Paul Wassmann was born in Germany, but spend his adult life in northern Norway. He is a professor in marine ecology at UiT The Arctic University of Norway in Tromsø, Norway. He has extensively worked with ecosystem functioning in all European seas, but particularly in the ice-covered waters in the European Arctic, focusing upon the consequences of climate warming. Wassmann has been leading a range of research projects, a PhD school, various national and international networks and contributed to an integrative understanding of Arctic marine ecosystems. He also studied basic psychology and has frequently attended lectures at C.G. Jung Institute in Küsnacht, Switzerland. Based upon analytical psychology and cultural history, he frequently lectured about Germanic mythology.
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Table of Contents Preface 9
Acknowledgements 17
1. Prologue 21
1.1 On the significance of Germanic mythology 24
1.2 Mythological and archetypical lobotomy? 27
1.3 Mythology and psychology in a Jungian perspective 28
1.4 Structure and goal 31
2. The Indo‑European Invasion, the Germanic Tribes and
Barbarism 35
2.1 Indo‐European languages 36
2.2 The Indo‐European invasions and the subjugation of old
European cultures 39
2.3 The movement of the Germanic tribes 44
2.4 Rome, the barbarian invasions, and nation states 46
2.5 Barbarism, the primitive, and civilization 49
2.6 Conclusion 51
3. The Knowledge Base of Germanic Mythology 53
3.1 Latin texts 54
3.2 Early Christian texts 56
3.3 Norse and Anglo‐Saxon texts 58
3.4 East‐Germanic text 65
3.5 Central‐European texts 67
3.6 Non‐European texts 70
3.7 Scientific investigations of Germanic Mythology 71
3.8 Conclusion 72
4. Old Germanic Literature and Poetry 75
4.1 Runes 76
4.2 Alliterative verse, heiti, and kennings 81
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4.3 Germanic poetry 84
4.4 Conclusion 86
5. Are all Elements of Germanic Mythology Lost in
Central Europe? 89
5.1 Federal state structures and independent citizens 90
5.2 Six days in a week 95
5.3 Place names throughout Europe reflect Germanic gods 95
5.4 Symbols, tradition and words 96
5.5 Subterranean creatures 101
5.6 The Wild Hunt and other wild pursuit manifestations 102
5.7 Symbols and Festivals 104
5.8 Fantasy literature and movies 105
5.9 Freemasonry and Germanic Mythology 106
5.10 Conclusion 107
6. Elements of Germanic Mythology 109
6.1 The creation of the world 111
6.2 Cosmography and the World Tree Yggdrasil 115
6.3 Female beings associated with fate 119
6.4 Giants and dwarfs 122
6.5 Asgard and the Norse gods 124
6.5.1 Odin/Wotan 126
6.5.2 Freyja 136
6.5.3 Thor 139
6.5.4 Idun 142
6.5.5 Loki 144
6.5.6 Balder 147
6.5.7 Mimir 150
6.5.8 Frigg 153
6.6 Germanic gods of central Europe 154
6.6.1 Tyr/Ziu/Tiw 155
6.6.2 Nerthus 156
6.6.3 Ostara 157
6.6.4 Matres and Matronae 157
6.7 Ragnarök and the end of time 159
6.8 The New Earth after Ragnarök 164
6.9 Conclusion 166
7. Germanic Culture and Mythology through Time: A Historic
Overview 169
7.1 Arrival of Germanic tribes in central Europe, the Romans,
and Christianity 170
7.2 Renaissance and humanistic education 176
7.3 Romanticism 179
7.4 Searching for mythology, national self‐esteem and the birth
of nationalism 181
7.5 The breakthrough of the primitive 187
7.6 The ultimate misuse of Germanic mythology and Germany´s
moral collapse 194
7.7 Germany´s post‐World War II curse 200
7.8 Political reradicalization 201
7.9 Jung´s ideas about Wotan in a historic prespective 202
7.10 Conclusion 205
8. Cultural Superiority by Ostracizing 207
8.1 Going berserk, vandalism, and Vikings 208
8.2 Gothic 217
8.3 An odyssey of how Germany and Germans are named 219
8.4 Conclusion 222
9. How can we Reach an Adequate and Recuperative
Relationship to Germanic Archetypes? 225
9.1 European culture literacy 227
9.2 The shadow of European culture and education 228
9.3 Cultural security of the individual 231
9.4 Conclusion 237
10. Epilogue: Can Global Archetype Literacy Become
a Road Map to Peace? 241
10.1 Archetype illiteracy and education 242
10.2 Cultural landscape restoration 244
10.3 Road map to peace? 248
10.4 Future humanism 252
Author biography 257
11. References 259
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