> As mentioned I am curious as to the mechanism of such
> influence. Often it is the glamour of the exotic that
> attracts, whether that be India and Norway for the anonymous
> writer of the 1665 Scot appendices, Hebrew and Latin for the
> Cunning Men, American Indians for the spiritualists, India
> for 20th Century counter-culturalists and more recently
> shaman for similar scenes. Of course, concerning the Norse,
> we have only fragments to judge from, but this does not seem
> to be the case.
Just as a historical note, about 800 years after Paul wrote to the Galatians, the Vikings set up shop in Galatia. They called their city Miklagard, but today we call it Istanbul.
So, if I'm a guy from, I don't know, Malmo, and I get on a ship and wind up serving a tour of duty in Istanbul, I could easily see myself getting impressed by the exoticism of the place.
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