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« on: July 04, 2019, 10:29:44 PM »
If so, this would prove that Balder was known in Germany. The question is whether £ Balder ’ is here a personal name or an appellative meaning c lord ’ and referring to Odin, whose horse would then be in question. Grimm found place-names in Germany constructed, as he thought, both from Phol and Balder, and he connected the name Phol with that of the Celtic Belenus, a god of light, Slavic Belbogh, 1 white god,’ and Lithuanian baltas , c white.’ He considered that Phol and Balder were differing forms of one word . 25 The enigmatic Phol has also been explained as Apollo, possibly an early inter-
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'pretatio Romana of a German Balder; or as S. Paul; or as a native German god; or as the name of Wodan’s horse.
The name Balder appears in Anglo-Saxon genealogies as Bsldseg, Baldag, and once as Balder, son of Woden. The AS bealdor y baldor , akin to these names, like ON baldr , meant ‘ prince ’ or ‘ lord,’ though Balder means ‘ the white or shining one,’ and Bseldasg means ‘ bright day.’
The only indication of a cult of Balder occurs in the four- teenth century Fridthjojs-saga which speaks of a temple in Baldershog in Norway, enclosed by a fence. It contained many images, and Balder was most reverenced. Neither men nor oxen must do mischief there, nor sexual relations occur. On festivals the images were anointed by women. This notice is generally regarded as fictitious.
Place-names in Sweden, Norway, and Denmark show traces of Balder; and he is still named in Danish folk-lore . 26 The name of the plant Baldrsbra is widespread in Scandinavia, but is applied to different plants.
PLATE XVII
Sculptured Stone from Gotland
This stone, of the Viking period, from Tjangvide, Stenkyrka, Gotland, shows ships and warriors.
CHAPTER XI
LOKI
L OKI is the son of giants and is yet included among the gods. Snorri gives a detailed account of him and relates several myths in which he plays a part. He is mentioned in Voluspa , T hrymskvitha, H ymiskvitha, Svipdagsmal , Regins- mal , Hyndluljody and Baldrs Draumar, and he is the subject of Lokasenna. Some of the notices in these poems are included in Snorri’s references. Two of the myths in which Loki plays a part are the subject of poems by Eilif Gudrunarson and Thjo- dolf of Hvin — those of Thor and Geirrod and of Idunn and Thjazi. A third skald, Ulf Uggason, wrote a poem on Heim- dall and Loki, cited by Snorri. Apart from these notices, Loki is not mentioned, e.g., in the Sagas, though his name survived in folk-tradition.
Snorri says of him: £ Included among the Eisir is he whom some call the slanderer of the Eisir or the author of deceit and the shame of gods and men. He is named Loki or Lopt; he is son of the giant Farbauti and the giantess Laufey or Nal. His brothers are Byleist and Helblindi. To outward appearance Loki is beautiful and comely, but evil in disposition and most fickle in nature. He excelled in sleight and had stratagems for all occasions. He often brought the Elsir into great difficulties, but then delivered them with his cunning. His spouse is called Sigyn, and their son is Nari or Narfi .’ 1
Loki joined in adventures with Thor — the visit to Utgard- Loki and to the giant Thrym. He was the cause of Thor’s combat with Geirrod and his daughters . 2 He was also joined with Odin and Hcenir — in the work of creating the first pair, in connexion with Andvari’s treasure, and in the story of Idunn . 3
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Hence he is called ‘ the friend of Odin,’ £ the staunch friend of Hoenir,’ by Thjodolf of Hvin . 4 In Lokasenna he recalls to Odin that in earlier days they had mixed their blood in the rite of blood-brotherhood, and Odin had promised to pour no ale unless it were brought for both. In the same poem Frigg bids Odin and Loki preserve silence on the deeds they had done long ago. Idunn reminds Bragi that Loki had been chosen as £ wish-son ’ or adopted son by Odin . 5 In a skaldic poem quoted in H eimskringla Odin is called c Lopt’s friend ,’ 6 and Snorri speaks of him as ‘ Evil companion and bench-mate of Odin and the Aisir .’ 7 Some have thought that Saxo’s Mit-othin may have been Loki in disguise . 8 In the Sorla-thattr (thirteenth century) Loki, son of a peasant Farbauti and his wife Laufey who was thin and meagre and hence called Nal or 1 Needle,’ is caustic, cunning, and tricky. He became Odin’s serving-man. Odin always had a good word for him, though he often laid heavy tasks upon him, all of which he performed. Loki knew almost everything that happened and told it to Odin. This is introductory to the story of Loki’s stealing the Brisinga-men from Freyja . 9
Snorri’s statement that Loki got the gods into trouble, but saved them by his cunning, is illustrated by different myths. The demand of the giant artificer who rebuilt Asgard that the gods should give him Freyja and the sun and moon, was be- lieved by them to have been suggested to him by Loki, and they adjudged him worthy of death unless he found means of evading the demand. He then changed himself into a mare, which was pursued by the giant’s helpful stallion Svadilfari. This caused the work to be suspended and it was not completed in the agreed time. Thor slew the giant and, some time after, Loki gave birth to Sleipnir, Odin’s horse . 10
Again, by means of Loki’s agreement with the giant Thjazi he brought the goddess Idunn into his power. When the gods discovered this, Loki was threatened with torture or death. He escaped by borrowing Freyja’s feather-dress, flying to
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Jotunheim, and bringing back Idunn, whom he transformed for the occasion into a nut. The TLsir slew Thjazi when he pursued Loki to Asgard, but in Lokasenna Loki claims to have been himself first and last in the fight with the giant . 11 When Thjazi’s daughter Skadi came to Asgard to avenge her father, Loki caused her to laugh — one of the terms of reconciliation demanded by her . 12
When Loki flew to Geirrod’s abode in Frigg’s feather-dress and was there captured and starved by him, he ransomed his life by promising to bring Thor there without his hammer or girdle of strength. Here, however, Thor required no strata- gem on Loki’s part in order to overcome Geirrod . 13
Odin, Hoenir, and Loki were brought into the power of Hreidmarr after Loki had slain his son in the form of an otter. Odin sent Loki to Svartalfheim, and there he captured the dwarf Andvari, who was in the form of a fish, and forced him to give up his treasure. This treasure was to form the gods’ ran- som to Hreidmarr, and it was to cover the otter’s skin com- pletely. The dwarf begged to be permitted to keep one ring, but Loki took it also, and he then declared that it would be the ruin of everyone who came into possession of it. Returning with the gold, Loki gave it to Odin who covered the skin with it, but retained the ring. One of the hairs of the otter’s nose re- mained uncovered, and Hreidmarr insisted on its being covered, so Odin had to give up the ring. Loki now said that both ring and treasure would be a curse to every possessor of them . 14 Snorri tells this story, but it is also the subject of Reginsmal , where the otter is called Otr, and Loki borrows Ran’s net in order to catch Andvari, who says that the gold, not the ring, will be a curse.
When Loki cut off Sif’s hair out of mischief, Thor would have broken all his bones, had he not sworn to get the Black Elves to make Sif hair of gold, which would grow like other hair . 15
In T hrymskvitha Loki, by crafty counsel, aids Thor to re-
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cover his hammer from Thrym. We are not told that Loki had caused the hammer to be stolen, but this may once have been the introduction to the story . 16
Two forms of the story of Loki’s theft of the Brisinga-men from Freyja are given. One is that related in the Sorla-thattr , already cited j the other is obscurely referred to in a poem, a fragment of which is cited by Snorri, and in Snorri’s account of Heimdall. Here Loki has apparently stolen it from Freyja for his own purposes. Heimdall contends with him for it and both are in the form of seals. 1 '
Loki does mischief for mischief’s sake. He is a thief (of the Brisinga-men) or he causes theft (Idunn and her apples). He dislikes others to be praised, even a servant, as when he slew Fimafeng at Ttgir’s banquet . 18 He is foul-mouthed and slan- derous, as ~Lokasenna shows. Some account must be given of the contents of this poem. The prose Introduction tells how JEgiv invited many of the gods and elves to a feast. All went well until Loki, angry at the guests’ praising Fimafeng for his ability, slew him. The gods shook their shields and howled at Loki, and drove him out to the forest. At this point the poem begins. Loki has returned and asks Eldir of what is going on in the hall. Eldir tells how the talk is of weapons and war, and that none has a friendly word for him. Loki says he will go in, bringing hatred to the gods and mixing venom with their ale. He enters and says that he has come from a far journey and asks for a drink. The gods are silent, till Bragi speaks and says that there is no place for him here. Loki appeals to Odin on the ground of their old brotherhood sworn in the morning of time, and Odin bids Vidar find a place for the 1 wolf’s father,’ lest he should speak evil. Vidar obeys and Loki pledges all present:
‘ Hail to the Tlsir! hail to the Asynjur!
And all the holy gods;
Save only to that one of them,
Bragi, sitting there on the bench.’
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The poem now takes the form of a c flyting ’ between Loki and most of the guests present, in which much scurrility is spoken, and many mythological incidents, some of them otherwise unknown, are referred to. Bragi is accused of cowardice. Idunn begs him to weigh Loki’s kinship with Odin and speak no taunt to him. Loki turns on her and accuses her of an amour with her brother’s slayer. She does not refute this taunt, but merely tries to calm Bragi, who is overcome with ale. Gefjun now intervenes and begs that no bandying of words will continue, for Loki is known as a slanderer and hates every- one. Loki accuses her of misconduct with a youth who gave her a necklace. Odin tells Loki that he is mad to raise Gefjun’s anger, for she knows men’s destinies just as Odin himself does. Loki turns on Odin and tells him that he does not justly assign victory, and often gives it to him who deserves it least. Odin says this may be, but Loki had been eight winters under the earth milking cows in woman’s form, and even giving birth to children. Loki retorts that Odin had once wrought magic spells in the guise of a witch in Samsey (Samsb, north of Fiinen).
These two taunts — a man bearing children as a woman, a man taking woman’s form — were not uncommon in the Scandinavian North, but were regarded as most deadly insults. Gods and goddesses in turn address Loki and strive to silence him, but in vain. He accuses Frigg of misconduct with Odin’s brothers, Vili and Ve, and when she says that if Balder were alive, he would fight with him, Loki boasts that it is he who caused his death. Freyja, 1 a witch strong in evil,’ is accused of sharing her favours with all the gods and Alfar, and with being her brother’s lover. Njord intervenes, wondering why this womanish god, who has borne children, should come here. Loki taunts Njord with being a hostage from the Vanir and with having a son, Frey, by his sister. Tyr now says that Frey is best of heroes. Loki bids him be silent, for he is no peace- maker and had lost his hand by the Fenris-wolf, and his wife
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had a son by Loki for which crime no fine was ever paid. Frey reminds Loki that the wolf is bound till the Doom of the gods and that soon he, too, will be fettered if his tongue is not quiet. Loki says that Frey bought Gerd with gold and his sword, and now weaponless must await Muspell’s sons when they ride through Myrkwood.
At this point Byggvir, Frey’s servant, intervenes, and says that if he were of such birth as Frey, he would crush Loki to marrow and break all his bones. Loki taunts him — little creature that he is — with cowardice. Now Heimdall speaks and tells Loki he is drunk. Skadi says that soon the gods will bind Loki with his son’s bowels. Loki cries that he was first and last among those who slew her father, and reminds her of his amour with her.
Sif comes forward, pours ale for Loki, and says that she at least is blameless, but she also is reminded of misconduct with him. Beyla, wife of Byggvir, cries that the mountains are shak- ing and Thor, absent slaying trolls, is coming, and will silence the slanderer. She is also vilified, and now Thor enters and bids Loki, wretched wight, be silent or his hammer will close his mouth. Loki says he need not threaten so much: he will be less fierce when he fights the Fenris-wolf. Thrice again does Thor threaten him: Loki still taunts him — with hiding in a giant’s glove (p. 92) and with his difficulty in opening Skrymir’s wallet. Finally he says that he has spoken all he wished to say: now he will go, because Thor is such a great fighter, but he warns ^Egir that no more feasts will he give, for the fire will soon consume all that is here.
A prose conclusion, which is out of place, as Loki’s imprison- ment followed on Balder’s death, tells how he hid as a salmon in Franang’s waterfall, where the gods caught him. He was bound with the bowels of his son Vali, and his son Narfi was changed into a wolf. Skadi fastened a venomous snake over his face, so that its poison dropped on it. Sigyn, his wife (who is included among the Asynjur by Snorri), held a shell under
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the poison, but when she drew it away full of venom, some drops fell on Loki’s face. He then struggled so much that all the earth shook, and that is called an earthquake.
This poem belongs to the pagan period (tenth century) and was written by a pagan who knew the old myths, and who treats the deities with a kind of Aristophanic humour. These myths were discreditable, but like the Greek poets condemned by Plato, he does not hesitate to tell them. The prose Introduc- tion is of later date, for the poem itself tells how Loki had come from a long journey late to the feast, and had thus not been expelled for slaying Fimafeng. The gods receive him coldly, knowing his enmity to them. In spite of his dexterity in scur- rility, none of the gods dare silence him, not even Odin. Thor alone, when he enters, and not even he immediately, can do this. Was the poem written by a Thor worshipper?
Lokasenna shows Loki at enmity with all the gods, though he is plainly shown to be a blood brother of Odin. As clearly is he called the father of the Fenris-wolf. Loki’s wife was Sigyn: their sons Vali and Narfi. But in Hyndluljod his amour with the giantess Angrboda resulted in the birth of the Fenris-wolf and the Midgard-serpent. To these Snorri adds a third, Hel. When the gods learned that these were being nourished in Jotunheim, and knew that they boded ill to them from their mother’s blood, still more from their father’s, Odin sent gods to bring them to him. The Midgard-serpent was now cast into the sea and lies about all the land. Hel was cast into Niflheim. The Fenris-wolf was bound . 19
Hyndluljod also tells of Loki’s eating the cooked heart of a woman which he found in the embers. Through this he be- came with child, and gave birth to a monster. Nothing further is known of this myth, nor of that of which Odin speaks in Lokasenna — Loki as a cow-maid under the earth for eight winters and there bearing children. This has been explained as a nature myth. Loki is the subterranean fire, regarded as female, producing vegetation through warmth. The eight win-
EDDIC MYTHOLOGY
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ters should be regarded as eight winter months during which frost reigns and warmth retreats within the earth and works in secret. The cows which Loki milks are warm springs! 20
Loki’s transformations were numerous — into a mare, a seal, a fly on two occasions, a flea, a milkmaid, a woman, a giantess, a salmon. By means of the feather-dress he became a bird.
Loki’s worst action, showing him as foe of the gods, is found in the myth of Balder. Here he plays an evil part, without any compensating good. Balder’s death, brought about by him, as already told, brings near the Doom of the gods. This led to Loki’s punishment. He ran off and hid in a mountain, making a house with four doors, so that he could see in all directions. He transformed himself into a salmon by day and hid in Franang falls. When he sat in the house he took twine and knitted meshes as a net is made. When he found that the ^Tsir were at hand, Odin having seen his hiding-place from Hlid- skjalf, he cast the net into the fire, and leaped as a salmon into the stream. The ^Lsir went into the house and there Kvasir saw the ash made by the burning net and realized that it was a device for catching fish. The ^Esir now made one of the same pattern and, by its means, tried to catch Loki, who evaded them, until Thor waded to mid-stream. When Loki tried to leap over the net, he caught him. Loki slipped through his hand, but Thor was able to grip him by the tail. Hence the salmon has a taper- ing tail. The yLsir now took Loki’s sons, and changed Vali into a wolf. He tore his brother Narfi to pieces, and with his bowels the gods bound Loki to three flat stones set on edge in a cave. These bonds turned to iron. The rest of this myth is given by Snorri as it is told in the prose appendix to hokasenna. Loki now lies in bonds till the Doom of the gods. The sibyl refers to this in Volus'pa:
1 Bound saw I in the hot spring’s grove A monstrous form, the repulsive Loki;
There sat Sigyn sunk in pain For the woe of her spouse .’ 21
PLATE XVIII
Loki and Sigyn
From a sculptured Cross at Gosforth, Cumberland. The two figures within the circle are supposed to be Loki bound and tortured by the serpent’s venom, and his wife, Sigyn, holding a vessel to catch the venom as it drips. See p. 144.
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« on: July 04, 2019, 10:29:08 PM »
In several chapters Snorri describes Balder’s death and funeral. He dreamed evil dreams, and the Aisir resolved to ask safety for him from all kinds of dangers. Frigg took oaths from fire, water, metals, stones, trees, animals, etc., that none of these should hurt him. Now it became a sport of the gods to shoot or hew or beat Balder ; nothing could do him harm. When Loki saw this, he was displeased and went to Fensalir in woman’s form to ask Frigg why this was done. Then he learned that she had taken oaths of all things save a tree-sprout called mistletoe, growing to the west of Valhall, which had seemed to her too young to take an oath of. Loki went and pulled up the mistletoe by the root, and, going to the Thing, spoke to Hod who was standing outside the ring, because he was blind. He asked him why he did not shoot at Balder and was told that he could not see where Balder was and, besides, he was weapon- less. Loki then put the mistletoe in his hand and bade him be guided by him and throw the rod at Balder. This he did and Balder fell dead.
The iLsir looked at each other in silence: none could there take vengeance, so great a sanctuary was that place. They wept, but Odin was of all most grieved, knowing the harm that would befall the Aisir. Frigg then asked who would go down to Hel and offer her a ransom to release Balder. Hermod, the son of
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Odin, undertook this, and mounting Sleipnir, rode away. He went for nine nights through dark valleys to the river Gjoll and on to the Gj oil-bridge, thatched with gold, and guarded by the maiden Modgud. She asked his name and race and said that on the previous day Balder and five hundred dead men (his servants?) had crossed, but the bridge thundered less with their tread than with his alone. Why did he ride on Hel-way? To seek out Balder: had she seen him? £ Yes: Balder rode over the bridge, and Hel-way lies down and to the north.’
Hermod rode on to Hel-gate, over which his horse leaped. Now he entered the hall, where Balder sat in the high seat. Next morning he besought Hel to let him go; she would only release him if all things, quick or dead, wept for him. Balder now let Hermod out of the hall. Nanna sent to Frigg a kerchief and to Fulla a gold ring. Hermod rode back to Asgard and told his tidings.
Meanwhile Balder’s funeral had been celebrated. The .Eisir brought his corpse to the sea and set it on Hringhorni, greatest of all ships. They would have launched it and set his pyre upon it, but it would not stir. A message was sent to Jotunheim to the giantess Hyrrokin. She came, riding a wolf bridled by a snake. Leaping off her steed, which Odin bade four berserkers tend, though they could not hold it till they had felled it, she pushed the boat so that fire burst from its rollers as it was thrust into the sea, and earth trembled. Thor, in his rage, would have broken her head with his hammer, had not the gods calmed him . 10
The corpse was now laid on the ship. Nanna straightway died of grief, and was laid with Balder on the pyre, which was now kindled. Thor hallowed it with his hammer, when before his feet ran the dwarf Litr, whom Thor kicked into the fire. Odin was there, with Frigg, the Valkyries, and his ravens; Frey drove in his chariot with his boar Gullinbursti or Slidrug- tanni. Heimdall rode Golltop; Freyj a drove her cats. Many of the Frost-giants and Hill-giants were also present. On the
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PLATE XVI
The Oseberg Ship
The custom of interring a dead chief or king in a funeral chamber within a ship, which was then en- closed in a tumulus, was common in Norway. Such burial sites were always near the sea, and nine royal tumuli of this type exist at Borre on the western coast of the Oslo fjord. At some distance from these, at Oseberg, another tumulus was opened and was found to contain a ship, eighty feet long, richly carved, with a funeral chamber full of all kinds of objects for the use of the dead. Within the chamber were two beds and two bodies of women. One of these is be- lieved to be that of queen Aasa, grandmother of Har- ald the Fair-haired, the other that of her chief at- tendant. The date of the tumulus is about the middle of the ninth century. At some period unknown the tumulus had been opened and all the objects made of gold and silver abstracted, and many of the funerary objects smashed. The ship reconstructed is now pre- served at Oslo. The illustration shows the elaborate carving of the wood.
The funeral of Balder points to a different method of ship-interment, viz., not burial within a tumulus but cremation (p. 130).
From a photograph, by permission of the Director of the Universitetets Oldsaksamling, Oslo.
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pyre Odin laid the ring Draupnir, and Balder’s horse was led to the fire with all his trappings.
When Hermod told his tidings to the .Esir, they sent mes- sengers all over the world to pray that Balder should be wept out of Hel. People, living things, earth, stones, trees, metals, wept — ‘ as thou must have seen that all these things weep when they come out of the cold into the heat . 5 As the messen- gers went home, they found a giantess sitting in a cave, Thokk by name. They begged her to weep for Balder: she refused, and here Snorri quotes a verse of a lost Eddie poem.
1 With waterless tears will Thokk weep That Balder ascends the pyre;
Neither in life nor death loved I the karl’s son.
Let Hel hold what she has.’
Thokk was Loki. Snorri then relates the vengeance taken by the gods on him . 11 He also tells of Balder and Hod in the renovated world . 12 His narrative is based on poems now lost, the stanza about Thokk being one of these, on the Eddie poems, and on the Husdra-pa , already cited.
The Eddas do not tell how Vali took vengeance on Hod, but this is assumed, and, in Hyndluljod , asserted. Thus Snorri gives as one of the kennings for Hod, ‘ foe of Vali,’ and for Vali himself 1 foe and slayer of Hod .’ 13 As we have seen, the poetic references to Balder’s death do not mention Loki as the agent who caused Hod’s action. If Hod had merely been the unwitting slayer, there would have been no reason for seek- ing an avenger to put him to death. In Snorri’s narrative, where he acts under Loki’s advice, vengeance is not taken on him, but on Loki. In the earlier form of the myth, before c. 1000 a.d., Hod alone was responsible for Balder’s death.
The story of Balder and Hod is also told by Saxo Gramma- ticus, Hod being called by him Hotherus, and he is a son of Hodbrodd, king of Sweden, and fosterling of Gewar, king of Norway. Hotherus was skilled in all accomplishments, and
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these so pleased Nanna, daughter of Gewar, that she fell madly in love with him. Balder, Odin’s son, saw Nanna bathing, and he desired to have her (as Frey did on seeing Gerd), resolving to slay Hotherus. Hotherus, led astray by a mist when hunt- ing, came to a lodge where certain virgines silvestres or Wood- maidens greeted him by name. They told him that by their guidance and auspices the fortunes of war were mainly deter- mined. They took part invisibly in battles, and secretly assisted their favourites to victory, for they could win victory or inflict defeat as they willed. They told him of Balder’s love for Nanna, but counselled him not to attack him in war, for he was a demi-god ( semi-deus), sprung secretly from celestial seed. Lodge and maidens now vanished, and Hotherus found himself in the open fields. Hotherus, much amazed, told Gewar of this, and asked him for Nanna. Gewar said that he would gladly favour him, but feared Balder’s wrath, as he also had asked for her. Balder’s body was proof against steel, but, said Gewar, there was a sword which would cause his death, as well as a bracelet which had the power of increasing its owner’s wealth. These were in the possession of Miming, a satyr of the woods. The way to his abode was full of obstacles, over frozen ground. Hotherus must harness a car with reindeer and, having reached the place, pitch his tent so that its shadow would not fall on Miming’s cave and, by the unusual darkness, prevent his coming out. Hotherus followed these instructions, and when Miming emerged from the cave, he aimed a spear at him and laid him low. Then he bound him and demanded the sword and brace- let, which Miming now gave to him. Incidents are told of war with Gelder, king of Saxony, who coveted these treasures, and of assistance given to Helgi, king of Halogaland, to gain Thora, daughter of the king of the Finns and Perms.
Meanwhile Balder had sued for Nanna and was bidden by Gewar to learn her own mind. She would not be moved, and said that a god could not wed a mortal. Gods were apt to break their pledges! Hotherus, with Helgi’s aid, joined battle with
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Balder at sea. Odin, Thor, and all the gods fought for Balder. Thor with his club ( clava ) was carrying all before him, when Hotherus, clad in an invulnerable coat, cut the club in two, thus rendering it useless. The gods with Balder took to flight. Even Saxo is staggered by this, but he says that antiquity vouches for it.
Soon after, fortune turned and Balder defeated Hotherus, but was so tormented by dreams in which phantoms took the form of Nanna that he fell into sickness, and had to be driven about in a four-wheeled carriage. Hotherus took possession of Denmark, joining it with Sweden. Balder came to Denmark, the people there accepting him. Hotherus was again defeated, retiring to Sweden in despair. In a wild forest he once more met the Wood-maidens, who had formerly given him an invul- nerable coat, as we now learn. He told them of his defeats and upbraided them with breach of faith. They said that though he had been defeated, he had inflicted as much loss on the enemy as they had on his forces. Victory would soon be his, if he could obtain a food of great deliciousness devised to increase Balder’s strength. Hotherus plucked up courage, and now Balder and the Danes opposed him in battle until night ended the fight. During the darkness Hotherus went to spy on the foe, and learned that three maidens had gone out, carrying Balder’s secret feast. Running after them, for their footsteps could be traced in the dew (an elfin trait), he entered their dwelling, saying that he was a musician, one of the company of Hotherus. He played to them, entrancing them with his music (another elfin trait), and at the same time he saw that the venom of three serpents was dropping from their mouths on Balder’s food, thus dowering it with magic strength. Out of kindness two of the maidens would have given him a share of the food, but the eldest forbade it, saying that Balder would be defrauded if the strength of his enemy were increased. But these nymphs ( nymphae ) gave him a belt and a girdle which ensured victory. On his return, he met Balder and plunged his sword into him,
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leaving him half dead. On the night following, Proserpine (Hel) stood by Balder, and promised that on the morrow he would have her embraces. In three days he died, and was given a royal funeral by the Danes, his corpse being laid in a barrow made by them . 14
Saxo then tells how, in his day, certain men, chief of whom was one Harald, sought to open the barrow to find treasure, but were stricken with panic. It split open; water poured from it and flooded the land; the guardian gods of the place ( land - vcetter or perhaps the haugbui ) thus terrifying the seekers, but, as Saxo believes, with a magic and phantasmal flood, not an actual one. Saxo gives interesting information about places connected with Balder. A haven, the name of which he does not mention, recalls the story of Balder’s defeat at sea, perhaps Balderslee, the traditional name of a village in Schleswig, though it may be Balsnes, formerly Baldersnes, on the island of Hitteren in Norway. After conquering Hotherus, Balder pierced the earth and opened a spring at which his men quenched their thirst. The traces of this spring at Baldersbrond, a village near Roskilde, were thought to exist in Saxo’s time. Later tra- dition said that it was formed by a stroke of the hoof of Balder’s horse . 15
Saxo next tells how Odin began to enquire regarding venge- ance for Balder’s death, and gives the story of his affair with Rinda, which has already been related . 10
Saxo’s narrative both resembles and differs from the Eddie account of Balder. The protagonists Balder and Hod (Hoth- erus) are the same, though Hotherus is not one of the Aisir, but son of a king. As in the earlier Eddie myth, Loki does not appear, nor is Hotherus blind. Balder is slain by Hod by means of the mistletoe which grows at Valhall and is sought there by Loki ( Edda ) ; by means of a magic sword sought by Hotherus in the far North (Saxo). Balder’s safety is secured by oaths taken of all things not to harm him {Edda ) ; he is invulnerable, because of magic food and save for being wounded by Miming’s
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sword (Saxo). In the Eddas he is troubled by dreams. So in Saxo’s account he is troubled by dreams of Nanna and has a vision of Hel. The vengeance motif appears in both : Rind has a son Vali or Bous to Odin, who overcame her by spells.
On the other hand, Hotherus seems to be Saxo’s hero, and Balder is not presented in a favourable light. Nanna becomes wife of Hotherus: in the Edda she is wife of Balder. The cause of the enmity between the two is not given in the Edda: in Saxo, it is rivalry for Nanna and, later, strife for the possession of Denmark. In Saxo, too, the gods fight against the hero Hoth- erus, and, years after, he is slain by Bous, who himself dies of his wounds. The oath taken from all things to weep Balder out of Hel and Hermod’s visit to Hel are lacking in Saxo. Balder is buried, not burned on a pyre — the pyre on a ship is trans- ferred to Gelder, who was slain in the war, and set by Hotherus on the corpses of his men, laid on a pyre of ships. The Wood- maidens and the three nymphae who prepare Balder’s magic food are not in the Eddie story. Saxo’s narrative is mainly euhemeristic, save that Balder is a demi-god in the earlier part at least, and the gods fight for him: the action takes place on earth, and each protagonist has his army and fleet.
The problems here are: Is Saxo making use of a Norse or of a native Danish source or sources? Has he changed a myth of the gods into a saga about heroes? Was there a form of the Balder story which had no reference to the gods? Why should Balder be so well spoken of in the Eddas , but regarded un- favourably by Saxo?
Definite solutions of these problems are hardly possible. The native Balder saga is maintained by Kauffmann, who thinks that this saga told of heroes, one of whom, Balder, was a demi- god, but that, on reaching Iceland, it became a myth of the gods, modified by Christian influences . 17 Others regard Saxo’s source as Icelandic, or partly Danish, partly Norse, and think that he or his source had euhemerized a myth of the gods. Saxo’s nar- rative seems to indicate two sources. In one of these, mainly
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mythical, the quarrel between Balder and Hotherus is about Nanna. The gods intervene, yet Balder is put to flight, this narrative probably ending with his death and burning on a pyre — this being transferred to king Gelder. In the other, completely euhemerized, there are no gods: Balder and Hoth- erus are mortals, and the quarrel is about the possession of Den- mark . 18 Not impossibly Saxo’s narrative may be based on a form of the Balder myth of earlier date than the Eddie . 19
The references in V olus-pa and in Snorri (or his source) to the mistletoe by which Balder was slain, do not seem to have been written by men familiar with this plant, which is described as a tree, not a parasitic plant on a tree. In Saxo, Balder is slain with a magic sword. No name is given to it, as was usual with magic swords, but in other documents we hear of a sword called Mistelteinn. Thus in the Hromundar-saga Grei'pssonar Hro- mund possesses the sword Mistelteinn which he took from a berserker or his ghost out of a hill. Two magicians, Bildr and Voli (Balder and Vali), oppose him. Bildr is slain. Voli hurls Hromund’s sword out of his hand, wounds him, but is himself slain. Hromund loved Svanhit: Bildr and Voli would not per- mit him to be her bride. The story thus bears some resem- blance to Saxo’s narrative of Hotherus, Balder, and Bous (Vali ). 20 In composite words teinn is 1 sword,’ as in Lsevateinn, the name of the sword by which alone Vithofnir could be killed, as Balder could be slain only by Miming’s sword . 21 The sword- name might easily be mistaken for that of the plant, which would then be supposed to be the instrument of Balder’s death. 2 "
The meaning of the Balder myth has been sought in many directions, and German and Scandinavian scholars have sug- gested numerous interpretations of it, evolving many new myths in the process. The myth, like others existing in com- parative isolation, must be more or less of a sealed book. Bugge’s hypothesis that an earlier Balder myth was recon- structed with stress laid on the fundamental moral elements of
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life, as a result of the influence of English and Irish Christianity on the heathen Norsemen in the West, is worked out in great detail . 23 Balder is identified with Christ ; all the stress is laid on his death. While the hypothesis is ingenious, the elements of the new myth taken over from Christian sources — biblical, theological, legendary — are too numerous and too various for the theory to be convincing. One would also have thought that a Balder restored from Hel and death would have formed part of a myth due to Christian ideas, as our Lord’s Resurrection and conquest of death and Hades had such a large place in Christian thought. Miss Phillpotts, who sees in many of the Eddie poems the words of folk-drama, and considers that a lost poem in dialogue form about Balder’s death constituted a folk-play representing the slaying of a god, would like to believe that Balder rose again, or that the representation of his funeral and the general weeping would have effect in inducing him to re- turn . 24 But if one thing is clearer than another in the Eddie references to Balder, it is that he does not return and cannot re- turn. Only after the Doom of the gods does he appear in the renewed world.
The name of Balder, whether god or hero, is thought to occur in the Merseburg charm which tells how
c Phol and Wodan rode to the wood,
Balder’s colt there wrenched its foot.’
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Frey’s high position is seen in his epithets — Veraldar-god, c god of the world ’; Folkvaldi-god, £ Foremost of the gods.’ 41 His occupancy of Hlidskjalf in Skirnismal and his possession of the ring Draupnir, elsewhere ascribed to Odin, point to a time when Odin had not yet taken a higher place than Frey in Scandinavia.
CHAPTER IX
THE VANIR GROUP — FREYJA
F REYJA or £ the Lady,’ as daughter of Njord and sister of Frey, was one of the Vanir, and was called Vanabrudr, £ Bride of the Vanir ’5 Vanadis, ‘ Lady of the Vanir ’j and Vana- god, £ Vanir goddess.’ 1 Like the other members of the group, she is reckoned among the Aisir, and is £ the most renowned of the goddesses ’ and £ most gently born.’ 2 In Heaven she has the dwelling Folkvang, £ Folk-plain,’ and her hall, great and fair, is Sessrumnir, £ Rich in seats.’ Here she assigns seats to the heroes who fall in battle, for half of these she shares with Odin. Hence she is £ the Possessor of the Slain.’ 3 She drives forth in a chariot drawn by cats, and in this manner she came to Balder’s funeral. 4 Her most famous possession is the necklace Brisinga-men, which Loki stole and Heimdall recovered. 6 She has also a hawk’s plumage or feather-dress which enables her to fly, and is sometimes borrowed by Loki. 6 She rides the boar Hildisvini, £ Battle-swine,’ with golden bristles, which she desires to pass off as Frey’s boar. In reality it is her lover Ottarr in that form. 7
Freyja’s husband is Od; hence she is Ods-mser, £ Bride of Od.’ Their daughter is Hnoss, £ Jewel,’ £ so fair that precious things are called after her, hnossir According to the Ynglin - ga-saga she had two daughters, Hross and Gersimi, £ after whom all things dearest to have are named.’ 8
Freyja is willing to help when men call upon her, especially in love affairs, and she is thus called £ goddess of love.’ Songs of love were a delight to her. 9 In the euhemerized account of Freyja in the Y nglin ga-saga , she is said to have introduced evil magic, seidr , among the Aisir, its use being already common
THE VANIR GROUP — FREYJA 121
among the Vanir, perhaps a memory of the use of magic in her cult . 10 From her name noble women had the name of honour ]reyjurd x
Freyja is known only in Norway and mainly in Icelandic poetry. Hence it has been asserted that she was a creation of the skalds as a counterpart to Frey. This is unlikely, and she is one of the few goddesses whose cult is definitely mentioned in Northern literature. In Oddrunargratr , one of the heroic poems of the Edda , occurs the following appeal:
‘ So may the holy Powers grant thee help,
Frigg and Freyja and full many gods,
As thou hast saved me from fear and misery.’
And in Hyndluljod Freyja says of Ottarr that he had made her a horg (a cairn or altar) piled up with stones, which the sacri- ficial fires had fused into glass, and that it was often reddened with the blood of animal victims, for Ottarr trusted in the god- desses . 12 To Freyja, with Thor, Odin, and the Aisir, peasants of Throndhjem offered toasts at the beginning of winter in their feasts and sacrifices . 13 In the Halfs-saga she is called upon for aid. King Alfrek determined to keep that one of his two wives, Signy and Geirhild, who should brew the best beer. Signy asked Freyja’s aid, Geirhild that of Odin (Hott, 1 he with the hat’). He gave her his spittle in place of yeast, so her beer was the best. For this, she had to give Odin her son Wikar.
If, however, Freyja was an independent goddess, there seems to have been frequent confusion between her and Frigg, Odin’s consort, or perhaps she tended to take the place of Frigg. When she is said to share the slain with Odin, one would natu- rally suppose that this would have been Frigg’s privilege. In the Egils-saga it is women whom Freyja receives after death . 14 Both goddesses possess hawk’s plumage, and Loki borrows it from both . 15 Some have held that the famous Brisinga-men was originally Frigg’s possession. In later poetry Freyja is actually called Fjolnir’s (Odin’s) wife, as Frigg was. The
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Christian Hjallti Skeggjason was outlawed at the Thing in Iceland in c. 999, because of his blasphemous verses against Odin and Freyja:
‘ Ever will I gods blaspheme,
Freyja methinks a bitch does seem,
Freyja a bitch? Aye, let them be Both dogs together, Odin and she.’ 16
This suggests that she was regarded as Odin’s consort, taking the place of Frigg. Freyja and Frigg may have been both de- veloped out of one original goddess, spouse of the old Heaven- god, to be ultimately confused with each other when the cult of Odin was increasing in the North.
On the other hand, that Freyja could be held to share the slain with Odin suggests her lofty position. Her abode is de- picted as a kind of Valhall, and it might be identified with Vin- golf, a seat of goddesses and also of the slain. 17 Freyja might also be regarded as chief of the Valkyries, riding forth to the strife, as Snorri depicts her — £ wheresoever she rides forth to the battle, she has half of the slain ’j and, in this light, her fear- less pouring out of ale for the giant Hrungnir when he invaded Asgard, would be significant, for the Valkyries poured out liquor in Valhall for heroes. 18 As chief of the Valkyries she would have an interest in the slain. If the names of her abodes have reference to their being abodes of the dead , L Folk-plain ’ and £ Rich in seats,’ then a wider conception of her rule over the dead might be indicated. The passage in Egils-saga points to this. Thorgerd, daughter of Egil, who intends to die with her father, says that she has taken no food and will take none, for she hopes to feast that night with Freyja, just as heroes hoped to be Odin’s guests. But there may be a survival in this passage of an older belief that women, not heroes, went to her abode at death.
The myths about Freyja are to some extent in keeping with her position as goddess of love, possibly also of fertility. Some
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PLATE XV Ancient Wagon
A wagon of the early Iron Age found in the moor of Deibjerg, Jutland, and restored. Such a wagon may have been used to carry round an image, as in the Nerthus and Frey cults (pp. 102, 1 15), or to transport a dead man to his grave-mound, where it was buried with him for use on the Hel-way or in the Other World.
THE VANIR GROUP — FREYJA 123
of them suggest her desirableness as a beautiful and voluptuous goddess. She is coveted by giants — by him who rebuilt the citadel of the Aisir, by Hrungnir, and by Thrym. When Thrym sought her as his bride, her indignation was intense, her anger shook the dwelling of the gods, and her necklace broke on her heaving bosom. 1 Maddest for men might I be called, did I travel with thee to Jotunheim.’ 19 These giants, repre- senting the power of winter, might be regarded as trying to overcome a goddess of fertility.
Similarly she was forced by four dwarfs to surrender herself to them ere they would give her Brisinga-men. This is the subject of a story in the Sorla-thdttr (fourteenth century). Freyja is here Odin’s mistress. One day, looking into the rock- dwelling of four dwarfs, she saw them fashioning a wonderful necklace. Offering to purchase it, she was told that she would have it only if she yielded herself to the dwarfs. To this she submitted and became possessor of the famous necklace Brisinga-men. Loki heard of this and told Odin, who bade him get the necklace — a difficult task, for no one could enter Freyja’s abode without her consent. Loki transformed himself into a fly and sought some opening, but in vain. At last he crept through a tiny hole in the roof. The inmates of the hall were asleep, Freyja lying with the clasp of the necklace under her neck. Transformed now into a flea, Loki bit her cheek. She woke and turned over on her other side. Then, assuming his own form, Loki unclasped the necklace, opened the door, and went with it to Odin. Freyja regained it from Odin only by consenting to incite two mighty kings, Hedin and Hilde, to an unending conflict. 20 This story is probably based on an earlier poem now lost. In the Eddas Freyja is the possessor of the necklace, and it so distinguishes her that when Thor dis- guised himself as the goddess, he wore this necklace. On an- other occasion or in another myth, the necklace, stolen by Loki, was recovered by Heimdall.
This necklace, ‘ the necklace of the Brisings,’ who must be its
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artificers, or £ of Brising,’ is alluded to as the brosinga mene in Beowulf , carried off by Hama from Eormanric. Here it forms part of a hoard . 21 The necklace itself is explained by modern mythologists as the rainbow, the moon, the morning or evening star, the red dawn, etc. Some have regarded it as the sun setting in the sea, and of which Freyja, regarded as the Heaven- goddess, is thus dispossessed. The word has also been con- nected with brisingr , £ fire,’ a name still given to bonfires in Norway — an allusion to its gleaming quality, the jewel which sparkles like fire . 22 Menglod, £ Necklace-glad,’ whom the hero Svipdag is compelled to seek by his stepmother, is so called after this mythic ornament, and is thus held to be a form of Freyja. Svipdag called up his dead mother Groa from the grave, and was given by her several charms to guard him in his difficult quest. He reached the hall of the giants, surrounded by fire, where Menglod was. The giant Fjolsvid sat before it, and held parley with Svipdag. In the course of their dialogue much mythic information is given. At last the giant says that no one is destined to have Menglod save Svipdag, who now reveals himself, and is welcomed by her as bridegroom. The evidence that Menglod is a form of Freyja is slender, and the tale rather suggests a folk-story than a myth. Attempts to explain the necklace in terms of natural phenomena are unsatisfactory, and it seems better to regard it as the reflexion in the divine sphere of such a precious human possession as a valuable necklace.
Freyja’s lubricity is emphasized in the Eddas. In Loka- senna Loki attacks her, in common with other goddesses, for lewdness. She has just repelled his slander of Frigg, when Loki says:
‘ Be silent, Freyja, well I know thee,
Thou art not free of faults;
All the ALsir and Alfar who now are here Hast thou in turn made happy.’
Freyja denies this, and, £ evil witch,’ is then charged by Loki with having been found in her brother’s bed by the Aisir . 23
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When Loki says of Thor, disguised as Freyja, that she (he) has eaten nothing nor closed an eye for eight nights, so hot is her desire for the giant’s home, there may be a suggestion of Freyja’s character. 24 In Hyndluljod Freyja riding on a boar seeks the wise giantess Hyndla in order to learn from her the story of her favourite Ottarr’s descent. She wishes Hyndla to ride with her to Valhall on a wolf. Hyndla knows her to be Freyja, and says that the boar is her lover Ottarr. After telling the story of his descent, Hyndla dismisses Freyja with the caustic words : £ In the night-time like the she-goat Heidrun thou leapest after the goats.’ She says also:
c To Od didst thou run, ever lusty,
And many have stolen under thy girdle,’
and she frequently calls Ottarr Freyja’s lover. Frey admits that the boar is Ottarr and compels Hyndla to bring him the memory-beer, which will help him to recall the genealogy which she has just related. If Hyndla does not swiftly bring it, she will raise flames around her and burn her alive. Hyndla brings the drink, but mingled with the venom of an evil fate. Freyja says that this malediction will work no ill. Ottarr will find a delicious drink when she begs the favour of the gods. Perhaps we may assume that Freyja causes the death of Hyndla, after having forced her to give the desired information.
Thor is called £ Freyja’s friend ’ in a poem by Eilif Gudrun- arson, and this may refer to some love affair with her. 25 We should note also her association with Frey, a priapic god of fer- tility, and the glossing of her name in Christian times as Venus. 26
Od, Freyja’s husband, was not a deity but £ the man called Od.’ He £ goes forth into far lands, but Freyja remains behind in tears, and her tears are red gold. Freyja has many names, because as she went among strange folk seeking Od, she called herself by different names — Mardoll, Horn, Gefn, Syr.’ In this passage Snorri does not explain how Freyja both remains at home and wanders in search of Od. The account itself has
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given occasion to the most varied mythologizing interpreta- tions, and, if it is based on natural phenomena, what these are cannot now be determined. With reference to her weeping, one of the goddess’s titles is gratjagra god y ‘ goddess beautiful in tears,’ and gold is called c tears of Freyja .’ 27 In folk-tales the gift of weeping tears which become pearls is a well-known incident, and tears of gold are wept by a maiden in an Icelandic story. 2S Her name Moertholl is a form of Mardoll, and if the latter means 1 shining over the sea,’ then she might be the Sun- goddess sinking to rest in the sea, the golden shimmer on the waters suggesting her tears as gold . 29 Others, like Gering, see in Freyja the bestower of the fructifying summer rain. She hovers over the earth in a feather-dress (the clouds) ; hence she is the goddess beautiful in tears. Her tears change to gold — the golden corn-seeds . 30 It should be noted that, as Od leaves Freyja, so Odin leaves Frigg in Saxo’s story — another suggestion of the oneness of Freyja and Frigg.
To some degree Freyja is a counterpart of her brother Frey. Both are fair of face. Both are deities of love and that in its more sensual aspects. Both are associated with the boar on which they ride or are driven by it. If Nerthus was once of more importance than her male counterpart Njord, this was probably true also of Freyja in comparison with Frey. We have seen that Frey’s name, Ingunar-Frey, means ‘ Frey of Ingun,’ or c Lord (Husband) of Ingun.’ If Ingun here stands for Freyja, this would mean that she had once been more prominent than her consort — an earlier Fertility-goddess, possibly a form of Mother Earth. Prof. Chadwick has argued that the name Yngvi was that not only of Frey, but of the members of the royal house at Upsala . 31 If these were regarded as representatives of Frey, they would each in turn be looked on as consorts of the goddess, and Frey himself may have been originally no more than their eponymous ancestor. These, however, are highly speculative suggestions.
CHAPTER X
BALDER
T HE references to Balder (ON Baldr) in the Poetic Edda are comparatively few and occur in six of the poems. From these we learn the following facts about him. He is son of Odin and Frigg . 1 According to Grimnismal his heavenly dwelling is Breidablik, £ Wide-shining,’ which he built for him- self, a place free from all crimes . 2 He was troubled by evil dreams: the gods took counsel over this, and Odin rode down to Hel to consult the dead seeress, raised up by his spells, and, calling himself Vegtam, forced her to reply to his questions. She answered first that a place is prepared in Hel for Balder and that hope is gone from the gods. Hod will be Balder’s bane, bringing to Hel the hero whom he will deprive of life. But Balder will be avenged: Rind bears Vali in Vestrsalir, £ Western Hall,’ to Odin. When one night old, he will fight, and bring Balder’s slayer to the pyre. £ What maidens are those who weep for this and toss to the sky the tops of the sails? ’ asked Odin . 3 This enigmatic question revealed to the seeress who her questioner really was. Odin says that she is no Volva nor prophetess: rather is she the mother of three giants (Thursar). She bids Odin ride home. None will see her again till Loki is free of his bonds and the Doom of the gods arrives. This story is the subject of Baldr s Draumar.
Voluspa also refers to the death of Balder. The seeress says:
‘ I saw for Balder, Odin’s son,
The soft-hearted god, destiny set;
Full grown on the fields,
Slender and fair,
The mistletoe stood.
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From this tree was made,
Which seemed so slender,
A deadly shaft, which Hod shot.’
Then follow the lines from Baldrs Draumar about Vali, and the seeress resumes :
‘ In Fensalir Frigg weeps sore,
For Valhall’s woe,
Would ye know yet more? ’ 4
The Short Volusia in Hyndluljod refers to Balder’s death, and says that the gods were eleven in number when he bowed his head on the hill of death. Vali was swift to avenge this, slaying quickly his brother’s slayer . 5
Skirnismal speaks of the ring Draupnir as that which was laid on Balder’s pyre. In Vafthrudnismal Odin asks the giant what words Odin spoke in the ear of Balder on his pyre. In Lokasenna Loki tells Frigg that he is the cause of Balder’s death . 6
In these notices we learn that Hod was Balder’s slayer. Only in Lokasenna is it hinted that Loki was to blame for his death. The long prose narrative compiled by Snorri from these and other sources shows that Hod was the unwitting cause of the slaying, because of Loki’s action. The original myth may thus have had no place for Loki, who was later introduced into the story.
Finally, in V oluspa Balder is said to come back to the re- newed world after the Doom of the gods, and with Hod he lives in Hropt’s (Odin’s) battle-hall . 7
The Husdrafa of Ulf Uggason (tenth century) describes pictures painted on the wainscot and roof of a hall in Iceland. Among these were scenes from Balder’s funeral. Frey rides his boar, Heimdall his horse ; Odin follows, then the Valkyries and the ravens. Another scene depicted the giantess Hyrokkin launching the ship on which the pyre is set, while Odin’s champions follow the wolf on which she rode . 8 The tenth
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century skalds, Kormak and Vetrlidhi, also refer to the Balder myth.
We now turn to Snorri’s later prose narrative. Balder the good is Odin’s second son, and good things are to be said of him. He is the best god, praised by all. So beautiful and fair is he that light shines forth from him. A certain herb is so white that it is called ‘ Balder’s eyelash,’ Baldersbraa. This shows how fair his hair and body are. He is wisest of the Aisir, most fair of speech and gracious, yet none may gainsay his judg- ments. He dwells in Breidablik, where nothing impure can be found. Nanna, daughter of Nep, is his wife: their son is Forseti . 9
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THE VANIR GROUP — FREY
hi
boldly and learned the cause. He was deeply in love with Gerd, yet ‘ none of the ^Esir or Alfar will grant that we may live together.’ He asked Skirnir to go and woo her for him and bring her to him. Skirnir asked for Frey’s horse and magic sword, and with these set off. He spoke to the horse, saying that it was dark and now it was time to travel across the wild fells, over the giants’ land. Either they would return together or the powerful giant would take them. Then he reached Jotunheim and Gymir’s dwelling, guarded by dogs. On a hill sat a herdsman who, when Skirnir asked for speech with Gerd, said that this could never be. Meanwhile within the dwelling Gerd heard a noise, and learned from her servant that a man had dismounted at the gate. She bade the servant bring him in, though she feared that he was her brother’s slayer. When he entered, she asked him if he was one of the Alfar, of the Aisir’s sons, or of the wise Vanir, since he had come through the flicker- ing flame to her abode. He said that he was none of these, and offered her golden apples if she would say that Frey was dearest to her. She refused them, saying that she would never be Frey’s. He offered her the ring Draupnir: this also she refused. Then he threatened to behead her, but she was unmoved and told him that he might fight Gymir if he liked. Skirnir replied that the sword would kill her father, and threatened her with the magic power of his staff and with curses. She will go where men will nevermore see her. On the eagle’s hill she will sit, facing Hel, and her meat will be loathsome to her. Even the Frost-giant Hrimnir will stare at her and she will become better known than Heimdall. Grief and terror will afflict her in the giants’ land, and she will dwell with a three-headed giant. Odin is angry with her; Frey will hate her; the gods’ wrath will be upon her. Skirnir bade all Jotuns, all Frost-giants, the sons of Suttung, and the Aisir hear how he forbade her ever to know the joy of love. Hrimgrimnir is the giant who will have her beneath near the doors of Hel, and to the Frost-giants’ halls she will daily crawl in misery. Then he wrote four runes, by
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which she would know unquenched desire, though he would cut them out again if she relented.
As a result of these curses Gerd yielded, though she said that she had never thought to love one of the Vanir. She bade Skirnir tell Frey to meet her nine nights hence in the secret wood called Barri, where she will be his. On hearing this from Skirnir Frey said: 1 One night is long, two are longer, how can I bear three? Often has a month seemed less to me than half a night of longing now.’
Gerd is included among the Asynjur by Snorri, and Loki taunts Frey at Aigir’s banquet with buying her with gold, sell- ing his sword at the same time. Hence when Muspell’s sons come riding he will have no sword . 18 The £ flickering flame,’ vafrlogi , by which Gerd’s abode is surrounded, is a magic de- fence against intrusion, and only by magic or supernatural means can a hero go through it. It is found thrice in the Eddie poems. The second reference to it is in Svipdagsmal where it surrounds the hall where Menglod is secured. Svipdag makes his way through it to her, his destined bride. The third reference is in Sigrdrifumal , where Brynhild is held in a magic sleep imposed by Odin, in a hall on a mountain surrounded by fire. Through it Sigurd makes his way.
Frey was sometimes called Ingvi-Frey or Ingunar-Frey, a name connected with that of Ingw, the tribal ancestor or epony- mous hero of the Ingvaeones, the group of tribes dwelling in Schleswig-Holstein, from whom sprang the Saxons, Anglo- Saxons, and Frisians. Ingunar is either a distorted form of Ingvi or the genitive of a feminine Ingun, possibly Frey’s un- named mother or his consort. The name would mean £ Frey of Ingun ’ or £ Lord (Husband) of Ingun.’ The Ynglings, the earliest race of the kings of Sweden, regarded themselves as descendants of Frey, called Yngvi in the Ynglinga-saga. 1 They were kindred of the god Frey ’ or £ held him to be the founder of their race,’ says Saxo, speaking of Swedish heroes . 19 Yngvi’s people were the Swedes. There are, however, two
THE VANIR GROUP — FREY
”3
genealogies. One is that of the Saga, which begins with Nj ord, then Frey or Yngvi. The other is that of the Islendinga-bok , which begins with Yngvi, who is followed by Njord, Frey, etc. Whether Yngvi and Frey were actually different mythic per- sonages, and if so, why they became merged in each other, can- not be determined. Perhaps the connexion lay in the fact that the king of the Ingwines or East Danes was called Frea Ing- winaj their tribal ancestor was Ing. Ing first dwelt with the East Danes, and then crossed the sea, his wagon following him . 20 Ing is the same as Yngvi, and as Frey means ‘ lord,’ Yngvi may have been the personal name of the god. The Ingvaeones of Tacitus, who dwelt in the coast region between the North Sea and the Baltic, are to be traced back to Yngvi or Frey, their tribal deity. Their region was also the seat of the Nerthus cult. Thus the cult of Yngvi-Frey passed thence to Sweden, where its chief seat was Upsala.
In his account of the Hadding saga, Saxo says that this mythic hero was attacked on one occasion by a sea-monster which he slew. But as he was exulting in his deed, a woman appeared who said that he would suffer the wrath of the gods, for his sacrilegious hands had slain one of them in disguised form. So Hadding, ‘ slayer of a benignant god,’ in order to appease the deities, sacrificed dusky victims to Frey at an annual feast, which he left posterity to follow. This rite was called by the Swedes Froblot, ‘ sacrifice to Frey.’ Saxo also says that Frey, ‘ satrap of the gods,’ took up his abode not far from Upsala, where he exchanged for a ghastly and infamous sin-offering the old cus- tom of prayer by sacrifice which had been used for many genera- tions. He paid to the gods abominable offerings by beginning to sacrifice human victims . 21 The Hakonar-saga also says that Frey raised a great temple at Upsala and set his capital there, endowing it with all his revenues, lands, and movables . 22
The Ynglinga-saga calls Frey a rich and generous lord under whom peace and fruitfulness abounded. He took the realm after Njord and was ‘lord of the Swedes.’ The ‘Peace of
EDDIC MYTHOLOGY
ii4
Frodi ’ began in his time and good years in all lands, which the Swedes ascribe to Frey. He raised a temple at Upsala and was held dearer than the other gods, because the people were wealthier in his days. Gerd was his wife, and he was called Yngvi and his kindred were the Ynglings. When he died he was put in a barrow with a door and three windows, and the Swedes were told that he was still alive. He was guarded there for three winters, and gold was put through one of the windows, silver through the second, and copper through the third. Peace reigned during these three years. When at last the Swedes learned that he was dead, they would not burn him, but called him £ god of the world ’ and sacrificed to him for plenteous years, thinking that while his body was in Sweden, peace and plenty would abound . 23
The £ Peace of Frodi ’ is often spoken of in Northern litera- ture. Frodi was an early Danish king, more mythic than real, and in his time this Peace began — a kind of golden age. Snorri says that during it no man injured another, even if that other were his brother’s or father’s slayer. No thief or robber was known, and a gold ring lay long untouched on Jalang’s heath. This was at the time when Augustus reigned at Rome. The Peace came to an end when two giant maids, Fenja and Menja, ground out of a magic mill a host against Frodi, who was slain. They did this because he forced them to grind out gold. This myth of a golden age was doubtless connected with the cult and person of Frey, whose name is to be found in that of Snorri’s king Frodi and the several kings of that name in Saxo . 24
Behind all these euhemeristic notices of Frey lies the evi- dence that his cult had been carried into Sweden from else- where, and that there this god, who is said to have himself in- troduced the cult and arranged the sacrifices, had a prominent place. He was called blotgud Svia, 1 the sacrificial god of Sweden,’ and Sviagod , 1 god of the Swedes.’ It is clear also that Frey was regarded as a god of fertility and that human
-
. - '•
PLATE XIV Frey
Upper figure, to right. Ithyphallic squatting image, probably of Frey, intended to be carried in its owner’s purse and buried with him. From Sbdermanland, Sweden, tenth century.
Lower design, to right. One of several golden plates representing the sacred marriage of a god of fer- tility (possibly Frey) and a goddess. Found in the neighbourhood of the farm of Frojsland (‘ land of Frey ’), south-west Norway. See p. 1 1 6 .
Design on left. The sacred marriage depicted on a tenth century runic stone, the figures represented sepa- rately because of the form of the stone. From the same district as the gold plate.
THE VANIR GROUP — FREY
ii 5
sacrifices were offered in his cult. As in other fertility cults, that of Frey was connected with generation. Adam of Bremen says that at Upsala the image of Fricco (Frey), who bestowed peace and joy on men, stood beside those of Odin and Thor, and was invested with ingenti 'pria.'po — an obvious symbol of the god’s influence on fertility. He also says that, at the nine years’ festival, unseemly songs were sung during the sacrifices . 25 We do not know that this was a Frey festival, but if so, the notice would correspond to what Saxo says of the sacrifices at Upsala, that Starkad, who had lived for seven years with the sons of Frey, left that place because he was so disgusted with the effem- inate gestures, the play of the mimes, and the ringing of bells. Saxo also declares that the legendary Fro, king of Sweden, put the wives of Siward’s kinsfolk in a brothel and delivered them to public outrage. If Fro is Frey, this might be a memory of the erotic aspects of his cult . 26 The only myth of Frey reported in the Eddas — his love-sickness for Gerd and his strong desire for her — points to the nature of his personality and worship.
Frey’s image was taken in a wagon through the land at the close of winter, under the care of a priestess, who was regarded as his wife and was set over his sacred place. From Upsala the procession traversed the land, and was everywhere received with joy and with sacrifices, in expectation of a fruitful year. A curi- ous story is told of this in the Olafs-saga Tryggvasonar by a Christian saga-man. Gunnar Helming had fled from Norway to escape the consequences of a suspected crime. In those days there were great sacrifices to the gods, and Frey had long re- ceived more than the others. His image was so enchanted that he used to speak to the people out of it. Gunnar, having come to Sweden, placed himself under Frey’s protection. The priest- ess received him, though the god did not seem favourable to him, and, at the time of the procession, she bade Gunnar come and feast with Frey and her. Gunnar went with the servants of the god, who abandoned the wagon during a snow-storm in the hills. Gunnar led it, but, feeling tired, climbed into it.
EDDIC MYTHOLOGY
1 16
After a time the priestess bade him go and lead the wagon, for Frey was against him. He obeyed, but soon after resumed his seat, saying that he would risk standing up against Frey if he opposed him. He wrestled with the god, and, being nearly overcome, he thought that if he conquered, he would return to Norway and accept the Christian faith. The evil spirit which, according to the narrative, was in the image, now abandoned it. Gunnar broke the image and himself personated the god. At the place where a feast was prepared in expectation of the visit, the people marvelled that the god and his priestess should have come through the storm, still more that he should come among them and drink like men! The time was spent in feasting, but the counterfeit Frey would accept no offerings save those of gold, silver, and fine garments. In time the priestess became pregnant, and this, with the fine weather, was regarded as a good omen for a fruitful year. The news of the power of the Swedish god spread far and wide. King Olaf of Norway heard of it, and, suspecting the truth, sent Gunnar’s brother to Sweden. He found Gunnar who, with priestess and treasure, returned to Norway and was baptized . 27
The resemblance of this procession to that of Nerthus and her priest, as recorded eight centuries before by Tacitus, is striking, and suggests the connexion of Frey and Nerthus as deities of fertility, Nerthus, perhaps, being wife or mother of Frey. Not improbably priest and goddess or god and priestess were be- lieved to celebrate the ‘ sacred marriage 5 during this festival time in order to promote fertility. In the Nerthus rite a woman would represent the goddess ; in the Frey rite a man would represent the god. In the story, Gunnar acts as the god and as husband of the priestess. The story would thus be reminiscent of actual custom, with priest and priestess as god and goddess. Evidence of such a ritual in prehistoric times in Norway has been collected by Prof. Magnus Olsen, the rite surviving in folk-custom and being represented on engraved gold plates which had been buried in the earth. Such a ritual may lie be-
THE VANIR GROUP — FREY
117
hind the story in Skirnismal. Skirnir is by some regarded as merely Frey himself, whether or not he is to be taken as the surviving memory of the mortal who took the part of the god in the folk-drama, the god himself being also represented by an effigy for which 4 the role of Gerd’s seeker was too active .’ 28 Frey’s priestess is called a £ temple-priestess,’ but he had also priests . 29
Like Njord, Frey was besought to give fair winds to voy- agers, and he was frequently named with him and with Thor, e.g., in taking an oath: ‘So help me Frey, Njord, and the almighty god ’ (Thor ). 30 Frey was thus a god of many func- tions — light, sunshine, fertility, fruitfulness, and fair winds. Sagas speak of sacrifices of bulls to Frey. Libations were also offered or toasts drunk to him along with those to other gods — Odin or Thor, and Njord, Frey’s and Njord’s being for fruitful seasons and peace. Thorkel, who had been driven out by Glum, went to Frey’s temple at Eyafjord in Iceland with a full-grown ox, saying to the god that he had long been his chief toast and had many gifts from him, and that he had repaid them well. Now he gave Frey the ox, asking him to drive out Glum and desiring a token of acceptance of the gift. The ox bellowed and fell dead, and this was regarded by Thorkel as a good sign . 31 Some time after, Glum dreamed that a great com- pany came to see Frey, and it seemed to him that he saw the god sitting in their midst. Glum asked the company who they were, and learned that they were his dead kinsmen who were praying to Frey that Glum should not be driven out. Their prayer did not prevail, for Frey was answering them shortly and angrily, and was mindful of Thorkel’s gift. Glum was never Frey’s good friend after that . 32
Not only were there large images of Frey, smaller ones were used as amulets. Heid the Volva prophesied to Ingimund about his settlement in an undiscovered western land. He said that he would not go, but she declared that he would, and, as a token, his silver image of Frey would be lost out of his purse
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EDDIC MYTHOLOGY
and found when he dug a place in that land for his high-seat pillars. The image was discovered to be missing, and Ingimund sent two Finns to Iceland to discover it. They found it, but could not remove it, for it went from one place to an- other and they could not take it. So Ingimund was forced to go himself, and when he had set up his pillars, he found the image. It had belonged to a petty Norse king, and had been given to Ingimund by king Harald about 872 a.d . 33
Sacred horses were kept in Frey’s temple at Throndhjem, and a curious story is told of a horse, a half-share of which was dedicated to Frey by its owner, Hrafnkell, who migrated to Iceland in the time of Harald. He revered no god more than Frey and dedicated a temple to him. Hence he was called c Frey’s priest,’ Freys- go di. He vowed to slay any one who rode this horse. In order to look for sheep, his shepherd Einar mounted it, and by its loud neighings this was made known to Hrafnkell, who slew Einar. The result was a feud between Einar’s people and Hrafnkell, who was banished. His enemies cast the horse, whose name was Freyfaxi, into a stream from a cliff, afterwards known as Freyfaxi’s Cliff. They burned the temple and robbed the images of their decorations. On hearing this, Hrafnkell said: c I think it folly to believe in the gods,’ and from that day forward offered no sacrifices. 34 We hear of another horse with a white mane called Freyfaxi, belonging to Brand. It was a splendid horse for fighting, and men believed that Brand put his trust in it and worshipped it: hence he was known as Faxabrand. 35
The cult of Frey seems to have passed from Sweden, with its centre at Upsala, to Norway. There was an important temple of the god at Throndhjem where the people prayed to him for peace and fruitfulness, and looked for announcements about future events from him. 36 When King Olaf commanded the people at Throndhjem in 998 a.d. to break Frey’s image, they refused on the ground that they had served him long and that
THE VANIR GROUP — FREY 119
he had done well by them, giving them peace and plenty and revealing the future to them. 37
From Norway Frey’s cult passed to Iceland with the emi- grants in the ninth century, and there they placed themselves under his protection and that of Thor. The story of Ingimund offers an interesting illustration of this, and of the god’s desire for the spread of his cult, which was strongest in the north of the island. Many temples of Frey are mentioned in the Sagas, some of them peculiarly sacred. In V iga-Glums-saga it is told that Glum harboured outlaws at Frey’s temple at Eyafjord. This made the god angry: he withdrew his protection from Glum, and now his luck turned. 38
Not only did groups of men or peoples trace descent from Frey, calling themselves his kin or his offspring, 39 but individ- uals regarded themselves as his friends or they were dear to him. The Gisla-saga tells how no snow lodged on the south side of Thorgrim’s barrow, in the north-west of Iceland, nor did it freeze there. So men guessed that this was because Thor- grim had been so dear to Frey that he would not suffer the snow to come between them. Or, as Gisli said : c Frey warms his serv- ant’s grave.’ Before his death it was said of Thorgrim that he had intended to hold a festival at the beginning of winter, to greet the winter and to sacrifice to Frey. 40
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« on: July 04, 2019, 10:27:05 PM »
* Tell me . . .
Whence Njord came among the ^Esir’s sons?
O’er fanes and shrines he rules by hundreds,
Yet was not among the A£sir born.’
Vafthrudnir answers:
1 In Vanaheim wise powers created him,
And to the gods a hostage gave.
At the Doom of the gods he will return To the wise Vanir.’
In the latter Loki addresses Njord and tells him that he was sent eastward and given to the gods as a hostage . 2 Hence he is £ god of the Vanir,’ £ kinsman of the Vanir,’ or simply £ the Van .’ 3 His dwelling is in Noatun, £ Ship-place ’ or £ Haven.’
‘ There Njord built himself the high hall,
Where the faultless ruler of men Sits in his high-timbered fane.’ 4
Njord’s wife is Skadi, daughter of the giant Thjazi, but ap- parently before he came among the vEsir, he had two children
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EDDIC MYTHOLOGY
by his unnamed sister, Frey and Freyja. With this Loki taunted him at ^Eigir’s banquet:
‘ I will no longer keep secret what I heard,
With thy sister thou hadst a son Hardly worse than thyself.’ 5
Njord rules the course of the wind and stills the sea, storm, and fire. Men call on him in sea-faring and hunting. So rich and abundant in goods is he, that he can give plenty of lands or gear j hence men invoke him for such things. Thus he is ‘ god of wealth-bestowal,’ and, according to Vajthrudnismal he is rich in altars and shrines . 6 Njord has thus two distinct divine attributes — he is a Sea-god and a god of wealth and prosperity, ‘ a Sea-god of riches .’ 7
His sister- wife was perhaps the goddess Nerthus of whom Tacitus speaks as worshipped by seven tribes in North-east Ger- many, and whose name exactly corresponds to that of Njord, from * nerthuz. Golther says: ‘the general German word nertu, “ good will,” as a name denoting character, was extended to persons. * Nerthuz means the beneficent, friendly divinity, and may thus be used either of a god or a goddess .’ 8
Tacitus says of Nerthus: ‘The Reudingi, Aviones, Anglii, Varini, Eudoses, Suardones, Nuithones (tribes of the Ingae- vones) unite in worshipping Nerthus, that is Mother Earth, and think that she mingles in the affairs of men and visits the na- tions. There is a sacred grove on an island in the ocean (prob- ably Seeland), and in it stands a wagon covered with a cloth. The priest alone may touch it. He becomes aware of the pres- ence of the goddess in the innermost place, and follows her with the greatest reverence as she is drawn about by cows. Then are there joyful days, places of festivity, wheresoever the goddess comes as a guest. They do not engage in wars nor take up arms. Weapons are closed. Peace and quiet alone are then named and loved, until the same priest restores to her temple the goddess, satisfied with the intercourse of mortals. Thereupon the vehicle
THE VANIR GROUP — NJORD 103
and its covering and, if it be credible, the goddess, are washed in a secret lake. Slaves do this service, and the lake immediately swallows them up.’ 9
All this suggests rites of fertility and a festival which would most naturally occur in spring. Nerthus is akin to Njord in functions, though different in sex. In spite of Tacitus’ assertion some, like Mannhardt, think that Nerthus was a male divinity j others, e.g., A. Kock, that Njord, a male god, had taken the place of a female. 10 But it is quite possible that a pair of deities, regarded as brother and sister, and bearing similar names, were worshipped together, along with a third, their son Frey, part of whose ritual, as we shall see, resembled that of Nerthus. Another theory is that originally Njord was a goddess (Ner- thus), not a god, and that Skadi, regarded as a female in the Eddas y was a god. 11
From Seeland, where it was indigenous, this cult passed to Sweden and Norway, and there, apart from the witness of the EddaSy many places bear the name of Njord, showing that his cult was widespread. Thence the cult passed to Iceland. In literary sources, Njord and Frey are constantly mentioned together — £ so help me Frey and Njord and Thor.’ Together they dispense riches. 12 Hence an old Icelandic phrase , 1 as rich as Njord.’
In an interesting myth Snorri makes Skadi the wife of Njord. The giant Thjazi had been slain by the AEsir, and in panoply of war his daughter Skadi went to Asgard to avenge him. The AEsir offered her atonement, viz., to choose a husband from their number, but to choose him by the feet only, for she would see no more than these in making her selection. Her choice fell on him whom she thought to be Balder, but the chosen one was Njord. In the bond of reconciliation it was also agreed that the gods must make her laugh, which she deemed impossible. Loki accomplished this, however, by an act which suggests cruelty and obscenity rather than humour. 13
In Saxo’s account of the mythic Hadding an incident re-
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EDDIC MYTHOLOGY
sembling this method of choice occurs. A giant had taken in troth Ragnhild, daughter of Hakon, king of the Nitheri. Had- ding overcame him, but was wounded. Ragnhild tended him, not knowing who he was, and, in order not to forget him, en- closed a ring in his wound. At a later time, her father gave her permission to choose a husband, and when the suitors were as- sembled, she felt their bodies and recognized Hadding by means of the ring . 14
The identification motif in Saxo is a form of a folk-tale formula, but the naked foot incident of the Edda has been con- nected with marriage rites in which only the foot of the future spouse is seen, and with fertility rites in which bare feet play a part. Schroder thinks that Nerthus-Njord is to be explained as 1 dancer ’ (cf. Sanskrit nart y ‘ to dance ’), and that the priest and priestess who represented this pair of fertility deities carried out the ritual with bare feet . 15
Skadi wished to dwell in her father’s abode in the mountains, Thrymheim, ‘ Home of noise,’ of which Grimnismal says that here Thjazi, the all-powerful Jotun, dwelt, but Skadi, bright bride of the gods, now inhabits the old dwelling of her father. Njord wished to dwell near the sea. They made a compact to dwell nine nights in Thrymheim and three at Noatun. When Njord came back from the mountains to Noatun he sang:
‘ I love not the mountains, I dwelt not long in them,
Nine nights only;
Sweeter is to me the song of the swan Than the wild wolf’s howl.’
To this Skadi replied:
‘ My sleep was troubled on the shore of the sea By the screaming of sea-birds.
Every morning the sea-mew wakens me Returning from the deep.’
These verses, quoted by Snorri, are from a lost Eddie poem. Skadi then went up to the mountains and dwelt in Thrymheim.
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THE VANIR GROUP — NJORD
She goes on snow-shoes and shoots wild creatures with her bow and arrows. Hence she is called £ goddess ’ or £ lady of the snow-shoes .’ 16 Skadi’s departure from Njord is referred to by the skald Thord Sjareksson who speaks of her ‘grieving at the Van’s side .’ 17
Saxo relates a similar story of Hadding and Ragnhild, quot- ing in Latin verses which correspond to those cited by Snorri. After years spent in disuse of arms, Hadding reproached him- self with dwelling in the hills and not following sea-faring. The cry of the wolves, the howl of beasts, keep him from sleep. The ridges and hills are dreary to one who loves the sea. Far better to ply the oar and revel in sea-fights than to dwell in rough lands, winding woodlands, and barren glades. Ragnhild sang of the shrill bird vexing her as she stayed by the sea, and the noise of the sea-mew keeping her from sleep. Safer and sweeter is the enjoyment of the woods. Hence it has been sup- posed that Hadding is identical with Njord, or his rebirth, but it is likely that Saxo merely transferred the Eddie poem to the story of Hadding . 18
In spite of Skadi’s separation from Njord, as told by Snorri, she appears with him at Aigir’s banquet in Lokasenna and also in the Introduction to Skirnismal. In the former poem she tells Loki how he will be punished, i.e., by being bound by the gods on the rocks with bowels torn from his £ ice-cold son.’ Loki replies that he was first and last at the fight when her father was slain. Skadi says that even so from her dwellings and fields shall ever come forth cold counsels for him. Loki then reminds her that she spoke more mildly when she invited him to her bed. Snorri connects Skadi with the myth of Loki’s punishment. She fastened a venomous serpent above him, where he was bound, and its poison dropped on his face . 19
The explanation given by some scholars of the nine nights’ stay in Thrymheim and three at Noatun, is that £ nights ’ sig- nifies £ months,’ and that the sea in the extreme North is open
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EDDIC MYTHOLOGY
only for three months for ship-faring. For the other nine it is sealed by ice and winter-storms . 20
Snorri’s Heimskringla , following the Y nglinga-tal , gives a different version of this myth. Njord wedded a woman Skadi, but she would have nothing of him, and hence was wedded to Odin, and had to him many sons, one of whom was Soeming. A poem by Eyvind is cited in support of this, which says that Soeming was begotten by Odin on a giant-maiden when they dwelt in Mannheim. To Soeming Norway traced her line of kings, or more strictly speaking the rulers of Halogaland . 21 The theory of alternating twin gods sharing one mate has been applied here, but Skadi is regarded as the god and Njord the goddess, shared by Odin and Skadi . 22
Skadi has been held to be a representative of the Finns and Lapps who peopled the north of Norway. She may have been one of their goddesses, regarded as a giant’s daughter, because the inhospitable Northern region was akin to or identical with Jotunheim. How she came to be associated with Njord and Odin is far from clear. But a cult war may have been con- sidered mythically as a war of Scandinavian and Finnish deities, ending in a pact and marriage. R. M. Meyer sees in the dis- puted residence incident of Skadi and Njord an ikonic myth, i.e., a myth based on the history of an image of Skadi which had been carried off to Noatun, and, after a war, shared a residence with Norsemen and Finns . 23
The euhemeristic notices of Njord in the Y nglinga-saga con- firm the Eddie account of him as a god of prosperity. He be- came ruler after Odin’s death. The Swedes call him lord and he took tribute of them. In his days there was peace, and hence the Swedes thought that he swayed the year’s plenty and men’s prosperity. He died in his bed and was marked for Odin ere he died . 24
The cult of Njord was associated with that of Frey, for the two deities are mentioned together both in taking oaths and in drinking toasts at feasts. First came Odin’s toast for victory
PLATE XIII
Scenes from the Larger Golden Horn
The upper design is assumed to depict the Fenris- wolf and the gods. He is seen bound in the lower part of the design, with Tyr to the left, his hands bitten off. See p. 99.
In the lower design two wolves are supposed to be attacking the sun (the figure with a face, above which is a sun-symbol). Below this is a representation of Hel-gate with reptiles and rivers (to right); the posts are made of bones of the dead. The interpretation is doubtful.
THE VANIR GROUP — NJORD 107
and power, second Njord’s, and third Frey’s for good sea- sons and peace. 25 Egil speaks of Njord and Frey as wealth- givers, and prays that both gods may be angry with king Eirik. 26 Little light, however, is thrown upon the personality of this god as a figure of popular worship and esteem, beyond the reference to his many shrines in V afthrudnismal. We may suppose that this god of earth’s fruitfulness and of prosperity, when his cult passed among sea-farers and fishermen, became also a god of the riches of the sea.
CHAPTER VIII
THE VANIR GROUP— FREY
F REY (ON Freyr), son of Njord, probably by his sister, is like him one of the Vanir but reckoned among the iTsir. He is £ the bold son of Njord ’j his ‘ mighty son ’j his £ noble son .’ 1 Among the Tisir he is £ the most renowned,’ £ foremost of the gods,’ £ whom no man hateth,’ £ the first of all the heroes in the gods’ house .’ 2 His name, which corresponds to Gothic frauja , OHG fro , and AS frea, means £ lord,’ and was thus at first a title. Snorri says of him that, like his sister Freyja, he is fair of face and mighty. He rules over rain and sunshine and also over the increase of the earth. Good is it to call on him for fruitful seasons and peace, for he can give peace and prosperity to men. He is god of the fruitful season and of the gifts of wealth. Thus Frey is closely akin to Njord in his functions. It is also said of him that £ he harms not maids, nor men’s wives, and frees the bound from their fetters.’ He is also £ the battle- bold Frey .’ 3
Frey’s seat is in Alfheim, the land of the Alfar or elves, given him by the gods as a £ tooth-gift ’ in ancient times, i.e., a present to a child on cutting its first tooth. £ As the elves are especially connected with the furthering of vegetable life (the places on the turf where they have danced betray themselves by the rich- ness of the grass), so the god of fruitfulness is naturally their overlord .’ 4
His possessions are Skidbladnir, £ swiftest and best of ships,’ and made with great skill of craftsmanship by dwarfs. It was given to Frey, perhaps because he, one of the Vanir, had to do with ship-faring. It is the ideal magic ship, so large that all the gods may man it with their weapons and armaments.
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As soon as its sails are hoisted, wherever it is going it has a fair wind, like certain ships in the Sagas. When not in use it can be folded up and put in the pouch . 5 Possibly this ship betokens the clouds. Frey’s sword fights of itself or if a worthy hero wields it . 6 His horse, Blodughofi, can go through 1 the dark and flickering flames .’ 7 To him also is ascribed the ring Draupnir which multiplies itself — a symbol of fertility appro- priate to Frey . 8 His chariot, in which he drives at Balder’s funeral, is drawn by the boar Gullinbursti, £ Gold bristles,’ or Slidrugtanni, £ Fearful tusk,’ or, according to the Husdrapa of Ulf Uggason, Frey rode on the boar itself. This boar was made by dwarfs and could run through air and water better than any horse} the glow from its mane and bristles was so great that, wherever the boar was, no matter how dark the night, there would be sufficient light. It is also called Hildisvini, £ Battle swine,’ £ which shines with bristles of gold . 9
Frey’s boar is undoubtedly connected with the offering to him of boars in sacrifice, especially the sonar goltr , £ atonement boar,’ on the eve of the Yule festival. The largest boar was given to Frey, and it was so holy that when it was led into the hall, oaths were sworn and vows made while the hand was laid over its bristles. The purpose of the sacrifice was to cause the god to be favourable to the New Year. According to the Hervarar-saga king Heidrek offered the boar to Frey, but an earlier reference does not connect the sonar goltr with Frey . 10 A survival of the sacrifice is found in the cakes baked in Sweden at Yule in the form of a boar. Whether all the references to the boar in Teutonic folk-custom or story collected by Grimm are connected with the cult of Frey is doubtful. The ceremonial bringing-in of a boar’s head at Christmas banquets in England, still surviving at Queen’s College, Oxford, cannot be definitely shown to point to a cult of Frey among the Saxons . 11 According to Tacitus the Aestii worshipped the IS/Later deum , and wore as an emblem of that superstition the forms of boars, which took the place of arms or other protection and guaranteed victory . 12
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Some have seen in this native goddess Freyja who, in Hyndlu- Ijody rides a boar with golden bristles. The custom of wearing a boar’s image or helmets in that form as protectives was common among the Anglo-Saxons, as their poetry shows, as well as in Germany. It need not necessarily point to a cult of Frey, but to a wider belief in the swine as a sacred or magic animal . 13
Frey’s servants are Skirnir, prominent in Skirnismal , and Byggvir and his wife Beyla, both of whom opposed Loki at ASgir’s banquet and were addressed contemptuously by him.
At the Doom of the gods Frey contends with Surt and falls, because he lacks his sword which he had given to Skirnir . 14 Reference is made to Frey’s slaying of Beli, not with his sword, but with his fist or the horn of a hart. Hence he is called ‘ ad- versary of Beli,’ £ Beli’s hater,’ or £ fair slayer.’ Beli may be the brother of Gerd, of whom Frey was enamoured, for she speaks of him as her brother’s murderer . 15
Like Njord, Frey is accused by Loki of having a sister-wife, Freyja, the only reference to this save in the Y nglinga-saga . 16 Both Skirnismal and Snorri give the story of his love for the giant’s daughter Gerd, called his wife in Hyndluljod: £ Gerd, Frey’s spouse, was Gymir’s daughter ; Orboda bore her to the old giant .’ 17 Orboda was one of the Hill-giants’ race. Snorri calls Gymir a man, but he was certainly a giant. His daughter was fairest of women. One day Frey sat himself on Hlid- skjalf and looked over the worlds, even to Jotunheim, where he saw a woman raising her hands to open the door of a house. Brightness gleamed from her arms over sea, sky, and all worlds. Frey was filled with melancholy, represented by Snorri as a punishment for sitting in Odin’s seat, but in Skirnismal there is no word of this, and perhaps this seat was Frey’s originally, not Odin’s. Skadi (or Njord, according to an emendation of the text and also in Snorri’s version) sent for Skirnir and bade him ask Frey for whose sake he was so melancholy. Skirnir feared that he would get evil answers from him, but he questioned him
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where the god slew his goats as a meal for his host and his family and guests. He bade them lay the bones on the hides, but Thjalfi, the peasant’s son, split a thigh-bone to extract the marrow. Next morning Thor resuscitated the goats by swing- ing his hammer, and, discovering that one was lame, was angry and so terrified the peasant that he and his family offered all they had as a recompense. Thor therefore took his son Thjalfi and his daughter Roskva as his servants.
All four journeyed towards Jotunheim, and at night reached a great forest, where they found a huge hall in which they lay for the night. At midnight an earthquake caused them to seek shelter in a side-chamber. Thor kept watch with his hammer at its entrance. In the morning he went out and found a huge man sleeping and snoring. He would have struck him with his hammer, but for the first time his heart failed him. The giant recognized him as Asa-Thor and, telling him that his name was Skrymir, asked why he had dragged away his glove. Then Thor saw that the hall with the inner chamber where they had slept was Skrymir’s glove with its thumb. All now joined forces and shared their food, but next night Thor was unable to open the provision-bag, try as he might. Skrymir was asleep. Seizing his hammer, he dealt him three successive blows on the head. After each blow Skrymir said that a leaf had fallen on him, then an acorn, then some bird-droppings. Next morning he left the others after directing them to Utgard, and bidding them not boast before its lord, Utgard-Loki.
Arrived at the castle of Utgard, its lord spoke of Thor as a toddler, and asked what accomplishments he and the others could show. Loki said that no one could eat food more rapidly than he. A trough of food was set out and one Logi (Fire) was set to eat against him, and ate meat, bones, and trough also. The swift Thjalfi was beaten in a race by the lad Hugi. Thor boasted of his drinking-feats, but could not do more in three prodigious draughts than take a little from a horn which was given him. Then he attempted to lift Utgard-Loki’s cat, but
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could do no more than raise one of its feet from the ground. Lastly he attempted to wrestle and throw Utgard-Loki’s nurse Elli, but was himself brought to one knee. Now Utgard-Loki bade them spend the night in feasting.
Next morning Thor admitted that he must be called a man of little might, but Utgard-Loki said that he would never have received him, had he known he was so strong. He himself was Skrymir and had prepared ‘ eye-illusions ’ to outwit him. The provision-bag was bound with iron, hence Thor could not undo its apparent knots. He had struck three terrific blows, which would have been fatal had not Skrymir placed a hill between himself and them, and the hill was now deeply indented. Logi was Fire and thus could consume meat, bones, and trough so quickly. Hugi was Thought and Thjalfi could not outrun him. The end of the horn was in the sea, so Thor could not empty it, yet he had diminished the sea, and this is the cause of ebb-tides. The cat was the Midgard-serpent, and Thor had raised it nearly to Heaven. Elli was Old Age, and it was a marvel that Thor had withstood her so long. Hearing all this, Thor clutched his hammer and was about to strike, when he found that Utgard- Loki had vanished, and where the castle stood was a wide plain. Hence Thor resolved to encounter the Midgard-serpent again, if he could . 75
The goat-episode is referred to in Hymiskvitha , as has been seen. In Harbardsljod Harbard taunts Thor with cowardice in creeping into the glove of Skrymir, here called Fjalar ; and in Lokasenna Loki sneers at him for the same act and for believing that he was no longer Thor, and for failing to open Skrymir’s provision-bag . 76
How far the episodes of this story are to be interpreted in terms of natural phenomena, or what these may be, is difficult to say, in spite of many attempts in this direction. Some of the mythical conceptions of the North are here — Thor in his con- test with giant or unearthly powers ; the region of these powers; Utgard, Outside Land; the power of Thor’s hammer, penetrat-
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ing a hill; the might of fire; the Midgard-serpent; the idea that a god is superior to old age, yet not immortal; the mythic explanation of the origin of ebb-tide. But, on the whole, the story — the longest in Snorri — is perhaps no more than a skilful weaving of episodes and ideas into one tale, utilizing M'drchen formulae — deception and glamour, by which even gods are deceived, and the futility of a race with Thought or of defeating Old Age. The episode of the restoration of Thor’s goats to life has many folk-tale parallels, in which dead or dis- membered persons or animals are restored. A near parallel is found in Celtic mythology. One of the swine of the god Manannan is slain and cooked, and afterwards restored to life, in a story where the god and his wife are hosts to the adventurer Cormac. Manannan’s swine were immortal, and myth said of them that, killed one day, they came alive next day, and with their flesh the gods were made immortal . 77
By some, Utgard-Loki is regarded as a form of Loki himself, partly because the Midgard-serpent, his offspring, appears in the story. But as Loki himself shares in the adventure, this is unlikely, and he may be regarded as an abstraction of giant power, against which, for once, Thor sets himself in vain. A distorted form of Utgard-Loki, with traits of the medieval devil, appears in Ugarthilocus whom Saxo describes as a being or deity to whom sacrifices are paid. King Gorm was perplexed about immortality. Some of his courtiers told him that the gods should be consulted and suggested that Thorkill should be sent on this mission. Thorkill sailed to a sunless region and reached a place where he entered a foul cavern, at the entrance to which were two huge men, swart, with beaked noses. One of them told Thorkill that he had a dangerous journey before him in his desire to visit a strange god. After four days roving in darkness he would reach a dark land and discover Ugarthilocus in his grisly caves. When Thorkill and his party reached these caves they saw seats covered with serpents, and beyond this another cave with a foul room where Ugarthilocus was bound
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with chains. Each of his hairs was as large as a spear of cornel. Thorkill plucked one from his beard as a token, and straightway a foul stench nearly choked the visitors. Only five escaped with Thorkill, pursued by demons. Eventually he reached Germany and became a Christian. King Gorm was so affected by his description of Ugarthilocus that he died. Many of the by- standers perished of the smell from the hair when he pro- duced it . 78 Gorm himself, after visiting Geirrod’s realm, on the return journey had obtained fair weather by vows and peace- offerings to Ugarthilocus . 79 In this narrative, Ugarthilocus is rather a blending of Loki chained by the gods and the medieval Satan bound in Hell, than the Utgard-Loki of Snorri’s story.
Another story, the subject of Alvissmal , shows how Thor tricked a dwarf and caused his destruction. The narrative part of this Eddie poem is slight: most of it consists of questions put by Thor to the dwarf Alviss about the different names, mainly fanciful, given to earth, Heaven, moon, sun, clouds, wind, calm, sea, etc., by men, gods, Vanir, giants, dwarfs, and elves. These different synonyms resemble the artificial kennings of the scalds, but more recent investigation shows that some, at least, are circumlocutions used e.g., at sea, to avoid the real names, which were dangerous and tabu . 80 Alviss has come by night to claim Thor’s daughter, Thrud, who had been promised him by the gods in Thor’s absence. Thor confronts Alviss and asks who he is and why he is so pale of face, as if he had been lying with the dead. Alviss says that his home is under the earth, beneath the rocks. He has come to speak with the Wagon- man (Vagna-verr) and trusts that the gods will keep their word. Thor says that he will break it, for, as father, he has foremost right over the bride, nor was he present when the promise was made. Alviss pretends to take Thor for a wandering man, such is his appearance. £ I am Ving-Thor, the wide-wanderer, Long- beard’s (Sidgrani’s, Odin’s) son, and against my will shall thou take the maid,’ cries Thor. Alviss says he would fain gain her through good will, and Thor says that he will not keep her
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from a guest so wise, if only he will tell about every world of which he asks him. Then follow the questions and answers ; at the end of them Thor says he has never known such wealth of knowledge in a single breast, but he has detained Alviss by craft and betrayed him. ‘ The day has caught thee, O dwarf j the sun (deceiver of Dvalin) shines in the hall.’ The dwarf is de- stroyed by daylight, fatal to underearth beings, and Thor thus overcomes him by craft, as he overcomes giants by strength. Thor’s role of seeker after wisdom is unusual, and rather sug- gests that of Odin in V olus-pa, V ajthrudnismal , etc.
If Miss Phillpotts is right in her theory that many of the Eddie poems are folk-dramas, there is a distinct group in which, as she points out, a god causes the death of his opponent. Odin slays Vafthrudnir, Freyja destroys the giantess Hyndla by fire, but the role of destroyer is mainly Thor’s, the great champion of gods and men against all dangerous forces and especially the Frost-giants. The power of frost was feared by the Northern people, and a mighty winter was expected to destroy all life in the future, as will be seen later. Such folk-dramas were not performed merely with a view to entertainment. Hence when Thor was represented destroying giants, the purpose was to secure his victory in actual fights against these forces. The dramas were, in fact, a kind of mimetic magic, intended to bring about the result which was enacted. The time of the action-drama may have been the winter festival of Yule, when evil powers were in the ascendant. Then it was necessary to strengthen the hands of the guardian of Midgard, the cham- pion of gods and men. Miss Phillpotts also makes the inter- esting suggestion that if the lost poem on which Snorri founded his story of Thor and Hrungnir was a folk-drama, then an effigy probably represented Hrungnir. This effigy, after the dramatic tradition was lost, was regarded as an accessory to Hrungnir, and called Mokkurkalfi . 81
CHAPTER VI
THE GREATER GODS— TYR
T HE Eddie god Tyr was known to other Teutonic tribes as Zio or Ziu (OHG), Tyw or Tiw (AS). These names are deduced from the Teutonic names of the third day of the week — OHG Ziestag, AS Tiwesdaeg (English Tuesday), ON Tyrsdagr and Tysdagr. The prevalence of these names in the Rhine region, Upper Germany, North Germany, Saxony, and Scandinavia, shows that this god was widely known. The primi- tive form of the name was *Tiwaz, which has been regarded as the equivalent of the Vedic Dyaus, Greek Zeus, Latin Diespiter (Jupiter). Others connect *Tiwaz rather with a primitive *deivos (= deus), Sanskrit devas , Latin divus , cf. Norse tivar, L gods/ probably a plural of tyr> c god.’ This would agree with the Norse use of tyr in the general sense of 1 god,’ as in Sigtyr, Veratyr, Hangatyr, etc.
The former derivation would point to *Tiwaz as an early Teutonic Sky-god. But the occurrence of the various forms of the name in the titles of the third day of the week as equivalents of dies Martis , suggests that this Sky-god had become a god of war, or that greater emphasis had been laid on some of his functions , 1 the result of the growing place of war as a business of life among the Teutons.
Tacitus says that Mars had a high place with certain tribes or groups of tribes. The Tencteri on the east side of the Rhine regarded Mars as chief of the gods. The god who had a highly sacred grove among the Semnones, a branch of the Suevi, and to whom human sacrifices were offered, is supposed to have been Zio. He is not named, but he is called regnator omnium . 2 In the sixth century Jordanes says of the Goths that they sacrificed
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their prisoners of war to Mars as the best means of placating him. 3 Procopius similarly relates of the Scandinavians in the sixth century that they regarded human victims as the best offer- ing. They sacrificed them to Mars (Ares), whom they re- garded as the greatest god. 4 The place of Tyr as War-god must have decreased before the growing power of Odin. Yet in the late Middle Ages an Icelander could translate in templo Martis by t tys hofi, showing that Tyr’s place had not been forgotten. 5 It is also significant of the pre-eminence of Tiwaz that in inscrip- tions which give Roman equivalents of the three great Teutonic gods, Mars is often first. The Wessobrunner gloss (eighth century), which speaks of the Suabian descendants of the Sem- nones of that time, speaks of them as Cyuuari, £ Worshippers of Ziu.’ 6 In the region of this people their chief town Augsburg was called Ciesburc, £ Ziu’s town.’
Another name or epithet of the god is seen in the Thingsus (Mars Thingsus) to whom Frisian soldiers from Twenthe (in the territory of the Salic Franks) dedicated altars with fig- ures in relief. These were brought to light at Housesteads on the line of Hadrian’s wall in 1883. The names of the two Alaisiagae, Bede and Fimmilene, are joined with that of Mars Thingsus. The god is represented as a warrior, at his right hand a swan or goose. Female figures, the Alaisiagae, hover in the receding sides of the semi-circular reliefs, with sword or staff in one hand, and a wreath in the other. Thingsus is re- garded as a name of Ziu in his capacity as tutelary god of the Thing or assembly, i.e., the Frisian cohort regarded as a unit or Thing. The same divine name appears in Dinsdag, Dingsdach (Tuesday). Thingsus has also been explained as meaning £ Warrior.’ The explanations of the names and functions of the two goddesses are numerous. They may possibly be equiva- lents of Valkyries. 7
In the Eddas Tyr has a subordinate place and, if he was once a Heaven-god, Odin had ousted him. He was called Odin’s son, and even as War-god he had fallen into the background
PLATE XII
Altar to Mars Thingsus
This altar, dedicated to Mars Thingsus and the two Alaisiagae, Bede and Fimmilene, is one of two found at Housesteads on the line of Hadrian’s wall. They were erected by Frisian soldiers from Twenthe (see p. 98).
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through Odin’s supremacy. Snorri says of him: 1 He is most daring and stout-hearted, and has chief authority over victory in battle. It is good that brave men should invoke him.’ £ A Tyr-valiant man ’ is one who surpasses others in stoutness of heart. Another proverbial saying, illustrating Tyr’s wisdom, was to call the wisest man £ Tyr-prudent.’ ‘ Tyr cannot be called a reconciler of men .’ 8 Runes for victory were written on swords, Tyr being invoked in the process . 9 Scaldic kennings for Tyr were £ god of battles,’ £ son of Odin,’ c the one-handed god,’ and 1 fosterer of the wolf .’ 10 Famous chiefs were known as Tyr’s offspring, and Tyr occurs in personal names and in place-names.
The myths told of Tyr are few in number. Loki’s offspring, the Fenris-wolf, was brought up by the yEsir, of whom Tyr alone ventured to give him meat. When the gods saw how he grew, and recalled the prophecies which told how the Wolf would be their destruction, they resolved to bind him. Two fetters in turn were tried, but these were broken in pieces. Then the gods sent to the dwarfs, who made the fetter Gleipnir out of six things — the noise of a cat in walking, a woman’s beard, the roots of a rock, the sinews of a bear, the breath of a fish, and the spittle of a bird (all non-existent things). The fetter was soft and smooth, yet strong and sure. The gods then held debate with the Wolf about submitting to have this fetter put on him. He finally agreed, provided that one of them put his hand in his mouth. None of the ASsir was willing to part with a hand, until Tyr stretched out his and put it in the Wolf’s mouth. The more the monster lashed out, the firmer became the fetter, but Tyr’s hand was bitten off. Then the Wolf was chained to a great rock, and there he is bound until the Doom of the gods . 11 Much ingenuity has been expended in inventing explanations of this myth. Beyond suggesting that Tyr is in conflict with dark and demoniac powers, it does not explain itself further. That Tyr, as god of war, should have lost a hand, may reflect what often happened to warriors in battle. Similar
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myths are told of gods elsewhere, e.g., the Irish Nuadu, whose hand, struck off by an opponent, was replaced by one of silver j Zeus, who lost his tendons 3 the Vedic Vispala, whose leg was cut off in battle and replaced by one of iron. 12
When Tyr was present at Aigir’s feast, and spoke in defence of Frey, Loki bade him be silent, for he could never fashion friendship between men, and then taunted him with the loss of his hand. Tyr replied that it boded ill for Loki’s Wolf, now awaiting in chains the great battle. Loki retaliated by saying that Tyr’s wife — mentioned for the first and only time — had a son by him, and that Tyr never got a penny in compensation for the wrong done to him. 13
The Hymiskvitha , which tells how Thor and Tyr, at the latter’s advice, sought the mighty cauldron of the giant Hymir, makes this giant father of Tyr by £ the white eye-browed one,’ with golden hair, who welcomes Tyr at Hymir’s abode, and who may have been a goddess, not a giantess. A nine-hundred- headed giantess, also present, is Tyr’s grandmother, whom he loathed. Hence Tyr is called 1 kinsman of giants.* Tyr takes no further part in the action, save that he twice tries to move the kettle, but cannot, and then, when Thor has raised it, re- turns with him to the .Eisir.
The meaning of this myth as well as of Tyr’s relationship to the giant Hymir has been the occasion of much debate. While it is in keeping with mythology that an important god should be related to a giant, it is possible that c Tyr ’ in this poem means not the War-god, but is used merely in the sense of ‘ the god.’ This god might be Loki, for at the end of the poem we hear that Thor on his return found his goats lame, and this was Loki’s doing. Snorri gives an incident of the laming of Thor’s goat in another connexion, when he and Loki were on a journey. 14
The only other reference to Tyr in the Eddas is the notice of his conflict with the dog Garm at the Doom of the gods, when each slew the other. 16
CHAPTER VII
THE VANIR GROUP— NJORD
A CCORDING to Snorri, Njord (ON Njer^r) is third of the Aisir, though not of their race, for he was reared in the land of the Vanir and given by them as a hostage to the Aisir . 1 This agrees with other passages in Snorri and in the Poetic Edda , where Njord appears among the Aisir, e.g., at Aigir’s banquet. It is based on passages in V df thrudnismal and Eokasenna. In the former Odin says:
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There are occasional references to the myth in the Eddie and other poems. Thor calls Mjollnir £ Hrungnir’s slayer,’ and he himself is £ Hrungnir’s killer,’ £ smiter of Hrungnir ,’ 1 skull- splitter of Hrungnir.’ The stone shield is £ blade of Hrungnir’s foot-soles ’ according to a kenning, because the giant stood on it . 57 The fullest reference is in Harbardsljod. Harbard said to Thor that he would await his attack and that since Hrungnir died no stouter opponent has faced him. Thor replied:
‘ Thou now remindest me How I with Hrungnir fought,
The insolent Jotun,
Whose head was all of stone;
Yet I made him fall,
And sink before me.’ 58
While the foundation of this myth may be the effect of a thunder-storm in the mountains, the further modern interpreta- tions of details in it can only be regarded as highly problem- atical. The story of the part of the whetstone which stuck in Thor’s head is possibly an ^etiological myth originating as an explanation of images of the god Thor which, as among the Lapps, had an iron nail with a piece of flint stuck in the head, £ as if Thor should strike out fire.’ The purpose of this iron and flint was probably to produce the sacrificial fire. On the high- seat pillars of the Norsemen the image of Thor was carved and in the head was set the reginnagli. In earlier times flint may have been used instead of iron in these images . 59
Aurvandil, £ the Sea-wanderer,’ is the hero Orendil still sung in an epic of the twelfth century, and possibly the Horvendil- lus of Saxo, father of Amleth (Hamlet). The constellation Earendel was also known to the Anglo-Saxons . 60 This constel- lation is thought to be Orion.
Another giant adventure of Thor’s is that in Geirrod’s land, related by Snorri. Loki, flying in Frigg’s hawk-plumage, went to Geirrod’s court where he was shut up in a chest for three months. In order to get free, he told Geirrod that he would
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induce Thor to come there without his hammer or girdle. Thor, having been persuaded, went off with Loki and spent the night with the giantess Grid, mother of Vidarr, who told him of Geirrod’s craft and lent him a pair of iron gloves, a girdle of might, and a staff called ‘ Grid’s staff ’ ( Gridar voir). By aid of the staff Thor crossed Vimur, greatest of rivers, Loki holding on to the girdle of might. When they were in mid-stream Gj alp, daughter of Geirrod, caused the waters to increase. Thor sang: £ Swell not, O Vimur, I must wade through thee to the giants’ garth. If thou swellest, so will swell my divine strength in me up to Heaven.’ Going forward he saw how Gjalp caused the swelling of the stream, and caused her to retire by throwing a stone at her. Then taking hold of a rowan-tree on the bank, he pulled himself out: hence the rowan is called c Thor’s de- liverance.’ Reaching Geirrod’s court, Thor was given a seat which moved under him to the roof. Thrusting his staff against the rafters, he pushed back the chair, which now crashed on Gjalp and her sister Greip, breaking their backs. Geirrod called him to play games in a hall where great fires burned, and taking with the tongs a white hot iron bar from the fire, he threw it at Thor, who caught it with his iron gloves. Seeing him about to throw it at him, Geirrod leaped behind an iron pillar, through which the bar passed, as well as through Geirrod and the wall into the earth. 61
This myth is the subject of a poem by Eilif Gudrunarson {c. 976 a.d.), in which, not Loki, but Thjalfi accompanies Thor. 62 Saxo Grammaticus, in his account of King Gorm’s visit to the land of Geruthus (Geirrod), refers to the hurt done by Thor to him and his daughters, here three in number. Geir- rod’s land is full of treasure. The way to it across the ocean is beset with peril. Sun and stars are left behind and the jour- ney is taken down to chaos, to a land of darkness and horror, and here the story is probably coloured by visions of Hell. c Long ago the god Thor had been provoked by the insolence of the giants to drive red-hot irons through the vitals of
PLATE XI
Thor’s Hammer Amulets
The upper, of silver, from Uppland, Sweden. The lower, of silver decorated with gold and filigree work, is from East Gotland, Sweden.
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Geirrod, who strove with him. The iron slid farther, tore up the mountain, and battered through its side. The women were stricken by the might of his thunderbolts, and were punished for their attempt on Thor, by having their backs broken .’ 63
The myth of Hymir is told by Snorri and also in the Eddie poem Hymiskvitha. Snorri says that Thor went from Mid- gard on foot and in haste disguised as a youth, and arrived at the giant Hymir’s abode. Next morning he wished to aid Hymir in fishing, but Hymir said he was so small that he would freeze. Thor’s anger was great, but he restrained himself from attacking Hymir, as he had another purpose to fulfil. To obtain bait he struck off the head of Hymir’s largest ox, Him- inbrjot. He aided Hymir in rowing to the usual fishing-banks, and beyond them, in spite of the giant’s fear of the Midgard- serpent. Thor prepared a strong line with a large hook, on which he fixed the ox’s head. Then he cast it overboard, in- tending to beguile the Midgard-serpent. The monster snapped at the bait and was caught by the hook, dashing off so quickly that Thor’s fists crashed against the gunwale. Thor’s divine anger came upon him: he braced his feet so firmly that they dashed through the planking and struck the bottom of the ship. Then he drew the serpent up, flashing fiery glances at it, while it glared at him and blew venom. The giant was in terror and, while Thor clutched his hammer, he fumbled for his knife and hacked the line, so that the serpent fell back into the sea. Thor hurled his hammer after it, and £ men say that he struck off its head,’ but c I think it were true to tell thee that the serpent still lives and lies in the encompassing sea.’ Then Thor struck Hymir with his fist and sent him overboard, and he himself waded ashore . 64
Snorri makes this adventure one taken in revenge for Thor’s outwitting by Utgard-Loki, of which we shall hear presently. The Hymiskvitha gives a somewhat different version of the myth, showing that Snorri must have used other sources, and
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it is the subject of several poems, verses of which are quoted by him in Skaldskafarmal , 65
The Hymiskvitha , which is based on earlier lays, consists of three incidents — the obtaining of a kettle for the gods’ ban- quet, the Hymir story, and the tale of Thor’s goats. The third has no real connexion with the rest of the poem, the two incidents of which are much more welded together.
The gods were feasting and not satisfied, so they used divining-twigs to discover where more drink could be obtained. They learned that there was plenty in the hall of the giant or sea-god Aigir, and to him they went, bidding him prepare a feast for them. The giant sought revenge and bade Thor bring a kettle in which to brew ale. The gods did not know where to seek it, until Tyr, who here calls Hymir his father, said that Hymir had a mighty kettle, a mile deep. Thor and Tyr set out to the east of Elivagar at the end of Heaven, where Hymir dwelt, first going to Egil’s house, where Thor left his goats. At Hymir’s abode Tyr found his grandmother, who had nine hundred heads, and his bright-browed mother, who brought them ale. She hid them beneath the kettle, for Hymir was often hostile to guests. Late returned the giant from hunting, icicles rattling on his beard. His wife told him that Thor and their son Tyr, long waited for, had come, and were sitting under the gable, behind the beam. The giant looked at the gable: it gave way and eight kettles fell, of which all but one — that under which the gods were hiding — broke. The giant saw them, and, though enraged, could not forget the duty of hospitality. Three oxen were slaughtered and their flesh boiled: of these Thor ate two, to Hymir’s amazement. The poem now passes suddenly to the fishing incident. Hymir bids Thor go and get bait from the oxen. On this expedition Hymir caught two whales, while Thor was still preparing his hook with great cunning. Having cast it he drew up the serpent, and struck at its 1 hill of hair ’ (head) with his hammer, and it sank into the sea.
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Thor and Hymir returned to the giant’s house. Hymir would reckon no one strong who could not break his glass cup. Thor struck the stone pillars with it: they broke, but not the cup. Now Hymir’s wife told Thor to strike the giant’s head with the cup, for that was harder than the glass. Hymir be- wailed his treasure, and said that now they might take the kettle if they could move it. Tyr tried in vain: Thor raised it to his head and set off. The giant with other many-headed ones out of caves pursued. Thor put down the kettle, swung his hammer and slew the giants. Thus the kettle was brought to the gods. After the killing of the giants, one of Thor’s goats was found with its leg hurt — this evil Loki had done. Nothing further is said of this in the poem, and the goat incident is told by Snorri in another connexion.
This lay consists mainly of a widespread folk-tale, to which the episode of the Midgard-serpent has been attached, unlike the prose account. Heroes come to a giant’s abode to seek some coveted possession. In the adventure they are aided by the giant’s wife or daughter, and so overcome him and obtain the de- sired object. Thor and Tyr are here made the heroes of the tale. The cup is suggestive of the giant’s Life-token, containing his soul, but contrary to usual custom, though it is broken, the giant does not immediately die. Such folk-tales usually tell how the pursuers are stopped by transformed objects thrown down by the pursued. This is lacking in the lay. That the kettle signifies the sea, frozen in winter, i.e., in the power of the Frost-giant, and freed by the first thunder-storm in spring, seems a forced and unnatural explanation of the tale . 66 A gigantic vessel would rather be the rock basin or shores contain- ing the sea, not the sea itself.
The adventure with the Midgard-serpent prefigures the coming time when, at the Doom of the gods, Thor will have to engage with it. But this adventure may have given rise to the conception of that final combat with the monster. The sugges- tion of both prose and poetic narrative is that the serpent is slain
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or receives a severe wound. The poem called Bragi’s Shield- lay and the Husdrafa both describe the adventure, and in the latter Thor struck the serpent a deadly blow and smote off its head as it rose from the sea. 0 '
One of the finest Eddie poems, Thrymskvitha or ‘Lay of Thrym,’ composed about 900 a.d., has, as its subject, the recov- ery of Thor’s hammer from the giant Thrym, who had stolen it. Ving-Thor awoke to find his hammer missing. Great was his rage — hair bristling, beard shaking — as he sought it. Loki was told of his loss, and together they sought Freyja and bor- rowed her feather-dress. In this Loki flew to Jotunheim (as he had flown to Geirrod’s realm), where Thrym, lord of the giants, sat on a mound, making golden leashes for his dogs and stroking the manes of his steeds. ‘ How fares it with gods and elves: why comest thou alone to Jotunheim? ’ he cried to Loki. ‘ 111 fares it with gods and elves,’ replied Loki, ‘ hast thou hid- den Hlorrithi’s hammer? ’ Thrym said it was hidden eight miles deep: none would win it back, unless Freyja was given him as a bride. Back flew Loki to Thor with the tidings, and again they sought Freyja, Loki bidding her bind on the bridal veil and haste to Jotunheim with him. So great was Freyja’s anger that the gods’ dwelling was shaken and her necklace, Brisinga-men, broke. The gods met in council. How was the hammer to be recovered? Heimdall advised that Thor, dis- guised as Freyja, should go to Thrym. Thor refused such un- manly conduct, but Loki bade him be silent, for if the advice were not followed, and he did not recover his hammer, the giants would soon dwell in Asgard — a significant statement.
So the bridal-veil was put on Thor, with a woman’s dress, keys at her girdle, a woman’s head-gear, and the necklace and other gems. Loki attended him as a maidservant, and in the goats’ chariot they sped to Jotunheim, while the mountains burst and blazed with fire. Thrym bade a great feast to be prepared. To his amazement Thor ate an ox, eight salmon, and all the dainties provided for the women, and drank three huge vessels
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of mead. Loki said that the bride had been fasting for eight nights, in her longing for Jotunheim. Thrym, eager to kiss the bride, lifted her veil, but at sight of the fiery eyes, leaped back the length of the hall. Loki explained that for eight nights the bride had not slept, in her longing for Jotunheim. Now came the giant’s sister, asking the bridal fee — rings of gold from the bride’s hand, if she would gain her love and favour. Then Thrym commanded that the hammer be brought to hal- low the bride, and placed on her knees, that the hand of Vor, goddess of vows, might bless them both. Thor laughed in- wardly and, seizing the hammer, slew Thrym and all the giants and his sister.
Some dualistic conceptions may lie behind this myth. The giant wishes to gain the power of the gods, and steals its symbol and medium, the hammer Mjollnir. But what precisely the giant represents, whether a primitive thunder-deity or demon or the force of winter, is problematical. Thor, whose strength is quiescent apart from his hammer, may represent here a nature god whose power wanes in winter, but waxes in spring. If this is the mythic foundation, the story is built upon it without itself having any significance in nature phenomena. It is well told, with much humour, and Thor excellently sustains the part of the bride. The story is remembered in Norse folk-tales . 68
Here, there is a quest by Thor for his own property, as in Hymiskvitha for that of another, in Jotunheim. In both tales he eats in a gluttonish manner, and in both he ends by slaying the giants.
Still another exploit of Thor’s against a giant is found in the tale of the building of a citadel for the gods, which would be proof against the Hill-giants and Frost-giants. This was done by a giant craftsman ( smidr ) on condition that he should have Freyja and the sun and moon. The occasion of the building was after the attack on Asgard by the Vanir. The gods said that the giant must complete it in one season, and that he would lose his reward if it were not done by the first day of summer.
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The bargain was sealed with many oaths, since it was unsafe for the giant to be in Asgard without truce, should Thor, who was in the East fighting trolls, return. The giant asked permis- sion for the help of his stallion Svadilfari. He began on the first day of winter, and the gods were amazed to see the horse drawing such huge stones. Within three days of summer, the work was nearly done. The gods were inclined to evade their promise, asking who had advised handing over Freyja or so destroying air and sky as to propose taking sun and moon from them. All agreed that Loki must have advised this. He de- served death, if he could not devise means of outwitting the giant. Accordingly, in the form of a mare he met Svadilfari, who snapped his traces and rushed after the mare. The giant fell into frenzy, knowing that the work would not now be finished. The gods sent for Thor who came and struck the giant into fragments with his hammer. Loki gave birth to a foal with eight feet, Odin’s horse Sleipnir. 69
This bargain and Thor’s deliverance of the gods are referred to in V olus pa , quoted also by Snorri:
£ Then went the powers to their judgment seats,
The all-holy gods, and thereon held council Who had all the air with venom mingled Or given Od’s maid to the giant race.
Then alone was Thor with anger swollen,
He seldom sits when the like he hears.
Oaths were broken, words and pledges,
The mighty bonds between them made.’
Behind this myth as applied to the gods and their citadel is the traditional belief that large buildings of unknown origin must have been the work of giants. Some German and Scandinavian folk-tales closely resemble this story, though the method of outwitting giant, troll, or devil is different. 70
Thor here appears as guardian and helper of the gods, as in the Hrungnir myth. So Lokasenna shows his coming in to the
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9i
banquet-hall where Loki has been slandering the deities, and bidding him be silent or he will close his mouth. So the skald Thorbjorn sang:
‘ Bravely fought Thor for Asgard And the followers of Odin.’ 71
Other adventures of Thor with giants are mentioned in the Eddas. Harbardsljod and the skald Bragi attribute to him the destruction of Thjazi, ‘the Thick,’ and the casting of his eyes to Heaven. The former deed, however, is ascribed to the gods generally by Snorri and in Lokasenna; the latter to Odin by Snorri .' 2 Thor slew the nine-headed Thrivaldi, broke the leg of Leikn, and slew giantesses . 73 1 Eastward I fared and felled the giants’ ill-working women,’ says Thor in Harbardsljod , and again, c When I was in the East, guarding the river, the sons of Svarang sought me and assailed me with stones. But little j oy was theirs: they were first to sue for peace.’ He also slew the brides of the berserkers in Hlesey, who were like she-wolves rather than women. They crushed his ship and threatened him with iron clubs, and drove off Thjalfi. In Hyndluljod Thor is said by Freyja to love little the brides of the giants. Of the tales here referred to or in the epithet £ slayer of Hrod ’ nothing is known . 74
In these myths Thor is a boisterous, undaunted being, op- ponent of the forces which are inimical to the rule of the gods and, therefore, presumably, to the welfare of men. These forces, personified as giants, are the wild, harsh, sinister aspects of nature, all in nature that is opposed to the kindly forces of growth and fertility.
Another long story, related by Snorri, may have less mythical significance than some are disposed to discover in it. It rather suggests the inventive imagination of one well-versed in folk- tale formulae than a myth proper, though the first incident belongs to Thor-mythology.
Thor and Loki stayed for the night at a peasant’s house,
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Thor appears in this story as opponent of the aristocratic warrior class dear to Odin, and of their ideals, turning every gift of Odin’s into a curse or neutralizing it, and thus acting the part of the third Norn in some tales.
In the Eddas Thor is regarded as son of Odin, but this could only have been a mythic convention resulting from Odin’s growing supremacy and the desire to bring all other deities into relation with him. This mythic relationship is asserted in the old English homily written by Ailfric, who says that the Danes held Jupiter, whom they call Thor, to be son of Mercury, called by them Odin. This he regards as erroneous according to Roman mythology. Saxo, as has been seen, was also puzzled by the equation.
Thor’s mother is Jord, ‘ Earth.’ His wife is Sif, ‘ the fair- haired goddess,’ with hair like gold, who was accused by Loki and by Odin of unfaithfulness to him. Thor himself was not faithful to her. Their daughter is Thrud, ‘ might,’ promised by the gods to Alviss in Thor’s absence. Thor is sometimes described as ‘ Thrud’s father’: hence she may be regarded as a personification of his might. He himself is Thrudugr, ‘ the Mighty,’ and Thrudvald, ‘strong Protector his hammer is Thrudhamarr, ‘mighty Hammer ’j his dwelling Thrudheim and Thrudvang, ‘ Strength-home,’ ‘ Strong field.’ The giant Hrungnir is called ‘ thief of Thrud ’ in allusion to some unre- corded abduction of her . 19
Thor’s sons are Magni (his mother Jarnsaxa) and Modi, who survive the Doom of the gods and inherit his hammer. They are personifications of his might (Magni) and wrath (Modi). When Magni was three days old he lifted the giant Hrungnir’s foot off Thor, a feat which none of the ^Esir could do . 20 Thor’s brother is Meili, of whom nothing is known. His
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75
servants are Thjalfi and Roskva, children of a husbandman, according to a story presently to be told . 21 His relationship to Jord is seen in the epithet given to him, burr Jarthar , ‘son of Earth,’ in Eokasenna and T hrymskvitha . 22
Thor’s names and epithets throw light on his character and functions. He is thrudvaldr goda , ‘ the strong one of the gods ’j veorr Mid gar ds, ‘Warder of earth ’j vinr verlidha , c the Friend of man ’j Vingnir, ‘ the Hurler ’ j Vingthor, ‘ Thor the Hurler ’j Hlorrithi, ‘ the Noisy one ’; orms ein-bani, ‘ Ser- pent’s destroyer ’; Thurs radbani , ‘ Giant-killer.’ These show him as the champion of the gods, the Thunder-god, the de- stroyer of obnoxious powers and beings, the helper of men. Though in origin a Thunder-god, he has other aspects, mostly of a beneficent kind, as summed up in Adam of Bremen’s ac- count, cited above. As Thunder-god his functions show that the thunder-storm was regarded in a beneficent aspect as fur- thering fertility. Sacrifices were made and prayers offered to Thor by the Swedes and Norsemen in times of famine and sick- ness, as Adam of Bremen and a passage in the Eiriks-saga show. Thorkill prayed to Thor, the red-bearded god, for food, and he sent a whale to the shore . 23 Thor helped to make the ground arable, and protected men against rocks and cliffs . 24 To sea-farers he was helpful, giving them favourable winds. The Norman Vikings offered him human victims before setting sail, and animal and food offerings were made to him by voy- agers to Iceland . 25 Helgi the Thin asked him where he should land in Iceland, and he was advised to go to Eyjafjord. Helgi was a Christian, but was still so inclined to the old faith that he sought Thor’s help in all sea-faring and difficult journeys . 26 Kraoko Hreidarr and his party sailed to Iceland, and he made vows to Thor in order that he should point out a site for his possession. Though the land to which he was directed be- longed to another, Kraoko maintained that Thor had sent him to it and intended him to settle there . 27 Settlers in Iceland dedicated their land to Thor and called it by his name . 28 Hence
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the great number of place-names which bear witness to the cult of Thor.
Several accounts in the Sagas show how prominent this cult was in the lives of the Norse settlers in Iceland. Rolf, who was called Thorolf, had been guardian of Thor’s temple on the island of Most near the Norwegian coast. He was called £ a great friend ’ of Thor’s, and, when he quarrelled with king Harald, he made a great sacrifice and enquired of 1 his beloved friend ’ Thor whether he should make peace with the king or leave Norway. The answer was that he should go to Iceland. He now took the temple to pieces and removed the timbers and earth from the spot where Thor’s image had rested. On draw- ing near Iceland, he threw overboard the pillars carved with Thor’s image, believing that by them he would be guided to a landing-place. They drifted ashore at a place afterwards called Thorsness, and there Thorolf landed and built a temple. 29 Other examples of this use of pillars are given in the Land- ndma-boky as well as of taking down a temple before migrat- ing. 30 The Kjalnesinga-saga tells of a great sacrificer called Thorgrim, grandson of Ingolf, the first settler in Iceland. He had a large temple to which all his men had to pay toll. He held Thor in highest honour, and in the temple his image was in the centre, with those of other deities on either hand. 31 The dedication of sons to the service of Thor is also spoken of in the Sagas. Thorolf, himself dedicated to Thor, gave his son Stein to the god as Thorstein. His son in turn, Grim called Thorgrim, was also dedicated to Thor in order that he should be a temple-priest. The naming of lands or places or persons after Thor is prominent in stories of the settlement of Iceland.
Thor’s power over the winds and storms is also seen in the fact that he caused shipwreck to those who forsook their alle- giance to him by turning to Christianity. In the Njals-saga Thangbrand, a Christian, was asked by Steinvora, mother of Ref the skald, if he had heard that Thor challenged Christ to single combat and that He dared not accept the challenge. He
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PLATE X
Thor and the Midgard-serpent
The upper design shows a sculptured capital from the church of Bocherville, Normandy, eleventh cen- tury, and is supposed to represent Thor attacking the Midgard-serpent.
The lower illustration of a sculpture of Scandinavian origin in the churchyard of Gosforth, Cumberland, shows Thor fishing with the giant Hymir (p. 85).
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replied that he had heard that Thor was but dust and ashes, if God had not willed that he should live. Then she asked him if he knew how he had been shipwrecked, and told him that Thor had done this. ‘ Little good was Christ when Thor shat- tered ships to pieces. ... A storm roused by Thor dashed the bark to splinters small .’ 32 An Icelander named Thorgisl be- came a Christian, and in dreams was threatened by Thor if he did not return to his allegiance. The ship on which he was sail- ing encountered a great storm, caused by Thor. The god asked him in one dream to pay him what he had vowed to him. On awaking he recalled that this was a calf which was now an old ox. He threw it overboard, as this was the reason that Thor was haunting the ship . 33
Thor’s aid was also sought in war. Styrbjorn prayed to him for victory over king Eirik, who prayed to Odin, and because he was mightier than Thor, Eirik was victorious . 34
At banquets a cup of wine, consecrated by the sign of Thor’s hammer, was drunk to him. At a certain banquet Earl Sigund signed the first cup to Odin. King Hakon, a Christian, took it and signed it with the Cross, whereupon Sigund said that he was signing it to Thor with the hammer sign . 30
Before discussing Thor’s possessions a passage from Snorri’s Edda describing him may be quoted. ‘ He is strongest of gods and men. His realm is in Thrudvang; his hall is Bilskirnir, and in it are five hundred and forty rooms. That is the greatest house known to men.’ Here Snorri quotes a verse of Grimnis- mal in which Odin describes his son’s hall and says that it is the greatest of all houses, i.e., greater even than his own Valhall. The stanza is an interpolation, but it may be a reminiscence of Thor’s supreme place among the gods, and it is significant also that, in describing the various seats of the gods, Odin begins, not with his own, but with Thor’s. Snorri then speaks of Thor’s chariot and goats, and his three precious possessions — ham- mer, girdle, and iron gloves . 36
Thor has two he-goats called Tanngnjost, ‘ Tooth -gnasher,’
EDDIC MYTHOLOGY
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and Tanngrisnir, £ Tooth-gritter,’ and a chariot in which he drives, drawn by them. Hence he is called Oku-Thor, ‘ Wagon-Thor.’ Snorri also quotes the poet Kormak who said: £ In his wagon Thor sitteth.’ The wagon is £ the car of Hrung- nir’s slayer,’ on which runes were bidden to be written by Mimir . 37 In thunder-storms a god or supernatural being is often supposed to be on a journey through the sky, and this was true of Thor. A thunder-clap was reidar thruma , the rum- bling noise of chariot wheels. In Sweden the people said dur- ing thunder: godgubben dker; go far dker , £ the good old fel- low ’ or £ the gaffer drives.’ In Gothland thunder is Thors akan , ‘ Thor’s driving,’ and in Schleswig-Holstein the noise of thunder is attributed to the rumbling of a wagon through the air, i.e., Thor’s wagon. Hence his name Oku-Thor or such epithets as Valdi Kjola, £ ruler of the wagon,’ Reidartyr, £ god of the wagon,’ Vagna verr, £ wagon-man .’ 38 From the goats which drew the wagon Thor was called Hafra drottin, £ lord of the goats .’ 39 One of the myths of Thor told by Snorri begins: f Oku-Thor drove out with his he-goats and his chariot,’ and in the Haustlong of Thjodolf of Hvin we see the goats driving the god in his wagon to fight with giants. Hail beats down, earth is rent, rocks shake, crags are shivered, the sky burns, as he rolls along — the description of a thunder-storm. T hrymskvitha describes how the mountains were rent and earth burned with fire, as the goats drove Thor’s wagon to Jotunheim . 40
Besides going in his wagon Thor is depicted walking, while other gods ride. Thus he walks to the daily Thing or perhaps to the final catastrophe, wading through many rivers according to an obscure passage in Grimnismal. iX
1 The hammer Mjollnir which is known to the Frost-giants and Hill-giants, when it is raised aloft ; and little wonder, for it has smashed many a skull of their fathers or kinsfolk.’ This £ mighty ’ or £ murder-greedy ’ hammer was made by the dwarf Sindri and was deemed by the gods to be best of all precious works. It could be wielded by Thor only when he wore his
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iron gloves. However hard he smote, it would not fail him: if he threw it, it would never miss nor fly so far as not to return to his hands. If he desired, it could become so small that he could keep it under his shirt. The only flaw in it was the short- ness of its haft . 42 With his hammer Thor slew monsters and giants, and forced Loki to keep silence by threatening him with it. Thunder and lightning sometimes preceded its stroke . 43 Hence it is most easily explained as the thunderbolt, which, in German superstition, was an essential part of the lightning-flash, and believed to be a black wedge which buried itself in the earth, but at each succeeding thunder-storm rose towards the surface, which it reached in seven years . 44 Does this belief cor- respond to the statement that Thor’s hammer returned to his hand after being thrown? The superstition is echoed in T hrymskvitha in which the giant Thrym steals the hammer and buries it eight miles deep in the earth. In many regions flint weapons found in the earth are believed to be thunderbolts, and the myth of Thor’s hammer is doubtless connected with this belief. They are generally used as amulets or for magical purposes.
The hammer was a sacred symbol, and the sign of the ham- mer was used in consecrations and blessings. This custom is reflected in certain passages of the Eddas. The giant Thrym, believing the disguised Thor to be Freyja, the bride demanded by him, said:
1 Bring now the hammer, to bless the bride,
Lay Mjollnir in the maiden’s bosom,
That our bond may be consecrated in Vor’s name.’ 45
Thor himself hallowed the hides and bones of his dead goats with his hammer, so that they lived again. With it he also hal- lowed Balder’s pyre. The sign of the hammer, as in Christian circles the sign of the Cross, was made over cups of liquor, espe- cially in sacrifices. As a divine symbol the hammer was used for many purposes. Sickness was healed by it, demons kept
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at a distance, marriages consecrated. According to Norse cus- tom, when a newly born child had been accepted by its father and so permitted to live, it was washed and signed with Thor’s hammer, i.e., a symbol of that mythic weapon, and thus received into the family. 48 The hammer carved on a tombstone showed that the dead man was dedicated to Thor. Small hammers were used as amulets, and specimens of these have been found in Denmark and Sweden. £ Thor’s hammers ’ were used by the island-men in their ancient faith, according to Saxo, who calls them malleos joviales. The men of old thought that thunder was caused by such hammers, and they apparently used them in thunder-storms. In c. 1123 a.d. Magnus Nicholasson the Dane spoiled Thor’s temple in Sweden of these tokens of the god’s, and the Swedes considered him guilty of sacrilege. 47 All this points to the connexion of Thor’s hammer both with the mythic powers attributed to weapons and with the superstitious use of stone weapons regarded as supernatural. Thor’s ham- mer became the possession of Magni and Modi, his sons, in the renewed world. 48
When Thor clasps his girdle around him c his divine strength is increased by half.’ In his iron gloves, his third precious possession, there is also much virtue. 49
Thor is red-bearded, though whether this redness alludes to the fiery appearance of lightning, as Grimm supposed, is doubt- ful. He shakes his beard when roused} when he speaks into it, every one quails. His anger is described by his bristling hair and tossing beard, or he lets his brows sink down below his eyes, so that whoso looks at him must fall down before his glance alone. Flame flashes from his eyes. When Thor met king Olaf at a time when Christianity was encroaching on his cult, c he blew hard into his beard, and raised his beard’s voice,’ with the result that a storm arose. 50 He is seen travelling on foot like a peasant, carrying a basket on his back — an appropriate appearance for a god of the peasants and the folk. He visits a peasant’s house for a night’s lodging, and from such a house
THE GREATER GODS — THOR
he took his servants Thjalfi and Roskva. Thjalfi, the swift- runner, is so swift that only Hugi or thought can beat him. Hence he may be a personification of lightning. Peasant-like, too, is Thor in his wordy flyting with Odin in Harbardsljod . S1
At the Doom of the gods Thor fights with the Midgard- serpent, which he slays, but falls dead through its venom. 62
Thor is often described as journeying to the East to fight giants or trolls. The Eddas contain several myths of these ex- peditions and combats. Indeed no other Eddie god has so many myths told of him as Thor. Several of his titles refer to his power over giants and monsters: c adversary and slayer of giants and troll-women,’ c smiter of Hrungnir, of Geirrod, of Thri- valdi,’ ( foe of the Midgard-serpent,’ £ hewer in sunder of the nine heads of Thrivaldi,’ c merciless destroyer of giantesses.’ Hence also he is 1 the defender of Asgard and of Midgard.’ 53 In his aspect as queller of giants, Thor, the Thunder-god, repre- sents the folk-belief that thunder is obnoxious to giants, trolls, and other demoniac beings. 54
The myths in which Thor plays a part will now be given, beginning with that of the giant Hrungnir. After Odin’s visit to Hrungnir (p. 66), the giant pursued him into Asgard. The Tisir gave Hrungnir drink out of Thor’s flagons, and when drunk, the giant boasted that he would carry Valhall into Jotunheim and kill all the deities, save Sif and Freyja. Freyja alone dared pour ale for him, and now, as his insolence increased, the gods called for Thor. Thor, swinging his hammer, asked why Hrungnir was drinking here and who had given him safe- conduct, and, hearing from him that it was Odin, Thor said that he would repent of his presence there. Hrungnir protested that Thor would have no fame for killing a defenceless giant, and offered to fight him on the borders of Grjotunagard. He then rode back to Jotunheim, and news of the duel was spread among the giants, who feared for themselves lest Thor should win. They made a giant of clay, nine miles high and three broad, and gave him a mare’s heart. Hrungnir had a stone
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heart with three corners ; of stone also were his head and shield. His weapon was a whetstone. Beside him stood the clay giant, Mokkurkalfi, in great terror.
Thor and Thjalfi went to the meeting, and Thjalfi ran for- ward and advised the giant to stand on his shield for Thor would come up through the earth to him. This he did. Now arose thunder and lightnings, and Thor in divine fury ( dsmodi ), swung his hammer and cast it at Hrungnir, who meanwhile threw his whetstone. The weapons crashed together, and part of the whetstone fell to earth, forming all the whinstone rocks, part of it burst on Thor’s head, so that he fell forward. The hammer, however, broke Hrungnir’s head in pieces, and he fell with his foot on Thor’s neck. Thjalfi struck the clay giant down. He tried to raise Hrungnir’s foot from Thor’s neck, but could not, neither could any of the Aisir when they arrived. None could succeed but Magni, Thor’s three days’ old son by the giantess Jarnsaxa. £ Sad it is,’ he said , 1 father, that I came so late, for I would have slain this giant with my fist, had I come sooner.’ Thor praised him and gave him Hrungnir’s horse, which Odin said should have been given to him.
The whetstone fragment remained in Thor’s head. The wise woman Groa, wife of Aurvandil the Valiant, sang spells over Thor until the stone was loosened. Thor told her how he had waded from the north over Elivagar, c Icy Stream,’ bearing Aurvandil in a basket on his back from Jotunheim. As one of his toes stuck out of the basket, he broke it off and cast it up to the sky, where it is now the star called c Aurvandil’s toe.’ He also said that soon Aurvandil would be home, and in her joy Groa forgot her incantations, and the stone remained in Thor’s head. Hence a stone should not be cast across the floor, for the stone is then stirred in his head . 65
A poem by Thjodolf of Hvin (tenth century) deals with this myth as depicted on a shield, and gives a vivid description of the rending of earth, the beating down of hail, and the shaking of the rocks, as Thor drives forth in his wagon to the fight . 56
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Odin was still remembered in Christian times, and appears in different stories, as well as in folk-belief. Out of several tales in which he appears before Christian kings may be cited that of his coming to king Olaf Tryggvason, as he was keeping Easter. He appeared as an old man, one-eyed, of sombre aspect, wearing a broad-brimmed hat, and wise of speech. Olaf was entranced with his conversation, for he told him of all lands and all times. Hardly would the king go to bed, even when his bishop re- minded him of the lateness of the hour. When he was in bed, the stranger came and held further converse with him, until the bishop told Olaf that he must sleep. When he awoke, the
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guest was gone, but not before telling the cook that the meat which he was preparing was bad, and giving him two sides of an ox in its stead. Hearing this, the king ordered the meat to be burned and thrown into the sea, for the stranger could have been no other than Odin in whom the heathen had believed. 101
CHAPTER V
THE GREATER GODS— THOR
T HE name of the god Thor (ON E»orr) of the Eddas oc- curs elsewhere in the following forms — OHG Donar, OS Thunaer, AS Thunor, and, in the speech of the Normans, Thur. These are from an earlier Thunaraz, and the root is connected with Indo-Germanic (s)ten, £ to boom,’ £ to roard Donar-Thor is thus the Loud-sounder, the Thunderer, the Thunder-god — the earliest aspect of this deity.
His widespread cult is attested by the equally widespread name of the fifth day of the week over the Teutonic area — OHG Donarestag or Toniristag; AS Thunoresdaeg; OE Thunresdaeg, hence Thursday; Swedish Thorsday, Danish Torsdag. The names were equivalents of the Roman Dies Jovis, and this suggests that Donar was regarded as the Teutonic Jupiter. In the early part of the eighth century S. Boniface found the Hessians at Geismar revering a huge sacred oak, robur Jovis , which he began to cut down, when the wind com- pleted his efforts. 1 Boniface denounced the cult of such demons as Jupiter and spoke of Christian priests who sacrificed to Jupi- ter, feasting on the sacrifice. 2 Jupiter is undoubtedly Thor. The Indiculus Suferstitionum (eighth century) speaks of the Saxon sacra Jovis and jeriae Jovis , and Thunaer was one of the gods whom Saxons renounced at baptism. 3 The eighth century Homilia de Sacrilegiis , probably written by a priest of the northern part of the Frankish kingdom, says that no work was done on the day of Jupiter, and earlier notices of this ritual idleness occur in Csesarius of Arles (fifth century) and Eligius of Troyes (588 to 659 a.d.), both referring to customs of the Germanic inhabitants of these regions. 4 The German Peni-
PLATE IX
Representations of Thor
The uppermost design, from the smaller golden horn, of a three-headed deity is held by some to repre- sent Thor with an axe and one of his goats.
The central design, of a god with an axe and a monster at his right hand, is supposed to represent Thor. From the decoration of a helmet found at Vendel in Sweden.
The two lowest designs are embossed bronze plates from the island of Oland, Sweden, representing Thor and a monster, and a god (Thor?) between two monsters.
THE GREATER GODS — THOR
6 9
tential bearing the names £ Corrector ’ and £ Medicus ’ which forms the nineteenth Book of the collection of decrees made by Burchard of Worms, c. 1000 a . d ., and which was itself com- piled in the early tenth century, also speaks of the observance of the fifth day in honour of Jupiter. 5
Saxo had difficulty in accepting the equivalence of Thor as Jupiter and Odin as Mercury, for this would make Jupiter son of Mercury, since Thor was Odin’s son. He concludes that, if Jupiter was father of Mercury, Thor could not be Jupiter nor Odin Mercury. 6
The identification of Thor with Jupiter was apparently sub- sequent to his equivalence with Hercules as the interfretatio Romana. Tacitus places Hercules next to Mercury among the German tribes, and Hercules with his club is plainly the same as Thor with his hammer. Both were strong, both fought against evil powers. Hercules also occurs in inscriptions in Batavian territory — Hercules Magusanus, and in the lower Rhine region, where dedications to a Germanic Hercules occur. Magusanus, £ the strong,’ from an old German magan , £ to be strong,’ is connected with the name of Thor’s son Magni, and corresponds to a Norse epithet of Thor’s, hin rammi , £ the strong.’ A Hercules Deusoniensis, named on coins, is presumed to be a native German god, the name appearing in such place- names as Duisberg. Hercules Barbatus on Rhenish inscriptions is also Donar, whose beard is often mentioned in Norse liter- ature. Hercules Malliator, in an inscription at Obernburg, refers to Donar with his hammer.
Tacitus speaks of the Germanic Hercules and Mars being placated with the permissible animal victims. £ They tell how Hercules appeared among them, and on the eve of battle they hymn the first of all brave men.’ Arminius convened the tribes in a wood sacred to Hercules — a cult-centre of the Cherusci and other tribes, east of the Weser. 7
Donar-Thor, the Thunder-god, thus corresponds to Jupiter, in whose hands are thunder and lightning 5 and, as the strongest
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of the gods with his hammer, to Hercules, the strong hero with his club. If the Teutons known to the Romans told myths about Donar conquering giants and monsters, like the Norse Thor, the equivalence with Hercules is intelligible.
Apart from the occurrence of Donar’s name in that of the fifth day of the week, we find it on the Nordendorf brooch, dis- covered in Alemannic territory and belonging to the seventh century, joined with that of Odin in a runic inscription. The meaning of this seems to be that Thonar and Wodan are asked to consecrate a marriage. Donar the mighty is named in a twelfth century manuscript in a charm against epilepsy . 8 The witness of mountain names in Germany is significant — Don- nersberg (Thoneresberg), Thuneresberg, and others, like the Thorsbiorg in Norway . 9 Among the Anglo-Saxons the name Thunor does not occur in the royal genealogies as does that of Woden, but its frequent appearance in English place-names points to his cult . 10
Saxo speaks of Thor among the Danes as a god £ to the great- ness of whose force nothing human or divine could fitly be com- pared.’ He, Odin, and many others, £ being once men skilled in magic, claimed the rank of gods, and ensnared the people of Norway, Sweden, and Denmark .’ 11 For Thor’s cult and popu- larity in Sweden we have the witness of Adam of Bremen who equates Thor with the sceptre with Jupiter, and describes him as £ most powerful of the gods ’ there. He is £ ruler of the air, controls lightning and thunder, winds, rain-storms, fine weather and crops.’ Saxo also speaks of him as £ the great Thor ’ of Sweden . 12 Above all, Norway was the region where the cult of Thor was most popular and long existent.
In Norway and in Iceland after its colonization, and to some extent in Sweden, Thor appears as the chief god, whose sov- ereignty Odin had taken. His cult was popular} his images are often mentioned. Where his image stood beside those of other deities, it had the most prominent place or was most richly decked. At Throndhjem, in the chief temple, Thor sat in the
THE GREATER GODS — THOR
7i
midst as the most honourable, his image large and decked with gold and silver. He sat in his wagon, very magnificent, drawn by two goats carved in wood, with horns covered with silver. The whole was mounted on wheels . 13 His image with his hammer was carved on the pillars of high-seats belonging to heads of families, or on the backs of chairs, or on the sterns of ships . 14 Carved in bone, it was used as a protective amulet. Men carried his images with them, made of silver or ivory. Many temples of Thor existed in Norway and Iceland, and are mentioned in the Sagas and other writings. No other god had so many temples there as Thor.
Thor’s name was common in personal- and place- names in Scandinavia — 1 Thordis, Thorkell, Thorgerd, Thorstein, and innumerable others, and the proportion is large compared with those of other deities, Odin’s name occurring seldom in Norse names. Among the Icelandic colonists of the ninth and tenth centuries names compounded of Thor are fifty-one as compared with three of Fre^ and none of Odin. On monuments with runes Thor is besought to consecrate these, and they sometimes have the form of his hammer . 15 The Thing or assembly was opened on Thor’s day, in a place consecrated to Thor, showing that he was associated with law and justice. His superiority is seen in epithets bestowed upon him — dsabragr y 1 first of the AEsir’; landds , c god of the country’; hofdingi allra go da , 1 chief of all gods ’j mest tignadhr , 1 most honoured.’ He is 1 Midgard’s warder ’; c the mighty one of the gods.’ At law- business oaths were taken with the words: ‘ so help me Frey and Nj ord and the almighty god,’ viz., Thor . 16 It is significant that Odin’s name does not occur in this formula.
The reasons for Odin’s later supremacy have already been discussed. Thor’s supremacy, however, was never forgotten, and to the end he remained chief god to the peasants and yeo- men. The Icelandic colonists believed that they were under his protection and guided by him to their new abodes, which they called after him. The images of Thor and Frey are often
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mentioned in Iceland: Odin’s but once. Apart from the king’s sacrifice to Odin, sacrifices were made only to Thor and Frey. Thor consecrates runes, not Odin; and the Thing met on his day, not Odin’s. The lines already cited from Harbardsljod show that the warrior aristocracy went to Odin at death, the folk to Thor, and the statement is significant of the relative position of the two gods at the time when the poem was com- posed (tenth century). The poem might be viewed as an at- tempt of its author to emphasize Odin’s greatness at the expense of Thor’s. While this is possible, yet the poem illustrates the lower aspects of Odin, his amours and magic, and it might equally be regarded as the comment of a mocking half-believer upon the gods. The poem is a contest of wits between Thor and Odin, disguised as a ferryman, Harbard. Thor appears as a peasant, with a basket on his back, coming back from a journey to the East. He asks Harbard to bring his boat over, but Harbard enquires what sort of peasant is this and twits him with his lowly position, not even possessing the usual peasant’s farm, barefoot, and in a peasant’s dress. What is his name? c I am Odin’s son, the strong one of the gods,’ Thor replies, and threatens Harbard for his mockery. The two then relate their adventures: each bidding the other tell what he was doing at the time. Thor’s adventures are the slaying of the giants Hrungnir and Thjazi, and of evil giant- women; his compelling the sons of Svarang to sue for peace; his slaying the evil brides of the berserkers. Odin recounts his love-affairs and his causing of wars, and taunts Thor with cowardice, betraying troth, slay- ing women, and with Sif’s infidelity. Thor reproaches Har- bard with repaying good gifts with evil mind, calls him £ womanish,’ utters foul speech against him, and threatens him with death if he could cross the water to him. Harbard still refuses to ferry him over, and adds that he never thought that Asa-Thor, Thor of the yEisir, would be hindered by a ferryman. Finally he bids him take his way on foot and directs him how to go. Thor says that Harbard is speaking in mockery and then
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the latter tells him to go hence where every evil thing will harm him.
Odin’s contempt for Thor in this poem mirrors the relation of the higher classes with their cult of Odin to the people outside the courtly and aristocratic circles to whom Thor was still the chief god.
Thor’s supremacy is attested in Lokasenna , for he alone of the gods can silence Loki. He saves the gods from the ven- geance of giants according to other myths, or, as the poet Thorbjorn sings: c Bravely fought Thor for Asgard and the followers of Odin.’ 17
The opposition between Thor and Odin appears in an episode of the life of the ideal Danish and Norse hero, Starkad. He had been nourished by Odin, called Hrosshars-grani, c Horse- hair-beard.’ Becoming one of king Vikar’s companions, he was with him when his fleet was stayed by a storm, and when the lots showed that Vikar himself must be sacrificed to Odin. That night Odin called Starkad and took him to a wood where, in a clearing, eleven men were sitting on as many seats. The twelfth seat was empty. Odin sat on it and was hailed by the others as Odin. The occasion had now come for Starkad’s fate to be pro- nounced. Thor said that as his mother had chosen a giant for his father instead of Thor, Starkad would have neither son nor daughter. Odin then said that he would live for three genera- tions. In each, Thor said, he would do a dastard’s deed. Odin announced that he would have the best of weapons and armour. Thor replied that he would have neither lands nor heritage. Odin promised him many possessions. Thor asserted that still he would always long for more. Odin promised him victory in every fight. Thor said that he would always receive terrible wounds. Odin announced that he would give him such a gift of poetry that verse would flow from his lips like common speech. Thor said that he would forget all his poems. Odin declared that the bravest and noblest would honour him; Thor said that the common people would hate him. These
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different fates were endorsed by the others. Odin finally said that Starkad must repay him by slaying Vikar, and gave him instructions how to effect this, as has already been told . 18
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Sacrifices, even of human victims, were offered to Odin for victory, and also after a victory, when prisoners were sacrificed, though such sacrifices may have been less common in Norway than in Denmark and Sweden. Hence we hear of a leader de- voting the enemy to Odin, or shouting to the opposing army:
{ Odin has you all.’ Reflexions of this are found in some of Saxo’s references to Odin, as when he cured Siward’s wounds, on condition of his devoting the slain to him, or when Harald
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offered him the souls of the slain. Earlier in his life Harald had vowed to Odin all souls cast forth from their bodies by his sword, because of Odin’s boon to him. He received such favours from Odin, whose oracle was supposed to be the cause of his birth, that steel could not injure him, and shafts which wounded others could do him no harm. 77
Snorri’s euhemerized account of Odin speaks of him as a great warrior, who made many realms his own and always gained the victory. His men held that of his own nature he would always be victorious. Before sending them to war, he laid his hands on them and blessed them, and they believed they would fare well thereby. In sore straits by sea or land they called on him, and deemed that they gained help. In battle their foes were made blind, deaf, or terror-stricken, and their weapons rendered useless. His men went without birnies, and were mad as dogs or wolves, bit on their shields, and were strong as bears or bulls — a reminiscence of the berserkr-gangr , or ‘ berserker-rage.’ In Snorri’s Prologue to the Edda y Odin, as a king, goes from land to land, occupying them and making them his own. So Saxo calls Odin ‘ the mighty in battle,’ and Mars £ the war-waging god,’ and he is said to have a white shield and a great horse. 78 On a helmet found in a grave at Vendel, in Sweden, of the Iron Age period, a warrior on horse- back, armed, with helmet, shield, and spear, is believed to repre- sent Odin, as two birds in flight, one on each side of the head, are most probably his ravens.' 9
Odin’s names or titles bear witness to his functions as god of war. He is Sigfadir, £ Father of victory ’j Sigtyr, £ god of vic- tory.’ Oaths were sworn by £ Sigtyr’s mountain.’ His city was Sigtun. Other names are Hertyr, £ god of hosts ’$ Heryan, ‘Leader of hosts ’$ Herfadir, ‘Father of hosts’; Valfadir, ‘ Father of the slain.’ He is Hnikarr, ‘ Spear-lord ’; Biflindi, ‘ Spear-brandisher ’; he is ‘the weapon-decked’ god. Hence many kennings for battle connect it with Odin. It is his ‘ grim- ness ’ or ‘ fury,’ ‘ the storm of Odin,’ ‘ the storm-wind of the
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Valkyries’; the sword is ‘Odin’s fire.’ ‘Weapons and arms should be periphrased in figures of battle and with reference to Odin and the Valkyries,’ says Snorri in Skaldskaparmal. We
may also recall what Adam of Bremen said of Odin as god of 80
war.
While generally, though not invariably, Odin is more promi- nent than Thor in the myths, this prominence is much less ob- vious in historical documents. There must have been a time when Odin was unknown in Scandinavia, or on a much lower level than that which he ultimately attained. Odin as Wodan was certainly prominent at an earlier time in Germany, espe- cially in its southern region. The presumption, therefore, is that the cult of Odin as a higher god, possibly with that of others, passed first to Denmark and then to Sweden, where he gained popularity. Perhaps he was first worshipped, or his cult first came to prominence, in Gautland or Gotland, in South Sweden, for he was called Gaut, Gautatyr, ‘ god of the Gauts,’ and also ‘ friend of the Gauts .’ 81 From Sweden his cult passed to Norway, where, however, it never overthrew that of the indigenous Thor. In the Sagas relating to the families of Ice- land, the cult of Odin is never mentioned. It is only in those which concern the legendary period that he is prominent.
This migration of cult may be indicated in the migration legend, as told by Snorri, that Odin and others came from the South-east to Denmark and Sweden, as well as in the fact that Adam of Bremen still knows Odin at Upsala as Wodenus, a Saxon form of the name, while Danish documents know him as Wodhen. Significant, too, is his name Saxagod, ‘ god of the Saxons .’ 82
The growing supremacy of Odin was one aspect of the growth of a new culture in the Viking age and the rise of a splendid courtly life through the power of the great kings. The art of war was cultivated for itself: the art of poetry was fostered by kings, and skalds became a definite class in this new and vigor- ous stage of history. Odin was associated with both war and
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poetry. He became important and necessary to kings, nobles, and court poets, and those aspects of his personality con- nected with war and poetry were ever the more emphasized. Odin’s seat was a royal court: he himself a supreme divine ruler.
Yet even in the Eddie poems there are hints of the earlier stages when Odin was not so prominent, just as they emphasize lower aspects of his personality, as we have seen. We see Frey seated on Odin’s Hlidskjalf, looking over the world, possessed of a magic horse, sword, and the ring Draupnir, and called jolk- valdi go da, 1 chief of the gods,’ in Skirnismal. Frigg and Gefjun share foreknowledge with Odin in Lokasenna , and Freyja shares the slain with him, according to Grimnismal. Thor, who had been chief god in Norway, remained chief god of the people, in contradistinction to the aristocracy, and he was especially prominent in Iceland, where kingship did not exist and few of the emigrants were of royal blood. This seems to be hinted at in Harbardsljod where the nobles who fall in battle are said to be Odin’s, but the peasants belong to Thor, the rough, homely, peasant-like god. 83 Odin, as a god of knowledge, is contrasted with Thor, the embodiment of physical force. Even Odin’s spear, the warrior’s weapon, suggests a higher stage of culture than Thor’s hammer. Odin drinks wine, which is meat and drink to him: Thor drinks ale and is a mighty eater. Snorri, it is true, speaks of the first toast drunk at festivals as one consecrated to Odin, £ for victory and power to the king,’ but this cannot override the more general evidence regarding Thor, nor the fact that the Islendinga Sogur never speak of temples, images, or priests of Odin in Iceland.
Odin’s growing cult, on the whole, however, affected the more popular cults of Thor and Frey, and in the later Scan- dinavian literature he has achieved the highest position as head of a pantheon. To him were assimilated many lesser and local gods, whose individual functions corresponded to some of Odin’s. Many of the names given to him must be the last
PLATE VIII Swedish Grave-stone
Grave-stone from Tjangvide, Gotland, Sweden, c. 1000 a.d. The figure on the eight-legged horse may be Odin on Sleipnir. See p. 65.
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6 1
traces of such local deities, just as the Ollerus and Mit-othin stories, presently to be given, suggest that he had absorbed the personality and cult of other gods.
£ Of all the gods Odin is the greatest,’ and, according to Snorri, he is foremost and oldest of the gods, or, as in Volusia , ruler of the gods. £ He lives through all ages and rules all realms, and directs all things, small and great.’ He is Alda- fadir, £ father of men,’ £ because he is father of all the gods and men,’ and, as in the Lombard story, he is depicted as sitting in the high seat, Hlidskjalf, looking out over the world and seeing every man’s deeds . 84 Grimnismal shows Odin and Frigg sit- ting on this seat and viewing the whole world, and from it Odin looked forth and saw where Loki had hidden himself. Hlid- skjalf is in Valaskjalf, one of the heavenly abodes, made by the gods and thatched with silver, and possibly the same as Valhall . 85
The other gods or Aisir are Odin’s people. He is highest and eldest of these ; he rules all things, and, mighty as are the others, all serve him as children obey a father. With Vili and Ve, or Hoenir and Loki, Odin is creator or fashioner of the world, of the first man and woman, to whom he gave soul. But Snorri, apart from the myths which tell of this, says that Odin £ fashioned Heaven and earth and air, and all things in them: he made man and gave him the immortal spirit .’ 86 As chief god Odin grants to men their wishes, and he has knowledge of all things, though this is not necessarily innate to him, but gained in different ways. We see him displaying his cosmogonic knowl- edge to Agnar in Grimnismal. Frigg had said that his fosterling, king Geirrod, was miserly and tortured his guests if too many of these came to him. Odin denied this and set off to prove it. Meanwhile Frigg sent Fulla to Geirrod to tell him that he must beware of a magician who is coming to him, and whom he will know by the sign that the fiercest dog will not leap at him. Odin, calling himself Grimnir, £ the hooded one,’ arrived, clad in a dark blue mantle, and would not speak when questioned.
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Geirrod tortured him by setting him between two fires for eight nights. Geirrod’s young son, Agnar, had pity on him and brought him a horn of ale. Odin praised him and then went on to tell of the different divine abodes, of Yggdrasil, of creation, lastly reciting his various names and disclosing himself as Odin. When Geirrod heard this he ran to take him from the fire, but stumbled and fell on his sword. Odin now vanished. Agnar ruled long as king.
In V aft hrudnismal Odin desires to match his knowledge with that of the giant Vafthrudnir. Frigg would fain keep him at home, because Vafthrudnir is such a mighty giant. Odin pro- claims his intention of going to seek him, and now Frigg bids him a safe journey and trusts that his wit will avail him. He sets out and reaches the giant’s hall. Vafthrudnir says that he will never go forth again unless he proves himself wiser than the giant. Each questions the other, and the answers form a stock of mythological knowledge. In the end Odin, who has all through called himself Gagnrath and is unknown to the giant, asks him what words Odin spoke in the ear of Balder on his pyre. Now Vafthrudnir knows the god, and admits that he is the wiser. As the two had wagered their heads on the result of the contest, it is to be presumed that the giant, who speaks in the last verse of his ‘ fated mouth,’ now loses his head, though the poem does not say so.
In the N ornagests-thattr, having taken the form of Gestum- blindi, 1 Gest the blind,’ Odin enters King Heidrik’s hall at Yule, and propounds to him riddles, because the king is famous at guessing these. One of the riddles is: ‘ Who are the two that have ten feet, three eyes, and one tail? ’ The answer is: c The one-eyed Odin, riding Sleipnir, his eight-legged steed.’ Heid- rik answered all the riddles, save that one which baffled Vafthrudnir: ‘ What did Odin speak into Balder’s ear before he was burned on the pyre? ’ By this Heidrik recognized Odin, and threw his magic sword Tyrfing at him, but he escaped as a falcon. Odin, however, was angry at Heidrik, and that night
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he was slain by his slaves, or, according to a Faroese ballad- version of this story, Odin burned him in his hall. 8 '
This high position ascribed to Odin, chiefly by the skalds and in Snorri’s Edda y is a later development of the personality and functions of the god, though traces of it are found elsewhere, as in the Lombard saga. Possibly some Christian influences may have affected the description of Odin’s might, as when he is called c All-father.’
We turn now to Odin’s descent and relationships. Snorri says that the mythic cow Audhumla gave origin out of an ice- block to Buri, fair of feature, mighty and great. His son was Borr, who married Bestla, daughter of the giant Bolthorn. To them were born Odin, Vili, and Ve. How Buri procreated Borr is not told. Giants are thus already in existence. Some of these personages are referred to in the poems: Borr’s sons in Voluspa; ‘ Borr’s heir ’ (Odin) in Hyndluljod; Bestla’s brother, son of Bolthorn, who taught Odin songs, in Havamald 8
Odin’s wife is Frigg, and in Lokasenna Loki reminds her of her amours with Vili and Ve — the only passage in the Poetic Edda where these two are mentioned. This incident is spoken of in the Y nglinga-saga. Odin’s brothers ruled the realm in his absence. Once, when he was away, the dEsir thought that he would never return. So Vili and Ve shared his goods and his consort Frigg. Soon after Odin returned and took his wife once more. 89 Whether Vili and Ve are shadowy reflections of Odin or actual deities alternating in cult with him — a view favoured by recent research — is not clear.
Two stories, relics of older myths, are given by Saxo. Frigg had offended Odin, and he went into exile. Now Mit-othin, famous for jugglery, seized the opportunity of feigning to be a god and led the people to worship him. He said that the wrath of the gods could never be expiated by mixed sacrifices, and he appointed to each of the gods his special drink-offering. After a time Odin returned, and Mit-othin fled to Finland, where the inhabitants slew him. All who approached his barrow died
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and pestilence spread from his body, until it was taken out, beheaded and impaled in vampire fashion. Meanwhile the death of Odin’s wife revived the splendours of his name, and he forced all those who had misused his absence by usurp- ing divine honours to renounce them, and scattered the sorcerers . 90
The other story is that after Odin’s amour with Rinda, the gods banished him and stripped him of honour, lest the wor- shippers should forsake them. Ollerus was put in his place and was called Odin. For ten years he was president of the divine court, until the gods pitied Odin’s exile and recalled him. Some judged that he was still unworthy: others said that he had bribed the gods. ‘ If you ask how much he paid, enquire of those who have found out what is the price of a godhead,’ is Saxo’s comment. Ollerus was driven out, and retired to Sweden where the Danes slew him. He was said to be a wizard, who used a bone marked with spells to cross the sea. By it he passed over the waters as quickly as by rowing . 91
Ollerus is the Ull of the Eddas. Mit-othin, or Mjotudr-inn, is connected with ON mjotudr , AS meotod , ‘ fate ’ or £ the power which metes out,’ and may mean ‘judge.’ Others ex- plain the name as ‘ co-Odin ’ or 1 contra-Odin,’ and as the latter he is regarded as Loki, for, like Loki, he is celiber praestigiis. The two stories may be variants of one myth, referring to the introduction of the new cult of Odin in certain regions of the North where another god had been supreme. There are reminiscences of a cult war. The rule of the earlier god, in the eyes of the upholders of the new cult, could only have been pos- sible by cunning and fraud. The theory of a prehistoric cult of alternating twin gods, who share a consort, succeeding each other in her possession, has also been suggested here. Such twin gods are held to be found in the two brother-gods called Aids, mentioned by Tacitus as worshipped in a grove of the Nahanarvali, an East German tribe, and served by a priest in woman’s clothing . 92 Possibly the myths point to Odin as a
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god whose power waned in winter, when another god took his place, and also his consort.
By Frigg Odin had a son, Balder. Thor is said to be his son by Jord, £ Earth Vali was his son by the giantess Rind. Hod, Bragi, Vidarr, and Heimdall are also called sons of Odin. 93 Kings and chiefs traced descent from Odin, e.g., the Skjol dings from his son Skjold. 94
Certain possessions are ascribed to Odin. His ravens Hu- ginn, £ Thought,’ and Muninn, £ Memory,’ sit on his shoulders and whisper to him all they see or hear. He sends them forth at day-break to fly about the world, and they return at evening with their budget of news. Hence Odin is Hrafna-god, £ Raven-god.’ These birds are also called his hawks. £ For Huginn I fear lest he return not home, but I am more anxious for Muninn,’ says Odin in Grimnismal , as if he feared they might not return from their flight. 95 The ravens which haunt battle-fields were naturally connected with Odin as War-god, but there is also a suggestion in this raven myth of his superior knowledge, inasmuch as he understands the language of birds. The presence of two ravens flying past when Earl Hakon of- fered a great sacrifice was a sign to him that Odin had taken his offering and that he would have a happy day of fighting. Ravens are mentioned as Odin’s birds in the Havardar-saga: 1 There is a flight of ravens, Odin’s messengers, on the left hand.’ Thus all ravens are the birds of Odin. 96
Odin has two wolves, Geri, £ the Ravener,’ and Freki, £ the Glutton,’ to whom he gives his food, for wine is to him meat and drink. They are called his hounds. 97 Wolves, like ravens, visiting battle-fields and eating the slain, were appropriate to a War-god and a god of the dead.
Sleipnir is Odin’s horse, born of Loki, grey, eight-legged, per- haps a symbol of speed. It is the £ best of all horses ’ among gods and men. On it Odin rides over land and sea, into Jotun- heim and down to Hel, as did Hermod when he went to seek Balder’s deliverance. On one occasion, Odin rode Sleipnir into
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J otunheim and visited the giant Hrungnir, ‘ Blusterer.’ Hrung- nir asked who this might be, riding through air and water on such a good steed. Odin wagered his head that there was no such steed in Jotunheim. Hrungnir said that his horse, Gull- faxi , 1 Golden-mane,’ was better, and, growing angry, leaped on it and rode after Odin, who went so furiously that he was on the top of the next hill first. Hrungnir, overcome with giants’ frenzy, rode after him into Asgard where, in the sequel, he was dealt with by Thor . 98
The spear Gungnir was made by dwarfs and given to Odin by Loki. He lent it to heroes. Against it all other weapons were useless, e.g., Sigmund’s sword. On Gungnir’s point and Sleipnir’s teeth, the head of Mimir bade runes to be written . 99
Odin’s ring, Draupnir , 1 Dropper,’ made by the dwarf Sindri and given by his brother to Odin, was so called because eight rings of the same weight dropped from it every ninth night. Odin laid it on Balder’s pyre, and Balder sent it back to him from Hel as a token of remembrance. In Skirnismal the ring is Frey’s and is offered by Skirnir to Gerd as a means of inducing her to accept Frey’s love. Balder is also called c possessor of Draupnir .’ 100 If, as is thought, this ring is a symbol of fruitful- ness, it would naturally belong to Frey, the god of fruitfulness, afterwards passing into Odin’s possession.
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Two stories, both put in Odin’s mouth, show little reverence for him and are told from a humorous point of view. Both are found in Havamal , and a verse stating that lacking the desired joy is worse than sickness, precedes the first story, that of Bil- ling’s daughter. Odin lay in the reeds awaiting her who was dear to him as his life. He entered the house 5 she was asleep on her bed, bright as the sun for beauty. She bade him come at evening in secret, but when he did so, a band of warriors with torches prevented his entering. He returned at early morning when all were asleep, only to find a dog tied to her bed. So he draws the moral : ‘ many fair maids are found fickle.’ 50
The same poem gives briefly the story of Odin’s acquiring the poetic mead and his love affair with Gunnlod, daughter of the giant Suttung. This is prefaced by the saying that good memory and eloquence are needful to the sage, as Odin found in the hall of the old giant Suttung, over-reaching Gunnlod £ with many words.’ With the snout of Rati he penetrated the rocks and so entered the place. Gunnlod gave him a draught of the mead from her golden seat: poor was his recompense to her. He got the mead Odrorir as well as Gunnlod’s favours. Had he not won her, hardly would he have returned from the giants’
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halls. Next day the Frost-giants came to ask about Hor (Odin) in his hall. They asked whether Bolverk had returned to the gods, or had Suttung slain him — Bolverk being the name under which Odin had passed. The episode ends by saying that Odin had forsworn himself: how can he be trusted? He defrauded Suttung of the mead and left Gunnlod in grief. This myth is also mentioned in earlier stanzas of Havamal , where Odin speaks of being overcome with beer, c fettered with the feathers of the bird of forgetfulness (the heron) in Gunnlod’s abode, very drunk in the house of wise Fjallar ’ (Suttung ). 51
Miss Martin Clarke has compared these two stories with each other and with that of Odin and Rinda, and has suggested that all three may be versions of the poetic mead myth, mutilated in the Billing’s daughter and Rinda stories. In all three there are a hero, a reluctant lady, a wooing, a crafty disguise or stealth, a definite purpose, and a final success in the Gunnlod and Rinda stories, a rebuff in the third tale. But, interesting as the sug- gestion is, the Rinda story has a purpose quite distinct from that of the mead story, viz., to obtain a son who will avenge Balder’s death.
Odin was not always victorious. With Loki and Hoenir he was overcome by Hreidmar after killing Otter, and forced to pay wergild or be slain . 52 In Lokasenna Odin shows him- self frightened for Loki, and it is Thor, not Odin, who silences him.
In spite of his wide knowledge, if not omniscience, Odin re- quires to seek knowledge, especially of the future. This he obtains from the Volva, who recites the drama of the last things, or from a dead seeress who tells of Balder’s fate. Again he obtains knowledge from the giant Suttung’s mead, from the giant Vafthrudnir, from the dead or spirits or dwarfs, and from Mimir . 53 Odin is called £ friend of Mimir,’ who is perhaps a water-spirit, with his well beneath one of the roots of Yggdrasil ; in this well wisdom and understanding are stored. Hence Mimir himself is full of wisdom and drinks of the well from
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the Gjallar-horn. To him came Odin and desired a drink of the well, but Mimir withheld it until he had given his eye in pledge. Now the eye is hidden in the well, and Mimir is said to drink every morning from this pledge, perhaps regarded as some kind of vessel, or out of it is poured water for the tree. The picture of Mimir drinking from Odin’s eye is perhaps the mistake of a later redactor of the poem, as Boer has shown . 54 Odin consults Mimir, as when he rides to his well to take counsel with him before the Doom of the gods, but elsewhere, as has been seen, he consults Mimir’s head . 55
Another picture is given of Odin with the goddess Saga, daily drinking in gladness from golden cups out of the cool waves of her abode, Sokkvabekk (‘sinking stream,’ ‘torrent’). Saga has been regarded by Gering as a form of Frigg, Odin’s con- sort, or by Grimm as Odin’s daughter or wife, but Snorri men- tions her separately from Frigg as second of the goddesses, and he describes Sokkvabekk as ‘ a great abode.’ Golther considers Saga to be a female water-elfin, dwelling in the stream, and visited by Odin to obtain knowledge, which is thus again connected with the water, or to carry on a love affair . 56
Odin is the possessor of magic runes, or even their creator, according to Havamal. He, ‘ the chief of singers,’ coloured them — an allusion to the practice of reddening the engraved runes, e.g., with blood; and he as ‘ ruler ’ or ‘ speaker ’ of the gods wrote or carved them. Another section of Havamal tells in an obscure manner how Odin came to possess magic runes: —
‘ I know that I hung On the wind-stirred tree Nine nights long,
Wounded by spear,
Consecrated to Odin,
Myself to myself;
On the mighty tree Of which no man knows Out of what root it springs.
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No one refreshed me With horn or bread;
I looked downward.
I took up the runes,
Shrieking I took them,
Then I fell to the ground.
Bestla’s brother,
Son of Bolthorn,
Taught me nine mighty songs;
And a drink I obtained Of the choice mead Out of Odrorir.
Then I began to thrive And gained wisdom.
I grew and felt well;
One word led to another.
One deed to another.’ 57
These lines and their meaning have been much discussed, and it is not certain that all the stanzas belong together. They may be fragments from different poems. The third stanza suggests an interpolation from a poetic form of the myth of the mead stolen from Suttung, ‘ of which,’ says Snorri, £ he who drinks becomes a skald.’ Three myths of the gaining of runes or wisdom seem to be conjoined as a narrative in three acts, as shown by Boer. These are ( 1 ) a myth of Odin’s acquiring runes by hanging on a tree and wounded by a spear, an offering to himself. He bows his head and looks down, perhaps into the deep, and takes up the runes, falling now from the tree to the ground. How he took up runes while hanging is not clear: perhaps a magical act is intended. The tree is taken to be Yggdrasil by most commentators, but is it? The whole pas- sage is puzzling, and no other evidence exists to support this view of the tree.
(2) The second rune myth refers to Odin’s learning magic songs from the son of Bolthorn who is father of Bestla, Odin’s mother. If the son of Bolthorn dwells at the foot of the tree,
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he might be Mimir, who also has such an abode, and who is thus Odin’s uncle.
(3) The third rune myth tells how Odin obtained a draught of the mead out of Odrorir, possibly through use of these magic
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songs.
Whether Odin’s hanging on the tree is to be connected with the idea that Yggdrasil is Odin’s gallows is uncertain. Bugge supposed that the lines are a reflexion from Christian belief regarding the Crucifixion, yet even so, some older Odin myth may underlie them. There is perhaps some link with human sacrifice to Odin by hanging the victim on a tree and stabbing him. Odin himself, regarded as a king in Snorri’s euhemerized account, died in bed but was yet marked with a spear-point, and claimed as his own all who died by weapons. 69 A mythic story of such a sacrifice is told in the Gautreks-saga. The ships of king Vikar had encountered a great storm and the sacrificial chips had indicated that it was necessary to propitiate Odin by a human victim. The lot fell on the king himself, and all were now in such fear that it was resolved to defer the sacrifice till next day. Meanwhile Odin desired his foster-son, the hero Starkad, to bring about Vikar’s death, in return for his favours to him. He told him what he must do. Next day, when the counsellors suggested that a mere mock sacrifice of Vikar should be made, Starkad gave directions how this should be done. Vikar was made to stand on the stump of a tree and a noose made of the entrails of a newly slaughtered calf was placed round his neck and attached to a branch, which Starkad held down. Then he thrust at Vikar with a reed which Odin had given him and which now became a spear, at the same time letting go the branch. The noose became a strong rope: the stump was overturned; and thus Vikar was both hung and stabbed. As these changes occurred, Starkad said: £ Now I give you to Odin.’ co
A fuller version of the Odrorir myth is given by Snorri in the Bragarcedur as an explanation of the origin of the art of poetry.
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Here it is connected with the war between ASsir and Vanir. To establish a pledge of peace between the two parties, both of them spat into a vessel. This is doubtless derived from some folk- custom, of which there are examples from other regions, show- ing that the saliva-rite is analogous to the blood-covenant. 61 This saliva now becomes the subject of a further myth, for, as is obvious, if the saliva of men is important in folk-belief, that of gods must have greater virtues. The Ttsir took the contents of the vessel and out of the saliva formed the being Kvasir, who was so wise that to every question about anything he could give the right answer. He went everywhere instructing men, until the dwarfs Fjalar and Galarr slew him, and collected his blood in the kettle Odrorir and in the vats Son and Bodn. They blended honey with the blood, and so formed the mead of which whoso drinks becomes a skald. These dwarfs, having drowned the giant Gilling and slain his wife, were set on a reef by Suttung, the son of the giant pair. Over this reef the waters poured at high tide, and to save themselves they offered him the precious mead as a satisfaction. Suttung hid it in the rock Hnitbj org, and set his daughter Gunnlod to watch it.
The story then goes on to tell how the ASsir came into pos- session of the mead. Odin set out and came to a place where nine thralls were mowing. He took out a hone from his belt and sharpened their scythes so that they cut better than ever before. As they wished to possess the hone, he threw it up in the air, and when they rushed to catch it, each struck his scythe against the other’s neck. Odin now went to the giant Baugi, Suttung’s brother, to seek a night’s lodging. Baugi was be- wailing the loss of his thralls, and Odin, calling himself Bolverk, offered to do their work, asking as wage a draught of Suttung’s mead. Baugi said that he had no control over it, but neverthe- less went with Odin to Suttung when harvest was over. When Suttung heard of the bargain, he refused to grant a drop of the mead. Odin, as Bolverk, now suggested certain wiles to Baugi, who agreed to them. He drew out the auger Rati,
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‘ Gnawer,’ and bade Baugi pierce the rock with it. When the hole was made, Bolverk changed himself into a serpent and crawled through it. Baugi, who had tried to deceive him in boring the hole, thrust at him with the auger but missed him. Bolverk now went to the place where Gunnlod was and slept with her for three nights. Then she gave him three draughts of the mead. With the first draught he emptied Odrorir; with the second Bodn, with the third Son, and thus gained all the mead. Turning himself into an eagle, he flew off swiftly. Suttung saw the eagle in flight, and himself as an eagle pursued it. When the Aisir saw Odin approach, they set out vats, and Odin, entering Asgard, spat out the mead into these. But he was so nearly caught by Suttung that he sent some mead back- wards. No heed was taken of it; whosoever would might have it: it is called the poetaster’s part. Odin gave the mead to the ^Esir and to those men who have the ability of composition.
In this tale and in one of the Havamal passages the vessel containing the mead is called Odrorir; in the other Havamal passage it is the mead itself that is so called. The myth has some likeness to the Indian Soma myth. Soma is medicinal and immortal; it has to do with poetry and stimulates speech. It was acquired through a Soma plant having been brought from the mountains by an eagle, and Indra on one occasion is called an eagle in connexion with Soma . 62 The story has some rela- tion to the numerous folk-tales in which the wife or daughter of a giant or monster aids a hero who escapes with the giant’s treasure.
The poetic mead is now in possession of Odin, but it was first, like all wisdom, as V afthrudnismal suggests, in the possession of giants. Hence Odin gives wisdom to many, and to the poets their art. Egil, though resenting his being deprived of his sons by Odin, says that Mimir’s friend has given him a recompense in the gift of the poetic art. The hero Starkad obtained from Odin the art of poetry or the composing of spells. A poet called himself £ ,Ygg’s (Odin’s) ale-bearer,’ and poetry is styled
THE GREATER GODS — ODIN
55
1 gift,’ 1 find,’ £ drink,’ £ booty ’ of Odin, or £ Odin’s mead,’ 1 Odin’s kettle-liquor,’ as well as £ liquid of the dwarfs,’ £ Gunn- lod’s liquor,’ £ Kvasir’s blood,’ £ Suttung’s mead,’ and the like, with reference to this story . 63 Odin was thus god of the skalds, to whom he gave their gift of verse.
The Havamal or £ words of the High One ’ (Odin) sets forth a long array of wise sayings applicable to the incidents and con- duct of daily life. Then follows the Odrorir story ; a series of counsels addressed to Loddfafnirj the story of Odin and the runes j and a list of runes or rather of the effects of such runes. The whole seems to be intended as a kind of summary of Odin’s wisdom due, as we may suppose, to the actions recorded in the myths. That Odin should be god of poetry at a time when poetry had been so highly developed in the North, may be a development of his being lord of magic runes, which were in verse form. £ All his craft he taught by runes,’ says Snorri in the Y nglinga-saga , and again: £ In measures did he speak all things, even such as skald-craft now uses .’ 64 Save for the Odrorir myth, it is Odin’s invention or possession of magic runes which is emphasized in the Eddie poems, thus laying stress on his character as a master of magic, winner and user of runes. According to Havamal Odin made runes for the Aisir, as Dainn did for the Alfar, Dvalinn for the dwarfs, and Asvid for the giants . 65
Odin’s position as god of war is not prominent in the Eddie poems. Even in Harbardsljod , where he boasts of his exploits, he does not speak much of warlike deeds. That he became god of war is undoubted. Though Tacitus equates Wodan with Mercury, the human sacrifices offered to him can hardly be ex- plained otherwise than as sacrifices to a War-god. Odin caused the first war, that between yEsir (of whom Odin alone is named) and Vanir. As V oluspa says: £ He hurled his spear on the host, and war then came first into the world.’ According to Harbards- ljod and Helgi H undin gsb ana , he causes war, makes princes angry, brings peace never, and raises strife even between kindred
EDDIC MYTHOLOGY
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by means of spiteful runes, and is guilty of all ill. 00 This is corroborated by the old pagan proverb: ‘ Odin sets kings war- ring ’; and by Saxo, who tells how the god, disguised as Brun, Harald’s counsellor, shook the union of the kings by his treach- ery, and sowed strife so guilefully that he caused hatred among men bound by friendship and kin, which seemed unappeasable save by war. 6. In Harbardsljod Odin speaks of his presence with the host 5 in Lokasenna he is charged by Loki with partial- ity, giving victory to those who do not deserve it. He is angry when victory is given against his will, as by the Valkyrie Bryn- hild to Agnar, and for this he casts her into a magic sleep by means of a sleep-thorn. 63 He takes part in the battles of men and helps his favourites to victory. Hence men entreat his favour and he promises victory. 69 To his favourites he gives weapons. Dag, son of Hogni, sacrificed to Odin in order to be avenged of his father’s death. Odin gave him his spear, which made victory sure. Freyja in Hyndluljod says that to his followers he gives gold, to Hermod helm and coat of mail, to Sigmund a sword, and triumph to some. 70 A curious statement in Helgi Hundingsbana says that Odin gave to Helgi co-rule with himself when he came to Valhall. 71
Saxo shows how Odin is patron of heroes and kings. When Hadding was passing Norway with his fleet, an old man on the shore signed to him with his mantle to put ashore. In spite of opposition, Hadding did this, took him on board, and was taught how to order his army in the wedge formation attributed to Odin. When the army was thus disposed, the old man stood behind it and shot ten arrows at the enemy, and also overcame the rain-storm caused by their spells, driving it back and causing a mist. Before leaving, he told Hadding that he would die by his own hand, and bade him prefer glorious to obscure wars, and those with remote rather than with neighbouring people. The old man was Odin. A later passage tells how he was the discoverer and imparter of the wedge-shaped formation. In the likeness of Brun, he set Harald’s army in this array, but the
THE GREATER GODS — ODIN
57
army of Ring, Harald’s opponent, was also found to be in the same formation, doubtless also taught them by Odin. Already Odin, as a one-eyed old man, of great height, in a hairy mantle, had appeared to Harald, revealing to him that he was Odin, versed in the practice of war, and instructing him regarding this wedge formation . 72
Odin went forth with the host to battle, and, in Saxo, we see him not only provoking war between Harald and Ring, but in the form of Brun taking part in the battle. Harald besought him to give victory to the Danes, promising to dedicate to him the spirits of all who fell. Odin remained unmoved, thrust the king out of his chariot, and slew him with his own weapon . 73 This personal share of the god in battle in order to secure vic- tims, occurs elsewhere. His desire was to fill Valhall with chosen warriors, einherjar , who would aid the gods in time of need. Hence he caused death to his favourites, even in the hour of victory, or they were foredoomed to slay themselves, like Hadding, or their death was brought about by Odin at the hands of another, as Vikar’s by Starkad . 74 The clearest state- ment of this is found in Eiriksmal. Sigmund asked Odin why he robbed Eirik of life, seeing that Odin regarded him as a mighty warrior. Odin answered that it was because none knew when the grey wolf would come to the seat of the gods . 75
The Valkyries were sent to battle-fields to choose those who were to die. As these helmeted maids rode forth, their corselets were besprinkled with blood, and from their spears sparks flew forth . 76
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The interpretatio Romana of Wodan as Mercury is not clear, but Csesar had regarded the chief god of the Gauls as equivalent to Mercury. That god was described by him as £ the inventor of arts, guide of travellers, and possessing great influence over bargains and commerce .’ 11 Tacitus and later writers may have regarded Wodan in the light of what they knew of the Gaulish god. Tacitus does in fact mention Mars in close connexion with the German Mercury, as if the latter were also a War-god. If his functions resembled those of the Gaulish Mercury, these find a certain parallel in what is said of Odin in Hyndluljod by Freyja. He gives gold to his followers, weapons and armour to heroes, triumph to some, treasure to others, to many wisdom and skill in words, fair winds to sailors, to the poet his art, to heroes valour. In other Eddie attributes of Odin there is a further resemblance — his skill in arts, his mastery in magic, his description as a traveller. Like Mercury he was a god or
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leader of the dead. Both gods were depicted with hat and staff. In spite of this, the identification with Mercury still remains a problem, especially when we consider the warlike aspect of Odin. As he appears in the Eddas , Odin is on the one hand a War-god who gives victory or defeat. On the other hand, he is concerned with wisdom, magic, cunning, and poetry, of which he was creator, according to the skalds.
Snorri says that the Swedes believed that Odin appeared in dreams before great battles, giving victory to some or inviting some to himself, and either lot was thought good. We may compare with this Adam of Bremen’s account of Odin as wor- shipped by the Swedes at Upsala. £ Wodan carries on wars, and gives courage to men against their foes.’ He also says that his image resembled that of the Roman Mars. Obviously Odin’s functions as a War-god had become prominent, and he had taken the place of the god Tyr, if this deity was a god of war. Tyr’s place is quite subordinate in the Eddas.
The name Wodan (OHG Wuotan, OS Wodan, AS Woden, ON Ofienn) is found in the OHG personal name Wuotunc and in the appellative wo tan, glossed tyr annus. Wode, Wude, Wute, and the like, names of the leader of the Furious Host, Wudes Heer, are probably dialect forms of Wodan. The Furious Host was the storm personified as a host of spirits rush- ing through the air with their leader, who had many local names. The derivations of the name Wodan vary. It has been con- nected with a root wod, found in Old Teutonic wodo , 1 mad,’ ‘ furious,’ and ON op-r , ‘poetic frenzy ’ (cf. Irish faith , Latin vates). This would refer the name to the god’s attributes in connexion with poetry and poetic inspiration. With this deriva- tion may be noted Adam of Bremen’s explanation: 1 Wodan , id est furor? Another suggested derivation is that which connects Wodan with Indo-Germanic wd , 1 to blow,’ with the idea that the god in his earliest form was a spirit or god of the wind, and, as the spirits of the dead were supposed to wander in the wind, a spirit or god of the dead. The traditions of the Furious Host,
THE GREATER GODS — ODIN
4i
spread all over the Germanic area and traced back to medieval times, are held to prove that Wodan had once been known to all Germanic peoples in the aspect of the leader of the Furious Host. With some of the groups he attained a much higher position, ultimately becoming the chief god. Before the evi- dence for this is set forth, it is well to consider that medieval tradition is somewhat doubtful as an index of belief in the pagan period. The leadership of the Furious Host was apt to be given now to this, now to that personage, and often to one with a bad reputation . 12 As all pagan gods were regarded in Christian times as sinister and demoniac, is it not possible that Wodan, as a discredited deity, was popularly made leader of what was known to be a demoniac host, and that he had not been so regarded in pagan times?
The name 4 daz wuetunde Her ’ or 4 wutendes Heer ,’ 4 Furi- ous Host,’ is found in the thirteenth century, and is connected etymologically with 4 Wuotes Heer,’ 4 Wuotunges Heer,’ 4 Wodan’s Host,’ mentioned in fourteenth century writings . 13 German tradition still preserves the memory of Wodan’s Host. When the Host is heard by the Mecklenburg peasant, he cries 4 de Wode tut,’ 4 Wode passes,’ or, as in Pomerania and Hol- stein, 4 Wode jaget ,’ 4 Wode hunts.’ A furious tempest is called 4 Wudes Heer ’ in the Eifel . 14 4 Wutes ’ or 4 Mutes Heer ’ is known in Suabia as is 4 Wuetes Heer ’ in Bavaria. Wotn hunts in Austria, and the belief in 4 das wiitende Heer ’ is widespread, the Host being led by different personages . 15 In Swedish folk- tradition (Smaland) 4 Oden’s jagt ’ is known, and in storms the folk say, 4 Oden far forbi ’ or 4 Odin jager.’ Here Odin rides, wearing a broad-brimmed hat, with two or more hounds. Else- where in Scandinavia howling wind is thought to be caused by the rolling of Odin’s wagon . 16
The main aspects of the Furious Host are found in the leader, often wearing a cloak and a broad hat, and riding a white or black horse, with a number of hounds, and in his train of fol- lowers, among whom are sometimes souls — those not good
EDDIC MYTHOLOGY
42
enough for Heaven nor bad enough for Hell, or the unbaptized, suicides, and the like, these probably taking the place of an earlier more general throng of the dead. The Host rushes along with noise and shouting, hunting animals or the Moss- wives, the Wood-wife, the Mer- woman, or other female elfins. It appears in autumn or spring, but generally in the Twelve Nights, from Christmas to Epiphany. Generally the Host presages evil or works harm, but sometimes when it is heard as soft music, it betokens a good harvest. In order to escape injury from it, one should fall on one’s face, or keep the middle of the road, or run to a wayside cross, or to the cross-roads. Many stories are told of adventures of wayfarers with', the Host, and it has often a hellish aspect . 17 The leader often bears some form of the name Hackelberg, the equivalent of Hakel-berend, ‘ the Mantle-wearer.’ Another name for him is Breit-hut or ‘ Broad Hat.’
In some degree corresponding to this in Norse mythology, and perhaps pointing to Odin as god of the wind, are the names given to him. He is called Vafud, Vegtam (‘ Wanderer ’), Gangler (‘Traveller’), Omi (‘ Noisy one’), Vidforull (‘Far- traveller ’), or, as in Saxo, viator indefessus , ‘ unwearied travel- ler,’ or in Snorri’s Helmskringla y ‘ the far travelled.’ He says in Vafthrudnismal ‘ much have I travelled,’ or ‘long have I travelled .’ 18 We hear in Harbardsljod of his journeys, and in a story of his appearing to king Olaf, he tells him of his travels. Whether all this denotes that Odin was an earlier god of the wind may be doubted, but it suggests that, as traveller, he is akin to the Gaulish Mercury, god of travellers, as well as to the classic god Mercury.
One of the magic runes which Odin knows points to his power over the wind. If there is need to shelter his ship, he calms the wind and makes the waves sleep by its means. He gives fair winds to sailors, as Freyja says in Hyndluljod. The storm subsides when Odin, the man from the mountain, goes on board Sigurd’s ship . 19 Odin, as god of cargoes, Farma-tyr, may have
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been so called because he gave fair winds, and was thus a god worshipped by sailors. 20
To the appearance of the leader of the Host corresponds that of Odin with his cloak, under which he conveys his proteges through the air, 21 his broad-brimmed hat, and his long grey beard, giving rise to his names Sidhottr (‘with broad hat’), Harbard ( £ grey beard ’), and Skidskegg ( £ long beard ’). He also rides through sea and air the famous grey, eight-legged steed, Sleipnir, £ best of all horses,’ born of Loki in the form of a mare to the giant’s stallion Svadilfari. 22 Baldrs Draumar gives a picture of Odin saddling Sleipnir and riding down to Niflhel to consult the Volva about Balder’s baleful dreams, On Sleipnir he rides daily to Urd’s well to the divine tribunal, and, after Balder’s death, Odin’s son, Hermod, rode Sleipnir to Hel to offer a ransom for Balder. 23 Snorri depicts Odin riding forth with gold helmet, birnie, and his spear Gungnir, to fight at the end of all things. 24 The name of the world-tree, Yggdrasil, means c Ygg’s horse,’ Ygg ( c the Terrible ’) being a name of Odin’s. 25 The true name of the tree is Askr Yggdrasils ( £ the ash of Yggdrasil ’ or c of Odin’s steed ’). 26 The gallows is also called Odin’s steed, and he is galga valdyr ( £ lord of the gallows ’) and hanga-tyr ( £ god of the hanged ’). The gallows was a steed ridden by the hanged, and Odin himself had hung on a tree (whether Yggdrasil or another) for nine nights, as is told in Havamal. Later legend knew of a smith in Nesjar in 1208 a.e>. to whom came a rider asking him to shoe his horse. The smith had never seen such large horseshoes nor heard of such journeys as the stranger told him he had undertaken in a brief space of time. Then the stranger revealed himself as Odin and bade the smith watch how he would leap his horse over a hedge seven ells high. Having done this, horse and rider van- ished. Four nights later a great battle was fought. 27 In the same way the Furious Host was sometimes a precursor of battle, but it must be confessed that, apart from the rather forced sug- gestions of Odin as a rider and the like, the Eddas do not sup-
44 EDDIC MYTHOLOGY
port the theory of the god’s origin in a leader of the Furious Host.
As the wind was believed to rest in a hill in calm weather and to come forth in a storm, so the Furious Host sometimes comes from a hill and goes to a hill. If we regard the dead as follow- ing in the train of the Host or of Wodan, then we may conceive of them as dwelling in a hollow hill ruled over by the god. To this corresponds the numerous mountain names such as Wodenesberg, Wodnesbeorh ( mons Wodeni ), Othensberg, Odensberg, Gudenesberg. 28 When Regin and Sigurd were in a storm at sea, a man was seen standing on a mountain. As the ship passed he asked who they were, and when Regin told him and demanded his name, he replied that he was called Hnikar, £ Thruster,’ but now they must call him Karl aj berge , £ the man of the mountain.’ He was Odin. Gudrun speaks of Sigtyr’s ( £ the Victory-god’s) mountain in Atlakvitha . 29 In this con- ception of Odin or Wodan as god of a mountain and of the mountain as a place of the dead, may be seen the germ of the Valhall myth as developed in the Viking age (see p. 315). To die was £ to journey to Odin ’ {til Odins far a), op £ to be a guest with Odin,’ or £ to visit Odin,’ and similar phrases with the same meaning were used of Valhall. Saxo tells how Odin, as a man of amazing height called Rostarus, cured Siward’s wounds on condition of his consecrating to him the souls of all slain by him in battle. So the Landnama-bok tells how Helgi said, when Thorgrim was slain: £ I gave Asmod’s heir to Odin.’ 30
Epithets of Odin’s show his connexion with the dead. He is drauga drottinn , £ lord of the ghosts ’ ; hanga drottinn , £ lord of the hanged hanga tyr and hanga-god } £ god of the hanged galga valdr , £ lord of the gallows ’; valgautr , £ god of the slain.’ 31 Souls of those slain by violence go in the Furious Host, and souls of heroes go to Odin in Valhall. Hence, too, he was called val-fadir , £ father of the slain,’ because, as Snorri says, £ all that fall in battle are sons of his adoption ’ ( oski synir ). 32
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Valkjosandi, £ chooser of the slain,’ is one of Odin’s titles in Kormaks-saga.
According to Grimnismal Odin in Gladsheim, £ the world of joy,’ where the wide, gold-shining Valhall lies, chooses daily those who are to fall in strife. For them, says Snorri, he ap- points Valhall, £ Hall of the slain,’ and Vingolf, £ friendly Floor.’ Hence £ the way of the slain ’ is the way to Val- hall . 33 The Valkyries, £ Choosers of the slain,’ were sent by Odin to every battle; they determined men’s feyness and awarded victory and took the slain . 34 They were called Wish- maidens, because they fulfilled Odin’s wishes about the slain . 35 On one occasion Odin, as god of the dead, acted as ferryman of the dead to the Other World. Sinfjotli’s body was carried by Sigmund to a f j ord, where was a boat with a man in it, who of- fered to take Sigmund across. But when he had carried the body into the boat there was no place for Sigmund, and the man dis- appeared with the body. He was Odin , 36 and the incident illus- trates the belief in the dead being ferried over to the region of the dead. In Harbardsljod Odin, as Harbard, appears as a ferryman.
Although Odin’s lofty character is emphasized by Snorri and in the court poetry of the skalds, both in his Edda and still more in the Eddie poems Odin appears in lower aspects. Indeed, in these poems Odin is hardly at all the lofty War-god and the creator who appears in skaldic verse, much less the supreme god of a pantheon. Especially is his connexion with magic empha- sized. He is aldenn gautr , £ the enchanter old ’; galdrs fadir , £ father of magic,’ and he spoke magic and mighty charms to the dead Volva whom he had raised, yet required to seek knowledge of Balder’s fate from her . 37 Loki accused Odin of having once worked charms like witches in Samsey, disguising himself as a witch and going thus among men . 38 Saxo tells how Odin dis- guised himself as a soldier and struck Rinda with a piece of bark on which were written charms (runes), thus driving her to frenzy. This was already referred to by the skald Kormak in
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the line 1 Odin wrought charms on Rind.’ 39 From Hlebard the giant Odin got a magic wand ( gambante'm ) and then stole away his understanding; and Odin admits that he learned scornful language from the dead in their hills. Both incidents occur in Harbardsljod . 40 As in the Merseburg charm where Odin is found curing a lame horse by a charm or magic rune, so in Havamal he describes the power of the magic songs known to him. They bring help in sickness and sorrow, and in witchcraft 5 they produce fetters and blunt an enemy’s weapons} they break fetters} they stop the swiftest arrows; they neutralize the dan- ger of a root on which magic runes are written and turn the danger against the sender; they quench fire, remove hatred, calm the wind, work on House-riders or witches, aid friends in fight, make a hanged man talk to him, give knowledge of the gods and elves, and win love. One of these had been sung by the dwarf Thjodrorir, who sang 1 strength to the Aisir, success to the Alfar, and wisdom to Hroptatyr ’ (Odin). 41
When Mimir’s head was sent by the Vanir to the ^Esir, Odin embalmed it and spoke magic runes over it, so that it might impart wisdom to him at any time. It told him tidings from other worlds. Voluspa refers to this when, before the Doom of the gods, Odin is said to give heed to the head of Mimir, and in Sigrdrifumal he is depicted with sword and helmet, standing on a mountain and consulting Mimir’s head. 42 Elsewhere it is Mimir himself whom Odin consults. This recalls Celtic myth and custom about heads. Those of enemies were offered to divinities. Bodies or heads of warriors had a powerful influence, and the head of the Brythonic god Bran, when cut off, preserved the land from invasion, and, in its presence, time passed as a dream. 43 Odin, called Hropt, is said to have arranged thought- runes out of the draught which dropped from the head of Heith- draupnir and the horn of Hoddrofnir, both probably names of Mimir. To Odin Loddfafnir owes his magic knowledge. 44
As a result of his magic powers Odin takes different forms, that of a ferryman, a servant or peasant, a snake, an eagle, as
PLATE VII
Odin
Odin riding, with helmet, spear, and shield. The birds are his ravens. See p. 65. Part of a helmet found in the royal graves at Vendel, Sweden, and dating from c. 900 a.d. From Stolpe and Arne, V en - del-jyndet. See pp. 58, 217.
THE GREATER GODS — ODIN
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in myths presently to be given. Hence he is called Fjolnir, ‘ the many-shaped . 5 45
To this corresponds Snorri’s euhemerized account of Odin in his Ynglinga-saga. He was far-seeing and wise in wizardry. He waked the dead and would sit under hanged men, to obtain knowledge from them. By words alone he slaked fire or stilled the sea, and would turn the wind in whatever way he desired. He knew the fate of men and things in the future, or how to work ill or to take strength and wit from men and give these to others. Of all buried treasure did he know, as well as runes to open the earth, mountains, rocks, and mounds, and how to bind their inmates with words. Then he would go in and take what he wished. He would change his shape, and while his body lay as if asleep or dead, he himself was in a bird or wild beast, a fish or worm, and he would go in the twinkling of an eye on his own errands or those of others . 48 All this is merely the cur- rent belief in magical practices and assumed possible actions re- flected back on Odin, who in this aspect resembles a shaman.
In this aspect, also, so prominent in the Eddie poems as com- pared with those of the court poets, we see a somewhat different Odin from Odin the supreme god of a pantheon and god of war. He is altogether on a lower level, and perhaps we may suppose that this was the popular view of him, as contrasted with that of the aristocracy, the warriors and skalds.
This lower aspect of Odin is seen in what is said of his amours, of which he boasts, and we hear how he sometimes made women or giantesses his victims by means of magic runes. He wrought charms on Rind the giantess, who bore him a son Vali or Ali, the avenger of Balder . 47 This is much elaborated in Saxo. Rind, called by Saxo Rinda, is in this account daughter of the king of the Ruthenians. After Balder’s death Odin, though chief of the gods, enquired of prophets and diviners how to avenge his son, and one of these, a Finn, said that a son must be born to him by Rinda. Odin, as a soldier, gained her father’s favour, but Rinda would have nothing to say to
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him. Next year as one skilled in smith-craft, he made many wonderful things for the king and for Rinda, who still refused him. Again as a soldier he sought to win her and tried to kiss her, but she repelled him. He now touched her with a piece of bark on which runes were written, and she became like one in frenzy. Then as a maiden with skill in leechcraft, he said that he would cure Rinda. So he gained access to her, and now accomplished his desires. The child born was called Bous, not Vali, as in the Eddas. iS
In Harbardsljod Odin boasts of overcoming seven sisters, and of working much love-craft with the Night-riders or witches, alluring them by stealth from their husbands. He had also an amour with a £ linen-white ’ maid, and with Grid, mother of Vidarr. 49
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THE VANIR 29 god, or the blot or 1 sacrifice ’ god of Sweden, though introduced to Sweden from without, was now firmly rooted there. The cult of Odin, the Saxa-god or Saxon-god, was introduced later, c. 800 a.d., and aroused a strong national counter-current of opposition. This is the view of Golther, and Chadwick says: c That the two cults of Odin and Frey were originally quite dis- tinct, and that the latter was the earlier of the two, there can hardly be any serious doubt.’ 9 Whatever be the truth regarding this cult war, it is clear that some fusion occurred, and that now the temples, altars, and images of ALsir and Vanir stood side by side. This is seen from historical notices of cult, and from the grouping of Odin, Thor, and Frey. Golther also finds a trace of this cult war in another chapter of the Ynglinga-saga. After Odin heard that good land was to be found in Gylfi’s country or Sweden, he journeyed there. Gylfi had no power to withstand the Aisir folk. Peace was made, and Odin and Gylfi had many dealings in cunning tricks and illusion. Odin erected a temple with blood-offerings ac- cording to the custom of the Aisir at Sigtun. Frey’s seat was at Upsala. 10 Here, instead of the Vanir, the Swedish king opposes Odin, and the latter succeeds in establishing a cult. The Swedish kings, who regarded themselves as descendants of Frey, would naturally oppose the cult of Odin. Though the cult of Odin does not strike one as other than that of a barbaric people, that of the Vanir was not necessarily more enlightened, and it has some primitive traits — the brother-sister marriages of Njord and of Frey, and the phallic aspect of the latter. There are traces also of the opposition between gods of light, fertility, merchandise, and prosperity, such as the Vanir were, and gods of war, like Odin — - the gods of people with con- trasted cultures, but later coalescing and sharing cult and sacrifice. This appears in the statement of Volusia about Aiisir and Vanir sharing sacrifices, and of the Ynglinga-saga , that the EDDIC MYTHOLOGY 30 iLsir had blood-offerings, while Odin gave sites to the £ temple- priests,’ i.e., the gods Njord, Frey, etc . 11 A similar view of a war between divinities is found in the euhemerized accounts of Celtic mythology in Ireland. The Tuatha De Danann fought with Firbolgs and Fomorians. Yet both intermarried or were in friendly relations with each other. There is an echo here of the strife of friendly and hostile nature powers, or, more likely, of the conquest of aboriginal people and their deities by an incoming race and their gods, with sub- sequent union between the two . 12 CHAPTER III EUHEMERISM T HE theory of the Greek Euhemerus (fourth century b.c. ) that the gods were deified men, played an important part in the later Christian interpretation of the deities of dif- ferent lands. Along with the beliefs that the gods were really devils, this theory that they had been men who, usually by demoniac aid or magic craft, dominated the minds of their fel- lows and caused them to worship them, was the stock argument against paganism for many centuries. We need not be sur- prised, therefore, to find it used as an explanation of the origin of the Scandinavian deities, even by the mythographer Snorri himself, who has preserved so much of the old mythology. Snorri was an enthusiast for the traditions of the past as well as for the poetic art and its fitting expression, but he was a Christian, and therefore could not believe in the truth of these traditions nor in the gods themselves. Hence he says, address- ing his audience of youthful skalds, that while they should not forget nor discredit the traditions by removing from poetry the ancient metaphors which originated out of them, yet, on the other hand, Christian men could not believe in pagan gods nor in the truth of the myths about them except in the sense set forth in the beginning of the book . 1 The beginning of the book of which he speaks is the Pro- logue to the Edda , which, because it is written from the euhe- meristic point of view in greater or less contradiction to the standpoint of the book itself, has sometimes been regarded as by another hand. On the contrary, Snorri’s definition of his posi- tion shows that this Prologue and the traditions or myths of the book are quite in keeping with each other. 32 EDDIC MYTHOLOGY The Prologue begins with a notice of the Creation, of Noah and the Flood, and of the races descended from him, and their thoughts about all that they saw around them. The world is divided into three parts — Africa, Europe, and Asia. The centre of the earth, Troy or Turkland, is in Asia , 4 best of homes and haunts.* Here we notice the influence of the classical tradi- tion of Troy, as distinct from the general medieval view, as in Dante, that Jerusalem was the centre of the earth. In Troy were twelve kingdoms and one high king. In the stronghold were twelve chieftains, and one of these, Munon (Agamem- non), had a son Tror or Thor, by Troan, daughter of Priam. At twelve years old he had attained his full strength, and went forth over all the earth, slaying berserks, giants, dragons, and beasts. He married the prophetess Sibil, 4 whom we call Sif.’ From him, strangely enough, and certainly in contra- diction to what is said in the Edda , through a long line of descendants, came Voden, 4 whom we call Odin,’ a man famed for wisdom and every accomplishment. His wife was Fri'gida (Frigg). Odin and Frigg had second sight, and thus he knew that his name would be exalted in the northern regions. With a great multitude he journeyed out of Turkland, wandering over many lands, where he and his people seemed more like gods than men. At last they came to Saxland, where Odin abode long, taking possession of the land. In it he set three of his sons to rule — Vegdeg, Beldeg (Balder), and Sigi from whom came the Vol- sungs. Odin now made his way northwards to Reidgothland (Jutland), where he set his son Skjold, ancestor of the Skjol- dings or kings of the Danes. Going still farther north, Odin came to Sweden, then ruled by Gylfi. When Gylfi heard of the coming of these /Esir, or 4 men of Asia,’ he met them, offering Odin such power in his kingdom as he himself wielded. Learned medieval etymology thus connected the ^Esir with Asia. Snorri says that well-being, good seasons, and peace followed on the footsteps of Odin and . ' . . . . - . BL I PLATE VI Details of the Smaller Horn As interpreted by J. J. A. Worsaae this horn depicts scenes from Valhall. In the upper compartment is Odin with spear, sceptre, and the ring Draupnir. Be- low him is the boar Saehrimnir. To the left are two Einherjar; to the right Odin’s wolves, the hart Eik- thyrnir, and the goat Heidrun. Beyond these is Frey with sickle and sceptre; below him the boar Gullin- bursti. The next compartment shows, to the right, a three-headed figure representing the triad of gods, Odin, Thor, and Frey (others regard the figure as that of Thor). The large serpent is Loki with Idunn’s apple in his mouth. The bird attacking a fish is the giant Thjazi; the fish is Loki. To the extreme left are figures symbolizing the slaying of Balder. The third compartment represents the gate of Valhall, fish swimming in the river surrounding it, the Ash Ygg- drasil with the serpent Nidhogg at its roots, Hermod on Sleipnir, etc. In the fourth is Frey, with horse and sickle. All this interpretation is purely hypothetical. EUHEMERISM 33 the Ttsir. Men believed that these were caused by them. The iEsir were unlike all other men in fairness and wisdom. In this region Odin founded a city called Sigtun, and estab- lished chieftains there as in Troy, with twelve doomsmen to judge. He now went to Norway and set his son Saeming to rule there. Another of his sons, Yngvi, was king in Sweden after him, and from him are descended the Ynglings. Snorri stops short here, without explaining how Odin and his sons came to be worshipped as gods, but it is clear that, in his mind, the gods had once been heroic men. This is more defi- nitely shown in the earlier chapters of the Ynglmga-saga , which forms the first part of his Heimskringla. Here it is said that a great river, Tanais, flows from the North over Sweden to the Black Sea, dividing Europe and Asia. To the East of it is Asaheim, the land of the Tisirj its chief city is Asgard (the Troy of the Prologue to the Edda). Here a great chieftain, Odin, dwelt. It was a place of blood-offerings, with twelve temple-priests, who ruled the sacrifices and judged be- tween men. They were called Diar or Drotnar, and all men were bound to their service. Odin was a great warrior and far-travelled, who conquered many realms and was always victorious. He went West and South, even to Saxland, where he set his sons to rule. Thence he journeyed North to an island called now Odin’s island in Fion. Afterwards he went to Gylfi’s land and made peace with him. Gylfi knew that he could not withstand the, Tisir, who were mightier than he, especially in magic. Odin abode at the Low and made there a great temple. This he called Sigtun, and here he gave their abodes to the temple- priests. Njord dwelt at Noatun, Frey at Upsala, Heimdall at Himinbjorg, Thor at Thrudvang, Balder at Breidablik. Having told how Odin and the Diar taught crafts to the North countries, Snorri gives details of Odin’s superiority in many things, especially magic, an account of which will be given in Chapter IV. Hence he grew famous. He taught much of 34 EDDIC MYTHOLOGY his cunning to the temple-priests, who were now next to him in magic and craft. Others got knowledge of this magic, and so it spread far and wide and lasted long. To Odin and these twelve lords men now offered sacrifice and called them gods, and named their children after them — a clear statement of the euhemeristic point of view. Odin settled laws and arranged how the dead were to be burned with their goods, so that they might come to Valhall. All over Sweden men paid Odin tribute, but he was bound to keep their land from war, and to sacrifice for them for a good year. At last he died in his bed in Sweden, but was marked with a spear-point, claiming as his own all who died by weapons. He said that he would go his way to Godheim and there wel- come all his friends. The Swedes thought that he had gone to the Asgard of old days, there to live for ever. So began anew the worship of Odin and vowing of vows to him. The Swedes believed that he showed himself to them in dreams before a battle. To some he gave victory; others he bade come to him; and either lot was held to be good. To Odin succeeded Njord, and to him Frey, and a similar euhemeristic account is given of these . 2 The notices of the deities given by Saxo Grammaticus in his Gesta Danorum show that he also adopted the euhemeristic theory, probably from Icelandic writers who preceded him and from whom he borrowed. But he differs from Snorri in his incisive and contemptuous way of referring to the gods. He has none of Snorri’s irony or wit or delight in the humour of a story, none of his interest in preserving traditions intact. To him the gods were mortal deceivers and magicians. There had been in old days three races of such magicians. The first was that of the giants. Following them was a race skilled in divina- tion, and surpassing the giants in mental power as these sur- passed them in bodily condition. Constant wars for supremacy were waged between them, till the second race subdued the first, and gained not merely rule but also the repute of being EUHEMERISM 35 divine. Both races were skilled in the art of delusion and in appearing to change their form or that of others. The third race, springing from the union of the two others, had neither the bodily size nor the skill in magic of their parents, yet they gained credit as gods with those deluded by their magic . 3 The second race is apparently the ^Esir, but the third is more obscure, and perhaps Vanir, or Alfar, or Dwarfs are intended. The passage, however, is far from clear, and is not connected with what is presently said of Odin and other deities. According to Saxo the gods first dwelt in Byzantium, which here stands for Asgard, in a senatus divinus or collegium. This resembles Snorri’s account of the temple-priests. Odin was reckoned to be chief of the gods. He was believed all over Europe to have the honour of divinity, which was false. He used to dwell much at Upsala, and the kings of the North, anxious to worship his deity, made an image of him, which they sent to Byzantium. Frey, the regent (satrapa) of the gods, also took up his abode at Upsala . 4 These scattered statements are followed by a more definite notice of Saxo’s opinion. In former days there were men who excelled in sorcery — Thor, Odin, and many others. They were cunning in contriving magical tricks, and thus, gaining the minds of the simple, they began to claim the rank of gods. They ensnared Norway, Sweden, and Denmark in the vainest credulity, and by moving these lands to worship them, infected them with their imposture. The effect of this spread far and wide, and men adored a sort of divine power in them, and, supposing them to be gods or in league with gods, they offered up prayers to them. Hence days are called by their names, and Saxo here enters into a short discussion of their equivalence with Roman deities. He concludes by telling his readers that they will now know to what kind of worship their country once bowed the knee . 5 Saxo is sometimes satirical towards these deified impostors. When Odin seeks advice from diviners and prophets regarding EDDIC MYTHOLOGY 36 vengeance on Balder, he adds this comment: 1 Godhead that is incomplete is often in need of human help .’ 6 According to the theories set forth by Snorri and Saxo, the gods had once been kings or priests or men possessed of pro- found magical powers, and because of their superiority or their cunning, caused credulous people to worship them as deities both before and after their deaths. CHAPTER IV THE GREATER GODS — ODIN I N one form or another Odin or Wodan was known to many of the Teutonic peoples, for, since he is undoubtedly the god whom the interpretatio Romana identified with Mercury, the existence of a word formed from his name for the title of the fourth day of the week, corresponding to Dies Mercurius , was widespread. This was in OS Wodanes dag, in AS Wodenes daeg (English Wednesday), OF Wonsdei, ON Odensdagr (Swedish and Danish Onsdag), MHG Wodenesdach, Gudens- dag. 1 Among the tribes of Upper Germany (Alemanni, Bavarians, Suabians), the name of Wodan for the fourth day of the week is unknown, the word mittawecha , c mid-week,’ taking its place, and suggesting that Wodan was unknown to them, or did not occupy a high place when the Roman names for the days of the week were introduced on Teutonic ground, and rendered in terms of the names of native gods. Place-, plant-, and star- names formed from Wodan are also lacking in this region. 2 Tacitus says that the Germans, i.e., the Rhineland tribes, chiefly worship Mercury, to whom on certain days they think it lawful to offer human sacrifice. 3 The Batavians dedicated votive tablets to Mercury, either alone (one of these is to Mercurio Regi ) or with Hercules (the native Donar) and Mars (Tiu). An altar to Mercurio Channini has been found in the upper Ahr region. Mercury here stands for Wodan. Jonas of Bobbio speaks of the god Vodan as Mercury, and Paulus Diaconus says that Gwoden is called Mercury by the Romans. 4 Wodan is thus probably the Mercury mentioned with Jupiter in the eighth century Indiculus Superstitionum (c. as gods to EDDIC MYTHOLOGY 38 whom sacrifices were offered and whose festivals were observed by the Saxons even in Christian times. The cult of Wodan was thus found over a wide area, but it is generally believed that it spread outward from one central re- gion — Lower Germany, or that, if in most places indigenous, it grew in importance through influences from that central re- gion. The Saxons, Frisians, and Franks gave Wodan a high place. When the Saxons entered England in the fifth century, Woden was their principal god, from whom chiefs and kings claimed descent . 5 He was still the god whom the Saxons in their native region were forced to renounce at baptism in the eighth century, along with other gods . 6 An interesting legend regarding the Lombards, who had been neighbours of the Saxons, is, preserved by Paulus Diaconus, and relates to the time of their southward migration in the fifth cen- tury. Paulus calls them Vinili, and says that when they en- countered the Vandals, the latter implored victory from Godan (Wodan), who replied that he would give it to those whom he saw first at sunrise. Gambara, mother of the Lombard leaders, now approached Wodan’s consort, Frea, and begged her for vic- tory. Frea gave the advice that the Lombard women should join the men with their hair hanging over their faces, in order to give them a bearded appearance. Wodan, looking from his win- dows towards the East, would see them. This advice was fol- lowed, and Wodan, seeing the Lombards, asked: ‘ Who are these Longobardi? ’ (Longbeards, Lombards). Frea replied that he ought to grant victory to those on whom he had conferred a name, and this Wodan did. According to Paulus, Wodan was worshipped by all the German tribes. This legend is related by earlier writers with variations. Wodan’s seat is in the sky, just as in the Eddas he looks over the world from his seat Hlidskjalf, and is giver of victory . 7 The Alemanni were influenced by the Franks in religious matters. S. Columbanus found them sacrificing to Wuotan, and the Merseburg charm, found in Alemannic territory, shows that THE GREATER GODS — ODIN 39 Wodan, as a god of healing or of magic, was known to one of their tribes, possibly the Thuringians . 8 Saxo relates myths of Othinus among the Danes and repre- sents him as their chief god. How far a cult of Wodan was indigenous in Denmark is uncertain, for Saxo’s sources are in part Norwegian and Icelandic as well as Danish. In the Scandinavian region, as is seen from the native litera- ture, Odin appears as chief god, head of a pantheon which, in Snorri’s Edda , seems to be imitated from classical sources. There is some evidence that this position was given to him in the Viking age, from the eighth century onwards, and mainly in royal and aristocratic circles, and that he was much less god of the folk, with whom Thor had a higher place. In Adam of Bremen’s account of the Swedish deities, Wodan, god of war, has a lower place than Thor . 9 The accounts in Snorri and Saxo of Odin’s coming to Scandinavia from Saxland, where he had reigned for a long time, may contain a kernel of truth — the cult of the high god Wodan (Odin), the Saxa-god, god of the Saxons’ land, coming from there to Scandinavia . 10
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The divinities of Norse mythology are called ^Esir (singular Ass). The original meaning of the word is uncertain. Mogk and others, however, regard it as connected etymologically with
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EDDIC MYTHOLOGY
Sanskrit anas , ‘ breath/ £ wind.’ Hence the ^Esir were origi- nally animistic beings or souls. Odin, as leader of the host of the dead, belonged to the TSsir, but as his rank became higher and more divine so the word Ass as applied to him assumed the meaning of £ god/ and all gods associated with Odin were known as Tisir, Odin being oztr asa, 1 mightiest of the .Esir.’ 13 This theory gains some support from the fact that the corresponding Gothic word ansis was used as the title of dead ancestral chiefs in the sense of semi-deos , according to Jordanes, the historian of the Goths. The Bardar-saga relates that, after his death, Bardar, as guardian spirit of the region about Snaefell was known as £ Snaefells-ass.’ 14 The corresponding Anglo-Saxon word is esa (singular oj), used in the phrase esa gescot , ylja gescoty £ the shot of esa and elves.’ Esa here apparently meant supernatural beings hostile to men, rather than gods, but the word may have once meant £ gods/ and /Esir and Alfar ( £ elves ’) are frequently coupled together in Eddie poetry. In other branches of Teutonic speech a correspond- ing word is found as part of personal names — OHG ans in Anso, Anshelm, and the like, Saxon and AS os in Oswald, Oslaf, Osdag.
Among the .Esir were included certain deities, Njord, Frey, Freyja, and possibly others, called collectively Vanir. These were once opposed to the ^Esir, according to certain myths. They were deities of wealth, fruitfulness, trade, and prosperity, and their name may be connected with words meaning £ bright/ £ shining.’
The gods are also known by the general neuter name gop , £ gods/ with the epithet £ holy/ £ blessed/ this corresponding to Gothic gup; AS and OS god. Under Christian influence the word became masculine. Other names applied to the gods are regen y the word signifying £ decreeing ’ and £ deciding/ hence perhaps £ counsellors.’ Voluspa speaks of all the re gen assem- bling at the seat of judgment to take counsel. In Havamaly Alvissmaly and Hymiskvitha occurs the word ginn-regen y £ the
THE GODS: A GENERAL SURVEY
21
high or holy gods,’ and in Alvissmal up-re gen is used with the meaning 1 the gods above.’ In the two passages of Alvissmal where ginn-regen occurs the word may signify the Vanir . 15
Still another term for gods is tivar, 1 shining ones,’ related to Sanskrit devas. It occurs in some of the Eddie poems. The forms sig-tivar , val- tivar, c battle-gods,’ also occur . 16 For some reason not quite clear gods are described as hopt ok bond , ( fastenings and bands ’ or c fetters.’
Goddesses are included in the term yLsir, but a specific name for them is Asynjur (singular Asynja).
Generally speaking the gods of Eddie mythology are con- ceived under anthropomorphic forms, yet distinguished from men in different ways. Noble or princely men were sometimes regarded as gods. The sons of Hjalti, as they came to the assembly in Iceland, looked so magnificent and well-equipped that the people thought they were Aisir. Of Sigurd in his mag- nificent war-gear, riding a splendid horse, as he entered Gjuki’s town, it was said : 1 Surely here comes one of the gods ! ’ 17 The birth of some of the gods is related j their human passions or weaknesses are described ; they grow old; eventually they must die.
Some of the gods are described in striking language. They are white or shining, like Balder or Heimdall. The goddess Sif is famed for her luxuriant gold hair. On the other hand, if they have not the numerous hands and arms of Hindu gods, some are deformed. Odin is one-eyed, Tyr has only one hand, Hod is blind. Probably most of the gods were regarded as larger than men: this is true of Thor in particular. Some are thought of as older, some younger. Odin is grey-bearded, yet has none of the weakness of age. Thor is as a man in his prime. Balder is a youth, attractive and graceful. Some of the gods waxed in size and strength as soon as born. Vali, son of Odin, avenged Balder’s death when he was one night old. Magni, son of Thor, when three nights old, could lift the giant Hrungnir’s foot off his father, though all the ^Esir together
22
EDDIC MYTHOLOGY
could not do this, and said that he would have slain him with his fist had not Thor killed him.
The gods eat and drink, and much is told of their banquets and ale or mead drinking. To Odin alone wine suffices for meat and drink. Thor is a gluttonous eater and drinker, whose gigantic meals are described. Though the gods are longer-lived than men, they are not absolutely immortal, and their long age or renewed youth depends upon eating the apples of immortality guarded by Idunn. To give immortal youth may originally have been the purpose of Odrorir, the magic mead of poesy . 18 Yet the gods are doomed to destruction, and the death of Balder is recounted. Meanwhile they are subject to wounds, and Frey falls sick of love.
The gods have preternatural powers, knowledge, and strength, but sometimes this strength seems to depend on certain possessions, e.g., Thor’s hammer, girdle of strength, and gloves. Odin can overlook the worlds, but only when he sits on his Heaven-throne. Skirnismal shows that when Frey sat thereon, he had the same far vision. Magical powers were inherent in the gods: vanishing suddenly, transformation into other forms, human or animal, the production of glamour, and the like. Though they can move quickly from place to place, swift flight depends on a falcon’s plumage or feather-dress ( fadr-hamr\ which belongs to Freyja or Frigg, but is put on by others, e.g., Loki.
They are often described as riding, and their horses are famous steeds. They ride through air and sea and on land, or daily to their place of judgment. Earth shakes when they ride. Freyja rides on a boar, but she has also her wagon drawn by cats. Thor is famed for his wagon drawn by goats.
Like mortals the gods are subject to passions. They are mild or blithe. Their laughter is mentioned. They are joyous. But sometimes they are angry, and then their wrath is terrible, and especially is this true of Thor . 19 They are subject to the pas-
PLATE V
Details of the Larger Horn
The upper compartment is assumed to depict the Fenris-wolf playing with the gods, then (below) bound, while Tyr with his hand bitten off is close by (see p. 99). The next compartments show gods and animals and animal-headed monsters. In the sixth the design is interpreted as showing wolves attacking the sun (see p. 199), and, in the lowest, as the entrance to the realm of the dead.
THE GODS: A GENERAL SURVEY
23
sion of love, and, besides their consorts, Odin and Thor have other wives or mistresses.
In many other ways the life of the gods reflects that of men. As described by Snorri, Odin, as chief of the gods, has a court which resembles that of earthly kings. The gods meet for counsel and judgment in the Thing, the Scandinavian assembly for the discussion of important matters and for the making of laws and giving of decisions. Snorri describes their riding daily over Bifrost, the rainbow-bridge, to the well of Urd, where they hold a tribunal. In the stanza which he quotes from Grimnis- mal and which seems to refer to this, Thor is said to walk when he goes to give dooms at the ash Yggdrasil, beneath one of the roots of which is Urd’s well. The gods delight in banquets and feasting, in song and games of skill. They are fond of fighting and some of them follow the chase. The goddesses spin and weave ; one of them, Gefjun, ploughs. They have servants, messengers, and cup-bearers.
The iEsir dwell in Asgard as the Vanir dwell in Vanaheim, the Alfar in Alfheim, the giants in Jotunheim. Asgard is the heavenly home of the gods, but in Snorri’s euhemeristic ac- count, it is in the centre of the earth, perhaps on a mountain, its top reaching to the heavens. Gods also dwell on mountains. The poetic account in Grimnismal of the separate abodes of indi- vidual gods is probably due to skaldic fiction rather than to popular belief.
The rank and functions of the gods vary, but these will be discussed in dealing with them separately. It should be noted, however, that, in describing some of the gods, Snorri uses a kind of formula. He tells what phenomena of nature or department of life each one rules over, and for what things it is good for men to call upon them . 20
There is a tendency to group certain gods together. Besides the larger groups of vEsir and Vanir, we find certain gods asso- ciated, usually three in number. For purposes of cult this was true of Odin, Thor, and Frey. But myths associate Odin,
24
EDDIC MYTHOLOGY
Hoenir, and Lodur (Loki) in the work of creation and in other actions, or, again, Odin and his brothers, Vili and Ve . 21 Snorri tells how Gylfi was received by three lords of ascending rank, and their names Har, Jafnhar, and Thridi seem to be poetic names for Odin, as all three are given in the list of his names in Grimnismal. There may here have been some conscious imita- tion of the Christian Trinity by Snorri in this otherwise inexpli- cable triad.
The older grouping of the chief Germanic gods was that of Wodan, Donar and Ziu (Tyr), and it was connected, as doubt- less the other threefold groupings were, with the sacredness of the number three. It appears again in the Germanic theogony as reported by Tacitus in speaking of the progenitors of gods and men, the third member of the triad being a group of three — Tuisto, Mannus, and the three sons of Mannus. Corresponding to these in Eddie mythology are Buri, Borr, and Borr’s three sons, Odin, Vili and Ve. The same threefold grouping is seen in the three Norns, three Swan-maidens (as in the Volund story), three groups of Idisi in the Merseburg charm, and three groups of Valkyries, as in Helgakvitha Hjorvards sonar . 22
The relation of gods and men is generally that of interest and help on the one hand, and of dependence, exhibited by prayer and sacrifice, on the other. Certain offences or kinds of conduct seem to have been regarded as punishable by the gods. Myths speak of their coming and going among men, to help them or to take part in their affairs, as Odin does in battle. This was sym- bolized in ritual — the procession of a divine image in a wagon (Frey, Nerthus), in which, as Tacitus says, the actual deity was believed to be present.
CHAPTER II
THE VANIR
T HOUGH associated in cult with the yEsir or even in- cluded among them in the Eddas , the Vanir are a small but distinct group of gods. They dwell in Vanaheim, not As- gard, and include Njord, Frey, and Freyja, possibly also Heim- dall, who is guardian of Frey and is said to be ‘ like the Vanir 5 in knowing the future well. This forethought is not elsewhere attributed to the Vanir, but they are called ‘ wise .’ 1 They are also ‘warlike,’ just as Frey is ‘battle-bold .’ 2 Their general functions seem to be those of nature deities, rulers of the fruitful earth and of prosperity. They are connected with sea-faring, commerce, and hunting, with peace (Frey), and with love (Freyja). V afthrudnismal seems to regard them as a larger group than those specifically named, for it says that ‘ the wise powers ’ (vis re gen) in Vanaheim created Njord, and that hav- ing been given as a pledge to the yEsir, at the Doom of the world he will return home to the Vanir. Other references to the Vanir suggest a numerous body, though this may be a result of the process of euhemerization, which is apt to make a group of deities into a whole people. Njord is called ‘god of the Vanir,’ ‘ kinsman of the Vanir,’ with other epithets, applied also to his son Frey. His daughter Freyja is ‘ goddess of the Vanir,’ ‘ lady of the Vanir,’ ‘ bride of the Vanir .’ 3 Yet all three are included among the yEsir. The poem Alvissmai, like other Eddie references, however, shows clearly their separate identity, by telling what names they, as distinct from yEsir, Alfar, etc., use for different things. Sigrdrifumal also distinguishes them from the yEsir, when it says that runes were given to yEsir, Vanir, Alfar, and men.
2 6
EDDIC MYTHOLOGY
This distinction is upheld also in the different and mostly euhemerized accounts of the war between the ^Esir and the Vanir. Of this Snorri gives two accounts. In his Edda } Bragi, recounting to Tigir the origins of poetry, says that the gods had a dispute with the people called Vanir. The cause or nature of the dispute is not mentioned. A peace-meeting was appointed, and peace was established by each and all spitting into a vat. When they parted, the gods would not let this token perish, but from it created a man, Kvasir. His story will be told later . 4 A different account of the settlement is given in a previous chap- ter of the Edda. Njord, reared in Vanaheim, was delivered as hostage to the ASsir, Hoenir being taken in exchange by the Vanir. He became an atonement between the two groups. This statement is copied from V aft hrudnismal . 5
The euhemeristic account of the war and final agreement is fuller in Snorri’s Ynglinga-saga. Odin and his host attacked the Vanir, who defended their land. Now one, now the other, prevailed: each harried the land of the other, until, tiring of this, they held a meeting of truce, made peace, and delivered hostages to each other. The Vanir gave their noblest — Njord the wealthy and his son Frey. The yEsir gave Hoenir, and said that he was meet to be lord, big and goodly as he was. With him they gave Mimir, wisest of men, the Vanir giving for him one of their best wits, Kvasir. Hoenir was made lord at Vanaheim (here said to be situated at the mouth of the Tanais, at the Black Sea), and Mimir taught him good counsel. Hoenir’s stupidity was soon discovered by the Vanir when, at meetings of the Thing, Mimir not being present, Hoenir would say: 1 Let others give rule,’ whenever any hard matter was brought up. They saw that the Aisir had over-reached them, and, having cut Mimir’s throat, sent his head to the Aisir. Odin made Njord and Frey temple-priests or Diar (from Irish dta, ‘god’). Njord’s daughter Freyja first taught spell-craft ( seidr ) ac- cording to the custom of the Vanir among the Aisir (i.e., some special form of magic). Frey and Freyja, though brother and
THE VANIR
27
sister, were married, also in accordance with Vanir custom . 6 Vanaheim, thus made a district on earth’s surface, is one of the nine worlds mentioned in Alvissmal.
A less euhemeristic account of this war and its origin is found in Voluspa. The seeress remembers the first war in the world. The AEsir had smitten Gollveig with spears and burned her in Odin’s hall. Three times they burned her, yet ever she lives. They called her Heid, a Volva, a magic-wielder, who practised mind-disturbing magic and sorcery, and was the desire of evil women. All the gods held council whether the AEsir should give tribute, i.e., to the Vanir, or all gods (AEsir and Vanir) should share the sacrifices. Odin threw his spear over the host — this happened in the first world-war; now the Vanir trod the field, and the wall of Asgard was broken down.
The order of the stanzas telling this myth varies in different manuscripts, and the account of Odin’s throwing his spear and the subsequent fight should probably precede the account of the council of AEsir and Vanir. The meaning seems to be that Gollveig, who may be Freyja, came among the AEsir and was shamefully treated, perhaps for her skill in magic. This led to the war, in which the citadel of the AEsir was broken down and the Vanir were triumphant. A council was then held. From the prose sources we gather that a compromise was arrived at — the sharing of the cult by both groups and an exchange of hostages. The latter is known to the author of V afthrudnismal, and must have been part of the original myth.
Gollveig, £ Gold-might,’ who is burned and comes alive again, is thought to embody the power of gold and its refining by fire. Whether she is the same as Heid, or whether the stanza about Heid is in its wrong place and refers to the Volva who utters the whole poem, is a moot point. If Gollveig and Heid are identical, both have some connexion with Freyja. Freyja’s tears are said to be red gold, and gold is called Freyja’s tears . 7 Freyja is described as a sorceress who introduced magic or a special kind of magic among the AEsir. Gollveig-Heid would
28
EDDIC MYTHOLOGY
thus be Freyja, and the ill-treatment of this Vanir god- dess would be the cause of the war. Unfortunately the myth in Volusfa is too enigmatic and the stories given by Snorri are too much euhemerized, to tell exactly what the primitive form of the myth was. Whether, as asserted by Miillenhoff, it meant that by gold the gods were corrupted or endangered, like heroes of Sagas, is problematical. Gollveig may, however, have some connexion with the introduction of gold among the Northern people.
This myth of a war between groups of gods or of these re- garded more or less as mortals, seems to reflect the opposition of rival cults and their upholders — one recently introduced and gaining popularity, but opposed by the supporters of the other. At last, after violent conflict, a compromise was effected and both cults now existed side by side. The groups of deities are linked together, but their separate origin is never quite for- gotten. Which group of gods was first in the field, and where was the scene of this cult war? Opinions vary. Njord is closely linked to the goddess Nerthus whose cult on an island, probably Seeland, is described by Tacitus. Frey, sometimes called Yngvi-Frey, would then have been, like Nerthus, a divinity of the Teutonic amphictyony known as the Ingvasones, whose habitat was North-west Germany. The Vanir group would thus be indigenous in that region: did it there come in contact with an incoming cult of Odin, with the result of a cult war, the legends of which were carried to Scandinavia with the passing of the cult to that region?
On the other hand, the Vanir cult, passing to Sweden, where the worship of Frey obtained great prominence and was carried thence to Norway and Iceland, would come in conflict with the cult of Odin recently introduced into Sweden, and Sweden would thus be the scene of a cult war. It will be observed that Odin is the chief protagonist on the side of the Aisir in the myth . 8
Others think that the cult of Frey, the Svia-god, or Sweden-
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INTRODUCTION
9
The poems are divided into two groups, mythological (stories in which the divinities are the chief personages) and heroic. The former are almost certainly based on native traditions regarding the gods. On the other hand the material of the heroic poems is not Scandinavian, but was carried to Norway from Denmark and Germany, and freely worked upon by the poets. One peculiarity of the Eddie poems is that they are not descriptive: only here and there a prose insertion explains the situation. Mostly they are in dialogue form, and the narrative is mirrored in the speeches of the protago- nists. Many explanations of this have been put forward. The most recent is that of Miss B. S. Phillpotts who maintains that many of the poems were folk-dramas, the action of the actors serving instead of explanatory narrative, while knowledge of the story of the drama would be presupposed . 2
Of the mythological poems Volusia stands first. It is spoken by a Volva or seeress, perhaps one raised from the dead for that purpose by Odin, whom she seems to address. She gives an ac- count of the origin of the world, of men, of dwarfs ; of the early days of the gods ; and then passes on to a prophecy of the Doom of the gods, preceded by the death of Balder. The poem is impressive, though its meaning is occasionally obscure, and it seems probable that a much shorter original poem was added to and edited at different times . 3
In certain poems Odin figures prominently. Vajthrudnismal tells of his questions to the giant Vafthrudnir, the answers form- ing a kind of cosmogonic encyclopaedia. Grimnismal is of the same character, though here Odin himself as Grimnir, set be- tween two fires by king Geirrod, gives the information to Geirrod’s son, Agnar, and in the end vanishes, while king Geirrod dies on his own sword. In Baldrs Draumar ( £ Balder’s Dreams ’), we see Odin descending to the Underworld to rouse a dead sibyl in order that she may explain Balder’s evil dreams. Havamal is a compound of several poems, in two of which ethical advice or proverbial wisdom is given, presumably by
IO
INTRODUCTION
Odin. The poem also tells of Odin and the daughter of Billing, of his obtaining the poetic mead from Gunnlod, a giant’s daugh- ter, and of his gaining runes.
In other poems Thor is the chief protagonist. Hymiskvitha tells how he sought a huge kettle from the giant Hymir, and how he caught the Midgard-serpent when fishing with the giant. In Thrymskvitha Thor, disguised as Freyja, whom the giant Thrym desires as his wife, deceives the giant and slays him with his hammer, which the giant had stolen. Alvissmal tells how the dwarf Alviss desired Thor’s daughter as his wife. Thor demanded that he should recite the various names given to dif- ferent objects by gods, elves, giants, dwarfs, men, etc., and thus kept him talking till sunrise which is fatal to dwarfs. In Loka- senna , though Loki is the chief speaker, Thor appears towards the end of the poem and forces him to cease his slanders against the gods and goddesses.
Both Thor and Odin (as Harbard) figure in Harbardsljod. The poem is a 1 flyting ’ or abusive dialogue between the gods, who boast of their exploits and threaten each other, Thor being ignorant that his opponent is Odin . 4
Skirnismal is the story of Frey’s passion for the giantess Gerd and tells how his servant Skirnir was sent to seek her for the god.
In Hyndluljod Freyja, mounted on a boar (her lover Ottarr in disguise), seeks the wisdom of the seeress Hyndla to learn the descent of Ottarr. This poem contains a fragment of a cos- mogonic poem known as c the short Voluspa.’
Rigsthula tells how the god Heimdall or Rig came to earth and begat the first thrall, the first karl or peasant, and the first jarl or warrior-noble. From the last there ultimately comes one who is a future king. The poem is thus one in praise of kingship, and for that reason is probably of Norwegian origin, though composed by one who had picked up much Celtic speech and culture.
Svipdagsmal consists of two parts — Grougaldr or ‘ Groa’s
INTRODUCTION
1 1
spell,’ and F jolsvinnsmal. In the first, Svipdag rouses his dead mother in order that she may aid him in his quest of Menglod, set him by his hostile step-mother. In the second we follow him on the quest and listen to the dialogue between him and the giant guardian of Menglod’s dwelling. In this there is much mythological information.
The heroic poems, with the exception of V olundarkvitha and the three Helgi poems, are concerned with the Volsungs and particularly with Sigurd, the German Siegfried.
V olundarkvitha consists of two poems about Volund joined together. The first is a Swan-maiden story 5 the second deals with Volund in the power of King Nithud and his escape and revenge. Volund is Weyland the smith of English tradition, and the subject of the poem is of German origin. The stories must have passed from the Saxon region to Scandinavia.
The Helgi poems are based on Danish originals, Helgi hav- ing been a Danish hero. In Helgakvitha Hjorvardssonar Helgi is regarded as a different personage from the Helgi of the two Helgakvitha Hundingshana poems. Both, however, are the same traditional personage, and the prose annotation of the poems makes one a rebirth apparently of the other. The poems tell the adventures of the heroes, chiefly in avenging their fathers, and their love of Valkyries who are also daughters of men (Svava, Sigrun).
The remainder of the poems, sixteen in number, are devoted to various episodes of the story of the Volsungs.
Some of the poems of the skalds of the ninth and tenth cen- turies deal with mythological subjects and contain references to the deities or to myths about them. The authors of these poems, as distinct from the Eddie poems, are known to us by name. A convenient collection of these, with text and transla- tion, will be found in the Corpus Poeticum Boreale of G. Vig- fusson and Frederick York Powell.
From the Icelandic Sagas much information regarding reli- gion and folk-lore is derived. These Sagas are stories of a his-
12
INTRODUCTION
torical or biographical kind, though history and biography are often fictitious. Before they assumed written form from the mid-twelfth century onwards, Sagas had formed a favourite entertainment at festive gatherings, told orally by a skilled story-teller . 6
Another source of information is the Gesta Danorum or His- toria Danica of Saxo Grammaticus, especially the first nine books. Saxo was a Danish scholar living in the twelfth cen- tury, and he has incorporated in his work both Danish and Norse materials — sagas, history, poems, and myths. Where myths of the gods are concerned, Saxo regards these deities from a euhemeristic point of view, as we shall see presently.
For Teutonic religion in general the sources are wider, but contain little regarding mythology. The classical writers, espe- cially Tacitus in his Germania and Annales , are first. Inscrip- tions with names of deities from altars and other monuments in the Romano-German area supply some information. There are also many scattered notices in ecclesiastical and other writings, Lives of Saints, and Histories, e.g., those of Bede or Gregory of Tours. Laws, secular and ecclesiastical, canons of Councils and Synods, the Penitentials, as well as passages of sermons, yield abundant evidence regarding surviving pagan customs and be- liefs. Place and personal names, names of plants and the like, have also been found significant. And, in general, folk-customs, folk-lore, and folk-stories, if critically regarded, can be used as sources of information regarding the distant past.
Although the chief if not the only source for mythology is contained in the Eddas , it is impossible to treat the subject with- out reference to what is known or can be deduced regarding the beliefs of the Teutonic people outside Scandinavia. Taking the myths themselves, some are nature myths, and the mean- ing of a few, at least, lies on the surface. Many writers on the subject of Eddie mythology have been tempted to give elaborate explanations of all the myths in terms of natural phe- nomena. Each writer treats a myth according to his own
PLATE III
The Three Odins and Gangleri
The Three Odins (Har, Jafnhar, and Thridi) questioned by Gangleri. See p. 6. From a MS of Snorri’s Edda.
INTRODUCTION
i3
predilections. We cannot be certain that the old myths had any of the meanings assigned to them, certainly they could not have had all of these, and such writers do not seem to have seen that they themselves are modern mythologizers, elaborating a com- plicated mythology of their own upon the stories of the past.
EDDIC MYTHOLOGY
CHAPTER I
THE GODS: A GENERAL SURVEY
A STANZA of the short V olusfa in Hyndluljod (30) says that eleven of the gods remained when Balder’s corpse was laid on the funeral pyre. Snorri also says that the number of the gods is twelve, 1 but this is merely a round figure, not borne out by other references in his work. Thus, in the account of the gods which follows this statement, fourteen are named. These are Odin, Thor, Balder, Njord, Frey, Tyr, Bragi, Heim- dall, Hod, Vidarr, Vali, Ull, Forseti, and Loki.
At the beginning of the Bragarcedur Snorri enumerates the gods present at a banquet, and, including Odin, names thirteen of them. Balder is omitted, and Hoenir appears in place of Hod.
The prose introduction to Lokasenna names Odin, Thor, Bragi, Tyr, Njord, Frey, Vidarr, and Loki. In Grimnismal Odin, Ull, Frey, Balder, Heimdall, Forseti, Njord, Vidarr, and Thor are named. In other poems the other gods are mentioned.
With these gods are also several goddesses, some of whom are little more than names or hypostases of a greater goddess. Their names are Frigg, consort of Odin, Freyja, sister of Frey, Saga, Eir, Gefjun, Fulla, Hnoss, Sjofn, Lofn, Var, Syn, Hlin, Snotra, Gna, Idunn, Nanna, Sif. Besides these, two local goddesses, Thorgerd Holgabrud and her sister Irpa, are men- tioned in Skaldskafarmal and in some of the Sagas.
Other more or less divine beings are mentioned occasionally. Vili and Ve are brothers of Odin, and form a kind of creative
1 6
EDDIC MYTHOLOGY
triad with him. A similar triad is that of Odin, Hoenir, and Lodur. There are also subordinate gods, regarded as servants of the higher deities, e.g., Skirnir and Hermod. ^Egir, not counted among the gods, is yet a god of the sea; a giant, how- ever, rather than a god. Ran is his consort. Then, again, Hel is a somewhat vague female personification of the Underworld.
Some of the gods are married to giantesses, who, as their consorts, are reckoned with the deities — Frey to Gerd, Njord to Skadi, Odin to Jord (Earth), co-wife with Frigg. Such nature objects as the sun, personified as Sol, and one of the two beings who follow the moon in the sky, i.e., Bil, are also reck- oned among the goddesses by Snorri . 2
We do not know that all these deities were worshipped together in Norway and Iceland, indeed for many of them no evidence of a cult exists. Some may have been local divinities: some are regarded as creations of the skalds. Among them all Odin, Thor, and Frey are pre-eminent, but, as we shall see, the precise significance of Odin’s position in relation to Thor re- quires elucidation. In Snorri’s Edda Odin is head of a court or assembly of divinities. Their common home is Asgard, but most of them have a separate abode, as appears from Grimnismal , here followed by Snorri.
We now enquire whether any of these deities were known in other parts of the Germanic area outside Norway and Iceland.
For Denmark and Sweden we depend mainly on Saxo Gram- maticus and Adam of Bremen, the eleventh century historian. Saxo may be assumed to speak for the pagan past of Denmark, though he uses Icelandic sources to some extent in his curious account of the legendary history of that country. He has a conception of the gods as gods, though he generally tends to visualize them from a euhemeristic standpoint, as kings, magi- cians, and the like. He mentions Othinus (Odin), chief of the gods, whose rule, with that of the other gods, extended over Denmark, Sweden, and Norway, but who used to sojourn more continually at Upsala. Odin is also called Uggerus (Norse
.
PLATE IV The Golden Horns
These golden horns were found in a field on the west coast of Slesvig, the longer in 1639, the shorter in 1734. The surfaces of the horns are divided into compartments with figures believed to represent deities and mythic scenes. The date of the horns is the fifth century a.d. If, as has been maintained by some, the scenes depict Eddie gods and myths, including repre- sentations of Valhall and Yggdrasil, then much of the mythology is of far earlier date than most scholars assign to it. This interpretation of the figures and scenes is, however, entirely hypothetical and has won little support. The runes at the rim of the smaller horn give the name of the artificer.
THE GODS: A GENERAL SURVEY
i7
Ygg). Other deities named are Frey, 1 satrap of the gods,’ whose seat was at Upsala; Thor, Balder, Hotherus (Hod), Ollerus (Ull), Freya (Frigg), and Nanna. Loki may be represented by Ugarthilocus (Utgard-Loki). Proserpina may stand for Held Adam of Bremen describes a sanctuary at Up- sala, with images of Thor, Woden, and Fricco (Frey ). 4 The other Eddie deities are not mentioned by these or other writers about the Danes and Swedes, though Procopius speaks of Ares as a Scandinavian deity, i.e., Odin or Tyr . 5
For the Germanic tribes, apart from place or personal names, there are few references to the gods of the pagan period. Taci- tus gives Roman names to native gods — Mars (Ziu or Tyr), Mercury (Wodan), Hercules (perhaps Thor). He also men- tions a native name of a goddess Nerthus and describes her cult. Two brothers called Alcis are compared to Castor and Pollux, and are said to have been worshipped in a grove as deities by one tribe. He also speaks of the grove of Baduhenna among the Frisians and the temple of Tamfana among the Marsi. The first part of the name Baduhenna is connected with AS beadu , OH G batu-y ON bop, 1 war,’ and the second part with OHG winna, 1 quarrel,’ MHG zoinnen, ‘ to rage,’ Gothic winno , 1 pas- sion,’ showing that Baduhenna was a War-goddess, 1 the war- mad one.’ A division of the Suebi worshipped Isis, whose sym- bol was a ship. This cult Tacitus considers of foreign origin, but it is doubtless that of a native goddess whose name is con- cealed in that of Isis.
Several names of deities are mentioned in inscriptions on altars and other monuments, mainly in Romano-German ter- ritory, but the names of these, doubtless more or less local deities, have nothing in common with those of Scandinavia.
More to the purpose are the two Merseburg charms found in a tenth century manuscript in the library of the cathedral at Merseburg, and probably of earlier date. Both charms refer to mythical actions of the deities, and by recounting these similar results are expected to follow. Such charms as these are met
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EDDIC MYTHOLOGY
with in ancient times and are of widespread occurrence. The first charm concerns a group of beings called Idisi, a name re- sembling that of the Norse female spirits called Disir and in- cluding Valkyries and Norns. To the functions of the Val- kyries those of the Idisi in the charm correspond — binding or loosing fetters on prisoners of war and keeping back the enemy.
The other charm relates that while Phol and Uuodan (Wodan) rode to the wood, the foot of Balder’s colt was wrenched. Sinthgunt charmed it and her sister Sunna; then Fria charmed it and Volla her sister. Then Uuodan charmed it, as he well knew how to do. The implication is that the god- desses could not heal the foot by their magic, while Wodan’s magic succeeded. As we shall see later various explanations of ‘ Phol ’ have been suggested, while ‘ Balder ’ has been regarded as not a proper name here, but an appellative for ‘ prince,’ and referring to Odin himself, Phol being then explained as the name of Odin’s horse. Of the four goddesses Fria is Frigg; Volla suggests the Norse Fulla; Sunna may be a personification of the sun. Sinthgunt is unexplained. Some scholars think that two goddesses only are mentioned in the charm as present ; it should then read: ‘Sinthgunt, Sunna’s sister,’ and ‘Fria, Volla’s sister .’ 6
Wodan and Frija (Frigg) were also known to the Lombards, as a legend concerning them shows . 7
The next piece of evidence is derived from German names of the days of the week. These show that Wodan was known in North-west Germany and Holland; Fria (Frigg) over a wider area; Donar (Thor) all over Germany, Tiu (Tyr) in the South-west.
A formula of renunciation used at the baptism of Saxon con- verts in Charlemagne’s time names three gods — Woden, Thunaer (Thor), and Saxnot, as well as other Unholden , divin- ities or spirits regarded from a Christian point of view as demons . 8 Saxnot, ‘ Sword companion,’ is the Seaxneat of
THE GODS: A GENERAL SURVEY
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Anglo-Saxon genealogies, and is regarded as a form of the god Tyr.
Another god of a local kind is Fosite, mentioned in Alcuin’s Life of S. Willibrord , as worshipped on an island named after him. According to Adam of Bremen this island was Helgo- land . 9 It is not certain that Fosite is the Eddie Forseti.
Turning now to the Anglo-Saxons, the only available evi- dence is that of names of the days of the week, genealogical lists, and place-names. The first of these gives Tiw or Tyr (Tues- day), Woden (Wednesday), Thunor or Thor (Thursday), Fri or Frigg (Friday). The genealogical lists of the royal families trace descent back to Woden. In those of Bernicia and Wessex Bseldacg (Balder) succeeds Woden. In that of Essex Seaxneat is his son . 10 Thor’s name occurs in place-names.
The evidence from these different regions shows that there was a certain number of deities known locally and objects of a local or tribal cult. Few names of these have been preserved. The wide acceptance of Roman deities by the Celts had no parallel among the Teutons. Nor does the rich variety of native Celtic local deities, whether equated or not with Roman deities, meet us in Teutonic lands. Inscriptions with names of local deities are few and generally enigmatic . 11 On the other hand there are some deities known more or less over the whole area — Wodan or Woden or Odin, Thunor or Thor, Tiu or Tyr, and Frija, Fria, or Frigg. Hence these have been called £ pan- Teutonic deities,’ who 1 must have come down from a period when the Teutons were still an undivided people .’ 12 Neverthe- less this statement of Mogk’s requires some modification, since, as is suggested by various lines of evidence and as he himself admits, the cult of Wodan migrated from Germany by way of Denmark to Scandinavia, where it tended to supersede that of Thor.
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