Project Gutenberg 2004-05-01 Public domain in the USA. 409 Frazer, James George 1854 1941 Frazer, Sir James George Frazer, J. G. (James George) Balder the Beautiful, Volume I. A Study in Magic and Religion: the Golden Bough, Part VII., The Fire-Festivals of Europe and the Doctrine of the External Soul Produced by Million Book Project, David King, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team "Balder the Beautiful, Volume I" by James George Frazer is a scholarly study on mythology and anthropology written in the early 20th century. The work examines the myth of Balder, the Norse god, and its associations with fire-festivals and the concept of the external soul in various cultures. Frazer provides an extensive inquiry into ancient rituals, drawing parallels between different mythological traditions and their symbolic meanings. The opening of the volume serves as a preface to the broader inquiry that follows. Frazer presents a foundational question regarding the priest of Aricia and his connection to the Golden Bough, linking it to the Norse god Balder, who famously meets his demise by mistletoe. He elaborates on the significance of sacred kingship and taboo, detailing various cultural practices, such as restrictions placed on divine beings and the symbolic importance of fire in rituals aimed at purification or renewal. The text sets the stage for a detailed exploration of ancient customs and beliefs that reflect humanity's evolving thought processes. (This is an automatically generated summary.) Reading ease score: 74.1 (7th grade). Fairly easy to read. en Religion Magic Superstition Mythology BL Text Anthropology Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore Category: Archaeology & Anthropology Category: Philosophy & Ethics 1267216 2025-08-05T14:38:41.404876 text/html 1234767 2024-10-28T19:21:03 text/html 501690 2025-08-05T14:39:01.243321 application/epub+zip 520376 2025-08-05T14:38:46.173859 application/epub+zip 513790 2025-08-05T14:38:43.974899 application/epub+zip 985456 2025-08-05T14:39:11.016311 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 945005 2025-08-05T14:38:59.260290 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 823404 2022-09-06T19:37:43.603402 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 961564 2025-08-05T14:38:38.451939 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 941816 2024-10-28T19:21:03 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 17460 2025-08-05T14:39:11.175250 application/rdf+xml 14782 2025-08-05T14:38:44.690853 image/jpeg 3624 2025-08-05T14:38:44.344880 image/jpeg 475882 2025-08-05T14:38:41.482922 application/octet-stream application/zip Archives containing the RDF files for *all* our books can be downloaded at https://book.klll.cc/wiki/Gutenberg:Feeds#The_Complete_Project_Gutenberg_Catalog en.wikipedia