1. The Background and Structure of the Project

In 2000, Dr. Jónas Kristjánsson, former Director of The Árni Magnússon Institute of Icelandic Studies and a member of the board of Snorrastofa, proposed a new extensive research project into Nordic mythology and religion. The project was to be organised by Snorrastofa, an independent Icelandic research institute established in 1995 which specialises in the medieval period in general and the life and works of Snorri Sturluson – the great medieval poet, scholar and statesman – in particular. The fact that Snorri wrote the Prose Edda, one of the main sources of our knowledge of Norse mythology, made this an obvious project for the young research centre.

Snorrastofa then contacted The Reykjavík Academy with a suggestion of collaboration, which was immediately agreed to. An executive board for the project – including staff of Snorrastofa, The Reykjavík Academy and The University of Iceland – was established, and has been active since the autumn of 2006.

Due to the great potential of such a collaborative project, and the importance of the possible outcomes, the first few years of the project were used as a period for reflection and debate, with the Executive Board overseeing a great deal of discussion and a number of formal meetings regarding the nature and potential scope of the project. During this time, a special Advisory Board of leading scholars from across the Nordic region and around the world was formed, and its members are periodically invited to discuss the needs of researchers and teachers, the present state of knowledge in fields related to the study of pre-Christian religions in Northern Europe, and the various forms in which the results of the new project could be presented.

After this period of consultation, the Executive Board organised the project into three ‘strands’, each dealing with a specific aspect of the study of pre-Christian religions in Northern Europe: the “Histories and Structures” Strand; the “Sources” Strand; and the “Research and Reception” Strand. Each is being produced collaboratively by a number of academics from around the world under the direction of the Strands’ Editors, a small group of experts appointed by the Executive Board.

To date, scholars from the following research institutions have played leading roles in the project:

• The University of Aberdeen (U.K.)
• The Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic Studies, Reykjavík (Iceland)
• The University of Bonn (Germany)
• The University of California, Berkeley (U.S.)
• The University of Durham (U.K.)
• The University of Gothenburg (Sweden)
• The University of Iceland
• The University of Oslo (Norway)
• The Reykjavík Academy (Iceland)
• Snorrastofa, Reykholt (Iceland)
• Stockholm University (Sweden)
• The University of Sydney (Australia)
• The University of Aarhus (Denmark)
• The University of Copenhagen (Denmark)

The aim of each strand is to produce thoroughly researched, accessible and up-to-date overviews and analyses of the various aspects of the pre-Christian religions of Northern Europe, and the myriad ways in which they have been understood and interpreted throughout history. These studies are expected to culminate in the publication of seven volumes of scholarship to be published by Brepols Publishers, an internationally-renowned academic publishing house specialising in medieval history, literature and culture.

At present, work on the three strands of the project is ongoing, and the project has received competitive financial awards and grants from a number of funds and foundations in Iceland, Sweden, the Nordic region as a whole, and Australia. These grants have not only directly supported the writing of the project’s component studies, but have also enabled the creation of a worldwide network of scholars, academics and students through the funding of summits and working groups attended by contributors to the project. There can be little doubt that the outcome of the Pre-Christian Religions of the North project – the printed volumes, together with a free-to-use, online database of source material, and a lasting legacy of cooperation across traditional national and disciplinary boundaries – will form an indispensable reference work not only for scholars of pre-Christian religions in Northern Europe, but also for those academics and students studying related religious systems (such as those of the Sámi, Finno-Ugric, and Slavic peoples), comparative religion as a whole, and related fields such as Icelandic, Scandinavian, and Germanic literature, folklore and history.

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