The deer in the ancient traditions of Northern Europe
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.37536/RPM.2023.37.1.97572Keywords:
Stag, Scandinavia, Pre-Christian Rituals, Sagas and EddasAbstract
The purpose of this article is to present an analysis of the importance and presence of the stag in the cultural and religious manifestations of the ancient northeuropean peoples, especially those of the Nordic countries. In order to do this, we will analyze both its function in the symbolic and cultural structures of these peoples and its special ritual significance. We also will see how its relative loss of validity in the written sources that preserve the Nordic pre-Christian mythological substrate facilitated its subsequent reinterpretation from a Christian viewpoint. As a result, the stag acquired Christological nuances as a representation of good, in contrast to its natural enemies, snakes and dragons, so omnipresent in the conceptual universe of these peoples.
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