Re: [tied] Re: "The hunt for Odin"

--- tgpedersen <tgpedersen@...> wrote:

> --- In cybalist@..., george knysh <gknysh@...>
> wrote:
> > Thor Heyerdahl's book by that title was published
> in
> > Norwegian in late 2001. An English language
> version is
> > expected to be available in November 2002. Here is
> a
> > link to an extremely unflattering review of this
> opus,
> > which dismisses Heyerdahl and his colleague as
> > incompetent pseudo-scientists dabbling in matters
> they
> > know less than nothing about. The rejection is so
> > strong, in fact, that it might perhaps generate
> some
> > doubt as to the whether Heyerdahl's book is that
> > bad...Those of us who do not understand Norwegian
> will
> > have to wait for the English text. But I find the
> > critics' misunderstanding of the mediaeval
> dialogue
> > form as a useful method for serious scientific
> debate,
> > and their obiter accusations against Omeljan
> Pritsak's
> > work (Heyerdahl certainly didn't get any of his
> Odin
> > views from the latter!!) just as troublesome as
> the
> > Heyerdahl contentions (if these have in fact been
> > reported correctly).
> >
> >
>

http://www.hf.uib.no/i/Nordisk/MaalogMinne/artikler/heyerdahl-v1.pdf

> >
>
> What is it about this theory of a southeastern
> component in
> demographics and mythology in North West Europe that
> makes it
> anathema to so many? I fail to get it. Personally
> I've earned a
> specific injunction on this list against pursueing
> this idea plus
> several vicious personal attacks against which no
> one intervened. Why
> must this area of Europe be pristine and free of
> outside influences
> since the Bronze age?

*****GK: Please don't be disingenuous Torsten. I think
very few people would object all that strongly if at
all (I know I certainly wouldn't) to your statement as
put above. "The devil is in the details". For
instance, I find Pritsak's theory that the younger
futhark had to be the product of an individual or
individuals familiar with the Turkic runic system
which emerged in the 6th century quite intriguing and
worthy of study. As is his view that Snorri created
the whole "Odin" story to explain earlier contacts
along the Volga between Baltic and Caspian.No one can
deny the reality of Scandinavian connections with
southeastern Europe, going back very far in time
indeed (at least the 4th millennium BC according to
one variant of the spread of IE in Europe), and
continuing in various forms to our day. But when you
attempt to take the Snorri tale of Odin from Asgard
literally and place it in a firm 1rst c. BC setting
(somewhat like Heyerdahl) that's a different kettle of
fish. There is no evidence whatsoever for this,
historical, linguistic,, archaeological etc etc etc..
And your attempts to insist on desperately twisting
all available facts to at least provide the veneer of
a semblance of something plausible in the tale as
literally put is what eventually earned you what you
complain about.******


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