Suggested Books for Personal Research
BIBLIOGRAPHY
(CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER)
This bibliography represents by no means an exhaustive list of all the works I have researched, examined, and scrutinized. In addition to the sources listed here, many other cultural, religious, and philosophical materials have informed my studies, research and contemplation.
These are part of the formative influences span the breadth of human thought, encompassing monotheistic and polytheistic traditions, and numerous other systems of philosophy, belief and reflection. When possible I try to find out more about the biography of the authors, when they lived and consider what may have or what they have openly gone record as stating the motivations behind their claims. Without taking that into consideration, you don't have enough data to make a solid or reasonable conclusion.
Note: In this case this content will be specifically around European languages that shaped English and others that will help give more insight into the basis of my claims, challenges, and some of my conclusions. It is not required, just suggested, but will also explain why, in themselves, I reject so many modern claims or constructed systems, past and present. It is by no means a complete list and where you see hyphens in words they only reference academic assumptions of pronunciations.
If words have an *asterisk make before them they indicate speculative, hypothetical constructs and there are no actual records of the spellings when encountered in dictionaries.
When they present such in structures of nouns, pronouns, adjectives, verbs, adverbs, etc., it means the context of meaning in application is different than the base meaning of the word itself.
It also means that the application is subject to error and assumptions of the particular author which is seldom ever actually challenged, especially the older the source of said conclusions.
This is not a complete list and what is not listed here has been listed in other areas when etymology and linguistics requires more evidence to challenge conclusions, which includes proper and more likely pronunciations through proper cross comparisons. A.I. systems in the general public domain will not be able to assist you with this and will default to the generalized standards and get in an argument loop or invent things out of whole clothe. Simply put...DON'T USE A.I.
Book List:
Commentarii de Bello Gallico by Julius Caesar, c. 50 BCE — comparative evidence for Celtic and Germanic sacred customs, priesthoods, divination, and ritual law.
Germania by Tacitus, c. 98 CE — attests sacred groves, cultic enclosures, divination rites, and early Germanic sacred-space traditions.
Origo Gentis Langobardorum, anonymous, 7th century — preserves Lombard mythic and cultic traditions within a Germanic historical framework.
Épinal Glossary, anonymous, c. 700 CE — preserves early Old English glossarial religious vocabulary including wiccean forms.
Erfurt Glossary, anonymous, 8th century — preserves parallel Old English glossarial material including wicce-related forms.
Genesis A, anonymous, c. 700–750 CE — attests wǣrlogan in biblical poetic adaptation.
Daniel (Junius Manuscript), anonymous, c. 700–750 CE — attests wiccungdōm in biblical poetic context.
Corpus Glossary, anonymous, 8th–9th century — preserves wérloga and wicca in glossarial Latin–Old English translation tradition.
Vespasian Psalter Gloss, anonymous, 8th–9th century — preserves glossarial ritual and interpretive vocabulary associated with wiccan forms.
Historia Langobardorum by Paul the Deacon, c. 790 CE — preserves Lombard migration traditions and pre-Christian cultural memory.
Heliand, anonymous, c. 830 CE — attests warlogan in Old Saxon gospel adaptation.
Old Saxon Genesis, anonymous, 9th century — preserves related legal-religious vocabulary in Christian poetic adaptation.
Vercelli Homilies, anonymous, early stratum c. 850 CE — condemns ritual practices in Christian homiletic context.
Domboc (Laws of Alfred), attributed to Alfred the Great, 893 CE — attests wiccan in legal prohibitions against divination and ritual practices.
Widsith, anonymous, c. 600–700 CE (preserved in Exeter Book, 10th century) — attests wærlogan in heroic tradition.
Cleopatra Glossaries, anonymous, c. 930 CE — preserves Old English lexical religious material.
Lindisfarne Gospels (Gloss) by Aldred, c. 950 CE — preserves Northumbrian glossarial forms of wérlogan.
Durham Ritual, anonymous, 10th century — preserves liturgical glossarial material including wérlogan.
Leechbook III, anonymous, 10th century — preserves medical and ritual healing tradition material.
Tochmarc Étaíne, anonymous, 9th–10th century — Irish mythological narrative of sovereignty and transformation.
Book of Judith, anonymous, c. 975–1025 CE — attests wærlogan in biblical poetic adaptation.
Ælfric’s Homilies by Ælfric of Eynsham, c. 990–1010 CE — theological instruction contrasting Christian doctrine with older belief systems.
Lives of Saints by Ælfric of Eynsham, c. 990 CE — hagiographic material referencing ritual practices in moralized context.
Lacnunga, anonymous, c. 1000 CE — preserves healing charms, ritual speech, and medical-magical practice traditions.
Andreas, anonymous, 10th–11th century manuscript — biblical epic with Christian reinterpretation of fate concepts and legal authority.
Beowulf, anonymous, c. 1000 CE — heroic epic attesting wyrd as a central conceptual motif.
The Wanderer, anonymous, 10th–11th century — elegiac poem reflecting on exile and fate.
The Seafarer, anonymous, 10th–11th century — elegiac poem exploring existential and maritime fate themes.
Canons of Edgar, anonymous, c. 1005 CE — ecclesiastical law condemning ritual practices.
Wulfstan’s Homilies by Wulfstan, c. 1000–1020 CE — moral and apocalyptic sermons referencing fate and condemning ritual practices.
Laws of Cnut, under Cnut the Great, c. 1020–1023 CE — legal prohibitions against ritual specialists and divination practices.
Paris Psalter, anonymous, 11th century manuscript — poetic biblical adaptation preserving lexical forms such as wérlogan.
Poetic Edda, anonymous, manuscripts 13th century (older material) — mythological poetry preserving urðr and cosmological order concepts.
Prose Edda by Snorri Sturluson, c. 1220 CE — systematic account of Norse cosmology, law, and mythic structure.
Ancrene Wisse, anonymous, c. 1230 CE — religious guide condemning ritual practices in devotional context.
Heimskringla by Snorri Sturluson, c. 1230 CE — kings’ sagas including cultic and legal traditions.
Eyrbyggja saga, anonymous, 13th century — saga traditions describing ritual sites and legal assemblies.
Cursor Mundi, anonymous, c. 1300 CE — Middle English religious narrative incorporating moralized vocabulary traditions.
Promptorium Parvulorum by Geoffrey the Grammarian, c. 1440 CE — Latin–English dictionary preserving religious and ritual vocabulary.
Romance of Alexander, anonymous, c. 1430 CE — Middle Scots narrative tradition.
The Kingis Quair attributed to James I of Scotland, c. 1440 CE — literary poem within courtly tradition.
Early Scots Charms, anonymous, c. 1450 CE — vernacular healing and ritual speech traditions.
York Mystery Plays, anonymous civic cycle, c. 1450 CE — religious dramatic tradition.
Scots Glossaries, anonymous, 15th century — lexical preservation of regional vocabulary traditions.
Malleus Maleficarum by Heinrich Kramer, 1487 CE — inquisitorial treatise on witchcraft and prosecution procedures.
Flyting of Dunbar and Kennedy by William Dunbar and Walter Kennedy, c. 1500 CE — poetic invective tradition.
Scots Sermons and Polemics, anonymous, c. 1500 CE — religious instruction and moral condemnation literature.
Northern English Ballads, anonymous, 16th century — oral tradition preserving fate-related narrative themes.
Lancashire Folklore Material, anonymous, 16th century — folk tradition preserving local ritual survivals.
Cheshire Parish Records, anonymous, 16th century — documentary evidence of local names and customs.
Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology edited by William Smith, 1849 CE — classical comparative reference work.
Cleasby–Vigfusson Old Norse Dictionary by Richard Cleasby and Gudbrand Vigfusson, 1874 CE — lexical reference for Old Norse terms.
Bosworth–Toller Anglo-Saxon Dictionary by Joseph Bosworth and Thomas Northcote Toller, 1898 CE — Old English lexical reference work.
Carmina Gadelica by Alexander Carmichael, 1900 CE — collection of Scottish Gaelic prayers and oral tradition.
The Exeter Book, edited by George Philip Krapp and Elliott Van Kirk Dobbie, 1936 CE — edition of Old English poetic corpus.
The Road to Hel by Hilda Ellis Davidson, 1943 CE — study of Norse death beliefs and cosmology.
Edda: Die Lieder des Codex Regius, edited by Gustav Neckel and Hans Kuhn, 1962 CE — critical edition of Eddic poetry.
Gods and Myths of Northern Europe by Hilda Ellis Davidson, 1964 CE — study of Germanic mythology and religious structure.
Dictionary of Northern Mythology by Rudolf Simek, 1993 CE — reference work on Germanic mythological concepts.
Sutton Hoo: Burial Ground for Kings? by Martin Carver, 1998 CE — archaeological study of elite burial and ritual practice.
Synkretismus, edited by Gregor Ahn, Lutz E. V. Padberg, Anders Hultgård, 2010 CE — study of religious syncretism.
The Sacred Tree by Carole Cusack, 2011 CE — study of sacred landscape and ritual space.
Pre-Christian Anglo-Saxon Religion by John D. Niles, 2013 CE — study of Old English religious systems and survivals.
Tracing Old Norse Cosmology, edited by Anders Andrén, Kristina Jennbert, and Catharina Raudvere, 2014 CE — study of Norse cosmology and sacred geography.
Europe’s Barbarians, AD 200–600 by Edward James, 2014 CE — study of early Germanic societies.
Religion und Kult der Germanen by Alexander Rubel, 2016 CE — study of Germanic religion and cult practice.
Children of Ash and Elm by Neil Price, 2020 CE — study of Viking Age ritual and cosmology.
“Fate” by John Lindow, 2020 CE — encyclopedic entry on destiny concepts.
“Týr” by John Lindow, 2020 CE — entry on divine law and authority.
“Ritual Space” by Torun Zachrisson and Anders Andrén, 2020 CE — study of sacred landscapes.
“Death Ritual and Mortuary Behavior” by Neil Price, 2020 CE — study of burial and ritual practice.
“Language: Placenames and Personal Names” by Per Vikstrand, 2020 CE — study of sacred toponymy.
“Cosmic Eschatology: Ragnarøk” by Anders Hultgård, 2020 CE — study of eschatology.
“Cosmogony” and “Cosmology” by Mathias Nordvig, 2020 CE — study of mythic structure.
“Magic and Religion” by Stephen A. Mitchell, 2020 CE — study of ritual practice.
“The Divine, the Human, and In Between” by John Lindow and Jens Peter Schjødt, 2020 CE — comparative religious study.
“Encounters: Celtic” by Matthias Egeler, 2020 CE — comparative Indo-European religious study.
“Encounters: Roman” by Rudolf Simek, 2020 CE — study of Roman-Germanic interaction.
“Worlds of the Dead” by John Lindow and Anders Andrén, 2020 CE — study of afterlife cosmology.
“Vanir and Æsir” by John Lindow, 2020 CE — study of Norse divine groups.
“Þórr,” “Dísir,” and related entries by John Lindow, 2020 CE — entries on Norse cultic concepts.
“Frigg” by Ingunn Ásdísardóttir, 2020 CE — entry on Norse goddess traditions.
“Oldest reference to Norse god Odin found in Danish treasure” by James Brooks, 2023 CE — archaeological report on early Odin cult evidence.
What I noticed is in the order of the books listed, is the quality of books started to really go down significantly by the later 1800s with a lot of assumptions and little supporting content or evidence. Most modern books seem to largely be the rehashing of the same things that offering very little "new" or incitement information but are useful to some degree as a reference source.
Note: Many tend to translate the name of the heresy hunting book Malleus Maleficarum (1487) translated as Hammer of the Witches or Witches Hammer does not use Old English terms like wicce or wiccan, witch or witches.
It is a Latin scholastic inquisitorial manual, and its terminology is primarily malefica / maleficium, sortilegium, veneficium, etc., reflecting late medieval legal-theological categories rather than any Old English lexicon.
This retrofitting often because a cause of later to modern imposition of present assumptions onto these older texts ad projection, rather than accuracy.
Sources inspiring many of these concepts come mostly from Greek and Roman Latin Ancient Classical Works that taint much of these assumptions and interpretations.
The Iliad
Author: Homer
Estimated Date: c. 750–700 BC
The Odyssey
Author: Homer
Estimated Date: c. 700 BC
Theogony
Author: Hesiod
Estimated Date: c. 730–700 BC
Olympian Ode 6
Author: Pindar
Estimated Date: c. 476–468 BC
Eumenides
Author: Aeschylus
Estimated Date: 458 BC
The Republic
Author: Plato
Estimated Date: c. 375 BC
Description of Greece
Author: Pausanias
Estimated Date: c. 160–176 AD
Attic Nights
Author: Aulus Gellius
Estimated Date: c. 180 AD
The Consolation of Philosophy
Author: Boethius
Estimated Date: 524 AD
Again, this is by no means an entire list. I have certainly forgotten more than I remember. However, its a good start and I hope you enjoy the explorations. It should also be noted, that when later authors call ancient Greeks and Romans pagans as a whole which they never called themselves, the Greeks used the term Hellene (Hellenist/not pagan) and the word used against a woman often glossed as with was Goēs, preserved in the word Goetia from Goēteia, from from the Ancient Greek verb goáō, meaning "to groan/weep/wail." Basically a Wailing Woman as a slur and an accusation.
This was used during the violent overthrow of Greek polytheism (and Roman) when a wacko named Cyril, the Bishop of Alexandria, and executed by a fanatical Christian mob led by a church lector named Peter the Reader sought the elimination of a highly intelligent woman named Hypatia.
She highly respected and influential hē philosophos (philosopher), hē geōmetrēs (mathematician/geometrician), and hē astrologos (astrologer/astronomer). The reason the form formative word hē is included is because it is specifically a feminine form of "the" which we often see in many of the more ancient texts that get ignored that indicates the word is being applied, though if it is primarily masculine itself, means it applies to a female. The masculine form of the is ho and these are akin to what is found in Hebrew ha = the. Just an FYI of things often "overlooked" when its ""inconvenient" to a narrative.
