“Völuspá’ s divination” in Anglo-Scandinavian sculpture

Abstract

The article is devoted to the study of eschatological scenes from the “Divination of Völuspá” in Anglo-Scandinavian stone sculpture. The main attention is focused on the stylistic analysis of compositional schemes and their background interpretation of how Scandinavian religious ideas transformed in the field of Danish law at the end of the 9th – the first half of the 10th century. The author concludes that the use of pagan scenes from Norse mythology implied Christian significance to express the complex theological problems associated with the theme of the Apocalypse

Keywords

• anglo-scandinavian sculpture
• field of danish law
• scandinavian mythology
• religious beliefs
• ragnarok
• “divination of the velva”