!
J777
Chaffin
O AY
In
PHILIPJOHN BUDWORTH, ESQ4
GREENSTED HALL.
ESSEX.
A MANUAL OF
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY
CONTAINING A
Popular Account of the Two Eddas
AND OF
THE RELIGION OF ODIN
ILLUSTRATED BY TRANSLATIONS FROM OEHLENSCHLAGER'S
DANISH POEM THE GODS OF THE NORTHI
BY GRENVILLE PIGOTT

ALDI
ANGLVS
DISCIP
LONDON
WILLIAM PICKERING
1839
BL
1
860
.P63
C. WHITTINGHAM, TOOKS COURT,
CHANCERY LANE.
t
3
Ken Gi
M.C
09
Ed
01-20
ال
Sept ap
---
Sikretong Nha do P
Kesey
Ce
TO RICHARD
DUKE OF BUCKINGHAM AND CHANDOS
K. G. ETC. ETC. ETC.
THIS WORK IS INSCRIBED IN TOKEN OF RESPECT
AND REGARD
BY THE AUTHOR
•
•
PREFACE.
THE Mythology of the ancient Scandinavians,
respecting which so much curious information
has been brought to light, of late years, by the
researches of many distinguished writers, in
Germany, Denmark, and Sweden,¹ has hitherto
excited but little attention in this country, al-
though the subject is well calculated to awaken
our interest, not only as the source of most of
our popular superstitions, from whence the fa-
vourite authors of our early childhood and of
our maturer age have drawn their witches, their
fairies, their dwarfs, their giants, and their
ghosts; but in an historical point of view also,
1 More especially Suhm, Schoning, Nyerup, Grundtvig,
Thorlacius, Rafn, Finn Magnussen, Müller, Grater, Abra-
hamsen.
2 This observation applies peculiarly to Shakspeare. The
ghost in Hamlet, the witches and apparitions in Macbeth,
the fairies in the Midsummer's Night's Dream and Tempest,
viii
PREFACE.
for a short retrospect will suffice to shew, that
the religion of Odin must have exercised a
great and lasting influence on the character
and institutions of the inhabitants of Great
Britain. The Jutes, Anglians and Saxons, who
in the course of the fifth and sixth centuries,
effected the conquest of the greatest part of
this island, were worshippers, and their principal
leaders reputed descendants of Odin. In pro-
cess of time these heathen invaders were con-
verted to Christianity, but the old worship died
away by degrees and slowly, and not without
leaving permanent traces on the manners and
habits of their descendants. England had
scarcely begun, under Egbert, to recover from
the troubles of the Heptarchy, when her Chris-
tian inhabitants were once more engaged in a
struggle for existence with their kinsmen, fol-
lowers of Odin, and were compelled, despite
the genius and courage of Alfred, to divide the
land with them, and that for no brief period of
are closely painted after their Scandinavian originals. From
whence Shakspeare derived his information is less certain,
perhaps in part from Saxo Grammaticus, in whose history
he might have found the tale of Ilamlet.
PREFACE.
ix
time. It is well known that this great king,
notwithstanding his signal and repeated victo-
ries, deemed it politic to compound with the
vanquished Danes, by leaving them in pos-
session of the kingdom of East Anglia, of the
whole of England, North of the Humber, and
of the best part of Mercia, including the five
cities of Derby, Leicester, Stamford, Lincoln,
and Nottingham. These Danes or Northmen
were fierce idolaters, and the ruthless destruc-
tion with which they visited whatever came
within their power connected with the Chris-
tian worship, affords too good evidence of their
zeal for Odin and for Thor. No king, before
the Conquest, ever possessed more substantial
power in England than Knudt or Canute the
Dane. He, as his father Sweyn before him,
was a Christian, his grandfather, Harald, of the
blue tooth, a sanguinary tyrant, having found
it convenient to embrace Christianity. It was
through the exertions of Canute, indeed, that
the Christian faith was first firmly established
in Denmark. But, although hostile to the an-
cient superstitions of his countrymen, Canute
was essentially a Dane, and during his vigorous
reign of twenty-eight years, contributed not a
X
PREFACE.
little to implant amongst the higher classes in
this country the manners and the feelings of
the Northmen. The sway of the Danish kings
in England ended in 1041. Twenty-five years
later a new tide of Northern institutions and
habits was poured in upon England, from a dif-
ferent quarter, it is true, and somewhat modi-
fied, but of the same character and from the
same original source as those which preceded.
Quaintly but truly saith old Robert of Glo'ster,
“Of Normans beth these high men that beth in this land,
And the low men of Saxons.”
Robert of Glo'ster's Chronicle.
and both nations were, for centuries, the wor-
shippers of Odin.
It would not be difficult to shew, although
this is no place for the enquiry, that most of the
still existing peculiarities in the institutions and
manners of the nations of Gothic descent, which
distinguish them from the Greeks and Romans
in what may be assumed as a parallel state of
civilization, can be traced directly to the influ-
ence of the religion of Odin.
The trial by
twelve, the deference paid to the female sex,
and the point of honour maintained by the
A
PREFACE.
xi
practice of duel, are prominent instances in
support of this assertion.
It is the object of the present work to give a
plain account of the ideas entertained by the
inhabitants of North-Western Europe, during a
period of long duration, respecting the nature
and power of the various deities and good and
evil spirits, in whose existence they believed, as
preserved in the Eddas, and explained and elu-
cidated by the writers alluded to above. Its
form was suggested by a similar work, “ Die
Nordiske Mythologie," published in Germany
in 1827, by E. L. Heiberg, whose example has
been followed, more especially in the insertion,
by way of illustration of frequent free transla-
tions from Oehlenschläger's poem, "The Gods of
the North." The introductory chapter and the
supplementary essay in the appendix, the mate-
rials of which are drawn chiefly from the works
of Professors Finn Magnussen and P. E. Mül-
ler, of Copenhagen, were intended to shew ge-
nerally the state of society which prevailed in
the three Scandinavian kingdoms contempora-
neously with the religion of Odin. The first
chapter contains a general view of the whole
system of the Scandinavian Mythology, which,
xii
PREFACE.
although essential to a clear understanding of
the subject, is necessarily of a more abstract
character than the ensuing chapters. These
consist of a circumstantial description of the
various deities of the Eddas, of their attributes
and attendants, of the power which they were.
believed to exercise over man and the elements,
and of the most characteristic adventures in
which they are supposed to have been engaged.
Much of the matter contained in these chapters
may be found in Bishop Percy's translation of
Mallet's Northern Antiquities, but since that
work was written, the publication of numerous
well authenticated Sagas, and the works of
Suhm, Magnussen, Müller, &c. have given a
new interest and importance to the subject,
have brought to light many new facts, and have
sufficiently confuted the arguments advanced
by Huet, Ritson and others against the au-
thenticity of the Eddas. The unfavourable ac-
count of the religion of Odin contained in a
work of such authority as "The Book of the
Church," might suffice alone to justify this
publication; the more so as the distinguished
writer alluded to has elsewhere so well borne
witness to the lofty poetry of Scandinavian
fiction:
PREFACE.
xiii
66
Through wildest scenes of strange sublimity,
Building the Runic rhyme, my fancy roves;
Niffl-hil's nine worlds, and Surtur's fiery reign,
And where, upon creation's utmost verge
The weary dwarfs who bear the weight of Heaven
Wait the long winter which no sun may cheer,
And the last sound which from Heimdallur's trump
Shall echo through all worlds, and sound the knell
Of Earth and Heaven."
Southey.
It has been the aim of the author of the pre-
sent work to bring within a small compass in-
formation spread throughout many a costly
volume, and shut up in languages not much
studied in England. It can boast no merit of
originality, consisting chiefly of extracts from
the works of others, loosely put together, and
not always with due acknowledgments; an omis-
sion arising from no desire to appropriate their
labours, but from the fact that many of those
extracts, having been originally made without
any view to publication, were not noted with
sufficient exactness, nor after a lapse of some
years when the original works could no longer
be referred to, always distinguishable from the
author's own conclusions. It is intended chiefly
for such as desire, without much research, to
obtain some definite ideas of the wild and war-
4
+
xiv
PREFACE.
b
like religion of their ancestors, which, teaching
that death in battle or by violence was the only
road to their Paradise, Valhalla, rendered them
for centuries the scourge of Europe, and by the
martial habits which it engendered, enabled
them to gain and to keep possession of the
fairest portions of Ireland, England, Italy, and
France.
CONTENTS.
INTRODUCTION.
Early History and Mythology of the Scandinavians, a field
hitherto comparatively unexplored. Attempt to account
for this fact. The ancient Scandinavians by no means
inferior to their contemporaries in civilization. Their trade,
flourishing cities, fisheries, and general enterprize. Cir-
cumstances which at first opposed the introduction of
Christianity into the three Scandinavian kingdoms. View
of their early political state. Discovery and colonization
of Iceland: became the resort of all the turbulent cha-
racters of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. View of
the state of society which prevailed there long after a
similar state had ceased to exist on the continent. In-
fluence of the Scalds. Introduction of Christianity and
classical learning into Iceland. Changes in its political
state: union with Norway: consequent decline in pros-
perity. Ancient language of Scandinavia preserved pure
in Iceland, when lost in Norway, Sweden, and Denmark.
Snorro Sturleson's chronicle: Angrim Johnsen: Brigniulf
Svendsen: Olaus Wormius: discovery of a parchment.
copy of the Prose Edda. The subject of Scandinavian
Mythology subsequently taken up by many eminent
writers in Sweden, Denmark, and Germany: very little
attention directed to the subject in England. Description
of the Prose and Poetic Edda.
CHAPTER I.
GENERAL VIEW OF SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
All ancient nations had their peculiar theories respecting the
creation. The Scandinavian, Egyptian, Chaldæan, Phœ-
xvi
CONTENTS.
nician, and Persian Cosmogonies. General view of the
Scandinavian Mythology. Odin, Vile and Ve slay the
giant Ymer. The creation of the first man and woman.
The nine worlds. The Aser. Asa Loke and his chil-
dren: Fenris the wolf: the great serpent: and Hela, the
queen of death. The great Ash Ygdrasill. Ragnarokur,
or the great battle of the Gods and Giants. The Dwarfs
and Elves. The celestial dwellings, or solar houses. The
Grimnersmaal, a tale about King Hrodung's sons.
The
Scandinavian Calendar.
CHAPTER II.
ODIN THE ORIGIN OF POETRY-VALHALLA-THE EINHE-
RIAR-THE VALKYRS-ODIN'S HORSE, SLEIPNER-FRIGGA
-HERTHA.
Odin establishment of his religion in Scandinavia: etymo-
logy of the word: contradictory attributes assigned to him.
Odin, the title of the supreme deity amongst the Scythians
three Odins mentioned in history. The Odin of the
Edda: his ravens: his eloquence: his wives and chil-
dren: his love of adventure. The origin of poetry, from
the Prose Edda. The titles of Odin: though powerful he
was not omnipotent. His palaces, Gladsheim, Valaskialf,
and Valhalla. The Einheriar: the boar Schrimner: the
Valkyrs. Belief of the Scandinavians respecting Valhalla.
Account of Odin's horse, Sleipner. Frea, or Frigga: her
attendants: confounded with the goddess Hertha.
CHAPTER III.
ASA-LOKE-HELA, THE QUEEN OF DEATH-THE GREAT SER-
PENT-TYR, AND FENRIS THE WOLF—IDUNA—BRAGI-
THIAFFE.
B
Two divinities in the Scandinavian Mythology, who bore the
name of Loke. Asa-Loke, a creation peculiar to the Scan-
dinavian Mythology. His attributes, character, and pu-
A
CONTENTS.
xvii
nishment. His three children: 1. Jormungandur, or the
great serpent which encircles the world: Hela, the queen
of death her palace: 3. Fenris, the wolf: method by
which the gods got him into their power. Iduna's rape
and recovery: her apples. Bragi, the god of eloquence.
B
CHAPTER IV.
THOR-SIF-THE GIANTS, uller, utTGARDELOK AND MIMER.
Thor: his hammer, belt, and gloves: his residence, Thrud-
vanger: palace, Bilskirner: his sons. Thor: a personifi-
cation of thunder: the worship of Thor more ancient in
Scandinavia than that of Odin. In Norway more reve-
renced than Odin. Thor's wife, Sif: her son, Uller. The
Giants: their origin, attributes, and residence. Mimer:
his will, his wisdom, his death. Thor's visit to the giant
Geyruth. The story of Thor and the dwarf Alvis.
+
CHAPTER V.
THOR'S JOURNEY TO JOTUNHEIM, OR GIANT'S LAND.
The cause of Thor's expedition. He sets out in his car with
Loke: descends to Midgard: His adventure at the pea-
sant's hut: Tialf and Roska: He passes the ocean which
separates Midgard from Utgard. Adventure on the
heath: the giant Skrymner: his glove. They proceed to
Utgard with Skrymner as guide: the adventure of the wal-
let. They arrive at Helheim. Thor's interview with Hela.
They reach Jotunheim, or Utgard: Utgardelok: his pa-
lace: he seeks to intimidate Thor: invites him and his
companions to a banquet: they are deceived and foiled by
enchantment. Thor quits Utgard in anger: Utgardelok
explains the enchantments. Thor returns home.
b
----
!
2
xviii
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER VI.
THOR'S VISIT TO THE GIANT HYMIR.
Ægir's feast to the Gods. Thor and Tyr set out to obtain
Hymir's brewing copper. Their adventure with the Giant:
(from the Hymisquida. Oehlenschläger's version of the
story, from the Prose Edda. Thor's visit to Hymir: they
go out to fish. Thor's combat with the great Serpent.
CHAPTER VII.
THE VANER.
:
:
The Vaner a different race from the Aser: their residence.
Niord his residence; his attributes; his marriage with
Skada. Freyr his residence; his attributes; his love for
Gerda. Skirner's journey. Freya, the Goddess of Love:
her palace: shares the spirits of the slain with Odin: her
husband, Oddur. Oehlenschläger's poem of the Vaner
Freya's daughters, Hnos and Gersime: her attendants.
Heimdall, and the bridge Bifrost.
CHAPTER VIII.
THE ASH-THE THREE NORNIES-THE ELVES-THE DWARFS.
Description of the sacred Ash: Yggdrasill: Nyd-hoggur
the serpent: Urda's well. The three Nornies: Urda,
Verdandi, and Skulda: the inferior Nornies. The Elves.
The Dwarfs their skill in Smith's work: their malicious
disposition: Loke's wager with the dwarf Brokkur. One
of Loke's knavish tricks, and his punishment (from Oeh-
lenschläger).
CONTENTS.
xix
CHAPTER IX.
ÆGIR RANGEFIONE.
Ægir: his riches: his residence: his journey to Asgard: his
wife Ran; her net. Ægir's feast to the Gods. Loke's
cunning: a poem from Oehlenschläger. Thor recovers
his hammer.
CHAPTER X.
BALDUR-NANNA-HERMODUR-HODUR-FORSETE-
VALE-RAGNAROKKUR.
Baldur; his gentleness: his dream. Odin's forebodings:
his descent to Helheim. Loke conspires to slay Baldur:
the misletoe. Baldur's death: his funeral: his wife
Nanna: her death. Frigga's grief: Hermodur's journey.
Forsete: the God of justice, worshipped in Heligoland.
Vale: his palace: Valaskialf; Ragnarokkur: the destruc-
tion of the Gods and Giants. A new world created.
APPENDIX.
SOME ACCOUNT OF THE SCALDS AND SAGAS, AND OF THE
PRINCIPAL SUPERSTITIONS OF THE ANCIENT SCANDI-
NAVIANS.
The Scalds of Scandinavia bore no resemblance to the Bri-
tish Druids: the nature of their profession. The Scalda,
or poetical dictionary, contains the rules of their art: high
esteem in which they were held: Harald Haarfager: story
of his Scalds. Professor Müller's sketch of the History of
the Scaldic Art. St. Olaf: battle of Stickelstadt: the Bi-
arkermaal. Eyvind Skalda-spiller: Eigil Skalagrimsen :
his Saga. Meaning of the word Saga: upwards of two
•
莆
​į
XX
CONTENTS.
S
I
!
hundred of them still extant. Professor Müller's “ Suga
Bibliothek." Account of Endrid's wedding. History of
Raudulf. Favourite pursuits and amusements of the
Scandinavian Chiefs: astronomy: the art of cutting Runes:
running upon skees, or snow-shes: footracing: skating:
leaping wrestling: sword-dancers: bowls: hockey:
shooting with the bow: throwing the spear: slinging:
broadsword-play: and above all swimming, and skill in
Smith's work. Extracts from Olaf Tryggessen's Saga.
Velent, or Vaulund the Smith: his Saga. Belief of the
Scandinavians in Magic and witchcraft: Superstition res-
pecting Barrows: the nightmare: invocation of the dead:
tutelary Spirits.
ī
i
INTRODUCTION.
It is within a comparatively recent period only,
that the early history of the North of Europe has
begun to attract much attention in this country.
Previous to the publication of Percy's Northern
Antiquities, all that was known on the subject
rested chiefly on meagre notices gleaned from
Roman writers, whose authority on this subject,
from deficiency of sources of accurate information,
was, to say the least, doubtful; and on the exagge-
rated account of the Monkish Chroniclers, who had
too good reason not to love the people whom they
described. Hence the history of the Scandina-
vians or Northmen, as they were afterwards cal-
led, has been generally looked upon as a mere san-
guinary chronicle of piracies, murders and gloomy
superstitions, and but little inclination felt to ex-
plore a field so uninviting. To those, however,
whose curiosity has led them to examine the copi-
ous sources of information respecting the early re-
ligion and history of Northern Europe, furnished
by the Eddas and by the numerous Sagas which
exist in the libraries of Copenhagen and Stock-
I
xxii
INTRODUCTION.
holm; it cannot fail to appear a curious anomaly
that, whilst the Grecian Mythology in all its va-
ried details is made familiar to us from our child-
hood, we have been so long content to remain in
great measure ignorant of the religious supersti-
tions of our immediate ancestors; superstitions in-
ferior it may be to those of Greece in refinement,
but scarcely so in wildness or sublimity; which
contributed so much to form the peculiar character
that still distinguishes the inhabitants of Northern
Europe; which even yet linger in the traditions
of our peasantry, and whose traces are enduringly
marked in the names of some of our festivals, and
especially of the days of our week.
The omission of any serious research into the
religion of Odin, by men of such profound learn-
ing, as was possessed by many of our early anti-
quaries, may, not unnaturally, raise a doubt in the
minds of some of the degree of advantage or inte-
rest likely to result from an enquiry of this na-
ture; but a brief account of the circumstances
which attended the overthrow of heathenism and
the introduction of Christianity in those countries,
where the Scandinavian deities were chiefly wor-
shipped, may otherwise explain the cause of this
silence on a subject so likely to have invited
learned enquiry.
It was not until long after the nations of South-
ern and Western Europe had been converted to
Christianity, that its light began to penetrate into
INTRODUCTION.
xxiii
the northern kingdoms of Denmark, Sweden, and
Norway; but this fact is attributable not so much
to the barbarism or ignorance of the inhabitants of
those countries, as to their warlike and predatory
habits, the natural result of their previous religion,
of their position with respect to the rest of Europe
and of other concurrent circumstances, too various
to admit of consideration here. It would not be
difficult to shew that the Scandinavians, from the
eighth to the eleventh century, carried on a more
active commerce, and could boast a more constant
and extensive communication with distant coun-
tries than any other nation of Europe. During
the greater part of this period, Russia, Sweden,
and Denmark, were the only European nations
which had any regular commerce with the East.
The Northmen or Norwegians traded for furs, round
the North Cape, to Permia: Russia, which, from
the ninth century, was governed by Scandinavian
princes, possessed several flourishing commercial
cities, as Kiew, Cholmogorod, and Novogorod.
In the North of Germany there were the Slavic
trading towns, Vineta, Juliu or Wolliu, Rhethra,
and Mecklenburg, and later Lubeck, Hamburgh,
and Bremen. In Sweden there were Wisby, in
the island of Gothland, and on the continent, Up-
sala, Sigtuna, and Birca. In Scania there was
Halor in Norway there were Tunsberg and Stein-
kar, and in Denmark were Sleswick, Ribe, Leira,
1
xxiv
INTRODUCTION.
-
Roeskilde, Ringstedt, Odense, &c.¹ Nor were
these inconsiderable towns, but places of great ex-
tent and opulence, whose grandeur was a favourite
theme with contemporary writers.
The Norwegians and their descendants disco-
vered and made settlements in Iceland, Greenland,
the Orkneys, and, as has been maintained with
great semblance of truth, even in America itself.
Their Princes and Nobles visited every part of
Europe as traders or pirates, and, for a conside-
rable period, the body guard of the Greek Empe-
perors was composed of Northmen under the de-
signation of Baranger or Väringer. Their fish-
eries, particularly the herring-fishery in the Sound,
were so considerable, that Arnold of Lubeck, bit-
terly lamented the sums of gold and silver thus
abstracted from Mecklenburg into Scandinavia,
and besides all this they had the monopoly of the
Arctic whale-fishery.2
Of their piratical expeditions, their conquest of
Neustria, England, Sicily, and the devastations
which they inflicted on the coasts of Europe and
Africa, it is not necessary here to speak: but it
may be fairly concluded, that a people possessing
so many sources of wealth, and with such conti-
nual communication with the most civilized por-
tions of the world, could not have been so darkly
Magnussen's Nordiske Archæologie.
2 Ibid.
INTRODUCTION.
XXV
barbarous as the well-grounded detestation of the
monkish chronicles has represented them.³ If we
consult the Icelandic Sagas, many of which are
faithful and unpretending pictures of the manners
of the times in which they were written, we shall
find that the Scandinavians were by no means un-
acquainted with the comforts and even the luxuries
of life; that they were skilful mechanics; held
music and poetry in the highest esteem; have
some claim to the invention of oil-painting, and,
above all, in their relations with the weaker sex,
shewed a degree of refinement and generosity
which we may look for in vain amongst the Greeks
and Romans in their highest civilization.
The detailed descriptions which exist of some of
the chief places of religious worship in Sweden,
indicate them as possessing much grandeur and
indeed magnificence. The courts of the first
Dukes of Normandy, composed exclusively of the
4
3 The monk Alberich in his Chronicle, written about the
year 875, speaks thus of them: "Est gens Normannorum
gratiosa, quocumque venerit, et affabilis," whilst on the other
hand he describes the Anglo-Saxons in respect of their man-
ners as "feroces." The great traveller, Pythias, who lived
about the time of Alexander the Great, and, later, Tacitus,
described the Scandinavians as superior in civilization to the
Celts and Germans. Magnussen.
+ Wace, in his Metrical History of Normandy, speaking
of Duke Richard in 1030, says,
Richart ki volt son dreit tenir
J
xxvi
INTRODUCTION.
descendants of the Scandinavian conquerors of
Neustria, and continually recruited from their
kinsmen in the north, were the most polished and
chivalrous of the time; and it is notorious that the
chiefs who accompanied William to the Conquest
of England (within the period of which we are
speaking), looked upon the uncouth manners of
the Anglo-Saxon nobles with undisguised con-
tempt.
The difficulties, therefore, which the first preach-
ers of Christianity in Scandinavia had to encounter,
may be attributed rather to the contempt in which
these lawless warriors held a creed which threat-
ened them with a life of peace and inactivity, than
to barbarous ignorance or even to any bigoted ad-
herence to their ancient religion.
-
When St. Olaf, to whose zeal is due the estab-
lishment of Christianity in Norway, proposed to
Gauka Thor to be baptized :" the chief answered:
"That he and his comrade (Stall-broder) were
neither Christians nor Heathens, but trusted to
their own courage, strength, and fortune, with
which until then they had had every reason to be
satisfied. But if the king was very anxious they
should believe on some god, they were as well con-
De Danemarche fist venir
Daneis e bons combatturs
Ki lui firent si grant meneurs.”
INTRODUCTION.
xxvii
tent to believe on the white Christ5 as on any
other."6 In like manner Arnliot Gellina told the
same king: "That he had always been wont to
put his trust in nothing but his own strength,
which had never failed him, and that he had now
thought to trust in the king; but, since he, the
king, was so desirous that he should be baptized,
although he was not aware what the white Christ
was capable of performing, for the king's sake he
would believe on him."7 It was also said of
Hrolf Krake and his warriors, at a much earlier
period, that they never offered to the gods, but re-
lied on their own strength. Some, although unin-
structed in the doctrines of Christianity, rejected
the superstitions of their countrymen, from more
exalted motives. "When Thorkel Maane was
on the point of death, he directed that he should
be taken out into the broad sunshine, and there
commending his spirit to the God who created the
sun, breathed his last.8 We are told also that
Thorkel Krafla and Ingemund the old, worshipped
the God who created the sun. The death of the
latter was truly heroic. Having received treache-
rously a mortal wound from one on whom he had
5 So called because those to be baptized were clothed in
white.
• St. Olaf's Saga.
7 Ibid.
• Landmanna Saga.
2.
xxviii
INTRODUCTION.
previously conferred benefits, he resolutely sought
to conceal it in order to enable his murderer to
escape from the vengeance of his sons.
9
The most learned of the enquirers into the early
history of the north, seem to be agreed that the
three kingdoms of Sweden, Denmark, and Nor-
way, after having long continued separately here-
ditary under the descendants of Odin, who appear,
in Sweden especially, to have exercised at once
the functions of king and priest; split by degrees
into numerous petty sovereignties, the chiefs of
which under the titles of kings, jarls, &c. enjoyed
an almost absolute power.
Their subjects were divided into Herses (the great
land-holders), free peasants, and slaves. The elder
son of the Herse inherited his father's estate, and
the others sought to make their fortunes either by
piracy ( Vikingskab), or by entering into the service
of some foreign prince, but chiefly by the former.10
During this state of society the Scald,11 or
Bard, formed an important part, not only of the
court of each petty prince, but also of the estab-
lishment of the more powerful nobles, always ac-
9 Suhm, Schöning, Finn Magnussen, &c.
10 Magnussen.
The word Sculd or Scaled, means, literally, a smoother
of language, from skaldre to polish; in like manner the Saxon
name for a poet was scop or sceop, from sceoppan to shape.
Heary.
INTRODUCTION.
xxix
companying them to war; undertaking difficult or
delicate negociations; and often acting at the same
time as bard, counsellor, and warrior. No idea of
effeminacy was coupled with this calling, but on
the contrary, the best Scald was usually the boldest
warrior, and, indeed, it was considered as essen-
tial to an accomplished chief to be able to make
At table, the Scalds usually occupied the
seats of honour, and their songs abounded with al-
lusions to the feats and attributes of the gods of the
Edda so much so, that without an intimate ac-
quaintance with the Scandinavian Mythology, it is
impossible thoroughly to understand them.
verses.
M
Towards the latter end of the ninth century, am-
bitious and able princes succeeded, in each of the
three kingdoms, in uniting the various petty sove-
reignties into one; a revolution, however, which,
especially in Norway, was not effected without a
long and bloody struggle, and the destruction of
most of the families of the ancient chiefs. About
the same time Christianity began to obtain a firm
footing in the north. Bishops and Priests arrived
from England and from Rome, introducing, with
the religion of Christ, the language and literature
of Roman Paganism. The occupation of the
Scald was now rapidly departing, and the change
of religion, the new form of government, the wars,
which arose from civil dissensions, from foreign
conquests, from alliances, and from religious dis-
putes, at length effected a complete revolution in
*
XXX
INTRODUCTION.
K
the habits of the people. Their fables and re...
gends were by degrees forgotten, and the zealous
promoters of Christianity omitted nothing to de-
stroy all reliques of the ancient superstition. The
language itself, particularly in Denmark, under-
went such a change, that the old Danish¹³ was no
longer intelligible.
After Harald Haarfager (or the fair-haired) had
completed the subjection of the petty sovereignties
in Norway, most of the chiefs who had opposed him
fled the country, either from fear of his resent-
ment, or from love of independence, and sought
for establishments elsewhere. Iceland had been
discovered by a Norwegian a short time previ-
ously; and, as its climate had little to terrify men
accustomed to the bleak mountains of Norway, or
to a life spent chiefly upon the ocean, Ingulf and
Hiorlef, about the year 847, found no difficulty in
conducting thither a colony, composed, for the
most part, of men of the principal families of Nor-
way.
12
The island, although equal in extent to Ireland,
possesses but little fertile land, consisting chiefly
of vast mountain ridges, the narrow dells between
which, however, afford good pasture for cattle;
and according to ancient documents, which there
12 P. E. Müller.
13 The language spoken originally by the whole Scandina-
vian family was called, generally, the Danish.
INTRODUCTION.
xxxi
is no reason to doubt, it was at this time well
wooded. Each chief took possession of the tract
which best suited him, and a republican form of
government of the most simple kind, was now es-
tablished. The colonists of this new republic, in
changing their country, did not abandon their an-
cient habits and pursuits. The summer was spent
chiefly in piratical expeditions, and, during the
long, dreary winter, the principal amusement con-
sisted in festive meetings in the spacious drinking-
houses of the wealthy, where, whilst the mead and
ale went round, the Scald excited the emulation of
his hearers by reciting the feats of their ancestors,
or the most renowned events of the passing day,
an accurate knowledge of which was considered an
essential part of his art.
Hither repaired many of the most turbulent and
celebrated characters of the three northern king-
doms, often from necessity. As might have been
expected, they were in perpetual feuds with each
other; and, it being considered infamous to suffer
bloodshed to pass unavenged, a quarrel between
two individuals was invariably taken up by all
their relatives and adherents, and was often pro-
ductive of the most fatal results. It was, how-
ever, permitted, and indeed usual, to accept of a
pecuniary compensation for the life of a kinsman
or follower. 15
14 P. E. Müller.
15 The same practice and a very similar state of society
فت .
xxxii
INTRODUCTION.
Public meetings were frequent in the new re-
public. Beside marriage and burial feasts, which
often lasted whole weeks, there were festivities
peculiar to each bailiwick, consisting chiefly in
dancing and wrestling; Horse-meetings (Heste-
thing), where the amusement was to irritate horses
to fight; quarterly meetings; and, above all, one
great annual meeting, called All-thing, to be ab-
sent from which was considered a serious reproach.
16
At these meetings the influence of each indivi-
dual was in proportion to the number of his adhe-
rents, or Thing-men, which, in turn depended on
his reputation for courage, strength, or talent; in
short, on his power to protect the interests of his
followers. Hence the art, to turn a rival into ri-
dicule by means of satirical verses, became a talent
highly esteemed, and we find in the Icelandic
Sagas, that the most distinguished warriors had
often recourse to this weapon, and that the deadly
Holmgang" was not unfrequently preceded by a
war of verse.
continues amongst the Arab tribes to this day, vid. Wellsted's
Arabia.
16 P. E. Müller.
17 Holm signifies an island, or any isolated spot. In the
Holm-gang the two combatants were placed within a circle
of stones, and he who quitted it alive, without taking the life
of his adversary, was looked on as a Nidding,—a term of
contempt which none in our language will adequately con-
INTRODUCTION.
xxxiii
The improved administration in those parts of
Europe which had long afforded a rich plunder to
the northern Sea-kings, had encreased the dangers
and diminished the profits of piracy, and the pro-
gress of Christianity tended gradually to abolish it
altogether, but, in other respects, the state of so-
ciety in Iceland remained unchanged.
The manner of life of the islanders was calcu-
lated to cherish a spirit of poetry when once it had
been awakened. They had scarcely any corn, and
their pastoral occupations gave them but little em-
ployment, excepting during the hay harvest, when
all quarrels were by law suspended. Their warlike
operations were also, necessarily, upon a limited
scale. A contest in which ten men fell was con-
sidered bloody, and their expeditions were rarely
prolonged beyond a few weeks at a time. For se-
curity's sake, however, they lived assembled toge-
ther in large farm-houses; and spent the winter-
evenings in story-telling or in talking over their
feuds. To be skilled in the art of narrating ad-
ventures was therefore the most esteemed talent,
and the surest method of securing everywhere a
warm reception.18
vey. The Kniv-gang was still more murderous: the com-
batants were tied together with a girdle, and with the short
knives still worn by the Norwegian peasants, stabbed each
other to death. Instances of this latter kind of duel have
taken place at no distant period.
18 P. E. Müller.
с
xxxiv
INTRODUCTION.
L.
:
P. Erasmus Müller from whose interesting work
this brief review of the state of society in Iceland,
from the ninth to the thirteenth century, is almost
literally taken, gives, amongst others, the following
extracts, in illustration of the simplicity of those
manners, and of the powerful influence of the
Scalds.
"As Bolle Bollesen, a bold Icelander, was on a
journey through the land, a peasant by the way
mocked him, and afterwards fell upon him. But
Bolle overcame him, and from this feat and jour-
ney a new Saga arose, which soon spread through
the Bailiwick, and greatly augmented Bolle's re-
putation." 19 In Gisle Sursson's Saga a stranger
is introduced, who says to his neighbour in the
public assembly, "Shew me the men of celebrity
about whom Sagas have been written."
In fact, almost all the Sagas are composed of
narratives of the feuds of individuals or families, or
of descriptions of particular places. They are of
ten, however, of high interest, not merely because
they furnish original pictures of a singular state of
society, but also because of the very ancient and
curious accounts which they contain of the distant
countries visited by their heroes; the high impor-
tance, frequently, of the events in which they took
part; and the light which is thrown on the con-
temporary manners and history of various nations
19 Laxdala Saga.
INTRODUCTION.
XXXV
of the period, and, particularly, of those of Great
Britain and Ireland.
In the words of Müller: "The Scalds belong to
the heroic age of the north, which existed in Ice-
land long after it was extinct everywhere else."
And in another place: "The importance attached
by the Scandinavians to the delineation of cha-
racter is evident from the language itself, which is
much richer than any other of Europe in all terms
expressive of characteristic qualities, whether of
mind or body, so as to be able to convey the
strength, weakness, obstinacy, quarrelsome or
peaceable disposition of every individual in its
finest shades." It was not, therefore, until some-
time after the race of Scalds was extinct in the
three great Scandinavian kingdoms, that those of
Iceland attained their highest perfection. Their
fame spread abroad, and the successful examples
of Eigil Skalagrimson and of some others, encou-
raged them to perfect themselves, and to travel
from court to court in search of fame and profit.
We accordingly hear of them in the courts of En-
gland, Ireland, Scotland, Norway, Sweden, Den-
mark, the courts of the Orkneys, and in various
other places. In the year 1000, Christianity was
established by law in Iceland. Fifty years after-
wards the first school was founded there, and Latin
books introduced. The preceding cultivation of
mind, and the circumstances of the climate, were
the causes, probably, why more attention was paid
xxxvi
INTRODUCTION.
to literature there than in the busy, turbulent king-
doms of Sweden, Denmark, and Norway. The
Kristnis-Saga informs us that towards the end of
the eleventh century, many Icelanders were learned
enough to have been made priests; and, in fact,
several were so; and in the twelfth century, Ice-
land possessed several considerable collections of
books, 20
The new learning which accompanied the intro-
duction of Christianity, did not stand in the same
opposition to the old as it did in the other parts of
the north. Christianity had not been imposed on
Iceland by force, but was introduced partly through
the influence of the principal persons of the island,
and partly by the example of the mother-country;
nor did the influence of the bishops depend upon
their power over the mind of a superstitious king,
but rather on their personal qualities or on their
kindred. So early even as the commencement of
the thirteenth century an Interdict was but little
regarded; and in 1213, the Archbishop of Dron-
theim was obliged to use the utmost caution in pro-
ceeding against the chiefs of the republic, who had
cruelly maltreated one of their bishops." During
several centuries the Icelandic bishops were se-
lected from the principal families of the island.
Their temporary residence in a foreign country
20 P. E. Müller.
21 Ibid.
INTRODUCTION.
xxxvii
had not entirely extinguished their nationality;
and they were content to encourage the new lite-
rature without seeking to eradicate the old. As
the Roman letters and the art of writing came into
general use, it was natural that the more enlight-
ened should be desirous to secure their ancient
traditions from oblivion. We find, accordingly,
that Are Frode, who lived about this time, and
somewhat later, Sæmund Frode,22 are considered
the earliest Icelandic historians; and, in the en-
suing century, Snorro Sturleson, and the monks
Gunnlang and Oddur, composed their histories
chiefly from oral traditions.
It has thus been attempted to show how the pe-
culiar situation and state of society of Iceland, may
explain the seemingly improbable fact, that the
traditions of the ancient religion and history of the
great Scandinavian family should have been pre-
served and cherished amongst these its least fa-
voured children, when they were altogether for-
gotten by those of the more flourishing branches.
But revolutions found their way hither also.
By means of intermarriages, most of the estates in
Iceland fell at length into the hands of a few fa-
milies; and towards the beginning of the twelfth
century, there were chiefs in the island so power-
ful, that two, at feud, rode to the Thing, the one
22 Frode signifies the wise
xxxviii
INTRODUCTION.
?
with 700, and the other with 1200 followers.23 In
this altered state of things a solitary individual
could possess but little weight, and the influence
of public opinion rapidly diminished. From the
middle of the twelfth century the three sons of the
turbulent Sturle; namely, Snorro, the historian,
Thord, and Sieghvart, were the leading men of the
island; and the history of the republic ends with
the parricidical contests of this family, which caused
their own destruction and that of their country.
In the year 1262, Iceland was united to the
crown of Norway. By this revolution it was in-
deed freed from the miseries brought upon it by its
turbulent chiefs; but all interest in public affairs
thenceforth died away, and no Sagas were written,
because there was nothing to write about. They
were replaced by dry chronicles, which also ceased
with the great plague in 1350, and were not re-
sumed until so late as the seventeenth century."
During the latter troubles of the republic, the
prosperity of the island had much suffered; the
wealth of individuals disappeared; large estates
fell to the crown and were neglected; commerce
died away under monopolies and injudicious regu-
lations; travels abroad ceased; and, lastly, fire
and water, the sea and volcanoes combined to sink
this devoted land to that state of poverty and misery
in which it now languishes.
24
23 P. E. Müller.
24 Ibid.
INTRODUCTION.
xxxix
C
Thus, gradually, and by a natural course of
events, all memory of the ancient manners, history,
and religion of the north, was lost to the world.
The old Scandinavian language, however, was
still preserved pure in Iceland; and the poor, but
not wholly illiterate, peasant, treasured up in his
cabin the smoky parchments in which were pre-
served the events of the olden times, and often ex-
cited the wonder of his family by reading to them
the wild relations of the Scalds, or the more pre-
cious relics of the Northern Mythology. Until
the latter end of the sixteenth century all know-
ledge of the religion of heathen Scandinavia, pos-
sessed by other nations, was confined to what
could be gleaned from the works of Paulus Diaco-
nus, Adam of Bremen, and Saxo Grammaticus.
The first was a Lombard of the latter end of the
eighth century; the second a Canon of Bremen,
who wrote in the eleventh; and the last the secre-
tary of Bishop Absalom in the twelfth, more cele-
brated for the elegance of his Latin and for his
classical attainments, than for historical correct-
ness; and whose information respecting the Nor-
thern Mythology is obscured and disfigured by his
practice of decorating its deities with the inappro-
priate names of the gods of Rome.
In 1594 appeared a Danish translation of Snorro
Sturleson's Chronicle of the Kings of Norway,
written in the thirteenth century in Icelandic,
which threw an entirely new light on this hitherto
·
xl
INTRODUCTION.
obscure subject, and excited the further researches
of the learned in the north. One of the most ar-
dent in this pursuit was Arngrim Johnsen, who
died in 1648, and who, by his writings and indus-
try in procuring and decyphering old Icelandic
manuscripts, obtained a great mass of information
on the subject. Contemporary with him, and his
worthy coadjutor, was Bryniulf Svendsen, Bishop
of Iceland, who died in 1675. The former disco-
vered and sent to Olaus Wormius, in 1628, a
parchment copy of the Prose Edda, now in the
library of the University at Copenhagen, and
scarcely ten years afterwards, Bryniulf discovered
copies on parchment both of the Prose and Poetic
Eddas, and sent both to the Royal Library at
Copenhagen. The curiosity of the learned was
now greatly excited, and the cabin of every pea-
sant in Iceland was ransacked in search of parch-
ments. The result was the discovery of a vast
number of Sagas; some consisting of biographical
relations of persons who existed between the ninth
and thirteenth centuries; others extravagant fic-
tions; and others again a compound of both:
nearly all of which have found their way into the
libraries of Copenhagen, Upsala, and Stockholm;
and the most valuable are now in course of publi-
cation.25
Men of profound learning in Denmark and
25 P. E. Müller.
INTRODUCTION.
xli
Sweden undertook the illustration of these relics of
antiquity, and the names of Stephanius, Olaus
Wormius, Resenius, Th. Bartholin, Thormod
Torfæus, Arnas Magnæus, Gudmund Andersen,
Verelius, Scheffer, Rudbeck, Keysler, Dalin, and
Goranson, are familiar to those who have ever
turned their attention to the subject. A French-
man, Monsieur Mallet, however, was the first au-
thor who gave to this subject a popular dress, and
his coadjutor, Erichsen, contributed not a little to
the correctness and learning of his work,26 which
was translated into English by Dr. Percy.
In 1771, Suhm published his work "on the Hea-
then Religion and Worship in the North," the most
clear and comprehensive which had appeared on
the subject, and by his ingenious deductions drew
the attention of the learned, particularly in Den-
mark and Germany, still more strongly to the sub-
ject, which now seems to have been exhausted, by
a long list of writers of eminence.27
In England, however, it appears hitherto to have
awakened but little interest. Mr. Cottle trans-
lated into English the Edda of Sæmund. The
26 Monumens de la Mythologie et de la Poesie des Celtes,
&c. 1756.
27 Schlözer, Herder, Thorlacius, Finn Johnsen, Thorkelin,
Sandtvig, Gräter, Abrahamsen, Bastholm, Nyerup, Grundt-
vig, Finn Magnussen, Rafn, Mohne, Möller, Müller, Ling,
Henneberg, Vonder Hagen, &c.
xlii
INTRODUCTION.
I
T
I
•
Honourable William Herbert, in the second vo-
lume of his Miscellaneous Poetry, has given, in
elegant verse, translations of detached pieces of
Icelandic poetry, with illustrative notes, and Dr.
Henderson has appended to his "Journey through
Iceland" a treatise on Icelandic poetry; but be-
side these, Sir W. Scott's account of the Eyrbiggia
Saga, Weber's N. Romances, and the translation
of Mallet's Northern Antiquities, the writer is not
aware of any work in English tending to throw
material light on this interesting subject.28
It may not be out of place here to give a concise
account of the two Eddas.
There are two works which bear the title of
Edda; the one in verse, and the other in prose.
The first may be considered a symbolical work on
the Scandinavian Mythology: the latter a kind of
commentary on the former. The Elder, or Poe-
tical Edda, was long attributed to the Icelander
Sæmund, surnamed Frode or the learned, who
was a priest in Iceland towards the latter end of
29
28 To this list should be added the short account of the
religion of Odin, in Mr. S. Turner's Hist. of Anglo-Saxons,
and the still more concise summary in this book of the
church, also some articles which appeared in the early num-
bers of the Foreign Quarterly Review.
29 Various interpretations have been given of the meaning
of the word "Edda," which in Icelandic signifies simply
"the Great-Grandmother."
INTRODUCTION.
xliii
the eleventh century, and from his great love for
the heathen traditions, and the songs of the old
Scalds, acquired amongst his countrymen the repu-
tation of a magician, which he still retains. There
is every reason to believe, however, that the greater
part if not the whole of the poems of the Elder
Edda are of a very much earlier date, and that
Sæmund had the merit of collecting them from
oral traditions, or possibly from Runic manuscripts,
and of thus preserving them from oblivion. Of
these anonymous poems or songs there are extant
about forty, the meaning of many passages in
which is very obscure, but not so much so but
that those, well versed in the Icelandic language,
render them nearly in the same manner. Some of
these songs treat of Theogony and Cosmogony;
some of the adventures of the gods; one is com-
posed of riddles; others treat of magic, sorcery,
enchantments; a part of the Havamal, of Ethics;
the remainder, of the feats of heroes.
The Prose, or, as it is more usually entitled, the
Younger Edda, is, undoubtedly, of much later
date, but it does not appear that Snorro Sturlesen
was more than the compiler and continuer of it;
and it may be attributed with more probability to
the same Sæmund who was wrongly esteemed the
author of the Poetic Edda. It is composed of
First-Mythological Fables or, as they have been
termed, Parables, containing (a) "Gylfa-Ginning,"
or “the manner in which Gylfe was deceived,”
xliv
INTRODUCTION.
which Dr. Percy has translated into English from
Mallet's French translation, (b) Braga-rædur, or
the conversation of Bragi with Ægir.
Second-The Kenningar, a collection of epithets
and metaphors employed by the Scalds, illustrated
by fragments from their compositions and from the
Elder Edda.
Third-The Scalda, or Poet's book, containing
three treatises: (a) On the Icelandic characters
and alphabet; (b) on grammatical, rhetorical, and
poetical figures; (c) on prosody.30
30 The above account of the two Eddas is taken from
Professor Finn Magnussen's translation of the Poetic Edda.
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
CHAPTER I.
GENERAL VIEW OF THE SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
ANCIENT Mythology has been considered by some
as a mere collection of extravagant and, now, un-
meaning fables, and as such unworthy of serious
attention: on the other hand, it has been de-
scribed, as the medium by which the history and
philosophy of mighty nations, long since passed
away, the opinions held by the earliest heathen
legislators, respecting God, Providence, and the
Universe, have been handed down, allegorically,
to later generations. Lord Bacon has compared
the fabulous portion of history "to a veil inter-
posed between the present and the first ages of the
world;" and that curiosity can scarcely merit the
1 Heyne.
2 De Sapientiâ veterûm.
B
19
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
*
reproach of idleness, or tend otherwise than to
enlarge and elevate the mind, which leads us to
inquire concerning the nature of doctrines, which,
however erroneous, have exercised a powerful and
enduring influence on the destinies of mankind.
But such inquiry assumes a far higher importance
when we reflect on the striking resemblance that,
amid the variety of extravagant fictions in which
the undirected imagination of these primitive phi-
losophers indulged, has been found to pervade the
Mythologies of all the great heathen nations: a
resemblance, remarks Sir W. Jones, "too strong
to be accidental," and which extends to the reli-
gions of Greece, Italy, India, Egypt, Persia,
China, Phrygia, Phoenicia, Syria, the gothic
nations of Northern Europe, and even to those
of the American continent. "The conclusion to
be drawn from this unquestionable fact," adds the
same gifted writer, "is inevitable, viz. that a ge-
neral affinity must have existed between the most
distinguished inhabitants of the primitive world,
when they first deviated from the worship of the
only true God.” 3 Some writers, indeed, have
laboured with mistaken zeal, to prove that what-
ever is to be found good or elevated in the reli-
gious doctrines of the heathen nations, has been
³ Anniversary Discourse on the Hindus.
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
3
Co
derived from the Jewish or Christian religions:
thereby falling into the precise error of the Jews
themselves, who presumptuously conclude that the
miraculous dispensation by which they were so
long separated from the rest of mankind was in con-
sequence "of a peculiar fondness of the Almighty"
(to use the words of Bishop Warburton 4) for their
race, and not to preserve the memory of the one
God in the midst of an idolatrous world. That
all divine truth was not limited to the revelations
vouchsafed to the Jewish people has been suffi-
ciently shewn by Bishops Warburton,5 Horsley,"
and others, and the prophecies of Job and of
Balaam afford alone sufficient proof, that God's
warning voice was not at all times confined to the
children of Israel.
* Divine Leg. of Moses, book v. sec. 2.
5 Div. Leg. book ii.
6 Dissertation on the prophecies of the Messiah dispersed
among the heathen.
1
Thus much is certain, that hitherto no commu-
nity of men has been discovered, in any age, or
however uncivilized, entirely devoid of traditions,
more or less obscure, respecting the origin of the
world; and of a belief, more or less distinct, in a
state of existence after death. History teaches us,
moreover, that all the principal nations of anti-
!
4
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
quity had their peculiar theories respecting the
creation, which formed the principal subject of
their mysteries, and were the foundation of their
popular worship. The cosmogonies of many of
these nations have been preserved to the present
time, some in obscure fragments, some nearly
entire, and afford an interesting subject of compa-
rison. The following is an abridged account of
the Cosmogony of the Scandinavians, as contained
in the Eddas:
"In the beginning there existed nothing save
one vast abyss, called Ginnungagap, (chaotic pit),
which was wholly void. One side of this abyss,
called Muspell, faced towards the south, and was
warm; the other, Niffl-heim, faced northwards,
and was cold. Out of Niffl-heim there rose a
spring, Hvergelmer, which existed before any-
thing else was created. It was full of poisons, and
its waters flowed by means of several great rivers
into the abyss. The largest of these rivers was
called Elivagar (the cold stormy waters), which
penetrated farther than the others, but in propor-
tion as it receded from its source flowed with a
weaker current, until on reaching the centre its
waters became so sluggish, that they could no
longer resist the cold, and thus became ice. Still,
7 Div. Leg. Book ii. sec. 4..
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
5
as the rivers flowed on the ice accumulated, so
that at length the whole abyss was filled up with
ice and rime. But in the process of time also the
heat from Muspell began to act on that portion of
the ice the nearest to it, until the whole by de-
grees was thawed, and from the thaw was pro-
duced the giant Ymer, whose immeasurable bulk
filled up a portion of the abyss. Ymer fell into a
deep sleep, during which a man and a woman
were generated under his left arm, and one foot
begat a son upon the other. From these are de-
scended the race of the Hrymthussar, or giants of
the frost. At the same time that Ymer, or the evil
principle (for the Edda tells us that he and all
his race were evil), was produced from the con-
tending elements, Alfadur, or the father of all
things, created the cow, Audumbla, from whose
udders flowed four streams of milk, by which
Ymer was nourished. She herself procured sus-
tenance by licking some stones on which the hoar
frost still lay, and which were salt. By this pro-
cess, within three days, they were moulded into a
man who was called Bure. He had a son Bur or
Börr, who married a maid of giant race named
Beyzla, or Belsta, by whom he had three sons,
Odin, Vile, and Ve. These three, shortly after
their birth, slew the giant Ymer, the blood from
whose wounds drowned the whole of the frost-
6
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
3
giants, with the exception of Bergelmer (the old
man of the mountain), who escaped with his wife
in a boat, and continued the race. After this,
Börr's sons took Ymer's body and set it in the
midst of the gulf Ginnungagap.
Of his flesh
they formed the earth, of his blood seas and wa-
ters, of his bones mountains, of his teeth rocks and
stones, of his hair all manner of plants. They
made the heavens out of his skull, and set four
dwarfs, whose names were East, West, North, and
South, at the four corners, to support it. They
took also fires from Muspelheim and fixed them
in heaven, above and below, to light up the heaven
and the earth. And they determined the course
of all meteors and heavenly bodies, some in the
heavens, some under the heavens. Moreover, they
threw up Ymer's brains into the air, where they
became clouds, and formed Midgard of his eye-
brows."
Such is the account of the creation of the uni-
verse given in the Prose Edda, the author of
which has put in the shape of a continuous narra-
tive details collected from several of the Mytho-
logical Poems or Songs, which compose what is
called the Elder or Poetic Edda. In the Vo-
luspa, or the Song of the Prophetess, the most in-
teresting of them all, as well on account of the
evident marks which it bears of remote antiquity,
A
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
7
as of the loftiness of its language, and the poetry
of its conception, a Vala or Prophetess, probably
Urda, the Norny of the past, from a high seat,
informs the gods and the numerous race of lesser
deities, assembled in intent silence around her, of
the mystery of their creation, and of the destruc-
tion which must one day overtake them. She
begins as follows:-
1.
Listen to my tale,
Ye holy beings,
High and low,
Of the race of Heimdall!
I will narrate the deeds
Of the sire of the slain,
With old traditions,
The oldest I remember.
2.
I bring to mind the giants,
Born betimes:
They who, of yore,
Fostered my childhood,
I can tell of nine worlds,
And nine heavens,
Of the lordly central tree,
Beneath the earth.
3.
It was the morn of time,
When nothing was,
Nor sand nor sea,
Nor cold billows,
Nowhere could earth be found,
Cyngor
8
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
:
par mama
Nor the high heaven,
There was a boundless gulph
Without thing that groweth.
4.
Until the sons of Börr
Gave life to clay,
They who constructed
The lordly Midgard.
Soel from the south
Shone on its walls,
When earth was decked
With verdant plants.
In like manner, in another of these songs, the
Grimnersmaal, to which we shall have occasion to
refer presently, we are told by Odin himself:-
From Ymer's corpse
Earth was created:
From his blood the sea;
Plants from his hair;
The heavens from his front;
From his brows
The wild gods formed
Midgard, for the sons of men ;
Whilst from his brains
The hard blowing clouds
Came into being.
wake wang
Notwithstanding the extravagant wildness of
the preceding fiction, thus much at least may be
elicited from it; that its inventors believed in one
supreme, eternal, and omnipotent being (Alfadur),
to whom they assigned no origin, and respecting
•
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
9
whose nature and attributes they presumed not to
conjecture. They intended also plainly to in-
culcate that matter was eternal, and in its nature
evil, whilst good could proceed only from the
allwise Alfadur.9
Finn Magnussen views the Scandinavian Cos-
mogony as an allegory, which he thus interprets :-
The giant Ymer represents the chaotic state of
the earth, produced by the combined effects of
heat and cold upon water, which according to the
belief of all nations, and to the account of the
Holy Scriptures themselves, was the first existing
8
• Mysterious allusions to the supreme being occur from
time to time in the poems of the Elder Edda. Thus in
Hyndla's song,
Yet there shall come
Another mightier,
Altho' him
I dare not name.
Further onward
Few can see,
Than when Odin
Meets the wolf.
9 The eternity of the world, remarks Bastholm, is an in-
vention of modern philosophers; but the ancients, whilst they
steered clear of this absurdity, believed in the eternity of
matter, because they could not comprehend how the world
could have been produced out of nothing. (Bastholm over
de ældste Folkes-lægters rel. og philos. Meiningen).
L
J
1
1
I
10
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
to
matter. The cow Andumbla, he thinks not an
inapt symbol of the atmosphere, which surrounded
the chaotic earth, and might be said to nourish it.
The production of a nobler being, Bure, from the
salt stones might denote the emersion of the earth
from the ocean. His son Börr, the heavenly
mountain Caucasus, called by the Persians Borz,
and which plays so prominent a part in the earliest
mythologies almost of all nations. From his
union with Bestla, or Belsta, were produced
three powerful beings, Odin, Vile, and Ve. Air
Light, and Fire, which put an end to the chaos,
or, in the words of the allegory, slew the giant
Ymer.10
But whatever may be concluded as to the real
meaning of the Scandinavian Cosmogony, we
should be careful lest the extravagance of its de-
tails lead us to too hasty conclusions with respect
to the ignorance or barbarousness of the people by
whom it was received, for upon examination we
shall find that the notions entertained on this sub-
ject, by the most enlightened nations of antiquity,
were scarcely more intelligible.
The doctrine of the Egyptians did not differ
widely from that of the Scandinavians. According
to Diodorus, they taught that there was an original
10 Magnussen Edda Lære, vol. i. p. 29.
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
11
chaos, from which the world was formed by mo-
tion, and the action of the sun, or of fire, which
was worshipped by the ancient Egyptians, as the
supreme deity, under the title of Phthas. The
earth, when separated from the waters, began to
ferment, and through this fermentation all animals
came into existence.11
The ancient Chaldeans also taught that the
world was produced from a chaos, composed of
water and darkness, but inhabited by various
monsters, who were destroyed by Bel, the sun.
In like manner as Odin and his brethren destroy
Ymer, and from his body form the universe; Bel
cuts in twain the giantess Omorca, and converts
the two halves of her body into heaven and earth.
In other respects the Chaldean allegory, whilst it
strongly resembles, may be said to surpass in ex-
travagance, the Scandinavian.12
The Cosmogony of the Phoenicians, that active
and intelligent people to whom probably Greece,
and the whole of Europe chiefly owe their early
civilization and religious worship, as far as we can
judge from the fragments handed down to us, was
still more extravagant than those we have cited.13
11 Diod. Bibl. Hist.
12 Berosi Chaldæi fragmenta in fab. Bibl. Græc. v. 14.
13 Sanconiatho in frag. Philonis.
?
12
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
:
:
According to the ancient Greek Cosmogony, as
contained in the fragments of the songs of Or-
pheus, preserved by Athenagoras, water was the
principle of all things. From water was produced
a slough or mud, and from this again a monster
with three heads, of which one was like that of a
god, one of a lion, and one of an ox. This mon-
ster however was a god, and produced an egg,
of the top of which was formed heaven (Uranos),
of the bottom, earth (Ge). From the union of
these two were produced, first, the three fates,
Klotho, Lachesis, and Atropos, and then the giants
and cyclops, who rebelling against heaven, were
cast down to Tartarus. The Titans, also, were
the offspring of the earth, and from them des-
cended the gods.
It would lead us too far from our subject to
detail the cosmogonic theories of the Persians,
Chinese, and the different Indian sects, all of which
are easily accessible to the curious reader. Each
of these nations, as has been already stated, had a
peculiar theory, all in their most important parti-
culars strongly resembling each other, all evidently
distorted copies of one divine original. Striking
indeed, as Magnussen remarks, is the contrast
between the sublime simplicity of the account
of the creation as given in the book of Genesis,
and the laboured and monstrous allegories which
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
13
compose the heathen cosmogonies. And yet if we
duly consider these venerable traditions, we shall
find that the light of truth, which through especial
revelation was preserved in all its purity to the
descendants of Israel, although greatly dimmed,
was not altogether extinguished amongst the hea-
thens. This may be said more especially of the
Persians and Hindoos. The Zend-Avesta (living
word) of the former, and the Vedas of the latter,
have been deemed by wise and good men 14 to
contain the remnants of divine revelation. The
religious doctrines of the other ancient nations
have been almost entirely lost, but the resem-
blance of their cosmogonies to each other, and
to the Mosaic account, afford a striking corro-
boration of the truth of the divine mission of the
Hebrew legislator, and of his account of the de-
rivation of all the nations of the earth from one
original stock. Almost all the heathen nations, as
Magnussen remarks, recognised one supreme God,
eternal, almighty, creator of the universe, enthroned
in the highest heavens; but whilst the Jews, taught
by inspired prophets, worshipped the one God in
14 Amongst those of our own countrymen who held this
opinion, may be cited the distinguished names of Bryant,
Hyde, Holwell, Bishop Horsley, and Sir William Jones.
14
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
Spirit and in truth; and rightly viewed the angels
of heaven, the cherubim and seraphim, and Elohim
as the mere servants of his will; the heathens gra-
dually lost sight of this great truth,15 and deified
in proportion to their ignorance and to the artifices
of their priests, men, the elements, brutes, and at
length, even stocks and stones.16 But to return
to the doctrines of the Scandinavians, we have.
already shewn how Odin and his two brothers
formed the world out of the body of the giant.
Ymer. We shall now give a description of that
event in the words of the poet Oehlenschläger.
Thor, the god of thunder, and the sworn foe of the
giants, is engaged in a discussion with Utgardelok,
their king, on the nobility of their respective
descents, in the course of which, the dæmon-mon-
arch addresses his adversary as follows:
In being's earliest dawn,
All was one dark abyss,
Nor heaven, nor earth was known,
Chill noxious fogs and ice,
North from murk Niffl-heim's hole,
Piled up in mountains lay;
15 A considerable portion of Bryant's learned work, the
Analysis of Ancient Mythology, is devoted to the proof, that
the earliest defection to idolatry consisted in the adoration of
the sun, and the worship of dæmons, styled Baalim.
16 Magnussen Edda Lære, vol. i.
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
15
From Muspell's radiant pole,
South-wards fire held the sway.
Thus after ages past,
Mid in the chaos, met
A warm breath, Niffl-heim's blast:
Cold with prolific heat:
Hence pregnant drops were formed,
Which, by the parent air,
From Muspell's region, warmed
Produced great Aurgelmer. 17
He was the mighty root
Of all our ancient race,
Which now, from light shut out,
In caves their days must pass;
High as thou hold'st thine head,
Say where was then thy car?
18 The hammer-swinger said
Now lend to me an ear:
Thy vaunt, how little worth,
My plain tale soon shall show!
The hour brought Ymer forth,
Saw, too, the mystic cow;
She shaped the cold salt stone,
Whence Bure our parent stood:
66
17 The giants and the gods had each their peculiar language,
Aurgelmer was the name which the giants gave to Ymer.
18 A favorite epithet of Thor, from his celebrated hammer.
He always, in his expeditions, used a car drawn by two goats,
no horse being sufficiently strong to carry him.
NA SAINT K
16
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
:
No vapourous root, we own,
But breathing flesh and blood.
"With beauty, strength and power,
Him, great Alfader bless'd;
His son was mighty Börr
Who the tall Bestla press'd.
The maid was good and fair,
Though of a giant race;
Their birth, hence spirits of air,
Elves, Aser, Vaner, trace.
"Need was the primal powers
Should ripen and unite,
Ere that, such race as ours,
Could fitly come to light;
The oak, the forest's sire,
Long in the earth must grow,
Ere empyreal fire
From its gross limbs can flow."
After bringing to his memory the destruction of
Ymer by the three sons of Bore, Thor proceeds:
I' the gulf his body hurled
Odin and Vile and Ve;
Thereout to form the world:
His blood, the boundless sea,
His flesh they turn to earth,
His bones to mountains high,
His teeth as rocks spring forth,
His brains, clouds upwards fly.
They take his shaggy brows
And build fair Midgard's towers
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
17
Which with a fence they close
'Gainst Utgard's demon powers;
His spacious vaulted front
Aloft the brethren threw,
It formed the firmament,
And Freya 19 tinged it blue.
Oehlenschläger.
We next come to the creation of man, which is
thus described in the prose Edda. "Gangler
asked, whence came men, who dwell upon earth?
Har answered, as Bör's sons went out to the sea-
shore, they found two trees; out of which they
created man. Odin gave spirit and life; Vile, un-
derstanding and vigour; Ve, form, speech, hear-
ing and sight." In the Voluspa we are told that
it was Odin who gave the spirit (soul); Honer,
understanding; and Loder, blood and a fair com-
plexion.
Askur and Embla hight,
The first of human kind;
Their home the spirits of light
In Midgard's realms assigned;
The countless human race,
Their praise on earth who sing,
From these their lineage trace;
All from one couple spring.
Oehlenschläger.
C
19 Freya, the goddess of Love and Beauty, the Scandi-
navian Venus.
į
18
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
+
The word Askur signifies an Ash; Embla has
been said also to mean Elm, but this is not so
certain. The Greeks had a similar belief; Hesiod
tells us 20 that Zeus created men from ash-trees,
and the nymphs of the ash-tree (Melia) were said
to be sprung from the blood of Saturn, and to have
been the mothers of the human race. The gods
took for their own habitation the celestial city,
Asgard; Utgard, or the outermost abode, was
allotted to the Giants. The Aser, the Giants, and
the Human race, however, were not the only in-
habitants of the universe. There existed various
other beings, and nine distinct worlds for their
abode. In the Voluspa the prophetess says,
I call to mind nine worlds
And nine heavens.
The Giant Vafthrudner also boasts of having seen
the nine worlds, and the dwarf Alvis tells Thor,
All the nine worlds
Have I travelled through,
And every being known.
The prose Edda says: "Bad men go to Hela, and
from her to Nifl-hel, that is down to the ninth
world."
1
20 Ergai kai Emerai.
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
19
I.
Magnussen classes these nine worlds as follows:
Gimle, the residence of the supreme being,
with its world, from whence the light Elves
first had their origin; Gimle is to be the
abode of the good after the destruction of
the universe.
V.
II. Muspel, or Muspelheim, the region of the
genii of fire.
III. Godheim, or Asgard, the residence of the
Gods, or Aser; the starry firmament.
IV. Vanaheim, the home of the Vaner, or spirits
of air; also called Vindheim, or the home
of the winds; the atmosphere.·
Man-heim, or Midgard, the residence of
man, the middle residence, being equally
removed from Gimle and from Nifl-heim.
VI. Jotunheim, the home of the Jotuns, or
Giants; also called Utgard, or the outer
residence, as being placed outside the great
sea which surrounded the earth, in which
lay Jormungandur the serpent.
VII. The world of the Black Elves, or evil de-
mons, spirits of Darkness and of the
Dwarfs.
VIII. Helheim, the home of Hela the goddess of
death; the abode of those who die inglo-
riously of sickness.
Ix. Nifl-heim, the lowest of all the worlds, in
}
20.
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
which is the river Elivaga, and the poi-
sonous well Hvergelmer, which, after the
destruction of the world, is to serve as a
place of punishment for evil men. Nas-
troud, which was to serve the same pur-
pose, was also here.
Of the worlds above enumerated and their inha-
bitants, seven were transitory and to be destroyed
at the great catastrophe of Ragnarockur, the twi-
light of the Gods; two only, Gimle and Nifl-heim
were to endure for ever; the former as a place of
happiness for the virtuous, the latter of punishment
for evil doers. We shall have occasion to describe
all these regions more particularly in the course of
the following chapters, and in the mean time, with
a view to a more distinct understanding of their
order and relation, the reader is referred to the
annexed engraving, borrowed from Finn Mag-
nussen's elaborate work on the Doctrine of the
Eddas, where he will find the position of each of
the nine worlds clearly marked out.
As it is the object of the present chapter to pre-
sent a general outline of the whole system of the
northern Mythology, previously to examining in
detail its respective parts, we shall proceed, in
imitation of Heiberg, to touch briefly on its prin-
cipal points, and to enumerate the various beings
of which it is composed. And first it will be ne-
-
1
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
21
cessary to explain the meaning of the term Aser,
by which the northern gods are usually designated.
The word As or Asa (pl. Aser) amongst the an-
cient Scandinavians, appears to have been nearly
synonymous with Lord,21 and to have been a title
applied to persons of an elevated rank, whether
deities or mortals.
According to Snorro Sturleseu, the celebrated
Icelandic historian, and reputed author of the
prose Edda, the Aser were a tribe settled on the
Tanais, whose capital was called As-gaard, or As-
hof, (Azov) which two words are synonymous, and
signify merely the "residence of the Aser." A
number of these Aser, under their prince or chief
priest, Odin, left their country, and penetrated
through Russia into Scandinavia, which they con-
quered, dispossessing the ancient inhabitants, pro-
bably Celts, and introducing their own language,
manners, and religion.
In the Edda, however, the title of Aser is given
only to the principal deities, of whom, besides
21 According to Bryant the word As, Ees, or Is, was a title
of the sun. In like manner in Phoenician, Ad signified Lord,
and often occurs compounded, as Ad-On, the Lord Sun;
whence Adonis, Ad-Or, &c. &c. It was sometimes com-
pounded with itself, as Ad-ad, Lord of lords. Ham, the son
of Noah, was sometimes styled Ad-Ham, which appellation
has given rise to much mistake.—Analysis of Aucient Mythol.
谨
​22
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
4.
Odin, there were twelve; viz. Thor, Baldur, Niord,
Freyr, Bragi, Heimdall, Hoeder, Vidar, Ali or
Vali, Uller, Forsete, and Loke or Loptur. There
were likewise Asynier, or goddesses, who enjoyed
equal power with the Aser. The Aser were bene-
volent spirits, the friends of man, emanating from
the good principle, but not immortal. Their so-
vereignty over the world was to cease at Ragna-
rokkur, or the great battle, the twilight of the
gods, when they and their eternal enemies, the
Giants, were mutually to destroy each other, and
the whole earth was to be consumed. They dwelt
in the celestial Asgard, which was placed in the
centre of the universe, and which will be more
particularly described hereafter.
Odin's wife was Frea or Frigga, by whom he
had his first born, Thor, the strongest and most
formidable of the Aser, and the mortal foe of
the Giants. Their second son was Balder, the
fair, the wise, the merciful, the lover of peace.
His death is the principal event in the Mytholo-
gical drama of the Scandinavians, being fore-
doomed to serve as the prognostic of the approach-
ing destruction of the universe, and of the gods
themselves. The next to Balder in rank was
Niord, by birth one of the Vaner, and lord of the
winds. The Vaner seem to have been a people
with whom the Aser, at a remote period of their
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
23
history, before their migration northwards, had
much intercourse. The Edda tells us of a war
between them, at the conclusion of which Niord
remained a hostage with the Aser. After this he
married Skada, a daughter of the giant Thiasse,
but had had previously by his sister, whom he had
espoused according to the law of the Vaner, two
children, Freyr and Freya. Freyr was high-
minded and benevolent, fair to look on, lord of
the sun and summer rains, and of the fruits of
the earth. His sister, Freya, was the goddess of
beauty and of love, the Scandinavian Venus.
Besides these there were Tyr, the god of battles,
another son of Odin, as would appear from the
Eddas, by a giant woman; Bragi, the god of poe-
try and song, whose wife Iduna plays a conspicu-
ous part, from the circumstance that she possessed
certain apples of such virtue, that by eating of
them the gods were exempted from the conse-
quences of old age, and retained unimpaired the
freshness of youth. Heimdall, the warder of
Asgard, whose post was on the summit of Bifrost,
the rainbow, the bridge which connects earth and
heaven; Hodur and Vidar, the one blind, the
other dumb. Lastly, there were Forsete, the son
of Balder and the god of justice, and Ægir, the
god of the sea, whose wife Ran, was hideous and
cruel, the chief cause of shipwrecks and the terror
24
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
of sailors. Ægir was of giant race, but received
amongst the Aser. Last, although not the least
important, comes Asa-Loke, the most busy and
prominent actor of the Scandinavian Mythology.
Descended from the giants he was, notwithstand-
ing, received amongst the spirits of light. He
retained, however, all the vices of his race; though
eloquent and fair of form, he was cowardly, trea-
cherous, and cruel, ever plotting against his bene-
factors, of whose destruction he at length proves
the cause.
He is called Asa-Loke, to distinguish
him from Utgard's-Loke, a giant or evil demon,
and king of the lower world, Utgard (or the
outer residence) being, as already remarked, the
abode of the infernal deities of the Scandinavians.
As son of a giant, Asa-Loke claimed the advan-
tages of his connexion, and had frequent inter-
course with his infernal relatives. Both giants
and gods, however, distrusted him, and he, not
unfrequently, received punishment at the hands of
both. The Edda describes his laughter as terrible,
making the hearer shudder. By his wife, Signi,
he had a son, Narfe, and by an amour with a
giant woman, Augerbode, the three monsters;
Fenris, the wolf; the great serpent, Jormungan-
dur; and Hela, the queen of death, the constant
source of terror to the gods, as destined to prove
the chief engines of their destruction.
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
25
Besides the Aser and the Giants, the Scandina-
vian Mythology included various subordinate in-
telligencies, the most important of which were the
dwarfs, sprung from the decaying body of Ymer,
who form a connecting link between the Aser and
the Giants, in their nature partaking of evil and
good, but most inclined to evil. They lived be-
neath the earth, and could not endure the light of
the sun.
Akin to these, but devoid of their evil qualities,
were the Alfs or Elves, fair and well proportioned,
cherished by the Aser and friends of man.
The Valkyrs were the especial messengers of
Odin, in his character of god of battles. Their
province, as their name denotes, was, before the
commencement of a battle, to select the warriors
who were to fall during the contest. Such a death
was considered an especial favour, as it secured to
the slain an immediate passage to Valhalla, where
these warlike maids served them as cupbearers.
The translated warriors were called Einheriar, and
were to compose the army of Odin at the last com-
bat.
The great Ash Ygg-drasill, which Magnussen
conjectures to be a symbol of the earth in its orga-
nized state, in like manner as the giant Ymer
represents the earth, in a state of chaos, forms an
important feature in the Scandinavian Mythology.
26
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
In this also we find the same contest betwixt good
and evil, which pervades the whole Mythology.
Two of its roots spring from the infernal regions,
the third from the abode of the gods. Various
beings are incessantly employed in its destruction,
whilst the three Nornies or fates, Urda, Verdandi,
and Skulda, (the past the present and the future),
prolong its existence by watering it continually
from Urda's well. Its branches extend over earth
and heaven. Four stags who nip off the young
buds have been explained by Gräter and Finn
Magnussen, as symbolical of the four winds, by
Grundtvig more poetically, if not more justly, of
time.
Night was the daughter of a Giant; she married
an Aser, Delling, (the dawn), and by him had a
son, the Day. Odin placed both mother and son
in Asgard, gave to each a horse and car, and
directed them to traverse the heavens unceasingly.
Night's horse was called Hrymfaxe, or the dewy-
mane, for by the shaking of his mane dew-drops
were scattered over the face of the earth. The
horse of Day was called Skin-faxe, or the shining
mane, because from his mane rays of light were
emanated throughout the universe. Besides these,
Soel and Maane, the sun and moon, travelled
daily in cars the same route; the former was
daughter, the latter son of Mundilfaxe. Their course
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
27
was hurried, for they were in continual fear of two
wolves who followed seeking to devour them.
The winter was ruled by a giant in the shape of
an eagle, who sat at the north pole, surrounded by
ice and snow, and the waving of whose wings pro-
duced the bleak north wind. He is thus described
in the Elder Edda:-
J
K
The giant Hrsuelgur,
At the end of heaven,
Sits in an eagle's form;
'Tis said that from his wings
The cold winds sweep
Over all nations. 22
Vafthrudvers maal.
The fitle Hrsuelgur signifies the devourer of
carrion, a title equally applicable to the eagle, and
as Heiberg suggests to the bleak north wind, of
which he is the personification, which dissipates
noisome unwholesome vapours. The lord of sum-
mer was called Svosödur, the sweet and pleasant,
but is not particularly described.
The remainder of the Mythology consists in
22 “The Chippewyan Indians believe that originally the
globe was one vast ocean inhabited by no creature except a
mighty bird, whose eyes were fire and whose glances lightning
and the clapping of whose wings were thunder. On his
descent to the ocean and on his approaching it, the earth
instantly rose up and remained on the surface."
Mackenzie's Travels, p. 126.
:
28
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
narrations of the various feats of the gods, and
particularly of their adventures with the giants.
The chief event in the drama, as has been already
said, is the death of Baldur, brought about through
the agency of Loke. The gods, after taking a
fearful vengeance on the traitor, consult anxiously
together how to avert the fate, of which his death
was to be the forerunner. Odin descends to the
tomb of a deceased vala or prophetess, to seek to
extract from her the secrets of the dead; but his
journey is profitless, and he returns convinced of
the necessity of submitting to the decrees of destiny,
and that Ragnarokkur must at length arrive, when
the wolf Fenris will break his chain, the huge
serpent awakening from his stupor escape from
his ocean prison, Surtur, the god of fire, leading
on the Giants and the children of Muspell, storm
Asgard, and gods, giants and the universe perish
in one common ruin.
By the decree, however, of the eternal Alfadur,
who, during this terrific struggle remains on high,
a tranquil spectator, a new earth will arise from
the sea, fairer and more verdant than the old, the
gods will be recalled to life, and the human race
be renewed from one couple, miraculously pre-
served.
Of the old universe, two portions only will re-
main, one turned towards the south, the other to
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
29
the north, Gimle and Nastroud. The former com-
posed of pure gold and destined to be the place of
abode for good and just men. The latter con-
structed of poisonous serpents and to be the place
of punishment for perjurers, murderers, and the
seducers of other men's wives.
Men forsworn,
And wolf-like murderers,
And they who beguile
The wives of others.
Voluspa.
It remains, lastly, to speak of the dwellings of
the gods.
Their abode, Asgard, in the centre of the uni-
verse, has already been alluded to. In this great
city, as the Edda calls it, each of the principal
deities had a residence, apart from the rest, and all
these residences are enumerated and particularly
described in one of the poems of the Elder Edda.
They were twelve in number, and denominated
as follows:-
1. Ydale, the residence of the god
2. Alfheim,
3. Valaskialf,
4. Soequabeck,
5. Gladsheim,
•
6. Thrymheim,
7. Breidablik,
8. Himmelbjeig,
9. Folkvangur, .
•
•
Uller
Freyr
Vale
Saga
Odin
Skada
Baldur
Heimdale
Freya
30
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
10. Glitner, the residence of
11. Noatun,
12. Landvide,
•
Forsete
Njord
Vidar
Besides these twelve, there was Thrudheim, the
residence of Thor, the Thunder god; but these
celestial residences have a claim to our attention,
beyond that which they could have derived from
the simple fact that they were the dwelling-places
of the deities enumerated, for it has been shewn
by Finn Magnussen,23 that they were invented for
astronomical purposes, and that they hold the place
of the zodiac in the astronomy of the ancient Scan-
dinavians. In the introduction, we have endea-
voured to shew that this people were far removed
from being so rude and barbarous as they have
usually been considered.
We know that the worship of the stars prevailed
throughout the East, and especially amongst those
nations from whom the Scandinavians more imme-
diately derived their origin. To the latter, from
their maritime position and habits an accurate ob-
servation of the heavenly bodies became almost
indispensable. According to Herodotus, the Egyp-
tians, who worshipped the twelve great gods, were
the first who divided their year into twelve equal
parts or months, consecrating one part to each of
their gods, and marking the divisions by certain
23 Den Ældse Edda, vol. i. p. 134.
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
31
groups
of stars, in or near the sun's course through
the heavens, to which they affixed names.
Whether the honour of this invention be due to
them, or to the Chaldeans, it is certain that the
practice was adopted either in imitation, or by
original discovery, by almost every considerable
nation upon earth, for example, by the Persians,
Hebrews, Syrians, Hindoos, Chinese, Arabians,
Japanese, Siamese, Goths, and by the inhabitants
of Java, of Mexico, and of Peru. The Scandina-
vians also divided their year into twelve parts or
months, and had twelve principal deities, to each
of whom a month was consecrated, and each of whom
had a celestial palace in Asgard. In like manner
as the Romans, who, we know, borrowed the
practice from the Egyptians, and that at a late
period of their history under the emperors, the
Scandinavians divided also their time into weeks of
seven days, and consecrated the days of their week
to the sun, moon, and five of their principal deities.
It is not improbable therefore, that having retained
so much of the eastern worship, they should not
have been altogether ignorant of the division of the
ecliptic into twelve parts. We shall not however
pause to discuss this question, but proceed without
further preface to give an account of the Grim-
nersmaal, the poem in which these palaces are
described together with the commentary of Finn
Magnussen, in illustration thereof.
This poem,
32
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
P
which forms a part of the Elder Edda, is preceded
by a prose introduction, entitled
66
A TALE ABOUT KING HRODUng's sons.
Hrodung, king of the Goths, had two sons,
Agnar and Geirrod, the one ten, the other eight
years of age. One day that they were alone fish-
ing, their boat was driven out to sea, and, after
tossing about for some time, was wrecked on an
island. Having got to shore, they were hospitably
received by a poor peasant and his wife, who
proved to be Odin and Frigga in disguise. Odin
adopted Geirrod, and Frigga, Agnar, as their
foster children, and took care of them for a whole
winter, during which time Odin instructed Geirrod
in many things; and when the spring came, gave
the two lads a vessel in which to return home.
As he and Frigga were accompanying them to the
shore, he talked apart with Geirrod for an hour.
With a favourable wind the youths reached their
father's kingdom. Geirrod, who was in the bow,
leaped at once on shore, and kicking the boat from
him cried, "Float away into the power of the
evil spirits." The skiff drifted out to sea with the
elder brother, and Geirrod hastened to the town,
where, his father being dead, he was well received
by the people, who made him their king, and he
came to be much considered.
T
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
33
Odin and Frigga sat in Hlidskialf and looked
out over the whole world. Odin said, behold now
Agnar, your foster son, how he is poor and a wan-
derer, whilst my foster son, Geirrod, though his
younger brother, is a king, and rules over his fa-
ther's realm. Frigga replied, that Geirrod was a
pitiful niggard, who starved his guests when he
thought they were too numerous. Odin refused to
credit the fact, and they made a wager upon it.
Frigga despatched her confidential hand-maiden,
Fulla, to Geirrod, to warn him to be on his guard,
for that his life was in danger from a wise man,
who was at that time in his kingdom. She gave
him as a sign by which the stranger might be dis-
covered, that no dog, however fierce, would ven-
ture to attack him.
Although it was not true that Geirród was in-
hospitable, he now issued orders to seize the man
whom no dog would attack. One was brought to
him clad in a blue Peltz, who said that his name was
Grimner (the disguised), but however questioned
he would give no further account of himself. With
a view to force him to confess, king Geirrod or-
dered him to be placed between two huge fires, and
to receive no food. In this state he continued
eight nights, when the king's son, a boy of ten years
old, called Agnar after his uncle, reached him a
full horn to drink, saying, that his father did ill to
D
34
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
punish one who was innocent.
Grimner drank
out the horn, but by this time the heat of the fire
had so increased that his fur cloak began to burn,
when he thus sang,
Hot art thou grasping flame!
And all too powerful,
Let me go from the fire!
The fur is singed,
Though I gather it up
The Peltz burns upon me.
Eight nights have I sat
Here, between the fires,
And no man
像
​Hath offered me food:
Save Agnar alone,
Who shall rule the land of the Goths,
The son of Geirrod.
Hail to thee, Agnar !
Good fortune bids thee now
Be the ruler of heroes!
For a drink
Never shalt thou
Enjoy richer reward.
After this prophetic rhapsody, Odin proceeds with
his celestial song as follows:
Holy is the land
Which I see before me,
Near to the Aser and the Elves.
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
35
But in Thrudheim,
Shall Thor abide,
Until the gods are no more.
Thrudheim is the atmosphere between the hea-
venly Asgard and the earth, the proper residence
of Thor, the god of thunder. The twelve celestial
residences are next described; the first is Ydale,
the abode of the god Uller, to whom the first month
of the Scandinavian year was dedicated, commenc-
ing with the entrance of the sun into Sagittarius,
and including the period from November 22 to
December 21. Of Uller the prose Edda tells
us, that he is the best of archers, that snow flakes
and hail are his arrows, that he runs so swift on
snow shoes or skees, that no one can cope with
him. He was said to be of a fair and warlike ap-
pearance, and was lord of the snows and of the
chase, which in the north usually begins with the
first snow.
The second celestial habitation was called Alf-
heim, the land of the Light Elves. It was the
abode of Freyr, and given to him by the Aser, in
the morning of time, when he received his first
teeth. Freyr was the god of the sun, and to him
was consecrated the second month, commencing
at the winter solstice, when the days begin to
lengthen and the sun may be said to be born again.
In the same manner the Egyptians celebrated the
36
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
p
birth of their sun-god, Horus; and the Romans
called the winter solstice "natalitia invicti Solis."
Freyr and Freya were twin children of Njord, the
god of the sea and air. The Edda tells us, that
"Njord begat in Noatun two children, Freyr
and Freya. They were fair and noble, and Freyr
rules over rain and sunshine, and the fruits of the
earth. He is to be prayed to for a good year and
for peace, and it is he who dispenses blessings to
mankind." In like manner the Greeks pretended
that Apollo and Diana were the children of La-
tona, who, like Njord, was the personification of
the lower atmosphere, or of the ocean. In the
third month the sun entered Valaskialf, which the
Edda tells us the god Vale acquired for himself in
the morning of time. Vale was a son of Odin
and Rinde (Rind), a personification of the frozen,
unfruitful earth, and was brave and a good archer.
The name of this month was Liosberi, or the light-
bringer, and it extended from January 21 to Feb-
ruary 19. The Christian Anglo-Saxons called it
the sun month, and formerly in the north it was the
custom to celebrate at this period the mid-winter
festival, by lighting up the houses with torches,
and making bonfires on the heights. In place of
this feast the Catholics instituted Candlemas, or
the feast of torches, and Candlemas is still denoted
on the Swedish and Norwegian Primstaves, or
¿
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
37
Rimestocks, the wooden almanacks in use amongst
the peasants, by a lighted torch, in like manner as
the winter solstice by a bale-fire. In place of the
rejoicings of the great mid-winter festival, were
substituted the merrymakings of the Carnival. A
similar festival (Ambarvalia) was held at this time
by the Romans.
The Catholic priests seem to have dexterously
substituted St. Paul, whose festival is held on the
25th of January, for Vale. It is marked on the
primstaves by a bow, and the peasants who call
the saint, Paul the archer, or Paul with the bow,
believe him to have been a warrior, who fought in
the morning and prayed in the afternoon. St.
Valentine also, whose feast is early in February,
puts us in mind of the deposed Vale. Valaskialf
was said to be white, and roofed with silver; a
poetical and not inapt representation of the effect
of the reflection of the snow-covered earth on a
clear frosty sky.
In the fourth month, from February 19 to
March 19, the sun was in Socquaboek (the deep
brook), where Odin and Saga drink every day out
of golden cups. Magnussen remarks that Saga
here is put for Urda, and with great propriety,
Saga being the goddess of history and tradition,
Urda the norny of the past. In this month the
sun begins to thaw the snows, and to fill the brooks
38
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
SE
and rivers, and in some parts of England it is still
called Fillbrook. Urda's well is the source of all
fertilizing waters, and answers to the sign of the
fishes in the Greek Zodiac.
In the fifth month the sun was in Gladsheim,
the abode of Odin, and the entrance to the radiant
Valhalla, the general place of assembly for all the
gods, whose roof is composed of shields and spears.
Easily can they
Who come to Odin,
Perceive and know Valhalla.
The roof is decked with spears,
The hall covered with shields,
The benches strewed with helmets.
West before the gate
Hangs a wolf,
An eagle soars above it.
The wolf and the eagle were probably constel-
lations, as it appears that these two animals, as
well as the raven, were attributes of Odin. Glad-
sheim, answers to the sign of the ram, in which
falls the vernal equinox, designated by various
eastern nations, and by the Greeks also, the gates
of heaven.
In the sixth month, from April 21 to May 20,
the sun was in Thrymheim, which answers to the
sign of the bull.
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
39
Thrymheim the sixth is called,
Where Thiasse dwelt of yore,
The powerful giant:
But Skada now inhabits,
(The chaste Aser's bride)
Her father's ancient halls.
The giant Thiasse here spoken of was slain by
Thor, and the gods gave his residence to Skada,
on her marriage with Njord. As the new married
couple could not agree about their place of abode,
it was settled that Skada should remain with her
husband, at Noatun, for three successive days, and
then return for nine, to her paternal mountains.
Magnussen thus explains this fable: "The sum-
mer of the ancients began with this month, and
Thiasse, the genius of winter, is represented as slain
by Thor, the god of thunder, which in mountainous
regions, such as Caucasus, where this fiction pro-
bably originated, or at least in Sweden and Nor-
way, begins once again to be heard. Skada is a
personification of the clear, penetrating wind of
spring, which loves the mountains, and partakes
of the nature of winter and of summer. Thor,
having slain Thiasse, is said to have thrown his
eyes up to heaven, where they became stars.
The seventh solar house is called Breidablik
(the wide shining), and is the dwelling place of the
5
40
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
A
fair and gentle Baldur. This fairest of months,
including the period from the 21st of May to the
summer solstice, was fitly consecrated to him who
was beloved of gods and men, and for whose un-
timely fate everything in nature wept. From the
end of this month the days get shorter, and night
slowly resumes her reign, which is figured by the
death of Baldur, through the agency of the blind
god, Hodur, the symbol of night, who in his turn
is slain by the young Vale.
The eighth month begins at the solstice. The
sun being now at its highest, its house is called
“the celestial mount." Here dwells Heimdall,
the heavenly watchman, who stands on the summit
of the rainbow. His golden teeth and golden
maned horse, and the declaration" that he is the
whitest or brightest of the Aser," are evident al-
lusions to the splendour and brilliancy of the sun
at this season. He is also called Hallinskeide (the
declining), for the sun now begins to decline in
the heavens. As at midsummer, in the northern
latitudes, night can scarcely be said to exist; the
Edda informs us that Heimdall requires less sleep
than a bird, and that his sight is equally pene-
trating by day and by night. His exquisite hear-
ing, which can detect the. wool growing on the
sheep's back, may be intended to denote the still-
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
41
•
ness which pervades all nature during the great
heats prevalent at this season.24
In the ninth month the sun is in Folk-vangur,
the residence of the goddess Freya. The word
Folk-vangur signifies a meadow or field, filled
with people. This month ending on the 23rd of
August, and including the dog-days, is the month
of harvest, and appropriately consecrated to the
goddess of love and fruitfulness. She is also the
queen of the night, the goddess of the moon; and
the planet Venus in the north bore her name.
The tenth solar house was called Glitner, and
belonged to Forsete, the son of Baldur.
Glitner is the tenth.
On golden columns rests
The silver dome of its hall :
There dwells Forsete.
·
Forsete is the god of justice; he holds a Thing at
Urda's well, and from his tribunal gods and men
depart reconciled and satisfied. In this month
falls the autumnal equinox, assumed as the symbol
of equality and justice. In the north it was the
custom to suspend all feuds during the harvest,
24 Magnussen remarks after Rudbeek (Atlantica 11. 30.)
on the resemblance between Heimdall and the Greek Hermes,
who presided over the same month.
42
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
I
and a solemn Thing was held yearly at this season.
The word Forsete signifies "president."
The eleventh month was consecrated to Njord,
who lives in Noatun. Njord controls the course
of the winds, and checks the raging of the sea and
of fire; he is the beneficent deity of the sea, in op-
position to Ægir and Ran. Noatun is said to be by
the sea side, probably because the sun, now in
northern latitudes, fast lessening his diurnal arches,
appears to approach nearer and nearer to the sea.
G
At length in the twelfth month, from November
21 to December 22, the sun enters Landvide, the
abode of the sullen, dumb god, Vidar.
With osiers and with
High grass is overgrown
Landvide, the house of Vidar :
Thence the son descends
Quick from his horse's back
To avenge his sire.
The leaves have now fallen from the trees, dense
fogs obscure the heavens, and all nature seems de-
pressed. In mournful silence this month outlives
its elder and more cheerful brethren, as Vidar
himself survives the other gods, and avenges the
death of his father, Odin, on the wolf Fenris.
Besides these twelve heavenly palaces on which
we have dwelt at such length, Odin enumerates
the sacred rivers, and the various mystic animals, .
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
43
the ravens, the wolves, the goats, the stags; de-
scribes also the Ash Yggdrasill, the Valkyrs, and
lastly gives fifty-five of his own names. All this
divine instruction may have been intended as a
part of the reward of the young Agnar, and the
enumeration of his names probably as an indica-
tion to Geirrod of his real character. Geirrod,
however, overcome by the pleasures of the table,
gives no heed to his discourse, and Odin, at length,
losing patience, pronounces his death doom in
these words:
Geirrod! thou hast thy reward-
Thou art overcome with drink—
The mead hath stupified thee:
Great was thy loss
When my support went from thee:
The favour of Odin and the Einheriar.
Much have I laid open to thee;
Little hast thou heeded:
Thy friends disappear,
I, of my friend,
Behold the blade
Dripping with blood.
Sword-enfeebled spectre
Now shall Ygg25 receive:
I know thy life has passed away,
25 Ygg, a title of Odin.
44
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
The Nornies are wroth with thee:
Now mayest thou see Odin;
Approach me if thou canst.
King Geirrod was sitting with his sword lying
upon his knees, half drawn from the scabbard.
When he heard that it was Odin who addressed
him, he rose up suddenly from his seat to release
the god from between the fires. In the act of
rising, his sword slipped from his hand, and fell on
the hilt to the ground. The king stumbled and
fell forward, and the point of the sword entering
his breast gave him his death wound. Odin dis-
appeared, and Agnar long reigned over the land.
This story bears internal marks of great an-
tiquity, and was probably composed soon after the
introduction of the religion of Odin into the north.
Geirrod is said to have been a king of Reid-goth-
land, (which includes the district between the
Vistula and the Gulf of Finland,) who was slain
by Odin, and his son, Agnar, made king in his
place. With respect to some of its details, Mag-
nussen remarks that it was a very general super-
stition amongst heathen nations, that immortal
spirits, good or evil, although possessing the power
of assuming various forms, yet could not divest
their eyes of a preternatural expression; a super-
stition which gave rise to that of the evil eye so
prevalent still in the east, and not wholly extinct
G
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
45
in the north.
In explanation of the torture to
which Odin was subjected, he tells us also that
the heathen inhabitants of Caucasus believed that
this was the most effectual mode of rendering
harmless the machinations of sorcerers. The blue
mantle in which Odin was enveloped was an indi-
cation of his celestial character.
In conclusion, for a fuller understanding of the
northern zodiac, as explained by Magnussen, we
refer the reader to the annexed calendar, taken
together with the preceding explanation, from that
learned writer's annotations on the Elder Edda.
In addition to the heavenly palaces already de-
scribed, the Eddas mention Vingolf the place of
assemblage for the goddesses, as Valhalla for the
gods, and Fensale, Frigga's favourite seat.26
26 In the east also the divisions of the Zodiac are called the
twelve houses of the sun, represented by the twelve palaces
in the celebrated Egyptian Labyrinth.
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
Calendar of the ancient Scandinavians, as explained by Professor Finn Magnussen.
Sun
enters.
Signs.
↑ Sagittarius Nov. 22
Capricornus Dec. 21
***** Aquarius
M
* Pisces
n Aries
8 Taurus
II Gemini
Cancer
N Leo
my Virgo
Libra
m Scorpio
Northern
Solar House.
Y dale
1.
Mar. 19
April 21
II. Alfheim
Jan. 21 III. Valaskialf
Deity.
Uller
V.
V. Gladsheim
Freyr
Vale
Feb. 19 IV. Socquabeck Saga
In this month, now called Goa, in Sweden Goja, a
solemn feast was held at Upsala, where the chief
amusements were drinking and poetical recitations.
Hropt, or Odin The vernal equinox.
VI. Thrymheim Skade
May 21 VII. Breidablik Balder
June 23 VIII. Himmelbjerg Heimdall
July 23 IX. Folkvang
Aug. 23 X. Glitner
Sept. 23 XI. Noatun
Oct. 23 XII. Landvide
Freya
Forsete
Remarks.
The old name of this month was Yler, Uller consi-
dered the deity of winter.
Njord
Vidar
The birth of Freyr or the sun-god, the real feast of
Juul or Jule, the mother night, the winter solstice.
In this month, termed the light-bringer, was cele-
brated the feast of torches, and in the northernmost
countries that of Juul itself, the sun now first be-
coming visible.
This month was called Harpa or Harpeu, and was
considered as the commencement of summer.
The finest month of the year, called of old the sun's
month, Balder, a symbol of the summer sun.
The summer solstice, formerly the festival of Balder
and Heimdall, now St. John's day.
The warmest month, harvest.
Autumnal equinox.
The great autumnal feast, now Michaelmas.
The fall of the leaf, the mournful month which sur-
vives the rest.
CHAPTER II.
ODIN THE ORIGIN OF POETRY-VALHALLA-THE EIN-
HERIAR—THE VALKYRS—ODIN's Horse, SLEIPNER
-FRIGGA-HERTHA.
MUCH learning and research have been employed
in the attempt to ascertain who was the individual
who bore the name of Odin, and how and when
that religion, of which he was the supreme deity,
was first established in Scandinavia. Until com-
paratively a late period, so little communication
existed between those parts of Europe in which
his religion prevailed, and the more civilized por-
tions of the world, that a question of this nature
must necessarily be involved in much obscurity.
As it is the object of the present work to give
only a general view of the superstitions of Pagan
Scandinavia, it will be sufficient here to state
briefly those points on which the most learned of
the northern antiquarians are of accord.
It is generally agreed that there must have been
more than one individual who bore the name of
Odin.¹ Under any other supposition it would be
Antiquarians have widely differed respecting the etymo-
1
i
...
48
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
F
impossible to reconcile the contradictions of the
Edda.
At one time he is represented as the primal
cause of all things, creator of the universe: at
logy of the word Odin, some pretending that it was originally
Wodan, others Guodan or Guode, whence Gode, Gud, God,
the title of the supreme being in Danish, German, and En-
glish. Others, again, that God was the original title from
which the others were derived. There can be but little
doubt, as Suhm remarks, that Odin, Guodan, Godan, Wo-
dan, are but different ways of pronouncing the same word,
although it is not easy to determine which was the original.
It has been asserted that the Goths derived their name from
Godan, (by them pronounced Gothan) which would go far
in favour of that version; but we find that in Daghestan,
Auden is still a man's name, and as Odin no doubt came
from that neighbourhood, Suhm gives that name the pre-
ference. Auden is also used as a man's name in Norway,
and the Swedes, Danes, and Norwegians, the three principal
people of the north, called the supreme deity Odin.
The Sclavonian word Wodan or Woidan, signifies a leader,
but it is by no means clear that Odin or Wodan was ever
worshipped by a people of Sclavonic origin and language.
Odin signifies, in Russian, one; and Russia, we know at an
early period, was inhabited by a people nearly allied to the
old Scandinavians, and the received tradition also is that
Odin came into Scandinavia through Russia. It is not im-
possible, therefore, that the name may have been derived
from Odin (one), thus indicating the belief of the ancient
Scandinavians, in the unity of the supreme being. Wodan
has been derived from the Anglo-Saxon word Wod," raging,"
so called as being the god of war. (Suhm on Odin.)
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
49
another the conflicting elements of cold and heat
are the original cause, and Odin is the grandson
of the first being or god, and is to perish, and
another heaven and other gods are to replace him
and Valhalla. Sometimes he is represented as an
evil being, as outwitted, as near to perish by the
power of mere men.
The learned Bryant has observed that, in dis-
quisitions of this nature, great confusion has arisen
from not considering that, in many cases, deity
and priest were named alike, and this remark seems
peculiarly applicable in the case of Odin.
It has been assumed, however, that there were
three Odins, whose feats and adventures, like those
of the Grecian Hercules, have been confounded.
According to Suhm and Schöning, the first
Odin or Othin, (Authun) was never in Scandi-
navia, but lived, in times very remote, on the
shores of the Black sea, and was worshipped as
the supreme god of the Scythians.º
The second, a descendant or priest of the former,
is supposed to have lived in the time of Darius
Hystaspes, about 520 years before the birth of our
2 In a memoir read before l'Académie des Inscriptions, in
1823, M. Abel Remusat mentioned that inscriptions in
Runic characters, similar to those of the Scandinavians, had
been found near Mount Altai, and infers thence that the
Goths came originally from Tartary.
E
50
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
Lord; and, emigrating northwards, to have suc-
ceeded in making himself master of a great part of
Scandinavia, introducing a new worship, of which
he and his principal companions were the chief
divinities. He is said to have established himself
for a time on the banks of the Duna, where he
built a new Asgard.
About forty years before the birth of Christ, on
the overthrow of Mithridates, a third Odin, or,
as some pretend, Sigge, a Scythian prince, being
forced to quit his country, fled to Scandinavia,
where he found the religion of Odin already estab-
lished, and by his superior talents, instruction,
skill in arts reputed magical, viz. medicine, astro-
nomy, writing; and in war, not only assumed the
priesthood and with it the supreme authority for
himself and his descendants, but obtained also
divine honours.3
He first introduced into the north the custom of
burning the dead, and taught that the deceased
would have the benefit of all that was buried with
him, as also of the treasures which he himself con-
cealed in the earth during his life. The ashes of
deceased persons were to be thrown into the sea, or
deposited under ground, and Barrows were to be
3 Suhm cites instances of men deified in the north so late
as the ninth century.
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
51
raised over men of consideration; Bauta or monu-
mental stones over brave warriors.
Finding his end approaching, he caused himself
to be transfixed with spears, saying that he was
about to repair to Godheim, or Asgard, where he
would be ready to receive his friends.
One celebrated Danish antiquarian, Skule Thor-
lacius, sets the duration of Odin's religion between
the last century previous to the birth of our Sa-
viour, and the end of the tenth of the Christian
era. He is of opinion also, that the gods wor-
shipped in the north previously to the introduction
of this religion were not deified mortals, but ele-
mentary deities.
Suhm is of opinion that a communication was
kept up, from the time of the second Odin, be-
tween the north and the countries of the east; and
we know that there was a commerce between the
northern part of Russia, where he is supposed to
have long resided, and the Black sea. He seeks
thence to explain why all the barbarians from the
shores of the Baltic, who overran the Roman Em-
pire, took this course.4
Having thus briefly spoken of Odin as a his-
torical personage, we will proceed to the Odin of
the Edda.
+ Om Odin.
52
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
[
According to the Eddas, Odin was the first and
most powerful of the Aser; the father of Thor,
Baldur, &c. the creator of the world and of the
human race; the god of war, of poetry, and of
eloquence.
He was made acquainted with everything that
happened on earth through the agency of two
Ravens called Huggin and Mummin (observation
and memory,) which had been given to him by the
enchantress Hulda. They flew daily round the
world, and returning about the time that he sate
down to table in Valhalla, perched on each side of
his throne, and whispered in his ear all that they
had seen.
Hence he was called the raven-god.
He used always to speak in rhyme, and with
such eloquence, that every one believed whatever
he said. He was master of the art of effecting
wonders, by means of Runes, and could change
his form at will, and wander about the world in
the shape of birds, beasts, fishes, or reptiles, his
own body remaining in the mean time, to all ap-
pearance, in a profound sleep.
He was lord of the elements. In fight he could
blind the eyes of his enemies, and blunt their
swords. But his most important art was the secret
of mixing together various ingredients into a magic
ointment, by means of which he could work all
kinds of enchantments, and force the dead to rise
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
53
from their graves.5
This art was called Seid, and
hence one of his names was Seidmadr, or the
sorcerer.
Odin had several wives: First, Frea, or Frigga;
mother to Thor, Baldur, Bragi, Hermodur, and
Tyr. Second, Skada; mother to Semming. Third,
Grydur, by whom he had Vidar, and fourth,
Rinda, by whom he had Vale or Bo.
Besides these he had several other children by
different women, and indeed from the dissolute-
ness of his habits, and some actions which were
considered disgraceful, the gods were induced to
depose him for a time, although afterwards he was
held in greater esteem than ever.
He was in the habit of wandering about in dis-
guise, and often went to the land of the giants, in
order to get at the secrets which they possessed
respecting the events which had come to pass be-
fore the creation of the gods.
1
5 The ancient Scandinavians, like most of the people of
antiquity, believed that by certain arts men could waken up
the dead, and compel them to reveal the future. This power
was peculiarly attributed to Odin. His evocation of the dead
prophetess in the Vegtam's-quide or Song of the Wanderer,
is well known to the English reader through Gray's spirited
imitation. Snorro relates of his mortal Odin, that he would
sit under the corpses of hanging men to obtain from them
information respecting the other world.
54
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
The following story from the Braga-rædur, in
the prose Edda, is an entertaining specimen of the
adventures in which he was sometimes engaged,
and not an unfavourable one of Scandinavian wit.
66
THE ORIGIN OF POETRY.
Ægir or Hler, the god of the sea, who was not
originally one of the Aser, made a journey to
Asgard, where he was received with great dis-
tinction, and a banquet given in his honour. Bragi,
the god of eloquence, was placed next to him at
table, and whilst they were drinking, related many
of the ancient adventures of the Aser.
"Ægir having asked what was the origin of the
art called poetry! Bragi answered as follows.
"The Gods were at war with a nation called the
Vaner. Both parties having at length agreed to
conclude a peace, sent negociators to an appointed
place, each of whom, previously to his departure
from the place of meeting, spate in a vessel which
6 Pliny tells us that spitting was had recourse to to avert
witchcraft, or to give force to a blow to an enemy. Hence
the author of the Popular Antiquities derives the custom of
spitting in the hand previous to boxing, amongst the lower
orders. A more curious coincidence exists between the
ceremony here described and the custom on which he remarks,
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
55
had been placed for that purpose. The Aser after-
wards formed its contents into a man, whom they
named Quaser, and who was so wise that no one
could question him on any subject with which he
was not already acquainted.
"He travelled far and wide to instruct men,
and one day fell in with the dwarfs, Fjalar and
Gelar, who slew him and let his blood run into
two vessels, called Son and Bodn, and into a kettle
called Odrær. Having mixed this with honey,
the produce was mead of so rare a quality, that
whoever drank of it became a poet and a wise
man. They made the gods believe that Quaser
had been suffocated with wisdom, because no one
could be found capable of asking him sufficient
questions.
"Some time after this the two dwarfs invited a
giant, whose name was Gilling, to visit them, and
soon after his arrival proposed to him to row out
with them on the sea. When they had rowed
amongst boys when asseverating in a matter of consequence,
66
of spitting their faith." He tells us, moreover, that it is
usual in the north, in combination amongst the colliers, &c.
for the purpose of raising wages, to spit upon a stone together,
by way of cementing their confederacy, and that there is a
popular saying when persons agree in one manner of think-
ing, or are of the same party, that "they spit upon the same
stone."
56
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
some distance from the land, they ran the boat on
a ridge of rocks and upset it. Gilling, who could
not swim, was drowned, and the dwarfs then
righted the boat and rowed back to shore.
"The wife on learning the accident took it much
to heart, and began to lament loudly. Fjalar
asked her whether it would ease her mind to look
out on the spot where her husband had been
drowned. She said it would; upon which he told
his brother to go over the door-way and let a mill-
stone fall on her head as she went out, for that he
could not endure her noise. Gelar did as he was
desired.
"Suttung, Gilling's son, to revenge the murder
of his parents, seized the dwarfs, and set them on
a bare rock surrounded by the sea. They bewailed
their lot bitterly, and offered the incomparable
mead in ransom for their lives. Suttung accepted
it, and, taking it home with him, set his daughter
Gunlöde to watch it.
6
"It is from these circumstances, added Bragi,
that poetry received the epithets of Quaser's
blood,' the Dwarf's drink or quit-money, Odrær's,
or Son's, or Bodn's mead,7 &c. Ægir remarked
that these seemed to him strange appellations for
7
Appellations constantly made use of in the Songs of the
Scalds.
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
57
poetry. But how did the Aser get possession of
Suttung's mead? Bragi continued.
"Odin set out from Asgard, and arrived at a
place where nine thralls were cutting hay. He
offered to whet their scythes, and as they thank-
fully accepted his offer, he took a whetstone from
his belt and made the scythes so sharp, that the
thralls all became desirous of obtaining possession
of the stone. He said that he had no objection to
part with it, upon which they fell a-quarrelling
who should have it, and a contest ensued in which
they slew each other.
"Odin now went to seek lodging for the night
with Bauge, a giant, brother to Suttung; Bauge
lamented his ill-luck in having lost his nine thralls,
and said that he did not know where to obtain
other labourers, to get in the harvest. Odin, who
called himself Bölwerk, offered to undertake the
work of the nine men, on condition that Bauge
should obtain for him a draught of Suttung's mead.
"Bauge replied that this did not rest with him,
since Suttung kept it entirely for himself; but
that he would conduct him to the place where it
was kept, and aid him in obtaining possession of
it. During the summer Bölwerk performed the
work of the nine men, and when winter came de-
manded of Bauge the performance of his promise.
"Both accordingly set out for Suttung's resi-
58
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
dence, and Bauge informed his brother of what
he had promised Bölwerk, but Suttung, very
peremptorily, refused their request. Bölwerk then
called upon Bauge to aid him in getting possession
of the mead by artifice, to which Bauge consented.
“Bölwerk took an auger and desired Bauge to
bore through the mountain in which the mead was
kept under the care of Gunnlaug. Bauge set
about boring, and after a time said that he had
bored through. But Bölwerk blew into the hole,
and, as the dust flew outwards, he discovered that
Bauge wished to deceive him, and insisted that he
should bore it through completely. Bauge, there-
fore, having set to work afresh, Bölwerk blew
into the hole a second time, and the dust flew out
on the other side.
"He then changed himself into a worm and
crept through the hole. Bauge thrust after him
with the auger but without reaching him.
“Bölwerk remained with Gunnlaug three nights,
and so ingratiated himself that she allowed him to
take three draughts of the mead. In the first he
drank out Odreirr, in the second, Son, in the third,
Bodn, and thus secured the whole. He then
transformed himself into an eagle, and flew away
in great haste to Asgard.
"When Suttung saw the flight of the eagle, he
guessed what had happened, and taking his eagle's
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
59
dress also flew after him. The Aser, perceiving
the approach of Odin, set out vessels to catch the
mead, which Odin poured into them.
“But in his extreme anxiety, when Suttung was
close upon him, some of the liquor escaped, and
it is this which ever since has inspired bad poets."
The above is nearly a literal translation of the
story as given in the Prose Edda. It will not be
here out of place to give, as a specimen of the
poetry of the Edda, a literal translation of the frag-
ment in the Hava-mal, alluding to the same ad-
venture. It is Odin himself who speaks :-
A
•
"I sought the home of the old giant,
And I am now returned.
Silence availed me little there;
It was only by many words
That I attained my end
In Suttung's hall.
“Gunnlaug gave me,
From her golden seat,
A draught of the lordly mead,
An evil return,
GRA
• Verum quoniam Suttungus eum insequendo adeo pro-
pinquus urgeret, partem mulsi retrorsum e tergo emixit.
·Edda Sæmundar. Hafn. 1817.
60
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
She had from me,
For her fond love
For her burning passion.
I bade Rǎte's tooth'
Force a passage
And gnaw thro' the rock :
Above and below me
Were the haunts of the giants.
Thus put I my head in peril.
Well purchased beauty
I have well enjoyed—
Few things are wanting to the wise:
For Odreirer
Is now come up
To man's earthly abode.
Great is my doubt
That I had e'er escaped
From the home of the giants,
Had not Gunnlaug aided,
The kind-souled maiden,
Whom I held in my embrace.
The next day
Hied the Giants of the Frost
To enquire the fate of the high-one.
They enquired of Bölwerk,
In the high-one's hall;
9 Rate was the name of the auger with which Bauge
bored.
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
61
If he had reached the Gods
Or if Suttung had destroyed him.
An oath on the ring10
I trow Odin hath sworn.
How shall we believe his vows!
From Suttung
He hath stol'n his mead
And brought Gunnlaug to woe.¹¹
The principal titles of Odin were:-1. Alfadur
(the father of all things). 2. The lord of the
dead. 3. Har, Jafuhar, and Thridi, (the ex-
alted, the equal to the exalted, and the third 12)
4. The lord of life and death. 5. The Raven-
10 It was the custom with the Scandinavians, on solemn
occasions, to swear on a sacred ring, preserved in their tem-
ples.
11 Finn Magnussen declares the whole fable to be allego-
rical, and explains it as follows:-Odin, the god of heaven
or the sun, descends into the earth to fructify it, and give
birth to the productions from which man derives his
nourishment, and from which also are extracted the exhila-
rating liquors, (mead, ale, wine), which strengthen him, and
produce poetic inspirations. Suttung is the spirit of dark-
ness, with whom at the winter-solstice, many of the ancient
heathens believed that the sun had to undergo a severe
struggle for the mastery.
12 These names are given to him in the Grimnismal, and
are also those applied to the three persons to whom Gylfe
addresses his questions in the Prose Edda.
1
62
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
god. 6. The Wise-one. 7. Val-fader, (or the
father of the slain).13 8. The chooser of the slain,
&c.
M
But great as was Odin's power he was not om-
nipotent. He had, as we have seen, but a narrow
escape from the Giant Suttung, and on another
occasion, could only obtain a draught from Mi-
mer's well, on condition of leaving one of his eyes
in pawn.
On this account he was often repre-
sented as an old man with one eye, and was
called the one-eyed.
Thor was a greater favourite with many of the
Scandinavians, and indeed his worship seems to
have prevailed in the North previously to that of
Odin. Some are of opinion that Odin finding it
impossible wholly to eradicate the ancient religion,
had the art to engraft it on his own, rendering
Thor a subordinate divinity. Odin was princi-
pally worshipped in Denmark, Freyr in Sweden,
and Thor in Norway and Iceland: but the religion of
Odin prevailed in a greater or less degree through-
out Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Iceland, and was
received by the Saxons, Anglo-Saxons, Suevi,
Frisians, Germans, Goths, the inhabitants of Biar-
13 Val signifies the slain in battle-hence Val-fader, the
father of the slain; Val-halla, the hall of the slain; Val-
kyrier, the choosers of the slain.
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
63
meland, (Russia), the Russians of Holmgaard,
(Novogorod), Circassians, Alani or Aser, Hunns,
&c.14
Wednesday (Danice Onsdag) is named after
Odin. The hawk was sacred to him, and every
ninth year, ninety-nine of these birds or, in place
of them, an equal number of cocks were sacrificed
to him at Ledrun, Leira, or Lethra, in the island
of Zealand.15
Odin had three peculiar residences in Asgard.
1. Gladsheim, a vast hall where he presided over
the twelve Diar or Judges, whom he had appointed
to regulate the affairs of Asgard. 2. Valaskialf,
built of solid silver, in which there was an elevated
place, Hlidskialf, from his throne on which he
could perceive all that passed throughout the
whole earth. 3. Valhalla.
Of this last and most celebrated of his palaces
we shall now speak. The word, literally inter-
preted, signifies the hall of the slain. The Edda
tells us, that it was the place in which he received
14 Suhm, and Schöning, pretend that besides the three
Odins, already mentioned, there was another worshipped by
the Saxons, who came originally from Scania, and was a
descendant of the third Odin. He was a valiant warrior,
and reigned over Sleswic, and the Anglo-Saxons.
15 Bones of hawks and falcons are often found in the
tombs of Scandinavian warriors.
64
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
'.
L
the souls of warriors killed in battle,16 'who were
called Einheriar. It had five hundred and forty
gates, and a vast hall of gold, hung around with
golden shields, and spears, and coats of mail.
These Einheriar were in great number, and
were entertained by Odin, in order that they in
return might combat for him at Ragnarokur,
against the giants and spirits of fire. They passed
their day as follows:-In the morning they were
awakened by the crowing of a cock with a golden
comb, whose cries are to be the first signal of the
approach of the evil genii at the last day. Having
apparelled themselves they sallied out, eight hun-
dred at each of the gates of Valhalla, and spent
the forenoon in tilting, after which they returned
to the banqueting hall, where each one had a
place assigned to him according to his exploits.
Notwithstanding their great number, the flesh
of one boar was sufficient for them all. The name
of this boar was Sehrimner, and although eaten
every day, he was whole again in the evening.
His lard and fat prepared by the cook Andrimner
surpassed in flavour every thing in the world.
The goat Heidrun which derived its nourishment
from the leaves of the tree Leradur, furnished in
16 The old Persians, and Parthians believed that those
who fell in battle would be eternally happy.
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
65
>
place of milk mead enough to intoxicate all the
guests.
A certain number of Einheriar resided in that part
of Vingolf which belonged to the goddess Freya,
called Folkvangur, she, according to the Grim-
ners-maal, having a right to the souls of half of
those who fall in battle. No women were admitted
into Valhalla. The only females there were the
Valkyrs, whose office it was to wait on the Einhe-
riar and to pour out their mead.¹7
17 It will not be out of place here to remark, that the ac-
cusation under which the ancient Scandinavians so long la-
boured, that one of the pleasures of their deceased heroes in
Valhalla was to drink out of the sculls of their enemies, has
been shewn to be wholly without foundation. The passage
which has so generally given rise to this mistake is in the
well-known death-song of Regner Lodbrog, and runs as fol-
lows:-
"Drecksom bjor at bragdi
Ur bjug vidom hausa.”
literally translated:-" Soon shall we drink out of the
curved trees of the head," which, in the figurative language
of the Scalds, signifies no more than horns, the usual drinking
utensil. Olaus Wormius, the first who translated the song,
rendered the passage, ex concavis crateribus craniorum,"
a forced and incorrect interpretation, in which he was fol-
lowed by later translators, and by all the historians; and Bar-
tholin, whose authority was of great weight, has it" ex con-
cavis craniorum poculis.” So also Berntzön and Sandtvig,
F
66
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY,
The Valkyrs belong exclusively to the Northern
Mythology, and, as Gräter justly observes, are in
the highest degree poetical creations. They were
females and the messengers and followers of Odin
in his quality of god of battles.
Sometimes they were to be seen riding through
the air and over the sea on shadowy horses, from
in Danish, Gräter in German, Mallet in French, his translator
Dr. Percy, and Johnstone in English.
The discovery of the mistake is not however of very late date.
Svend Sölvesen, in 1769, using the metaphor bjugviô hausa, ex-
plains it, drinking horns. John Olassen, in his "Essai sur
la musique ancienne et moderne. Paris, 1780," renders the very
same passage, "Bientôt j'y boirai de la cervoise dans de cornes
recourbées." About the same time, 1780, Gunnar Paulsen,
in some remarks on Egil's Saga, says “that hausa bjugvið
in Kraku-mal signifies the crooked trees of the head, and
this again horns. Lastly Professor Finn Magnussen, the
translator of the Elder Edda, and author of "the doctrine of
the Edda," in an essay on certain passages of Ossian, 1813,
and Professor Rafn, the translator of the Icelandic Sagas,
(from whom this note is taken), have shewn that the whole
fiction has no other foundation than the above mistake.
The former of these two writers has further remarked, that
the death-song of Regner Lodbrok, properly called Kraku-
mal, is by no means a fair sample of the spirit of the old
Scandinavian poetry. According to Suhm, it was written
by Brage the elder, at the desire of Aslaug or Kraka, the
widow of Regner, to excite her sons to avenge their father's
death. Not to speak of others, the erotic songs in Viglund's
Saga are of a very different character.
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
67
whose manes fell hail on the mountains and dew
in the valleys. At others, cleaving the clouds in
the forms of wild swans. Again, surrounded with
fiery lances in the Aurora Borealis, which was un-
der the immediate control of Odin.
It was the province of Gudr and Rota with
Skulda, the youngest of the nornies, to lead on
the van of the battle, exciting the combatants, and
marking out those who were to remain on the
field. Others with helmets on their heads, and
flaming swords and bloody harness, surrounded
with lightnings and meteors, hovered above the
conflict, mounted, directing the warriors as they
fell on their way to Valhalla.
In a song of great poetical merit, still extant,
and which Gray's imitation has rendered familiar
to all lovers of English poetry, they are represented
as weaving the web of the fate of warriors about to
fall in an impending fight. It was stretched on
spears; the threads were human entrails; skulls
were the weights; the shuttles, arrows; the trea-
dle, spears; the loom, iron. They chanted the
song of death with naked swords.
At other times, however, they are represented
under softer colours; as virgins clothed in white,
with flowing ringlets, performing the office of
Hebe at the table of the Einheriar.
68
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
1
"There, poured by blue-eyed girls,
The clear Metheglin flows,
Light float their wanton curls,
Their breath outscents the rose."
Oehlenschläger.
Nor is there much inconsistency in this, seeing
that to fall in battle was an object of desire rather
than of terror.
They watched with intense interest over their
favourite warriors, and sometimes even lent an ear
to their love; but were punished by Odin when
they ventured to decide the victory contrary to his
instructions.
They were called the sisters of war, and in the
field were always in complete armour. The chief
of them were Hilda,18 also called the goddess of
war, the Bellona of the north, and Rist and Mist,
whose privilege it was to pour out wine for Odin.19
18 The Valkyrs were known to the Anglo-Saxons under
the names of Valcyrge, Valcyrian.
19 Hilda, or Hildur, seems to have been worshipped as the
goddess of war by the Anglo-Saxons. She was said to be
always on the watch when a battle was about to begin. War
was termed “Hilda's sport." She is often confounded with
a Danish princess of the same name, who was the cause of
a bloody fight between her father Högne and her ravisher,
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
69
Odin always sate alone at a separate table.
His sole nourishment was wine. With the meat
placed before him he fed two wolves, called Geri
and Freki.
The poor were not welcome to Valhalla, and for
this reason, money, bracelets, and costly orna-
ments were often buried with the dead, as also
weapons, to be employed at Ragnarokur. In many
barrows whetstones have been found, placed, pro-
bably, for the purpose of sharpening the weapons
of the deceased. It was thought a good thing
when many were slain together, in order to go in a
large company to Odin.
Many of the old Scandinavians believed that,
after a life spent in warfare and perils, any violent
death, although not in actual combat, would en-
title them to a place in Valhalla; and instances
where not unfrequent where warriors, feeling their
end approach, caused themselves to be dispatched.
In Nial's Saga, Hagen Jarl tells one who had
burned a temple, "that the gods avenged slowly,
but that he would never go to Valhalla.”
Hedin, in Höy, one of the Orkneys. Each successive night
the slain were restored to life and the battle renewed.
Many northern names have been derived from this god-
dess, such as Brynhilde, the helmed Hilda; Hildebrand, the
sword of Hilda, &c.—Magnussen.
70
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
=
It was a general belief amongst the heathen
Danes, that the Einheriar often descended from
Valhalla to visit their barrows, and, in an old
poem about king Helge Hundingsbane, the hero
is described as riding nightly from Odin's hall
through the air to his barrow, to console his
young and sorrowing widow, leaving her again at
the dawn of day.
Odin was in possession of several rarities, the
celebrated spear Gungnir, and the magic ring
Draupnir, made by the Dwarfs, &c. but the most
precious was his eight legged horse, Sleipner,
which the Edda informs us he obtained in the fol-
lowing manner :—
ODIN'S HORSE, SLEIPNER.
"Notwithstanding the constant enmity between
the Aser and the Giants, there had been several
instances of matrimonial alliances between them,
and the Giants in particular were continually
forming plans to get into their power the fair
daughters of Asgard.
"One day a Giant, who gave himself out for a
builder, came to the Aser, and offered to build
them a castle so constructed, that it would set at
defiance all the efforts of their mortal enemies, the
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
71
Frost-Giants and Evil Spirits, even though they
should have obtained possession of Midgard.20 In
recompense for his labour he demanded the god-
dess Freya, and the sun and moon.
"The Aser were in a great dilemma at this pro-
posal. They were aware that they were not wholly
immortal, and also that their destruction could.
only be effected by the Frost-Giants and the Genii
of Fire. It was, therefore, of the utmost impor-
tance to secure themselves against attacks from
this quarter. At the same time how could they
exist without Freya and the sun and moon.
66
Being desirous of profiting by the skill of the
architect, without loss to themselves, they em-
ployed Loke to arrange the matter for them, and
it was at length agreed that the builder should
receive the required reward, provided he accom-
plished his work within a single winter, without
the aid of any being excepting his stallion, who
was called Svadilfare.
20 Midgard, or the middle court, was so called from being
in the centre of the Scandinavian system, the fifth of the nine
worlds of which the universe was composed. It was also
called Mannheim, because Odin had given it as a place of
residence to Askur and Embla and their progeny. The term
Midgard was sometimes applied to the atmosphere, and, in
this sense, Thor, the thunder-god, is called the defender of
Midgard.
72
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
“The Giant set to work lustily; by day he never
for a moment ceased, and at night he rode his
horse to the mountains and brought back stones of
unequalled size. The Aser were in utter asto-
nishment to see Svadilfare dragging with the
greatest ease entire rocks. The work advanced
rapidly, and when there were yet three days of
winter remaining, nothing but the gate was want-
ing to complete it.
"The gods, who had considered the enterprize
as impossible, now began to be alarmed, and Odin
summoned a council to deliberate on what course
they should pursue. As it appeared that it was at
the suggestion of Loke that the bargain had been
made, they seized upon him and threatened him
with instant death unless he would pledge himself
to extricate them from their engagement.
"Loke who in his heart hated the whole race of
Aser, and would have gladly witnessed their de-
struction, was now caught in his own trap, and
was compelled to enter into a solemn engagement
to baffle the Giant.
"The latter, as usual, towards night-fall, rode
out to fetch the last stones for the completion of the
building. He had scarcely dismounted from his
stallion, to select what was wanting, when Loke,
in the shape of a beautiful mare, came gamboling
towards them. The stallion immediately broke
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
73
loose and followed her far away. The Giant hav-
ing in vain sought to recover him, found that there
was no means of accomplishing his enterprize but
by resuming his proper shape.
"When the Aser, however, found that it was
with a Giant that their engagement had been
made, they had no hesitation in not adhering to
their oath, and called Thor, who dispatched the
mock-builder with one blow of his hammer. Loke
soon after produced a horse, which had eight feet,
and excelled all others in the world, and this horse
was called Sleipner."
Frea or Frigga (often confounded with Freyr
and Freya) was the wife of Odin and the queen
and mother of the gods. She knew beforehand
all that was to come to pass, but never revealed it.
She wept over the fall of Odin and foresaw the
fate of her beloved son, Baldur, which she endea-
voured, in vain, to avert. She understood the
language of animals and plants, and was invoked
by women in child-birth.
Her attendants were, Fulla, who had the charge
of her jewels, and was her chief confidante: Fulla
used to wear her hair loose, with a gold band round
her head; Hlyn, whom she employs to save her
favourites from danger; and Gna, her messenger,
the Scandinavian Iris.
Frigga's palace was called Fensale, but she used
74
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
K
frequently to sit with Odin in Hlidskialf, and
thence contemplate all that passed in Midgard.
By some Frigga is supposed to have been the
same with Hertha, and a personification of the
earth, but there seems great reason to doubt whe-
ther the old Scandinavians ever paid divine ho-
nours to the earth.
According to Tacitus, "Hertha, or Herthus, was
a goddess worshipped by the inhabitants of northern
Germany, whose chief sanctuary was an island in
the Ocean, in which there was a grove so holy,
that none but her priest ever ventured to enter it.
"Her temple was a covered waggon, in which,
on particular festivals, she was drawn along by
milch-kine to visit the people, followed by her
priest. Wherever she came there was rejoicing
and holiday, and all wars were suspended, and
arms laid aside during her sojourn.
"When the goddess was weary of the society of
men, she used to return in like manner to her holy
solitude. The waggon, her garments, and the
goddess herself were washed in a secret lake, into
which the slaves who performed this duty were
afterwards precipitated. Hence arose the secret
awe and mysterious ignorance concerning what
those only ever witnessed who were about to
perish."
Bishop Münter, Anchersen, and others are of
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
75
opinion that the holy island, thus described, was
Zealand, in Denmark, and that the grove sacred
to her was that which still bears the name of Her-
tha-dal (Hertha's dale), not far distant from the
site of the ancient capital of Denmark, Leira, or
Lethra. Nor is this improbable, for the fertility
and extent of Zealand render it likely that the
principal fane of the goddess should have been
placed here, and the localities of the spot, which
retains her name, the secret lake, and the sur-
rounding wood agree well enough with the de-
scription of Tacitus.
Others again with good grounds have placed
Hertha's sanctuary in the island of Rügen, others
in Heligoland, and some in a small island near
Wolgast. The celebrated Northern Antiquarian,
Suhm, argues with ingenuity against all these, and
assigns this honour to the island of Femern.
If, however, the worship of Hertha was general
in the north, it is not probable that she should
have been restricted to one fane. A great many
villages in the country of Angeln, near Sleswic,
still bear her name.
76
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
CHAPTER III.
ASA-LOKE—HIS OFFSPRING, HELA, THE QUEEN OF
DEATH, THE GREAT SERPENT, JORMUNGANDUR, THE
WOLF FENRIS-HIS ADVENTURE WITH TYR-BRAGI
AND IDUNA-IDUNA'S RAPE AND RECOVERY-THE
GIANT THIASSE.
ALTHOUGH Loke, in power and dignity had no
pretension to rank next to Odin, nor, in fact, had
any place amongst the Aser, except by sufferance,
still he plays so prominent a part in all their ad-
ventures, and he and his offspring are so continu-
ally alluded to, that for the clear understanding of
what is to follow, it is essential to make the reader
at once well acquainted with them. Some account
of Loke has already been given in the first chapter,
as well as of his kinsman and namesake, the demon-
king of the Giants. These two important person-
ages were, probably, originally one and the same,
but in the Eddas very different parts have been
assigned to them. They were distinguished by the
titles of Utgard's Loke and Asa-Loke, and it is of
the latter that the present chapter treats.
Asa-Loke is a creation which has no parallel in
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
77
any other Mythology.. We learn from the Edda
that he was the son of Farbaute, a giant, by the
witch Laufeya. Although sprung from a race the
mortal enemies of the Aser, he was, in some man-
ner not explained, mysteriously associated with
Odin in the infancy of creation. At that time
they swore brotherhood together, and Loke was
in consequence admitted to Valhalla, where a seat
was allotted to him on the same bench with Thor.
He had many good natural gifts, was tall, slight,
well formed, of good address, and eloquent; but,
on the other hand, he was fickle, sarcastic, mali-
cious, cruel, a lover of evil, and exceeded every
one in cunning. He was, moreover, a coward,
and the first inventor of deceit and dishonour,
vain, much given to boasting and always desirous
of being seen in the society of the principal Aser,
especially of Thor. His natural perversity and
hatred of the Aser led him, notwithstanding, on
many occasions to conspire with the Giants against
them, and it will be seen that on more than one
occasion they were brought into extreme difficulties.
in consequence. Still his subtlety usually enabled
him to evade the punishment which his crimes so
richly merited. Besides his name of Loke, he
was sometimes called Loptur and Lopta.
Amongst bright Asgard's lords
Is one, As-Loptur hight:
78
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
Like honey are his words,
His heart is foul with spite,
His form is passing fair,
And winning is his mien,
But, still, his guileful leer
Shews all is false within.
Though, oft, his traitorous wiles
The Asers' ire provoke,
His smooth tongue, still, beguiles,
And stops th' impending stroke:
Oft, cited to appear,
He cowers the Ash before,¹
At Odin's table near
His place to Asa-Thor.
Oehlenschläger.
Loke had a wife whose name was Signi, and who,
notwithstanding all his defects, shewed her de-
votion to him in a remarkable manner. By her
he had two sons, Nari and Vali, whose terrible
fate will appear in the sequel. His more cele-
brated offspring, however, sprang from an amour
with a giant woman, whose name was Augerbode,
or the messenger of evil. These were Fenris, the
wolf; Jormungandur, the great serpent; and
Hela, the queen of death. The Edda accounts for
the production of these horrible monsters by telling
¹ The great Ash, Ygg-drasill, under which Odin and the
twelve Aser used to administer justice.
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
79
us that they were begotten after Loke's nature had
become depraved, in consequence of his eating the
half-roasted heart of a witch which he had found.
The gods having been forewarned that this pro-
geny of Loke would one day cause much evil to
Asgard, sent to the land of Giants to secure them.
Odin cast Jormungandur, or, as it was also called,
the great Midgard's serpent or worm,2 into the
ocean where it grew to such a prodigious size, that
it girt round the whole world. There it was to lie
with its tail in its jowl, in sullen expectation of re-
venge at Ragnarokur.
Midgard's giant snake,
Which in the ocean hurled,
His tale in jowl doth take,
And girdeth round the world.
Oehlenschläger.
Jormungandur was the chief object of fear and
hatred to gods and men.3
* The bold promontory which terminates the neck of land,
at the mouth of the river Conway, in Denbighshire, is still
called the great Orm's, or Worm's head. Orm being the
Danish for worm. So also the remarkable point at the
western extremity of the district of Gower, in Glamorganshire,
at the entrance of the Bristol channel, is called "the Worm's
head."
Magnussen considers the great serpent to be a symbol
of the raging sea.
80
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
Boa tar
Hela was thrust down to Niffl-heim, where she
received the sovereignty over nine worlds, and
ruled over all who died by any other than a violent
death. Hence her title of queen of the dead. Her
palace was called from her Hel-heim, and was
very spacious, but cold and gloomy, and filled
with shivering, shadowy spectres. It was sur-
rounded by a lofty fence, with huge grated gates.
"Hela's hall," says the Prose Edda, "is afflic-
tion; her table, famine; her knife, hunger; her
valet, delay; her handmaid, slowness; her thresh-
old, a drawbridge, her bed, lingering sickness;
her tent, cursing."4 Her attendants, the evil
Nornies, used to appear to dying persons, by
night, to call them away, and she herself was sup-
posed at times to make herself visible to those
4 Ibant obscuri sola sub nocte per umbram,
Perque domos Ditis vacuas, et inania regna;
Vestibulum ante ipsum, primisque in faucibus Orci
Luctus et ultrices posuere cubilia curæ,
Pallentesque habitant morbi, tristisque Senectus,
Et metus et malesuada Fames, ac turpis Egestas,
Terribiles visu formæ, letumque labosque;
Tum consanguineus leti sopor, et mala mentis
Gaudia, mortiferumque adverso in limine bellum,
Ferreique Eumenidum thalami et Discordia demens.
Eneid, lib. vi. 1. 268 to 280.
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
81
about to die. She was hideous to look upon, one
half of her body being blue, the other of the na-
tural colour. It is not said who was her husband,
but her sons are mentioned as the followers of Loke
at Ragnarokur.
Her palace is thus described by Oehlenschläger:
Close crowded, side by side,
Cold Helheim's shadowy folk,
Aghast, the strangers eyed,
With glazed and fearful look :
And still, as Thor drew near,
Shuddering, his path they fled,
Their shivering forms were bare,
Snakes o'er them venom shed.
Between two rocks enclosed,
At th' end stood Hela's throne:
Of heap'd up skulls composed,
And many a mouldering bone :
There sate the spectre queen,
A monster, dire to view,
Her body wither'd, lean,
Distort, half white, half blue.
A naked bone she held
In her lank, clammy hand,
'Fore which the pale ghosts quail'd ;
On the lone ocean strand,
In the moon's magic light,
Long, bleaching, it had lain;
Now serves the queen of night
T' assert her silent reign.
G
82
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
k...
P
Save hollow, deep-drawn sighs
No sound the cavern gave;
All round damp fogs arise,
Th' air smelt as fresh-stirr'd grave.
For light of cheerful sun,
Three funeral tapers glared,
By each a skeleton
Its fleshless form uprear'd.
Oehlenschläger.
Hela had a cock of a dusky red colour, and a
spectre horse, which is called by the peasants
Hel's horse, to this day.
With Fenris the wolf,5 the Aser had somewhat
5 The superstition respecting men-wolves which prevailed
so widely during the middle ages was probably derived from
Fenris. Boissardius, in his posthumous work on magic, de-
clares that two shepherds in the archbishopric in which he
was born were publicly burned, having confessed that by
means of an ointment given to them by the devil, they were
frequently in the habit of changing themselves into wolves,
and of committing in this shape great ravages amongst the
neighbouring flocks. He adds that these transformations
had become very common in his time, especially in Prussia,
Livonia and Lithuania, and adduces testimonies to this effect
from various writers, and amongst others from Herodotus. The
father of history, however, only states that it had been asserted
that certain men amongst the Scythians once in the year be-
came wolves, and after some days resumed their proper
form, but at the same time intimates his disbelief of the fact.
One story is gravely told on the authority of Garzonus—
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
83
more trouble than with the other two. When they
had got him into their power, they sought to secure
him with bonds, but none could be found suffi-
ciently strong for the purpose. They constructed,
therefore, a massive chain, and begged Fenris to
try his strength upon it, which he consented to do,
and broke it with the greatest ease. They exerted
"That a man-wolf who had caused much destruction amongst
the flocks in Russia, having been at length captured by the
peasants, was taken before the prince of the country, and
being closely questioned, acknowledged that he did frequently
assume the form of a wolf. The prince offered him pardon
on condition of his doing so before those who were assembled.
He consented, and having withdrawn to a little distance and
performed the magic ceremonies taught him by the devil, on
a sudden he stood before them a gaunt wolf, with bent neck,
bristles erect, and glaring eyes, but bound in chains as be-
fore. The prince caused two fierce Molossian dogs which
he had provided to be let loose upon the wolf, who tore him
to pieces before he could resume his natural shape." Olaus
Magnus, Archbishop of Upsala, in his work de Gentibus
Septentrionalibus, writes, "De animalibus sylvestribus lupo-
rum genus ex hominibus conversum, quod Plinius lib. viii. c.
22. fabulosum et falsum confidenter existimandum esse affir-
mat, tales in terris ad Septentrionem maximè vergentibus
etiamnum magnâ in copiâ reperiri adjicerem, 1. xxviii. c. 15.
So in Ovid's Metamorphoses, lib. i. speaking of Lycaon.
Fit lupus, et veteris servat vestigia formæ;
Canities eadem est, eadem violentia vultûs;
Iidem oculi lucent: eadem feritatis imago.
84
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
their utmost art to make a second of double the
strength of the former, but by a slight effort he
brake this also. They now sent Skirnir to the
black elves, or dwarfs, to procure a chain capable
of resisting any force that could be exerted against
it, and he brought back one, called Gleipnir, which
to all appearance was no stronger than a silken
thread, but which, notwithstanding, was so skil-
fully composed, that no force was sufficient to
break it.
Thus provided, the Aser repaired with Fenris to
a solitary island, and there proposed to him to
allow himself to be bound with Gleipnir. The
wolf replied that it would reflect but little honour
on his strength to break a small silken cord, but
that, on the other hand, slight as it appeared, art
and magic might have given it extraordinary pow-
ers, and he therefore refused to suffer himself to be
bound. On this the Aser began to taunt him, and
observed that if he had not strength to break such
a cord they would themselves set him at liberty, as
too weak to be an object of terror to any. The
wolf, who was not so easily to be deceived, replied,
I know well that if I cannot help myself, I have
but little favour to expect from you; but, lest any
one should reproach me with cowardice, I am wil-
ling to suffer myself to be bound, on condition, as
a pledge that you mean honestly, that one of your
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
85
6
number will consent in the mean while to lay his
hand in my mouth. The Aser were now put to
silence, for no one amongst them seemed disposed
to place himself in the power of Fenris. At length
the undaunted Tyr, the son of Odin by a giant
woman, advanced boldly and laid his hand in the
wolf's jaw, who then allowed himself to be bound
with the cord, one end of which was dragged
through a massive rock, and made fast in the
centre of the earth. When this was done, he be-
gan to exert his utmost strength, but the more he
struggled to free himself, the more closely did
Gleipnir encircle him, and he was at length forced
to abandon the attempt. The gods rejoiced to
find their most dreaded enemy thus secured, but
Fenris in revenge bit off Tyr's right hand. Since
this, he has been one-handed, but wields his sword
in his left hand as effectively as he did before in
the right. So little was he terrified by this adven-
ture, that he alone has the courage to give Fenris
his daily food, for the wolf would suffer no one to
6 Tyr was one of the chief of the Aser, and a great favou-
rite with Thor, on account of his courage, for which reason
also he was worshipped by warriors, and when any one dis-
tinguished himself in battle he was said to be as brave as Tyr.
He was as prudent as he was brave. The planet Mars was
sacred to Tyr, and the third day of the week (Danicé Tirs-
dag) was named after him as also the Runic letter ↑ (T) Tir.
T
86
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
approach him, and howled so fearfully, that the
gods were obliged to thrust a sword through his
jaws, and in this state he is to remain until Rag-
narokur.
The chain with which Fenris was bound was
composed, as the Edda informs us, of six things,
viz. the noise made by cats' feet, the beard of a
woman, the roots of rocks, the nerves of bears, the
breath of fishes, the spittle of birds.
When, in Thor's journey to Jotunheim, he and
his companions arrive suddenly before the gate of
Helheim, and Loke, unwilling to meet his daugh-
ter, is about to return in anger, Oehlenschläger
puts the following words into the mouth of Thor:
But Thor, with warning voice,
Cried out; "Laufeya's son
Beware! bethink thee twice,
Nor on destruction run:
What boots it to repine
At that the fates decree!
Befits it Loke to whine,
And yield so womanly?
The tall maid, Angerbode,
Thou tookest to thy bed:
All know, of giant blood
No produce ever sped.
What then-thine amorous fit,
No doubt, in Skulda's book
7 Skulda the norny or fate who presided over the future.
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
87
E'en from the first was writ;
Then why this angry look!
Horror thy race inspire,
But who contempt can feign?
Fate doom'd their birth, in ire,
To scourge both gods and men.
From thy loins sprang the plague,
E'en Odin's self can fill
With trouble. Panics vague,
Which oft the boldest chill,
Arise strange god from thee.
In Asgard's realm of joy,
'Midst banqueting and glee,
Dire thoughts our mirth alloy.
When Fenris shakes his chain;
In Valhal's festive hall
Silence and terror reign,
No god but feels appal.
On Earth's fair bosom look,
Smiling with flower-deck'd field,
Hill, dale, lake, rippling brook,
Doth scarce to Asgard yield:-
Were't not, that pain and death
Her sons in bondage hold,
And the fell serpent's wreath
Her prison'd shores enfold.
8
Hela thy blood to call
Well proud thou mightest be
• All pestilential diseases were supposed to proceed from
the serpent.
88
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
|
Of craven cowards all
Unpitying scourger, she.
Avenger of my might
The brave her name esteem,
Then think not, Loke, of flight,
Nor thy race luckless deem.
Oehlenschläger.
It has been already said that Loke was fond of
being seen in the society of the great, and on this
account he often contrived to accompany Odin and
Thor on their excursions. In one of these with
Odin, an adventure befel him which led to impor-
tant consequences, and had nearly been fatal to
the whole race of the Aser.
IDUNA'S RAPE AND RECOVERY.
"Three Aser, Odin, Loke, and Hænir, quitted
Asgard to travel. They had to traverse vast moun-
tains and wildernesses, where no food could be
obtained, but at length they came to a dell where
a herd of oxen were feeding, one of which they
seized and killed for their supper.
"Odin and Hænir strolled about in the neig-
bourhood, whilst Loke was employed in preparing
the meal. After a time, when he imagined that the
ox must have been sufficiently roasted, he took it
from the fire, but was much surprised to find it
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
89
still raw.
it remained in the same state.
He tried it again, but do what he would
"Whilst he was endeavouring to explain to him-
self how this could be, he heard a noise in the tree
above him, and, looking up, perceived an enor-
mous eagle on one of the branches. Loke, said
the eagle, it is I who have prevented the ox from
being roasted, but if you promise to give me a
share, you will find that it will be cooked quickly
enough. Loke agreed, and the eagle flew down
from the tree, and seating himself by the spit,
seized hold on both the shoulders of the ox.
'Upon this Loke got angry, and taking hold of
a billet of wood which was near at hand, struck at
the eagle with all his might, who instantly flew
upwards, and one end of the billet stuck fast to his
back whilst the other adhered to Loke's hand.
Away he flew over wood, rock, and river, dragging
Loke after him at such a rate that the luckless
Aser thought his arm must have been pulled off,
at the same time that his feet were trailed along
over the stones and tops of the trees.
“Loke now changed his tone and bewailing his
ill luck, called upon Odin and Thor for help, but
9 The curious reader may here trace the prototype of
Daniel O'Rourke's eagle, so humorously described in the
Fairy Legends of Ireland.
90
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
the eagle, who was the Giant Thiasse in disguise,
told him that he might spare his cries, for that
he should never get loose unless he would bind
himself by an oath to bring Bragi's wife, Iduna,
and her apples out of Asgard.
66.
Bragi was the god of eloquence and poetry,
and so good a Scald that Runes were said to be
upon his tongue.10 He was rather given to strong
drinks, and, if Loke may be credited, not very
celebrated for courage. His wife, Iduna,¹¹ was
the daughter of the dwarf Ivalldr, and had in her
charge certain apples, of which the gods used to
eat when they found themselves growing old, and
were thereby immediately restored to youth and
vigour.
"It was these apples which Thiasse was desi-
rous of getting into his possession, and Loke, who
hated the Aser in his heart, made no difficulty in
taking the oath, and being released from his un-
pleasant situation, returned to his companions.
10 It was a custom with the Scandinavians that at the bu-
rial feast of a king or Jarl, his heir should sit upon a bench
before the throne until a health was drunk, sacred to the god
Bragi, upon which he rose up and swore that he would per-
form some signal feat, and then drank out the cup.
11 Some have seen in the union of Iduna with the god of
poetry and eloquence, an allusion to the power of those arts
to confer immortality.
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
91
.
Nothing else particularly worthy of notice occurred
on this expedition.
"At the appointed time Loke persuaded Iduna
to leave Asgard, pretending that in a certain wood,
at a short distance, he had discovered apples more
beautiful, and of a more excellent quality than her
own, which he recommended her to take with her
in order to make the comparison.
"They had scarcely left the boundary, when
Thiasse came flying rapidly towards them, in his
old shape of an eagle, and catching up Iduna car-
ried her off.
tumn.
"The Aser were in the greatest consternation at
this loss. They became wrinkled and grey-haired,
and subject to all kinds of diseases; the trees and
flowers all withered, and spring was turned to au-
A council of the gods was held to endea-
vour to discover how Iduna had disappeared, but
all that they could learn was that she had been
last seen going out of Asgard with Loke.
He was
accordingly brought before the assembly and
threatened with a painful death. Thor, who was
present, seized him and threw him several times so
high up in the air, that his heels touched, alter-
nately, the moon and the sea, telling him that this
was a sample of what he would get unless he
brought back Iduna.
"Loke, almost frightened to death, engaged to
1
92
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
search the goddess out in Giant-land, provided
that Freya would lend him her hawk's dress (Falke-
ham). Having obtained this he flew away, north-
wards, and fortunately reached Thiasse's residence
just as the Giant had rowed out to sea, so that
Iduna was at home, alone. He changed her into
a swallow, and taking her in his claws lost no time.
to fly off with her.
"As soon as Thiasse returned and missed Iduna,
he put on his eagle's dress (Orne-ham), flew after
Loke, and by the rapidity of his flight was gaining
fast on him.
“When the Aser saw the hawk coming with the
swallow in his claws, and the eagle close after him,
they went out to the walls of Asgard, where they
heaped up a vast pile of chips. As the hawk ap-
proached the town, he descended towards the
walls. The Aser now set fire to the chips, and, as
the eagle could not at once check his course, the
ascending flames burned up his wings so that he
could fly no farther, and fell to the ground. The
Aser, who were standing around prepared for the
event, immediately slew him, and in this manner
the gods were saved from destruction, and Thiasse
lost his life within the walls of Asgard. This event
is very celebrated."
The foregoing tale may serve as a specimen of
one of Loke's numerous adventures. How, when
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
93
Thor's hammer had been stolen by the Giant
Thrym, he discovered the theft and gave informa-
tion of it; how he contrived to recover it by mak-
ing Thor dress himself like Freya; how he made
love to Sif, Thor's wife, and when Sif repulsed
him with scorn, in revenge, cut off her matchless
hair; how he procured, for the gods, incompa-
rable rarities from his kinsmen the dwarfs; and
how at length he brought on his own cruel punish-
ment, and hastened the destruction of the gods by
maliciously procuring the death of the gentle Bal-
dur, whom all things in nature loved; will be told
in the sequel.
He was enabled to escape many dangers by
means of his power to assume various shapes, and
by the aid of certain shoes, which gave him the
power to traverse land and sea with the utmost
speed. The word Loke or Loge signifies a flame,
and Magnussen suggests that Loke is a personifi-
cation of fire, which in its nature partakes of good
and evil, and was found in earth and heaven, with
the gods and the giants.
In Jutland rank weeds are still termed Loke's
corn, and the peasants in Norway, Iceland, and
some parts of Denmark, call the devil Loke to this
day.
94
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
THOR-MIÖLNER
CHAPTER IV.
SIF GIANTS ·
MIMER· THOR'S VISIT TO
THRUDVANGER
da
ULLER-UTGARDELOK
GEYRUTH-THOR AND THE DWARF ALVES.
S
THOR was the eldest son of Odin and Frigga, the
strongest and, next to Odin, the first in rank
amongst the Aser. His stature was so lofty that
no horse could bear him, and for this reason he
always travelled in a chariot drawn by two he-
goats.
He was the implacable and most dreaded enemy
of the giants, in his combats with whom he always
took care to be provided with three things, which
he had obtained from the dwarfs, and on which he
set the highest value; namely, 1st, his celebrated
hammer, Miölner,¹ whose force no giant or sor-
cerer could withstand. Although thrown to ever
so great a distance it never failed to return into his
1 The word "miölner" signifies the bruiser or pounder,
being derived from the old verb "myl" to pound. The
word "mill" has the same root, and in old Danish was
"mylna." Miölner was a symbol of the thunderbolt.
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
95
hand, and at the same time it was so small that he
could carry it in his pocket; 2nd, his belt, Mei-
gingardur, which had this virtue, that whenever he
girt it up, his strength was doubled; 3rd, a pair
of steel gauntlets with which he held Miölner.
2
His residence was called Thrudheim or Thrud-
vanger, after his daughter Thrude, and his palace,
Bilskirner, was the largest building in the world,
containing 540 halls.
In wide Thrudvanger's land
(So ancient Scalds indite)
A palace vast doth stand:
Unmatch'd in breadth and height.
Its halls with burnish'd gold
Are richly fretted o'er;
Their number, rightly told,
Five hundred and two score.
Blue lakes and verdant fields
Smiling around are spread,
Studded with copper shields
The palace glows in red.
From distant earth its walls
Some radiant meteor seem;
Far off the warrior halls
In purple splendour gleam.
There sits on golden throne
Aloft the god of war,
2 Thrudr, in Icelandic, signifies strength, and Thrud-
heimar the home of the strong one.
F
·
96
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
Save Odin, yields to none
'Mongst gods great Aser-Thor.
He gives what warriors feel
When first the battle joins;
His gauntlets are of steel,
A belt binds up his loins.
His hammer, Miölner hight,
All weapons far exceeds;
Where falls its massive weight
No leeches fee there needs.
And when his strength 'gins melt,
When hot the battle burns,
He girds him up his belt
And two-fold it returns.
Oehlenschläger.
Thor had two sons, Magne and Mode, who,
with the aid of Miölner, were to avenge his death
at Ragnarokur, and two daughters, Thrude and
Lora. As chief defender of the boundary of As-
gard, he was continually on the watch in Mid-
gard, or the atmosphere, to repel intruding giants
and evil spirits.
-
Lightning flashed from his eyes and from his
chariot wheels, as they rolled along, and from his
hammer also, and this was why he was obliged to
have on his steel gloves when he grasped it.
From out some murky cloud,
Pendent in middle air,
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
97
His wheels oft creak aloud-
Then mortals thunder hear.
Oehlenschläger.
In many parts of the north, but more especially
in Norway and Iceland, Thor was more highly
honoured than Odin himself, and, as has been be-
fore remarked, there seems good ground for the
belief that the worship of Thor, as the god of
thunder, was established there from the remotest
antiquity. Suhm is of opinion that Thor, at first,
was a personification of thunder. In the Scandi-
navian dialects, Tor-dön signifies a dull, rolling
noise, and we find that thunder is rendered in
Danish, Torden; in Swedish, Thordôn; in Ger-
man, Donner; in Latin, Tonitru; in British, Ta-
ran; Phœnician, Thorom; Highland Scotch, To-
ron. Lucan calls Thor Taranis, which still, in
Welsh, signifies thunder.3
The Elder Edda itself in one place expressly
calls Auka, or Oka-Thor, the first and most power-
ful of the gods, and the name or worship of Odin
is never once alluded to in the remains of the an-
cient Celts or Sclavonians, whilst that of Thor is
frequently mentioned.
As all warriors of high birth were received after
their death into Valhalla, the palace of Odin; so
3 Suhm om Odin.
H
+
98
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
those of inferior rank, and slaves, were to repair
to Bilskirner.
❝ Odin à jarla
Tha er i val falla
En Thor à thrælakyn.”
"Odin owns the Jarls (Earls) who have fallen in battle,
but Thor owns the race of slaves (thralls)."
Magnussen suggests that Odin having foisted
his son or follower, Asa-Thor, into the place of the
old divinity, Auka-Thor, left to the conquered
Finns and Celts their ancient paradise. But there
were also two Scandinavian sects attributing res-
pectively the highest place to Thor and Odin, and
these two deities are sometimes introduced in the
Eddas as reviling each other.
1
Thor's name was given to the fifth day of the
week, which was kept holy from noon by many of
the heathen Scandinavians, as well as by the Finns
and Finnlaps, and with which the Scandinavian
summer always commenced. Sunday, on the
other hand, was considered an unlucky day, and
children born thereon were thought never to live
long. Even to the present time, in many parts of
Norway and Sweden, a belief in the superior sanc-
tity of Thursday over other week-days may be
traced. In some parts of England Thursday is
still considered as unpropitious for weddings, a su-
perstition which originated, probably, in the fears
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
99
of the first half converts to Christianity. In the
same manner as in the north at the first intro-
duction of the new belief, when the day sacred to
the deserted deity returned, it was the custom to
pray.
"Gud tal for os: det er Tors-dag over hele Verden."
"God speak for us: it is Thor's-day (Thursday) over all
the world."
During the feast of Juul, the oldest and most
solemn of all the religious festivals of the inha-
bitants of the north, and which was held at the
winter solstice, about the time of our Christmas,
oxen and fatted horses were sacrificed to Thor.
The Runic letter P (Th) was also sacred to him."
Thor's wife was Sif, the chastest of the god-
desses; she had been married before Thor took
her to wife, and had Oller or Uller by her first
4 In the Eyrbiggia Saga there is a description of the
temple erected by Thorolf on his first landing in Iceland,
about the year 883 A. D. to the god Thor. On the altar was
placed a silver ring weighing two ounces, which was worn by
the priest on solemn occasions, and on which oaths were
sworn. On this altar human sacrifices were frequently
offered up, and the mode of destroying the victims was by
crushing the spine. The holy mount (Helga-fels) was so
sacred that no one might even look upon it until after his
morning ablutions, and to enter within its limits was punish-
able by death.
100
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
!!
husband.
its extraordinary beauty.
Her hair is celebrated in the Edda for
Sif, tall and fair with native grace,
To none in beauty need give place
Save her whom Odin called to light
To make the erst dull world more bright.
Fair tho' she be, to Freya ne'er
Can stately Sif in form compare.
Not hers the clear eye's speaking glance,
Age-frozen blood might make to dance:
Or heart which passion ne'er had felt
Like snow 'neath mid-day sun to melt.
Sif seems some Amazon to be,
Her look replete with dignity,
Her eye beams no impassion'd glance,
But rests in cold indifference.
Her round arms, form'd alike to prove
The contests or of war or love;
Her swan-like bosom's faultless curve
Would Bragi's golden lyre deserve.
Smaller tho' Freya's hand, not snow
Than Sif's, fresh fallen on mountain brow,
More white, nor softer virgin down
Of Eyder-fowl, nor breast of swan.
Two pencill'd brows of darkest brown
Meet on her front, and seem to frown:
What gentler beauty would deface
To hers but adds another grace;
Her pearly teeth, of dazzling white,
With ruby lips form contrast bright;
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
101
But her first charm, past all compare,
Is her long, silken, amber hair.
Oehlenschläger.
Sif was worshipped in the heathen temples in
Norway, and by the Vendish and other nations;
by the latter as a fair-haired goddess, dispensing
flowers and fruits; and is considered as a perso-
nification of the earth in summer. She was said
to have the gift of prophecy.
Sif's son by her first husband was called Uller.
He was handsome, and had the appearance and
manners of a warrior, an excellent archer, and un-
rivalled in the art of running on skees or snow-
shoes. It was usual to invoke his name in duels,
and he protected those who were exposed to dan-
ger from fire. He was entitled the hunting god,
and his residence was called Ydale, or the dewy
valley.
The remains of the worship of Thor lingered
longer in the north than those of any of the other
Scandinavian deities. In Nial's Saga, a female
Scald says to a Christian-" Do you not know
that Thor has challenged your Christ to single
combat, and that he dares not fight him."
The planet Jupiter was sacred to him. He was
represented with a great red beard, and his sym-
bols upon monuments were a wheel, a glove or a
cross, the latter denoting either his hammer or two
102
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
crossed thunderbolts. Hence we have an easy
explanation of the crosses on Rune-stones, older
than the introduction of Christianity into Scandi-
navia, which have so greatly puzzled antiqua-
rians,5
As Thor's principal occupation consisted in re-
pelling the attacks of the giants on Asgard, or at
times in seeking them in their own gloomy abodes,
this is perhaps the proper place to condense the in-
formation contained in the Eddas respecting these
eternal foes to gods and men.
After that the primitive race of the giants, with
the exception of Bergelmer (the old dweller on
the mountains) and his wife, had been submerged
in the blood of their parent Ymer; a new progeny
sprang up from these two, who were condemned
by Odin to inhabit the dark barren rocks which
encircled the earth, and were separated from it by
a trackless waste and by the stormy ocean, in
which lay imprisoned the great serpent, Jormun-
gandur.
This gloomy region, chilled by ice and eternal
snows, and into which the sun's light never pene-
trated, was ruled by their king Utgardelok, a
mighty magician, who within the limits of his
realm exercised an uncontrolled power, so that no
5 Magnussen.
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
103
Aser ever ventured to cross them unless in dis-
guise. The giants who conceived that they had
a prior right to the Aser to the sovereignty of the
universe, looked upon the latter as usurpers, and
hence bore a deadly hatred to them and to their
creation, the sons of Askur; and although there
were some instances of intermarriages between the
inhabitants of Asgard and of Utgard, these ill-as-
sorted unions never caused any long suspension of
hostility.
The giants never ventured to quit Jotunheim,
or Giant-land, unless by night, when their influ-
ence predominated. They were well skilled in
magic, of great sagacity, and possessed secrets re-
lating to the origin of things, unknown to Odin
himself. The great prophetess, Vola, and the
three nornies or fates, were brought up amongst
them, and from them derived their knowledge of
the past. They possessed inexhaustible subterra-
nean treasures, were cruel and treacherous, but
had one good quality, viz. that they were religious
observers of their promises.
In Thor's journey to Jotunheim, he thus ad-
dresses the giant Skrymner, who was seeking to
deter him by enchantments from proceeding fur-
ther:
The great Alfader set
Midst thickest gloom your home,
104
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
Treasures ye're skill'd to get
From out the mountain's womb.
When 'o'er the silent earth
Night spreads her sable veil,
Ye rush, blood-thirsting, forth.
Her helpless sons t'assail.
Then, at the midnight hour,
When spirits of light retire,
Then rules with hellish pow'r
Dark Utgard's demon sire.
Whate'er is good or fair
To harass, all your joy;
Like rav'nous wolf or bear,
Ye live but to destroy.
In th' Empyrean heaven
Who sits with sleepless eye,&
To th' Aser pow'r hath given,
Wisdom and courage high.
By us your felon race
And Loke himself, your king
Must perish, nor your trace
Be left,―so nornies sing.
Oehlenschläger.
The most celebrated of the giants was Mimer,
who does not appear, however, to have partaken
of the evil nature of his brethren. He possessed a
well, situated under that one of the three roots of the
• The omnipotent being, Alfader.
7 Utgardelok, not Asa-Loke.
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
105
great Ash, which stretched out to the land of the
giants. Wisdom was said to be hidden in it, and
Mimer was the wisest of all beings because he
drank daily of its water. One day Odin went
there, and begged permission to quench his thirst,
but Mimer would not allow him to do so until
he had left one of his eyes in pawn. Afterwards
he was in the habit of repairing thither every
morning to drink.
Mimer having been left by Odin as hostage
with the Vaner, they cut off his head, and sent it
back to the Asgard. Odin, by means of his
magic art, Seid, embalmed it, and, having pro-
nounced Runes over it, consulted it ever after in
all difficult cases.8
THOR'S VISIT TO THE GIANT GEYRUTH.
Geyruth or Geirraudr was a powerful giant, and
one of the most inveterate enemies of the Aser.
• Magnussen thus interprets the allegory of Mimer:-His
well is the great ocean, Odin's eye is the sun, which in the
northernmost latitudes disappears during one portion of the
year, Odin's daily drink, the alternation of day and night.
He suggests that Mimer is only a corruption of Ymer, the
name of the great Cosmogonic giant, and that in the lapse of
time two divinities have arisen from one.
106
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
i
L
He ruled over a country which was dark and
rainy, and inhabited by hateful spectres; it was
surrounded with palisades on which were placed
men's heads, and large fierce dogs guarded the
entrance. His own residence was a dark cavern
full of noisome stenches, the walls of which were
covered with filth, and the floor with adders and
other venomous reptiles.
Opposite to the entrance of the cavern, on a rock,
sat an old grey-headed giant, with an iron wedge
through his breast, and close to him three withered
old women, with broken back-bones. These were
Geyruth and his three daughters, and the cause of
their deplorable state is thus related in the Edda :
“Loke ventured once in the shape of a hawk,
into Geyruth's territory, and had the ill luck to
fall into his power. The giant suspected that he
was an Aser in disguise, and bade him speak, but
Loke remaining silent, he was shut up during three
months in a chest. At length his courage failed
him, and he confessed who he was. Geyruth then
let him out on condition that he would bring Thor
to his residence without belt or hammer. Thor
had no objection to undertake the adventure.
"There was in Utgard an enchanted forest,
called Jernvidi or Jarnvidr, where dwelt certain
giant witches, who had power to raise terrible
storms, and used to entice travellers into their
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
107
power in order to destroy them. The trees of
this forest were of iron,9 and it was ruled by an
old giant who used to sit immoveably in a bending
position. From these witches descended sorcerers,
male and female, who had the power of assuming
at will the forms of wolves.
"On his way, Thor fell in with one of these old
witches, who put him on his guard against the arts
of Geyruth, and gave him a pair of iron gloves, a
girdle, and a staff. When he arrived at the river
Vimur, the largest in the world, he perceived
Gialp, one of the giant's daughters, standing astride
across the river, with one foot on each bank, ready
to oppose his passage, and causing the waters to
rise. Thor drove her away with a large stone, and
waded across to Geyruth's hall. A lodging was
assigned to him in a separate house, on entering
which he sate down upon a stool placed at one
end. Perceiving that the stool under him began
suddenly to rise from the ground, he struck the
witch's staff violently against the top of the cavern
and at the same moment heard a crack and a
loud scream beneath him. On searching for the
cause of these noises, he discovered that Geyruth's
9 In the Indian Mythology there is mention of similar
wood, where the trees bear swords and spears instead of
leaves. (Magnussen.)
108
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
ย
three daughters had placed themselves there with
the design to crush him, and that he had broken
their backs.
"After this Geyruth invited Thor to come into
his drinking chamber. There was a large fire in
the midst of it, on one side of which sat the giant,
and Thor over against him. On a sudden, Gey-
ruth seized a wedge of red-hot iron, which was
glowing in the fire and threw it at Thor, who,
however, caught it with his iron gloves, and sent
it back with such force that, although the giant
crept behind a pillar to avoid it, it passed through
the pillar, the giant, and the wall, and he has re-
mained in the same position ever since."
THOR AND THE DWARF ALVIS.
A dwarf whose name was Alvis, had contrived
by cunning to obtain from Thor's foster-daughter
a promise that she would marry him. He went
secretly to her bower when he imagined that Thor
was absent, but whilst he was endeavouring to per-
suade her to accompany him to his home in the
mountains, the god suddenly returned, and sur-
prised him in the midst of his courtship.
The dwarf's alarm was not lessened, when Thor
addressed him in the following manner:
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
109
"A pretty kind of a fellow you are to come
here a wooing with that white nose of yours; you
seem to me to have a strong resemblance to the
Thurser, 10 you were never born for a bride like
this."
Alvis, finding that this was no time for deceit,
acknowledged that he was a dwarf, and lived
beneath the rocks, and at the same time boldly
claimed the maiden, on the ground that a solemn
promise ought never to be broken.
Thor replied, that he would break the promise,
that he who stood in the place of the maiden's
father had made no promise, and that no one else
had a right to give her away.
The dwarf, in despair at the prospect of losing
his bride, began to question the right of the in-
truder to interfere, and asked him who he was.
Thor told him: and said that neither he nor
any one else should have the maid without his,
Thor's, consent; but that if his wisdom was so
great as his name indicated,¹¹ and he could answer
all that was asked him respecting each of the
worlds, her love should not be denied him.
Alvis answered: "O Thor! you know well
how to draw out the wisdom of the dwarfs. I
10 The Thurser, a name for evil spirits generally.
¹¹ Al-vis, or All-wise.
•
•
110
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
have travelled through each of the nine worlds and
am acquainted with all that they contain."
Thor then began to question him on a variety of
subjects, respecting the names which they bore in
the different worlds, and the dwarf's answers showed
that each class of beings, the Aser, the Genii of
fire, the Vaner, the Giants, the Elves, the Dwarfs,
Men, and the spirits of the dead, had their parti-
cular language; a superstition, remarks Magnus-
sen, which prevailed amongst many heathen na-
tions, and particularly with the ancient Greeks
and the Hindoos.
Thor's questions related to the earth, heaven, the
moon, the sun, the clouds, wind, calms, the sea,
fire, forests, night, grain, ale, &c.
·
The dwarf, carried away by his wisdom, dwelt
so long on these subjects, that he did not perceive
the approach of day until the sun fell on him, and
he was turned at once to a stone.12
Thor remarked that he had never found so much
wisdom in any breast, but that the dwarf had suf-
fered himself to be taken in like a fool.
The above tale is taken from the Alvis-maal, in
the poetic Edda. Like many other of the poems
12 No dwarf or evil spirit of any kind could endure the
light of the sun, but if surprised by it was instantly converted
to stone.
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
111
of the same collection, it is in the form of a dia-
logue, and the tale seems designed merely as an
attractive mode of conveying the mythological and
other information which it contains.
The most celebrated, however, of Thor's adven-
tures, was his journey to Giant-land, to which, on
account of its length, we shall devote the ensuing
chapter, following Oehlenschläger's poetical para-
phrase of the account given in the prose Edda.
112
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
:
*
CHAPTER V.
THOR'S JOURNEY TO JOTUNHEIM, OR GIANT-LAND.
I. THOR SETS OUT ON ADVENTURES WITH LOKE.
THERE was at Upsala, in Sweden, a temple sacred
to Odin, which exceeded all others in magnifi-
cence. Kings and Jarls and distinguished war-
riors from every part of the world frequented it,
and no place in Midgard was more especially un-
der the protection of Odin. Thor and Frigga
were also worshipped there, and the priestesses of
Frigga were king's daughters.
Utgardelok, the prince of darkness and king of
the giants, blinded by his rancorous hatred to the
Aser, and desirous of putting a mortal affront on
their chief, repaired to this temple, put out the
sacred fire, and laid the whole edifice in ruins.
When Odin learned this he lost no time to sum-
mon the Aser to council, and declared to them, in
full assembly, what had happened. The Aser
were filled with indignation, and called loudly for
vengeance on the dark king.
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
113
When they had sate down to table, Thor's anger
was so great that he spake not a word, but struck
his brow with his clenched hand, revolving in his
mind how he might best chastise the insolence of
Utgardelok. As soon as the repast was ended,
and the Valkyrs had filled horns of mead for each
of the guests, Thor announced his intention to
drive his car, and, having harnessed his goats, and
nailed on their golden shoes, and called to Asa-
Loke, who always sat next to him at Odin's table,
to accompany him, he wound the leathern reins
round his waist, and taking Miölner in his hand,
drove towards the bridge Bifrost.¹
:
Adown the painted way
As drove th' impetuous god,
The red flames, lambent, play
Along the wheel-tracks broad.
Heimdall his horn blew loud,
The god with sleepless eye,
Seven maids submissive bow'd
As the gold car flew by.
On earth some meteor dire
Men thought then to behold;
1 The bridge Bifrost, or the rainbow, was the bridge over
which the gods passed on their way from heaven to earth.
Heimdall was the warder of the gods and had his station on
its summit. The seven maids were the seven colours of the
rainbow.
I
m
·
114
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
The heavens were fraught with fire,
In peals the thunder roll'd :
Swift as enamour'd swan,
Passed on the Aser's car,
With Thor, the Giant-Bane,2
And Loptur thro' the air.
Oehlenschläger.
Asa-Loke, who, although the Thunderer had
said nothing, suspected his purpose, and who, not-
withstanding repeated chastisements, could never
be taught to hold his tongue, began now taunt-
ingly to propose a journey to Utgard,³ remarking
that although the trip might be attended with some
hazard, the giant king was well worth the seeing.
Thor answered him shortly that he cared very
little for Utgardelok, and that he had only to fling
his hammer to crush him and his whole train of
trolds and dwarfs.
So spake the god of war
And fearlessly drove on,
With Loptur in his car,
To earth's green regions down:
The little birds sang sweet,
The trees, in reverence, bow'd,
2 One of the epithets applied to Thor.
3
³ Utgard, literally the outermost dwelling, was the frozen
circle of rocks which was supposed to surround the universe,
the residence of giants and evil spirits.
}
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
115
All nature seem'd to greet
Valhalla's warrior god.*
The rose and violet blue
Wither'd afore his look:
Their tender forms to view
Such radiance could not brook :
Closed was each honied cup,
As their great lord drew nigh;
The gentle flow'rets droop,
Breathe on their god and die.
It was now getting towards night-fall :
The sun had sunk to rest
In purple green and gold;"
In simple yellow drest
The moon rose o'er the wold.
Great Aüka-Thor drove fast
Two warrior barrows by,
As the dark tombs they pass'd
Bright flash'd the Aser's eye.
6
+
4 There is much poetical propriety in the respect thus paid
to Thor, the personification of thunder, the refreshing rains
accompanying which, so powerfully affect vegetation.
5 Those who have never visited Norway during the autumn,
can scarcely form an idea of the splendour of its setting sun,
at that season of the year.
• Odin is supposed to have introduced into the north the
custom of burying the dead under eminences or mounds of
earth from Scythia, where it appears to have existed from the
remotest times. These mounds or barrows are very numerous
in Denmark and in the west of England. They are found
1
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SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
At length they arrived at a lonely peasant's hut,
and Thor called out to ask for a night's lodging.
The peasant readily granted it, and the travellers
also on the banks of the Black Sea, in the Crimea, and may
be traced from the Steppes of Great Tartary throughout
Europe, (particularly in Bohemia, Normandy, and the Low
Countries) to the ocean. They were generally thrown up
near some public road, fountain, or frequented spot, and
often, still, bear the name of the warrior or prince over whose
bones they were raised. The old Scandinavians had three
kinds of burial places, called-" haugr," " kuml," and "dys."
The "Haugr," the latest in date, were raised to the greatest
height, and constructed with the most care. They were
turfed on the outside, and the interior was composed of well
beaten earth, in the centre of which was an oblong chamber
of stone, called a giant-chamber (Jætte-stue), from the enor-
mous size of the stones of which it was usually composed.
In these the body was laid, sometimes in a sitting posture,
sometimes stretched out, or when it had been burned the
ashes were sometimes placed in an urn, sometimes scattered
about. In latter times the entrance to these chambers was
secured by beams of timber.-The " Kuml," of older date
than the haugr, was lower and less considerable, but in these
also, the body was above ground, being covered with earth
loosely thrown together.-The " Dys" was destined for slaves,
criminals, or prisoners, offered to the gods. The bodies were
cast into a hole, under a hedge or into a wood, and earth or
rubbish thrown over them. These were never covered with
green turf, nor marked by monumental stones. The summits
of barrows are often encircled with stones, and those were the
most complete which consisted of three eminences, with a
stone altar (Cromlech) on the centre one.
tr
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
117
alighting entered the cabin, which was so low that
they were obliged to bend nearly double. The
peasant's family consisted of himself and his old
wife, and of a son and a daughter, Tialf and Roska.
The old woman lamented to Thor, that she had
nothing to offer him for supper but some roots.
Thor answered that he would provide food, and
bade her prepare the table. He then took Miöl-
ner, his hammer, and slew his two he-goats, and
having stripped them of their skins, put them into
the boiler. The skins were spread out carefully
before the hearth, and Thor desired the peasant to
be sure to put all the bones into them. When the
meat was cooked, they all sat down to supper:
The peasant's meagre store
Not ev❜n a dish could yield:
It matter'd not to Thor,
Who ate from off his shield.
The goats were soon devour'd,
A part was left to bleed,
The blood in jugs they pour'd,
And straight 'twas sparkling mead.
During the supper, however, Tialf, the boy, had
contrived to get a thigh-bone of one of the goats,
which he brake for the sake of the marrow. Thor
staid over the night in the cottage. The next morn-
ing, before dawn, he rose, and taking Miölner in his
hand he swang it in the air over the goat-skins and
F
118
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bones.
The goats immediately sprang up in life
and spirits, but one of them was lame in the hind
leg. Thor's anger on this was kindled. He said
that the peasant or his people must have been
careless with the bones, seeing that a thigh-bone
had been broken. It would be in vain to seek to
describe the terror of the whole family, when they
saw how Thor's forehead became wrinkled, and
his eye-balls nearly turned round with fury. He
grasped his hammer-haft so hard, that his knuckles
became white. They all fell on their knees and
begged for mercy, offering as compensation all
that they possessed. When Thor saw their terror
he took pity on them, and his anger completely
disappeared. He demanded, however, that Tialf
and Roska should forthwith enter into his service,
to which the peasant gladly consented. The goats
and car were now left at the cottage, and the two
Aser with their attendants set out on foot for Jotun-
heim.
#
Of Tialf it should be told,
Right well the lad turn'd out:
He proved a warrior bold,
His heart and arm were stout.
7 The heathen Finn-lapps still take care not to break the
bones of the animals which they sacrifice, saying, that the gods
may put flesh and skin on them again.-F. Magnussen.
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
119
This came of hearty food,
To eat he ne'er was slack;
In favour high he stood
With Thor, and bare the pack.
A form as Freya's bright
Had Roska, blue-eyed maid;
Her bosom round and white
In glittering steel array'd.
Proud smiled the maiden fair,
Pleased with her waving crest,
Her yellow, silken hair,
A golden morion prest.
8
Miölner o'er shoulder thrown,
Resolve mark'd in his look,
As Thor strode stoutly on
His rattling copper shook.
With arms less cumbrous dight,
Loke, lightly tripp'd along,
From casque with silver white
His dark locks loosely hung.
They travelled on with such speed that they soon
arrived at the sea, which it was necessary to pass.
8 The Scandinavians had made considerable progress in
the art of working copper, whilst yet ignorant how to sepa-
rate iron from the ore. In the interesting collection of Nor-
thern Antiquities at Copenhagen, there are some swords of
copper, the edges of which are sheathed with thin plates of
iron (probably meteoric), for the sake of its superior hardness.
C
120
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
The storm was raging with great fury, and Ran's⁹
voice might very easily be distinguished in the
midst of it. It was now evident to Thor that
Loke's heart began already to fail, and turning to
him he told him that it was of no avail to be
alarmed, that he himself had first proposed the
adventure, and that it should never be said that
Thor turned back from any undertaking for fear
of danger.
Then like some ponderous rock
He plunged into the wave:
Ran, frighten'd at the shock,
Slunk to her inmost cave.
With courage fill'd, the rest
Follow'd their fearless lord;
The sea their mail'd sides press'd,
And round them, threat'ning, roar'd.
For many a league they toil'd,
With desperate strength, along:
Hark! o'er the billows, wild,
And clear mermaid's 10 song.
Hid by some sea-worn cliff
She chants ill-omen'd dirge:
trow, with sinews stiff
They buffet now the surge.
9 Ran, the wife of the sea-god, Ægir, was cruel and ava-
ricious, and caused all shipwrecks.
10 The belief in mermen and mermaids is still common in
Norway and Denmark. Their appearance portends a storm.
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
121
1
The storm increased in violence, but Thor con-
tinued to encourage his companions, and to help
them when their strength was failing, and at length,
in spite of all difficulties, they reached the opposite
shore. They were however still in a lamentable
plight, hungry and dripping with wet. The moon
which gleamed for a moment from out the dark
clouds, showed all around a wild, trackless desert,
overgrown with dwarf birch. Thor said that no
time was to be lost, but that they should proceed
at once up into the country.
With many a weary step,
Through fen and bog they wend,
Now on the smooth ice slip,
Now sink into the sand.
The labouring sky was black
As raven's glossy plume,
Save where with vivid streak
Blue lightnings mock'd the gloom.
Comets with fiery tails
Shot swift the heaven athwart,
The hail fell thick, huge whales
Bellow'd in monstrous sport;
Bitter the keen wind blew,
Young Roska swoon'd for fear,
Loke quick to aid her flew,
He ever loved the fair.
Thor at length began to lose his temper, which
Utgardelok had tried to the utmost. He muttered:
122
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
the giant thinks to bring me to shame, but I will
tame his insolence. At length in the midst of the
desert, they espied a kind of hut, which they en-
tered, in order to obtain shelter against the pelt-
ing of the storm. It consisted of one vast room,
of an extraordinary shape, being neither round nor
square, and one entire side was occupied by the
entrance. They were too wearied, however, to
trouble themselves much about this, and having
devoured the contents of Tialf's pack, they all lay
down to sleep except Thor, who placed himself to
watch at the entrance of the hut in a sitting pos-
ture. His eye-balls glared dreadfully out on the
waste, with one hand he grasped Miölner, the
other was placed beneath his chin. He did not
stir once during the whole night.
II. ENCHANTMENT ON THE HEATH.
Whilst Thor was thus on the watch, he heard
suddenly, towards morning, a noise which seemed
to issue from beneath his feet, and so loud that it
could not have been caused by anything mortal.
Thor called out angrily to know who dared to dis-
turb the rest of those within the hut, and receiving
no answer, his ire got up, and he sprang upon his
feet, resolved to punish the intruder. By the aid
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
123
of the fiery meteors which were playing about, he
perceived, stretched out at length, a huge giant
asleep, whose bulk was so great that it covered
several acres of ground. Thor did not hesitate
long as to the course he should pursue, but swing-
ing Miölner around was about to put an effectual
stop to the insolent snoring of the giant, when sud-
denly as if aware of the stroke, he rose up lightly,
and then first Thor became fully aware of his pro-
digious size. He had a long spear or spud in his
hand. Thor could not help being a little amazed
at so unexpected an apparition, but after a slight
pause, demanded of the giant who he was, and
whence he came? He replied that his name was
Skrymner, and that he came from Jotunheim,
where he served the king Utgardelok. He added
that he had no need to ask who Thor was as he
knew very well that he was no friend to giants.
He had heard, he said, a great deal of Thor's feats,
but that after all the god seemed to him nothing
very wonderful, and that it would be no hard mat-
ter to place him, armour and all, on one hand.
He remarked at the same time that he himself was
held in but little esteem in Jotunheim. Soon
after, turning round, he called out that he had
lost his gauntlet, and kneeling down groped about
in search of it, when at length, laying hold of the
124
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
hut in which they had been passing the night, he
lifted it up with the greatest ease.
Now morn the heaven had clear'd,
And plainly all descried,
What erst a hut appeared,
Was but a gauntlet wide.
Muttering betwixt his teeth
The giant drew it on,
Thor's comrades held their breath,
Their courage was nigh gone.
Thor, however, was not in any degree daunted,
but told his companions not to be down-cast; that
he had never yet heard that size was a proof of
courage, and that a wolf would have no difficulty
in overcoming an ox. He added, that the foul
giant was much mistaken if he thought to intimi-
date him, or to weaken his trust in Miölner. After
a short silence, Skrymner observed, that it was a
very strange taste to journey so far to see a barren
waste of sand, and asked Thor why he came to
Jotunheim?
Him answer'd haughtily,
The god to warriors dear;
It pleased me here to be,
And therefore am I here.
He added, that having heard much in Asgard of
Utgardelok, he was resolved to see him face to
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
125
face, and that as for his magic and his frozen
mountains, he only laughed at them.
All Niffelheim seem'd loose,
So loud the giant roar'd:
"Thy neck into a noose
Thou runn'st:" such was his word:
"Take warning ere too late,
Tall ramparts gird about
Our realm, from which ne'er yet
Unscourged came Aser out.
"Turn back, thou warrior true,
Nor madly further roam,
Too late, the hour thou❜lt rue,
Thou sought'st the giant's home.
With no benign intent
Thou com'st our monarch near:
On strife and war thou'rt bent,
Be warn'd, 'twill cost thee dear.
"Turn back, thou Aser bright,
Back from this hostile soil;
Turn to thy realms of light,
What boots it here to while!
A wild, which foot ne'er paced ;
A sea, where tempests roar;
Thy sires as barriers placed
'Twixt us and Asgard's shore.
"There joys which never cloy,
The feast, the fight, the dance,
By turns your days employ,
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SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
To
Gilt by Soel's" ceaseless glance.
ye fond nornies shared
A lordly destiny;
On earth, adored, and fear'd,
Blissful in heaven to be.
"But Ymer's banish'd race
Far other lot obtain’d :
Bare rocks our dwelling-place,
To hard deeds we are train'd.
For us no flame ascends,
Mortals no altars raise;
Terror our steps attends,
Cunning and strength our praise.
"Our halls, caves dark and low!
Torch-lit, our rocks beneath:
As th' Aser life bestow,
We bring disease and death;
Earth hides us in her womb,
Thick, knotted clubs we wield,
Within our cavern's gloom
E'en gods with fear are chill'd.'
""
An instant Thor held back,
He struck his shield with force,
"Enchanter foul,” he spake,
In voice with passion hoarse:
""Tis well thy stature tall
Saves thee from Miölner's swing:
"Soel was a goddess who directed the course of the sun;
her brother, Mone, governed in like manner the moon.
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
127
Ї
!
Were we in Thrudheim's 12 hall,
Mine arm should lightnings fling.
“Of Utgard, a vile slave,
Bid Thor to change intent!
A peasant, arm'd with stave,
Question my hardiment!
What, tho' thy misshaped head
Thou lift'st on high, so proud,
Think'st thou to strike with dread
Valhalla's warrior god!"
The god with rage flow'd o'er,
He clench'd his mail-clad hand:
"Were there of giants more
Than grains of ocean sand,
Or snakes on Nastrond's 13 wall
Me little 'twould import,
To earth I'd fell them all,
Nor ask more welcome sport.
“Thou swoln and turgid sponge,
Spite of thy brittle spear,
I'd slay thee with one lunge
Of my good falchion here:
Let earth's weak children cow'r
Before thine aspect grim,
To crush thee, Thor hath pow'r
With but his buckler's rim."
12 Thor's residence.
13 Nastrond, the Scandinavian hell, was built of snakes.
128
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
Thor ended by upbraiding the giant with the
treachery and cruelty of his race, and by remind-
ing him of the Nornies' decree, that the whole of
them and Utgardelok himself were one day to
perish by the hands of the Aser. Skrymner was
now in great alarm, and seeing that Thor was
preparing in earnest for combat, he sought to
pacify him, and said, that since the god was re-
solved to go to Utgard, he himself would be the
guide, and would find provision on the way, of which
they would stand much in need. He added, that
he had no doubt, that his monarch would be well
pleased to see so distinguished a warrior at his
court. Accordingly they proceeded onwards,
Skrymner with a wallet on his back leading the
The road led along a wide lake, and as
they advanced began to assume a more smiling
appearance. Roska, who had been much alarmed,
resumed her courage, and Loke beguiled the time
by his pleasant jests.
way.
They quicken'd now their pace,
For th' evening star 'gan peer,
Skrymner, with smiling face,
Show'd where a grove was near.
This reach'd, his wallet down
The weary giant laid,
And, in a friendly tone,
Thus to the wanderers said:
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
129
"Beneath this leafy shade
We'll lay us down to sleep,
Till o'er the dewy glade
The grey morn 'gins to peep."
He gave Thor the wallet, which was fastened in a
curious manner, saying, that it contained as good
a supper as Sif14 herself could have prepared, at
the same time he begged the god be careful in
untying the strings, as he did not wish them to be
broken. He then retired into the wood and lay
down to sleep.
Under the grove's warm lee,
Shelter'd from rain and blast,
Stretch'd 'neath a greenwood tree,
He soon in sleep was fast.
Upon the velvet lawn
God Thor, and Roska fair,
And Loke, and Tialf, sate down
To breathe the evʼning air.
The elves, with flow'rs who deck
The meads, their strength renew.
Being hungry, Skrymner's pack
The thund'rer near him drew.
To Roska then he spake :
"Let's to our host be true:
14 Sif was Thor's wife.
K
130
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY,
The supper out to take,
Sweet maid, must fall to you.
The giant charged enow
To spare his paltry bands :
His wallet scarce, I trow,
Could fall to gentler hands."
With ready smile the maid
Sank on her knee, so round,
T' unloose, as Thor had bid,
The strings the pack that bound.
This, however, she found no easy matter, and
having tried in vain for some time, she was obliged
to give up the attempt. Thor now called to Tialf
to take the job in hand, observing that he had not
the appearance of one who would like to go to bed
supperless. Tialf sate down on his hams, and
putting the wallet betwixt his knees thought to
have opened it presently, but he found that the
more he picked at the knot, the tighter it became,
so he abandoned the task also, and said that were
he master, he would cut it at once. Thor, how-
ever, would keep his word and bade Loke try,
remarking that it would be a cunning wight who
could puzzle him. Loke did so, but could not
succeed. Thor laughed heartily to see how Loke
was vexed at his ill success, and at last set about
untying the wallet himself; he pulled and twisted
the knot with his brawny hands, but it foiled him
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
131
as well as the others. His wrath now began to
rise, and drawing his sword, he sought to cut the
strings, but although he hewed with all his might,
he could not sever one. By this time he had be-
come quite furious, and seizing Miölner, cried out,
the churl would be merry at our expence, but
unless my hammer fail, he shall rue his joke.
The God with fell intent,
Now gather'd all his strength,
And to the giant went,
Who lay stretch'd out at length.
A well-aim'd blow he struck
Just where the brows unite,
With force might cleave a rock,
Truth, 'twas a fearful sight.
Scarce roused, his heavy eyes
The giant open'd, half;
At his side Thor espies
All arm'd, and with him Tialf—
"What could have made me wake,"
Quoth he; 'twas sure a leaf-
Well Thor, what news o' th' pack?
Hast eaten all the beef?”
With rage Thor near had burst,
Fiercely his lips he bit:
He mutter'd: "Slave accurst!
Thou shalt not 'scape me yet.”
The giant gave no heed,
But slowly turn'd him o'er,
132
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
盒
​And soon the woody glade
Re-echo'd with his snore.
Thor, bent on deadly harm,
Frowning again drew near,
Miölner with out-stretch'd arm
Three times he swang in air.
The stroke was levell'd well,-
Swift as the meteor shaft
Full on his front it fell,
And sank up to the haft.
:
This Skrymner seem'd to move;
With force he struck his head.
"A murrain on the grove,"
In grumbling tone he said:
"In peace one cannot rest,
Some berry's bruised my crown,
What, Thor! still up! 'twere best
Till morn to lay you down."
The little feather'd quire
The grove, in terror, fly.
-
Low murm'ring 'twixt his teeth,
He soon resank to sleep.
Awhile Thor held his breath;
He groan'd in spirit, deep;
To Odin, his great sire,
He raised his voice on high,
His eyes like lightnings flash'd,
He drew his girdle tight,
On Skrymner's temple crash'd
The steel with awful might.
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
133
It made the giant start:
He roar'd aloud: "How now !
What makes my forehead smart?
There must have fall'n a bough."
But the morning sun having now appeared above
the trees, he rose up, and saying that it was time
to proceed on their journey, he took up the un-
opened wallet and led the way to Utgard. In a
short time they came in sight of the town, and
Skrymner having pointed it out to Thor, told him
he must now leave him. He showed him, how-
ever, the way he was to take, and gave him his
spud, by placing which against lock or bar, they
would immediately open or fly back. He then
bade the travellers farewell, wishing them luck,
and telling them they would have need of their
courage, and striding straight over rock and river
he was soon out of sight.
III. THOR IN HELHEIM.
The facts which we have now to relate are of so
extraordinary a nature, that they almost exceed
belief. The way of the travellers lay across a
wide plain covered with ice, and for every step
that Thor and his companions took it seemed as if
they slipped back two. At length, when nearly
एस
134
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
exhausted, they reached a point from whence a
pathway led through the rocks, down towards the
gates of the town.
The night-owl mournful scream'd,
The heav'ns as pitch were black;
Half crazed poor Roska seem'd,
Kept close to God Thor's back.
For many a weary hour,
Still deeper down they went,
Heard chafing torrents roar,
In rocky prisons pent:
Pale spectres flitted past;
The god, with lengthen'd stride,
Adown the steep way fast,
In silence, onwards hied.
On a sudden on turning the point of a rock, they
perceived what through the thick darkness seemed
to be a taper's light, but as they advanced they
found it was the glare of a fire-brand. At the
same moment the moon gleamed faintly on the
bare rocks near them, and they saw a large cavern
which yawned across the path-way. Entering it,
they arrived at a wicket before which sate two tall
ghastly spectres.
Both hasten'd up to rise
As Asa-Thor drew near,
And with dull, stony eyes
Return'd the war-god's stare.
4
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
. 135
A woman one appear'd,
The other was a man :
No mortal eye had dared
Their hideous forms to scan.
Rattled their leaden teeth,
They shook with icy pain,
Theirs was the chill of death,
May ne'er know warmth again.
A plume of raven hue
Shadow'd each bloodless head:
Over their armour blue
White winding-sheets were spread.
Their maces, strange to tell,
Of dead men's bones were made.
Heavy to earth they fell,
Might stout heart have dismay'd.
In deep, sepulchral tone,
The spectres slowly spake,
"Twas like a half-check'd groan,
Made Tialf and Roska quake.
"What hath your footsteps here,
Ye rash intruders, sent?
Your blood runs warm and clear,
Your days not yet are spent.
15
"Ye yet may fall in fight,'
What come ye here to seek
15 Those who were slain in battle passed at once to Val-
halla, and were not subjected to Hela, who had sway over
those only who died peacefully in their beds.
136
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
:
Within these realms of night?
Turn back, insane, turn back!
Here an enchantress dread
Governs with iron sway,
All who on peaceful bed,
Inglorious, quit the day."
Thor, upon this, turned to his companions and
said, that from what they had just heard it was evi-
dent that they had been misled, and that this must
be the gate of Helheim. He added, jeeringly, to
Loke, that the prospect of seeing his daughter
Hela must be highly gratifying to him.
Loke felt the bitter taunt,
Was white with ire his cheek;
Sudden he turn'd askant
As if retreat to seek.
"I'll stay not here, my race,"
He cried: "in plight forlorn
To view this hateful place,
I'll quit and back return.”
But Thor told him to beware how he took a step
which might bring him to destruction, and re-
proached him for repining like a woman at what
the decree of the nornies had rendered inevitable.
He added, that although no one could think on
his offspring without shuddering, even Odin him-
self could not pretend to despise them, and that he
for his own part and all good warriors held Hela
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
137
in high esteem, as the scourger of cowards. This
discourse of Thor succeeded in bringing back
Loke to a better way of thinking, and the god now
lifting up Skrymner's spear struck it against the
gate, which immediately flew open with a noise
like a gust of wind.
The way Thor foremost led,
He fear'd nor foe nor spell;
Heavy and dull their tread
In the dead silence fell.
Roska, the fearful maid,
Her cheeks as lilies white,
To Thor close ever stay'd,
And his rough hand held tight.
The travellers were now completely shut out from
the light of day, and the road, which wound
through fractured rocks of granite, was so narrow
that it was with difficulty that two could go abreast.
At length they arrived at a lofty vaulted cavern,
along the walls of which were ranged side by side
a countless multitude of pale shivering ghosts, who
gazed timidly on the strangers as they passed, and
as Thor drew near, fled from him in great terror.
At the end of the cavern stood a throne com-
posed of skulls and human bones, on which sate
Hela, the queen of death, she was hideous to look
upon, half of her body being white and half blue.
Instead of a sceptre she held in her hand a dead
138
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
man's bone, which had been bleached in the moon-
light. No sound was to be heard but hollow sighs,
damp fogs rose from the earth, and the air smelt
like a newly stirred grave. The only light pro-
ceeded from three funeral tapers, which were held
by the same number of skeletons.
Reck'd not the Aser proud,
With fierce disdain he burn'd,
And to the trembling crowd
Contemptuously turn'd:
"So be it with those," he cried :
"Who fear like men to die,
Who, living, Thor denied,
Dead, let them wail and sigh.
"Ye woman-hearted fools,
Who shrank from wounds and strife,
What boots, where Hela rules,
Your soft inglorious life?
Your souls the battle-horn
Ne'er fill'd with warlike glee:
To cower were ye born,
Cower to eternity!"
Then straight to Hela's throne
Advanced the warrior stern,
And spake in gentler tone:
"Well pleased am I to learn
That in thy realms, gaunt queen!
Cowards find fitting doom,
But do not falsely ween
That willing, here we come.
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
139
"Tow'rds Jotunheim to hie,
To Utgard's king, we thought;
'Twas Skrymner's ready lie
Our footsteps hither brought.
I trow the way we've lost:
To the dark monarch's home,
Then say, if that thou know'st,
How we may readiest come."
Hela to Miölner's lord,
With grating voice, replied;
(Such noise gives edge of sword
On steel-proof helmet tried).
"Leave quick my cavern's gloom!
Your way is straight, begone!
Your full cheek's healthful bloom
I dare not look upon.”
Thor now made a sign to his companions to move
on quickly. As Loke passed his daughter he
turned away his head, and seemed choked with
grief. A mournful sigh escaped Hela, which was
re-echoed heavily through the cavern. They all
made the best of their way out of the kingdom of
the grisly queen, and passing through the bowels
of the earth, at length reached the northern side
of the icy mountain.
IV. THOR ARRIVES AT UTGARD.
After all his adventures, Thor was not sorry at
length to have reached Utgard, although it had but
F
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a gloomy appearance, being surrounded with black
rocks and yawning chasms, and the neighbourhood
covered with ice and eternal snows. Before the
gates, which wėre secured by massive chains and
bolts, there were huge giants keeping watch.
Their spears were tall pines, and their shields were
made of granite.
on.
When the strangers first drew near, they rose up
as if to oppose their progress, but looking a second
time they sate down in scorn, and bade them pass
They were much amused with Thor's hammer.
Thor for the present took no notice of them, but
striking his spear against the gate the bolts flew
back and it swang open. They entered a hall of
a wondrous size and height, lit up by torches, and
it soon appeared that they had forced the palace of
Utgardelok himself, for in the centre they beheld
the monarch seated on a lofty throne, surrounded
by a triple ring of giants in complete armour.
Thor, nothing daunted, advanced towards them
with a firm step. No one was stout enough to
attempt to bar his way, but yielding place he
reached the foot of the throne, and cast so fierce
a look upon the king that he could not endure it,
but turned away trembling.
The king now, on his side, in the hope of terri-
fying Thor, struck thrice on his shield with his
steel mace, and immediately the hall began to
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141
shake, the walls and roof laboured and split, flames
burst from out the ground, and vast heaps of trea-
sure were exposed to view. Thor himself could
scarcely keep his legs. Utgardelok called out to
him that he had better be gone, or that the roof
would fall upon him. The god, looking upwards,
perceived a huge rocky fragment just tottering
over his head. He had scarcely time to say, that
"what could not be cured must be endured," and
that "whatever happened to him he should not
ask for his enemy's pity," when down fell the
mass, with a tremendous noise, and strewed the
whole ground with its fragments.
This only
caused Thor to smile. At the same moment a
dense, white vapour, with a suffocating smell,
issued from two clefts in the rock, and creeping
onwards, completely enveloped and threatened to
overwhelm them.
On grim Utgardelok
Thor scowl'd with vengeful eye :
"Innocuous fell thy rock,
Thy poison I defy.
Cease from thy malice vain,
Thou'st now to deal with one
Scorns thee and all thy train;
Thou strivest 'gainst Odin's son."
The demon quick replied:
"Thou thund'ring god, full well
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I know thee-wrath and pride.
The Aser's race reveal;
Usurping race, which now
Reigns in the realms of light;
Nay, boots not knit thy brow,
And Miölner grasp so tight.
"Thy pow'r to work us ill
Thou'st learn'd too high to rate;
Giants are giants still!
And that from ancient date:
Our race to light was brought
Full many an age before
Aser were known, or thought
Of Miölner was or Thor."
He then proceeded at length to give an account of
the first creation of the earth, &c. which, as our
readers have nothing to learn on that point, we
shall not repeat here. Thor, on his side, showed
that he was not a whit behind him in his cosmo-
gony, and maintained stoutly that there were no
grounds for the vain boast that the giants were of a
loftier descent, and that if Bergelmer and his wife
had not been by chance at sea, fishing, when Ymer
was killed, there would have been an end to the
whole race.
"But as the noxious weed,
Tho' ne'er so oft destroy'd,
Still, from some hidden seed,
Is ever fresh supplied :
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So ye, infernal brood,
To earth oft howling cast,
Still thirst for strife and blood,
Unmindful of the past.
"But know 'twill work ye ill,
On evil ever bent,
The world with crimes to fill,
And sorrows not content,
Your sacrilegious ire
Not Odin's self e'en spared.
His fane and sacred fire
To desecrate you dared:
""Tis therefore I am come
Here, to these regions low,
To tell thee, in thine home,
Thy treasons foul I know:
That thee and all thy brood,
For these thy felon deeds,
T'extirpate, but the nod
Of Bore's great son 16 there needs."
"Twas a fair sight to see
The lofty warrior god,
As in his majesty
And conscious might he stood.
Bright on his godlike breast
His golden cuirass shone,
The trembling giants prest
Close to their monarch's throne.
1
16 Odin.
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SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
144
Utgardelok was evidently much alarmed, but,
pretending that what had been done was only to
try Thor's courage, he said that he could not
suffer him to depart in anger, and invited him to a
feast, after which, they might prove their skill in
such sports as warriors delight in.
God Thor a prompt assent
To Lok's proposal gave:
To banquet then they went
Into an inner cave.
Of porphyr rimm'd with gold,
A slab with meats was spread;
From cups, the warriors bold,
Of amber, drank their mead.
For musick, rippling streams
And moaning winds made chime;
A concert strange, me-seems,
But suiting place and time.
With Roska by his side,
The mead Thor deep 'gan quaff,
Loke Tialf with bumpers plied,
And loud went round the laugh.
V. ENCHANTMENTS IN UTGARD.
Whilst they were thus feasting and making
wassail, Asa-Loke, who could never remain long
quiet, said to Utgardelok: you talked of trials of
strength; for my part there is one feat to which I
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
145
challenge the best amongst you. The king asked
him what it was; and Loke answered that he
never yet met with any one who could equal him
in eating, that what he had already had was scarcely
enough to whet his appetite, and that unless he ob-
tained more he certainly should not desire to visit
Utgard a second time
Utgardelok calmly said that he would pledge
himself to find one who should be more than his
match, and making a signal there issued from one
side of the hall a giant, whose appearance might
have alarmed the boldest.
He gazed around with ire,
All o'er his armour play'd
Fork'd, hissing tongues of fire,
Most white, some blue, some red.
His long jagg'd iron teeth
Were set in double rows,
His mouth-of monstrous width-
His nails-like vulture's claws-
His body-meagre, gaunt—
His eyes two live coals seem'd—
His cheeks of ashy tint-
Fire from his nostrils gleam'd.
Loke was a little astonished at this apparition, but
relying on his powers, declared himself confident
of the victory. A trencher was now laid across
the table, and meats of every kind were heaped
L
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upon it until it could hold no more. Loge, which
was the name of the giant, was placed at one end,
Loke at the other. At a given signal they com-
menced like two famished wolves, but were soon
forced to desist, having met just mid-way.
The umpires then drew near,
Loke had not striv'n in vain;
His bones of flesh were bare,
No jot was to be seen:
But when the giant's place,
In turn they came to view;
He'd swallow'd all his mess,
And bones, and trencher too.
I trow there then was mirth,
Thor's sides were near to split,
Tialf rolled upon the earth,
Roska was in a fit.
Loke, crest-fall'n, left the hall,
And all, with one accord,
Unto the giant tall
The victory award.
The monarch then turned to Thor, and said that it
would be a reproach to him if by some feat he
could not make up for Loke's discomfiture, and
asked what the stripling could do. Tialf sprang
up and said: that he saw no great reason to be
proud of eating bones like a dog, but that he would
challenge any of the dark king's court to run with
him upon skees or snow-shoes.
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147
Utgardelok remarked that the choice was a good
one, and that swiftness of foot had often stood the
bravest in stead.
Then loud the king 'gan call,
And forth a dwarf there came,
Pliant as yew, but small
Of limb, Hugo his name.
His semblance vague and strange,
None 'captive him could make,
Still, restless, he would range
Nor e'er repose would take.
A veil was o'er him thrown.
Tialf owned that he had never before seen any one
so supple. They repaired to a vast plain covered
with snow, and began the race, but Hugo had by
far the advantage, and met Tialf face to face,
returning from the goal. Utgardelok said that
they had better try again, and that Tialf might
speed better. They did so, but Tialf, although he
never once drew breath, still lagged behind a
whole bow-shot. He begged for one more trial
which was granted, but Hugo again reached the
goal before Tialf had gone half way.
On this the judges declared that Hugo was the
conqueror, who straight vanished away like a
dream. Utgardelok said: that as far as he had
witnessed he held the expertness of his guests in
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1
but light esteem, but that Thor had yet to choose
what feat he would attempt, and might perhaps
redeem their credit.
The god replied: "'tis well,
Let straight be brought me here
A horn of Hydromel,
The draught I love, or beer;
Though Asa-Loke with shame
Was foil'd, he deep must drink
Who Thor to treat the same,
In emptying cups, doth think."
The king a signal gave,
And, on his shoulders borne,
Straightways a brawny slave
Dragg'd in a monstrous horn-
Right ancient did it seem,
'Twas form'd of wroughten gold,
And, all around the rim,
Were graven letters old.
They had now returned to the hall. Thor could
not help looking with astonishment on the horn,
which was so large that one end remained on the
outside of the cavern. The king said, sneeringly,
that he would not be very thirsty when he had
drunk that out, adding that there were but few in
Utgard who could empty it at a draught, and that
it required good wind to do so in two, but that
none ever failed in three.
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149
Quoth Loke to Utgard's king:
"With Asa-Thor to drink
No god in Valhal's ring,
But with despair would shrink—
When the brisk mead goes round,
By blue-ey'd Valkyrs pour'd,
His potent draughts astound
The thirstiest at the board.
"It may have reach'd your ear
How that to Mimer's fount,
Each morning, to repair
Odin to drink is wont:
The horn in which the sage
The gifted liquor pours,
The one-eyed's ¹ thirst t'assuage,
In size far passeth yours.
17
"It chanced, when Odin once
From Asgard was away,
Thor thought him, for the nonce,
The magic well to see;
The horn, fill'd to the brim,
The thirsty thunderer quaff'd,
Light emprize seem'd it him
To drink it at a draught.
"Of th' hardy deed the fame
Was in each Aser's mouth,
When t' Odin's ears it came,
The raven-god was wroth;
17 An epithet of Odin, vid. c. 2.
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It grieves me of my son,
Quoth he: that inen should tell
Such freaks, I trow that soon
He'll drink e'en Urda's well.18
"Thus, by a lucky theft,
Did Thor his wit obtain,
He'd, else, been quite bereft,
Nor great e'en now the gain :
But if that Mimer's cup
To clear, so little cost,
Be sure your lesser stoup
Will off with ease be tost."
Loke, thus as usual, vented his spleen against
Thor in an under voice to Utgardelok, who told
him to be under no apprehension as to the result
of the undertaking. But they now ceased their
conversation, for Thor taking up the huge cup in
both his hands began to drink, and at the same
moment a hollow noise, like the rushing of waters,
was heard.
Not thirstier the parch'd sand
Drinks up the thunder shower,
When on th' exhausted land
Its quickening waters pour;
Than Thor the liquor plied;
When now he'd quench'd his thirst,
Into the horn he spied,
But lo! as at the first,
18 Urda, the Norny of the past, v. ch. viii.
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151
'Twas full up to the brim.
He stood not long in doubt,
Though strange it seem'd to him;
Resolved to drink it out,
He lean'd on Miölner's haft,
And quaff'd the mead again,
Which down his weason chafed,
Like torrent down ravine.
So lustily he swill'd,
Might turn e'en Glommen 19 dry;
"I trow it now will yield,"
Quoth he and turn'd his eye
To see how far't had sunk,
But still, e'en as before,
'Twas full-in vain he'd drunk-
Furious he stamp'd the floor.
M
The lord of Thrudheim shook
With baffled pride and wrath :
The horn he fiercely took
And lifted to his mouth;
He drank, as when of yore
Th' abyss drank Ymer's blood,
The dark king's brow 'gan lour,
Trembling the giants stood.
19 The Glommen is the largest river in Norway, clear and
rapid. It rises in the mountains above Roraas, and, after a
course of near three hundred English miles, entirely through
Norway, falls into the North Sea near Friedrichsstadt. In
its course it forms from fifteen to twenty considerable water-
falls, of which the principal are the Sarpen-foss, near its
mouth, the Mörch-foss, and the Vammen's-foss.
A
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Thor was not one to flinch,
But all the god could do,
The drink scarce sank an inch,
The horn to earth he threw,
And cried: " More and I burst,
Boots not to strive at odds,
The fever's burning thirst
Consumes not Valhal's gods.
“With revelry and laugh
In the bright face of day,
To glad our hearts we quaff,
Not parching heat t' allay."
Quoth Lok: "We giants think
Deep drinking proof of might,
That those at board who shrink
Are like to shrink in fight.”
He added, however, as there was time enow left,
that if Thor was disposed they might try some
other feat, and proposed to lift weights from the
ground. Thor had no objection, and the king
defied him to lift up his cat. Upon this a strange
dingy looking cat appeared with scales like a ser-
pent, and fixed its fiery eyes upon the god. Thor,
bending down, placed his hand under the belly,
and summoning his strength, sought to raise it
from the ground,
But still, the more he strove
The cat the higher stretch'd,
}
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:
t
Until the very roof
O' th' cave at length it reach'd:
Thor struck it with such might
A fragment vast flew out;
But, all his force despite,
He could but raise one foot.
Now, when all vain he found,
With rage his teeth he gnash'd,
And, furious, to the ground
The struggling monster dash'd.
Quoth Lok: "My cat, no doubt,
Is large as here are all,
But though he think him stout,
The Thund'rer is but small."
Thor replied, that he hated all vain boasters, and
since Utgardelok had dared to mock him to his
face, he challenged him to come down from his
throne, and that they two should fairly try their
strength. The king said that there was no need for
such heat, seeing that they had only met for sport,
and that if Thor was anxious to wrestle he'd call in
his old nurse to try a fall with him.
On this, with wonted sneer,
Dark Loke of Asgard spake :
" The crone had best beware,
Nor, rash, her credit stake:
Perchance she ne'er hath heard
Thor's deeds on Geyruth's rock,20
20 Vid. ch. iv,
+
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SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
How of the giant lord
The daughters' backs he broke:
<<
Passing a river, one
Well-nigh the god had drown'd,
But with a pebble stone
He drove her from the ground;
Sure, of the mighty Thor
Well worthy was the feat,
In fight, three virgins fair
And an old man to beat."
Thus th' Aser false 'gan rail,
But Thor, who ill could brook
His taunts, with glove of mail.
To earth the caitiff struck.
His anger fiercely burn'd-
"What now, thou prating fool,"
He cried: "not yet hast learn'd
Thy venom'd tongue to rule?
"Thou shuffling weathercock,
Which each breeze turneth round!
Seed thrown upon a rock!
Echo to every sound!
Well doth it thee befit
The heavenly gods to jeer,
Whom, bounteous, they permit
At Valhal's board ť' appear!
"But, by great Odin's throne
Forbearance may be tried
O'er much❞—with alter'd tone,
The prostrate recreant cried :
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
I
155
1
"What have I done, great lord,
To rouse thy fearful ire?
Can then an idle word
Set Auka-Thor on fire?
"Who'd e'er believed a jest,
In sportive humour spoke,
Had in the thunderer's breast
Such angry feelings 'woke?
The hags, to all 'tis known,
Who fell beneath thy stroke,
Did nought in common own,
Save sex, with Embla's stock.
"They were not maids who feel
And cherish Freya's pow'r;
Their rugged breasts with steel
Were arm'd, and clubs they bore.
When that the sorcerer talk'd
Of the foul witch, his nurse,
Methought how they were baulk'd,
With her 'twill sure fare worse."
Quoth Thor: "To Loke ne'er yet
Did specious reason lack,
But what is past forget,
And learn thy tongue to check."
And now, a wither'd hag
Hobbled into the hall,
Like to a leathern bag
Her breasts, all shrivell'd, fall.
Upon a knotted crutch
Her feeble steps she stay'd;
|
:
:
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SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
Her eyes which rheumed much,
Were deep sunk in her head;
Like saffron was her cheek;
Her back as bow was bent;
Her foul hair matted thick;
She still cough'd as she went.
Quick from the witch unclean
The pure god, loathing, turn’d :
"What doth the sorcerer mean!
Is Thor the thunderer scorn'd!
Does the dark monarch trow
I'll stoop to prove my strength
With one, who's scarce enow
To walk the cavern's length ?"
But soon the god's disgust
Did to compassion yield;
In haste his hand he thrust
Into his copper shield,
And, from a hollow, out
Two fragrant apples took;
"Eat, mother, of the fruit,"
Quoth he: "fair hands did pluck
"From Bragi's golden tree:
Such is their magic pow'r
To th' oldest, presently,
They vigorous youth restore.”
Oppress'd with age, the crone-
To see her, aye! 'twas ruth-
Upon a stool sate down-
"I'm old," quoth she; "but youth
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157
"Eternal I enjoy--
Your needful apples keep—
Though all things I destroy,
I need nor food nor sleep."
With wonder Thor was struck
At such discourse obscure;
The god would fain have spoke;
But, sudden, from the floor
She leap'd, and round him tight,
Her long, lean arms she wound;
And strove, with all her might,
To cast him to the ground.
Like raging tigress, wild
Upon her prey she sprung,
And, though full long she toil'd,-
At length on one knee flung.
When, that a toothless crone
Valhalla's pride could worst,
The Aser saw, a groan
Forth from their bosoms burst.
Thor, wrathful, turn'd about
Unto the giant foul-
(6
Straight, traitor, lead me out,"
He cried;
"this witchcraft's hole.
"Unknown to my great sire,
I left the realms above
To Utgard to repair,
Thy hellish power to prove;
Hence is it that thy spells
O'er all my strength prevail,
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SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
He, who presumption quells,
Has doom'd it, here, to fail.
"But let not triumph vain
Move thee to ill-timed glee!
Soon shall these rocks again
My weighty hammer see;
Then shall appear who shuns
The strife, and if thy power
Thor's sword and Odin's Runes,
Combined, can triumph o'er.”
This said, the god in wroth
Hied tow'rds the gate with speed,
The way the monarch forth
From out the cave must lead:
In haste, Loke and the rest
Their lord to follow rose,
The gates, when scarce they'd past,
With a harsh grating close.
VI. ENCHANTMENTS EXPLAINED.
When Thor and his companions found that they
were clear out of the region of night, their blood,
which had been half frozen, began once more to
flow freely through their veins. The sun shone
brightly on the green fields and flowers, but it was
evident that Thor could not chase from his mind
the galling thought of his defeat. Utgardelok
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SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
159
remarked the dark cloud on his brow, which boded
him no good.
Deceived by magic art,
Though Thor had left his reign,
And burn'd but to depart
For Asgard's realms again;
He knew that the deceit
To Hlidskialf's lord 21 was known,
And fear'd, when th' Aser's feet
Stood before Odin's throne,
Th' all-knowing might reveal
His arts, and both unite
To make the giants feel
Their then resistless might.
He resolved, therefore, to put on the appearance of
candour, and to confess to Thor the imposture
which had been played upon him:
And so, in candid guise,
Though his false heart did quake
Within, the sire of lies
Thus to the thunderer spake :
"At length my fear's at end,
Thy foot my threshold's past,
And Skulda 22 dire forefend
It there again should rest.
21 Odin.
22 One of the three Nornies or fates, who presided over
the future.
!
•
.
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SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
"But since concealment now
No peril would avert,
And that, e'en in a foe,
I honour high desert;
Those feats, which e'en the best
Of Utgard glazed with fear,
And with alarm my breast
O'er-whelm'd, I'll now declare.
The rattling of thy car
On Bifrost,23 when I heard,
Nought good I hoped, O Thor!
From thy trip netherward:
But when that thine intent
I learn'd, t' Utgard to hie,
Each art thee to prevent
I straight resolved to try.
"I knew that, for defence,
'Twas vain to arms to flee
'Gainst Miölner's lord, and hence
Call'd to aid sorcery.
"Twas I the furious storm
Stirr'd up, thy course t'oppose;
In vain-thy bosom, firm,
Still o'er the wild waves rose.
"Here foil'd, quick out I drew
My form to monstrous height,
And, where thy course I knew,
As 'twere by chance, did wait:
23 The bridge of the Gods, the rainbow.
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161
I thought thee thus t'affright,
And back thy footsteps turn;
But I had yet thy might,
And courage high to learn.
"If with a magic knot
I knew thy pack to bind,
To mock thee, Thor, the thought
Ne'er came within my mind;
That freak nigh cost me dear,
The truth to tell, e'en now
'My blood runs cold with fear,
To think how thy first blow,
"To th' other twain though light,
Close to my temples fell;-
Perdy, an 't had me hit
I'd not been here to tell
The tale. But if, in doubt,
Thy mind still proof doth need,
Turn but thine eyes about,
Thy prowess thou may'st read."
Thor turn'd to where the plain
A rocky barrier crost,
Wherein three dells were seen,
One deeper than the rest.
"Each time that Miölner fell,"
Quoth Lok," the mighty stroke
Caused, as thou see'st, a dell,
I lay behind the rock,
•
"From thee, by magic, hid:
Trow me, I'll ne'er deny
M
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→
That when, O Thor! there's need,
Thy blows fall heavily—
I led thee next astray
To Hela's shadowy reign,
But here thy course to stay
My hopes, as erst, were vain.
"And now, in turn, to speak
Of all that late befel,
Need was by charms to seek
Your prowess to repel.
Thou, Loke, in eating, first
The palm did'st well contest;
E'en hunger's self might burst
To swallow such repast.
"But, though you quickly clear'd
The trencher, piled on high,
Your tooth, it soon appear'd,
With Lōge's could not vie:-
Still, need not thence be lower'd
Your pride, the Giant dire,
Who bones and flesh devour'd,
Know, was incarnate fire.'
C
"In running, Tialf, your meed
In question none will call;
To say the truth, your speed
With wonder fill'd us all.
The dwarf, so quick of limb,
Whom to out-run you sought,
No shame his victory deem-
That dwarf, Tialf, was my thought.'”
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163
Utgardelok then turning to Thor, said: "Your
achievements here, Thor, will be talked of in Ut-
gard for ages to come, and, indeed, exceed belief.
And first, with respect to the horn; you must have
perceived that one end of it was on the outside of
the hall, but it never struck you that it communi-
cated with the sea. I shall not speedily forget our
alarm when the liquor began to sink in it. If,
however, you have any doubt of the truth of what
I say, you have only to appeal to the evidence of
your senses."
Thor raised his eyes, and saw in fact that the
ocean, as far as they could reach, was dry. Upon
this his anger was kindled afresh to find how he
had been taken in, but the dark king would not
give him time to brood upon it, saying that he
would surely find no difficulty in pardoning a de-
ceit which had set the greatness of his power in so
clear a light, that he would soon reach Asgard,
and there-
The magic horn would find,
And, when in sportive mood,
Might cause, if so inclined,
The ocean's ebb and flood.
This last gibe made Thor quite lose his patience,
and he lifted up Miölner to fell his enemy to the
earth, who now, pale with fear, said that it would
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1
be little worthy of the Thunderer to slay one in no
respect his equal, and that the feats which he had
still to explain were even more worthy of admira-
tion than the rest.
The beast, which he had taken for a cat, and had
nearly strangled, was in fact Jormungandur, or the
great serpent, and the height to which he had
raised it would appear from the circumstance that
it was only its tail that remained on earth.
The ancient, wrinkled crone,
'Gainst whom your strength was staked;
Who seem'd with age fordone,
Who e'en your pity waked-
So feeble deem'd to be—
Who foil'd your manhood's prime,
And forced you bend the knee,
That hag despised was Time.
"Time, who eternal youth,
Though old, doth still enjoy;
Whose ever-gnawing tooth
Must all at length destroy.
She leaneth on a crutch,
And slow doth seem her pace,
But ne'er wight her may catch,
If once she by do pass.
"Her all-consuming might
Will lay us giants low;
Ay! and the spirits of light
Must fall before her too.
"
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
165
To earth on one knee thrown,
The aged beldame's power
Already once thou'st known,
Learn, hence, thy pride to lower."
Thor's patience now was spent,
Miölner with glove of steel
He grasp'd in firm intent
The king to earth to fell—
But king and rocks were gone,
The Thunderer's wrath was vain;
The Aser stood, alone,
In a wide silent plain.
VII. RETURN HOME.
At first Thor and his companions were much
perplexed to know exactly where they were, but
after journeying for a time they perceived a wood
at a distance, and proceeding towards it, at length
distinguished plainly a cottage in the midst of the
trees, which Tialf first recognized to be that of his
old parents. He set off at full speed towards it,
and Roska after him, striving which could arrive
the first.
A pollard lime, near bare
With age, stood nigh the cot,
'Neath which the ancient pair,
In the warm sun-shine, sat :
166
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
1
When the twain breathless came,
Th'old folks, leaped up for joy;
My Roska! cried the dame-
The gaffer-Tialf! my boy!
T
Th' old mother wept out-right-
Close to her aged breast
Her pride, her eyes' delight,
Her darling girl, she prest;
As the pure morning dew
Doth on the violet lie;
So the full tear the blue
Scarce dimm'd of Roska's eye.
Such scenes and horrors past,
When least she'd hoped again
In mother's arms to rest!
Sure 'twas some phantasm vain—
Not less the dame's surprize,
Ah! threefold happy day,
And can I trust mine eyes!
Can these my children be!
The aged sire, whose hair
Was white and eyes were dull,
Had well nigh dropp'd a tear:
On his son gazing full,
He cried: "Why, Tialf, my lad!
I scarce my son had known;
Thou'rt taller by a head,
And Roska, too, is grown.
"One moon has scarce grown old
Since, clown, thou left'st this place,
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
167
And, now, thy portaunce bold
No warrior would disgrace.
With ease thou wield'st thy lance-
And little Roska's mien
How changed! her blue eye's glance
Less downcast now I ween."
Tialf said that if any change had taken place in
them it was all owing to Thor, and the God then
coming up, the old peasants fell prostrate before
him, and by their simple expressions of gratitude,
soon dissipated the ill humour which Utgardelok's
treachery had caused in him. Having visited his
goats and car, and prepared a supper as before,
they retired to rest after their fatigue.
Not yet the lark had sung
Her earliest matin lay,
When up from couch they sprung,
And, e'er that dawn'd the day,
Nail'd on the shoes of gold,
The harness'd goats led out;
Then up the warriors bold
Into the chariot got.
I trow o' th' aged pair
Not little the surprise,
When, sudden, in the air
Aloft the car 'gan rise;
At first, young Roska's head
Was dizzy with the height;
But soon the maiden's dread
Was changed t' unmix'd delight.
•
168
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
:
From Bifrost's lofty bow
With wond'ring eye she gazed
On the wide scene below—
Quoth Thor: "Thou'lt sure be pleased,
Dear maid, all dangers o'er
To learn, henceforth a home
Thou❜lt find in Freya's bower-
In Thrudheim's hall may come
"No woman.' ,,
He then gave her a long description of Folk-
vangur, which was the name of the residence of
Freya, for which, on account of the length of this
chapter, we must refer the reader to another place.
Thor here, in Freya's train
The maid would place, for shield
And spear he well had seen
Were not for her to wield.
"Give back the arms," he said:
'Twas plain regrettingly :
“Such gear, thou gentle maid,
Is all too rude for thee.
“ To fair Folkvangur's queen
And nymphs I'll thee present—
More fit for Freya's train
Than deeds of hardiment.
No terror there thou'lt feel,
Pleasures thou'lt have enow,
To bear the warrior's steel
Needs sterner stuff, I trow."
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
169
O
Without any more delay, as Roska was content,
Thor repaired to the palace of the goddess, who re-
ceived her into her bower, where she has remained
ever since.
Thor to Valhalla hied
With Tialf, and took his place;
His son when Odin spied,
Could scarce a smile suppress.
The Valkyrs, clothed in white,
Fill'd him a welcome cup;
Then out they went to fight,
And hew'd till time to sup.
4
170
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
CHAPTER VI.
THOR'S VISIT TO THE GIANT HYMIR.
HYMIR, whom the reader must take care not to
confound with the Cosmogonic Ymer, was one of
the most powerful giants in Utgard. The sea-god
Ægir once gave a great entertainment to the Aser,
at which there was abundance of game and fish,
but a lack of drink. Ægir was highly gratified by
the honour of receiving such distinguished guests,
but his joy was somewhat diminished when Thor
called sternly for more liquor. The cause of the
deficiency appeared to be that Ægir had no caul-
dron of sufficient size to brew as much as was re-
quired, and he therefore humbly requested the God
to procure him one against another occasion.
Tyr who, although an Aser, is represented in
the Hymisquida as Hymir's son, told Thor that
his father possessed a kettle large enough, which
might be obtained by stratagem; and on this
suggestion the two Aser set out without delay on
the adventure.
On reaching Hymir's residence, near the ocean,
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
171
they were met by Tyr's grandmother, who had
nine hundred heads, in company with whom was
his beautiful, fair-haired mother, who offered to
her son and to Thor a welcome cup.
She told them that Hymir was from home, and
advised them to hide themselves under some ket- .
tles, for that he was at times inhospitable, and
prone to sudden fits of anger.
Late in the evening he came back from hunting
in bad humour; his wife received him with great
gentleness, and informed him of the arrival of
their son Tyr, whom they had so long expected,
adding that Veor,¹ their enemy, and the friend of
man was with him, and that they were both at that
moment under the kettles, and had scarcely the
courage to come forth.
Hymir, whose beard, covered with hoar-frost, re-
sembled a frozen forest, cast such a fierce look at
the kettles, that the beams and uprights on which
they stood split before it, and eight kettles fell
down, only one of which remained whole. Tyr
and Thor upon this advanced towards their host,
who did not seem very well pleased to see the
latter.
He ordered, however, three oxen to be roasted
The giants and gods spake different languages, in that
of the giants, Veor was the name given to the Thunderer.
*
172
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
for their supper, of which Thor for his single share
ate two, which made Hymir remark that the next
evening they must sup on what they could catch
for themselves. Thor proposed to go to fish, and
asked for bait. Hymir told him he might go
amongst the cattle and search for some.
He ac-
cordingly went, and seizing a coal-black bull by
the horns, tore off its head, they then rowed out to
sea.
Hymir took on his hook two whales at once:
Thor having baited his with the bull's head, hooked
the great Midgard's serpent, and dragging its
head to the edge of the boat, struck it with his
hammer, when it sank again.
On their return home, Hymir told Thor that if
he wished to give good proof of his strength, he
might break a cup, which the giant put into his
hands.
Thor dashed it against several stone pillars, but
to no purpose. At length Hymir's wife whispered
to him to throw it against her husband's head,
which he did, and the cup split into pieces, and
the giant bitterly deplored its loss.
At last, as a decisive proof of the strength of his
guests, Hymir challenged them to lift his large
kettle. Tyr endeavoured to do so in vain. Thor
took it up with ease, placed it upon his head, and
walked away with it. Hymir and a troop of
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
173
giants followed in order to recover it by force, but
Thor, as usual, slew them all, and carried off the
kettle in triumph to the place where the gods were
assembled, so that ever since Ægir, at the flax
harvest, has been able to give them a good drink-
ing bout.
-
2
Such is the account of Thor's visit to Hymir, as
given in the "Hymis-quida," or "Song about
Hymir," in the Elder Edda. The Prose Edda,
which Oehlenschläger has chiefly followed, gives a
different account both of its motives, and of its
result.
Thor could not sit down patiently under the
affront which had been put on him by Utgardelok,
and fearing lest his reputation might suffer from
the circumstance of his having been out-witted by
the giants, he resolved to repair to Jotunheim a
second time.
2 Hymisquida.
He presented himself therefore before Odin, and
acquainting him with his purpose, begged his as-
sistance. Odin told him that force would be of
but little avail against the giants, unless it was
joined with foresight, and by his magic art, Seid,
he prepared an ointment by means of which Thor
acquired the power of changing his form.
Having good reason to suspect Asa-Loke's ho-
14
+
174
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
nesty, he resolved this time to undertake the ad-
venture alone, and leaving behind him his car and
goats, he proceeded on his journey on foot.
O'er Dovre's ridge³ he strode,
For cliff nor torrent slack'd;
The tall pines, where he trode,
Like field of stubble crack'd.
Sneehattan's peak of snow,
And Jotunfieldt he past,
Then sought the plains below,
And the sea reach'd at last;
He mark'd in curling wreath,
The dull wave roll away,
And saw where, far beneath,
The serpent, brooding, lay.
His heart with hope beat high,
His voice shook as he spake,
Turning to Heaven his eye,
"No more, accursed snake,"
Quoth he:" in giant bend
Earth prison'd shalt thou keep,
Nor struggling sea-man send
To fell Ran's cavern deep."
But being now resolved to proceed with caution,
he began by changing his form.
Throwing his
3 The Dovre-fieldt is one of the loftiest parts of the great
Scandinavian chain of mountains, and Sneehattan its highest
peak.
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
175
ponderous helmet on the ground, it became a rock
covered with pines.
Next, from his cloven chin,
He tore the bushy beard;
Which, cast in the ravine,
A thorny copse appear'd.
A smooth-faced peasant boy
He stood, in wadmel¹ blue,
White Heimdall5 smiled for joy
The cunning wile to view.
Now straight to Hymir's grot
He hies, a simple hind,
His flaxen ringlets float
Wild in the morning wind;
His belt, by magic cheat,
A woollen girdle seem'd,
Art with like art to meet,
No shame the Aser deem'd.
Miölner, as woodman's axe,
Athwart his arm he bare,
His courage high 'gan wax
At thought of vengeance near.
In moss-lined cavern deep,
Lull'd by a torrent's play,
• Wadmel is a kind of coarse cloth made in Iceland, and
worn universally by the peasants in Norway and Denmark.
5 Nothing that passed on earth could escape the watchful
eye of Heimdall, the warder of the gods, who never quitted
his post, on the summit of Bifrost.
176
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
Taking his morning sleep,
At length the giant lay.
The poet in describing Hymir's residence gives a
vivid picture of Norwegian scenery, black rugged
rocks crowned with pines, a waterfall, a river
white with foam dashing through thick brushwood
down the ravine, and hard by a verdant dell filled
with cattle. On hearing a stranger's step, Hymir
sprang up, and demanded of the stripling how he
dared unbidden to venture into his wood. Thor
replied that he felt no apprehension :
"My pulse beats steadily,"
The youth replied: "for ne'er
Hath Nornies stern decree
Been changed, I trow, by fear—
One of a form so good,
Of generous soul should be;
My little drop of blood
What would it profit thee?"
He finishes a long speech by saying, that his object
was to obtain the giant's permission to accompany
him when he went out to fish.
The grisly giant grinn'd
So wide, that either ear
His mouth appear'd behind,
Ne'er yet was seen such leer;
The earth shook all around,
He laugh'd so heartily,
་
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
177
"One with a heart so sound
I'll never harm," quoth he.
He then granted the request, and invited Thor to
take shelter in his cave from the keen morning
wind, adding tauntingly,
"When many a league from shore
The kraken's snort we hear,
And whirling Maelström's roar,
'Tis then we'll talk of fear.
6 In a work like the present, a description of this much
celebrated monster ought not to be omitted, and we insert,
therefore, the account given of it in the Natural History of
Norway, by Bishop Pontoppidan, in his own words:
'I now come to the third, and, without doubt, the greatest
marine monster in the world, called the kraken or kraxen,
or, as some have it, the crab, which name seems to answer
best to the appearance of this round, flat animal, full of
arms and branches. Our fishermen relate (all with one
story and without the slightest contradiction), that when in
warm summer days they have rowed out a number of leagues
to sea, where usually there is a depth of from eighty to one
hundred fathoms, they sometimes find only thirty, twenty,
or less, and are then certain of taking fish in the greatest
abundance. This is a sign that the kraken is under them,
and they lose no time to profit by the circumstance, so that
sometimes a score or more boats are assembled together,
within a moderate circumference.
They have only to take the precaution of ascertaining, by
means of their leads, whether the depth remains the same or
diminishes. In the latter case not a moment must be lost.
N
178
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
Thor asked only to be put to the proof, and now
begged to be allowed to take with him what he
might want for his fishing. Hymir assented, tel-
ling him that for bait he would find a grub amongst
the cows. Thor went into the field, and a wild
bull rushing towards him, he seized it by the horns
and brake off its head, and then throwing it over
his shoulders leaped the enclosure, and hastened
to Hymir, who was getting the boat ready.
They give over fishing, and row away with all their might,
until they get into the usual depth. There, resting on their
oars, in a short time they see this unparalleled monster rise to
the surface, that is, not its whole body, (which probably no
human eye ever yet beheld, except in its young,) but merely
the upper portion of it which, according to eye-witnesses, is
about a mile and a half in circumference, many say more,
but I take the least for surety. This, at first, has the appear-
ance of a reef of low rocks covered with something which
resembles floating sea-weed. At length appear a number of
shining points and jags, which are thicker the higher they
are seen above the surface. Sometimes they are as high as a
moderate ship's mast, but strong enough to drag down the
largest ship of war. After a short time the kraken begins to
sink, when the danger is as great as before, for the whirlpool
caused by the descent of its body is so powerful that it draws
in every thing near it, like the Maelström. From the long
observation of fishermen, it appears that this animal feeds for
several months together, and during the succeeding months
evacuates its food in a substance resembling mud, which
discolours the water, and attracts immense shoals of fish of
every species, and when a sufficient number are assembled
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
179
When Hymir the bull's head
On the youth's shoulders saw,
He laugh'd, and own'd the deed
Was good for one so raw.
Then shoved the boat from shore,
Swift through the waves it flew,
Hymir plied well his oar,
'And Thor row'd stoutly too.
The god now became elated at the near prospect
over him, he swallows up his thoughtless guests, who in their
turn serve as a trap for others of a similar taste."-The Bi-
shop continues:-" As it is not to be expected that an occa-
sion should speedily occur of examining this terrible monster
alive, it is the more to be regretted that no one profited by
one rare opportunity. In the year 1684, a kraken (probably
young and heedless) came into Ulvangen Fjord, in the pro-
vince of Bergen, and stretching out its feelers, which it seems
to employ as a snail does its horns, they got entangled in
some trees near the Fjord, and in the crevices of the rocks,
so that it could not get loose again but died and rotted, the
stench arising from it being so great, that for a long time
after a part of Ulvangen's Fjord could not be passed by per-
sons of delicate smell." The fishermen in the north of Nor-
way still believe in the existence of the kraken, and a story
somewhat similar to the above was related to the author at
Dronthem a few years ago. The Maelström is scarcely less
celebrated than the kraken. It was a terrific whirlpool in the
Lofodden islands, the noise of which was said to be heard
at a great distance, and its strength so great as to engulph
everything which approached it. It was supposed to be
caused by a vast hole which went through the earth. Many
180
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
of measuring himself with the serpent, and gave
full liberty to his thoughts. If he could succeed in
slaying it,
(6
By Yggdrasill, the feat
Would glad me more, by far,
In Valhall than to beat
Ten score Einheriar.
What fruitful seeds of ill
To mar man's mortal state,
have denied the existence of any whirlpool at all in these
islands, but Von Buch (no mean authority) maintains the
affirmative, and explains the phenomenon as follows.—“ In
all the streights between the Lofodden islands, the current
runs with great rapidity, on which account they bear. for the
most part such names as Grim-ström, Nass-ström, Sund-
ström, &c. and in the long canals, where the influence of the
tide reaches but partially, a bonâ fide waterfall is produced,
similar to that under the old London bridge, only in a much
greater degree. Such is the celebrated Maelström near the
islands Moskoe and Veroe. These currents change their
direction with the ebb and flow four times a day, but the
Maelström is only dangerous when the north-west wind
blows violently in a contrary direction to the ebb. Then
the conflict of the meeting waters is truly terrific, whatever
approaches the whirlpool, whether boat or fish, is engulphed,
and its roar is heard at sea at a great distance. The expec-
tation of mariners is almost always disappointed, for these
violent winds are rare in summer, the only time at which
they visit these seas."
•
7 The name of the great Ash. ·
•
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
181
And earth with woes to fill,
From the worm emanate!
His pestilential breath
Fevers and plagues doth cause,
And each disease to death
Which man untimely draws.
When one in manhood's prime
Feels his approaching end,
And ere yet lapsed his time,
To Hela's power must bend;
When his heart-broken spouse
Sees hope's last promise fail,
Then his fell might he'll rouse
To mock the widow's wail.
Her babe, which will not rest
When the pale mother clasps,
And gives in vain the breast,
Struggling for life it gasps.
Poor babe, as early rose
Late fresh-she sees its eye
In death for ever close-
Nor weeps
for
agony:
When one, who purely burns,
Absent for many a year,
To his true love returns
And finds her on her bier.
When from a mourning realm
Some virtuous prince is ta'en,
Or chief has bow'd his helm;
Then sure the foul snake's seen
¿
+
ľ
182
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
Writhing for joy. Their birth
All serpents, which infest
Man's central spot of earth,
Draw from his nostril's blast.
The great snake, whose wide jowl,
(To th' southwards, far away)
Will gulp a raging bull,
Through him first saw the day.
Its tail wound round an oak
It watcheth long its prey,
Which from th' affrighted flock
Struggling it drags away.
Others, with diamond eyes,
To Askur's mortal race,
Death-doom'd! though less in size,
Alas! not fatal less.
Fair sight their forms to view
Basking in new-donn'd sheen,
To theirs the violet's blue
Must yield, or emerald's green :
They know, by wizard gaze,
Coil'd 'neath some leafy bower,
Their prey with fear to glaze,
And charm him to their power.
Gaunt Fenris, Loptur's son,
Who loves to prowl the night,
Bewilder'd travellers down
Hurling from rocky height:
When bloody treason's rife,
When for some murder foul
I
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
183
The bandit whets his knife,
The wolf for joy doth howl.
All who delight in blood
From him beginning have,
From him the tiger brood
Th' hyæna's traitor laugh;
The like each robber beast,
Which from the fair light shrinks,
Fitchet of plunderers least,
Marten, and fox, and lynx.
For nought hath Fenris ruth,
When midnight winds blow hoarse,
His sacrilegious tooth
Tears from its grave the corse-
Still 'twere my chiefest joy
The foul worm and his brood
Of reptiles to destroy.
Grieves me that man the food
Of crawling worms should be-
This slain his life should pass,
From loathsome sickness free,
In years of happiness.
And, when th' o'er-peopled earth
No more her sons could feed,
The bravest should stand forth,
And like good warriors bleed.
"Not hatred should unsheath
Their swords, nor lust of power,
But a soul-warming wrath
Gone, when the fight was o'er;
?
184
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
From some dark cloud the fray
I'd watch, my bolts in hand
The boldest on their way
To Odin's hall to send."
Thus mused the Aser Thor,
And pull'd with all his might,
Each time he struck his oar
The dark-green wave turn'd white.
The more his anger burn'd
The huge boat sped the more,
Seem'd as the waves it spurn'd
Skimming like Dolphin o'er-
So swiftly on it flew,
The sides began to split,
The sea so fast came through,
The twain in water sit.
Quick Hymir sprang to bale
It out, and loud to roar,
(His giant-heart 'gan fail)
"Avast there! back your oar.
"An you keep on this rate
•
We soon to Ran shall go❞—
Quoth Thor: Take heart, must yet
A score good leagues or so."
"Score leagues!" cried Hymir: “why,
Art mad! mark'st not the storm!
E'en now I can descry
Where lies fell Midgard's worm."
"And what care I for worm!"
Cried Thor, the fisher good:
·
1
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
185
"The bleak north's bitterest storm
But fans my heated blood-
I love the tempest's roar―
Ha! there the foul worm struck,
S
Now I'll take in mine oar,
And try with line my luck."
Then, rising to full height,
The iron kedge he took,.
Which, though it seem'd him light,
Must serve him for a hook.
The gory bullock's head
He took him for a bait-
The giant, pale with dread,
In the stern, trembling, sate.
For line he next made loose
His belt, and one end pass'd
Twice round his waist, with noose
Well bound to th' other fast
The baited hook he tied,
And in the ocean threw :
O'er the boat's yielding side
The girdle, hissing, flew.
Oehlenschläger.
"It must be confessed," says the Prose Edda,
"that Thor here made quite as great a fool of
Jormungandur as Utgard's-Lok did of him, when
the giant king caused him to lift up the worm be-
lieving it was a cat. The worm gulped down the
ox's head so ravenously, that the hook stuck deep
in his jaws. As soon as he perceived this, he
186
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
plunged with such violence, that both Thor's fists
struck against the sides of the boat, on which the
god's anger got up and his strength at the same
time, and he pulled so furiously against the snake,
that both his legs went through the boat, and he
remained standing on the bottom of the sea. He
now pulled up the serpent to the edge of the boat,
and, to say the truth, it was a terrible sight to see
Thor look so grim at the serpent, and the serpent
all the while gaping and spewing out poison against
Thor. It is reported also that the giant Hymir
changed colour, and became white with fear, when
he saw the snake, and the dark blue sea breaking
through the sides of the boat.
In the same moment Thor seized hold of his
hammer and swung it round in the air, but the
giant fumbled about for his knife, and scored
Thor's knot over, by which means the snake got
loose and sank down to the bottom of the sea.
Thor threw his hammer after it, and it has been
asserted that he thus knocked its head off against
the breakers. But I think that it is pretty certain
that the Midgard's worm still lives and lies in the
Thor then lifted his arm and gave Hymir
such a cuff on the side of the head that he fell over-
board, and the soles of his feet were turned up in
the air, but Thor waded to shore.
sea.
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
187
THOR'S FISHING.
On the dark bottom of the great salt lake
Emprison'd lay the giant snake,
With nought his sullen sleep to break.
Huge whales disported amorous o'er his neck,
Little their sports the worm did reck,
Nor his dark, vengeful thoughts would check.
To move his iron fins he hath no power,
Nor yet to harm the trembling shore,
With scaly rings he's cover'd o'er.
His head he seeks mid coral rocks to hide,
Nor e'er hath man his eye espied,
Nor could its deadly glare abide.
His eye-lids half in drowsy stupor close,
But short and troubled his repose.
As his quick, heavy breathing shows:
Muscles and crabs, and all the shelly race,
In spacious banks still crowd for place,
A grisly beard, around his face.
When Midgard's worm his fetters strives to break,
Riseth the sea, the mountains quake;
The fiends in NastrondⓇ merry make.
Rejoicing flames from Hecla's cauldron flash,
Huge molten stones, with deafening crash
Fly out-its scathed sides fire-streams wash.
The affrighted sons of Askur feel the shock
As the worm doth lie and rock,
And, sullen, waiteth Ragnarok.
Я
Nastrond, the Scandinavian hell.
188
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY,
:
To his foul craving maw nought e'er came ill,
It never he doth cease to fill,
Nath'-more his hungry pain can still.
Upwards by chance he turns his sleepy eye,
And over him suspended, nigh,
The gory head he doth espy.
The serpent, taken with his own deceit,
Suspecting nought the daring cheat,
Ravenous, gulps down the bait.
His leathern jaws the barbed steel compress,
His pond'rous head must leave th' abyss,
Dire was Jormungandur's hiss.
In giant coils he writhes his length about,
Poisonous streams he speweth out,
But his struggles help him nought:
The mighty Thor knoweth no peer in fight:
The loathsome worm, his strength despite,
Now o'er-matched, must yield the fight.
His grisly head Thor heaveth o'er the tide,
No mortal eye the sight may bide,
The scared waves haste i' th' sands to hide.
As when accursed Nastrond yawns and burns,
His impious throat 'gainst heaven he turns,
And with his tail the ocean spurns.
The parched sky droops, darkness enwraps the sun,
Now the matchless strength is shown
Of the god whom warriors own.
Around his loins he draws his girdle tight,
His eye with triumph flashes bright,
The frail boat splits aneath his weight:
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
189
The frail boat splits-but on the ocean's ground
Thor again hath footing found;
Within his arms the worm is bound:-
Hymir, who in the strife no part had took,
But like a trembling aspen shook,
Rouseth him t'avert the stroke.
9
"In the last night, the Vala hath decreed
Thor, in Odin's utmost need,
To the worm shall bow the head."
Thus in sunk voice the craven Giant spoke,
Whilst from his belt a knife he took,
Forged by dwarfs aneath the rock :
Upon the magic belt straight 'gan to file;
Thor in bitter scorn to smile;
Miölner swang in air the while.
In the worm's front full two-score leagues it fell,
From Gimle to the realms of hell,
Echoed Jormungandur's yell.
The ocean yawn'd, Thor's lightnings rent the sky,
Through the storm, the great Sun's eye,
Look'd out on the fight from high.
Bifrost 10 i' th' east shone forth in brightest green,
On its top, in snow-white sheen,
Heimdal, at his post, was seen.
9 The Vala or prophetess, whose celebrated song, the
Voluspa, is one of the most curious relics of Scandinavian
Mythology.
10 Bifrost, the rainbow, the bridge of the gods, the prepon-
derance of the green indicated the hope of the Aser that their
most formidable enemy was about to be overcome.
190
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
On the charm❜d belt the dagger hath no power,
The star of Jotunheim 'gan lour;
But now in Asgard's evil hour,
When all his efforts foil'd tall Hymir saw,
Wading to the serpent's maw,
On the kedge he 'gan to saw.
The sun, dismay'd, hasten'd in clouds to hide,
Heimdall turn'd his head aside;
Thor was humbled in his pride.
The knife prevails, far down beneath the main
The serpent, spent with toil and pain,
To the bottom sank again.
The giant fled his head mid rocks to save,
Fearfully the God did rave,
With his lightnings tore the wave:
To madness stung to think his conquest vain,
His ire no longer could contain,
Dared the worm to rise again :
His radiant form to its full height he drew,
And Miölner through the billows blue
Swifter than the fire-bolt flew.
Hoped, yet, the worm had fallen beneath the stroke,
But the wily child of Loke
Waits her turn at Ragnarok.11
His hammer lost, back wends the giant-bane,
Wasted his strength, his prowess vain;
And Miölner must with Ran remain.
Oehlenschläger.
11. At the great battle of Ragnarokur, Thor and the serpent
destroy each other.
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
191
CHAPTER VII.
THE VANER-NJORD-SKADA-FREYR AND GERDA-
SKIRNER-FREYA, HNOS AND GERSIME—ODDur
SIOFNE-LOFNA-VAR-SIN-HEIMDALL-BIFROST.
kan pada
THE Vaner are often mentioned in the Eddas as
being of a different race from the Aser, and the
epithet of wise is usually applied to them. They
were said to have had much commerce with the
Aser previously to the departure of the latter
from the original Asgard, on the banks of the
Tanais or Vanaquivl, and a long war was carried
on between the two nations, which terminated in
an exchange of hostages, the Aser giving Mimer
and Hænir, and receiving Njord and Freyr in re-
turn. Njord obtained the sovereignty over the
winds, and it was he who checked the fury of the
sea, of storms, and of fire. ·
Vanaheim, or the region inhabited by the Vaner,
represents the region of air, and is often called
also Vindheim, or the home of the winds. Njord's
peculiar residence was called Noatun. He was
¡
i
192
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
lord over all inland waters, and the protector of
sea-faring men, and therefore to be invoked before
setting out on any voyage or fishing expedition.
He was the giver of fruitfulness, ease and wealth,
and was himself exceedingly rich. As Vaner or
spirit of air he watched over temples and places of
worship, which in the beginning were without
covering. Njord was often in league with Ægir,
the god of the sea.
Njord, who with ocean's god,'
Full oft in league is found,
Loves o'er the raging flood
In swift career to bound.
Skimming each billow's back,
Loud neighs his coal-black steed,
On the calm wave no track
He leaves-so great his speed.
Oehlenschläger.
It was a custom amongst the Vaner for brothers
and sisters to marry, and, previously to his recep-
tion amongst the Aser, Njord had two children by
his sister, namely, Freyr and Freya. He after-
wards married Skada, the daughter of the Giant
Thiasse, who was killed by Thor, and the occasion
of their marriage was as follows:
When Skada heard how her father had been
1 Vid. c. 2.
هه
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
193
slain, she took her helmet and arms, and set out
for Asgard to avenge him. The Aser offered her
an amicable arrangement and atonement, and it
was agreed that she should choose a husband from
amongst them, but that, whilst making the choice,
her eyes should be blinded. Perceiving, however,
feet which were small and well shaped, she cried
out: "I choose this one: Baldur is without ble-
mish,” but it was not Baldur, it was Njord from
Noatun.
The new married pair could never agree about
their place of residence, Njord desiring to live
near the sea, and his bride amongst the rocks and
mountains, where her father used to dwell. At
length it was agreed that they should pass, alter-
nately, nine days on the mountain at Thrymheim,
and three days by the sea at Noatun. This ar-
rangement, however, did not last long; they sepa-
rated, and she was married to Odin, by whom she
had several sons, of whom Seming was the most
noted.
Since that time she has lived on the mountains,
hunting and running on snow-shoes. It was she
2
2 For Magnussen's explanation of the fable of the marriage
of Njord and Skada, see ch. 1. p. 39. He is of opinion that
the spring or May-festival, which prevailed throughout the
North, was originally in commemoration of this event. The
0
Į
194
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
who hung the poisonous snake over Loke's head,
in revenge for the abuse which he poured on her
at Ægir's feast.
Njord was probably a deity of greater impor-
tance than would appear from the little said of him
in the Prose Edda, witness the solemn oath of the
old Scandinavians, "So help me Freyr and Njord
and the mighty Aser."3
Freyr, Njord's son, although born in Vanaheim,
was considered as one of the chief of the Aser. He
was the lord of the sun and the rain, and dispensed
fruitfulness over the earth. The gods gave him
Alf-heim, or the kingdom of the Light Elves, as a
present, on the occasion of his cutting his first
teeth. He was to be invoked for peace and good
times, and the first Runic letter was called after
him.
One day Freyr was tempted by curiosity to as-
cend to Odin's throne in Hlidskialf, and, looking
magpie (Danicé Skada) was sacred to this goddess, and is
still held in superstitious reverence throughout Scandinavia.
3 The person about to take the oath advanced towards the
altar, and dipping a ring in the blood of the victim upon it, not
unfrequently a human one, pronounced the above words.
The mighty Aser might be Odin or Thor, most probably the
latter, since that god is often represented sitting between two
other figures, probably Njord and Freyr, the thunder god
between the two Vaner, deities of the atmosphere.
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
195
over all the world, his eye at length rested on a
large building in the north, from which there is-
sued a maiden of such surpassing beauty that the
splendour of it lighted up the whole country round.
This maiden was Gerda, a daughter of Gymer, a
giant.
As a punishment for his presumptuousness in
having sat upon Odin's holy seat, Freyr was seized
with a violent passion for this maiden, so that he
would neither converse, sleep, nor drink, and no
one ventured to speak to him.
At length Njord called Skirner, his armour-
bearer and companion, the same who had been sent
by Odin to the dwarfs to procure the chain with
which Fenris was bound, and directed him to learn
from his son the cause of his anger. Skirner, after
some hesitation, ventured to address him.
SKIRNER.
Tell me this, Freyr!
Prince amongst gods,
Which I desire to know-
Why dost thou sit alone
In the spacious hall—
Lord! the live-long day.
4 The following is a literal translation from the Poetic
Edda.
196
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
FREYR.
How shall I tell thee,
Thou young man!
My great sorrow of heart;
For the rays of the Elves"
Shine out every day,
But gladden not my soul.
SKIRNER.
Thy sorrow, I trow,
Is scarce so great
That thou may'st not tell it to me;
We have lived together
I
In the morning of childhood,
We two should trust each other.
FREYR.
In Gymer's court
I have seen a maiden
For whom I long.
Her arms shone
So that air and sea
Were brighten'd therewith.
I love the maid more ardently
Than e'er loved youth
In the spring of his days.
Yet of Aser or Elves
1
5 The Light Elves who livedi n the region of the sun, of
which Freyr was the symbol, were poetically supposed to be
the dispensers of its rays.
6 The Aser would be naturally averse to any alliance be-
tween their race and that of the giants.
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
None will permit
That we should live together.
Skirner then offered, if Freyr would give him his
courser, to bear him through flames; and his
sword, to wield against the giants; to undertake
to woo the maiden for him. Having mounted,
Skirner thus addressed his horse:
It is murk without,
It is time for us to hasten
Over the misty mountains,
Through the land of the Thurser.
We will return together,
Or we will both be taken
By that powerful Giant.
He rode to Jotunheim to Gymer's house. There
were savage hounds bound before the gate of the
court. Seeing a herdsman sitting on a hillock, he
rode towards him and said:
Tell me, Herdsman!
Who sittest on a hill,
Watching the way;
How shall I succeed
To speak with the young maiden,
For Gymer's hounds?
197
HERDSMAN.
Art thou about to die,
Or already one of the dead?
F
I
198
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
Never shalt thou speak
With Gymer's daughter.
SKIRNER.
A better remedy
Than lamentation, has he
Who willingly confronts death.
For but a day and a night
Has mine age been doomed
And my life destined by the fates.
Gerda hearing the noise without, sent one of her
maidens to enquire the cause of it; who brought
back word that a stranger had arrived and just
dismounted from his horse. Gerda desired her to
invite him in to drink mead. On his entrance
she said:
Who art thou of the Elves,
Or the sons of the Aser,
Or of the wise Vaner?
Why comest thou hither, alone,
Over raging flames,
To visit our hall?
Skirner denied that he was one of the race of the
Elves, or of the Aser, or of the Vaner; but, taking
eleven golden apples from his breast, he offered
them to her, if she would bestow her love on Freyr.
Gerda refused the apples, and declared that she
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
199
and Freyr should never live together. He next
offered Odin's magic ring, which she rejected
also. Skirner now drew Freyr's sword, and threa-
tened to behead her if she did not accept Freyr as
her husband; but Gerda was not to be intimidated,
and merely said that she foresaw that if Skirner
and her father met, there would be bloodshed be-
tween them. Seeing that she feared not death,
Skirner told her that he would shut her up in a
cavern where no eye should see her, that she should
there lose her beauty, and when she was suffered
to depart should have a form so hideous, as to fill
all who saw her with horror, so that she should be-
come a byword to gods and giants. He added,
that she should be wedded, moreover, to a three-
headed Trold, or remain for ever husbandless, a
prey to fiery passion.
None of these threats, however, seeming to make
any impression on Gerda, Skirner continued :
I went to the mountain,
To the dewy wood,
To search out a magic wand;
The magic wand I found.
Odin is wroth with thee;
The first of Aser is wroth with thee;
Freyr shall shun thee,
Thou maid of evil!
200
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
t
Nor shalt thou escape
The powerful vengeance of the gods.
Hear it, ye Giants!
Hear it, spirits of the frost,
Sons of Suttung!
And ye friends of the Aser,7
How I prohibit,
How I shut out the maid
From the converse of man.
I carve thee, Thurs !
And characters three,
Impotence, frenzy, and impatience.
Gerda's resolution could not hold out against this
threat, and without giving Skirner time to finish
his incantation, she held out to him a cup full of
mead in token of her yielding; saying that she
had not thought that she should have ever bestowed
her love on one of the race of the Vaner. Before
he would leave her, however, Skirner made her
name the day on which she would be Freyr's bride,
and she agreed to meet him after nine nights in the
wood Barre.
7 This evocation included Giants of every kind, Dwarfs,
Aser, Vaner, and Elves.
8 Thurs was the name of the Runic letter þ (th), and to-
gether with the other three characters would have completed
the spell which Gerda so much dreaded.
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
201
Skirner now rode homewards, and found Freyr
on the look out for him.
Tell me, Skirner!
Ere thou tak'st saddle from steed
3
Or advancest a step,
How hast thou sped
In Jotunheim,
To thy or my desire?
SKIRNER.
Barre is the name
Of the pleasant grove,
Which we both know:
There after nights nine
Njord's son and Gerda
Shall embrace with passion.
FREYR.
One night is long,
Two are long,
How shall I hold out for three!
Often hath a month
Appeared to me shorter
Than the half of the nights of desire.
Gerda kept her promise, and Freyr rewarded
Skirner with his famous sword. This was the
reason why he was weaponless in his contest with
Bele, whom he slew with a hart's horn; but the
time will come when he will have more reason to
2
:
;
202
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
regret his loss, when the sons of Muspell issue out
to fight the Aser.
Freyr's sister, Freya, was the goddess of love,
and herself unrivalled in grace and beauty. She
was the kindest of all goddesses, and fond of sing-
ing. Her residence in Vingolf was called Folk-
vangur, whither all maidens of birth, and those
who killed themselves, hoped to come. Oehlen-
schläger has given a full description of the goddess
and of her palace.
Freya's hall,
With precious gems o'erlaid,
Stands in a lonely vale,
Which rose-tree forests shade;
Swans, white as virgin snow,
There on the calm lakes sail,
Lovers, who ne'er brake vow,
Tell there their ardent tale.
But in Folkvangur's bower
Nought like its matchless queen;
Mid many a beauteous flower
No flower like her, I ween.
Her form so round and slight,
Her look which love doth beam,
Her step as Zephyr's light,
Exceeds e'en poet's dream.
Each small, white, taper hand
A blushing rose doth bear,
Which through her faery land
-
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
203
Breathe forth their fragrant air.
Their sweets no guardian thorn
From rude touch needs defend,
"Tis they to even and morn
The roseate tints which lend.
Like her no goddess kind,
She saves from wounds and death,
Her sigh-the sweet south wind
O'er the wild flowers doth breathe.9
Round tears for mortal woe
Each morn her blue eyes fill,
Which on the flowers below
In purest dew distill.
10
Her daughters Siofna ¹º hight
And Hnos, with amber hair,
Not e'en the spirits of light
Can boast of aught so fair.
Whate'er is passing bright
On earth, from Hnos we call:
Siofna gives slumbers light,
The morn on pure souls fall.
Oehlenschläger.
Freya had an equal share with Odin in the spirits
of those slain in fight; an allusion to the wars and
bloodshed caused by the passion of love. Her
9 O, it came o'er mine ear like the sweet south,
That breathes upon a bank of violets.
Twelfth Night, Act i. Sc. 2.
10 Freya's daughters were Hnos and Gersime, Siofna was
only one of her followers.
204
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
4
•
"
chariot was drawn by two cats or leopards, and,
after Frigga, she was the most powerful of the
goddesses. She had two beautiful daughters, Hnos
and Gersime, by her husband Odr, or Oddur.
They were so fair, says the Edda, that everything
that was beautiful upon earth was called after them.
Respecting Oddur the Edda only says that he
travelled far away, and that Freya was so attached
to him that she followed him over all the world,
weeping tears of gold.
Notwithstanding this proof, however, of conjugal
affection, she was by no means celebrated for her
chastity, and amongst others she is accused of
having bestowed her favours on four dwarfs in suc-
cession, as a price for her matchless gold chain,
Brysing, their workmanship.
In her journey after Oddur through so many
countries she received various names,-Marthaul,
Forn, Hæn, Gafn, Syr, and Vana-dis, or the god-
dess of the Vaner. Her name was given to the
sixth day of the week, and all women of distinction
were called after her.11 She was the goddess of
the moon, and in the north the constellation, Orion's
belt, still bears the name of Freya's spinning
wheel.
11 In Danish the word Frue, in German Frau, answers to
our lady.
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
205
Oehlenschläger, in his poem of the Vaner, pro-
fiting by the obscurity of the Edda respecting
Freya's husband Oddur, has converted him into
Bacchus or Osiris, who in their Indian expeditions
might have very well fallen in with the gods of
Caucasian Asgard, themselves of Indian descent.12
As the poem is not long, and there can be no more
faithful or more agreeable interpreter of the Edda
than Oehlenschläger, it can scarcely be deemed out
of place here.
12
THE VANER.
When the gods of wide Valhalla
Ruled of yore in eastern land,
Far away, mid Asia's mountains,
Near where Vana¹³ rolls his sand;
Speaking of the festival of Rama and Seeta, at Alla-
habad, Bishop Heber remarks: "I was never so forcibly
struck with the identity of Rama and Bacchus. Here were
Bacchus (Rama), his brother Ampelus (Luchmun), the
Satyrs smeared with wine-lees commanded by Pan (the
monkey army, their bodies died with Indigo, led on by the
divine monkey general Huniman). The fable, however,
can hardly have originated in India, and has been imported,
probably, both by Greeks and Brahmins, from Cashmire or
some other central country of the grape."-Heber's Journal.
13 Vana, or Vanaquivl, the Tanais or Don.
TH,
:
!
:
206
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
Ere they hither, northwards wended,
Where tall glaciers break the flood,
Ere they blended
Hostile dwarfs' and giants' blood;
Then were wont the skilful Vaner
Oft to Asgard to repair;
Vaner, famed for hidden wisdom,
Arts and manners debonair;
They the Aser first instructed
Flowers to plant, to till the earth,
There conducted,
Hostage, Njord, of noble birth.
When in sultry heat of summer,
Earth is parch'd and fevers rule:
If Njord mount his coal-black courser,
Air and earth once more are cool.
Njord the skies with rain-clouds covers,
Hides awhile, the fair blue sky;
Anxious hovers
O'er the murk storm passing by.
Njord was wed by law of Vaner:
Heeded nought blood's holy tie,
Children twain had of his sister,
Blue-eyed Freya, lofty Frey.
Fair as spring flowers earth which gladden,
All with joy their charms behold:
Swain and maiden
Own their beauty-young and old.
When Valhalla's mighty princes
From their native vales went forth,
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
207
Fire of southern clime to mingle
With the cold blood of the north;
Asgard's warriors nought contented,
Till Njord to their prayer they'd won;
Njord relented,
Follow'd too with maid and son.
Odin spake: "The north invites us
With its mountains, pine o'er-grown ;
With its lakes, and falls, and rivers,
And dark woods to ocean down:
Spite of foe or hostile barrier,
Soon we'll reach the verdant shore,
Thor, the warrior,
There shall lead our chiefs to war.
"Soon its tyrant, giant rulers,
'Fore our conquering spears shall bow,
Soon shall rise a loftier Asgard,
Where clear mead in streams shall flow,
When with cold north's iron race
Fiery east shall mingle blood—
From the embrace
Think what matchless warrior brood !"
Njord in front, on winged charger,
Leads the sacred squadrons on;
Dries up marshes, levels mountains,
Beats the compact forests down;
Thick, opposing clouds doth sever,
Shows the winds the vessel's course
Restless ever,
Wearies ne'er his mettled horse.
I
208
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
MA
"Twas a goodly sight to look on
Njord glide through the cloudy way,
With his dark steed's pinions waving,
Like a dream in morning grey;
Swift as light-o'er horse-neck pendent-
Past, e'er yet well seen from far-
Beams resplendent
On his helm the morning star.
And without benignant Vaner
What were th' Aser in the North?
What thy wisdom, mighty Odin?
What, great Thor! thy prowess worth?
Freyr calls forth the quickening waters,
Makes fair fruits in deserts grow;
On earth's daughters
Freya beauty doth bestow.
Freya once had husband, godlike,
He, in Asgard, Oddur hight,
Him she met beyond the Ganges,
Victor god, in morion bright.
Youths and maids, with flutes and cymbals,
Follow, shouting, joyous throng,
Ocean trembles,
Earth re-echoes with their song.
In his golden chariot seated,
See him in his proud career,
Tawny lions, mottled tigers,
Crouching at his feet for fear;
The forest's lords the car rolls after,
Maids with timbrels dance before,
Shouts and laughter
Drown e'en father ocean's roar.
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
209
Wondering at th' unwonted clamour,
Rugged men start from the glade,
Trembling, gazing, leaping, shouting,
Half enraptured, half afraid.
Oddur calm'd their groundless terror,
Charm'd them with his magic lay,
Held his mirror,
Shew'd to peace and wealth the way.
On south slope of sun-gilt mountain,
Near a river swift and clear,
First the stocks divine he planted,
Which the luscious berry bear;
Soon he taught the simple nation
Press the sugar'd purple blood,
Love's hot passion
From the nectar takes its food.
Freya, once bewilder'd roaming,
Chanced the treacherous drink to sip:
Oddur, drunk with wine and pleasure,
Watch'd the rich juice kiss her lip:
Oddur now in manhood's flower,
Grapes and vine-leaves wreathed his hair,
From his bower
Raptured view'd the goddess fair.
Oddur saw how Freya musing,
In a soft delirium lay;
At her feet his burning passion
Told, could Freya turn away?
Feather'd choir their pleasures vaunted,
Violets were their bridal bed,
Earth, enchanted,
Thousand sweets around them shed.
P
210
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
J
"
Freya thus was spouse to Oddur,
Still together were they seen,
And when th' Aser left their city,
Oddur follow'd too his queen.
In his gold car drawn by leopards,
Sate the warrior with his bride,
Maids and shepherds
Sorrowing paced the car beside.
True, his sunny land t' abandon,
And vine hills, the god did grieve;
But the grape's more vapid pleasures
Who for beauty would not leave!
Piled on high, in osier waggons,
Choicest wine with care he stores,
Which in flagons
Rist each noon to Odin pours.15
For though all less noble Aser
Quaff but cider, ale and mead,
Still for Odin, raven-monarch,
Oddur's purple grape must bleed.
Freya's heart with grief corroding,
When he quitted Valhal's shore;
Left to Odin
Of the nectar, Oddur, store.
14
!
14 M. de Chaptal considers Iberia (now Georgia) near
Mount Ararat, as the original country of the vine, which still
grows wild there in great luxuriancy.
15 It was the privilege of Rist and Mist, two of the Val-
kyrs, to pour out daily to Odin his wine, the only nourish-
ment he ever took.
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
211
So they lived, the joy of Asgard,
Brighter dawn'd each golden morn,
Secret prayer of love-sick maiden,
On soft sighs, to them was borne.
And could love so pure, so holy,
Like a vision melt away ?
Like youth's folly,
Scarce outlive a summer's day.
Idun, stol'n by false Loke's treason,
Long Valhalla's gods had wept,
And old age, with withering wrinkles,1
O'er each late full cheek had crept.
When for Freya, blooming, youthful,
Radiant with celestial charms,
Sorceress loathful
Oddur found within his arms;
Starting from the couch with horror,
"Ha! and am I thus deceived?
Was❜t for this then, foul enchantress !
Fondly I thy tale believed?
Spells worn out the cheat discover,
Now in native form thou'rt seen;
The charm over,
Henceforth, witch! thine arts are vain."
Freya's weeping nought avail'd her;
From her arms in wrath he tore,
From those arms, now shrunk and feeble,
Where he'd found his joy before.
16 Vide page 91.
212
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
Not e'en one last farewell taking,
Mounted quick his golden car,
With heart aching,
Freya follow'd him from far.
But when Asgard's chiefest treasure
Coward Loke again retrieved;
Beauty's queen a prey to sorrow,
Still to witness, Odin grieved;
Full of wrath 'gainst fickle Oddur,
Breach of vow to punish bent,
Swift Hermodur,¹7
Arm'd with Runic staff, he sent.
Spirits sunk, with dark forebodings
Oddur secret shades had sought;
On his once loved, blooming Freya,
And fond dream of joy he thought;
Nymphs with loose hair, ivy-woven,
Dancing, sought to soothe his pain,
With feet cloven,
Satyrs sang and piped in vain.
1
Sick at heart, the sun's light loathing,
In the dark grove's thickest gloom,
Oddur thought in bitter anguish
On his joys soon wither'd bloom :
Bow'd to earth-his aching forehead
"Twixt his burning palms he prest,
17 Hermodur was the son and messenger of Odin, and
resembled Mercury or Hermes in attributes as well as in
name. Odin gave him a helmet.
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
213
Visions horrid
Rack'd his brain, sobs rent his breast.
$
Ôn C
***
Hermod through the leaves stole on him,
On his head the Rune-stock laid,
And the heart-blood's fervid current,
Chill'd in death, at once was staid,
Thus, long since, the poet found him,
Changed into a senseless stone,
All around him
Vines and ivy wild had grown!
Long the goddess sought her lover,
O'er parch'd sands and mountains cold;
From her eyes, all swoln with weeping,
Dropp'd round tears of purest gold.
All, who 'neath love's fever languish,
Hence derive their burning care;
Freya's anguish
Each true lover's breast must share.
Oehlenschläger.
Besides her two beautiful daughters, Hnos and
Gersime, Freya had four nymphs, attendants,
each of whom presided over a particular depart-
ment of that complicated passion of which their
mistress was the supreme chief. Siofna was the
goddess of first love: "It was her business,"
says the Edda, "to dispose favourably the minds
of young people, both men and women, towards
each other."
Lofna, the second of these Diser or nymphs, was
mild and propitious to all who called on her. She
received from Odin and Frigga the power to unite
•
214
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
hearts in the bonds of love, to remove all obstacles
which might stand in the way of true lovers, and to
reconcile those who had quarrelled. Magnussen
derives her name from the old word "leyfa," to
love, as that of Siofna, from "Sion," sight, and
"sia,” to see, since it is sight which causes first
love.
Var or Vör is the goddess of betrothal. Shie
hears the oaths and solemn engagements which
lovers make to each other. She is wise but severe,
and punishes with the utmost rigour those who
break their troth.
Lastly, Sin is the door-keeper of Freya's palace,
which she keeps closed against those who are not
worthy to enter it. It is she who persecutes un-
fortunate lovers, either because their motives are
impure, or that the attainment of their wishes would
bring misfortune on them.
Thus could the Scandinavian Mythology boast
a more complete, more beautiful, and infinitely a
purer system of love than that of the Greeks.
"Freya," remarks Magnussen, "was the goddess
of true love and of wedded faith, and although her
name has not been free from reproach, yet that
reproach proceeded only from the slanderer Loke,
who spared none, and from the Sagas written after
the introduction of Christianity." 18
18 Magnussen.
!
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
215
Before we terminate this chapter on the Vaner,
it will be necessary to speak of Heimdall who is
often said to be of their race. He was one of the
twelve principal Aser, the son of nine virgins,
called the white, or bright Aser, also the god with
golden teeth, his teeth being of that metal.
He was the warder of Asgard, and lived on the
celestial mount, at the entrance of heaven close to
the bridge Bifrost, which he ascended every morn-
ing early to observe all that was passing through-
out the universe.
Bifrost was the bridge which the gods had to
traverse in passing from heaven to earth. It was
extremely solid and built with great art: mortals
call it the Rainbow, and the red colour which is
seen in it is a flaming fire, to serve as a defence
against the giants.
Heimdall needed less sleep than a bird, and
could see a hundred miles round him, by night as
well as by day. No sound could escape him: he
heard the grass grow in the earth, and the wool
on the sheep's back. He had a horse, Gullintop,
with a golden mane, and a sword called Höffud,
also a trumpet (Gjallar-horn), the sound of which,
when blown by him, was heard in all the worlds.
It was with this that he was to awake the gods to
the great fight at Ragnarokur. He was said to
be the progenitor of the inhabitants of the north.
16
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
1
CHAPTER VIII.
THE ASH-THE THREE NORNIES-ELVES-DWARFS.
THE Prose Edda gives the following description of
the sacred Ash, Yggdrasill. "The principal and
most sacred tree of the gods is the Ash-tree, Ygg-
drasill, which is the best and greatest of all trees.
Its branches extend over the whole universe,
reaching beyond the heavens; its stem bears up
the earth; its three roots stretch themselves wide
around; one is amongst the Gods; another with
the Frost-Giants, where Ginnungagap was before ;
the third covers Niffl-heim. Under this root is the
fountain Hvergelmer, from which flow the infernal
rivers, and in which lies the serpent-king, Nyd-
hoggur, who is continually gnawing at the root.
Under that root which is situated in the land of
the giants, there is a well, in which all wisdom
and prudence are hidden, and which belongs to
Mimer. Under the root of the Aser is the well of
the Norny, Urda, and it is here that the gods sit
in judgment.
Near Urda's well stands a fair building, from
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
217
whence issue the three maidens, Urda, Verdandi,
and Skulda. These maidens appoint the time that
all men have to live, and are called Nornies.
They take water each day from the well and pour
it upon the Ash, lest its branches should perish.
This water has so great virtue that whatever comes
within the well remains white as the membrane of
an egg. The dew which falls from Yggdrasill's
branches is called honey-dew, and on this bees
love to feed.
Two birds, called swans, were born in Urda's
well, and from them were produced all birds of
that species.
I know where stands an Ash,
It is called Ygg-drasill,.
A lofty tree, moistened
With white waters;
Thence comes the dew,
Which falls in the valleys,
Ever green, it grows
Over Urda's well.
Thither come the maids
Who know much,
Three from the hall
Which lies by the tree;
Urda they called the first;
Verdandi the second;
They scored on the shield
Skulda, the third :
218
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
They gave laws,
They decreed life,
To the children of men
They deal out fate.
Voluspa.
On the branches of the Ash sits an eagle who
knows many things, and between his eyes is a hawk
called Vedurfolgner, or the storm-damper. A
squirrel, Ratatöskur (rain and snow-shower), runs
up and down the tree, sowing strife betwixt the
eagle and the serpent Nyd-hoggur. Four stags
are constantly devouring the branches and roots
of the Ash.
The Ash Yggdrasill (which word has been in-
terpreted the dew-dropper, or bearer, or from
another root the bearer of the thoughtful, an epi-
thet of Odin, here put for heaven) is evidently a
symbol of the earth. "Its branches," remarks
Magnussen, "which spread over the whole world,
are the atmosphere. The eagle who sits upon them
represents the storms. The hawk or falcon (storm-
damper) was supposed to fly the highest of all
birds, and was therefore the symbol of the calm
æther. The four stags, according to Gräter, were
Time. The squirrel, whose name shews that he
was the emblem of rain and snow, which falls from
the air on the earth and the deep, and is thence
drawn up again, is in northern latitudes white in
winter and grey in summer. The Nornies, Urda,
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
219
Verdandi, and Skulda (or the past, the present,
and the future), are not unfitly represented as pre-
serving by their care the Ash from destruction. It
is the same as the sacred tree of the Saxons,
Irmensul."
Of the origin of the three Nornies nothing is
told us; they appear to have sprung up with the
tree itself. Their doom was irrevocable, their
wrath announced death. Urda (or the past) was
the chief amongst them, and her protection was
very powerful. Besides her sacred well, she had
the charge of Odreyrer, or the vessel of wisdom
and poetry. Of Verdandi (the present) little is
said in the Eddas. Skulda (the future) was the
youngest of the three Nornies. In her book all
events that were to take place were written, and
she is represented as riding with two of the Val-
kyrs, Gudr and Rota, before the van of the battle,
pointing out the warriors who were to be slain.
The Nornies were said to weep over the fall of
their favourites. The Gods themselves, who had
but a dark foreboding of their destiny, used often
to consult them.
There were inferior Nornies, sprung some from
the Aser, some from the Elves, some from the
Dwarfs. It was the business of these to spin the
Magnussen.
220
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
thread of fate for new-born children, to aid women
in child-birth, and some of them were always pre-
sent to determine the destiny of the infant. The
name of Nornies was given also to witches and
fortune-tellers, and a bier was called "the Nornies'
stool."
It is now time to speak of the Alfer or Elves.
They were of two kinds-the white, or Light Elves,
who were immortal, very beautiful, and of a bene-
ficent nature; the Black Elves, often confounded
with the Dwarfs, and who were subject to death.
The Light Elves were under the sway of Freyr,
the god of the sun, and were thought to give good
crops, to preserve cattle from danger, or, if of
fended, to cause avalanches, conflagrations, &c.
On this account sacrifices called Alfa-blot, were
offered to them. They could assume all shapes,
particularly those of four-footed beasts and birds,
and used often to appear in dreams.
It was believed that every man had his Elf or
Norny, whose business it was to forewarn him of
impending dangers, and to help him out of them
when they arrived. The Elves were of various
ranks; those of the highest took charge of men of
distinction, the inferior ones of the lower orders of
the people. The ancient laws of Iceland com-
menced by recommending mariners, on approach-
ing the shore, to remove from their vessels such
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
221
figure-heads as represented dragons or other mon-
sters, for fear of irritating or frightening away the
good Elves. When a prince was unfortunate in
war his Norny was said to have left him.
The peasants in Denmark and Norway still
believe in the existence of Elves, and in fact these
minor deities continue to this day to occupy no
unimportant place in the superstitions of all the
people of Gothic descent. The Swedes still class
them into bad and good. The latter reside in the
air, frolic on the sward, or sit on the leaves of
trees: the former dwell under ground, and bring
with them sickness and ill-luck.
As the Elves may be considered intermediate
beings between the Aser and men, so the Dwarfs
seem to occupy the same position between men
and the Giants or evil spirits. These pigmy
deities are often confounded in the Eddas, although
their natures were essentially different. The
Dwarfs were originally engendered, like maggots,
in the dead body of the giant Ymer, but at the
command of Odin received the human shape and
reason. They are represented as deformed, little
men, with huge oblong heads and flat noses.
Their dwelling-places were in the earth and in
stones, and four of them, whose names were East,
West, North, and South, were placed by Odin at
the four corners of heaven, where they rule over
1
1
L
222
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
the four winds. They were a bustling industrious
race, loving and highly skilled in all mechanical
arts, particularly turning and smith's work. Odin's
spear, Thor's hammer, Sif's hair, Freya's golden
chain, the ring Drupner, the ship Skidbladner,
and many other masterpieces, were the productions
of their skill. They knew also how to cut and ex-
plain Runes, to interpret the dreams of the gods,
and could render themselves invisible or appear as
spirits to men.
Full many a cunning work,
In cavern smithy wrought,
Gauntlet and helm and dirk,
To Asgard's sons they've brought. -
A dwarf, was Brokur hight,
Thor's matchless hammer gave,
Breathes not, I trow, the wight
Its desperate swing might brave;
The like his girdle rare,
And Odin's spear and ring,
Freyr's ship, and Sif's gold hair,
And many a costly thing.
Oehlenschläger.
Like all other beings who dwell under the earth,
they could not endure the light of the sun, but if
surprised by it were immediately converted to
stone. Two of them are called in the Edda Ny
and Næ (the increase and wane of the moon), and
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
223
the names given to them in the Voluspa are, for
the most part, indicative of elementary qualities;
for example-wind, blast, gleam, light, day-finder,
frost-giver, sleep-giver, ice-berg, dropper, &c.
Their chief was Modsognur, and Durinn the se-
cond.
At Ragnarokur the Dwarfs take no part in the
contest, but are represented as standing at the en-
trance of their caves, weeping and wringing their
hands. Their general character is, however, cruel
and vindictive.
The belief in them still lingers in the North, es-
pecially amongst the Norwegians and Icelanders,
with whom all rare natural productions are yet
called “Dverg-smidi” (Dwarfs-smith's work), and
the echo "Dverg-mal" (the Dwarfs' song), from
the superstitious belief that they thus answered the
questions of mortals.
¿
It appears, in fact, that ancient Scandinavia was
scarcely less thickly peopled with subordinate ele-
mentary deities than Greece herself. They had a
great variety of names, and were believed to exist
in the sea, waterfalls, rivers, fountains, woods,
meadows, mountains, caverns, &c. To use the
words of Finn Magnussen: "Millions of Light
Elves await only a signal from Freyr to drive from
the sleepy earth the dark genii of night; Odin's
Valkyrs hover over the battle field, gleam in the
-
224
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
Aurora Borealis and in portentous meteors, or
come to the aid of warriors in danger of ship-
wreck; Njord's daughters play on the billows, in
the midst of tempests; mermaids and mermen and
various kinds of water-spirits people the ocean;
the Black Elves dwelt in trees and mountains; the
taciturn Dwarfs with hammer and apron smelted
gold and precious stones in the bowels of the
earth." Every waterfall, spring and river had its
presiding Norny, or spirit; some male some fe-
male.
2
One of the most skilful of the Dwarfs was Bro-
kur or Brokkur, with whom Loke once wagered
his head, that Brokkur and his brother Sindri
could not produce three such masterpieces of art
as Sif's golden hair, which grew on her head like
natural hair: the ship Skidbladner, which, when-
ever its sails were set, was sure of a fair wind, and
at the same time that it was of sufficient size to
hold all the gods with ease, might, if necessary, be
taken to pieces and put in the pocket; and, lastly,
Odin's famous sword Gugner, which had never
been known to fail him who used it.
All these had been made by the sons of the
Dwarf Ivallda, at the request of Lok, who having
for a jest cut off Siff's hair, could only escape
2 Vide page 228.
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
225
Thor's vengeance by promising to obtain for her
new hair of gold.
Brokkur accepted the wager, and the two bro-
thers set to work and made - first, the boar Gullin-
börste; second, the ring Draupner, and lastly the
hammer Miölner. The last had been nearly spoiled
through Loke's malice, who changed himself into
a wasp and set himself upon Brok's eye-brow
whilst he was blowing the bellows, so that he was
obliged to stop for the pain of the sting.
It was agreed that Odin, Thor and Freyr should
be umpires. Loke gave Odin the sword Gung-
ner; to Freyr Skidbladner; and to Thor the hair
for Sif, explaining at the same time the virtues of
these rarities. Then came Brok with those he
had forged. He gave Odin the ring, and said that
every ninth night eight other rings, equally costly,
would drop from it. To Freyr he gave the boar,
and explained that he might travel on it incessantly
both through the air and over the sea, by day and
by night, since it possessed greater strength than
any horse, and that however thick or dark the
weather might be, there would be always light
enough from its bristles. To Thor he gave the
hammer, and said that he might strike as vigo-
rously with it as he chose, and whatever came in
his way, without risking any hurt to it. To what-
ever distance or in whatever direction he should
Q
226
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
throw it, it could not be lost; for let it fly ever so
far it would return again into his hand. If he
desired it, it would become so small as to enable
him to put it in his pocket. The only blemish it
had was that the haft was full short.
The Aser decided that the hammer was the best
piece of workmanship of all, since in it they had a
great defence against the frost-giants, (Hrim-
thurser) and that Brokkur had won the wager.
Loke offered ransom for his head, but the Dwarf
would on no account agree to it. “Then lay hold
of me," said Loke: but so soon as he attempted to
do so Loke was far away by means of his magic
shoes. Brokkur then asked Thor to catch him,
which he did.
Brok was proceeding to cut off Loke's head,
when he called out to him to remember that only
the head was his, and to take care not to touch the
neck. We shall close this chapter with Oehlen-
schläger's version of this fable, in which he has
described at large the habits and residence of the
dwarfs.
3 This appears rather at variance with the account in the
preceding chapter of the loss of Thor's hammer in his fishing
adventure, but in that instance it must be remembered that
it was Ran's avidity which prevented the return of Miölner
to its master, her net never failing to catch whatever fell into
the sea.
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
227
ONE OF LOKE'S KNAVISH TRICKS, AND
HIS PUNISHMENT.
When Loke found that Thor had set out on his
second journey to Jotunheim without him, he was
greatly mortified, for his vanity was gratified at
being seen in company with the Thunderer. Be-
ing much addicted to roving about, he got weary
of staying at home in Asgard, doing nothing, and
lost his spirits and appetite. His chief amusement
consisted in gibing and mocking the gods. At
length for want of something better to do, and in
order to be revenged on Thor for the slight he had
put upon him, he resolved to make love to Sif,
Thor's wife. He accordingly watched her one
day as she returned from the bath, and followed
her to her crystal grotto, under Dovre. He there
with his smooth tongue endeavoured to win her
favour, seeking to persuade her that Thor did not
know how to appreciate her beauty, but amused
himself with fighting giants and fishing for whales,
whilst she was left in solitude. Sif, however, re-
pulsed his addresses with the utmost contempt,
threatening him with her husband's vengeance if
he did not desist. Loke to be revenged on her
took an opportunity, when she was asleep, to cut
off her hair, which was celebrated for its beauty,
and indeed had nothing to equal it in Asgard.
228
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
THE DWARFS.
Loke sat and thought till his dark eyes gleam
With joy at the deed he'd done;
When Sif look'd into the crystal stream
Her courage was well nigh gone.
For never again her soft amber hair
Shall she braid with her hands of snow;
From the hateful image she turn'd in despair,
And hot tears began to flow.
In a cavern's mouth, like a crafty fox,
Loke sate, 'neath the tall pine's shade,
When sudden a thundering was heard in the rocks,
And fearfully trembled the glade.
Then he knew that the noise good boded him nought,
He knew that 'twas Thor who was coming,
He changed himself straight to a salmon trout,
And leap'd in a fright in the Glommen.4
But Thor changed too to a huge sea-gull,
And the salmon-trout seized in his beak :
4. The Glommen is the largest river in Norway, clear and
rapid. In its course of nearly three hundred English miles,
from the mountains above Roraas, whence it springs to where
it runs into the sea at Friedrichstadt, it forms from fifteen to
twenty considerable waterfalls, of which the most remarkable
are the Sarpen-Foss, near its mouth; the Mörch-Foss, and
the Vammen-Foss.
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
229
He cried, "Thou traitor, I know thee well,
And dear shalt thou pay thy freak.
"Thy caitiff bones to a meal I'll pound,
As a mill-stone crusheth the grain."
When Loke that nought booted his magic found,
He took straight his own form again.
“And what if thou scatter'st my limbs in air!"
He spake: "will it mend thy case?
Will it gain back for Sif a single hair?
Thou'lt still a bald spouse embrace.
"But if now thou'lt pardon my heedless joke,
For malice sure meant I none,
I swear to thee here by root, billow, and rock,
By the moss on the Bauta-stone.5
"By Mimer's well, and by Odin's eye,
And by Miölner, greatest of all;
That straight to the secret caves I'll hie,
To the Dwarfs, my kinsmen small:
"And thence for Sif new tresses I'll bring
Of gold, ere the day-light's gone,
So that she shall liken a field in spring,
With its yellow-flower'd garment on.”
5 Bauta-stones were the stones placed over the tombs of
distinguished warriors, and were held in great reverence
amongst the Scandinavians, the more so in proportion to their
antiquity, of which the moss on them was a sure token.
230
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
Him answer'd Thor: "Why, thou brazen knave,
To my face to mock me dost dare,
Thou know'st well that Miölner is now 'neath the wave
With Ran, and wilt still by it swear?"
6
"O! a better hammer for thee I'll obtain,"
And he shook like an aspen-tree,
"Fore whose stroke, shield, buckler, and greave shall be vain,
And the Giants with terror shall flee.”
"Not so," cried Thor: and his eyes flash'd fire,
"Thy base treason calls loud for blood;
And hither I'm come, with my sworn brother Freyr,
To make thee of ravens the food.
"I'll take hold of thine arms and thy coal-black hair,
And Freyr of thy heels behind,
And thy lustful body to atoms we'll tear,
And scatter thy limbs to the wind."
"O spare me, Freyr, thou great-souled king!”
And, weeping, he kissed his feet.
"O mercy, and thee I'll a courser bring,
No match in the wide world shall meet.
"Without whip or spur round the earth you shall ride;
He'll ne'er weary by day nor by night;
He shall carry you safe o'er the raging tide,
And his golden hair furnish you light."
6 Every thing lost at sea was said to go to Ran, who was
represented as being as avaricious as she was cruel.
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
231
Loke promised so well with his glozing tongue,
That the Aser at length let him go,
And he sank in the earth, the dark rocks among,
Near the cold fountain, far below.
He crept on his belly, as supple as eel,
The cracks in the hard granite through,
Till he came where the Dwarfs stood hammering steel,
By the light of a furnace blue.
I trow 'twas a goodly sight to see,
The Dwarfs with their aprons on,
A hammering and smelting so busily,
Pure gold from the rough brown stone.
Rock crystals from sand and hard flint they made,
Which, tinged with the rose-bud's dye,
They cast into rubies and carbuncles red,
And hid them in cracks hard by.
They took them fresh violets all dripping with dew,
Dwarf women had pluck'd them, the morn,
And stain❜d with their juice the clear sapphires blue,
King DanⓇ in his crown since hath worn.
7 The cold fountain was Hvergemler, which existed before
the creation.
8 Dan, surnamed Mikillati, or the magnificent, is supposed
to have reigned in Denmark towards the latter end of the
third century, and to have given his name to the Danish
islands, which before had been called Ey-Gothland. He is
said also to have introduced into Denmark the custom of
burying the bodies of the dead, which until then, since the
time of Odin, had been burned.
232
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
Then for emeralds, they search'd out the brightest green,
Which the young spring meadow wears,
And dropp'd round pearls, without flaw or stain,
From widows' and maidens' tears.
And all round the cavern might plainly be shewn
Where Giants had once been at play;
For the ground was with heaps of huge muscle-shells strewn,
And strange fish were mark'd in the clay.
Here an Icthyosaurus stood out from the wall,
There monsters ne'er told of in story,
Whilst hard by the Nix in the waterfall,
Sang wildly the days of their glory.
Here bones of the Mammoth and Mastodon,
And serpents with wings and with claws;
The elephant's tusks from the burning zone
Are small to the teeth in their jaws.
When Loke to the Dwarfs had his errand made known,
In a trice for the work they were ready;
Quoth Dvalin: "O, Loptur, it now shall be shown
That Dwarfs in their friendship are steady.
"We both trace our line from the self-same stock;
What you ask shall be furnish'd with speed,
For it ne'er shall be said, that the sons of the rock
Turn'd their backs on a kinsman in need."
Then they took them the skin of a large wild-boar,
The largest that they could find,
º Que of the principal of the Dwarfs.
+9
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
233
!
And the bellows they blew till the furnace 'gan roar,
And the fire flamed on high for the wind.
And they struck with their sledge-hammers stroke on stroke,
That the sparks from the skin flew on high;
But never a word good nor bad spake Loke,
Though foul malice lurk'd in his eye.
The thunderer far distant, with sorrow he thought
On all he'd engaged to obtain,
.
10 And, as summer-breeze fickle, now anxiously sought
To render the Dwarf's labour vain.
Whilst the bellows plied Brokur, and Sindrig the hammer
And Thror," that the sparks flew on high,
And the sides of the vaulted cave rang with the clamour,
Loke changed to a huge forest fly.
And he sate him, all swelling with venom and spite,
On Brokur, the wrist just below;
But the Dwarf's skin was thick, and he reck'd not the bite,
Nor once ceased the bellows to blow.
And now, strange to tell, from the roaring fire
Came the golden-haired Gullinbörst,
To serve as a charger the sun-god Freyr,
Sure of all wild boars this the first.12
10 Inconsistency is the predominant feature in the compli-
cated, but not unreal character of Loke.
11 The names of Dwarfs.
12 This was no light praise, inasmuch as the boar Sehrim-
ner was with good ground in high favour in Valhalla.
234
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
They took them pure gold from their secret store,
The piece 'twas but small in size,
But ere't had been long in the furnace roar,
'Twas a jewel beyond all prize.
A broad red ring all of wroughten gold;
As a snake with its tail in its head;
And a garland of gems did the rim enfold,
Together with rare art laid.
'Twas solid and heavy, and wrought with care,
Thrice it pass'd through the white flames' glow;
A ring to produce, fit for Odin to wear,
No labour they spared I trow.
They work'd it and turn'd it with wondrous skill,
Till they gave it the virtue rare,
That each thrice third night from its rim there fell
Eight rings, as their parent fair.
"Twas the same with which Odin sanctified
God Baldur's and Nanna's faith,' 13
On his gentle bosom was Draupner¹ laid,
When their eyes were closed in death.
Next they laid on the anvil a steel-bar cold,
They needed nor fire nor file,
But their sledge hammers following, like thunder roll'd,
And Sindrig sang Runes the while.
When Loke now mark'd how the steel gat power,
And how warily out 'twas beat,
13 Vide Chapter x.
14 Draupner was the name of Odin's famous ring.
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
235
… ('Twas to make a new hammer for Auka-Thor)
He'd recourse once again to deceit.
In a trice, of a Hornet the semblance he took,
Whilst in cadence fell blow on blow,
In the leading Dwarf's forehead his barbed sting he stuck,
That the blood in a stream down did flow.
Then the Dwarf raised his hand to his brow, for the smart,
Ere the iron well out was beat,
And they found that the haft by an inch was too short,
But to alter it then 'twas too late.
Now a small elf came running with gold on his head,
Which he gave a dwarf-woman to spin,
Who the metal like flax on her spinning-wheel laid,
Nor tarried her task to begin.
So she
span and span, and the gold thread ran
Into hair, though Loke thought it a pity:
She span and sang to the sledge-hammer's clang,
This strange, wild spinning-wheel ditty.
"Henceforward her hair shall the tall Sif wear,
Hanging loose down her white neck behind
By no envious braid shall it captive be made,
But in native grace float in the wind.
"No swain shall it view in the clear heaven's blue,
But his heart in its toils shall be lost;
No goddess, not e'en beauty's faultless queen,15
Such long, glossy ringlets shall boast;
15 Freya.
:
T
236
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
"Tho' they now seem dead, let them touch but her head,
Each hair shall the life-moisture fill,
Nor shall malice nor spell henceforward prevail
Sif's tresses to work aught of ill.”
His object attain'd, Loke no longer remain'd
'Neath the earth, but straight hied him to Thor,
Who own'd than the hair, neʼer, sure, aught more fair
His eyes had e'er look'd on before.
The Boar Freyr bestrode, and away proudly rode,
And Thor took the ringlets and hammer,
To Valhalla they hied, where the Aser reside,
Mid of tilting and wassail the clamour.
At a full, solemn Thing16-Thor gave Odin the ring,
And Loke his foul treachery pardon'd:
But the pardon was vain--for his crimes soon again
Must do penance, the arch-sinner harden'd.
Oehlenschläger.
16 Thing-any public meeting. The present triennial par-
liament of Norway is called Stor-thing, the great meeting.
✩
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
237
CHAPTER IX.
ÆGIR—RAN—ÆGIR'S FEAST-GEFRONE.
:
EGIR, who was also called Gymer and Hler, was the
god of the ocean, and although not one of the Aser,
being descended from the giants, was possessed
of considerable power. His dominion did not in-
terfere with that of Niord, who had sway over the
inland waters only. By his wife Ran he had
nine daughters, who became billows, currents, and
storms.
Ran, the queen of the ocean, was of a cruel and
avaricious disposition. It was she who caused all
shipwrecks, and she was in possession of a net, in
which she entangled and drew to her whatever fell
into the sea.
All who were drowned were believed
to go to her, a belief which the Swedish peasants
still hold of the mermaid.
Ægir was very rich, and was celebrated also for
great prudence and wisdom. His chief residence.
was in the island of Hlesey or Lessöe, in the Cat-
tegat.
238
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
1-
In crystal halls his head
Rears Ægir, Ran's stern spouse;
A silver helmet red
With coral guards his brows;
His beard, of ocean weeds,
His spear with amber deck'd,
And pearls, but shew he needs,
And the proud waves are check'd.
The emblem of his sway
When lifts the watery god-
Quick sinks the raging sea,
Obedient to his rod;
His pearly muscle throne,
In Hlesey may be seen;
Has daughters nine by Ran,
Three are the billows green.
Oehlenschläger.
The description of Ægir's feast, as given in the
Elder Edda, is one of the most curious and cha-
racteristic relics of Scandinavian antiquity, whether
considered as illustrative of the religious belief, or
of the manners of the time in which it was written,
it could not therefore with propriety have been
omitted in a work of this nature. The coarseness,
however, of the original, has obliged the author at
times to use a great latitude of translation, and, in
some instances, where the grossness would not be
veiled, to have recourse to the Latin version. With
this caution we shall proceed to give an account of
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
239
ÆGIR'S FEAST.
Ægir once made a journey to Asgard, on which
occasion the gods received him with great dis-
tinction, and gave a feast in his honour. Ægir in
return invited them all to an entertainment, of
which an account has been given in the sixth
chapter. Having obtained through Thor's assist-
ance, as there described, Hymir's great kettle, he
brewed in it a sufficient quantity of ale, and again
invited the gods to a feast. Odin and Frigga were
there; Sif, Thor's wife (Thor himself was engaged
otherwise); Bragi and Iduna; Tyr; Niord and
Skada; Freyr and Freya; Vidar, Odin's son;
Loke also was present, and Beygver and Beyla,
Freyr's attendants, and a great many Elves and
Aser.
The banquet was very brilliant, gold was made
use of for lights, and the drink passed about of
itself. The guests particularly praised the alert-
ness of Ægir's two attendants, Fimaseng and El-
der, which exciting Loke's spleen, he maliciously
slew Fimaseng. The Aser, on this, rose with one
accord, and drove him from the hall, but in a
short time he returned, and meeting Elder ad-
dressed him as follows:
240
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
...
LOKE.
Tell me this, Elder!
Before you set your
A step farther—
Of what do the Aser
Converse within
Over their drink?
foot
ELDER.
Of their weapons,
Of their warlike deeds,
Speak the holy Gods :-
Amongst the Aser and Elves
Who sit within,
No one is in speech your friend.
LOKE.
I will enter
Into Ægir's hall,
To hear their babble.
Hatred and scorn I bear
To the sons of the Aser,
And will mingle evil with their mead.
ELDER.
Know, that if thou enterest
The hall of Ægir
To see the feast,
And on the mild Gods
To pour abuse,
They will turn it on thy head.
;
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
241
LOKE.
Know thyself, Elder!
That if we two
Exchange sharp words,
I in answer
Shall have far the better,
If thou speakest too much.
On this Loke went into the hall, and when the
guests saw who it was they remained silent.
said:
Loke
Thirsty cometh Loptur
From a long journey
To this hall;
To ask of the Aser
That they will give him a draught
Of the clear mead.
Why are ye silent, ye Gods!
So swoln out
That ye are not able to speak?
Either give me seat and place
In your company,
Or bid me go my way.
BRAGI.
Seat and place to thee
In their company
The Aser will never give;
For they know well
Whom they should bid
To the holy banquet.
R
242
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
LOKE.
Rememberest thou, Odin!
How, in the morning of time,
We mingled blood together?
Then didst thou promise that never
Thou wouldst taste of drink
Unless we both were bidden.
ODIN.
Stand up, Vidar!
And let the sire of the wolf
Take his place;
Lest Loke should fall on us,
With words of abuse,
Here in Ægir's hall.
Then Vidar rose up and poured out a cup for Loke,
who before he drank of it thus spake :
Health to the Aser,
Health to the Asynier,
And to all the holy Gods,
One alone excepted,
Bragi, who sitteth
Upon the bench above.
BRAGI.
A horse and a sword
I give to thee-
Thus doth Bragi offer-
If only with the Aser
Thou stirrest not up strife:
Make not the Gods wroth with thee.
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
243
LOKE.
Horse and weapons
Both, O Bragi!
Thou canst well spare;
Of Aser and Elves,
Who are present here,
No one shunneth fight
And steel as thou.
BRAGI.
I know that if I were
Without Ægir's hall
As I am now within it-
In my hand
I would bear your head,
And so repay your lie.
LOKE.
Thou art bold on thy seat-
This becometh thee not-
Bragi! pride of the bench!'
If thou art angry,
Go out to the fight,
A brave man doth not calculate.
T
¹ Loke here speaks ironically, and calls Bragi pride of the
bench, either as a reproach for his sedentary life, or for his
love of feasts and drinking-bouts, at which the Scalds had
always the high place.
244
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
¿
IDUNA.
Bragi! I conjure thee
For our parents' sake,
For our children's sake,
That thou wilt not exchange
Words of scorn with Loke
Here in Ægir's hall.
LOKE.
Hold thy peace, Iduna!
Thou of all women
Lustest the most after men-
Since the time when
Thou passionately didst embrace
Thy brother's murderer.2
IDUNA.
Loke, to thee
I speak not in scorn
Here in Ægir's hall;
I do but still Bragi,
Heated with drink,
I would not that ye two should strive.
GEFIONE.
What will ye here,
Ye Aser twain !
2 The story to which this alludes is now lost. Iduna was
the daughter of the dwarf Ivalldur, whose sons made Sif's
hair, &c.
1
4
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
245
Exchange rancorous words?
Doth not Loptur know
That cunning hath ensnared him,
And that misfortune is at hand.³
Although the interference of Gefione, the virgin
goddess, cold and severe, the Diana of the north,
to whom all maids who had never known love on
earth repaired after death, was natural and in
place, since being possessed of the gift of prophecy
she knew what must be the result if this indecent
altercation was persevered in-the reply of Loke
was an insult of the grossest nature, so outrageous
as to call up Odin himself.
ODIN.
Thou art mad, Loke,
And without understanding,
That thou stirrest Gefione to wrath;
For I trow that she knoweth
The destinies of all
Even as I myself.
LOKE.
Keep silence, Odin!
Never didst thou fairly share
The fight with warriors;
Often hast thou given the victory
³ Gefione had the gift of prophecy, and was said with eight
magic oxen to have ploughed the island of Zealand out of
Sweden.
246
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
i
Where thou shouldst not,
To the least valiant.
ODIN.
How knowest thou if I gave
To the least brave the victory!
Eight winters wert thou
Beneath the earth-
Let
A milch-cow and a woman—
Engend'ring monsters—
Such is the part of a vile fellow.
Loke's answer is unintelligible, being, like Odin's
remark, in allusion to some circumstance, with
which we are not now acquainted. Frigga inter-
fered, to prevent the revealing of secrets unknown
to the rest of the Aser.
FRIGGA.
It becometh you not
So to declare
Your destinies;
What ye two Aser did
In the morning of time-
What is pass'd should not be ripp'd up.
LOKE.
Tace tu, Frigga!
Tu es Fiorgyni gnata;
Et semper virosa fuisti.
Quando Veum et Vilium,
Tibi vidreris uxor
Ambos in sinum suscipiebas.
Edda Sæmundar.
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
247
Loke's first reply to Frigga was little less insulting
than that to Gesione, and so excited the indig-
nation of the mother of the gods that she exclaimed,
FRIGGA.
O! that I had but here,
In Ægir's hall,
A son like to Baldur;¹
Never shouldst thou depart
From amongst the Aser;
A sword should stop thy venom.
LOKE.
Will'st thou, Frigga,
That I should address thee
More bitter words;
I will procure
That thou shalt never again
See Baldur ride to hall.
FREYA.
Thou art mad, Loke!
Thus to give vent
To foul and false railing.
Frigga knoweth all things
Past and to come-
Though she revealeth nought.
LOKE.
Silence, Freya!
Right well I know thee,
4 Baldur was Frigga's favourite son.
248
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
Thou art not free from spot.
Of the Aser and Elves
Who are here assembled,
Each has enjoy'd thy favours.
FREYA.
False is thy tongue,
The day will come
When it will cause thine own woe;
Aser and Asynier
Are wroth with thee,
Thou shalt depart hence with shame.
LOKE.
Hold thy peace, Freya!
Mingler of poisons,
Full of evil art thou;
By magic arts,
Lustful goddess,
Thou hast drawn thy brother to thy side.
This brings up Njord the father of Freyr; and
Freya's imputation on Loke as well as Loke's re-
tort are so gross, that we must refer those who de-
sire to read them, to the Edda of Sæmund.
LOKE.
Keep silence, Njord!
From the east hither
Thou wert sent, a hostage, to the Gods.
Hymer's daughters employed
Thy mouth for a vile purpose."
The passage will not bear a literal translation.
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
249
i
J
1
NJORD,
It is my pride,
That long ere I came hither,
A hostage to the Gods,
I could boast a son
Whom none hate,
And who is held the prince of the Aser."
LOKE.
Cease now, Njord!
Lower thine arrogance,
I will no longer deny
That with thy sister
Thou hast begotten a son
No better than thyself.
TYR.
Freyr is the noblest
Of all the Gods
In the kingdom of the Aser.
Never hath he caused sorrow
To woman or maiden,
But freeth us all from bonds.
LOKE.
Hold thy peace, Tyr!
In vain hast thou sought
To use both hands
Since the time that Fenris
Bit off thy left hand.
6 Freyr.
250
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
TYR.
I lack a hand,
Thou, an honourable name;
Sorrow to him who hath lost such,
Nor has the wolf much to boast;
In bonds must he languish
Until the world passeth away.
In reply Loke as usual asserts that Tyr's wife was
in love with him, and had given him substantial
proofs of her love.
FREYR.
The wolf lieth howling
At the mouth of the river
Until the powers shall perish—
Thou causer of strife!
So shalt thou be bound,
Unless thou straight holdest thy peace.
LOKE.
For gold didst thou purchase
Gymer's daughter,
And so soldest thy sword-
But when Muspell's sons
Shall ride over the dark wood,
Know'st thou not how thou must fight
BEYGVER.
If I were as nobly born
As Ingun's Freyr,
And had so lordly a castle,
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
251
¦
¦
I would crush
That evil raven,
And pound his bones to marrow.
LOKE.
What little creature is that?
Whom I see wagging his tail,
And, like a spunger, snapping what he can?
Thou wilt still be hanging
At Freyr's ears
When thou art not labouring at the mill.
BEYGVER.
My name is Beygver,
Gods and men
Call me the rapid,
Here am I come with honour—
For the whole race of Odin
Assemble gladly to the feast.
LOKE.
Hold thy tongue, Beygver
Never hast thou succeeded properly
In serving men their meals;
Thou hiddest thyself
Under the straw beds
When warriors were fighting.
HEIMDALL.
Loke! thou art drunk,
And hast no longer any sense;
7 Beygver was a Light-Elf and attendant on Freyr the god
of the sun.
252
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
Wilt thou never be quieted!
He must be overcome
With drink continually,
Who himself remembers not what he sayeth.
LOKE.
Peace now, Heimdall!
In the morning of time to thee
Was destined a hateful lot-
With a wet back
Shalt thou ever remain,
And watch as the warder of the Gods.*
SKADA.
Thou amusest thyself, Loke!
But not long shalt thou be free
At will to indulge thy spleen:
On the sharp points of the rock
With the bowels of thy ice-cold son
Soon shall the gods bind thee.
LOKE.
t:
Know thou, though the gods
With the bowels of my ice-cold son
Should bind me to the rocks;
Yet first and fiercest was I
9
To give Thiasse his death wound
When we entrapp'd him.
• In allusion to Heimdall's post on the rainbow as war-
der of Asgard.
9 Thiasse was Skada's father, vid. ch. 3.
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
253
Know-if thou first and fiercest wast
To give the death-wound
When Thiasse was entrapp'd,
From my mountains
And waters, in return
Thou shalt receive cold counsel.
SKADA.
Gentler were thy words
To Laufeya's son
When thou offeredst me thy love,
Such things should not be forgotten,
When we desire with exactness
To enumerate thy actions.
LOKE.
Thou alone art-
Hail to thee, Loke!
And take the crystal cup
Full of old mead.
So that Sif alone,
Amongst the Aser's faultless race,
Thou mayst suffer to sit in peace.
M
Sif now advanced, and pouring out mead to Loke
in a crystal cup, said:
LOKE.
*
If indeed thou art—
Prudent and constant against men—
I know but one-
So far as I believe-
254
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
Who acts the gallant with Hlorida's¹º wife-
And that is the cunning Loke.
BEYLA.
The rocks all tremble;
I trow now Hlorida returns
Homewards from his journey.
He will teach silence
To the one, who here insults
All gods and men.
LOKE.
Keep still, Beyla!
Thou art Beygver's wife,
And full of malice.
A fouler monster
Ne'er came amongst the sons of the Aser
Than thou-filthy slut.
At this moment Thor entered-
THOR.
The son of earth
Is now arrived—
Peace, ribald knave!
My weighty hammer, Miölner,
Shall stop thy tongue;
The rock of thy shoulders
I will strike from thy neck,
And thus deprive thee of life.
LOKE.
10 Hlorida, one of Thor's names.
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
255
į
J
Why dost thou rage so, Thor!
Thou wilt not be so daring
When thou shalt fight with the wolf,
And he shall swallow the Father of Victory."
THOR.
Peace, ribald knave!
Miölner, my weighty hammer,
Shall stop thy tongue;
I will fling thee up
To the eastern corner,
So that none again shall see thee.
LOKE.
Of thy journeys eastwards
Never, if thou art wise,
Shouldst thou talk to others.
Since the time, Einheriar!
That thou satest in the thumb of a glove,"
And scarce trow'd, thyself, that thou wert Thor.
THOR.
Peace, ribald knave!
Miölner, my weighty hammer,
A long time yet
I hope to live,
Shall stop thy tongue ;
Soon shall my right hand
Strike thee with Hrungner's bane,¹³
So that every bone shall be broken.
LOKE.
11 Odin.
12 See Thor's journey to Jotunheim.
13 Hrungner was a giant whom Thor had killed.
256
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
?
Altho' thou threatenest me with thy hammer.
The thongs of the wallet
Seemed hard to thee
When thou couldst not get to Skrymer's meat,
And wert near dead with hunger.
THOR.
Peace, ribald knave!
Miölner, my trusty hammer,
Shall stop thy tongue,
Hrungner's bane
Shall send thee to Hel-
And to the pit of the dead.
LOKE.
I
sang for the Aser,
I sang for the sons of the Aser,
What my fancy bade me;
But, for thee alone
Will I depart,
For I know well that thou canst strike.
Ægir, thou hast brewed ale,
But never again
Shalt thou give a feast.
Over all thy possessions here
May the flame play joyfully,
And burn thee to the back.
:
On this Loke changed himself into an eel, leaped
into Frananger's Foss, and escaped.
The following poem, translated from Oehlen-
schläger, is a paraphrase of the Thrymisquida of
the Elder Edda.
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
257
LOKE'S CUNNING.
A slimy eel Loke cut through the wave,
From the Thunderer's vengeance his neck to save;
The peasants, for many a league, could see
How he glided and bent him so pliantly.
He pass'd thro' the monsters and wealth of the deep,
Saw whales a-sporting, the kraken asleep;
He swam straight to Norway, to Lindesness,
There hid him awhile in the mud and the grass,
Then, resuming his form, he sate on a rock,
Like a peasant boy watching a porpus flock.
"So at Odin's board my place I've lost,
Nor know if a Jotun 14 or Aser most:
Valhalla's pleasures for me are at end,
My days with demons I now must spend :
Midst thick-skull'd giants, shut out from light,
Who doze like bears through their endless night,
Where no sun e'er warms, no stars are seen;
No spring e'er gladdens the earth with green;
No music sounds through the torch-lit hall,
Save the mournful splash of the waterfall.
There love ne'er enters, Trolds 15 know no joy
But the good to harass, the fair to destroy;
They dream but of treason, and strife, and blood,
For a blockhead, all know, may be warrior good.
"Ne'er again As-Bragi's song shall I hear,
Nor scoff when his harp clangs false on mine ear,
14 Jotun, a giant.
15 Trolds, one of the names given to the evil spirits.
S
****
258
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
L
Nor with Diser 16 talk, till their necks of snow
With blushes, like heaven at evening, glow;
Nor sneer at As-Odin's silent state,
Till the Aser doubt if his wit be so great.
No more with gibes shall I tease As-Thor,
That the God gets wrath, and the hall's in a roar.
But by Farbaut, my sire, Thor has merit yet:
An he had but the tithe part of Loptur's wit
Might laugh at Odin-he wearies me least,
Though he chafes sometimes at my biting jest.
When aloft in his car we cut through the air,
I forget all envy, and malice, and care:
When Hlorida's 17 thunder shook earth and sky,
I thought me as great as the God, well-nigh.
"How I loved with the Diser of nothings to talk,
Or with dove-eyed Fulla by moonlight to walk.
Poor Fulla-I fear that her soft heart's gone;
But which of the Diser hath Loke not won.
"Sehrimner 18 I've lost, and the mead, and the beer,
And the tilting and sports of the Einheriar.
Those were jovial days, 'twere vain to deny :
The time fled quickly, the spirits were high;
Though an Aser but half, more wise than the rest,
I tasted all, knew all, and mock'd all that past.
"Their loss is greater than mine by half,
From Valhalla is banish'd the mirthful laugh.
The gods now yawn through the tedious day,
And regret, too late, that Loptur's away :
16 The goddesses were termed Diser.
17 A name for Thor.
18 The boar on which the Aser and Einheriar made their
daily repast.
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY,
259
They'll soon discover how little worth
Is pomp unlightened by wit or mirth.
Who'd bear long to feed on th' insipid dough,
Did none therein the sour leaven throw:
Did the rose-stock shoot smooth as stalk of corn,
"Twere a sorry rose with nor moss nor thorn!
What's the mid-day splendour, or court's parade,
Without humbler joys, without soothing shade!
“Let them sit with their closed hands their chins beneath,
Excitement ended, their rest is death."
Loke thus gave vent to his fever'd thought,
And to hide his grief from himself e'en sought;
But he could not reason away the smart,
And he writhed as he spake like a wounded hart.
He thought: "Could I pardon of Thor obtain,
All hope of Asgard were yet not vain."
Thus, racking his brain, he paced the rock,
When sudden, pausing, his brow he struck,
And cried-" Thor's hammer! 'tis done--by my life,
To gain back Miölner he'd yield his wife.”
Then light as a falcon away he flew
To Jernvidi forest, nor once breath drew;
There he found King Thrymer,' who sate on a hill,
A feathering his arrows with eagle's quill;
By his side was a quiver of sea-calf's skin,
And the moon-beam play'd on his bushy chin.
Thrym lift up his eyes and, of Loke aware,
Cried," Valhal's jester! what, thou come here!
Doth Loke the Aser thus condescend,
In his greatness, to think upon Giant-land!
19 Thrymer or Thrym, a powerful giant, who stole Thor's
hammer whilst the God was asleep, and refused to restore it
until Freya was brought to him.
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SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
Hast fallen in disgrace? have the gods turn'd thee out?
Hard treatment this for their jester and scout!
What brings thee here like a skulking fox,
Do the Aser begrudge us our barren rocks? "
With a cringing boldness, Loke sate him down
By the Giant's side, on a moss-grown stone:
"The joys of Asgard are dearly bought,
And were 't not thy good, more than mine I sought,
Its hated frontier, long since, I'd crost,
And a spy in the Aser's camp you'd lost ;
Who knows to cover his hate with smiles,
And to turn on his foes their rancorous wiles.
"That my friends suspect me, I deeply feel;
But offer myself for my kinsmen's weal.
Long, much, I've suffer'd, in body and mind,
But in conscience clear my reward I find."
Thus, weeping, the arch dissembler spoke:
Then Thrym loud laugh'd, and, with scoffing look,
He cried-" Wilt giants with tears ensnare,
As boys catch blackbirds with berries and hair?
Thou weep'st, like the monster of Egypt's flood,
When he's plotting murder and thirsts for blood:
What wilt thou here? weathercock, out with the lie,
Or, by Utgard, thou❜lt rue thou cam'st hither to spy."
Ay! he well may threaten," Loke fawning spake;
"At whose name e'en th' Aser in Valhal quake.
Whilst Thor was sleeping, his hammer you've ta'en,
And hid it deep down in the ocean with Ran:
Though none but the Thunderer can Miölner wield,
'Tis a noble prize, and good ransom will yield.”
<<
"What ransom ?" cried Thrymer, with louring brow;
"Can Thor boast treasures like mine, I trow?
What need I of jewels, or gold or gear?
True; of Diser Freya much praise I hear:
13.
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
261
Of her dark blue eyes, and her golden hair,
Coral lips, and skin as the lily fair;
Her mouth like rose-bud, its silvery sound
The flute's soft music; arms white and round:
Such ransom might tempt me-complexions brown,
And hair like the raven, I love not, I own,
Nor the swarthy beauties our mountains afford.
Bring hither the daughter of wealthy Njord,
And the self same day I'll give back to Thor
His trusty Miölner, as Freya's dower.
"Did not Freyr tall Gerda take to his bed?
Then why should not Thrym Freyr's sister wed?
"With this my resolve to your master hie.
Twelve leagues 'neath the ocean doth Miölner lie,
Nor ever shall Thor his hammer see,
Unless Njord's daughter its ransom be."
This said—he stamp'd, and there straight appear'd
A short, thick dwarf, who on Loptur leer'd,
And closed with a loud laugh the mountain's cleft,
That Loke in darkness alone was left,
Then Loke laugh'd too—that the mountains rang-
So laughs the hyæna, and whets his fang;
Huge owls fell down from the trees for fear,
And Ran look'd out o'er the deep to hear?
The serpent writhed, and the affrighted flood
High over the mountains in white foam stood:
The wolf bark'd hoarse, and his chain 'gan shake,
When, with ire concentred, thus Loptur spake :
"I hate ye all!—men, giants, and Gods!
I hate and defy ye! nor fear your odds.
Ye reject me, idiots! but soon shall learn
The power of him whom ye madly spurn.
I'll find me a way to vengeance yet,
Though the world once more into chaos split.
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SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
?
And the time will come, ye shall weep too late
The hour ye waken'd Loke's deadly hate.
"But I know your power, proud spirits of air,
And the giants' strength, and will act with care;
If but once my cunning great Thor can lead
To act like a Nidding 20—nought else I need.”
But, spite of his hatred, Loke did not dare,
Unbidden, to Asgard at once to repair:
So he stole through the woods, to the beech-hill's brow,
At even, as the boor drove homeward his plow;
'Twas where a spring, through the white sand prest,
Sprang, bubbling, from Hertha's parent breast;
Near where Leira stood, and where since King Ro
Built a spacious palace, as legends show.21
20 Nidding, a term of contempt implying cowardice, false-
hood and baseness of every kind,—in like manner remarks
Dr. Percy, as the lye in modern days. He quotes a passage
from Matthew Paris, shewing that W. Rufus, having occasion
to draw together a sudden body of forces, sent word to such
as held of him in fee that those who did not repair to his
standard should be deemed Nithing, upon which, esteeming
nothing more disgraceful than this ignominious epithet, they
thronged to him in great numbers. Dr. Percy shews that the
term continued long in use in England, but in a less contu-
melious sense, and cites the following lines from an old MS.
poem between the reigns of Edward III. and Edward IV.
Looke thou be kind and curteous aye
Of meate and drinke be never Nithing.
:
·
21 Where still stands the town of Roskilde, or Ro's-spring.
The spring exists still in all its purity. Leira was the an-
cient capital of Denmark.
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
263
There small elves and faines were wont to play
Whilst the dew was falling, but fled the day.
Once a thorn pierced Freya, a drop from the wound
A small fay caught, ere it fell to ground,
And shed o'er the sward-ere the morning's dawn
Thousand purple flowers breathed sweets o'er the lawn.
'Tis the elves paint the redbreast and goldfinch's wing,
And teach the thrush, blackbird, and linnet to sing.
Erst the nightingale sang not, till once, in a freak,
The fairy queen caught it, and, kissing its beak,
E'er since with love-ditties it wearies the grove,
And melts maids to love who by moonlight rove.
Freya's ringlets are wash'd with a perfume rare,
Her nymphs in Folkvangur's bowers prepare :
Once a butter-cup full was stolen by a fay,
Who flew with the prize to the forest away,
And pour'd it by night on the violet.
But he found the fragrance for earth too great,
So he took fresh dew-drops, and mix'd them up
With the perfume was left in the buttercup,
And scented the wild-thyme and daffodil,
And cowslip, and woodbine and, loving the rill,
Forget me not, floweret which maids know well,
But 'twere vain all their frolics to seek to tell.
They pinch the dull shepherd, when wolves threat the flock,
And wake in the morning the farmer's cock :
Hodge turns him round, with a lingering yawn,
And ere the morn breaks brushes dew from the lawn.
They whisper the youth where his true love's gone,
And shew the green path which she haunts alone,
Or put on her form, in light dreams, the morn;
But from faithless lovers they turn with scorn.
They now danced merrily round the spring,
To the water-elf's song, hand in hand, in a ring,
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SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
鲁
​When Loke, in the form of a fire-king, stepp'd
From a hollow ash tree, where to hide him he'd crept :
On his black shaggy locks was a bramble crown,
And his tail 'neath his blood-red robe hung down.
In a trice they all vanish'd, for strife they flee,
And they thought that the black elves lay hid in the tree:
But when they discover'd 'twas nought but Loke,
They leap'd for joy, and laugh'd loud at the joke:
All fairies love Loke for his tricks and his wiles,
They know not the malice that lurks 'neath his smiles.
They cried-" Welcome, Loptur, it long doth seem
Since together we danced in the full-moon's beam."
Quoth Loke-" Dear children, you know I love
To sport with you here in your leafy grove:
What hath kept me from you you soon shall learn,
But, first, on the greensward let's dance a turn."
Then merrily round in a circle they danced,
Whilst Loke's tail, like a snake, through the long grass
glanced.
The spring ceased to bubble, the small birds fled,
Bloated toads croak'd hoarse in their festering bed:
Thrice started the elves at the death-watch's cry:
Still nought suspected of treachery.
When the youth at the feet of his true-love lies,
Whilst poisonous damps from earth's bosom rise;
In each other wrapt, nought the danger they heed:
Then Loke, from a dark thicket, laughs at the deed,
And the pitying moon, who attests their vows,
Nor t'avert his devilish malice knows;
Its deadly fruits ere he wanes doth mourn,
A bier with white flowers to the cold grave borne.
Now, with dancing wearied, they press'd round Loke,
Who, stretch'd 'neath a huge beech, thus artful spoke:
"Last-born of Asgard, of gods beloved,
}
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOgy.
265
Whom Odin, at prayer of Freya moved,
Of purest æther from Muspel made,
Much your friendship, now, might poor Loptur aid.
By passion blinded in evil hour,
Unmindful of all I to Odin's power
And th' Aser's bounty, ungrateful, owe;
To my tongue's keen venom I gave full flow.
With tears of blood I have wept my fault;
But 'twas Ægir's liquor the madness wrought:
His mead is potent, his horns are deep,
When the cup quick passes the wit's asleep;
Nor God nor Diser my gall would spare,
Nor fear'd e'en Alfadur himself to dare.
But if Odin, moved by your prayer, relent,
And Thor, with unfeign'd remorse content,
Once more admit me to Asgard's reign,
I pledge me his hammer to bring again.
Dire Miölner, badge of the Thunderer's power,
By dark Thrymer stolen in unguarded hour."
The fairies promised all they could do,
And on gossamer wings to Valhalla flew :
There, with folded hands, and with eyes cast down,
Two by two they knelt before Odin's throne.
Alfader must yield to their artless prayer,.
Freyr smiled, Freya's eye was dimm'd with a tear.
Then Loke from his covert all pale they led,
Who knelt, fawn'd, promised, and big tears shed,
And to kiss the dust from Thor's feet was fain,
But th' indignant god, fill'd with fierce disdain,
Struck the grov❜ling suppliant with force to earth,
That the blood from his mouth in a stream gush'd forth.
(6
Hence, shame on thy dastard tears," he cried:
"I can better thy crimes than thy sorrow abide."
Loke raised him up with a vengeful scowl,
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SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
His heart was bursting with malice foul.
The blow he thought shall be dearly paid,
But he hid his ire, and thus smiling said:
"Not hope of pardon, though great my fault
My footsteps hither alone have brought.
Herald I come of love and peace,
"Tis time the rancorous wars should cease,
Which gods and giants so long divide:
Thrymer the tall, dark Utgard's pride,
For whom its maidens still sigh in vain,
In his turn hath felt the amorous pain.
Foul crimes and treasons he plots no more,
But sits alone on the bleak sea-shore,
Freya's spindle,22 a-watching the live-long night,
As o'er the murk waters it twinkles bright.
All her beauty know-and poor Thrymer trows,
Such symbol a thrifty housewife shows.
He's heard too for Oddur she sorrow'd long,
And thinks this of truth a presumption strong.
Who for spouse departed such love can feel,
Must believe that a spouse may love as well.
Else what the reward for a faith so rare,
And most in Freya so passing fair.
The nightingale coldly the thistle woos,
But with song of fire plies the blooming rose.
Freya smiled, and said, “ This at least is plain,
That Loke to himself e'er will true remain :
But your errand from Thrymer we fain would hear,
Your opinions on truth till a fitter time spare."
Quoth Loke: “ Fair goddess, not mine the praise,
""
22 With the Scandinavians Freya's spindle was the name
for the constellation called Orion's belt.
1
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
267
!
"Tis your matchless beauty Thrym's soul can raise
From its native dulness, and wit inspire
Unwonted. He loves thee with manhood's fire,
And Utgard's king, by his ardour won,
Hath granted the prayer of his darling son ;
He hath sent me the raven-god to greet,
And of Freya's marriage at large to treat.
If to Thrym's suit Odin an ear will lend,
'Twixt evil and good all distinctions will end,
All nature will blend in chaotic love:
The screech-owl will pair with the turtle-dove,
The cavern's gloom with the great sun's light,
Men will talk no longer of day nor night,
But a dusky twilight o'er all shall reign,
Mouldy damps the bright walls of Asgard stain :
Blue violets spring from the carcass foul,
Warriors wield distaffs-wives empires rule;
Spear-staves bear blossoms, white lilies thorns,
Men lack beards, soft maidens boast beards and horns.23
What a glorious chaos-the live-long day
In cavern, stuccoed with moistening clay,
23 The poet appears to have had here in view a similar
passage in Shakspeare's Midsummer Night's Dream, where
the consequence of the quarrel of Oberon and Titania are
thus described:
"The ox hath therefore stretch'd his yoke in vain,
The plowman lost his sweat, and the green corn
Hath rotted ere his youth attain’d a beard.
•
The seasons alter, hoary headed frosts
Fall in the fresh lap of the crimson rose,
1
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SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
P
Fair Freya shall sit on her rocky throne
To solace her Thrym in his grandeur lone.
Then all love shall end-but what need of love
When no hate shall exist baneful passions to move!
All extremes then shall vanish—the red, yellow, blue,
Men no longer in Bifrost's arch shall view,
But all hues shall blend in fraternal grey,
And the frog for the nightingale carol his lay.”
Then to Freya's cheek rush'd the indignant blood,
And the big round tear in her blue eye stood,
Which flash'd on Loptur in fierce disdain,
Like a bright setting sun thro' a summer-eve's rain;
She turn'd tow'rds Odin a suppliant look,
But her heart was so full, that no word she spoke.
Then Odin rose and declared his will,
That a Thing straight should meet beneath Yggdrasill;
But Loke was not bidden, his tongue they fear'd,
So to Heimdall, on Bifrost, he quick repair'd,
And looking around that no god was near,
Thus his counsel whisper'd in th' Aser's ear.
I complain not that Odin suspects my zeal,
But the affair touches nearly high Asgard's weal:
You are wise-for myself I have nought at stake,
'Tis for you of my hints the fit use to make;
But whatever is done must be done with speed,
Of decision the gods ne'er stood more in need.
And on old Hyems' chin and icy crown
An odorous chaplet of sweet summer buds,
Is, as in mockery, set: the spring, the summer,
The chilling autumn, angry winter, change
Their wonted liveries; and the 'maz'd world
By their increase now knows not which is which.
Act ii. scene 2.
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
269
White Heimdall who, seated on Bifrost's bow,
Knows all that passes its arch below,
And can hear the herb grow in the earth-each word
'Twixt Loptur and Thrym on the mount had heard;
He knew that for once the false god did not jest,
So thank'd him coldly and joined the rest,
'Neath the sacred Ash, where the gods in a ring
Were seated on stones round the raven-king.
Spake Heimdall: O, Aser, 'tis time to lower
These giants' pride, which all bounds runs o'er;
Of our power no longer they stand in awe,
But presume e'en to Odin to dictate law.
Dark Thrymer burns with unhallow'd fire,
And to Freya's hand e'en presumes t'aspire.
« True—Skada's fervour Njord knows t' assuage,
And of cruel Ran Ægir checks the rage.
Tall Gerda is gentle and loves As-Freyr,
་
And illumines the pole with her sparkling fire.
(From Gerda descend all dark-hair'd dames,
In whose bosoms a fiercer ardour flames).24
But follows it thence that our loveliest rose,
The pride of Valhalla, we tamely must lose!
If the apples of Ydun our vigour bestow,
'Tis from Freya love's softest endearments flow :
O'er her small mouth of coral when plays the arch smile,
Its spell e'en the woe-stricken heart can beguile ;
To behold it each Aser's pulse thrills with delight,
Without her not Asgard's blue arch would be bright.
And shall we then-(may Skulda avert the disgrace)
24 All these were instances of a union between the races
of the Aser and of the Giants. Gerda was a personification
of the aurora borealis.
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SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
¡
Thus poorly resign her to Thrymer's embrace!
Shall that form which e'en but to look on is bliss,
Be polluted at will by a foul giant's kiss ;
Those eyes which with love and expression late beam'd,
In despair coldly fix'd, or with bitter tears dimm'd!
"No-rather let radiant Bifrost's bow
Into ocean sink or dissolve in dew;
And the od❜rous summit of Yggdrasill,
With its leaves and blossoms dark Nastrond fill.
"On the utmost verge of Heaven I watch,
And but transient glimpse of her charms may catch,
As she's daily wont o'er my bridge to pass,
All be-deck'd with flowers, earth's sons to bless;
When she smiles, in transport I seize my horn,
And wind a strain that wakes up the morn.
At the sound thousand feather'd songsters spring
From their dewy lair, and on buoyant wing
Proclaim to the earth that the blue-eyed queen,
White Heimdall on Bifrost's arch hath seen."
All th' Aser approved what the wise god said,
And Freya his speech with a look repaid,
Went straight to his heart, that the blood out-rush'd,
And his cheeks like an untaught youth's were flush’d.
Continuing, the counsel of wily Loke
And Thrym's demand in review he took:
"Thor's hammer," quoth he, " Ran ne'er will leave,
Unless by some wile we may Thrym deceive.
He seeks for a bride of a snowy hue,
With golden ringlets and eyes of blue.
Such beauties in Utgard 'tis hard to find,
But we still may send him a bride to his mind:
If only Thor to my plan will yield,
And to gain back Miölner, the distaff wield.
"Tis he shall be bride, one whose stern embrace
:
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
271
Shall make Thrym long for a swarthier face.
We'll deck him out with the costliest gear,
A wimple and coif on his head he shall wear,
The polish'd keys from his belt shall pend,
And Freya t' adorn him her jewels lend :
Great Odin a magic salve shall make,
Unseemly scars from his front to take,
His skin shall turn white, his beard disappear,
Nor loss of courage thence need he fear;
To Utgard with unshorn strength shall he wend,
And Loke to dull Thrym that he's Freya pretend.
Two shields on his breast we will fasten well,
Which like Freya's bosom twin globes shall swell.
We'll hang fair Brysing 25 around his neck,
Thus the Thunderer his hammer may get him back.
Loke shall serve the goddess as guard and guide,
And conduct to Thrymer his gentle bride.
"When the bridal cup passeth round the board,
And the dwarfs bring Mïölner from Ran's dark hoard ;
When Thrymer with liquor and rapture drunk,
In an amorous stupor on Thor hath sunk :—
But why tell the Thunderer what part to choose,
He will scarce learn from Heimdall how Miölner to use.'
The Diser loud laugh'd, and the counsel applaud,
And clapp'd their white hands, and will dress out the god.
E'en Odin himself could not help but laugh,
To think of his son in a kirtle and coif.
Then a sighing was heard from out Urda's well,
And thrice waved the summit of Yggdrasill.
25 Brysing was Freya's famous necklace, which caused the
scandal of her adventure with the four dwarfs, whose work-
manship it was.
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SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
Great Odin's finger thrice Drupner 26 press'd,
And raised some doubts in the wise-one's27 breast.
But intent on the Diser, their mirth and their smiles,
He forgat his wisdom and Loptur's wiles;
Baldur, Mimer, and Forsete,28 all were away,
And Loke to his malice had now full play.
But Auka-Thor nought approved the joke,
The hardy warrior but ill could brook,
To a dark adventure to lend his name,
And risk a blot on his well-earn'd fame.
"What! Thor like a puling maiden drest!
Thor stoop to a paltry cheat at best!
I will hear no more of the dastard freak❞—
But Freya drew near, and with dimpled cheek,
Her taper hand on his broad front placed,
"And is mighty Thor then so soon disgraced!
Earth's sons who live in suspense and fear,
Each doubtful emprize should shun with care;
For envy and malice are still awake,
Foul vantage of each false step to take,
And with devilish rancour the brightest fame
To sully, and cover with endless shame.
But Thor is an Aser, his deeds of light
Not the tongue of slander herself could blight.
"Twould scarce dim his glory to hear the prayer
Of an injured goddess he once thought fair.”
The prayer of beauty doth seldom fail,
And tears o'er reason will still prevail.
A robe of scarlet arch Fulla brought,
26 Drupner, Odin's magic ring.
27 Odin.
28 These were the wisest of the Aser.
་རྩྭ
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
273
Which Odin by magic must widen out.
In a leather boddice they laced him tight,
But nought could induce him his hauberk to quit.
Two shields of copper, well smoothed and round,
On the Aser's bosom Hermodur bound,
Whilst the Valkyrs' 29 cheeks like a furnace burn'd
To see great Thor to a mummer turn'd.
Brysing, all sparkling with gems, hung down
On his tawny breast with black hair o'ergrown;
But Odin his skin with an ointment smear'd,
And white as a maiden's it straight appear'd.
No fitting coif for the god could be found,
So his copper helmet, with wadmel bound,
With flaunting ribbons and plumes they deck,
But his gloves of steel Thor will with him take,
And his magic belt-last with blood of bear
And wild boar's suet his cheeks they smear.
His dress now complete, Hnos a nosegay took
Of peony, sunflower, and hollyhock,
And stuck in his breast and said, Thor, farewell,
Such charms sure before ne'er graced Thrymer's cell.
Then Tialf the gold shoes on the goats made fast,
Thor wound the reins round his lusty waist,
He long'd for his hammer-bade Loke ascend,
But no flames stream'd forth as the clouds they fend;
The seven maids 30 bow'd, Heimdall blew a blast,
As with Loptur and Tialf the giant-bane pass'd.
29 The Valkyrs, whose business it was to protect and re-
ward warriors, are fitly represented as blushing at this degra-
dation of their pride.
30 The seven colours of the rainbow thus personified.
T
بع
274
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
A
I
î
THOR RECOVERS THE HAMMER.
· Now Auka-Thor
In golden car
Cleaves the thick clouds
With dark-hair'd Loke;
And Loke the while,
In's heart doth smile,
And trolds and gods
Alike doth mock.
On reaching Utgard they were met by Thrym and
the officers of his court.
There, waiting, stood
The giant brood,
An escort grim
To greet the bride;
And at their head,
In flames array'd,
The monarch Thrym
In all his pride.
At the gate, as yeomen, the metal-kings stood,
The gold-king all radiant, the tin-king in white,
The dark sullen lead-king, the copper, like blood,
The stern king of iron, the silver-king bright.
To Thor they bow'd,
The warrior-god,
Who sprang in haste
Upon his feet,
↓
41
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
275
And hasten'd on
Tow'rds Utgard's son,
Whose am'rous breast
With passion beat.
The nymphs of the gems, each in brightest attire,
The gay laughing emerald without thought or care;
The ruby still burning with amorous fire,
The vain sapphire and proud stately diamond were there.
Oehlenschläger.
The bride was conducted through dark, subterra-
nean passages to the banquetting hall, where a
great feast had been prepared. Thrym was at first
a little surprized at the appetite of the goddess,
who in a short time, as we are informed in the
Thrymis-quida, had devoured an ox and eight
salmon, and emptied three huge measures of mead;
and he remarked to Loke,
"Never did I see a bride 31
Take her meal better;
Never did I see a maiden
Drink more mead.”
Loke soon explained the matter by saying,
"Freya nought hath eaten
For four days,
So great was her longing
For the journey hither."
31 From the Thrym's-quida, or song about Thrym in the
Elder Edda.
·
!
}
276
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
Thrym now got impatient to salute his fair one,
and for this purpose ventured to lift up her veil,
but was deterred by the fierce looks of Thor, and
again applied for explanation to Loke.
"How is it that Freya's
Looks are so cutting,
Fire seems to me
To flash from her eyes."
Loke answered that her desire for the journey had
deprived her of sleep for four nights. Thrym's
sister now came in, and told the bride that if she
wished for her friendship, she must give her money,
and the ring from her hand. At length Thrym
ordered the hammer to be brought in, to consecrate
the marriage. A troop of dwarfs came puffing
and blowing and bending under its weight, and
laid it in the bride's lap.
"Hlorida's heart
Laugh'd in his bosom
When he recognized
His trusty hammer.”
He lost no time to make use of it, but, beginning
with Thrym and his loathsome sister, he slew the
whole party.
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
277
CHAPTER X.
BALDUR-HIS DEATH-NANNA-HERMODUR-HÖDUR
-FORSETE-VALE-RAGNAROKKUR.
BALDUR or Balldr was the second son of Odin and
Frigga, and the noblest and gentlest of the Aser,
insomuch that he was beloved of everything in
nature. He exceeded all beings not only in gen-
tleness, but in prudence and eloquence also, and
was so fair and graceful that light was said to
emanate from him. His palace was called Brei-
dablik, or the wide-shining, in which nothing im-
pure could exist.
Baldur had once a mysterious dream, wherein it
was revealed to him that his life was in danger,
and this weighed so heavily upon his spirits that
he shunned the society of the Gods. His mother,
Frigga, having at length drawn from him the cause
of his melancholy, the Aser assembled in council
upon it, and were filled with sad forebodings, for
they knew that the death of Baldur was to be the
278
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
forerunner of their own downfal, the first victory
of the Giants.
Odin cut Runes, but could not succeed in his
endeavours to obtain an insight into the future.
Odreyr, the vessel of wisdom which might have
served the Aser in their need, was in the keeping of
the norny Urda, and the Aser were obliged to ap-
ply to two dwarfs, Thrain and Dain, who exceeded
all others in Runic wisdom. Thrain said: "That
the dream was heavy," Dain "that it was dark,"
and both agreed that it foreboded the destruction
of the universe, but could give no information
respecting the quarter from whence the evil was to
proceed.
The goddess Iduna, by some misfortune, had
fallen into the power of the giants, and, accustomed
to the joys of Asgard, she pined away in the realms
of night. The gods unable to rescue her had sent
her in pity the skin of a wolf, by clothing herself
in which her form and nature were entirely changed,
and the past was thus forgotten. Odin, in the
present emergency, instructed Heimdall, Loke,
and Bragi to seek her out in her captivity, and to
endeavour to learn from her the designs of the
giants. The three Aser rode on monsters to the
gloomy pit, singing magic songs as they went, and
Odin, in the mean time, ascended to Hlidskialf, to
observe their progress.
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
279
:
Heimdall endeavoured in vain to obtain from
Iduna any information respecting the events which
were about to happen. The goddess remained in
mournful silence, answering only with tears. He-
imdall and Loke returned on the wings of the
winds to Vingolf, where the gods and goddesses
were assembled together in anxious expectation.
Bragi remained in Jotunheim to watch over his
unfortunate spouse.
Many questions were put to Heimdall and Loke
respecting their journey, and the Aser remained
conversing upon its result until night was far ad-
vanced.
Odin then spake,
And all listened:
"Night should be chosen
For deep thought.
Till morning cometh
Let each one reflect
What best can be done
To aid the Aser.”
On this the assembly broke up, and the Aser sepa-
rated.
In the ancient poem from which the foregoing
extract is taken, there follows a description of day-
break, of which we give a literal translation, as a
characteristic specimen of the metaphorical poetry
of the Scalds.
280
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
:
1
ODIN'S RAVEN SONG.
The son of Delling¹
Drove out his horse,
Gloriously deck'd
With glittering stones:
Wide o'er Mann-heim 2 shone
The mane of the steed :
The Bewitcher3 of the Dwarfs
Ascended his car.
Towards the earth's
Northern-most gate,
Under Ygg-drasill's
Outermost root,
Witches and giants
Went to rest,
Spectres, dwarfs,
And the black-Elves.*
❤
Warriors roused themselves
As the sun stood up:
Northwards, towards Niffl-heim,
Night fled away;
The bridge, which shines early,
Ulvrune's son ascended;
'The son of Delling is the dawn.
2 Mann-heim, the earth.
3 The Bewitcher of the Dwarfs, the sun; a single ray of
which transformed the dwarfs to stone.
* All the evil-spirits are represented as retiring to rest on
the appearance of the sun. Ygg-drasill's outermost root,
says the Edda, was amongst the giants.
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
281
Whose horn's loud sound
Echoes from Himmelbierg.
The Aser were now again assembled, the oracles
being consulted, left no doubt that Baldur's life
was in peril, and it was determined, therefore, at
Frigga's prayer, that all the elements and every
thing in nature should be bound by an oath not to
harm the gentle God. Nothing was omitted, ex-
cept one insignificant plant which grew westwards
of Asgard, and which, on account of its youth,
Frigga thought was innocuous.
Odin's mind misgave him that still all was not
right, and, to use the words of the original, that the
nornies of good-fortune had flown away. To clear
up his doubts, he resolved to visit the tomb of a
celebrated Vala, or prophetess, and to learn from
her the secrets of the dead. Grey's beautiful ver-
sion of his journey is well known, but as it was
taken from Bartholin's Latin translation, and as
no literal one has ever been published in English,
the following may not be deemed superfluous.
Up rose Odin,
The watcher of time,
And upon Sleipner
6
5 Ulvrune's son, Heimdall, who lived on the celestial
mount (Himmelbjerg), and every morning early ascended
the bridge Bifrost (the rainbow).
6 Odin's celebrated horse.
282
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
Laid the saddle:
Downwards he rode
To death's spectre-realm ;
He met a hound
Coming from Hela.
Clotted blood
Was on its breast,
Round its savage fangs,
And its jowl beneath.
Against the father of song
It bayed fearfully,
Opened wide its jaws,
And howled aloud.
On rode Odin,
The earth shook,
He came to Hela's
Drear abode :
Then he rode
Eastwards before the gate,
Where a Vala
Lay interred.
He sang for the wise-one
Dead-men's songs;
Then, towards north
Laid the magic letters,7
Muttered incantations,
Summoned wizard words,
Till he forced the dead
To rise and speak.
7 Runes.
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
283
VALA.
Who is the man
Unknown to me,
Who disturbs
My spirit's rest?
Enwrapp'd in snow,
Drench'd with rain,
Moisten'd by dew,
Long have I lain in death.
WANDERER,
Wanderer is my name,
Valtam's son am I;
Tell me of Hela's realm,
I will tell thee of earth:
For whom are prepared
The decorated seats,
The lordly couch
Radiant with gold?"
VALA.
Here standeth mead,
For Baldur brewed;
A shield covers
The clear liquor;
The race of Aser
Yield to despair-
Force hath made me speak,
Now will I be silent.
• These unusual preparations in the regions of death de-
noted the expectation of some distinguished guest.
-
i
284
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
.
WANDERER.
Be not silent, Vala!
I will question thee
Until I have learn'd all.
More I must know-
Who shall compass
Baldur's death?
Who Odin's son
Deprive of life?
VALA.
Hödur beareth
The fated plant,
He shall be cause
Of Baldur's death,
And Odin's son
Deprive of life-
Force hath made me speak,
Now will I be silent.
2
9 The plant here alluded to, is declared in the Voluspa to
be the Misletoe. The reverence in which it was held by the
Druids is well known, but it does not appear that the Scan-
dinavians attributed to it any particular virtue, nor is it men-
tioned in any of their remains but as an instrument in the
hands of the evil principle to destroy their favourite god.
It is not easy to understand, therefore, how the ingenious
author of the Northern Antiquities should consider the men-
tion of this plant in this place as nearly decisive of the iden-
tity of the Celts and Scandinavians, an opinion most satis-
factorily refuted by his English translator, Dr. Percy.
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
285
1
:
WANDERER.
Be not silent, Vala!
I will question thee
Until I learn all.
More I must know-
Who shall on Hödur
Pour out vengeance?
And Baldur's bane
Lay on the bier?
VALA.
Rinda bears a son
In the western halls.
On the day of his birth
He shall lay low the son of Odin:
His hand he shall not lave
Nor comb his hair,
Ere that he placeth on the bier
The adversary of Baldur—
Force hath made me speak,
Now will I be silent.
WANDERER.
Be not silent, Vala,
I will question thee.
Who are the maids 10
Who will not weep?
But suffer their veils
To float towards heaven?
Tell me this only,
Thou sleepest not before.
10 This stanza will be explained by the sequel.
4
286
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
VALA.
Thou art no wanderer
As I believed;
Surely art thou Odin,"
The watcher of time.
ODIN.
Thou art not a Vala,
Nor a wise woman;
But rather the mother
Of three giants.
VALA.
Ride home, Odin,
And boast of thy journey:
For never again
Shall another disturb me,
Until Loke shall break
Loose from his chains,
And the last twilight
Fall on the gods.
Having said this the prophetess sank again into
her tomb, and Odin was obliged to return to As-
gard with his doubts confirmed as to the ineffi-
ciency of the precautions taken by the Aser, to
-
11 It was an ancient and general superstition that when a
dying person cursed one in life under his real name, the
curse would be terribly fulfilled. As the prophetess might
be said to die now a second death, it was fatal to Odin to
have his name discovered.-Magnussen.
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
287
avert the misfortune they apprehended; and with
the consciousness of having lost, through his im-
prudent questions, the only opportunity of ascer-
taining by what means if by any the impending
evil might yet be averted.
Oehlenschläger, in his drama entitled Baldur's
Death, has spiritedly filled up the outline furnished
by the Eddas. Asa-Loke having retired from the
society of the Aser to indulge the malignant hu-
mour which often came on him, whilst venting his
malice against the gods and the demons, and at the
same time deploring his fate in being distrusted
and despised by both parties, on a sudden, a dense
fog began to rise from the ocean, and after a time
the dark figure of the demon-king, Utgardelok,
issued from it, Loke, in some terror, demanded
what brought him thither, on which the monarch
began to reproach him with the contemptible part,
he a demon by birth, was acting in consenting to
be the buffoon of the Aser, and their auxiliary
against the giants, to whom he owed his origin.
It was out of no affection to himself that he was
admitted to the society of the gods, but because
Odin knew well the ruin which he and his off-
spring were destined to bring upon them, and
sought, by thus cajoling him, to defer the evil day.
He who from his power and cunning might have
been a leader with either party, was now rejected
:
288
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
by all. The giant-king further reproached him
with having already frequently saved the Aser
from ruin, and with furnishing them even with wea-
pons against the giants, and ended by appealing to
the hatred which rankled in his bosom against
Odin and his whole race, as a proof that his na-
tural place was with the giants.
Asa-Loke acknowledged the truth of all this,
and professed his readiness to aid his brethren by
any means in his power. Utgardelok told him
that the moment was now at hand when he might
seal the fate of the Aser. That if Baldur was slain
their destruction must sooner or later follow, and
that the gentle god's life was at that time threatened
by some as yet undiscovered danger. Loke re-
plied, that the anxiety of the gods was already at
an end, for that Frigga had bound every thing in
nature by an oath not to injure her son. The dark
monarch said that one thing only had been omit-
ted, but what that was lay concealed in the breast
of the goddess, and was known to no other. The
day now being about to dawn, Utgardelok sank
down again to his dark rocks, and left Loke to his
darker thoughts.
To return to the Edda, Loke having assumed
the figure of an old woman, repaired to Frigga,
and by his artifice drew from her the fatal secret,
that presuming on the insignificance of the Misle-
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
289
toe, she had omitted to include it in the conju-
ration by which she had bound everything else.
Loke lost no time to repair to the place where the
Misletoe grew, and tearing it up by the roots, gave
to the Dwarfs to form into a spear. Oehlen-
schläger describes their incantations; when the
spear is completed, one calls for water to temper it,
and a child free from all taint is brought in. The
dwarf plunges the spear into its breast and sings,
The death-gasp hear !
Ho! ho!-now its o'er—
Soon hardens the spear
In the babe's pure gore-
Now the barbed head feel,
Whilst the veins yet bleed—
Such a deed--such a deed-
Might harden e'en steel.
In the mean time the gods, as usual, and the Ein-
heriar had assembled together to tilt, and as Baldur's
life was now deemed to be charmed, in order to con-
vince him how groundless were his apprehensions,
they made him the butt of all their weapons. Loke
repaired thither also with the fatal spear, and see-
ing the blind and strong god Hödur, standing
apart from the rest, asked him why he did not
honour his brother Baldur by tilting with him also.
Hödur excused himself on account of his blindness
and because he had no weapon. Lokė put the en-
U
290
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
chanted spear into his hand, and Hödur, unsus-
picious of his malice, pierced Baldur with it through
the breast, so that he fell lifeless to the ground.
The Aser were in unspeakable grief, and would
have instantly avenged his death on Hödur but for
the holiness of the place; Odin's grief, however,
was the greatest, for he best knew the extent of
the loss they had incurred. This in fact is the
greatest misfortune that ever happened to gods or
men. Since this event, the Aser never willingly
hear mention of the name of Hödur.
The gods now bare the body of Baldur to the
sea-shore, and endeavoured to launch his ship
Hringhaune, that it might serve as a funeral pile,
but so great was its size that they could not move
it. They sent messengers therefore to Jotunheim,
to a giant-woman, Hirrokin, who came riding on a
wolf with adders for a bridle. When she dis-
mounted, Odin gave the wolf in charge to four
Berserkir, 12 who had enough to do to keep it quiet.
12 The Berserkir were men of extraordinary strength, who,
previous to a battle or any arduous undertaking, worked
themselves into a kind of delirium (aided perhaps by spiri-
tuous drink), biting their shields and abandoning themselves
entirely to the impulse of their frenzied imagination. In this
state of temporary madness they committed every kind of
It seems to have been the fashion with great men
to have a certain number of these Berserkir in their train. In
excess.
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
291
Hirrokin launched the ship with such force that
flames burned up from beneath it, and there was
an earthquake. Thor, who was standing by, would
have slain her with his hammer had not the rest
prevented him.
When Baldur's body was placed on the ship, his
wife Nanna wept so bitterly that her heart brake,
and the gods laid her beside him and set the pile
on fire. His horse and harness were also burned
with him; and Odin placed the ring Draupner on
his breast, and whispered some words in his ear.
There were a great many present at Baldur's
funeral. Odin and Frigga, with the Valkyrs;
Freyr with his car, drawn by the boar Gullin-
borste; Heimdall, on his horse Gull-topp; Freya
drove her cats. There were also a great many
giants, and Thor, standing over the blazing pyre,
Viga Styr's Saga it is related that an Icelandic nobleman
having rendered Hacon Jarl some services, the latter bade
him name his reward, whereupon he begged two Berserkir
who were in the Jarl's service. Hacon represented to him
that he would have much trouble with such ungovernable
spirits, but at length granted his request. He soon found,
however, that although ever ready to fight, they could not be
brought to work, and prevailed on his warlike brother, Viga
Styr, to take them off his hands, but he also soon repented,
and could only get rid of them by treacherously slaying
them.
292
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOgy.
consecrated it with his hammer. The dwarf Litur
happening, at that moment, to run before his feet,
he kicked him into the flames, so that he was burnt
also.
Frigga could not reconcile herself to the loss of
her favourite son, and to pacify her Hermodur
consented to ride to Helheim, to offer Hela a ran-
som for Baldur. Odin lent him his horse, Sleipner,
for the journey, and the gods again breathed for
awhile. But the sons of Askur, 13 better acquainted
with death, were not so easily elated. Oehlen-
schläger puts the following words in the mouth of
his chorus:
But cold is my hope!
Light my consolation.
Whosoe❜er pale Hela, queen of death,
Once circleth with her arms,
Returneth no more from Niffl-heim.
As famished wolf in winter's night
Drinketh the warm heart's blood-
So doth she gloat-so her cold, clammy lips
Press upon gentle Baldur's.
Sooner shall the lynx
Resign the prostrate roe,
Than Baldur 'scape from Niffl-heim.
Yet shall not the worm of despair
Gnaw on my heart, so long
As hope but glimmereth—
Time enow to yield to pale despair
13 The human race.
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
293
When inexorable destiny
Shall extinguish its last expiring spark.
Oehlenschläger.
Hermodur rode nine days and nine nights, deeper
and deeper amid impenetrable darkness, until he
reached the river Giallar, over which is the bridge
of death. Here he was stopped by Modgudur, the
maiden who kept the gate, and questioned as to
his name and descent.
She added that he had not the appearance of a
deceased person, that the noise of his horse's feet
exceeded that which had been caused the day be-
fore by the arrival of three legions of dead, and
that the bridge shook under him.
Hermodur declared his mission and who he was,
and Modgudur then directed him on his way to
Hela. On reaching the iron grating which sur-
rounds the spectre queen's palace, he descended
from Sleipner to girth up his saddle, and then re-
mounting, spurred him over the fence and alighted
in the hall, where he found his brother Baldur
sitting in the high seat.
He now laid his errand before Hela, and in
order to move her pity, told her how the loss of
Baldur had afflicted everything on earth and in
heaven. The goddess after a time consented that
he should quit her realm, provided that everything
on earth would weep for him.
294
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
The Aser sent this intelligence over all the world,
and there was an universal mourning. Men,
beasts, trees, metals, and the stones themselves
wept, like as when the sun causes a thaw in spring.
The messengers, on their return, found an old,
withered giant-woman, whose name was Thök,
sitting in a cavern. They entreated her to weep
also, but she answered: "That her tears were dry,
and that Hela might keep her prey."
It is generally believed that it was Loke who
had taken the form of this old woman.
Hermodur brought back from Helheim Odin's
ring, which he had placed on Baldur's bosom, and
Nanna sent back to Frigga a rich garment, and to
Fulla a gold ring.
But now the cup of Loke's crimes was full to
the brim, and the fearful vengeance of the gods at
length overtook him. It first fell upon his sons,
Nari and Vali, the latter of whom they changed
into a wolf, in which shape he devoured his bro-
ther. After many attempts to escape Loke him-
self was taken by Thor, who bound him down on
three sharp stones with the intestines of his son.
Skada, Njord's wife, in revenge for his revilings
at Ægir's feast, hung a serpent over his head,
whose burning venom fell drop by drop upon his
face. In this terrible situation there was one who
did not abandon him. His wife Signi sate near
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
295
his head with a bowl in which she caught the poi-
son as it fell, nor did she ever quit him unless
from time to time to empty the bowl, and then the
drops which fell upon him caused such torture,
that with his writhing and howling earthquakes
were produced. Here he must lie bound down
until Ragnarokkur comes, the twilight of the gods.
Baldur was to remain with Hela until the de-
struction of the world, and afterwards to dwell in
the new Asgard where no evil will be known. His
memory is still preserved in Denmark in the names
of springs and particular places. A plant Baldur's
braa" (Anthemis cotula, Lin.) says the Edda, re-
sembles his eye-brows, and is the fairest of plants.
In Icelandic an excellent man is still called Mann-
Balldur (a Baldur amongst men).
Baldur and Nanna had one son, Forsete, who
was one of the twelve principal Aser, and was con-
sidered the justest of judges. All who appealed to
his decision in quarrels, whether gods or men,
always departed from his tribunal reconciled.
Forsete is supposed to have been worshiped by
the ancient Saxons, and in Heligoland formerly
called Forsete's land, there was a temple to his
honour.
Vale, who avenged Baldur's death by killing
Hodur, was a son of Odin and Rinda, and lord of
the celestial palace, Valaskialf. He was a bold
296
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
:
!
warrior, with golden arrows, and a lover of the
chase.
A feast was celebrated in his honour towards
the end of January or the beginning of February,
in which torches were lighted and bonfires made.
On the introduction of Christianity, this feast was
replaced by Candlemas.
Having thus completed this imperfect sketch of
the principal divinities and leading features of the
Scandinavian Mythology, and endeavoured to
convey to the reader a general and connected pic-
ture of the superstitions of our heathen ancestors, it
remains only to give some account of the great ca-
tastrophe which was at length to sweep away these
transitory deities and the whole fabric of the uni-
verse, in order to make way for a more perfect
system.
The Prose Edda gives us the following account
of Ragnarok, or the twilight of the gods. "There
will first come a winter which shall be called Fim-
bulveter; snow will fall from every quarter, and
hard frost and cutting winds have sway, so that the
heat of the sun will have no influence. Three
such winters unalleviated by any summer, will
follow each other. Previously to this the whole
world will be scourged, during three winters also,
by wars and blood-shed. Brothers will kill each
other through avarice, and there will be no mercy,
ven from parents to their children.
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
297
"And now, to the great affliction of mankind,
one wolf will devour the sun, another the moon,
the stars will disappear from the firmament, the
earth quake violently, trees be torn up by their
roots, mountains fall together, all chains and bonds
be burst asunder, and the wolf Fenris will break
loose. Then will the ocean rise above its shores,
for the great Midgard's-serpent will recover its
giant strength, and struggle to gain the land.
"At length he will succeed, the ship Nagelfare
will be set afloat, and the giant Hymir take the
helm. Nagelfare is built of the nails 14 of dead
men, and it should be remarked that when a per-
son dies and his nails are not cut, materials are
furnished towards the building of a vessel, whose
completion both gods and men should seek to de-
lay as long as possible.
"Fenris now rushes onwards open mouthed;
fire streams from his eyes and nostrils; his under
jaw touches the earth, the upper heaven, and he
would open them still wider if there were space.
Jormungandur vomits out poison, which renders
14 This superstition respecting nails was not confined to
the Scandinavians, some of the ancients feared to cut their
nails on certain days of the week. According to Ausonius,
Ungues Mercurio, barbam Jovi, Cypridi crines."
(6
Magnussen.
298
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
$1
the air and the waters deadly. He is the most
terrible of all, and fights by the side of the wolf.
"In the midst of the confusion the heavens are
rent asunder, and the sons of Muspell (the genii
of fire) ride forth, led on by Surtur, who is clothed
in flame, and whose unrivalled sword surpasses in
brightness the sun itself. The bridge Bifrost gives
way beneath their weight. The sons of Muspell
press onwards to the plain Vigrid, which extends
five hundred miles every way, and where they
meet Fenris and Jormungandur. Asa-Loke also
has repaired thither, and at the same time appears
Hymir with the Giants of the Frost. All the sons
of Hela follow Loke.
"But now, on the other side, Heimdall rouses
himself, and blowing with all his might on his
Gjallar-horn, wakes up the Aser who hold council
as to what is to be done. Odin rides to Mimer's
well to ascertain what is best; the Ash Yggdrasill
is shaken, and all earth and heaven are in dismay.
"The Aser and Einheirar march to the plain
Vigrid, with Odin at their head. Armed with his
golden helm, his glittering mail and his spear,
Gungnir, he encounters Fenris who swallows him
up.
Then is accomplished
The goddess' second-heart's grief¹5
15 The first was the death of Baldur.
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
299
Then falls the god
Best beloved of Frigga.
Voluspa.
"At the same moment his son Vidar advances to
avenge his father; he presses down with his foot
the wolf's lower jaw, and raising the other with his
hand, rends him till he dies. Thor fights with the
serpent, and acquires great fame by slaying him,
but overpowered by the poison which he spews
forth, recoils back nine paces and falls dead to
earth.
"Freyr is opposed to Surtur, but now misses his
good sword which he had given to Skirner and is
slain. The dog, Garmer, who had hitherto been
bound in a cavern, escapes and rushes upon Asa-
Tyr, and both fall. In like manner Loke and
Heimdall slay each other. After all this Surtur
pours out fire upon the earth, and the whole world
is consumed. The great Ash, however, outlives
this general ruin.
Ygg-drasill's Ash
Totters, but stands.'
<
Voluspa.
"Good and just men will now be transported to
Gimle, which is built of red gold, and where there
are various splendid and delightful habitations.
Bad men, perjurers, murderers, and the seducers
A
-
300
INAVIAN
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
of other men's wives, will go to Nastrond, a vast,
hideous dwelling, whose gates face northwards.
It is built of adders, whose heads are turned in-
wards, and are continually spewing out poisons
which form a large lake or river, where its inmates
are to swim eternally, suffering horrible tortures.16
"A new earth, fairer and more verdant than the
other, will arise out of the sea; from which the
grain will shoot forth of itself. Vidar and Vale
will survive the general destruction and dwell upon
the plain Ida, where Asgard lay before. Thither
also will repair Magne and Mode, the sons of
Thor, taking Miolner with them. Baldur and
Hodur will return from Hela, and these gods will
sit together, and talk over the events of past times.
The Aser will meet
On Ida's plain,
And talk of the mighty
Earth-surrounder: 17
There they will call to mind
Great deeds of olden-time,
And the lofty gods'
Ancient learning.'
Voluspa.
"During the conflagration caused by Surtur, a
16 In another place, a ravenous wolf tormented the souls
of the damned.
17 The great serpent.
18 Runes.
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.
301
i
man and a woman, Lif and Livthraser, will lie
concealed in a place called Homimer's Holt, and
there nourish themselves with the morning-dew.
From them is to spring the second race of men.”
The Voluspa,19 or song of the prophetess in the
Elder Edda, a production which, as Grundtvig
has remarked, bears incontrovertible marks of hav
ing originated in the remotest ages of heathenism,
gives nearly the same account of this famous catas-
trophe. It terminates with the following stanzas:
A hall I see
More brilliant than the sun,
Roofed with gold,
On the summit of Gimle ;
There shall dwell
A virtuous race,
And enjoy blessedness
To time eternal.
Thither cometh the mighty one
To the council of the gods,
In his strength from above;
He who thinketh for all.20
He issueth judgments,
19 The Voluspa has been three times translated into En-
glish, by the Rev. J. Prowett, 1816; by Mr. Herbert freely,
in his poem of Helge; and by Dr. Henderson in the appen-
dix to his Journey through Iceland.
20 The mighty one can allude to none other than the su-
preme being, the true Al-fadur.
1
1
302
SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY,
:
1
He causeth strife to cease,
And establisheth peace
To endure for ever.
21 But lo! the dark dragon
Cometh, flying,
Spotted like a snake,
From the caverns of darkness;
Nyd-hoggur, on his wings
Bearing corpses,
Soars over the plain :
-Now must I sink.
Volupsa.
21 The prophetess here seems to close her song, on the
approach of night, which she likens to Nyd-hoggur, the great
dragon or serpent king.
APPENDIX.
305
APPENDIX.
SOME ACCOUNT OF THE SCALDS AND SAGAS, AND of
THE PRINCIPAL SUPERSTITIONS OF THE ANCIENT
THE
SCANDINAVIANS.
THE Scalds of Scandinavia differed essentially from
the Bards and Druids of the Celts. They were in-
vested with no priestly authority, nor had they, in
virtue of their office, any political influence other
than that which they might derive from their supe-
rior attainments or from the favour of the prince or
chief by whom they were protected. They were for
the most part mere adventurers, although often of high
birth, who derived their subsistence partly from the
art of making verses, and partly from their swords.
If in the earlier periods of Scandinavian history we
find them filling, not unfrequently, the most impor-
tant offices of the state, it was because they were
more intelligent and eloquent than their fellow-cour-
tiers. Nor did this intellectual superiority imply any
deficiency in the more essential qualities of strength
and courage, but usually the reverse. In the Scalda-
tal, an old Icelandic manuscript, there is a list of all
X
306
APPENDIX.
who had distinguished themselves as Scalds from the
time of Regner Lodbroc to that of Waldemar II.
from the latter end of the eighth to the beginning of
the thirteenth century, in which are to be found the
names of several crowned heads. Regner Lodbroc
himself was an accomplished Scald, and Rognvald,
Count of the Orcades, has also obtained great cele-
brity for his readiness in making verses. Eigil Ska-
lagrimson, Eyvind Skaldaspiller, Gunlaug, and many
others were as distinguished for their warlike achieve-
ments as for their skill in poetry. One warrior in
recommending himself to his mistress boasts that he
is master of nine accomplishments. "I play well
at chess; I know how to cut Runes; I am apt at
reading; and can handle the tools of a smith; I can
pass over the snow on skees; I excel in shooting
with the bow and in managing the car; I sing to the
harp and compose verses. Another declares that
he knows the names of all the stars, an attainment
not without use to men who passed so great a portion
of their lives upon the ocean.
""
The Scald at one time was an invariable appen-
dage to the court of a powerful prince or jarl, but
even though a stranger he needed no introduction.
It was not unusual during a banquet or festal meet-
ing, for Scalds¹ to enter the king's hall, and demand
Alfred the Great took advantage of this privilege to ex-
plore the Danish camp, A.D. 878, in the character of a Scald
or Minstrel.
APPENDIX.
307
permission to sing a Drapa in praise of the monarch,
and on these occasions they were usually liberally re-
warded. Canute the Great gave the Scald, Berse
Torveson, two gold rings, each half a mark in weight,
and a gold-hilted sword, and to another fifty marks of
silver for a song. Hacon Jarl gave Halfred Vanrode
a silver-hafted axe and a good suit. Gunlaug the
Icelander received rich presents from King Ethelred,
of England, King Sigtryk Silk-beard, in Iceland, the
Sweedish King Oluf, the Earl of the Orkneys, &c.
and so many others.
The Scalda or Kenningar, which has already been
mentioned as forming a portion of the Prose Edda,
is a kind of poetical dictionary which contains the
rules of their art, but Arngrim is of opinion that it
was not compiled before the thirteenth century.
According to Wormius the Scalds had 136 metres,
without reckoning rhyme. The melody of their
verses, like that of the Anglo-Saxons, consisted in al-
literation, or a fixed recurrence of certain vowels and
consonants. This method of versification was also
in use with the Welsh bards, and the oldest Irish
poems are alliterative. Another characteristic of
their poetry is the frequency of their metaphoric ex-
pressions, which, however, are not always without
force, and the reader may be amused with the follow-
ing selection of them:
C
Gla
2 The well known ode, entitled the Ransom of Eigil, is in
rhyme.
1
308
APPENDIX.
Ice.
The greatest of bridges.
Gold
The tears of Freya. (v. ch. vii.)
The Sea... The girdle of the Earth-the plain of Water-
fowl.
A Ship . . . The horse of the Waves-The Skate of Pirates
-Horse of Heffler (a famous sea-king)—
Asses of Ægir. (v. ch. vi.)
A Shield . . The moon of the battle-The tent of Hlaka (
a
Valkyr).
Arrows
The sorceress virgins of the String-Hailstones
of Helmets-Daughters of misfortune.
A Battle. . . A bath of blood-Hail of Odin-Shock of
Bucklers-Storm of Gondol (a Valkyr).
The flashing
of a sword.
•
Wine.
The Tongue.
Rivers
Odin.
•
•
·
•
•
•
•
}
The Bow.. The Worm.
Swords.
Death
Lances. . . . Cutting Rays-Rods of Odin.
Battle-Axe.. The hand of the Slayer.
The Eye... The torch of the face-The diamond of the
Head.
Hair..... Forest of the head—(if white) Snow of the
Brain.
Cuirass The Bark of Hilda (goddess of war).
Shirt of Mail. Hillock of Skogul (a Valkyr).
Brother of the Vulture.
Wolf.
The mortal gleam.
Blood.
The sword of words.
Sweat of the Earth-Blood of the Valleys.
The Sire of Ages-The God of swords-The
supercilious-The incendiary-The Sire of
Verses The Whirlwind-The Eagle, &c.
Herrings of Death-Cleavers of Helmets.
The long wandering.
APPENDIX.
309
Warrior
Sailors.
Grass
Earth
Night ..
Rocks
Poetry.
Loke
·
·
•
Bones of the Earth.
The drink of Odin-Suttung's mead. (v. ch.i.)
The Adversary-The Accuser-The deceiver
of the Gods.
Giants. ..
Sons of the Frost.
Birds of prey. Birds with yellow legs.
Horns. . . . Curved branches of the Skull.
The Swan of Blood.
The Raven
Blood
The rain of Wounds, &c.
•
•
Shaker of Helmets.
Sons of Endil (a sea-king).
The hair, the fleece of the Earth.
The vessel which floats on ages-The daugh-
ter of the Night-Foundation of the air.
The veil of cares.
None of the northern monarchs held the Scalds in
higher esteem than the powerful Harald Haarfager,
and at his table they had always the second seat of
honour. In his Saga there is a story of his being on
a visit to his fair kinswoman, Ingebiorg, whose charms
had such an effect on three of his Scalds, that each
separately had the audacity to make a declaration of
love to the princess, and to entreat her pity. Inge-
biorg suppressing her indignation, pretended to yield,
and made an assignation with each for that very
night. It was in the month of December, in Nor-
way, she contrived to lock them up in separate
rooms, where they had to remain in the lightest pos-
sible attire until morning. When, on rising, the
king enquired for his Scalds, Ingebiorg led him to
:
310
APPENDIX.
the shivering lovers, half dead with cold and fear,
and it was with much difficulty that they escaped
with their lives from the effects of his anger."3
Sometimes, to aid their memory, the Scalds were
accustomed to cut Runes or letters upon their staves,
but for the most part their songs were either extem-
poraneous or learned by rote. It is related of one
Scald, that in a single evening he sang sixty songs
to Harald Haardraade, and knew four times as many.
Müller asserts, and not without reason,
"that no
nation ever possessed a poetry more strictly national
than the Scandinavians." Although the fact of their
having any at all has been roundly denied, and he
adds, "that Snorro Sturtesen could not (as has
been pretended) have invented the verses inserted in
his history, since he appeals to them in his preface as
authorities well known to his countrymen." The
songs of the Scalds were chiefly in praise of the
living, but they were rarely guilty of flattery, at least
not during that which has been designated the heroic
age of the north.
The following sketch of the history of the art of
the Scalds in Norway from Professor Müller's Saga
Bibliothek, during a period of about two hundred
years, from the middle of the ninth to the middle of
the eleventh century, will not be without interest, nor
³ Om Kong Harald Haarfager's Skalde.—Müller Saga
Bibl.
1
APPENDIX.
311
foreign to our subject, to those at all conversant in
Norwegian history.
"Harald Haarfager's reign was the augustan age
of the Scalds. Ambitious and warlike, he kept a
splendid court, to which he sought to draw all the
distinguished men of his country. The Scald, Thio-
dolf Hvine, was his bosom friend, and there are ex-
tant many fragments of songs in his honour.
"Eric Blodoxe (who figures in English history),
although a lawless sanguinary prince, proved the
estimation in which he held Scalds by granting Eigil
his life, on account of the beauty of an ode, although
he had slain his son. His death, which took place
during a piratical expedition to England about the
middle of the tenth century, was sung in a celebrated
Drapa which still exists.
"Hacon Adelsteen, or Athelstan (the god-son of
Athelstan of England, in whose court he had been
brought up) was, at least in heart, a Christian, and
therefore gave but little encouragement to the Scalds,
whose art was so entirely identified with the religion
of Odin, which it tended much to keep alive. His
praises, notwithstanding, were sung by three famous
Scalds, the most celebrated of whom or indeed of
any of the Scalds, Eyvind Scalda-spiller, was present
when he was killed.5
4 Vide page 321.
The death-song of King Hakon Adelsteen has been
translated into English by Dr. Percy, in a work entitled,
312
APPENDIX.
"The sons of Eric Blodoxe, although reproached
with parsimony, kept up ancient usages at their
court, and there was no lack of Scalds during their
reign.
"Hacon Jarl troubled himself but little about the
art of the Scalds, but this able and ambitious prince
was a zealous adherent to the old faith, and the
Scalds, therefore, were ever welcome to his board.
One of the most famous amongst them, Einar Skaa-
leglam, was truly devoted to him, and his Drapa to
his patron was held a model for after-Scalds.
"Olaf Tryggesen's zeal for Christianity caused
him rather to discourage than to favour the Scalds ;
but one of them, indignant at seeing his art slighted,
forced the king to listen to his song, by declaring that
if he did not, he would immediately abjure Chris-
tianity, which Oluf, with much trouble, had induced
him to embrace.
"The sons of Hacon Jarl retained their father's
religion and principles without his cruelty. They
were great encouragers of the Scalds, and favourites
with all ranks.
"Olaf was, at first, as little inclined to the Scalds
as his namesake Olaf Tryggesen, but he afterwards
encouraged them; finding, probably, how much
they added to his popularity and to the splendour
with which he loved to surround his throne. On his
"Five pieces of Runic Poetry," amongst which will be found
also "The Ransom of Eigil."
1
APPENDIX.
313
last expedition, undertaken with a view to recover
his kingdom, he was accompanied by several." Pre-
vious to the battle of Stickelstadt, 1030, famous in
the history of Norway, the king after watching all
night having fallen asleep towards dawn, suddenly
waked, and calling for the Scald Tormod, bade him
sing a vise.
Then Tormod stood up and sang the whole Biarke-
maal with so loud a voice, that the whole army heard
it. The following is a free translation of the first
two stanzas of this spirited battle-song.
The bird of morn has risen,
The rosy dawn 'gins break,
'Tis time from sleepy prison
7 Vil's sons to toil should wake.
Wake, from inglorious slumber!
The warrior's rest is short-
Wake! whom our chiefs we number—
The lords of Adil's court.
Har, strong of arm, come forth,
Rolf, matchless for the bow,
Both Northmen, of good birth,8
6 Biarke was a celebrated Scald, and it was usual to sing
some stanzas of his ode previous to a battle.
7 Men in general-Vil was the brother of Odin, and aided
him in the creation of Askur and Embla, the first man and
woman.
8 The Scandinavians attached great importance to pedi-
gree.
314
APPENDIX.
Who ne'er turn'd face from foe,
Wake not for foaming cup,
Wake not for maiden's smile,
Men of the North! wake up,
For iron Hilda's⁹ toil!
This waked up the army, and caused a great enthu-
siasm amongst them. And Olaf thanked Tormod
and gave him a gold ring for his song, who replied
that he hoped the king and he would never be sepa-
rated, either in life or death; remarking that Sig-
vald, Scald, was now far away with the gold-hilted
sword the king had given him. Olaf said that he
would not quit the field so long as one man remained
by his side.10 The day before having called his
Scalds within the circle formed by the bravest men
of the army, he said, "It is well that you are here to
witness what is about to take place, and not to be
obliged to have recourse to others when called on,
hereafter, to sing the events of this day." Then the
Scalds, having conversed together, said, that it was
fitting that a song should be sung in honour of what
was about to happen, on which each extemporized a
strophe, which many of the army learned upon the
spot. It was in the same spirit and in pursuance of
the same custom that Taillefer at the battle of Hast-
ings obtained the permission of Duke William to
sing the song of Roland before the onslaught, and
9 Hilda, the goddess of war.
10 Heimskringla.
C
000
APPENDIX.
315
having done so he was the first to ride into the ranks
of the English, where he was immediately slain.
But to return to Müller. "The belief in Olaf's
sanctity, he continues, made Christianity national in
Norway; and the heathen songs soon ceased to be
dreaded. Scalds were well received at the court of
the Christian king, Magnus the good, who used him-
self to extemporize verses.
Harald Sigurdsen was a
still greater friend to the Scalds, poetry being his
favourite recreation; and it was probably this taste
which caused him to shew such favour to all Ice-
landers: whilst on their part the Scalds vied with
each other in singing his praises. King Harald
with the flower of his army perished in England,
A. D. 1066, and from this time the art languished
and gradually died away. The universal establish-
ment of Christianity, and consequent oblivion of the
old religion, rendered the Scalds' favourite figures of
speech daily less intelligible, and classical learning
introduced by the priests, took the place of the old
poetry. Towards the end of the thirteenth century
this taste had so much gained ground, that it is re-
lated in the Saga of Bishop Laurentius, that a Nor-
wegian noble, being desirous of paying his court to
a young lady, a kinswoman of King Eric, the priest-
hater, applied to Brother Laurence to help him with
a Latin verse. When a Norwegian disdained to
write to his mistress in his native tongue, it was time,
remarks Müller, for the Scald with his antiquated
phraseology to quit the field. About this time, also,
316
APPENDIX.
the ballads and romances of the south of Europe be-
gan to be introduced into the North.”11
Although from the circumstances which have been
noticed in the introduction, Iceland became the classic
land of the Scalds, it is not to be supposed that the
three great Scandinavian kingdoms could not boast of
their peculiar poets, Eyvind Skalda-spiller, the most
celebrated of them all who was termed " the Cross of
Poets," was a Norwegian, and so were many others.
No one amongst them, however, seems to have
played a more important part than the Icelander
Eigil Skalagrimsen, a distinguished Scald, and one
of the most undaunted warriors and formidable pirates
of his day. It was he who with his brother Thorolf
contributed so materially to the important victory
gained by Athelstan at Brunanburh, A.D. 934, which
annihilated the Anglo-Danish power in the North of
England, and first, strictly speaking, brought the
whole of South Britain under one sceptre.12 His
History, or Saga, written towards the middle of the
twelfth century, is still extant, and as the simple nar-
rative of the adventures of this extraordinary charac-
ter and of his family, throw a strong light on the
manners of the age in which they lived (from the
middle of the ninth to the end of the tenth century),
and will convey to the reader a better idea of the na-
11 Prof. P. E. Müller Saga-bibliothek, 3rd vol. Introd.
12 Sharon Turner's Hist. of the Anglo Saxons. Edit.
1823. vol. ii. p. 181. Book vi. chap. ii.
APPENDIX.
317
•
ture of the Sagas, generally, than any laboured essay,
we shall here extract from Müller's Saga Bibliothek
an abridged account of them.
ઃઃ
Eigil's grandfather, Queldulf, was a powerful
man in Heligoland, who died about the commence-
ment of Harald Haarfager's wars. Foreseeing that
the different princes or petty-kings of Norway must
at length be overwhelmed by that able monarch, he
would never be persuaded to take any part against
him, but neither would he consent to enter into his
service. His brother-in-law, however, who was the
third of Harald's chief Scalds, obtained his reluctant
permission that his eldest son Thorolf should repair
to Harald's court, lest the king might take offence.
Harald received Thorolf well and took him into his
service. He soon distinguished himself, and, through
the king's influence, married a rich widow in Heli-
goland. He was now named king's tenant, and was
sent to levy tribute from the Finns, with the exclusive
privilege of trading with them on his own account.
He became by degrees rich and powerful, and used
to go to Finland with a suite of a hundred men;
whereas none of his predecessors had ever taken
more than thirty. King Harald once paid him a
visit with three hundred followers, and Thorolf went
out to meet him with five hundred, and had prepared
an enormous wooden house in which he feasted the
whole. His ostentation of power excited the jealousy
of Harold, and Thorolf found it prudent to appease
it by a present of a ship of war, fully equipped. His
318
APPENDIX.
GT
enemies, however, contrived to awaken the king's
suspicions a second time, and Thorolf received orders
to repair to court. This he refused to do, but re-
signed his fiefs. He still retained, however, a hun-
dred freed men, whom he employed in the herring
and cod fisheries, and made an expedition to the
east of the Gulf of Finland, where he gained much
booty. He loaded a ship thence for England with
dried fish, oil, costly furs, hides, &c. taking in return
wheat, honey, wine, and clothes. 13 This was about
the year of our Lord 870. His enemies having ac-
cused him to the king of having unlawfully exacted
taxes from the Finns, Harald caused his ship with
its valuable cargo to be seized. Thorolf went the
next year on another piratical expedition up the
Baltic, and returning through the Sound, where some
Norwegian vessels happened to be lying at the time,
he revenged himself by capturing one laden with
malt, wheat, and honey, for the king's housekeeping.
He was, in consequence, declared an out-law;
13 To form a just estimate of the character of the Scandi-
navian Pirates, the Danes or Normans of the middle-ages,
we must view them in their double capacity of Merchant and
Rover. "The Danish merchants of this period," says Mül-
ler, were the choice spirits of the age, navigating their own
ships, and having no security but in their strength, tried war-
riors of high birth, and minds not wholly uncultivated, who
went out on their expeditions equally prepared to trade or to
plunder."
APPENDIX.
319
and, as in the ensuing spring he was about to leave
the country, Harald fell on him by surprise, and he
was slain after a vigorous defence.
Aulver Hnussen, the king's Scald before alluded
to, became mediator between his kinsmen and the
king; and as Harald promised to give considerable
compensation, 14 Thorolf's brother Grim, called from
his scald head Skala-grim, repaired to the king's
court. Harald also insisted that Grim should enter
into his service, and, when Grim hesitated, was so
enraged, that Aulver advised him to make his escape
as speedily as possible.
There was now nothing left for Queldulf's family
but to repair to the new land which Ingulf had lately
discovered (Iceland), and they accordingly set sail
thither; but not until they had taken a bloody re-
venge on the king's servants and kinsmen. Old Quel-
dulf died on the voyage, but Grim arrived with two
ships in Borg-fiord; and on landing, finding the
neighbouring district unoccupied, he divided it
amongst his followers.
He was an able man, and,
above all, a skilful smith. He had two sons, Thorolf
and Eigil. The latter, when only three years old,
"By the Saxon laws every man's life was valued at a
certain sum, which was called his were, and was paid to his
relations in compensation for its loss. In Scandinavia the
payment of a sum of money on a like occasion implied not
merely a compensation, but in some respect also an apology
and submission to the next of kin to the deceased.
320
APPENDIX.
began to make verses, and at the age of seven, killed
a child who had irritated him at play. When only
twelve years of age his strength was remarkably
great, and, his father having vexed him, in revenge
he stabbed one of his favourite servants, so that he
died. His brother Thorolf entered the service of
King Eric, of Norway, and returning, after a time, to
Iceland to visit his father, Eigil accompanied him
back to Norway.
Whilst there, in a quarrel he killed one of the
king's bailiffs, and it was with great difficulty that he
was allowed to quit the country, one of his friends
having paid compensation-money for him. He next
went with his brother on a piratical expedition to
Courland, where he was taken prisoner by peasants ;
but escaping, returned, set fire to the house where
they were drinking, and burned them all alive. He
was afterwards engaged in various adventures, and
repairing to England, was present with his brother,
as before related, at the battle of Brunanburgh, where
Thorolf was killed. King Athelstan for his services
gave him two chests full of silver, and made him great
offers to induce him to remain with him. Eigil,
notwithstanding, returned to Norway for the purpose
of espousing his brother's widow; and then sailed for
Iceland with the English money. Soon after his
wife's father died in Norway, and her brother, Ber-
gaumund, having seized the whole inheritance, Eigil
again repaired thither, and cited Bergaumund, who
was protected by King Eric Blodoxe, to the Gule-
APPENDIX.
321
thing. Eigil's friend, Arinbiorn, accompanied him
thither with a great body of men.
In the midst of a
wide plain, hazel-rods were placed in a circle, on
which were fastened the sacred strings, called Vebond.
Within the circle sate the judges (Dommer), twelve
being from Fjordefylke; twelve from Sognefylke;
and twelve from Hördafylke, for every cause was to
be judged by three Fylks. Bergaumund asserted
that Eigil's wife being born of a slave, could not in-
herit, but Arinbiorn proved by twelve witnesses that
her birth was legitimate; and when the time was
come for the judges to pronounce sentence, Queen
Gunhild, being apprehensive of the result, procured
one of her kinsmen to cut in twain the holy strings,
by which means the Thing was suddenly broken up.
Then Eigil challenged Bergaumund to the Holm-
gang, to decide there to whom the inheritance should
belong; and declared feud and enmity against any
who should dare to meddle with it. King Eric was
highly irritated, but at the Thing all were weapon-
less. Eric sent men to take Eigil, who, however,
effected his escape in a small vessel, and even suc-
ceeded in killing a man on board the king's own ship.
He was immediately declared an outlaw throughout
the whole country; and, having been furnished by
Arinbiorn with a vessel with thirty men, he sailed
away. Returning, however, suddenly in the night,
he unexpectedly fell upon Bergaumund, and slew
him, together with Rognvald, King Eric's son, a
child of eleven years of age, who was then staying
Y
322
APPENDIX.
+
up,
with him. Before he sailed away he cut a stake, and
setting a horse's head upon it said, as he raised it
"I raise up this Nid-stang, and turn this curse
against King Eric and Queen Gunhild." Then, turn-
ing the horse's head towards the land, said, “I turn
this curse against the spirits which dwell in this land
(Landvætterne), that they may wander about bewil-
dered and no one find his home until they have driven
Eric and Gunhild from the land." He then stuck
the pole in a cleft of the rock and went his way.15
Eigil reached Iceland A.D. 934, where, soon after,
his father died. That summer, on account of the
civil dissensions in Norway, no intelligence came
thence to Iceland, an embargo having been laid on
all vessels; and Eigil, weary of a peaceful life, deter-
mined to repair to the court of King Athelstan. In
his voyage thither he was shipwrecked on the north
15 Similar ceremonies were by no means unusual. The
stakes (Nidstange) thus consecrated, were supposed not only
to bring the wrath and vengeance of the gods upon the
guilty, but were often used also to brand an adversary with
contempt as a coward or Nidding. In the Vatnsdæla Saga,
Finboge the strong, and his brother-in-law, Berg, having
challenged the two brothers, Jokul and Thorstein, to a com-
bat; it happened that on the day appointed there was so vio-
lent a storm, that Finboge and Berg thought themselves ex-
empted from coming. Jokul in consequence raised a Nid-
stung against them (a horse's head upon the end of a pole),
and the end of it was that Finboge was forced to leave the
country.
APPENDIX.
323
coast of England; and learned to his sorrow that
Eric Blodoxe, his mortal enemy, who had been
driven from Norway, had received the kingdom of
Northumberland as a fief from the English king on
condition of defending it from the Scots, and that he
had his residence in the neighbourhood. Eigil re-
flected that he could scarcely hope to escape undis-
covered, and, not caring to be taken in flight, he re-
solved to ride at once to the royal residence, where,
by good fortune, he fell upon Arinbiorn, who had
given up everything in Norway to follow the ba-
nished king. He followed Arinbiorn's advice, went
into the king's hall as he sat at table in the evening,
and embracing his feet, declared in verse, that he
had set danger at nought in order to seek a reconci-
liation with him. Eric replied that he might prepare
himself for death; and Gunhild would have had him
executed at once, but Arinbiorn represented to the
king that it would be murder to slay any one by
night, and obtained that Eigil's fate should be defer-
red until the next day, and that in the mean time he
should remain in his (Arinbiorn's) custody. Arin-
biorn advised Eigil, in the mean time, to compose a
Drapa to the king's honour, sent him food and ale,
and then, assembling his men, sate and drank with
them until midnight. When morning came Eigil
had finished his Drapa, and the two friends went
with a large troop of armed men to the king's court.
On their arrival there, Arinbiorn again entreated
Eric, for his sake, to let Eigil go in peace; but when
324
APPENDIX.
Gunhild still urged the king to destroy him. Arinbiorn
declared that he would defend him to his uttermost
with his men. This made the king more tractable,
and Eigil now recited his famous song, which has
been preserved to the present day under the title of
"The Ransom of Eigil." Eric was much struck
with the beauty of the song, and said that since Eigil,
of his own accord, had surrendered himself into his
power he might depart; but warned him and his
children never again to come before his eyes.
After this Eigil repaired to King Athelstan, and
on his recommendation returned once more to Nor-
way, with the view under Hagen Athelstan's just
government to demand his wife's inheritance, now
held by Bergaunund's brother, Atle. Hagen or
Haeon forbad Eigil to remain in Norway, but allowed
him to bring his cause before the Gule-thing. On
the way he visited Arinbiorn's sister, whose young
son, Fridgeir, had been challenged to the Holm-gang
by a powerful champion, Liotr the pale, a Swede, who
had paid court to his sister and having been rejected,
took this method to revenge the affront. Eigil fought
the duel in Fridgeir's place, and slew Liotr. After
having delivered the summons to Atle in his own house,
Eigil repaired to the Thing and demanded his pro-
perty. Atle declared on the oath of twelve men, that
he had no property of Eigil's, on which Eigil chal-
lenged him to the Holm-gang. He who conquered
was to have the property, and after the fight was to
slay a votive ox, which was led to the place of com-
APPENDIX.
325
bat. After hewing at each other for some time, Eigil
rushed in upon Atle and threw him.
Eigil now returned to Iceland, where he remained
until the news came that Eric Blodoxe was slain, and
Arinbiorn returned to Norway. He went thither to
spend a winter with him, and took him a long-ship's
sail richly worked, and other good presents. Arin-
biorn as a julegift presented him with a silk upper-
garment embroidered with gold, with gold buttons
in front, as also an entire new suit of English cloth
much embroidered, on which Eigil composed a verse.
After Juul Eigil got out of spirits, because he had
inherited nothing from Liotr the pale. It was the law
that whoever slew another in a duel should be his
heir, but it was the law also that the king should in-
herit the property of all foreigners who died within
his dominions; and therefore the king's bailiffs im-
mediately took possession of Liotr's property. Eigil
entreated the aid of Arinbiorn to make good his
right, but he shewed him how difficult it would be
to carry the matter through, for, said he, "the en-
trance to the king's court is wide, but the outlet is
narrow." As Eigil, however, still persisted, Arin-
biorn repaired for him to Hacon, by whom he was
received harshly, as one who sought to serve a fo-
reigner rather than his own sovereign, and who,
moreover, secretly favoured Eric Blodoxe's sons.
Arinbiorn would make no excuse, but returned
straight home, and, opening a chest, took from it
forty marks of silver, which he gave to Eigil for
326
APPENDIX.
Liotr's land, because Eigil, by taking on him the
duel, had saved the life of his sister's son. Eigil
took the money and again recovered his spirits.
Towards the spring, Arinbiorn went on a Viking's
expedition with three long ships, having an hundred
men in each, the greater number of whom were of
his own household. Eigil took the command of one
of these vessels manned by some of his own men,
and the remainder he sent with a merchant ship to
South Norway. After they had plundered Sax-land
and Friis-land, they separated at the Liim-fjord, in
the North of Jutland. Arinbiorn repaired to Eric's
sons, and Eigil to Norway, to spend the winter with
Thorstein, who was of kin both to him and Arinbiorn.
King Hacon having learned the defection of the lat-
ter, seized his property and persecuted his kinsmen.
He ordered Thorstein, amongst the rest, either to
leave the country immediately, or to go and levy the
taxes which Jarl Arnvid held back. This was a
perilous errand, for none of those who had hitherto
undertaken it had ever returned. Eigil, however,
took upon him the adventure, and, after many
perils, brought back the tribute, on which Thorstein
was reconciled to the king, and Eigil sailed back to
Iceland.
Soon after his return he lost a son, and a short
time after his eldest son, Baudvar, was drowned in
the Borgfjord. When Eigil found his son's body on
the beach, he took it in his arms and rode with it to
Skalagrim, his father's barrow, which he caused to
APPENDIX.
327
!
be opened, and laid the corpse in it. Whilst thus
occupied, his emotion was so violent that his vest
burst. He afterwards went straight home, entered
the recess where he was wont to sleep, threw himself
down and drew the curtain. No one dared to speak
to him, and he lay there three days without touching
meat or drink. On the third morning his wife, As-
garde, sent one of the men to Hiardarholt, where his
favourite daughter, Thorgerde, lived, who was mar-
ried to Oluf Paa. Thorgerde arrived the same
evening. When Asgarde. asked her if she had sup-
ped, she replied with a loud voice that she had not
eaten nor would again taste food until she ate with
Freya. She then went to the recess and called to
her father to open, saying that she was come to
travel the same journey with him. Eigil opened,
and Thorgerde laid herself down on the second bed.
You do well, my daughter, said Eigil, to follow your
father; much affection have you ever shewn me.
How, replied she, could I desire to outlive this cala-
mity? After this they were both silent for an hour,
when Eigil said, Are you chewing anything, my
daughter? I am chewing Sol,16 for I think that it
will thus be sooner over with me, and I fear to live
too long. Is Sol hurtful then to men—very hurtful,
said Thorgerde, will you eat of it?-Why should I not?
replied Eigil. Soon after Thorgerde called for drink,
and they brought her water. This comes of eating
16 An esculent sea-weed.
328
APPENDIX.
sea-weed, said Eigil, one is devoured by thirst.
Drink then, father, said she. They took him a horn,
and he swallowed the liquid greedily. We have
been deceived, cried Thorgerde, the drink was milk.
On this Eigil, in vexation, bit a piece out of the
horn, and threw it violently to the ground. What
are we to do now, said the daughter, for our project
is thwarted. Should we not do well, father, to
prolong our lives until you shall have composed a
song for Bodvar, and I have carved it on a stave.
Eigil said that he was in no state to write verses, but
that notwithstanding, he would try. He then com-
posed the song, called the loss of a son (Sonar Tor-
rek), in twenty-four strophes, and as he proceeded
his spirits rose, and when it was complete he took
it to his family, and having seated himself in the
high-seat, according to ancient custom, he caused
the funeral-ale to be drunk for the dead. When
Thorgerde departed home he made her rich presents.
After this Eigil lived peacefully for many years in
Iceland; and learning that Eric's sons had returned
to Norway, and that Arinbiorn had again become a
powerful man there, he composed a song in his ho-
nour, of which a fragment remains, and afterwards a
funeral song over him. Eric's sons were soon again
driven out of their possessions by Hacon Jarl, in
whose praise the Scald Einar Skaaleglam composed
a Drapa, and received from the Jarl in reward a
shield on which were figured old legends, and between
the figures were plates of gold enriched with precious
APPENDIX.
329
stones.
When Einar returned to Iceland he went to
visit Eigil, who, however, at the time was from home;
but having waited for hin three days, as it was not
the custom to remain longer in a strange place, he
hung the costly shield on the wall and departed,
saying to the men about that he made an offer of it
to Eigil. When Eigil returned, this was told to him.
The pitiful fellow! he exclaimed, does he expect that
I will spend the night in making verses about his
shield! Bring me my horse, I will ride after him and
slay him. When they told him that Einar was al-
ready far away, he was pacified, and composed an
ode on the occasion, and afterwards he and Einar
were friends. Eigil's youngest son, Thorstein, was
a handsome and a powerful man, but not so strong
as his father, who never had great affection to him.
When Asgerde died he gave up his Gaard to him,
and went to live with one Grim who had married his
sister's daughter, whom he loved much. He would
never visit his son, but when Thorstein had to carry
a dangerous affair at the Thing, Eigil now old rode
thither with eighty armed men and obtained a deci-
sion for his son. Eigil attained the age of ninety
years, and lost his sight and hearing; but was still
strong, and in two stanzas bewailed the infirmities of
his old age. He had determined to ride to the Al-
thing, and there on the mount of justice to scatter
about his English money, in order to make the whole
assembly fight for it. When Grim would not allow
this, he went out one morning with his two chests
:
APPENDIX.
330
and two slaves, and no one ever saw slaves or chests
after. Soon after, he died.¹7
The word Saga means, literally, a tale or narra-
tive, and is used in Icelandic to denote every species
of tradition, whether fabulous or true. In fact the
variety of those which are still extant is nearly equal
to their number, and upwards of two hundred are
preserved in the libraries of Copenhagen, Stockholm,
and Upsala. They are biographical narratives of
greater or less length, totally independant of each
other, describing events which have taken place, for
the most part, from the ninth to the thirteenth cen-
tury, and end with the Sturlunga Saga. Some of
these have already been published with Latin trans-
lations, and the remainder are in the course of pub-
lication. In 1817, Professor P. Erasmus Müller, of
Copenhagen, published his Saga Bibliothek in three
volumes, in which he has given an abridgment of all
the Sagas extant, fixing with great ingenuity their
probable dates, and strictly examining their claims to
authenticity. His interesting researches have opened
the way to much valuable information respecting the
civilization and domestic habits of Northern Europe
during the period in question, and to him the author
of these pages is chiefly indebted for the information
he has sought to communicate in this appendix.
The Professor has shewn that the greater portion of
the early Sagas may be depended upon as faithful
17 Eigil's Saga. Müller, Saga Bibliothek. vol. i.
APPENDIX.
331
historical narratives. It was not until the middle of
the eighth century that historical romance was in-
troduced into the North, chiefly from Spain. In the
Sagas written subsequently to that period, truth and
fiction are so blended as to render them historically
useless: The Sagas usually begin in the simplest
manner, "There was a man whose name was, &c.
the son of," &c. The narrator seldom intrudes his
own opinions, but contents himself with remarking
that such or such an event encreased the person's
reputation, or that men generally condemned such
another.
We shall make no apology for here inserting the
abridgments of two Sagas, each widely differing from
the other in character, but both giving a lively pic-
ture of the manners of the times. The chief actors
in the first were well known historical characters,
and men of great influence, and there is very little
doubt that everything therein described actually took
place, and pretty nearly as it is told.
66
ABOUT ENDRID'S WEDDING.
Endrid, a son of Einar Tambeskiælvar, was the
boldest youth in Norway. One day whilst on a
cruise southward, he landed on the island Kormt.
A maiden came down to the vessel and begged to be
taken on board. Her name was Siegrid, a daughter
of the powerful Erling Skialgsen, of Jedderen. She
had accompanied her foster-father to this distant isle,
332
APPENDIX.
זן
and was now longing to return once again to her
kinsmen. Endrid, who was occupied in lading the
vessel, had not given much heed to her, and she was
allowed to go on board. When the vessel was well
under sail, he began to enquire who she was, and
having learned, he said to her, There is danger in
having you here, but now there is no remedy and so
must it be. After a short time the wind got up, and
they were driven by a gale out to sea, and at length
were glad to find anchorage under the lee of a small
rocky island, where there was no cover but a de-
serted fisher's hut. 'Where will you lie to-night?'
said Endrid to the maiden. I will lie next the wall,
and you the nearest to me,' she replied. They did
so, and he placed his sword between them. The
storm continued for three days, and, when the wea-
ther cleared, they sailed to Drontheim. Einar re-
ceived them coldly, and said to Endrid, You have
become choice in your mistresses, seeing that no less
than Erling's daughter will content you.' Endrid
replied warmly, 'I did not expect such a remark
from you, father, because I consented to take back
the maiden to her home. It is no fault of mine that
the weather prevented me from choosing the shortest
course.' 'It matters but little, my son,' said Einar,
'what I may remark, but the maiden's father and
kinsfolk will not pass this matter over lightly, and I
am not desirous that she should tarry here.' Upon
this Endrid got angry, prepared without delay a
small vessel, and, despite of his father's warning,
<
APPENDIX.
333
C
conducted her himself to Erling's Gaard. On their
arrival, they found no one without, the whole house-
hold being at table. They entered the drinking
chamber, and meat was served up, but no one ad-
dressed them a word. Erling's hall was not decked
out with tapestry, but, over every man's head hung
a breast-plate, a head-piece, and a sword. When it
was time to retire, Endrid was conducted to a well-
furnished chamber, where he found Sigrid lying in a
bed, who commanded him, instantly, to retire. He
did so at once, but had scarce turned his back on the
door when he met Erling with a number of armed
followers. Why do you not lay yourself in the bed:'
said he sternly, is it less befitting to lie with my
daughter here than in a fisher's hut?' Erling replied,
'I lay with your daughter in a fisher's hut, but so as
to bring no dishonour on her nor on her kin.' Erling
said, 'That talking would not serve him there,' and
challenged him to submit to the ordeal of fire. En-
drid declared himself willing to do so, in order to free
the maiden and himself from dishonour, and then re-
cited a verse. Endrid now fasted, as was the cus-
tom, and bare the iron. Three days after his hands
were unbound and found whole. Erling praised him
highly, and pressed him to remain with him as his
guest, but Endrid angrily refused, and straightways
departed.
С،
Skialg Erlingsen advised his father to lose no
time to seek to pacify Endrid, for that otherwise the
feud might prove many a man's bane, and obtained
334
APPENDIX.
from him full authority, not only to consent to his
daughter's marriage with Endrid, but even to offer
her to him.
"When Skialg came up with Endrid, he told him
that his father had given consent to his marriage
with Sigrid. Endrid replied that he would own that
he preferred Sigrid to any other maiden, but that
after what had passed he could not pay court to her.
But when Skialg added that her father himself offered
her to him, Endrid agreed that this was sufficient
compensation for his affront, and returning asked
Erling if such was, in truth, his intention. Erling
said that it was, and Endrid accepted the proposition
with joy, and a great feast was held.
“Endrid now prepared to return to his father, and
whilst on his way fell in with him in a ship of war
(Drage-skib), accompanied by twenty smaller ones.
Einar asked his son why his head was shaved round
like a clerk's: Endrid answered, that he had borne the
iron. Since you have borne hot iron, said Einar,
and burned your skin, I will take care that many a
Jedderlander shall feel cold iron in his. You resemble
but little your grandsire, Hacon Jarl, or your father's
kinsmen, Kætil Hæng and Queldulf. Endrid ex-
plained that he had been reconciled with Erling,
adding that he had received money from him. All
this Einar heard with impatience and scorn. Erling
then said that he was to marry Sigrid. Einar said
that she was purchased at far too high a price, that
all this was no compensation for the affront offered
APPENDIX.
335
to his blood, nor should stop his journey to Jedder-
land. At least, Endrid said, that Erling himself had
offered his daughter to him. Is it so!' said Einar,
'then Erling was afraid, and this honour to us is a
counterpoise to your disgrace; but we will continue
our voyage to Jedderland that they may behold our
force.' They were received in the most distinguished
manner, and Endrid drank the marriage cup with
Sigrid."
The next extract which we shall insert is chiefly
of value as shewing the domestic manners of persons
of the highest rank in Scandinavia.
CONCERNING RAUDULF.
"Once when St. Olaf, King of Norway, was
making a progress through Upland, and had come to
Oesterdal, his bailiff, Biorn, complained to him that
of late great robberies had been made among the
cattle in the neighbourhood, and that some rich land-
holders, who lived in a lone Gaard, hard by, were
suspected as the plunderers. This landholder was
named Raudulf, and his sons, Sigurd and Dag. Soon
after these men themselves came to make their duty
to the king, whom they invited to their Gaard, three
days after. The king accordingly repaired thither
with three hundred men. On arriving, he saw a high
and massive palisade with a strong portcullis. The
owner was at the gate with many followers to receive
the king. Straight before them was a fair building,
336
APPENDIX.
which Olaf took for a church, but it was a sleeping
house roofed with wood. The whole room was well
floored, and there were a great many other houses
within the enclosure, great and small, and all well
built. There was no church, for no bishop had ever
been there. The king caused his travelling tent to
be set up, in which evening prayers were said, and
he went afterwards into the eating room, and lights
were borne before him. He sate himself in the high
seat, which had been well adorned; on his right was
the bishop, on his left the queen, and the chief men
were ranged on both sides. Next the bishop sate
Finn Arnesen, then Kalf Arnesen, Thornberg, and the
sons of Arne, Arnbiorn, Kolbein, and Arne. The
king's followers occupied all the upper part of the
chamber, in the lower part sate the household and
the guests whom Raudulf had invited.
"The feast was excellent, and there was a variety
of good drinks. Raudulf's sons went round and saw
that the guests were attended to. The king con-
versed much with Raudulf, whom he found an intel-
ligent man, and who talked of the future. Are you
a soothsayer, then? said Olaf. No, replied he; but
I am able to come to certain conclusions from the
course of the sun, moon, and stars, and especially
from dreams, for which latter purpose I always put on
new garments, and lie down in a new bed, placed in
a new spot. The king asked the sons whether they
had profited by their father's wisdom: Sigurd said
that he had learned from the course of the heavens
APPENDIX.
337
to know the time, whether by day or by night. The
younger son said that he could divine the character
of men from their eyes, and any man's defects, or
excellencies, from his countenance. King Olaf was
in high spirits, and asked the bishop upon what qua-
lity he prided himself? The bishop said that he
could sing twelve masses without book, and in return
put the like question to the king, who replied, that
having once set eyes upon a man he never forgot
him, a very important quality, but, continued he,
every man in his turn.
What do you pique yourself
on, Kalf Arnesen? That I never suffer my wrath to
diminish, said Kalf, how long soever it be suspended.
Finn Arnesen said, that no danger could ever make
him desert his feudal lord. Thorberg, that he would
never break an oath made to his lord. Arnbiorn
said, that the bow did not exist which he could not
bend. Kolbein had three qualities, skill in the bow,
in running on skees, and in swimming. Arne in
managing a boat. Biorn Stallar prided himself, that
at the Thing he delivered the king's message in such
a manner that he heeded not whether his speech
pleased any great man or not; and so on with the
remainder, which caused much amusement. When
the king rose from table, Randulf conducted him to
the new sleeping house with lights burning. It was
built of a circular shape, with balconies all round it.
Within these was a wall covered with shields, having
four doors, equally distant from each other; the
beds were ranged along the walls. In the middle of
Z
338
APPENDIX.
the house were twenty thick and lofty pillars, sup-
porting a painted dome or canopy. The pillars were
connected by cloth, and within this enclosure were
the beds of the principal persons. In this twenty
might sleep, and in the outer chamber forty. In the
centre was an elevated platform, on which was a
large bed adorned with great skill. The wood was
covered with iron and copper, painted, and in parts,
inlaid with gold. On the corner pillars were large
gilded bosses of copper, from which issued iron bars
with branches, each having three lights. Randulf
said to the king that if he desired to have significant
dreams, he should sleep in that new bed. Olaf was
content and lay himself down. On the
On the canopy above
was painted God and his angels, the upper heaven,
below this the stars, then the clouds and winds, the
fowls, and lowest of all the earth with plants, trees,
&c. On the tapestry between the pillars were hea-
then figures, and traditions concerning celebrated
kings. The queen and her women lay on the king's
left, the bishop and priests on his right. Arnbiorn
and Kolbein lay near the head of the bed with their
men. Finn and Thorberg at the feet. Olaf, after
having sung his evening prayer, lay awake longer
than usual, gazing on the canopy, which at length
seemed to him to turn round, and he fell asleep.
The next morning he related his dream to Randulf,
and bade him interpret it after high mass, which he
did.
"He put to the test also the gifts of the two sons.
APPENDIX.
339
The weather turned out as Sigurd had predicted,
and although the morning was thick and dark, he
told at once the hour. Olaf bade Dag tell him from
his appearance what was his constitutional weakness.
After some hesitation, Dag said that the king was
fond of women, and Olaf acknowledged that he was
right. At Dag's suggestion the stolen cattle were
sought for in the house of the bailiff himself, and
there found, and Biorn was dismissed from his of-
fice."
It will not be here out of place, before quitting the
subject entirely, to speak shortly of the favourite
pursuits and amusements of these Northern warriors,
so often alluded to in the Sagas.
It has been shewn that a particular constellation
was consecrated to each of the twelve principal dei-
ties, and that the Scandinavians had their solar
houses answering to the signs of the Greek zodiac.
The frequent maritime expeditions of their chiefs,
in fact, rendered a knowledge of the stars absolutely
necessary; and this knowledge led naturally to a
belief in astrology; a superstition from which scarcely
any nation has been entirely exempt, and which
has often enchained even the strongest minds. The
Finlapps, to this day, are in the habit of predict-
ing the fate of a new-born child from the position of
the stars. Meteors, or shooting-stars, were supposed
to be the horses of the Valkyrs; Ursa Major, they
called the Great Dog; Ursa Minor, Charles' Wain;
the three stars in Orion's belt, Freya's distaff; the
340
APPENDIX.
Swan, the Cross; the milky-way, the winter-road;
and the dog-star, Loka-brenna, or Loke's burning.
They had also stars called the wolf, the eagle, and
the raven; and when Thor slew Thrym, he cast his
eyes up to heaven, where they became stars, or, ac-
cording to another passage, it was Odin who placed
them there to console Skada.
Another accomplishment to which great impor-
tance was attached, was the art of cutting Runes.
The old northern word Run (plural Runar) originally
signified a word or discourse, more particularly in
secret; and, on the introduction of writing, was
naturally enough applied to those mysterious cha-
racters which could convey secretly, and at any dis-
tance, the thoughts of one person to another. Odin
was considered as their inventor, and they were sup-
posed to possess supernatural powers in the hands of
those who had the secret of arranging them. In a
little poem, called the Runic Chapter, or the magic
of Odin, which forms a portion of the Edda, the
father of the gods boasts, at length, of the wonders he
could perform with their aid; such for example, as
to render harmless the weapons of an enemy, to still
the raging of the storm, to arrest sorcerers in their
flight through the air, to gain the love of women, to
restore the dead to life, &c. Runes cut on the rim
of a drinking-horn, and sprinkled with blood from
the hands, were considered a preservative against
poison in the liquor. Great caution, however, was
to be observed in the employment of them. A lover,
APPENDIX.
341
once, desiring to awake love in the bosom of his
mistress by cutting Runes, made a mistake in their
position, and brought on her a lingering illness. The
Runic staffs, also called Riim-stocks, and Prim-
staffs, were smooth, flat pieces of wood, of a foot
and upwards in length, and two or three inches in
breadth. On these were scored marks denoting the
principal fasts and holidays of the year, and they are
still used as almanacks in Norway. The antiquity
of the Runic characters has been denied, and their
invention attributed to the Gothic Bishop, Ulphilas,
who lived in the reign of the Emperor Valens; but
it has been proved that his alphabet is wholly diffe-
rent. Runestones, older than the introduction of
Christianity, are, however, of rare occurrence.
A third accomplishment was the art of running
upon Skees or Snow-shoes (Skieloben, Skidfæri).
This was of great antiquity amongst the Norwegians,
and still greater amongst the Finns. The Skees are
long flat pieces of wood, sometimes six feet in length,
by means of which, and aided by a long pole held in
both hands, a person expert in the use of them will
pass over the deepest snow with great rapidity. It
was one of the accomplishments on which warriors
prided themselves the most. Einar Tambeskielvar,
mentioned in the Saga concerning Endrid, Harald
Hardraade, and Harald Blaatand, kings of Denmark
and Norway, were celebrated for their skill in this
exercise. It is still a common amusement in winter
in Drontheim, and with them the Finns and Lapps
E
342
APPENDIX.
•
will beat a man with skates on clear ice. When
Norway belonged to Denmark, previous to 1814, it
had two regiments of Skee-runners, each consisting
of 480 men, whose services in a winter campaign
might have been turned to excellent account. One
Arnliot Gellina is said to have been so expert that he
would let two others stand on his skees and yet run
as fast as an ordinary person alone. In short the
ancient Scandinavians were skilful in almost all ath-
letic exercises. In foot-races, in which men of the
first rank and kings themselves were wont to take
part. Olaf Tryggesen, and King Harald Gille, an
Irishman, were particularly celebrated in this and all
similar feats, as well as in skaiting and leaping.
The Nials Saga speaks of one Icelander who, in
complete armour, could leap higher than he stood,
of another who sprang twenty-four feet over a river,
although the banks on both sides were frozen and
slippery. Dances too were frequent with the North-
men, and amongst others a sword-dance, which re-
quired considerable dexterity. Wrestling was also
common in all its branches, exactly as it still exists
with us.
Bowls, and a kind of hockey, were played
on a plain, or, in winter, on the ice, and rowing was
a favourite exercise, but the art of riding gracefully
was introduced later from the south, with tourna-
ments. The ancient Scandinavians, whose warlike
expeditions were chiefly by sea, knew nothing of
cavalry. They prided themselves much on their
skill with the bow, particularly the inhabitants of Tel-
-
APPENDIX.
343
lemark: Einar Tambeskielvar was one of the most
celebrated for this exercise. They excelled also in
throwing the spear, in slinging, and in the use of the
broad-sword. But of none of these exercises is such
frequent mention made in the Sagas as of that of
swimming, which was the favourite recreation of
Olaf Tryggesen, who excelled in all these athletic
sports. The following extract from the Saga of that
monarch is too characteristic to be here omitted.
"About this time King Olaf was engaged in a
great work, having commenced building the new
town of Nidaros,18 together with a palace and a
church. A great quantity of building timber had
been conveyed by his orders to the shore, which he
gave to any who chose to build. Hacon Jarl was
lately dead, and all the people had acknowledged
Olaf as king, but many were unwilling to embrace
the new faith which he was so anxious to introduce.
There happened to be three Iceland ships lying at
anchor at the bridge, on board of which were several
Icelanders of distinction, who had come to a resolu-
tion to refuse adherence to the new faith. Kiartan,
the son of Oluf Paa, a rich Icelander, arrived a few
days after in a vessel which he had fitted out on an
adventure. He was the handsomest and tallest man
in Iceland, with fair silken hair which fell in ringlets,
and large blue eyes, and was distinguished beyond
others in all manly exercises, particularly in swim-
18 Now Trondhjem or Drontheim.
344
APPENDIX.
ming. He was welcomed by his countrymen, who
asked him what he intended to do concerning the
new faith. He said that he cared but little about the
matter, but was willing to abide by the decision they
had already come to. It was a fine hot day in au-
tumn, and several of the townspeople were amusing
themselves with swimming in the river Nid. Kjartan
proposed to his countrymen to go to see how the
strangers acquitted themselves, and accordingly they
went. One man evidently far outdid the rest in all
feats in the water, and Kjartan, turning to Halfred
Ottarsen, proposed to him to try his skill with this
man. 'Far be it from me,' said Halfred, he is one
with whom I have no desire to come in collision.'
Kjartan then asked his friend Bolle if he would not
swim with the townsman.
‹ I do not consider my-
self equal to it,' said Bolle. 'I know not what has
become of your spirit,' said Kjartan, but I am re-
solved to try his force, though neither of you have
the courage to do so.' Saying this, he went straight
to the point opposite, to the place where the towns-
men were swimming, and throwing off the scarlet
short coat in which he was clad, sprang into the wa-
ter, and swimming straight to the man, seized and
dived with him, keeping him under for a time. When
they came up the townsman, after a very short inter-
val, took Kjartan down in his turn, and remained
under the water longer than his adversary desired.
They came to the surface a second time, spake not a
word to each other, but, after a few moments, went
APPENDIX.
345
6
• You
down together again, and remained under still longer
than before. Kjartan now began to have some ap-
prehension as to how this sport might end, and
thought that he, never before, had been in so danger-
ous a position. At last the man let him up, and
they swam together to shore and began to dress,
when Kjartan first was fully aware how muscular and
large a man he had been struggling with.
After a
time the stranger asked Kjartan who he was, and
Kjartan told him his name and birth-place.
swim well, Icelander,' said the townsman, are you
as skilful in other accomplishments as in this?'
have not acquired much honour by my swimming,'
returned Kjartan, and may probably succeed no
better with the others, although in my native land
they have been called accomplishments.' The ho-
nour you may gain from them,' said the townsman,
'will depend much on those with whom you try
them. But why do not you ask me who I am?'
Kjartan said, That he had no desire, whatever, to
know.' To do you justice,' said the townsman,
I
•
<
you are a manly fellow, but you seem somewhat
haughty also. You shall know, however, with whom
you have been trying your skill in swimming, my
name is Olaf Tryggesen, and here men call me the
king.' Kjartan made no reply, but was going away
without his cloak. The king called him back, and
bade him not be in such haste. Kjartan returned,
although very slowly, and the king, taking his own
cloak from his shoulders, said, A young man so
346
APPENDIX.
courageous and promising as you appear should not
return to his comrades without a cloak. I give you
mine, and desire you to consider what has passed
between us to-day as mere sport, for I think that
your reputation as a swimmer will fall in the eyes of
but few, even though it get abroad that I measured
myself with you in that exercise.' Kjartan thanked
the king for his cloak, which was of great value, but
his countrymen were not well pleased that he had ac-
cepted it, since the fact might be construed as im-
plying that he had submitted himself to the king." 19
Lastly, skill in smith's work was an accomplish-
ment held by the Northmen in the highest esteem.
The most distinguished of northern smiths was the
far famed Velent, or Vaulund, the nearly forgotten
tradition concerning whom has of late been rendered
popular in England, by the author of Kenilworth, in
the person of Wayland Smith. About a mile from
the White Horse Hill, near Ashdown, where the
great battle took place in A. D. 871, between King
Alfred and the Danes, there is a rude Bauta or mon-
umental stone similar to those so frequent in Den-
mark and Norway. There was a tradition amongst
the peasants in the vicinity, that an invisible smith
lived there formerly; who, if any traveller's horse
dropped a shoe on the road, would put it on again,
and that this mysterious farrier was named Wayland
Smith. There was a well known Norman or Danish
19 Olaf Tryggesan's Saga.
GRE
APPENDIX.
347
leader of the name of Veland, who desolated France
about the years 861-62, and was supposed to have
been killed in a duel there in 863; but, as Müller
remarks, it is not improbable that a Norman leader
of the name of Veland may have fallen on this spot,
and in the course of time, been confounded by the
people with the fabulous Velent, or Wayland, whose
legend was current with all nations of Gothic de-
scent. King Alfred, in his translation of Boethius,
p. 43 and 162, asks, "Where are now the bones of
the wise and famous Goldsmith Velent! who knows
his barrow!" In Professor Thorkelin's translation of
the Anglo-Saxon Scyldinger, p. 36. Biovulf prays
that his good arms, the work of Veland, may be laid
with him in his grave. In Ritson's Ancient Metri-
rical Romances, Lond. 1802. vol. iii. p. 382. 32mo.
there is mention of a sword made by Weland,21 and
the same name is often introduced in the old German
legends. In a Latin poem, " de primâ expeditione
20
20 Mitte Higelaci
Si me bellum auferat
Apparatum Martium optimum,
Quod pectus meum gerit
Gestamen præstantissimis
Id est spoliis conversatum
Welandi opus.
21 It is the make of Mining,
Of all swerdes it is king,
And Weland it wrought
Bitterfer it hight.
-1
348
APPENDIX.
Altile regis Hunnorum in Gallias," Walther of
Vaskastein is said to bear weapons of Veland's make,
and an anonymous French author of the twelfth cen-
tury relates of William the Iron-cleaver, son of Al-
drim, Duke in Angoulesme, that he derived that sur-
name from the excellence of his sword, made by the
Smith Valandus.22 In pursuance of the plan adopted
throughout this work, we shall here give an abridg-
ment of the history of this mysterious personage from
the Vilkina Saga, as a curious specimen of the fabu-
lous Sagas generally.23 It is of the most remote an-
tiquity, and is remarkable, amongst other things, as
containing, probably, the original of the fable of
which in modern times William Tell has become the
hero. The feat of shooting an apple from a boy's
head was a favourite one with the Icelandic story
tellers; and is to be found in more than one of the
Sagas. The celebrated historian, Saxo the Gram-
marian, tells it of a famous chief, Palnatoke, who
was cotemporary with the father of Canute the Great.
Saxo himself lived about the end of the twelfth cen-
tury. 24
22 P. E. Muller's Saga Bibliothek. vol. iii. p. 161. 162.
23 Allusion is made also to Weland's misfortunes in the
Anglo-Saxon poem from the Exeter manuscript, given in
Conybeare's Anglo-Saxon Poetry, p. 238.
24 Muller considers that the story told of William Tell is
more probably derived from this tale, deemed by many ori-
ginally German, than from Saxo. Some have declared the
whole tale of Eastern origin.
APPENDIX.
349
VELENT'S SAGA.
"Velent's father, Vade, was the son of King Vil-
kinus, and a Mermaid whom he met in a wood near
the sea-shore, as he was returning from a cruize in
the Baltic. His father never took to him, but gave
him twelve castles in Zealand. At the age of nine
years Velent was sent to learn smith's work in the
land of the Huns,25 where he suffered much ill treat-
ment from Sigurd Svend, who was under the same
master, Mimer Smith. His father, therefore, removed
him thence, and placed him with two skilful dwarfs,
who lived in the mountain Kullen. After remaining
with them more than two years, they became envious
of his skill, and sought to take his life, but he slew
them both, and having set himself with his tools in a
hollow tree, with a glass window in front, he com-
mitted himself to the mercy of the waves, and was
drifted to Thy, in Jutland, where he was well received
by King Nidung. His father, sometime before had
been killed by an avalanche. He soon found an
25 The Huns are frequently alluded to in the songs of the
Edda, and in the old fabulous Sagas. Magnussen is of opi-
nion that these Huns were the subjects of Attila, who is him-
self often brought on the stage under the name of Atle, and
also that the name of Huns is often applied to people of the
Slavic or Vandal family.-Magnussen Den Ældre Ædda,
v. iv. p. 312.
¦
¿
350
APPENDIX.
opportunity to shew how far he surpassed the king's
smith, Æmilius, in his own craft. The king once set out
on a warlike expedition with 30,000 knights, and after
five days march having discovered that he had left
behind the stone which always brought him victory,
he offered his daughter and half his kingdom to any
one who would bring it to him in one day. Velent
did so, but the king evaded his promise, and banished
Velent for having killed one of his men. To revenge
himself Velent disguised himself as a cook, and put
some magic herbs in a soup prepared for the princess.
The plot was discovered in time, and Velent having
been seized, the king ordered the sinews of his feet
to be cut, and he was forced to sit in the king's court
and to employ himself in forging jewels for his ene-
mies. About this time Egil, Velent's younger bro-
ther, who was a celebrated archer, came also to King
Nidung's court. The king had him seized also, and
to prove his skill, forced him to shoot an apple placed
on the head of his son, a child of three years old.
Egil took three arrows from his quiver, and then shot
the apple from the lad's head, which feat was much
celebrated. The king asked him what he had in-
tended to do with the other arrows. He answered
boldly, that he had meant them for him had the
arrow struck his boy, and the king approved the
Velent still meditated revenge, and, one
day, when the king's daughter came into his work-
shop to have a ring repaired, he violated her, and
answer.
APPENDIX.
351
soon after having enticed away her two youngest
brothers, he killed them both, and inserted their
bones in a costly vessel of gold which he had been
forced to make for the king's table. He had made
himself wings from the feathers of birds, shot by his
brother Eigil, and by means of these flew up to the
highest tower of the king's palace, from whence, with
a loud voice, he declared to the king what he had
done. The king caused Egil to be brought, and
threatened him with instant death unless he killed
his brother with an arrow. Egil shot, and the arrow
struck Velent under the left arm, from which the
blood flowed copiously, and although Velent flew
away towards Zealand, the king was satisfied that he
could not survive. Egil, however, had only struck
a bladder filled with red liquor, which Velent, fore-
seeing what would happen, had placed under his
arm. The king, soon after, died, and Velent effected
a reconciliation with his son, and married the sister,
who had already produced him a son, named Vidga."
We shall close this Appendix with a few remarks
on the belief in magic and witchcraft amongst the
ancient Scandinavians.
They believed in two species of sorcery, one of
which was named Galldur, and was to be effected
chiefly by means of songs and runes engraved upon
the bark of trees: and it was in this art that Odin
was so great a proficient. The second kind was called
Seid, which the Aser learned of the Vaner. Seid
352
APPENDIX.
⭑
was a kind of soup or ointment, the ingredients of
which seem to have varied according to the effects to
be produced. They consisted in part of the hearts
and blood of serpents and wolves, of dew of boiled
swine's liver, of various herbs, &c. and at last
Runes were generally thrown into the cauldron. The
preparation of Seid was said to be so loathsome that
men became blind with it, and it was at last aban-
doned to women.
It was a very general superstition in the north,
that by eating of the hearts of particular animals, a
person might acquire the properties peculiar to the
animals themselves. It is related in the Heimskrin-
gla Saga, that Sigurd, by eating of the heart of the
great serpent, Fröfner, became so wise as to under-
stand the cry of birds. Every jule-evening, for three
years successively, a terrible animal, or rather an
enchanter with wings, whom no steel would touch,
used to come to King Hrolfe's palace in Leira.
Biarke slew him, and made his comrade (Stallbroder),
Hodur, eat of its heart, so that from being timid, he
became strong and valiant. Nor was this property
confined to the hearts of animals alone, since Saxo
tells us that Eric the Wise learned to understand the
conversation of all animals, by eating a soup made of
snake's flesh. Guttorm ate of a snake and a wolf
cooked together, and became very cruel and daring.
Biarke's brother, Elg Frode, having wounded him-
self in the leg, gave Biarke some of the blood to
drink, telling him that he would thus become stronger
APPENDIX.
353
than other men; Sigurd, by drinking a certain po-
tion, forgat his love to Brynhilde; and Asa-Loke
himself is said to have acquired a great portion of
his evil qualities, from having eaten the heart of a
witch.
We learn from Th. Bartholin, that there were cer-
tain sorceresses or fortune-tellers (Valas) in Scandi-
navia, who wandered about the country predicting
future events, and the fortunes of young children of
rank. The sorceress Heidr, a widow, had in her
troop thirty young men and fifteen maidens, who
were set on high places, and had under them cu-
shions stuffed with cock's feathers. They wore Hun-
nish belts, and purses in which they kept all that
they had need of for their magic. One of them ate
a soup of goat's milk, and a dish of the hearts of all
the animals which were served up to the others.
They could prophesy of good and bad times, and
used various instruments and large Seid-staffs. The
enchantress Hulda, whose legend has been trans-
lated from the Icelandic, by the learned Captain
Abrahamsen, was a renowned witch (Seid-kona-
volva) in the north, and superstitions connected with
her still linger amongst the rocks of Norway. The
peasants there believe to this day that Hulla or Hul-
dren, is the queen of subterranean beings, and wife
to the elf-king, Thusselin, who is described as of
diminutive stature, whilst, on the contrary, Hulla is
said to be a tall old woman of a dark colour, who,
seen from behind, resembles a trough. The Elle-
A A
354
APPENDIX.
maids also were to be known, from being hollow be-
hind, and the sign of the cross was sufficient to make
them turn round; but this defect does not seem to
have been attributed to them before the introduction
of Christianity. Hulla is also to be seen in stormy
weather, driving before her through the woods large
herds of dark grey cattle and sheep. Cattle of this
kind are hence called Hulla-creatur, and are highly
prized. Some pretend to have even seen her resi-
dence, and peasants still living assert that at parti-
cular moments they have perceived farm-houses and
cultivated fields, where were usually only vast woods.
Both Hulla and Thusselin are accused of carrying off
cattle, and even human beings, but are obliged to
return them on hearing the sound of a church bell.
They were particularly addicted to stealing unbap-
tized children, leaving their own deformed bantlings
in their stead. On whipping, however, the young
imp three Thursday evenings successively, Hulla is
forced to restore the rightful progeny. This is evi-
dently a superstition from the times of paganism,
Thor being the great foe of giants and all spirits of
darkness. Hulla, however, is best known by her
song, (the Huldre-slaat), a subterranean musick or
hollow mournful sound, often heard in the moun-
tains.26
Indeed none of the superstitions of the Scandina-
vians seem to have been more universal than their
26 Müller Saga-Bibliothek.
APPENDIX.
355
belief in the preternatural powers possessed by cer-
tain women whom they called Valas or witches, who
previous to the introduction of Christianity, were
held in high esteem and respect, as we may perceive
from the account given of Thorbiorg, called the lesser
Vala, in the Saga of Eric the red." They used
wands and magical incantations, were often attended
by a numerous suite, and possessed great influence.
As Christianity gained ground, they were represented
in an odious light, as demons, or sold to the devil,
instead of being simply exposed as impostors. But
in heathen times also the people believed in malig-
nant witches, who were represented as aged and de-
formed, residing in gloomy impenetrable forests, and
riding by night through the air on wolves with snakes
for bridles. They were supposed to have the power
of assuming the form of wolves, and were called
Wehrwolves (Varulve). The Mar or night-mare, the
belief in which is very ancient, seems to have been
some such demon or evil spirit." There is mention of
it in the Heimskringla, and Suhm remarks that the
word has the same signification in Danish (Maren),
English (Nightmare), French (Cauche-Mar), and
German (Nacht Mar).
The old Scandinavians had also many superstitions
respecting barrows and the spirits of deceased men.
Before the introduction of the religion of Odin, they
27 Eric Rödes' Saga.
25 Magnussen.
356
APPENDIX.
believed that these spirits, called by them Draugr,
remained with the bodies which they had once inha-
bited, and at times wandered about the earth. Hence
the general prevalence of the belief in spectres in the
north of Europe, a belief not yet eradicated. Ac-
cording to Suhm, Odin, finding it impossible to de-
stroy this belief, although, in fact, inconsistent with
his doctrine, attributed to himself power over these
spirits, and hence he was called king of spectres and
king of the barrows, by sitting upon which, and em-
ploying certain spells, he was able to call up the
dead. We are told in one of the old Northern
Kiæmpe-Viser, that Odin gave permission to King
Helge Hundingsbane, a celebrated Danish hero,
to visit nightly his barrow, in order to converse with
his young and disconsolate widow, who used there
to meet him. King Helge was seen one night by
an attendant of his widowed bride entering into his
barrow. She conveyed the intelligence to her mis-
tress, who immediately hastened to seek him, and on
perceiving that there was no illusion, but that the
spirit of her lord was indeed there, addressed him as
follows:
Now am I more glad
At this our meeting
Than the rapacious
Hawks of Odin
When they devour
Their daily meal,
Or when they perceive
The dewy dawn of morn.
APPENDIX.
357
I will kiss
My lifeless king
Ere he throws off
His bloody helm ;
Helge, thine hair
Is wet with blood,
The dew of death hath bathed
My warrior's body,
Thy hands, my king,
Are icy cold,
O Helge, how shall I
Find cure for this!
HELGE'S SPIRIT.
"Tis thou, Sigruna,
Art cause, alone,
That Helge is bathed
With the dew of sorrow.
O, sunny daughter of the south
Decked out with gold!
Ere that thou goest to rest
Thou weepest bitter tears:
Each bloody tear
Falls on my breast,
Icy cold, and torn with grief.
It was a very old belief that deceased persons were
sorely afflicted by the grief of those who lamented
them.
The power to raise spirits from the dead was not
confined to Odin. In Groa's magic song, one of
the poems of the Elder Edda, à son summons his
mother's spirit from her grave, in order to ask her
358
APPENDIX.
counsel how to escape from dangers in which she,
whilst living, had involved him. He thus begins
his invocation :
SON.
Wake up, Groa,
Wake up, good mother,
At the door of death I wake thee;
Dost thou remember
That thou badest thy son
Come to thy grave?
MOTHER.
What desireth
Mine only son,
What peril threateneth thee now;
That thou callest up thy mother,
Who is turned to earth,
Removed from the world of man?
He asks her advice and protection in his perilous
enterprize. She gives him nine rules for his direc-
tion, and bids him proceed fearlessly wherever the
danger was greatest. The Scandinavians, like the
Greeks, Romans, and other ancient nations, attri-
buted certain mystic properties to the number nine.
One of their deities, Njord, had nine daughters,
another, Heimdall, nine mothers. Odin lay nine
The number of
nights on the tree of the universe.
worlds according to them was nine. At the great
feat at Upsala, held every ninth year, ninety-nine
hawks or cocks were sacrificed to Odin, &c.
APPENDIX.
359
They believed also in the existence of tutelar divi-
nities, whom they called Fylgiur or following spirits.
These Fylgiur were always of the female sex, for the
most part friendly, but sometimes hostile. Thus in
the Volsunga Saga, Sigmund's Fylgia guided and
defended him, until Odin himself deprived him of
victory, whilst in another place one warrior says to
another,
"The danger is great
If thy foot stumble
When thou goest to battle,
Traitorous nornies
Encompass thee on each side,
And will have thee slain.”
These Fylgiur were supposed to have the power of
assuming the shapes of different animals. Previous
to the introduction of Christianity, festivals (Disa-
blot) were held in honour of them. In revenge for
the neglect of their accustomed offerings, nine Fyl-
giur, tutelary spirits, of Thidrand's race, procured
his death.29 Another warrior, Halfred Vandrædaka¦d,
after embracing the Christian religion, was overtaken
with a dangerous sickness, and being, as he believed,
about to die, he was anxious that his Fylgia should
not accompany him to the realms of death. She
could distinctly be seen following the ship in which
he was sailing; her form was that of a comely mai-
29 Olaf Tryggesen's Saga.
:
:
:
360
APPENDIX.
den, and she walked over the waves as though they
had been dry land. She had a helmet on her head,
Halfred gazed at her and said that she was his Fyl-
gia, and addressing her, declared that they were di-
vorced for ever.30 Upon this she said to Thorold,
will you take me? but he refused, and Hallfred the
younger said, Maiden, I will take thee.³¹
A confused belief in the transmigration of souls
seems also to have prevailed at an early period in
the north.32 In the poem which narrates the deeds of
the family of Volsung, we are told that Svava, the
daughter of a king, was born again in the person of
Siguna, also the daughter of a king. The same is
also said of two other distinguished persons, Helge
and Sigruna. The following story relating to this
subject is told in the Heimskringla Saga, at the time
when St. Olaf's mother, Asta, the wife of Harald
Grenske, king of a province in Norway, was in labour
of him and could not come to the birth, a man came
suddenly to the court with some jewels, of which he
gave the following account: King Olaf Geirstade-Alf,
a wise and good prince, who had reigned over the
same province many years before, and was the direct
ancestor of the then king, had appeared to him in a
1
30 In like manner the Romans believed that every one had
a genius or tutelary spirit assigned to him at his birth, males
to men, females to women.
31 Hallf. Vand. Saga.
32 Quad om Helge Hundingsbane.
!
APPENDIX.
361
dream, and directed him to open the barrow in which
his body lay, and having severed from it the head
with a sword, to convey the jewels laid up in the
barrow to the queen, whose pains would then cease.
The jewels were taken into the queen's chamber,
who soon after was delivered of a male child, whom
they named Olaf, and it was the general belief that
the spirit of Geirstade-Alf had passed into the body
of the new-born prince, called after him.
It hap-
pened long after, when he had attained manhood
and was King of Norway, that he rode one day by
chance near to the barrow of Olaf Geirstade-Alf, at-
tended by one of his court, who said, "Is it true, my
lord, that you once lay in this barrow ?”
“Never,"
replied the king, "has my spirit inhabited two bo-
dies." (C
Yet," said the attendant," it has been re-
ported that you have been heard to say, on passing
by this barrow, 'Here were we-here we lived.'
"I have never so said," returned the king, angrily,
" and never will I say so." He was very wroth, and
rode hastily away.
The old Scandinavians believed that the power of
discerning the spirits of deceased men was possessed
by certain individuals; they were to be seen, how-
ever, only at night, and their presence was some-
times to be detected by a lambent flame, which dis-
appeared when real fire was kindled. These spirits
could assume bodies of air, but could not divest
themselves of an unearthly paleness. They had the
power of defending the treasures buried with them
""
362
APPENDIX.
emitting fire, causing suffocating vapours, &c. To
this day the peasants in Norway believe that the
spirit of a dying man may be seen at the moment of
its departure from the body, in the form of a long
narrow white cloud. When a warrior died, his arms,
at whatever distance from him, were tinged with
blood.
INDEX.
Ægir, the god of the ocean, 23, 54, 170, 237
Agnar, the son of Geirröd, becomes king of Gothland, 32, 34, 44
Alfadur, a name applied to the supreme being, 8, 301; an epithet
of Odin, 28, 61
Alfheim, the region of the Light Elves, 29, 35, 194 (vide Elves)
Alvis, a Dwarf, 18, 108—111
Andrimner, the cook of the Gods, 64
Aser, an appellation of the Gods, 16, 18, 21
Asgard, the residence of the Aser, 18, 19, 21, 22, 29
Askur, the name of the first man, 17, 18
Asynier, the Goddesses (vide Freya, Frigga, &c.) 22
Audumbla, the mythic cow, which fostered the giant Ymer, 5, 10
Augerbode, the giant-wife of Loke, and mother of Hela, Fenris,
and Jormungandur, 24, 78
Aurgelmer, a name given to Ymer by the giants, 15
Baldur, the second son of Odin, the god of the summer sun, 22,
28, 29, 40, 53, 277-294
Bauge, a Giant, 57
Belsta, the wife of Börr, 5, 16
Bergelmer, the sire of the Giants, 6, 102
Berserkir described, 290 note.
Beygver, a Light Elf, follower of Freyr, 239, 251
Beyla, Beygver's wife, 239
Bifrost, the bridge between Earth and Heaven, the rainbow,
23, 113, 189, 215
Bilskirner, Thor's palace, 95
Bodn, one of the vessels of wisdom, 55
Bölwerk, a name assumed by Odin, 57, 58
Börr, the father of Odin, Vile, and Ve, 5, 10
Bragi, the god of poetry and eloquence, 22, 23, 53, 54, 90,241,
242, 243
Breidablik, the palace of Baldur, answers to the sign of the
twins, 29, 39
Brokkur, a Dwarf, 222, 224
Brysing, Freya's necklace, 204, 271
Bure, the father of Börr, 5, 10, 15
Calendar of the Scandinavians, 46 (vide Zodiac).
364
INDEX.
!
Day, the son of Night and of Delling (the Dawn), 26
Dain, a Dwarf, or Black Elf, one of the spirits of sleep and
dreams, 278
Delling, father of the Day, the Dawn, 26
Diser, the Goddesses; female divinities generally; the guardian
spirits of men, 258
Draupner, Odin's magic ring, 70, 234
Durinn, a celebrated Dwarf, 223
Dvalin, a chief of the Dwarfs, 232
Dwarfs, beings sprung from the dead body of the giant Ymer,
25, 221-223, 230
Earth, the mother of Thor, 254
Einheriar, deceased warriors received into Valhalla, 25, 64, 70
Elder, a servant of Ægir, 239, 240
Elivagar, the great chaotic river, 4
Elves, spirits betwixt the Gods and Men, 16, 25, 220
Elves. The world of the Black Elves, the seventh world, 19
Embla, the first woman, 17, 18
Farbaute, a Giant, Loke's father, 77
Fenris, the demon-wolf; Loke's son, 24, 28, 78, 82-87
Fensala, Frigga's palace, 45, 73
Fjalar, a Dwarf who slew the wise Quaser, 55
Fimaseng, a servant of Ægir, 239
Fimbulveter, the great winter to last three years, and to precede
the destruction of the universe, 296
Fiorgyn and Fiorgyna, the father and mother of Frigga, 246
Folkvangur, Freya's palace; answering to the sign of the lion,
29, 41, 65
Forn, one of the names of Freya, 204
Forsete, the god of justice; son of Baldur and Nanna, 22, 23,
30, 41, 295
Freki, one of Odin's wolves, 69
Freya, the goddess of fruitfulness, love, and song; the queen of
the night; daughter of Njord, 17 note, 23, 29, 36, 41, 65,
202-205
Freyr, the brother of Freya; the god of the sun, 22, 23, 29, 35,
36, 194
Frigga, Odin's wife, 22, 30, 53, 73
Frost Giants, the descendants of Ymer, 5
Fulla, Frigga's confidante and messenger, 33, 73
Gafn, one of the names of Freya, 204
Gangler, Gangraad, names of Odin, 17
Garmer, a demon hound, 299
Gefione, a maiden Goddess, to whom all who died maids re-
paired after death, 245
Geirröd, a king of Gothland; a Giant in Utgard, 32-34, 43,
105-108
INDEX.
365
Gelar, a Dwarf, 55
Gerda, daughter of the giant Gymer; beloved of Freyr, 195–201
Geri, one of Odin's wolves, 69
Gersime, one of Freya's daughters, 203, 204, 213
Geyruth, a giant, (vide Geirröd)
Giants, the foes of Gods and Men; born before the Gods, 102—
105
Gjallar-bridge, the shining bridge over which the spirits of de-
ceased mortals pass to the region of Hela, 293
Gjallar-horn, Heimdall's horn, 215, 298
Gialp, one of Heimdall's nine mothers; a daughter of the giant
Geirröd, 107
Gilling, a Giant, 55, 56
Gimle, the highest heaven; the eternal abode of the blest, 19,
20, 29, 299
Ginnunga-gap, the chaotic abyss, 4, 216
Gjallar, a river of Helheim, crossed by the Gjallar-bridge, 293
Gladsheim, the palace of Odin, answers to the sign of the Ram,
29, 38, 63
Gleipnir, the chain with which Fenris was bound, 84, 86
Glitner, the palace of Forsete; answers to the sign of the Virgin,
30, 41
Gna, Frigga's messenger, 73
Godheim, a name for Asgard, 19
Grimner, a name assumed by Odin, 33
Groa, a Vala or Prophetess, 358
Grydur, the wife of Odin, 53
Gudr, a Valkyr, 67, 219
Gulltopp, Heimdall's horse, 215, 291
Gungner, the name of Odin's spear or sword, 70, 225
Gunlöde, or Gunnlaug, daughter of the giant Suttung, deceived
by Odin, 56, 58
Gullinborste, Freyr's wild-boar with bristles of gold; the sun,
225, 233
Gymer, a Giant, king of the frozen Ocean, 195
Hæn, one of the names of Freya, 204
Har (the high one), one of Odin's names, 61
Haunner-swinger, a name of Thor, 15
Heidrun, the goat of Valhalla, whose milk is mead, the drink of
the Einheriar, 64
Heimdall, the son of nine mothers, one of the twelve Aser; the
warder of Valhalla, 22, 23, 29, 40, 175 note, 189, 215, 249,
281
Hela, daughter of Loke; the queen of death, 24, 78, 80, 82, 135
Helheim, the eighth of the nine worlds; the region of death, 19,
80, 81, 135-138
366
INDEX.
Hermodur, a son of Odin; his messenger, 53, 212, 292–294
Hertha, a goddess worshipped by the ancient Germans, 74
Hilda, one of the chief of the Valkyrs, 68
Himmel-bjeig, the heavenly mount; the palace of Heimdall;
answers to the sign of the crab, 29, 40
Hirrokin, a giant woman, 290
Hler or Ægir, the god of the ocean, 237
Hlidskialf, Odin's high seat, from whence he sees over the whole
earth, 33, 63, 74
Hlorida, a name of Thor, 254
Hlyn, a Goddess who guarded the favourites of Frigga from im-
pending dangers, 73
Hnos, one of Freya's two daughters, 203, 204, 213
Hödur, a blind Aser; the destroyer of Baldur, 22, 23, 40, 289
Hæner, or Vile, brother of Odin; one of the three creative dei-
ties, 17
Hringhaune, Baldur's ship, 290
Hrodung, king of the Goths, 32
Hrsuelgur, the giant eagle; ruler of winter, 27
Hrymfaxe, the horse of night, 26
Huggin, one of Odin's two ravens, 52
Hugo, a Dwarf, 147
Hulda, a celebrated enchantress, 52, 353, 354
Hvergelmer, the lowest pit; the eternal spring, 4, 20, 216
Hymir, a renowned Giant of Utgard; the mountain torrents were
his daughters, 170-173, 175-190
Iduna, the wife of Bragi; the guardian of the apples of youth,
23, 88—92, 244, 278
Jafuhar, an epithet of Odin, 61
Jernvidi, an iron forest in Utgard, 106
Jormungandur, the great serpent; son of Asa-Loke, 24, 78, 102,
180-190
Jotunheim, the land of the Giants, 19, 102, 103
Ivalldr, a Dwarf skilled in smith's work; father to Iduna, 90,
224
Kraken of Norway described, 177 note.
Lessöe, the residence of Hler or Ægir; the ruler of the ocean, 237
Landvide, the palace of Vidar; answers to the sign of the scor-
pion, 30, 42
Laufeya, Loke's mother, 77
Leradur, a tree in Valhalla, 64
Light Elves, spirits inhabiting Gimle, the region of light; follow-
ers of the sun-god Freyr, 19
Liosberi, the light-bringer, the third month in the Scandinavian
year, 36, 37
Litur, a Dwarf slain by Thor, 292
INDEX.
367
Lif and Livthraser, the only human pair who survive the de-
struction of the world at Ragnarokkur, 301
Lofna, one of Freya's four handmaidens, whose province it was to
bring together true lovers, 213, 214
Loge, the Giant of fire, 145
Loke (Utgard's), the king of Utgard and of darkness, and chief
of the Giants and Evil Spirits, 24, 71, 112, 141
Loke (Asa), a kinsman of Utgard's Loke, being descended from
the Giants, but an associate of the Aser, 22, 24, 71–73, 76
-79, 86-93, 224-236, 240-295
Lopta or Loptur, a name of Asa-Loke, 77 [vide Loke (Asa)]
Lora, a daughter of Thor, 96
Maane, the moon; son of Mundilfaxe, 26
Maelström of Norway described, 180 note.
Magne, a son of Thor by a giant woman, 96, 300
Mannheim (see Midgard), 19
Marthaul, one of the names of Freya, 240
Meigingardur, Thor's belt, 95
Midgard, the fifth of the nine worlds; the abode of man, 17, 19,
71
Midgard's worm, 79 (see Jormungandur)
Mimer, a Giant who possessed a well in which wisdom was hid-
den, 104
Mist, a Valkyr, 68, 210 note.
Miölner, Thor's hammer, 94, 225, 226, 300; its loss, 186, 189,
190; its recovery, 257-276
Mode, a son of Thor; brother to Magne, 96, 300
Modgudur, the maiden who kept the gate of the bridge of death,
293
Modsognur, the chief of the Dwarfs, 223
Mummin, the second of Odin's two ravens, 52
Mundilfaxe, the father of the sun and moon, 26
Muspel, the second of the nine worlds, 4, 5, 19
Muspell's sons, spirits of fire, who under the command of Surtur
destroy the world at Ragnarokkur, 298
Nagelfare, the ship in which the sous of Surtur embark to destroy
the world; the first husband of night, 297
Nanna, the wife of Baldur, 291
Nar, or Narfe, one of Loke's sons, 24, 78, 294
Nastrond, the place of punishment for evil men after the destruc-
tion of the world, 29, 300
Nifl-heim, the region of shadows; the ninth and lowest of the
nine worlds, 19, 20
Night, daughter of the Giant Nörve, 26
Njord, one of the twelve Aser; the father of Freyr and Freya;
the god of inland waters, and protector of sea-faring men, 22,
30, 35, 42, 191
368
INDEX.
Noatun, the palace of Njord; answers to the sign of the scales,
30, 36, 42, 191
Nornies, the three Goddesses of Fate who watch over Yggdra-
sill, the tree of the universe, 26; female subordinate deities
who preside at the birth of mortals, 217-220
Nörve, a Giant, the father of night, 26
Nydhoggur, the serpent king who continually gnaws at the root
of the Ash, Yggdrasill, 216, 302
Odin, the ruler and supreme god of Asgard, 16, 17, 28, 29, 32,
47-76, 107, 280
Odrær, the vessel in which the liquor was kept, a draught of
which conferred wisdom and the gift of poetry, 55, 219
Oddur, Freya's husband, 204
Poetry; a Scandinavian story of the origin of poetry, 54-59
Quaser, a man of great wisdom, slain by Dwarfs, who made from
his blood the celebrated liquor of poetry, 54
Ragnarokur, the twilight of the Gods; the period of the destruc-
tion of the universe, 20, 22, 28, 296
Ran, the wife of Ægir, 23, 120, 237
Ratatöskur, the squirrel on Yggdrasill, 218
Rinde, the wife of Odin and mother of Vale, 36, 53
Rist, a Valkyr, 68, 210 note.
Roska, a maiden follower of Thor, 117, 119
Rota, a Valkyr, 67, 219
Saga, the Goddess of history, 29, 37
Sehrimner, the boar which served the Einheriar for their nightly
supper, 64
Seming, son of Odin and Skada, 53, 193
Sif, Thor's wife, 93, 99-101
Signi, Loke's wife, 24, 78, 294
Sin, one of Freya's four handmaidens, her door-keeper, 214
Sindri, a Dwarf skilled in smith's work, 224, 233
Siofna, one of Freya's four maidens, who causes first love, 203, 213
Skada, daughter of the Giant Thiasse; married to Njord, 23, 29,
33, 192, the wife of Odin, 53
Skinfaxe, the horse of day, 26
Skirner, Freyr's armour bearer and messenger, 84, 195
Skrymner, a name assumed by Utgard's Loke, 123
Skulda, the future; one of the three great Nornies, 26, 67, 217,
219
Skidbladner, Freyr's ship, made by the Dwarfs, 224
Sleipner, Odin's horse, the noblest of his race, 70-73
Soel, the Goddess who rules the sun, 26, 126
Soequabeck, the palace of Saga; answers to the sign of the fishes,
29, 37
Son, one of the vessels of wisdom, 55
INDEX.
369
Svadilfare, a demon-stallion, 72
Svosodur, the lord of summer, 27
Surtur, the ruler of Muspelheim, 28, 298
Suttung, a Giant from whom Odin stole the liquor of poetry, 58
-61
Syr, one of the names of Freya, 204
Tialf, a follower of Odin, 117, 118, 147, 162, 166
Thiasse, a Giant slain by Thor, 23, 39, 90-92
Thök, a giant woman, who would not weep at Baldur's death,
294
Thor, the son of Odin and Hlodgna or the earth; the God of
thunder; the defender of Asgard and terror of the Giants, 22,
30, 94, 97-99, 101, 105; his visit to Geyruth, 105–108;
his adventure with Alvis, 108-111; his journey to Giant-
land, 112-169; his visits to Hymir, 170-190; his recovery
of Miölner, 257–276
Thrain, a Dwarf consulted by Odin, 278
Thridi, an epithet of Odin, 61
Thror, a Dwarf; a surname of Odin, 233
Thrude, the daughter of Thor and Sif; a Valkyr, 95, 96
Thrudheim, Thor's kingdom; the atmosphere, 30, 35, 95
Thrym, a Giant who stole Thor's hammer whilst he was asleep,
259, 274
Thrymheim, the palace of Skada; answering to the sign of the
bull, 29, 38
Thurser, a species of Giants or Evil Spirits, 109
Trolds, a general designation for all Evil Spirits, 257
Tyr, one of the twelve Aser; the son of Odin, but descended by
his mother from the Giants, 23, 53, 85
Utgard, the outermost circle of rocks surrounding the earth; the
residence of the Giants, 18, 114, 139-141, 144-158
Utgard's-Loke, see Loke.
Uller, the God of warriors and of the chase, 22, 29, 35, 101
Ulvrune, the first of Heimdall's nine mothers, 281
Urda, the first of the three great Nornies; the past, 7, 26, 37,
217, 219
Urda's well, 26, 38, 216
Vafthrudner, a Giant whom Odin seeks on account of his wis-
dom, 18, 181
Vala, generally a Prophetess, 189, 353
Valaskialf, the palace of Vale; answering to the sign Aquarius,
29, 36, 37, 63
Vale, an Aser; son of Odin and Rinde, 29, 36, 37, 53, 295
Valfader, the sire of the slain; a title of Odin, 62
Valhalla, the palace of Odin, the Aser, and Einheriar, 38, 63, 65
Vali, a son of Loke and Signi, 78, 294
B B
370
INDEX.
Valkyrs, female messengers of Odin, whose province it was to se-
lect those who were to be slain in battle, and to serve them at
table in Valhalla, 25, 65, 66
Vanadis, a name of Freya, 204
Vanaheim, the abode of the Vaner; the fourth of the nine
worlds, 19, 191
Vaner, the Gods of the atmosphere (see Njord, Freyr, &c.), 16,
22, 54, 191; poem of the Vaner, 205-213
Var, one of Freya's four attendants, who takes account of the
vows of lovers, 214
Ve, one of Börr's three sons; brother of Odin and Vile, 5, 10,
16, 17
Vedurfolgner, the name of a hawk, 218
Vegtam, an epithet of Odin; the Wanderer, 53
Veor, Thor's name amongst the Giants, 171
Verdandi, the second of the three great Nornies; the present,
26, 217, 219
Vidar, son of Odin and Grydur; an Aser, 22, 23, 30, 42, 299
Vigrid, the name of the place on which the last battle between
the Giants and the Aser is to be fought, 298
Vile, son of Börr (see Ve), 5, 10, 16, 17
Vingolf, the place of assemblage for the Goddesses in like man-
ner as Valhalla for the Gods, 45
Winter, the giant of, 27
Wolves; the superstition of men-wolves, 82 note.
Ydale, the palace of Uller, answers to the sign of the archer,
29, 35
Yggdrasill, the tree of the universe; the great Ash, 25, 78, 216
-218, 299
Ygg, the terrible; a title of Odin, 43
Ymer, the first of all beings; the chaotic Giant, 5, 9, 15, 25
Yvaldr, a Dwarf (see Ivalldr).
Zodiac of the Scandinavians, 29-31, 35-46
FINIS.
C. Whittingham, Tooks Court, Chancery Lane.

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