L'Aldilà boreale

Abstract

The study of the North Germanic and Finnish conceptions of the Other World from a comparative-contrastive point of view highlights several differences, but at the same time allows us to suggest explanations about complicated Germanic concepts, such as that of the soul. According to the Finns, the soul could be a living or shattered soul, while it seems the Germans knew only the former. Thanks to the Finnish concept of haltia, we may assume that the Germanic hamingja and fylgja should be regarded as guardian spirits of the individual and of the kin that are both present during lifetime. The Germans had many Other Worlds, each one for a specific kind of death, while the Finns knew only one. Paradise is hardly described in Finnish sources, although the northland Pohjola has similarities with both the Germanic Valhǫll and Nástrǫnd.