A mitologia escandinava de Georges Dumézil: uma reflex o sobre método e improbabilidade

This article examines the main methodological premises of George Dumézil’s theories that relate to the study of Scandinavian mythology, especially the study of written mediaeval sources and the reconstruction of the mythology of the Viking Age (AD 750/800 to AD 1050/1100). The article argues that Dumézil's theories, which strictly refer to a culture much earlier than the Viking Age (the proto-Indo- European culture), are not based upon very solid premises. The article starts with a discussion of the geographical and chronological delimitation of the sources which are commonly used to define Scandinavian mythology, questions the concept of "Indo-European" and the Dumézilian definition of "Germanic mythology", and goes on to concentrate on the methodological questions which are specifically related to the Scandinavian material.