Sacrifice and initiation in the myths of Ódinn

This dissertation deals with the interpretation of four myths from early medieval Scandinavia, in which the main role is played by the god Óðinn. All four myths narrate how he achieved a state of permanent increase of his numinous knowledge. Based on the fact that the outcome of all of the narratives is the acquisition of the Mead of Poetry (or its equivalent), they can be percieved as "four reports on the same event". The analysis of myths itself has been executed in two steps: firstly the separate inquiry of the two more central myths and introduction of the other two followed by thorough analysis of the four together. All four myths demonstrate to a certain degree a presence of motifs and structures associated with the religious phenomena of sacrifice and initiation. By the means of said analysis the study reviews the systematic relations of the sacrificial and initiatory structures and postulates a common core which is subsequently named "monomyth"