Triin Laidoner received an MA in Old Nordic Religion from the University of Iceland and a PhD in History from the University of Aberdeen, UK. Prior to that, she studied Icelandic and Swedish philology, and literary translation. Her work focuses on pre-Christian religious beliefs and practices in northern Europe, Old Norse-Icelandic literature, mythology and folklore, social anthropology, kinship and social structures, and ancestor beliefs and rituals. She has published on connections between Sámi and Old Norse beliefs.

Introduction; Part 1. Theoretical Considerations; 1. Old Norse Religion - Approach, Sources and Method; 1. 1. Old Norse Religion; 1. 1. 1. What is 'Religion'?; 1. 1. 2. What is 'Old Norse'?; 1. 1. 3. The Non-Static and Heterogenous Nature of Old Norse Religion; 1. 1. 4. Hetergenous Conceptions of the Afterlife in Old Norse Religion; 1. 1. 5. Gravemounds and Ancestors in Old Norse Religion; 1. 1. 6. Folk vs. World Religion; 1. 1. 7. Paganism and Christianity; 1. 2. Primary Sources; 1. 3. Method; 2. Research on Ancestor Worship; 2. 1. The Development of 'Ancestor Worship' as an Academic Term; 2. 2. Ancestor Worship in Old Norse Research; 3. Ancestors in Social Anthropology: Definition and Social Use; 3. 1. 'Ancestor Worship' - the Problem with Terminology; 3. 2. The Role of Ancestors in Folk Religions; 3. 3. Family, Kinship and 'Superior Ancestors'; 3. 4. 'Superior Ancestor Worship'; 4. Kings and Gods in Old Norse Religion; 4. 1. The Myth of 'Sacral Kingship'; 4. 2. Euhemerism - Medieval Propaganda or Just History?; Part 2. The Case Studies; 5. Introduction to the Case Studies; 6. Erik of Birka; 7. The Ynglingar; 7. 1. Background on the Ynglingar; 7. 1. 1. Sources; 7. 1. 2. The Ynglingar and Sacral Kingship; 7. 1. 3. Ynglingatal: Authorial Purpose; 7. 2. Freyr; 7. 2. 1. Adam's Templum; 7. 2. 2. Adam's Account of Human Sacrifice; 7. 2. 3. Icons and Processions; 7. 3. Hálfdanr svarti; 7. 4. Óláfr Geirstaðaálfr; 8. The Háleygjar; 8. 1. The Háleygjar and Sacral Kingship; 8. 2. Þorgerðr h¿lgabrúðr; 9. The Settlers of Breiðafj¿rðr; 9. 1. Þórólfr Mostrarskegg; 9. 2. Auðr djúp(a)úðga; General Conclusion