The Passion-Hymns of Iceland

Certain traditions within Christianity develop different styles of musical worship that are unique but vibrant. The different musical styles help us to open up to differences in ways of seeing Christ that we may not get in our usual Western style of worship. These Icelandic hymns help us to open up to the Nordic poetics that make it so vibrant and with the recent surge of Nordic folklore it would be helpful for us to see how converted Viking traditions were helpful in leading these northern people to the cross. Although the music is missing from these pages, the poems themselves are a valuable insight not only into the musical worship of the Nordic people but also into the theology that emerged within their churches. These old views can help us to open up once more to a new world that is taking all old tales and remaking them anew.