goddess, especially in the field of Norse archaeology, as clearly identifying attributes are usually missing.
ISSN:1568-5276
Contains:In: Numen
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1163/15685276-12341396