Of course the name of the author of this text should need no introduction. Whilst incarcerated for well documented crimes Varg Vikernes was not only putting together a couple of albums of Burzum music with the means that he had at hand but was also heavily involved in researching and authoring this book, “studying the traditions and beliefs of the Ancient Scandinavians and their influence on modern Europeans.” Before I go any further it should be noted that just because you like the music of Burzum it does not mean that you should go and grab this book unless the subject matter is of particular interest. This is not a work for blackpackers, hipsters or fanboys and girls in the slightest and indeed Varg wants to distance this from his music stating “the book will only be interesting to those with an interest in Norse mythology and ancient European history.”
In the prologue it is noted that research was not easy as only a couple of other books dealing with the subject are available and the author had been forced to look for answers in old fairy tales, traditional songs and ancient folklore. He then goes on to add that those of us with any knowledge of the subject will find that much of what they know is wrong and what he has himself interpreted is correct! Well you can hardly say that Varg is not for want of a better phrase, conceited and full of himself. If like me with only the basic grasp of the subject you want to take this at face value, all well and good, he readily admits academics may not be so in agreement due to lack of source material. So what do we have here, something that Varg has studied but on the whole drawn his own conclusions from? Well yes. Indeed you could go and say that this is a big old fairy tale itself from someone whose viewpoints are at times found to be crackpot in the extreme. However on reading this, a lot of what is written is backed up and well argued with a lot of thought and logic behind it.
The book (sometimes I want to call it a text or thesis as that is how it strikes me) is divided into easy to read bite size paragraphs and is only hard going due to the sheer volume of names and information it contains. Thankfully there is a name index at the back but to fully digest everything here I would suggest this is going to take a few repeated readings which I guess only the most dedicated will give it. The text takes us back to the dawn of mankind and the roots of civilisation explaining how mankind discovered sorcery in the elements around and formed their culture around these. We look in depth at the seasons and festivals and the pagan traditions that grew around them and are still found lurking in the present day. Did you for example know that the calendar was in the Scandinavian Bronze Age made up of 13 months each with 28 days with an added New Years Day, lasting two days every leap year? The festivities we know as New Year and Easter and the rites concerning fertility, harvest and the crops are all explained and this is pretty fascinating reading.
Other sections in depth deal with the runes and what they signify. Again these ‘divine secrets’ take a lot of studying to sink in and the names and poems centred around them are compelling reading if you have the interest. Also addressed are the all important funerary rites and plenty of legends to do with man and the gods and the underworld so in a way it is like unravelling a story that you may well have studied in some sense in your education but in much greater depth and scope.
It is not my job really to go into things in any greater detail it is up to those of you with an interest to seek this out and read it. Do not go and do that just because of the author behind it, this is not a book to pop on the coffee table in order to gain scene points. Having said that this did help me gain a little insight into some of the narrative and themes which certain bands and musicians within the ‘Pagan Viking’ scene, litter their music with. For instance, for every group throwing around mention of Ragnarok or Yggdrasil and weaving it loosely into their music there is an artist like Shamaatae of Arckanum who really goes into this subject in a scholarly fashion and it would be fascinating to see how his and Varg’s opinions correspond or disagree. As far as music is concerned this is just a slight coincidence and you should put it completely aside before picking this up.
Right or wrong I did gain a lot of interesting information by reading this cover to cover. I admit that I am not sure quite how much I took in and am not sure how likely I am to pick it up and read it again in the hope that it will make that bit more sense to me. It will however certainly be useful for reference in the future and is a worthwhile purchase for anyone interested in ancient history and mythology.
http://www.burzum.org
http://www.plastichead.com/catalogue.asp?ex=fitem&verb=F&target=ABSB042
Pete Woods
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