A collection of suggested reading about Heathenry. Some of these books are available free online — links have been provided to those sources.
Primary Sources of the Myths:
Poetic Edda (also called “Elder Edda”)
- Lee Hollander translation – a beautifully poetic translation
- Caroline Larrington – a modern, very readable translation
- Henry Adams Bellows – an older translation, available free online
Prose Edda (also called “Younger Edda” or simply “Edda”)
- Anthony Faulkes – one of the only complete translations of all parts of the Prose Edda
- Arthur Gilchrist Brodeur – an older translation, available free online
Beowulf
- Seamus Heaney – a modern poetic translation, highly lauded
- Benjamin Slade – an older translation, available free online
Modern Retellings
- The Norse Myths, by Kevin Crossley Holland – an excellent modern retelling of the myths for adults
- D’Aulaire’s Book of Norse Myths, by Ingri D’Aulaire – an illustrated children’s book
- Norse Mythology… According to Uncle Einar, by Jane Sibley – a comic retelling of the myths
Academic Resources
- Teutonic Mythology, by Jacob Grimm – from 1835, a seminal work still referenced today
- The Well and the Tree, by Paul Bauschatz – a 1982 work that has shaped modern Heathen theology
- The Road to Hel, by H. R. Ellis Davidson – a 1943 work on Heathen beliefs about death
- Elves in Anglo-Saxon England, by Alaric Hall – a 2007 work focusing on Heathen concepts of elves
Modern Heathen Resources
- Essential Asatru, by Diana Paxson – a good introductory work for anyone interested in Heathenry – specifically aimed at friends and family of Heathens
- Our Troth, vol. I & II, by Kveldulf Gundarsson – the seminal work on modern Heathenry, published in two volumes by The Troth
- The Hammer of the Gods, by Swain Wodening – a work focusing on Anglo-Saxon Heathen practices
- Northern Tradition for the Solitary Practitioner, by Galina Krasskova and Raven Kaldera – a work focusing on solitary practice, and the theological exploration of “ways of being religious” in Heathenry
- Elves, Wights and Trolls, by Kveldulf Gundarsson – a work focused entirely on the lore surrounding various lesser spirits and wights of Heathen belief
