The "Nordic spirit" in GA 121

Daniel Hindes (March 13th, 2004):

Can you tell me where I can read more about the wondrous "Nordic spirit" in GA 121? I seem to have missed it.

Peter Staudenmaier (March 14th, 2004):

The latter half of the book is about the spiritual mysteries of Nordic man. There you can read all about "the Germanic and Nordic Folk Spirit" (e.g. p. 162 or p. 168), the "Folk Spirit of the North" (p. 172), and "the Folk Spirit who rules over the Northern lands." (p. 183)

Daniel Hindes (March 14th, 2004):

Somehow, when I read the phrase "nordic spirit" I think of something like "esprit de corps" or "that's a nice horse, it really has spirit" or in this case, "Those are great men, they possess nordic spirit." If the Spirit is supposed to be a single being, shouldn't it be capitalized or something, do differentiate it from the generic reading?

Daniel Hindes (March 18th, 2004):

The latter half of the book is about Norse Mythology (as the subtitle implies), and not this "Nordic man" that you mention. "Nordic man" is mentioned once on p. 171, but is hardly half the book! Mostly, Steiner talks about norse culture, not norse physiology. And yes, there are a few references that you mention above to the spirit who bears the names you have listed above (and you seem to have found most of them). Whether four mentions in two out of 11 lectures really demonstrates a central placement is, of course, debateable.