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diff --git a/28497.txt b/28497.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..09c9646 --- /dev/null +++ b/28497.txt @@ -0,0 +1,13891 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Myths of the Norsemen, by H. A. Guerber + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Myths of the Norsemen + From the Eddas and Sagas + +Author: H. A. Guerber + +Release Date: April 4, 2009 [EBook #28497] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MYTHS OF THE NORSEMEN *** + + + + +Produced by the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at +https://www.pgdp.net/ + + + + + + + + + Myths of the Norsemen + + From the Eddas and Sagas + + By + + H. A. Guerber + + Author of "The Myths of Greece and Rome" etc. + + + + + London + George G. Harrap & Company + 15 York Street Covent Garden + + 1909 + + + + + + + + + Printed by Ballantyne & Co. Limited + Tavistock Street, Covent Garden, London + + + + + + +CONTENTS + + + Chap. Page + + I. The Beginning 1 + II. Odin 16 + III. Frigga 42 + IV. Thor 59 + V. Tyr 85 + VI. Bragi 95 + VII. Idun 103 + VIII. Nioerd 111 + IX. Frey 117 + X. Freya 131 + XI. Uller 139 + XII. Forseti 142 + XIII. Heimdall 146 + XIV. Hermod 154 + XV. Vidar 158 + XVI. Vali 162 + XVII. The Norns 166 + XVIII. The Valkyrs 173 + XIX. Hel 180 + XX. AEgir 185 + XXI. Balder 197 + XXII. Loki 216 + XXIII. The Giants 230 + XXIV. The Dwarfs 239 + XXV. The Elves 246 + XXVI. The Sigurd Saga 251 + XXVII. The Frithiof Saga 298 + XXVIII. The Twilight of the Gods 329 + XXIX. Greek and Northern Mythologies--A Comparison 342 + + + + + + +LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS + + + Norsemen Landing in Iceland (Oscar Wergeland) Frontispiece + + To face page + The Giant with the Flaming Sword (J. C. Dollman) 2 + The Wolves Pursuing Sol and Mani (J. C. Dollman) 8 + Odin (Sir E. Burne-Jones) 16 + The Chosen Slain (K. Dielitz) 18 + A Viking Foray (J. C. Dollman) 20 + The Pied Piper of Hamelin (H. Kaulbach) 28 + Odin (B. E. Fogelberg) 36 + Frigga Spinning the Clouds (J. C. Dollman) 42 + Tannhaeuser and Frau Venus (J. Wagrez) 52 + Eastre (Jacques Reich) 54 + Huldra's Nymphs (B. E. Ward) 58 + Thor (B. E. Fogelberg) 60 + Sif (J. C. Dollman) 64 + Thor and the Mountain (J. C. Dollman) 72 + A Foray (A. Malmstroem) 88 + The Binding of Fenris (Dorothy Hardy) 92 + Idun (B. E. Ward) 100 + Loki and Thiassi (Dorothy Hardy) 104 + Frey (Jacques Reich) 118 + Freya (N. J. O. Blommer) 132 + The Rainbow Bridge (H. Hendrich) 146 + Heimdall (Dorothy Hardy) 148 + Jarl (Albert Edelfelt) 152 + The Norns (C. Ehrenberg) 166 + The Dises (Dorothy Hardy) 170 + The Swan-Maiden (Gertrude Demain Hammond, R.I.) 174 + The Ride of the Valkyrs (J. C. Dollman) 176 + Brunhild and Siegmund (J. Wagrez) 178 + The Road to Valhalla (Severin Nilsson) 182 + AEgir (J. P. Molin) 186 + Ran (M. E. Winge) 190 + The Neckan (J. P. Molin) 194 + Loki and Hodur (C. G. Qvarnstroem) 202 + The Death of Balder (Dorothy Hardy) 206 + Hermod before Hela (J. C. Dollman) 210 + Loki and Svadilfari (Dorothy Hardy) 222 + Loki and Sigyn (M. E. Winge) 228 + Thor and the Giants (M. E. Winge) 230 + Torghatten 234 + The Peaks of the Trolls 244 + The Elf-Dance (N. J. O. Blommer) 246 + The White Elves (Charles P. Sainton, R.I.) 248 + Old Houses with Carved Posts 250 + The Were-Wolves (J. C. Dollman) 260 + A Hero's Farewell (M. E. Winge) 264 + The Funeral Procession (H. Hendrich) 268 + Sigurd and Fafnir (K. Dielitz) 274 + Sigurd Finds Brunhild (J. Wagrez) 278 + Odin and Brunhild (K. Dielitz) 280 + Aslaug (Gertrude Demain Hammond, R.I.) 282 + Sigurd and Gunnar (J. C. Dollman) 284 + The Death of Siegfried (H. Hendrich) 288 + The End of Brunhild (J. Wagrez) 290 + Ingeborg (M. E. Winge) 304 + Frithiof Cleaves the Shield of Helge (Knut Ekwall) 308 + Ingeborg Watches her Lover Depart (Knut Ekwall) 312 + Frithiof's Return to Framnaes (Knut Ekwall) 316 + Frithiof at the Shrine of Balder (Knut Ekwall) 318 + Frithiof at the Court of Ring (Knut Ekwall) 320 + Frithiof Watches the Sleeping King (Knut Ekwall) 324 + Odin and Fenris (Dorothy Hardy) 334 + The Ride of the Valkyrs (H. Hendrich) 344 + The Storm-Ride (Gilbert Bayes) 358 + + + + + + +INTRODUCTION + + +The prime importance of the rude fragments of poetry preserved in +early Icelandic literature will now be disputed by none, but there +has been until recent times an extraordinary indifference to the +wealth of religious tradition and mythical lore which they contain. + +The long neglect of these precious records of our heathen ancestors +is not the fault of the material in which all that survives of +their religious beliefs is enshrined, for it may safely be asserted +that the Edda is as rich in the essentials of national romance +and race-imagination, rugged though it be, as the more graceful +and idyllic mythology of the South. Neither is it due to anything +weak in the conception of the deities themselves, for although +they may not rise to great spiritual heights, foremost students of +Icelandic literature agree that they stand out rude and massive as the +Scandinavian mountains. They exhibit "a spirit of victory, superior +to brute force, superior to mere matter, a spirit that fights and +overcomes." [1] "Even were some part of the matter of their myths +taken from others, yet the Norsemen have given their gods a noble, +upright, great spirit, and placed them upon a high level that is all +their own." [2] "In fact these old Norse songs have a truth in them, +an inward perennial truth and greatness. It is a greatness not of +mere body and gigantic bulk, but a rude greatness of soul." [3] + +The introduction of Christianity into the North brought with it the +influence of the Classical races, and this eventually supplanted the +native genius, so that the alien mythology and literature of Greece +and Rome have formed an increasing part of the mental equipment of the +northern peoples in proportion as the native literature and tradition +have been neglected. + +Undoubtedly Northern mythology has exercised a deep influence upon +our customs, laws, and language, and there has been, therefore, +a great unconscious inspiration flowing from these into English +literature. The most distinctive traits of this mythology are a +peculiar grim humour, to be found in the religion of no other race, +and a dark thread of tragedy which runs throughout the whole woof, +and these characteristics, touching both extremes, are writ large +over English literature. + +But of conscious influence, compared with the rich draught of Hellenic +inspiration, there is little to be found, and if we turn to modern +art the difference is even more apparent. + +This indifference may be attributed to many causes, but it was due +first to the fact that the religious beliefs of our pagan ancestors +were not held with any real tenacity. Hence the success of the +more or less considered policy of the early Christian missionaries +to confuse the heathen beliefs, and merge them in the new faith, +an interesting example of which is to be seen in the transference +to the Christian festival of Easter of the attributes of the pagan +goddess Eastre, from whom it took even the name. Northern mythology +was in this way arrested ere it had attained its full development, +and the progress of Christianity eventually relegated it to the limbo +of forgotten things. Its comprehensive and intelligent scheme, however, +in strong contrast with the disconnected mythology of Greece and Rome, +formed the basis of a more or less rational faith which prepared the +Norseman to receive the teaching of Christianity, and so helped to +bring about its own undoing. + +The religious beliefs of the North are not mirrored with any +exactitude in the Elder Edda. Indeed only a travesty of the faith of +our ancestors has been preserved in Norse literature. The early poet +loved allegory, and his imagination rioted among the conceptions of +his fertile muse. "His eye was fixed on the mountains till the snowy +peaks assumed human features and the giant of the rock or the ice +descended with heavy tread; or he would gaze at the splendour of the +spring, or of the summer fields, till Freya with the gleaming necklace +stepped forth, or Sif with the flowing locks of gold." [4] + +We are told nothing as to sacrificial and religious rites, and +all else is omitted which does not provide material for artistic +treatment. The so-called Northern Mythology, therefore, may be regarded +as a precious relic of the beginning of Northern poetry, rather than +as a representation of the religious beliefs of the Scandinavians, +and these literary fragments bear many signs of the transitional stage +wherein the confusion of the old and new faiths is easily apparent. + +But notwithstanding the limitations imposed by long neglect it is +possible to reconstruct in part a plan of the ancient Norse beliefs, +and the general reader will derive much profit from Carlyle's +illuminating study in "Heroes and Hero-worship." "A bewildering, +inextricable jungle of delusions, confusions, falsehoods and +absurdities, covering the whole field of Life!" he calls them, +with all good reason. But he goes on to show, with equal truth, +that at the soul of this crude worship of distorted nature was a +spiritual force seeking expression. What we probe without reverence +they viewed with awe, and not understanding it, straightway deified +it, as all children have been apt to do in all stages of the world's +history. Truly they were hero-worshippers after Carlyle's own heart, +and scepticism had no place in their simple philosophy. + +It was the infancy of thought gazing upon a universe filled with +divinity, and believing heartily with all sincerity. A large-hearted +people reaching out in the dark towards ideals which were better than +they knew. Ragnarok was to undo their gods because they had stumbled +from their higher standards. + +We have to thank a curious phenomenon for the preservation of so much +of the old lore as we still possess. While foreign influences were +corrupting the Norse language, it remained practically unaltered in +Iceland, which had been colonised from the mainland by the Norsemen +who had fled thither to escape the oppression of Harold Fairhair after +his crushing victory of Hafrsfirth. These people brought with them the +poetic genius which had already manifested itself, and it took fresh +root in that barren soil. Many of the old Norse poets were natives +of Iceland, and in the early part of the Christian era, a supreme +service was rendered to Norse literature by the Christian priest, +Saemund, who industriously brought together a large amount of pagan +poetry in a collection known as the Elder Edda, which is the chief +foundation of our present knowledge of the religion of our Norse +ancestors. Icelandic literature remained a sealed book, however, +until the end of the eighteenth century, and very slowly since that +time it has been winning its way in the teeth of indifference, until +there are now signs that it will eventually come into its own. "To +know the old Faith," says Carlyle, "brings us into closer and clearer +relation with the Past--with our own possessions in the Past. For +the whole Past is the possession of the Present; the Past had always +something true, and is a precious possession." + +The weighty words of William Morris regarding the Volsunga Saga +may also be fitly quoted as an introduction to the whole of this +collection of "Myths of the Norsemen": "This is the great story of +the North, which should be to all our race what the Tale of Troy was +to the Greeks--to all our race first, and afterwards, when the change +of the world has made our race nothing more than a name of what has +been--a story too--then should it be to those that come after us no +less than the Tale of Troy has been to us." + + + + + + +CHAPTER I: THE BEGINNING + + +Myths of Creation + +Although the Aryan inhabitants of Northern Europe are supposed by some +authorities to have come originally from the plateau of Iran, in the +heart of Asia, the climate and scenery of the countries where they +finally settled had great influence in shaping their early religious +beliefs, as well as in ordering their mode of living. + +The grand and rugged landscapes of Northern Europe, the midnight +sun, the flashing rays of the aurora borealis, the ocean continually +lashing itself into fury against the great cliffs and icebergs of +the Arctic Circle, could not but impress the people as vividly as +the almost miraculous vegetation, the perpetual light, and the blue +seas and skies of their brief summer season. It is no great wonder, +therefore, that the Icelanders, for instance, to whom we owe the most +perfect records of this belief, fancied in looking about them that the +world was originally created from a strange mixture of fire and ice. + +Northern mythology is grand and tragical. Its principal theme is the +perpetual struggle of the beneficent forces of Nature against the +injurious, and hence it is not graceful and idyllic in character, +like the religion of the sunny South, where the people could bask +in perpetual sunshine, and the fruits of the earth grew ready to +their hand. + +It was very natural that the dangers incurred in hunting and fishing +under these inclement skies, and the suffering entailed by the long +cold winters when the sun never shines, made our ancestors contemplate +cold and ice as malevolent spirits; and it was with equal reason that +they invoked with special fervour the beneficent influences of heat +and light. + +When questioned concerning the creation of the world, the Northern +scalds, or poets, whose songs are preserved in the Eddas and Sagas, +declared that in the beginning, when there was as yet no earth, nor +sea, nor air, when darkness rested over all, there existed a powerful +being called Allfather, whom they dimly conceived as uncreated as +well as unseen, and that whatever he willed came to pass. + +In the centre of space there was, in the morning of time, a great +abyss called Ginnunga-gap, the cleft of clefts, the yawning gulf, +whose depths no eye could fathom, as it was enveloped in perpetual +twilight. North of this abode was a space or world known as Nifl-heim, +the home of mist and darkness, in the centre of which bubbled the +exhaustless spring Hvergelmir, the seething cauldron, whose waters +supplied twelve great streams known as the Elivagar. As the water of +these streams flowed swiftly away from its source and encountered +the cold blasts from the yawning gulf, it soon hardened into huge +blocks of ice, which rolled downward into the immeasurable depths of +the great abyss with a continual roar like thunder. + +South of this dark chasm, and directly opposite Nifl-heim, the realm +of mist, was another world called Muspells-heim, the home of elemental +fire, where all was warmth and brightness, and whose frontiers were +continually guarded by Surtr, the flame giant. This giant fiercely +brandished his flashing sword, and continually sent forth great showers +of sparks, which fell with a hissing sound upon the ice-blocks in +the bottom of the abyss, and partly melted them by their heat. + + + "Great Surtur, with his burning sword, + Southward at Muspel's gate kept ward, + And flashes of celestial flame, + Life-giving, from the fire-world came." + + Valhalla (J. C. Jones). + + + +Ymir and Audhumla + +As the steam rose in clouds it again encountered the prevailing cold, +and was changed into rime or hoarfrost, which, layer by layer, filled +up the great central space. Thus by the continual action of cold and +heat, and also probably by the will of the uncreated and unseen, +a gigantic creature called Ymir or Orgelmir (seething clay), the +personification of the frozen ocean, came to life amid the ice-blocks +in the abyss, and as he was born of rime he was called a Hrim-thurs, +or ice-giant. + + + "In early times, + When Ymir lived, + Was sand, nor sea, + Nor cooling wave; + No earth was found, + Nor heaven above; + One chaos all, + And nowhere grass." + + Saemund's Edda (Henderson's tr.). + + +Groping about in the gloom in search of something to eat, Ymir +perceived a gigantic cow called Audhumla (the nourisher), which +had been created by the same agency as himself, and out of the same +materials. Hastening towards her, Ymir noticed with pleasure that +from her udder flowed four great streams of milk, which would supply +ample nourishment. + +All his wants were thus satisfied; but the cow, looking about her for +food in her turn, began to lick the salt off a neighbouring ice-block +with her rough tongue. This she continued to do until first the hair of +a god appeared and then the whole head emerged from its icy envelope, +until by-and-by Buri (the producer) stepped forth entirely free. + +While the cow had been thus engaged, Ymir, the giant, had fallen +asleep, and as he slept a son and daughter were born from the +perspiration under his armpit, and his feet produced the six-headed +giant Thrudgelmir, who, shortly after his birth, brought forth in +his turn the giant Bergelmir, from whom all the evil frost giants +are descended. + + + "Under the armpit grew, + 'Tis said of Hrim-thurs, + A girl and boy together; + Foot with foot begat, + Of that wise Joetun, + A six-headed son." + + Saemund's Edda (Thorpe's tr.). + + + +Odin, Vili, and Ve + +When these giants became aware of the existence of the god Buri, and +of his son Boerr (born), whom he had immediately produced, they began +waging war against them, for as the gods and giants represented the +opposite forces of good and evil, there was no hope of their living +together in peace. The struggle continued evidently for ages, neither +party gaining a decided advantage, until Boerr married the giantess +Bestla, daughter of Bolthorn (the thorn of evil), who bore him three +powerful sons, Odin (spirit), Vili (will), and Ve (holy). These three +sons immediately joined their father in his struggle against the +hostile frost-giants, and finally succeeded in slaying their deadliest +foe, the great Ymir. As he sank down lifeless the blood gushed from +his wounds in such floods that it produced a great deluge, in which +all his race perished, with the exception of Bergelmir, who escaped +in a boat and went with his wife to the confines of the world. + + + "And all the race of Ymir thou didst drown, + Save one, Bergelmer: he on shipboard fled + Thy deluge, and from him the giants sprang." + + Balder Dead (Matthew Arnold). + + +Here he took up his abode, calling the place Joetunheim (the home of the +giants), and here he begat a new race of frost-giants, who inherited +his dislikes, continued the feud, and were always ready to sally +forth from their desolate country and raid the territory of the gods. + +The gods, in Northern mythology called AEsir (pillars and supporters +of the world), having thus triumphed over their foes, and being no +longer engaged in perpetual warfare, now began to look about them, +with intent to improve the desolate aspect of things and fashion a +habitable world. After due consideration Boerr's sons rolled Ymir's +great corpse into the yawning abyss, and began to create the world +out of its various component parts. + + + +The Creation of the Earth + +Out of the flesh they fashioned Midgard (middle garden), as the earth +was called. This was placed in the exact centre of the vast space, +and hedged all round with Ymir's eyebrows for bulwarks or ramparts. The +solid portion of Midgard was surrounded by the giant's blood or sweat, +which formed the ocean, while his bones made the hills, his flat +teeth the cliffs, and his curly hair the trees and all vegetation. + +Well pleased with the result of their first efforts at creation, the +gods now took the giant's unwieldy skull and poised it skilfully as +the vaulted heavens above earth and sea; then scattering his brains +throughout the expanse beneath they fashioned from them the fleecy +clouds. + + + "Of Ymir's flesh + Was earth created, + Of his blood the sea, + Of his bones the hills, + Of his hair trees and plants, + Of his skull the heavens, + And of his brows + The gentle powers + Formed Midgard for the sons of men; + But of his brain + The heavy clouds are + All created." + + Norse Mythology (R. B. Anderson). + + +To support the heavenly vault, the gods stationed the strong dwarfs, +Nordri, Sudri, Austri, Westri, at its four corners, bidding them +sustain it upon their shoulders, and from them the four points of +the compass received their present names of North, South, East, and +West. To give light to the world thus created, the gods studded the +heavenly vault with sparks secured from Muspells-heim, points of light +which shone steadily through the gloom like brilliant stars. The most +vivid of these sparks, however, were reserved for the manufacture of +the sun and moon, which were placed in beautiful golden chariots. + + + "And from the flaming world, where Muspel reigns, + Thou sent'st and fetched'st fire, and madest lights: + Sun, moon, and stars, which thou hast hung in heaven, + Dividing clear the paths of night and day." + + Balder Dead (Matthew Arnold). + + +When all these preparations had been finished, and the steeds Arvakr +(the early waker) and Alsvin (the rapid goer) were harnessed to the +sun-chariot, the gods, fearing lest the animals should suffer from +their proximity to the ardent sphere, placed under their withers great +skins filled with air or with some refrigerant substance. They also +fashioned the shield Svalin (the cooler), and placed it in front of the +car to shelter them from the sun's direct rays, which would else have +burned them and the earth to a cinder. The moon-car was, similarly, +provided with a fleet steed called Alsvider (the all-swift); but no +shield was required to protect him from the mild rays of the moon. + + + +Mani and Sol + +The chariots were ready, the steeds harnessed and impatient to begin +what was to be their daily round, but who should guide them along +the right road? The gods looked about them, and their attention was +attracted to the two beautiful offspring of the giant Mundilfari. He +was very proud of his children, and had named them after the newly +created orbs, Mani (the moon) and Sol (the sun). Sol, the Sun-maid, +was the spouse of Glaur (glow), who was probably one of Surtr's sons. + +The names proved to be happily bestowed, as the brother and sister +were given the direction of the steeds of their bright namesakes. After +receiving due counsel from the gods, they were transferred to the sky, +and day by day they fulfilled their appointed duties and guided their +steeds along the heavenly paths. + + + "Know that Mundilfaer is hight + Father to the moon and sun; + Age on age shall roll away, + While they mark the months and days." + + Havamal (W. Taylor's tr.). + + +The gods next summoned Nott (night), a daughter of Norvi, one of the +giants, and entrusted to her care a dark chariot, drawn by a sable +steed, Hrim-faxi (frost mane), from whose waving mane the dew and +hoarfrost dropped down upon the earth. + + + "Hrim-faxi is the sable steed, + From the east who brings the night, + Fraught with the showering joys of love: + As he champs the foamy bit, + Drops of dew are scattered round + To adorn the vales of earth." + + Vafthrudni's-mal (W. Taylor's tr.). + + +The goddess of night had thrice been married, and by her first husband, +Naglfari, she had had a son named Aud; by her second, Annar, a daughter +Joerd (earth); and by her third, the god Dellinger (dawn), another son, +of radiant beauty, was now born to her, and he was given the name of +Dag (day). + +As soon as the gods became aware of this beautiful being's existence +they provided a chariot for him also, drawn by the resplendent white +steed Skin-faxi (shining mane), from whose mane bright beams of +light shone forth in every direction, illuminating all the world, +and bringing light and gladness to all. + + + "Forth from the east, up the ascent of heaven, + Day drove his courser with the shining mane." + + Balder Dead (Matthew Arnold). + + + +The Wolves Skoell and Hati + +But as evil always treads close upon the footsteps of good, hoping to +destroy it, the ancient inhabitants of the Northern regions imagined +that both Sun and Moon were incessantly pursued by the fierce wolves +Skoell (repulsion) and Hati (hatred), whose sole aim was to overtake +and swallow the brilliant objects before them, so that the world +might again be enveloped in its primeval darkness. + + + "Skoell the wolf is named + That the fair-faced goddess + To the ocean chases; + Another Hati hight + He is Hrodvitnir's son; + He the bright maid of heaven shall precede." + + Saemuna's Edda (Thorpe's tr.). + + +At times, they said, the wolves overtook and tried to swallow their +prey, thus producing an eclipse of the radiant orbs. Then the terrified +people raised such a deafening clamour that the wolves, frightened by +the noise, hastily dropped them. Thus rescued, Sun and Moon resumed +their course, fleeing more rapidly than before, the hungry monsters +rushing along in their wake, lusting for the time when their efforts +would prevail and the end of the world would come. For the Northern +nations believed that as their gods had sprung from an alliance between +the divine element (Boerr) and the mortal (Bestla), they were finite, +and doomed to perish with the world they had made. + + + "But even in this early morn + Faintly foreshadowed was the dawn + Of that fierce struggle, deadly shock, + Which yet should end in Ragnarok; + When Good and Evil, Death and Life, + Beginning now, end then their strife." + + Valhalla (J. C. Jones). + + +Mani was accompanied also by Hiuki, the waxing, and Bil, the waning, +moon, two children whom he had snatched from earth, where a cruel +father forced them to carry water all night. Our ancestors fancied +they saw these children, the original "Jack and Jill," with their pail, +darkly outlined upon the moon. + +The gods not only appointed Sun, Moon, Day, and Night to mark the +procession of the year, but also called Evening, Midnight, Morning, +Forenoon, Noon, and Afternoon to share their duties, making Summer and +Winter the rulers of the seasons. Summer, a direct descendant of Svasud +(the mild and lovely), inherited his sire's gentle disposition, and +was loved by all except Winter, his deadly enemy, the son of Vindsual, +himself a son of the disagreeable god Vasud, the personification of +the icy wind. + + + "Vindsual is the name of him + Who begat the winter's god; + Summer from Suasuthur sprang: + Both shall walk the way of years, + Till the twilight of the gods." + + Vafthrudni's-mal (W. Taylor's tr.). + + +The cold winds continually swept down from the north, chilling all +the earth, and the Northmen imagined that these were set in motion +by the great giant Hrae-svelgr (the corpse-swallower), who, clad in +eagle plumes, sat at the extreme northern verge of the heavens, and +that when he raised his arms or wings the cold blasts darted forth +and swept ruthlessly over the face of the earth, blighting all things +with their icy breath. + + + "Hrae-svelger is the name of him + Who sits beyond the end of heaven, + And winnows wide his eagle-wings, + Whence the sweeping blasts have birth." + + Vafthrudni's-mal (W. Taylor's tr.). + + + +Dwarfs and Elves + +While the gods were occupied in creating the earth and providing +for its illumination, a whole host of maggot-like creatures had +been breeding in Ymir's flesh. These uncouth beings now attracted +divine attention. Summoning them into their presence, the gods first +gave them forms and endowed them with superhuman intelligence, and +then divided them into two large classes. Those which were dark, +treacherous, and cunning by nature were banished to Svart-alfa-heim, +the home of the black dwarfs, situated underground, whence they were +never allowed to come forth during the day, under penalty of being +turned into stone. They were called Dwarfs, Trolls, Gnomes, or Kobolds, +and spent all their time and energy in exploring the secret recesses +of the earth. They collected gold, silver, and precious stones, +which they stowed away in secret crevices, whence they could withdraw +them at will. The remainder of these small creatures, including all +that were fair, good, and useful, the gods called Fairies and Elves, +and they sent them to dwell in the airy realm of Alf-heim (home of +the light-elves), situated between heaven and earth, whence they +could flit downward whenever they pleased, to attend to the plants +and flowers, sport with the birds and butterflies, or dance in the +silvery moonlight on the green. + +Odin, who had been the leading spirit in all these undertakings, +now bade the gods, his descendants, follow him to the broad plain +called Idawold, far above the earth, on the other side of the great +stream Ifing, whose waters never froze. + + + "Ifing's deep and murky wave + Parts the ancient sons of earth + From the dwelling of the Goths: + Open flows the mighty flood, + Nor shall ice arrest its course + While the wheel of Ages rolls." + + Vafthrudni's-mal (W. Taylor's tr.). + + +In the centre of the sacred space, which from the beginning of the +world had been reserved for their own abode and called Asgard (home of +the gods), the twelve AEsir (gods) and twenty-four Asynjur (goddesses) +all assembled at the bidding of Odin. Then was held a great council, +at which it was decreed that no blood should be shed within the limits +of their realm, or peace-stead, but that harmony should reign there +for ever. As a further result of the conference the gods set up a +forge where they fashioned all their weapons and the tools required +to build the magnificent palaces of precious metals, in which they +lived for many long years in a state of such perfect happiness that +this period has been called the Golden Age. + + + +The Creation of Man + +Although the gods had from the beginning designed Midgard, or +Mana-heim, as the abode of man, there were at first no human beings to +inhabit it. One day Odin, Vili, and Ve, according to some authorities, +or Odin, Hoenir (the bright one), and Lodur, or Loki (fire), started +out together and walked along the seashore, where they found either +two trees, the ash, Ask, and the elm, Embla, or two blocks of wood, +hewn into rude semblances of the human form. The gods gazed at first +upon the inanimate wood in silent wonder; then, perceiving the use it +could be put to, Odin gave these logs souls, Hoenir bestowed motion +and senses, and Lodur contributed blood and blooming complexions. + +Thus endowed with speech and thought, and with power to love and to +hope and to work, and with life and death, the newly created man and +woman were left to rule Midgard at will. They gradually peopled it +with their descendants, while the gods, remembering they had called +them into life, took a special interest in all they did, watched over +them, and often vouchsafed their aid and protection. + + + +The Tree Yggdrasil + +Allfather next created a huge ash called Yggdrasil, the tree of the +universe, of time, or of life, which filled all the world, taking +root not only in the remotest depths of Nifl-heim, where bubbled the +spring Hvergelmir, but also in Midgard, near Mimir's well (the ocean), +and in Asgard, near the Urdar fountain. + +From its three great roots the tree attained such a marvellous height +that its topmost bough, called Lerad (the peace-giver), overshadowed +Odin's hall, while the other wide-spreading branches towered over the +other worlds. An eagle was perched on the bough Lerad, and between +his eyes sat the falcon Vedfolnir, sending his piercing glances down +into heaven, earth, and Nifl-heim, and reporting all that he saw. + +As the tree Yggdrasil was ever green, its leaves never withering, +it served as pasture-ground not only for Odin's goat Heidrun, which +supplied the heavenly mead, the drink of the gods, but also for the +stags Dain, Dvalin, Duneyr, and Durathor, from whose horns honey-dew +dropped down upon the earth and furnished the water for all the rivers +in the world. + +In the seething cauldron Hvergelmir, close by the great tree, a +horrible dragon, called Nidhug, continually gnawed the roots, and +was helped in his work of destruction by countless worms, whose aim +it was to kill the tree, knowing that its death would be the signal +for the downfall of the gods. + + + "Through all our life a tempter prowls malignant, + The cruel Nidhug from the world below. + He hates that asa-light whose rays benignant + On th' hero's brow and glitt'ring sword bright glow." + + Viking Tales of the North (R. B. Anderson). + + +Scampering continually up and down the branches and trunk of the +tree, the squirrel Ratatosk (branch-borer), the typical busybody +and tale-bearer, passed its time repeating to the dragon below the +remarks of the eagle above, and vice versa, in the hope of stirring +up strife between them. + + + +The Bridge Bifroest + +It was, of course, essential that the tree Yggdrasil should be +maintained in a perfectly healthy condition, and this duty was +performed by the Norns, or Fates, who daily sprinkled it with the +holy waters from the Urdar fountain. This water, as it trickled down +to earth through branches and leaves, supplied the bees with honey. + +From either edge of Nifl-heim, arching high above Midgard, rose the +sacred bridge, Bifroest (Asabru, the rainbow), built of fire, water, +and air, whose quivering and changing hues it retained, and over which +the gods travelled to and fro to the earth or to the Urdar well, at +the foot of the ash Yggdrasil, where they daily assembled in council. + + + "The gods arose + And took their horses, and set forth to ride + O'er the bridge Bifrost, where is Heimdall's watch, + To the ash Igdrasil, and Ida's plain. + Thor came on foot, the rest on horseback rode." + + Balder Dead (Matthew Arnold). + + +Of all the gods Thor only, the god of thunder, never passed over the +bridge, for fear lest his heavy tread or the heat of his lightnings +would destroy it. The god Heimdall kept watch and ward there night +and day. He was armed with a trenchant sword, and carried a trumpet +called Giallar-horn, upon which he generally blew a soft note to +announce the coming or going of the gods, but upon which a terrible +blast would be sounded when Ragnarok should come, and the frost-giants +and Surtr combined to destroy the world. + + + "Surt from the south comes + With flickering flame; + Shines from his sword + The Val-god's sun. + The stony hills are dashed together, + The giantesses totter; + Men tread the path of Hel, + And heaven is cloven." + + Saemund's Edda (Thorpe's tr.). + + + +The Vanas + +Now although the original inhabitants of heaven were the AEsir, +they were not the sole divinities of the Northern races, who also +recognised the power of the sea- and wind-gods, the Vanas, dwelling +in Vana-heim and ruling their realms as they pleased. In early times, +before the golden palaces in Asgard were built, a dispute arose between +the AEsir and Vanas, and they resorted to arms, using rocks, mountains, +and icebergs as missiles in the fray. But discovering ere long that +in unity alone lay strength, they composed their differences and made +peace, and to ratify the treaty they exchanged hostages. + +It was thus that the Van, Nioerd, came to dwell in Asgard with his two +children, Frey and Freya, while the Asa, Hoenir, Odin's own brother, +took up his abode in Vana-heim. + + + + + + +CHAPTER II: ODIN + + +The Father of Gods and Men + +Odin, Wuotan, or Woden was the highest and holiest god of the +Northern races. He was the all-pervading spirit of the universe, the +personification of the air, the god of universal wisdom and victory, +and the leader and protector of princes and heroes. As all the gods +were supposed to be descended from him, he was surnamed Allfather, +and as eldest and chief among them he occupied the highest seat in +Asgard. Known by the name of Hlidskialf, this chair was not only an +exalted throne, but also a mighty watch-tower, from whence he could +overlook the whole world and see at a glance all that was happening +among gods, giants, elves, dwarfs, and men. + + + "From the hall of Heaven he rode away + To Lidskialf, and sate upon his throne, + The mount, from whence his eye surveys the world. + And far from Heaven he turned his shining orbs + To look on Midgard, and the earth, and men." + + Balder Dead (Matthew Arnold). + + + +Odin's Personal Appearance + +None but Odin and his wife and queen Frigga were privileged to use +this seat, and when they occupied it they generally gazed towards +the south and west, the goal of all the hopes and excursions of the +Northern nations. Odin was generally represented as a tall, vigorous +man, about fifty years of age, either with dark curling hair or with +a long grey beard and bald head. He was clad in a suit of grey, with +a blue hood, and his muscular body was enveloped in a wide blue mantle +flecked with grey--an emblem of the sky with its fleecy clouds. In his +hand Odin generally carried the infallible spear Gungnir, which was +so sacred that an oath sworn upon its point could never be broken, +and on his finger or arm he wore the marvellous ring, Draupnir, the +emblem of fruitfulness, precious beyond compare. When seated upon +his throne or armed for the fray, to mingle in which he would often +descend to earth, Odin wore his eagle helmet; but when he wandered +peacefully about the earth in human guise, to see what men were doing, +he generally donned a broad-brimmed hat, drawn low over his forehead +to conceal the fact that he possessed but one eye. + +Two ravens, Hugin (thought) and Munin (memory), perched upon his +shoulders as he sat upon his throne, and these he sent out into the +wide world every morning, anxiously watching for their return at +nightfall, when they whispered into his ears news of all they had +seen and heard. Thus he was kept well informed about everything that +was happening on earth. + + + "Hugin and Munin + Fly each day + Over the spacious earth. + I fear for Hugin + That he come not back, + Yet more anxious am I for Munin." + + Norse Mythology (R. B. Anderson). + + +At his feet crouched two wolves or hunting hounds, Geri and Freki, +animals which were therefore considered sacred to him, and of good omen +if met by the way. Odin always fed these wolves with his own hands +from meat set before him. He required no food at all for himself, +and seldom tasted anything except the sacred mead. + + + "Geri and Freki + The war-wont sates, + The triumphant sire of hosts; + But on wine only + The famed in arms + Odin, ever lives." + + Lay of Grimnir (Thorpe's tr.). + + +When seated in state upon his throne, Odin rested his feet upon a +footstool of gold, the work of the gods, all of whose furniture and +utensils were fashioned either of that precious metal or of silver. + +Besides the magnificent hall Glads-heim, where stood the twelve seats +occupied by the gods when they met in council, and Valaskialf, where +his throne, Hlidskialf, was placed, Odin had a third palace in Asgard, +situated in the midst of the marvellous grove Glasir, whose shimmering +leaves were of red gold. + + + +Valhalla + +This palace, called Valhalla (the hall of the chosen slain), had five +hundred and forty doors, wide enough to allow the passage of eight +hundred warriors abreast, and above the principal gate were a boar's +head and an eagle whose piercing glance penetrated to the far corners +of the world. The walls of this marvellous building were fashioned +of glittering spears, so highly polished that they illuminated the +hall. The roof was of golden shields, and the benches were decorated +with fine armour, the god's gifts to his guests. Here long tables +afforded ample accommodation for the Einheriar, warriors fallen in +battle, who were specially favoured by Odin. + + + "Easily to be known is, + By those who to Odin come, + The mansion by its aspect. + Its roof with spears is laid, + Its hall with shields is decked, + With corselets are its benches strewed." + + Lay of Grimnir (Thorpe's tr.). + + +The ancient Northern nations, who deemed warfare the most honourable +of occupations, and considered courage the greatest virtue, worshipped +Odin principally as god of battle and victory. They believed that +whenever a fight was impending he sent out his special attendants, +the shield-, battle-, or wish-maidens, called Valkyrs (choosers of the +slain), who selected from the dead warriors one-half of their number, +whom they bore on their fleet steeds over the quivering rainbow bridge, +Bifroest, into Valhalla. Welcomed by Odin's sons, Hermod and Bragi, +the heroes were conducted to the foot of Odin's throne, where they +received the praise due to their valour. When some special favourite +of the god was thus brought into Asgard, Valfather (father of the +slain), as Odin was called when he presided over the warriors, would +sometimes rise from his throne and in person bid him welcome at the +great entrance gate. + + + +The Feast of the Heroes + +Besides the glory of such distinction, and the enjoyment of Odin's +beloved presence day after day, other more material pleasures awaited +the warriors in Valhalla. Generous entertainment was provided for +them at the long tables, where the beautiful white-armed virgins, +the Valkyrs, having laid aside their armour and clad themselves in +pure white robes, waited upon them with assiduous attention. These +maidens, nine in number according to some authorities, brought +the heroes great horns full of delicious mead, and set before them +huge portions of boar's flesh, upon which they feasted heartily. The +usual Northern drink was beer or ale, but our ancestors fancied this +beverage too coarse for the heavenly sphere. They therefore imagined +that Valfather kept his table liberally supplied with mead or hydromel, +which was daily furnished in great abundance by his she-goat Heidrun, +who continually browsed on the tender leaves and twigs on Lerad, +Yggdrasil's topmost branch. + + + "Rash war and perilous battle, their delight; + And immature, and red with glorious wounds, + Unpeaceful death their choice: deriving thence + A right to feast and drain immortal bowls, + In Odin's hall; whose blazing roof resounds + The genial uproar of those shades who fall + In desperate fight, or by some brave attempt." + + Liberty (James Thomson). + + +The meat upon which the Einheriar feasted was the flesh of the divine +boar Saehrimnir, a marvellous beast, daily slain by the cook Andhrimnir, +and boiled in the great cauldron Eldhrimnir; but although Odin's +guests had true Northern appetites and gorged themselves to the full, +there was always plenty of meat for all. + + + "Andhrimnir cooks + In Eldhrimnir + Saehrimnir; + 'Tis the best of flesh; + But few know + What the einherjes eat." + + Lay of Grimnir (Anderson's version). + + +Moreover, the supply was exhaustless, for the boar always came to +life again before the time of the next meal. This miraculous renewal +of supplies in the larder was not the only wonderful occurrence in +Valhalla, for it is related that the warriors, after having eaten and +drunk to satiety, always called for their weapons, armed themselves, +and rode out into the great courtyard, where they fought against one +another, repeating the feats of arms for which they were famed on +earth, and recklessly dealing terrible wounds, which, however, were +miraculously and completely healed as soon as the dinner horn sounded. + + + "All the chosen guests of Odin + Daily ply the trade of war; + From the fields of festal fight + Swift they ride in gleaming arms, + And gaily, at the board of gods, + Quaff the cup of sparkling ale + And eat Saehrimni's vaunted flesh." + + Vafthrudni's-mal (W. Taylor's tr.). + + +Whole and happy at the sound of the horn, and bearing one another +no grudge for cruel thrusts given and received, the Einheriar would +ride gaily back to Valhalla to renew their feasts in Odin's beloved +presence, while the white-armed Valkyrs, with flying hair, glided +gracefully about, constantly filling their horns or their favourite +drinking vessels, the skulls of their enemies, while the scalds sang +of war and of stirring Viking forays. + + + "And all day long they there are hack'd and hewn + 'Mid dust, and groans, and limbs lopped off, and blood; + But all at night return to Odin's hall + Woundless and fresh: such lot is theirs in heaven." + + Balder Dead (Matthew Arnold). + + +Fighting and feasting thus, the heroes were said to spend their days +in perfect bliss, while Odin delighted in their strength and number, +which, however, he foresaw would not avail to prevent his downfall +when the day of the last battle should dawn. + +As such pleasures were the highest a Northern warrior's fancy could +paint, it was very natural that all fighting men should love Odin, and +early in life should dedicate themselves to his service. They vowed +to die arms in hand, if possible, and even wounded themselves with +their own spears when death drew near, if they had been unfortunate +enough to escape death on the battlefield and were threatened with +"straw death," as they called decease from old age or sickness. + + + "To Odin then true-fast + Carves he fair runics,-- + Death-runes cut deep on his arm and his breast." + + Viking Tales of the North (R. B. Anderson). + + +In reward for this devotion Odin watched with special care over his +favourites, giving them gifts, a magic sword, a spear, or a horse, +and making them invincible until their last hour had come, when he +himself appeared to claim or destroy the gift he had bestowed, and +the Valkyrs bore the heroes to Valhalla. + + + "He gave to Hermod + A helm and corselet, + And from him Sigmund + A sword received." + + Lay of Hyndla (Thorpe's tr.). + + + +Sleipnir + +When Odin took an active part in war, he generally rode his +eight-footed grey steed, Sleipnir, and bore a white shield. His +glittering spear flung over the heads of the combatants was the signal +for the fray to commence, and he would dash into the midst of the +ranks shouting his warcry: "Odin has you all!" + + + "And Odin donned + His dazzling corslet and his helm of gold, + And led the way on Sleipnir." + + Balder Dead (Matthew Arnold). + + +At times he used his magic bow, from which he would shoot ten arrows at +once, every one invariably bringing down a foe. Odin was also supposed +to inspire his favourite warriors with the renowned "Berserker rage" +(bare sark or shirt), which enabled them, although naked, weaponless, +and sore beset, to perform unheard-of feats of valour and strength, +and move about as with charmed lives. + +As Odin's characteristics, like the all-pervading elements, were +multitudinous, so also were his names, of which he had no less than +two hundred, almost all descriptive of some phase of his activities. He +was considered the ancient god of seamen and of the wind. + + + "Mighty Odin, + Norsemen hearts we bend to thee! + Steer our barks, all-potent Woden, + O'er the surging Baltic Sea." + + Vail. + + + +The Wild Hunt + +Odin, as wind-god, was pictured as rushing through mid-air on his +eight-footed steed, from which originated the oldest Northern riddle, +which runs as follows: "Who are the two who ride to the Thing? Three +eyes have they together, ten feet, and one tail: and thus they travel +through the lands." And as the souls of the dead were supposed to be +wafted away on the wings of the storm, Odin was worshipped as the +leader of all disembodied spirits. In this character he was most +generally known as the Wild Huntsman, and when people heard the +rush and roar of the wind they cried aloud in superstitious fear, +fancying they heard and saw him ride past with his train, all mounted +on snorting steeds, and accompanied by baying hounds. And the passing +of the Wild Hunt, known as Woden's Hunt, the Raging Host, Gabriel's +Hounds, or Asgardreia, was also considered a presage of such misfortune +as pestilence or war. + + + "The Rhine flows bright; but its waves ere long + Must hear a voice of war, + And a clash of spears our hills among, + And a trumpet from afar; + And the brave on a bloody turf must lie, + For the Huntsman hath gone by!" + + The Wild Huntsman (Mrs. Hemans). + + +It was further thought that if any were so sacrilegious as to join +in the wild halloo in mockery, they would be immediately snatched up +and whirled away with the vanishing host, while those who joined in +the halloo with implicit good faith would be rewarded by the sudden +gift of a horse's leg, hurled at them from above, which, if carefully +kept until the morrow, would be changed into a lump of gold. + +Even after the introduction of Christianity the ignorant Northern +folk still dreaded the on-coming storm, declaring that it was the +Wild Hunt sweeping across the sky. + + + "And ofttimes will start, + For overhead are sweeping Gabriel's hounds, + Doomed with their impious lord the flying hart + To chase forever on aereal grounds." + + Sonnet (Wordsworth). + + +Sometimes it left behind a small black dog, which, cowering and +whining upon a neighbouring hearth, had to be kept for a whole year and +carefully tended unless it could be exorcised or frightened away. The +usual recipe, the same as for the riddance of changelings, was to brew +beer in egg-shells, and this performance was supposed so to startle +the spectral dog that he would fly with his tail between his legs, +exclaiming that, although as old as the Behmer, or Bohemian forest, +he had never before beheld such an uncanny sight. + + + "I am as old + As the Behmer wold, + And have in my life + Such a brewing not seen." + + Old Saying (Thorpe's tr.) + + +The object of this phantom hunt varied greatly, and was either a +visonary boar or wild horse, white-breasted maidens who were caught +and borne away bound only once in seven years, or the wood nymphs, +called Moss Maidens, who were thought to represent the autumn leaves +torn from the trees and whirled away by the wintry gale. + +In the middle ages, when the belief in the old heathen deities +was partly forgotten, the leader of the Wild Hunt was no longer +Odin, but Charlemagne, Frederick Barbarossa, King Arthur, or some +Sabbath-breaker, like the Squire of Rodenstein or Hans von Hackelberg, +who, in punishment for his sins, was condemned to hunt for ever +through the realms of air. + +As the winds blew fiercest in autumn and winter, Odin was supposed to +prefer hunting during that season, especially during the time between +Christmas and Twelfth-night, and the peasants were always careful to +leave the last sheaf or measure of grain out in the fields to serve +as food for his horse. + +This hunt was of course known by various names in the different +countries of Northern Europe; but as the tales told about it are +all alike, they evidently originated in the same old heathen belief, +and to this day ignorant people of the North fancy that the baying +of a hound on a stormy night is an infallible presage of death. + + + "Still, still shall last the dreadful chase, + Till time itself shall have an end; + By day, they scour earth's cavern'd space, + At midnight's witching hour, ascend. + + "This is the horn, and hound, and horse + That oft the lated peasant hears; + Appall'd, he signs the frequent cross, + When the wild din invades his ears. + + "The wakeful priest oft drops a tear + For human pride, for human woe, + When, at his midnight mass, he hears + The infernal cry of 'Holla, ho!'" + + Sir Walter Scott. + + +The Wild Hunt, or Raging Host of Germany, was called Herlathing +in England, from the mythical king Herla, its supposed leader; in +Northern France it bore the name of Mesnee d'Hellequin, from Hel, +goddess of death; and in the middle ages it was known as Cain's Hunt +or Herod's Hunt, these latter names being given because the leaders +were supposed to be unable to find rest on account of the iniquitous +murders of Abel, of John the Baptist, and of the Holy Innocents. + +In Central France the Wild Huntsman, whom we have already seen in +other countries as Odin, Charlemagne, Barbarossa, Rodenstein, von +Hackelberg, King Arthur, Hel, one of the Swedish kings, Gabriel, +Cain, or Herod, is also called the Great Huntsman of Fontainebleau +(le Grand Veneur de Fontainebleau), and people declare that on the +eve of Henry IV.'s murder, and also just before the outbreak of the +great French Revolution, his shouts were distinctly heard as he swept +across the sky. + +It was generally believed among the Northern nations that the soul +escaped from the body in the shape of a mouse, which crept out of +a corpse's mouth and ran away, and it was also said to creep in and +out of the mouths of people in a trance. While the soul was absent, +no effort or remedy could recall the patient to life; but as soon as +it had come back animation returned. + + + +The Pied Piper + +As Odin was the leader of all disembodied spirits, he was identified in +the middle ages with the Pied Piper of Hamelin. According to mediaeval +legends, Hamelin was so infested by rats that life became unbearable, +and a large reward was offered to any who would rid the town of these +rodents. A piper, in parti-coloured garments, offered to undertake +the commission, and the terms being accepted, he commenced to play +through the streets in such wise that, one and all, the rats were +beguiled out of their holes until they formed a vast procession. There +was that in the strains which compelled them to follow, until at last +the river Weser was reached, and all were drowned in its tide. + + + "And ere three shrill notes the pipe uttered, + You heard as if an army muttered; + And the muttering grew to a grumbling; + And the grumbling grew to a mighty rumbling; + And out of the houses the rats came tumbling. + Great rats, small rats, lean rats, brawny rats, + Brown rats, black rats, grey rats, tawny rats, + Grave old plodders, gay young friskers, + Fathers, mothers, uncles, cousins, + Cocking tails and pricking whiskers, + Families by tens and dozens, + Brothers, sisters, husbands, wives-- + Followed the Piper for their lives. + From street to street he piped advancing, + And step for step they followed dancing, + Until they came to the river Weser, + Wherein all plunged and perished!" + + Robert Browning. + + +As the rats were all dead, and there was no chance of their returning +to plague them, the people of Hamelin refused to pay the reward, and +they bade the piper do his worst. He took them at their word, and a +few moments later the weird strains of the magic flute again arose, +and this time it was the children who swarmed out of the houses and +merrily followed the piper. + + + "There was a rustling that seemed like a bustling + Of merry crowds justling at pitching and hustling; + Small feet were pattering, wooden shoes clattering, + Little hands clapping and little tongues chattering, + And, like fowls in a farmyard when barley is scattering, + Out came all the children running. + All the little boys and girls, + With rosy cheeks and flaxen curls, + And sparkling eyes and teeth like pearls, + Tripping and skipping, ran merrily after + The wonderful music with shouting and laughter." + + Robert Browning. + + +The burghers were powerless to prevent the tragedy, and as they +stood spellbound the piper led the children out of the town to the +Koppelberg, a hill on the confines of the town, which miraculously +opened to receive the procession, and only closed again when the last +child had passed out of sight. This legend probably originated the +adage "to pay the piper." The children were never seen in Hamelin +again, and in commemoration of this public calamity all official +decrees have since been dated so many years after the Pied Piper's +visit. + + + "They made a decree that lawyers never + Should think their records dated duly + If, after the day of the month and year, + These words did not as well appear, + 'And so long after what happened here + On the Twenty-second of July, + Thirteen hundred and seventy-six:' + And the better in memory to fix + The place of the children's last retreat, + They called it the Pied Piper Street-- + Where any one playing on pipe or tabor + Was sure for the future to lose his labour." + + Robert Browning. + + +In this myth Odin is the piper, the shrill tones of the flute are +emblematic of the whistling wind, the rats represent the souls of +the dead, which cheerfully follow him, and the hollow mountain into +which he leads the children is typical of the grave. + + + +Bishop Hatto + +Another German legend which owes its existence to this belief is +the story of Bishop Hatto, the miserly prelate, who, annoyed by the +clamours of the poor during a time of famine, had them burned alive +in a deserted barn, like the rats whom he declared they resembled, +rather than give them some of the precious grain which he had laid +up for himself. + + + "'I' faith, 'tis an excellent bonfire!' quoth he, + 'And the country is greatly obliged to me + For ridding it in these times forlorn + Of rats that only consume the corn.'" + + Robert Southey. + + +Soon after this terrible crime had been accomplished the bishop's +retainers reported the approach of a vast swarm of rats. These, it +appears, were the souls of the murdered peasants, which had assumed the +forms of the rats to which the bishop had likened them. His efforts +to escape were vain, and the rats pursued him even into the middle +of the Rhine, to a stone tower in which he took refuge from their +fangs. They swam to the tower, gnawed their way through the stone +walls, and, pouring in on all sides at once, they found the bishop +and devoured him alive. + + + "And in at the windows, and in at the door, + And through the walls, helter-skelter they pour, + And down from the ceiling, and up through the floor, + From the right and the left, from behind and before, + From within and without, from above and below, + And all at once to the Bishop they go. + They have whetted their teeth against the stones; + And now they pick the Bishop's bones; + They gnaw'd the flesh from every limb, + For they were sent to do judgment on him!" + + Robert Southey. + + +The red glow of the sunset above the Rat Tower near Bingen on the +Rhine is supposed to be the reflection of the hell fire in which the +wicked bishop is slowly roasting in punishment for his heinous crime. + + + +Irmin + +In some parts of Germany Odin was considered to be identical with +the Saxon god Irmin, whose statue, the Irminsul, near Paderborn, was +destroyed by Charlemagne in 772. Irmin was said to possess a ponderous +brazen chariot, in which he rode across the sky along the path which +we know as the Milky Way, but which the ancient Germans designated +as Irmin's Way. This chariot, whose rumbling sound occasionally +became perceptible to mortal ears as thunder, never left the sky, +where it can still be seen in the constellation of the Great Bear, +which is also known in the North as Odin's, or Charles's, Wain. + + + "The Wain, who wheels on high + His circling course, and on Orion waits; + Sole star that never bathes in the Ocean wave." + + Homer's Iliad (Derby's tr.). + + + +Mimir's Well + +To obtain the great wisdom for which he is so famous, Odin, in the +morn of time, visited Mimir's (Memor, memory) spring, "the fountain +of all wit and wisdom," in whose liquid depths even the future was +clearly mirrored, and besought the old man who guarded it to let him +have a draught. But Mimir, who well knew the value of such a favour +(for his spring was considered the source or headwater of memory), +refused the boon unless Odin would consent to give one of his eyes +in exchange. + +The god did not hesitate, so highly did he prize the draught, but +immediately plucked out one of his eyes, which Mimir kept in pledge, +sinking it deep down into his fountain, where it shone with mild +lustre, leaving Odin with but one eye, which is considered emblematic +of the sun. + + + "Through our whole lives we strive towards the sun; + That burning forehead is the eye of Odin. + His second eye, the moon, shines not so bright; + It has he placed in pledge in Mimer's fountain, + That he may fetch the healing waters thence, + Each morning, for the strengthening of this eye." + + Oehlenschlaeger (Howitt's tr.). + + +Drinking deeply of Mimir's fount, Odin gained the knowledge he +coveted, and he never regretted the sacrifice he had made, but as +further memorial of that day broke off a branch of the sacred tree +Yggdrasil, which overshadowed the spring, and fashioned from it his +beloved spear Gungnir. + + + "A dauntless god + Drew for drink to its gleam, + Where he left in endless + Payment the light of an eye. + From the world-ash + Ere Wotan went he broke a bough; + For a spear the staff + He split with strength from the stem." + + Dusk of the Gods, Wagner (Forman's tr.). + + +But although Odin was now all-wise, he was sad and oppressed, for +he had gained an insight into futurity, and had become aware of the +transitory nature of all things, and even of the fate of the gods, +who were doomed to pass away. This knowledge so affected his spirits +that he ever after wore a melancholy and contemplative expression. + +To test the value of the wisdom he had thus obtained, Odin went to +visit the most learned of all the giants, Vafthrudnir, and entered +with him into a contest of wit, in which the stake was nothing less +than the loser's head. + + + "Odin rose with speed, and went + To contend in runic lore + With the wise and crafty Jute. + To Vafthrudni's royal hall + Came the mighty king of spells." + + Vafthrudni's-mal (W. Taylor's tr.). + + + +Odin and Vafthrudnir + +On this occasion Odin had disguised himself as a Wanderer, by Frigga's +advice, and when asked his name declared it was Gangrad. The contest of +wit immediately began, Vafthrudnir questioning his guest concerning +the horses which carried Day and Night across the sky, the river +Ifing separating Joetun-heim from Asgard, and also about Vigrid, +the field where the last battle was to be fought. + +All these questions were minutely answered by Odin, who, when +Vafthrudnir had ended, began the interrogatory in his turn, and +received equally explicit answers about the origin of heaven and +earth, the creation of the gods, their quarrel with the Vanas, the +occupations of the heroes in Valhalla, the offices of the Norns, and +the rulers who were to replace the AEsir when they had all perished +with the world they had created. But when, in conclusion, Odin bent +near the giant and softly inquired what words Allfather whispered +to his dead son Balder as he lay upon his funeral pyre, Vafthrudnir +suddenly recognised his divine visitor. Starting back in dismay, he +declared that no one but Odin himself could answer that question, +and that it was now quite plain to him that he had madly striven +in a contest of wisdom and wit with the king of the gods, and fully +deserved the penalty of failure, the loss of his head. + + + "Not the man of mortal race + Knows the words which thou hast spoken + To thy son in days of yore. + I hear the coming tread of death; + He soon shall raze the runic lore, + And knowledge of the rise of gods, + From his ill-fated soul who strove + With Odin's self the strife of wit, + Wisest of the wise that breathe: + Our stake was life, and thou hast won." + + Vafthrudni's-mal (W. Taylor's tr.). + + +As is the case with so many of the Northern myths, which are often +fragmentary and obscure, this one ends here, and none of the scalds +informs us whether Odin really slew his rival, nor what was the answer +to his last question; but mythologists have hazarded the suggestion +that the word whispered by Odin in Balder's ear, to console him for +his untimely death, must have been "resurrection." + + + +Invention of Runes + +Besides being god of wisdom, Odin was god and inventor of runes, +the earliest alphabet used by Northern nations, which characters, +signifying mystery, were at first used for divination, although in +later times they served for inscriptions and records. Just as wisdom +could only be obtained at the cost of sacrifice, Odin himself relates +that he hung nine days and nights from the sacred tree Yggdrasil, +gazing down into the immeasurable depths of Nifl-heim, plunged in deep +thought, and self-wounded with his spear, ere he won the knowledge +he sought. + + + "I know that I hung + On a wind-rocked tree + Nine whole nights, + With a spear wounded, + And to Odin offered + Myself to myself; + On that tree + Of which no one knows + From what root it springs." + + Odin's Rune-Song (Thorpe's tr.). + + +When he had fully mastered this knowledge, Odin cut magic runes upon +his spear Gungnir, upon the teeth of his horse Sleipnir, upon the +claws of the bear, and upon countless other animate and inanimate +things. And because he had thus hung over the abyss for such a long +space of time, he was ever after considered the patron divinity of +all who were condemned to be hanged or who perished by the noose. + +After obtaining the gift of wisdom and runes, which gave him power over +all things, Odin also coveted the gift of eloquence and poetry, which +he acquired in a manner which we shall relate in a subsequent chapter. + + + +Geirrod and Agnar + +Odin, as has already been stated, took great interest in the affairs +of mortals, and, we are told, was specially fond of watching King +Hrauding's handsome little sons, Geirrod and Agnar, when they were +about eight and ten years of age respectively. One day these little +lads went fishing, and a storm suddenly arose which blew their boat +far out to sea, where it finally stranded upon an island, upon which +dwelt a seeming old couple, who in reality were Odin and Frigga in +disguise. They had assumed these forms in order to indulge a sudden +passion for the close society of their proteges. The lads were warmly +welcomed and kindly treated, Odin choosing Geirrod as his favourite, +and teaching him the use of arms, while Frigga petted and made much +of little Agnar. The boys tarried on the island with their kind +protectors during the long, cold winter season; but when spring came, +and the skies were blue, and the sea calm, they embarked in a boat +which Odin provided, and set out for their native shore. Favoured by +gentle breezes, they were soon wafted thither; but as the boat neared +the strand Geirrod quickly sprang out and pushed it far back into the +water, bidding his brother sail away into the evil spirit's power. At +that self-same moment the wind veered, and Agnar was indeed carried +away, while his brother hastened to his father's palace with a lying +tale as to what had happened to his brother. He was joyfully received +as one from the dead, and in due time he succeeded his father upon +the throne. + +Years passed by, during which the attention of Odin had been claimed by +other high considerations, when one day, while the divine couple were +seated on the throne Hlidskialf, Odin suddenly remembered the winter's +sojourn on the desert island, and he bade his wife notice how powerful +his pupil had become, and taunted her because her favourite Agnar had +married a giantess and had remained poor and of no consequence. Frigga +quietly replied that it was better to be poor than hardhearted, +and accused Geirrod of lack of hospitality--one of the most heinous +crimes in the eyes of a Northman. She even went so far as to declare +that in spite of all his wealth he often ill-treated his guests. + +When Odin heard this accusation he declared that he would prove the +falsity of the charge by assuming the guise of a Wanderer and testing +Geirrod's generosity. Wrapped in his cloud-hued raiment, with slouch +hat and pilgrim staff,-- + + + "Wanderer calls me the world, + Far have I carried my feet, + On the back of the earth + I have boundlessly been,"-- + + Wagner (Forman's tr.). + + +Odin immediately set out by a roundabout way, while Frigga, to outwit +him, immediately despatched a swift messenger to warn Geirrod to +beware of a man in wide mantle and broad-brimmed hat, as he was a +wicked enchanter who would work him ill. + +When, therefore, Odin presented himself before the king's palace +he was dragged into Geirrod's presence and questioned roughly. He +gave his name as Grimnir, but refused to tell whence he came or what +he wanted, so as this reticence confirmed the suspicion suggested +to the mind of Geirrod, he allowed his love of cruelty full play, +and commanded that the stranger should be bound between two fires, +in such wise that the flames played around him without quite touching +him, and he remained thus eight days and nights, in obstinate silence, +without food. Now Agnar had returned secretly to his brother's palace, +where he occupied a menial position, and one night when all was still, +in pity for the suffering of the unfortunate captive, he conveyed to +his lips a horn of ale. But for this Odin would have had nothing to +drink--the most serious of all trials to the god. + +At the end of the eighth day, while Geirrod, seated upon his throne, +was gloating over his prisoner's sufferings, Odin began to sing--softly +at first, then louder and louder, until the hall re-echoed with his +triumphant notes--a prophecy that the king, who had so long enjoyed +the god's favour, would soon perish by his own sword. + + + "The fallen by the sword + Ygg shall now have; + Thy life is now run out: + Wroth with thee are the Disir: + Odin thou now shalt see: + Draw near to me if thou canst." + + Saemund's Edda (Thorpe's tr.). + + +As the last notes died away the chains dropped from his hands, the +flames flickered and went out, and Odin stood in the midst of the hall, +no longer in human form, but in all the power and beauty of a god. + +On hearing the ominous prophecy Geirrod hastily drew his sword, +intending to slay the insolent singer; but when he beheld the sudden +transformation he started in dismay, tripped, fell upon the sharp +blade, and perished as Odin had just foretold. Turning to Agnar, who, +according to some accounts, was the king's son, and not his brother, +for these old stories are often strangely confused, Odin bade him +ascend the throne in reward for his humanity, and, further to repay +him for the timely draught of ale, he promised to bless him with all +manner of prosperity. + +On another occasion Odin wandered to earth, and was absent so +long that the gods began to think that they would not see him in +Asgard again. This encouraged his brothers Vili and Ve, who by some +mythologists are considered as other personifications of himself, +to usurp his power and his throne, and even, we are told, to espouse +his wife Frigga. + + + "Be thou silent, Frigg! + Thou art Fioergyn's daughter + And ever hast been fond of men, + Since Ve and Vili, it is said, + Thou, Vidrir's wife, didst + Both to thy bosom take." + + Saemund's Edda (Thorpe's tr.). + + + +May-Day Festivals + +But upon Odin's return the usurpers vanished for ever; and in +commemoration of the disappearance of the false Odin, who had ruled +seven months and had brought nothing but unhappiness to the world, +and of the return of the benevolent deity, the heathen Northmen +formerly celebrated yearly festivals, which were long continued +as May Day rejoicings. Until very lately there was always, on that +day, a grand procession in Sweden, known as the May Ride, in which a +flower-decked May king (Odin) pelted with blossoms the fur-enveloped +Winter (his supplanter), until he put him to ignominious flight. In +England also the first of May was celebrated as a festive occasion, +in which May-pole dances, May queens, Maid Marian, and Jack in the +Green played prominent parts. + +As personification of heaven, Odin, of course, was the lover and spouse +of the earth, and as to them the earth bore a threefold aspect, the +Northmen depicted him as a polygamist, and allotted to him several +wives. The first among these was Joerd (Erda), the primitive earth, +daughter of Night or of the giantess Fiorgyn. She bore him his +famous son Thor, the god of thunder. The second and principal wife +was Frigga, a personification of the civilised world. She gave him +Balder, the gentle god of spring, Hermod, and, according to some +authorities, Tyr. The third wife was Rinda, a personification of the +hard and frozen earth, who reluctantly yields to his warm embrace, +but finally gives birth to Vali, the emblem of vegetation. + +Odin is also said to have married Saga or Laga, the goddess of history +(hence our verb "to say"), and to have daily visited her in the crystal +hall of Sokvabek, beneath a cool, ever-flowing river, to drink its +waters and listen to her songs about olden times and vanished races. + + + "Sokvabek hight the fourth dwelling; + Over it flow the cool billows; + Glad drink there Odin and Saga + Every day from golden cups." + + Norse Mythology (R. B. Anderson). + + +His other wives were Grid, the mother of Vidar; Gunlod, the mother +of Bragi; Skadi; and the nine giantesses who simultaneously bore +Heimdall--all of whom play more or less important parts in the various +myths of the North. + + + +The Historical Odin + +Besides this ancient Odin, there was a more modern, semi-historical +personage of the same name, to whom all the virtues, powers, and +adventures of his predecessor have been attributed. He was the +chief of the AEsir, inhabitants of Asia Minor, who, sore pressed by +the Romans, and threatened with destruction or slavery, left their +native land about 70 B.C., and migrated into Europe. This Odin is +said to have conquered Russia, Germany, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, +leaving a son on the throne of each conquered country. He also built +the town of Odensoe. He was welcomed in Sweden by Gylfi, the king, +who gave him a share of the realm, and allowed him to found the city +of Sigtuna, where he built a temple and introduced a new system of +worship. Tradition further relates that as his end drew near, this +mythical Odin assembled his followers, publicly cut himself nine +times in the breast with his spear,--a ceremony called "carving Geir +odds,"--and told them he was about to return to his native land Asgard, +his old home, where he would await their coming, to share with him +a life of feasting, drinking, and fighting. + +According to another account, Gylfi, having heard of the power +of the AEsir, the inhabitants of Asgard, and wishing to ascertain +whether these reports were true, journeyed to the south. In due time +he came to Odin's palace, where he was expected, and where he was +deluded by the vision of Har, Iafn-har, and Thridi, three divinities, +enthroned one above the other. The gatekeeper, Gangler, answered all +his questions, and gave him a long explanation of Northern mythology, +which is recorded in the Younger Edda, and then, having finished his +instructions, suddenly vanished with the palace amid a deafening noise. + +According to other very ancient poems, Odin's sons, Weldegg, Beldegg, +Sigi, Skiold, Saeming, and Yngvi, became kings of East Saxony, West +Saxony, Franconia, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, and from them are +descended the Saxons, Hengist and Horsa, and the royal families of the +Northern lands. Still another version relates that Odin and Frigga had +seven sons, who founded the Anglo-Saxon heptarchy. In the course of +time this mysterious king was confounded with the Odin whose worship +he introduced, and all his deeds were attributed to the god. + +Odin was worshipped in numerous temples, but especially in the +great fane at Upsala, where the most solemn festivals were held, +and where sacrifices were offered. The victim was generally a horse, +but in times of pressing need human offerings were made, even the +king being once offered up to avert a famine. + + + "Upsal's temple, where the North + Saw Valhal's halls fair imag'd here on earth." + + Viking Tales of the North (R. B. Anderson). + + +The first toast at every festival here was drunk in his honour, and, +besides the first of May, one day in every week was held sacred to +him, and, from his Saxon name, Woden, was called Woden's day, whence +the English word "Wednesday" has been derived. It was customary for +the people to assemble at his shrine on festive occasions, to hear +the songs of the scalds, who were rewarded for their minstrelsy by +the gift of golden bracelets or armlets, which curled up at the ends +and were called "Odin's serpents." + +There are but few remains of ancient Northern art now extant, and +although rude statues of Odin were once quite common they have all +disappeared, as they were made of wood--a perishable substance, which +in the hands of the missionaries, and especially of Olaf the Saint, +the Northern iconoclast, was soon reduced to ashes. + + + "There in the Temple, carved in wood, + The image of great Odin stood." + + Saga of King Olaf (Longfellow). + + +Odin himself is supposed to have given his people a code of laws +whereby to govern their conduct, in a poem called Havamal, or the +High Song, which forms part of the Edda. In this lay he taught +the fallibility of man, the necessity for courage, temperance, +independence, and truthfulness, respect for old age, hospitality, +charity, and contentment, and gave instructions for the burial of +the dead. + + + "At home let a man be cheerful, + And toward a guest liberal; + Of wise conduct he should be, + Of good memory and ready speech; + If much knowledge he desires, + He must often talk on what is good." + + Havamal (Thorpe's tr.). + + + + + + +CHAPTER III: FRIGGA + + +The Queen of the Gods + +Frigga, or Frigg, daughter of Fiorgyn and sister of Joerd, according to +some mythologists, is considered by others as a daughter of Joerd and +Odin, whom she eventually married. This wedding caused such general +rejoicing in Asgard, where the goddess was greatly beloved, that ever +after it was customary to celebrate its anniversary with feast and +song, and the goddess being declared patroness of marriage, her health +was always proposed with that of Odin and Thor at wedding feasts. + +Frigga was goddess of the atmosphere, or rather of the clouds, and as +such was represented as wearing either snow-white or dark garments, +according to her somewhat variable moods. She was queen of the gods, +and she alone had the privilege of sitting on the throne Hlidskialf, +beside her august husband. From thence she too could look over all +the world and see what was happening, and, according to the belief +of our ancestors, she possessed the knowledge of the future, which, +however, no one could ever prevail upon her to reveal, thus proving +that Northern women could keep a secret inviolate. + + + "Of me the gods are sprung; + And all that is to come I know, but lock + In my own breast, and have to none reveal'd." + + Balder Dead (Matthew Arnold). + + +She was generally represented as a tall, beautiful, and stately woman, +crowned with heron plumes, the symbol of silence or forgetfulness, and +clothed in pure white robes, secured at the waist by a golden girdle, +from which hung a bunch of keys, the distinctive sign of the Northern +housewife, whose special patroness she was said to be. Although she +often appeared beside her husband, Frigga preferred to remain in her +own palace, called Fensalir, the hall of mists or of the sea, where +she diligently plied her wheel or distaff, spinning golden thread or +weaving long webs of bright-coloured clouds. + +In order to perform this work she made use of a marvellous jewelled +spinning wheel or distaff, which at night shone brightly in the sky as +a constellation, known in the North as Frigga's Spinning Wheel, while +the inhabitants of the South called the same stars Orion's Girdle. + +To her hall Fensalir the gracious goddess invited husbands and wives +who had led virtuous lives on earth, so that they might enjoy each +other's companionship even after death, and never be called upon to +part again. + + + "There in the glen, Fensalir stands, the house + Of Frea, honour'd mother of the gods, + And shows its lighted windows and the open doors." + + Balder Dead (Matthew Arnold). + + +Frigga was therefore considered the goddess of conjugal and +motherly love, and was specially worshipped by married lovers and +tender parents. This exalted office did not entirely absorb her +thoughts however, for we are told that she was very fond of dress, +and whenever she appeared before the assembled gods her attire was +rich and becoming, and her jewels chosen with much taste. + + + +The Stolen Gold + +Frigga's love of adornment once led her sadly astray, for, in her +longing to possess some new ornament, she secretly purloined a piece +of gold from a statue representing her husband, which had just been +placed in his temple. The stolen metal was entrusted to the dwarfs, +with instructions to fashion a marvellous necklace for her use. This, +when finished, was so resplendent that it greatly enhanced her charms, +and even increased Odin's love for her. But when he discovered the +theft of the gold he angrily summoned the dwarfs and bade them reveal +who had dared to touch his statue. Unwilling to betray the queen of +the gods, the dwarfs remained obstinately silent, and, seeing that +no information could be elicited from them, Odin commanded that the +statue should be placed above the temple gate, and set to work to +devise runes which should endow it with the power of speech and enable +it to denounce the thief. When Frigga heard these tidings she trembled +with fear, and implored her favourite attendant, Fulla, to invent some +means of protecting her from Allfather's wrath. Fulla, who was always +ready to serve her mistress, immediately departed, and soon returned, +accompanied by a hideous dwarf, who promised to prevent the statue +from speaking if Frigga would only deign to smile graciously upon +him. This boon having been granted, the dwarf hastened off to the +temple, caused a deep sleep to fall upon the guards, and while they +were thus unconscious, pulled the statue down from its pedestal and +broke it to pieces, so that it could never betray Frigga's theft, +in spite of all Odin's efforts to give it the power of speech. + +Odin, discovering this sacrilege on the morrow, was very angry indeed; +so angry that he left Asgard and utterly disappeared, carrying away +with him all the blessings which he had been wont to shower upon gods +and men. According to some authorities, his brothers, as we have +already seen, took advantage of his absence to assume his form and +secure possession of his throne and wife; but although they looked +exactly like him they could not restore the lost blessings, and allowed +the ice-giants, or Jotuns, to invade the earth and bind it fast in +their cold fetters. These wicked giants pinched the leaves and buds +till they all shrivelled up, stripped the trees bare, shrouded the +earth in a great white coverlet, and veiled it in impenetrable mists. + +But at the end of seven weary months the true Odin relented and +returned, and when he saw all the evil that had been done he drove +the usurpers away, forced the frost-giants to relax their grip of the +earth and to release her from her icy bonds, and again showered all +his blessings down upon her, cheering her with the light of his smile. + + + +Odin Outwitted + +As has already been seen, Odin, although god of wit and wisdom, was +sometimes no match for his wife Frigga, who, womanlike, was sure to +obtain her way by some means. On one occasion the august pair were +seated upon Hlidskialf, gazing with interest upon the Winilers and +Vandals, who were preparing for a battle which was to decide which +people should henceforth have supremacy. Odin gazed with satisfaction +upon the Vandals, who were loudly praying to him for victory; but +Frigga watched the movements of the Winilers with more attention, +because they had entreated her aid. She therefore turned to Odin +and coaxingly inquired whom he meant to favour on the morrow; he, +wishing to evade her question, declared he would not decide, as it +was time for bed, but would give the victory to those upon whom his +eyes first rested in the morning. + +This answer was shrewdly calculated, for Odin knew that his couch +was so turned that upon waking he would face the Vandals, and he +intended looking out from thence, instead of waiting until he had +mounted his throne. But, although so cunningly contrived, this plan +was frustrated by Frigga, who, divining his purpose, waited until he +was sound asleep, and then noiselessly turned his couch so that he +should face her favourites. Then she sent word to the Winilers to dress +their women in armour and send them out in battle array at dawn, with +their long hair carefully combed down over their cheeks and breasts. + + + "Take thou thy women-folk, + Maidens and wives: + Over your ankles + Lace on the white war-hose; + Over your bosoms + Link up the hard mail-nets; + Over your lips + Plait long tresses with cunning;-- + So war beasts full-bearded + King Odin shall deem you, + When off the grey sea-beach + At sunrise ye greet him." + + The Longbeards' Saga (Charles Kingsley). + + +These instructions were carried out with scrupulous exactness, and +when Odin awoke the next morning his first conscious glance fell upon +their armed host, and he exclaimed in surprise, "What Longbeards are +those?" (In German the ancient word for long beards was Langobarden, +which was the name used to designate the Lombards.) Frigga, upon +hearing this exclamation, which she had foreseen, immediately cried +out in triumph that Allfather had given them a new name, and was +in honour bound to follow the usual Northern custom and give also a +baptismal gift. + + + "'A name thou hast given them, + Shames neither thee nor them, + Well can they wear it. + Give them the victory, + First have they greeted thee; + Give them the victory, + Yoke-fellow mine!'" + + The Longbeards' Saga (Charles Kingsley). + + +Odin, seeing he had been so cleverly outwitted, made no demur, and in +memory of the victory which his favour vouchsafed to them the Winilers +retained the name given by the king of the gods, who ever after watched +over them with special care, giving them many blessings, among others +a home in the sunny South, on the fruitful plains of Lombardy. + + + +Fulla + +Frigga had, as her own special attendants, a number of beautiful +maidens, among whom were Fulla (Volla), her sister, according to +some authorities, to whom she entrusted her jewel casket. Fulla +always presided over her mistress's toilet, was privileged to put +on her golden shoes, attended her everywhere, was her confidante, +and often advised her how best to help the mortals who implored +her aid. Fulla was very beautiful indeed, and had long golden hair, +which she wore flowing loose over her shoulders, restrained only by +a golden circlet or snood. As her hair was emblematic of the golden +grain, this circlet represented the binding of the sheaf. Fulla +was also known as Abundia, or Abundantia, in some parts of Germany, +where she was considered the symbol of the fulness of the earth. + +Hlin, Frigga's second attendant, was the goddess of consolation, +sent out to kiss away the tears of mourners and pour balm into hearts +wrung by grief. She also listened with ever-open ears to the prayers +of mortals, carrying them to her mistress, and advising her at times +how best to answer them and give the desired relief. + + + +Gna + +Gna was Frigga's swift messenger. Mounted upon her fleet steed +Hofvarpnir (hoof-thrower), she would travel with marvellous rapidity +through fire and air, over land and sea, and was therefore considered +the personification of the refreshing breeze. Darting thus to and fro, +Gna saw all that was happening upon earth, and told her mistress +all she knew. On one occasion, as she was passing over Hunaland, +she saw King Rerir, a lineal descendant of Odin, sitting mournfully +by the shore, bewailing his childlessness. The queen of heaven, +who was also goddess of childbirth, upon hearing this took an apple +(the emblem of fruitfulness) from her private store, gave it to Gna, +and bade her carry it to the king. With the rapidity of the element +she personified, Gna darted away, and as she passed over Rerir's head, +she dropped her apple into his lap with a radiant smile. + + + "'What flies up there, so quickly driving past?' + Her answer from the clouds, as rushing by: + 'I fly not, nor do drive, but hurry fast, + Hoof-flinger swift through cloud and mist and sky.'" + + Asgard and the Gods (Wagner-Macdowall). + + +The king pondered for a moment upon the meaning of this sudden +apparition and gift, and then hurried home, his heart beating high +with hope, and gave the apple to his wife to eat. In due season, +to his intense joy, she bore him a son, Volsung, the great Northern +hero, who became so famous that he gave his name to all his race. + + + +Lofn, Vjofn, and Syn + +Besides the three above mentioned, Frigga had other attendants in her +train. There was the mild and gracious maiden Lofn (praise or love), +whose duty it was to remove all obstacles from the path of lovers. + + + "My lily tall, from her saddle bearing, + I led then forth through the temple, faring + To th' altar-circle where, priests among, + Lofn's vows she took with unfalt'ring tongue." + + Viking Tales of the North (R. B. Anderson). + + +Vjofn's duty was to incline obdurate hearts to love, to maintain peace +and concord among mankind, and to reconcile quarrelling husbands and +wives. Syn (truth) guarded the door of Frigga's palace, refusing to +open it to those who were not allowed to come in. When she had once +shut the door upon a would-be intruder no appeal would avail to change +her decision. She therefore presided over all tribunals and trials, +and whenever a thing was to be vetoed the usual formula was to declare +that Syn was against it. + + + +Gefjon + +Gefjon was also one of the maidens in Frigga's palace, and to her +were entrusted all those who died unwedded, whom she received and +made happy for ever. + +According to some authorities, Gefjon did not remain a virgin herself, +but married one of the giants, by whom she had four sons. This same +tradition goes on to declare that Odin sent her before him to visit +Gylfi, King of Sweden, and to beg for some land which she might call +her own. The king, amused at her request, promised her as much land as +she could plough around in one day and night. Gefjon, nothing daunted, +changed her four sons into oxen, harnessed them to a plough, and began +to cut a furrow so wide and deep that the king and his courtiers were +amazed. But Gefjon continued her work without showing any signs of +fatigue, and when she had ploughed all around a large piece of land +forcibly wrenched it away, and made her oxen drag it down into the sea, +where she made it fast and called it Seeland. + + + "Gefjon drew from Gylfi, + Rich in stored up treasure, + The land she joined to Denmark. + Four heads and eight eyes bearing, + While hot sweat trickled down them, + The oxen dragged the reft mass + That formed this winsome island." + + Norse Mythology (R. B. Anderson). + + +As for the hollow she left behind her, it was quickly filled with water +and formed a lake, at first called Logrum (the sea), but now known +as Maelar, whose every indentation corresponds with the headlands of +Seeland. Gefjon then married Skiold, one of Odin's sons, and became +the ancestress of the royal Danish race of Skioldungs, dwelling in +the city of Hleidra or Lethra, which she founded, and which became +the principal place of sacrifice for the heathen Danes. + + + +Eira, Vara, Voer and Snotra + +Eira, also Frigga's attendant, was considered a most skilful +physician. She gathered simples all over the earth to cure both wounds +and diseases, and it was her province to teach the science to women, +who were the only ones to practise medicine among the ancient nations +of the North. + + + "Gaping wounds are bound by Eyra." + + Valhalla (J. C. Jones). + + +Vara heard all oaths and punished perjurers, while she rewarded those +who faithfully kept their word. Then there were also Voer (faith), +who knew all that was to occur throughout the world, and Snotra, +goddess of virtue, who had mastered all knowledge. + +With such a galaxy of attendants it is little wonder that Frigga was +considered a powerful deity; but in spite of the prominent place she +occupied in Northern religion, she had no special temple nor shrine, +and was but little worshipped except in company with Odin. + + + +Holda + +While Frigga was not known by this name in Southern Germany, there +were other goddesses worshipped there, whose attributes were so exactly +like hers, that they were evidently the same, although they bore very +different names in the various provinces. Among them was the fair +goddess Holda (Hulda or Frau Holle), who graciously dispensed many +rich gifts. As she presided over the weather, the people were wont to +declare when the snowflakes fell that Frau Holle was shaking her bed, +and when it rained, that she was washing her clothes, often pointing +to the white clouds as her linen which she had put out to bleach. When +long grey strips of clouds drifted across the sky they said she was +weaving, for she was supposed to be also a very diligent weaver, +spinner, and housekeeper. It is said she gave flax to mankind and +taught them how to use it, and in the Tyrol the following story is +told about the way in which she bestowed this invaluable gift: + + + +The Discovery of Flax + +There was once a peasant who daily left his wife and children in the +valley to take his sheep up the mountain to pasture; and as he watched +his flock grazing on the mountain-side, he often had opportunity to +use his cross-bow and bring down a chamois, whose flesh would furnish +his larder with food for many a day. + +While pursuing a fine animal one day he saw it disappear behind a +boulder, and when he came to the spot, he was amazed to see a doorway +in the neighbouring glacier, for in the excitement of the pursuit he +had climbed higher and higher, until he was now on top of the mountain, +where glittered the everlasting snow. + +The shepherd boldly passed through the open door, and soon found +himself in a wonderful jewelled cave hung with stalactites, in the +centre of which stood a beautiful woman, clad in silvery robes, and +attended by a host of lovely maidens crowned with Alpine roses. In his +surprise, the shepherd sank to his knees, and as in a dream heard the +queenly central figure bid him choose anything he saw to carry away +with him. Although dazzled by the glow of the precious stones around +him, the shepherd's eyes constantly reverted to a little nosegay of +blue flowers which the gracious apparition held in her hand, and he +now timidly proffered a request that it might become his. Smiling with +pleasure, Holda, for it was she, gave it to him, telling him he had +chosen wisely and would live as long as the flowers did not droop and +fade. Then, giving the shepherd a measure of seed which she told him +to sow in his field, the goddess bade him begone; and as the thunder +pealed and the earth shook, the poor man found himself out upon the +mountain-side once more, and slowly wended his way home to his wife, +to whom he told his adventure and showed the lovely blue flowers and +the measure of seed. + +The woman reproached her husband bitterly for not having brought some +of the precious stones which he so glowingly described, instead of the +blossoms and seed; nevertheless the man proceeded to sow the latter, +and he found to his surprise that the measure supplied seed enough +for several acres. + +Soon the little green shoots began to appear, and one moonlight +night, while the peasant was gazing upon them, as was his wont, +for he felt a curious attraction to the field which he had sown, and +often lingered there wondering what kind of grain would be produced, +he saw a misty form hover above the field, with hands outstretched +as if in blessing. At last the field blossomed, and countless little +blue flowers opened their calyxes to the golden sun. When the flowers +had withered and the seed was ripe, Holda came once more to teach the +peasant and his wife how to harvest the flax--for such it was--and from +it to spin, weave, and bleach linen. As the people of the neighbourhood +willingly purchased both linen and flax-seed, the peasant and his +wife soon grew very rich indeed, and while he ploughed, sowed, and +harvested, she spun, wove, and bleached the linen. The man lived to +a good old age, and saw his grandchildren and great-grandchildren +grow up around him. All this time his carefully treasured bouquet +had remained fresh as when he first brought it home, but one day he +saw that during the night the flowers had drooped and were dying. + +Knowing what this portended, and that he too must die, the peasant +climbed the mountain once more to the glacier, and found again the +doorway for which he had often vainly searched. He entered the icy +portal, and was never seen or heard of again, for, according to the +legend, the goddess took him under her care, and bade him live in +her cave, where his every wish was gratified. + + + +Tannhaeuser + +According to a mediaeval tradition, Holda dwelt in a cave in the +Hoerselberg, in Thuringia, where she was known as Frau Venus, and +was considered as an enchantress who lured mortals into her realm, +where she detained them for ever, steeping their senses in all +manner of sensual pleasures. The most famous of her victims was +Tannhaeuser, who, after he had lived under her spell for a season, +experienced a revulsion of feeling which loosened her bonds over his +spirit and induced anxious thoughts concerning his soul. He escaped +from her power and hastened to Rome to confess his sins and seek +absolution. But when the Pope heard of his association with one of +the pagan goddesses whom the priests taught were nothing but demons, +he declared that the knight could no more hope for pardon than to +see his staff bear buds and bloom. + + + "Hast thou within the nets of Satan lain? + Hast thou thy soul to her perdition pledged? + Hast thou thy lip to Hell's Enchantress lent, + To drain damnation from her reeking cup? + Then know that sooner from the withered staff + That in my hand I hold green leaves shall spring, + Than from the brand in hell-fire scorched rebloom + The blossoms of salvation." + + Tannhaeuser (Owen Meredith). + + +Crushed with grief at this pronouncement, Tannhaeuser fled, and, +despite the entreaties of his faithful friend, Eckhardt, no great +time elapsed ere he returned to the Hoerselberg, where he vanished +within the cave. He had no sooner disappeared, however, than the Pope's +messengers arrived, proclaiming that he was pardoned, for the withered +staff had miraculously bloomed, thus proving to all that there was +no sin too heinous to be pardoned, providing repentance were sincere. + + + "Dashed to the hip with travel, dewed with haste, + A flying post, and in his hand he bore + A withered staff o'erflourished with green leaves; + Who,--followed by a crowd of youth and eld, + That sang to stun with sound the lark in heaven, + 'A miracle! a miracle from Rome! + Glory to God that makes the bare bough green!'-- + Sprang in the midst, and, hot for answer, asked + News of the Knight Tannhaeuser." + + Tannhaeuser (Owen Meredith). + + +Holda was also the owner of a magic fountain called Quickborn, which +rivalled the famed fountain of youth, and of a chariot in which she +rode from place to place when she inspected her domain. This vehicle +having once suffered damage, the goddess bade a wheelwright repair it, +and when he had finished told him to keep some chips as his pay. The +man was indignant at such a meagre reward, and kept only a very few of +the number; but to his surprise he found these on the morrow changed +to gold. + + + "Fricka, thy wife-- + This way she reins her harness of rams. + Hey! how she whirls + The golden whip; + The luckless beasts + Unboundedly bleat; + Her wheels wildly she rattles; + Wrath is lit in her look." + + Wagner (Forman's tr.). + + + +Eastre, the Goddess of Spring + +The Saxon goddess Eastre, or Ostara, goddess of spring, whose name has +survived in the English word Easter, is also identical with Frigga, +for she too is considered goddess of the earth, or rather of Nature's +resurrection after the long death of winter. This gracious goddess +was so dearly loved by the old Teutons, that even after Christianity +had been introduced they retained so pleasant a recollection of her, +that they refused to have her degraded to the rank of a demon, like +many of their other divinities, and transferred her name to their great +Christian feast. It had long been customary to celebrate this day by +the exchange of presents of coloured eggs, for the egg is the type of +the beginning of life; so the early Christians continued to observe +this rule, declaring, however, that the egg is also symbolical of the +Resurrection. In various parts of Germany, stone altars can still be +seen, which are known as Easter-stones, because they were dedicated +to the fair goddess Ostara. They were crowned with flowers by the +young people, who danced gaily around them by the light of great +bonfires,--a species of popular games practised until the middle of +the present century, in spite of the priests' denunciations and of +the repeatedly published edicts against them. + + + +Bertha, the White Lady + +In other parts of Germany, Frigga, Holda, or Ostara is known by +the name of Brechta, Bertha, or the White Lady. She is best known +under this title in Thuringia, where she was supposed to dwell in +a hollow mountain, keeping watch over the Heimchen, souls of unborn +children, and of those who died unbaptized. Here Bertha watched over +agriculture, caring for the plants, which her infant troop watered +carefully, for each babe was supposed to carry a little jar for that +express purpose. While the goddess was duly respected and her retreat +unmolested, she remained where she was; but tradition relates that +she once left the country with her infant train dragging her plough, +and settled elsewhere to continue her kind ministrations. Bertha +is the legendary ancestress of several noble families, and she is +supposed to be the same as the industrious queen of the same name, +the mythical mother of Charlemagne, whose era has become proverbial, +for in speaking of the Golden Age in France and Germany it is customary +to say, "in the days when Bertha spun." + +As this Bertha is supposed to have developed a very large and flat +foot, from continually pressing the treadle of her wheel, she is +often represented in mediaeval art as a woman with a splay foot, +and hence known as la reine pedauque. + +As ancestress of the imperial house of Germany, the White Lady is +supposed to appear in the palace before a death or misfortune in +the family, and this superstition is still so rife in Germany, that +the newspapers in 1884 contained the official report of a sentinel, +who declared that he had seen her flit past him in one of the palace +corridors. + +As Bertha was renowned for her spinning, she naturally was regarded +as the special patroness of that branch of female industry, and was +said to flit through the streets of every village, at nightfall, +during the twelve nights between Christmas and January 6, peering +into every window to inspect the spinning of the household. + +The maidens whose work had been carefully performed were rewarded by +a present of one of her own golden threads or a distaff full of extra +fine flax; but wherever a careless spinner was found, her wheel was +broken, her flax soiled, and if she had failed to honour the goddess +by eating plenty of the cakes baked at that period of the year, +she was cruelly punished. + +In Mecklenburg, this same goddess is known as Frau Gode, or Wode, the +female form of Wuotan or Odin, and her appearance is always considered +the harbinger of great prosperity. She is also supposed to be a great +huntress, and to lead the Wild Hunt, mounted upon a white horse, +her attendants being changed into hounds and all manner of wild beasts. + +In Holland she was called Vrou-elde, and from her the Milky Way is +known by the Dutch as Vrou-elden-straat; while in parts of Northern +Germany she was called Nerthus (Mother Earth). Her sacred car was +kept on an island, presumably Ruegen, where the priests guarded it +carefully until she appeared to take a yearly journey throughout +her realm to bless the land. The goddess, her face completely hidden +by a thick veil, then sat in this car, which was drawn by two cows, +and she was respectfully escorted by her priests. When she passed, +the people did homage by ceasing all warfare, and laying aside their +weapons. They donned festive attire, and began no quarrel until +the goddess had again retired to her sanctuary. Then both car and +goddess were bathed in a secret lake (the Schwartze See, in Ruegen), +which swallowed up the slaves who had assisted at the bathing, and +once more the priests resumed their watch over the sanctuary and +grove of Nerthus or Hlodyn, to await her next appearance. + +In Scandinavia, this goddess was also known as Huldra, and boasted of +a train of attendant wood-nymphs, who sometimes sought the society of +mortals, to enjoy a dance upon the village green. They could always +be detected, however, by the tip of a cow's tail which trailed from +beneath their long snow-white garments. These Huldra folk were the +special protectors of the cattle on the mountain-sides, and were said +to surprise the lonely traveller, at times, by the marvellous beauty +of the melodies they sang to beguile the hours at their tasks. + + + + + + +CHAPTER IV: THOR + + +The Thunderer + +According to some mythologists, Thor, or Donar, is the son of Joerd +(Erda) and of Odin, but others state that his mother was Frigga, +queen of the gods. This child was very remarkable for his great size +and strength, and very soon after his birth amazed the assembled +gods by playfully lifting and throwing about ten great bales of bear +skins. Although generally good-tempered, Thor would occasionally fly +into a terrible rage, and as he was very dangerous at these times, his +mother, unable to control him, sent him away from home and entrusted +him to the care of Vingnir (the winged), and of Hlora (heat). These +foster-parents, who are also considered as the personification of +sheet-lightning, soon managed to control their troublesome charge, and +brought him up so wisely, that the gods entertained a very grateful +recollection of their kind offices. Thor himself, recognising all he +owed them, assumed the names of Vingthor and Hlorridi, by which he +is also known. + + + "Cry on, Vingi-Thor, + With the dancing of the ring-mail and the smitten shields of war." + + Sigurd the Volsung (William Morris). + + +Having attained his full growth and the age of reason, Thor was +admitted to Asgard among the other gods, where he occupied one of the +twelve seats in the great judgment hall. He was also given the realm +of Thrud-vang or Thrud-heim, where he built a wonderful palace called +Bilskirnir (lightning), the most spacious in all Asgard. It contained +five hundred and forty halls for the accommodation of the thralls, +who after death were welcomed to his home, where they received equal +treatment with their masters in Valhalla, for Thor was the patron +god of the peasants and lower classes. + + + "Five hundred halls + And forty more, + Methinketh, hath + Bowed Bilskirnir. + Of houses roofed + There's none I know + My son's surpassing." + + Saemund's Edda (Percy's tr.). + + +As he was god of thunder, Thor alone was never allowed to pass over +the wonderful bridge Bifroest, lest he should set it aflame by the +heat of his presence; and when he wished to join his fellow gods by +the Urdar fountain, under the shade of the sacred tree Yggdrasil, he +was forced to make his way thither on foot, wading through the rivers +Kormt and Ormt, and the two streams Kerlaug, to the trysting place. + +Thor, who was honoured as the highest god in Norway, came second in +the trilogy of all the other countries, and was called "old Thor," +because he is supposed by some mythologists to have belonged to an +older dynasty of gods, and not on account of his actual age, for he +was represented and described as a man in his prime, tall and well +formed, with muscular limbs and bristling red hair and beard, from +which, in moments of anger, the sparks flew in showers. + + + "First, Thor with the bent brow, + In red beard muttering low, + Darting fierce lightnings from eyeballs that glow, + Comes, while each chariot wheel + Echoes in thunder peal, + As his dread hammer shock + Makes Earth and Heaven rock, + Clouds rifting above, while Earth quakes below." + + Valhalla (J. C. Jones). + + +The Northern races further adorned him with a crown, on each point +of which was either a glittering star, or a steadily burning flame, +so that his head was ever surrounded by a kind of halo of fire, +his own element. + + + +Thor's Hammer + +Thor was the proud possessor of a magic hammer called Mioelnir +(the crusher) which he hurled at his enemies, the frost-giants, +with destructive power, and which possessed the wonderful property +of always returning to his hand, however far away he might hurl it. + + + "I am the Thunderer! + Here in my Northland, + My fastness and fortress, + Reign I forever! + + "Here amid icebergs + Rule I the nations; + This is my hammer, + Mioelnir the mighty; + Giants and sorcerers + Cannot withstand it!" + + Saga of King Olaf (Longfellow). + + +As this huge hammer, the emblem of the thunderbolts, was generally +red-hot, the god had an iron gauntlet called Iarn-greiper, which +enabled him to grasp it firmly. He could hurl Mioelnir a great distance, +and his strength, which was always remarkable, was doubled when he +wore his magic belt called Megin-gioerd. + + + "This is my girdle: + Whenever I brace it, + Strength is redoubled!" + + Saga of King Olaf (Longfellow). + + +Thor's hammer was considered so very sacred by the ancient Northern +people, that they were wont to make the sign of the hammer, as the +Christians later taught them to make the sign of the cross, to ward +off all evil influences, and to secure blessings. The same sign +was also made over the newly born infant when water was poured over +its head and a name given. The hammer was used to drive in boundary +stakes, which it was considered sacrilegious to remove, to hallow +the threshold of a new house, to solemnise a marriage, and, lastly, +it played a part in the consecration of the funeral pyre upon which +the bodies of heroes, together with their weapons and steeds, and, +in some cases, with their wives and dependents, were burned. + +In Sweden, Thor, like Odin, was supposed to wear a broad-brimmed hat, +and hence the storm-clouds in that country are known as Thor's hat, a +name also given to one of the principal mountains in Norway. The rumble +and roar of the thunder were said to be the roll of his chariot, for +he alone among the gods never rode on horseback, but walked, or drove +in a brazen chariot drawn by two goats, Tanngniostr (tooth-cracker), +and Tanngrisnr (tooth-gnasher), from whose teeth and hoofs the sparks +constantly flew. + + + "Thou camest near the next, O warrior Thor! + Shouldering thy hammer, in thy chariot drawn, + Swaying the long-hair'd goats with silver'd rein." + + Balder Dead (Matthew Arnold). + + +When the god thus drove from place to place, he was called Aku-thor, +or Thor the charioteer, and in Southern Germany the people, fancying +a brazen chariot alone inadequate to furnish all the noise they heard, +declared it was loaded with copper kettles, which rattled and clashed, +and therefore often called him, with disrespectful familiarity, +the kettle-vendor. + + + +Thor's Family + +Thor was twice married; first to the giantess Iarnsaxa (iron stone), +who bore him two sons, Magni (strength) and Modi (courage), both +destined to survive their father and the twilight of the gods, +and rule over the new world which was to rise like a phoenix from +the ashes of the first. His second wife was Sif, the golden-haired, +who also bore him two children, Lorride, and a daughter named Thrud, +a young giantess renowned for her size and strength. True to the +well-known affinity of contrast, Thrud was wooed by the dwarf Alvis, +whom she rather favoured; and one evening, when this suitor, who, +being a dwarf, could not face the light of day, presented himself in +Asgard to sue for her hand, the assembled gods did not refuse their +consent. They had scarcely signified their approbation, however, when +Thor, who had been absent, suddenly appeared, and casting a glance of +contempt upon the puny lover, declared he would have to prove that his +knowledge atoned for his small stature, before he could win his bride. + +To test Alvis's mental powers, Thor then questioned him in the +language of the gods, Vanas, elves, and dwarfs, artfully prolonging +his examination until sunrise, when the first beam of light, falling +upon the unhappy dwarf, petrified him. There he stood, an enduring +example of the gods' power, to serve as a warning to all other dwarfs +who might dare to test it. + + + "Ne'er in human bosom + Have I found so many + Words of the old time. + Thee with subtlest cunning + Have I yet befooled. + Above ground standeth thou, dwarf + By day art overtaken, + Bright sunshine fills the hall." + + Saemund's Edda (Howitt's version). + + + +Sif, the Golden-haired + +Sif, Thor's wife, was very vain of a magnificent head of long golden +hair which covered her from head to foot like a brilliant veil; and +as she too was a symbol of the earth, her hair was said to represent +the long grass, or the golden grain covering the Northern harvest +fields. Thor was very proud of his wife's beautiful hair; imagine +his dismay, therefore, upon waking one morning, to find her shorn, +and as bald and denuded of ornament as the earth when the grain has +been garnered, and nothing but the stubble remains! In his anger, +Thor sprang to his feet, vowing he would punish the perpetrator +of this outrage, whom he immediately and rightly conjectured to be +Loki, the arch-plotter, ever on the look-out for some evil deed to +perform. Seizing his hammer, Thor went in search of Loki, who attempted +to evade the irate god by changing his form. But it was all to no +purpose; Thor soon overtook him, and without more ado caught him by +the throat, and almost strangled him ere he yielded to his imploring +signs and relaxed his powerful grip. When he could draw his breath, +Loki begged forgiveness, but all his entreaties were vain, until he +promised to procure for Sif a new head of hair, as beautiful as the +first, and as luxuriant in growth. + + + "And thence for Sif new tresses I'll bring + Of gold, ere the daylight's gone, + So that she shall liken a field in spring, + With its yellow-flowered garment on." + + The Dwarfs, Oehlenschlaeger (Pigott's tr.). + + +Then Thor consented to let the traitor go; so Loki rapidly crept down +into the bowels of the earth, where Svart-alfa-heim was situated, +to beg the dwarf Dvalin to fashion not only the precious hair, but +a present for Odin and Frey, whose anger he wished to disarm. + +His request was favourably received and the dwarf fashioned the spear +Gungnir, which never failed in its aim, and the ship Skidbladnir, +which, always wafted by favourable winds, could sail through the air +as well as on the water, and which had this further magic property, +that although it could contain the gods and all their steeds, it +could be folded up into the very smallest compass and thrust in +one's pocket. Lastly, he spun the finest golden thread, from which +he fashioned the hair required for Sif, declaring that as soon as it +touched her head it would grow fast there and become as her own. + + + "Though 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." + + The Dwarfs, Oehlenschlaeger (Pigott's tr.). + + +Loki was so pleased with these proofs of the dwarfs' skill that he +declared the son of Ivald to be the most clever of smiths--words which +were overheard by Brock, another dwarf, who exclaimed that he was sure +his brother Sindri could produce three objects which would surpass +those which Loki held, not only in intrinsic value, but also in magical +properties. Loki immediately challenged the dwarf to show his skill, +wagering his head against Brock's on the result of the undertaking. + +Sindri, apprised of the wager, accepted Brock's offer to blow the +bellows, warning him, however, that he must work persistently and +not for a moment relax his efforts if he wished him to succeed; then +he threw some gold in the fire, and went out to bespeak the favour +of the hidden powers. During his absence Brock diligently plied the +bellows, while Loki, hoping to make him pause, changed himself into +a gadfly and cruelly stung his hand. In spite of the pain, the dwarf +kept on blowing, and when Sindri returned, he drew out of the fire +an enormous wild boar, called Gullin-bursti, because of its golden +bristles, which had the power of radiating light as it flitted across +the sky, for it could travel through the air with marvellous velocity. + + + "And now, strange to tell, from the roaring fire + Came the golden-haired Gullinboerst, + To serve as a charger the sun-god Frey, + Sure, of all wild boars this the first." + + The Dwarfs, Oehlenschlaeger (Pigott's tr.). + + +This first piece of work successfully completed, Sindri flung some more +gold on the fire and bade his brother resume blowing, while he again +went out to secure magic assistance. This time Loki, still disguised +as a gadfly, stung the dwarf on his cheek; but in spite of the pain +Brock worked on, and when Sindri returned, he triumphantly drew +out of the flames the magic ring Draupnir, the emblem of fertility, +from which eight similar rings dropped every ninth night. + + + "They worked it and turned 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." + + The Dwarfs, Oehlenschlaeger (Pigott's tr.). + + +Now a lump of iron was cast in the flames, and with renewed caution not +to forfeit their success by inattention, Sindri passed out, leaving +Brock to ply the bellows as before. Loki was now in desperation +and he prepared for a final effort. This time, still in the guise +of the gadfly, he stung the dwarf above the eye until the blood +began to flow in such a stream, that it prevented his seeing what +he was doing. Hastily raising his hand for a second, Brock dashed +aside the stream of blood; but short as was the interruption it had +worked irreparable harm, and when Sindri drew his work out of the +fire he uttered an exclamation of disappointment for the hammer he +had fashioned was short in the handle. + + + "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." + + The Dwarfs, Oehlenschlaeger (Pigott's tr.). + + +Notwithstanding this mishap, Brock was sure of winning the wager and +he did not hesitate to present himself before the gods in Asgard, +where he gave Odin the ring Draupnir, Frey the boar Gullin-bursti, +and Thor the hammer Mioelnir, whose power none could resist. + +Loki in turn gave the spear Gungnir to Odin, the ship Skidbladnir to +Frey, and the golden hair to Thor; but although the latter immediately +grew upon Sif's head and was unanimously declared more beautiful than +her own locks had ever been, the gods decreed that Brock had won +the wager, on the ground that the hammer Mioelnir, in Thor's hands, +would prove invaluable against the frost giants on the last day. + + + "And at their head came Thor, + Shouldering his hammer, which the giants know." + + Balder Dead (Matthew Arnold). + + +In order to save his head, Loki fled precipitately, but was overtaken +by Thor, who brought him back and handed him over to Brock, telling +him, however, that although Loki's head was rightfully his, he +must not touch his neck. Hindered from obtaining full vengeance, +the dwarf determined to punish Loki by sewing his lips together, +and as his sword would not pierce them, he borrowed his brother's +awl for the purpose. However, Loki, after enduring the gods' gibes +in silence for a little while, managed to cut the string and soon +after was as loquacious as ever. + +In spite of his redoubtable hammer, Thor was not held in dread as +the injurious god of the storm, who destroyed peaceful homesteads +and ruined the harvest by sudden hail-storms and cloud-bursts. The +Northmen fancied he hurled it only against ice giants and rocky walls, +reducing the latter to powder to fertilise the earth and make it +yield plentiful fruit to the tillers of the soil. + +In Germany, where the eastern storms are always cold and blighting, +while the western bring warm rains and mild weather, Thor was supposed +to journey always from west to east, to wage war against the evil +spirits which would fain have enveloped the country in impenetrable +veils of mist and have bound it in icy fetters. + + + +Thor's Journey to Joetun-heim + +As the giants from Joetun-heim were continually sending out cold +blasts of wind to nip the tender buds and hinder the growth of the +flowers, Thor once made up his mind to go and force them to behave +better. Accompanied by Loki he set out in his chariot, and after +riding for a whole day the gods came at nightfall to the confines of +the giant-world, where, seeing a peasant's hut, they resolved to stay +for rest and refreshment. + +Their host was hospitable but very poor, and Thor, seeing that he +would scarcely be able to supply the necessary food to satisfy his +by no means small appetite, slew both his goats, which he cooked and +made ready to eat, inviting his host and family to partake freely of +the food thus provided, but cautioning them to throw all the bones, +without breaking them, into the skins of the goats which he had spread +out on the floor. + +The peasant and his family ate heartily, but his son Thialfi, +encouraged by mischievous Loki, ventured to break one of the bones +and suck out the marrow, thinking his disobedience would not be +detected. On the morrow, however, Thor, ready to depart, struck the +goat skins with his hammer Mioelnir, and immediately the goats sprang up +as lively as before, except that one seemed somewhat lame. Perceiving +that his commands had been disregarded, Thor would have slain the whole +family in his wrath. The culprit acknowledged his fault, however, +and the peasant offered to compensate for the loss by giving the +irate god not only his son Thialfi, but also his daughter Roskva, +to serve him for ever. + +Charging the man to take good care of the goats, which he left there +until he should return, and bidding the young peasants accompany +him, Thor now set out on foot with Loki, and after walking all day +found himself at nightfall in a bleak and barren country, which was +enveloped in an almost impenetrable grey mist. After seeking for +some time, Thor saw through the fog the uncertain outline of what +looked like a strangely-shaped house. Its open portal was so wide and +high that it seemed to take up all one side of the house. Entering +and finding neither fire nor light, Thor and his companions flung +themselves wearily down on the floor to sleep, but were soon disturbed +by a peculiar noise, and a prolonged trembling of the ground beneath +them. Fearing lest the main roof should fall during this earthquake, +Thor and his companions took refuge in a wing of the building, where +they soon fell sound asleep. At dawn, the god and his companions +passed out, but they had not gone very far ere they saw the recumbent +form of a sleeping giant, and perceived that the peculiar sounds +which had disturbed their rest were produced by his snores. At that +moment the giant awoke, arose, stretched himself, looked about him +for his missing property, and a second later picked up the object +which Thor and his companions had mistaken in the darkness for a +house. They then perceived with amazement that this was nothing more +than a huge mitten, and that the wing in which they had all slept +was the separate place for the giant's great thumb! Learning that +Thor and his companions were on their way to Utgard, as the giants' +realm was also called, Skrymir, the giant, proposed to be their guide; +and after walking with them all day, he brought them at nightfall to +a spot where he proposed to rest. Ere he composed himself for sleep, +however, he offered them the provisions in his wallet. But, in spite +of strenuous efforts, neither Thor nor his companions could unfasten +the knots which Skrymir had tied. + + + "Skrymir's thongs + Seemed to thee hard, + When at the food thou couldst not get, + When, in full health, of hunger dying." + + Saemund's Edda (Thorpe's tr.). + + + +Utgard-loki + +Angry because of his snoring, which kept them awake, Thor thrice +dealt him fearful blows with his hammer. These strokes, instead of +annihilating the monster, merely evoked sleepy comments to the effect +that a leaf, a bit of bark, or a twig from a bird's nest overhead had +fallen upon his face. Early on the morrow, Skrymir left Thor and his +companions, pointing out the shortest road to Utgard-loki's castle, +which was built of great ice blocks, with huge glittering icicles +as pillars. The gods, slipping between the bars of the great gate, +presented themselves boldly before the king of the giants, Utgard-loki, +who, recognising them, immediately pretended to be greatly surprised +at their small size, and expressed a wish to see for himself what +they could do, as he had often heard their prowess vaunted. + +Loki, who had fasted longer than he wished, immediately declared +he was ready to eat for a wager with any one. So the king ordered +a great wooden trough full of meat to be brought into the hall, and +placing Loki at one end and his cook Logi at the other, he bade them +see which would win. Although Loki did wonders, and soon reached the +middle of the trough, he found that, whereas he had picked the bones +clean, his opponent had devoured both them and the trough. + +Smiling contemptuously, Utgard-loki said that it was evident they +could not do much in the eating line, and this so nettled Thor that +he declared if Loki could not eat like the voracious cook, he felt +confident he could drain the biggest vessel in the house, such was +his unquenchable thirst. Immediately a horn was brought in, and, +Utgard-loki declaring that good drinkers emptied it at one draught, +moderately thirsty persons at two, and small drinkers at three, +Thor applied his lips to the rim. But, although he drank so deep +that he thought he would burst, the liquid still came almost up to +the rim when he raised his head. A second and third attempt to empty +this horn proved equally unsuccessful. Thialfi then offered to run +a race, but a young fellow named Hugi, who was matched against him, +soon outstripped him, although Thialfi ran remarkably fast. + +Thor proposed next to show his strength by lifting weights, and was +challenged to pick up the giant's cat. Seizing an opportunity to +tighten his belt Megin-gioerd, which greatly enhanced his strength, +he tugged and strained but was able only to raise one of its paws +from the floor. + + + "Strong is great Thor, no doubt, when Megingarder + He braces tightly o'er his rock-firm loins." + + Viking Tales of the North (R. B. Anderson). + + +A last attempt on his part to wrestle with Utgard-loki's old nurse +Elli, the only opponent deemed worthy of such a puny fellow, ended +just as disastrously, and the gods, acknowledging they were beaten, +were hospitably entertained. On the morrow they were escorted to the +confines of Utgard, where the giant politely informed them that he +hoped they would never call upon him again, as he had been forced +to employ magic against them. He then went on to explain that he +was the giant Skrymir, and that had he not taken the precaution +to interpose a mountain between his head and Thor's blows, while +he seemingly lay asleep, he would have been slain, as deep clefts +in the mountain side, to which he pointed, testified to the god's +strength. Next he informed them that Loki's opponent was Logi (wild +fire); that Thialfi had run a race with Hugi (thought), than which no +swifter runner exists; that Thor's drinking horn was connected with +the ocean, where his deep draughts had produced a perceptible ebb; +that the cat was in reality the terrible Midgard snake encircling the +world, which Thor had nearly pulled out of the sea; and that Elli, +his nurse, was old age, whom none can resist. Having finished these +explanations and cautioned them never to return or he would defend +himself by similar delusions, Utgard-loki vanished, and although Thor +angrily brandished his hammer, and would have destroyed his castle, +such a mist enveloped it that it could not be seen, and the thunder +god was obliged to return to Thrud-vang without having administered +his purposed salutary lesson to the race of giants. + + + "The strong-armed Thor + Full oft against Jotunheim did wend, + But spite his belt celestial, spite his gauntlets, + Utgard-Loki still his throne retains; + Evil, itself a force, to force yields never." + + Viking Tales of the North (R. B. Anderson). + + + +Thor and Hrungnir + +Odin himself was once dashing through the air on his eight-footed steed +Sleipnir, when he attracted the attention of the giant Hrungnir, +who proposed a race, declaring that Gullfaxi, his steed, could +rival Sleipnir in speed. In the heat of the race, Hrungnir did not +notice the direction in which they were going, until, in the vain +hope of overtaking Odin, he urged his steed to the very gates of +Valhalla. Discovering then where he was, the giant grew pale with +fear, for he knew he had jeopardised his life by venturing into the +stronghold of the gods, his hereditary foes. + +The AEsir, however, were too honourable to take even an enemy at a +disadvantage, and, instead of doing him harm, they asked him into their +banqueting-halls, where he proceeded to indulge in liberal potations +of the heavenly mead set before him. He soon grew so excited that he +began to boast of his power, declaring he would come some day and take +possession of Asgard, which he would destroy, together with the gods, +save only Freya and Sif, upon whom he gazed with an admiring leer. + +The gods, knowing he was not responsible, let him talk unmolested; +but Thor, coming home just then from one of his journeys, and +hearing his threat to carry away the beloved Sif, flew into a +terrible rage. He furiously brandished his hammer, with intent to +annihilate the boaster. This the gods would not permit, however, and +they quickly threw themselves between the irate Thunderer and their +guest, imploring Thor to respect the sacred rights of hospitality, +and not to desecrate their peace-stead by shedding blood. + +Thor was at last induced to bridle his wrath, but he demanded that +Hrungnir should appoint a time and place for a holmgang, as a Northern +duel was generally called. Thus challenged, Hrungnir promised to meet +Thor at Griottunagard, the confines of his realm, three days later, +and departed somewhat sobered by the fright he had experienced. When +his fellow giants heard how rash he had been, they chided him sorely; +but they took counsel together in order to make the best of a bad +situation. Hrungnir told them that he was to have the privilege of +being accompanied by a squire, whom Thialfi would engage in fight, +wherefore they proceeded to construct a creature of clay, nine +miles long, and proportionately wide, whom they called Mokerkialfi +(mist wader). As they could find no human heart big enough to put in +this monster's breast, they secured that of a mare, which, however, +kept fluttering and quivering with apprehension. The day of the duel +arrived. Hrungnir and his squire were on the ground awaiting the +arrival of their respective opponents. The giant had not only a flint +heart and skull, but also a shield and club of the same substance, +and therefore deemed himself well-nigh invincible. Thialfi came +before his master and soon after there was a terrible rumbling and +shaking which made the giant apprehensive that his enemy would come +up through the ground and attack him from underneath. He therefore +followed a hint from Thialfi and stood upon his shield. + +A moment later, however, he saw his mistake, for, while Thialfi +attacked Mokerkialfi with a spade, Thor came with a rush upon the scene +and flung his hammer full at his opponent's head. Hrungnir, to ward +off the blow, interposed his stone club, which was shivered into pieces +that flew all over the earth, supplying all the flint stones thereafter +to be found, and one fragment sank deep into Thor's forehead. As the +god dropped fainting to the ground, his hammer crashed against the +head of Hrungnir, who fell dead beside him, in such a position that +one of his ponderous legs was thrown over the recumbent god. + + + "Thou now remindest me + How I with Hrungnir fought, + That stout-hearted Jotun, + Whose head was all of stone; + Yet I made him fall + And sink before me." + + Saemund's Edda (Thorpe's tr.). + + +Thialfi, who, in the meanwhile, had disposed of the great clay giant +with its cowardly mare's heart, now rushed to his master's assistance, +but his efforts were unavailing, nor could the other gods, whom he +quickly summoned, raise the pinioning leg. While they were standing +there, helplessly wondering what they should do next, Thor's little +son Magni came up. According to varying accounts, he was then only +three days or three years old, but he quickly seized the giant's +foot, and, unaided, set his father free, declaring that had he only +been summoned sooner he would easily have disposed of both giant and +squire. This exhibition of strength made the gods marvel greatly, +and helped them to recognise the truth of the various predictions, +which one and all declared that their descendants would be mightier +than they, would survive them, and would rule in their turn over the +new heaven and earth. + +To reward his son for his timely aid, Thor gave him the steed Gullfaxi +(golden-maned), to which he had fallen heir by right of conquest, +and Magni ever after rode this marvellous horse, which almost equalled +the renowned Sleipnir in speed and endurance. + + + +Groa, the Sorceress + +After vainly trying to remove the stone splinter from his forehead, +Thor sadly returned home to Thrud-vang, where Sif's loving efforts +were equally unsuccessful. She therefore resolved to send for Groa +(green-making), a sorceress, noted for her skill in medicine and for +the efficacy of her spells and incantations. Groa immediately signified +her readiness to render every service in her power to the god who had +so often benefited her, and solemnly began to recite powerful runes, +under whose influence Thor felt the stone grow looser and looser. His +delight at the prospect of a speedy deliverance made Thor wish to +reward the enchantress forthwith, and knowing that nothing could give +greater pleasure to a mother than the prospect of seeing a long-lost +child, he proceeded to tell her that he had recently crossed the +Elivagar, or ice streams, to rescue her little son Orvandil (germ) from +the frost giants' cruel power, and had succeeded in carrying him off +in a basket. But, as the little rogue would persist in sticking one of +his bare toes through a hole in the basket, it had been frost-bitten, +and Thor, accidentally breaking it off, had flung it up into the sky, +to shine as a star, known in the North as "Orvandil's Toe." + +Delighted with these tidings, the prophetess paused in her incantations +to express her joy, but, having forgotten just where she left off, +she was unable to continue her spell, and the flint stone remained +embedded in Thor's forehead, whence it could never be dislodged. + +Of course, as Thor's hammer always did him such good service, it was +the most prized of all his possessions, and his dismay was very great +when he awoke one morning and found it gone. His cry of anger and +disappointment soon brought Loki to his side, and to him Thor confided +the secret of his loss, declaring that were the giants to hear of it, +they would soon attempt to storm Asgard and destroy the gods. + + + "Wroth waxed Thor, when his sleep was flown, + And he found his trusty hammer gone; + He smote his brow, his beard he shook, + The son of earth 'gan round him look; + And this the first word that he spoke: + 'Now listen what I tell thee, Loke; + Which neither on earth below is known, + Nor in heaven above: my hammer's gone." + + Thrym's Quida (Herbert's tr.). + + + +Thor and Thrym + +Loki declared he would try to discover the thief and recover the +hammer, if Freya would lend him her falcon plumes, and he immediately +hastened off to Folkvang to borrow them. His errand was successful and +in the form of a bird he then winged his flight across the river Ifing, +and over the barren stretches of Joetun-heim, where he suspected that +the thief would be found. There he saw Thrym, prince of the frost +giants and god of the destructive thunder-storm, sitting alone on a +hill-side. Artfully questioning him, he soon learned that Thrym had +stolen the hammer and had buried it deep underground. Moreover, he +found that there was little hope of its being restored unless Freya +were brought to him arrayed as a bride. + + + "I have the Thunderer's hammer bound + Fathoms eight beneath the ground; + With it shall no one homeward tread + Till he bring me Freya to share my bed." + + Thrym's Quida (Herbert's tr.). + + +Indignant at the giant's presumption, Loki returned to Thrud-vang, +but Thor declared it would be well to visit Freya and try to prevail +upon her to sacrifice herself for the general good. But when the AEsir +told the goddess of beauty what they wished her to do, she flew into +such a passion that even her necklace burst. She told them that she +would never leave her beloved husband for any god, much less to marry +a detested giant and dwell in Joetun-heim, where all was dreary in the +extreme, and where she would soon die of longing for the green fields +and flowery meadows, in which she loved to roam. Seeing that further +persuasions would be useless, Loki and Thor returned home and there +deliberated upon another plan for recovering the hammer. By Heimdall's +advice, which, however, was only accepted with extreme reluctance, +Thor borrowed and put on Freya's clothes together with her necklace, +and enveloped himself in a thick veil. Loki, having attired himself as +handmaiden, then mounted with him in the goat-drawn chariot, and the +strangely attired pair set out for Joetun-heim, where they intended to +play the respective parts of the goddess of beauty and her attendant. + + + "Home were driven + Then the goats, + And hitched to the car; + Hasten they must-- + The mountains crashed, + The earth stood in flames: + Odin's son + Rode to Joetun-heim." + + Norse Mythology (R. B. Anderson). + + +Thrym welcomed his guests at the palace door, overjoyed at the thought +that he was about to secure undisputed possession of the goddess +of beauty, for whom he had long sighed in vain. He quickly led them +to the banqueting-hall, where Thor, the bride elect, distinguished +himself by eating an ox, eight huge salmon, and all the cakes and +sweets provided for the women, washing down these miscellaneous viands +with the contents of two barrels of mead. + +The giant bridegroom watched these gastronomic feats with amazement, +whereupon Loki, in order to reassure him, confidentially whispered +that the bride was so deeply in love with him that she had not been +able to taste a morsel of food for more than eight days. Thrym then +sought to kiss the bride, but drew back appalled at the fire of her +glance, which Loki explained as a burning glance of love. The giant's +sister, claiming the usual gifts, was not even noticed; wherefore +Loki again whispered to the wondering Thrym that love makes people +absent-minded. Intoxicated with passion and mead, which he, too, +had drunk in liberal quantities, the bridegroom now bade his servants +produce the sacred hammer to consecrate the marriage, and as soon as +it was brought he himself laid it in the pretended Freya's lap. The +next moment a powerful hand closed over the short handle, and soon +the giant, his sister, and all the invited guests, were slain by the +terrible Thor. + + + "'Bear in the hammer to plight the maid; + Upon her lap the bruiser lay, + And firmly plight our hands and fay.' + The Thunderer's soul smiled in his breast; + When the hammer hard on his lap was placed, + Thrym first, the king of the Thursi, he slew, + And slaughtered all the giant crew." + + Thrym's Quida (Herbert's tr.). + + +Leaving a smoking heap of ruins behind them, the gods then drove +rapidly back to Asgard, where the borrowed garments were given back +to Freya, much to the relief of Thor, and the AEsir rejoiced at the +recovery of the precious hammer. When next Odin gazed upon that part +of Joetun-heim from his throne Hlidskialf, he saw the ruins covered +with tender green shoots, for Thor, having conquered his enemy, +had taken possession of his land, which henceforth would no longer +remain barren and desolate, but would bring forth fruit in abundance. + + + +Thor and Geirrod + +Loki once borrowed Freya's falcon-garb and flew off in search of +adventures to another part of Joetun-heim, where he perched on top +of the gables of Geirrod's house. He soon attracted the attention +of this giant, who bade one of his servants catch the bird. Amused +at the fellow's clumsy attempts to secure him, Loki flitted about +from place to place, only moving just as the giant was about to lay +hands upon him, when, miscalculating his distance, he suddenly found +himself a captive. + +Attracted by the bird's bright eyes, Geirrod looked closely at it and +concluded that it was a god in disguise, and finding that he could +not force him to speak, he locked him in a cage, where he kept him +for three whole months without food or drink. Conquered at last by +hunger and thirst, Loki revealed his identity, and obtained his release +by promising that he would induce Thor to visit Geirrod without his +hammer, belt, or magic gauntlet. Loki then flew back to Asgard, and +told Thor that he had been royally entertained, and that his host had +expressed a strong desire to see the powerful thunder-god, of whom +he had heard such wonderful tales. Flattered by this artful speech, +Thor was induced to consent to a friendly journey to Joetun-heim, +and the two gods set out, leaving the three marvellous weapons at +home. They had not gone far, however, ere they came to the house of +the giantess Grid, one of Odin's many wives. Seeing Thor unarmed, +she warned him to beware of treachery and lent him her own girdle, +staff, and glove. Some time after leaving her, Thor and Loki came to +the river Veimer, which the Thunderer, accustomed to wading, prepared +to ford, bidding Loki and Thialfi cling fast to his belt. + +In the middle of the stream, however, a sudden cloud-burst and freshet +overtook them; the waters began to rise and roar, and although Thor +leaned heavily upon his staff, he was almost swept away by the force +of the raging current. + + + "Wax not, Veimer, + Since to wade I desire + To the realm of the giants! + Know, if thou waxest, + Then waxes my asa-might + As high as the heavens." + + Norse Mythology (R. B. Anderson). + + +Thor now became aware of the presence, up stream, of Geirrod's daughter +Gialp, and rightly suspecting that she was the cause of the storm, he +picked up a huge boulder and flung it at her, muttering that the best +place to dam a river was at its source. The missile had the desired +effect, for the giantess fled, the waters abated, and Thor, exhausted +but safe, pulled himself up on the opposite bank by a little shrub, the +mountain-ash or sorb. This has since been known as "Thor's salvation," +and occult powers have been attributed to it. After resting awhile +Thor and his companions resumed their journey; but upon arriving at +Geirrod's house the god was so exhausted that he sank wearily upon +the only chair in sight. To his surprise, however, he felt it rising +beneath him, and fearful lest he should be crushed against the rafters, +he pushed the borrowed staff against the ceiling and forced the +chair downward with all his might. Then followed a terrible cracking, +sudden cries, and moans of pain; and when Thor came to investigate, +it appeared that the giant's daughters, Gialp and Greip, had slipped +under his chair with intent treacherously to slay him, and they had +reaped a righteous retribution and both lay crushed to death. + + + "Once I employed + My asa-might + In the realm of giants, + When Gialp and Greip, + Geirrod's daughters, + Wanted to lift me to heaven." + + Norse Mythology (R. B. Anderson). + + +Geirrod now appeared and challenged Thor to a test of strength and +skill, but without waiting for a preconcerted signal, he flung a +red-hot wedge at him. Thor, quick of eye and a practised catcher, +caught the missile with the giantess's iron glove, and hurled it +back at his opponent. Such was the force of the god, that the missile +passed, not only through the pillar behind which the giant had taken +refuge, but through him and the wall of the house, and buried itself +deep in the earth without. + +Thor then strode up to the giant's corpse, which at the blow from his +weapon had been petrified into stone, and set it up in a conspicuous +place, as a monument of his strength and of the victory he had won +over his redoubtable foes, the mountain giants. + + + +The Worship of Thor + +Thor's name has been given to many of the places he was wont to +frequent, such as the principal harbour of the Faroe Islands, and to +families which claim to be descended from him. It is still extant +in such names as Thunderhill in Surrey, and in the family names of +Thorburn and Thorwaldsen, but is most conspicuous in the name of one +of the days of the week, Thor's day or Thursday. + + + "Over the whole earth + Still is it Thor's day!" + + Saga of King Olaf (Longfellow). + + +Thor was considered a pre-eminently benevolent deity, and it was for +that reason that he was so widely worshipped and that temples to his +worship arose at Moeri, Hlader, Godey, Gothland, Upsala, and other +places, where the people never failed to invoke him for a favourable +year at Yule-tide, his principal festival. It was customary on this +occasion to burn a great log of oak, his sacred tree, as an emblem of +the warmth and light of summer, which would drive away the darkness +and cold of winter. + +Brides invariably wore red, Thor's favourite colour, which was +considered emblematical of love, and for the same reason betrothal +rings in the North were almost always set with a red stone. + +Thor's temples and statues, like Odin's, were fashioned of wood, +and the greater number of them were destroyed during the reign of +King Olaf the Saint. According to ancient chronicles, this monarch +forcibly converted his subjects. He was specially incensed against +the inhabitants of a certain province, because they worshipped a +rude image of Thor, which they decked with golden ornaments, and +before which they set food every evening, declaring the god ate it, +as no trace of it was left in the morning. + +The people, being called upon in 1030 to renounce this idol in favour +of the true God, promised to consent if the morrow were cloudy; +but when after a whole night spent by Olaf in ardent prayer, there +followed a cloudy day, the obstinate people declared they were not +yet convinced of his God's power, and would only believe if the sun +shone on the next day. + +Once more Olaf spent the night in prayer, but at dawn, to his +great chagrin, the sky was overcast. Nevertheless, he assembled the +people near Thor's statue, and after secretly bidding his principal +attendant to smash the idol with his battle-axe if the people turned +their eyes away but for a moment, he began to address them. Suddenly, +while all were listening to him, Olaf pointed to the horizon, where +the sun was slowly breaking its way through the clouds, and exclaimed, +"Behold our God!" The people one and all turned to see what he meant, +and the attendant seized this opportunity for attacking the idol, +which yielded easily to his blows, and a host of mice and other vermin +scattered hastily from its hollow interior. Seeing now that the food +placed before their god had been devoured by noxious animals only, +the people ceased to revere Thor, and definitely accepted the faith +which King Olaf had so long and vainly pressed upon them. + + + + + + +CHAPTER V: TYR + + +The God of War + +Tyr Tiu, or Ziu was the son of Odin, and, according to different +mythologists, his mother was Frigga, queen of the gods, or a beautiful +giantess whose name is unknown, but who was a personification of the +raging sea. He is the god of martial honour, and one of the twelve +principal deities of Asgard. Although he appears to have had no +special dwelling there, he was always welcome to Vingolf or Valhalla, +and occupied one of the twelve thrones in the great council hall +of Glads-heim. + + + "The hall Glads-heim, which is built of gold; + Where are in circle, ranged twelve golden chairs, + And in the midst one higher, Odin's Throne." + + Balder Dead (Matthew Arnold). + + +As the God of courage and of war, Tyr was frequently invoked by the +various nations of the North, who cried to him, as well as to Odin, +to obtain victory. That he ranked next to Odin and Thor is proved +by his name, Tiu, having been given to one of the days of the week, +Tiu's day, which in modern English has become Tuesday. Under the name +of Ziu, Tyr was the principal divinity of the Suabians, who originally +called their capital, the modern Augsburg, Ziusburg. This people, +venerating the god as they did, were wont to worship him under the +emblem of a sword, his distinctive attribute, and in his honour held +great sword dances, where various figures were performed. Sometimes +the participants forming two long lines, crossed their swords, point +upward, and challenged the boldest among their number to take a flying +leap over them. At other times the warriors joined their sword points +closely together in the shape of a rose or wheel, and when this +figure was complete invited their chief to stand on the navel thus +formed of flat, shining steel blades, and then they bore him upon it +through the camp in triumph. The sword point was further considered +so sacred that it became customary to register oaths upon it. + + + "... Come hither, gentlemen, + And lay your hands again upon my sword; + Never to speak of this that you have heard, + Swear by my sword." + + Hamlet (Shakespeare). + + +A distinctive feature of the worship of this god among the Franks and +some other Northern nations was that the priests called Druids or Godi +offered up human sacrifices upon his altars, generally cutting the +bloody- or spread-eagle upon their victims, that is to say, making a +deep incision on either side of the back-bone, turning the ribs thus +loosened inside out, and tearing out the viscera through the opening +thus made. Of course only prisoners of war were treated thus, and it +was considered a point of honour with north European races to endure +this torture without a moan. These sacrifices were made upon rude +stone altars called dolmens, which can still be seen in Northern +Europe. As Tyr was considered the patron god of the sword, it was +deemed indispensable to engrave the sign or rune representing him +upon the blade of every sword--an observance which the Edda enjoined +upon all those who were desirous of obtaining victory. + + + "Sig-runes thou must know, + If victory (sigr) thou wilt have, + And on thy sword's hilt rist them; + Some on the chapes, + Some on the guard, + And twice name the name of Tyr." + + Lay of Sigdrifa (Thorpe's tr.). + + +Tyr was identical with the Saxon god Saxnot (from sax, a sword), +and with Er, Heru, or Cheru, the chief divinity of the Cheruski, +who also considered him god of the sun, and deemed his shining sword +blade an emblem of its rays. + + + "This very sword a ray of light + Snatched from the Sun!" + + Valhalla (J. C. Jones). + + + +Tyr's Sword + +According to an ancient legend, Cheru's sword, which had been fashioned +by the same dwarfs, sons of Ivald, who had also made Odin's spear, +was held very sacred by his people, to whose care he had entrusted it, +declaring that those who possessed it were sure to have the victory +over their foes. But although carefully guarded in the temple, where +it was hung so that it reflected the first beams of the morning sun, +it suddenly and mysteriously disappeared one night. A Vala, druidess, +or prophetess, consulted by the priests, revealed that the Norns had +decreed that whoever wielded it would conquer the world and come +to his death by it; but in spite of all entreaties she refused to +tell who had taken it or where it might be found. Some time after +this occurrence a tall and dignified stranger came to Cologne, where +Vitellius, the Roman prefect, was feasting, and called him away from +his beloved dainties. In the presence of the Roman soldiery he gave +him the sword, telling him it would bring him glory and renown, and +finally hailed him as emperor. The cry was taken up by the assembled +legions, and Vitellius, without making any personal effort to secure +the honour, found himself elected Emperor of Rome. + +The new ruler, however, was so absorbed in indulging his taste for +food and drink that he paid but little heed to the divine weapon. One +day while leisurely making his way towards Rome he carelessly left it +hanging in the antechamber to his pavilion. A German soldier seized +this opportunity to substitute in its stead his own rusty blade, and +the besotted emperor did not notice the exchange. When he arrived at +Rome, he learned that the Eastern legions had named Vespasian emperor, +and that he was even then on his way home to claim the throne. + +Searching for the sacred weapon to defend his rights, Vitellius +now discovered the theft, and, overcome by superstitious fears, did +not even attempt to fight. He crawled away into a dark corner of his +palace, whence he was ignominiously dragged by the enraged populace to +the foot of the Capitoline Hill. There the prophecy was duly fulfilled, +for the German soldier, who had joined the opposite faction, coming +along at that moment, cut off Vitellius' head with the sacred sword. + +The German soldier now changed from one legion to another, and +travelled over many lands; but wherever he and his sword were found, +victory was assured. After winning great honour and distinction, this +man, having grown old, retired from active service to the banks of the +Danube, where he secretly buried his treasured weapon, building his hut +over its resting-place to guard it as long as he might live. When he +lay on his deathbed he was implored to reveal where he had hidden it, +but he persistently refused to do so, saying that it would be found +by the man who was destined to conquer the world, but that he would +not be able to escape the curse. Years passed by. Wave after wave +the tide of barbarian invasion swept over that part of the country, +and last of all came the terrible Huns under the leadership of Attila, +the "Scourge of God." As he passed along the river, he saw a peasant +mournfully examining his cow's foot, which had been wounded by some +sharp instrument hidden in the long grass, and when search was made +the point of a buried sword was found sticking out of the soil. + +Attila, seeing the beautiful workmanship and the fine state of +preservation of this weapon, immediately exclaimed that it was +Cheru's sword, and brandishing it above his head he announced that +he would conquer the world. Battle after battle was fought by the +Huns, who, according to the Saga, were everywhere victorious, until +Attila, weary of warfare, settled down in Hungary, taking to wife the +beautiful Burgundian princess Ildico, whose father he had slain. This +princess, resenting the murder of her kin and wishing to avenge it, +took advantage of the king's state of intoxication upon his wedding +night to secure possession of the divine sword, with which she slew +him in his bed, once more fulfilling the prophecy uttered so many +years before. + +The magic sword again disappeared for a long time, to be unearthed once +more, for the last time, by the Duke of Alva, Charles V.'s general, +who shortly after won the victory of Muehlberg (1547). The Franks +were wont to celebrate yearly martial games in honour of the sword; +but it is said that when the heathen gods were renounced in favour +of Christianity, the priests transferred many of their attributes to +the saints, and that this sword became the property of the Archangel +St. Michael, who has wielded it ever since. + +Tyr, whose name was synonymous with bravery and wisdom, was also +considered by the ancient Northern people to have the white-armed +Valkyrs, Odin's attendants, at his command, and they thought that +he it was who designated the warriors whom they should transfer to +Valhalla to aid the gods on the last day. + + + "The god Tyr sent + Gondul and Skogul + To choose a king + Of the race of Ingve, + To dwell with Odin + In roomy Valhal." + + Norse Mythology (R. B. Anderson). + + + +The Story of Fenris + +Tyr was generally spoken of and represented as one-armed, just as Odin +was called one-eyed. Various explanations are offered by different +authorities; some claim that it was because he could give the victory +only to one side; others, because a sword has but one blade. However +this may be, the ancients preferred to account for the fact in the +following way: + +Loki married secretly at Joetun-heim the hideous giantess Angur-boda +(anguish boding), who bore him three monstrous children--the wolf +Fenris, Hel, the parti-coloured goddess of death, and Ioermungandr, +a terrible serpent. He kept the existence of these monsters secret as +long as he could; but they speedily grew so large that they could no +longer remain confined in the cave where they had come to light. Odin, +from his throne Hlidskialf, soon became aware of their existence, +and also of the disquieting rapidity with which they increased in +size. Fearful lest the monsters, when they had gained further strength, +should invade Asgard and destroy the gods, Allfather determined to +get rid of them, and striding off to Joetun-heim, he flung Hel into +the depths of Nifl-heim, telling her she could reign over the nine +dismal worlds of the dead. He then cast Ioermungandr into the sea, +where he attained such immense proportions that at last he encircled +the earth and could bite his own tail. + + + "Into mid-ocean's dark depths hurled, + Grown with each day to giant size, + The serpent soon inclosed the world, + With tail in mouth, in circle-wise; + Held harmless still + By Odin's will." + + Valhalla (J. C. Jones). + + +None too well pleased that the serpent should attain such fearful +dimensions in his new element, Odin resolved to lead Fenris to +Asgard, where he hoped, by kindly treatment, to make him gentle +and tractable. But the gods one and all shrank in dismay when they +saw the wolf, and none dared approach to give him food except Tyr, +whom nothing daunted. Seeing that Fenris daily increased in size, +strength, voracity, and fierceness, the gods assembled in council +to deliberate how they might best dispose of him. They unanimously +decided that as it would desecrate their peace-steads to slay him, +they would bind him fast so that he could work them no harm. + +With that purpose in view, they obtained a strong chain named Laeding, +and then playfully proposed to Fenris to bind this about him as a test +of his vaunted strength. Confident in his ability to release himself, +Fenris patiently allowed them to bind him fast, and when all stood +aside, with a mighty effort he stretched himself and easily burst +the chain asunder. + +Concealing their chagrin, the gods were loud in praise of his strength, +but they next produced a much stronger fetter, Droma, which, after +some persuasion, the wolf allowed them to fasten around him as +before. Again a short, sharp struggle sufficed to burst this bond, +and it is proverbial in the North to use the figurative expressions, +"to get loose out of Laeding," and "to dash out of Droma," whenever +great difficulties have to be surmounted. + + + "Twice did the AEsir strive to bind, + Twice did they fetters powerless find; + Iron or brass of no avail, + Naught, save through magic, could prevail." + + Valhalla (J. C. Jones). + + +The gods, perceiving now that ordinary bonds, however strong, would +never prevail against the Fenris wolf's great strength, bade Skirnir, +Frey's servant, go down to Svart-alfa-heim and bid the dwarfs fashion +a bond which nothing could sever. + +By magic arts the dark elves manufactured a slender silken rope from +such impalpable materials as the sound of a cat's footsteps, a woman's +beard, the roots of a mountain, the longings of the bear, the voice of +fishes, and the spittle of birds, and when it was finished they gave +it to Skirnir, assuring him that no strength would avail to break it, +and that the more it was strained the stronger it would become. + + + "Gleipnir, at last, + By Dark Elves cast, + In Svart-alf-heim, with strong spells wrought, + To Odin was by Skirnir brought: + As soft as silk, as light as air, + Yet still of magic power most rare." + + Valhalla (J. C. Jones). + + +Armed with this bond, called Gleipnir, the gods went with Fenris to the +Island of Lyngvi, in the middle of Lake Amsvartnir, and again proposed +to test his strength. But although Fenris had grown still stronger, +he mistrusted the bond which looked so slight. He therefore refused to +allow himself to be bound, unless one of the AEsir would consent to put +his hand in his mouth, and leave it there, as a pledge of good faith, +and that no magic arts were to be used against him. + +The gods heard the decision with dismay, and all drew back except +Tyr, who, seeing that the others would not venture to comply with +this condition, boldly stepped forward and thrust his hand between +the monster's jaws. The gods now fastened Gleipnir securely around +Fenris's neck and paws, and when they saw that his utmost efforts to +free himself were fruitless, they shouted and laughed with glee. Tyr, +however, could not share their joy, for the wolf, finding himself +captive, bit off the god's hand at the wrist, which since then has +been known as the wolf's joint. + + + Loki. + + "Be silent, Tyr! + Thou couldst never settle + A strife 'twixt two; + Of thy right hand also + I must mention make, + Which Fenris from thee took. + + + Tyr. + + I of a hand am wanting, + But thou of honest fame; + Sad is the lack of either. + Nor is the wolf at ease: + He in bonds must abide + Until the gods' destruction." + + Saemund's Edda (Thorpe's tr.). + + +Deprived of his right hand, Tyr was now forced to use the maimed arm +for his shield, and to wield his sword with his left hand; but such +was his dexterity that he slew his enemies as before. + +The gods, in spite of the wolf's struggles, drew the end of the fetter +Gelgia through the rock Gioll, and fastened it to the boulder Thviti, +which was sunk deep in the ground. Opening wide his fearful jaws, +Fenris uttered such terrible howls that the gods, to silence him, +thrust a sword into his mouth, the hilt resting upon his lower jaw +and the point against his palate. The blood then began to pour out +in such streams that it formed a great river, called Von. The wolf +was destined to remain thus chained fast until the last day, when he +would burst his bonds and would be free to avenge his wrongs. + + + "The wolf Fenrir, + Freed from the chain, + Shall range the earth." + + Death-song of Hakon (W. Taylor's tr.). + + +While some mythologists see in this myth an emblem of crime restrained +and made innocuous by the power of the law, others see the underground +fire, which kept within bounds can injure no one, but which unfettered +fills the world with destruction and woe. Just as Odin's second +eye is said to rest in Mimir's well, so Tyr's second hand (sword) +is found in Fenris's jaws. He has no more use for two weapons than +the sky for two suns. + +The worship of Tyr is commemorated in sundry places (such as Tuebingen, +in Germany), which bear more or less modified forms of his name. The +name has also been given to the aconite, a plant known in Northern +countries as "Tyr's helm." + + + + + + +CHAPTER VI: BRAGI + + +The Origin of Poetry + +At the time of the dispute between the AEsir and Vanas, when peace +had been agreed upon, a vase was brought into the assembly into which +both parties solemnly spat. From this saliva the gods created Kvasir, +a being renowned for his wisdom and goodness, who went about the +world answering all questions asked him, thus teaching and benefiting +mankind. The dwarfs, hearing about Kvasir's great wisdom, coveted it, +and finding him asleep one day, two of their number, Fialar and Galar, +treacherously slew him, and drained every drop of his blood into +three vessels--the kettle Od-hroerir (inspiration) and the bowls Son +(expiation) and Boden (offering). After duly mixing this blood with +honey, they manufactured from it a sort of beverage so inspiring that +any one who tasted it immediately became a poet, and could sing with +a charm which was certain to win all hearts. + +Now, although the dwarfs had brewed this marvellous mead for their own +consumption, they did not even taste it, but hid it away in a secret +place, while they went in search of further adventures. They had not +gone very far ere they found the giant Gilling also sound asleep, +lying on a steep bank, and they maliciously rolled him into the water, +where he perished. Then hastening to his dwelling, some climbed on +the roof, carrying a huge millstone, while the others, entering, +told the giantess that her husband was dead. This news caused the +poor creature great grief, and she rushed out of the house to view +Gilling's remains. As she passed through the door, the wicked dwarfs +rolled the millstone down upon her head, and killed her. According to +another account, the dwarfs invited the giant to go fishing with them, +and succeeded in slaying him by sending him out in a leaky vessel, +which sank beneath his weight. + +The double crime thus committed did not long remain unpunished, for +Gilling's brother, Suttung, quickly went in search of the dwarfs, +determined to avenge him. Seizing them in his mighty grasp, the giant +conveyed them to a shoal far out at sea, where they would surely have +perished at the next high tide had they not succeeded in redeeming +their lives by promising to deliver to the giant their recently +brewed mead. As soon as Suttung set them ashore, they therefore +gave him the precious compound, which he entrusted to his daughter +Gunlod, bidding her guard it night and day, and allow neither gods +nor mortals to have so much as a taste. The better to fulfil this +command, Gunlod carried the three vessels into the hollow mountain, +where she kept watch over them with the most scrupulous care, nor +did she suspect that Odin had discovered their place of concealment, +thanks to the sharp eyes of his ever-vigilant ravens Hugin and Munin. + + + +The Quest of the Draught + +As Odin had mastered the runic lore and had tasted the waters of +Mimir's fountain, he was already the wisest of gods; but learning +of the power of the draught of inspiration manufactured out of +Kvasir's blood, he became very anxious to obtain possession of the +magic fluid. With this purpose in view he therefore donned his +broad-brimmed hat, wrapped himself in his cloud-hued cloak, and +journeyed off to Joetun-heim. On his way to the giant's dwelling he +passed by a field where nine ugly thralls were busy making hay. Odin +paused for a moment, watching them at their work, and noticing that +their scythes seemed very dull indeed, he proposed to whet them, +an offer which the thralls eagerly accepted. + +Drawing a whetstone from his bosom, Odin proceeded to sharpen the +nine scythes, skilfully giving them such a keen edge that the thralls, +delighted, begged that they might have the stone. With good-humoured +acquiescence, Odin tossed the whetstone over the wall; but as the +nine thralls simultaneously sprang forward to catch it, they wounded +one another with their keen scythes. In anger at their respective +carelessness, they now began to fight, and did not pause until they +were all either mortally wounded or dead. + +Quite undismayed by this tragedy, Odin continued on his way, and +shortly after came to the house of the giant Baugi, a brother +of Suttung, who received him very hospitably. In the course of +conversation, Baugi informed him that he was greatly embarrassed, +as it was harvest time and all his workmen had just been found dead +in the hayfield. + +Odin, who on this occasion had given his name as Bolwerk (evil doer), +promptly offered his services to the giant, promising to accomplish +as much work as the nine thralls, and to labour diligently all the +summer in exchange for one single draught of Suttung's magic mead when +the busy season was ended. This bargain was immediately concluded, +and Baugi's new servant, Bolwerk, worked incessantly all the summer +long, more than fulfilling his contract, and safely garnering all the +grain before the autumn rains began to fall. When the first days of +winter came, Bolwerk presented himself before his master, claiming +his reward. But Baugi hesitated and demurred, saying he dared not +openly ask his brother Suttung for the draught of inspiration, but +would try to obtain it by guile. Together, Bolwerk and Baugi then +proceeded to the mountain where Gunlod dwelt, and as they could find +no other mode of entering the secret cave, Odin produced his trusty +auger, called Rati, and bade the giant bore with all his might to +make a hole through which he might crawl into the interior. + +Baugi silently obeyed, and after a few moments' work withdrew the tool, +saying that he had pierced through the mountain, and that Odin would +have no difficulty in slipping through. But the god, mistrusting this +statement, merely blew into the hole, and when the dust and chips came +flying into his face, he sternly bade Baugi resume his boring and not +attempt to deceive him again. The giant did as he was told, and when +he withdrew his tool again, Odin ascertained that the hole was really +finished. Changing himself into a snake, he wriggled through with +such remarkable rapidity that he managed to elude the sharp auger, +which Baugi treacherously thrust into the hole after him, intending +to kill him. + + + "Rati's mouth I caused + To make a space, + And to gnaw the rock; + Over and under me + Were the Joetun's ways: + Thus I my head did peril." + + Havamal (Thorpe's tr.). + + + +The Rape of the Draught + +Having reached the interior of the mountain, Odin reassumed his usual +godlike form and starry mantle, and then presented himself in the +stalactite-hung cave before the beautiful Gunlod. He intended to win +her love as a means of inducing her to grant him a sip from each of +the vessels confided to her care. + +Won by his passionate wooing, Gunlod consented to become his wife, +and after he had spent three whole days with her in this retreat, +she brought out the vessels from their secret hiding-place, and told +him he might take a sip from each. + + + "And a draught obtained + Of the precious mead, + Drawn from Od-hroerir." + + Odin's Rune-Song (Thorpe's tr.). + + +Odin made good use of this permission and drank so deeply that he +completely drained all three vessels. Then, having obtained all that +he wanted, he emerged from the cave and, donning his eagle plumes, +rose high into the blue, and, after hovering for a moment over the +mountain top, winged his flight towards Asgard. + +He was still far from the gods' realm when he became aware of a +pursuer, and, indeed, Suttung, having also assumed the form of an +eagle, was coming rapidly after him with intent to compel him to +surrender the stolen mead. Odin therefore flew faster and faster, +straining every nerve to reach Asgard before the foe should overtake +him, and as he drew near the gods anxiously watched the race. + +Seeing that Odin would only with difficulty be able to escape, the +AEsir hastily gathered all the combustible materials they could find, +and as he flew over the ramparts of their dwelling, they set fire to +the mass of fuel, so that the flames, rising high, singed the wings +of Suttung, as he followed the god, and he fell into the very midst +of the fire, where he was burned to death. + +As for Odin, he flew to where the gods had prepared vessels for +the stolen mead, and disgorged the draught of inspiration in such +breathless haste that a few drops fell and were scattered over the +earth. There they became the portion of rhymesters and poetasters, +the gods reserving the main draught for their own consumption, and +only occasionally vouchsafing a taste to some favoured mortal, who, +immediately after, would win world-wide renown by his inspired songs. + + + "Of a well-assumed form + I made good use: + Few things fail the wise; + For Od-hroerir + Is now come up + To men's earthly dwellings." + + Havamal (Thorpe's tr.). + + +As men and gods owed the priceless gift to Odin, they were ever ready +to express to him their gratitude, and they not only called it by +his name, but they worshipped him as patron of eloquence, poetry, +and song, and of all scalds. + + + +The God of Music + +Although Odin had thus won the gift of poetry, he seldom made use of +it himself. It was reserved for his son Bragi, the child of Gunlod, +to become the god of poetry and music, and to charm the world with +his songs. + + + "White-bearded bard, ag'd + Bragi, his gold harp + Sweeps--and yet softer + Stealeth the day." + + Viking Tales of the North (R. B. Anderson). + + +As soon as Bragi was born in the stalactite-hung cave where Odin had +won Gunlod's affections, the dwarfs presented him with a magical golden +harp, and, setting him on one of their own vessels, they sent him out +into the wide world. As the boat gently passed out of subterranean +darkness, and floated over the threshold of Nain, the realm of the +dwarf of death, Bragi, the fair and immaculate young god, who until +then had shown no signs of life, suddenly sat up, and, seizing the +golden harp beside him, he began to sing the wondrous song of life, +which rose at times to heaven, and then sank down to the dread realm +of Hel, goddess of death. + + + "Yggdrasil's ash is + Of all trees most excellent, + And of all ships, Skidbladnir; + Of the AEsir, Odin, + And of horses, Sleipnir; + Bifroest of bridges, + And of scalds, Bragi." + + Lay of Grimnir (Thorpe's tr.). + + +While he played the vessel was wafted gently over sunlit waters, and +soon touched the shore. Bragi then proceeded on foot, threading his +way through the bare and silent forest, playing as he walked. At the +sound of his tender music the trees began to bud and bloom, and the +grass underfoot was gemmed with countless flowers. + +Here he met Idun, daughter of Ivald, the fair goddess of immortal +youth, whom the dwarfs allowed to visit the earth from time to time, +when, at her approach, nature invariably assumed its loveliest and +gentlest aspect. + +It was only to be expected that two such beings should feel +attracted to each other, and Bragi soon won this fair goddess for his +wife. Together they hastened to Asgard, where both were warmly welcomed +and where Odin, after tracing runes on Bragi's tongue, decreed that +he should be the heavenly minstrel and composer of songs in honour +of the gods and of the heroes whom he received in Valhalla. + + + +Worship of Bragi + +As Bragi was god of poetry, eloquence, and song, the Northern +races also called poetry by his name, and scalds of either sex were +frequently designated as Braga-men or Braga-women. Bragi was greatly +honoured by all the Northern races, and hence his health was always +drunk on solemn or festive occasions, but especially at funeral feasts +and at Yuletide celebrations. + +When it was time to drink this toast, which was served in cups shaped +like a ship, and was called the Bragaful, the sacred sign of the hammer +was first made over it. Then the new ruler or head of the family +solemnly pledged himself to some great deed of valour, which he was +bound to execute within the year, unless he wished to be considered +destitute of honour. Following his example, all the guests were then +wont to make similar vows and declare what they would do; and as some +of them, owing to previous potations, talked rather too freely of +their intentions on these occasions, this custom seems to connect the +god's name with the vulgar but very expressive English verb "to brag." + +In art, Bragi is generally represented as an elderly man, with long +white hair and beard, and holding the golden harp from which his +fingers could draw such magic strains. + + + + + + +CHAPTER VII: IDUN + + +The Apples of Youth + +Idun, the personification of spring or immortal youth, who, according +to some mythologists, had no birth and was never to taste death, +was warmly welcomed by the gods when she made her appearance in +Asgard with Bragi. To further win their affections she promised them +a daily taste of the marvellous apples which she bore in her casket, +and which had the power of conferring immortal youth and loveliness +upon all who partook of them. + + + "The golden apples + Out of her garden + Have yielded you a dower of youth, + Ate you them every day." + + Wagner (Forman's tr.). + + +Thanks to this magic fruit, the Scandinavian gods, who, because +they sprang from a mixed race, were not all immortal, warded off the +approach of old age and disease, and remained vigorous, beautiful, and +young through countless ages. These apples were therefore considered +very precious indeed, and Idun carefully treasured them in her magic +casket. No matter how many she drew out, the same number always +remained for distribution at the feast of the gods, to whom alone she +vouchsafed a taste, although dwarfs and giants were eager to obtain +possession of the fruit. + + + "Bright Iduna, Maid immortal! + Standing at Valhalla's portal, + In her casket has rich store + Of rare apples gilded o'er; + Those rare apples, not of Earth, + Ageing AEsir give fresh birth." + + Valhalla (J. C. Jones). + + + +The Story of Thiassi + +One day, Odin, Hoenir, and Loki started out upon one of their usual +excursions to earth, and, after wandering for a long while, they +found themselves in a deserted region, where they could discover no +hospitable dwelling. Weary and very hungry, the gods, perceiving a +herd of oxen, slew one of the beasts, and, kindling a fire, they sat +down beside it to rest while waiting for their meat to cook. + +To their surprise, however, in spite of the roaring flames the carcass +remained quite raw. Realising that some magic must be at work, they +looked about them to discover what could hinder their cookery, when +they perceived an eagle perched upon a tree above them. Seeing that he +was an object of suspicion to the wayfarers, the bird addressed them +and admitted that he it was who had prevented the fire from doing its +accustomed work, but he offered to remove the spell if they would give +him as much food as he could eat. The gods agreed to do this, whereupon +the eagle, swooping downward, fanned the flames with his huge wings, +and soon the meat was cooked. The eagle then made ready to carry off +three quarters of the ox as his share, but this was too much for Loki, +who seized a great stake lying near at hand, and began to belabour +the voracious bird, forgetting that it was skilled in magic arts. To +his great dismay one end of the stake stuck fast to the eagle's back, +the other to his hands, and he found himself dragged over stones and +through briers, sometimes through the air, his arms almost torn out +of their sockets. In vain he cried for mercy and implored the eagle +to let him go; the bird flew on, until he promised any ransom his +captor might ask in exchange for his release. + +The seeming eagle, who was the storm giant Thiassi, at last agreed +to release Loki upon one condition. He made him promise upon the +most solemn of oaths that he would lure Idun out of Asgard, so that +Thiassi might obtain possession of her and of her magic fruit. + +Released at last, Loki returned to Odin and Hoenir, to whom, however, +he was very careful not to confide the condition upon which he had +obtained his freedom; and when they had returned to Asgard he began +to plan how he might entice Idun outside of the gods' abode. A few +days later, Bragi being absent on one of his minstrel journeys, Loki +sought Idun in the groves of Brunnaker, where she had taken up her +abode, and by artfully describing some apples which grew at a short +distance, and which he mendaciously declared were exactly like hers, +he lured her away from Asgard with a crystal dish full of fruit, +which she intended to compare with that which he extolled. No sooner +had Idun left Asgard, however, than the deceiver Loki forsook her, +and ere she could return to the shelter of the heavenly abode the +storm giant Thiassi swept down from the north on his eagle wings, +and catching her up in his cruel talons, he bore her swiftly away to +his barren and desolate home of Thrym-heim. + + + "Thrymheim the sixth is named, + Where Thiassi dwelt, + That all-powerful Joetun." + + Lay of Grimnir (Thorpe's tr.). + + +Isolated from her beloved companions, Idun pined, grew pale and sad, +but persistently refused to give Thiassi the smallest bite of her +magic fruit, which, as he well knew, would make him beautiful and +renew his strength and youth. + + + "All woes that fall + On Odin's hall + Can be traced to Loki base. + From out Valhalla's portal + 'Twas he who pure Iduna lured,-- + Whose casket fair + Held apples rare + That render gods immortal,-- + And in Thiassi's tower immured." + + Valhalla (J. C. Jones). + + +Time passed. The gods, thinking that Idun had accompanied her husband +and would soon return, at first paid no heed to her departure, but +little by little the beneficent effect of the last feast of apples +passed away. They began to feel the approach of old age, and saw +their youth and beauty disappear; so, becoming alarmed, they began +to search for the missing goddess. + +Close investigation revealed the fact that she had last been seen in +Loki's company, and when Odin sternly called him to account, he was +forced to admit that he had betrayed her into the storm-giant's power. + + + "By his mocking, scornful mien, + Soon in Valhal it was seen + 'Twas the traitor Loki's art + Which had led Idun apart + To gloomy tower + And Jotun power." + + Valhalla (J. C. Jones). + + + +The Return of Idun + +The attitude of the gods now became very menacing, and it was clear +to Loki that if he did not devise means to restore the goddess, +and that soon, his life would be in considerable danger. + +He assured the indignant gods, therefore, that he would leave no +stone unturned in his efforts to secure the release of Idun, and, +borrowing Freya's falcon plumage, he flew off to Thrym-heim, where +he found Idun alone, sadly mourning her exile from Asgard and her +beloved Bragi. Changing the fair goddess into a nut according to +some accounts, or according to others, into a swallow, Loki grasped +her tightly between his claws, and then rapidly retraced his way to +Asgard, hoping that he would reach the shelter of its high walls ere +Thiassi returned from a fishing excursion in the Northern seas to +which he had gone. + +Meantime the gods had assembled on the ramparts of the heavenly +city, and they were watching for the return of Loki with far more +anxiety than they had felt for Odin when he went in search of +Od-hroerir. Remembering the success of their ruse on that occasion, +they had gathered great piles of fuel, which they were ready to set +on fire at any moment. + +Suddenly they saw Loki coming, but descried in his wake a great +eagle. This was the giant Thiassi who had suddenly returned to +Thrym-heim and found that his captive had been carried off by a falcon, +in whom he readily recognised one of the gods. Hastily donning his +eagle plumes he had given immediate chase and was rapidly overtaking +his prey. Loki redoubled his efforts as he neared the walls of Asgard, +and ere Thiassi overtook him he reached the goal and sank exhausted in +the midst of the gods. Not a moment was lost in setting fire to the +accumulated fuel, and as the pursuing Thiassi passed over the walls +in his turn, the flames and smoke brought him to the ground crippled +and half stunned, an easy prey to the gods, who fell ruthlessly upon +him and slew him. + +The AEsir were overjoyed at the recovery of Idun, and they hastened +to partake of the precious apples which she had brought safely +back. Feeling the return of their wonted strength and good looks with +every mouthful they ate, they good-naturedly declared that it was +no wonder if even the giants longed to taste the apples of perpetual +youth. They vowed therefore that they would place Thiassi's eyes as +a constellation in the heavens, in order to soften any feeling of +anger which his kinsmen might experience upon learning that he had +been slain. + + + "Up I cast the eyes + Of Allvaldi's son + Into the heaven's serene: + They are signs the greatest + Of my deeds." + + Lay of Harbard (Thorpe's tr.). + + + +The Goddess of Spring + +The physical explanation of this myth is obvious. Idun, the emblem of +vegetation, is forcibly carried away in autumn, when Bragi is absent +and the singing of the birds has ceased. The cold wintry wind, Thiassi, +detains her in the frozen, barren north, where she cannot thrive, +until Loki, the south wind, brings back the seed or the swallow, +which are both precursors of the returning spring. The youth, beauty, +and strength conferred by Idun are symbolical of Nature's resurrection +in spring after winter's sleep, when colour and vigour return to the +earth, which had grown wrinkled and grey. + + + +Idun Falls to the Nether World + +As the disappearance of Idun (vegetation) was a yearly occurrence, +we might expect to find other myths dealing with the striking +phenomenon, and there is another favourite of the old scalds which, +unfortunately, has come down to us only in a fragmentary and very +incomplete form. According to this account, Idun was once sitting upon +the branches of the sacred ash Yggdrasil when, growing suddenly faint, +she loosed her hold and dropped to the ground beneath, and down to +the lowest depths of Nifl-heim. There she lay, pale and motionless, +gazing with fixed and horror-struck eyes upon the gruesome sights +of Hel's realm, trembling violently the while, like one overcome by +penetrating cold. + + + "In the dales dwells + The prescient Dis, + From Yggdrasil's + Ash sunk down, + Of alfen race, + Idun by name, + The youngest of Ivaldi's + Elder children. + She ill brooked + Her descent + Under the hoar tree's + Trunk confined. + She would not happy be + With Norvi's daughter, + Accustomed to a pleasanter + Abode at home." + + Odin's Ravens' Song (Thorpe's tr.). + + +Seeing that she did not return, Odin bade Bragi, Heimdall, and another +of the gods go in search of her, giving them a white wolfskin to +envelop her in, so that she should not suffer from the cold, and +bidding them make every effort to rouse her from the stupor which +his prescience told him had taken possession of her. + + + "A wolf's skin they gave her, + In which herself she clad." + + Odin's Ravens' Song (Thorpe's tr.). + + +Idun passively allowed the gods to wrap her in the warm wolfskin, +but she persistently refused to speak or move, and from her strange +manner her husband sadly suspected that she had had a vision of great +ills. The tears ran continuously down her pallid cheeks, and Bragi, +overcome by her unhappiness, at length bade the other gods return +to Asgard without him, vowing that he would remain beside his wife +until she was ready to leave Hel's dismal realm. The sight of her +woe oppressed him so sorely that he had no heart for his usual merry +songs, and the strings of his harp were mute while he remained in +the underworld. + + + "That voice-like zephyr o'er flow'r meads creeping, + Like Bragi's music his harp strings sweeping." + + Viking Tales of the North (R. B. Anderson). + + +In this myth Idun's fall from Yggdrasil is symbolical of the autumnal +falling of the leaves, which lie limp and helpless on the cold bare +ground until they are hidden from sight under the snow, represented +by the wolfskin, which Odin, the sky, sends down to keep them warm; +and the cessation of the birds' songs is further typified by Bragi's +silent harp. + + + + + + +CHAPTER VIII: NIOeRD + + +A Hostage with the Gods + +We have already seen how the AEsir and Vanas exchanged hostages after +the terrible war they had waged against each other, and that while +Hoenir, Odin's brother, went to live in Vana-heim, Nioerd, with his +two children, Frey and Freya, definitely took up his abode in Asgard. + + + "In Vana-heim + Wise powers him created, + And to the gods a hostage gave." + + Lay of Vafthrudnir (Thorpe's tr.). + + +As ruler of the winds, and of the sea near the shore, Nioerd was +given the palace of Noatun, near the seashore, where, we are told, he +stilled the terrible tempests stirred up by AEgir, god of the deep sea. + + + "Nioerd, the god of storms, whom fishers know; + Not born in Heaven--he was in Van-heim rear'd, + With men, but lives a hostage with the gods; + He knows each frith, and every rocky creek + Fringed with dark pines, and sands where sea-fowl scream." + + Balder Dead (Matthew Arnold). + + +He also extended his special protection over commerce and fishing, +which two occupations could be pursued with advantage only during +the short summer months, of which he was in a measure considered +the personification. + + + +The God of Summer + +Nioerd is represented in art as a very handsome god, in the prime +of life, clad in a short green tunic, with a crown of shells and +seaweed upon his head, or a brown-brimmed hat adorned with eagle or +heron plumes. As personification of the summer, he was invoked to +still the raging storms which desolated the coasts during the winter +months. He was also implored to hasten the vernal warmth and thereby +extinguish the winter fires. + +As agriculture was practised only during the summer months, and +principally along the fiords or sea inlets, Nioerd was also invoked +for favourable harvests, for he was said to delight in prospering +those who placed their trust in him. + +Nioerd's first wife, according to some authorities, was his sister +Nerthus, Mother Earth, who in Germany was identified with Frigga, as we +have seen, but in Scandinavia was considered a separate divinity. Nioerd +was, however, obliged to part with her when summoned to Asgard, +where he occupied one of the twelve seats in the great council hall, +and was present at all the assemblies of the gods, withdrawing to +Noatun only when his services were not required by the AEsir. + + + "Noatun is the eleventh; + There Nioerd has + Himself a dwelling made, + Prince of men; + Guiltless of sin, + He rules o'er the high-built fane." + + Lay of Grimnir (Thorpe's tr.). + + +In his home by the seashore, Nioerd delighted in watching the gulls +fly to and fro, and in observing the graceful movements of the swans, +his favourite birds, which were held sacred to him. He spent many an +hour, too, gazing at the gambols of the gentle seals, which came to +bask in the sunshine at his feet. + + + +Skadi, Goddess of Winter + +Shortly after Idun's return from Thrym-heim, and Thiassi's death within +the bounds of Asgard, the assembled gods were greatly surprised and +dismayed to see Skadi, the giant's daughter, appear one day in their +midst, to demand satisfaction for her father's death. Although the +daughter of an ugly old Hrim-thurs, Skadi, the goddess of winter, +was very beautiful indeed, in her silvery armour, with her glittering +spear, sharp-pointed arrows, short white hunting dress, white fur +leggings, and broad snowshoes; and the gods could not but recognise +the justice of her claim, wherefore they offered the usual fine in +atonement. Skadi, however, was so angry that she at first refused +this compromise, and sternly demanded a life for a life, until Loki, +wishing to appease her wrath, and thinking that if he could only make +her cold lips relax in a smile the rest would be easy, began to play +all manner of pranks. Fastening a goat to himself by an invisible cord, +he went through a series of antics, which were reproduced by the goat; +and the sight was so grotesque that all the gods fairly shouted with +merriment, and even Skadi was forced to smile. + +Taking advantage of this softened mood, the gods pointed to the +firmament where her father's eyes glowed like radiant stars in the +northern hemisphere. They told her they had placed them there to show +him all honour, and finally added that she might select as husband +any of the gods present at the assembly, providing she were content +to judge of their attractions by their naked feet. + +Blindfolded, so that she could see only the feet of the gods standing +in a circle around her, Skadi looked about her and her gaze fell upon +a pair of beautifully formed feet. She felt sure they must belong to +Balder, the god of light, whose bright face had charmed her, and she +designated their owner as her choice. + +When the bandage was removed, however, she discovered to her chagrin +that she had chosen Nioerd, to whom her troth was plighted; but +notwithstanding her disappointment, she spent a happy honeymoon in +Asgard, where all seemed to delight in doing her honour. After this, +Nioerd took his bride home to Noatun, where the monotonous sound of +the waves, the shrieking of the gulls, and the cries of the seals +so disturbed Skadi's slumbers that she finally declared it was quite +impossible for her to remain there any longer, and she implored her +husband to take her back to her native Thrym-heim. + + + "Sleep could I not + On my sea-strand couch, + For screams of the sea fowl. + There wakes me, + When from the wave he comes, + Every morning the mew." + + Norse Mythology (R. B. Anderson). + + +Nioerd, anxious to please his new wife, consented to take her to +Thrym-heim and to dwell there with her nine nights out of every twelve, +providing she would spend the remaining three with him at Noatun; +but when he reached the mountain region, the soughing of the wind in +the pines, the thunder of the avalanches, the cracking of the ice, +the roar of the waterfalls, and the howling of the wolves appeared +to him as unbearable as the sound of the sea had seemed to his wife, +and he could not but rejoice each time when his period of exile was +ended, and he found himself again at Noatun. + + + "Am weary of the mountains; + Not long was I there, + Only nine nights; + The howl of the wolves + Methought sounded ill + To the song of the swans." + + Norse Mythology (R. B. Anderson). + + + +The Parting of Nioerd and Skadi + +For some time, Nioerd and Skadi, who are the personifications of summer +and winter, alternated thus, the wife spending the three short summer +months by the sea, and he reluctantly remaining with her in Thrym-heim +during the nine long winter months. But, concluding at last that their +tastes would never agree, they decided to part for ever, and returned +to their respective homes, where each could follow the occupations +which custom had endeared to them. + + + "Thrym-heim it's called, + Where Thjasse dwelled, + That stream-mighty giant; + But Skade now dwells, + Pure bride of the gods, + In her father's old mansion." + + Norse Mythology (R. B. Anderson). + + +Skadi now resumed her wonted pastime of hunting, leaving her realm +again only to marry the semi-historical Odin, to whom she bore a son +called Saeming, the first king of Norway, and the supposed founder of +the royal race which long ruled that country. + +According to other accounts, however, Skadi eventually married Uller, +the winter-god. As Skadi was a skilful marksman, she is represented +with bow and arrow, and, as goddess of the chase, she is generally +accompanied by one of the wolf-like Eskimo dogs so common in the +North. Skadi was invoked by hunters and by winter travellers, whose +sleighs she would guide over the snow and ice, thus helping them to +reach their destination in safety. + +Skadi's anger against the gods, who had slain her father, the storm +giant, is an emblem of the unbending rigidity of the ice-enveloped +earth, which, softened at last by the frolicsome play of Loki (the +heat lightning), smiles, and permits the embrace of Nioerd (summer). His +love, however, cannot hold her for more than three months of the year +(typified in the myth by nights), as she is always secretly longing for +the wintry storms and for her wonted activities among the mountains. + + + +The Worship of Nioerd + +Nioerd was supposed to bless the vessels passing in and out of port, +and his temples were situated by the seashore; there oaths in his +name were commonly sworn, and his health was drunk at every banquet, +where he was invariably named with his son Frey. + +As all aquatic plants were supposed to belong to him, the marine sponge +was known in the North as "Nioerd's glove," a name which was retained +until lately, when the same plant has been popularly re-named the +"Virgin's hand." + + + + + + +CHAPTER IX: FREY + + +The God of Fairyland + +Frey, or Fro, as he was called in Germany, was the son of Nioerd and +Nerthus, or of Nioerd and Skadi, and was born in Vana-heim. He therefore +belonged to the race of the Vanas, the divinities of water and air, +but was warmly welcomed in Asgard when he came thither as hostage +with his father. As it was customary among the Northern nations to +bestow some valuable gift upon a child when he cut his first tooth, +the AEsir gave the infant Frey the beautiful realm of Alf-heim or +Fairyland, the home of the Light Elves. + + + "Alf-heim the gods to Frey + Gave in days of yore + For a tooth gift." + + Saemund's Edda (Thorpe's tr.). + + +Here Frey, the god of the golden sunshine and the warm summer +showers, took up his abode, charmed with the society of the elves +and fairies, who implicitly obeyed his every order, and at a sign +from him flitted to and fro, doing all the good in their power, +for they were pre-eminently beneficent spirits. + +Frey also received from the gods a marvellous sword (an emblem of the +sunbeams), which had the power of fighting successfully, and of its +own accord, as soon as it was drawn from its sheath. Frey wielded +this principally against the frost giants, whom he hated almost as +much as did Thor, and because he carried this glittering weapon, +he has sometimes been confounded with the sword-god Tyr or Saxnot. + + + "With a short-shafted hammer fights conquering Thor; + Frey's own sword but an ell long is made." + + Viking Tales of the North (R. B. Anderson). + + +The dwarfs from Svart-alfa-heim gave Frey the golden-bristled boar +Gullin-bursti (the golden-bristled), a personification of the sun. The +radiant bristles of this animal were considered symbolical either +of the solar rays, of the golden grain, which at his bidding waved +over the harvest fields of Midgard, or of agriculture; for the boar +(by tearing up the ground with his sharp tusk) was supposed to have +first taught mankind how to plough. + + + "There was Frey, and sat + On the gold-bristled boar, who first, they say, + Plowed the brown earth, and made it green for Frey." + + Lovers of Gudrun (William Morris). + +Frey sometimes rode astride of this marvellous boar, whose speed was +very great, and at other times harnessed him to his golden chariot, +which was said to contain the fruits and flowers which he lavishly +scattered abroad over the face of the earth. + +Frey was, moreover, the proud possessor not only of the dauntless steed +Blodug-hofi, which would dash through fire and water at his command, +but also of the magic ship Skidbladnir, a personification of the +clouds. This vessel, sailing over land and sea, was always wafted +along by favourable winds, and was so elastic that, while it could +assume large enough proportions to carry the gods, their steeds, +and all their equipments, it could also be folded up like a napkin +and thrust into a pocket. + + + "Ivaldi's sons + Went in days of old + Skidbladnir to form, + Of ships the best, + For the bright Frey, + Nioerd's benign son." + + Lay of Grimnir (Thorpe's tr.). + + + +The Wooing of Gerda + +It is related in one of the lays of the Edda that Frey once ventured +to ascend Odin's throne Hlidskialf, from which exalted seat his gaze +ranged over the wide earth. Looking towards the frozen North, he saw +a beautiful young maiden enter the house of the frost giant Gymir, +and as she raised her hand to lift the latch her radiant beauty +illuminated sea and sky. + +A moment later, this lovely creature, whose name was Gerda, and who +is considered as a personification of the flashing Northern lights, +vanished within her father's house, and Frey pensively wended his +way back to Alfheim, his heart oppressed with longing to make this +fair maiden his wife. Being deeply in love, he was melancholy and +absent-minded in the extreme, and began to behave so strangely that +his father, Nioerd, became greatly alarmed about his health, and bade +his favourite servant, Skirnir, discover the cause of this sudden +change. After much persuasion, Skirnir finally won from Frey an account +of his ascent of Hlidskialf, and of the fair vision he had seen. He +confessed his love and also his utter despair, for as Gerda was the +daughter of Gymir and Angur-boda, and a relative of the murdered +giant Thiassi, he feared she would never view his suit with favour. + + + "In Gymer's court I saw her move, + The maid who fires my breast with love; + Her snow-white arms and bosom fair + Shone lovely, kindling sea and air. + Dear is she to my wishes, more + Than e'er was maid to youth before; + But gods and elves, I wot it well, + Forbid that we together dwell." + + Skirner's Lay (Herbert's tr.). + +Skirnir, however, replied consolingly that he could see no reason why +his master should take a despondent view of the case, and he offered +to go and woo the maiden in his name, providing Frey would lend him his +steed for the journey, and give him his glittering sword for reward. + +Overjoyed at the prospect of winning the beautiful Gerda, Frey +willingly handed Skirnir the flashing sword, and gave him permission to +use his horse. But he quickly relapsed into the state of reverie which +had become usual with him since falling in love, and thus he did not +notice that Skirnir was still hovering near him, nor did he perceive +him cunningly steal the reflection of his face from the surface of the +brook near which he was seated, and imprison it in his drinking horn, +with intent "to pour it out in Gerda's cup, and by its beauty win +the heart of the giantess for the lord" for whom he was about to go +a-wooing. Provided with this portrait, with eleven golden apples, and +with the magic ring Draupnir, Skirnir now rode off to Joetun-heim, to +fulfil his embassy. As he came near Gymir's dwelling he heard the loud +and persistent howling of his watch-dogs, which were personifications +of the wintry winds. A shepherd, guarding his flock in the vicinity, +told him, in answer to his inquiry, that it would be impossible to +approach the house, on account of the flaming barrier which surrounded +it; but Skirnir, knowing that Blodug-hofi would dash through any fire, +merely set spurs to his steed, and, riding up unscathed to the giant's +door, was soon ushered into the presence of the lovely Gerda. + +To induce the fair maiden to lend a favourable ear to his master's +proposals, Skirnir showed her the stolen portrait, and proffered the +golden apples and magic ring, which, however, she haughtily refused +to accept, declaring that her father had gold enough and to spare. + + + "I take not, I, that wondrous ring, + Though it from Balder's pile you bring + Gold lack not I, in Gymer's bower; + Enough for me my father's dower." + + Skirner's Lay (Herbert's tr.). + + +Indignant at her scorn, Skirnir now threatened to decapitate her with +his magic sword, but as this did not in the least frighten the maiden, +and she calmly defied him, he had recourse to magic arts. Cutting +runes in his stick, he told her that unless she yielded ere the spell +was ended, she would be condemned either to eternal celibacy, or to +marry some aged frost giant whom she could never love. + +Terrified into submission by the frightful description of her cheerless +future in case she persisted in her refusal, Gerda finally consented +to become Frey's wife, and dismissed Skirnir, promising to meet her +future spouse on the ninth night, in the land of Buri, the green grove, +where she would dispel his sadness and make him happy. + + + "Burri is hight the seat of love; + Nine nights elapsed, in that known grove + Shall brave Niorder's gallant boy + From Gerda take the kiss of joy." + + Skirner's Lay (Herbert's tr.). + + +Delighted with his success, Skirnir hurried back to Alf-heim, where +Frey came eagerly to learn the result of his journey. When he learned +that Gerda had consented to become his wife, his face grew radiant +with joy; but when Skirnir informed him that he would have to wait +nine nights ere he could behold his promised bride, he turned sadly +away, declaring the time would appear interminable. + + + "Long is one night, and longer twain; + But how for three endure my pain? + A month of rapture sooner flies + Than half one night of wishful sighs." + + Skirner's Lay (Herbert's tr.). + + +In spite of this loverlike despondency, however, the time of waiting +came to an end, and Frey joyfully hastened to the green grove, where, +true to her appointment, he found Gerda, and she became his happy wife, +and proudly sat upon his throne beside him. + + + "Frey to wife had Gerd; + She was Gymir's daughter, + From Joetuns sprung." + + Saemund's Edda (Thorpe's tr.). + + +According to some mythologists, Gerda is not a personification of the +aurora borealis, but of the earth, which, hard, cold, and unyielding, +resists the spring-god's proffers of adornment and fruitfulness (the +apples and ring), defies the flashing sunbeams (Frey's sword), and +only consents to receive his kiss when it learns that it will else be +doomed to perpetual barrenness, or given over entirely into the power +of the giants (ice and snow). The nine nights of waiting are typical +of the nine winter months, at the end of which the earth becomes the +bride of the sun, in the groves where the trees are budding forth +into leaf and blossom. + +Frey and Gerda, we are told, became the parents of a son called +Fiolnir, whose birth consoled Gerda for the loss of her brother +Beli. The latter had attacked Frey and had been slain by him, although +the sun-god, deprived of his matchless sword, had been obliged to +defend himself with a stag horn which he hastily snatched from the +wall of his dwelling. + +Besides the faithful Skirnir, Frey had two other attendants, a +married couple, Beyggvir and Beyla, the personifications of mill +refuse and manure, which two ingredients, being used in agriculture +for fertilising purposes, were therefore considered Frey's faithful +servants, in spite of their unpleasant qualities. + + + +The historical Frey + +Snorro-Sturleson, in his "Heimskringla," or chronicle of the ancient +kings of Norway, states that Frey was an historical personage who bore +the name of Ingvi-Frey, and ruled in Upsala after the death of the +semi-historical Odin and Nioerd. Under his rule the people enjoyed such +prosperity and peace that they declared their king must be a god. They +therefore began to invoke him as such, carrying their enthusiastic +admiration to such lengths that when he died the priests, not daring +to reveal the fact, laid him in a great mound instead of burning his +body, as had been customary until then. They then informed the people +that Frey--whose name was the Northern synonym for "master"--had +"gone into the mound," an expression which eventually became the +Northman's phrase for death. + +Not until three years later did the people, who had continued paying +their taxes to the king by pouring gold, silver, and copper coin +into the mound through three different openings, discover that Frey +was dead. As their peace and prosperity had remained undisturbed, +they decreed that his corpse should never be burned, and they thus +inaugurated the custom of mound-burial, which in due time supplanted +the funeral pyre in many places. One of the three mounds near Gamla +Upsala still bears this god's name. His statues were placed in the +great temple there, and his name was duly mentioned in all solemn +oaths, of which the usual formula was, "So help me Frey, Nioerd, +and the Almighty Asa" (Odin). + + + +Worship of Frey + +No weapons were ever admitted in Frey's temples, the most celebrated +of which were at Throndhjeim in Norway, and at Thvera in Iceland. In +these temples oxen or horses were offered in sacrifice to him, a heavy +gold ring being dipped in the victim's blood ere the above-mentioned +oath was solemnly taken upon it. + +Frey's statues, like those of all the other Northern divinities, +were roughly hewn blocks of wood, and the last of these sacred images +seems to have been destroyed by Olaf the Saint, who, as we have seen, +forcibly converted many of his subjects. Besides being god of sunshine, +fruitfulness, peace, and prosperity, Frey was considered the patron +of horses and horsemen, and the deliverer of all captives. + + + "Frey is the best + Of all the chiefs + Among the gods. + He causes not tears + To maids or mothers: + His desire is to loosen the fetters + Of those enchained." + + Norse Mythology (R. B. Anderson). + + + +The Yule Feast + +One month of every year, the Yule month, or Thor's month, was +considered sacred to Frey as well as to Thor, and began on the longest +night of the year, which bore the name of Mother Night. This month +was a time of feasting and rejoicing, for it heralded the return of +the sun. The festival was called Yule (wheel) because the sun was +supposed to resemble a wheel rapidly revolving across the sky. This +resemblance gave rise to a singular custom in England, Germany, and +along the banks of the Moselle. Until within late years, the people +were wont to assemble yearly upon a mountain, to set fire to a huge +wooden wheel, twined with straw, which, all ablaze, was then sent +rolling down the hill, to plunge with a hiss into the water. + + + "Some others get a rotten Wheele, all worn and cast aside, + Which, covered round about with strawe and tow, they closely hide; + And caryed to some mountaines top, being all with fire light, + They hurle it down with violence, when darke appears the night; + Resembling much the sunne, that from the Heavens down should fal, + A strange and monstrous sight it seemes, and fearful to them all; + But they suppose their mischiefs are all likewise throwne to hell, + And that, from harmes and dangers now, in safetie here they dwell." + + Naogeorgus. + + +All the Northern races considered the Yule feast the greatest of +the year, and were wont to celebrate it with dancing, feasting, +and drinking, each god being pledged by name. The first Christian +missionaries, perceiving the extreme popularity of this feast, thought +it best to encourage drinking to the health of the Lord and his twelve +apostles when they first began to convert the Northern heathens. In +honour of Frey, boar's flesh was eaten on this occasion. Crowned +with laurel and rosemary, the animal's head was brought into the +banqueting-hall with much ceremony--a custom long after observed, +as the following lines will show: + + + "Caput Apri defero + Reddens laudes Domino. + The boar's head in hand bring I, + With garlands gay and rosemary; + I pray you all sing merrily, + Qui estis in convivio." + + Queen's College Carol, Oxford. + + +The father of the family laid his hand on the sacred dish, which was +called "the boar of atonement," swearing he would be faithful to his +family, and would fulfil all his obligations--an example which was +followed by all present, from the highest to the lowest. This dish +could be carved only by a man of unblemished reputation and tried +courage, for the boar's head was a sacred emblem which was supposed +to inspire every one with fear. For that reason a boar's head was +frequently used as ornament for the helmets of Northern kings and +heroes whose bravery was unquestioned. + +As Frey's name of Fro is phonetically the same as the word used in +German for gladness, he was considered the patron of every joy, +and was invariably invoked by married couples who wished to live +in harmony. Those who succeeded in doing so for a certain length of +time were publicly rewarded by the gift of a piece of boar's flesh, +for which in later times, the English and Viennese substituted a +flitch of bacon or a ham. + + + "You shall swear, by custom of confession, + If ever you made nuptial transgression, + Be you either married man or wife: + If you have brawls or contentious strife; + Or otherwise, at bed or at board, + Offended each other in deed or word; + Or, since the parish clerk said Amen, + You wish'd yourselves unmarried again; + Or, in a twelvemonth and a day + Repented not in thought any way, + But continued true in thought and desire, + As when you join'd hands in the quire. + If to these conditions, with all feare, + Of your own accord you will freely sweare, + A whole gammon of bacon you shall receive, + And bear it hence with love and good leave: + For this our custom at Dunmow well known-- + Though the pleasure be ours, the bacon's your own." + + Brand's Popular Antiquities. + + +At the village of Dunmow in Essex, the ancient custom is still +observed. In Vienna the ham or flitch of bacon was hung over the +city gate, whence the successful candidate was expected to bring +it down, after he had satisfied the judges that he lived in peace +with his wife, but was not under petticoat rule. It is said that in +Vienna this ham remained for a long time unclaimed until at last +a worthy burgher presented himself before the judges, bearing his +wife's written affidavit that they had been married twelve years and +had never disagreed--a statement which was confirmed by all their +neighbours. The judges, satisfied with the proofs laid before them, +told the candidate that the prize was his, and that he only need +climb the ladder placed beneath it and bring it down. Rejoicing at +having secured such a fine ham, the man speedily mounted the ladder; +but as he was about to reach for the prize he noticed that the ham, +exposed to the noonday sun, was beginning to melt, and that a drop +of fat threatened to fall upon his Sunday coat. Hastily beating a +retreat, he pulled off his coat, jocosely remarking that his wife +would scold him roundly were he to stain it, a confession which made +the bystanders roar with laughter, and which cost him his ham. + +Another Yuletide custom was the burning of a huge log, which had to +last through the night, otherwise it was considered a very bad omen +indeed. The charred remains of this log were carefully collected, +and treasured up for the purpose of setting fire to the log of the +following year. + + + "With the last yeeres brand + Light the new block, and + For good successe in his spending, + On your psaltries play, + That sweet luck may + Come while the log is a-tending." + + Hesperides (Herrick). + + +This festival was so popular in Scandinavia, where it was celebrated in +January, that King Olaf, seeing how dear it was to the Northern heart, +transferred most of its observances to Christmas day, thereby doing +much to reconcile the ignorant people to their change of religion. + +As god of peace and prosperity, Frey is supposed to have reappeared +upon earth many times, and to have ruled the Swedes under the name +of Ingvi-Frey, whence his descendants were called Inglings. He also +governed the Danes under the name of Fridleef. In Denmark he is said +to have married the beautiful maiden Freygerda, whom he had rescued +from a dragon. By her he had a son named Frodi, who, in due time, +succeeded him as king. + +Frodi ruled Denmark in the days when there was "peace throughout +the world," that is to say, just at the time when Christ was born +in Bethlehem of Judea; and because all his subjects lived in amity, +he was generally known as Peace Frodi. + + + +How the Sea became salt + +It is related that Frodi once received from Hengi-kiaptr a pair of +magic millstones, called Grotti, which were so ponderous that none +of his servants nor even his strongest warriors could turn them. The +king was aware that the mill was enchanted and would grind anything +he wished, so he was very anxious indeed to set it to work, and, +during a visit to Sweden, he saw and purchased as slaves the two +giantesses Menia and Fenia, whose powerful muscles and frames had +attracted his attention. + +On his return home, Peace Frodi led his new servants to the mill, +and bade them turn the grindstones and grind out gold, peace, and +prosperity, and they immediately fulfilled his wishes. Cheerfully +the women worked on, hour after hour, until the king's coffers were +overflowing with gold, and prosperity and peace were rife throughout +his land. + + + "Let us grind riches to Frothi! + Let us grind him, happy + In plenty of substance, + On our gladdening Quern." + + Grotta-Savngr (Longfellow's tr.). + + +But when Menia and Fenia would fain have rested awhile, the king, +whose greed had been excited, bade them work on. In spite of their +entreaties he forced them to labour hour after hour, allowing them +only as much time to rest as was required for the singing of a verse +in a song, until exasperated by his cruelty, the giantesses resolved +at length to have revenge. One night while Frodi slept they changed +their song, and, instead of prosperity and peace, they grimly began +to grind an armed host, whereby they induced the Viking Mysinger to +land with a large body of troops. While the spell was working the +Danes continued in slumber, and thus they were completely surprised +by the Viking host, who slew them all. + + + "An army must come + Hither forthwith, + And burn the town + For the prince." + + Grotta Savngr (Longfellow's tr.). + + +Mysinger took the magic millstones Grotti and the two slaves and put +them on board his vessel, bidding the women grind salt, which was +a very valuable staple of commerce at that time. The women obeyed, +and their millstones went round, grinding salt in abundance; but +the Viking, as cruel as Frodi, would give the poor women no rest, +wherefore a heavy punishment overtook him and his followers. Such an +immense quantity of salt was ground by the magic millstones that in +the end its weight sunk the ship and all on board. + +The ponderous stones sank into the sea in the Pentland Firth, or +off the north-western coast of Norway, making a deep round hole, +and the waters, rushing into the vortex and gurgling in the holes +in the centre of the stones, produced the great whirlpool which is +known as the Maelstrom. As for the salt it soon melted; but such was +the immense quantity ground by the giantesses that it permeated all +the waters of the sea, which have ever since been very salt. + + + + + + +CHAPTER X: FREYA + + +The Goddess of Love + +Freya, the fair Northern goddess of beauty and love, was the sister +of Frey and the daughter of Nioerd and Nerthus, or Skadi. She was the +most beautiful and best beloved of all the goddesses, and while in +Germany she was identified with Frigga, in Norway, Sweden, Denmark, +and Iceland she was considered a separate divinity. Freya, having +been born in Vana-heim, was also known as Vanadis, the goddess of +the Vanas, or as Vanabride. + +When she reached Asgard, the gods were so charmed by her beauty and +grace that they bestowed upon her the realm of Folkvang and the great +hall Sessrymnir (the roomy-seated), where they assured her she could +easily accommodate all her guests. + + + "Folkvang 'tis called, + Where Freyja has right + To dispose of the hall-seats. + Every day of the slain + She chooses the half, + And leaves half to Odin." + + Norse Mythology (R. B. Anderson). + + + +Queen of the Valkyrs + +Although goddess of love, Freya was not soft and pleasure-loving only, +for the ancient Northern races believed that she had very martial +tastes, and that as Valfreya she often led the Valkyrs down to the +battlefields, choosing and claiming one half the heroes slain. She +was therefore often represented with corselet and helmet, shield +and spear, the lower part of her body only being clad in the usual +flowing feminine garb. + +Freya transported the chosen slain to Folkvang, where they were duly +entertained. There also she welcomed all pure maidens and faithful +wives, that they might enjoy the company of their lovers and husbands +after death. The joys of her abode were so enticing to the heroic +Northern women that they often rushed into battle when their loved +ones were slain, hoping to meet with the same fate; or they fell upon +their swords, or were voluntarily burned on the same funeral pyre as +the remains of their beloved. + +As Freya was believed to lend a favourable ear to lovers' prayers, +she was often invoked by them, and it was customary to compose in +her honour love-songs, which were sung on all festive occasions, +her very name in Germany being used as the verb "to woo." + + + +Freya and Odur + +Freya, the golden-haired and blue-eyed goddess, was also, at times, +considered as a personification of the earth. As such she married Odur, +a symbol of the summer sun, whom she dearly loved, and by whom she +had two daughters, Hnoss and Gersemi. These maidens were so beautiful +that all things lovely and precious were called by their names. + +While Odur lingered contentedly at her side, Freya was smiling +and perfectly happy; but, alas! the god was a rover at heart, and, +wearying of his wife's company, he suddenly left home and wandered far +out into the wide world. Freya, sad and forsaken, wept abundantly, +and her tears fell upon the hard rocks, which softened at their +contact. We are told even that they trickled down to the very centre +of the stones, where they were transformed to gold. Some tears fell +into the sea and were changed into translucent amber. + +Weary of her widowed condition, and longing to clasp her beloved in her +arms once more, Freya finally started out in search of him, passing +through many lands, where she became known by different names, such +as Mardel, Horn, Gefn, Syr, Skialf, and Thrung, inquiring of all she +met whether her husband had passed that way, and shedding everywhere +so many tears that gold is to be found in all parts of the earth. + + + "And Freya next came nigh, with golden tears; + The loveliest Goddess she in Heaven, by all + Most honour'd after Frea, Odin's wife. + Her long ago the wandering Oder took + To mate, but left her to roam distant lands; + Since then she seeks him, and weeps tears of gold. + Names hath she many; Vanadis on earth + They call her, Freya is her name in Heaven." + + Balder Dead (Matthew Arnold). + + +Far away in the sunny South, under the flowering myrtle-trees, +Freya found Odur at last, and her love being restored to her, she +was happy and smiling once again, and as radiant as a bride. It is +perhaps because Freya found her husband beneath the flowering myrtle, +that Northern brides, to this day, wear myrtle in preference to the +conventional orange wreath of other climes. + +Hand in hand, Odur and Freya now gently wended their way home once +more, and in the light of their happiness the grass grew green, the +flowers bloomed, and the birds sang, for all Nature sympathised as +heartily with Freya's joy as it had mourned with her when she was +in sorrow. + + + "Out of the morning land, + Over the snowdrifts, + Beautiful Freya came + Tripping to Scoring. + White were the moorlands, + And frozen before her; + Green were the moorlands, + And blooming behind her. + Out of her gold locks + Shaking the spring flowers, + Out of her garments + Shaking the south wind, + Around in the birches + Awaking the throstles, + And making chaste housewives all + Long for their heroes home, + Loving and love-giving, + Came she to Scoring." + + The Longbeards' Saga (Charles Kingsley). + + +The prettiest plants and flowers in the North were called Freya's hair +or Freya's eye dew, while the butterfly was called Freya's hen. This +goddess was also supposed to have a special affection for the fairies, +whom she loved to watch dancing in the moonbeams, and for whom she +reserved her daintiest flowers and sweetest honey. Odur, Freya's +husband, besides being considered a personification of the sun, +was also regarded as an emblem of passion, or of the intoxicating +pleasures of love; so the ancients declared that it was no wonder +his wife could not be happy without him. + + + +Freya's Necklace + +Being goddess of beauty, Freya, naturally, was very fond of the +toilet, of glittering adornments, and of precious jewels. One day, +while she was in Svart-alfa-heim, the underground kingdom, she saw +four dwarfs fashioning the most wonderful necklace she had ever +seen. Almost beside herself with longing to possess this treasure, +which was called Brisinga-men, and was an emblem of the stars, or of +the fruitfulness of the earth, Freya implored the dwarfs to give it to +her; but they obstinately refused to do so unless she would promise +to grant them her favour. Having secured the necklace at this price, +Freya hastened to put it on, and its beauty so enhanced her charms that +she wore it night and day, and only occasionally could be persuaded +to lend it to the other divinities. Thor, however, wore this necklace +when he personated Freya in Joetun-heim, and Loki coveted and would +have stolen it, had it not been for the watchfulness of Heimdall. + +Freya was also the proud possessor of a falcon garb, or falcon plumes, +which enabled the wearer to flit through the air as a bird; and this +garment was so invaluable that it was twice borrowed by Loki, and +was used by Freya herself when she went in search of the missing Odur. + + + "Freya one day + Falcon wings took, and through space hied away; + Northward and southward she sought her + Dearly-loved Odur." + + Frithiof Saga, Tegner (Stephens's tr.). + + +As Freya was also considered the goddess of fruitfulness, she was +sometimes represented as riding about with her brother Frey in the +chariot drawn by the golden-bristled boar, scattering, with lavish +hands, fruits and flowers to gladden the hearts of mankind. She had a +chariot of her own, however, in which she generally travelled. This +was drawn by cats, her favourite animals, the emblems of caressing +fondness and sensuality, or the personifications of fecundity. + + + "Then came dark-bearded Nioerd, and after him + Freyia, thin robed, about her ankles slim + The gray cats playing." + + Lovers of Gudrun (William Morris). + + +Frey and Freya were held in such high honour throughout the North +that their names, in modified forms, are still used for "master" +and "mistress," and one day of the week is called Freya's day, +or Friday, by the English-speaking race. Freya's temples were very +numerous indeed, and were long maintained by her votaries, the last, +in Magdeburg, Germany, being destroyed by order of Charlemagne. + + + +Story of Ottar and Angantyr + +The Northern people were wont to invoke Freya not only for success +in love, prosperity, and increase, but also, at times, for aid +and protection. This she vouchsafed to all who served her truly, +as appeared in the story of Ottar and Angantyr, two men who, after +disputing for some time concerning their rights to a certain piece of +property, laid their quarrel before the Thing. That popular assembly +decreed that the man who could prove that he had the longest line of +noble ancestors should be declared the winner, and a special day was +appointed to investigate the genealogy of each claimant. + +Ottar, unable to remember the names of more than a few of his +progenitors, offered sacrifices to Freya, entreating her aid. The +goddess graciously heard his prayer, and appearing before him, she +changed him into a boar, and rode off upon his back to the dwelling of +the sorceress Hyndla, a most renowned witch. By threats and entreaties, +Freya compelled the old woman to trace Ottar's genealogy back to +Odin, and to name every individual in turn, with a synopsis of his +achievements. Then, fearing lest her votary's memory should be unable +to retain so many details, Freya further compelled Hyndla to brew a +potion of remembrance, which she gave him to drink. + + + "He shall drink + Delicious draughts. + All the gods I pray + To favour Ottar." + + Saemund's Edda (Thorpe's tr.). + + +Thus prepared, Ottar presented himself before the Thing on the +appointed day, and glibly reciting his pedigree, he named so many +more ancestors than Angantyr could recollect, that he was easily +awarded possession of the property he coveted. + + + "A duty 'tis to act + So that the young prince + His paternal heritage may have + After his kindred." + + Saemund's Edda (Thorpe's tr.). + + + +The Husbands of Freya + +Freya was so beautiful that all the gods, giants, and dwarfs longed for +her love and in turn tried to secure her as wife. But Freya scorned +the ugly giants and refused even Thrym, when urged to accept him +by Loki and Thor. She was not so obdurate where the gods themselves +were concerned, if the various mythologists are to be believed, for +as the personification of the earth she is said to have wedded Odin +(the sky), Frey (the fruitful rain), Odur (the sunshine), &c., until +it seems as if she deserved the accusation hurled against her by the +arch-fiend Loki, of having loved and wedded all the gods in turn. + + + +Worship of Freya + +It was customary on solemn occasions to drink Freya's health with +that of the other gods, and when Christianity was introduced in the +North this toast was transferred to the Virgin or to St. Gertrude; +Freya herself, like all the heathen divinities, was declared a demon +or witch, and banished to the mountain peaks of Norway, Sweden, +or Germany, where the Brocken is pointed out as her special abode, +and the general trysting-place of her demon train on Valpurgisnacht. + + + Chorus of Witches. + + "On to the Brocken the witches are flocking-- + Merry meet--merry part--how they gallop and drive, + Yellow stubble and stalk are rocking, + And young green corn is merry alive, + With the shapes and shadows swimming by. + To the highest heights they fly, + Where Sir Urian sits on high-- + Throughout and about, + With clamour and shout, + Drives the maddening rout, + Over stock, over stone; + Shriek, laughter, and moan, + Before them are blown." + + Goethe's Faust (Anster's tr.). + + +As the swallow, cuckoo, and cat were held sacred to Freya in heathen +times, these creatures were supposed to have demoniacal attributes, +and to this day witches are always depicted with coal-black cats +beside them. + + + + + + +CHAPTER XI: ULLER + + +The God of Winter + +Uller, the winter-god, was the son of Sif, and the stepson of Thor. His +father, who is never mentioned in the Northern sagas, must have been +one of the dreaded frost giants, for Uller loved the cold and delighted +in travelling over the country on his broad snowshoes or glittering +skates. This god also delighted in the chase, and pursued his game +through the Northern forests, caring but little for ice and snow, +against which he was well protected by the thick furs in which he +was always clad. + +As god of hunting and archery, he is represented with a quiver full of +arrows and a huge bow, and as the yew furnishes the best wood for the +manufacture of these weapons, it is said to have been his favourite +tree. To have a supply of suitable wood ever at hand ready for use, +Uller took up his abode at Ydalir, the vale of yews, where it was +always very damp. + + + "Ydalir it is called, + Where Ullr has + Himself a dwelling made." + + Saemund's Edda (Thorpe's tr.). + + +As winter-god, Uller, or Oller, as he was also called, was considered +second only to Odin, whose place he usurped during his absence in +the winter months of the year. During this period he exercised full +sway over Asgard and Midgard, and even, according to some authorities, +took possession of Frigga, Odin's wife, as related in the myth of Vili +and Ve. But as Uller was very parsimonious, and never bestowed any +gifts upon mankind, they gladly hailed the return of Odin, who drove +his supplanter away, forcing him to take refuge either in the frozen +North or on the tops of the Alps. Here, if we are to believe the poets, +he had built a summer house into which he retreated until, knowing +Odin had departed once more, he again dared appear in the valleys. + +Uller was also considered god of death, and was supposed to ride in +the Wild Hunt, and at times even to lead it. He is specially noted +for his rapidity of motion, and as the snowshoes used in Northern +regions are sometimes made of bone, and turned up in front like the +prow of a ship, it was commonly reported that Uller had spoken magic +runes over a piece of bone, changing it into a vessel, which bore +him over land or sea at will. + +As snowshoes are shaped like a shield, and as the ice with which he +yearly enveloped the earth acts as a shield to protect it from harm +during the winter, Uller was surnamed the shield-god, and he was +specially invoked by all persons about to engage in a duel or in a +desperate fight. + +In Christian times, his place in popular worship was taken by +St. Hubert, the hunter, who, also, was made patron of the first month +of the year, which began on November 22, and was dedicated to him as +the sun passed through the constellation of Sagittarius, the bowman. + +In Anglo-Saxon, Uller was known as Vulder; but in some parts of Germany +he was called Holler and considered to be the husband of the fair +goddess Holda, whose fields he covered with a thick mantle of snow, +to make them more fruitful when the spring came. + +By the Scandinavians, Uller was said to have married Skadi, Nioerd's +divorced wife, the female personification of winter and cold, and their +tastes were so congenial that they lived in perfect harmony together. + + + +Worship of Uller + +Numerous temples were dedicated to Uller in the North, and on his +altars, as well as on those of all the other gods, lay a sacred ring +upon which oaths were sworn. This ring was said to have the power of +shrinking so violently as to sever the finger of any premeditated +perjurer. The people visited Uller's shrine, especially during the +months of November and December, to entreat him to send a thick +covering of snow over their lands, as earnest of a good harvest; and +as he was supposed to send out the glorious flashes of the aurora +borealis, which illumine the Northern sky during its long night, +he was considered nearly akin to Balder, the personification of light. + +According to other authorities, Uller was Balder's special friend, +principally because he too spent part of the year in the dismal depths +of Nifl-heim, with Hel, the goddess of death. Uller was supposed to +endure a yearly banishment thither, during the summer months, when +he was forced to resign his sway over the earth to Odin, the summer +god, and there Balder came to join him at Midsummer, the date of his +disappearance from Asgard, for then the days began to grow shorter, and +the rule of light (Balder) gradually yielded to the ever encroaching +power of darkness (Hodur). + + + + + + +CHAPTER XII: FORSETI + + +The God of Justice and Truth + +Son of Balder, god of light, and of Nanna, goddess of immaculate +purity, Forseti was the wisest, most eloquent, and most gentle of all +the gods. When his presence in Asgard became known, the gods awarded +him a seat in the council hall, decreed that he should be patron of +justice and righteousness, and gave him as abode the radiant palace +Glitnir. This dwelling had a silver roof, supported on pillars of gold, +and it shone so brightly that it could be seen from a great distance. + + + "Glitner is the tenth; + It is on gold sustained, + And also with silver decked. + There Forseti dwells + Throughout all time, + And every strife allays." + + Saemund's Edda (Thorpe's tr.). + + +Here, upon an exalted throne, Forseti, the lawgiver, sat day after +day, settling the differences of gods and men, patiently listening +to both sides of every question, and finally pronouncing sentences +so equitable that none ever found fault with his decrees. Such were +this god's eloquence and power of persuasion that he always succeeded +in touching his hearers' hearts, and never failed to reconcile even +the most bitter foes. All who left his presence were thereafter sure +to live in peace, for none dared break a vow once made to him, lest +they should incur his just anger and be smitten immediately unto death. + + + "Forsete, Balder's high-born son, + Hath heard mine oath; + Strike dead, Forset', if e'er I'm won + To break my troth." + + Viking Tales of the North (R. B. Anderson). + + +As god of justice and eternal law, Forseti was supposed to preside +over every judicial assembly; he was invariably appealed to by all +who were about to undergo a trial, and it was said that he rarely +failed to help the deserving. + + + +The Story of Heligoland + +In order to facilitate the administration of justice throughout their +land it is related that the Frisians commissioned twelve of their +wisest men, the Asegeir, or elders, to collect the laws of the various +families and tribes composing their nation, and to compile from them +a code which should be the basis of uniform laws. The elders, having +painstakingly finished their task of collecting this miscellaneous +information, embarked upon a small vessel, to seek some secluded spot +where they might conduct their deliberations in peace. But no sooner +had they pushed away from shore than a tempest arose, which drove +their vessel far out to sea, first on this course and then on that, +until they entirely lost their bearings. In their distress the twelve +jurists called upon Forseti, begging him to help them to reach land +once again, and the prayer was scarcely ended when they perceived, to +their utter surprise, that the vessel contained a thirteenth passenger. + +Seizing the rudder, the newcomer silently brought the vessel round, +steering it towards the place where the waves dashed highest, and in +an incredibly short space of time they came to an island, where the +steersman motioned them to disembark. In awestruck silence the twelve +men obeyed; and their surprise was further excited when they saw the +stranger fling his battle-axe, and a limpid spring gush forth from +the spot on the greensward where it fell. Imitating the stranger, all +drank of this water without a word; then they sat down in a circle, +marvelling because the newcomer resembled each one of them in some +particular, but yet was very different from any one of them in general +aspect and mien. + +Suddenly the silence was broken, and the stranger began to speak in +low tones, which grew firmer and louder as he proceeded to expound +a code of laws which combined all the good points of the various +existing regulations which the Asegeir had collected. His speech +being finished, the speaker vanished as suddenly and mysteriously as +he had appeared, and the twelve jurists, recovering power of speech, +simultaneously exclaimed that Forseti himself had been among them, and +had delivered the code of laws by which the Frisians should henceforth +be judged. In commemoration of the god's appearance they declared the +island upon which they stood to be holy, and they pronounced a solemn +curse upon any who might dare to desecrate its sanctity by quarrel +or bloodshed. Accordingly this island, known as Forseti's land or +Heligoland (holy land), was greatly respected by all the Northern +nations, and even the boldest vikings refrained from raiding its +shores, lest they should suffer shipwreck or meet a shameful death +in punishment for their crime. + +Solemn judicial assemblies were frequently held upon this sacred isle, +the jurists always drawing water and drinking it in silence, in memory +of Forseti's visit. The waters of his spring were, moreover, considered +to be so holy that all who drank of them were held to be sacred, and +even the cattle who had tasted of them might not be slain. As Forseti +was said to hold his assizes in spring, summer, and autumn, but never +in winter, it became customary, in all the Northern countries, to +dispense justice in those seasons, the people declaring that it was +only when the light shone clearly in the heavens that right could +become apparent to all, and that it would be utterly impossible to +render an equitable verdict during the dark winter season. Forseti +is seldom mentioned except in connection with Balder. He apparently +had no share in the closing battle in which all the other gods played +such prominent parts. + + + + + + +CHAPTER XIII: HEIMDALL + + +The Watchman of the Gods + +In the course of a walk along the sea-shore Odin once beheld nine +beautiful giantesses, the wave maidens, Gialp, Greip, Egia, Augeia, +Ulfrun, Aurgiafa, Sindur, Atla, and Iarnsaxa, sound asleep on the +white sand. The god of the sky was so charmed with these beautiful +creatures that, as the Eddas relate, he wedded all nine of them, +and they combined, at the same moment, to bring forth a son, who +received the name of Heimdall. + + + "Born was I of mothers nine, + Son I am of sisters nine." + + Saemund's Edda (Thorpe's tr.). + + +The nine mothers proceeded to nourish their babe on the strength of the +earth, the moisture of the sea, and the heat of the sun, which singular +diet proved so strengthening that the new god acquired his full growth +in a remarkably short space of time, and hastened to join his father +in Asgard. He found the gods proudly contemplating the rainbow bridge +Bifroest, which they had just constructed out of fire, air, and water, +the three materials which can still plainly be seen in its long arch, +where glow the three primary colours: the red representing the fire, +the blue the air, and the green the cool depths of the sea. + + + +The Guardian of the Rainbow + +This bridge connected heaven and earth, and ended under the shade of +the mighty world-tree Yggdrasil, close beside the fountain where Mimir +kept guard, and the only drawback to prevent the complete enjoyment +of the glorious spectacle, was the fear lest the frost-giants should +make their way over it and so gain entrance into Asgard. + +The gods had been debating the advisability of appointing a trustworthy +guardian, and they hailed the new recruit as one well-fitted to fulfil +the onerous duties of the office. + +Heimdall gladly undertook the responsibility and henceforth, night +and day, he kept vigilant watch over the rainbow highway into Asgard. + + + "Bifroest i' th' east shone forth in brightest green; + On its top, in snow-white sheen, + Heimdal at his post was seen." + + Oehlenschlaeger (Pigott's tr.). + +To enable their watchman to detect the approach of any enemy from afar, +the assembled gods bestowed upon him senses so keen that he is said +to have been able to hear the grass grow on the hillside, and the +wool on the sheep's back; to see one hundred miles off as plainly by +night as by day; and with all this he required less sleep than a bird. + + + "'Mongst shivering giants wider known + Than him who sits unmoved on high, + The guard of heaven, with sleepless eye." + + Lay of Skirner (Herbert's tr.). + +Heimdall was provided further with a flashing sword and a marvellous +trumpet, called Giallar-horn, which the gods bade him blow whenever he +saw their enemies approach, declaring that its sound would rouse all +creatures in heaven, earth, and Nifl-heim. Its last dread blast would +announce the arrival of that day when the final battle would be fought. + + + "To battle the gods are called + By the ancient + Gjallar-horn. + Loud blows Heimdall, + His sound is in the air." + + Saemund's Edda (Thorpe's tr.). + + +To keep this instrument, which was a symbol of the crescent moon, +ever at hand, Heimdall either hung it on a branch of Yggdrasil above +his head or sank it in the waters of Mimir's well. In the latter it +lay side by side with Odin's eye, which was an emblem of the moon at +its full. + +Heimdall's palace, called Himinbiorg, was situated on the highest +point of the bridge, and here the gods often visited him to quaff +the delicious mead which he set before them. + + + "'Tis Himminbjorg called + Where Heimdal, they say, + Hath dwelling and rule. + There the gods' warder drinks, + In peaceful old halls, + Gladsome the good mead." + + Norse Mythology (R. B. Anderson). + + +Heimdall was always depicted in resplendent white armour, and he was +therefore called the bright god. He was also known as the light, +innocent, and graceful god, all of which names he fully deserved, +for he was as good as he was beautiful, and all the gods loved +him. Connected on his mothers' side with the sea, he was sometimes +included with the Vanas; and as the ancient Northmen, especially the +Icelanders, to whom the surrounding sea appeared the most important +element, fancied that all things had risen out of it, they attributed +to him an all-embracing knowledge and imagined him particularly wise. + + + "Of AEsir the brightest-- + He well foresaw + Like other Vanir." + + Saemund's Edda (Thorpe's tr.). + + +Heimdall was further distinguished by his golden teeth, which +flashed when he smiled, and won for him the surname of Gullintani +(golden-toothed). He was also the proud possessor of a swift, +golden-maned steed called Gull-top, which bore him to and fro over +the quivering rainbow bridge. This he crossed many times a day, but +particularly in the early morn, at which time, as herald of the day, +he bore the name of Heimdellinger. + + + "Early up Bifroest + Ran Ulfrun's son, + The mighty hornblower + Of Himinbioerg." + + Saemund's Edda (Thorpe's tr.). + + + +Loki and Freya + +His extreme acuteness of hearing caused Heimdall to be disturbed +one night by the sound of soft, catlike footsteps in the direction +of Freya's palace, Folkvang. Projecting his eagle gaze through the +darkness, Heimdall perceived that the sound was produced by Loki, +who, having stealthily entered the palace as a fly, had approached +Freya's bedside, and was trying to steal her shining golden necklace, +Brisinga-men, the emblem of the fruitfulness of the earth. + +Heimdall saw that the goddess was resting in her sleep in such a +way that no one could possibly unclasp the necklace without awaking +her. Loki stood hesitatingly by the bedside for a few moments, and +then began rapidly to mutter the runes which enabled the gods to +change their form at will. As he did this, Heimdall saw him shrivel +up until he was changed to the size and form of a flea, when he crept +under the bed-clothes and bit Freya's side, thus causing her to change +her position without being roused from sleep. + +The clasp was now in view, and Loki, cautiously unfastening it, +secured the coveted treasure, and forthwith proceeded to steal away +with it. Heimdall immediately started out in pursuit of the midnight +thief, and quickly overtaking him, he drew his sword from its scabbard, +with intent to cut off his head, when the god transformed himself into +a flickering blue flame. Quick as thought, Heimdall changed himself +into a cloud and sent down a deluge of rain to quench the fire; +but Loki as promptly altered his form to that of a huge polar bear, +and opened wide his jaws to swallow the water. Heimdall, nothing +daunted, then likewise assumed the form of a bear, and attacked +fiercely; but the combat threatening to end disastrously for Loki, +the latter changed himself into a seal, and, Heimdall imitating him, +a last struggle took place, which ended in Loki being forced to give +up the necklace, which was duly restored to Freya. + +In this myth, Loki is an emblem of drought, or of the baleful effects +of the too ardent heat of the sun, which comes to rob the earth +(Freya) of its most cherished ornament (Brisinga-men). Heimdall is a +personification of the gentle rain and dew, which after struggling +for a while with his foe, the drought, eventually conquers him and +forces him to relinquish his prize. + + + +Heimdall's Names + +Heimdall has several other names, among which we find those of +Hallinskide and Irmin, for at times he takes Odin's place and is +identified with that god, as well as with the other sword-gods, Er, +Heru, Cheru and Tyr, who are all noted for their shining weapons. He, +however, is most generally known as warder of the rainbow, and god +of heaven, and of the fruitful rains and dews which bring refreshment +to the earth. + +Heimdall also shared with Bragi the honour of welcoming heroes to +Valhalla, and, under the name of Riger, was considered the divine +sire of the various classes which compose the human race, as appears +in the following story: + +The Story of Riger + + + "Sacred children, + Great and small, + Sons of Heimdall!" + + Saemund's Edda (Thorpe's tr.). + + +Heimdall left his place in Asgard one day to wander upon the earth, +as the gods were wont to do. He had not gone far ere he came to a poor +hut on the seashore, where he found Ai (great grandfather) and Edda +(great grandmother), a poor but worthy couple, who hospitably invited +him to share their meagre meal of porridge. Heimdall, who gave his +name as Riger, gladly accepted this invitation, and remained with +the couple three whole days, teaching them many things. At the end of +that time he left to resume his journey. Some time after his visit, +Edda bore a dark-skinned thick-set boy, whom she called Thrall. + +Thrall soon showed uncommon physical strength and a great aptitude +for all heavy work; and when he had grown up he took to wife Thyr, +a heavily built girl with sunburnt hands and flat feet, who, like +her husband, laboured early and late. Many children were born to +this couple and from them all the serfs or thralls of the Northland +were descended. + + + "They had children + Lived and were happy; + + They laid fences, + Enriched the plow-land, + Tended swine, + Herded goats, + Dug peat." + + Rigsmal (Du Chaillu's version). + + +After leaving the poor hut on the barren seacoast Riger had +pushed inland, where ere long he came to cultivated fields and a +thrifty farmhouse. Entering this comfortable dwelling, he found Afi +(grandfather) and Amma (grandmother), who hospitably invited him to +sit down with them and share the plain but bountiful fare which was +prepared for their meal. + +Riger accepted the invitation and he remained three days with +his hosts, imparting the while all manner of useful knowledge to +them. After his departure from their house, Amma gave birth to a +blue-eyed sturdy boy, whom she called Karl. As he grew up he exhibited +great skill in agricultural pursuits, and in due course he married +a buxom and thrifty wife named Snor, who bore him many children, +from whom the race of husbandmen is descended. + + + "He did grow + And thrive well; + He broke oxen, + Made plows; + Timbered houses, + Made barns, + Made carts, + And drove the plow." + + Rigsmal (Du Chaillu's version). + + +Leaving the house of this second couple, Riger continued his journey +until he came to a hill, upon which was perched a stately castle. Here +he was received by Fadir (father) and Modir (mother), who, delicately +nurtured and luxuriously clad, received him cordially, and set before +him dainty meats and rich wines. + +Riger tarried three days with this couple, afterwards returning to +Himinbiorg to resume his post as guardian of Asa-bridge; and ere long +the lady of the castle bore a handsome, slenderly built little son, +whom she called Jarl. This child early showed a great taste for the +hunt and all manner of martial exercises, learned to understand runes, +and lived to do great deeds of valour which made his name distinguished +and added glory to his race. Having attained manhood, Jarl married +Erna, an aristocratic, slender-waisted maiden, who ruled his household +wisely and bore him many children, all destined to rule, the youngest +of whom, Konur, became the first king of Denmark. This myth well +illustrates the marked sense of class among the Northern races. + + + "Up grew + The sons of Jarl; + They brake horses, + Bent shields, + Smoothed shafts, + Shook ash spears + But Kon, the young, + Knew runes, + Everlasting runes + And life runes." + + Rigsmal (Du Chaillu's version). + + + + + + +CHAPTER XIV: HERMOD + + +The Nimble God + +Another of Odin's sons was Hermod, his special attendant, a bright +and beautiful young god, who was gifted with great rapidity of motion +and was therefore designated as the swift or nimble god. + + + "But there was one, the first of all the gods + For speed, and Hermod was his name in Heaven; + Most fleet he was." + + Balder Dead (Matthew Arnold). + + +On account of this important attribute Hermod was usually employed +by the gods as messenger, and at a mere sign from Odin he was always +ready to speed to any part of creation. As a special mark of favour, +Allfather gave him a magnificent corselet and helmet, which he +often donned when he prepared to take part in war, and sometimes +Odin entrusted to his care the precious spear Gungnir, bidding him +cast it over the heads of combatants about to engage in battle, +that their ardour might be kindled into murderous fury. + + + "Let us Odin pray + Into our minds to enter; + He gives and grants + Gold to the deserving. + He gave to Hermod + A helm and corselet." + + Saemund's Edda (Thorpe's tr.). + + +Hermod delighted in battle, and was often called "the valiant in +battle," and confounded with the god of the universe, Irmin. It is +said that he sometimes accompanied the Valkyrs on their ride to earth, +and frequently escorted the warriors to Valhalla, wherefore he was +considered the leader of the heroic dead. + + + "To him spake Hermoder and Brage: + 'We meet thee and greet thee from all, + To the gods thou art known by thy valour, + And they bid thee a guest to their hall.'" + + Owen Meredith. + + +Hermod's distinctive attribute, besides his corselet and helm, was a +wand or staff called Gambantein, the emblem of his office, which he +carried with him wherever he went. + + + +Hermod and the Soothsayer + +Once, oppressed by shadowy fears for the future, and unable to obtain +from the Norns satisfactory answers to his questions, Odin bade Hermod +don his armour and saddle Sleipnir, which he alone, besides Odin, was +allowed to ride, and hasten off to the land of the Finns. This people, +who lived in the frozen regions of the pole, besides being able to +call up the cold storms which swept down from the North, bringing much +ice and snow in their train, were supposed to have great occult powers. + +The most noted of these Finnish magicians was Rossthiof (the horse +thief) who was wont to entice travellers into his realm by magic +arts, that he might rob and slay them; and he had power to predict +the future, although he was always very reluctant to do so. + +Hermod, "the swift," rode rapidly northward, with directions to seek +this Finn, and instead of his own wand, he carried Odin's runic staff, +which Allfather had given him for the purpose of dispelling any +obstacles that Rossthiof might conjure up to hinder his advance. In +spite, therefore, of phantom-like monsters and of invisible snares +and pitfalls, Hermod was enabled safely to reach the magician's abode, +and upon the giant attacking him, he was able to master him with ease, +and he bound him hand and foot, declaring that he would not set him +free until he promised to reveal all that he wished to know. + +Rossthiof, seeing that there was no hope of escape, pledged himself +to do as his captor wished, and upon being set at liberty, he began +forthwith to mutter incantations, at the mere sound of which the sun +hid behind the clouds, the earth trembled and quivered, and the storm +winds howled like a pack of hungry wolves. + +Pointing to the horizon, the magician bade Hermod look, and the +swift god saw in the distance a great stream of blood reddening the +ground. While he gazed wonderingly at this stream, a beautiful woman +suddenly appeared, and a moment later a little boy stood beside +her. To the god's amazement, this child grew with such marvellous +rapidity that he soon attained his full growth, and Hermod further +noticed that he fiercely brandished a bow and arrows. + +Rossthiof now began to explain the omens which his art had conjured +up, and he declared that the stream of blood portended the murder +of one of Odin's sons, but that if the father of the gods should woo +and win Rinda, in the land of the Ruthenes (Russia), she would bear +him a son who would attain his full growth in a few hours and would +avenge his brother's death. + + + "Rind a son shall bear, + In the western halls: + He shall slay Odin's son, + When one night old." + + Saemund's Edda (Thorpe's tr.). + + +Hermod listened attentively to the words of Rossthiof and upon his +return to Asgard he reported all he had seen and heard to Odin, +whose fears were confirmed and who thus definitely ascertained that +he was doomed to lose a son by violent death. He consoled himself, +however, with the thought that another of his descendants would avenge +the crime and thereby obtain the satisfaction which a true Northman +ever required. + + + + + + +CHAPTER XV: VIDAR + + +The Silent God + +It is related that Odin once loved the beautiful giantess Grid, who +dwelt in a cave in the desert, and that, wooing her, he prevailed +upon her to become his wife. The offspring of this union between Odin +(mind) and Grid (matter) was Vidar, a son as strong as he was taciturn, +whom the ancients considered a personification of the primaeval forest +or of the imperishable forces of Nature. + +As the gods, through Heimdall, were intimately connected with the +sea, they were also bound by close ties to the forests and Nature +in general through Vidar, surnamed "the silent," who was destined to +survive their destruction and rule over a regenerated earth. This god +had his habitation in Landvidi (the wide land), a palace decorated +with green boughs and fresh flowers, situated in the midst of an +impenetrable primaeval forest where reigned the deep silence and +solitude which he loved. + + + "Grown over with shrubs + And with high grass + In Vidar's wide land." + + Norse Mythology (R. B. Anderson). + + +This old Scandinavian conception of the silent Vidar is indeed +very grand and poetical, and was inspired by the rugged Northern +scenery. "Who has ever wandered through such forests, in a length of +many miles, in a boundless expanse, without a path, without a goal, +amid their monstrous shadows, their sacred gloom, without being filled +with deep reverence for the sublime greatness of Nature above all +human agency, without feeling the grandeur of the idea which forms +the basis of Vidar's essence?" + + + +Vidar's Shoe + +Vidar is depicted as tall, well-made, and handsome, clad in armour, +girded with a broad-bladed sword, and shod with a great iron or leather +shoe. According to some mythologists, he owed this peculiar footgear +to his mother Grid, who, knowing that he would be called upon to fight +against fire on the last day, designed it as a protection against +the fiery element, as her iron gauntlet had shielded Thor in his +encounter with Geirrod. But other authorities state that this shoe +was made of the leather scraps which Northern cobblers had either +given or thrown away. As it was essential that the shoe should be +large and strong enough to resist the Fenris wolf's sharp teeth at +the last day, it was a matter of religious observance among Northern +shoemakers to give away as many odds and ends of leather as possible. + + + +The Norn's Prophecy + +When Vidar joined his peers in Valhalla, they welcomed him gaily, for +they knew that his great strength would serve them well in their time +of need. After they had lovingly regaled him with the golden mead, +Allfather bade him follow to the Urdar fountain, where the Norns +were ever busy weaving their web. Questioned by Odin concerning his +future and Vidar's destiny, the three sisters answered oracularly; +each uttering a sentence: + +"Early begun." + +"Further spun." + +"One day done." + +To these their mother, Wyrd, the primitive goddess of fate, added: +"With joy once more won." These mysterious answers would have remained +totally unintelligible had the goddess not gone on to explain that time +progresses, that all must change, but that even if the father fell in +the last battle, his son Vidar would be his avenger, and would live to +rule over a regenerated world, after having conquered all his enemies. + + + "There sits Odin's + Son on the horse's back; + He will avenge his father." + + Norse Mythology (R. B. Anderson). + + +As Wyrd spoke, the leaves of the world tree fluttered as if agitated +by a breeze, the eagle on its topmost bough flapped its wings, and +the serpent Nidhug for a moment suspended its work of destruction +at the roots of the tree. Grid, joining the father and son, rejoiced +with Odin when she heard that their son was destined to survive the +older gods and to rule over the new heaven and earth. + + + "There dwell Vidar and Vale + In the gods' holy seats, + When the fire of Surt is slaked." + + Norse Mythology (R. B. Anderson). + + +Vidar, however, uttered not a word, but slowly wended his way back to +his palace Landvidi, in the heart of the primaeval forest, and there, +sitting upon his throne, he pondered long about eternity, futurity, +and infinity. If he fathomed their secrets he never revealed them, for +the ancients averred that he was "as silent as the grave"--a silence +which indicated that no man knows what awaits him in the life to come. + +Vidar was not only a personification of the imperish-ability of Nature, +but he was also a symbol of resurrection and renewal, exhibiting +the eternal truth that new shoots and blossoms will spring forth to +replace those which have fallen into decay. + +The shoe he wore was to be his defence against the wolf Fenris, who, +having destroyed Odin, would direct his wrath against him, and open +wide his terrible jaws to devour him. But the old Northmen declared +that Vidar would brace the foot thus protected against the monster's +lower jaw, and, seizing the upper, would struggle with him until he +had rent him in twain. + +As one shoe only is mentioned in the Vidar myths, some mythologists +suppose that he had but one leg, and was the personification of a +waterspout, which would rise suddenly on the last day to quench the +wild fire personified by the terrible wolf Fenris. + + + + + + +CHAPTER XVI: VALI + + +The Wooing of Rinda + +Billing, king of the Ruthenes, was sorely dismayed when he heard +that a great force was about to invade his kingdom, for he was too +old to fight as of yore, and his only child, a daughter named Rinda, +although she was of marriageable age, obstinately refused to choose +a husband from among her many suitors, and thus give her father the +help which he so sadly needed. + +While Billing was musing disconsolately in his hall, a stranger +suddenly entered his palace. Looking up, the king beheld a middle-aged +man wrapped in a wide cloak, with a broad-brimmed hat drawn down +over his forehead to conceal the fact that he had but one eye. The +stranger courteously enquired the cause of his evident depression, +and as there was that in his bearing that compelled confidence, the +king told him all, and at the end of the relation he volunteered to +command the army of the Ruthenes against their foe. + +His services being joyfully accepted, it was not long ere Odin--for +it was he--won a signal victory, and, returning in triumph, he asked +permission to woo the king's daughter Rinda for his wife. Despite the +suitor's advancing years, Billing hoped that his daughter would lend +a favourable ear to a wooer who appeared to be very distinguished, +and he immediately signified his consent. So Odin, still unknown, +presented himself before the princess, but she scornfully rejected +his proposal, and rudely boxed his ears when he attempted to kiss her. + +Forced to withdraw, Odin nevertheless did not relinquish his purpose to +make Rinda his wife, for he knew, thanks to Rossthiof's prophecy, that +none but she could bring forth the destined avenger of his murdered +son. His next step, therefore, was to assume the form of a smith, +in which guise he came back to Billing's hall, and fashioning costly +ornaments of silver and gold, he so artfully multiplied these precious +trinkets that the king joyfully acquiesced when he inquired whether +he might pay his addresses to the princess. The smith, Rosterus as +he announced himself, was, however, as unceremoniously dismissed by +Rinda as the successful general had been; but although his ear once +again tingled with the force of her blow, he was more determined than +ever to make her his wife. + +The next time Odin presented himself before the capricious damsel, he +was disguised as a dashing warrior, for, thought he, a young soldier +might perchance touch the maiden's heart; but when he again attempted +to kiss her, she pushed him back so suddenly that he stumbled and +fell upon one knee. + + + "Many a fair maiden + When rightly known, + Towards men is fickle; + That I experienced, + When that discreet maiden I + Strove to win; + Contumely of every kind + That wily girl + Heaped upon me; + Nor of that damsel gained I aught." + + Soemund's Edda (Thorpe's tr.). + + +This third insult so enraged Odin that he drew his magic rune stick +out of his breast, pointed it at Rinda, and uttered such a terrible +spell that she fell back into the arms of her attendants rigid and +apparently lifeless. + +When the princess came to life again, her suitor had disappeared, +but the king discovered with great dismay that she had entirely lost +her senses and was melancholy mad. In vain all the physicians were +summoned and all their simples tried; the maiden remained passive +and sad, and her distracted father had well-nigh abandoned hope when +an old woman, who announced herself as Vecha, or Vak, appeared and +offered to undertake the cure of the princess. The seeming old woman, +who was Odin in disguise, first prescribed a foot-bath for the patient; +but as this did not appear to have any very marked effect, she proposed +to try a more drastic treatment. For this, Vecha declared, the patient +must be entrusted to her exclusive care, securely bound so that she +could not offer the least resistance. Billing, anxious to save his +child, was ready to assent to anything; and having thus gained full +power over Rinda, Odin compelled her to wed him, releasing her from +bonds and spell only when she had faithfully promised to be his wife. + + + +The Birth of Vali + +The prophecy of Rossthiof was now fulfilled, for Rinda duly bore a son +named Vali (Ali, Bous, or Beav), a personification of the lengthening +days, who grew with such marvellous rapidity that in the course of +a single day he attained his full stature. Without waiting even to +wash his face or comb his hair, this young god hastened to Asgard, +bow and arrow in hand, to avenge the death of Balder upon his murderer, +Hodur, the blind god of darkness. + + + "But, see! th' avenger, Vali, come, + Sprung from the west, in Rinda's womb, + True son of Odin! one day's birth! + He shall not stop nor stay on earth + His locks to comb, his hands to lave, + His frame to rest, should rest it crave, + Until his mission be complete, + And Balder's death find vengeance meet." + + Valhalla (J. C. Jones). + + +In this myth, Rinda, a personification of the hard-frozen rind of the +earth, resists the warm wooing of the sun, Odin, who vainly points +out that spring is the time for warlike exploits, and offers the +adornments of golden summer. She only yields when, after a shower (the +footbath), a thaw sets in. Conquered then by the sun's irresistible +might, the earth yields to his embrace, is freed from the spell (ice) +which made her hard and cold, and brings forth Vali the nourisher, +or Bous the peasant, who emerges from his dark hut when the pleasant +days have come. The slaying of Hodur by Vali is therefore emblematical +of "the breaking forth of new light after wintry darkness." + +Vali, who ranked as one of the twelve deities occupying seats in the +great hall of Glads-heim, shared with his father the dwelling called +Valaskialf, and was destined, even before birth, to survive the last +battle and twilight of the gods, and to reign with Vidar over the +regenerated earth. + + + +Worship of Vali + +Vali is god of eternal light, as Vidar is of imperishable matter; +and as beams of light were often called arrows, he is always +represented and worshipped as an archer. For that reason his month +in Norwegian calendars is designated by the sign of the bow, and is +called Lios-beri, the light-bringing. As it falls between the middle +of January and of February, the early Christians dedicated this month +to St. Valentine, who was also a skilful archer, and was said, like +Vali, to be the harbinger of brighter days, the awakener of tender +sentiments, and the patron of all lovers. + + + + + + +CHAPTER XVII: THE NORNS + + +The Three Fates + +The Northern goddesses of fate, who were called Norns, were in nowise +subject to the other gods, who might neither question nor influence +their decrees. They were three sisters, probably descendants of the +giant Norvi, from whom sprang Nott (night). As soon as the Golden +Age was ended, and sin began to steal even into the heavenly homes of +Asgard, the Norns made their appearance under the great ash Yggdrasil, +and took up their abode near the Urdar fountain. According to some +mythologists, their mission was to warn the gods of future evil, to +bid them make good use of the present, and to teach them wholesome +lessons from the past. + +These three sisters, whose names were Urd, Verdandi, and Skuld, were +personifications of the past, present, and future. Their principal +occupations were to weave the web of fate, to sprinkle daily the sacred +tree with water from the Urdar fountain, and to put fresh clay around +its roots, that it might remain fresh and ever green. + + + "Thence come the maids + Who much do know; + Three from the hall + Beneath the tree; + One they named Was, + And Being next, + The third Shall be." + + The Voeluspa (Henderson's tr.). + + +Some authorities further state that the Norns kept watch over +the golden apples which hung on the branches of the tree of life, +experience, and knowledge, allowing none but Idun to pick the fruit, +which was that with which the gods renewed their youth. + +The Norns also fed and tenderly cared for two swans which swam over +the mirror-like surface of the Urdar fountain, and from this pair of +birds all the swans on earth are supposed to be descended. At times, +it is said, the Norns clothed themselves with swan plumage to visit +the earth, or sported like mermaids along the coast and in various +lakes and rivers, appearing to mortals, from time to time, to foretell +the future or give them sage advice. + + + +The Norns' Web + +The Norns sometimes wove webs so large that while one of the weavers +stood on a high mountain in the extreme east, another waded far out +into the western sea. The threads of their woof resembled cords, +and varied greatly in hue, according to the nature of the events +about to occur, and a black thread, tending from north to south, was +invariably considered an omen of death. As these sisters flashed the +shuttle to and fro, they chanted a solemn song. They did not seem to +weave according to their own wishes, but blindly, as if reluctantly +executing the wishes of Orlog, the eternal law of the universe, an +older and superior power, who apparently had neither beginning nor end. + +Two of the Norns, Urd and Verdandi, were considered to be very +beneficent indeed, while the third, it is said, relentlessly undid +their work, and often, when nearly finished, tore it angrily to shreds, +scattering the remnants to the winds of heaven. As personifications +of time, the Norns were represented as sisters of different ages +and characters, Urd (Wurd, weird) appearing very old and decrepit, +continually looking backward, as if absorbed in contemplating past +events and people; Verdandi, the second sister, young, active, and +fearless, looked straight before her, while Skuld, the type of the +future, was generally represented as closely veiled, with head turned +in the direction opposite to where Urd was gazing, and holding a book +or scroll which had not yet been opened or unrolled. + +These Norns were visited daily by the gods, who loved to consult them; +and even Odin himself frequently rode down to the Urdar fountain +to bespeak their aid, for they generally answered his questions, +maintaining silence only about his own fate and that of his fellow +gods. + + + "Rode he long and rode he fast. + First beneath the great Life Tree, + At the sacred Spring sought he + Urdar, Norna of the Past; + But her backward seeing eye + Could no knowledge now supply. + Across Verdandi's page there fell + Dark shades that ever woes foretell; + The shadows which 'round Asgard hung + Their baleful darkness o'er it flung; + The secret was not written there + Might save Valhal, the pure and fair. + Last youngest of the sisters three, + Skuld, Norna of Futurity, + Implored to speak, stood silent by,-- + Averted was her tearful eye." + + Valhalla (J. C. Jones). + + + +Other Guardian Spirits + +Besides the three principal Norns there were many others, far less +important, who seem to have been the guardian spirits of mankind, +to whom they frequently appeared, lavishing all manner of gifts +upon their favourites, and seldom failing to be present at births, +marriages, and deaths. + + + "Oh, manifold is their kindred, and who shall tell them all? + There are they that rule o'er men folk, and the stars that rise + and fall." + + Sigurd the Volsung (William Morris). + + + +The Story of Nornagesta + +On one occasion the three sisters visited Denmark, and entered the +dwelling of a nobleman as his first child came into the world. Entering +the apartment where the mother lay, the first Norn promised that the +child should be handsome and brave, and the second that he should be +prosperous and a great scald--predictions which filled the parents' +hearts with joy. Meantime news of what was taking place had gone +abroad, and the neighbours came thronging the apartment to such a +degree that the pressure of the curious crowd caused the third Norn +to be pushed rudely from her chair. + +Angry at this insult, Skuld proudly rose and declared that her +sister's gifts should be of no avail, since she would decree that +the child should live only as long as the taper then burning near the +bedside. These ominous words filled the mother's heart with terror, +and she tremblingly clasped her babe closer to her breast, for the +taper was nearly burned out and its extinction could not be very long +delayed. The eldest Norn, however, had no intention of seeing her +prediction thus set at naught; but as she could not force her sister +to retract her words, she quickly seized the taper, put out the light, +and giving the smoking stump to the child's mother, bade her carefully +treasure it, and never light it again until her son was weary of life. + + + "In the mansion it was night: + The Norns came, + Who should the prince's + Life determine." + + Saemund's Edda (Thorpe's tr.). + + +The boy was named Nornagesta, in honour of the Norns, and grew up to +be as beautiful, brave, and talented as any mother could wish. When he +was old enough to comprehend the gravity of the trust his mother told +him the story of the Norns' visit, and placed in his hands the candle +end, which he treasured for many a year, placing it for safe-keeping +inside the frame of his harp. When his parents were dead, Nornagesta +wandered from place to place, taking part and distinguishing himself +in every battle, singing his heroic lays wherever he went. As he +was of an enthusiastic and poetic temperament, he did not soon weary +of life, and while other heroes grew wrinkled and old, he remained +young at heart and vigorous in frame. He therefore witnessed the +stirring deeds of the heroic ages, was the boon companion of the +ancient warriors, and after living three hundred years, saw the +belief in the old heathen gods gradually supplanted by the teachings +of Christian missionaries. Finally Nornagesta came to the court of +King Olaf Tryggvesson, who, according to his usual custom, converted +him almost by force, and compelled him to receive baptism. Then, +wishing to convince his people that the time for superstition was +past, the king forced the aged scald to produce and light the taper +which he had so carefully guarded for more than three centuries. + +In spite of his recent conversion, Nornagesta anxiously watched the +flame as it flickered, and when, finally, it went out, he sank lifeless +to the ground, thus proving that in spite of the baptism just received, +he still believed in the prediction of the Norns. + +In the middle ages, and even later, the Norns figure in many a story +or myth, appearing as fairies or witches, as, for instance, in the +tale of "the Sleeping Beauty," and Shakespeare's tragedy of Macbeth. + + + "1st Witch. When shall we three meet again, + In thunder, lightning, or in rain? + + 2nd Witch. When the hurlyburly's done, + When the battle's lost and won: + + 3rd Witch. That will be ere the set of sun." + + Macbeth (Shakespeare). + + + +The Vala + +Sometimes the Norns bore the name of Vala, or prophetesses, for they +had the power of divination--a power which was held in great honour +by all the Northern races, who believed that it was restricted to +the female sex. The predictions of the Vala were never questioned, +and it is said that the Roman general Drusus was so terrified by the +appearance of Veleda, one of these prophetesses, who warned him not +to cross the Elbe, that he actually beat a retreat. She foretold his +approaching death, which indeed happened shortly after through a fall +from his steed. + +These prophetesses, who were also known as Idises, Dises, or Hagedises, +officiated at the forest shrines and in the sacred groves, and +always accompanied invading armies. Riding ahead, or in the midst +of the host, they would vehemently urge the warriors on to victory, +and when the battle was over they would often cut the bloody-eagle +upon the bodies of the captives. The blood was collected into great +tubs, wherein the Dises plunged their naked arms up to the shoulders, +previous to joining in the wild dance with which the ceremony ended. + +It is not to be wondered at that these women were greatly +feared. Sacrifices were offered to propitiate them, and it was only in +later times that they were degraded to the rank of witches, and sent to +join the demon host on the Brocken, or Blocksberg, on Valpurgisnacht. + +Besides the Norns or Dises, who were also regarded as protective +deities, the Northmen ascribed to each human being a guardian spirit +named Fylgie, which attended him through life, either in human or +brute shape, and was invisible except at the moment of death by all +except the initiated few. + +The allegorical meaning of the Norns and of their web of fate is too +patent to need explanation; still some mythologists have made them +demons of the air, and state that their web was the woof of clouds, +and that the bands of mists which they strung from rock to tree, +and from mountain to mountain, were ruthlessly torn apart by the +suddenly rising wind. Some authorities, moreover, declare that Skuld, +the third Norn, was at times a Valkyr, and at others personated the +goddess of death, the terrible Hel. + + + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII: THE VALKYRS + + +The Battle Maidens + +Odin's special attendants, the Valkyrs, or battle maidens, were either +his daughters, like Brunhild, or the offspring of mortal kings, +maidens who were privileged to remain immortal and invulnerable as +long as they implicitly obeyed the god and remained virgins. They and +their steeds were the personification of the clouds, their glittering +weapons being the lightning flashes. The ancients imagined that they +swept down to earth at Valfather's command, to choose among the slain +in battle heroes worthy to taste the joys of Valhalla, and brave +enough to lend aid to the gods when the great battle should be fought. + + + "There through some battlefield, where men fall fast, + Their horses fetlock-deep in blood, they ride, + And pick the bravest warriors out for death, + Whom they bring back with them at night to Heaven + To glad the gods and feast in Odin's hall." + + Balder Dead (Matthew Arnold). + + +These maidens were pictured as young and beautiful, with dazzling white +arms and flowing golden hair. They wore helmets of silver or gold, +and blood-red corselets, and with spears and shields glittering, +they boldly charged through the fray on their mettlesome white +steeds. These horses galloped through the realms of air and over +the quivering Bifroest, bearing not only their fair riders, but the +heroes slain, who after having received the Valkyrs' kiss of death, +were thus immediately transported to Valhalla. + + + +The Cloud Steeds + +As the Valkyrs' steeds were personifications of the clouds, it +was natural to fancy that the hoar frost and dew dropped down upon +earth from their glittering manes as they rapidly dashed to and fro +through the air. They were therefore held in high honour and regard, +for the people ascribed to their beneficent influence much of the +fruitfulness of the earth, the sweetness of dale and mountain-slope, +the glory of the pines, and the nourishment of the meadow-land. + + + +Choosers of the Slain + +The mission of the Valkyrs was not only to battlefields upon earth, but +they often rode over the sea, snatching the dying Vikings from their +sinking dragon-ships. Sometimes they stood upon the strand to beckon +them thither, an infallible warning that the coming struggle would +be their last, and one which every Northland hero received with joy. + + + "Slowly they moved to the billow side; + And the forms, as they grew more clear, + Seem'd each on a tall pale steed to ride, + And a shadowy crest to rear, + And to beckon with faint hand + From the dark and rocky strand, + And to point a gleaming spear. + + "Then a stillness on his spirit fell, + Before th' unearthly train; + For he knew Valhalla's daughters well, + The chooser of the slain!" + + Valkyriur Song (Mrs. Hemans). + + + +Their Numbers and Duties + +The numbers of the Valkyrs differ greatly according to various +mythologists, ranging from three to sixteen, most authorities, however, +naming only nine. The Valkyrs were considered as divinities of the +air; they were also called Norns, or wish maidens. It was said that +Freya and Skuld led them on to the fray. + + + "She saw Valkyries + Come from afar, + Ready to ride + To the tribes of god; + Skuld held the shield, + Skaugul came next, + Gunnr, Hildr, Gaundul, + And Geir-skaugul. + Thus now are told + The Warrior's Norns." + + Saemund's Edda (Henderson's tr.). + + +The Valkyrs, as we have seen, had important duties in Valhalla, when, +their bloody weapons laid aside, they poured out the heavenly mead for +the Einheriar. This beverage delighted the souls of the new-comers, +and they welcomed the fair maidens as warmly as when they had first +seen them on the battlefield and realised that they had come to +transport them where they fain would be. + + + "In the shade now tall forms are advancing, + And their wan hands like snowflakes in the moonlight are gleaming; + They beckon, they whisper, 'Oh! strong Armed in Valour, + The pale guests await thee--mead foams in Valhalla.'" + + Finn's Saga (Hewitt). + + + +Wayland and the Valkyrs + +The Valkyrs were supposed to take frequent flights to earth in swan +plumage, which they would throw off when they came to a secluded +stream, that they might indulge in a bath. Any mortal surprising them +thus, and securing their plumage, could prevent them from leaving the +earth, and could even force these proud maidens to mate with him if +such were his pleasure. + +It is related that three of the Valkyrs, Olrun, Alvit, and Svanhvit, +were once sporting in the waters, when suddenly the three brothers +Egil, Slagfinn, and Voelund, or Wayland the smith, came upon them, +and securing their swan plumage, the young men forced them to remain +upon earth and become their wives. The Valkyrs, thus detained, +remained with their husbands nine years, but at the end of that time, +recovering their plumage, or the spell being broken in some other way, +they effected their escape. + + + "There they stayed + Seven winters through; + But all the eighth + Were with longing seized; + And in the ninth + Fate parted them. + The maidens yearned + For the murky wood, + The young Alvit, + Fate to fulfil." + + Lay of Voelund (Thorpe's tr.). + + +The brothers felt the loss of their wives extremely, and two of them, +Egil and Slagfinn, putting on their snow shoes, went in search of +their loved ones, disappearing in the cold and foggy regions of +the North. The third brother, Voelund, however, remained at home, +knowing all search would be of no avail, and he found solace in the +contemplation of a ring which Alvit had given him as a love-token, +and he indulged the constant hope that she would return. As he was a +very clever smith, and could manufacture the most dainty ornaments of +silver and gold, as well as magic weapons which no blow could break, +he now employed his leisure in making seven hundred rings exactly +like the one which his wife had given him. These, when finished, he +bound together; but one night, on coming home from the hunt, he found +that some one had carried away one ring, leaving the others behind, +and his hopes received fresh inspiration, for he told himself that +his wife had been there and would soon return for good. + +That selfsame night, however, he was surprised in his sleep, and +bound and made prisoner by Nidud, King of Sweden, who took possession +of his sword, a choice weapon invested with magic powers, which he +reserved for his own use, and of the love ring made of pure Rhine +gold, which latter he gave to his only daughter, Bodvild. As for the +unhappy Voelund himself, he was led captive to a neighbouring island, +where, after being hamstrung, in order that he should not escape, the +king put him to the incessant task of forging weapons and ornaments +for his use. He also compelled him to build an intricate labyrinth, +and to this day a maze in Iceland is known as "Voelund's house." + +Voelund's rage and despair increased with every new insult offered +him by Nidud, and night and day he thought upon how he might obtain +revenge. Nor did he forget to provide for his escape, and during the +pauses of his labour he fashioned a pair of wings similar to those his +wife had used as a Valkyr, which he intended to don as soon as his +vengeance had been accomplished. One day the king came to visit his +captive, and brought him the stolen sword that he might repair it; +but Voelund cleverly substituted another weapon so exactly like the +magic sword as to deceive the king when he came again to claim it. A +few days later, Voelund enticed the king's sons into his smithy and +slew them, after which he cunningly fashioned drinking vessels out +of their skulls, and jewels out of their eyes and teeth, bestowing +these upon their parents and sister. + + + "But their skulls + Beneath the hair + He in silver set, + And to Nidud gave; + And of their eyes + Precious stones he formed, + Which to Nidud's + Wily wife he sent. + But of the teeth + Of the two + Breast ornaments he made, + And to Boedvild sent." + + Lay of Voelund (Thorpe's tr.). + + +The royal family did not suspect whence they came; and so these gifts +were joyfully accepted. As for the poor youths, it was believed that +they had drifted out to sea and had been drowned. + +Some time after this, Bodvild, wishing to have her ring repaired, also +visited the smith's hut, where, while waiting, she unsuspectingly +partook of a magic drug, which sent her to sleep and left her in +Voelund's power. His last act of vengeance accomplished, Voelund +immediately donned the wings which he had made in readiness for +this day, and grasping his sword and ring he rose slowly in the +air. Directing his flight to the palace, he perched there out of reach, +and proclaimed his crimes to Nidud. The king, beside himself with +rage, summoned Egil, Voelund's brother, who had also fallen into his +power, and bade him use his marvellous skill as an archer to bring +down the impudent bird. Obeying a signal from Voelund, Egil aimed +for a protuberance under his wing where a bladder full of the young +princes' blood was concealed, and the smith flew triumphantly away +without hurt, declaring that Odin would give his sword to Sigmund--a +prediction which was duly fulfilled. + +Voelund then went to Alf-heim, where, if the legend is to be believed, +he found his beloved wife, and lived happily again with her until +the twilight of the gods. + +But, even in Alf-heim, this clever smith continued to ply his craft, +and various suits of impenetrable armour, which he is said to have +fashioned, are described in later heroic poems. Besides Balmung +and Joyeuse, Sigmund's and Charlemagne's celebrated swords, he is +reported to have fashioned Miming for his son Heime, and many other +remarkable blades. + + + "It is the mate of Miming + Of all swerdes it is king, + And Weland it wrought, + Bitterfer it is hight." + + Anglo-Saxon Poetry (Coneybeare's tr.). + + +There are countless other tales of swan maidens or Valkyrs, who are +said to have consorted with mortals; but the most popular of all is +that of Brunhild, the wife of Sigurd, a descendant of Sigmund and +the most renowned of Northern heroes. + +William Morris, in "The Land East of the Sun and West of the Moon," +gives a fascinating version of another of these Norse legends. The +story is amongst the most charming of the collection in "The Earthly +Paradise." + + + +Brunhild + +The story of Brunhild is to be found in many forms. Some versions +describe the heroine as the daughter of a king taken by Odin to serve +in his Valkyr band, others as chief of the Valkyrs and daughter of +Odin himself. In Richard Wagner's story, "The Ring of the Nibelung," +the great musician presents a particularly attractive, albeit a more +modern conception of the chief Battle-Maiden, and her disobedience +to the command of Odin when sent to summon the youthful Siegmund from +the side of his beloved Sieglinde to the Halls of the Blessed. + + + + + + +CHAPTER XIX: HEL + + +Loki's Offspring + +Hel, goddess of death, was the daughter of Loki, god of evil, and of +the giantess Angurboda, the portender of ill. She came into the world +in a dark cave in Joetun-heim together with the serpent Ioermungandr +and the terrible Fenris wolf, the trio being considered as the emblems +of pain, sin, and death. + + + "Now Loki comes, cause of all ill! + Men and AEsir curse him still. + Long shall the gods deplore, + Even till Time be o'er, + His base fraud on Asgard's hill. + While, deep in Jotunheim, most fell, + Are Fenrir, Serpent, and Dread Hel, + Pain, Sin, and Death, his children three, + Brought up and cherished; thro' them he + Tormentor of the world shall be." + + Valhalla (J. C. Jones). + + +In due time Odin became aware of the terrible brood which Loki was +cherishing, and resolved, as we have already seen, to banish them from +the face of the earth. The serpent was therefore cast into the sea, +where his writhing was supposed to cause the most terrible tempests; +the wolf Fenris was secured in chains, thanks to the dauntless Tyr; +and Hel or Hela, the goddess of death, was hurled into the depths of +Nifl-heim, where Odin gave her power over nine worlds. + + + "Hela into Niflheim thou threw'st, + And gav'st her nine unlighted worlds to rule, + A queen, and empire over all the dead." + + Balder Dead (Matthew Arnold). + + + +Hel's Kingdom in Nifl-heim + +This realm, which was supposed to be situated under the earth, could +only be entered after a painful journey over the roughest roads in the +cold, dark regions of the extreme North. The gate was so far from all +human abode that even Hermod the swift, mounted upon Sleipnir, had to +journey nine long nights ere he reached the river Gioell. This formed +the boundary of Nifl-heim, over which was thrown a bridge of crystal +arched with gold, hung on a single hair, and constantly guarded by +the grim skeleton Moedgud, who made every spirit pay a toll of blood +ere she would allow it to pass. + + + "The bridge of glass hung on a hair + Thrown o'er the river terrible,-- + The Gioell, boundary of Hel. + Now here the maiden Moedgud stood, + Waiting to take the toll of blood,-- + A maiden horrible to sight, + Fleshless, with shroud and pall bedight." + + Valhalla (J. C. Jones). + + +The spirits generally rode or drove across this bridge on the horses +or in the waggons which had been burned upon the funeral pyre with the +dead to serve that purpose, and the Northern races were very careful to +bind upon the feet of the departed a specially strong pair of shoes, +called Hel-shoes, that they might not suffer during the long journey +over rough roads. Soon after the Giallar bridge was passed, the spirit +reached the Ironwood, where stood none but bare and iron-leafed trees, +and, passing through it, reached Hel-gate, beside which the fierce, +blood-stained dog Garm kept watch, cowering in a dark hole known as +the Gnipa cave. This monster's rage could only be appeased by the +offering of a Hel-cake, which never failed those who had ever given +bread to the needy. + + + "Loud bays Garm + Before the Gnipa cave." + + Saemund's Edda (Thorpe's tr.). + + +Within the gate, amid the intense cold and impenetrable darkness, +was heard the seething of the great cauldron Hvergelmir, the rolling +of the glaciers in the Elivagar and other streams of Hel, among which +were the Leipter, by which solemn oaths were sworn, and the Slid, +in whose turbid waters naked swords continually rolled. + +Further on in this gruesome place was Elvidner (misery), the hall of +the goddess Hel, whose dish was Hunger. Her knife was Greed. "Idleness +was the name of her man, Sloth of her maid, Ruin of her threshold, +Sorrow of her bed, and Conflagration of her curtains." + + + "Elvidner was Hela's hall. + Iron-barred, with massive wall; + Horrible that palace tall! + Hunger was her table bare; + Waste, her knife; her bed, sharp Care; + Burning Anguish spread her feast; + Bleached bones arrayed each guest; + Plague and Famine sang their runes, + Mingled with Despair's harsh tunes. + Misery and Agony + E'er in Hel's abode shall be!" + + Valhalla (J. C. Jones). + + +This goddess had many different abodes for the guests who daily came to +her, for she received not only perjurers and criminals of all kinds, +but also those who were unfortunate enough to die without shedding +blood. To her realm also were consigned those who died of old age +or disease--a mode of decease which was contemptuously called "straw +death," as the beds of the people were generally of that material. + + + "Temper'd hard by frost, + Tempest and toil their nerves, the sons of those + Whose only terror was a bloodless death." + + Thomson. + + + +Ideas of the Future Life + +Although the innocent were treated kindly by Hel, and enjoyed a state +of negative bliss, it is no wonder that the inhabitants of the North +shrank from the thought of visiting her cheerless abode. And while +the men preferred to mark themselves with the spear point, to hurl +themselves down from a precipice, or to be burned ere life was quite +extinct, the women did not shrink from equally heroic measures. In the +extremity of their sorrow, they did not hesitate to fling themselves +down a mountain side, or fall upon the swords which were given them +at their marriage, so that their bodies might be burned with those +whom they loved, and their spirits released to join them in the bright +home of the gods. + +Further horrors, however, awaited those whose lives had been criminal +or impure, these spirits being banished to Nastrond, the strand of +corpses, where they waded in ice-cold streams of venom, through a cave +made of wattled serpents, whose poisonous fangs were turned towards +them. After suffering untold agonies there, they were washed down +into the cauldron Hvergelmir, where the serpent Nidhug ceased for a +moment gnawing the root of the tree Yggdrasil to feed upon their bones. + + + "A hall standing + Far from the sun + In Nastroend; + Its doors are northward turned, + Venom-drops fall + In through its apertures; + Entwined is that hall + With serpents' backs. + She there saw wading + The sluggish streams + Bloodthirsty men + And perjurers, + And him who the ear beguiles + Of another's wife. + There Nidhog sucks + The corpses of the dead." + + Saemund's Edda (Thorpe's tr.). + + + +Pestilence and Famine + +Hel herself was supposed occasionally to leave her dismal abode to +range the earth upon her three-legged white horse, and in times of +pestilence or famine, if a part of the inhabitants of a district +escaped, she was said to use a rake, and when whole villages and +provinces were depopulated, as in the case of the historical epidemic +of the Black Death, it was said that she had ridden with a broom. + +The Northern races further fancied that the spirits of the dead were +sometimes allowed to revisit the earth and appear to their relatives, +whose sorrow or joy affected them even after death, as is related +in the Danish ballad of Aager and Else, where a dead lover bids his +sweetheart smile, so that his coffin may be filled with roses instead +of the clotted blood drops produced by her tears. + + + "'Listen now, my good Sir Aager! + Dearest bridegroom, all I crave + Is to know how it goes with thee + In that lonely place, the grave.' + + "'Every time that thou rejoicest, + And art happy in thy mind, + Are my lonely grave's recesses + All with leaves of roses lined.' + + "'Every time that, love, thou grievest, + And dost shed the briny flood, + Are my lonely grave's recesses + Filled with black and loathsome blood.'" + + Ballad of Aager and Else (Longfellow's tr.). + + + + + + +CHAPTER XX: AEGIR + + +The God of the Sea + +Besides Nioerd and Mimir, who were both ocean divinities, the one +representing the sea near the coast and the other the primaeval ocean +whence all things were supposed to have sprung, the Northern races +recognised another sea-ruler, called AEgir or Hler, who dwelt either +in the cool depths of his liquid realm or had his abode on the Island +of Lessoe, in the Cattegat, or Hlesey. + + + "Beneath the watery dome, + With crystalline splendour, + In radiant grandeur, + Upreared the sea-god's home. + More dazzling than foam of the waves + E'er glimmered and gleamed thro' deep caves + The glistening sands of its floor, + Like some placid lake rippled o'er." + + Valhalla (J. C. Jones). + + +AEgir (the sea), like his brothers Kari (the air) and Loki (fire), +is supposed to have belonged to an older dynasty of the gods, for he +ranked neither with the AEsir, the Vanas, the giants, dwarfs, or elves, +but was considered omnipotent within his realm. + +He was supposed to occasion and quiet the great tempests which swept +over the deep, and was generally represented as a gaunt old man, +with long white beard and hair, and clawlike fingers ever clutching +convulsively, as though he longed to have all things within his +grasp. Whenever he appeared above the waves, it was only to pursue and +overturn vessels, and to greedily drag them to the bottom of the sea, +a vocation in which he was thought to take fiendish delight. + + + +The Goddess Ran + +AEgir was mated with his sister, the goddess Ran, whose name means +"robber," and who was as cruel, greedy, and insatiable as her +husband. Her favourite pastime was to lurk near dangerous rocks, +whither she enticed mariners, and there spread her net, her most +prized possession, when, having entangled the men in its meshes and +broken their vessels on the jagged cliffs, she would calmly draw them +down into her cheerless realm. + + + "In the deep sea caves + By the sounding shore, + In the dashing waves + When the wild storms roar, + In her cold green bowers + In the Northern fiords, + She lurks and she glowers, + She grasps and she hoards, + And she spreads her strong net for her prey." + + Story of Siegfried (Baldwin). + + +Ran was considered the goddess of death for all who perished at sea, +and the Northern nations fancied that she entertained the drowned +in her coral caves, where her couches were spread to receive them, +and where the mead flowed freely as in Valhalla. The goddess was +further supposed to have a great affection for gold, which was called +the "flame of the sea," and was used to illuminate her halls. This +belief originated with the sailors, and sprang from the striking +phosphorescent gleam of the waves. To win Ran's good graces, the +Northmen were careful to hide some gold about them whenever any +special danger threatened them on the sea. + + + "Gold, on sweetheart ramblings, + Pow'rful is and pleasant; + Who goes empty-handed + Down to sea-blue Ran, + Cold her kisses strike, and + Fleeting her embrace is-- + But we ocean's bride be- + Troth with purest gold." + + Viking Tales of the North (R. B. Anderson). + + + +The Waves + +AEgir and Ran had nine beautiful daughters, the Waves, or +billow-maidens, whose snowy arms and bosoms, long golden hair, +deep-blue eyes, and willowy, sensuous forms were fascinating in +the extreme. These maidens delighted in sporting over the surface +of their father's vast domain, clad lightly in transparent blue, +white, or green veils. They were very moody and capricious, however, +varying from playful to sullen and apathetic moods, and at times +exciting one another almost to madness, tearing their hair and veils, +flinging themselves recklessly upon their hard beds, the rocks, +chasing one another with frantic haste, and shrieking aloud with joy +or despair. But they seldom came out to play unless their brother, +the Wind, were abroad, and according to his mood they were gentle +and playful, or rough and boisterous. + +The Waves were generally supposed to go about in triplets, and were +often said to play around the ships of vikings whom they favoured, +smoothing away every obstacle from their course, and helping them to +reach speedily their goals. + + + "And AEger's daughters, in blue veils dight, + The helm leap round, and urge it on its flight." + + Viking Tales of the North (R. B. Anderson). + + + +AEgir's Brewing Kettle + +To the Anglo-Saxons the sea-god AEgir was known by the name of Eagor, +and whenever an unusually large wave came thundering towards the shore, +the sailors were wont to cry, as the Trent boatmen still do, "Look out, +Eagor is coming!" He was also known by the name of Hler (the shelterer) +among the Northern nations, and of Gymir (the concealer), because he +was always ready to hide things in the depths of his realm, and could +be depended upon not to reveal the secrets entrusted to his care. And, +because the waters of the sea were frequently said to seethe and hiss, +the ocean was often called AEgir's brewing kettle or vat. + +The god's two principal servants were Elde and Funfeng, emblems of +the phosphorescence of the sea; they were noted for their quickness +and they invariably waited upon the guests whom he invited to his +banquets in the depths of the sea. AEgir sometimes left his realm to +visit the AEsir in Asgard, where he was always royally entertained, and +he delighted in Bragi's many tales of the adventures and achievements +of the gods. Excited by these narratives, as also by the sparkling +mead which accompanied them, the god on one occasion ventured to +invite the AEsir to celebrate the harvest feast with him in Hlesey, +where he promised to entertain them in his turn. + + + +Thor and Hymir + +Surprised at this invitation, one of the gods ventured to remind +AEgir that they were accustomed to dainty fare; whereupon the god +of the sea declared that as far as eating was concerned they need +be in no anxiety, as he was sure that he could cater for the most +fastidious appetites; but he confessed that he was not so confident +about drink, as his brewing kettle was rather small. Hearing this, +Thor immediately volunteered to procure a suitable kettle, and set +out with Tyr to obtain it. The two gods journeyed east of the Elivagar +in Thor's goat chariot, and leaving this at the house of the peasant +Egil, Thialfi's father, they wended their way on foot to the dwelling +of the giant Hymir, who was known to own a kettle one mile deep and +proportionately wide. + + + "There dwells eastward + Of Elivagar + The all-wise Hymir, + At heaven's end. + My sire, fierce of mood, + A kettle owns, + A capacious cauldron, + A rast in depth." + + Saemund's Edda (Thorpe's tr.). + + +Only the women were at home, however, and Tyr recognised in the +elder--an ugly old hag with nine hundred heads--his own grandmother; +while the younger, a beautiful young giantess, was, it appeared, +his mother, and she received her son and his companion hospitably, +and gave them to drink. + +After learning their errand, Tyr's mother bade the visitors hide under +some huge kettles, which rested upon a beam at the end of the hall, +for her husband Hymir was very hasty and often slew his would-be guests +with a single baleful glance. The gods quickly followed her advice, and +no sooner were they concealed than the old giant Hymir came in. When +his wife told him that visitors had come, he frowned so portentously, +and flashed such a wrathful look towards their hiding-place, that +the rafter split and the kettles fell with a crash, and, except the +largest, were all dashed to pieces. + + + "In shivers flew the pillar + At the Joetun's glance; + The beam was first + Broken in two. + Eight kettles fell, + But only one of them, + A hard-hammered cauldron, + Whole from the column." + + Saemund's Edda (Thorpe's tr.). + + +The giant's wife, however, prevailed upon her husband to welcome +Tyr and Thor, and he slew three oxen for their refection; but +great was his dismay to see the thunder-god eat two of these for +his supper. Muttering that he would have to go fishing early the +next morning to secure a breakfast for so voracious a guest, the +giant retired to rest, and when at dawn the next day he went down +to the shore, he was joined by Thor, who said that he had come to +help him. The giant bade him secure his own bait, whereupon Thor +coolly slew his host's largest ox, Himinbrioter (heaven-breaker), +and cutting off its head, he embarked with it and proceeded to row +far out to sea. In vain Hymir protested that his usual fishing-ground +had been reached, and that they might encounter the terrible Midgard +snake were they to venture any farther; Thor persistently rowed on, +until he fancied they were directly above this monster. + + + "On the dark bottom of the great salt lake, + Imprisoned lay the giant snake, + With naught his sullen sleep to break." + + Thor's Fishing, Oehlenschlaeger (Pigott's tr.). + + +Baiting his powerful hook with the ox head, Thor angled for +Ioermungandr, while the giant meantime drew up two whales, which seemed +to him to be enough for an early morning meal. He was about to propose +to return, therefore, when Thor suddenly felt a jerk, and began pulling +as hard as he could, for he knew by the resistance of his prey, and the +terrible storm created by its frenzied writhings, that he had hooked +the Midgard snake. In his determined efforts to force the snake to rise +to the surface, Thor braced his feet so strongly against the bottom +of the boat that he went through it and stood on the bed of the sea. + +After an indescribable struggle, the monster's terrible venom-breathing +head appeared, and Thor, seizing his hammer, was about to annihilate +it when the giant, frightened by the proximity of Ioermungandr, and +fearing lest the boat should sink and he should become the monster's +prey, cut the fishing-line, and thus allowed the snake to drop back +like a stone to the bottom of the sea. + + + "The knife prevails: far down beneath the main + The serpent, spent with toil and pain, + To the bottom sank again." + + Thor's Fishing, Oehlenschlaeger (Pigott's tr.). + + +Angry with Hymir for his inopportune interference, Thor dealt him +a blow with his hammer which knocked him overboard; but Hymir, +undismayed, waded ashore, and met the god as he returned to the +beach. Hymir then took both whales, his spoil of the sea, upon his +back, to carry them to the house; and Thor, wishing also to show his +strength, shouldered boat, oars, and fishing tackle, and followed him. + +Breakfast being disposed of, Hymir challenged Thor to prove his +strength by breaking his beaker; but although the thunder-god +threw it with irresistible force against stone pillars and walls, +it remained whole and was not even bent. In obedience to a whisper +from Tyr's mother, however, Thor suddenly hurled the vessel against +the giant's forehead, the only substance tougher than itself, when it +fell shattered to the ground. Hymir, having thus tested the might of +Thor, told him he could have the kettle which the two gods had come +to seek, but Tyr tried to lift it in vain, and Thor could raise it +from the floor only after he had drawn his belt of strength to the +very last hole. + + + "Tyr twice assayed + To move the vessel, + Yet at each time + Stood the kettle fast. + Then Modi's father + By the brim grasped it, + And trod through + The dwelling's floor." + + Lay of Hymir (Thorpe's tr.) + + +The wrench with which he finally pulled it up did great damage to the +giant's house and his feet broke through the floor. As Tyr and Thor +were departing, the latter with the huge pot clapped on his head in +place of a hat, Hymir summoned his brother frost giants, and proposed +that they should pursue and slay their inveterate foe. Turning round, +Thor suddenly became aware of their pursuit, and, hurling Mioelnir +repeatedly at the giants, he slew them all ere they could overtake +him. Tyr and Thor then resumed their journey back to AEgir, carrying +the kettle in which he was to brew ale for the harvest feast. + +The physical explanation of this myth is, of course, a thunder storm +(Thor), in conflict with the raging sea (the Midgard snake), and the +breaking up of the polar ice (Hymir's goblet and floor) in the heat +of summer. + +The gods now arrayed themselves in festive attire and proceeded +joyfully to AEgir's feast, and ever after they were wont to celebrate +the harvest home in his coral caves. + + + "Then Vans and AEsir, mighty gods, + Of earth and air, and Asgard, lords,-- + Advancing with each goddess fair, + A brilliant retinue most rare,-- + Attending mighty Odin, swept + Up wave-worn aisle in radiant march." + + Valhalla (J. C. Jones). + + + +Unloved Divinities + +AEgir, as we have seen, ruled the sea with the help of the treacherous +Ran. Both of these divinities were considered cruel by the Northern +nations, who had much to suffer from the sea, which, surrounding +them on all sides, ran far into the heart of their countries through +the numerous fiords, and often swallowed the ships of their vikings, +with all their warrior crews. + + + +Other Divinities of the Sea + +Besides these principal divinities of the sea, the Northern nations +believed in mermen and mermaids, and many stories are related of +mermaids who divested themselves for a brief while of swan plumage or +seal-garments, which they left upon the beach to be found by mortals +who were thus able to compel the fair maidens to remain on land. + + + "She came through the waves when the fair moon shone + (Drift o' the wave and foam o' the sea); + She came where I walked on the sands alone, + With a heart as light as a heart may be." + + L. E. R. + + +There were also malignant marine monsters known as Nicors, from whose +name has been derived the proverbial Old Nick. Many of the lesser +water divinities had fish tails; the females bore the name of Undines, +and the males of Stromkarls, Nixies, Necks, or Neckar. + + + "Where in the marisches boometh the bittern, + Nicker the Soul-less sits with his ghittern, + Sits inconsolable, friendless and foeless, + Wailing his destiny, Nicker the Soul-less." + + From Brother Fabian's Manuscript. + + +In the middle ages these water spirits were believed sometimes to +leave their native streams, to appear at village dances, where they +were recognised by the wet hem of their garments. They often sat +beside the flowing brook or river, playing on a harp, or singing +alluring songs while combing out their long golden or green hair. + + + "The Neck here his harp in the glass castle plays, + And mermaidens comb out their green hair always, + And bleach here their shining white clothes." + + Stagnelius (Keightley's tr.). + + +The Nixies, Undines, and Stromkarls were particularly gentle and +lovable beings, and were very anxious to obtain repeated assurances +of their ultimate salvation. + +Many stories are told of priests or children meeting them playing by +a stream, and taunting them with future damnation, which threat never +failed to turn the joyful music into pitiful wails. Often priest or +children, discovering their mistake, and touched by the agony of their +victims, would hasten back to the stream and assure the green-toothed +water sprites of future redemption, when they invariably resumed +their happy strains. + + + "Know you the Nixies, gay and fair? + Their eyes are black, and green their hair-- + They lurk in sedgy shores." + + Mathisson. + + + +River Nymphs + +Besides Elf or Elb, the water sprite who gave its name to the Elbe +River in Germany, the Neck, from whom the Neckar derives its name, +and old Father Rhine, with his numerous daughters (tributary streams), +the most famous of all the lesser water divinities is the Lorelei, +the siren maiden who sits upon the Lorelei rock near St. Goar, on +the Rhine, and whose alluring song has enticed many a mariner to +death. The legends concerning this siren are very numerous indeed, +one of the most ancient being as follows: + + + +Legends of the Lorelei + +Lorelei was an immortal, a water nymph, daughter of Father Rhine; +during the day she dwelt in the cool depths of the river bed, but +late at night she would appear in the moonlight, sitting aloft upon +a pinnacle of rock, in full view of all who passed up or down the +stream. At times, the evening breeze wafted some of the notes of +her song to the boatmen's ears, when, forgetting time and place in +listening to these enchanting melodies, they drifted upon the sharp +and jagged rocks, where they invariably perished. + + + "Above the maiden sitteth, + A wondrous form, and fair; + With jewels bright she plaiteth + Her shining golden hair: + With comb of gold prepares it, + The task with song beguiled; + A fitful burden bears it-- + That melody so wild. + + "The boatman on the river + Lists to the song, spell-bound; + Oh! what shall him deliver + From danger threat'ning round? + The waters deep have caught them, + Both boat and boatman brave; + 'Tis Loreley's song hath brought them + Beneath the foaming wave." + + Song, Heine (Selcher's tr.). + + +One person only is said to have seen the Lorelei close by. This was +a young fisherman from Oberwesel, who met her every evening by the +riverside, and spent a few delightful hours with her, drinking in her +beauty and listening to her entrancing song. Tradition had it that ere +they parted the Lorelei pointed out the places where the youth should +cast his nets on the morrow--instructions which he always obeyed, +and which invariably brought him success. + +One night the young fisherman was seen going towards the river, +but as he never returned search was made for him. No clue to his +whereabouts being found, the credulous Teutons finally reported that +the Lorelei had dragged him down to her coral caves that she might +enjoy his companionship for ever. + +According to another version, the Lorelei, with her entrancing +strains from the craggy rocks, lured so many fishermen to a grave in +the depths of Rhine, that an armed force was once sent at nightfall +to surround and seize her. But the water nymph laid such a powerful +spell upon the captain and his men that they could move neither hand +nor foot. While they stood motionless around her, the Lorelei divested +herself of her ornaments, and cast them into the waves below; then, +chanting a spell, she lured the waters to the top of the crag upon +which she was perched, and to the wonder of the soldiers the waves +enclosed a sea-green chariot drawn by white-maned steeds, and the +nymph sprang lightly into this and the magic equipage was instantly +lost to view. A few moments later the Rhine subsided to its usual +level, the spell was broken, and the men recovered power of motion, +and retreated to tell how their efforts had been baffled. Since then, +however, the Lorelei has not been seen, and the peasants declare that +she still resents the insult offered her and will never again leave +her coral caves. + + + + + + +CHAPTER XXI: BALDER + + +The Best Loved + +To Odin and Frigga, we are told, were born twin sons as dissimilar +in character and physical appearance as it was possible for two +children to be. Hodur, god of darkness, was sombre, taciturn, and +blind, like the obscurity of sin, which he was supposed to symbolise, +while his brother Balder, the beautiful, was worshipped as the pure +and radiant god of innocence and light. From his snowy brow and golden +locks seemed to radiate beams of sunshine which gladdened the hearts +of gods and men, by whom he was equally beloved. + + + "Of all the twelve round Odin's throne, + Balder, the Beautiful, alone, + The Sun-god, good, and pure, and bright, + Was loved by all, as all love light." + + Valhalla (J. C. Jones). + + +The youthful Balder attained his full growth with marvellous rapidity, +and was early admitted to the council of the gods. He took up his +abode in the palace of Breidablik, whose silver roof rested upon +golden pillars, and whose purity was such that nothing common or +unclean was ever allowed within its precincts, and here he lived in +perfect unity with his young wife Nanna (blossom), the daughter of Nip +(bud), a beautiful and charming goddess. + +The god of light was well versed in the science of runes, which were +carved on his tongue; he knew the various virtues of simples, one of +which, the camomile, was called "Balder's brow," because its flower +was as immaculately pure as his forehead. The only thing hidden from +Balder's radiant eyes was the perception of his own ultimate fate. + + + "His own house + Breidablik, on whose columns Balder graved + The enchantments that recall the dead to life. + For wise he was, and many curious arts, + Postures of runes, and healing herbs he knew; + Unhappy! but that art he did not know, + To keep his own life safe, and see the sun." + + Balder Dead (Matthew Arnold). + + + +Balder's Dream + +As it was so natural for Balder the beautiful to be smiling and +happy, the gods were greatly troubled when on a day they began to +notice a change in his bearing. Gradually the light died out of his +blue eyes, a careworn look came into his face, and his step grew +heavy and slow. Odin and Frigga, seeing their beloved son's evident +depression, tenderly implored him to reveal the cause of his silent +grief. Balder, yielding at last to their anxious entreaties, confessed +that his slumbers, instead of being peaceful and restful as of yore, +had been strangely troubled of late by dark and oppressive dreams, +which, although he could not clearly remember them when he awoke, +constantly haunted him with a vague feeling of fear. + + + "To that god his slumber + Was most afflicting; + His auspicious dreams + Seemed departed." + + Lay of Vegtam (Thorpe's tr.). + + +When Odin and Frigga heard this, they were very uneasy, but declared +that nothing would harm their universally beloved son. Nevertheless, +when the anxious parents further talked the matter over, they +confessed that they also were oppressed by strange forebodings, and, +coming at last to believe that Balder's life was really threatened, +they proceeded to take measures to avert the danger. + +Frigga sent her servants in every direction, with strict charge to +prevail upon all living creatures, all plants, metals, stones--in +fact, every animate and inanimate thing--to register a solemn vow +not to harm Balder. All creation readily took the oath, for there was +nothing on earth which did not love the radiant god. So the servants +returned to Frigga, telling her that all had been duly sworn save +the mistletoe, growing upon the oak stem at the gate of Valhalla, +and this, they added, was such a puny, inoffensive thing that no harm +could be feared from it. + + + "On a course they resolved: + That they would send + To every being, + Assurance to solicit, + Balder not to harm. + All species swore + Oaths to spare him; + Frigg received all + Their vows and compacts." + + Saemund's Edda (Thorpe's tr.). + + +Frigga now resumed her spinning in great content, for she felt assured +that no harm could come to the child she loved above all. + + + +The Vala's Prophecy + +Odin, in the meantime, had resolved to consult one of the dead Vala +or prophetesses. Mounted upon his eight-footed steed Sleipnir, he rode +over the tremulous bridge Bifroest and over the weary road which leads +to Giallar and the entrance of Nifl-heim, where, passing through the +Helgate and by the dog Garm, he penetrated into Hel's dark abode. + + + "Uprose the king of men with speed, + And saddled straight his coal-black steed; + Down the yawning steep he rode, + That leads to Hela's drear abode." + + Descent of Odin (Gray). + + +Odin saw to his surprise that a feast was being spread in this dark +realm, and that the couches had been covered with tapestry and rings of +gold, as if some highly honoured guest were expected. But he hurried on +without pausing, until he reached the spot where the Vala had rested +undisturbed for many a year, when he began solemnly to chant a magic +spell and to trace the runes which had the power of raising the dead. + + + "Thrice pronounc'd, in accents dread, + The thrilling verse that wakes the dead: + Till from out the hollow ground + Slowly breath'd a sullen sound." + + Descent of Odin (Gray). + + +Suddenly the tomb opened, and the prophetess slowly rose, inquiring +who had dared thus to trouble her long rest. Odin, not wishing her to +know that he was the mighty father of gods and men, replied that he +was Vegtam, son of Valtam, and that he had awakened her to inquire for +whom Hel was spreading her couches and preparing a festive meal. In +hollow tones, the prophetess confirmed all his fears by telling him +that the expected guest was Balder, who was destined to be slain by +Hodur, his brother, the blind god of darkness. + + + "Hodur will hither + His glorious brother send; + He of Balder will + The slayer be, + And Odin's son + Of life bereave. + By compulsion I have spoken; + Now I will be silent." + + Saemund's Edda (Thorpe's tr.). + + +Despite the Vala's evident reluctance to speak further, Odin was not +yet satisfied, and he prevailed upon her to tell him who would avenge +the murdered god and call his slayer to account. For revenge and +retaliation were considered as a sacred duty by the races of the North. + +Then the prophetess told him, as Rossthiof had already predicted, +that Rinda, the earth-goddess, would bear a son to Odin, and that +Vali, as this child would be named, would neither wash his face nor +comb his hair until he had avenged upon Hodur the death of Balder. + + + "In the caverns of the west, + By Odin's fierce embrace comprest, + A wondrous boy shall Rinda bear, + Who ne'er shall comb his raven hair, + Nor wash his visage in the stream, + Nor see the sun's departing beam, + Till he on Hoder's corse shall smile + Flaming on the fun'ral pile." + + Descent of Odin (Gray). + + +When the reluctant Vala had thus spoken, Odin next asked: "Who would +refuse to weep at Balder's death?" This incautious question showed a +knowledge of the future which no mortal could possess, and immediately +revealed to the Vala the identity of her visitor. Therefore, refusing +to speak another word, she sank back into the silence of the tomb, +declaring that none would be able to lure her out again until the +end of the world was come. + + + "Hie thee hence, and boast at home, + That never shall inquirer come + To break my iron sleep again, + Till Lok has burst his tenfold chain; + Never, till substantial Night + Has reassum'd her ancient right: + Till wrapt in flames, in ruin hurl'd, + Sinks the fabric of the world." + + Descent of Odin (Gray). + + +Odin having learned the decrees of Orlog (fate), which he knew could +not be set aside, now remounted his steed, and sadly wended his +way back to Asgard, thinking of the time, not far distant, when his +beloved son would no more be seen in the heavenly abodes, and when +the light of his presence would have vanished for ever. + +On entering Glads-heim, however, Odin was somewhat reassured by +the intelligence, promptly conveyed to him by Frigga, that all +things under the sun had promised that they would not harm Balder, +and feeling convinced that if nothing would slay their beloved son he +must surely continue to gladden gods and men with his presence, he cast +care aside and resigned himself to the pleasures of the festive board. + + + +The Gods at Play + +The playground of the gods was situated on the green plain of Ida, +and was called Idavold. Here the gods would resort when in sportive +mood, and their favourite game was to throw their golden disks, which +they could cast with great skill. They had returned to this wonted +pastime with redoubled zest since the cloud which had oppressed their +spirits had been dispersed by the precautions of Frigga. Wearied at +last, however, of the accustomed sport, they bethought them of a new +game. They had learned that Balder could not be harmed by any missile, +and so they amused themselves by casting all manner of weapons, stones, +etc., at him, certain that no matter how cleverly they tried, and +how accurately they aimed, the objects, having sworn not to injure +him, would either glance aside or fall short. This new amusement +proved to be so fascinating that soon all the gods gathered around +Balder, greeting each new failure to hurt him with prolonged shouts +of laughter. + + + +The Death of Balder + +These bursts of merriment excited the curiosity of Frigga, who sat +spinning in Fensalir; and seeing an old woman pass by her dwelling, +she bade her pause and tell what the gods were doing to provoke such +great hilarity. The old woman was none other than Loki in disguise, +and he answered Frigga that the gods were throwing stones and other +missiles, blunt and sharp, at Balder, who stood smiling and unharmed +in their midst, challenging them to touch him. + +The goddess smiled, and resumed her work, saying that it was quite +natural that nothing should harm Balder, as all things loved the light, +of which he was the emblem, and had solemnly sworn not to injure +him. Loki, the personification of fire, was greatly chagrined upon +hearing this, for he was jealous of Balder, the sun, who so entirely +eclipsed him and who was generally beloved, while he was feared and +avoided as much as possible; but he cleverly concealed his vexation, +and inquired of Frigga whether she were quite sure that all objects +had joined the league. + +Frigga proudly answered that she had received the solemn oath of +all things, a harmless little parasite, the mistletoe, which grew on +the oak near Valhalla's gate, only excepted, and this was too small +and weak to be feared. This information was all that Loki wanted, +and bidding adieu to Frigga he hobbled off. As soon as he was safely +out of sight, however, he resumed his wonted form and hastened to +Valhalla, where, at the gate, he found the oak and mistletoe as +indicated by Frigga. Then by the exercise of magic arts he imparted +to the parasite a size and hardness quite unnatural to it. + +From the wooden stem thus produced he deftly fashioned a shaft with +which he hastened back to Idavold, where the gods were still hurling +missiles at Balder, Hodur alone leaning mournfully against a tree the +while, and taking no part in the game. Carelessly Loki approached +the blind god, and assuming an appearance of interest, he inquired +the cause of his melancholy, at the same time artfully insinuating +that pride and indifference prevented him from participating in +the sport. In answer to these remarks, Hodur pleaded that only his +blindness deterred him from taking part in the new game, and when Loki +put the mistletoe-shaft in his hand, and led him into the midst of the +circle, indicating the direction of the novel target, Hodur threw his +shaft boldly. But to his dismay, instead of the loud laughter which +he expected, a shuddering cry of horror fell upon his ear, for Balder +the beautiful had fallen to the ground, pierced by the fatal mistletoe. + + + "So on the floor lay Balder dead; and round + Lay thickly strewn swords, axes, darts, and spears, + Which all the Gods in sport had idly thrown + At Balder, whom no weapon pierced or clove; + But in his breast stood fixed the fatal bough + Of mistletoe, which Lok, the Accuser, gave + To Hoder, and unwitting Hoder threw-- + 'Gainst that alone had Balder's life no charm." + + Balder Dead (Matthew Arnold). + + +In dire anxiety the gods crowded around their beloved companion, +but alas! life was quite extinct, and all their efforts to revive the +fallen sun-god were unavailing. Inconsolable at their loss, they now +turned angrily upon Hodur, whom they would there and then have slain +had they not been restrained by the law of the gods that no wilful +deed of violence should desecrate their peace-steads. The sound of +their loud lamentation brought the goddesses in hot haste to the +dreadful scene, and when Frigga saw that her darling was dead, she +passionately implored the gods to go to Nifl-heim and entreat Hel to +release her victim, for the earth could not exist happily without him. + + + +Hermod's Errand + +As the road was rough and painful in the extreme, none of the gods +would volunteer at first to go; but when Frigga promised that she +and Odin would reward the messenger by loving him above all the AEsir, +Hermod signified his readiness to execute the commission. To enable +him to do so, Odin lent him Sleipnir, and the noble steed, who was +not wont to allow any but Odin upon his back, set off without demur +upon the dark road which his hoofs had beaten twice before. + +Meantime, Odin caused the body of Balder to be removed to Breidablik, +and he directed the gods to go to the forest and cut down huge pines +wherewith to build a worthy pyre. + + + "But when the Gods were to the forest gone, + Hermod led Sleipnir from Valhalla forth + And saddled him; before that, Sleipnir brook'd + No meaner hand than Odin's on his mane, + On his broad back no lesser rider bore; + Yet docile now he stood at Hermod's side, + Arching his neck, and glad to be bestrode, + Knowing the God they went to seek, how dear. + But Hermod mounted him, and sadly fared + In silence up the dark untravell'd road + Which branches from the north of Heaven, and went + All day; and daylight waned, and night came on. + And all that night he rode, and journey'd so, + Nine days, nine nights, toward the northern ice, + Through valleys deep-engulph'd by roaring streams. + And on the tenth morn he beheld the bridge + Which spans with golden arches Giall's stream, + And on the bridge a damsel watching, arm'd, + In the straight passage, at the further end, + Where the road issues between walling rocks." + + Balder Dead (Matthew Arnold). + + + +The Funeral Pyre + +While Hermod was speeding along the cheerless road which led to +Nifl-heim, the gods hewed and carried down to the shore a vast amount +of fuel, which they piled upon the deck of Balder's dragon-ship, +Ringhorn, constructing an elaborate funeral pyre. According to custom, +this was decorated with tapestry hangings, garlands of flowers, +vessels and weapons of all kinds, golden rings, and countless objects +of value, ere the immaculate corpse, richly attired, was brought and +laid upon it. + +One by one, the gods now drew near to take a last farewell of their +beloved companion, and as Nanna bent over him, her loving heart broke, +and she fell lifeless by his side. Seeing this, the gods reverently +laid her beside her husband, that she might accompany him even in +death; and after they had slain his horse and hounds and twined +the pyre with thorns, the emblems of sleep, Odin, last of the gods, +drew near. + +In token of affection for the dead and of sorrow for his loss, all +had lain their most precious possessions upon his pyre, and Odin, +bending down, now added to the offerings his magic ring Draupnir. It +was noted by the assembled gods that he was whispering in his dead +son's ear, but none were near enough to hear what word he said. + +These sad preliminaries ended, the gods now prepared to launch the +ship, but found that the heavy load of fuel and treasures resisted +their combined efforts and they could not make the vessel stir an +inch. The mountain giants, witnessing the scene from afar, and noticing +their quandary, now drew near and said that they knew of a giantess +called Hyrrokin, who dwelt in Joetun-heim, and was strong enough to +launch the vessel without any other aid. The gods therefore bade one of +the storm giants hasten off to summon Hyrrokin, and she soon appeared, +mounted upon a gigantic wolf, which she guided by a bridle made of +writhing snakes. Riding down to the shore, the giantess dismounted and +haughtily signified her readiness to give the required aid, if in the +meantime the gods would take charge of her steed. Odin immediately +despatched four of his maddest Berserkers to hold the wolf; but, +in spite of their phenomenal strength, they could not restrain the +monstrous creature until the giantess had thrown it down and bound +it fast. + +Hyrrokin, seeing that now they would be able to manage her refractory +steed, strode along the strand to where, high up from the water's edge, +lay Balder's mighty ship Ringhorn. + + + "Seventy ells and four extended + On the grass the vessel's keel; + High above it, gilt and splendid, + Rose the figure-head ferocious + With its crest of steel." + + The Saga of King Olaf (Longfellow). + + +Setting her shoulder against its stern, with a supreme effort she +sent it with a rush into the water. Such was the weight of the mass, +however, and the rapidity with which it shot down into the sea, that +the earth shook as if from an earthquake, and the rollers on which +the ship glided caught fire from the friction. The unexpected shock +almost caused the gods to lose their balance, and this so angered +Thor that he raised his hammer and would have slain the giantess +had he not been restrained by his companions. Easily appeased, as +usual--for Thor's temper, although quickly roused, was evanescent--he +now boarded the vessel once more to consecrate the funeral pyre with +his sacred hammer. As he was performing this ceremony, the dwarf +Lit provokingly stumbled into his way, whereupon Thor, who had not +entirely recovered his equanimity, kicked him into the fire, which +he had just kindled with a thorn, and the dwarf was burned to ashes +with the bodies of the divine pair. + +The great ship now drifted out to sea, and the flames from the pyre +presented a magnificent spectacle, which assumed a greater glory +with every passing moment, until, when the vessel neared the western +horizon, it seemed as if sea and sky were on fire. Sadly the gods +watched the glowing ship and its precious freight, until suddenly it +plunged into the waves and disappeared; nor did they turn aside and +return to Asgard until the last spark of light had vanished, and the +world, in token of mourning for Balder the good, was enveloped in a +mantle of darkness. + + + "Soon with a roaring rose the mighty fire, + And the pile crackled; and between the logs + Sharp quivering tongues of flame shot out, and leapt + Curling and darting, higher, until they lick'd + The summit of the pile, the dead, the mast, + And ate the shrivelling sails; but still the ship + Drove on, ablaze above her hull with fire. + And the gods stood upon the beach, and gazed; + And while they gazed, the sun went lurid down + Into the smoke-wrapt sea, and night came on. + Then the wind fell with night, and there was calm; + But through the dark they watch'd the burning ship + Still carried o'er the distant waters, on + Farther and farther, like an eye of fire. + So show'd in the far darkness, Balder's pile; + But fainter, as the stars rose high, it flared; + The bodies were consumed, ash choked the pile. + And as, in a decaying winter fire, + A charr'd log, falling, makes a shower of sparks-- + So, with a shower of sparks, the pile fell in, + Reddening the sea around; and all was dark." + + Balder Dead (Matthew Arnold). + + + +Hermod's Quest + +Sadly the gods entered Asgard, where no sounds of merriment or +feasting greeted the ear, for all hearts were filled with anxious +concern for the end of all things which was felt to be imminent. And +truly the thought of the terrible Fimbul-winter, which was to herald +their death, was one well calculated to disquiet the gods. + +Frigga alone cherished hope, and she watched anxiously for the return +of her messenger, Hermod the swift, who, meanwhile, had ridden over +the tremulous bridge, and along the dark Hel-way, until, on the tenth +night, he had crossed the rushing tide of the river Gioell. Here he was +challenged by Moedgud, who inquired why the Giallar-bridge trembled +more beneath his horse's tread than when a whole army passed, and +asked why he, a living rider, was attempting to penetrate into the +dreaded realm of Hel. + + + "Who art thou on thy black and fiery horse, + Under whose hoofs the bridge o'er Giall's stream + Rumbles and shakes? Tell me thy race and home. + But yestermorn five troops of dead pass'd by, + Bound on their way below to Hela's realm, + Nor shook the bridge so much as thou alone. + And thou hast flesh and colour on thy cheeks, + Like men who live, and draw the vital air; + Nor look'st thou pale and wan, like man deceased, + Souls bound below, my daily passers here." + + Balder Dead (Matthew Arnold). + + +Hermod explained to Moedgud the reason of his coming, and, having +ascertained that Balder and Nanna had ridden over the bridge before +him, he hastened on, until he came to the gate, which rose forbiddingly +before him. + +Nothing daunted by this barrier, Hermod dismounted on the smooth ice, +and tightening the girths of his saddle, remounted, and burying his +spurs deep into Sleipnir's sleek sides, he put him to a prodigious +leap, which landed them safely on the other side of Hel-gate. + + + "Thence on he journey'd o'er the fields of ice + Still north, until he met a stretching wall + Barring his way, and in the wall a grate. + Then he dismounted, and drew tight the girths, + On the smooth ice, of Sleipnir, Odin's horse, + And made him leap the grate, and came within." + + Balder Dead (Matthew Arnold). + + +Riding onward, Hermod came at last to Hel's banqueting-hall, where he +found Balder, pale and dejected, lying upon a couch, his wife Nanna +beside him, gazing fixedly at a beaker of mead, which apparently he +had no heart to quaff. + + + +The Condition of Balder's Release + +In vain Hermod informed his brother that he had come to redeem him; +Balder shook his head sadly, saying that he knew he must remain in +his cheerless abode until the last day should come, but he implored +Hermod to take Nanna back with him, as the home of the shades was +no place for such a bright and beautiful creature. But when Nanna +heard this request she clung more closely to her husband's side, +vowing that nothing would ever induce her to part from him, and that +she would stay with him for ever, even in Nifl-heim. + +The long night was spent in close conversation, ere Hermod sought +Hel and implored her to release Balder. The churlish goddess listened +in silence to his request, and declared finally that she would allow +her victim to depart provided that all things animate and inanimate +would show their sorrow for his loss by shedding tears. + + + "Come then! if Balder was so dear beloved, + And this is true, and such a loss is Heaven's-- + Hear, how to Heaven may Balder be restored. + Show me through all the world the signs of grief! + Fails but one thing to grieve, here Balder stops! + Let all that lives and moves upon the earth + Weep him, and all that is without life weep; + Let Gods, men, brutes, beweep him; plants and stones. + So shall I know the lost was dear indeed, + And bend my heart, and give him back to Heaven." + + Balder Dead (Matthew Arnold). + + +This answer was full of encouragement, for all Nature mourned the +loss of Balder, and surely there was nothing in all creation which +would withhold the tribute of a tear. So Hermod cheerfully made his +way out of Hel's dark realm, carrying with him the ring Draupnir, +which Balder sent back to Odin, an embroidered carpet from Nanna for +Frigga, and a ring for Fulla. + + + +The Return of Hermod + +The assembled gods crowded anxiously round Hermod as soon as he +returned, and when he had delivered his messages and gifts, the AEsir +sent heralds to every part of the world to bid all things animate +and inanimate weep for Balder. + + + "Go quickly forth through all the world, and pray + All living and unliving things to weep + Balder, if haply he may thus be won!" + + Balder Dead (Matthew Arnold). + + +North, South, East and West rode the heralds, and as they passed tears +fell from every plant and tree, so that the ground was saturated with +moisture, and metals and stones, despite their hard hearts, wept too. + +The way at last led back to Asgard, and by the road-side was a dark +cave, in which the messengers saw, crouching, the form of a giantess +named Thok, whom some mythologists suppose to have been Loki in +disguise. When she was called upon to shed a tear, she mocked the +heralds, and fleeing into the dark recesses of her cave, she declared +that no tear should fall from her eyes, and that, for all she cared, +Hel might retain her prey for ever. + + + "Thok she weepeth + With dry tears + For Balder's death-- + Neither in life, nor yet in death, + Gave he me gladness. + Let Hel keep her prey." + + Elder Edda (Howitt's version). + + +As soon as the returning messengers arrived in Asgard, the gods +crowded round them to learn the result of their mission; but their +faces, all aglow with the joy of anticipation, grew dark with despair +when they heard that one creature had refused the tribute of tears, +wherefore they would behold Balder in Asgard no more. + + + "Balder, the Beautiful, shall ne'er + From Hel return to upper air! + Betrayed by Loki, twice betrayed, + The prisoner of Death is made; + Ne'er shall he 'scape the place of doom + Till fatal Ragnarok be come!" + + Valhalla (J. C. Jones). + + + +Vali the Avenger + +The decrees of fate had not yet been fully consummated, and the final +act of the tragedy remains to be briefly stated. + +We have already seen how Odin succeeded after many rebuffs in securing +the consent of Rinda to their union, and that the son born of this +marriage was destined to avenge the death of Balder. The advent of +this wondrous infant now took place, and Vali the Avenger, as he +was called, entered Asgard on the day of his birth, and on that +very same day he slew Hodur with an arrow from a bundle which he +seems to have carried for the purpose. Thus the murderer of Balder, +unwitting instrument though he was, atoned for the crime with his +blood, according to the code of the true Norseman. + + + +The Signification of the Story + +The physical explanation of this myth is to be found either in the +daily setting of the sun (Balder), which sinks beneath the western +waves, driven away by darkness (Hodur), or in the ending of the short +Northern summer and the long reign of the winter season. "Balder +represents the bright and clear summer, when twilight and daylight +kiss each other and go hand in hand in these Northern latitudes." + + + "Balder's pyre, of the sun a mark, + Holy hearth red staineth; + Yet, soon dies its last faint spark, + Darkly then Hoder reigneth." + + Viking Tales of the North (R. B. Anderson). + + +"His death by Hodur is the victory of darkness over light, the darkness +of winter over the light of summer; and the revenge by Vali is the +breaking forth of new light after the wintry darkness." + +Loki, the fire, is jealous of Balder, the pure light of heaven, who +alone among the Northern gods never fought, but was always ready with +words of conciliation and peace. + + + "But from thy lips, O Balder, night or day, + Heard no one ever an injurious word + To God or Hero, but thou keptest back + The others, labouring to compose their brawls." + + Balder Dead (Matthew Arnold). + + +The tears shed by all things for the beloved god are symbolical of +the spring thaw, setting in after the hardness and cold of winter, +when every tree and twig, and even the stones drip with moisture; +Thok (coal) alone shows no sign of tenderness, as she is buried deep +within the dark earth and needs not the light of the sun. + + + "And as in winter, when the frost breaks up, + At winter's end, before the spring begins, + And a warm west wind blows, and thaw sets in-- + After an hour a dripping sound is heard + In all the forests, and the soft-strewn snow + Under the trees is dibbled thick with holes, + And from the boughs the snow loads shuffle down; + And, in fields sloping to the south, dark plots + Of grass peep out amid surrounding snow, + And widen, and the peasant's heart is glad-- + So through the world was heard a dripping noise + Of all things weeping to bring Balder back; + And there fell joy upon the Gods to hear." + + Balder Dead (Matthew Arnold). + + +From the depths of their underground prison, the sun (Balder) and +vegetation (Nanna) try to cheer heaven (Odin) and earth (Frigga) +by sending them the ring Draupnir, the emblem of fertility, and the +flowery tapestry, symbolical of the carpet of verdure which will +again deck the earth and enhance her charms with its beauty. + +The ethical signification of the myth is no less beautiful, for Balder +and Hodur are symbols of the conflicting forces of good and evil, +while Loki impersonates the tempter. + + + "But in each human soul we find + That night's dark Hoder, Balder's brother blind, + Is born and waxeth strong as he; + For blind is ev'ry evil born, as bear cubs be, + Night is the cloak of evil; but all good + Hath ever clad in shining garments stood. + The busy Loke, tempter from of old, + Still forward treads incessant, and doth hold + The blind one's murder hand, whose quick-launch'd spear + Pierceth young Balder's breast, that sun of Valhal's sphere!" + + Viking Tales of the North (R. B. Anderson). + + + +The Worship of Balder + +One of the most important festivals was held at the summer solstice, +or midsummer's eve, in honour of Balder the good, for it was +considered the anniversary of his death and of his descent into +the lower world. On that day, the longest in the year, the people +congregated out of doors, made great bonfires, and watched the sun, +which in extreme Northern latitudes barely dips beneath the horizon +ere it rises upon a new day. From midsummer, the days gradually grow +shorter, and the sun's rays less warm, until the winter solstice, +which was called the "Mother night," as it was the longest night +in the year. Midsummer's eve, once celebrated in honour of Balder, +is now called St. John's day, that saint having entirely supplanted +Balder the good. + + + + + + +CHAPTER XXII: LOKI + + +The Spirit of Evil + +Besides the hideous giant Utgard-Loki, the personification of mischief +and evil, whom Thor and his companions visited in Joetun-heim, the +ancient Northern nations had another type of sin, whom they called +Loki also, and whom we have already seen under many different aspects. + +In the beginning, Loki was merely the personification of the hearth +fire and of the spirit of life. At first a god, he gradually becomes +"god and devil combined," and ends in being held in general detestation +as an exact counterpart of the mediaeval Lucifer, the prince of lies, +"the originator of deceit, and the back-biter" of the AEsir. + +By some authorities Loki was said to be the brother of Odin, but +others assert that the two were not related, but had merely gone +through the form of swearing blood brotherhood common in the North. + + + "Odin! dost thou remember + When we in early days + Blended our blood together? + When to taste beer + Thou did'st constantly refuse + Unless to both 'twas offered?" + + Saemund's Edda (Thorpe's tr.). + + + +Loki's Character + +While Thor is the embodiment of Northern activity, Loki represents +recreation, and the close companionship early established between +these two gods shows very plainly how soon our ancestors realised that +both were necessary to the welfare of mankind. Thor is ever busy and +ever in earnest, but Loki makes fun of everything, until at last his +love of mischief leads him entirely astray, and he loses all love +for goodness and becomes utterly selfish and malevolent. + +He represents evil in the seductive and seemingly beautiful form +in which it parades through the world. Because of this deceptive +appearance the gods did not at first avoid him, but treated him as one +of themselves in all good-fellowship, taking him with them wherever +they went, and admitting him not only to their merry-makings, but also +to their council hall, where, unfortunately, they too often listened +to his advice. + +As we have already seen, Loki played a prominent part in the creation +of man, endowing him with the power of motion, and causing the blood +to circulate freely through his veins, whereby he was inspired with +passions. As personification of fire as well as of mischief, Loki +(lightning) is often seen with Thor (thunder), whom he accompanies +to Joetun-heim to recover his hammer, to Utgard-Loki's castle, and +to Geirrod's house. It is he who steals Freya's necklace and Sif's +hair, and betrays Idun into the power of Thiassi; and although he +sometimes gives the gods good advice and affords them real help, +it is only to extricate them from some predicament into which he has +rashly inveigled them. + +Some authorities declare that, instead of making part of the creative +trilogy (Odin, Hoenir, and Lodur or Loki), this god originally +belonged to a pre-Odinic race of deities, and was the son of the +great giant Fornjotnr (Ymir), his brothers being Kari (air) and Hler +(water), and his sister Ran, the terrible goddess of the sea. Other +mythologists, however, make him the son of the giant Farbauti, who +has been identified with Bergelmir, the sole survivor of the deluge, +and of Laufeia (leafy isle) or Nal (vessel), his mother, thus stating +that his connection with Odin was only that of the Northern oath +of good-fellowship. + +Loki (fire) first married Glut (glow), who bore him two daughters, +Eisa (embers) and Einmyria (ashes); it is therefore very evident +that Norsemen considered him emblematic of the hearth-fire, and when +the flaming wood crackles on the hearth the goodwives in the North +are still wont to say that Loki is beating his children. Besides +this wife, Loki is also said to have wedded the giantess Angur-boda +(the anguish-boding), who dwelt in Joetun-heim, and who, as we have +already seen, bore him the three monsters: Hel, goddess of death, +the Midgard snake Ioermungandr, and the grim wolf Fenris. + + + "Loki begat the wolf + With Angur-boda." + + Saemund's Edda (Thorpe's tr.). + + + +Sigyn + +Loki's third marriage was with Sigyn, who proved a most loving and +devoted wife, and bore him two sons, Narve and Vali, the latter a +namesake of the god who avenged Balder. Sigyn was always faithful +to her husband, and did not forsake him even after he had definitely +been cast out of Asgard and confined in the bowels of the earth. + +As Loki was the embodiment of evil in the minds of the Northern races, +they entertained nothing but fear of him, built no temples to his +honour, offered no sacrifices to him, and designated the most noxious +weeds by his name. The quivering, overheated atmosphere of summer was +supposed to betoken his presence, for the people were then wont to +remark that Loki was sowing his wild oats, and when the sun appeared +to be drawing water they said Loki was drinking. + +The story of Loki is so inextricably woven with that of the other +gods that most of the myths relating to him have already been told, +and there remain but two episodes of his life to relate, one showing +his better side before he had degenerated into the arch deceiver, +and the other illustrating how he finally induced the gods to defile +their peace-steads by wilful murder. + + + +Skrymsli and the Peasant's Child + +A giant and a peasant were playing a game together one day (probably a +game of chess, which was a favourite winter pastime with the Northern +vikings). They of course had determined to play for certain stakes, +and the giant, being victorious, won the peasant's only son, whom he +said he would come and claim on the morrow unless the parents could +hide him so cleverly that he could not be found. + +Knowing that such a feat would be impossible for them to perform, +the parents fervently prayed to Odin to help them, and in answer to +their entreaties the god came down to earth, and changed the boy into +a tiny grain of wheat, which he hid in an ear of grain in the midst +of a large field, declaring that the giant would not be able to find +him. The giant Skrymsli, however, possessed wisdom far beyond what +Odin imagined, and, failing to find the child at home, he strode +off immediately to the field with his scythe, and mowing the wheat +he selected the particular ear where the boy was hidden. Counting +over the grains of wheat he was about to lay his hand upon the right +one when Odin, hearing the child's cry of distress, snatched the +kernel out of the giant's hand, and restored the boy to his parents, +telling them that he had done all in his power to help them. But as +the giant vowed he had been cheated, and would again claim the boy +on the morrow unless the parents could outwit him, the unfortunate +peasants now turned to Hoenir for aid. The god heard them graciously +and changed the boy into a fluff of down, which he hid in the breast +of a swan swimming in a pond close by. Now when, a few minutes later, +Skrymsli came up, he guessed what had occurred, and seizing the swan, +he bit off its neck, and would have swallowed the down had not Hoenir +wafted it away from his lips and out of reach, restoring the boy safe +and sound to his parents, but telling them that he could not further +aid them. + +Skrymsli warned the parents that he would make a third attempt to +secure the child, whereupon they applied in their despair to Loki, +who carried the boy out to sea, and concealed him, as a tiny egg, +in the roe of a flounder. Returning from his expedition, Loki +encountered the giant near the shore, and seeing that he was bent +upon a fishing excursion, he insisted upon accompanying him. He felt +somewhat uneasy lest the terrible giant should have seen through his +device, and therefore thought it would be well for him to be on the +spot in case of need. Skrymsli baited his hook, and was more or less +successful in his angling, when suddenly he drew up the identical +flounder in which Loki had concealed his little charge. Opening the +fish upon his knee, the giant proceeded to minutely examine the roe, +until he found the egg which he was seeking. + +The plight of the boy was certainly perilous, but Loki, watching his +chance, snatched the egg out of the giant's grasp, and transforming it +again into the child, he instructed him secretly to run home, passing +through the boathouse on his way and closing the door behind him. The +terrified boy did as he was told immediately he found himself on land, +and the giant, quick to observe his flight, dashed after him into +the boathouse. Now Loki had cunningly placed a sharp spike in such a +position that the great head of the giant ran full tilt against it, +and he sank to the ground with a groan, whereupon Loki, seeing him +helpless, cut off one of his legs. Imagine the god's dismay, however, +when he saw the pieces join and immediately knit together. But Loki +was a master of guile, and recognising this as the work of magic, he +cut off the other leg, promptly throwing flint and steel between the +severed limb and trunk, and thereby hindering any further sorcery. The +peasants were immensely relieved to find that their enemy was slain, +and ever after they considered Loki the mightiest of all the heavenly +council, for he had delivered them effectually from their foe, while +the other gods had lent only temporary aid. + + + +The Giant Architect + +Notwithstanding their wonderful bridge Bifroest, the tremulous way, +and the watchfulness of Heimdall, the gods could not feel entirely +secure in Asgard, and were often fearful lest the frost giants should +make their way into Asgard. To obviate this possibility, they finally +decided to build an impregnable fortress; and while they were planning +how this could be done, an unknown architect came with an offer to +undertake the construction, provided the gods would give him sun, moon, +and Freya, goddess of youth and beauty, as reward. The gods were wroth +at so presumptuous an offer, but when they would have indignantly +driven the stranger from their presence, Loki urged them to make a +bargain which it would be impossible for the stranger to keep, and +so they finally told the architect that the guerdon should be his, +provided the fortress were finished in the course of a single winter, +and that he accomplished the work with no other assistance than that +of his horse Svadilfare. + + + "To Asgard came an architect, + And castle offered to erect,-- + A castle high + Which should defy + Deep Jotun guile and giant raid; + And this most wily compact made: + Fair Freya, with the Moon and Sun, + As price the fortress being done." + + Valhalla (J.C. Jones). + + +The unknown architect agreed to these seemingly impossible conditions, +and immediately set to work, hauling ponderous blocks of stone by +night, building during the day, and progressing so rapidly that +the gods began to feel somewhat anxious. Ere long they noticed that +more than half the labour was accomplished by the wonderful steed +Svadilfare, and when they saw, near the end of winter, that the work +was finished save only one portal, which they knew the architect +could easily erect during the night: + + + "Horror and fear the gods beset; + Finished almost the castle stood! + In three days more + The work be o'er; + Then must they make their contract good, + And pay the awful debt." + + Valhalla (J. C. Jones). + + +Terrified lest they should be called upon to part, not only with the +sun and moon, but also with Freya, the personification of the youth +and beauty of the world, the gods turned upon Loki, and threatened +to kill him unless he devised some means of hindering the architect +from finishing the work within the specified time. + +Loki's cunning proved once more equal to the situation. He waited until +nightfall of the final day, when, as Svadilfare passed the fringe of a +forest, painfully dragging one of the great blocks of stone required +for the termination of the work, he rushed out from a dark glade +in the guise of a mare, and neighed so invitingly that, in a trice, +the horse kicked himself free of his harness and ran after the mare, +closely pursued by his angry master. The mare galloped swiftly on, +artfully luring horse and master deeper and deeper into the forest +shades, until the night was nearly gone, and it was no longer possible +to finish the work. The architect was none other than a redoubtable +Hrim-thurs, in disguise, and he now returned to Asgard in a towering +rage at the fraud which had been practised upon him. Assuming his +wonted proportions, he would have annihilated the gods had not Thor +suddenly returned from a journey and slain him with his magic hammer +Mioelnir, which he hurled with terrific force full in his face. + +The gods had saved themselves on this occasion only by fraud and by +the violent deed of Thor, and these were destined to bring great sorrow +upon them, and eventually to secure their downfall, and to hasten the +coming of Ragnarok. Loki, however, felt no remorse for his part, and +in due time, it is said, he became the parent of an eight-footed steed +called Sleipnir, which, as we have seen, was Odin's favourite mount. + + + "But Sleipnir he begat + With Svadilfari." + + Lay of Hyndla (Thorpe's tr.). + + +Loki performed so many evil deeds during his career that he richly +deserved the title of "arch deceiver" which was given him. He was +generally hated for his subtle malicious ways, and for an inveterate +habit of prevarication which won for him also the title of "prince +of lies." + + + +Loki's last Crime + +Loki's last crime, and the one which filled his measure of iniquity, +was to induce Hodur to throw the fatal mistletoe at Balder, whom he +hated merely on account of his immaculate purity. Perhaps even this +crime might have been condoned had it not been for his obduracy when, +in the disguise of the old woman Thok, he was called upon to shed a +tear for Balder. His action on this occasion convinced the gods that +nothing but evil remained within him, and they pronounced unanimously +upon him the sentence of perpetual banishment from Asgard. + + + +AEgir's Banquet + +To divert the gods' sadness and make them, for a short time, forget +the treachery of Loki and the loss of Balder, AEgir, god of the sea, +invited them to partake of a banquet in his coral caves at the bottom +of the sea. + + + "Now, to assuage the high gods' grief + And bring their mourning some relief, + From coral caves + 'Neath ocean waves, + Mighty King AEgir + Invited the AEsir + To festival + In Hlesey's hall; + That, tho' for Baldur every guest + Was grieving yet, + He might forget + Awhile his woe in friendly feast." + + Valhalla (J. C. Jones). + + +The gods gladly accepted the invitation, and clad in their richest +garb, and with festive smiles, they appeared in the coral caves at +the appointed time. None were absent save the radiant Balder, for +whom many a regretful sigh was heaved, and the evil Loki, whom none +could regret. In the course of the feast, however, this last-named +god appeared in their midst like a dark shadow, and when bidden to +depart, he gave vent to his evil passions in a torrent of invective +against the gods. + + + "Of the AEsir and the Alfar + That are here within + Not one has a friendly word for thee." + + AEgir's Compotation, or Loki's Altercation (Thorpe's tr.). + + +Then, jealous of the praises which Funfeng, AEgir's servant, had won +for the dexterity with which he waited upon his master's guests, +Loki suddenly turned upon him and slew him. At this wanton crime, +the gods in fierce wrath drove Loki away once more, threatening him +with dire punishment should he ever appear before them again. + +Scarcely had the AEsir recovered from this disagreeable interruption +to their feast, and resumed their places at the board, when Loki +came creeping in once more, resuming his slanders with venomous +tongue, and taunting the gods with their weaknesses or shortcomings, +dwelling maliciously upon their physical imperfections, and deriding +them for their mistakes. In vain the gods tried to stem his abuse; +his voice rose louder and louder, and he was just giving utterance to +some base slander about Sif, when he was suddenly cut short by the +sight of Thor's hammer, angrily brandished by an arm whose power he +knew full well, and he fled incontinently. + + + "Silence, thou impure being! + My mighty hammer, Mioellnir, + Shall stop thy prating. + I will thy head + From thy neck strike; + Then will thy life be ended." + + AEgir's Compotation, or Loki's Altercation (Thorpe's tr.). + + + +The Pursuit of Loki + +Knowing that he could now have no hope of being admitted into Asgard +again, and that sooner or later the gods, seeing the effect of his +evil deeds, would regret having permitted him to roam the world, and +would try either to bind or slay him, Loki withdrew to the mountains, +where he built himself a hut, with four doors which he always left +wide open to permit of a hasty escape. Carefully laying his plans, +he decided that if the gods should come in search of him he would +rush down to the neighbouring cataract, according to tradition the +Fraananger force or stream, and, changing himself into a salmon, +would thus evade his pursuers. He reasoned, however, that although +he could easily avoid any hook, it might be difficult for him to +effect his escape if the gods should fashion a net like that of the +sea-goddess Ran. + +Haunted by this fear, he decided to test the possibility of making +such a mesh, and started to make one out of twine. He was still +engaged upon the task when Odin, Kvasir, and Thor suddenly appeared +in the distance; and knowing that they had discovered his retreat, +Loki threw his half-finished net into the fire, and, rushing through +one of his ever-open doors, he leaped into the waterfall, where, in the +shape of a salmon, he hid among some stones in the bed of the stream. + +The gods, finding the hut empty, were about to depart, when Kvasir +perceived the remains of the burnt net on the hearth. After some +thought an inspiration came to him, and he advised the gods to weave +a similar implement and use it in searching for their foe in the +neighbouring stream, since it would be like Loki to choose such a +method of baffling their pursuit. This advice seemed good and was +immediately followed, and, the net finished, the gods proceeded to +drag the stream. Loki eluded the net at its first cast by hiding +at the bottom of the river between two stones; and when the gods +weighted the mesh and tried a second time, he effected his escape by +jumping up stream. A third attempt to secure him proved successful, +however, for, as he once more tried to get away by a sudden leap, +Thor caught him in mid-air and held him so fast, that he could not +escape. The salmon, whose slipperiness is proverbial in the North, +is noted for its remarkably slim tail, and Norsemen attribute this +to Thor's tight grasp upon his foe. + + + +Loki's Punishment + +Loki now sullenly resumed his wonted shape, and his captors dragged +him down into a cavern, where they made him fast, using as bonds the +entrails of his son Narve, who had been torn to pieces by Vali, his +brother, whom the gods had changed into a wolf for the purpose. One +of these fetters was passed under Loki's shoulders, and one under +his loins, thereby securing him firmly hand and foot; but the gods, +not feeling quite satisfied that the strips, tough and enduring though +they were, would not give way, changed them into adamant or iron. + + + "Thee, on a rock's point, + With the entrails of thy ice-cold son, + The gods will bind." + + Saemund's Edda (Thorpe's tr.). + + +Skadi, the giantess, a personification of the cold mountain stream, +who had joyfully watched the fettering of her foe (subterranean +fire), now fastened a serpent directly over his head, so that its +venom would fall, drop by drop, upon his upturned face. But Sigyn, +Loki's faithful wife, hurried with a cup to his side, and until the +day of Ragnarok she remained by him, catching the drops as they fell, +and never leaving her post except when her vessel was full, and she was +obliged to empty it. Only during her short absences could the drops +of venom fall upon Loki's face, and then they caused such intense +pain that he writhed with anguish, his efforts to get free shaking +the earth and producing the earthquakes which so frighten mortals. + + + "Ere they left him in his anguish, + O'er his treacherous brow, ungrateful, + Skadi hung a serpent hateful, + Venom drops for aye distilling, + Every nerve with torment filling; + Thus shall he in horror languish. + By him, still unwearied kneeling, + Sigyn at his tortured side,-- + Faithful wife! with beaker stealing + Drops of venom as they fall,-- + Agonising poison all! + Sleepless, changeless, ever dealing + Comfort, will she still abide; + Only when the cup's o'erflowing + Must fresh pain and smarting cause, + Swift, to void the beaker going, + Shall she in her watching pause. + Then doth Loki + Loudly cry; + Shrieks of terror, + Groans of horror, + Breaking forth in thunder peals + With his writhings scared Earth reels. + Trembling and quaking, + E'en high Heav'n shaking! + So wears he out his awful doom, + Until dread Ragnarok be come." + + Valhalla (J. C. Jones). + + +In this painful position Loki was destined to remain until the twilight +of the gods, when his bonds would be loosed, and he would take part +in the fatal conflict on the battlefield of Vigrid, falling at last +by the hand of Heimdall, who would be slain at the same time. + +As we have seen, the venom-dropping snake in this myth is the +cold mountain stream, whose waters, falling from time to time +upon subterranean fire, evaporate in steam, which escapes through +fissures, and causes earthquakes and geysers, phenomena with which +the inhabitants of Iceland, for instance, were very familiar. + + + +Loki's Day + +When the gods were reduced to the rank of demons by the introduction of +Christianity, Loki was confounded with Saturn, who had also been shorn +of his divine attributes, and both were considered the prototypes of +Satan. The last day of the week, which was held sacred to Loki, was +known in the Norse as Laugardag, or wash-day, but in English it was +changed to Saturday, and was said to owe its name not to Saturn but +to Sataere, the thief in ambush, and the Teutonic god of agriculture, +who is supposed to be merely another personification of Loki. + + + + + + +CHAPTER XXIII: THE GIANTS + + +Joetun-heim + +As we have already seen, the Northern races imagined that the giants +were the first creatures who came to life among the icebergs which +filled the vast abyss of Ginnunga-gap. These giants were from the +very beginning the opponents and rivals of the gods, and as the +latter were the personifications of all that is good and lovely, +the former were representative of all that was ugly and evil. + + + "He comes--he comes--the Frost Spirit comes! on the rushing + northern blast, + And the dark Norwegian pines have bowed as his fearful breath + went past. + With an unscorched wing he has hurried on, where the fires on + Hecla glow + On the darkly beautiful sky above and the ancient ice below." + + J. G. Whittier. + + +When Ymir, the first giant, fell lifeless on the ice, slain by the +gods, his progeny were drowned in his blood. One couple only, Bergelmir +and his wife, effected their escape to Joetun-heim, where they took +up their abode and became the parents of all the giant race. In the +North the giants were called by various names, each having a particular +meaning. Joetun, for instance, meant "the great eater," for the giants +were noted for their enormous appetites as well as for their uncommon +size. They were fond of drinking as well as of eating, wherefore they +were also called Thurses, a word which some writers claim had the +same meaning as thirst; but others think they owed this name to the +high towers ("turseis") which they were supposed to have built. As the +giants were antagonistic to the gods, the latter always strove to force +them to remain in Joetun-heim, which was situated in the cold regions of +the Pole. The giants were almost invariably worsted in their encounters +with the gods, for they were heavy and slow-witted, and had nothing +but stone weapons to oppose to the AEsir's bronze. In spite of this +inequality, however, they were sometimes greatly envied by the gods, +for they were thoroughly conversant with all knowledge relating to +the past. Even Odin was envious of this attribute, and no sooner had +he secured it by a draught from Mimir's spring than he hastened to +Joetun-heim to measure himself against Vafthrudnir, the most learned +of the giant brood. But he might never have succeeded in defeating +his antagonist in this strange encounter had he not ceased inquiring +about the past and propounded a question relating to the future. + +Of all the gods Thor was most feared by the Joetuns, for he was +continually waging war against the frost and mountain giants, +who would fain have bound the earth for ever in their rigid bands, +thus preventing men from tilling the soil. In fighting against them, +Thor, as we have already seen, generally had recourse to his terrible +hammer Mioelnir. + + + +Origin of the Mountains + +According to German legends the uneven surface of the earth was due +to the giants, who marred its smoothness by treading upon it while +it was still soft and newly created, while streams were formed from +the copious tears shed by the giantesses upon seeing the valleys made +by their husbands' huge footprints. As such was the Teutonic belief, +the people imagined that the giants, who personified the mountains +to them, were huge uncouth creatures, who could only move about in +the darkness or fog, and were petrified as soon as the first rays of +sunlight pierced through the gloom or scattered the clouds. + +This belief led them to name one of their principal mountain chains +the Riesengebirge (giant mountains). The Scandinavians also shared +this belief, and to this day the Icelanders designate their highest +mountain peaks by the name of Jokul, a modification of the word +"Joetun." In Switzerland, where the everlasting snows rest upon the +lofty mountain tops, the people still relate old stories of the time +when the giants roamed abroad; and when an avalanche came crashing +down the mountain side, they say the giants have restlessly shaken +off part of the icy burden from their brows and shoulders. + + + +The First Gods + +As the giants were also personifications of snow, ice, cold, stone, and +subterranean fire, they were said to be descended from the primitive +Fornjotnr, whom some authorities identify with Ymir. According to this +version of the myth, Fornjotnr had three sons: Hler, the sea; Kari, the +air; and Loki, fire. These three divinities, the first gods, formed the +oldest trinity, and their respective descendants were the sea giants +Mimir, Gymir, and Grendel, the storm giants Thiassi, Thrym, and Beli, +and the giants of fire and death, such as the Fenris wolf and Hel. + +As all the royal dynasties claimed descent from some mythical being, +the Merovingians asserted that their first progenitor was a sea giant, +who rose out of the waves in the form of an ox, and surprised the +queen while she was walking alone on the seashore, compelling her to +become his wife. She gave birth to a son named Meroveus, the founder +of the first dynasty of Frankish kings. + +Many stories have already been told about the most important +giants. They reappear in many of the later myths and fairy-tales, +and manifest, after the introduction of Christianity, a peculiar +dislike to the sound of church bells and the singing of monks and nuns. + + + +The Giant in Love + +The Scandinavians relate, in this connection, that in the days +of Olaf the Saint a giant called Senjemand, dwelt on the Island of +Senjen, and he was greatly incensed because a nun on the Island of +Grypto daily sang her morning hymn. This giant fell in love with a +beautiful maiden called Juterna-jesta, and it was long ere he could +find courage to propose to her. When at last he made his halting +request, the fair damsel scornfully rejected him, declaring that he +was far too old and ugly for her taste. + + + "Miserable Senjemand--ugly and grey! + Thou win the maid of Kvedfiord! + No--a churl thou art and shalt ever remain." + + Ballad (Brace's tr.). + + +In his anger at being thus scornfully refused, the giant swore +vengeance, and soon after he shot a great flint arrow from his bow +at the maiden, who dwelt eighty miles away. Another lover, Torge, +also a giant, seeing her peril and wishing to protect her, flung +his hat at the speeding arrow. This hat was a thousand feet high +and proportionately broad and thick, nevertheless the arrow pierced +the headgear, falling short, however, of its aim. Senjemand, seeing +that he had failed, and fearing the wrath of Torge, mounted his steed +and prepared to ride off as quickly as possible; but the sun, rising +just then above the horizon, turned him into stone, together with the +arrow and Torge's hat, the huge pile being known as the Torghatten +mountain. The people still point to an obelisk which they say is the +stone arrow; to a hole in the mountain, 289 feet high and 88 feet wide, +which they say is the aperture made by the arrow in its flight through +the hat; and to the horseman on Senjen Island, apparently riding a +colossal steed and drawing the folds of his wide cavalry cloak closely +about him. As for the nun whose singing had so disturbed Senjemand, she +was petrified too, and never troubled any one with her psalmody again. + + + +The Giant and the Church Bells + +Another legend relates that one of the mountain giants, annoyed by +the ringing of church bells more than fifty miles away, once caught +up a huge rock, which he hurled at the sacred building. Fortunately +it fell short and broke in two. Ever since then, the peasants say +that the trolls come on Christmas Eve to raise the largest piece of +stone upon golden pillars, and to dance and feast beneath it. A lady, +wishing to know whether this tale were true, once sent her groom +to the place. The trolls came forward and hospitably offered him a +drink from a horn mounted in gold and ornamented with runes. Seizing +the horn, the groom flung its contents away and dashed off with it +at a mad gallop, closely pursued by the trolls, from whom he escaped +only by passing through a stubble field and over running water. Some +of their number visited the lady on the morrow to claim this horn, +and when she refused to part with it they laid a curse upon her, +declaring that her castle would be burned down every time the horn +should be removed. The prediction has thrice been fulfilled, and now +the family guard the relic with superstitious care. A similar drinking +vessel, obtained in much the same fashion by the Oldenburg family, +is exhibited in the collection of the King of Denmark. + +The giants were not supposed to remain stationary, but were said to +move about in the darkness, sometimes transporting masses of earth +and sand, which they dropped here and there. The sandhills in northern +Germany and Denmark were supposed to have been thus formed. + + + +The Giants' Ship + +A North Frisian tradition relates that the giants possessed a colossal +ship, called Mannigfual, which constantly cruised about in the Atlantic +Ocean. Such was the size of this vessel that the captain was said +to patrol the deck on horseback, while the rigging was so extensive +and the masts so high that the sailors who went up as youths came +down as gray-haired men, having rested and refreshed themselves in +rooms fashioned and provisioned for that purpose in the huge blocks +and pulleys. + +By some mischance it happened that the pilot once directed the immense +vessel into the North Sea, and wishing to return to the Atlantic +as soon as possible, yet not daring to turn in such a small space, +he steered into the English Channel. Imagine the dismay of all on +board when they saw the passage growing narrower and narrower the +farther they advanced. When they came to the narrowest spot, between +Calais and Dover, it seemed barely possible that the vessel, drifting +along with the current, could force its way through. The captain, +with laudable presence of mind, promptly bade his men soap the sides +of the ship, and to lay an extra-thick layer on the starboard, where +the rugged cliffs of Dover rose threateningly. These orders were no +sooner carried out than the vessel entered the narrow space, and, +thanks to the captain's precaution, it slipped safely through. The +rocks of Dover scraped off so much soap, however, that ever since +they have been particularly white, and the waves dashing against them +still have an unusually foamy appearance. + +This exciting experience was not the only one through which the +Mannigfual passed, for we are told that it once, nobody knows how, +penetrated into the Baltic Sea, where, the water not being deep enough +to keep the vessel afloat, the captain ordered all the ballast to be +thrown overboard. The material thus cast on either side of the vessel +into the sea formed the two islands of Bornholm and Christiansoe. + + + +Princess Ilse + +In Thuringia and in the Black Forest the stories of the giants are +legion, and one of the favourites with the peasants is that about +Ilse, the lovely daughter of the giant of the Ilsenstein. She was so +charming that far and wide she was known as the Beautiful Princess +Ilse, and was wooed by many knights, of whom she preferred the Lord of +Westerburg. But her father did not at all approve of her consorting +with a mere mortal, and forbade her to see her lover. Princess Ilse +was wilful, however, and in spite of her sire's prohibition she +daily visited her lover. The giant, exasperated by her persistency +and disobedience, finally stretched out his huge hands and, seizing +the rocks, tore a great gap between the height where he dwelt and the +castle of Westerburg. Upon this, Princess Ilse, going to the cleft +which parted her from her lover, recklessly flung herself over the +precipice into the raging flood beneath, and was there changed into +a bewitching undine. She dwelt in the limpid waters for many a year, +appearing from time to time to exercise her fascinations upon mortals, +and even, it is said, captivating the affections of the Emperor +Henry, who paid frequent visits to her cascade. Her last appearance, +according to popular belief, was at Pentecost, a hundred years ago; +and the natives have not yet ceased to look for the beautiful princess, +who is said still to haunt the stream and to wave her white arms to +entice travellers into the cool spray of the waterfall. + + + "I am the Princess Ilse, + And I dwell at the Ilsenstein; + Come with me to my castle, + And bliss shall be mine and thine. + + "With the cool of my glass-clear waters + Thy brow and thy locks I'll lave; + And thou'lt think of thy sorrows no longer, + For all that thou look'st so grave. + + "With my white arms twined around thee, + And lapped on my breast so white, + Thou shalt lie, and dream of elf-land-- + Its loves and wild delight." + + Heine (Martin's tr.). + + + +The Giantess's Plaything + +The giants inhabited all the earth before it was given to mankind, and +it was only with reluctance that they made way for the human race, and +retreated into the waste and barren parts of the country, where they +brought up their families in strict seclusion. Such was the ignorance +of their offspring, that a young giantess, straying from home, once +came to an inhabited valley, where for the first time in her life she +saw a farmer ploughing on the hillside. Deeming him a pretty plaything, +she caught him up with his team, and thrusting them into her apron, +she gleefully carried them home to exhibit to her father. But the +giant immediately bade her carry peasant and horses back to the place +where she had found them, and when she had done so he sadly explained +that the creatures whom she took for mere playthings, would eventually +drive the giant folk away, and become masters of the earth. + + + + + + +CHAPTER XXIV: THE DWARFS + + +Little Men + +In the first chapter we saw how the black elves, dwarfs, or +Svart-alfar, were bred like maggots in the flesh of the slain giant +Ymir. The gods, perceiving these tiny, unformed creatures creeping in +and out, gave them form and features, and they became known as dark +elves, on account of their swarthy complexions. These small beings +were so homely, with their dark skin, green eyes, large heads, short +legs, and crow's feet, that they were enjoined to hide underground, +being commanded never to show themselves during the daytime lest they +should be turned into stone. Although less powerful than the gods, +they were far more intelligent than men, and as their knowledge was +boundless and extended even to the future, gods and men were equally +anxious to question them. + +The dwarfs were also known as trolls, kobolds, brownies, goblins, +pucks, or Huldra folk, according to the country where they dwelt. + + + "You are the grey, grey Troll, + With the great green eyes, + But I love you, grey, grey Troll-- + You are so wise! + + "Tell me this sweet morn, + Tell me all you know-- + Tell me, was I born? + Tell me, did I grow?" + + The Legend of the Little Fay (Buchanan). + + + +The Tarnkappe + +These little beings could transport themselves with marvellous celerity +from one place to another, and they loved to conceal themselves +behind rocks, when they would mischievously repeat the last words +of conversations overheard from such hiding-places. Owing to this +well-known trick, the echoes were called dwarfs' talk, and people +fancied that the reason why the makers of such sounds were never +seen was because each dwarf was the proud possessor of a tiny red +cap which made the wearer invisible. This cap was called Tarnkappe, +and without it the dwarfs dared not appear above the surface of the +earth after sunrise for fear of being petrified. When wearing it they +were safe from this peril. + + + "Away! let not the sun view me-- + I dare no longer stay; + An Elfin-child, thou wouldst me see, + To stone turn at his ray." + + La Motte-Fouque. + + + +The Legend of Kallundborg + +Helva, daughter of the Lord of Nesvek, was loved by Esbern Snare, +whose suit, however, was rejected by the proud father with the scornful +words: "When thou shalt build at Kallundborg a stately church, then +will I give thee Helva to wife." + +Now Esbern, although of low estate, was proud of heart, even as +the lord, and he determined, come what might, to find a way to win +his coveted bride. So off he strode to a troll in Ullshoi Hill, +and effected a bargain whereby the troll undertook to build a fine +church, on completion of which Esbern was to tell the builder's name +or forfeit his eyes and heart. + +Night and day the troll wrought on, and as the building took shape, +sadder grew Esbern Snare. He listened at the crevices of the hill +by night; he watched during the day; he wore himself to a shadow +by anxious thought; he besought the elves to aid him. All to no +purpose. Not a sound did he hear, not a thing did he see, to suggest +the name of the builder. + +Meantime, rumour was busy, and the fair Helva, hearing of the evil +compact, prayed for the soul of the unhappy man. + +Time passed until one day the church lacked only one pillar, +and worn out by black despair, Esbern sank exhausted upon a bank, +whence he heard the troll hammering the last stone in the quarry +underground. "Fool that I am," he said bitterly, "I have builded +my tomb." + +Just then he heard a light footstep, and looking up, he beheld his +beloved. "Would that I might die in thy stead," said she, through +her tears, and with that Esbern confessed how that for love of her +he had imperilled eyes and heart and soul. + +Then fast as the troll hammered underground, Helva prayed beside her +lover, and the prayers of the maiden prevailed over the spell of the +troll, for suddenly Esbern caught the sound of a troll-wife singing +to her infant, bidding it be comforted, for that, on the morrow, +Father Fine would return bringing a mortal's eyes and heart. + +Sure of his victim, the troll hurried to Kallundborg with the last +stone. "Too late, Fine!" quoth Esbern, and at the word, the troll +vanished with his stone, and it is said that the peasants heard at +night the sobbing of a woman underground, and the voice of the troll +loud with blame. + + + "Of the Troll of the Church they sing the rune + By the Northern Sea in the harvest moon; + And the fishers of Zealand hear him still + Scolding his wife in Ulshoi hill. + + "And seaward over its groves of birch + Still looks the tower of Kallundborg church, + Where, first at its altar, a wedded pair, + Stood Helva of Nesvek and Esbern Snare!" + + J. G. Whittier + + + +The Magic of the Dwarfs + +The dwarfs, as well as the elves, were ruled by a king, who, in +various countries of northern Europe, was known as Andvari, Alberich, +Elbegast, Gondemar, Laurin, or Oberon. He dwelt in a magnificent +subterranean palace, studded with the gems which his subjects had +mined from the bosom of the earth, and, besides untold riches and the +Tarnkappe, he owned a magic ring, an invincible sword, and a belt of +strength. At his command the little men, who were very clever smiths, +would fashion marvellous jewels or weapons, which their ruler would +bestow upon favourite mortals. + +We have already seen how the dwarfs fashioned Sif's golden hair, +the ship Skidbladnir, the point of Odin's spear Gungnir, the ring +Draupnir, the golden-bristled boar Gullin-bursti, the hammer Mioelnir, +and Freya's golden necklace Brisinga-men. They are also said to +have made the magic girdle which Spenser describes in his poem of +the "Faerie Queene,"--a girdle which was said to have the power of +revealing whether its wearer were virtuous or a hypocrite. + + + "That girdle gave the virtue of chaste love + And wifehood true to all that did it bear; + But whosoever contrary doth prove + Might not the same about her middle wear + But it would loose, or else asunder tear." + + Faerie Queene (Spenser). + + +The dwarfs also manufactured the mythical sword Tyrfing, which could +cut through iron and stone, and which they gave to Angantyr. This +sword, like Frey's, fought of its own accord, and could not be +sheathed, after it was once drawn, until it had tasted blood. Angantyr +was so proud of this weapon that he had it buried with him; but his +daughter Hervor visited his tomb at midnight, recited magic spells, and +forced him to rise from his grave to give her the precious blade. She +wielded it bravely, and it eventually became the property of another +of the Northern heroes. + +Another famous weapon, which according to tradition was forged by +the dwarfs in Eastern lands, was the sword Angurvadel which Frithiof +received as a portion of his inheritance from his fathers. Its hilt +was of hammered gold, and the blade was inscribed with runes which +were dull until it was brandished in war, when they flamed red as +the comb of the fighting-cock. + + + "Quick lost was that hero + Meeting in battle's night that blade high-flaming with runics. + Widely renown'd was this sword, of swords most choice in the + Northland." + + Tegner's Frithiof (G. Stephens's tr.). + + + +The Passing of the Dwarfs + +The dwarfs were generally kind and helpful; sometimes they kneaded +bread, ground flour, brewed beer, performed countless household tasks, +and harvested and threshed the grain for the farmers. If ill-treated, +however, or turned to ridicule, these little creatures would forsake +the house and never come back again. When the old gods ceased to be +worshipped in the Northlands, the dwarfs withdrew entirely from the +country, and a ferryman related how he had been hired by a mysterious +personage to ply his boat back and forth across the river one night, +and at every trip his vessel was so heavily laden with invisible +passengers that it nearly sank. When his night's work was over, he +received a rich reward, and his employer informed him that he had +carried the dwarfs across the river, as they were leaving the country +for ever in consequence of the unbelief of the people. + + + +Changelings + +According to popular superstition, the dwarfs, in envy of man's +taller stature, often tried to improve their race by winning human +wives or by stealing unbaptized children, and substituting their +own offspring for the human mother to nurse. These dwarf babies were +known as changelings, and were recognisable by their puny and wizened +forms. To recover possession of her own babe, and to rid herself of +the changeling, a woman was obliged either to brew beer in egg-shells +or to grease the soles of the child's feet and hold them so near the +flames that, attracted by their offspring's distressed cries, the dwarf +parents would hasten to claim their own and return the stolen child. + +The troll women were said to have the power of changing themselves +into Maras or nightmares, and of tormenting any one they pleased; +but if the victim succeeded in stopping up the hole through which a +Mara made her ingress into his room, she was entirely at his mercy, +and he could even force her to wed him if he chose to do so. A wife +thus obtained was sure to remain as long as the opening through which +she had entered the house was closed, but if the plug were removed, +either by accident or design, she immediately effected her escape +and never returned. + + + +The Peaks of the Trolls + +Naturally, traditions of the little folk abound everywhere throughout +the North, and many places are associated with their memory. The +well-known Peaks of the Trolls (Trold-Tindterne) in Norway are said +to be the scene of a conflict between two bands of trolls, who in +the eagerness of combat omitted to note the approach of sunrise, +with the result that they were changed into the small points of rock +which stand up noticeably upon the crests of the mountain. + + + +A Conjecture + +Some writers have ventured a conjecture that the dwarfs so often +mentioned in the ancient sagas and fairy-tales were real beings, +probably the Phoenician miners, who, working the coal, iron, copper, +gold, and tin mines of England, Norway, Sweden, etc., took advantage +of the simplicity and credulity of the early inhabitants to make +them believe that they belonged to a supernatural race and always +dwelt underground, in a region which was called Svart-alfa-heim, +or the home of the black elves. + + + + + + +CHAPTER XXV: THE ELVES + + +The Realm of Faery + +Besides the dwarfs there was another numerous class of tiny creatures +called Lios-alfar, light or white elves, who inhabited the realms of +air between heaven and earth, and were gently governed by the genial +god Frey from his palace in Alf-heim. They were lovely, beneficent +beings, so pure and innocent that, according to some authorities, +their name was derived from the same root as the Latin word "white" +(albus), which, in a modified form, was given to the snow-covered +Alps, and to Albion (England), because of her white chalk cliffs +which could be seen afar. + +The elves were so small that they could flit about unseen while +they tended the flowers, birds, and butterflies; and as they were +passionately fond of dancing, they often glided down to earth on a +moonbeam, to dance on the green. Holding one another by the hand, +they would dance in circles, thereby making the "fairy rings," which +were to be discerned by the deeper green and greater luxuriance of +the grass which their little feet had pressed. + + + "Merry elves, their morrice pacing + To aerial minstrelsy, + Emerald rings on brown heath tracing, + Trip it deft and merrily." + + Sir Walter Scott. + + +If any mortal stood in the middle of one of these fairy rings he +could, according to popular belief in England, see the fairies and +enjoy their favour; but the Scandinavians and Teutons vowed that the +unhappy man must die. In illustration of this superstition, a story is +told of how Sir Olaf, riding off to his wedding, was enticed by the +fairies into their ring. On the morrow, instead of a merry marriage, +his friends witnessed a triple funeral, for his mother and bride also +died when they beheld his lifeless corpse. + + + "Master Olof rode forth ere dawn of the day + And came where the Elf-folk were dancing away. + The dance is so merry, + So merry in the greenwood. + + "And on the next morn, ere the daylight was red, + In Master Olof's house lay three corpses dead. + The dance is so merry, + So merry in the greenwood. + + "First Master Olof, and next his young bride, + And third his old mother--for sorrow she died. + The dance is so merry, + So merry in the greenwood." + + Master Olof at the Elfin Dance (Howitt's tr.). + + + +The Elf-dance + +These elves, who in England were called fairies or fays, were also +enthusiastic musicians, and delighted especially in a certain air known +as the elf-dance, which was so irresistible that no one who heard it +could refrain from dancing. If a mortal, overhearing the air, ventured +to reproduce it, he suddenly found himself incapable of stopping and +was forced to play on and on until he died of exhaustion, unless he +were deft enough to play the tune backwards, or some one charitably +cut the strings of his violin. His hearers, who were forced to dance +as long as the tones continued, could only stop when they ceased. + + + +The Will-o'-the-wisps + +In mediaeval times, the will-o'-the-wisps were known in the North as elf +lights, for these tiny sprites were supposed to mislead travellers; +and popular superstition held that the Jack-o'-lanterns were the +restless spirits of murderers forced against their will to return +to the scene of their crimes. As they nightly walked thither, it +is said that they doggedly repeated with every step, "It is right;" +but as they returned they sadly reiterated, "It is wrong." + + + +Oberon and Titania + +In later times the fairies or elves were said to be ruled by the king +of the dwarfs, who, being an underground spirit, was considered a +demon, and allowed to retain the magic power which the missionaries +had wrested from the god Frey. In England and France the king of +the fairies was known by the name of Oberon; he governed fairyland +with his queen Titania, and the highest revels on earth were held on +Midsummer night. It was then that the fairies all congregated around +him and danced most merrily. + + + "Every elf and fairy sprite + Hop as light as bird from brier; + And this ditty after me + Sing, and dance it trippingly." + + Midsummer-Night's Dream (Shakespeare). + + +These elves, like the brownies, Huldra folk, kobolds, etc., were +also supposed to visit human dwellings, and it was said that they +took mischievous pleasure in tangling and knotting horses' manes and +tails. These tangles were known as elf-locks, and whenever a farmer +descried them he declared that his steeds had been elf-ridden during +the night. + + + +Alf-blot + +In Scandinavia and Germany sacrifices were offered to the elves to +make them propitious. These sacrifices consisted of some small animal, +or of a bowl of honey and milk, and were known as Alf-blot. They were +quite common until the missionaries taught the people that the elves +were mere demons, when they were transferred to the angels, who were +long entreated to befriend mortals, and propitiated by the same gifts. + +Many of the elves were supposed to live and die with the trees and +plants which they tended, but these moss, wood, or tree maidens, while +remarkably beautiful when seen in front, were hollow like a trough +when viewed from behind. They appear in many of the popular tales, but +almost always as benevolent and helpful spirits, for they were anxious +to do good to mortals and to cultivate friendly relations with them. + + + +Images on Doorposts + +In Scandinavia the elves, both light and dark, were worshipped +as household divinities, and their images were carved on the +doorposts. The Norsemen, who were driven from home by the tyranny of +Harald Harfager in 874, took their carved doorposts with them upon +their ships. Similar carvings, including images of the gods and heroes, +decorated the pillars of their high seats which they also carried +away. The exiles showed their trust in their gods by throwing these +wooden images overboard when they neared the Icelandic shores and +settling where the waves carried the posts, even if the spot scarcely +seemed the most desirable. "Thus they carried with them the religion, +the poetry, and the laws of their race, and on this desolate volcanic +island they kept these records unchanged for hundreds of years, +while other Teutonic nations gradually became affected by their +intercourse with Roman and Byzantine Christianity." These records, +carefully collected by Saemund the learned, form the Elder Edda, the +most precious relic of ancient Northern literature, without which we +should know comparatively little of the religion of our forefathers. + +The sagas relate that the first settlements in Greenland and Vinland +were made in the same way,--the Norsemen piously landing wherever +their household gods drifted ashore. + + + + + + +CHAPTER XXVI: THE SIGURD SAGA + + +The Beginning of the Story + +While the first part of the Elder Edda consists of a collection +of alliterative poems describing the creation of the world, the +adventures of the gods, their eventual downfall, and gives a complete +exposition of the Northern code of ethics, the second part comprises a +series of heroic lays describing the exploits of the Volsung family, +and especially of their chief representative, Sigurd, the favourite +hero of the North. + + + +The Volsunga Saga + +These lays form the basis of the great Scandinavian epic, the Volsunga +Saga, and have supplied not only the materials for the Nibelungenlied, +the German epic, and for countless folk tales, but also for Wagner's +celebrated operas, The Rhinegold, Valkyr, Siegfried, and The Dusk of +the Gods. In England, William Morris has given them the form which +they will probably retain in our literature, and it is from his great +epic poem, by the courteous permission of his trustees, and of his +publishers, Messrs. Longmans, Green and Co., that almost all the +quotations in this section are taken in preference to extracts from +the Edda. + + + +Sigi + +The story of the Volsungs begins with Sigi, a son of Odin, a powerful +man, and generally respected, until he killed a man from motives +of jealousy, the latter having slain more game when they were out +hunting together. In consequence of this crime, Sigi was driven from +his own land and declared an outlaw. But it seems that he had not +entirely forfeited Odin's favour, for the god now provided him with +a well-equipped vessel, together with a number of brave followers, +and promised that victory should ever attend him. + +Thus aided by Odin, the raids of Sigi became a terror to his foes, +and in the end he won the glorious empire of the Huns and for many +years reigned as a powerful monarch. But in extreme old age his +fortune changed, Odin forsook him, his wife's kindred fell upon him, +and he was slain in a treacherous encounter. + + + +Rerir + +His death was soon avenged, however, for Rerir, his son, returning +from an expedition upon which he had been absent from the land at the +time, put the murderers to death as his first act upon mounting the +throne. The rule of Rerir was marked by every sign of prosperity, but +his dearest wish, a son to succeed him, remained unfulfilled for many +a year. Finally, however, Frigga decided to grant his constant prayer, +and to vouchsafe the heir he longed for. She accordingly despatched +her swift messenger Gna, or Liod, with a miraculous apple, which she +dropped into his lap as he was sitting alone on the hillside. Glancing +upward, Rerir recognised the emissary of the goddess, and joyfully +hastened home to partake of the apple with his wife. The child who +in due time was born under these favourable auspices was a handsome +little lad. His parents called him Volsung, and while he was still +a mere infant they both died, and the child became ruler of the land. + + + +Volsung + +Years passed and Volsung's wealth and power ever increased. He was the +boldest leader, and rallied many brave warriors around him. Full oft +did they drink his mead underneath the Branstock, a mighty oak, which, +rising in the middle of his hall, pierced the roof and overshadowed +the whole house. + + + "And as in all other matters 'twas all earthly houses' crown, + And the least of its wall-hung shields was a battle-world's renown, + So therein withal was a marvel and a glorious thing to see, + For amidst of its midmost hall-floor sprang up a mighty tree, + That reared its blessings roofward and wreathed the roof-tree dear + With the glory of the summer and the garland of the year." + + +Ten stalwart sons were born to Volsung, and one daughter, Signy, +came to brighten his home. So lovely was this maiden that when she +reached marriageable age many suitors asked for her hand, among whom +was Siggeir, King of the Goths, who finally obtained Volsung's consent, +although Signy had never seen him. + + + +The Wedding of Signy + +When the wedding-day came, and the bride beheld her destined husband +she shrank in dismay, for his puny form and lowering glances contrasted +sadly with her brothers' sturdy frames and open faces. But it was +too late to withdraw--the family honour was at stake--and Signy so +successfully concealed her dislike that none save her twin brother +Sigmund suspected with what reluctance she became Siggeir's wife. + + + +The Sword in the Branstock + +While the wedding feast was in progress, and when the merry-making was +at its height, the entrance to the hall was suddenly darkened by the +tall form of a one-eyed man, closely enveloped in a mantle of cloudy +blue. Without vouchsafing word or glance to any in the assembly, the +stranger strode to the Branstock and thrust a glittering sword up to +the hilt in its great bole. Then, turning slowly round, he faced the +awe-struck and silent assembly, and declared that the weapon would be +for the warrior who could pull it out of its oaken sheath, and that +it would assure him victory in every battle. The words ended, he then +passed out as he had entered, and disappeared, leaving a conviction in +the minds of all that Odin, king of the gods, had been in their midst. + + + "So sweet his speaking sounded, so wise his words did seem, + That moveless all men sat there, as in a happy dream + We stir not lest we waken; but there his speech had end + And slowly down the hall-floor, and outward did he wend; + And none would cast him a question or follow on his ways, + For they knew that the gift was Odin's, a sword for the world + to praise." + + +Volsung was the first to recover the power of speech, and, waiving +his own right first to essay the feat, he invited Siggeir to make the +first attempt to draw the divine weapon out of the tree-trunk. The +bridegroom anxiously tugged and strained, but the sword remained +firmly embedded in the oak and he resumed his seat, with an air of +chagrin. Then Volsung tried, with the same result. The weapon was +evidently not intended for either of them, and the young Volsung +princes were next invited to try their strength. + + + "Sons I have gotten and cherished, now stand ye forth and try; + Lest Odin tell in God-home how from the way he strayed, + And how to the man he would not he gave away his blade. + + + +Sigmund + +The nine eldest sons were equally unsuccessful; but when Sigmund, +the tenth and youngest, laid his firm young hand upon the hilt, the +sword yielded easily to his touch, and he triumphantly drew it out +as though it had merely been sheathed in its scabbard. + + + "At last by the side of the Branstock Sigmund the Volsung stood, + And with right hand wise in battle the precious sword-hilt caught, + Yet in a careless fashion, as he deemed it all for nought; + When, lo, from floor to rafter went up a shattering shout, + For aloft in the hand of Sigmund the naked blade shone out + As high o'er his head he shook it: for the sword had come away + From the grip of the heart of the Branstock, as though all loose + it lay." + + +Nearly all present were gratified at the success of the young prince; +but Siggeir's heart was filled with envy, and he coveted possession of +the weapon. He offered to purchase it from his young brother-in-law, +but Sigmund refused to part with it at any price, declaring that it +was clear that the weapon had been intended for him to wear. This +refusal so offended Siggeir that he secretly resolved to exterminate +the proud Volsungs, and to secure the divine sword at the same time +that he indulged his hatred towards his new kinsmen. + +Concealing his chagrin, however, he turned to Volsung and cordially +invited him to visit his court a month later, together with his sons +and kinsmen. The invitation was immediately accepted, and although +Signy, suspecting evil, secretly sought her father while her husband +slept, and implored him to retract his promise and stay at home, +he would not consent to withdraw his plighted word and so exhibit fear. + + + +Siggeir's Treachery + +A few weeks after the return of the bridal couple, therefore, Volsung's +well-manned vessels arrived within sight of Siggeir's shores. Signy +had been keeping anxious watch, and when she perceived them she +hastened down to the beach to implore her kinsmen not to land, +warning them that her husband had treacherously planned an ambush, +whence they could not escape alive. But Volsung and his sons, whom +no peril could daunt, calmly bade her return to her husband's palace, +and donning their arms they boldly set foot ashore. + + + "Then sweetly Volsung kissed her: 'Woe am I for thy sake, + But Earth the word hath hearkened, that yet unborn I spake; + How I ne'er would turn me backward from the sword or fire of bale; + --I have held that word till to-day, and to-day shall I change + the tale? + And look on these thy brethren, how goodly and great are they, + Wouldst thou have the maidens mock them, when this pain hath + passed away + And they sit at the feast hereafter, that they feared the deadly + stroke? + Let us do our day's work deftly for the praise and glory of folk; + And if the Norns will have it that the Volsung kin shall fail, + Yet I know of the deed that dies not, and the name that shall + ever avail.'" + + +It befell as Signy had said, for on their way to the palace the +brave little troop fell into Siggeir's ambush, and, although they +fought with heroic courage, they were so borne down by the superior +number of their foes that Volsung was slain and all his sons were +made captive. The young men were led bound into the presence of the +cowardly Siggeir, who had taken no part in the fight, and Sigmund +was forced to relinquish his precious sword, after which he and his +brothers were condemned to death. + +Signy, hearing the cruel sentence, vainly interceded for her brothers: +all she could obtain by her prayers and entreaties was that they should +be chained to a fallen oak in the forest, to perish of hunger and +thirst if the wild beasts should spare them. Then, lest she should +visit and succour her brothers, Siggeir confined his wife in the +palace, where she was closely guarded night and day. + +Every morning early Siggeir himself sent a messenger into the forest +to see whether the Volsungs were still living, and every morning +the man returned saying a monster had come during the night and had +devoured one of the princes, leaving nothing but his bones. At last, +when none but Sigmund remained alive, Signy thought of a plan, and +she prevailed on one of her servants to carry some honey into the +forest and smear it over her brother's face and mouth. + +When the wild beast came that night, attracted by the smell of the +honey, it licked Sigmund's face, and even thrust its tongue into +his mouth. Clinching his teeth upon it, Sigmund, weak and wounded +as he was, held on to the animal, and in its frantic struggles his +bonds gave way, and he succeeded in slaying the prowling beast who +had devoured his brothers. Then he vanished into the forest, where +he remained concealed until the king's messenger had come as usual, +and until Signy, released from captivity, came speeding to the forest +to weep over her kinsmen's remains. + +Seeing her intense grief, and knowing that she had not participated +in Siggeir's cruelty, Sigmund stole out of his place of concealment +and comforted her as best he could. Together they then buried the +whitening bones, and Sigmund registered a solemn oath to avenge +his family's wrongs. This vow was fully approved by Signy, who, +however, bade her brother bide a favourable time, promising to send +him aid. Then the brother and sister sadly parted, she to return to +her distasteful palace home, and he to a remote part of the forest, +where he built a tiny hut and plied the craft of a smith. + + + "And men say that Signy wept + When she left that last of her kindred: yet wept she never more + Amid the earls of Siggeir, and as lovely as before + Was her face to all men's deeming: nor aught it changed for ruth, + Nor for fear nor any longing; and no man said for sooth + That she ever laughed thereafter till the day of her death + was come." + + + +Signy's Sons + +Siggeir now took possession of the Volsung kingdom, and during the next +few years he proudly watched the growth of his eldest son, whom Signy +secretly sent to her brother when he was ten years of age, that Sigmund +might train up the child to help him to obtain vengeance if he should +prove worthy. Sigmund reluctantly accepted the charge; but as soon +as he had tested the boy he found him deficient in physical courage, +so he either sent him back to his mother, or, as some versions relate, +slew him. + +Some time after this Signy's second son was sent into the forest +for the same purpose, but Sigmund found him equally lacking in +courage. Evidently none but a pure-blooded Volsung would avail for +the grim work of revenge, and Signy, realising this, resolved to +commit a crime. + + + "And once in the dark she murmured: 'Where then was the ancient + song + That the Gods were but twin-born once, and deemed it nothing wrong + To mingle for the world's sake, whence had the AEsir birth, + And the Vanir and the Dwarf-kind, and all the folk of earth?" + + +Her resolution taken, she summoned a beautiful young witch, and +exchanging forms with her, she sought the depths of the dark forest +and took shelter in Sigmund's hut. The Volsung did not penetrate his +sister's disguise. He deemed her nought but the gypsy she seemed, +and being soon won by her coquetry, he made her his wife. Three days +later she disappeared from the hut, and, returning to the palace, +she resumed her own form, and when she next gave birth to a son, +she rejoiced to see in his bold glance and strong frame the promise +of a true Volsung hero. + + + +Sinfiotli + +When Sinfiotli, as the child was called, was ten years of age, she +herself made a preliminary test of his courage by sewing his garment +to his skin, and then suddenly snatching it off, and as the brave boy +did not so much as wince, but laughed aloud, she confidently sent him +to the forest hut. Sigmund speedily prepared his usual test, and ere +leaving the hut one day he bade Sinfiotli take meal from a certain +sack, and knead it and bake some bread. On returning home, Sigmund +asked whether his orders had been carried out. The lad replied by +showing the bread, and when closely questioned he artlessly confessed +that he had been obliged to knead into the loaf a great adder which +was hidden in the meal. Pleased to see that the boy, for whom he felt +a strange affection, had successfully stood the test which had daunted +his brothers, Sigmund bade him refrain from eating of the loaf, for +although he was proof against the bite of a reptile, he could not, +like his mentor, taste poison unharmed. + + + "For here, the tale of the elders doth men a marvel to wit, + That such was the shaping of Sigmund among all earthly kings, + That unhurt he handled adders and other deadly things, + And might drink unscathed of venom: but Sinfiotli was so wrought + That no sting of creeping creatures would harm his body aught." + + + +The Werewolves + +Sigmund now began patiently to teach Sinfiotli all that a warrior +of the North should know, and the two soon became inseparable +companions. One day while ranging the forest together they came +to a hut, where they found two men sound asleep. Near by hung two +wolf-skins, which suggested immediately that the strangers were +werewolves, whom a cruel spell prevented from bearing their natural +form save for a short space at a time. Prompted by curiosity, Sigmund +and Sinfiotli donned the wolf-skins, and they were soon, in the guise +of wolves, rushing through the forest, slaying and devouring all that +came in their way. + +Such were their wolfish passions that soon they attacked each other, +and after a fierce struggle Sinfiotli, the younger and weaker, fell +dead. This catastrophe brought Sigmund to his senses, and he hung +over his murdered companion in despair. While thus engaged he saw two +weasels come out of the forest and attack each other fiercely until +one lay dead. The victor then sprang into the thicket, to return with +a leaf, which it laid upon its companion's breast. Then was seen a +marvellous thing, for at the touch of the magic herb the dead beast +came back to life. A moment later a raven flying overhead dropped a +similar leaf at Sigmund's feet, and he, understanding that the gods +wished to help him, laid it upon Sinfiotli, who was at once restored +to life. + +In dire fear lest they might work each other further mischief, Sigmund +and Sinfiotli now crept home and patiently waited until the time of +their release should come. To their great relief the skins dropped +off on the ninth night, and they hastily flung them into the fire, +where they were entirely consumed, and the spell was broken for ever. + + + +Sigmund and Sinfiotli taken by Siggeir + +Sigmund now confided the story of his wrongs to Sinfiotli, who swore +that, although Siggeir was his father (for neither he nor Sigmund +knew the secret of his birth), he would aid him in his revenge. At +nightfall, therefore, he accompanied Sigmund to the king's hall, and +they entered unseen, concealing themselves in the cellar, behind the +huge vats of beer. Here they were discovered by Signy's two youngest +children, who, while playing with golden rings, which rolled into +the cellar, came suddenly upon the men in ambush. + +They loudly proclaimed their discovery to their father and his guests, +but, before Siggeir and his men could take up arms, Signy took both +children, and dragging them into the cellar bade her brother slay the +little traitors. This Sigmund utterly refused to do, but Sinfiotli +struck off their heads ere he turned to fight against the assailants, +who were now closing in upon them. + +In spite of all efforts Sigmund and his brave young companion soon +fell into the hands of the Goths, whereupon Siggeir sentenced them to +be buried alive in the same mound, with a stone partition between them +so that they could neither see nor touch each other. The prisoners were +accordingly confined in their living grave, and their foes were about +to place the last stones on the roof, when Signy drew near, bearing a +bundle of straw, which she was allowed to throw at Sinfiotli's feet, +for the Goths fancied that it contained only a few provisions which +would prolong his agony without helping him to escape. + +When all was still, Sinfiotli undid the sheaf, and great was his +joy when he found instead of bread the sword which Odin had given to +Sigmund. Knowing that nothing could dull or break the keen edge of +this fine weapon, Sinfiotli thrust it through the stone partition, +and, aided by Sigmund, he succeeded in cutting an opening, and in +the end both effected their escape through the roof. + + + "Then in the grave-mound's darkness did Sigmund the king upstand, + And unto that saw of battle he set his naked hand; + And hard the gift of Odin home to their breasts they drew; + Sawed Sigmund, sawed Sinfiotli, till the stone was cleft atwo, + And they met and kissed together: then they hewed and heaved + full hard + Till, lo, through the bursten rafters the winter heavens bestarred! + And they leap out merry-hearted; nor is there need to say + A many words between them of whither was the way." + + + +Sigmund's Vengeance + +As soon as they were free, Sigmund and Sinfiotli returned to the king's +hall, and piling combustible materials around it, they set fire to +the mass. Then stationing themselves on either side of the entrance, +they prevented all but the women from passing through. They loudly +adjured Signy to escape ere it was too late, but she did not desire +to live, and so coming to the entrance for a last embrace she found +opportunity to whisper the secret of Sinfiotli's birth, after which +she sprang back into the flames and perished with the rest. + + + "And then King Siggeir's roof-tree upheaved for its utmost fall, + And its huge walls clashed together, and its mean and lowly things + The fire of death confounded with the tokens of the kings." + + + +Helgi + +The long-planned vengeance for the slaughter of the Volsungs having +thus been carried out, Sigmund, feeling that nothing now detained +him in the land of the Goths, set sail with Sinfiotli and returned to +Hunaland, where he was warmly welcomed to the seat of power under the +shade of his ancestral tree, the mighty Branstock. When his authority +was fully established, Sigmund married Borghild, a beautiful princess, +who bore him two sons, Hamond and Helgi. The latter was visited by +the Norns as he lay in his cradle, and they promised him sumptuous +entertainment in Valhalla when his earthly career should be ended. + + + "And the woman was fair and lovely and bore him sons of fame; + Men called them Hamond and Helgi, and when Helgi first saw light, + There came the Norns to his cradle and gave him life full bright, + And called him Sunlit Hill, Sharp Sword, and Land of Rings, + And bade him be lovely and great, and a joy in the tale of kings." + + +Northern kings generally entrusted their sons' upbringing to a +stranger, for they thought that so they would be treated with less +indulgence than at home. Accordingly Helgi was fostered by Hagal, +and under his care the young prince became so fearless that at the +age of fifteen he ventured alone into the hall of Hunding, with whose +race his family was at feud. Passing through the hall unmolested and +unrecognised, he left an insolent message, which so angered Hunding +that he immediately set out in pursuit of the bold young prince, +whom he followed to the dwelling of Hagal. Helgi would then have been +secured but that meanwhile he had disguised himself as a servant-maid, +and was busy grinding corn as if this were his wonted occupation. The +invaders marvelled somewhat at the maid's tall stature and brawny +arms, nevertheless they departed without suspecting that they had +been so near the hero whom they sought. + +Having thus cleverly escaped, Helgi joined Sinfiotli, and collecting an +army, the two young men marched boldly against the Hundings, with whom +they fought a great battle, over which the Valkyrs hovered, waiting +to convey the slain to Valhalla. Gudrun, one of the battle-maidens, +was so struck by the courage which Helgi displayed, that she openly +sought him and promised to be his wife. Only one of the Hunding race, +Dag, remained alive, and he was allowed to go free after promising not +to endeavour to avenge his kinsmen's death. This promise was not kept, +however, and Dag, having obtained possession of Odin's spear Gungnir, +treacherously slew Helgi with it. Gudrun, who in the meantime had +fulfilled her promise to become his wife, wept many tears at his death, +and laid a solemn curse upon his murderer; then, hearing from one of +her maids that her slain husband kept calling for her from the depths +of the tomb, she fearlessly entered the mound at night and tenderly +inquired why he called and why his wounds continued to bleed after +death. Helgi answered that he could not rest happy because of her +grief, and declared that for every tear she shed a drop of his blood +must flow. + + + "Thou weepest, gold-adorned! + Cruel tears, + Sun-bright daughter of the south! + Ere to sleep thou goest; + Each one falls bloody + On the prince's breast, + Wet, cold, and piercing, + With sorrow big." + + Saemund's Edda (Thorpe's tr.). + + +To appease the spirit of her beloved husband, Gudrun from that time +ceased to weep, but they did not long remain separated; for soon after +the spirit of Helgi had ridden over Bifroest and entered Valhalla, +to become leader of the Einheriar, he was joined by Gudrun who, as a +Valkyr once more, resumed her loving tendance of him. When at Odin's +command she left his side for scenes of human strife, it was to seek +new recruits for the army which her lord was to lead into battle when +Ragnarok, the twilight of the gods, should come. + + + +The Death of Sinfiotli + +Sinfiotli, Sigmund's eldest son, also met an early death; for, having +slain in a quarrel the brother of Borghild, she determined to poison +him. Twice Sinfiotli detected the attempt and told his father that +there was poison in his cup. Twice Sigmund, whom no venom could injure, +drained the bowl; and when Borghild made a third attempt, he bade +Sinfiotli let the wine flow through his beard. Mistaking the meaning +of his father's words, Sinfiotli forthwith drained the cup, and fell +lifeless to the ground, for the poison was of the most deadly kind. + + + "He drank as he spake the word, and forthwith the venom ran + In a chill flood over his heart and down fell the mighty man + With never an uttered death-word and never a death-changed look, + And the floor of the hall of the Volsungs beneath his falling + shook. + Then up rose the elder of days with a great and bitter cry, + And lifted the head of the fallen; and none durst come anigh + To hearken the words of his sorrow, if any words he said + But such as the Father of all men might speak over Baldur dead. + And again, as before the death-stroke, waxed the hall of the + Volsungs dim, + And once more he seemed in the forest, where he spake with nought + but him." + + +Speechless with grief, Sigmund tenderly raised his son's body in +his arms, and strode out of the hall and down to the shore, where he +deposited his precious burden in a skiff which an old one-eyed boatman +brought at his call. He would fain have stepped aboard also, but ere +he could do so the boatman pushed off and the frail craft was soon +lost to sight. The bereaved father then slowly wended his way home, +taking comfort from the thought that Odin himself had come to claim +the young hero and had rowed away with him "out into the west." + + + +Hiordis + +Sigmund deposed Borghild as his wife and queen in punishment for +this crime, and when he was very old he sued for the hand of Hiordis, +a fair young princess, daughter of Eglimi, King of the Islands. This +young maiden had many suitors, among others King Lygni of Hunding's +race, but so great was Sigmund's fame that she gladly accepted him +and became his wife. Lygni, the discarded suitor, was so angry at +this decision, that he immediately collected a great army and marched +against his successful rival, who, though overpowered by superior +numbers, fought with the courage of despair. + +From the depths of a thicket which commanded the field of battle, +Hiordis and her maid anxiously watched the progress of the strife. They +saw Sigmund pile the dead around him, for none could stand against +him, until at last a tall, one-eyed warrior suddenly appeared, and +the press of battle gave way before the terror of his presence. + +Without a moment's pause the new champion aimed a fierce blow +at Sigmund, which the old hero parried with his sword. The shock +shattered the matchless blade, and although the strange assailant +vanished as he had come, Sigmund was left defenceless and was soon +wounded unto death by his foes. + + + "But lo, through the hedge of the war-shafts, a mighty man + there came, + One-eyed and seeming ancient, but his visage shone like flame: + Gleaming grey was his kirtle, and his hood was cloudy blue; + And he bore a mighty twi-bill, as he waded the fight-sheaves + through, + And stood face to face with Sigmund, and upheaved the bill + to smite. + Once more round the head of the Volsung fierce glittered the + Branstock's light, + The sword that came from Odin; and Sigmund's cry once more + Rang out to the very heavens above the din of war. + Then clashed the meeting edges with Sigmund's latest stroke, + And in shivering shards fell earthward that fear of worldly folk. + But changed were the eyes of Sigmund, and the war-wrath left + his face; + For that grey-clad, mighty helper was gone, and in his place + Drave on the unbroken spear-wood 'gainst the Volsung's empty hands: + And there they smote down Sigmund, the wonder of all lands, + On the foemen, on the death-heap his deeds had piled that day." + + +As the battle was now won, and the Volsung family all slain, Lygni +hastened from the battlefield to take possession of the kingdom and +force the fair Hiordis to become his wife. As soon as he had gone, +however, the beautiful young queen crept from her hiding-place in +the thicket, and sought the spot where Sigmund lay all but dead. She +caught the stricken hero to her breast in a last passionate embrace, +and then listened tearfully while he bade her gather the fragments of +his sword and carefully treasure them for their son whom he foretold +was soon to be born, and who was destined to avenge his father's +death and to be far greater than he. + + + "'I have wrought for the Volsungs truly, and yet have I known + full well + That a better one than I am shall bear the tale to tell: + And for him shall these shards be smithied: and he shall be my son, + To remember what I have forgotten and to do what I left undone.'" + + + +Elf, the Viking + +While Hiordis was mourning over Sigmund's lifeless body, her handmaiden +suddenly warned her of the approach of a band of vikings. Retreating +into the thicket once more, the two women exchanged garments, after +which Hiordis bade the maid walk first and personate the queen, and +they went thus to meet the viking Elf (Helfrat or Helferich). Elf +received the women graciously, and their story of the battle so +excited his admiration for Sigmund that he caused the remains of the +slain hero to be reverentially removed to a suitable spot, where they +were interred with all due ceremony. He then offered the queen and +her maid a safe asylum in his hall, and they gladly accompanied him +over the seas. + +As he had doubted their relative positions from the first, Elf took +the first opportunity after arriving in his kingdom to ask a seemingly +idle question in order to ascertain the truth. He asked the pretended +queen how she knew the hour had come for rising when the winter days +were short and there was no light to announce the coming of morn, +and she replied that, as she was in the habit of drinking milk ere +she fed the cows, she always awoke thirsty. When the same question +was put to the real Hiordis, she answered, with as little reflection, +that she knew it was morning because at that hour the golden ring +which her father had given her grew cold on her hand. + + + +The Birth of Sigurd + +The suspicions of Elf having thus been confirmed, he offered marriage +to the pretended handmaiden, Hiordis, promising to cherish her +infant son, a promise which he nobly kept. When the child was born +Elf himself sprinkled him with water--a ceremony which our pagan +ancestors scrupulously observed--and bestowed upon him the name of +Sigurd. As he grew up he was treated as the king's own son, and his +education was entrusted to Regin, the wisest of men, who knew all +things, his own fate not even excepted, for it had been revealed to +him that he would fall by the hand of a youth. + + + "Again in the house of the Helper there dwelt a certain man, + Beardless and low of stature, of visage pinched and wan: + So exceeding old was Regin, that no son of man could tell + In what year of the days passed over he came to that land to dwell: + But the youth of king Elf had he fostered, and the Helper's + youth thereto, + Yea and his father's father's: the lore of all men he knew, + And was deft in every cunning, save the dealings of the sword: + So sweet was his tongue-speech fashioned, that men trowed his + every word; + His hand with the harp-strings blended was the mingler of delight + With the latter days of sorrow; all tales he told aright; + The Master of the Masters in the smithying craft was he; + And he dealt with the wind and the weather and the stilling of + the sea; + Nor might any learn him leech-craft, for before that race was made, + And that man-folk's generation, all their life-days had he + weighed." + + +Under this tutor Sigurd grew daily in wisdom until few could surpass +him. He mastered the smith's craft, and the art of carving all manner +of runes; he learned languages, music, and eloquence; and, last but +not least, he became a doughty warrior whom none could subdue. When he +had reached manhood Regin prompted him to ask the king for a war-horse, +a request which was immediately granted, and Gripir, the stud-keeper, +was bidden to allow him to choose from the royal stables the steed +which he most fancied. + +On his way to the meadow where the horses were at pasture, Sigurd met +a one-eyed stranger, clad in grey and blue, who accosted the young +man and bade him drive the horses into the river and select the one +which could breast the tide with least difficulty. + +Sigurd received the advice gladly, and upon reaching the meadow he +drove the horses into the stream which flowed on one side. One of the +number, after crossing, raced round the opposite meadow; and, plunging +again into the river, returned to his former pasture without showing +any signs of fatigue. Sigurd therefore did not hesitate to select this +horse, and he gave him the name of Grane or Greyfell. The steed was +a descendant of Odin's eight-footed horse Sleipnir, and besides being +unusually strong and indefatigable, was as fearless as his master. + +One winter day while Regin and his pupil were sitting by the fire, +the old man struck his harp, and, after the manner of the Northern +scalds, sang or recited in the following tale, the story of his life: + + + +The Treasure of the Dwarf King + +Hreidmar, king of the dwarf folk, was the father of three sons. Fafnir, +the eldest, was gifted with a fearless soul and a powerful arm; Otter, +the second, with snare and net, and the power of changing his form +at will; and Regin, the youngest, with all wisdom and deftness of +hand. To please the avaricious Hreidmar, this youngest son fashioned +for him a house lined with glittering gold and flashing gems, and +this was guarded by Fafnir, whose fierce glances and AEgis helmet none +dared encounter. + +Now it came to pass that Odin, Hoenir, and Loki once came in human +guise, upon one of their wonted expeditions to test the hearts of men, +unto the land where Hreidmar dwelt. + + + "And the three were the heart-wise Odin, the Father of the Slain, + And Loki, the World's Begrudger, who maketh all labour vain, + And Haenir, the Utter-Blameless, who wrought the hope of man, + And his heart and inmost yearnings, when first the work began;-- + The God that was aforetime, and hereafter yet shall be + When the new light yet undreamed of shall shine o'er earth + and sea." + + +As the gods came near to Hreidmar's dwelling, Loki perceived +an otter basking in the sun. This was none other than the dwarf +king's second son, Otter, who now succumbed to Loki's usual love of +destruction. Killing the unfortunate creature he flung its lifeless +body over his shoulders, thinking it would furnish a good dish when +meal time came. + +Loki then hastened after his companions, and entering Hreidmar's +house with them, he flung his burden down upon the floor. The moment +the dwarf king's glance fell upon the seeming otter, he flew into +a towering rage, and ere they could offer effective resistance the +gods found themselves lying bound, and they heard Hreidmar declare +that never should they recover their liberty until they could satisfy +his thirst for gold by giving him of that precious substance enough +to cover the skin of the otter inside and out. + + + "'Now hearken the doom I shall speak! Ye stranger-folk shall + be free + When ye give me the Flame of the Waters, the gathered Gold of + the Sea, + That Andvari hideth rejoicing in the wan realm pale as the grave; + And the Master of Sleight shall fetch it, and the hand that + never gave, +And the heart that begrudgeth for ever, shall gather and give and rue. + --Lo, this is the doom of the wise, and no doom shall be spoken + anew.'" + + +As the otter-skin developed the property of stretching itself to a +fabulous size, no ordinary treasure could suffice to cover it, and the +plight of the gods, therefore, was a very bad one. The case, however, +became a little more hopeful when Hreidmar consented to liberate one +of their number. The emissary selected was Loki, who lost no time in +setting off to the waterfall where the dwarf Andvari dwelt, in order +that he might secure the treasure there amassed. + + + "There is a desert of dread in the uttermost part of the world, + Where over a wall of mountains is a mighty water hurled, + Whose hidden head none knoweth, nor where it meeteth the sea; + And that force is the Force of Andvari, and an Elf of the Dark + is he. + In the cloud and the desert he dwelleth amid that land alone; + And his work is the storing of treasure within his house of stone." + + +In spite of diligent search, however, Loki could not find the dwarf, +until, perceiving a salmon sporting in the foaming waters, it occurred +to him that the dwarf might have assumed this shape. Borrowing Ran's +net he soon caught the fish, and learned, as he had suspected, that it +was Andvari. Finding that there was nothing else for it, the dwarf now +reluctantly brought forth his mighty treasure and surrendered it all, +including the Helmet of Dread and a hauberk of gold, reserving only a +ring which was gifted with miraculous powers, and which, like a magnet, +attracted the precious ore. But the greedy Loki, catching sight of it, +wrenched it from off the dwarf's finger and departed laughing, while +his victim hurled angry curses after him, declaring that the ring would +ever prove its possessor's bane and would cause the death of many. + + + "That gold + Which the dwarf possessed + Shall to two brothers + Be cause of death, + And to eight princes, + Of dissension. + From my wealth no one + Shall good derive." + + Saemund's Edda (Thorpe's tr.). + + +On arriving at Hreidmar's house, Loki found the mighty treasure none +too great, for the skin became larger with every object placed upon it, +and he was forced to throw in the ring Andvaranaut (Andvari's loom), +which he had intended to retain, in order to secure the release of +himself and his companions. Andvari's curse of the gold soon began +to operate. Fafnir and Regin both coveted a share, while Hriedmar +gloated over his treasure night and day, and would not part with an +item of it. Fafnir the invincible, seeing at last that he could not +otherwise gratify his lust, slew his father, and seized the whole +of the treasure, then, when Regin came to claim a share he drove him +scornfully away and bade him earn his own living. + +Thus exiled, Regin took refuge among men, to whom he taught the arts +of sowing and reaping. He showed them how to work metals, sail the +seas, tame horses, yoke beasts of burden, build houses, spin, weave, +and sew--in short, all the industries of civilised life, which had +hitherto been unknown. Years elapsed, and Regin patiently bided +his time, hoping that some day he would find a hero strong enough +to avenge his wrongs upon Fafnir, whom years of gloating over his +treasure had changed into a horrible dragon, the terror of Gnitaheid +(Glittering Heath), where he had taken up his abode. + +His story finished, Regin turned suddenly to the attentive Sigurd, +saying he knew that the young man could slay the dragon if he wished, +and inquiring whether he were ready to aid him to avenge his wrongs. + + + "And he spake: 'Hast thou hearkened, Sigurd? Wilt thou help a + man that is old + To avenge him for his father? Wilt thou win that treasure of Gold + And be more than the Kings of the earth? Wilt thou rid the earth + of a wrong + And heal the woe and the sorrow my heart hath endured o'er long?'" + + + +Sigurd's Sword + +Sigurd immediately assented, on the condition, however, that the curse +should be assumed by Regin, who, also, in order to fitly equip the +young man for the coming fight, should forge him a sword, which no +blow could break. Twice Regin fashioned a marvellous weapon, but twice +Sigurd broke it to pieces on the anvil. Then Sigurd bethought him of +the broken fragments of Sigmund's weapon which were treasured by his +mother, and going to Hiordis he begged these from her; and either +he or Regin forged from them a blade so strong that it divided the +great anvil in two without being dinted, and whose temper was such +that it neatly severed some wool floating gently upon the stream. + +Sigurd now went upon a farewell visit to Gripir, who, knowing the +future, foretold every event in his coming career; after which he +took leave of his mother, and accompanied by Regin set sail for the +land of his fathers, vowing to slay the dragon when he had fulfilled +his first duty, which was to avenge the death of Sigmund. + + + "'First wilt thou, prince, + Avenge thy father, + And for the wrongs of Eglymi + Wilt retaliate. + Thou wilt the cruel, + The sons of Hunding, + Boldly lay low: + Thou wilt have victory.'" + + Lay of Sigurd Fafnicide (Thorpe's tr.). + + +On his way to the land of the Volsungs a most marvellous sight was +seen, for there came a man walking on the waters. Sigurd straightway +took him on board his dragon ship, and the stranger, who gave his name +as Feng or Fioellnir, promised favourable winds. Also he taught Sigurd +how to distinguish auspicious omens. In reality the old man was Odin +or Hnikar, the wave-stiller, but Sigurd did not suspect his identity. + + + +The Fight with the Dragon + +Sigurd was entirely successful in his descent upon Lygni, whom he +slew, together with many of his followers. He then departed from his +reconquered kingdom and returned with Regin to slay Fafnir. Together +they rode through the mountains, which ever rose higher and higher +before them, until they came to a great tract of desert which Regin +said was the haunt of Fafnir. Sigurd now rode on alone until he met +a one-eyed stranger, who bade him dig trenches in the middle of the +track along which the dragon daily dragged his slimy length to the +river to quench his thirst, and to lie in wait in one of these until +the monster passed over him, when he could thrust his sword straight +into its heart. + +Sigurd gratefully followed this counsel, and was rewarded with complete +success, for as the monster's loathsome folds rolled overhead, he +thrust his sword upward into its left breast, and as he sprang out +of the trench the dragon lay gasping in the throes of death. + + + "Then all sank into silence, and the son of Sigmund stood + On the torn and furrowed desert by the pool of Fafnir's blood, + And the Serpent lay before him, dead, chilly, dull, and grey; + And over the Glittering Heath fair shone the sun and the day, + And a light wind followed the sun and breathed o'er the fateful + place, + As fresh as it furrows the sea-plain, or bows the acres' face." + + +Regin had prudently remained at a distance until all danger was past, +but seeing that his foe was slain, he now came up. He was fearful +lest the young hero should claim a reward, so he began to accuse him +of having murdered his kin, but, with feigned magnanimity, he declared +that instead of requiring life for life, in accordance with the custom +of the North, he would consider it sufficient atonement if Sigurd +would cut out the monster's heart and roast it for him on a spit. + + + "Then Regin spake to Sigurd: 'Of this slaying wilt thou be free? + Then gather thou fire together and roast the heart for me, + That I may eat it and live, and be thy master and more; + For therein was might and wisdom, and the grudged and hoarded lore: + --Or, else depart on thy ways afraid from the Glittering Heath.'" + + +Sigurd was aware that a true warrior never refused satisfaction of +some kind to the kindred of the slain, so he agreed to the seemingly +small proposal, and immediately prepared to act as cook, while Regin +dozed until the meat was ready. After an interval Sigurd touched the +roast to ascertain whether it were tender, but burning his fingers +severely, he instinctively thrust them into his mouth to allay the +smart. No sooner had Fafnir's blood thus touched his lips than he +discovered, to his utter surprise, that he could understand the +songs of the birds, many of which were already gathering round the +carrion. Listening attentively, he found that they were telling how +Regin meditated mischief against him, and how he ought to slay the +old man and take the gold, which was his by right of conquest, after +which he ought to partake of the heart and blood of the dragon. As +this coincided with his own wishes, he slew the evil old man with a +thrust of his sword and proceeded to eat and drink as the birds had +suggested, reserving a small portion of Fafnir's heart for future +consumption. He then wandered off in search of the mighty hoard, +and, after donning the Helmet of Dread, the hauberk of gold, and the +ring Andvaranaut, and loading Greyfell with as much gold as he could +carry, he sprang to the saddle and sat listening eagerly to the birds' +songs to know what his future course should be. + + + +The Sleeping Warrior Maiden + +Soon he heard of a warrior maiden fast asleep on a mountain and +surrounded by a glittering barrier of flames, through which only the +bravest of men could pass to arouse her. + + + "On the fell I know + A warrior maid to sleep; + Over her waves + The linden's bane: + Ygg whilom stuck + A sleep-thorn in the robe + Of the maid who + Would heroes choose." + + Lay of Fafnir (Thorpe's tr.). + + +This adventure was the very thing for Sigurd, and he set off at +once. The way lay through trackless regions, and the journey was long +and cheerless, but at length he came to the Hindarfiall in Frankland, +a tall mountain whose cloud-wreathed summit seemed circled by fiery +flames. + + + "Long Sigurd rideth the waste, when, lo, on a morning of day, + From out of the tangled crag-walls, amidst the cloudland grey, + Comes up a mighty mountain, and it is as though there burns + A torch amidst of its cloud-wreath; so thither Sigurd turns, + For he deems indeed from its topmost to look on the best of + the earth; + And Greyfell neigheth beneath him, and his heart is full of mirth." + + +Sigurd rode up the mountain side, and the light grew more and more +vivid as he proceeded, until when he had neared the summit a barrier +of lurid flames stood before him. The fire burned with a roar which +would have daunted the heart of any other, but Sigurd remembered +the words of the birds, and without a moment's hesitation he plunged +bravely into its very midst. + + + "Now Sigurd turns in his saddle, and the hilt of the Wrath + he shifts, + And draws a girth the tighter; then the gathered reins he lifts, + And crieth aloud to Greyfell, and rides at the wildfire's heart; + But the white wall wavers before him and the flame-flood rusheth + apart, + And high o'er his head it riseth, and wide and wild its roar + As it beareth the mighty tidings to the very heavenly floor: + But he rideth through its roaring as the warrior rides the rye, + When it bows with the wind of the summer and the hid spears + draw anigh; + The white flame licks his raiment and sweeps through Greyfell's + mane, + And bathes both hands of Sigurd and the hilt of Fafnir's bane, + And winds about his war-helm and mingles with his hair, +But nought his raiment dusketh or dims his glittering gear; + Then it fails and fades and darkens till all seems left behind, + And dawn and the blaze is swallowed in mid-mirk stark and blind." + + +The threatening flames having now died away, Sigurd pursued his +journey over a broad tract of white ashes, directing his course to +a great castle, with shield-hung walls. The great gates stood wide +open, and Sigurd rode through them unchallenged by warders or men at +arms. Proceeding cautiously, for he feared some snare, he at last came +to the centre of the courtyard, where he saw a recumbent form cased +in armour. Sigurd dismounted from his steed and eagerly removed the +helmet, when he started with surprise to behold, instead of a warrior, +the face of a most beautiful maiden. + +All his efforts to awaken the sleeper were vain, however, until he +had removed her armour, and she lay before him in pure-white linen +garments, her long hair falling in golden waves around her. Then as the +last fastening of her armour gave way, she opened wide her beautiful +eyes, which met the rising sun, and first greeting with rapture the +glorious spectacle, she turned to her deliverer, and the young hero +and the maiden loved each other at first sight. + + + "Then she turned and gazed on Sigurd, and her eyes met the + Volsung's eyes. + And mighty and measureless now did the tide of his love arise, + For their longing had met and mingled, and he knew of her heart + that she loved, + And she spake unto nothing but him and her lips with the + speech-flood moved." + + +The maiden now proceeded to tell Sigurd her story. Her name was +Brunhild, and according to some authorities she was the daughter of +an earthly king whom Odin had raised to the rank of a Valkyr. She +had served him faithfully for a long while, but once had ventured to +set her own wishes above his, giving to a younger and therefore more +attractive opponent the victory which Odin had commanded for another. + +In punishment for this act of disobedience, she had been deprived +of her office and banished to earth, where Allfather decreed she +should wed like any other member of her sex. This sentence filled +Brunhild's heart with dismay, for she greatly feared lest it might be +her fate to mate with a coward, whom she would despise. To quiet these +apprehensions, Odin took her to Hindarfiall or Hindfell, and touching +her with the Thorn of Sleep, that she might await in unchanged youth +and beauty the coming of her destined husband, he surrounded her with +a barrier of flame which none but a hero would venture through. + +From the top of Hindarfiall, Brunhild now pointed out to Sigurd her +former home, at Lymdale or Hunaland, telling him he would find her +there whenever he chose to come and claim her as his wife; and then, +while they stood on the lonely mountain top together, Sigurd placed +the ring Andvaranaut upon her finger, in token of betrothal, swearing +to love her alone as long as life endured. + + + "From his hand then draweth Sigurd Andvari's ancient Gold; + There is nought but the sky above them as the ring together + they hold, + The shapen ancient token, that hath no change nor end, + No change, and no beginning, no flaw for God to mend: + Then Sigurd cried: 'O Brynhild, now hearken while I swear, + That the sun shall die in the heavens and the day no more be fair, + If I seek not love in Lymdale and the house that fostered thee, + And the land where thou awakedst 'twixt the woodland and the sea!' + And she cried: 'O Sigurd, Sigurd, now hearken while I swear + That the day shall die for ever and the sun to blackness wear, + Ere I forget thee, Sigurd, as I lie 'twixt wood and sea + In the little land of Lymdale and the house that fostered me!'" + + + +The Fostering of Aslaug + +According to some authorities, the lovers parted after thus plighting +their troth; but others say that Sigurd soon sought out and wedded +Brunhild, with whom he lived for a while in perfect happiness until +forced to leave her and his infant daughter Aslaug. This child, left +orphaned at three years of age, was fostered by Brunhild's father, who, +driven away from home, concealed her in a cunningly fashioned harp, +until reaching a distant land he was murdered by a peasant couple for +the sake of the gold they supposed it to contain. Their surprise and +disappointment were great indeed when, on breaking the instrument open, +they found a beautiful little girl, whom they deemed mute, as she would +not speak a word. Time passed, and the child, whom they had trained +as a drudge, grew to be a beautiful maiden, and she won the affection +of a passing viking, Ragnar Lodbrog, King of the Danes, to whom she +told her tale. The viking sailed away to other lands to fulfil the +purposes of his voyage, but when a year had passed, during which time +he won much glory, he came back and carried away Aslaug as his bride. + + + "She heard a voice she deemed well known, + Long waited through dull hours bygone + And round her mighty arms were cast: + But when her trembling red lips passed + From out the heaven of that dear kiss, + And eyes met eyes, she saw in his + Fresh pride, fresh hope, fresh love, and saw + The long sweet days still onward draw, + Themselves still going hand in hand, + As now they went adown the strand." + + The Fostering of Aslaug (William Morris). + + +In continuation of the story of Sigurd and Brunhild, however, we are +told that the young man went to seek adventures in the great world, +where he had vowed, as a true hero, to right the wrong and defend +the fatherless and oppressed. + + + +The Niblungs + +In the course of his wanderings, Sigurd came to the land of the +Niblungs, the land of continual mist, where Giuki and Grimhild were +king and queen. The latter was specially to be feared, as she was well +versed in magic lore, and could weave spells and concoct marvellous +potions which had power to steep the drinker in temporary forgetfulness +and compel him to yield to her will. + +The king and queen had three sons, Gunnar, Hoegni, and Guttorm, +who were brave young men, and one daughter, Gudrun, the gentlest +as well as the most beautiful of maidens. All welcomed Sigurd most +warmly, and Giuki invited him to tarry awhile. The invitation was +very agreeable after his long wanderings, and Sigurd was glad to +stay and share the pleasures and occupations of the Niblungs. He +accompanied them to war, and so distinguished himself by his valour, +that he won the admiration of Grimhild and she resolved to secure him +as her daughter's husband. One day, therefore, she brewed one of her +magic potions, and when he had partaken of it at the hand of Gudrun, +he utterly forgot Brunhild and his plighted troth, and all his love +was diverted unto the queen's daughter. + + + "But the heart was changed in Sigurd; as though it ne'er had been + His love of Brynhild perished as he gazed on the Niblung Queen: + Brynhild's beloved body was e'en as a wasted hearth, + No more for bale or blessing, for plenty or for dearth." + + +Although there was not wanting a vague fear that he had forgotten +some event in the past which should rule his conduct, Sigurd asked for +and obtained Gudrun's hand, and their wedding was celebrated amid the +rejoicings of the people, who loved the young hero very dearly. Sigurd +gave his bride some of Fafnir's heart to eat, and the moment she +had tasted it her nature was changed, and she began to grow cold and +silent to all except him. To further cement his alliance with the two +eldest Giukings (as the sons of Giuki were called) Sigurd entered the +"doom ring" with them, and the three young men cut a sod which was +placed upon a shield, beneath which they stood while they bared and +slightly cut their right arms, allowing their blood to mingle in the +fresh earth. Then, when they had sworn eternal friendship, the sod +was replaced. + +But although Sigurd loved his wife and felt a true fraternal affection +for her brothers, he could not lose his haunting sense of oppression, +and was seldom seen to smile as radiantly as of old. Giuki had now +died, and his eldest son, Gunnar, ruled in his stead. As the young +king was unwedded, Grimhild, his mother, besought him to take a wife, +suggesting that none seemed more worthy to become Queen of the Niblungs +than Brunhild, who, it was reported, sat in a golden hall surrounded +by flames, whence she had declared she would issue only to marry the +warrior who would dare brave the fire for her sake. + + + +Gunnar's Stratagem + +Gunnar immediately prepared to seek this maiden, and strengthened +by one of his mother's magic potions, and encouraged by Sigurd, who +accompanied him, he felt confident of success. But when on reaching +the summit of the mountain he would have ridden into the fire, his +steed drew back affrighted and he could not induce him to advance a +step. Seeing that his companion's steed did not show signs of fear, +he asked him of Sigurd; but although Greyfell allowed Gunnar to mount, +he would not stir because his master was not on his back. + +Now as Sigurd carried the Helmet of Dread, and Grimhild had given +Gunnar a magic potion in case it should be needed, it was possible +for the companions to exchange their forms and features, and seeing +that Gunnar could not penetrate the flaming wall Sigurd proposed to +assume the appearance of Gunnar and woo the bride for him. The king +was greatly disappointed, but as no alternative offered he dismounted, +and the necessary exchange was soon effected. Then Sigurd mounted +Greyfell in the semblance of his companion, and this time the steed +showed not the least hesitation, but leaped into the flames at the +first touch on his bridle, and soon brought his rider to the castle, +where, in the great hall, sat Brunhild. Neither recognised the other: +Sigurd because of the magic spell cast over him by Grimhild; Brunhild +because of the altered appearance of her lover. + +The maiden shrank in disappointment from the dark-haired intruder, +for she had deemed it impossible for any but Sigurd to ride through +the flaming circle. But she advanced reluctantly to meet her visitor, +and when he declared that he had come to woo her, she permitted him +to take a husband's place at her side, for she was bound by solemn +injunction to accept as her spouse him who should thus seek her +through the flames. + +Three days did Sigurd remain with Brunhild, and his bright sword lay +bared between him and his bride. This singular behaviour aroused the +curiosity of the maiden, wherefore Sigurd told her that the gods had +bidden him celebrate his wedding thus. + + + "There they went in one bed together; but the foster-brother laid + 'Twixt him and the body of Brynhild his bright blue battle-blade; + And she looked and heeded it nothing; but, e'en as the dead + folk lie, + With folded hands she lay there, and let the night go by: + And as still lay that Image of Gunnar as the dead of life forlorn, + And hand on hand he folded as he waited for the morn. + So oft in the moonlit minster your fathers may ye see + By the side of the ancient mothers await the day to be." + + +When the fourth morning dawned, Sigurd drew the ring Andvaranaut from +Brunhild's hand, and, replacing it by another, he received her solemn +promise that in ten days' time she would appear at the Niblung court +to take up her duties as queen and faithful wife. + + + "'I thank thee, King, for thy goodwill, and thy pledge of love + I take, + Depart with my troth to thy people: but ere full ten days are o'er + I shall come to the Sons of the Niblungs, and then shall we part + no more + Till the day of the change of our life-days, when Odin and Freya + shall call.'" + + +The promise given, Sigurd again passed out of the palace, through the +ashes, and joined Gunnar, with whom, after he had reported the success +of his venture, he hastened to exchange forms once more. The warriors +then turned their steeds homeward, and only to Gudrun did Sigurd reveal +the secret of her brother's wooing, and he gave her the fatal ring, +little suspecting the many woes which it was destined to occasion. + + + +The Coming of Brunhild + +True to her promise, Brunhild appeared ten days later, and solemnly +blessing the house she was about to enter, she greeted Gunnar +kindly, and allowed him to conduct her to the great hall, where sat +Sigurd beside Gudrun. The Volsung looked up at that moment and as he +encountered Brunhild's reproachful eyes Grimhild's spell was broken and +the past came back in a flood of bitter recollection. It was too late, +however: both were in honour bound, he to Gudrun and she to Gunnar, +whom she passively followed to the high seat, to sit beside him as +the scalds entertained the royal couple with the ancient lays of +their land. + +The days passed, and Brunhild remained apparently indifferent, but +her heart was hot with anger, and often did she steal out of her +husband's palace to the forest, where she could give vent to her +grief in solitude. + +Meanwhile, Gunnar perceived the cold indifference of his wife to his +protestations of affection, and began to have jealous suspicions, +wondering whether Sigurd had honestly told the true story of the +wooing, and fearing lest he had taken advantage of his position to win +Brunhild's love. Sigurd alone continued the even tenor of his way, +striving against none but tyrants and oppressors, and cheering all +by his kindly words and smile. + + + +The Quarrel of the Queens + +On a day the queens went down together to the Rhine to bathe, and as +they were entering the water Gudrun claimed precedence by right of +her husband's courage. Brunhild refused to yield what she deemed her +right, and a quarrel ensued, in the course of which Gudrun accused +her sister-in-law of not having kept her faith, producing the ring +Andvaranaut in support of her charge. The sight of the fatal ring +in the hand of her rival crushed Brunhild, and she fled homeward, +and lay in speechless grief day after day, until all thought she must +die. In vain did Gunnar and the members of the royal family seek her +in turn and implore her to speak; she would not utter a word until +Sigurd came and inquired the cause of her unutterable grief. Then, +like a long-pent-up stream, her love and anger burst forth, and she +overwhelmed the hero with reproaches, until his heart so swelled +with grief for her sorrow that the tight bands of his strong armour +gave way. + + + "Out went Sigurd + From that interview + Into the hall of kings, + Writhing with anguish; + So that began to start + The ardent warrior's + Iron-woven sark + Off from his sides." + + Saemund's Edda (Thorpe's tr.). + + +Words had no power to mend that woeful situation, and Brunhild +refused to heed when Sigurd offered to repudiate Gudrun, saying, +as she dismissed him, that she would not be faithless to Gunnar. The +thought that two living men had called her wife was unendurable to +her pride, and the next time her husband sought her presence she +implored him to put Sigurd to death, thus increasing his jealousy +and suspicion. He refused to deal violently with Sigurd, however, +because of their oath of good fellowship, and so she turned to Hoegni +for aid. He, too, did not wish to violate his oath, but he induced +Guttorm, by means of much persuasion and one of Grimhild's potions, +to undertake the dastardly deed. + + + +The Death of Sigurd + +Accordingly, in the dead of night, Guttorm stole into Sigurd's chamber, +weapon in hand; but as he bent over the bed he saw Sigurd's bright +eyes fixed upon him, and fled precipitately. Later on he returned +and the scene was repeated; but towards morning, stealing in for +the third time, he found the hero asleep, and traitorously drove his +spear through his back. + +Although wounded unto death, Sigurd raised himself in bed, and seizing +his renowned sword which hung beside him, he flung it with all his +remaining strength at the flying murderer, cutting him in two as +he reached the door. Then, with a last whispered farewell to the +terrified Gudrun, Sigurd sank back and breathed his last. + + + "'Mourn not, O Gudrun, this stroke is the last + of ill; + Fear leaveth the House of the Niblungs on this breaking of + the morn; + Mayst thou live, O woman beloved, unforsaken, unforlorn!' + + 'It is Brynhild's deed,' he murmured, 'and the woman that loves + me well; + Nought now is left to repent of, and the tale abides to tell. + I have done many deeds in my life-days; and all these, and my love, + they lie + In the hollow hand of Odin till the day of the world go by. + I have done and I may not undo, I have given and I take not again: + Art thou other than I, Allfather, wilt thou gather my glory + in vain?'" + + +Sigurd's infant son was slain at the same time, and poor Gudrun mourned +over her dead in silent, tearless grief; while Brunhild laughed aloud, +thereby incurring the wrath of Gunnar, who repented, too late, that +he had not taken measures to avert the dastardly crime. + +The grief of the Niblungs found expression in the public funeral +celebration which was shortly held. A mighty pyre was erected, to +which were brought precious hangings, fresh flowers, and glittering +arms, as was the custom for the burial of a prince; and as these sad +preparations took shape, Gudrun was the object of tender solicitude +from the women, who, fearing lest her heart would break, tried to open +the flood-gate of her tears by recounting the bitterest sorrows they +had known, one telling of how she too had lost all she held dear. But +these attempts to make her weep were utterly vain, until at length +they laid her husband's head in her lap, bidding her kiss him as if +he were still alive; then her tears began to flow in torrents. + +The reaction soon set in for Brunhild also; her resentment was all +forgotten when she saw the body of Sigurd laid on the pyre, arrayed +as if for battle in burnished armour, with the Helmet of Dread at his +head, and accompanied by his steed, which was to be burned with him, +together with several of his faithful servants who would not survive +his loss. She withdrew to her apartment, and after distributing her +possessions among her handmaidens, she donned her richest array, +and stabbed herself as she lay stretched upon her bed. + +The tidings soon reached Gunnar, who came with all haste to his wife +and just in time to receive her dying injunction to lay her beside the +hero she loved, with the glittering, unsheathed sword between them, +as it had lain when he had wooed her by proxy. When she had breathed +her last, these wishes were faithfully executed, and her body was +burned with Sigurd's amid the lamentations of all the Niblungs. + +In Richard Wagner's story of "The Ring" Brunhild's end is more +picturesque. Mounted on her steed, as when she led the battle-maidens +at the command of Odin, she rode into the flames which leaped to heaven +from the great funeral pyre, and passed for ever from the sight of men. + + + "They are gone--the lovely, the mighty, the hope of the ancient + Earth: + It shall labour and bear the burden as before that day of their + birth: + It shall groan in its blind abiding for the day that Sigurd + hath sped, + And the hour that Brynhild hath hastened, and the dawn that waketh + the dead: + It shall yearn, and be oft-times holpen, and forget their deeds + no more, + Till the new sun beams on Baldur and the happy sea-less shore." + + +The death scene of Sigurd (Siegfried) is far more powerful in the +Nibelungenlied. In the Teutonic version his treacherous assailant +lures him from a hunting party in the forest to quench his thirst at +a brook, where he thrusts him through the back with a spear. His body +was thence borne home by the hunters and laid at his wife's feet. + + + +The Flight of Gudrun + +Gudrun, still inconsolable, and loathing the kindred who had +treacherously robbed her of all joy in life, fled from her father's +house and took refuge with Elf, Sigurd's foster father, who, after the +death of Hiordis, had married Thora, the daughter of King Hakon. The +two women became great friends, and here Gudrun tarried several years, +employing herself in embroidering upon tapestry the great deeds of +Sigurd, and watching over her little daughter Swanhild, whose bright +eyes reminded her vividly of the husband whom she had lost. + + + +Atli, King of the Huns + +In the meantime, Atli, Brunhild's brother, who was now King of the +Huns, had sent to Gunnar to demand atonement for his sister's death; +and to satisfy his claims Gunnar had promised that when her years of +widowhood had been accomplished he would give him Gudrun's hand in +marriage. Time passed, and Atli clamoured for the fulfilment of his +promise, wherefore the Niblung brothers, with their mother Grimhild, +went to seek the long-absent princess, and by the aid of the magic +potion administered by Grimhild they succeeded in persuading Gudrun +to leave little Swanhild in Denmark and to become Atli's wife in the +land of the Huns. + +Nevertheless, Gudrun secretly detested her husband, whose avaricious +tendencies were extremely repugnant to her; and even the birth of +two sons, Erp and Eitel, did not console her for the death of her +loved ones and the absence of Swanhild. Her thoughts were continually +of the past, and she often spoke of it, little suspecting that her +descriptions of the wealth of the Niblungs had excited Atli's greed, +and that he was secretly planning some pretext for seizing it. + +Atli at last decided to send Knefrud or Wingi, one of his servants, +to invite the Niblung princes to visit his court, intending to slay +them when he should have them in his power; but Gudrun, fathoming this +design, sent a rune message to her brothers, together with the ring +Andvaranaut, around which she had twined a wolf's hair. On the way, +however, the messenger partly effaced the runes, thus changing their +meaning; and when he appeared before the Niblungs, Gunnar accepted +the invitation, in spite of Hoegni's and Grimhild's warnings, and an +ominous dream of Glaumvor, his second wife. + + + +Burial of the Niblung Treasure + +Before departing, however, Gunnar was prevailed upon to bury secretly +the great Niblung hoard in the Rhine, and he sank it in a deep hole +in the bed of the river, the position of which was known to the royal +brothers only, who took a solemn oath never to reveal it. + + + "Down then and whirling outward the ruddy Gold fell forth, + As a flame in the dim grey morning, flashed out a kingdom's worth; + Then the waters roared above it, the wan water and the foam + Flew up o'er the face of the rock-wall as the tinkling Gold + fell home, + Unheard, unseen for ever, a wonder and a tale, + Till the last of earthly singers from the sons of men shall fail." + + + +The Treachery of Atli + +In martial array the royal band then rode out of the city of the +Niblungs, which they were never again to see, and after many adventures +they entered the land of the Huns, and arrived at Atli's hall, where, +finding that they had been foully entrapped, they slew the traitor +Knefrud, and prepared to sell their lives as dearly as possible. + +Gudrun hastened to meet them with tender embraces, and, seeing that +they must fight, she grasped a weapon and loyally aided them in the +terrible massacre which ensued. After the first onslaught, Gunnar kept +up the spirits of his followers by playing on his harp, which he laid +aside only when the assaults were renewed. Thrice the brave Niblungs +resisted the assault of the Huns, until all save Gunnar and Hoegni had +perished, and the king and his brother, wounded, faint, and weary, +fell into the hands of their foes, who cast them, securely bound, +into a dungeon to await death. + +Atli had prudently abstained from taking any active part in the +fight, and he now had his brothers-in-law brought in turn before him, +promising them freedom if they would reveal the hiding-place of the +golden hoard; but they proudly kept silence, and it was only after +much torture that Gunnar spake, saying that he had sworn a solemn +oath never to reveal the secret as long as Hoegni lived. At the same +time he declared that he would believe his brother dead only when +his heart was brought to him on a platter. + + + "With a dreadful voice cried Gunnar: 'O fool, hast thou heard + it told + Who won the Treasure aforetime and the ruddy rings of the Gold? + It was Sigurd, child of the Volsungs, the best sprung forth from + the best: + He rode from the North and the mountains, and became my summer + guest, + My friend and my brother sworn: he rode the Wavering Fire, + And won me the Queen of Glory and accomplished my desire; + The praise of the world he was, the hope of the biders in wrong, + The help of the lowly people, the hammer of the strong: + Ah, oft in the world, henceforward, shall the tale be told of + the deed, + And I, e'en I, will tell it in the day of the Niblungs' Need: + For I sat night-long in my armour, and when light was wide o'er + the land + I slaughtered Sigurd my brother, and looked on the work of + mine hand. + And now, O mighty Atli, I have seen the Niblung's wreck, + And the feet of the faint-heart dastard have trodden Gunnar's neck; + And if all be little enough, and the Gods begrudge me rest, + Let me see the heart of Hoegni cut quick from his living breast, + And laid on the dish before me: and then shall I tell of the Gold, + And become thy servant, Atli, and my life at thy pleasure hold.'" + + +Urged by greed, Atli gave immediate orders that Hoegni's heart should +be brought; but his servants, fearing to lay hands on such a grim +warrior, slew the cowardly scullion Hialli. The trembling heart +of this poor wretch called forth contemptuous words from Gunnar, +who declared that such a timorous organ could never have belonged +to his fearless brother. Atli again issued angry commands, and this +time the unquivering heart of Hoegni was produced, whereupon Gunnar, +turning to the monarch, solemnly swore that since the secret now +rested with him alone it would never be revealed. + + + +The Last of the Niblungs + +Livid with anger, the king bade his servants throw Gunnar, with +hands bound, into a den of venomous snakes; but this did not daunt +the reckless Niblung, and, his harp having been flung after him +in derision, he calmly sat in the pit, harping with his toes, and +lulling to sleep all the reptiles save one only. It was said that +Atli's mother had taken the form of this snake, and that she it was +who now bit him in the side, and silenced his triumphant song for ever. + +To celebrate his triumph, Atli now ordered a great feast, commanding +Gudrun to be present to wait upon him. At this banquet he ate and +drank heartily, little suspecting that his wife had slain both his +sons, and had served up their roasted hearts and their blood mixed +with wine in cups made of their skulls. After a time the king and his +guests became intoxicated, when Gudrun, according to one version of +the story, set fire to the palace, and as the drunken men were aroused, +too late to escape, she revealed what she had done, and first stabbing +her husband, she calmly perished in the flames with the Huns. Another +version relates, however, that she murdered Atli with Sigurd's sword, +and having placed his body on a ship, which she sent adrift, she cast +herself into the sea and was drowned. + + + "She spread out her arms as she spake it, and away from the earth + she leapt + And cut off her tide of returning: for the sea-waves over her + swept, + And their will is her will henceforward, and who knoweth the + deeps of the sea, + And the wealth of the bed of Gudrun, and the days that yet + shall be?" + + +According to a third and very different version, Gudrun was not +drowned, but was borne by the waves to the land where Jonakur was +king. There she became his wife, and the mother of three sons, Soerli, +Hamdir, and Erp. She recovered possession, moreover, of her beloved +daughter Swanhild, who, in the meantime, had grown into a beautiful +maiden of marriageable age. + + + +Swanhild + +Swanhild became affianced to Ermenrich, King of Gothland, who sent his +son, Randwer, and one of his servants, Sibich, to escort the bride to +his kingdom. Sibich was a traitor, and as part of a plan to compass the +death of the royal family that he might claim the kingdom, he accused +Randwer of having tried to win his young stepmother's affections. This +accusation so roused the anger of Ermenrich that he ordered his son to +be hanged, and Swanhild to be trampled to death under the feet of wild +horses. The beauty of this daughter of Sigurd and Gudrun was such, +however, that even the wild steeds could not be induced to harm her +until she had been hidden from their sight under a great blanket, +when they trod her to death under their cruel hoofs. + +Upon learning the fate of her beloved daughter, Gudrun called her +three sons to her side, and girding them with armour and weapons +against which nothing but stone could prevail, she bade them depart +and avenge their murdered sister, after which she died of grief, +and was burned on a great pyre. + +The three youths, Soerli, Hamdir, and Erp, proceeded to Ermenrich's +kingdom, but ere they met their foes, the two eldest, deeming Erp too +young to assist them, taunted him with his small size, and finally +slew him. Soerli and Hamdir then attacked Ermenrich, cut off his hands +and feet, and would have slain him but for a one-eyed stranger who +suddenly appeared and bade the bystanders throw stones at the young +men. His orders were immediately carried out, and Soerli and Hamdir +soon fell slain under the shower of stones, which, as we have seen, +alone had power to injure them. + + + "Ye have heard of Sigurd aforetime, how the foes of God he slew; + How forth from the darksome desert the Gold of Waters he drew; + How he wakened Love on the Mountain, and wakened Brynhild the + Bright, + And dwelt upon Earth for a season, and shone in all men's sight. + Ye have heard of the Cloudy People, and the dimming of the day, + And the latter world's confusion, and Sigurd gone away; + Now ye know of the Need of the Niblungs and the end of broken + troth, + All the death of kings and of kindreds and the Sorrow of Odin + the Goth." + + + +Interpretation of the Saga + +This story of the Volsungs is supposed by some authorities to be +a series of sun myths, in which Sigi, Rerir, Volsung, Sigmund, and +Sigurd in turn personify the glowing orb of day. They are all armed +with invincible swords, the sunbeams, and all travel through the world +fighting against their foes, the demons of cold and darkness. Sigurd, +like Balder, is beloved of all; he marries Brunhild, the dawn maiden, +whom he finds in the midst of flames, the flush of morn, and parts +from her only to find her again when his career is ended. His body is +burned on the funeral pyre, which, like Balder's, represents either +the setting sun or the last gleam of summer, of which he too is a +type. The slaying of Fafnir symbolises the destruction of the demon +of cold or darkness, who has stolen the golden hoard of summer or +the yellow rays of the sun. + +According to other authorities, this Saga is based upon history. Atli +is the cruel Attila, the "Scourge of God," while Gunnar is Gundicarius, +a Burgundian monarch, whose kingdom was destroyed by the Huns, and who +was slain with his brothers in 451. Gudrun is the Burgundian princess +Ildico, who slew her husband on her wedding-night, as has already +been related, using the glittering blade which had once belonged to +the sun-god to avenge her murdered kinsmen. + + + + + + +CHAPTER XXVII: THE STORY OF FRITHIOF + + +Bishop Tegner + +Probably no writer of the nineteenth century did so much to awaken +interest in the literary treasures of Scandinavia as Bishop Esaias +Tegner, whom a Swedish author characterised as, "that mighty Genie +who organises even disorder." + +Tegner's "Frithiof Saga" has been translated once at least into every +European tongue, and some twenty times into English and German. Goethe +spoke of the work with the greatest enthusiasm, and the tale, which +gives a matchless picture of the life of our heathen ancestors in the +North, drew similar praise from Longfellow, who considered it to be +one of the most remarkable productions of his century. + +Although Tegner has chosen for his theme the Frithiof saga only, we +find that that tale is the sequel to the older but less interesting +Thorsten saga, of which we give here a very brief outline, merely to +enable the reader to understand clearly every allusion in the more +modern poem. + +As is so frequently the case with these ancient tales, the story begins +with Haloge (Loki), who came north with Odin, and began to reign over +northern Norway, which from him was called Halogaland. According to +Northern mythology, this god had two lovely daughters. They were +carried off by bold suitors, who, banished from the mainland by +Haloge's curses and magic spells, took refuge with their newly won +wives upon neighbouring islands. + + + +Birth of Viking + +Thus it happened that Haloge's grandson, Viking, was born upon the +island of Bornholm, in the Baltic Sea, where he dwelt until he was +fifteen, and where he became the biggest and strongest man of his +time. Rumours of his valour finally reached Hunvor, a Swedish princess, +who was oppressed by the attentions of a gigantic suitor whom none +dared drive away, and she sent for Viking to deliver her. + +Thus summoned, the youth departed, after having received from his +father a magic sword named Angurvadel, whose blows would prove fatal +even to a giant like the suitor of Hunvor. A "holmgang," as a duel +was termed in the North, ensued as soon as the hero arrived upon the +scene, and Viking, having slain his antagonist, could have married +the princess had it not been considered disgraceful for a Northman +to marry before he was twenty. + +To beguile the time of waiting for his promised bride, Viking set +out in a well-manned dragon ship; and cruising about the Northern and +Southern seas, he met with countless adventures. During this time he +was particularly persecuted by the kindred of the giant he had slain, +who were adepts in magic, and they brought upon him innumerable perils +by land and sea. + +Aided and abetted by his bosom friend, Halfdan, Viking escaped every +danger, slew many of his foes, and, after rescuing Hunvor, whom, in +the meantime, the enemy had carried off to India, he settled down in +Sweden. His friend, faithful in peace as well as in war, settled near +him, and married also, choosing for wife Ingeborg, Hunvor's attendant. + +The saga now describes the long, peaceful winters, when the warriors +feasted and listened to the tales of scalds, rousing themselves to +energetic efforts only when returning spring again permitted them to +launch their dragon ships and set out once more upon their piratical +expeditions. + + + "Then the Scald took his harp and sang, + And loud through the music rang + The sound of that shining word; + And the harp-strings a clangour made, + As if they were struck with the blade + Of a sword. + + "And the Berserks round about + Broke forth into a shout + That made the rafters ring: + They smote with their fists on the board, + And shouted, 'Long live the Sword, + And the King!'" + + Longfellow's Saga of King Olaf. + + +In the old story the scalds relate with great gusto every phase of +attack and defence during cruise and raid, and describe every blow +given and received, dwelling with satisfaction upon the carnage and +lurid flames which envelop both enemies and ships in common ruin. A +fierce fight is often an earnest of future friendship, however, and +we are told that Halfdan and Viking, having failed to conquer Njorfe, +a foeman of mettle, sheathed their swords after a most obstinate +struggle, and accepted their enemy as a third link in their close +bond of friendship. + +On returning home from one of these customary raids, Viking lost +his beloved wife; and, entrusting her child, Ring, to the care of a +foster father, after undergoing a short period of mourning, the brave +warrior married again. This time his marital bliss was more lasting, +for the saga tells that his second wife bore him nine stalwart sons. + +Njorfe, King of Uplands, in Norway, also rejoiced in a family of +nine brave sons. Now, although their fathers were united in bonds of +the closest friendship, having sworn blood brotherhood according to +the true Northern rites, the young men were jealous of one another, +and greatly inclined to quarrel. + + + +The Game of Ball + +Notwithstanding this smouldering animosity, the youths often met; +and the saga relates that they used to play ball together, and gives +a description of the earliest ball game on record in the Northern +annals. Viking's sons, as tall and strong as he, were inclined to be +rather reckless of their opponents' welfare, and, judging from the +following account, translated from the old saga, the players were +often left in as sorry a condition as after a modern game. + +"The next morning the brothers went to the games, and generally had +the ball during the day; they pushed men and let them fall roughly, +and beat others. At night three men had their arms broken, and many +were bruised or maimed." + +The game between Njorfe's and Viking's sons culminated in a +disagreement, and one of Njorfe's sons struck one of his opponents +a dangerous and treacherous blow. Prevented from taking his revenge +then and there by the interference of the spectators, the injured +man made a trivial excuse to return to the ground alone; and, meeting +his assailant there, he slew him. + + + +The Blood Feud + +When Viking heard that one of his sons had slain one of his friend's +children, he was very indignant, and mindful of his oath to avenge all +Njorfe's wrongs, he banished the young murderer. The other brothers, +on hearing this sentence, vowed that they would accompany the exile, +and so Viking sorrowfully bade them farewell, giving his sword +Angurvadel to Thorsten, the eldest, and cautioning him to remain +quietly on an island in Lake Wener until all danger of retaliation +on the part of Njorfe's remaining sons should be over. + +The young men obeyed; but Njorfe's sons were determined to avenge +their brother, and although they had no boats to convey them over +the lake, they made use of a conjurer's art to bring about a great +frost. Accompanied by many armed men, they then stole noiselessly +over the ice to attack Thorsten and his brothers, and a terrible +carnage ensued. Only two of the attacking party managed to escape, +but they left, as they fancied, all their foes among the dead. + +Then came Viking to bury his sons, and he found that two of them, +Thorsten and Thorer, were still alive; whereupon he secretly conveyed +them to a cellar beneath his dwelling, and in due time they recovered +from their wounds. + +Njorfe's two surviving sons soon discovered by magic arts that their +opponents were not dead, and they made a second desperate but vain +attempt to kill them. Viking saw that the quarrel would be incessantly +renewed if his sons remained at home; so he now sent them to Halfdan, +whose court they reached after a series of adventures which in many +points resemble those of Theseus on his way to Athens. + +When spring came round Thorsten embarked on a piratical excursion, +in the course of which he encountered Jokul, Njorfe's eldest son, +who, meanwhile, had taken forcible possession of the kingdom of Sogn, +having killed the king, banished his heir, Bele, and changed his +beautiful daughter, Ingeborg, into the similitude of an old witch. + +Throughout the story Jokul is represented as somewhat of a coward, +for he resorted by preference to magic when he wished to injure +Viking's sons. Thus he stirred up great tempests, and Thorsten, +after twice suffering shipwreck, was only saved from the waves by +the seeming witch, whom he promised to marry in gratitude for her +good offices. Thorsten, advised by Ingeborg, now went in search of +Bele, whom he found and replaced upon his hereditary throne, having +sworn eternal friendship with him. After this, the baleful spell was +removed, and Ingeborg, now revealed in her native beauty, was united +to Thorsten, and dwelt with him at Framnaes. + + + +Thorsten and Bele + +Every spring Thorsten and Bele set out together in their ships; and, +upon one of these expeditions, they joined forces with Angantyr, +a foe whose mettle they had duly tested, and proceeded to recover +possession of a priceless treasure, a magic dragon ship named Ellida, +which AEgir, god of the sea, had once given to Viking in reward for +hospitable treatment, and which had been stolen from him. + + + "A royal gift to behold, for the swelling planks of its framework + Were not fastened with nails, as is wont, but grown in together. + Its shape was that of a dragon when swimming, but forward + Its head rose proudly on high, the throat with yellow gold flaming; + Its belly was spotted with red and yellow, but back by the rudder + Coiled out its mighty tail in circles, all scaly with silver; + Black wings with edges of red; when all were expanded + Ellida raced with the whistling storm, but outstript the eagle. + When filled to the edge with warriors, it sailed o'er the waters, + You'd deem it a floating fortress, or warlike abode of a monarch. + The ship was famed far and wide, and of ships was first in + the North." + + Tegner, Frithiof Saga (Spalding's tr.). + + +The next season, Thorsten, Bele, and Angantyr conquered the Orkney +Islands, which were given as a kingdom to the latter, he voluntarily +pledging himself to pay a yearly tribute to Bele. Next Thorsten and +Bele went in quest of a magic ring, or armlet, once forged by Voelund, +the smith, and stolen by Sote, a famous pirate. + +This bold robber was so afraid lest some one should gain possession of +the magic ring, that he had buried himself alive with it in a mound +in Bretland. Here his ghost was said to keep constant watch over it, +and when Thorsten entered his tomb, Bele, who waited outside, heard +the sound of frightful blows given and returned, and saw lurid gleams +of supernatural fire. + +When Thorsten finally staggered out of the mound, pale and bloody, +but triumphant, he refused to speak of the horrors he had encountered +to win the coveted treasure, but often would he say, as he showed it, +"I trembled but once in my life, and 'twas when I seized it!" + + + +Birth of Frithiof and Ingeborg + +Thus owner of the three greatest treasures of the North, Thorsten +returned home to Framnaes, where Ingeborg bore him a fine boy, Frithiof, +while two sons, Halfdan and Helge, were born to Bele. The lads played +together, and were already well grown when Ingeborg, Bele's little +daughter, was born, and some time later the child was entrusted to +the care of Hilding, who was already Frithiof's foster father, as +Thorsten's frequent absences made it difficult for him to undertake +the training of his boy. + + + "Jocund they grew, in guileless glee; + Young Frithiof was the sapling tree; + In budding beauty by his side, + Sweet Ingeborg, the garden's pride." + + Tegner, Frithiof Saga (Longfellow's tr.). + + +Frithiof soon became hardy and fearless under his foster father's +training, and Ingeborg rapidly developed the sweetest traits of +character and loveliness. Both were happiest when together; and as +they grew older their childish affection daily became deeper and more +intense, until Hilding, perceiving this state of affairs, bade the +youth remember that he was a subject of the king, and therefore no +mate for his only daughter. + + + "To Odin, in his star-lit sky, + Ascends her titled ancestry; + But Thorsten's son art thou; give way! + For 'like thrives best with like,' they say." + + Tegner, Frithiof Saga (G. Stephens's tr.). + + + +Frithiof's Love for Ingeborg + +These wise admonitions came too late, however, and Frithiof vehemently +declared that he would win the fair Ingeborg for his bride in spite +of all obstacles and his more humble origin. + +Shortly after this Bele and Thorsten met for the last time, near the +magnificent shrine of Balder, where the king, feeling that his end was +near, had convened a solemn assembly, or Thing, of all his principal +subjects, in order to present his sons Helge and Halfdan to the people +as his chosen successors. The young heirs were very coldly received +on this occasion, for Helge was of a sombre and taciturn disposition, +and inclined to the life of a priest, and Halfdan was of a weak, +effeminate nature, and noted for his love of pleasure rather than of +war and the chase. Frithiof, who was present, and stood beside them, +was the object of many admiring glances from the throng. + + + "But close behind them Frithiof goes, + Wrapp'd in his mantle blue; + His height a whole head taller rose + Than that of both the two. + + He stands between the brothers there-- + As though the ripe day stood + Atween young morning rosy-fair, + And night within the wood." + + Tegner, Frithiof Saga (G. Stephens's tr.). + + +After giving his last instructions and counsel to his sons, and +speaking kindly to Frithiof, for whom he entertained a warm regard, +the old king turned to his lifelong companion, Thorsten, to take +leave of him, but the old warrior declared that they would not long +be parted. Bele then spoke again to his sons, and bade them erect his +howe, or funeral mound, within sight of that of Thorsten, that their +spirits might commune over the waters of the narrow firth which would +flow between them, that so they might not be sundered even in death. + + + +Helge and Halfdan + +These instructions were piously carried out when, shortly after, the +aged companions breathed their last; and the great barrows having been +erected, the brothers, Helge and Halfdan, began to rule their kingdom, +while Frithiof, their former playmate, withdrew to his own place at +Framnaes, a fertile homestead, lying in a snug valley enclosed by the +towering mountains and the waters of the ever-changing firth. + + + "Three miles extended around the fields of the homestead; on + three sides + Valleys and mountains and hills, but on the fourth side was + the ocean. + Birch-woods crowned the summits, but over the down-sloping + hill-sides + Flourished the golden corn, and man-high was waving the rye-field." + + Tegner, Frithiof Saga (Longfellow's tr.). + + +But although surrounded by faithful retainers, and blessed with much +wealth and the possession of the famous treasures of his hero sire, +the sword Angurvadel, the Voelund ring, and the matchless dragon +ship Ellida, Frithiof was unhappy, because he could no longer see +the fair Ingeborg daily. All his former spirits revived, however, +when in the spring, at his invitation, both kings came to visit him, +together with their fair sister, and once again they spent long +hours in cheerful companionship. As they were thus constantly thrown +together, Frithiof found opportunity to make known to Ingeborg his +deep affection, and he received in return an avowal of her love. + + + "He sat by her side, and he pressed her soft hand, + And he felt a soft pressure responsive and bland; + Whilst his love-beaming gaze + Was returned as the sun's in the moon's placid rays." + + Tegner, Frithiof Saga (Longfellow's tr.). + + + +Frithiof's Suit + +When the visit was ended and the guests had departed, Frithiof informed +his confidant and chief companion, Bjoern, of his determination to +follow them and openly ask for Ingeborg's hand. His ship was set free +from its moorings and it swooped like an eagle over to the shore near +Balder's shrine, where the royal brothers were seated in state on +Bele's tomb to listen to the petitions of their subjects. Straightway +Frithiof presented himself before them, and manfully made his request, +adding that the old king had always loved him and would surely have +granted his prayer. + + + "No king was my sire, not a jarl, ev'n--'tis true; + Yet Scald-songs his mem'ry and exploits renew; + The Rune-stones will tell + On high-vaulted cairn what my race hath done well. + + "With ease could I win me both empire and land;-- + But rather I stay on my forefathers' strand; + While arms I can wield-- + Both poverty's hut and king's palace I'll shield. + + "On Bele's round barrow we stand; each word + In the dark deeps beneath us he hears and has heard; + With Frithiof pleadeth + The old Chief in his cairn: think! your answer thought needeth." + + Tegner, Frithiof Saga (G. Stephens's tr.). + + +Then he went on to promise lifelong fealty and the service of his +strong right arm in exchange for the boon he craved. + +As Frithiof ceased King Helge rose, and regarding the young man +scornfully, he said: "Our sister is not for a peasant's son; proud +chiefs of the Northland may dispute for her hand, but not thou. As +for thy arrogant proffer, know that I can protect my kingdom. Yet if +thou wouldst be my man, place in my household mayst thou have." + +Enraged at the insult thus publicly offered, Frithiof drew his +invincible sword; but, remembering that he stood on a consecrated spot, +he struck only at the royal shield, which fell in two pieces clashing +to the ground. Then striding back to his ship in sullen silence, +he embarked and sailed away. + + + "And lo! cloven in twain at a stroke + Fell King Helge's gold shield from its pillar of oak: + At the clang of the blow, + The live started above, the dead started below." + + Tegner, Frithiof Saga (Longfellow's tr.). + + + +Sigurd Ring a Suitor + +After his departure came messengers from Sigurd Ring, the aged King +of Ringric, in Norway, who, having lost his wife, sent to Helge and +Halfdan to ask Ingeborg's hand in marriage. Before returning answer +to this royal suitor, Helge consulted the Vala, or prophetess, and +the priests, who all declared that the omens were not in favour of the +marriage. Upon this Helge assembled his people to hear the word which +the messengers were to carry to their master, but unfortunately King +Halfdan gave way to his waggish humour, and made scoffing reference +to the advanced age of the royal suitor. These impolitic words +were reported to King Ring, and so offended him that he immediately +collected an army and prepared to march against the Kings of Sogn to +avenge the insult with his sword. When the rumour of his approach +reached the cowardly brothers they were terrified, and fearing to +encounter the foe unaided, they sent Hilding to Frithiof to implore +his help. + +Hilding found Frithiof playing chess with Bjoern, and immediately made +known his errand. + + + "'From Bele's high heirs + I come with courteous words and prayers + Disastrous tidings rouse the brave; + On thee a nation's hope relies. + + In Balder's fane, griefs loveliest prey, + Sweet Ing'borg weeps the livelong day: + Say, can her tears unheeded fall, + Nor call her champion to her side?'" + + Tegner, Frithiof Saga (Longfellow's tr.). + + +While the old man was speaking Frithiof continued to play, ever and +anon interjecting an enigmatical reference to the game, until at this +point he said: + + + "Bjoern; thou in vain my queen pursuest, + She from childhood dearest, truest! + She's my game's most darling piece, and + Come what will--I'll save my queen!" + + Tegner, Frithiof Saga (G. Stephens's tr.). + + +Hilding did not understand such mode of answering, and at length +rebuked Frithiof for his indifference. Then Frithiof rose, and +pressing kindly the old man's hand, he bade him tell the kings that +he was too deeply offended to listen to their appeal. + +Helge and Halfdan, thus forced to fight without their bravest leader, +preferred to make a treaty with Sigurd Ring, and they agreed to give +him not only their sister Ingeborg, but also a yearly tribute. + + + +At Balder's Shrine + +While they were thus engaged at Sogn Sound, Frithiof hastened to +Balder's temple, to which Ingeborg had been sent for security, and +where, as Hilding had declared, he found her a prey to grief. Now +although it was considered a sacrilege for man and woman to exchange a +word in the sacred building, Frithiof could not forbear to console her; +and, forgetting all else, he spoke to her and comforted her, quieting +all her apprehensions of the gods' anger by assuring her that Balder, +the good, must view their innocent passion with approving eyes, for +love so pure as theirs could defile no sanctuary; and they ended by +plighting their troth before the shrine of Balder. + + + "'Thou whisp'rest "Balder,"--His wrath fearest;-- + That gentle god all anger flies. + We worship here a Lover, dearest! + Our hearts' love is his sacrifice; + That god whose brow beams sunshine-splendour, + Whose faith lasts through eternity,-- + Was not his love to beauteous Nanna + As pure, as warm, as mine to thee? + + "'His image see!--himself broods o'er it-- + How mild, how kind, his bright eyes move! + An off'ring bear I here before it, + A warm heart full of purest love. +Come, kneel with me! no altar incense + To Balder's soul more grateful is + Than two hearts, vowing in his presence + A mutual faith as true as his!'" + + Tegner, Frithiof Saga (G. Stephens's tr.). + + +Reassured by this reasoning, which received added strength from the +voice which spoke loudly from her own heart, Ingeborg could not refuse +to see and converse with Frithiof. During the kings' absence the +young lovers met every day, and they exchanged love-tokens, Frithiof +giving to Ingeborg Voelund's arm-ring, which she solemnly promised to +send back to her lover should she be compelled to break her promise +to live for him alone. Frithiof lingered at Framnaes until the kings' +return, when, yielding to the fond entreaties of Ingeborg the Fair, +he again appeared before them, and pledged himself to free them from +their thraldom to Sigurd Ring if they would only reconsider their +decision and promise him their sister's hand. + + + "'War stands and strikes + His glitt'ring shield within thy boundaries; + Thy realm, King Helge, is in jeopardy: + But give thy sister, and I'll lend mine arm + Thy guard in battle. It may stead thee well. + Come! let this grudge between us be forgotten, + Unwilling bear I such 'gainst Ing'borg's brother. + Be counsell'd, King! be just! and save at once + Thy golden crown and thy fair sister's heart! + Here is my hand: by Asa-Thor I swear + Never again 'tis stretch'd in reconcilement!'" + + Tegner, Frithiof Saga (G. Stephens's tr.). + + + +Frithiof Banished + +But although this offer was received with acclamation by the assembled +warriors, Helge scornfully demanded of Frithiof whether he had spoken +with Ingeborg and so defiled the temple of Balder. + +A shout of "Say nay, Frithiof! say nay!" broke from the ring +of warriors, but he proudly answered: "I would not lie to gain +Valhalla. I have spoken to thy sister, Helge, yet have I not broken +Balder's peace." + +A murmur of horror passed through the ranks at this avowal, and when +the harsh voice of Helge was raised in judgment, none was there to +gainsay the justice of the sentence. + +This apparently was not a harsh one, but Helge well knew that it +meant death, and he so intended it. + +Far westward lay the Orkney Islands, ruled by Jarl Angantyr, whose +yearly tribute to Bele was withheld now that the old king lay in +his cairn. Hard-fisted he was said to be, and heavy of hand, and to +Frithiof was given the task of demanding the tribute face to face. + +Before he sailed upon the judgment-quest, however, he once more sought +Ingeborg, and implored her to elope with him to a home in the sunny +South, where her happiness should be his law, and where she should +rule over his subjects as his honoured wife. But Ingeborg sorrowfully +refused to accompany him, saying that, since her father was no more, +she was in duty bound to obey her brothers implicitly, and could not +marry without their consent. + +The fiery spirit of Frithiof was at first impatient under this +disappointment of his hopes, but in the end his noble nature conquered, +and after a heartrending parting scene, he embarked upon Ellida, and +sorrowfully sailed out of the harbour, while Ingeborg, through a mist +of tears, watched the sail as it faded and disappeared in the distance. + +The vessel was barely out of sight when Helge sent for two witches +named Heid and Ham, bidding them by incantations to stir up a tempest +at sea in which it would be impossible for even the god-given vessel +Ellida to live, that so all on board should perish. The witches +immediately complied; and with Helge's aid they soon stirred up a +storm the fury of which is unparalleled in history. + + + "Helge on the strand + Chants his wizard-spell, + Potent to command + Fiends of earth or hell. + Gathering darkness shrouds the sky; + Hark, the thunder's distant roll! + Lurid lightnings, as they fly, + Streak with blood the sable pole. + Ocean, boiling to its base, + Scatters wide its wave of foam; + Screaming, as in fleetest chase, + Sea-birds seek their island home." + + Tegner, Frithiof Saga (Longfellow's tr.). + + + "Then the storm unfetter'd wingeth + Wild his course; in Ocean's foam + Now he dips him, now up-swingeth, + Whirling toward the God's own home: + Rides each Horror-spirit, warning, + High upon the topmost wave-- + Up from out the white, vast, yawning, + Bottomless, unfathom'd grave." + + Tegner, Frithiof Saga (G. Stephens's tr.). + + +The Tempest + +Unfrighted by tossing waves and whistling blasts, Frithiof sang a +cheery song to reassure his terrified crew; but when the peril grew +so great that his exhausted followers gave themselves up for lost, he +bethought him of tribute to the goddess Ran, who ever requires gold of +them who would rest in peace under the ocean wave. Taking his armlet, +he hewed it with his sword and made fair division among his men. + + + "Who goes empty-handed + Down to sea-blue Ran? + Cold her kisses strike, and + Fleeting her embrace is." + + Tegner, Frithiof Saga (G. Stephens's tr.). + + +He then bade Bjoern hold the rudder, and himself climbed to the mast-top +to view the horizon. While perched there he descried a whale, upon +which the two witches were riding the storm. Speaking to his good +ship, which was gifted with power of understanding and could obey +his commands, he now ran down both whale and witches, and the sea was +reddened with their blood. At the same instant the wind fell, the waves +ceased to threaten, and fair weather soon smiled again upon the seas. + +Exhausted by their previous superhuman efforts and by the labour +of baling their water-logged vessel, the men were too weak to land +when they at last reached the Orkney Islands, and had to be carried +ashore by Bjoern and Frithiof, who gently laid them down on the sand, +bidding them rest and refresh themselves after all the hardships they +had endured. + + + "Yet more wearied than their Dragon + Totter Frithiof's gallant men; + Though each leans upon his weapon, + Scarcely upright stand they then. + Bjoern, on pow'rful shoulder, dareth + Four to carry to the land; + Frithiof, all alone, eight beareth,-- + Sets them so round the upblaz'd brand. + + 'Nay! ye white-fac'd, shame not! + Waves are mighty Vikings; + Hard's the unequal struggle-- + Ocean's maids our foes. + See! there comes the mead-horn, + Wand'ring on bright gold-foot; + Shipmates! cold limbs warm,--and + Here's to Ingeborg!'" + + Tegner, Frithiof Saga (G. Stephen's tr.). + + +The arrival of Frithiof and his men, and their mode of landing, had +been noted by the watchman of Angantyr, who immediately informed his +master of all he had seen. The jarl exclaimed that the ship which had +weathered such a gale could be none but Ellida, and that its captain +was doubtless Frithiof, Thorsten's gallant son. At these words one +of his Berserkers, Atle, caught up his weapons and strode from the +hall, vowing that he would challenge Frithiof, and thus satisfy +himself concerning the veracity of the tales he had heard of the +young hero's courage. + + + +Atle's Challenge + +Although still greatly exhausted, Frithiof immediately accepted +Atle's challenge, and, after a sharp encounter with swords, +in which Angurvadel was triumphant, the two champions grappled in +deadly embrace. Widely is that wrestling-match renowned in the North, +and well matched were the heroes, but in the end Frithiof threw his +antagonist, whom he would have slain then and there had his sword been +within reach. Atle saw his intention, and bade him go in search of the +weapon, promising to remain motionless during his absence. Frithiof, +knowing that such a warrior's promise was inviolable, immediately +obeyed; but when he returned with his sword, and found his antagonist +calmly awaiting death, he relented, and bade Atle rise and live. + + + "Then storm they, nothing yielded, + Two autumn-billows like! + And oft, with steel round shielded, + Their jarring breasts fierce strike. + + "All like two bears they wrestle, + On hills of snow; and draw + And strain, each like an eagle + On the angry sea at war. + The root-fast rock resisted + Full hardly them between + And green iron oaks down-twisted + With lesser pulls have been. + + "From each broad brow sweat rushes; + Their bosoms coldly heave; + And stones and mounds and bushes + Dints hundred-fold receive." + + Tegner, Frithiof Saga (G. Stephens's tr.). + + +Together the appeased warriors now wended their way to Angantyr's hall, +which Frithiof found to be far different from the rude dwellings of +his native land. The walls were covered with leather richly decorated +with gilt designs. The chimney-piece was of marble, and glass panes +were in the window-frames. A soft light was diffused from many candles +burning in silver branches, and the tables groaned under the most +luxurious fare. + +High in a silver chair sat the jarl, clad in a coat of golden +mail, over which was flung a rich mantle bordered with ermine, +but when Frithiof entered he strode from his seat with cordial hand +outstretched. "Full many a horn have I emptied with my old friend +Thorsten," said he, "and his brave son is equally welcome at my board." + +Nothing loth, Frithiof seated himself beside his host, and after he +had eaten and drunk he recounted his adventures upon land and sea. + +At last, however, Frithiof made known his errand, whereupon Angantyr +said that he owed no tribute to Helge, and would pay him none; but +that he would give the required sum as a free gift to his old friend's +son, leaving him at liberty to dispose of it as he pleased. Meantime, +since the season was unpropitious for the return journey, and storms +continually swept the sea, the king invited Frithiof to tarry with +him over the winter; and it was only when the gentle spring breezes +were blowing once more that he at last allowed him to depart. + + + +Frithiof's Home-coming + +Taking leave of his kind host, Frithiof set sail, and wafted by +favourable winds, the hero, after six days, came in sight of Framnaes, +and found that his home had been reduced to a shapeless heap of ashes +by Helge's orders. Sadly Frithiof strode over the ravaged site of his +childhood's home, and as he viewed the desolate scene his heart burned +within him. The ruins were not entirely deserted, however, and suddenly +Frithiof felt the cold nozzle of his hound thrust into his hand. A +few moments later his favourite steed bounded to his master's side, +and the faithful creatures were well-nigh frantic with delight. Then +came Hilding to greet him with the information that Ingeborg was +now the wife of Sigurd Ring. When Frithiof heard this he flew into a +Berserker rage, and bade his men scuttle the vessels in the harbour, +while he strode to the temple in search of Helge. + +The king stood crowned amid a circle of priests, some of whom +brandished flaming pine-knots, while all grasped a sacrificial flint +knife. Suddenly there was a clatter of arms and in burst Frithiof, his +brow dark as autumn storms. Helge's face went pale as he confronted the +angry hero, for he knew what his coming presaged. "Take thy tribute, +King," said Frithiof, and with the words, he took the purse from his +girdle and flung it in Helge's face with such force that blood gushed +from his mouth and he fell swooning at Balder's feet. + +The silver-bearded priests advanced to the scene of violence, but +Frithiof motioned them back, and his looks were so threatening that +they durst not disobey. + +Then his eye fell upon the arm-ring which he had given to Ingeborg +and which Helge had placed upon the arm of Balder, and striding up +to the wooden image he said: "Pardon, great Balder, not for thee +was the ring wrested from Voelund's tomb!" Then he seized the ring, +but strongly as he tugged it would not come apart. At last he put +forth all his strength, and with a sudden jerk he recovered the ring, +and at the same time the image of the god fell prone across the altar +fire. The next moment it was enveloped in flames, and before aught +could be done the whole temple was wreathed in fire and smoke. + + + "All, all's lost! From half-burned hall + Th' fire-red cock up-swingeth!-- + Sits on the roof, and, with shrilly call + Flutt'ring, his free course wingeth." + + Tegner's Frithiof Saga (G. Stephens's tr.). + + +Frithiof, horror-stricken at the sacrilege which he had involuntarily +occasioned, vainly tried to extinguish the flames and save the costly +sanctuary, but finding his efforts unavailing he escaped to his ship +and resolved upon the weary life of an outcast and exile. + + + "Thou may'st not rest thee, + Thou still must haste thee, + Ellida!--out + Th' wide world about. + Yes! rock on! roaming + Mid froth salt-foaming + My Dragon good! + + "Thou billow bold + Befriend me!--Never + I'll from thee sever!-- + My father's Mound + Dull stands, fast-bound, + And self-same surges + Chaunt changeless dirges; + But blue shall mine + Through foam-flow'rs shine, + 'Mid tempests swimming, + And storms thick dimming, + And draw yet mo + Down, down, below.-- + My Life-Home given, + Thou shalt, far-driven! + My Barrow be-- + Thou free broad Sea!" + + Tegner, Frithiof Saga (G. Stephens's tr.). + + + +Frithiof an Exile + +Helge started in pursuit with ten great dragon-ships, but these had +barely got under way when they began to sink, and Bjoern said with a +laugh, "What Ran enfolds I trust she will keep." Even King Helge was +with difficulty got ashore, and the survivors were forced to stand in +helpless inactivity while Ellida's great sails slowly sank beneath the +horizon. It was thus that Frithiof sadly saw his native land vanish +from sight; and as it disappeared he breathed a tender farewell to +the beloved country which he never expected to see again. + +After thus parting from his native land, Frithiof roved the sea as a +pirate, or viking. His code was never to settle anywhere, to sleep on +his shield, to fight and neither give nor take quarter, to protect +the ships which paid him tribute and to plunder the others, and to +distribute all the booty to his men, reserving for himself nothing +but the glory of the enterprise. Sailing and fighting thus, Frithiof +visited many lands, and came at last to the sunny isles of Greece, +whither he would fain have carried Ingeborg as his bride; and the +sights called up such a flood of sad memories that he was well-nigh +overwhelmed with longing for his beloved and for his native land. + + + +At the Court of Sigurd Ring + +Three years had passed away and Frithiof determined to return +northward and visit Sigurd Ring's court. When he announced his +purpose to Bjoern, his faithful companion reproached him for his +rashness in thinking to journey alone, but Frithiof would not be +turned from his purpose, saying: "I am never alone while Angurvadel +hangs at my side." Steering Ellida up the Vik (the main part of the +Christiania Fiord), he entrusted her to Bjoern's care, and, enveloped in +a bear-hide, which he wore as a disguise, he set out on foot alone for +the court of Sigurd Ring, arriving there as the Yuletide festivities +were in progress. As if nothing more than an aged beggar, Frithiof sat +down upon the bench near the door, where he quickly became the butt +of the courtiers' rough jokes. When one of his tormentors, however, +approached too closely, the seeming beggar caught him in a powerful +grasp and swung him high above his head. + +Terrified by this exhibition of superhuman strength, the courtiers +quickly withdrew from the dangerous vicinity, while Sigurd Ring, +whose attention was attracted by the commotion, sternly bade the +stranger-guest approach and tell who thus dared to break the peace +in his royal hall. + +Frithiof answered evasively that he was fostered in penitence, that +he inherited want, and that he came from the wolf; as to his name, +this did not matter. The king, as was the courteous custom, did not +press him further, but invited him to take a seat beside him and the +queen, and to share his good cheer. "But first," said he, "let fall +the clumsy covering which veils, if I mistake not, a proper form." + +Frithiof gladly accepted the invitation thus cordially given, and when +the hairy hide fell from off his head and shoulders, he stood disclosed +in the pride of youth, much to the surprise of the assembled warriors. + +But although his appearance marked him as of no common race, +none of the courtiers recognised him. It was different, however, +with Ingeborg. Had any curious eye been upon her at that moment +her changing colour and the quick heaving of her breast would have +revealed her deep emotion. + + + "The astonish'd queen's pale cheeks, how fast-changing rose-tints + dye!-- + So purple Northlights, quiv'ring, on snow-hid meadows lie; + Like two white water-lilies on storm-wave wild that rest, + Each moment rising, falling,--so heaves her trembling breast!" + + Tegner, Frithiof Saga (G. Stephens's tr.). + + +Frithiof had barely taken his seat at the board when with flourish of +trumpets a great boar was brought in and placed before the king. In +accordance with the Yule-tide custom of those days the old monarch +rose, and touching the head of the animal, he uttered a vow that with +the help of Frey, Odin, and Thor, he would conquer the bold champion +Frithiof. The next moment Frithiof, too, was upon his feet, and dashing +his sword upon the great wooden bench he declared that Frithiof was +his kinsman and he also would vow that though all the world withstood, +no harm should reach the hero while he had power to wield his sword. + +At this unexpected interruption the warriors had risen quickly +from the oaken benches, but Sigurd Ring smiled indulgently at the +young man's vehemence and said: "Friend, thy words are overbold, +but never yet was guest restrained from uttering his thoughts in +this kingly hall." Then he turned to Ingeborg and bade her fill to +the brim with her choicest mead a huge horn, richly decorated, which +stood in front of her, and present it to the guest. The queen obeyed +with downcast eyes, and the trembling of her hand caused the liquid +to overflow. Two ordinary men could hardly have drained the mighty +draught, but Frithiof raised it to his lips, and when he removed the +horn not one drop of the mead remained. + +Ere the banquet was ended Sigurd Ring invited the youthful stranger +to remain at his court until the return of spring, and accepting the +proffered hospitality, Frithiof became the constant companion of the +royal couple, whom he accompanied upon all occasions. + +One day Sigurd Ring set out to a banquet with Ingeborg. They travelled +in a sleigh, while Frithiof, with steel-shod feet, sped gracefully +by their side, cutting many mystic characters in the ice. Their way +lay over a dangerous portion of the frozen surface, and Frithiof +warned the king that it would be prudent to avoid this. He would +not listen to the counsel, however, and suddenly the sleigh sank +in a deep fissure, which threatened to engulph it with the king and +queen. But like falcon descending upon its quarry, Frithiof was at +their side in a moment, and without apparent effort he dragged the +steed and its burden on to the firm ice. "In good sooth," said Ring, +"Frithiof himself could not have done better." + +The long winter came to an end, and in the early spring the king and +queen arranged a hunting-party in which all the court were to take +part. During the progress of the chase the advancing years of Sigurd +Ring made it impossible for him to keep up with the eager hunt, and +thus it happened that he dropped behind, until at length he was left +with Frithiof as his sole companion. They rode slowly together until +they reached a pleasant dell which invited the weary king to repose, +and he declared that he would lie down for a season to rest. + + + "Then threw Frithiof down his mantle, and upon the greensward + spread, + And the ancient king so trustful laid on Frithiof's knee his head; + Slept, as calmly as the hero sleepeth after war's alarms + On his shield, calm as an infant sleepeth in its mother's arms." + + Tegner, Frithiof Saga (Longfellow's tr.). + + + +Frithiof's Loyalty + +While the aged king was thus reposing, a bird sang to Frithiof from a +tree near by, bidding him take advantage of his host's powerlessness +to slay him, and recover the bride of whom he had been unfairly +deprived. But although Frithiof's hot young heart clamoured for his +beloved, he utterly refused to entertain the dastardly suggestion, +but, fearing lest he should be overcome by temptation, despite his +horror at the thought, he impulsively flung his sword far from him +into a neighbouring thicket. + +A few moments later Sigurd Ring opened his eyes, and informed Frithiof +that he had only feigned sleep; he told him also that having recognised +him from the first, he had tested him in many ways, and had found +his honour equal to his courage. Old age had now overtaken him and +he felt that death was drawing nigh. In but a short time, therefore, +Frithiof might hope to realise his dearest hope, and Sigurd Ring told +him that he would die happy if he would stay by him until the end. + +A revulsion of feeling had, however, overtaken Frithiof, and he told +the aged king that he felt that Ingeborg could never be his, because +of the wrath of Balder. Too long had he stayed; he would now go once +more upon the sea and would seek death in the fray, that so he might +appease the offended gods. + +Full of his resolve, he quickly made preparations to depart, but when +he returned to the court to bid farewell to his royal hosts he found +that Sigurd Ring was at the point of death. The old warrior bethought +him that "a straw death" would not win the favour of Odin, and in +the presence of Frithiof and his court he slashed bravely the death +runes on his arm and breast. Then clasping Ingeborg with one hand, +he raised the other in blessing over Frithiof and his youthful son, +and so passed in peace to the halls of the blessed. + + + "Gods all, I hail ye! + Sons of Valhalla! + Earth disappears; to the Asa's high feast + Gjallar-horn bids me; + Blessedness, like a + Gold-helmet, circles their up-coming guest!" + + Tegner, Frithiof Saga (G. Stephens's tr.). + + + +Betrothal of Frithiof and Ingeborg + +The warriors of the nation now assembled in solemn Thing to choose a +successor to the throne. Frithiof had won the people's enthusiastic +admiration, and they would fain have elected him king; but he raised +Sigurd Ring's little son high on his shield when he heard the shout +which acclaimed his name, and presented the boy to the assembly as +their future king, publicly swearing to uphold him until he was of +age to defend the realm. The lad, weary of his cramped position, +boldly sprang to the ground as soon as Frithiof's speech was ended, +and alighted upon his feet. This act of agile daring in one so young +appealed to the rude Northmen, and a loud shout arose, "We choose thee, +shield-borne child!" + + + "But thron'd king-like, the lad sat proud + On shield-floor high; + So the eaglet glad, from rock-hung cloud, + The Sun will eye! + + At length this place his young blood found + Too dull to keep; + And, with one spring, he gains the ground-- + A royal leap!" + + Tegner, Frithiof Saga (G. Stephens's tr.). + + +According to some accounts, Frithiof now made war against Ingeborg's +brothers, and after conquering them, allowed them to retain their +kingdom on condition that they paid him a yearly tribute. Then he and +Ingeborg remained in Ringric until the young king was able to assume +the government, when they repaired to Hordaland, a kingdom Frithiof +had obtained by conquest, and which he left to his sons Gungthiof +and Hunthiof. + +Bishop Tegner's conclusion, however, differs very considerably, +and if it appears less true to the rude temper of the rugged days +of the sea-rovers, its superior spiritual qualities make it more +attractive. According to Tegner's poem, Frithiof was urged by the +people of Sigurd Ring to espouse Ingeborg and remain amongst them as +guardian of the realm. But he answered that this might not be, since +the wrath of Balder still burned against him, and none else could +bestow his cherished bride. He told the people that he would fare over +the seas and seek forgiveness of the god, and soon after, his farewells +were spoken, and once more his vessel was speeding before the wind. + +Frithiof's first visit was paid to his father's burial mound, where, +plunged in melancholy at the desolation around, he poured out his soul +to the outraged god. He reminded him that it was the custom of the +Northmen to exact blood-fines for kinsmen slain, and surely the blessed +gods would not be less forgiving than the earth-born. Passionately +he adjured Balder to show him how he could make reparation for his +unpremeditated fault, and suddenly, an answer was vouchsafed, and +Frithiof beheld in the clouds a vision of a new temple. + + + "Then sudden, o'er the western waters pendent, + An Image comes, with gold and flames resplendent, + O'er Balder's grove it hovers, night's clouds under, + Like gold crown resting on a bed of green. + At last to a temple settling, firm 'tis grounded-- + Where Balder stood, another temple's founded." + + Tegner, Frithiof Saga (G. Stephens's tr.). + + +The hero immediately understood that the gods had thus indicated a +means of atonement, and he grudged neither wealth nor pains until a +glorious temple and grove, which far exceeded the splendour of the +old shrine, rose out of the ruins. + + + "Finish'd great Balder's Temple stood! + Round it no palisade of wood + Ran now as erst; + A railing stronger, fairer than the first, + And all of hammer'd iron--each bar + Gold-tipp'd and regular-- + Walls Balder's sacred House. Like some long line + Of steel-clad champions, whose bright war-spears shine + And golden helms afar--so stood + This glitt'ring guard within the holy wood! + + "Of granite blocks enormous, join'd with curious care + And daring art, the massy pile was built; and there + (A giant-work intended + To last till time was ended,) + It rose like Upsal's temple, where the north + Saw Valhall's halls fair imag'd here on earth. + + "Proud stood it there on mountain-steep, its lofty brow + Reflected calmly on the sea's bright-flowing wave. + But round about, some girdle like of beauteous flow'rs, + Went Balder's Dale, with all its groves' soft-murmur'd sighs, + And all its birds' sweet-twitter'd songs,--the Home of Peace." + + Tegner, Frithiof Saga (G. Stephens's tr.). + + +Meantime, while the timbers were being hewed, King Helge was absent +upon a foray amongst the Finnish mountains. One day it chanced that his +band passed by a crag where stood the lonely shrine of some forgotten +god, and King Helge scaled the rocky summit with intent to raze the +ruined walls. The lock held fast, and, as Helge tugged fiercely at +the mouldered gate, suddenly a sculptured image of the deity, rudely +summoned from his ancient sleep, started from his niche above. + +Heavily he fell upon the head of the intruder, and Helge stretched +his length upon the rocky floor, nor stirred again. + +When the temple was duly consecrated to Balder's service, Frithiof +stood by the altar to await the coming of his expected bride. But +Halfdan first crossed the threshold, his faltering gait showing +plainly that he feared an unfriendly reception. Seeing this, +Frithiof unbuckled his sword and strode frankly to Halfdan with hand +outstretched, whereupon the king, blushing deeply, grasped heartily +the proffered hand, and from that moment all their differences were +forgotten. The next moment Ingeborg approached and the renewed amity +of the long-sundered friends was ratified with the hand of the bride, +which Halfdan placed in that of his new brother. + + + "Over the copper threshold Halfdan now, + With pallid brow + And fearful fitful glance, advanceth slow + Tow'rds yonder tow'ring ever-dreaded foe-- + And, silent, at a distance stands,-- + Then Frithiof, with quick hands, + The corslet-hater, Angurvadel, from his thigh + Unbuckleth, and his bright shield's golden round + Leaning 'gainst the altar, thus draws nigh;-- + + While his cow'd enemy + He thus accosts, with pleasant dignity.-- + 'Most noble in this strife will he be found + Who first his right hand good + Offers in pledge of peaceful brotherhood!'-- + Then Halfdan, deeply blushing, doffs with haste + His iron-gauntlet and,--with hearty grasp embrac'd,-- + Each long, long, sever'd hand + Its friend-foe hails, steadfast as mountain-bases stand! + + "And as th' last deep accents + Of reconcilement and of blessing sounded; + Lo! Ing'borg sudden enters, rich adorn'd + With bridal ornaments, and all enrob'd + In gorgeous ermine, and by bright-ey'd maidens + Slow-follow'd, as on heav'n's broad canopy, + Attending star-trains guard the regent-moon!-- + But the young bride's fair eyes, + Those two blue skies, + Fill quick with tears, + And to her brother's heart she trembling sinketh;-- + He, with his sister's fears + Deep-mov'd, her hand all tenderly in Frithiof's linketh, + His burden soft transferring to that hero's breast, + Its long-tried faith fit place for Ing'borg's rest." + + Tegner, Frithiof Saga (G. Stephens's tr.). + + + + + + +CHAPTER XXVIII: THE TWILIGHT OF THE GODS + + +The Decline of the Gods + +One of the distinctive features of Northern mythology is that the +people always believed that their gods belonged to a finite race. The +AEsir had had a beginning; therefore, it was reasoned, they must have +an end; and as they were born from a mixture of the divine and giant +elements, being thus imperfect, they bore within them the germ of +death, and were, like men, doomed to suffer physical death in order +to attain spiritual immortality. + +The whole scheme of Northern mythology was therefore a drama, every +step leading gradually to the climax or tragic end, when, with true +poetic justice, punishment and reward were impartially meted out. In +the foregoing chapters, the gradual rise and decline of the gods have +been carefully traced. We have recounted how the AEsir tolerated the +presence of evil, personated by Loki, in their midst; how they weakly +followed his advice, allowed him to involve them in all manner of +difficulties from which they could be extricated only at the price +of part of their virtue or peace, and finally permitted him to gain +such ascendency over them that he did not scruple to rob them of +their dearest possession, purity, or innocence, as personified by +Balder the good. + +Too late the gods realised how evil was this spirit that had found +a home among them, and too late they banished Loki to earth, where +men, following the gods' example, listened to his teachings, and were +corrupted by his sinister influence. + + + "Brothers slay brothers; + Sisters' children + Shed each other's blood. + Hard is the world; + Sensual sin grows huge. + There are sword-ages, axe-ages; + Shields are cleft in twain; + Storm-ages, murder-ages; + Till the world falls dead, + And men no longer spare + Or pity one another." + + Norse Mythology (R. B. Anderson). + + + +The Fimbul-winter + +Seeing that crime was rampant, and all good banished from the earth, +the gods realised that the prophecies uttered of old were about to be +fulfilled, and that the shadow of Ragnarok, the twilight or dusk of the +gods, was already upon them. Sol and Mani grew pale with affright, and +drove their chariots tremblingly along their appointed paths, looking +back with fear at the pursuing wolves which would shortly overtake and +devour them; and as their smiles disappeared the earth grew sad and +cold, and the terrible Fimbul-winter began. Then snow fell from the +four points of the compass at once, the biting winds swept down from +the north, and all the earth was covered with a thick layer of ice. + + + "Grim Fimbul raged, and o'er the world + Tempestuous winds and snowstorms hurled; + The roaring ocean icebergs ground, + And flung its frozen foam around, + E'en to the top of mountain height; + No warming air + Nor radiance fair + Of gentle Summer's soft'ning light, + Tempered this dreadful glacial night." + + Valhalla (J. C. Jones). + +This severe winter lasted during three whole seasons without a break, +and was followed by three others, equally severe, during which all +cheer departed from the earth, and the crimes of men increased with +fearful rapidity, whilst, in the general struggle for life, the last +feelings of humanity and compassion disappeared. + + + +The Wolves Let Loose + +In the dim recesses of the Ironwood the giantess Iarnsaxa or Angur-boda +diligently fed the wolves Hati, Skoell, and Managarm, the progeny of +Fenris, with the marrow of murderers' and adulterers' bones; and +such was the prevalence of these vile crimes, that the well-nigh +insatiable monsters were never stinted for food. They daily gained +strength to pursue Sol and Mani, and finally overtook and devoured +them, deluging the earth with blood from their dripping jaws. + + + "In the east she was seated, that aged woman, in Jarnrid, + And there she nourished the posterity of Fenrir; + He will be the most formidable of all, he + Who, under the form of a monster, will swallow up the moon." + + Voluspa (Pfeiffer's tr.). + + +At this terrible calamity the whole earth trembled and shook, the +stars, affrighted, fell from their places, and Loki, Fenris, and Garm, +renewing their efforts, rent their chains asunder and rushed forth to +take their revenge. At the same moment the dragon Nidhug gnawed through +the root of the ash Yggdrasil, which quivered to its topmost bough; +the red cock Fialar, perched above Valhalla, loudly crowed an alarm, +which was immediately echoed by Gullin-kambi, the rooster in Midgard, +and by Hel's dark-red bird in Nifl-heim. + + + "The gold-combed cock + The gods in Valhal loudly crowed to arms; + The blood-red cock as shrilly summons all + On earth and down beneath it." + + Viking Tales of the North (R. B. Anderson). + + + +Heimdall Gives the Alarm + +Heimdall, noting these ominous portents and hearing the cock's +shrill cry, immediately put the Giallar-horn to his lips and blew the +long-expected blast, which was heard throughout the world. At the first +sound of this rally AEsir and Einheriar sprang from their golden couches +and sallied bravely out of the great hall, armed for the coming fray, +and, mounting their impatient steeds, they galloped over the quivering +rainbow bridge to the spacious field of Vigrid, where, as Vafthrudnir +had predicted long before, the last battle was to take place. + + + +The Terrors of the Sea + +The terrible Midgard snake Ioermungandr had been aroused by the general +disturbance, and with immense writhings and commotion, whereby the +seas were lashed into huge waves such as had never before disturbed +the deeps of ocean, he crawled out upon the land, and hastened to +join the dread fray, in which he was to play a prominent part. + + + "In giant wrath the Serpent tossed + In ocean depths, till, free from chain, + He rose upon the foaming main; + Beneath the lashings of his tail, + Seas, mountain high, swelled on the land; + Then, darting mad the waves acrost, + Pouring forth bloody froth like hail, + Spurting with poisoned, venomed breath + Foul, deadly mists o'er all the Earth, + Thro' thundering surge, he sought the strand." + + Valhalla (J. C. Jones). + + +One of the great waves, stirred up by Ioermungandr's struggles, set +afloat Nagilfar, the fatal ship, which was constructed entirely out +of the nails of those dead folks whose relatives had failed, through +the ages, in their duty, having neglected to pare the nails of the +deceased, ere they were laid to rest. No sooner was this vessel +afloat, than Loki boarded it with the fiery host from Muspells-heim, +and steered it boldly over the stormy waters to the place of conflict. + +This was not the only vessel bound for Vigrid, however, for out of a +thick fog bank towards the north came another ship, steered by Hrym, +in which were all the frost giants, armed to the teeth and eager for +a conflict with the AEsir, whom they had always hated. + + + +The Terrors of the Underworld + +At the same time, Hel, the goddess of death, crept through a crevice +in the earth out of her underground home, closely followed by the +Hel-hound Garm, the malefactors of her cheerless realm, and the dragon +Nidhug, which flew over the battlefield bearing corpses upon his wings. + +As soon as he landed, Loki welcomed these reinforcements with joy, +and placing himself at their head he marched with them to the fight. + +Suddenly the skies were rent asunder, and through the fiery breach +rode Surtr with his flaming sword, followed by his sons; and as +they rode over the bridge Bifroest, with intent to storm Asgard, +the glorious arch sank with a crash beneath their horses' tread. + + + "Down thro' the fields of air, + With glittering armour fair, + In battle order bright, + They sped while seething flame + From rapid hoofstrokes came. + Leading his gleaming band, rode Surtur, + 'Mid the red ranks of raging fire." + + Valhalla (J. C. Jones). + + +The gods knew full well that their end was now near, and that their +weakness and lack of foresight placed them under great disadvantages; +for Odin had but one eye, Tyr but one hand, and Frey nothing but a +stag's horn wherewith to defend himself, instead of his invincible +sword. Nevertheless, the AEsir did not show any signs of despair, but, +like true battle-gods of the North, they donned their richest attire, +and gaily rode to the battlefield, determined to sell their lives as +dearly as possible. + +While they were mustering their forces, Odin once more rode down to +the Urdar fountain, where, under the toppling Yggdrasil, the Norns +sat with veiled faces and obstinately silent, their web lying torn at +their feet. Once more the father of the gods whispered a mysterious +communication to Mimir, after which he remounted Sleipnir and rejoined +the waiting host. + + + +The Great Battle + +The combatants were now assembled on Vigrid's broad plain. On one side +were ranged the stern, calm faces of the AEsir, Vanas, and Einheriar; +while on the other were gathered the motley host of Surtr, the grim +frost giants, the pale army of Hel, and Loki and his dread followers, +Garm, Fenris, and Ioermungandr, the two latter belching forth fire and +smoke, and exhaling clouds of noxious, deathly vapours, which filled +all heaven and earth with their poisonous breath. + + + "The years roll on, + The generations pass, the ages grow, + And bring us nearer to the final day + When from the south shall march the fiery band + And cross the bridge of heaven, with Lok for guide, + And Fenris at his heel with broken chain; + While from the east the giant Rymer steers + His ship, and the great serpent makes to land; + And all are marshall'd in one flaming square + Against the Gods, upon the plains of Heaven." + + Balder Dead (Matthew Arnold). + + +All the pent-up antagonism of ages was now let loose in a torrent +of hate, each member of the opposing hosts fighting with grim +determination, as did our ancestors of old, hand to hand and face to +face. With a mighty shock, heard above the roar of battle which filled +the universe, Odin and the Fenris wolf came into impetuous contact, +while Thor attacked the Midgard snake, and Tyr came to grips with +the dog Garm. Frey closed with Surtr, Heimdall with Loki, whom he +had defeated once before, and the remainder of the gods and all the +Einheriar engaged foes equally worthy of their courage. But, in spite +of their daily preparation in the heavenly city, Valhalla's host was +doomed to succumb, and Odin was amongst the first of the shining +ones to be slain. Not even the high courage and mighty attributes +of Allfather could withstand the tide of evil as personified in the +Fenris wolf. At each succeeding moment of the struggle its colossal +size assumed greater proportions, until finally its wide-open jaws +embraced all the space between heaven and earth, and the foul monster +rushed furiously upon the father of gods and engulphed him bodily +within its horrid maw. + + + "Fenrir shall with impious tooth + Slay the sire of rolling years: + Vithar shall avenge his fall, + And, struggling with the shaggy wolf, + Shall cleave his cold and gory jaws." + + Vafthrudni's-mal (W. Taylor's tr.). + + +None of the gods could lend Allfather a helping hand at that critical +moment, for it was a time of sore trial to all. Frey put forth heroic +efforts, but Surtr's flashing sword now dealt him a death-stroke. In +his struggle with the arch-enemy, Loki, Heimdall fared better, but his +final conquest was dearly bought, for he, too, fell dead. The struggle +between Tyr and Garm had the same tragic end, and Thor, after a most +terrible encounter with the Midgard snake, and after slaying him with +a stroke from Mioelnir, staggered back nine paces, and was drowned in +the flood of venom which poured from the dying monster's jaws. + + + "Odin's son goes + With the monster to fight; + Midgard's Veor in his rage + Will slay the worm; + Nine feet will go + Fioergyn's son, + Bowed by the serpent + Who feared no foe." + + Saemund's Edda (Thorpe's tr.). + + +Vidar now came rushing from a distant part of the plain to avenge the +death of his mighty sire, and the doom foretold fell upon Fenris, whose +lower jaw now felt the impress of that shoe which had been reserved +for this day. At the same moment Vidar seized the monster's upper +jaw with his hands, and with one terrible wrench tore him asunder. + + + +The Devouring Fire + +The other gods who took part in the fray, and all the Einheriar having +now perished, Surtr suddenly flung his fiery brands over heaven, earth, +and the nine kingdoms of Hel. The raging flames enveloped the massive +stem of the world ash Yggdrasil, and reached the golden palaces of +the gods, which were utterly consumed. The vegetation upon earth was +likewise destroyed, and the fervent heat made all the waters seethe +and boil. + + + "Fire's breath assails + The all-nourishing tree, + Towering fire plays + Against heaven itself." + + Saemund's Edda (Thorpe's tr.). + + +The great conflagration raged fiercely until everything was consumed, +when the earth, blackened and scarred, slowly sank beneath the boiling +waves of the sea. Ragnarok had indeed come; the world tragedy was +over, the divine actors were slain, and chaos seemed to have resumed +its former sway. But as in a play, after the principals are slain and +the curtain has fallen, the audience still looks for the favourites +to appear and make their bow, so the ancient Northern races fancied +that, all evil having perished in Surtr's flames, from the general +ruin goodness would rise, to resume its sway over the earth, and that +some of the gods would return to dwell in heaven for ever. + + + "All evil + Dies there an endless death, while goodness riseth + From that great world-fire, purified at last, + To a life far higher, better, nobler than the past. + + Viking Tales of the North (R. B. Anderson). + + + +Regeneration + +Our ancestors believed fully in regeneration, and held that after a +certain space of time the earth, purged by fire and purified by its +immersion in the sea, rose again in all its pristine beauty and was +illumined by the sun, whose chariot was driven by a daughter of Sol, +born before the wolf had devoured her mother. The new orb of day +was not imperfect, as the first sun had been, and its rays were no +longer so ardent that a shield had to be placed between it and the +earth. These more beneficent rays soon caused the earth to renew its +green mantle, and to bring forth flowers and fruit in abundance. Two +human beings, a woman, Lif, and a man, Lifthrasir, now emerged from the +depths of Hodmimir's (Mimir's) forest, whence they had fled for refuge +when Surtr set fire to the world. They had sunk into peaceful slumber +there, unconscious of the destruction around them, and had remained, +nurtured by the morning dew, until it was safe for them to wander +out once more, when they took possession of the regenerated earth, +which their descendants were to people and over which they were to +have full sway. + + + "We shall see emerge + From the bright Ocean at our feet an earth + More fresh, more verdant than the last, with fruits + Self-springing, and a seed of man preserved, + Who then shall live in peace, as then in war." + + Balder Dead (Matthew Arnold). + + + +A New Heaven + +All the gods who represented the developing forces of Nature were +slain on the fatal field of Vigrid, but Vali and Vidar, the types of +the imperishable forces of Nature, returned to the field of Ida, where +they were met by Modi and Magni, Thor's sons, the personifications +of strength and energy, who rescued their father's sacred hammer from +the general destruction, and carried it thither with them. + + + "Vithar's then and Vali's force + Heirs the empty realm of gods; + Mothi's thew and Magni's might + Sways the massy mallet's weight, + Won from Thor, when Thor must fall." + + Vafthrudni's-mal (W. Taylor's tr.). + + +Here they were joined by Hoenir, no longer an exile among the Vanas, +who, as developing forces, had also vanished for ever; and out of +the dark underworld where he had languished so long rose the radiant +Balder, together with his brother Hodur, with whom he was reconciled, +and with whom he was to live in perfect amity and peace. The past +had gone for ever, and the surviving deities could recall it without +bitterness. The memory of their former companions was, however, dear +to them, and full often did they return to their old haunts to linger +over the happy associations. It was thus that walking one day in the +long grass on Idavold, they found again the golden disks with which +the AEsir had been wont to sport. + + + "We shall tread once more that well-known plain + Of Ida, and among the grass shall find + The golden dice with which we play'd of yore; + And that will bring to mind the former life + And pastime of the Gods, the wise discourse + Of Odin, the delights of other days." + + Balder Dead (Matthew Arnold). + +When the small band of gods turned mournfully towards the place +where their lordly dwellings once stood, they became aware, to their +joyful surprise, that Gimli, the highest heavenly abode, had not +been consumed, for it rose glittering before them, its golden roof +outshining the sun. Hastening thither they discovered, to the great +increase of their joy, that it had become the place of refuge for +all the virtuous. + + + "In Gimli the lofty + There shall the hosts + Of the virtuous dwell, + And through all ages + Taste of deep gladness." + + Literature and Romance of Northern Europe (Howitt). + + + +One too Mighty to Name + +As the Norsemen who settled in Iceland, and through whom the +most complete exposition of the Odinic faith has come down to us +in the Eddas and Sagas, were not definitely converted until the +eleventh century,--although they had come in contact with Christians +during their viking raids nearly six centuries before,--it is very +probable that the Northern scalds gleaned some idea of the Christian +doctrines, and that this knowledge influenced them to a certain +extent, and coloured their descriptions of the end of the world and +the regeneration of the earth. It was perhaps this vague knowledge, +also, which induced them to add to the Edda a verse, which is generally +supposed to have been an interpolation, proclaiming that another God, +too mighty to name, would arise to bear rule over Gimli. From his +heavenly seat he would judge mankind, and separate the bad from the +good. The former would be banished to the horrors of Nastrond, while +the good would be transported to the blissful halls of Gimli the fair. + + + "Then comes another, + Yet more mighty. + But Him I dare not + Venture to name. + Few farther may look + Than to where Odin + To meet the wolf goes." + + Literature and Romance of Northern Europe (Howitt). + +There were two other heavenly mansions, however, one reserved for +the dwarfs and the other for the giants; for as these creatures +had no free will, and but blindly executed the decrees of fate, +they were not thought to be responsible for any harm done by them, +and were therefore held to be undeserving of punishment. + +The dwarfs, ruled by Sindri, were said to occupy a hall in the Nida +mountains, where they drank the sparkling mead, while the giants took +their pleasure in the hall Brimer, situated in the region Okolnur +(not cool), for the power of cold was entirely annihilated, and there +was no more ice. + +Various mythologists have, of course, attempted to explain these myths, +and some, as we have already stated, see in the story of Ragnarok the +influence of Christian teachings, and esteem it only a barbaric version +of the end of the world and the coming judgment day, when a new heaven +and earth shall arise, and all the good shall enjoy eternal bliss. + + + + + + +CHAPTER XXIX: GREEK AND NORTHERN MYTHOLOGIES + + +Comparative Mythology + +During the past fifty years learned men of many nations have +investigated philology and comparative mythology so thoroughly that +they have ascertained beyond the possibility of doubt "that English, +together with all the Teutonic dialects of the Continent, belongs to +that large family of speech which comprises, besides the Teutonic, +Latin, Greek, Slavonic, and Celtic, the Oriental languages of India +and Persia." "It has also been proved that the various tribes who +started from the central home to discover Europe in the north, +and India in the south, carried away with them, not only a common +language, but a common faith and a common mythology. These are facts +which may be ignored but cannot be disputed, and the two sciences +of comparative grammar and comparative mythology, though but of +recent origin, rest on a foundation as sound and safe as that of +any of the inductive sciences." "For more than a thousand years the +Scandinavian inhabitants of Norway have been separated in language +from their Teutonic brethren on the Continent, and yet both have not +only preserved the same stock of popular stories, but they tell them, +in several instances, in almost the same words." + +This resemblance, so strong in the early literature of nations +inhabiting countries which present much the same physical aspect and +have nearly the same climate, is not so marked when we compare the +Northern myths with those of the genial South. Still, notwithstanding +the contrast between Northern and Southern Europe, where these myths +gradually ripened and attained their full growth, there is an analogy +between the two mythologies which shows that the seeds from whence +both sprang were originally the same. + +In the foregoing chapters the Northern system of mythology has been +outlined as clearly as possible, and the physical significance of +the myths has been explained. Now we shall endeavour to set forth the +resemblance of Northern mythology to that of the other Aryan nations, +by comparing it with the Greek, which, however, it does not resemble +as closely as it does the Oriental. + +It is, of course, impossible in a work of this character to do more +than mention the main points of resemblance in the stories forming the +basis of these religions; but that will be sufficient to demonstrate, +even to the most sceptical, that they must have been identical at a +period too remote to indicate now with any certainty. + + + +The Beginning of Things + +The Northern nations, like the Greeks, imagined that the world +rose out of chaos; and while the latter described it as a vapoury, +formless mass, the former, influenced by their immediate surroundings, +depicted it as a chaos of fire and ice--a combination which is only +too comprehensible to any one who has visited Iceland and seen the +wild, peculiar contrast between its volcanic soil, spouting geysers, +and the great icebergs which hedge it round during the long, dark +winter season. + +From these opposing elements, fire and ice, were born the first +divinities, who, like the first gods of the Greeks, were gigantic in +stature and uncouth in appearance. Ymir, the huge ice giant, and his +descendants, are comparable to the Titans, who were also elemental +forces of Nature, personifications of subterranean fire; and both, +having held full sway for a time, were obliged to yield to greater +perfection. After a fierce struggle for supremacy, they all found +themselves defeated and banished to the respective remote regions of +Tartarus and Joetun-heim. + +The triad, Odin, Vili, and Ve, of the Northern myth is the exact +counterpart of Jupiter, Neptune, and Pluto, who, superior to the +Titan forces, rule supreme over the world in their turn. In the Greek +mythology, the gods, who are also all related to one another, betake +themselves to Olympus, where they build golden palaces for their use; +and in the Northern mythology the divine conquerors repair to Asgard, +and there construct similar dwellings. + + + +Cosmogony + +Northern cosmogony was not unlike the Greek, for the people imagined +that the earth, Mana-heim, was entirely surrounded by the sea, at +the bottom of which lay coiled the huge Midgard snake, biting its +own tail; and it was perfectly natural that, viewing the storm-lashed +waves which beat against their shores, they should imagine these to +be caused by his convulsive writhing. The Greeks, who also fancied +the earth was round and compassed by a mighty river called Oceanus, +described it as flowing with "a steady, equable current," for they +generally gazed out upon calm and sunlit seas. Nifl-heim, the Northern +region of perpetual cold and mist, had its exact counterpart in the +land north of the Hyperboreans, where feathers (snow) continually +hovered in the air, and where Hercules drove the Ceryneian stag into +a snowdrift ere he could seize and bind it fast. + + + +The Phenomena of the Sky + +Like the Greeks, the Northern races believed that the earth was +created first, and that the vaulted heavens were made afterwards to +overshadow it entirely. They also imagined that the sun and moon were +daily driven across the sky in chariots drawn by fiery steeds. Sol, +the sun maiden, therefore corresponded to Helios, Hyperion, Phoebus, +or Apollo, while Mani, the Moon (owing to a peculiarity of Northern +grammar, which makes the sun feminine and the moon masculine), was +the exact counterpart of Phoebe, Diana, or Cynthia. + +The Northern scalds, who thought that they descried the prancing +forms of white-maned steeds in the flying clouds, and the glitter +of spears in the flashing light of the aurora borealis, said that +the Valkyrs, or battle maidens, galloped across the sky, while the +Greeks saw in the same natural phenomena the white flocks of Apollo +guarded by Phaetusa and Lampetia. + +As the dew fell from the clouds, the Northern poets declared that +it dropped from the manes of the Valkyrs' steeds, while the Greeks, +who observed that it generally sparkled longest in the thickets, +identified it with Daphne and Procris, whose names are derived from +the Sanskrit word which means "to sprinkle," and who are slain by +their lovers, Apollo and Cephalus, personifications of the sun. + +The earth was considered in the North as well as in the South as +a female divinity, the fostering mother of all things; and it was +owing to climatic difference only that the mythology of the North, +where people were daily obliged to conquer the right to live by a +hand-to-hand struggle with Nature, should represent her as hard and +frozen like Rinda, while the Greeks embodied her in the genial goddess +Ceres. The Greeks believed that the cold winter winds swept down from +the North, and the Northern races, in addition, added that they were +produced by the winnowing of the wings of the great eagle Hrae-svelgr. + +The dwarfs, or dark elves, bred in Ymir's flesh, were like Pluto's +servants in that they never left their underground realm, where they, +too, sought the precious metals, which they moulded into delicate +ornaments such as Vulcan bestowed upon the gods, and into weapons +which no one could either dint or mar. As for the light elves, who +lived above ground and cared for plants, trees, and streams, they were +evidently the Northern equivalents to the nymphs, dryads, oreades, +and hamadryads, which peopled the woods, valleys, and fountains of +ancient Greece. + + + +Jupiter and Odin + +Jupiter, like Odin, was the father of the gods, the god of victory, +and a personification of the universe. Hlidskialf, Allfather's lofty +throne, was no less exalted than Olympus or Ida, whence the Thunderer +could observe all that was taking place; and Odin's invincible spear +Gungnir was as terror-inspiring as the thunderbolts brandished by his +Greek prototype. The Northern deities feasted continually upon mead +and boar's flesh, the drink and meat most suitable to the inhabitants +of a Northern climate, while the gods of Olympus preferred the nectar +and ambrosia which formed their only sustenance. + +Twelve AEsir sat in Odin's council hall to deliberate over the wisest +measures for the government of the world and men, and an equal number +of gods assembled on the cloudy peak of Mount Olympus for a similar +purpose. The Golden Age in Greece was a period of idyllic happiness, +amid ever-flowering groves and under balmy skies, while the Northern +age of bliss was also a time when peace and innocence flourished on +the earth, and when evil was as yet entirely unknown. + + + +The Creation of Man + +Using the materials near at hand, the Greeks modelled their first +images out of clay; hence they naturally imagined that Prometheus had +made man out of that substance when called upon to fashion a creature +inferior to the gods only. As the Northern statues were hewn out +of wood, the Northern races inferred, as a matter of course, that +Odin, Vili, and Ve (who here correspond to Prometheus, Epimetheus, +and Minerva, the three Greek creators of man) made the first human +couple, Ask and Embla, out of blocks of wood. + +The goat Heidrun, which supplied the heavenly mead, is like Amalthea, +Jupiter's first nurse, and the busy, tell-tale Ratatosk is equivalent +to the snow-white crow in the story of Coronis, which was turned black +in punishment for its tattling. Jupiter's eagle has its counterpart +in the ravens Hugin and Munin, or in the wolves Geri and Freki, +which are ever crouching at Odin's feet. + + + +Norns and Fates + +The close resemblance between the Northern Orlog and the Greek Destiny, +goddesses whose decrees the gods themselves were obliged to respect, +and the equally powerful Norns and Moerae, is too obvious to need +pointing out, while the Vanas are counterparts of Neptune and the +other ocean divinities. The great quarrel between the Vanas and the +AEsir is merely another version of the dispute between Jupiter and +Neptune for the supremacy of the world. Just as Jupiter forces his +brother to yield to his authority, so the AEsir remain masters of all, +but do not refuse to continue to share their power with their conquered +foes, who thus become their allies and friends. + +Like Jupiter, Odin is always described as majestic and middle-aged, +and both gods are regarded as the divine progenitors of royal +races, for while the Heraclidae claimed Jupiter as their father, the +Inglings, Skioldings, etc., held that Odin was the founder of their +families. The most solemn oaths were sworn by Odin's spear as well as +by Jupiter's footstool, and both gods rejoice in a multitude of names, +all descriptive of the various phases of their nature and worship. + +Odin, like Jupiter, frequently visited the earth in disguise, to +judge of the hospitable intentions of mankind, as in the story of +Geirrod and Agnar, which resembles that of Philemon and Baucis. The +aim was to encourage hospitality; therefore, in both stories, those +who showed themselves humanely inclined are richly rewarded, and in +the Northern myth the lesson is enforced by the punishment inflicted +upon Geirrod, as the scalds believed in poetic justice and saw that +it was carefully meted out. + +The contest of wit between Odin and Vafthrudnir has its parallel in +the musical rivalry of Apollo and Marsyas, or in the test of skill +between Minerva and Arachne. Odin further resembled Apollo in that +he, too, was god of eloquence and poetry, and could win all hearts +by means of his divine voice; he was like Mercury in that he taught +mortals the use of runes, while the Greek god introduced the alphabet. + + + +Myths of the Seasons + +The disappearance of Odin, the sun or summer, and the consequent +desolation of Frigga, the earth, is merely a different version of +the myths of Proserpine and Adonis. When Proserpine and Adonis have +gone, the earth (Ceres or Venus) bitterly mourns their absence, and +refuses all consolation. It is only when they return from their exile +that she casts off her mourning garments and gloom, and again decks +herself in all her jewels. So Frigga and Freya bewail the absence of +their husbands Odin and Odur, and remain hard and cold until their +return. Odin's wife, Saga, the goddess of history, who lingered by +Sokvabek, "the stream of time and events," taking note of all she saw, +is like Clio, the muse of history, whom Apollo sought by the inspiring +fount of Helicon. + +Just as, according to Euhemerus, there was an historical Zeus, +buried in Crete, where his grave can still be seen, so there was an +historical Odin, whose mound rises near Upsala, where the greatest +Northern temple once stood, and where there was a mighty oak which +rivalled the famous tree of Dodona. + + + +Frigga and Juno + +Frigga, like Juno, was a personification of the atmosphere, the +patroness of marriage, of connubial and motherly love, and the goddess +of childbirth. She, too, is represented as a beautiful, stately +woman, rejoicing in her adornments; and her special attendant, Gna, +rivals Iris in the rapidity with which she executes her mistress's +behests. Juno has full control over the clouds, which she can brush +away with a motion of her hand, and Frigga is supposed to weave them +out of the thread she has spun on her jewelled spinning wheel. + +In Greek mythology we find many examples of the way in which Juno +seeks to outwit Jupiter. Similar tales are not lacking in the Northern +myths. Juno obtains possession of Io, in spite of her husband's +reluctance to part with her, and Frigga artfully secures the victory +for the Winilers in the Langobarden Saga. Odin's wrath at Frigga's +theft of the gold from his statue is equivalent to Jupiter's marital +displeasure at Juno's jealousy and interference during the war of +Troy. In the story of Gefjon, and the clever way in which she procured +land from Gylfi to form her kingdom of Seeland, we have a reproduction +of the story of Dido, who obtained by stratagem the land upon which she +founded her city of Carthage. In both accounts oxen come into play, +for while in the Northern myth these sturdy beasts draw the piece +of land far out to sea, in the other an ox hide, cut into strips, +serves to enclose the queen's grant. + + + +Musical Myths + +The Pied Piper of Hamelin, who could attract all living creatures +by his music, is like Orpheus or Amphion, whose lyres had the same +power; and Odin, as leader of the dead, is the counterpart of Mercury +Psychopompus, both being personifications of the wind, on whose wings +disembodied souls were thought to be wafted from this mortal sphere. + +The trusty Eckhardt, who would fain save Tannhaeuser and prevent his +returning to expose himself to the enchantments of the sorceress, +in the Hoerselberg, is like the Greek Mentor, who not only accompanied +Telemachus, but gave him good advice and wise instructions, and would +have rescued Ulysses from the hands of Calypso. + + + +Thor and the Greek Gods + +Thor, the Northern thunder-god, also has many points of resemblance +with Jupiter. He bears the hammer Mioelnir, the Northern emblem of the +deadly thunderbolt, and, like Jupiter, uses it freely when warring +against the giants. In his rapid growth Thor resembles Mercury, for +while the former playfully tosses about several loads of ox hides a +few hours after his birth, the latter steals Apollo's oxen before he +is one day old. In physical strength Thor resembles Hercules, who also +gave early proofs of uncommon vigour by strangling the serpents sent +to slay him in his cradle, and who delighted, later on, in attacking +and conquering giants and monsters. Hercules became a woman and took +to spinning to please Omphale, the Lydian queen, and Thor assumed a +woman's apparel to visit Thrym and recover his hammer, which had been +buried nine rasts underground. The hammer, his principal attribute, +was used for many sacred purposes. It consecrated the funeral pyre +and the marriage rite, and boundary stakes driven in by a hammer were +considered as sacred among Northern nations as the Hermae or statues +of Mercury, removal of which was punishable by death. + +Thor's wife, Sif, with her luxuriant golden hair, is, as we have +already stated, an emblem of the earth, and her hair of its rich +vegetation. Loki's theft of these tresses is equivalent to Pluto's rape +of Proserpine. To recover the golden locks, Loki must visit the dwarfs +(Pluto's servants), crouching in the low passages of the underground +world; so Mercury must seek Proserpine in Hades. + +The gadfly which hinders Jupiter from recovering possession of +Io, after Mercury has slain Argus, reappears in the Northern myth +to sting Brock and to endeavour to prevent the manufacture of the +magic ring Draupnir, which is merely a counterpart of Sif's tresses, +as it also represents the fruits of the earth. The fly continues to +torment the dwarf during the manufacture of Frey's golden-bristled +boar, a prototype of Apollo's golden sun chariot, and it prevents +the perfect formation of the handle of Thor's hammer. + +The magic ship Skidbladnir, also made by the dwarfs, is like the +swift-sailing Argo, which was a personification of the clouds sailing +overhead; and just as the former was said to be large enough to +accommodate all the gods, so the latter bore all the Greek heroes +off to the distant land of Colchis. + +The Germans, wishing to name the days of the week after their gods, +as the Romans had done, gave the name of Thor to Jove's day, and thus +made it the present Thursday. + +Thor's struggle against Hrungnir is a parallel to the fight between +Hercules and Cacus or Antaeus; while Groa is evidently Ceres, for she, +too, mourns for her absent child Orvandil (Proserpine), and breaks +out into a song of joy when she hears that it will return. + +Magni, Thor's son, who when only three hours old exhibits his +marvellous strength by lifting Hrungnir's leg off his recumbent father, +also reminds us of the infant Hercules; and Thor's voracious appetite +at Thrym's wedding feast has its parallel in Mercury's first meal, +which consisted of two whole oxen. + +The crossing of the swollen tide of Veimer by Thor reminds us of +Jason's feat when he waded across the torrent on his way to visit +the tyrant Pelias and recover possession of his father's throne. + +The marvellous necklace worn by Frigga and Freya to enhance their +charms is like the cestus or girdle of Venus, which Juno borrowed to +subjugate her lord, and is, like Sif's tresses and the ring Draupnir, +an emblem of luxuriant vegetation or a type of the stars which shine +in the firmament. + +The Northern sword-god Tyr is, of course, the Greek war-god Ares, +whom he so closely resembles that his name was given to the day of +the week held sacred to Ares, which is even now known as Tuesday or +Tiu's day. Like Ares, Tyr was noisy and courageous; he delighted in +the din of battle, and was fearless at all times. He alone dared to +brave the Fenris wolf; and the Southern proverb concerning Scylla and +Charybdis has its counterpart in the Northern adage, "to get loose +out of Laeding and to dash out of Droma." The Fenris wolf, also a +personification of subterranean fire, is bound, like his prototypes +the Titans, in Tartarus. + +The similarity between the gentle, music-loving Bragi, with his harp, +and Apollo or Orpheus, is very great; so is the resemblance between +the magic draught Od-hroerir and the waters of Helicon, both of which +were supposed to serve as inspiration to mortal as well as to immortal +poets. Odin dons eagle plumes to bear away this precious mead, and +Jupiter assumes a similar guise to secure his cupbearer Ganymede. + +Idun, like Adonis and Proserpine, or still more like Eurydice, is also +a fair personification of spring. She is borne away by the cruel ice +giant Thiassi, who represents the boar which slew Adonis, the kidnapper +of Proserpine, or the poisonous serpent which bit Eurydice. Idun is +detained for a long time in Joetun-heim (Hades), where she forgets all +her merry, playful ways, and becomes mournful and pale. She cannot +return alone to Asgard, and it is only when Loki (now an emblem of +the south wind) comes to bear her away in the shape of a nut or a +swallow that she can effect her escape. She reminds us of Proserpine +and Adonis escorted back to earth by Mercury (god of the wind), or +of Eurydice lured out of Hades by the sweet sounds of Orpheus's harp, +which were also symbolical of the soughing of the winds. + + + +Idun and Eurydice + +The myth of Idun's fall from Yggdrasil into the darkest depths of +Nifl-heim, while subject to the same explanation and comparison as the +above story, is still more closely related to the tale of Orpheus and +Eurydice, for the former, like Bragi, cannot exist without the latter, +whom he follows even into the dark realm of death; without her his +songs are entirely silenced. The wolf-skin in which Idun is enveloped +is typical of the heavy snows in Northern regions, which preserve the +tender roots from the blighting influence of the extreme winter cold. + + + +Skadi and Diana + +The Van Nioerd, who is god of the sunny summer seas, has his counterpart +in Neptune and more especially in Nereus, the personification of the +calm and pleasant aspect of the mighty deep. Nioerd's wife, Skadi, +is the Northern huntress; she therefore resembles Diana. Like her, +she bears a quiver full of arrows, and a bow which she handles with +consummate skill. Her short gown permits the utmost freedom of motion, +also, and she, too, is generally accompanied by a hound. + +The story of the transference of Thiassi's eyes to the firmament, +where they glow like brilliant stars, reminds us of many Greek star +myths, and especially of Argus's eyes ever on the watch, of Orion and +his jewelled girdle, and of his dog Sirius, all changed into stars +by the gods to appease angry goddesses. Loki's antics to win a smile +from the irate Skadi are considered akin to the quivering flashes of +sheet-lightning which he personified in the North, while Steropes, +the Cyclops, typified it for the Greeks. + + + +Frey and Apollo + +The Northern god of sunshine and summer showers, the genial Frey, +has many traits in common with Apollo, for, like him, he is beautiful +and young, rides the golden-bristled boar which was the Northern +conception of the sunbeams, or drives across the sky in a golden car, +which reminds us of Apollo's glittering chariot. + +Frey has some of the gentle Zephyrus's characteristics besides, for +he, too, scatters flowers along his way. His horse Blodug-hofi is +not unlike Pegasus, Apollo's favourite steed, for it can pass through +fire and water with equal ease and velocity. + +Fro, like Odin and Jupiter, is also identified with a human king, and +his mound lies beside Odin's near Upsala. His reign was so happy that +it was called the Golden Age, and he therefore reminds us of Saturn, +who, exiled to earth, ruled over the people of Italy, and granted +them similar prosperity. + + + +Freya and Venus + +Gerda, the beautiful maiden, is like Venus, and also like Atalanta; +she is hard to woo and hard to win, like the fleet-footed maiden, +but, like her, she yields at last and becomes a happy wife. The golden +apples with which Skirnir tries to bribe her remind us of the golden +fruit which Hippomenes cast in Atalanta's way, and which made her +lose the race. + +Freya, the goddess of youth, love, and beauty, like Venus, sprang from +the sea, for she is a daughter of the sea-god Nioerd. Venus bestowed +her best affections upon the god of war and upon the martial Anchises, +while Freya often assumes the garb of a Valkyr, and rides rapidly +to earth to take part in mortal strife and bear away the heroic +slain to feast in her halls. Like Venus, she delights in offerings +of fruits and flowers, and lends a gracious ear to the petitions +of lovers. Freya also resembles Minerva, for, like her, she wears +a helmet and breastplate, and, like her, also, she is noted for her +beautiful blue eyes. + + + +Odur and Adonis + +Odur, Freya's husband, is like Adonis, and when he leaves her, +she, too, sheds countless tears, which, in her case, are turned +to gold, while Venus's tears are changed into anemones, and those +of the Heliades, mourning for Phaeton, harden to amber, which +resembles gold in colour and in consistency. Just as Venus rejoices +at Adonis's return, and all Nature blooms in sympathy with her joy, +so Freya becomes lighthearted once more when she has found her husband +beneath the flowering myrtles of the South. Venus's car is drawn by +fluttering doves, and Freya's is swiftly carried along by cats, which +are emblems of sensual love, as the doves were considered types of +tenderest love. Freya is appreciative of beauty and angrily refuses +to marry Thrym, while Venus scorns and finally deserts Vulcan, whom +she has been forced to marry against her will. + +The Greeks represented Justice as a goddess blindfolded, with scales +in one hand and a sword in the other, to indicate the impartiality and +the fixity of her decrees. The corresponding deity of the North was +Forseti, who patiently listened to both sides of a question ere he, +too, promulgated his impartial and irrevocable sentence. + +Uller, the winter-god, resembles Apollo and Orion only in his love for +the chase, which he pursues with ardour under all circumstances. He +is the Northern bowman, and his skill is quite as unerring as theirs. + +Heimdall, like Argus, was gifted with marvellous keenness of sight, +which enabled him to see a hundred miles off as plainly by night as +by day. His Giallar-horn, which could be heard throughout all the +world, proclaiming the gods' passage to and fro over the quivering +bridge Bifroest, was like the trumpet of the goddess Renown. As he +was related to the water deities on his mother's side, he could, +like Proteus, assume any form at will, and he made good use of this +power on the occasion when he frustrated Loki's attempt to steal the +necklace Brisinga-men. + +Hermod, the quick or nimble, resembles Mercury not only in his +marvellous celerity of motion. He, too, was the messenger of the gods, +and, like the Greek divinity, flashed hither and thither, aided not by +winged cap and sandals, but by Odin's steed Sleipnir, whom he alone +was allowed to bestride. Instead of the Caduceus, he bore the wand +Gambantein. He questioned the Norns and the magician Rossthiof, through +whom he learned that Vali would come to avenge his brother Balder and +to supplant his father Odin. Instances of similar consultations are +found in Greek mythology, where Jupiter would fain have married Thetis, +yet desisted when the Fates foretold that if he did so she would be +the mother of a son who would surpass his father in glory and renown. + +The Northern god of silence, Vidar, has some resemblance to Hercules, +for while the latter has nothing but a club with which to defend +himself against the Nemean lion, whom he tears asunder, the former +is enabled to rend the Fenris wolf at Ragnarok by the possession of +one large shoe. + + + +Rinda and Danae + +Odin's courtship of Rinda reminds us of Jupiter's wooing of Danae, +who is also a symbol of the earth; and while the shower of gold in +the Greek tale is intended to represent the fertilising sunbeams, the +footbath in the Northern story typifies the spring thaw which sets in +when the sun has overcome the resistance of the frozen earth. Perseus, +the child of this union, has many points of resemblance with Vali, +for he, too, is an avenger, and slays his mother's enemies just as +surely as Vali destroys Hodur, the murderer of Balder. + +The Fates were supposed to preside over birth in Greece, and to +foretell a child's future, as did the Norns; and the story of Meleager +has its unmistakable parallel in that of Nornagesta. Althaea preserves +the half-consumed brand in a chest, Nornagesta conceals the candle-end +in his harp; and while the Greek mother brings about her son's death +by casting the brand into the fire, Nornagesta, compelled to light +his candle-end at Olaf's command, dies as it sputters and burns out. + +Hebe and the Valkyrs were the cupbearers of Olympus and Asgard. They +were all personifications of youth; and while Hebe married the great +hero and demigod Hercules when she ceased to fulfil her office, the +Valkyrs were relieved from their duties when united to heroes like +Helgi, Hakon, Voelund, or Sigurd. + +The Cretan labyrinth has its counterpart in the Icelandic Voelundarhaus, +and Voelund and Daedalus both effect their escape from a maze by a +cleverly devised pair of wings, which enable them to fly in safety +over land and sea and escape from the tyranny of their respective +masters, Nidud and Minos. Voelund resembles Vulcan, also, in that +he is a clever smith and makes use of his talents to work out his +revenge. Vulcan, lamed by a fall from Olympus, and neglected by Juno, +whom he had tried to befriend, sends her a golden throne, which is +provided with cunning springs to seize and hold her fast. Voelund, +hamstrung by the suggestion of Nidud's queen, secretly murders her +sons, and out of their eyes fashions marvellous jewels, which she +unsuspectingly wears upon her breast until he reveals their origin. + + + +Myths of the Sea + +Just as the Greeks fancied that the tempests were the effect of +Neptune's wrath, so the Northern races attributed them either to the +writhings of Ioermungandr, the Midgard snake, or to the anger of AEgir, +who, crowned with seaweed like Neptune, often sent his children, +the wave maidens (the counterpart of the Nereides and Oceanides), +to play on the tossing billows. Neptune had his dwelling in the coral +caves near the Island of Euboea, while AEgir lived in a similar palace +near the Cattegat. Here he was surrounded by the nixies, undines, +and mermaids, the counterpart of the Greek water nymphs, and by the +river-gods of the Rhine, Elbe, and Neckar, who remind us of Alpheus +and Peneus, the river-gods of the Greeks. + +The frequency of shipwrecks on the Northern coasts made the people +think of Ran (the equivalent of the Greek sea-goddess Amphitrite) as +greedy and avaricious, and they described her as armed with a strong +net, with which she drew all things down into the deep. The Greek +Sirens had their parallel in the Northern Lorelei, who possessed the +same gift of song, and also lured mariners to their death; while +Princess Ilse, who was turned into a fountain, reminds us of the +nymph Arethusa, who underwent a similar transformation. + +In the Northern conception of Nifl-heim we have an almost exact +counterpart of the Greek Hades. Moedgud, the guardian of the +Giallar-bridge (the bridge of death), over which all the spirits of +the dead must pass, exacts a tribute of blood as rigorously as Charon +demands an obolus from every soul he ferries over Acheron, the river +of death. The fierce dog Garm, cowering in the Gnipa hole, and keeping +guard at Hel's gate, is like the three-headed monster Cerberus; and +the nine worlds of Nifl-heim are not unlike the divisions of Hades, +Nastrond being an adequate substitute for Tartarus, where the wicked +were punished with equal severity. + +The custom of burning dead heroes with their arms, and of slaying +victims, such as horses and dogs, upon their pyre, was much the same +in the North as in the South; and while Mors or Thanatos, the Greek +Death, was represented with a sharp scythe, Hel was depicted with a +broom or rake, which she used as ruthlessly, and with which she did +as much execution. + + + +Balder and Apollo + +Balder, the radiant god of sunshine, reminds us not only of Apollo and +Orpheus, but of all the other heroes of sun myths. His wife Nanna is +like Flora, and still more like Proserpine, for she, too, goes down +into the underworld, where she tarries for a while. Balder's golden +hall of Breidablik is like Apollo's palace in the east; he, also, +delights in flowers; all things smile at his approach, and willingly +pledge themselves not to injure him. As Achilles was vulnerable only +in the heel, so Balder could be slain only by the harmless mistletoe, +and his death is occasioned by Loki's jealousy just as Hercules was +slain by that of Deianeira. Balder's funeral pyre on Ringhorn reminds +us of Hercules's death on Mount OEta, the flames and reddish glow of +both fires serving to typify the setting sun. The Northern god of sun +and summer could only be released from Nifl-heim if all animate and +inanimate objects shed tears; so Proserpine could issue from Hades +only upon condition that she had partaken of no food. The trifling +refusal of Thok to shed a single tear is like the pomegranate seeds +which Proserpine ate, and the result is equally disastrous in both +cases, as it detains Balder and Proserpine underground, and the earth +(Frigga or Ceres) must continue to mourn their absence. + +Through Loki evil entered into the Northern world; Prometheus's +gift of fire brought the same curse upon the Greeks. The punishment +inflicted by the gods upon the culprits is not unlike, for while +Loki is bound with adamantine chains underground, and tortured by +the continuous dropping of venom from the fangs of a snake fastened +above his head, Prometheus is similarly fettered to Caucasus, and a +ravenous vulture continually preys upon his liver. Loki's punishment +has another counterpart in that of Tityus, bound in Hades, and in +that of Enceladus, chained beneath Mount AEtna, where his writhing +produced earthquakes, and his imprecations caused sudden eruptions +of the volcano. Loki, further, resembles Neptune in that he, too, +assumed an equine form and was the parent of a wonderful steed, +for Sleipnir rivals Arion both in speed and endurance. + +The Fimbul-winter has been compared to the long preliminary fight under +the walls of Troy, and Ragnarok, the grand closing drama of Northern +mythology, to the burning of that famous city. "Thor is Hector; +the Fenris wolf, Pyrrhus, son of Achilles, who slew Priam (Odin); +and Vidar, who survives in Ragnarok, is AEneas." The destruction of +Priam's palace is the type of the ruin of the gods' golden halls; +and the devouring wolves Hati, Skoell, and Managarm, the fiends of +darkness, are prototypes of Paris and all the other demons of darkness, +who bear away or devour the sun-maiden Helen. + + + +Ragnarok and the Deluge + +According to another interpretation, however, Ragnarok and the +consequent submersion of the world is but a Northern version of the +Deluge. The survivors, Lif and Lifthrasir, like Deucalion and Pyrrha, +were destined to repeople the world; and just as the shrine of Delphi +alone resisted the destructive power of the great cataclysm, so Gimli +stood radiant to receive the surviving gods. + + + +Giants and Titans + +We have already seen how closely the Northern giants resembled the +Titans. It only remains to mention that while the Greeks imagined +that Atlas was changed into a mountain, so the Northmen believed that +the Riesengebirge, in Germany, were formed from giants, and that the +avalanches which descended from their lofty heights were the burdens +of snow which these giants impatiently shook from their crests as +they changed their cramped positions. The apparition, in the shape of +a bull, of one of the water giants, who came to woo the queen of the +Franks, has its parallel in the story of Jupiter's wooing of Europa, +and Meroveus is evidently the exact counterpart of Sarpedon. A faint +resemblance can be traced between the giant ship Mannigfual and the +Argo, for while the one is supposed to have cruised through the AEgean +and Euxine Seas, and to have made many places memorable by the dangers +it encountered there, so the Northern vessel sailed about the North +and Baltic Seas, and is mentioned in connection with the Island of +Bornholm and the cliffs of Dover. + +While the Greeks imagined that Nightmares were the evil dreams which +escaped from the Cave of Somnus, the Northern race fancied they were +female dwarfs or trolls, who crept out of the dark recesses of the +earth to torment them. All magic weapons in the North were said to +be the work of the dwarfs, the underground smiths, while those of the +Greeks were manufactured by Vulcan and the Cyclopes, under Mount AEtna, +or on the Island of Lemnos. + + + +The Volsunga Saga + +In the Sigurd myth we find Odin one-eyed like the Cyclopes, who, like +him, are personifications of the sun. Sigurd is instructed by Gripir, +the horse-trainer, who is reminiscent of Chiron, the centaur. He is +not only able to teach a young hero all he need know, and to give him +good advice concerning his future conduct, but is also possessed of +the gift of prophecy. + +The marvellous sword which becomes the property of Sigmund and of +Sigurd as soon as they prove themselves worthy to wield it, and the +sword Angurvadel which Frithiof inherits from his sire, remind us of +the weapon which AEgeus concealed beneath the rock, and which Theseus +secured as soon as he had become a man. Sigurd, like Theseus, Perseus, +and Jason, seeks to avenge his father's wrongs ere he sets out in +search of the golden hoard, the exact counterpart of the golden fleece, +which is also guarded by a dragon, and is very hard to secure. Like +all the Greek sun-gods and heroes, Sigurd has golden hair and bright +blue eyes. His struggle with Fafnir reminds us of Apollo's fight with +Python, while the ring Andvaranaut can be likened to Venus's cestus, +and the curse attached to its possessor is like the tragedy of Helen, +who brought endless bloodshed upon all connected with her. + +Sigurd could not have conquered Fafnir without the magic sword, just +as the Greeks failed to take Troy without the arrows of Philoctetes, +which are also emblems of the all-conquering rays of the sun. The +recovery of the stolen treasure is like Menelaus's recovery of Helen, +and it apparently brings as little happiness to Sigurd as his recreant +wife did to the Spartan king. + + + +Brunhild + +Brunhild resembles Minerva in her martial tastes, physical appearance, +and wisdom; but her anger and resentment when Sigurd forgets her +for Gudrun is like the wrath of OEnone, whom Paris deserts to woo +Helen. Brunhild's anger continues to accompany Sigurd through life, +and she even seeks to compass his death, while OEnone, called to cure +her wounded lover, refuses to do so and permits him to die. OEnone +and Brunhild are both overcome by the same remorseful feelings when +their lovers have breathed their last, and both insist upon sharing +their funeral pyres, and end their lives by the side of those whom +they had loved. + + +Sun Myths + +Containing, as it does, a whole series of sun myths, the Volsunga Saga +repeats itself in every phase; and just as Ariadne, forsaken by the +sun-hero Theseus, finally marries Bacchus, so Gudrun, when Sigurd has +departed, marries Atli, the King of the Huns. He, too, ends his life +amid the flames of his burning palace or ship. Gunnar, like Orpheus +or Amphion, plays such marvellous strains upon his harp that even +the serpents are lulled to sleep. According to some interpretations, +Atli is like Fafnir, and covets the possession of the gold. Both are +therefore probably personifications "of the winter cloud which broods +over and keeps from mortals the gold of the sun's light and heat, +till in the spring the bright orb overcomes the powers of darkness +and tempests, and scatters his gold over the face of the earth." + +Swanhild, Sigurd's daughter, is another personification of the sun, +as is seen in her blue eyes and golden hair; and her death under the +hoofs of black steeds represents the blotting out of the sun by clouds +of storm or of darkness. + +Just as Castor and Pollux hasten to rescue their sister Helen when +she has been borne away by Theseus, so Swanhild's brothers, Erp, +Hamdir, and Soerli, hasten off to avenge her death. + +Such are the main points of resemblance between the mythologies +of the North and South, and the analogy goes far to prove that +they were originally formed from the same materials, the principal +differences being due to the local colouring imparted unconsciously +by the different races. + + + + + + +NOTES + + +[1] "Northern Mythology," Kauffmann. + +[2] Halliday Sparling. + +[3] Carlyle, "Heroes and Hero Worship." + +[4] "Northern Mythology," Kauffmann. + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Myths of the Norsemen, by H. 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