Fragments of ancient belief mingle with folklore and Christian dogma until the original tenets are lost in the myths and psychologies of the intervening years. Hilda Ellis Davidson illustrates how pagan beliefs have been represented and misinterpreted by the Christian tradition, and throws light on the nature of pre-Christian beliefs and how they have been preserved. The Lost Beliefs of Northern Europe stresses both the possibilities and the difficulties of investigating the lost religious beliefs of Northern Europe.

In this book, questions are posed such as: do such parallels go back to early times or are they owing to late Viking contact? This issue gives us knowledge of the early peoples in Europe.

Originally published in 1943, this book was written using a variety of evidence from archaeology and literature concerning Norse funeral customs to reconstruct their conception of future life, the soul of man, the cult of the dead, and the journey to the land of the dead. The text is notable as one of the first comprehensive treatments of these areas, showing how knowledge could be forwarded by correlation of the evidence from various academic fields. This book will be of value to anyone with an interest in Norse history, archaeology and literature.