Do the poems of the Poetic Edda speak of a continuous mythic epic extending from Creation to Ragnarok? Swedish polymath Viktor Rydberg argued they do. In Toward the Evidence, now available in English for the first time, Rydberg shows how the Old Norse myths can be arranged in chronological order, revealing a lost epic tradition shared across the ancient Germanic world. This is the essay that started it all.

Composed in 1885 as a companion to his first epic narrative, Toward the Evidence serves as an introduction to his two-volume masterwork, Investigations into Germanic Mythology (1886-1889). Previously published only once in Danish translation, this rare work is the first fruit of the author’s ambitious effort to reconstruct the mythic history of the ancient North.

With a focus on the Poetic Edda, Snorri Sturluson's Prose Edda, and Saxo Grammaticus' History of the Danes, Rydberg challenges the conventional approach to Norse mythology. Rather than interpreting the Eddic poems through Snorri's later prose retellings, Rydberg recognizes the poems themselves as the primary witness to the pre-Christian religion of Northern Europe.

Using the comparative method, Rydberg reveals how seemingly unrelated stories, characters, and events fit within a larger narrative. More than a translation, this volume serves as an introduction to Rydberg's Epic Method. Included are a pioneering lecture on the Indo-European heritage of the early Germanic peoples, the first English translation of Toward the Evidence, freshly translated excerpts from his cosmological studies, as well as historic criticism and reception of his work, tracing how his ideas were received and interpreted over the following century. This edition further supplements his writings with source references, manuscript evidence, illustrations and explanatory notes designed to help readers navigate both the sources and the scholarship.

For enthusiasts of Norse mythology, Indo-European studies, and Germanic tradition, Toward the Evidence offers an accessible introduction to one of the most ambitious attempts ever made to reconstruct the mythic history of the ancient North.

In Rydberg's critical crucible, the familiar myths of gods, heroes, and giants emerge not as isolated tales but as surviving fragments of a greater whole. When the dross of centuries is burned away, the outlines of a deeper structure emerge, revealing an enduring epic history of the world spanning from Creation to Ragnarok, and beyond, which once gave order and meaning to the ancient heathen worldview of the North.

In an effort to keep the book affordable, I’ve made it available in a variety of formats:

Black & White Illustrations only:  9x6 Hardcover $19.99; 9x6 Paperback $16.99

Color and Black & White  Illustrations:  9x6 Paperback $21.88 (my favorite); Kindle $4.99

The Difference between the $16.99 Paperback (Left) and the $21.88 Paperback (Right):