This list would not be made possible without all of the awesome reconstructionists and Theodsmen at the Real Heathenry website, the mods of /r/Asatru, Heathen Women’s Business Facebook group, and the HEATHENRY group on Facebook. I have made a few additions to this list as well.
This is by no means a comprehensive list. These books cover a variety of topics regarding reconstructing the Norse and Germanic paganism(modernly called Heathenry). Lore, worldview/culture, history, archaeology, first account translations and more. Many of these books are academic in nature which means they can occasionally be expensive. Please consider buying books used as they can be significantly cheaper! I have tried to provide as many, Public Domain, free resources when possible. This list will continue to be updated as things progress so feel free to check back in the future. If you have any comments or suggestions please feel free to reach out to me through Twitter @mariannedankner or email me directly at [email protected]
All compensation received from any affiliate links will be donated to the Open Halls Project to help Heathen service members and their families connect to communities.
To get started you can browse the list or use the search bar to help narrow the items. Enjoy!
| Book Title | Author or Translator | Free (PDF, Kindle Preview, etc.) | Purchase (Amazon/Lulu) | The Story of Beowulf, Translated from Anglo-Saxon into Modern English Prose |
Ernest J. B. Kirtlan | Several Formats Available |   |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beowulf | Francis B. Gummere Strafford Riggs |
Several Formats Available Online Access at Sacred Texts |
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| An assorted collection of Beowulf Texts | Several Authors Available | Several Options Available | Several Options Available |
| Elves, Wights, and Trolls: Studies Towards the Practice of Germanic Heathenry: Vol. I |
Kveldulf Gundarsson | N/A |   |
| Saxo Grammaticus: The History of the Danes, Books I-IX: I. English Text; II. Commentary (Bks.1-9) |
Hilda Ellis Davidson Oliver Elton Frederick York Powell |
Several Formats Available (translated by Oliver Elton) |
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| The Danish History, Books I-IX | Douglas B. Killings David Wagner |
Several Formats Available | N/A |
| The Sagas of the Icelanders (World of the Sagas) |
Jane Smilely | N/A |   |
| The Prose Edda | Rasmus B. Anderson Louise Hope, R. Cedron |
Several Formats Available | N/A |
| The Prose Edda (Younger Edda) | Blackwell, 1906 Edition Anderson, 1901 Edition Brodeur, 1916 Edition |
Several Formats Available | N/A |
| Teutonic Myth and Legend | Donald A. MacKenzie | Several Formats Available Alternate Option Here |
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| The Gift: The Form and Functions of Exchange in Archaic Societies | Mauss Marchel | Several Formats Available |   |
| The Norse Myths | Kevin Crossley-Holland | N/A |   |
| The Poetic/Elder Edda, The Eddic Minora/Prose Edda, The Heroic Ballads (An enormous comparitive study collection generously hosted by Fantasy Castle Books) |
Cottle, 1797 Edition
Thorpe, 1866 Edition Bellows, 1936 Edition Hollander, 1962 Edition Auden-Taylor, 1969 Edition Björnsson, 2002 Edition |
Available only in PDF | N/A |
| The Poetic Edda | Henry Adam Bellows, 1936 | Several Formats Available |   |
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Edda Sæmundar hinns Frôða: The Edda of Sæmund The Learned Part I |
Benjamin Thorpe, 1866 | Several Formats Available | |
| Edda Sæmundar hinns Frôða:
The Edda of Sæmund The Learned Part II |
Benjamin Thorpe, 1866 | Several Formats Available |   |
| A World Full of Gods: An Inquiry into Polytheism |
Michael Greer, 2005 | Amazon Kindle Preview |   |
| Cosmos and History the Myth of the Eternal Return |
Mircea Eliade, 1954 |   |
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| The Sacred and The Profane: The Nature of Religion |
Mircea Eliade | Currently unavailble |   |
| The Idea of the Holy: An Inquiry Into the Non-Rational Factor in the Idea of the Divine and it’s Relation to the Rational |
Rudolf Otto, 1923 | Several Formats Available |   |
| We Are Our Deeds: The Elder Heathenry – It’s Ethic and Thew |
Eric Wodening, 1998 | N/A | Paperback |
| Germania | Publius Cornelius Tacitus, 98 CE |
Audio Book Several Formats Available |
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| Gods and Myths of Northern Europe | H.R. Ellis Davidson | N/A |   |
| Myths and Symbols in Pagan Europe | Hilda Ellis Davidson 1989 | N/A |   |
| The Road to Hel: A Study of The Conception Of The Dead In Old Norse Literature |
Hilda Ellis Davidson | N/A |   |
| The Well and Tree: World and Time in Early Germanic Culture |
Paul Bauschatz |   |
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| The Culture of the Teutons (Vol. 1 & 2) | Vilhelm Grönbech | Several Formats Available | |
| The Mead Hall | Stephen Pollington | N/A |   |
| Chanting Around The High Seat | Eric Wodening, 2012 | N/A | Paperback |
| Peace-Weavers and Shield Maidens: Women in Early English Society |
Kathleen Herbert, 1997 | N/A |   |
| Trees in Anglo-saxon England: Literature, Lore and Landscape (Anglo-saxon Studies) |
Della Hooke | N/A |   |
| A Piece of Horse Liver: Myth, Ritual and Folklore in Old Icelandic Sources |
Jon Hnefill Adalsteinsson, 1998 |   |
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| Teutonic Mythology: Gods and Goddesses of the Northland Volume 1 Volume 2 Volume 3 Volume 4 |
Jacob Grimm |
Several Formats Available Several Formats Available Several Formats Available Several Formats Available |
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| Elder Gods: The Otherworld of Early England |
Stephen Pollington | N/A |   |
| Hammer of the Gods: Anglo-Saxon Paganism in Modern Times |
Swain Wodening | N/A |   |
| Teutonic Myth and Legend: An Introduction to the Eddas & Sagas, Beowulf, The Nibelungenlied, etc. |
Donald A. MacKenzie | Several Formats Available |   |
| Der Mythus von Thor, nach
Nordischen Quellen (The myth of Thor, according to Nordic Sources)(German) |
Ludwig Uhland, Stuttgart, 1836 | Several Formats Available |   |
| Handbuch der Deutschen Mythologie,
mit Einschluss der Nordischen (Handbook of German Mythology with the inclusion of the Nordic) (German) |
Karl Simrock, 1874 | Several Formats Available |   |
| Essays on Germanic Religion (Journal of Indo-European Studies Monograph Series No. 6) |
Edgar C. Polome 1989 |   |
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| The One-eyed God: Odin and the (Indo-) Germanic Männerbünde (Journal of Indo-European Studies Monograph No. 36) |
Kris Kershaw 2000 |   |
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| Heathen Gods in Old English Lit (Cambridge Studies in Anglo-Saxon England) |
Richard North 1997 |   |
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| Death, War, and Sacrifice: Studies in Ideology & Practice |
Bruce Lincoln |   |