Digitized by the Internet Archive
in 2007 with funding from
IVIicrosoft Corporation
http://www.archive.org/details/asgardgodstalestOOwgrich
TALES AND TRADITIONS
OF OUR
NORTHERN ANCESTORS,
wodan's wild hunt,
ASGARD AND THE GODS
>
rUE rALES AND rRADITIONS OF OUR
NORTHERN ANCESTORS
FORMING A COMPLETE MANUAL OF NORSE MYTHOLOGY
ADAPTED FROM THE WORK OF
DR. W. WAGNER
BY
M. W. MACDOWALL
AND EDITED BY
\V. S. W. ANSON
Editor of Dr. Wiigtier's ''Epics and Romances of the Middle Ages"
«
WITH NUMEROUS ILLUSTRATIONS
LONDON
GEORGE ROUTLEDGE & SONS, Limited
New York: E. P. DUTTON & COMPANY
First Edition. October., 1880; Second Edition,
Au^tist, 1884 ; Third Edition. October , 1886 ; Fourth
Edition, March, 1889; Fifth Edition, September,
1891 ; Sixth Edition, November, 1894 ; Seventh
Edition, October, 1902 ; Eighth Edition, January,
1917.
PREFACE.
A COMPLETE and popular English account of the
^ ^ religious beliefs and superstitious customs of the old
Norsemen, suited to our younger readers, has hitherto
been left unwritten. The editor feels sure that our elder
children can easily be brought to take a beneficial interest
in a subject of such great intrinsic worth to all of us, and
has therefore brought out the accompanying book.
Our old ancestors were a hardy, conservative race, and
tenaciously held by the treasured relics of their former be-
liefs and customs long after they had been shattered by the
onset of Christianity. They retained their primitive Odinic
belief as late as a.d. 800, and we therefore possess it in a
very complete state, far more so than any other European
system of mythology. We English have to this day in-
herited this conservative trait of their character, and are
still continually in every-day life coming across new and
39J293
PREFACE.
unexpected remnants of our earliest beliefs. Parao-raphs in
the newspapers, containing reports of police trials, etc., very
frequently bring forward new and as yet undiscovered
superstitions, which clearly hark back to tho once popular
and all-extensive faith of the North.
Who would think, for instance, that in the time-old May-
day festivals, we should discover traces of the oldest cele-
brations of the triumph of the Summer Odin over the
Winter Odin, or that through the baby rhymes and nursery
sayings of to-day, we should be able to trace the common
creed of a nation of thousands of years ago ? To him un-
used to this kind of research, such things will appear im-
possible ; but we think our book will considerably extend
the sceptic's line of vision, if indeed it does not convert
him to an ardent student ih the field he has before made
light of.
With regard to the translation of the passages quoted
from the Old Norse, Icelandic, etc., the original metres,
alliterative poems, etc., have been imitated as accurately as
possible, though it must be confessed that in one or two
places the effect appears somewhat weak and laboured, a
result that might have been anticipated, and one which it
is hoped the reader will overlook.
With reference to the orthography adopted : in most
cases the proper names have been anglicized ia form,
PREFACE. ix
according to established rules, as far as has been possible.
Let us take a few instances : —
The Icelandic nominatival r has always been dropped, as
in the words Ragnarokr, Thrymr, etc.
In .the case of reduplicated letters, the last has been
eliminated, unless an alteration in sound would have been
thereby occasioned, e.g., Jotun has been adopted instead of
Jotun;?, Gunlod instead of Gun/^lod, etc.
W has been throughout used in place of V, since scholars
have pretty generally decided that it more nearly represents
the original pronunciation than the English V ; thus we
spell Walhalla, Wiking, Walkyries, etc.
Many words have -heim affixed to them : -heim means
abode, dwelling, and is the same word as the English hoine ;
as instances, Nifelheim, the dark home; Jotunheim, the
home of the Jotuns, giants, etc.
The suffix -gard appended to a word means //Vz^^ (Eng-
lish yard, ward, gard-en), and is found in such words as
Asgard, the place of the Ases, the gods ; Midgard, the
middle place, the earth ; Utgard, the out or lower place;
W. S. W. ANSON.
October \st, 1880.
PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION.
THE rapid exhaustion of the first edition of this work
has called for its immediate reprint ; and the book is
therefore issued in its second edition with but very slight
alterations.
We have to thank our kind reviewers for their favour-
able critiques of our work, and to hope that they will ex-
tend it to Dr. Wagner s new volume, which we are about
to bring out, forming a continuation of the present work,
and dealing with the Epics and Romances of the Middle
Ages, of the Teutonic and Carlovingian cycles. The two
books together will, we believe, constitute a fairly complete
treatise of the mythical and traditional lore of the Ger-
manic race.
W.S.W.A.
April, 1882.
CONTENTS.
INTRODUCTION.
PAGE
Myths and stories of the gods, 3 — The gods, their worlds and deeds, 4 —
Odin,Wodan, Wuotan, 5 — Frigg, or Freya, and her handmaids, 6 — Thor
or Thunar, 6 — Tyr, Tius or Zio, 9 — Heru, Cheru or Saxnot, 9 — Heim-
dal or Riger, 10 — Bragi and Iduna, 10 — The Wanes, Niorder, Freyer,
Freya, 10 — Fate, Norns, Hel, Walkyries, 10— Ogir and his com-
panions, II — Loki, II — The other gods, 1 2-^The Golden Age, 12— Sin,
13 — Iduna's departure, 13 — Baldur's death, 14 — Ogifs banquet, 15 —
Loki in chains, 15— Ragnarok, 16 — Lay of the Norse gods and heroes, 18 l
PART FIRST.
Legends and Myths.
Creation of -the world, 22 — Day and Night, 24 — Two first human beings,
25 — Allfather, 25— Yggdrasil, the World- A^h, 26-^The divine kingdom,
31— Influence of Christianity, '32 — The Runic language, 33 . . " . 22
PART SECOND.
The Gods, Their Worlds and Deeds.
The Norns, 36 — Dwarfs and Elves, 38— Giants, 42— Worlds and heavenly
palaces, 47 - . 36
xii CONTENTS,
pXrt third.
Opponents of the Gods.
PAGE
Loki and nis kindred, 53 — The giants, 55— Muspel and his sons, 56 —
Surtur, 57 . , . .51
PART FOURTH.
King Gylphi and the Ases.
Gefion, 58— Gylphi in Asgard, 62 * . . . , » , . .58
PART FIFTH.
Odin, Father of the Gods and of the Ases.
i. Wodan, according to the oldest conceptions, 71 — The myths of the Wild
Hunt and of the Raging Host, 72 — The sleeping heroes, 78 — The higher
conception of Wodan, 81 — Odin at Geirod's Palace, 83 — Odin, the dis-
coverer of the Runes, and god of poetry and of wisdom*, 86 — The
draught of inspiration ; Odin's visit to Gunlod ; Journey to Wafthrud-
nir, 88 — Odin's descendants, 94.
ii. Frigg and her maidens, 96 — Other goddesses related to Frigg,
102.
iii. Holda, Ostara, 107— Berchta, 115 — The White Lady, 116.
iv. Thor,Thunar (Thunder), 121 — Thor's deeds and journeys; Making
of Miolnir, 125 — Journey to Utgard, 129 — Duel with Hrungnir, 137 —
Journey to Hymir, 141 — Journey to Thrymheim to get back Miolnir, 142
— Journey to Geirod's-gard, 147 — The Harbard Lay, 151.
V. Irmin, 151.
vi. Tyr or Zip, 155.
vii. Heru or Cheru, Saxnot, 161.
viii. Heimdal, Riger, 166.
ix. Bragi and Iduna, 172 — Giant Thiassi steals Iduna, 174.
x^ Uller, 177 66
PART SIXTH.
The Wanes.
xi. Niorder and Skadi, 183.
xii. Freyer or Fro, 189 — The wonderful Quern Stones, 191 — Skirnirs
Journey to Gerda, 199 — Young Swendal, 204.
CONTENTS.
PAGE
xiii. Freya, Frea or Frouwa, 206 — Freya and the young huntsman, 206
— Rerir and his love Helga, 209 — Swipdager returns to Menglada's
Castle, 212 181
PART SEVENTH.
Fate, 217 — Legend of Starkad, 219 — King Fridleif, 222 — The Norns, 222 —
Hel, 225— The Walkyries, 227 — Legend of King Kraki, 227 — Discs,
233 — Mandrake root, 234 , . . .217
PART EIGHTH.
Ogir and His Followers.
Legend of the Lake Maiden, 236 — Legend of the Loreley, 241 — The Water-
Neck, 245 236
PART NINTH.
LoKi AND His Race.
The giant SkrymsH and the peasant, 247 — Loki's progeny, 250 — Loki's race,
251 . - . 247
PART TENTH.
The Other Ases.
Widar, 252 — Hermodur the Swift, 254 — Wali or Ali, Skeaf, 256 — Legend of
King Skeaf, 257 — Baldur and Hodur, 259— Forseti, 264 . . . 252
PART ELEVENTH.
Signs of the Approaching Destruction of the World.
The Golden Age, 265 — Sin, 266— I duna's departure, 270 . , . .265
PART TWELFTH.
Baldur's Death.
How Wala was conjured up, 273 — Loki visits Frigg in the dress of an old
woman, 276 — Death of Balduf, 278 — Hermodur sent to the realm of the
shades, 282— Wali appears at Walhalla, and avenges Baldur, 285 . 273
XIV
CONTENTS.
FART THIRTEENTH.
LoKi's Condemnation.
PAGE
Ogir's banquet, 287— Loki reviles the gods, 289— Loki flees, is captured and
put in chains, 290— The faithful Sigyn, 294 .25^7
PART FOURTEENTH.
Ragnarok, thf Twilight of the Gods.
TheFimbul-Winter, 296— The Last Battle, 298— Surtur flings his fire-brands
over the nine worlds. 301 — Renewal of the World, 301 — Lif and Lifthra-
sir, 302 -The Field of Ida, 305— The Lay of Wala, 309 ... 296
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
PACK
Frontispiece . . . , facing title.
Frigga engaged in hunting 7
Ancient Hindu idea of the world 17
Statue after Prof Engelhard 19
Day 24
Night . , 25
Th«: Ash Yggdrasil », . , . 27
A Northern landscape •...,. •36
Elves . . . . . ^ I , , • , i 38
Rocks in the Riesengebirge . - r ' « * . » 44
The sleeping giant . ...,.., .45
Surtur with his flaming sword , . , , , • 5'
Gylphi beholding Asgard 62
Odin between two fires in Geirod's palace . . , , .85
Odin's visit to Gunlod - < 9'
Frigg and her maidens 97
Hilde, one of the Walkyries .,.,.,.. 105
Holda, the kind protectress . . . il
Thor and Loki's journey in women's clothes 125
Skrymir attacked by Thor, when asleep 133
Chaining of the Fenris Wolf 153
Tyr, the Sword-God .159
Bragi and Heimdal receiving the warriors in Walhalla . .172
UUer the Bowman ^ . . . 179
Niorder and Sl?adi on their wav to Noatun . .... 187
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
PAGE
Skirnir conjures Gerda to follow him . . . < , -199
Walkyries conducting the fallen heroes to Walhalla . . .216
Walkyries leading the warriors on to battle 217
Fingal's Cave 236
Ogir and Ran . ^ 243
Freya among the Dwarfs . .,.•<_- 265
Ogir's banquet " 287
Loki in chains - - . , 292
Ragnarok, the Last Battle . 299
Freya in her chariot , 303
INTRODUCTION,
JUST as in the olden time, Odin, the thoughtful god, gave his
eye in pledge to the wise giant, Mimir, at Mimir's Well, for a
draught of primeval wisdom, so men, longing for knowledge and
loving the history of old Germany, sought for the great goddess
Saga with untiring diligence, until at length they found her. She
dwelt in a house of crystal beneath the cool flowing river. The
eager enquirers went to her, and asked her to tell them about the
olden times, and about the vanished races which had once ruled,
suffered, fought and conquered, in the north of Europe. They found
the goddess sunk in dreamy thought, while Odin's ravens fluttered
around her, and whispered to her of the past and of the future.
She rose from her throne, startled- by the numerous questions
addressed to her. She pointed to the scrolls which were lying
scattered around her, as she said : "Are ye come at last to seek
intelligence of the wisdom and deeds of your ancestors ? I have
written on these scrolls all that the people of that distant land
thought and believed, and that which they held to be eternal truth.
I went with these mighty races to their new homes, and have
faithfully chronicled their struggles and attainments, their deeds,
sufferings and victories,* their gods and their heroes. No one has
inquired for these documents in the long years that are past ; so
the storms of time and the glowing flames of Surtur have caused
B
ASGARD AxVD THE GODS.
the loss and destruction of many of them. Seek out and gather
together such as remain. Ye will find much wisdom hidden there-
in, when ye can read the writing and understand the meaning of
the pictures."
The men sought out and collected as many of the scrolls as they
were able. They arranged them in order, but found, as Saga had
told them, that very many were lost, and others only existed as
fragments. In addition to that, the runic writing on the documents
was hard to read, and the true meaning of the faded pictures un-
certain. Nevertheless, they allowed no difficulties to terrify them,
but courageously pursued their work of investigation. Soon they
discovered other records, or fragments of records, which they had
supposed to have been lost. What the storms of time had scattered
in different directions, what ignorance had cast aside as worthless,
they brought to the light of day, often from hidden dusty corners
and from the cottages of the poor. They arranged their discoveries
in proper order, learnt to read the mystic signs on the documents,
and the veil fell away before their increased knowledge. The old
Germanic world, with its secrets and wonders, and the views of its
ancient people regarding their gods and heroes, which were for-
merly lost in the darkness of the past, were now visible in the light
of the present. We intend to give, in the following pages, the
treasures that were thus rescued from oblivion, and to interweave
with them many scraps of information which are rapidly dying out
and being forgotten. We have endeavoured to make the book as
interesting as possible, to induce both the young and the old to
examine of what Teutonic genius was capable in the early dawn of
its history, a history which in modern times has shown its descend-
ants crowned with immortal laurels on many a blood-red field of
battle. The religious conceptions of the most famous nations of
antiquity are connected with the beginnings of civilization amongst
the Germanic races. If we unflinchingly follow out the traces of a
INTRODUCTION.
common origin, in spite of the difficulties in our way, we shall often
find that the gods of the heathen Asgard, and the tales about them,
though apparently dissimilar, really have their basis in the cus-
toms and opinions held in the country in which they all had their
birth, and that in their early stages they were more or less con-
nected. Although in Central Asia, on the banks of the Indus,
in the Land of the Pyramids, in the Greek and Italian peninsulas,
and even in the North, whither Kelts, Teutons and Slavs wan-
dered, the religious conceptions of the people have taken dif-
ferent forms, yet their common origin is still perceptible. We
point out this connection between the stories of the gods, and
the deep thought contained in them, and their importance, in order
that the reader may see that it is not a magic world of erratic
fancy which is opened out before him, but that, according to
Germanic intuition. Life and Nature formed the basis of the exist-
ence and action of these divinities. Before we proceed to study
each individual deity in his fulness and imposing grandeur, let us,
for the better understanding of the subject, rapidly pass their dis-
tinguishing characteristics in review.
The Myths and Stories of the Gods of Norse antiquity come
first in order. We shall see, as our work 'goes on, that their
origin is to be found in the early home of the Aryan races in
the far East, when the spirit of man in the childhood of the world
bowed down before those phenomena of surrounding nature which
exercised a decisive influence on the struggles and life of humanity.
Our ancestors, like all other primitive folk, believed firmly in the
personality of these phenomena. All occurrences in the external
world, the causes of which were unknown, and all facts' of men-
tal perception gradually assumed a human form in the mind of
the people. During their wanderings these were as yet vague ;
but after their settlement in their new home they got further
developed by wise seers and bards into typical forms ; and then, as
ASGARD AND THE GODS.
time went on, increased in number, until at length they faded away
as the old faith died out, or was thrust aside by a new religion.
Besides this, we find that many mythical figures arose from the
Teutons being brought in contact with other nations ; others again,
and these the greater number, were due to the idiosyncrasies and
characteristics of the Germanic race, and to the climate and mode
of life pursued in their new home. Next come the myths about the
creation of the world, the gods and their deeds.
The Gods, their Worlds and Deeds — In the abyss of im-
i^easurable space the ice streams, Eliwagar, roll their blocks of ice ;
the heat from the South creates life in the frozen waters, and the
giant Ymir, the blustering, boisterous, erratic, untamed power of
Nature, comes into being. At the same time as the clay-giant, arises
the cow, Audumla. She licks the salt-rock, and then the divine
Buri is born. His grandsons, Odin, Wili, and We, conquer and kill
the raging Ymir, and create the world out of his body. The
giant's children are all drowned in his blood, except Bergelmir, who
saves himself in a boat, and becomes the father of the giants. The
flood is here described, and the giants are to the northern mind
what Ahriman, the Principle of Evil, was to the Iranian. The gods
point out to the sun and moon, day and night, the courses they
must follow in chariots drawn by swift horses, after having com-
pleted which they are allowed to sink into the sea to rest. The
deities created the first men out of trees — Ask (the ash), and Embla
(the alder). Odin gave them life and soul, Honir endowed them
with intellect, and Lodur with blood and colour.
In the dark caverns of the earth the Black-Dwarfs, or Elves of
lOarkness, creep about and make artistic utensils for the divine
^sir, the Ases, by whom they were created. The Elves of Light
on the contrary, have their dwelling-place in the heavenly realms.
The latter are pure and good, while the former are often wily and
treacherous, but still are not bad enough to be the companions of
INTRODUCTION. 5
the wicked giants (known as the Jotuns), who continually fight
against both gods and man. As we learn from the myths which
follow, two horrible monsters are allied with these giants, and they
are to help to decide the Last Battle. They are the Fenris-Wolf
and the Midgard-Snake, which latter, lying at the bottom of the
sea, encircles the earth (the dwelling-place of the living) ; and they
are abetted by direful Hel, the goddess-queen of the country of
the dead.
Hidden or chained in the depths out of sight, these monsters
await their time. In like manner dark Surtur, with his flaming
sword, and the fiery sons of Muspel, lie in ambush in the hot south
country. They are preparing themselves for the decisive battle,
when heaven and earth, gods and man, are all to pass away.
Odin; Wodan, Wuotan. — The scene changes; the separate
figures of the gods stand out in their characteristic forms as
northern imagination and Germanic poets have created them in
the likeness of their heroes. First of these is Wodan, the Odin of
Southern Germany, the god of battles, armed with his war-spear
Gungnir, the death-giving lightning-flash, and followed by the
Walkyries, the choosers of the dead, who consecrate the fallen
heroes with a kiss, and bear them away to the halls of the gods,
where they enjoy the feasts of the blessed. In the very earliest
times all Germanic races prayed to Wodan for victory, as we shall
see further on. He it is who rushes through the air in the midst of
the howling storm, with his tumultuous host, the Wild Hunt, fol-
lowing after him. In the arms of Gunlod he quaffs Odrorir, the
draught of inspiration, and shares it with the seers and bards, and
with those warriors who, for the sake of freedom and fatherland,
have thrown themselves into the fiery death of battle. Trusting in
his wisdom, he goes to Wafthrudnir, to take part in that contest in
which the fighting consists of the clash of intellect against intellect
in enigmatical speech, and he is victorious in this dangerous. combat.
ASGARD AND THE GODS.
Later, he invents the Runes, through which he gains the power
of understanding, penetrating and ruling all things. Thus he
becomes the Spirit of Nature, — he becomes Allfather.
Frigga, or Freya, and her Handmaids — Next to Odin appears
F^igga, the mother of the gods, seated on her throne Hlidskialf
Amongst the Germans she was looked upon as the same as Frea,
the northern Freya, and was worshipped as the all-nourishing
mother Earth. Three divine maidens form the household of the
goddess ; her favourite attendant Fulla or Plenty, helps her to
dress, and carries her jewel-case after her; the undaunted horse-
woman Gna, bears her orders to all parts of the nine worlds ; and
the faithful Hlyn protects her votaries. Frigga holds council with
her husband regarding the fate of the world, or sits in her hall
Fensal, with her handmaids, and spins golden thread with
which to reward the diligence of men. In later traditions she
is sometimes represented as a cunning housewife gaining all her
ends by craft } but in the old legends she is uniformly represented
under the names of Holda and Berchta, as the benefactress of man-
kind. She furthers agriculture, law and order, apportions the
fields, consecrates the land-marks, keeps and takes care of the
souls of unborn children in her lovely gardens under the streams
and lakes, and takes back there the souls of those who die young,
that their mothers may cease to weep. As Holda or Dame
Gode, she appears as a mighty huntress, devoted to the noble pur-
suit of the chase. The maidens of the northern Freya are called
Siofna, the lady of sighs ; Lofna, whose work it is to bring lovers
together in spite of every obstacle ; and the wise Wara, who listens
to the desire of each human heart, and avenges every breach of
faith.
Thor or Thunar,*whose turn it now is to be described, is the
ideal of the German peasant, as untiring at work as in eating and
drinking ; open-hearted, therefore often deceived, but when made
FPIGGA, ENGAGED IN^HUNTING-
INTRODUCTION.
aware of the deception that has been practised on him, terrible in
his wrath, and overthrowing his opponent with fierce and mighty
blows. He receives Miolnir, the storm-hammer, from the dwarfs
who made it for him : he conquers Alwis, the all-wise, in a battle
of words. The giant Hrungnir pays for his temerity in challenging
him to fight, with a broken head. When deceived by Utgard-Loki's
magic, it is only want of opportunity, not of power, that prevents
him taking vengeance. When he goes to the ice-giant Hymir to
get the cauldron for brewing the beer for the feasts of the gods, he
appears in all the fulness of his god-like power. Enveloped in
Freya's bridal raiment, he gets back the stolen hammer from the
mountain-giant Thrym, destroys the whole race of giants in Thrym-
heim, and makes the place over to his hard-working peasantry to
till. He does the same at Geirodsgard after having overthrown
the wily Geirod, Although not to be withstood in his anger, he is
yet mild and gracious when with his hammer he is fixing the land-
marks, sanctifying the marriage bond, or consecrating the funeral-
pile. Then he is the god who blesses law and order and every
pious custom. For this reason he was deeply reverenced in all
German and Scandinavian lands, and it is only the later skalds,
as is seen in the Harbard lay, that make his glory less than that of
the hero-god Odin.
Tyr, Tius, or Zio. — And now, tall and slender as a pine, brave
Tyr comes forward. He has only one hand ; for when the terrible
Fenris-Wolf grew so powerful that he even threatened the gods
themselves in Asgard, Tyr ventured to chain him up with bonds
that could not be unloosed, and in so doing lost his hand. He
bears a sword as his proper badge, for he is the god of war. The
German people held him in high honour under the name of Tius
or Zio.
Heru, Cheru or Saxnot. — Another naked sword flashes on the
wooded heights in the land of the Cherusci ; it is the weapon of
10 ASGARD AND THE GODS.
the sword-god Heru, Cheru or Saxnot, who some think is no other
than Tyr. Of this weapon Saga tells us that it causes the de-
struction of its possessor, should he be unworthy of owning it ; but
that in the hand of a hero it brings victory and sovereignty.
Heimdal or Riger. — The third sword- god is known as Heimdal
or Riger ; he always appears with his sword girded to his side, and
is the watchman stationed at the Bridge Bifrost to protect Asgard.
He lives on his heavenly hill near the bridge, and drinks sweet
mead all day. The faintest sounds are heard by him, and his
piercing gaze penetrates even rocks and forests to the farthest
distance. Then again he goes out into the world of men, and
makes laws and ordinances. He blesses the human race, and
keeps clear and visible the line of demarcation between the differ-
ent classes.
Bragi and Iduna. — Heimdal is born of nine mothers, the wave-
maidens, and Bragi also, the god of poetry, rises upon the waves
from the depths of the sea. Nature receives him with rejoicing, and
the blooming Iduna marries the divine bard. She accompanies
him to Asgard, where she gives the gods every morning the apples
of eternal youth.
The Wanes, Niorder, Freyer, Freya — The Wanes are probably
a race of gods who were worshipped by the earlier inhabitants of
Germany and Scandinavia. Their war with the gods points back
to the battles fought between these people and the invading
Germanic races. At the conclusion of peace, the Prince of men,
Niorder, his son bright Freyer, and his daughter Freya, are given
as hostages to the gods, who on their side give up Mimir and Honir
to the Wanes. These Wanes rise to high honour and receive
wide-spread adoration.
Fate, Norns, Hel, Walkyries.— Orlog, Fate, a Power impossible
to avoid or gainsay, rules over gods and men ; it is impersonal, and
bestows its gifts blindly. Out of the- dense darkness surrounding
INTRODUCTION.
it on every side, it also comes forth in visible shape as Regin, and
guides and rules all things, and sometimes in the form of the
gods, determines the life and actions of mortals. The Norns come
out of the unknown distance enveloped in a dark veil, to the Ash
Yggdrasil. They sprinkle it daily with water from the Fountain
of Urd, that it may not wither, but remain green and fresh and
strong. Urd, the eldest of the three sisters, gazes thoughtfully into
the Past, Werdandi into the Present, and Skuld into the Future,
which is either rich in hope or dark with tears. Thus they make
known the decrees of Orlog, or Fate ; for out of the past and
present the events and actions of the future are born. Dark
inscrutable Hel holds sway deep down in Helheim and Nifelheim.
According to most ancient tradition she was once the earth-mother
who watches over life and growth, and who finally calls the weary
pilgrim home to her through the land of death.
In the poems of the skalds she becomes the dark, terrible Queen
of the Realm of Shades, who brought death into the world. She has,
however, no power over the course of battles where brave men
struggle for the honour of victory. There Odin's Wish-maidens, the
Walkyries, rule and determine the fate of the combatants. Armed
with helmet and shield, tliey ride on white cloud horses to choose
their warriors as the Father of the gods has commanded them.
They consecrate the fallen heroes with the kiss of death, and bear
them away to Walhalla to the feast of the Einheriar.
Ogir and his companions.— Ogir or Hler moves about on
the stormy seas accompanied by his wife Ran. Ogir is of the
race of giants, but lives in friendly alliance with the gods. His
comrades are the Mumel-king, the wonderful player, and the
nixies, necks, and water-sprites.
Loki, the father of terrible Hel, the Fenris-Wolf and Midgard-
Snake ; Loki, the crafty god who is ever devising evil, now steals
forward that we may observe his corrupt practices and his real
12 ASGARD AND THE GODS.
character. In primeval times he was Odin's brother by blood, the
god of life-giving warmth, and in particular of the indispensable
household fire. As a destructive conflagration arises from a hidden
spark which gradually increases in strength and volume, until at
last it bursts out furiously and consumes the hous6 and all that it
contains, thus, as we shall show later on, the conception of Loki
was developed in the minds of these old races, until he was at last
held to be the corrupter of the gods, the principle of evil.
The other Gods. — As regards the other gods, the silent Widar,
son of Odin, first appears, armed with a sword and wearing iron
shoes. Joyfully he hears the prophecy of the Norns, that he should
on a future day avenge his father by killing the destroying wolf,
and that he would afterwards live for ever in blissful peace in the
renewed world. Then comes Hermodur, the swift messenger of
the gods, who fulfils his office at a sign from Odin. Another
avenger, the blooming Wali, is received with acclamation when
he enters the halls of Odin, for he is the son of Odin and the
northern Rinda, is chosen to avenge bright Baldur the well-be-
loved, and to give the deadly blow which shall send dark Hodur
down to the realms of Hel. So the story brings us to Baldur, the
giver of all good, and to Hodur, who rules over the darkness. The
myth tells us how both fought for the sake of the lovely Nanna,
and how the former received his death wound by magic art. His
son Forseti, who resembles his father in holiness and righteousness,
is the upholder of eternal law. The myth shows him to us seated
on a throne teaching the Northern Frisians the benefits of law,
and. surrounded by his twelve judges, all of whom are somewhat
like him both in face and form.
The Golden Age.— From this brief glance at the individual
gods we pass on to the description of the events which concern
these divinities as a whole, and which lead up to the epic poems in
which they figure. The golden age, the time of innocence, is next
INTRODUCTION. 13
to be described, when the lust for gold was as yet unknown, when
the gods played with golden disks, and no passion disturbed the
rapture of mere existence. All this lasts till Gullweig (Gold-
ore), the bewitching enchantress, comes, who, thrice cast into the
fire, arises each time more beautiful than before, and fills the souls
of gods and men with unappeasable longing. Then the Norns,
the Past, Present and Future, enter into being, and the blessed
peace of childhood's dreams passes away, and sin comes into
existence with all its evil consequences.
Sin. — The poems of the skalds give another account of the
way in which sin makes its first appearance. The gods wish
to have a strong wall of fortification round their Asgard, to pro-
tect it against the assaults of the Jotuns, the giants. Acting
on Loki's advice, they swear by a holy oath to give the sun
and moon, and even Freya herself, the goddess of grace and
beauty, to an unknown builder, on condition that he finishes the
wall in the course of one winter. The master-builder turns out to
be a Hrimthurse (Frost-giant), who, with the help of his horse,
seems about to finish the high wall of ice, the sides of which are
as smooth as polished steel, within the allotted time. If the bar-
gain were to hold good, darkness would envelop the world, and
sweetness and love would disappear from life ; so the gods com-
mand Loki, as he values his head, to tell them what to do. He
outwits the giant by means of treachery and magic, and Thor pays
the master-builder in blows of his hammer. Thus the gods break
their oath, and inexpiable guilt rests upon them.
Iduna's departure. — Evil portents precede the coming horrors.
Iduna, the distributor of the apples of immortal youth, sinks from
her bright home amid the boughs of the Ash Yggdrasil, into the
gloomy depths below. She can only weep when the messengers
ask her the meaning of her leaving them. Bragi remains with
her, for with youth, games and song also pass away.
14 ASGARD AND THE GODS.
Baldur's death. — The day of judgment approaches, and new
signs bear witness of its coming. Baldur, the holy one, who alone
is without sin, has terrible dreams. Hel appears to him in his
sleep, and signs to him to come to her. Odin rides through the
dark valleys which lead to the realm of shades, that he may
enquire of the dead what the future will bring forth. His incanta-
tions call the long deceased Wala out of her grave, and she foretells
what he has already feared, Baldur's death. Whereupon Frigga,
who is much troubled in spirit, entreats all creatures and all lifeless
things to swear that they will not injure the Well-beloved. But she
overlooks one, the weak mistletoe-bough. Crafty Loki discovers
this omission. When the gods in boisterous play throw their
weapons at Baldur, all of which turn aside from striking his holy
body, Loki gives blind Hodur the fatal bough, which he has made
into a dart. He guides the direction of the blow, and the murder
is committed — Baldur lies stabbed to the heart on the bloodstained
sward. Peace and joy, righteousness and holiness disappear with
him. For this reason the gods and men, and even the dwarfs who
fear the light, the elves in their caverns, and the malicious race
of giants weep for him. They all assemble round his funeral pile.
Two corpses are stretched on the litter ; for Nanna, Baldur's beau-
tiful bride, has died of a broken heart. When the sunny-hearted
god of light dies, the flowers must also wither. At Odin's com-
mand Hermodur rides along the road leading to Hel's dominions,
to entreat the terrible goddess to permit the return of the Well-
beloved. He finds Baldur and Nanna seated at a table on which
are placed cups of mead', but they leave the foaming draught un-
touched ; they sit there as silent and sad as the other flitting
shades, which glide past them like misty phantoms. The dreadful
queen of the realm of the dead is seated on her throne grave and
silent. This is her reply to Hermodur's message : ** If every crea-
ture weeps for the Beloved he shall return to the upper world,
INTRODUCTION.
Otherwise he must remain in his place." The messenger of the
gods brings back this answer. Every creature weeps for her son at
Frigga's entreaty ; but one giantess alone, dwelling in an obscure
cleft in a rock, refrains from weeping, and so Baldur remains in
Hel's possession. But vengeance has yet to be executed on the
god who lives in darkness, and that duty is fulfilled by Wali, who
kills strong Hodur with his darts. Wali is the god of spring, who
destroys dark gloomy winter ; he is the risen Baldur.
Ogir's banquet. — The northern poems, apparently to break
the course of these tragic events, now lead us to Ogir's palace,
where the gods are assembled to hold a joyous feast after a long
period of mourning. The hall is brilliantly lighted by the golden
radiance of the treasures of the deep, and the tankards are full
of foaming beer or mead ; but the bard no longer sings to the
music of the harp. Instead of that, Loki forces his way into the
assembly ; he does not now hide his wickedness under the cloak
of hypocrisy, but openly boasts of what he has done. As the evil-
doer amongst men does not become a villain or a hardened
criminal all at once, but gradually ascends the ladder of wicked-
ness step by step until he reaches the summit, so it is with Loki ;
at first his actions are beneficial and good, then he begins to
give bad advice ; after that he plots against the general peace,
steals a costly treasure, and pitilessly works to bring about murder.
At last he shows his diabolical nature without disguise, when,
throwing aside the veil of hypocrisy, he hurls invectives at the
gods, and openly acknowledges his horrible deeds of wickedness.
The appearance of Thor forces him to take flight, and he barely
escapes the dread hammer of the god.
Loki in chains. — The murderer of Baldur, the blasphemer of
the gods, cannot remain unpunished. In vain he conceals himself
in a solitary house on a distant mountain, in vain he takes the
form of a salmon and hides himself under a waterfall, for the
i6 ASGARD AND THE GODS.
avengers catch him in a peculiar net which he had formerly in-
vented for the destruction of others. They bind him to the sharp
ledge of a rock with the sinews of his son, which are changed into
iron chains. A snake drops poison upon his face, making him yell
with pain, and the earth quakes with his convulsive tremblings.
His faithful wife Sigyn catches the poison in a cup ; but still it
drops upon him whenever the vessel is fi^ll.
Ragnarok. — The destroyer lies in chains on the shat'p ledge of
rock ; but he is not bound for ever. When the salutary bonds of
law are broken, when discipline and morality, uprightness and the
lear of God vanish, destruction comes upon states and nations.
This is what is to happen at the time of which the legend now
tells us. Nothing good or holy is respected. Falsehood, perjury,
fratricidal wars, earthquakes, Fimbul-Winter (such severe winter as
was never known before), are to be the signs that the end of the
world is near. The sun and moon will be extinguished by their
pursuers, the stars fall from the heavens, Yggdrasil will tremble,
all chains be broken, and Loki and his dread sons be freed.
Then the fiery sons of Muspel with dark Surtur at their head come
from the South, and the giants from the East ; the last battle shall
be fought on the field of Wigrid. There the enemy's forces are
drawn up in battle array, and thither Odin goes to meet them with
his host of gods, and his band of Einheriar. And now the moun-
tains fall down, the abyss yawns showing the very realms of Hel,
the heavens split open and are lost in chaos, the chief warriors,
the strong, are all slain in that deadly fight. Surtur, terrible to
look upon, raises himself to the very sky ; he flings his fiery darts
upon the earth, and the universe is all burnt up. Our forefathers'
conceptions as to the last battle, the single combats of the strong,
the burning of the world, are all to be learnt from ancient tradi-
tions, as we find them described in the poems of the skalds.
The Renewal of the World.— The myth compensates for the
INTRODUCTION.
17
tragic end of the divine drama by concluding with a description
of the renewal of the world. The earth rises green and blooming
out of its ruin, as soon as it has been thoroughly purged from sin,
refined and restored by fire. The gods assemble on the plains of
Ida, the gods Widar and Wali are there, with Magni and Modi,
the sons of Thor, who bring with them their father's Miolnir, a
weapon no longer used for striking, but only for consecrating what
is right and holy. They are joined by Baldur and Hodur, who
iLNCIENT HINDU IDEA OF THE WORLD.
From the draiving of a Brahmin.
are now reconciled, and united in brotherly love. Human beings
are also to be found there, Lif and Lifthrasir, who, hidden in
Hoddmimir's wood, dreamed the dreams of childhood, while the
horrors of the last battle were taking place, and who, being pure
and innocent and free from sinful desires, are permitted to enter
the world where peace now reigns.
We have thought it requisite, for the better understanding of our
c
i8 ASGARD AND THE GODS.
history, to throw a cursory glance over the whole of the great
drama, which describes to us the creation, prime, fall, destruction,
and restoration of the world and the gods. The separate parts of
the drama are not always connected with one another ; they have
grown up gradually in the course of centuries, and therefore are
not calculated to fit into each other. Sometimes, indeed, they
are in complete opposition to each other ; yet in spite of this, one
fundamental idea runs through all myths : we find in all that sm
causes universal destruction, and that the world, purified by fire,
rises again more beautiful and glorious than before. We have
classified the myths as much as possible in accordance with this
leading idea, and have also added their interpretations.
A good many parts of the Edda have, most likely, arisen in the
land of the Cherusci, in Osning or Asening, and have been founded
on sonfjs in honour of the gods and heroes worshipped there.
Moreo^ er, it is an undoubted fact that the Northern skalds trans-
lated those songs, changing partially their form, and incorporating
them with their own poems, so that the whole gained a northern
colouring.
LAY OF THE NORSE GODS AND HEROES.
Step out of the misty veil
Which darkly winds round thee ;
Step out of the olden days,
Thou great Divinity !
Across thy mental vision
Passes the godly host.
That Bragi's melodies
Made Asgard's proudest boast
AFTER PROF. ENGELHARd's STATUE.
{See accompanying verses,)
INTRODUCTION. ai
There rise the sounds of music^
From harp strings sweet and clear^
Wonderfully enchanting
To the receiving ear.
Thou wast it, thou hast carried
Sagas of northern fame,
Did'st boldly strike the harp strings
Of old skalds ; just the same
Thou spann'st the bridge of Bifrost,
The pathway of the gods ; —
O name the mighty heroes,
Draw pictures of the gods !
Let the reader now follow us into the world of Germanic godi,
giants, dwarfs, and heroes. These fairy tales are not senseless
stories written for the amusement of the idle ; they embody the
profound religion of our forefathers, which excited them to brave
deeds, inspired them with strength and courage enough to shatter
the Roman Empire, and to set up a new order of things in its stead.
But when four hundred years after their dreadful battles against
Germanicus, the Teutons victoriously entered their new country,
the old faith had already faded, and they exchanged without
difficulty their hero-god for St. Martin or the archangel Michael,
and their Thunar for St. Peter or St. Oswald. The Saxons alone,
in whose land the much reveted holy places were to be found,
clung to their gods, and when they were afterwards conquered by
Charles the Great, some of them fled the country, carried their old
religion to their northern brothers, and preserved it, until, at the
time of the Wiking wars, it lost ito feljry in Scandinavia, and feli
before the preaching of the Cross
PART FIRST.
LEGENDS AND MYTHS.
IN the beginning was a great abyss ; neither day nor night
existed ; the abyss was Ginnungagap, the yawning gulf, without
beginning, without end. Allfather, the Uncreated, the Unseen,
dwelt in the depth of the abyss and willed, and what he willed
came into being. Towards the north, in immeasurable space where
dwell darkness and icy cold, arose Nifelheim (the Home of the
Mists), and to the south was Muspelheim (the Home of Brightness),
fiery, glowing with intense heat. The spring Hwergelmir (the
seething cauldron) sprang into life in Nifelheim, and out of it flowed
twelve and more infernal streams (Eliwagar) with their ice-cold
waters. The dreadful cold soon froze the waters, and blocks
of ice rolled over and under each other through the boundless
gulf towards the south and Muspelheim. In the air above, the
storms roared from Nifelheim, rooting up the icebergs ; while
from the Home of Brightness rays of beneficent heat poured forth
over Ginnungagap, and when the great blocks of ice began to melt
under the influence of this warmth, and drops of water to form and
run down their sides, then it was that life first showed itself, and
there arose a monster, the giant Ymir, or Orgelmir (seething clay),
LEGENDS AND MYTHS. 23
terrible to look upon. From him are descended the Hrimthurses
or Frost-giants.
The warm rays awakened more life in the waters. The cow
Audumla, the nourisher, came into being ; from her flowed four
streams of milk which fed the dreadful Ymir and his children, the
Hrimthurses. But she had nothing to graze on except the salt
of the ice-rocks, which she licked. On the first day after she had
licked the rock, a head of hair was visible ; on the second day, the
whole head ; and on the third, the rest of the body, beautiful and
glorious of limb. This was now Buri (the Producer), who had a
son named Bor (born), and Bor married Bestla, daughter of the
Hrimthurses, by whom he had three sons, Odin (spirit), Wili (will)
and We (holy).
After this, war was made on the violent Ymir, and the sons of
Bor slew him, and flung his great body into Ginnungagap, which
was filled with it. But the blood of the monster flowed out cover-
ing all things, so that there was a great flood (Deluge) in which the
Hrimthurses were drowned. One of them alone, the wise Ber-
gelmir, saved himself and his wife from destruction by taking
refuge in a cunningly made boat, and he became the father of
the race of giants. This is the northern version of the story of
Noah.
Space was now void and drear, as we learn from an ancient
German lay : —
** I regarded among men as the greatest of wonders,
That the earth was not, nor yet the firmament,
Nor was there yet a tree, nor mountain, nor even sunshine,
Nor moon so radiant, nor ever a mighty sea."
The new rulers, who called themselves Ases, ie.^ pillars and
supports of the world, did not like this state of things at all. So
they began to create as Allfather willed that they should. They
made the earth of Ymir's body, the sea of his sweat, the hills
24
ASGARD AND THE GODS.
of his bones, and the trees of his curly hair. Of his skull they
made the firmament, and of his brain the clouds which float
below. Then, out of the giant's eyebrows the gods formed Mid-
gard (Middle-garden), the dwelling-place of the children of men,
who as yet unborn slept in the lap of time.
Darkness reigned throughout space ; only a few fiery sparks
from Muspelheim wandered aimlessly through the air ; the sun
did not know her place, nor the moon his* course, nor did the stars
know where they were to stand. But the gods collected the sparks,
DAY.
made them into stars and fastened them in the firmament. They
created the chariot of the sun, harnessed to it the horse Arwaker
(Early-waker), which was driven by the maiden Sol ; she was
rapidly followed by the shining moon drawn by the horse Alswider
(All-swift), bridled and managed by the beautiful boy Mani.
Mother Night talked lovingly to Mani as she preceded him on her
dark horse Hrimfaxi (Frost-mane), whilst her son Day followed
her with his bright Skinfaxi (Shining-mane).
* In German the sun is feminine, the moon masculine.
LEGENDS AND MYTHS.
Creatures of all sorts crept like maggots in and out of Ymir's
body and bones. The gods therefore consulted together as to
what was best to be done, and they thought that their wisest
course would be to change these creatures into a useful people.
So they at once changed them into Dwarfs and Trolls, who were
gifted with a wonderful knowledge of minerals and stones of all
kinds, and an extraordinary power of working in metals. One
class of dwarfs was of dark complexion, cunning and treacherous ;
the other was fair, good and useful to gods and men. Three
mighty gods once left the place where the Thing or council was
NIGHT.
held ; they were Odin, Honir or Hahnir (the Bright One) and
Lodur. While wandering over the face of tlje earth, which was
green with grass and with the juicy leek, they found two human
forms lying near the shore, Ask (the ash), and Embla (the alder),
both of whom were without power or sense, motionless, colourless.
Odin gave them souls ; Honir, motion and the senses ; and Lodur,
blood and blooming complexions. From these two are descended
all the numerous races of men.
Allfather dwelt in the deep and willed, and what he willed came
26 ASGARD AND THE GODS
to pass. Then the ash Yggdrasil grew up, the tree of the universe,
of time and of life. The boughs stretched out into heaven ; its
highest point, Larad (peace-giver) overshadowed Walhalla, the hall
of the heroes. Its three roots reached down to dark Hel, to Jotun-
heim the lanci ot the Hrimthurses, and to Midgard the dwelling-
place of the children of men. The World-tree was ever-green, for
the fateful Norns sprinkled it daily with the water of life from the
fountain of Urd which flowed in Midgard. But the goat Heidrun,
from whom was obtained the mead that nourished the heroes, and
the stag Eikthyrnir browsed upon the leaf-buds, and upon the
bark of the tree, while the roots down below are gnawed by the
dragon Nidhogg and innummerable worms : still the ash could
not wither until the Last" Battle should be fought, where life, time
and the world were all to pass away. So the eagle sang its song
of Creation and Destruction on the highest branch of the tree.
This is what a skald, a Northern bard, related to the warriors
who were resting from the fatigue of fighting, by tables of mead.
He and his comrades, intoxicated with the divine mead of enthu-
siasm, used to tell these stories to the listening people. The
myths were founded on the belief of the Norse people regarding
the creation of the world, gods and men, and as such we find them
preserved in the Songs of the Edda. At the same time the cata-
strophe is hinted at by which, in the opinion of these races, the great
world-drama was to end. It is true that many unlovely and even
coarse ideas are to be found mixed up with the rest, and that they
cannot be compared with the beautiful fancies of Hellenic poetry ;
but the drama as a whole is grand and philosophical, and had its
birth in that heroic spirit which forced the Teutons and Northern
Wikings out into their battles of life or death. We have also the
idea ot Allfather, the unquestionable original cause of all things,
though he is scarcely more than mentioned in the poems. This idea
came more prominently forward in later times, but could not grow
THE ASH YGGDRASIL.
LEGENDS AND MYTHS. 29
to its full proportions, because the preaching of the Gospel soon
afterwards did away with the old faith. Whilst struggling against
the horrors of a northern climate and sending out armies into
distant land, the Teutons fixed their eyes on certain aspects of
nature, and could not rise to distinct conceptions of the Eternal.
Still this idea lay originally at the foundation of the Northern
religion, and the kindred Aryan race in India developed and
exhibited it in a wonderful and poetical manner.
Neither in the one case nor in the other, did the myths arise
complete and perfect in the minds of these kindred people in the
form in which we read them in the ancient documents. They
needed a long time, a long period of development, before they
appeared as regular myths or mythical tales. We must try to
make clear to ourselves the process of the formation and develop-
ment of the myth. Nations, like individuals, have their childhood,
youth, prime and old age. In their childhood they cannot look
upon the inexplicable facts and manifestations of the . forces
of nature, and on those of their own soul, otherwise than under
certain forms. Nature, on which they feel themselves dependent,
seems to them a Personality possessed of thought, will and per-
ception. Nature is the Divinity they worship ; she is the Self-
existent Power of the Indian Aryans, the Eros of the Hellenes in
their earliest home by the Acherusian Lake, and the Allfather
who dwelt less clearly in the mind of the Germanic races. Amongst
the Greeks the first departure from their earliest religious con-
ceptions was the deification of ,Gaia, the all-nourishing earth ;
amongst the Hindus and Teutons, it was that of the shining firma-
ment with its stars, its moon, its life-giving sun and its clouds with
their refreshing rains.
The vague notion of a deity who created and ruled over all
things had its rise in the impression made upon the human mind
Dy the unity of nature, but was soon overcome by that produced
30 ASGARD AND THE GODS.
by certain particular aspects of nature. The sun, moon and stars,
clouds and mists, storms and tempests, appeared to be higher
powers, and took distinct forms in the imagination of man. The
sun was regarded now as a fiery bird which flew across the sky,
now as a horse and now as a chariot and horses ; the clouds were
cows from whose udders the fruitful rain poured down, or nursing
mothers, or heavenly streams and lakes ; the storm- wind appeared
as a gigantic eagle that stirred the air by the flapping of his great
wings. As the phenomena of nature seemed to resemble animals
either in outward form or in action, they were represented under
the figure of animals. The beast which does not think, and
which yet acts in accordance with some incomprehensible impulse,
appears to be something extraordinary, something divine.
After riper consideration, it was discovered that man alone was
gifted with the higher mental powers. It was therefore acknow-
ledged that the figure of an animal was an improper representation
of a divine being. Thus in inverted relation to that described in
Holy Writ, when " God created man in His own image, in the
image of God created He him," men now made the gods in their
own likeness, but at the same time regarded them as greater, more
beautiful and more ideal than themselves.
The monotheistic idea of Allfather, which formed the basis of the
Germanic religion, soon gave place to that of a trilogy, consisting
at first of Odin, Wili and We, and afterwards of Odin, Honir and
Lodur. From these proceed the twelve gods of heaven, and they
again are associated with many other divinities.
Polytheism has its origin in a variety of causes. The primary
reason for it is to be found in the numerous qualities attributed to
each one god, and also in his varying spheres of action. Hence
the many additional names bestowed upon him. In course of time
his identity with nature is forgotten, and people grow accustomed
to accept his attributes as so many separate personalities. Thus,
LEGENDS AND MYTHS, 31
for instance, the powerful storm-god Wodan, the Northern Odin,
•was regarded as the highest god, the king of heaven. He it was
who inspired both warhke and poetical enthusiasm. But still, the
dispossessed king of heaven, Tyr, was worshipped as the .god of
war, while the art of poetry was placed under the protection of the
divine Bragi, who was unknown in earlier times. Freya, the god-
dess of beauty and love, was essentially the same as the goddess
of Earth, yet the German Nerthus and the Northern Jord and
Rinda were honoured as such ; from Freya was also derived Frigg,
the queen of heaven, who was raised to the position of Odin's
lawful wife. Another cause of the increase of the number of
. divinities is attributable to the vast extent of country over which
the great Germanic race was spread, viz., over Germany, Scan-
dinavia, and far away to the east amongst the Russian steppes.
The numerous tribes into which the race was divided was another
circumstance in favour of polytheism. These tribes preserved their
language arid their faith as a whole, but each had its own distinc-
tive peculiarities and its own particular tribal god. They were
sometimes communicated to other tribes, and in times of war the
conquerors either dethroned the gods of the vanquished or else
accepted them in addition to their own.
The divine kingdom as described in the legends of the
gods and heroes.— After the gods, the giants and the dwarfs
had become personalities capable of free action ; they were supposed
to have stood in human relation to each other. They were given
family ties and were finally brought under the laws of a divine
kingdom. As people had now forgotten that the origin of the gods
was to be found in the phenomena of nature, other motives for
their fate and actions had to be sought, and thus the myth was
added to, was made of wider significance, and its former meaning
completely altered.
Puring the centuries that were necessary to bring about this
32 ASGARD AND THE GODS.
development, there had been many changes in the fortunes of the
Germanic tribes. They had destroyed the Roman empire, and
had made their dwelling amongst its ruins. After that the proud
victors bent their heads beneath the Cross, and accepted the
Christian faith. Then the teaching of the Cross gradually made
its way into Germany, the home of these warlike tribes ; the
messengers who brought it endeavoured to root out all relics of
heathenism, and when preaching was of no avail, the power of the
already converted ruler was brought into play. Thus was the old
religion expunged from Germany proper. Still remnants of it are
to be found in popular customs and traditions, and in a few
fragmentary writings which suffice to show us the connection
between the religion of our fathers and that preserved in the
northern mythology.
It was different in the north, in Scandinavia. The preachers of
the Gospel did not make their way there until much later. In that
land the warlike chieftains dwelt in their towers and castles
surrounded by their retainers, drinking sweet mead and beer, or
the foreign wine they had brought home from their campaigns.
There the victorious warriors delighted to tell of their adventurous
voyages and Wiking raids, of battles with ice-giants, with winds
and waves, and with the men of the south. There the skalds
sang their lays in honour of the gods and heroes, and formed the
myths into an artistic whole, a world-drama, which a happy chance
has preserved to us. How this was done we shall now proceed to
show.
In the tenth centuiy Harald Harfager (fair hair) was ac-
knowledged King of the whole realm of Norway. Many of the
Jarls and Princes, who had formerly been independent rulers, were
too proud to bear the yoke of the conqueror, and set out in search
of other homes. The brave Rollo and his followers conquered
Normandy and Brittany in r ranee, others of the emigrants settled
Legends and myths. 53
in the Shetland and Faroe islands, while others again under Ingulf
and Horleif landed on the inhospitable coasts of Iceland, and
cultivated and peopled the island as far as its severe climate would
permit. These people carried with them from their native land the
old songs of the skalds, which the fathers sang to their sons, and
the sons again to their sons, passing them on to each new genera-
tion as a most precious heritage. It is true that Christianity was
introduced into Iceland towards the end of the tenth century, but
before that time the people had preserved the songs of their fore-
fathers, first by means of very imperfect runes, and then by the
use of letters which had been brought to them from other lands,
besides which the Christian priests, who were mostly Icelanders,
were far from wishing to destroy the old tales. Many of them went
so far as to listen to the songs of the people and afterwards write
them down, and thus these treasures were saved from oblivion both
in Iceland and in the Faroe islands. It is believed that the learnea
Icelander, Saemund the Wise (a.d. 1056-1133), compiled the Elder
Edda, the first collection of these old songs, partly from oral tradi-
tion and partly from imperfect runic writings which had been copied
in Latin characters. This collection, which is called Saemund's
Edda after its supposed compiler, contains first in the Woluspa
(Song of Wala) the mythical account given by the northern imagi-
nation of the creation of the world, of giants, of gods, of dwarfs, and
of men ; then there is a description of the Last Battle and of the
destruction and renewal of the w^orld ; after that come songs about
the adventures and journeys of the individual gods, and lastly
others are given In honour of the Heroes, especially the Niflungs,
Sigurd the slayer of the dragon Fafnir, and so on. The Younger
Edda, a collection of the same kind, is supposed to have been
compiled by Bishop Snorri Sturlason (a.d. 1178-1241), and for
that reason generally goes by the name of the Snorra-Edda. It is
for the most part written in prose, and serves as a commentary on
D
H ASGARD AND THE GODS.
the Elder Edda, but was originally meant more particularly for the
instruction of the Icelandic skalds.
The Runic language and characters. — The word r^na really
means " secret " ; runes are therefore " mysterious signs requiring
an interpretation." The shape of the letters leads to the supposi-
tion that they were formed in imitation of the Phoenician alphabet.
It is clear that the runes were, from various causes, regarded even
in Germany proper as full of mystery and endowed with super-
natural power.
After Ulphilas made a new alphabet for the Goths in the fourth
century by ingeniously uniting the form of the Greek letters to
that of a runic alphabet consisting of twenty-five letters which
was nearly related to that of the Anglo-Saxons'; the runes
gradually died out more and more, and as Christianity spr-ead, the
Roman alphabet was introduced in place of the old Germanic
letters.
The runes appear to have served less as a mode of writing than
as a help to the memory ; they were principally used to note down
a train of thought, to preserve wise sayings and prophecies, and
the remembrance of particular deeds and memorable occurrences.
Tacitus informs us that it was also customary to cut beech twigs
into small pieces and then throw them on a cloth which had been
previously spread out for the purpose, and afterwards to read future
events by means of the signs accidentally formed by the bits of
wood as they lay on the cloth.
The heroic lays of the old time have died out, and the runes
have with few exceptions been rooted out of our fatherland by
priestly zeal which looked upon them as magical. Our knowledge
of the full-toned, powerful language of our ancestors is therefore
very imperfect. But we know that it belonged to the great Aryan
branch, and was thus related to the noblest of the Aryan lan-
guages, the Sanscrit or holy tongue, and was rich in inflexions.
LEGENDS AND MYTHS, 3S
In the Chinese and Indo-Chinese languages the ancient poverty of
expression is still to be found, and even at the present day we
find in them monosyllabic roots placed next to each other with
hardly a connecting link ; in the Turanian language of Central
Asia the people have endeavoured to express the association of
their ideas by the use of suffixes, but these suffixes are in them-
selves complete words, and thus the combination is as distinctly
visible as the separate strokes of the brush in a bad painting. The
language ot the Teutonic race had already got beyond that point
before the different tribes set out on their wanderings in search of
a new home. The added words had fused with the others, and
were capable of expressing an unbroken current of thought. The
language had been developed by means of the Sagas and songs
which had been handed down amongst the people from generation
to generation.
THE GODS, THEIR WORLDS
AND DEEDS.
THE NORNS.
T^ HE three fatal sisters played
a prominent part in many
German tales. They used to
watch over-springs of water, and
to appear by the cradle of many a royal infant to give it presents.
On such occasions two of them were generally friendly to the
child, while the third prophesied evil concerning it. Sometimes
the Noms were supposed to be one, and then they were called
THE GODS, THEIR WORLDS AND DEEDS. - 37
LJrd ; but they were oftener looked upon as many, especially as
the twelve Urds. In the pretty story of the "Sleeping Beauty"
thirteen fairies appear. The king invited twelve' of them to the
birthday feast given in honour of his little daughter. Eleven had
endowed the child with intelligence, beauty, wealth, and other good
gifts, when suddenly a thirteenth fairy entered unbidden and or-
dained that the princess should die early of the prick of a spindle.
The twelfth now came forward and took some of the bitterness
out of the terrible prophecy by saying that the girl should not
die, but should fall into a sleep of a hundred years' duration, out
of which she should at last awake when the right hour for setting
her free should strike. This hour came when a young hero forced
his way through the thorn hedge that surrounded her, and awokfe
the sleeper with a kiss of love.
Urd or Wurd is also connected with Hel, the goddess of death :
for the Past, being dead, falls into the nether world. Hel herself
appears in the story as the Norn who span the irrefragable thread
of fate, and in the German version of the tale in which the fatal
sisters appear, she was the bad fairy whose name, Held, betrays
her identity with the goddess.
The origin of the Norns is wrapped in mystery; while the
dwarfs, who are at times somewhat difficult to distinguish from the
elves, were, as we have seen, created by the gods.
38
ASGARD AND THE GODS.
i^^ii><4
i
DWARFS AND ELVES.
Three kinds of dwarfs existed
in northern mythology, Mod-
sognir's folk, Durin's band, and
Dwalin's confederacy of Lofar's
race. Lofar is perhaps the same
as Loki, the fire-god, for all the
dwarfs needed his help in their
subterranean labours. In the
old German poems we often
find descriptions of dwarf-kings, who ruled over underground
realms, and the Norse nations regarded Modsognir's and Durin's
people as especially great and powerful, more, however, from their
THE GODS, THEIR WORLDS AND DEEDS, 39
miraculous strength and knowledge of magic than from their
having rule over any definite territory. The ideas respecting these
deformed and goblin-like creatures, some writers state, are con-
nected with the appearance of the Phoenicians in the North.
Wherever these roving merchants went, they always endeavoured
to get at the raw products of the countries they visited. They
fished for the purple mussel on the shores of Greece and Asia
Minor ; they dug for gold in the rich auriferous veins they found
in Lemnos, where a volcanic mountain was looked upon as
the forge of Hephsestos, and also in the island of Thasos, and in
the Pangean mountains. They mined for silver in Spain, in
which country old shafts and passages, mining implements and
even vaulted underground chapels have been discovered. In
Ireland they dug for silver, in England for the much esteemed
tin-ore, and in the North also, they undoubtedly worked in the
mines, and had furnaces and smithies above ground for smelting
and forging the minerals they obtained. It was very natural
that a barbarous people should imagine the existence of the
Kobolds, when they heard the noise of working and hammering,
and saw the sooty figures of what seemed to be a short, weakly
race emerging from the earth. They regarded the strangers as
mighty and powerful, because their minds were deeply impressed
by their magical surroundings, and by the excellent weapons,
beautiful ornaments, and delicately fashioned works of art they
made in their flaming furnaces. The shrewd craftsmen must often
have brought disaster upon the simple-minded barbarians by their
deceit and cunning, and the dwarfs were therefore considered false
and treacherous, and every one was warned against their malice.
These features, however, might with equal probability apply to
the former inhabitants of the country who had been dispossessed
by the Germanic invaders, perhaps even better than to the Phoe-
nicians. These people were of a much weaker race than their
40 ASGARD AND THE GODS.
conquerors ; they Jook refuge in lake-dwellings or in subterranean
caverns, hid in the mines they themselves had made, forged utjensils
of all sorts, and often over-reached their invaders by the sharpness
of their wits.
Poetry created oUt of these dwellers in holes and caves of the
rock those fantastic beings called Dwarfs and Black-Elves, because
they were black and grimy, and because they rummaged in the
dark places of the earth, did smith's work, were learned in the
black art, and treacherous. The gloomy world in whicli they lived
was called the Home of the Black-Elves.
In Germany 'they were known under the same name, but
slightly altered in form. Their ruler in the middle ages was
King Goldemar, whose brother Alberich or Elberich, and the sly,
thievish Elbegast, were even more celebrated in poetry than he.
In England, these are represented by the light airy elves, who
danced their rounds on the hill-sides and in the valleys, but who
love best to haunt lonely green woodlands and groves, and here
King Oberon and Queen Titania had their invisible palaces and
gardens, to which men sometimes found the way, and of which
they related the wonders to believing multitudes after their return.
Whoever has a touch of poetry in his soul, and is in the habit of
wandering through the woods in the still summer evening, can
even now-a-days see the mist-like forms of the little people danc-'
ing merrily in the openings of the wood or by the banks of the
murmuring brook.
Equally celebrated in tales and legends is Number Nip, the
mighty king of the Riesengebirge, of whose power many strange
tales were told ; until at last modern enlightenment forced him to
retreat into his underground realm.
The Light-Elves were different from the Black-Elves. They
lived in the Home of the Light-Elves, were fair and good, and
somewhat resembled the elves, but were not so airy or ethereal
THE GODS, THEIR WORLDS AND DEEDS. 41
as the spirits of the later fairy-world. There are no myths about
these kindly beings, which is a clear proof that the difference
between the Black and Light-Elves was originally unknown.
The elves were popularly believed to be spirit-like beings, who
were deeply versed in magic lore, and who had charge of the
growth of plants. Some of them lived under the earth and others
in the water; they often entered into friendly alliance with
mortals, and demanded their help in many of their difficulties,
handsomely rewarding all who assisted them. They were not
always ugly to look upon ; indeed, their beauty was sometimes
extraordinary, and whenever they showed themselves amongst
men, they used to wear splendid ornaments of gold and precious
stones. If ever any one of mortal birth approached them, while
they'were dancing their rounds at midnight in the light of the full
moon, they would draw him within their circle, and he never re-
turned again to his people. The dwarfs and elves possessed rings
by means of which they discovered and gained for themselves the
treasures of the earth ; they gave their friends magic rings which
brought good-luck to the owner as long as they were carefully
preser\^ed ; but the loss of them was attended with unspeakable
misery.
A Polish count once received a ring of this kind from a tiny
mannikin, whom he had allowed to celebrate his marriage festivities
in the state rooms of his castle. With this jewel on his finger he
was lucky in all his undertakings ; his estates prospered ; his
wealth became enormous. His son enjoyed the same good for-
tune, and his grandson also, who both inherited the talisman in
turn. The last heir gained a prince's coronet and fought with
distinction in the Polish army. He accidentally lest the ring while
at play, and could never recover it, although he offered thousands
of sovereigns for its restoration. From that moment his luck
forsook him : locusts devoured his harvest ; earthquakes destroyed
42 ASGARD AND THE GODS.
his castles. It even seemed as if the disasters of his native land
were corinected with his, for the Russians now made good their
entrance into the country, and when Suwarrow stormed Praga, the
unhappy prince received a sabre-cut over one of his eyes. When
somewhat recovered, but quite disfigured by his wound and almost
in as wretched plight as, a beggar, he reached his ancestral castle,
and there he was crushed to death under the falling building on
the very first night. Exactly a hundred years had elapsed since
that fateful hour in which his ancestor had placed his halls at the
disposal of the underground spirit !
Besides these rings, the dwarfs and wights, like the elves, had
other valuable possessions, such as hoods of darkness, by means of
which the mannikins became invisible, and girdles that made the
wearer supremely beautiful.
This was the reason why so many noble knights were over-
mastered by love for beautiful elf-women ; but the marriages
which were thus contracted had always a sad ending, because the
natures of husband and wife were too dissimilar, and because there
can be no real bond between m6n and spirits. For the elves were
also regarded as the souls of the dead, and it was therefore
impossible that any alliance formed by them with the living could
be happy.
GIANTS.
To the traveller passing through some desolate valley in the
dusk or in a fog, the rocks jutting out from amongst the woods or
ravines at his side seem to take strange, fantastic shapes. Not
less spectral than these is the uncertain outline of the mountain
tops, and especially of the bare granite or basaltic horns of rock
which are scattered in great number over the face of the earth. In
the old time, when man was more susceptible to impressions made
by the life and working of nature, when he peopled the wilderness
THE GODS, THEIR WORLDS AND DEEDS. 43
with the creatures of his own fancy, those dead stones appeared
to him as living beings, moving about busily in the grey mist,
endowed in the dusk or moonlight with magic powers and
approaching him as giants and monsters, but which were once
more turned into stone as soon as they were touched by the first
rays of the morning light.
These figures grew far more monstrous,, far rnore weird in the
great Alpine ranges and in Scandinavia. There the peaks, the
ridges, and the ravines are covered with eternal ice and snow ;
there the swollen, destructive mountain-torrents, growing glaciers,
falling rocks and thundering avalanches, were regarded as the
work of the infernal powers, the rime and frost-giants of
northern legends. These evil beings are also to be found in the
lower ranges of mountains. The Riesengebirge owe their name to
them, while the Harz mountains were haunted by the Harz spirit
and other demons.
Nearly related to these were the spirits of the storms and
tempests^ who came out of their dwellings in the clefts of the hills,
massed up the storm-clouds, and spread destruction over the fields.
The raging sea also was sometimes regarded as a giant, sometimes
as a huge snake which encircled Midgard. As a snake they
likewise personified those waters, which, breaking down the
artificial breast-work man had built for their restraint, dashed and
roared over the fruitful plains, engulfing towns, villages and their
inhabitants in their course. The giant Logi (Flame), with his
children and kindred, finally made themselves known as the
authors of every great conflagration, when they might be seen in
the midst of the flames, their heads crowned with chaplets of
fire. These demons were all enemies of man, they strove to
hinder his work and to destroy what he had made.
For the elements are hostile
To the work of human hand — Schiller
44
ASGARD AND THE GODS.
Men therefore sought to propitiate them in ancient times by
offering them sacrifices, and consecrating altars and holy places to
them, until the -moral powers, the gods, rose and fought against
them and .their worship, but did not succeed in rooting them out
of the minds of the people. In the Greek myth, the rude destruc-
tive powers of nature, which were personified in' the Titans and
Giants, were completely overcome and abandoned ; but in the
ROCKS IN THE RIESENGEBIRGE.
North, where these forces are more wild and terrible, the struggle
lasted until the Fire-giant Surtur, together with the sons of
Muspel, set out for the Last Battle to destroy gods, men and
worlds, and make place for a better order of things.
The legends of the giants and dragons were developed gradually,
like all myths. At first natural objects were looked upon as
identical with these strange beings, then the rocks and chasms
THE GODS, THEIK WORLDS AND DERDS.
45
became their dwelling-places, and finally they were regarded as
distinct personalities, and had their own kingdom of Jotunheim.
They showed themselves now in this place, now in that, and met
gods and heroes in peace and in war. Perhaps they were not
originally held to be wicked and altogether hostile, for springs and
brooks flowed out of the earth for the refreshment of man and
beast. They watered the fields so that they bore rich harvests ;
storm's purified the air ; the sea was an open roadway for ships,
and the household fire, or the spirit which dwelt in it, was the
THE SLEEPING GIANT.
most cheering companion of the Northman during his long winter
evenings. But the thinking, ordering gods took their place, and
then they only appeared as the wild unbridled forces of nature,
against which man had to strive with the help of the heavenly
powers.
In the North the giants were called Jotuns, signifying the
voracious ones, and perhaps connected with the name of a
German tribe, the Jiiten, that chased the aborigines out of Jut-
land. They were also called Thurses, i.e. the thirsty, the great
46 ASGARD AND THE GODS.
drinkers. In Germany the giants were named Hiinen, after their
old enemies, the Huns. In Westphalia the gigantic grave- mounds
and sacrificial places belonging to heathen times, that are to be
found by the Weser and Elbe, are designated Huns' beds ;
and in the same way we recognise the Huns' rings. These are
circular stone- walls, intended to enclose hxAy objects a^d con-
secrated spots of ground, in like manner as the dwellings of the
gods are described in the Edda as surrounded by a fence or
hedge.
Here in conclusion let us relate a myth made up of two kindred
stories put together. We can still recognise the natural phe-
nomena in the names.
From the first giant, Ymir, were descended three mighty sons :
Kari (air, storm), Hler (sea), and Logi (fire). Kari was the father
of a numerous race, and his most powerful descendant, Frosti,
ruled over a great empire in the far north. Now Frosti often made
raids and incursions into neighbouring states, and on one occasion
he went to Finland, where King Snar (snow) reigned. There he
saw the king's daughter, fair MioU (shining snow), and at once fell
in love with her. But the haughty monarch refused him the hand
of the maiden. He therefore sent a message to her secretly to
tell her : " Frosti loves thee, and will share his throne with thee.''
To which she replied : " I love him also, and will await his coming
by the sea-shore." Frosti appeared at the appointed time and took
his bride in his strong arms. Meanwhile the plot had been dis-
covered ; Snar's fighting men lay in ambush to attack the lovers,
and shot innumerable arrows ,at the bold warrior. But Frosti
laughed at them all ; the arrows fell from his silver armour like
blunted needles, his storm horse broke through the ranks of the
enemy and bore the lovers safely over the sea and over mountains
and valleys to their Northern realm.
THE GODS, THEIR WORLDS AND DEEDS. 47
WORLDS AND HEAVENLY PALACES.
" Nine homes I know, and branches nine,
Growing from out the stalwart tree
Down in the deep abyss."
This is the saying of Wala the prophetess, who satig of the
creation, of the gods, and of the destruction of the world. She
describes the Ash Yggdrasil as if the homes or worlds grew out
of it like branches. Still the nine worlds are never enumerated
in succession or in their full number, but are only to be dis-
tinguished by their characteristics.
In the centre of the universe the gods placed Midgard, the
dwelling-place of man, and poured the sea all round it like a
snake. They fortified it against the assaults of the sea and the
inroads of the giants, by building a wall for its defence. The
giants lived far away by the sea-shore in Jotunneim or Utgard,
the giants' world. Above the earth was Wanaheim, the home of
the wise shining Wanes, whom we shall describe further on.
The Home of the Black-Elves was to be found under the earth,
perhaps in those gloomy vales that led to the river which
separated the realm of the dead from that of the living. This
kingdom of the dead, Helheim,' surrounded the Northern Mist-
world, Nifelheim.
To the south was Muspelheim, where Surtur ruled with his
flaming sword, and where the sons of Muspel lived. Over Mid-
gard in the sunny aether was the Home of the Light-Elves, the
friends of gods and men. Over the earth also, but higher than
the Home of the Light-Elves, the gods founded their strong king-
dom of Asgard, which shone with gold and precious stones, and
where eternal spring reigned. The broad river Ifing divided the
home of the gods from that of the Jotuns, but was nol sufficient
protection against the incursions of the giants, who were learned
in magic.
<l8 ASGARD^AND THE GODS,
The gods built themselves castles in Asgard, and halls that
shone with gold. It is recorded that there were twelve such
heavenly palaces, but the poems differ from each other in de-
scribing them.
High above Asgard was Hlidskialf (swaying gate), the throne of
Odin, whence the all-ruling Father looked down upon the worlds
and watched the doings of men, elves and giants. The palaces
of the Ases were : Bilskirnir, the dwelling of Thor, 540 stories
high and situated in his province of Thrudheim ; Ydalir (yew*
vale), where Uller, the brave bowman, lived ; Walaskialf, the
silver halls of Wali ; Sokwabek, the dwelling of Saga (goddess
of history), of which the Edda tells us : " Cool waters always flow
over it, and in it Odin and Saga drink day after day out of golden
beakers." In this palace the holy goddess Saga lived, and sang
of the deeds of gods and heroes. She sang to the sound of the
murmuring waters, until the flames of Surtur destroyed the nine
homes and all the holy places. Then she rose and joined the
faithful, who had escaped fire and sword, and fled with them to
the North, to the inhabitants of Scandinavia. To these she sang
in another tongue of the deeds of the Germanic heroes. But her
songs did not pass away without leaving a trace behind ; some of
them are probably preserved in the Edda, and remain a treasure
of poetry which can never be lost.
The fifth palace was called Gladsheim (shining-home) ; it be-
longed to the Father of the gods, and contained Walhalla, the hall
of the blessed heroes, with its 500 doors. The whole shining
building was enclosed within the grove Glasir of golden foliage.
Thrymheim (thunder-home), where Skadi, daughter of the mur-
dured giant Thiassi, lived, was originally supposed to be in
Jotunheim, but the poems place it in Asgard.
Breidablick (wide out-look) was the dwelling of glorious Baldur,
and in it no evil could 'be done. Heimdal. the watchman of the
THE GODS, THEIR WORLDS AND DEEDS, 49
gods, lived, in Himinbiorg (Heaven-hall), and there the blessed
god drank sweet mead. Folkwang, the ninth castle, belonged to
the mighty Freya. It was there that she brought her share of the
fallen heroes from the field of battle. In Glitnir dwelt Forseti,
the righteous, whose part it was to act as umpire, and smooth away
all quarrels. Noatun was the castle of Niorder, the prince of men
and protector of wealth and ships. Saga recog'nised as the twelfth
heavenly palace Landwidi (broad-land), the dwelling of the silent
Widar, son of Odin, who avenged his father's death in the Last
Battle.
It is enough to say here regarding the mythological signification
of these heavenly castles, that it is very probable that they were
meant for the twelve constellations of the zodiac. For amongst
these palaces none were allotted to the warrior god Tyr, nor do
they count amongst their number Wingolf, the hall of the god-
desses, or Fensal, the palace of Queen Frigga. According to this
hypothesis the deities who possessed these twelve palaces were
gods of the months. For instance, Uller, who lived at Ydalir,
was the god of archery, and used to glide over the silvery ice- ways
on skates. He ruled, in his quality of protector of the chase,
when the sun passed over the constellation of Saggitarius in winter.
Frey or Freya was called after him in the myth, and to him the
gods gave, as a gift on his cutting his first tooth, the Home of the
Light-Elves, which lies in the sun and is not to be found amongst
the dwellings of Asgard.
The sun-god was also reborn at the time of the winter solstice,
as Day was in the North. The Yule-feast was therefore celebrated
in honour of the growing light with banquets and wine ; Frey's
boar was then sacrificed, and the drinking-horn was passed down
the rows of guests. Wali's palace was, the story tells, covered
with silver. By this the constellation of Aquarius was meant ;
when the sun passes over that part of the heavens where this
E
so
ASGARD AND THE GODS.
constellation rules, it is a splendid sight in the far North to see
the silvery sheen of the snow that covers the mountains and
valleys. We refrain from further discussion of this theme, for
these are only hypotheses, and myths of deeper meaning are
awaiting us.
-rg-a^
SURTUR WITH HIS FLAMING SWORD.
PART THIRD.
OPPONENTS OF THE
GODS.
^ I ^HE holy gods dwelt peace-
^ fully in their golden palaces
and rejoiced in their power.
The Walkyries, choosers of the
dead, messengers of Odin, rode
about in splendid armour on
their white horses. They bore the hero-spirits they had taken from
bloody battle-fields back with them to Asgard. On reaching the
grove Glasir, they dismounted from their horses, and led the
heroes under the shade of its golden foliage to Walhalla. There
52 ASGARD AND THh GODS.
the mists of death passed from the eyes of the warriors ; they
recognised the hall intended for them on seeing Odin's coat of
arms, the wolf and the eagle. They saw the roof made of the
shafts of spears covered with shields, and the seats spread with
soft chain-mail. Weapons flashed as they entered, and foaming
goblets were emptied in their honour by the great band of heroes,
who had reached the halls of blessedness before them. And they
drank of the sweet mead provided for them by the goat Heidrun,
and feasted on the roasted flesh of the boar Sahrimnir, which was
restored to life every evening, that it might again furnish a repast
for the heroes on the following day.
The ruling gods sat on twelve thrones, and highest amongst
them was Odin in all his glory, his spear Gungnir in his right
hand, arid his golden helmet on his head. He was not now
terrible to look upon, as when he led armies on to battle or when
he hurled the death-spear over their ranks ; a gentle smile lighted
up his face, for he rejoiced in the arrival of the noble warriors.
Two pet wolves played at his feet and fawned upon him, when
he threw them the food provided for himself at the board. For
he needed no food to eat ; for him it was sufficient to drink of
the blood-red wine, which refreshed and strengthened his mind.
Then great Odin rose from the board, walked through the hall,
and went to his throne Hlidskialf, all Asgard trembling beneath
his tread. He seated himself, and gazed thoughtfully over the
worlds. Far away in the distance gleamed Muspelheim, where
dark Surtur, flame-girdled, and holding his fiery sword in his
hand, watched his opportunity as yet in vain ; in Midgard were
the; mortal men ; in the depths below, the Dwarfs toiled and
laboured. The mighty god's two ravens, Hugin (thought) and
Munin (memory), flew quickly up to him ; they perched one on
his right shoulder and the other on his left, and whispered in his
ears the secrets they had heard during their flight through the
OPPONENTS OF 7 HE GODS. S3
worlds. Anxiously the monarch turned his gaze towards Jotun-
heim, for things were going on there which threatened the general
peace.
LOKI AND HIS KINDRED.
In the grey twilight enveloping the giants' world, the king
recognised his old comrade Loki, with whom he had sworn
brotherhood at the beginning of time. Loki had set up house
in Jotunheim and had married the dreadful giantess Angurboda
(bringer of anguish). They had three children, all horrible
monsters : the Wolf Fenris, the Snake Jormungander, and terrible
Hel, at the sight of whom all living creatures stiffened in death.
One side of her face was of corpse-like pallor, and the other was
dark as the grave. The young wolf was not less appalling to
look upon, when he opened wide his blood-red jaws to devour the
food his father offered him; nor the snake which wound itself
round Angurboda as though desirous of crushing her to death in
its coils.
Allfather turned away from the horrible sight with a shudder
of disgust, and saw his bright son Hermodur standing before him.
Pointing down at Jotunheim, he desired him to bear his com-
mands to the gods, that they should at once go and bring him the
brood of giants. In obedience to the king's orders, the powerful
gods at once arose, and with brave Tyr at their head, crossed the
bridge Bifrost and the river Ifing, and so reached the inhospitable
land of the Hrimthurses.
Loki was beautiful like all the gods, but his heart was full of
guile. They found him in the court-yard of his castle. He went
on playing with his monstrous progeny, and took no notice of the
messengers, until they approached quite close to him, and made
known the commands of Odin. He would have refused to obey,
but strong Tyr shook his fist threateningly, upon which he gave
54 ABOARD AND THE GODS,
way, and followed them to Asgard, accompanied by his children.
He was immediately brought, before the king's throne. Terrible
Hel grew visibly more gigantic, lightnings flashed from her deep-
set eyes, and she stretched out her arms as though she wished
to destroy the great Father. At the same moment Jormungander
reared her head in the air, till she resembled a twisted column,
gnashed her jaws and emitted a venomous foam, before which the
very gods shrank back. But the king seized both niionsters in his
powerful arms, and flung them far out of Asgard into immeasur-
able space.
Hel sank nine days' journey past the bogs,, morasses, and rocks
of ice in Nifelheim, past the river Gioll and down into the king-
dom of Helheim, which was allotted to her, and where she hence-
forth ruled over the dead. But the Snake fell into the ocean that
flows round Midgard. Hidden in its depths, and unseen by gods
and men, she was to grow, until, after having twisted herself into
innumerable coils, her ugly head should touch the tip of her tail.
Then, at last, when the twilight of the gods (the judgment of the
gods) should come to pass, she was again to rise, and help to
bring about the destruction of the worlds. When the Wolf saw
his playfellows flung out of Asgard, he began to howl so loud, that
his voice was heard over in Jotunheim. Yet he did not venture
to resist, and great Tyr bore him away from before the face of the
angry Father, away from the heavenly towers, to where the hills
of Asgard slope towards Midgard ; there he brought him food
every day
Odin still remained on Hlidskialf, thinking of all, caring for all.
The gods stood silently around him ; but Loki slipped out of the
circle unnoticed, and went out to plan more mischief Then the
king pointed towards the south, where the sons of Muspel were
moving about in the fiery heat like flashes of lightning, and where
the dark s^iant Surtur was pointing his flaming sword up at the
OPPONENTS OF THE GODS. 55
heavenly palaces. " Gird on your armour," said Allfather, " keep
your swords drawn, ye faithful ones, for the day approaches when
the heavens shall fall and the Destroyer shall come up from the
South across Bifrost with his fiery hosts. The spirit of prophecy
has come upon me, and I foresee that the monsters, whose power
we have broken for the present, will one day join the Destroyer
and fight against us. Up, brave ones ! Watch lest any sin defile
the purity of the holy towers, for thus only can we ward off the
hour of our destruction."
Having said this, great Odin went on before his loyal subjects
to Walhalla.
Meanwhile the wicked race of giants remained hostile to the
gods. They brooded over schemes for avenging the murder of
their ancestor, Ymir. The warlike Hrungnir awaited his oppor-
tunity in Jotunheim ; Thrym, who was hard as his native rocks,
Thiassi and Geirod, who dwelt in proud castles, and other giants
besides, were all armed for the fight, and often made onslaughts
upon the hated gods. But Heimdal watched over the safety of
Asgard, and strong Thor was always ready to go out and fight
the monsters.
This myth reveals to us in its deeper meaning, the ideas of these
northern races respecting the struggle between good and evil
in the world, the eternal warfare waged by the kingdom of light
against the kingdom of darkness, by the mild beneficent powers
of nature against those that are hurtful and destructive. The
terrors of the long dark winter, or the dreadful snow-storms, of
the wild mountain ranges with their glaciers, and of the tempes-
tuous ocean, appeared in the imagination of the people to take the
form of pernicious monsters intended to bring about the destruc-
tion of the world. Thus Hel, the secret, healing goddess, who was
orio-inally the all-nourishing Mother Earth, became the goddess
of death, a hideous monster the very sight of whom caused death ;
56 ASGARD AND THE GOD:s.
the, stormy sea, which according to the northern idea encircled
the round earth, was transformed to the Midgard-Snake ; the uni-
versal destruction which was to come at the end of days was
typified in the all-devourer, the Fenris-Wolf, who was to. devour
the Father of the world himself It is striking, that Loki, who in
earlier times was looked upon as a beneficent being, as the god of
fire, of the warming domestic hearth, is accounted one of the
powers of evil in the foregoing legend, and that he grows even
more diabolical in the later poems, in spite of the fact that fire is
absolutely indispensable to the North-man.
The first divine trilogy given us was that of the sons of Bor, ?>.
Odin, Wili and We ; and these correspond to the elements, air,
water and fire. The last of the three gave the newly created
human beings blood and blooming complexion ; he was therefore
a beneficent god. Nevertheless he was also represented as a giant
in the trilogy Kari, Ogir, and Logi, another form of air, sea and
fire. That he belonged to the race of giants is proved from further
evidence, by which it appears that^ his father was the giant Far-
bauti (oarsman), and his mother the giantess Laufey (leafy isle),
the former of whom was perhaps the giant who saved himself
from the flood in a boat, and the latter, the island to which he
rowed.
At the beginning Loki was a helpful and a great god, as the
pretty Faroe-island song of the Peasant and the Giant shows. He
was not regarded as the principle of evil, until he had been com-
pletely separated from the element to which he belonged, and had
been developed into an independent personality. The idea of the
destructive power of fire was equally connected with the giant
Muspel, but he never showed himself as an active agent of harm.
His sons, the flames, alone threatened evil in Glow-heim or Muspel-
heim, and finally mustered in great force for the Last Battle on
the field of Wigrid. Their leader, however, was not Muspel, but
OPPONENTS OF THE GODS. S7
dark Surtur (black smoke), out of which flashed a tongue of flame,
like a shining sword.
That these ideas were common to all the Germanic races is
shown by some Bavarian and Saxon manuscripts of the 8th and
9th centuries, which contain {he mysterious word Muspel, as will
be seen from the following translations : " Muspel's (world-fire's)
power passes over man." " Muspel creeps in stealthily and sud-
denly, like a thief in the darkness of night " " Then will a friend
be of no profit to his friend because of Muspel, for even the broad
ocean will be burnt up," viz. at the Last Day.
This struggle was an eternal one ; it went on and on without
being decided. But if the Aryans believed Ormuzd to be pure
and spotless, the gods certainly were not so ; they were neither
sinless nor immortal. Like the Grecian Herakles, they fought
against harmful monsters ; they were victorious over them to a
certain extent, but not entirely ; they sinned, and at last, like
the Greek hero who burnt himself to death, they passed away
in the universal fire that burnt up the world. These conceptions
are peculiar to the Germanic races ; it is possible, however, that
they brought the seeds of -their grand poems from the common
home of the Aryans, then developed and polished them in their
own peculiar way, when settled in the land they had colonized,
and when surrounded by the influences of a climate and country
favourable in some points and disadvantageous in others.
PART FOURTH.
KING GYLPHI AND THE ASES,
I. GEFION.
/^^NCE upon a time when, as tradition informs us, Swithiod
^-^ (Sweden) still lay hidden under the sea, yawning chasms
suddenly opened in the depths below, and swallowed up the waters
until the land appeared. As soon as it was dry, the fowls of
heaven brought there the seeds of all kinds of trees, grass and
herbs. Then the face of the country grew green, and flowers
sprang up and adorned it, so that it was brilliant to look upon, as
the carpet in a king's banqueting hall. Animals of all sorts were
there also, some of which were useful and serviceable to man,
while others dwelt shyly hidden away in remote places ; and
besides these there were wild beasts, such as bears, lynxes, and
grim voracious wolves.
Men afterwards settled down in Sweden, tilled the land and
began to trade ; they spread themselves out over the country as
they grew more numerous, and built villages, towns, and proud
castles for the nobles. They were a warlike race. They fought
against the wild beasts that lived in the forests, and against the
marauding Jotuns and Trolls of the mountains. They were a free
people and chose out the bravest of their heroes to be their leaders,
Jarls and Princes, who protected the country from the inroads of
58
KING GYLPHl AND THE ASES, 59
any enemies who might venture to disturb the diligent husband-
men in their toil. The mightiest of the Jarls was called King, and
lived in the town of Sigthuna.
Now King Gylphi once ruled over this people, who were greater
in power, righteousness and wisdom than any of the other nations
that dwelt in Midgard. Neither hostile arniiies nor robbers dared
to cross the borders of the kingdom, and it was said that even the
wild beasts refrained from harming any of the people, so much
did they hold their chief in awe. Thus Gylphi ruled in undis-
turbed peace, and had abundant leisure to indulge his thirst after
the highest knowledge and wisdom. He knew about the stars
in the heavens ; he visited the dwarfs in the interior of the earth,
from whom he learned how to discover veins of gold and how to
work metals into household utensils, weapons and shining orna-
ments. Moreover, he understood the art of using magic runes,
by means of which he was able^to get rid of snakes, to conjure up
the spirits of the dead from their graves, and to change his form
so as to escape recognition. He often feasted with his warriors,
and together they drank mead and foaming ale. During these
entertainments, skalds were always present to delight him and his
heroes by the melody of their harps, and by their songs ; for he
loved music above all things, and would rather have gone without
food than it.
The king once thrust his frothing cup from him impatiently, for
the skalds who used to make his feasts pleasant to him had not
come. Suddenly the sound of harp-playing was heard without ;
so sweet that all hearts were filled with longing, and the chords
vibrated as powerfully as if twelve skalds had assembled to tune
their strings. The door opened, and a tall female figure entered
the hall ; she was gentle and beautiful to look upon, and like a
goddess in her bearing. Approaching the king she touched the
harp-strings, and sang :
6o ASGAkD AND THE GODS.
In gruesome grave no knowledge, grows ;
Yet the king shall ken what things must come.
High up to Heaven I raise my hymn,
And louder and louder I let it sound.
I
My wistful eyes watch Walkyries
Wafting the warriors by weirdly kiss,
From blood-stained field to blessed rest,
Where night and death are never known.
And I see here in the lofty hall
The hosts of heroes who with their lord
Shall wander to Walhall, the battle won,
And meet the maidens' melodious hail.
They soar in silence on winged steeds,
Alighting on grave-grounds, green with pines,
And singing lays of the light and love
That e'er abide in Odin's Home.
Gloomy and sad the song began, like a voice from the grave ;
but the music grew^ deeper and fuller as it went on to praise the
fate of glorious warriors, and then again it sank soft and low as the
whisper of the wind on a warm spring day, which tells of nature's
resurrection.
Once more the figure repeated : " That e'er abide in Odin's
Home," and as she did so, the notes of her harp were so sweet and
thrilling, that the hearts of all the heroes present were filled with
rapture, and they thought they saw the warrior-maidens who were
to bear them to Walhalla.
Deep silence reigned in the hall ; but as soon as the intoxication
of the sounds, which had held their senses in thraldom, gradually
passed off, the king rose from his seat, and said : " Speak, fair
maiden, tell me thy name, and what guerdon thou askest for the
song with which thou hast delighted us. Be it even to the half
of Swithiod, it shall be thine, and this I swear by my kingly word."
" Gefion, the Giver," she replied. " is what I was called by Ases
KING GYLPHI AND THE ASES. , 6i
and Jotuns, when I was young. If thou, indeed, desirest to reward
me, I shall only ask thee to give me as much land as I can plough
round with my four bulls in a day and a night."
Gylphi was surprised that the maiden did not ask for a larger
gift, and at once^ granted her request. She took her departure, and
soon afterwards returned, bringing with h^r four bulls, the like of
which had never been seen in Svvithiod before, so huge and well-
formed were they. They were, in sooth, like moving mountains,
and their white foreheads shone with the lustre of the full moon.
They were harnessed to .a plough with a hundred shares, which
cut down into the lowest depths of the earth, and tore the soil
away from its foundations. The bulls walked on dragging the
ploughed land with them ; they waded into the sea with it, and
Gefion, who drove them, grew before the eyes of the astonished
king and people until she was so tall that the great waves, high as
they were, reached only to her waist, and seemed to be but sport-
ing with her knees. She went on without stopping day and night,
and then at length the land she had taken avi^y with her rested
in a shallow place. She fastened it down firmly there, and called
it Zealand (sea-land). Having done this, sh'^ stepped upon it
followed by the four bulls, which at once raised themselves up,
and touched by her magic spells were changed into four strong
youths, for they were her sons by a giant. The beautiful island
soon flourished under h'er care. Wooded hills, green pastures and
rich corn-fields provided the numerous population of Zealand not
only, with food, but also with all the pleasures and comforts of life.
Hledra, a splendid royal residence, was next built, and there
Gefion lived, and exercised undisputed sway over her subjects.
She married a man named Skiold, and became the mother of a
long line of renowned kings.
62
ASGARD AND THE GODS.
2. GYLPHI IN ASGARD.
Now Gylphi heard oi all these
events in nis town of Sigthuna,
and he was filled with wonder
how such things could be. He
saw Lake Loger (now Maelar),
which had taken rne piace of the
land the bulls had dragged away with their plough. He heard from
travellers that the promontories of Zealand running out into the
sea had the same form as the bays of Lake Maelar in his* own
country. He knew that Gefion was of the race of the Ases, and
he puzzled day and night over how they had come to be so power-
ful. He enquired of the skalds and wise men of his kingdom,
KING GYLPHI AND THE ASES. 63
he consulted his runic sighs ; but he gained no information from
any of these regarding that which he wished to find out. As his
longing after wisdom gave him no rest, he determined to set off
on a journey in search of the land where the mighty Ases lived,
even though the attempt to find it might cost him his life. His
heart was set on making his way into Asgard that he might learn
from its inhabitants of the creation and the end of the world, of
the Ases' power and their mode of government, and of the fate
of mankind, that he might afterwards make all these things known
to mortal men.
King Gylphi was learned in magic. He took the unpretentious
form of a common traveller, and called himself Gangleri (weary
wanderer). He walked on a long way through Midgard, until
he at length reached a palace, the height and circumference of
which he could not measure. When he entered the doorway, he
saw a vast hall before him, whose length his eye could not pierce.
He perceived other mansions to the right hand and to the left,
each of which was crowned with turrets that shone like. gold in
the sunlight. There was a tree there also, whose top rose to the
immeasurable skies, and whose branches seemed to spread out
over the whole world.
A man, playing with seven knives, was standing at the entrance
of the palace. He threw them up into the air and caught them
again so that they seemed to form a shining circle. He asked
the traveller what he wanted ; Gylphi answered that his name
was Gangleri, that he wished to have a night's lodging and to be
admitted to the presence of the lord of the palace.
"He is our king," replied the door-keeper; "follow me, and
thou shalt see his face."
Having said this, he preceded the traveller up the hall.
There they saw many noble warriors assembled, who were
auiusmg themselves, w^sailing, playing and wrestling. Three
ASGARD AND THE GODS,
men of venerable aspect were seated on thrones, one of which was
higher than the other two, watching the games.
"The first of these chieftains is Har (High)," said the guide,
"the other is Jafenhar (Equally high), and the last is Thridi (the
Third)."
While he was still speaking, Har turned to the new-comer,
and said : " Dost thou need food, stranger ; if so, thou wilt find
abundant store in Har's hospitable hall. Sit down, and share oui
meal."
Gangleri replied : " Higher than food and foaming beakers do I
prize wisdom, which lifts the mind above earthly things. So I
would fain find a wise man, who can answer my questions."
"Ask," said the chieftain, "and thou shalt be answered. But
beware thy head, for it is forfeited if thou provest thyself unwise."
Gangleri drew nearer to the thrones, and began : " Who is the
highest and the oldest of the gods, and what are his works and
deeds that are most worthy of man's admiration ? "
Har answered : " AUfather is his name in our tongue, but all
the nations of the earth give him a different name, each in their
own way. He is the highest and mightiest at all times, and rules
over all things, the smallest as well as the greatest."
Jafenhar went on : " He created heaven and earth, the . sea and
the air, and everything that lives and moves therein. He alone is
the greatest Ruler."
"The greatest and most glorious of his works," said Thridi,
^'was the creation of man, whose spirit, given by him, will live on,
and will not die even when the body containing it is turned to
dust. The good will live with 'him for ever in the place that is
called Gimil, or Wingolf The wicked shall also live, but they
will descend to Hel, or even to Nifelhel deep down below in the
ninth world."
After that, Gangleri asked many more questions regarding. the
ICING GYLPHi And the ases.
creation and the end of the world, about the gods and their works,
and about all the riddles of life, and he received answers and ex-
planations.
But when he still went on enquiring further, the great hall
suddenly burst with a terrible, loud crash, and in another moment
everything had vanished. Gylphi found himself alone on a wide,
desolate plain, where neither palace, tree nor shrub were to be
seen. He set out at once on his homeward journey, and at last
reached his own realm. There he related what he had seen and
heard, and wise skalds sang of the marvellous things he had told
them, and so knowledge grew and spread from land to land and
from generation to generation, and did not die out of the memory
of the people.
We see from this, what idea the Northern people had formed
of the way in which the divine revelation was made. The con-
ception of Allfather and his works appears to us to be the most
remarkable part of this story, and fully confirms what we have
before said on this subject.
PART FIFTH.
ODIN, FATHER OF THE GODS AND OF THE ASES.
'' I ^HE prophetess Wola sat before the entrance of her cave, and
-*- thought over the fate of the world. Her prophetic power
enabled her to pierce bounds that are impenetrable to the human
eye. She saw what was going on near her, what was taking place
at a distance. She watched the labours and battles, the patient
endurance and the victories of nations and heroes. She saw how
Allfather ruled the world, how he kept the giants in submission,
how he flung the spear of death over the armies, and afterwards
sent his Walkyries to bring to his hall those heroes who had
fallen victoriously. Let us now turn our attention to what was
revealed to her penetrating sight.
Mother Night was driving in her dark chariot on her accustomed
course above Midgard, bringing peaceful slumber to all creatures.
The bright boy, Mani (Moon), followed quickly in her steps, and
the gloomy mountains were bathed in the light he shed around.
Down below in the valley, the maiden, Selke, was wandering
beside a stream, which playfully rippled and murmured at the feet
of its mistress, and then flowed on quickly, and dashing over the
stones that barred its course, flung itself into the depth below.
But Selke saw nothing of all this ; her eyes were fixed on the
fountain from out of which the brook flowed, for there sat a
woman wondrously beauteous of countenance, with long shining
golden hair, looking down into the clear water in which her form
was mirrored. After awhile she rose, and went higher up the
ODIN, FATHER OF THE GODS AND OF THE ASES. 67
steep side of the mountain to the place where grew the healing
herbs that the goddess needed for the cure of wounds and sores.
While employed in this peaceful task, the rocky door leading
into the interior of the mountain suddenly opened, and a mon-
strous giant came out from it. No sooner did the fiend sight the
lovely maiden than he rushed towards her with a wild yell. She
fled, while he pursued her, as higher and higher she climbed, until
at length she reached the summit of a lofty rock, which hung over
the edge of a great abyss. The hunt-cry from the distance now
fell upon her ear, and the baying of hounds, and she knew who
was coming to her assistance ; but her pursuer drew nearer and
nearer, and his icy talons almost grasped her neck ; boldly she
ventured the tremendous leap — the ground^was reached in safety.
The mark of her foot is still to be seen on the rock, and the
truth of this assertion can be verified by any one who chooses to go
and look at the Maiden's Leap in the Selkethal (Harz Mountains).
The giant saw her take the fearful spring, and, surprised, he
hesitated for a moment ; but soon regaining courage, he rushed
on and took the mighty leap after her. But, like a flash of light-
ning, and accompanied by loud peals of thunder, a shining spear
came flying through the air, and the monster fell with a crash
dead into the deep abyss.
The storm rose ; it howled through the wood, and Wodan's
raging host, the Wild Hunt, rushed past. The great god's
nightly following was composed of armed men, armed women and
children, hounds and ravens and eagles ; and he, the King,
preceded them all on horseback ; together they stormed over the
trembling fields and through the dark quaking forests. Ancient
pines were broken down, rocks fell, and the mountains shook to
their foundations, for the Father of Victory was on his way to a
great battle.
The King had far to go, and his horse had lost a shoe, which
68 . ASGARD AHD THE GODS.
forced him torhalt for a time. Master Olaf, the smith of Heligo-
land, was still in his smithy at work in the midnight hour. A
storm was howling round the hpuse, and the sea was beating on
the shore, when suddenly he heard a loud knocking at his gate.
" Open quick and shoe my horse ; I have a long jourriey to
make, and daybreak approaches."
Master Olaf opened the door cautiously, and saw a stately rider
standing beside a giant horse. His armour, shield, and helmet
were black, a broad sword was hanging at his side, his horse shook
its mane, champing the bit and pawing the ground impatiently.
" Whither art thou going at this time of night, and in such
haste } " asked the smith.
" I left Norderney yesterday. ' It is a clear night, and I have no
time to lose, as I must be in Norway before daybreak."
" If thou hadst wings, I could believe thee," laughed the smith.
" My horse is swift as the wind. But see, a star pales here and
there ; so make thee haste, good smith."
Master Olaf tried on the shoe. It was too small, but, lo ! it
gradually grew and grew, until it had fastened itself round the
hoof. The smith was awe-struck, but the rider mounted, and as
he did so his sword rattled in its sheath.
" Good-night, Master Olaf," he cried. " Thou hast shod Odin's
horse right well, and now T hasten to the battle."
The horse gallopped on over sea and land. A light shone round
Odin's head and twelve eagles flew after him swiftly, but could
not overtake him. He now began to sing in magic words of the
stream of time, and the spirit that works in it, of birth, and of the
passage to eternity. And all the time the storm-wind roared, and
the waves dashed upon the shore, a harp-like accompaniment to
the song. He who has ever heard that music straightway forgets
his home and his cravings for the hearth. The sailor on the
foaming water, the traveller in the valley and the shady grove,
ODIN, FATHER OF THE GODS AND ,0F THE ASES. 69
each feels it strangely stirring his soul, each longs to go out at once
to Odin.
The warriors were gathered together in the green-wood, armed
for the combat ; the brave sons of King Eric of the bloody axe,
who had lately fallen in battle, were there, and Hakon, too, his
brother, the powerful king of Norway. All at once they heard
sweet soft sounds in the air, like the sighing of the wind and the
whisper of green leaves. Quickly the sounds grew louder, and the
storm wind roared through the trees and over the assembled host.
" Odin is coming," cried the warriors, ** he is choosing his Einheriar."
And then the Father of Battles came with his following ; he came
in the storm that he might rule the combat. He halted high up
above the armies in a grey sea of clouds. He called the Walkyries,
Gondul and Skogul, before him, and bade them so to lead the
chances of the fight, that the bravest should be victorious, and
should then be received into the ranks of the Einheriar.
He flung his spear over the contending heroes, and immediately
the blast of horns and loud war-cries were heard. A cloud of
arrows hissed through the air ; javelins and heavy battle-axes
broke through helmet and shield ; swords were crossed in single
combat ; blood streamed from innumerable wounds, reddened
the armour of the men-at-arms and trickled down upon the flowers
that carpeted the crimson ground.
Foremost in the battle was King Hakon fighting with swerd
and spear. As he cut his way through the enemy's ranks over
the fallen men, he heard the Walkyries talking beside him. They
were in the midst of the strife, mounted on their white horses,
holding their bright shields in front of them, and leaning upon
their spears.
" The army of the gods is waxing great," said Gondul, " for the
Ases are preparing to welcome Hakon with a goodly train of
followers to the glorious home."
70 ASGARD AND THE GODS.
The King heard it, and asked : " Is it just that ye should
reward me with death, instead of the victory for which I am
striving with my might ? "
Skogul answered : " We have decreed that thine enemies should
give way before thee. Thou shalt win the battle, and then take
thy part in the feast of the Einheriar. We will now ride on before
thee, and announce that thou art coming to look upon the face of
the Father of Victory himself"
When King Hakon ascended to Asgard from the field of glory,
Hermodur, the swift, and Bragi, the divine singer, went out to
meet him, and said : " Thou shalt have the peace of the Einheriar ;
receive therefore the draught prepared for the heroes of the Ases."
Hereupon the king's helmet and coat of mail were taken off, but
he retained his sword and spear, that he might enter the presence
of the Father of Victory with his arms in his hands.
This was how the Northern skalds sang of the God of Battles,
of the choosers of the dead, and of the fate of heroes. Is it then
to be wondered at, that the princes and nobles of those races
should have gone forth joyously on their bold Wiking raids,
and that they should have esteemed a glorious death on the field
of battle far better than to sink to ing'lorious rest at home ? The
German bards also sang after this fashion of their heroes ; hence
the struggle against Rome which lasted four hundred years, and
the Germanic raids upon Britain, Gaul, Italy, Spain, and even
upon far Africa. The War-god sang his storm-song in their ears ;
they heard the voices of the Walkyries through the din of the
battle ; they saw the gates of Walhalla open before them, and
the Einheriar signing to them to approach. Therefore the day
of battle was in their eyes either a feast of victory, or of enti:ance
into the verdant home of the heroes.
In the foregoing tale, the events of which have been derived
from German and Norse sag^s and lays, we have seen the chief
ODIN, FATHER OF THE GODS AND OF THE ASES. 71
god of the North as leader of the Wild Hunt, conqueror of the
earth-born giant, god of the storm and ruler of the battle ; but wp
must try to get a still deeper insight into his nature.
Wodan, Odin in the North, according to the oldest concep-
tions.— Wodan was the highest and holiest god of the Germanic
races. His name is connected with the German word Wuth, and
used to be both spelt and pronounced Wuotan, which word did not
then mean rage or wrath, as Wuth does now, but came from the
Old-German ivatait, impf wuot, i,e.y to penetrate, to force one's way-
through anything, to conquer all opposition. The modern German
waten^ and the English wade, are derived from the old word,
though considerably restricted in meaning. Wuotan was there-
fore the all-penetrating, all-conquering Spirit of Nature. The
Longobards, by a letter-change^ called him Gwodan ; the Franks,
Godan or Gudan ; the Saxons, Wode ; and the Frisians,
Woda. The Scandinavians called him Odin, from which the
mythological n^me Odo was derived. He was known under
the names of Muot (courage) and Wold by the South Germans.
But everywhere he was regarded as the same great god, and was
worshipped as such by the whole Germanic race.
When man had freed himself from the power of the impressions
made upon him by nature as a whole, he began to have a more
distinct consciousness of certain manifestations of the forces of
nature, and after that to pay them divine honours. He then
regarded the storm which tore through the forests with irresistible
violence, which blew down the cottages of the peasants, and
wrecked vessels out at sea, as the ruler of all things, as the god
whose anger must be appeased by prayers and sacrifices. At first
he was worshipped under the form of a horse or of an eagle, as
these were types of strength and swiftness. But when the mastery
of the human race over the animal world was better understood,
the god was endowed with a human form. He was described
^ 72 ASGARD AND THE GODS.
in the legends and stories, now as a mighty traveller who studied
and tried the dispositions of rrien, and now as an old man with
bald head, or with thick hair and a beard which gained him in the
North the name of Hrossharsgrani (horse-hair bearded). He had
usually only one eye, for the heavens have but one sun, Wodan's
eye. He wore a broad-brimmed hat pulled down low over his
forehead, which represented the clouds that encircle the sun, and
a blue mantle with golden spangles, i.e., the starry heavens.
These attributes again prove him to have been the Spirit of
Nature. In the completely developed myth regarding him in the
Edda, he was described as being of grand heroic form, with a
golden helmet on his head, and wearing a shining breast plate of
chain-mail. His golden ring Draupnir was on his arm, and his
spear Gungnir in his right hand. Thus attired, he advanced to
attack the Fenris-Wolf, when the Twilight of the Gods was
beginning to fall ; thus attired, he sat on his throne Hlidskialf,
wrapped in the folds of his mantle, and governed gods and men.
There are many tales and traditions about Wodan in his original
form of storm-god. They are to be found in Germany, England,
France, and Scandinavia, which shows how wide-spread the
worship of him was. Chief amongst the stories referring to
the old Teutonic god are those of the Wild Hunt, and of the
Raging Host. _
The Myths of the Wild Hunt and of the Raging Host.—
These myths have their origin in the belief that the supreme One
takes the souls of the dead to himself, carries them through the air
with him, and makes them his followers on his journeys by night.
As the Romans regarded Mercury as the leader of the dead, they
thought .that the Teutons also honoured him as the highest god.
The soul was looked upon as aerial, because it was invisible like
air. It was held that when a dying man had drawn his last
breath, his soul passed out of him into the invisible element. Thus
ODIN, FATHER OF THE GODS AND OF THE ASES. 73
the Hebrews had the same word to express spirit and breath, and
the old Caledonians, as Ossian's poems prove, heard the moans
and loving words of their dead friends in the whisper of the breeze,
in the soft murmur of the waves ; they felt that the invisible
was near them, when a solitary star sent down its rays to them
through the dusk of the evening. The idea of a god has no place
in these poems. The Teutons, on the contrary, believed that it
was the god himself who bore the spirits of the dead up into his
kingdom.
The traditions of the Woensjager, the Wild Huntsman, Wuotan's
or the Raging Host, have their origin in heathen times, as their
names show, although they have undergone considerable modifica-
tions in many respects since then. They arose from the impres-
sion made upon the people by phenomena that they could not
understand, and which they consequently supposed were caused
by some divinity. Every noise sounds strange and mysterious on
a quiet night The solitary traveller passing through forests or
over heaths or mountains, when the light of the moon and stars
was obscured by drifting clouds, heard the voices of spirits in the
hooting of owls, in the creaking of branches, and in the roaring;
whistling, and howling of the tempest, and his excited imagination
made him think that he saw forms, which became the more
distinct the more his superstitious fancy was drawn upon. Forest
rangers, solitary dwellers in remote places, especially charcoal-
burners, who often spend long stretches of time without seeing
a human being, tell strange stories even now-a-days. 1 These tales
are founded on the ancient beliefs of the race, are repeated by one
man to another, and detached fragments of the old faith are still
preserved by tradition.
In Pomerania, Mecklenburg, and Holstein, Wode is said to be
out hunting whenever the stormy winds blow through the woods.
In Western Hanover it is said to be the Woejager, in Saterland
H ASGARD AND THE GODS.
the Woinjager, and in other places, the Wild Huntsman that haunts
the woods. He is supposed to ride on a white horse, to wear a
broad-brimmed hat slouched over his forehead, and a wide cloak
(the starry heavens) wrapped round his shoulders. This cloak has
gained l^im the name of Hakel-barend (Mantel-wearing) in West-
phalia. Indeed, the story has even been transferred from the
divine to the human.
It was said that Hans von Hakelberg, chief huntsman of the
Duke of Brunswick, and an enthusiastic sportsman, liked hunting
better than going to church, and used to devote his Sundays as
well as week-days to this amusement, for which reason he was
condemned to hunt for ever and ever with the storm. His grave
is shown near the Klopperkrug, an inn not far from Goslar, and
a picture of both him and his hounds is carved on the headstone
of the grave. His burial place is also pointed out in the Sollinger
wood, near Uslar.
Wode seldom hunted alone. He was generally surrounded by
a large pack of hounds, and accompanied by a number of hunts-
men, who all rushed on driven by the storm, shouting and holloa-
ing, in pursuit of a spectral boar or wild horse. He was also said
to chase a spectral woman with snow-white breast, whom he could
only catch once in seven years, and whom he bound across his
saddle when he had at length succeeded in overtaking her. In
Southern Germany it was a moss-woman or wood-maiden, a kind
of dryad or wood-nymph, whom the Wild Huntsman pursued,
and whom he bound to his horse in the same way as the other,
when once he had caught her. Perhaps this story represents the
autumnal wind blowing the leaves off the trees.
When the people heard the Wild Huntsman approaching them
they threw themselves upon their face on the ground, as otherwise
they would have been in danger of being carried off by the hunts-
men. The story tells us that this was the fate of a ploughman
ODIN, FATHER OF THE GODS AND OF THE ASES. 75
who was caught up by them and taken away to a hot country
where black men lived. He did not come home again until
many years afterwards. Whoever joined in the holloa of the
wild huntsmen was given a stag's leg which became a lump of
gold ; but whoever imitated the shout jeeringly had a horse's leg
thrown to him, which gave out a pestiferous smell and stuck to the
scoffer. A little dog was sometimes' left on the hearth of a house
through which the Wild Huntsman had gone. It immediately
began to whine and howl miserably, so as to disturb the whole
household. The people had then to get up and brew some beer in
egg-shells, whereupon the creature would exclaim : " Although I
am as old as the Bohemian Forest, I never saw such a thing in my
life before." Then it would jump up, rush off and vanish. But if
this charm was not applied, the people of the house were obliged
to feed the creature well, and let it lie upon the hearth for a whole
year, until Wode returned and took it away with him.
The Wild Hunt generally went on in the sacred season, between
Christmas and Twelfth Night. When its shouts were particularly
loud and distinct, it was said that it was to be a fruitful year. 'At
the time of the summer solstice, and when day and night become
of equal length, the Wild Hunt again passed in the wind and rain,
for Wodan was also lord of the rain, and used to ride on his cloud-
horse, so that plentiful rains might refresh the earth.
The traditions of the Raging Host much resemble those of the
Wild Hunt. They are stories, about the army of the dead under
the leadership of Wodan. People thought they could distinguish
men, women and children as the host passed them at night
Those who had lately died were often seen in it, and sometimes
the death of others was foretold by it
** Walther von Milene ! " cried out voices in that terrible army,
and Walther, a celebrated warrior, was soon afterwards killed in
battle. In this instance the story reminds us of Wish-father, the
76 ASGARD AND THE GODS.
chooser of the dead, who called the Einheriar to his Walhalla ; and
still more is this the case, when the Raging Host is described as
rushing past like a troop of armed men, when knights and men-at-
arms were seen in shining or even fiery armour, and mounted upon
black horses, from whose nostrils shot forth sparks of flame.
Then it was said that the war-cries of the combatants, the clash of
arms and trampling of horses' feet, could be heard above the din
of the storm.
Wodan has long since died out of the minds of the people, yet
his character and actions are clearly shown in tradition, and his
name also appears in proverbial sayings, charms, and invocations.
Seventy years ago the Mecklenburg farmers, after the harvest
was brought home, used to give their labourers Wodel-beer, a
feast at which there was plenty to eat and drink. The people
poured out some of the beer upon the harvest field, drank some
themselves, and then danced round the last remaining sheaf of
corn, swinging their hats and singing :
"W61d! W61d! W61d !
havenhiine weit wat schiit,
jiimm hei dal van haven siit.
Vulle kruken un sangen hat hei,
upen holte wasst manigerlei :
hei is nig barn un wert nig old.
Wold ! W61d ! Wold ! " *
, " Wold ! Wold ! Wold !
The Heaven-Giant knows what happens here ;
From Heaven downwards he does peer.
He has full pitchers 'and cans.
In the wood grows many a thing.
He ne'er was child, and ne'er grows old,
Wold! Wold! Wold!"
In Hesse and in Lippe-Schaumburg the harvesters stick a
* Grimm's "Teutonic Mythology," translated by J. S. Stally brass, vol.i.
p. 156. (London : Sonnenschein & Allen.)
ODIN, FATHER OF THE GODS AND OF THE ASES, 77
bunch of flowers into the last sheaf, and beat their scythes to-
gether, exclaiming, Waul ; in Steinhude they dance round a bon-
fire they have lighted on a hill-top, and shout, Waude. In many
parts of Bavaria they dance round a straw figure called Oanswald or
Oswald (Ase Wodan). But the people have now quite forgotten
the Ase and think only of St. Oswald. In these instances the
god appears in his highest form as the god of heaven, the giver of
good harvests. The Aargau riddle shows him as lord of the starry
heavens, who raises the dead up to his bright mansions above : —
** Der Muot mit dem Breithuot
Hat mehr Gaste, als der Wald Tannenaste."
^ Muot with the broad hat
Has more guests than the wood has fir-twigs."
In England the Wild Hunt is called Herlething, from a mythi-
cal king Herla, who was once invited by a dwarf to attend . his
marriage. He followed his entertainer into a mountain, and three
hundred years elapsed before he and his attendants returned to
the world. Amongst other parting gifts the dwarf gave him a
beautiful dog, which the head huntsman was desired to take before
him on his horse. At the same time every one was warned not to
dismount until the dog jumped down. Several of the king's fol-
lowers disregarded this, and got down from their horses ; but no
sooner did they touch the ground than they crumbled away to
dust. The dog is still sitting on the saddle bow, and the Wild
Hunt is still going on.
In the time of Henry II. it was said to have shown itself in a
meadow in full daylight. The blowing of the horns and shouts of
the hunters drew the people of the neighbourhood to the place.
They recognised some of their dead friends among the huntsmen,
but when they spoke to them, the whole train rose in the air, and
vanished in the river Wye.
78 ASGAkD AND THE GODS,
In France, in Wales, and in Scotland, King Arthur is the leader
of the Wild Hunt. In France, the Wild Hunt, or Raging Host, is
called Mes7tie Hellequin, the last word of which is evidently de-
rived from Hel (kingdom of the dead), for the leader of the hunt
is called the Hel-huntsman. According to other traditions, Charles
the Great, Charlemagne, rides in front of the band, while strong
Roland carries the banner. We recognise, moreover, the Raging
Host {r ar7nee furieu^e) under the name of Chasse de Cam (Cain's
Hunt), or Chasse d'Hirode (Hunt of Herodias, who caused the
murder of John the Baptist). Perhaps, however, Herode really
means Hrodso (glory-bearer), one of the names by which Odin
was known. Equally famous is le grand veneur de Fofttainebleaii^
(the great Huntsman of Fontainebleau), whose shouts were heard
beside the royal palace the day before Henry IV. was murdered
by Ravaillac. The Raging Host also passed over the heavens
twice, darkening the sun, before the Revolution broke out. The
populace everywhere believes that its appearance is the fore-
shadowing of pestilence, or war, or of some other great misfortune.
THE SLEEPING HEROES.
The legend of the Wild Huntsman has, as we have seen from
the foregoing, been applied to human beings, and circumstance"
and place have been added to the tale. There was not always an
infernal element clinging to the app.earance of the Hunt, for
emperors, kings, and celebrated heroes were amongst the repre-
sentatives of the Father of the Gods. In Lausitz, Dieterbernet —
in Altenburg, Berndietrich, the great Ostrogothic king Theoderick
of Bern (Verona) was supposed to rush through the air, and vanish
in the mountains. In the same way, according to the Northern
myth, the Summer Odin, who brought green leaves and flowers,
and ripened the golden ears of corn, used to wander away through
ODIN, FATHER OP- THE GODS AND OF THE ASES. 79
dark roads in Autumn, and then a false Odin came, and seating
himself on the other's throne, sent snowstorms over the wintry
earth. Or, as another tale has it, the good god passed the period
during which the imposter reigned, sunk in a deep enchanted sleep
within a mountain. But no sooner did Spring return, than he rose
again in his power, drove the intruder from his throne, and once
more scattered his blessings over gods and men.
These conceptions of Allfather, derived trom natural phenomena,
v^ere so deeply impressed in the mind and very being of the
Teutonic race, that they personified them by applying to their
early kings and heroes the attributes of Odin. King Hqnry the
Fowler, whose victories over the Slavs, Danes and Hungarians
restorecl the power of the German empire, is supposed to be lying
sunk in magic sleep in the Siidemer hill near Goslar. Amongst
other sleeping heroes is Frederick Barbarossa, the story of whose
death in the East is believed by no one, and who was and is still
said to lie slumbering in Kyfthauser.
There are a number of traditions about the ruins of Kyffhauser
and the great Hohenstaufe, who still lives in the memory of his
people. The high, castle-hill rises sheer above the green fields
away over in Thuringia. On its western side, a tower is still in
existence. It stands eighty feet high, although with broken walls,
and overlooks the wood and piles of stone below. On solemn oc-
casions the emperor is supposed to lead his processions thence, and
afterwards to dine there with his followers. - According to the
legend, the weary old emperor sleeps his " long sleep " in an under-
ground chamber of the castle, with the companions of his travels,
Christian of Mayence, Rainald of Cologne, Otto of Wittelsbach,
the ancestor of the royal house of Bavaria, and many others besides.
Barbarossa's beard has grown round and through the stone table,
casks of good old wine, treasures of gold, silver and precious
stones are lying about in heaps, and a magic radiance lights up the
8o ASGARD AND THE GODS.
high vaulted hall ; that this is the case is proved by many for-
tunate eye-witnesses, who at different times have been permitted to
enter the room. One of these was a herdsman, who left his cattle
browsing amongst the ruins, and went to gather flowers for his
sweetheart. He found a strange blue blossom, and no sooner had
he put it in his nosegay than his eyes were opened, and he per-
ceived an iron door that he had never seen before. It opened at
his touch ; he went down a flight of stairs and entered the lighted
banqueting hall. There he saw the heroes and their imperial
leader sitting round the table, all sound asleep in their chairs.
Barbarossa was awakened by the noise. "Are the ravens still
flying round the battlements } " he asked, looking up.
The herdsman said that they were, and the emperor went on :
" Then I must sleep for another hundred years."
After that he invited the youth to help himself to as much as
he liked of the treasures he saw before him, and not to forget
the best. ' ^
The herdsman filled his pockets as he was told. When he got
out into the open air once more, the door shut behind him with a
crash, and he could never find it again, for he had forgotten the
best thing, the little blue flower. So the emperor is still sleeping
with his heroes in his favourite palace. But the time will come
when the empire is in greatest need of him, when the ravens will
no longer fly round the battlements ; then he will arise in all his
might, will break the magic bonds that hold him, and sword in
hand fight a great and bloody battle against the enemies of his
country upon the Walser Field or on the Rhine. Then he will hang
his shield on a withered pear-tree, which will immediately begin to
sprout again, and blossom and bear fruit : the glorious old times
of the German Empire will return, bringing with them unity and
peace in their train.
ODIN, FATHER OF THE GODS AND OF THE ASES. 8i
THE HIGHER CONCEPTION OF WODAN (ODIN).
Wodan, the giver of victory. Ambri and Assi the Winilers,
stood fully armed before the warlike Vandals. Their victory or
servitude would be decided by the coming battle.
" Give us the victory, Father of Battles," prayed the princes of
the Vandals, as they offered up sacrifices to Wodan. And the god
answered : " To them will be given the victory who come first
before me on the morning of the day of battle."
On the other hand Ibor and Ajo, dukes of the Winilers, went
by the counsel of their wise woman, Mother Gambara, into the holy
place of Freya, Wodan's wife, and entreated her to aid them.
" Well," said the Queen of Heaven, " let your women go out ere
daybreak dressed in armour like the men, their hair combed down
over their cheeks and chins, let them take up a position towards
the east, and I will give ye a glorious victory."
The dukes did as she commanded.
As soon as the first rosy tints of dawn appeared in the sky,
Freya wakened the great Ruler, and pointed eastwards towards
the armed host
"Ha!" said the god in astonishment, "what long-bearded
warriors are these } "
"Thou hast named them," answered the queen, "so now do
thou give them the victory ." And thus the Winilers gained great
glory, and were henceforth known by the name of Long Beards
Longobards).
As in the Northern myths, the Longobards also held great
Wodan to be the giver of victory. But above all other qualities,
he was the god who blessed mankind, and brought joy and pros
perity to his people.
In the heathen times many games and processions were held in
G
82 ASGARD AND THE GODS,
his honour, of which traces still remain in the customs and beliefs
of the people. In many districts, for instance, the battle of the
false Odin, who usurped the throne for the seven winter months,
with the true Odin, who brought blessings and summer into the
world, was celebrated by a mimic fight, succeeded by sacrifices and
feasting. This lasted for centuries, and was continued until quite
recent times in the festivals of the first of May.
A May Count or May King was chosen, and he was generally
the best runner or rider, or the bravest in the parish. He was
dressed in green and adorned with garlands of may and other
flowers. He then hid himself in the wood ; the village lads
went out to seek him there, and when they had found him, they
put him on horseback, and led him with shouts and songs of joy
through the village. The May King was allowed to choose a
queen to share his honours at the dance and at the feast.
In other places the most modest and diligent of the girls was
chosen as Queen of May, and led into the village with the King,
which was intended to commemorate the marriage of the
Summer Odin with the Earth, whose youth was renewed by the
genial Spring. It was at one time a regular practice to have a
May-ride in Sweden, at which the May Count, decked in flowers
and blossoms, had to fight against Winter, who was wrapped up
in furs. May won the victory after a burlesque hand-to-hand
engagement.
Odin, the good and beneficent god, was also called Oski, />.,
"wish " in Norse, a word that is related to the German Wonne
(rapture) : he was the source of all joy and rapture.
ODIN, FATHER OF THE GODS AND OF THE ASES. 83
ODIN AT GEIROD'S PALACE.
King Hraudung had two handsome sons, Geirod and Agnar,
the one ten and the other eight years old. The boys one day
went out in a boat to fish. But the wind rose to a storm, and
carried them far away from the mainland to a lonely islet, where
the boat struck and broke in pieces. The boys managed to reach
the shore in safety, and found there a cottager and his wife, who
took compassion on them and gave them shelter. The woman
took great care of the younger brother Agnar throughout the
winter, while her husband taught Geirod the use of arms and gave
him much wise counsel. That winter the children both grew
wonderfully tall and strong, and this was not surprising, for their
guardians had been Odin and his wife Frigg. When spring re-
turned, the boys received a good boat and a favourable wind from
their protectors, so that they soon reached their native land. But
Geirod sprang on shore first, shoved the boat out to sea again, and
cried, ** Sail thou away, Agnar, into the evil spirits' power ! " The
great waves, as though in obedience to the cruel boy's behest,
carried the boat and Agnar far away to other shores. Geirod
hastened joyfully up to the palace, where he found his father on
his death-bed. He succeeded to the kingdom, and ruled over all
his father's subjects and those he had gained for himself by force
of arms and gold.
Odin and Frigg were once sitting on their thrones at Hlidskialf
gazing down at the world of mortal men and at their works.
"Seest thou," said the Ruler, "how Geirod, my pupil, has gained
royal honours for himself.^ Agnar has married a giantess in a
foreign land, and now that he has returned home, is living in his
brother's palace poor and despised." " Still Geirod is only a base
creature, who hoards gold and treats his guests cruelly instead of
\
i4 ' ASGARD AND THE GODS.
showing them hospitality," replied the thoughtful goddess. Then
Allfather determined to prove his favourite, and to reward him
if all were well, but to punish him should he find that the accusa-
tion was just. He, therefore, in the guise of a traveller from a
far country, started for Geirod's palace. A broad-brimmed hat,
drawn well down over his brows, shaded his face, and a blue cloak
was wrapped around his shoulders. " But the King had been
warned by Frigg of a wicked enchanter, so he had the stranger
seized and brought before his judgment-seat.
To all the questions asked him, the prisoner would only reply
that his name was Grimnir, and disdained to give further informa-
tion about himself Whereupon the king got into a passion, and
commanded that the obstinate fellow should be chained to a chair
between two fires upon which fresh fuel was to be continually
thrown, so that the pain he suffered might induce him to speak
out.
The stranger remained there for eight nights, suffering bitter
agony, without having had a bite or a sup the whole time, and
now the flames were beginning to lick the seam of his mantle.
Secretly Agnar, the disinherited, gave him a full horn of beer,
which he emptied eagerly to the last drop. Then he began to
sing, at first low and softly, but afterwards louder and louder, so
that the halls of the castle echoed again, and crowds assembled
without to listen to the strain. He sang of the mansions of the
blessed gods, of the joys of Walhalla, of the Ash Yggdrasil, of those
that dwelt within it, and of its roots in the depths of the worlds.
The halls trembled, the strong walls shook as he sang of Odin's
deeds, and of him whom Odin's favour had raised on high, but
who was now delivered over, to the sword because he had drunk
of the cup of madness. " Already," he said, " I see my favourite's
sword stained with his blood. Now thou seest Odin himself.
Arise if thou canst 1 " And Grimnir arose, the chains fell from his
ODIN, FATHER OF THE GODS AND OF THE ASES. S5
hands, the flames played harmlessly about his garments ; he stood
there in all his Ase's strength, his head surrounded by rays of
heavenly light. Geirod had at first half drawn his sword in anger ;
but now, when he tried to descend from his throne in haste to
ODIN BETWEEN TW|D FIRES IN GEIROD's PALACE.
attempt to propitiate the god, it slipped quite out of its sheath,
he tripped over it and fell upon it, so that its blade drank in his
heart's blood. After his death, Agnar ruled over the kingdom, and
by the favour of Odin his reign was long and glorious.
86 ASGAkD AND THE GODS.
ODIN, THE DISCOVERER OF THE RUNES, AND GOD
OF POETRY AND WISDOM.
Odin's power and wisdom and knowledge are described in the
Edda and in many of the lays of the skalds. He Avent to Mimir,
the wise Jotun, who sat by the fountain of primeval wisdom,
drank daily of the water and increased his knowledge thereby.
The Jotun refused to allow the god to drink of his fountain, unless
he first pledged him one of his eyes. Allfather did as he requested
him, in order that he might create all things out of the deptK of
knowledge, and from that day forward Mimir drank daily of the
crystal stream out of Allfather s pledge. Other accounts make
out that the water was drawn out of Heimdal's Giallarhorn. Both
accounts are given in the Northern poems. The myth from which,
they came shows us the meaning that lay at their foundation.
Mimir, a word related to the Latin meinor, memini, signifies
memory ; that it was known to the Germans is indicated by the
similar sounds of the names of the Miimling, a stream in the
Odenwald, and of Lake Mumel in the Black Forest, where the
fairies lived. Mimir drew the highest knowledge from the foun-
tain, because the world was born of water ; hence, primeval wisdom
was to be found in that mysterious element. The eye of the god
of heaven is the sun, which enlightens and penetrates all things ;
his other eye is the moon, whose reflection gazes out of the deep,
and which at last, when setting, sinks into the ocean. It also
appears like the crescent-shaped horn with which the Jotun drew
the draught of wisdom.
According to other poems, Mimir was killed, but his head,
which still remained near the fountain, prophesied future events.
Before the Twilight of the Gods came to pass, Odin used to
ODIN, FEATHER OF THE GODS AND OF THE ASES. 87
whisper mysterious things with him about the Destruction and
Renewal of the world.
At one time when the god was standing with his golden helmet
on, by the side of the holy fountain on the high hill, and learning
the runic signs from Mimir's head, he discovered the Hugrunes
(spirit-runes). As we have already shown, these runes were not
exactly used as formulae for writing connected sentences. They
were^nly the accented letters used in Northern and Old-German
poems ; that is to say, they were letters of similar sound used for
alliterative purposes. The following examples are some of those
that remain to us from olden time : hearth and home ; wind and
weather ; hand and heart. They were intended as a help to the
memory when learning and singing the lays.
Odin gained power over all things by means of the runes,
through which he was able to make all bend to his will, and to
obtain authority over the forces of nature. He knew runic
songs that were effectual in battle, in discord, and in time of
anxiety. They blunted the weapons of an opponent, broke the
chains of noble prisoners, stopped the deadly arrow in its flight,
turned the arms of the enemy against themselves, and calmed the
fury of angry heroes. When a bark was in danger on the stormy
sea, the great god stilled the tempest and the angry waves by his
song, and brought the ship safe to port. When he sang his magic
strain, warriors hastened to his assistance and he returned unhurt
out of the battle. At his command a man would arise from the
dead even alter he had been strangled. He knew a song that gave
strength to the Ases, success to the elves, and even more wisdom
to himself ; another that gave him the love of woman so that her
heart was his for ever more. But his highest, holiest song was
never sung to woman of mortal birth, but was kept for the Queen
of Heaven alone, when he was sitting peacefully by her side.
88 ASGARD AND THE GODS.
THE DRAUGHT OF INSPIRATION. ODIN'S VISIT TO
GUNLOD. JOURNEY TO WAFTHRUDNIR.
Kwasir, a man whom the Ases and Wanes had created amongst
them, and whom they had inspired with their own spirit, was loved
by gods and men for his wisdom and goodness. He travelled
<Jirough all lands, teaching and benefiting the people. Wherever
he went he tamed down the wild passions of all men, and taught
them better and purer manners and customs.
The evil race of Dwarfs alone, they that burrowed in the earth
in search of treasures, cared nought ifor the love, although they
envied the wisdom of Kwasir. Fjalar and Galar, brothers of this
people, invited him one day to a feast, and then murdered him
treacherously with many wounds. They caught his blood in ^hree
vessels, the kettle Odrorir (inspiration), and the bowls Son (expia-
tion) and Boden (offering). They mixed rum-honey with it, and
made it into mead, which gave all who drank of it the gift of song
and of eloquence that won every heart.
As the wicked deed of the Dwarfs had brought them such good
luck, they invited the rich giant Gilling and his wife to visit them,
and took the former out fishing with them. Then they upset the
boat in the surf under great over-hanging rocks, so that Gilling
was drowned, while they, being good swimmers, righted the boat
again, and rowed to land.
When the giantess heard the sad fate of her husband, she wept
and moaned, and refused to be comforted. The Dwarfs offered
to take her to the rock on which the body had been washed. But
as she was leaving the house, Galar threw a mill-stone from above
down upon her head, so that she also was killed. Now Suttung,
son of the murdered giant's brother, heard of the evil deed, and
set out to avenge it He seized the Dwarfs and made ready to
ODIN, FATHER OF THE GODS AND OF THE ASES. 89
bind them to a solitary rock out in the sea, that they might die
there of hunger. They begged for mercy, promising to give him
the wonderful mead concocted out of Kwasir's blood, in atonement
for what they had done. The giant accepted the expiation offered
him ; he took the three vessels containing the liquor to a hollow
mountain that belonged to him, and set his daughter Gunlod to
keep guard over the magic drink.
Odin, the God of Spirit, was told of all these things by his
ravins Hugin and Munin. He determined to get possession of
the Draught of Inspiration at any cost to himself, that it might no
longer be kept uselessly hidden away by the giant in the interior
of the earth, but might refresh gods and heroes, so that wisdom
and poetry might delight the world. He therefore, in the guise
of a simple traveller, started for Jotunheim. He came to a field
where nine uncouth fellows were mowing hay. He offered to
sharpen their scythes for them, and make them cut as well as the
best swords. The men were pleased with his offer, so he pulled
a whet-stone out of his pocket, and whetted and sharpened the
scythes. When he at last returned them to the mowers, they
found that they could work much quicker and better than before,
and each wanted to have the whet-stone for himself. So the
traveller threw it amongst them, and they struggled and fought
for it with their scythes, until at length they all lay dead on the
ground.
The traveller went on his way till he came to the master of the
estate, the Jotun Baugi, a brother of Suttung, who received him
hospitably. In the evening the giant complained that his farm-
servants were all killed, and that his splendid crop of hay could
not be harvested. Then Bolwerker (Evil-doer), as the traveller
called himself, offered to do nine men's work if his host would get
him a draught of Suttung's mead.
" If thou wilt serve me faithfully," answered the Jotun, " I will
9d ASGARD AND THE GODS.
try to fulfil thy desire ; but I will not hide from thee that my
brother is very chary of giving a drop of it away."
Bolwerker was satisfied with this promise, and worked as hard
as the nine farm-servants for the whole summer.
When winter came, Bangi, true to his promise, drove to his
brother's dwelling with the traveller, and asked for a draught of
the mead. But Suttung declared that the vagabond should not
have a single drop.
" We must now try what cunning will do," said Bdlwerker ; " for
I must and shall taste that mead, and I know many enchantments
that will help me to what I want. Here is the mountain in which
the mead is hidden, and here is my good auger. Rati, which can
easily make its way through the hardest wall of rock. Take it
and bore a hole with it, no matter how small."
The Jotun bored as hard as he could. He soon thought that he
had made a hole right through the rock, but Bolwerker blew into
it and the dust came out into the open air. The second time they
tried, it blew into the mountain, and Bolwerker, changing himself
into a worm, wriggled through the hole so quickly that treacherous
Bangi, who stabbed at him with the auger, could not reach him.
When he had got into the cave, the Ase stood before the bloom-
ing maiden Gunlod, in all his divine beauty and wrapped in his
starry mantle. She nodded her acquiescence when he asked her
for shelter and for three draughts of the inspiring mead.
Three days he spent in thfe crystal mansion, and drank three
draughts^of the mead, in which he emptied Odrorir, Son and Boden
He was intoxicated with love, with mead, and with poetry. Then
he took the form of an eagle, and flew with rhythmical motion to
the divine heights, even as the skald raises himself to the dwellings
of the immortals on the wings of the son^ that is born of love, of
wine, and inspiration. But Suttung heard the flap of the wings
and knew who had robbed him of his mead. His eagle-dress was
odin's visit to gunlod.
> ^'^
ODIN, FATHER OF THE GODS AND OF T^E ASES. 93
at hand, he therefore threw it round his great shoulders, and flew
so quickly after the Ase that he almost came up with him. The
gods watched the' wild chase with anxiety. They got cups ready
to receive the delicious beverage. When Odin with difficulty
reached the safe precincts of holy Asgard, he poured the mead
into the goblets prepared for it. Since that time Allfather has
given the gods the Draught of Inspiration, nor has he denied drops
of Odrorir to mortal men when they felt themselves impelled to
sing to the harp of the deeds of the gods and of earthly heroes.
Odin possessed knowledge of all past, present, and future events,
since he had drunk of the fountain of Mimir and of Odrorir. He
therefore determined to attempt a contest with Wafthrudnif, the
wisest of the Jotuns, in" which the conquered was to lose his head.
In vain Frigg strove, in her fear, to dissuade him from the
perilous undertaking ; he set out boldly on his way and entered
the giant's hall as a poor traveller calle'd Gangrp^der.
Stopping on the threshold of the banqueting hall, he said, " My
name is Gangrader, I have come a long way ; and now I ask thee
to grant me hospitality and to let me strive with thee in wise
talk."
Wafthrudnir answered him : " Why dost thou stand upon the
threshold, instead of seating thyself in the room ? Thou shalt
never leave my hall unless thou hast the victory over me in
wisdom. We must lay head against head on the chance ; come
forward then and try thy luck."
He now proceeded to question his guest about the horses that
carried Day and Night across the sky, the river that divided
Asgard from Jotunheim, and the field where the Last Battle was
to be fought. When Gangrader had shown his knowledge of all
these things, the giant offered him a seat by his side, and in his
turn answered his guest's questions as to the origin of earth and
heaven, the creation of the gods, how Niorder had come to them
94 ASGARD AND THE GODS.
from the wise Wanes, what the Einheriar did in Odin's halls, what
was the origin of the Norns, who was to rule over the heritage of
the Ases after the world had been burnt up, and what was to be
the end of the Father of the gods.
After Wafthrudnir had answered all of these questions, Gang-
rader asked : " I discovered much. I sought to find out the
meaning of many things, and questioned many creatures. What
did Odin whisper in the ear of his son before he ascended the
funeral pile ? "
Recognising the Father of the gods by this question, the
conquered Jotun exclaimed : " Who can tell what thou didst
whisper of old in the ear of thy son .? I have callec^ down my fate
upon my own head, when I dared to enter on a strife of knowledge
with Odin. AUfather, thou wilt ever be the wisest.'*
The poet does not tell us whether the visitor demanded the head
of the conquered Jotun. Nor does he mention the word that
Odin whispered to his son before he went down to the realms of
Hel ; but the context leads us to suppose that it was the word
Resurrection, the word which pointed to the higher, holier life, to
which Baldur, the god of goodness, should be born again, when a
new and purfej- world should have arisen from the ashes of the old,
sin-laden world.
ODIN, FATHER OF THE ASES.
ODIN'S DECENDANTS.
From later poems Odin appears not only as Ruler of the world,
and Father of all Divine beings, who gradually as time went on
became more and more subordinate to him, but also as progenitor
of kings and heroic races, such as the kings of the Anglo-Saxons
and Franks, as well as of the rulers of Denmark, Norway, and
Sweden.
ODIN, FATHER OF THE GODS AND OF THE ASES. 95
According to the Edda, Odin had three sons, Wegdegg, the East
Saxon; Beldegg (Baldur or Phol), the West Saxon (Westphalian) ;
and Sigi, to whom Franconia was given ; and, three others, Skiold,
Saming, and Yngwi, who were made kings of Denmark, Norway,
and Sweden. Other sagas show that Wals, Sigmund, and Sigurd,
the hero of the Niflung Lay, were descended from Sigi, while
Brand and Heingest or Hengist, Horsa and Swipdager were de-
scended from Beldegg. The Anglo-Saxon genealogical tables
make out that Voden (Wodan) and Frealaf (Freya) had seven
sons, who were the founders of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom.
Others, on the contrary, only show three sons here also, which
makes them more in agreement with the northern genealogies.
According to the higher ideas regarding him, Odin was the
father of gods and men ; the latter were created by him, while the
former were his direct or indirect descendants. His son by Jord
(the Earth) was strong Thor, father of Magni and Modi (Strength
and Courage) ; by Frigg he had Baldur and Hodur ; by Rinda,
Wali, who afterwards became the avenger of Baldur ; and by the
nine mothers, the mysterious watchman Heimdal. Besides these,
there were the poet-god Bragi ; the divine messenger, Hermodur ;
the brave archer, UUer ; and even the god of heaven, Tyr, who
otherwise received the highest honours. Related to him were
Forseti, son of Baldur, and Widar, who were to rule over the new
world of holiness and innocence. Thus he was the Father of the
Ases. On the other hand, Honir, who gave to newly created man
senses and life, and Loki, who gave him blood and blooming
complexions, were Odin's brothers or comrades in primeval times.
Great Niorder, his bright son Freyer and his daughter Freya
belonged to another divine race, that of the Wanes ; they were
first brought into Asgard as hostages, but were received into the
ranks of the As^s,
96 ASGARD AND THE GODS.
FRIGG AND HER MAIDENS.
After the birth of Thor, whose mother was Jord (the Earth)
daughter of the giantess Fiorgyn, Odin left the dark Earth-goddess
and married bright Frigg, a younger daughter of Fiorgyn ; hence-
forth she shared his throne Hlidskialf, his divine wisdom and
his power, becoming the joy and delight of his heart, and the
mother of the Ases. She ruled with him over the fate' of mortals
and granted her votaries good fortune and victory, often bringing
about her ends by woman's cunning. Just as in Hellas a feast
was held each year in commemoration of the marriage of Zeus
and Hera, so did th^ old Teutons in like manner hold festivity
to celebrate the union of Odin and Freya.
Freya's palace was called Fensaler, that is, the hall of the sea.
It probably got this name from the dwellers on the coast, who
looked upon Frigg as the ruler of the sea and protector of ships.
A soothing twilight always reigned, and it was adorned with pearls
and gold and silver. And the goddess would bring all lovers,
and husbands and wives who had been separated by an early
death, to this peaceful palace, where they were reunited for ever.
This belief of the old Teutons shows us that they regarded love
in its truest and highest aspect, and built their hopes on being
reunited after death to the objects of their affections. What we
learn from the Latin annals of Armin and Thusnelda, of the high
position of women as seers of future events, proves to us that noble
women were always treated even by rude, fighting men, with
respect and reverence ; while the romance of love is clearly shown
in the Northern myth of Brynhild, who threw herself upon the
burning pyre in order that she might be reunited to her beloved
Sigurd.
In her gorgeous palace Frigg sits spinning, on her golden distaff,
FRIGG AND HER MAIDENS.
H
\ FRIGG. 99
the silken threads, which she afterwards bestows on the most
worthy housewives. The goddess' spinning-wheel was visible to
man every night, for it ^yas that shining, starry zone which we in
our ignorance now point out as the Belt of Orion, but which to our
ancestors was the Heaven-queen's spinning-wheel: The goddess
had three friends and attendants always beside her, and with these
she used to hold council on human affairs, in the hall of the moon.
Fulla or Volla was the first of Frigg's attendant-goddesses, and
chief of the maidens ; according to Teutonic belief she was also
the sister of the Queen of Heaven. She wore a golden circlet
round her head, and beneath it her long hair floated over her
shoulders. Her office was to take charge of the Queen's jewels,
and to clothe her royal mistress. She listened to the prayers
of sorrowful mortals, repeated them to Frigg, and advised her how
best to give help.
Hlin, the second of Frigg's maidens, was the protector of all
who were in danger and of those who called upon her for help
in hour of need.
The messenger of the Queen of Heaven was Gna, who rode,
swift as the wind, on a horse with golden trappings, over land and
sea, and through the clouds that floated in the air, to bring her
mistress news of the fate of mortal men.
Once as Gna was hovering over Hunaland, she saw King Rerir,
a descendant of Sigi and of the race of Odin, sitting on the side
of a hill. She heard him praying for a child, that his family might
not be blotted out of memory ;• for both he and his wife were
advanced in years, and they had got no child to carry on their
noble race. She told the goddess of the prayer of the king, who
had often presented fine fruit as a sacrifice to the heavenly powers.
Frigg smilingly gave her an apple which would ensure the fulfil-
ment of the king's desire. Gna quickly remounted her horse
Hooi-fiinger, and hastened over land and sea, arid over the country
lOo ASGARD AND THE GODS.
of the wise Wanes, who gazed up at the bold rider in astonisti-
ment, and asked :
" What flies up there, so quickly driving past ?"
Her answer from tiie clouds, as rushing by :
" I fly not, nor do drive, but hurry fast
Hoof-flinger swift through cloud and mist and sky."
f
King Rerir was still seated on the hillside under the shade of
a fir-tree, when the divine messenger came down to earth at the
' skirt of the wood close to where he sat. She took the form of a
hooded-crow, and flew up into the fir-tree. She heard the prince
mourning over the sad fate that had befallen him, that his family
would die out with him, and then she let the apple fall into his
lap. At first he gazed at the fruit in amazement, but soon he
understood the meaning of the divine gift, took it home with him
and gave it to his spouse to eat.
Meanwhile Gna guided her noble horse rapidly along the star-lit
road to Asgard, and told her mistress joyously of the success of
her mission. In due time the Queen of Hunaland had a son, the
great Wolsing, from whom the whole family took its name. He
was the father of brave Sigmund, the favourite of Odin, and he
in his turn of Sigurd, the fame of whose glory was spread over
every Northern and Teutonic land.
When the Queen of Heaven heard of the success that had accom-
panied her divine gift, she herself decided to be the bearer of the
news to the assembled gods and heroes, and determined to appear
in her most glorious array. Fulla spread out all the Queen's
jewels until they shone like stars, yet Frigg was not satisfied.
Then Fulla pointed to Odin's statue of pure gold, that stood in the
hall of the -temple. She thought a worthy ornament might be
made for the goddess out of that gold, if the, skilful artificers who
had made such a marvellous likeness of the Father of the gods could
•FRIGG) - - -' ' ^^ loi
only be won over. The artists were bribed with rich presents
and they at last cut away some of the gold from a place that
was covered by the folds of the floating mantle, so that the theft
could not easily be discovered. They then made the Queen a
necklace of incomparable beauty. When Frigg entered the as-
sembly and seated herself on the throne beside Odin, she at once
made known to all present how she had saved a noble family
from extinction. Every one gazed at her beauty in amazement,
and the Father of the gods felt his heart filled anew with love
for his queen.
A short time afterwards Odin went to the hall of the temple
in which his statue was placed. His penetrating eye at once
discovered the theft that no one else had noticed, and his wrath
was immediately kindled. He sent for the goldsmiths, and as
they confessed nothing, he ordered them to be executed. Then he
commanded that the statue should be placed above the high gate
of the temple, and prepared magic runes that should give it sense
and speech, and thus enable it to accuse the perpetrator of the
deed. The Goddess-queen was greatly alarmed at all these pre-
parations. She feared the anger of her lord, and still more the
shame of her deed being proclaimed in the presence of the ruling
Ases.
Now there happened to be in the Queen's household a serving
demon of low rank, but bold and daring, who had already ventured
to show his admiration for his mistress. FuUa went to him and
assured him that the Queen was, touched by his devotion, upon
which the demon declared himself willing to run any risks for her
sake. He made the temple watchmen fall into a deep sleep, tore
down the statue from above the door, and dashed it in pieces, so
that it could no longer speak or complain.
Odin saw what he was doing and guessed the reason. He
raised Gungnir, the spear of death, ready to fling at all who had
I02 ASGARD AND^ THE GODS,
been concerned in the evil deed. But his love for Frigg triumphed
over all else ; he deterniined on another punishment.
He withdrew from gods and men ; he disappeared into distant
regions, and with him went every blessing from heaven and eartji.
A false Odin took his place, who let loose the storms of winter
and the Ice-giants over field and meadow. Every green leaf
withered, thick clouds hid the golden sun and the light of the
moon and stars ; the earth, lakes and rivers were frozen by the
raging cold which threatened to destroy all forms of life. Every
creature longed for the return of the god of blessing, and at length
he came back. Thunder and lightning made known his approach.
The usurper fled before the true Odin ; and shrubs and herbs
of all kinds sprouted anew over the face of the earth, which was
now made young again by the warmth of spring.
In the foregoing tale, we have endeavoured as much as possible
to make a connected narrative out of the confused, and now and
then contradictory, myths regarding Frigg and her handmaids.
We will only add that the myth which completes it, dates from
a time when the gods had paled in the eyes of the people, and
had become less exalted in character than of old. There are
many versions of it differing from one another, and it serves
here to show the difference between Summer-Odin and Winter-
Odin.
OTHER GODDESSES RELATED TO FRIGG.
Let us now again turn our attention to the great goddess Frigg,
The Northern skalds first raised her to the throne and distin-
guished her from Freya or Frea, the goddess of the Wanes. She
was originally identical with her, as her name and character show.
For Frigg comes from frigen, a Low-German word connected
with freien in High-German, and meaning to woo, to marry, thus
.GODDESSES RELATED TO FRIGG. 103
pointing to the character of the goddess. The old Germanic races,
therefore, knew Frea alone as Queen of Heaven, and she and her
husband Wodan together ruled over the world. The name Frigga
or Frick was also used for her, for in Hesse, and especially in
Darmstadt, people used to say fifty years ago of any fat old
woman : " Sie ist so dick wie die alte Frick." (She is as thick [fat]
as Old Frick.) The word frigen is also related to sich fretie)
(rejoice) ; thus Frigg was the goddess of joy {Freude). She took
the place of the Earth-goddess Nerthus (mistakenly Hertha), who,
Tacitus informs us, was worshipped in a sacred grove on an
island in the sea. Nerthus was probably the wife of the god of
heaven, in whom we recognise Zio or Tyr. He was the hidden
god who according to the detailed account of Tacitus, was so
reverently worshipped in a sacred grove by the Semnones, the
noblest of the Swabian tribes, that the people never set foot on
the ground that was consecrated to him without having theii
hands first bound. The Earth-goddess may also have been the
wife and sister of Niorder, and separated from him when he was
received amongst the Ases. In this case she belonged to the
earlier race of gods, the Wanes, and her husband must have then
been called Nerthus, a name afterwards changed into Niorder.
In Mecklenburg "the same goddess appears under the name of
Mistress Gaude or Gode, which is the feminine form of Wodan or
Godan. The country people believed that she brought good luck
with her wherever she went.
One story informs us that she once got a carpenter to mend a
wheel of her carriage, which had broken when she was on a jour-
ney. She gave him all the chips of wood as a reward for his
trouble. The man was angry at getting so paltry a remuneration,
and only pocketed a few of the chips ; but next morning he saw
with astonishment that they had turned to pure gold.
According to another tale, Dame Gode vvas a great huntress,
104 ASGARD AND THE GODS,
who together with her twenty-four daughters devoted herself to the
noble pursuit of the chase day and night, on week-days and on
Sundays. She was therefore made to hunt to all eternity, and her
pack of hounds consisted of maidens who were turned into dogs
by enchantment ; she was thus forced to take part in the Wild
Hunt.
In France the goddess was called Bensocia (good neighbour,
bona soda), and in the Netherlands, Fharaildis, i.e., Frau Hilde
or Vrouelden, whence the Milky Way was named Vrouelden-
s^raat.
Hilde {Held, hero) signifies war, and she was a Walkyrie, who
with her sisters exercised her office in the midst of the battle.
Later poems make her out to be daughter of King Hogni, who
was carried off, while gathering magic herbs on the seashore, by
bold Hedin when he was on a Wiking-raid. Her father pursued
the Wiking with his war-ships, and came up with him on an island.
In vain Hilde strove to prevent bloodshed. Hogni had already
drawn his terrible sword, Dainsleif, the wounds made by which
never healed. Once more Hedin offered the king expiation and
much red. gold in atonement for what he had done.
His father-in-law shouted in scorn : " My sword Dainsleif, which
was forged by the Dwarfs, never returns to its sheath until it has
drunk a share of human blood ! "
The battle began and raged all day without being decided one
way or the other.
In the evening both parties returned to their ships to strengthen
themselves for the combat on the morrow.
But Hilde went to the field of battle, and by means of runes and
magic signs awakened all the dead warriors and made whole their
broken swords and shields.
As soon as day broke, the fight was renewed, and lasted until
the darkness of night obliged the combatants to stop.
HILDE, ONE OF THE WALKYRIES.
HOLD A, THE KIND PROTECTRESS. 107
The dead were stretched out on the battle-field as stiff as figures
of stone ; but before morning dawned the witch-maiden had
awakened them to new battle, and so it went on unceasingly until
the gods passed away.
Hilde was also known and worshipped in Germany, as is shown
by the legend about the foundation of the town of Hildesheim.
One year, as soon as snow had fallen on the spot dedicated to her,
King Ludwig ordered the cathedral to be built there. The Virgin
Mary afterwards took her place, and several churches were built
in honour of Maria am Schnee (Marie au neige) both in Germany
and in France.
Nehalennia, the protectress of ships and trade, was worshipped
by the Keltic and Teutonic races in a sacred grove on the island
of Walcheren ; she had also altars and holy places dedicated to
her at Nivelles. The worship of Isa or Eisen, who was identical
with Nehalennia, was even older and more wide-spread throughout
Germany. St. Gertrude took her place in Christian times, and her
name (Geer, />., spear, and Trude, daughter of Thor) betrays its
heathen origin.
HOLDA. OSTARA.
Once upon a time, in a lonely valley of the Tyrol, where snow-
capped glaciers ever shone, there lived a cow-herd with his wife
and children. He used to drive his small herd of cattle out to
graze in the pastures, and now and again would shoot a chamois,
for he was a skilled bowman. His cross-bow also served to protect
his cattle from the beasts of prey, and the numerous bear-skins and
wolf-skins that covered the floor of his cottage bore witness to his
success as a hunter.
One day, when he was watching his cattle and goats on a fra-
grant upland pasture, he suddenly perceived a splendid chamois,
io8 ASGARD AND THE GODS.
whose horns shone like the sun. He immediately seized his bow
and crept forward on hands and knees until he was within shot.
But the deer sprang from rock to rock higher up the mountain,
seeming every now and then to wait for him, as though it mocked
his pursuit. He continued the chase eagerly until he reached the
glacier which had sunk below the snow-fields.
The chamois now vanished behind some huge boulders, but at
the same time he discovered a high arched doorway in the glacier,
and in the background beyond he saw a light shining.
He went through the dark entrance boldly, and found himself in
a large hall, the walls and ceiling of )vhich were composed of dazz-
ling crystal, ornamented with fiery garnets. He could see flowery
meadows and shady groves through the crystal walls ; but a tall
woman was standing in the centre of the hall, her graceful limbs
draped in glancing, silvery garments, caught in at the waist by a
golden girdle, and resting on her blond curls was a coronet of car-
buncles. The flowers in her hand were blue as the eyes with which
she gently regarded the cow-herd. Beautiful tnaidens, their heads
crowned with Alpine roses, surrounded their mistress, and seemed
about to begin a dance. But the herdsman h^d no eye for any
except the goddess, and sank humbly on his knees.
Then she said in a voice that went straight to the heart of the
hearer : —
" Choose what thou thinkest the most costly of all my treasures,
silver, gold, or precious stones, or one of my maidens."
" Give me, kind goddess," he answered ; " give me only the
bunch of flowers in thy hand ; I desire no other good thing upon
the earth."
She bent her head graciously as she gave him the flowers, and
said : —
"Thou hast chosen wisely. Take them and live as long as
these flowers bloom. And here," pointing to a corn measure, " is
HOLD A, THE KIND PROTECTRESS. 109
seed with which to sow thy land that it may bear thee many blue
flowers such as these."
He would have embraced her knees, but a peal of thunder shook
the hall and the mountain, and the vision was gone.
When the cow-herd awoke from his vision, he saw nothing but
the rocks and the glacier, and the wild torrent that flowed out of
it ; the entrance to the palace of the goddess had vanished. The
nosegay was still in his hand and beside him was the wooden
measure full of seed. These tokens convinced him that what had
happened was not a mere dream.
He took up his presents and his cross-bow, and descended the
mountain thoughtfully to see what had become of his cattle. They
were nowhere to be seen, look for them where he might, and when
he went home he found nothing but want and misery. Bears and
wolves had devoured his herd, and only the swift-footed goats had
escaped from the beasts of prey.
A whole year had elapsed since he had left home, and yet he
had thought that he had only spent a few hours chamois-hunting
in the mountains. When he showed his wife the bunch of flowers,
and told her that he intended to sow the seed that had been given
him, she scolded him, and mocked him for his folly ; but he would
not 'be turned aside from his determination, and bore all his wife's
hard words most patiently.
He ploughed up a field and sowed the .seed, but there was still
a great deal over ; he sowed a second and a third field, and yet
much seed remained. The little green sprouts soon showed in
the fields, grew longer and longer, till at length the blue flowers
unfolded themselves in great numbers, and even the cow-herd's
wife rejoiced at the sight, so lovely were they to look upon.
The man watched over his crop day and night, and he often
law the goddess of the mountain wandering through his fields
in the moonlight with her maidens, blessing them with upHfted
hands.
no ASGARD AND THE GODS,
When the flowers were all withered and the seed was ripe, she
came again, and showed how the flax was to be prepared, after
which she went into the, cottage and taught the cow-herd's wife
how to spin and weave the flax and bleach the linen, so that it
became as white as newly fallen snow.
The cow-herd rapidly grew rich, and became a benefactor to his
country, for he introduced the cultivation of flax throughout the
land, which gave employment and wages to thousands of country-
people. He saw children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren
around him, but the bunch of flowers the goddess had given him
was still as fresh as ever, even when he was more than a hundred
years old and very tired of life.
One morning while he was looking at his beloved flowers, they
all bent down their heads, withered and dying. Then he knew
that it was time to say farewell to earthly life. Leaning on his
staff, he toiled painfully up the mountains. It was already evening
when he reached the glacier.
The snow-fields above were shining gloriously as though in
honour of the last walk of the good old man. He once more saw
the vaulted doorway and the glimmering light beyond. . And then
he passed with good - courage through the dark entrance into the
bright morning which greets the weary pilgrim, when, after his
earthly journey is over, he reaches Hulda's halls. The door now
closed behind him, and he was seen no more on earth.
This and other traditions of the same kind are told in the Tyrol
of the old Germanic goddess Hulda or Holda. Her name shows
that she was a goddess of grace and mercy, and she must have
been worshipped both in Germany and in Sweden, but still no
traces are to be found of her at the present day in the Teutoburg
Forest, where so many of the places and names point back to the
old Germanic religion, nor yet do the Northern skalds give an
account of her. However, German fairy legends and tales call to
HOLDA, THE KIND PROTECTRESS.
HOLD A. 113
us the great goddess whose character and deeds live on in the
memory of the people, and the Northern Huldra, who drew men
to her by means of her wondrous song, is exactly identical with
her. Her name has been derived from the old Northern Hulda,
i.e.. Darkness ; and it has been thought that she was the imper-
sonation of the dark side of the goddess of Earth and Death ; but
the derivation which we gave before, from Huld, grace, mercy,
seems more suitable.
A Northern fairy-tale makes HuUa or Hulda, queen of the
Kobolds. She was a daughter of the queen of the Hulde-men,
who killed first her faithless husband and then herself. She enticed
wise King Odin by means of a stag, to her mansion, which was
hidden in the depths of a wood. She gave him of her best, and
then begged him to act as umpire in a legal dispute that had
arisen between her and the other Kobolds and Thurses, about the
murder of her husband. He consented to do so, and his decision
made her queen of all the Kobolds and Thurses in Norseland.
This tale is quite modern in its form, but it certainly is based on
ancient beliefs.
A poem dating from the middle ages places Holda in the
Mountain of Venus, a place that is generally supposed to be the
Horselberg in Thuringia. She was then called Mistress Venus,
and held a splendid court with her women. Noble knights,
amongst whom was Ritter Tannhauser, were drawn by her into
the mountain, where they lived such a gay, merry life of pleasure
that they could hardly ever again free themselves from her spell
and make their escape, even though thoughts of honour and duty
might now and then return to them.
It was finally said of Holda, that those who were crippled in^any
way were restored to full strength and power by bathing in het
Quickborn (fountain of life), and that old men found their vanished
youth there once more. This tradition connects her with tht
I
114 ASGARD AND THE GODS.
Northern Iduna, who had charge of the apple that preserved the
immortah'ty and vigour of the Ases. But she also resembled
Ostara, who was worshipped by the Saxons, Franks and other
tribes.
Ostara, the goddess of Spring, of the resurrection of nature after
the long death of winter, was highly honoured by all the old
Teutons, nor could Christian zeal prevent her name being im-
mortalised in the word Easter, the period of spring, at which time
the Saxons in England worshipped her. The memory of these
old times has long since passed away, although the " hare " still
lays its "Easter-eggs." The custom is very old of giving each
other coloured eggs as a present at the time when day and night
became equal in length and when the frozen earth awakens to
new life after the cold of winter is gone, for an ^gg was typical
of the beginning of life. Christianity put another meaning on the
old custom, by connecting it with the feast of the Resurrection of
the Saviour, who, like the hidden life in the Qgg, slept in the grave
for three days before he wakened to new life.
There are no legends about the goddess of spring. One monu-
ment alone, and that a newly discovered one, remains of the old
worship, the Extern-stones, which are to be found in the Teuto-
burg Forest at the northern end of the wooded hills. It is stated
in the chronicle of a neighbouring village, dating from last century,
that the ignorant peasantry were guilty of many misdemeanours
there when doing honour to the heathen goddess Ostara. Had the
clergyman only told us whether there were processions, dances,
feasts, scattering of flowers, or any other kind of sacrifice, a clear
light might have been shed over the manner in which the goddess
was worshipped. Still, this fact proves that not only the name, but
also the worship of Ostara was kept in the memories of the people
for hundreds, perhaps thousands, of years, and shows how deeply
rooted it was. The rocks may perhaps have been called Eastern
BERCHTA, THE WHITE LADY. 115
or Eostern-stones, and may have been dedicated to Ostara. There,
as elsewhere, the priests and priestesses of the goddess probably
assembled in heathen times, scattered Mayflowers, lighted bon-
fires, slaughtered the creatures sacrificed to her, and went in pro-
cession on the first night of May, which was dedicated to her.
Very much the same as this used to be done at Gambach, in Upper
Hesse, where, as late as thirty years ago even, the young people
went to the Easter-stones on the top of a hill, every Easter, and
danced and held sports. Edicts were published in the eighth cen-
tury forbidding these practices ; but in vain, the people would not
give up their old faith and customs. Afterwards the priestesses
were declared to be witches, the bonfires, which cast their light to
great distances, were said to be of infernal origin, and the festival
of May was looked upon as the witches' sabbath. Nevertheless,
young men and maidens still continue, near the Meissner-Gebirg"
in Hesse, to carry bunches of Mayflowers and throw them into
one of the caves that are to be found there. For Ostara, who
gives new life to nature, is the divine protectress of youth and
the giver of married happiness.
BERCHTA OR BERTA.
The dusk of evening has fallen over Berlin. A great yet silent
crowd is rapidly moving through the chief street towards the royal
palace, and every now and then a low whisper is heard, in which
can be distinguished the words : " The King is very ill." In the
palace itself yet greater silence reigns. The King's guardsmen
stand motionless, the servants' steps are inaudible on the carpets of
the corridors and the rooms. Now the tower clock strikes mid-
night ; all at once a dopr opens, and through it glides a ghostly
woman, tall of stature, queenly of bearing.
She is dressed in a trailing white garment, a white veil covers her
n6 ASGARD AND THE GODS.
head, below which her long flaxen hair hangs, twisted with strings
of pearls ; her face is deathly pale as that of a corpse. In her
right hand she carries a bunch of keys, in her left a nosegay of
Mayflowers. She walks solemnly down the long corridor. The
tall guardsmen present arms, pages and lackeys give way before
her, the guards who have just relieved their comrades open their
ranks ; the figure passes through them, and goes through a folding
door into the royal ante-room.
" It is the White Lady ; the King is about to die," whispers the
officer of the watch, brushing a tear from his eye.
'*The White Lady has appeared," is whispered through the
crowd, and all know what that portends.
At noon the King's death was known to all. " Yes," said Master
Schneckenburger, " he has been gathered to his fathers. Mistress
Berchta has once more announced what was going to happen, for
she can foretell everything, both bad and good. She was seen
before the misfortunes of 1806, and again before the battle of Belle-
Alliance. She has a key with which to open the door of life and
happiness. He to whom she gives a cowslip will succeed in what-
ever he undertakes."
Schneckenburger was right. It was Bertha, or Berchta, who
made known the King's approaching death, but she was also the
prophetess of other important events. Berchta (from percht,
shining) is almost identical with Holda, except that the latter
never appears as the White Lady. Many Germanic tribes wor-
shipped the Earth-goddess under the name of Berchta, and there
are numbers of legends about her both in North and South
Germany.
One evening in the year was dedicated to her, and was called
Perchten-evening(30th December or 6th January), when she was sup-
posed, as a diligent spinner, to oversee the labours of the spinning-
room, or, magic staff in hand, to ride at the head of the Raging
BEkCHTA, THE WHtJE LADY. li>
Host, in the midst of a terrific storm. She generally lived in hollow
mountains, where she, as in Thuringia, watched over and tended
the " Heimchen," or souls of babes as yet unborn, and of those who
died an early death. She busied herself there by ploughing up
the ground under the earth, whilst the babes watered the fields.
Whenever m^n, careless of the good she did them, disturbed her
in her mountain dwelling, she left the country with her train, and
after her departure the fields lost all their former fruitfulness.
Once when Berchta and her babes were passing over a meadow
across the middle of which ran a fence that divided it in two, the
last little child could not climb over it ; its water-jar was too
heavy.
A woman, who a short time before had lost her little baby, was
close by, and recognised her dead darling, for whom she had wept
night and day. She hastened to the child, clasped it in her arms,
and would not let it go.
Then the little one said : " How warm and comfortable I feel in
my mother's arms ; but weep no more for me, mother, my jar is full
and is growing too heavy for me. Look, mother, dost thou not
see how all thy tears run into it, and how I've spilt some on my
little shirt ? Mistress Berchta, who loves me and kisses me, has
told me that thou shouldst also come to her in time, and then we
shall be together again in the beautiful garden under the hill."
Then the mother wept once more a flood of tears, and let the
child go.
After that she never shed another tear, but found comfort in the
thought that she would one day be with her child again.
Berchta appears in many legends as an enchantress, or as an
enchanted maiden, who provided a rich treasure for him who was
lucky enough to set her free from the magic spell that bound her.
Still more frequently, however, she took up her abode in princely
castles as the ** Ahnfrau," or Ancestress of the family to whom the
ii8 ASGARD AND THE GODS.
castle belonged. In these stories the Goddess of Nature is hardly
recognisable.
It is told that the widowed Countess Kunigunde of Orlamiind
fell in love with Count Albrecht the beautiful, of Hohenzollern.
He told her that four eyes stood in the way of a marriage between
them, and she, thinking that he referred to her children, had them
secretly murdered. But, as the tale informs us, he had meant his
parents, who disapproved of the marriage. He felt nothing but
abhorrence of the murderess when he found out what she had
done, and she, repenting of her sin, made a pilgrimage to Rome,
did severe penance, and afterwards founded the nunnery of the
Heavenly Crown, where she died an abbess. Her grave, as well
as those of her children and of the Burggraf Albrecht, are still
shown there. From that time she appeared at the Plassenburg,
near Baireuth, as the " Ahnfrau," who made known any evil that
was going to happen ; later on she went to Berlin with the Count's
family, and is still to be seen there as the tale at the beginning of
this chapter shows.
Another account makes the apparition out to be the Countess
Beatrix of Cleve, who was married to the Swan-Knight so often
mentioned among the old heroes of the middle ages. The House
of Cleve was nearly related to that of Hohenzollern, and in the
mysterious Swan-Knight we recognise the god of Light, who
comes out of the darkness of night and returns to it again.
A more simple version refers to a Bohemian Countess, Bertha
of Rosenberg. She was unhappily married to Johann of Lichten-
berg, after whose death she became the benefactress of her sub-
jects, built the Castle Neuhaus, and never laid aside the white
garments of widowhood as long as she lived. In this dress she
appeared, and even now appears, to the kindred families of Rosen-
berg, Neuhaus and Berlin, on which occasion she prophesies either
good or evil fortune.
BERCHTA. 119
The Germanic races carried the worship of this Earth-goddess
with them to Gaul and Italy, in the former of which countries
a proverbial expression refers to the underground kingdom of the
goddess, by reminding people '^ du temps que Berthe filait!' It was
that time of innocence and peace, of which almost every nation
has its tradition, for which it longs, and to which it can only
return after death.
Historical personages have also been supposed to enact the part
formerly given to the Earth-mother.
A tradition of the 12th century informs us that Pepin, father of
Charlemagne, wished to marry Bertrada, a Hungarian princess,
who was a very good and diligent spinner. His wooing was suc-
cessful, and the princess and her ladies set out on their journey
to Pepin's court. The bride's marvellous beauty was only marred
by her having a very large foot.
Now the chief lady-in-waiting was a wicked woman, and jealous
of Bertrada ; so she gave the princess to some villains she had
bribed, in order that she might be murdered in the forest, and then
she put her own ugly daughter in her mistress's place. Although
Pepin was disgusted with his deformed bride, he was obliged to
marry her according to compact ; but soon afterwards, on finding
out the deception that had been practised upon him, he put her
from him.
Late one evening when out hunting, he came to a mill on the
river Maine. There he saw a girl spinning busily. He recognised
her as the true Bertrada by her large foot, found out how her
intended murderers had taken compassion on her, and how she
had finally reached the mill. He then discovered his rank to her,
and entreated her to fulfil her engagement to him. The fruit of
this marriage was Charlemagne.
In this tale we recognise the old myth under a modern form.
We see how Mother Earth, the protectress of souls and ances-
I20 ASGARD AND THE GODS.
tress of man, especially of those of royal or heroic race, is thrust
aside by the cunning, wintry Berchta, but is joined again by her
heavenly husband, and becomes the mother of the god of Spring.
Even the large foot reminds us of the goddess, who was originally
supposed to show herself in the form of a swan. This is the
reason why in French churches there are representations of
queens with a swan's or goose's foot {reine pedauque).
Other French stories show Berchta in the form of Holda : how
she sheds tears for her lost spouse, so bitter that the very stones
are penetrated by them. -Both goddesses are identical with the
Northern Freya, who wept golden tears for her husband.
There is an old ballad that is still sung in the neighbourhood
of Mayence, which tells of the bright, blessed kingdom of the
goddess. We can give only the matter of it here, as the verses
themselves have not remained in our memory.
A huntsman once stood sadly at the water's edge, and thought
on his lost love. He had had a young and lovely wife, who, when
he came wearied home from the chase, would welcome him with
the warm kiss of love. She bare him a sweet babe, and made him
perfectly happy. But ere long both were taken from his side by
grim, envious death, and now he was alone. Gladly would he
have died with them, but that was not to be. Three months had
flown by, but his wife and child were still always in his thoughts.
One night his way led him beside a flowing stream ; he stopped
still on the bank, gazed long into the water's depths, and asked :
*'Is the broken heart to be made whole in a watery grave
alone .? "
Thereupon sweet silvery notes fell upon his ear; and as he
glanced upwards, he saw before him a beauteous, queenly woman,
sitting opposite him on the other side of the stream ; she was spin-
ning golden flax, and singing a wondrous song :
THOR, THE THUNDERER. Hi
" Youth, enter thou my shining hall,
Where joy and peace e'er rest ;
When the weary heart at length finds all
Its loved ones, 'gain 'tis blest !
The coward calls my hall the grave,
My kiss he fears 'twere death ;
But the leap is boldly made by the brave —
His the gain by the loss of life's breath !
Youth, leave thou, then, the lonesome, des'late shore,
And boldly gain the joy enduring evermore."
The huntsman listens ; do the thrilling tones come from the
beauteous woman on the opposite bank, or is it from the watery
deep that they proceed ?
Wildly he leaps into the flood, and a fair, white arm is extended,
encircling him and drawing him down beneath the water's surface,
away from all earthly cares, away from all earthly distress and
pain. And his loved ones greet him, his youthful wife and his
babe. ** See, father ! how green the trees grow here, and how the
coloured flowers sparkle with silver ! And no one cries here, no
one has any troubles ! "
This tale is based upon the old heathen belief as to the life in
a future state ; it shows us that the conviction of our forefathers
has always been, that for the virtuous death was merely a transi-
tion to a new life, to a life purer, more complete, than that on
earth.
THOR, THUNAR (THUNDER).
Arwaker (Early-waker) and Alswider (All-swift), the horses of
the sun, were wearily drawing the fiery chariot to its rest. The
sea and the ice-clad mountains were glowing in the last rays of the
setting sun. The clouds that were rising in the west received
them in their lap. Then flashes of lightning darted forth from the
i2i ASGARD AND THE GODS.
clouds, thunder began to roll in the distance, and the waves dashed
in wild fury upon the rock-bound coast of the fiord.
" Hang up the snow-shoes, lad, and take off thy fur cap ; Oku-
thor (Thor of the chariot) is driving over to waken old Mother
Jord. Put the jar of mead on the stone table, wife, that he may
find something to drink ; and you, you lazy fellows, why are you
sitting idly over the fire, instead of rubbing up the ploughshares
until they shine again ? This is going to be a fruitful year, for
Hlorridi (heat-bringer) has come early. Come, Thialf, pull off my
fur boots."
Thus spoke the yeoman to whom Balshoflf belonged, as he sat
on the stone bench by the fire. But then he stopped short, and
stared open-mouthed ; Thialf let the fur boots fall from his hand ;
the mistress of the house dropped the jug of mead, and the farm-
servants the plough. Wingthor drove over from the west in all his
fury ; he struck the house with his hammer Miolnir, and the flash
broke through the ridge of the roof beside the pillar that supported
it, and penetrated a hundred miles below the clay floor. A sul-
phureous vapour filled the room ; but the yeoman, shaking off his
stupefaction, rose from his stone bench, and when he saw that no
more damage was done, he said :
" Wingthor has been gracious to us, and now he has gone on to
fight against the Frost and Mountain Giants. Do ye not hear the
blows of his hammer, the howls of the monsters in their caverns,
and the crashing of their stone heads as though they were nothing
but oatmeal dumpHngs I But to us he has given rain, which even
now is falling heavily, rain that will soon melt away the snow
and prepare the soil to receive the seed we shall sow later on.
The tiny sprouts will grow rapidly, and grass and herbs and the
green leek will reward us for our industry. Preserve the golden
ears of corn for us, O Thor, until the harvest time."
In such manner people used, in the olden time, to call on the
THOR, THE THUNDERER. ii3
Strong god of thunder, Thunar, — in the North, Thor. He was held
in great reverence, and was perhaps even regarded as an equal
of the God of Heaven. Traces of this are still recognisable, for
wherever he was spoken of in connection with the other gods, he
was given the place of honour in the middle. The Saxons had to
renounce Wodan, Donar, and Saxnot. In the- temple of Upsala,
Thor is placed between Odin and Freyer. In " Skirnir's Journey,"
a poem of the Edda, it is said : " Odin is adverse to thee, the
Prince of the Ases (Thor) is adverse to thee, Freyer curses thee."
He retained this high position in Norway, where he fought against
the Frost and Mountain Giants, who sent the destructive east wind
over the country. • And not less honour was paid him in Saxony
and Franconia. The oak was sacred to him, and his festivals were
solemnized under the shade of oak trees. When thunder-clouds
passed over the earth, Thor was said to be driving his chariot
drawn by two fierce male goats, called Tooth-cracker and Tooth-
gnasher.
Odin — not he who sat on Hlidskialf overlooking the nine worlds,
but the omnipotent God of Heaven — married Jord, Mother Earth
and the offspring of this marriage was strong Thor, who began
even in the cradle to show his Ase-like strength by lifting ten
loads of bear-skins.
Gentle old Mother Jord, who was known by several other names
in different parts of Germany, could not manage her strong son, so
two other beings, Wingnir (the winged), and Hlora (heat) became
his foster-parents. These were personifications of the winged
lightning. From them were derived the god's names of Wingthoi
arid Hlorridi.
Thor married Sif (kin), for he, the protector of households, was
himself obliged to have a well-ordered household. The beautiful
goddess had golden hair, probably because of the golden corn of
which her husband was guardian, and her son was the swift archer,
lU ASGARD AND THE GODS,
UUer, who hunted in snow-shoes every winter, and ruled over As-
gard and Midgard in the cold season, while the summer Odin
was away. By the giantess, Jarnsaxa (Ironstone) Thor had two
sons, Magni (Strength) and Modi (Courage), and by his real wife
a daughter, Thrud (Strong), the names of whom all remind us of
his own characteristics.
Thor was handsome, large and well-proportioned, and strong.
A red beard covered the lower part of his face, his hair was long
and curly, his clothes were well-fitting and his arms were bare,
showing his strongly-developed muscles. In his right hand he
carried the crashing-hammer, Miolnir, whose blows caused the
destructive lightning flash and the growling thunder.
THOR'S DEEDS AND JOURNEYS.
125
thor and lokis journey in
women's clothes.
THOR'S DEEDS AND
JOURNEYS.
THE MAKING OF MIOLNIR.
gentle breeze was blowing
over the rich land of Thrudheim,
and the doors of Bilsklrnir were standing open that the castle
might be filled with the aromatic perfume of the summer flowers.
Thor slept quietly in the great hall, until morning dawned and
chased away the shades of night. The god then rose from his
couch, but his first glance fell on his wife Sif, who looked very
sad. All her golden hair had vanished in the night, and she was
standing before him with a bald head, like the earth when the
ofolden corn has been harvested.
He guessed who the author of
126 ASGARD AND THE GODS.
the mischief was, and rushed angrily over the hills and through the
groves of Asgard until he came to spiteful Loki, whom he seized
by the throat and held till his eyes almost started from his head.
He would not let him go until he promised to obtain another head
of hair, the same as the old one, from the dwarfs. As soon as the
mischief-maker was free he hastened to Elfheim, and after paying
a heavy price, brought away with him not only the hair but also
Gungnir, the spear that never failed in its blow; and the ship Skid-
bladnir, which could sail whatever wind was blowing, and which
was so cunningly made, that it could be folded up and put in the
pocket when it was no longer wanted. He gave Thor the hair for
his wife, and it was no sooner put upon her head than it took root
and began to grow apace. To Odin he gave the spear, and to
Freyer the ship, that he might go to sea with the merchants* gal-
leys and save shipwrecked persons.
Delighted with the praise his gifts received on all sides, Loki
asserted that his smiths, the sons of Iwaldur, were the best workers
in metal that had ever lived. Now it happened that the Dwarf
Brock was present when he said this, and Brock's brother, Sindri,
was generally regarded as the best smith. So he scornfully re-
plied that no one could beat his brother, and that he would wager
his head for Sindri's fame. Brock informed his brother of the
dreadful bet, but was told to be of good courage ; he was given
the bellows and desired to keep on blowing the fire without stop-
ping, so that there might be no interruption in the magic work, a
circumstance which would at once bring all their efforts to naught.
Sindri then put a pig-skin in the fire, and went away to draw the
magic circle, and command the assistance of the hidden powers in
his labours. Brock, meanwhile, worked hard at the bellows, in
spite of the attacks of a fly which continually stung him on the
hand till the blood flowed. When Sindri returned there was life
in the fire, and he drew out of it the enormous wild boar Gullin-
THOWS DEEDS AND JOURNEYS. 127
bursti, with golden bristles, the radiance of which made the dark
smithy as light as day.
The second work of art had now to be made. Sindri laid some
red gold in the furnace, and Brock blew the bellows in spite of the
cruel stings of the fly, until at last the ring Draupnir was formed,
from which eight other rings exactly similar dropped every ninth
night.
Lastly, the smith threw a bar of iron into the furnace, and
desired his brother to blow steadily. Brock did as he was told,
and bore the agony caused by the fly, which he knew cunning Loki
had sent. But when all at once it stung him on the eyelid, and
the blood ran down into his eye, he dashed his hand at it to crush
it. Then the flames rose in the air and suddenly sunk again and
were extinguished. Sindri rushed into the hall in terror, but his
face brightened when he had looked into the furnace.
** All is well,'* he said ; " it is finished — only the handle is some-
what short."
Then he drew a great battle-hammer out of the furnace, and gave
it to his brother, as well as the two other works of art, adding :
" Go now ; thou hast won the bet, and thine enemy's head
also."
Brock entered the assembly of the Ases, who were sitting in
council. He gave Odin the ring Draupnir, and to bright Freyer
he gave the boar GuUinbursti, which he said would carry him swift
as the wind through mists and clouds, and over mountains and
valleys. When Thor received the hammer, and swung it in his
right hand, then he, the prince of the Ases, grew tall as a giant ;
dark clouds piled themselves around his waist ; lightning flashed
from the clouds, and rolling peals of thunder shook the heights of
Asgard and Midgard, terrifying both Ases and mortal rnen. Odin
alone, to whom fear was. impossible, sat unmoved upon his throne,
and said ;
128 ASGARD AND THE GODS.
" Miolnir is the greatest of treasures, for in the hand of my son
it will protect Asgard from every assault of the giants."
So Brock won the wager and Loki's head as well, and he refused
to accept anything else in exchange. But the son of Laufey had
already taken refuge in flight, so Thor hastened after him, and
soon brought him back.
"The head is thine, but not the neck," cried the mischief-maker,
as the dwarf raised his sword.
" Then I will sew up thy great mouth," answered Brock, trying to
make holes through his opponent's lips ; but all in vain, the knife
made no impression. So he got his brother's awl, and that did
not fail. He sewed up the mouth, and Loki stood in the midst of
the laughing Ases unable to speak ; yet he soon found means to
unfasten the string.
The hair of the earth-goddess, Sif, is the flowers and corn that
grow upon the earth. These are cut down in the harvest, and the
winter-demon robs the goddess of her hair, and leaves her head
quite bald. But the Dwarfs who live under the earth provide her
with a fresh supply of hair, and with the help of the Thunder-god
punish the evil-doer.
Al wismal, the Song of Alwis.— Alwis, the King of the Dwarfs,
who had travelled throughout the nine worlds and had learnt all
the languages and wisdom of the dwellers therein, once went to
Asgard. He met with a friendly reception there, for all the Ases
knew about his palace which shone with gold and precious
stones, and of his widely extended power over the underground
people. He saw beautiful Thrud, Asathor's strong daughter, fell
in love with her, and asked for her hand in marriage. The Ases
approved of the proposal of the King of the underground treasures,
and were of opinion that Thor would be pleased with the arrange-
ment. So the marriage day was fixed. But Thor came home
before the weddingrday, and was very wroth when he was told the
news.
THOR'S journey to UTGARD, 129
" Who art thou, thou pasty-faced fellow ? " he asked of the would-
be bridegroom ; " Hast thou been with the dead ? Hast thou
arisen from the grave to snatch the living back with thee to thy
dismal kingdom ? "
Alwis now asked him who he was that pretended to have power
over his bride and to be able to prevent the marriage which was
already arranged ; but when he found that it was Wingthor,
Thrud's father, he told him of his possessions and of his wisdom,
and entreated him to consent.
Thor, in order to prove him, asked what certain words were in
the different languages of men, Ases, Wanes, Jotuns, Elves, and in
Helheim.
The Dwarf answered everything right ; but lo ! day began at that
moment to break, and Alwis was touched by a ray of sunlight,
whereupon he stiffened into stone, and remained on the heights of
Asgard, a monument of Thor's victory.
THOR'S JOURNEY TO UTGARD.
The Hrimthurses sent out cold winds from the interior of Jotun-
heim over the fields of Midgard, so that the tender green shoots
were blighted and the harvest spoilt. Thor, therefore, ordered his
chariot to be got ready, and hastened away to force the giants to
keep within bounds. Loki joined him with flattering speeches, and
the Thunderer thought that it might be as well to take him with
him, as he knew his way about the wilderness so well.
Thor's goats went so quickly that the travellers reached the bare
rocks of the giants' country by the evening.
They saw a lonely farmhouse, and the owner offered them hos-
pitality, but could only give them a poor supper. Thor, therefore,
slew his goats and boiled them in a pot. He then invited his host
and all: his people to join him at supper, but commanded tnem lo
K
i^o ASGARD AND THE GODS.
throw all the bones on the skins which he had spread out on tne
floor, and to beware how they broke any.
Cunning Loki whispered to the farmer's son, Thialfi, that he
ought to break one of the thigh bones, as the marrow in it was good
to eat. Thialfi followed the evil counsel, and found that the mar-
row was indeed most excellent.
Next morning Thor waved his hammer over the skins and bones,
and immediately the goats jumped up, but one of them was lame
in the hind leg. The god was very angry, his eyes flashed, his
right hand closed round the handle of his hammer, and a thunder-
clap shook the house to its foundations. The farmer, who had been
flung upon his face, begged for mercy, and his wife and children
joined him in his entreaties ; he offered his son Thialfi and his
daughter Roskwa in atonement for the broken thigh-bone.
Then the angry god grew calm^ and accepted the expiation
offered him ; he left his goats and chariot behind and walked on
with his companion and the sturdy children of the farmer towards
Jotunheim.
They crossed high mountains, and went through deep valleys
until they came to a broad sound. When they had crossed the
sound, their way led them over a stony country and through a
dark wood that seemed as if it would never end. The ground was
covered with a grey mist, out of which an iceberg, resembling a
corpse-like ghost, here and there reared its head. All was dim
and uncertain, as though surrounded by enchantment.
The travellers pursued their journey all day long, Thialfi, the
quickest runner in the country, always keeping in front with
Thor's travelling bag.
In the evening they reached a strange, roomy inn, in which
there was neither inhabitant nor food to be found ; yet they lay
down to rest, as they felt very hungry.
At midnight a violent earthquake shook the house, but they
THOR'S JOURNEY TO UTGARD. 131
succeeded in finding a place within the building that seemed to be
more secure than the rest ; there Thor's companions took refuge,
whilst he, hammer in hand, kept watch by the entrance. Loud
sounds of roaring and snorting disturbed the sleep of the travellers.
The Prince of the Ases awaited the morning.
When it grew light, he perceived a man of mighty stature,
whose snoring had been the cause of all the noise they had heard.
He felt very much inclined to bless the snorer's sleep with a
goodly blow of his hammer, but at that very moment the giant
awoke.
In reply to his question, " Who art thou ? " the giant answered
that his name was Skrymir, and added that he knew perfectly
well that his questioner was Asathor. As he said this, he began
to look about for his glove. And how great was the astonishment
of the Ase, when he discovered that he and his companions had
spent the night in the giant's glove, and that when they had been
startled out of their first resting-place, they had taken refuge in
the thumb,
Skrymir gave himself no further trouble about the surprise of
the strangers, but laid out his breakfast and devoured it, whilst
the travellers took some provisions for themselves out of Thor's
bag. The giant then tied up all his belongings in a bundle, threw
it over his broad back, and walked on before the others through
the wood at such a pace that they could hardly follow him. In
the evening they took up their quarters for the night under an
oak tree, the top of which reached the clouds.
The Jotun gave the travellers the remains of the food in his
bundle, because, he said, sleep was more necessary for him than
food. The strong Thunderer vainly strove to unfasten the cord tied
round the bundle. Enraged by this failure, he pulled his girdle of
strength tighter round his waist, and seizing Miolnir with both
hands, dealt a terrible blow on the head of the snoring giant, who
135 ASGARD AND THE GODS.
merely rubbed the place with his hand, and asked whether a leaf
had fallen on his head.
At midnight the wood again re-echoed with his snores. Thor
now hit the monster again as hard as he could on the crown. The
hammer made a deep hole, but Skrymir thought that it was only
an acorn that had fallen upon him, and soon began to snore again.
Towards morning the angry Ase dealt a third dreadful blow at
the giant ; the earth trembled, rocks fell with a horrible crash ;
the hammer penetrated the giant's skull, so that the end was
hidden. Nevertheless, Skrymir rose quietly and said : —
" So, thou art awake already, Asathor. Look, some birds, when
building their nests, have let a little bit of stick fall on my temple ;
it is bruised. We must part here ; my way lies to the north, and
yours to Utgard in the east. You will soon see Utgard-Loki's
castle before you. There you will find bigger men than I.
Beware lest any of you open your mouths too wide in boastful
talk ; for if you do, you will get into difficulties."
Skrymir went straight on through the wood, while the others
turned in the direction he had pointed out to them.
About noon they came in sight of the giant's castle, which was
large and shining as an iceberg. They slipped in between the
bars of the postern gate, and entered the royal hall.
There sat Utgard-Loki, Prince of the Thurses, on his throne,
and ranged around him on benches were his warriors and courtiers.
He stared at the travellers in surprise.
" I know ye well, little people," he cried, in a voice that re-
sembled the rumbling of a falling rock. " I know thee, Asathor,
and guess that thou canst do more than thy appearance would
justify one in supposing. Now tell me what each of you can do,
for no one is allowed to sit down here without showing himself
to be good for something."
First of all Loki vaunted his powers in eating.
SKRYMIR ATTACKED BY THOR WHEN ASLEEP.
THOR AT UTGARD. 135
"A good thing to be able to do on a journey," said the King;
" for then one can eat enough at one meal to last for eight days.
Logi, my cook^ shall try with thee which is the better trencher-
man. We shall see which of you can eat the most."
A large trough was filled with meat, and the two heroes stood
one at each end of it, and tried which could devour the fastest.
They met in the middle ; Loki had eaten one half of the meat,
and Logi the other; but as the latter had at the same time
disposed of the bones and the trough as well, he walked away
from the table proud of his victory.
Thialfi announced that he was swift of foot, and challenged the
courtiers to race with him in the lists. A young fellow named
Hugin accepted the challenge. He turned back at the goal just
as the farmer's son reached it.
" Well run for a stranger, by my beard," growled the Prince of
the Thurses ; " but now make better speed." However, Thialfi was
farther behind at the second turn, and at the third he had full
half the course to run when Hugin turned at the goal.
It was now time for Thor to show what he could do. He first
said that he could drink a long draught. The Thurse commanded
that the horn should be brought that some could empty at one
draught, many at two, and the weakest at three. The Ase looked
at the horn. It was long, but it was narrow, and he thought
he could easily dispose of the contents. Nevertheless, the first
draught hardly uncovered the rim, the second very little more,
and the third a few inches at most. Much ashamed, he gave
back the horn ; he could drink no more.
He then spoke of his strength. Utgard-Loki told him to pick
up the grey cat which was lying purring at his feet. The hammer-
thrower imagined that he could fling the cat up to the ceiling ;
but his first attempt to lift it only made it arch its back, at the
second it arched its back a little more, at the third he raised one
136 ASGARD AND THE GODS,
paw from the ground ; farther than that he could not move it.
He heard with rage the scornful laughter with which his fruitless
efforts were greeted from the benches. Lightning flashed from his
eyes ; he challenged the courtiers to wrestle with him in the lists.
" That will go ill with thee," said the King, stroking his beard '
*' try first what thou canst do here against Elli, my old nurse ; she
has conquered stronger men than a shrimp like thee before now."
The old woman was ready by this time, and seized strong Thor,
who exerted all his strength to try and overthrow her. But she
stood as immovable as a rock, and used her own strength so well,
that he sank upon one knee.
"Enough," cried the Jotun. "Sit down, strangers, and enjoy
my hospitality."
On the following morning the king accompanied them as far
as the wood.
" Here," he said, " are the borders of my domain, which you
should never have crossed had I known more about you. Let me
now tell you how I have tricked you. Three times, Asathor, didst
thou strike at my head ; but I always shoved a mountain between
me and thee. Look, dost thou see the marks made by thy
hammer, three deep abysses, the last of which reaches down to the
Home of the Black - Elves ? The cook Logi, who measured his
strength against Loki, and who devoured even the bones and the
trough, was wild-fire. Hugin, was Thought, whom neither Thialfi
nor any other runner could expect to overtake. The drinking
horn was connected with the ocean. Thou didst drink so much
that every shore was left uncovered, and the people said : ' It is
ebb tide.' Thine eyes were blinded when thou didst lift the grey
cat, for then thou didst swing the Midgard-snake as high as
heaven, and she had nearly wriggled herself free and done irre-
parable injury. Elli, the nurse, who looked so weak, was old age,
which none can withstand when his time has come. Go now, for
THOR'S DUEL WITH HRUNGNIR. 137
this is my realm, where I have dominion over the Hrimthurses
and their rocky fastnesses. Where I rule, there is no space for
men to cultivate the land, yet Asathor might split the mountains
and the eternal ice with his thunder."
Thor had already raised his hammer to punish the Jotun for his
magic spells, but he had vanished. A bare, stone-strewed wilder-
ness surrounded him and his companions. Columns of mist
hovered here and there, out of which Jotuns were peering, now with
a smile of scorn and again looking down grimly, now sinking and
again rising in the air, so that the travellers did not know what
was real and what enchanted. They then set out on their return
to Thrudheim.
The natural myth which gave rise to this poem of the Younger
Edda is very suitable for our collection. Not even the mighty Ase
could make it possible for man to cultivate the soil amongst the
great mountains, where rock is piled upon rock, and all are covered
with ice and snow. Thialfi is the diligence which must animate
the farmer, and his sister Roskwa is the quickness and activity
which must attend him.
Duel with Hningnir. — Thor passed some happy days in his halls
of Bilskirnir. His fair wife Sif, who kept the house in good order,
was beautiful as the May moon ; her artistically-made golden hair
grew daily longer, and fell over her neck and shoulders in ringlets.
The god had great pleasure in his son Magni, who, although only
three years old, was as tall and strong as a man. The Jotuns in
the neighbourhood were all quiet, for they did not care to harm
the husbandmen's crops. Still, the farmers who lived far away in
valleys amid the inhospitable mountains, often called upon the
helpful Ase to defend them against the monsters, who sent storms,
floods, avalanches, and falling rocks, to disturb them in their peace-
ful labours. Thor then hastened with Miolnir to punish the peace-
breakers in the east.
138 ASGARD AND THE GODS,
Allfather Odin was away on his travels, now ruling the battlei
of mortal men, now searching after wisdom, and now wooing the
favour of women with loving words. Upon one of these journeys
he arrived at the castle of the Mountain-giant, Hrungnir, where
he was hospitably received. Whilst they were talking together,
the Jotun remarked that Sleipnir was a good horse, but that his
own horse, Gullfaxi (golden mane), was better, and that it could
leap farther with its four feet than the former with its eight.
" Well," cried Odin, " I will wager my head upon my horse
Catch me if thou canst."
He jumped upon Sleipnir and galloped away, the giant pursuing
him with a giant's rage.
Swift as the storm-wind, the Father of the gods galloped on far
ahead. Hrungnir was not aware, in his haste, that his golden-
maned horse was thundering over the bridge Bifrost until he
stopped at the gates of Walhalla. Then the King of the Ases
came out to meet him, and in return for his hospitality led him
into the hall. To Hrungnir was given the enormous goblet, full
of foaming beer, from which Thor was accustomed to drink. In
his ill-humour, he emptied it in a few draughts, and asked in his
intoxication for more and more.
" Ha ! " he exclaimed, " none of you know me yet. I will take
Walhalla upon my back and carry it off to Jotunheim. I will
throw Asgard into the abyss of Nifelhel, and strangle you all,
except Freya and Sif, whom I will take home with me. I will
empty all your beer barrels to the sediment. Bring me what you
have. Freya shall be my cup-bearer."
The trembling goddess poured him out a bumper, but the other
Ases called aloud for Thor.
The god appeared in the hall with the speed of the lightning
that flashes down from the sky.
" Who has permitted the Thurse to sit down in holy Asgard ? **
THOR'S DUEL WITH HRUNGNIR. 139
he demanded in a voice of thunder. " Why does Freya give him
the drinking-horn ? His head shall be broken in punishment for
this."
And as he said these words, his eyes sparkled and his hand
closed round the shaft of his hammer.
Then Hrungnir immediately at once became sober. He stam-
mered out that Odin had invited him to the feast, and that it
would be dishonourable of Thor to attack an unarmed man. Yet
he would be ready to fight with him at Griottunagard (rolling-
stone, or also rock-wall) in the borders of Jotunheim.
The Ase could not withdraw from this challenge, and the Jotun
made all the haste he could to reach home with a whole skin.
Everywhere and in all countries the coming duel was talked
about. The Jotuns knew that their best fighting man was going
to venture on a dangerous undertaking. They consulted together
how they might ensure him the victory.
They made a clay man nine miles high and three miles across
the chest, Mockerkalfi (Mist-wader) by name, who was to help their
hero in the fight, but who had only a trembling mare's heart in
his breast. The Jotun himself had a triangular heart of stone, and
his skull was also of stone, and his shield and his club too.
Hrungnir and his clay squire awaited Thor at Griottunagard on
the appointed day. The Ase did not waste time. He drove up
in the midst of rolling thunder and flashing lightning, surrounded
by clouds. His quick-footed servant, Thialfi, ran on before him,
and called out to the Jotun that he was mistaken in holding his
shield before him, for the god would come up out of the ground
to attack him.
Then Hrungnir flung his shield under his feet and seized his club
in both hand, to be in readiness to throw it, or to hit out with it.
He now perceived the Ase swinging Miolnir, so he threw his club
at him with fearful strength. The weapons crashed together in
HO ASGARD AND THE GODS.
the middle of the lists ; but the force of the hammer was so great
that it splintered the club and broke the stone-head of the giant
in pieces, felling him almost dead to the ground. Meanwhile a
splinter from the club had penetrated Thor's forehead, so that he
also fell, and as it happened, right under the leg of the falling
giant. Sturdy Thialfi had in the meantime despatched the xlay
giant with a spade, and had broken him up into the clay from
which he had been made. He now tried to help his master, but
could not lift the giant's leg. Other Ases tried also, until at length
the strong boy Magni came up. And he pushed aside the heavy
weight as though it were a mere trifle, saying :
" What a pity it is. Father, that I did not come sooner ; I could
have broken that fellow's stone head with my fist."
" Thou wilt be a strong man," said Thor ; " and thou shalt have
the good horse GuUfaxi as a reward for helping me."
He then strove to pull the stone splinter out of his brow, but
could neither move it nor could he. even loosen it, so he was forced
to drive home to Thrudheim with an aching head.
Loving Sif and anxious Thrud vainly endeavoured to alleviate
the pain Thor was enduring. The prophetess Groa (green-making)
now came to the house. She could move rocks with her magic
spells, and also stop the course of wild floods. She offered to cure
Thor. Then she drew her circles and sang her wondrous songs.
The stone began already to shake and grow looser, and the
wounded Ase hoped for a speedy cure. In order to give Groa
pleasure, he told her, while she murmured her spells, that he had
waded across the ice-stream Eliwagar, carrying her husband,
Orwandil, on his back, and had broken ofl" one of Orwandil's
frost-bitten toes, which he had flung up into the sky, where it wa:r
now shining like a star.
" And now," he said, " he is on his way home to thee."
Scarcely were the words out of his mouth, when Groa sprang up
THORNS JOURNEY TO HYMIR. 141
joyfully, forgetting all about her magic spells. And so the splinter
remained in Thor's forehead.
According to the poet Uhland, this is a poetical description
of the splitting of the rocks by the crashing hammer of the god.
Thialfi, the diligent husbandman, conquered the clay giant, the
uncultivated ground, while Thor made agriculture possible among
the rocks. He was hurt by the falling stones when doing this.
Groa (the green-making), the sprouting power in plants, was married
to Orwandil (living seed), whom Thor carried on his shoulders
through the wintry ice-streams Eliwagar. Mannhardt looks upon
Orwandil as lightning sparks. We refrain from noticing further
the different interpretations put upon the story. The skald found
the natural myth, touched the strings of his harp and sang his song
with all his heart, careless whether he gave the old myth in all its
particulars or not.
Journey to Hymir. — In this myth the terrors of the polar regions
are described. It was in that northern realm that the Frost-giant
Hymir (the dusk-maker) ruled, and in his house lived the golden,
white-browed goddess of light, who had been stolen from her
home, and also the nine-hundred headed grandmother, the moun-
tains of ice and snow.
Hymir was guardian of the great brewing vat, whose depth
might be counted by miles ; by this was probably meant the;
Arctic Ocean, through which the summer god, Thor, opened a
passage for seafaring men. Thor conquered the terrors of the
Arctic climate before which even the bold Wikings drew back
appalled, while in our days, brave North Pole voyagers face them
undauntedly.
Thus Uhland explains the myth, and we feel inclined to agree
with him ; nevertheless, this journey to Hymir is said by other
commentators to mean a descent into the Under- world. Perhaps
both explanations are admissible, for all nature is dead in winter,
H2 ASGARD AND THE GODS.
buried under a pall of snow, and the ideas of winter and death
are frequently interchangeable. Strong Thor, therefore, descended
into the Under-world, conquered its terrors, as he did those of the
Hrimthurses, and returned home victorious, in like manner as
Herakles did in the Greek myth, which ascribes to him a heroic
deed of the same kind as this.
THOR'S JOURNEY TO THRYMHEIM TO GET BACK
HIS HAMMER.
Night with her starry diadem had spread her mantle over
Asgard. Every creature was asleep ; the Ases in their golden
chambers, and the Einheriar stretched out on the benches of Wal-
halla after a goodly feast on the flesh of Sahrimnir, and many a
draught of delicious mead. They dreamt happy dreams of brave
deeds and of the joys of victory.
Wingtnor alone tossed restlessly about on his cushions of down.
He heard in his dreams the murmur of wicked runes, and saw a
gigantic hand seize hold of Miolnir. At length he was awakened
by hollow peals of thunder. He snatched at the hammer which
always lay by his bedside, but could not find it. Angrily he
sprang to his feet and felt about for it ; but it was gone ; the faint
light of morning showed that the place where he had laid it was
empty. He shook his head wrathfully and his eyes flashed fire.
His beard grew redder than ever, and the house trembled at his
shout :
" Miolnir is gone ; it has been stolen by enchantment."
Loki heard his cry, and said to him :
" I will get thee back thy hammer, whoever has stolen it, if
Freya will lend me her Falcon-dress."
THOR'S JOURNEY TO GET BACK HIS HAMMER. I43
So they went to Folkwang and entered the presence of Freya.
They addressed her in courteous words, and asked her to lend
them her feather-garment, that they might spy out who had stolen
Miolnir.
And the gentle goddess answered : " You may have it. I would
lend it to you willingly, even if it were made of silver or gold."
She then took the dress out of a chest and gave it to the Ases.
And now Loki flew with rhythmic strokes of his wings, high above
the precincts of Asgard and the swift river Ifing, until he reached
the barren mountains of Jotunheim.
Thrym, a prince of the Thurses, was sitting there on a hill. He
was decorating his dogs, that ran quickly as the wind, with golden
ribbons, and making the manes of his fiery horses shine.
" What news dost thou bring from Asgard, that thou comest
alone to Thrymheim } " he called out to the new-comer : " how
goes it with the Ases and how with the Elves ? "
" Badly with both Ases and Elves," answered Loki, " for Miol-
nir is lost. Speak, hast thou hidden it anywhere ? "
Then the Thurse laughed, and said : " I have hidden it eight
miles deep in a cleft of the earth ; and no one shall have it unless
he brings me Freya as a bride to my halls."
Enraged at his message, Loki flew back over the Ifing river to
Asgard, where Thor awaited him. He gave the message of the
wicked Thurse.
Again Thor and Loki went to visit the goddess in her shining
hall at Folkwang.
" Up and dress thyself, Freya," said Thor ; " put on thy snowy
bridal garments, and I will take thee to Thrym, prince of the
Thurses."
Then the goddess' anger was kindled at this address, and she
started from her throne, making the palace shake to its founda-
tions.
144 ASGARD AND THE GOD^.
"You may call me mad," she cried, "if ever I follow thee in
bridal array to Thrymheim, to the Prince of the Thurses, monster
that he is."
Having thus spoken, she dismissed the Ases from her presence
without a word of farewell.
The Ases now all assembled on their seats of justice near the
fountain of Urd, that they might consult together as to the best
means of rescuing the hammer from the power of the Giants.
The first to speak was Heimdal, the god who resembled a Want
in wisdom ; he said : —
" Let Thor himself put on the bridal garments, let a bunch of
keys jingle at his waist, let precious stones sparkle upon his neck,
let his knees be covered by the petticoats of a woman, and a veil
be put before his face.
The Prince of the Ases did not approve of the advice of wise
Heimdal. He would, he said, be always called a woman in future,
if he ever put on female apparel. But when Loki replied that if
he did not get back the hammer the giants would soon come to
live in Asgard, he consented to do as the Ases entreated.
Soon afterwards he sat in his chariot dressed as a bride, and
Loki, son of Laufey, in the guise of a serving maid, seated him-
self by his side.
The goats set off; they rushed in wild leaps through Asgard
and Midgard ; the earth smoked, and rocks and mountains split
with loud reports wherever they went.
Thrym was sitting comfortably at the threshold of his hall. He
watched his golden-horned cows corning home, he saw his large
herds of black bullocks, his stores of gold and precious stones in
their iron caskets.
" I have a great store of riches," he said ; " the only thing
wanting now is that Freya should be my wife. And to-morrow
she will enter my halls ; so strew the benches my men, and have
THORS JOURNEY TO THRYMHEIM. I4S
plenty of food and mead in readiness, for it beseems a spacious
hall like mine that the wedding should be a merry one."
Early next morning the visitors arrived, and soon afterwards
his bride was sitting beside Thrym, well- veiled, as modesty and
custom demanded.
The tables were laden with costly food and wine, which were a
pleasure to look at as well as to eat aijd drink. No one could
rival the bride, however. She ate a fat ox in no time, then eight
huge salmon, and all the sweet cakes that were made for the
women, and in addition she drank two barrels of mead. The
Thurse was astonished at her hunger.
" Well," he exclaimed, " I never before saw a bride with such an
appetite, nor did I ever see a girl drink mead in such a degree !"
But the serving maid assured him that her mistress had tasted
neither bite nor sup for a week, so excited had she been at the
thought of her wedding.
The Jotun wished to kiss his bride on hearing this, and raised
her veil for the purpose ; but at the sight of Freya's flaming ^yt.s,,
which seemed as though they flashed fire at him, he shrank back
to the end of the room.
But the wise maid calmed down his apprehensions. " My lady,"
she said, " has not slept for a week, and that is the reason her
eyes are so fiery."
The gaunt sister of the Thurse now approached the bride to
ask for a wedding present.
" Give me," she entreated, " golden rings and a pair of buckles,
and thou shalt enjoy my love."
Unmoved by this appeal, the bride sat silent in her wedding
array. Then the Prince, intoxicated with love and niead, com-
manded that the hammer should be brought from its hiding-place,
that the marriage might be solemnized in the usual way.
"And then," he added, "place it in the lap of the bride."
L
146 ASGARD AND THE GODS.
It seemed at that moment as though the bride were stifling
^ a laugh beneath her veil, and indeed a ferocious laugh was heard
when the Prince's command had been obeyed.
Now the bride rose, and threw off her veil ; it was Asathor,
terrible to look upon ; he raised his bare arm and held Miolnir
aloft in his mighty right hand. The walls of the room tottered
and cracked, a peal of thunder shook the house and a flash of
lightning darted through the hall. Thrym lay stretched on the
floor with a broken head ; his guests and his servants fell under
the blows of the hammer ; not even his gaunt sister escaped. The
flames made their way out through the roof ; and house and hall
fell with a loud crash. A smoking heap of ruins alone remained
to show the place where the powerful Thrym had ruled.
The spring sun rose ; it shone down upon the devastated dwelling,
the broken rocks, fallen stones, torn and uprooted soil, and upon
thie victorious god who had conquered the power of the enemy.
The storm-clouds of anger were gone from Thor's brow. He
stood upon the height and gazed at his work of destruction with
a gentle and kindly look 'upon his face. Then he called his
children of men to come and instil new life into the destruction,
so that farms and dwelling houses, agriculture and commerce,
civic order, law and morality should arise and flourish there. And
so into this conquered land came farmers and builders, with
hatchet, spade, and plough ; herdsmen with their cattle and sheep,
and mighty hunters to keep down the numbers of bears and
wolves. And Thor was in the midst of them, setting up stones
to mark the boundaries, consecrating the tilled land with his
hammer ; then the grateful people erected an altar to him, made
a great feast in his honour, and promised him the first-fruits of
their labour. After that Thor got into his chariot, followed by
Loki, and together they returned to Asgard rejoicing in what they
had done.
THORS JOURNEY TO G EI ROD. i47
We have pointed here to the natural myth which lies at the
foundation of this poem. The myth is one of the most beautiful
in the Elder Edda. The poet has made free use of the materials
that were a^ his disposal, so that the most minute details of the
primitive myth can never be discovered ; yet the following can
be made out with certainty.
The beneficent Thunder god, who ruled over summer, was
deprived of his hammer in the winter ; Thrym (Thunder) hid
it eight miles deep in the ground, i.e., for eight months. He
desired to have possession of Freya, the fair goddess of spring,
in order that he might deprive man of the bright weather she
brought with her. But Thor regained his hammer, and slew the
Frost-giant and his followers, and his gaunt sister too, who accord-
ing to Uhland was the famine that haunts rude mountain districts.
Thus the god opened a new field to human industry.
JOURNEY TO GEIROD'S-GARD.
Loki once took Frigg's falcon-dress ; he wrapped himself in
it and hovered over many an abyss and broad stream until he had
flown right above the barren rocks and ice of Jotunheim. He
saw a chimney in the distance, out of which fire and smoke were
issuing. Quickly he flew there, and perceived that the chimney
belonged to a rambling grange.
This was Geirod's-Gard, where Prince Geirod, the Hrimthurse,
dwelt with his people. The Ase was curious to know what was
going on in the large hall, and fluttered down close to the window.
But the Thurse caught sight of the falcon, and sent a servant
out to catch it. Loki amused himself by making the man climb
the high railing above which he fluttered, taking care to keep, as
he thought, just out of reach ; but suddenly he was caught by the
leg and given to the giant.
148 ASGARD AND THE GODS.
"This is a strange-looking bird," said Geirod, staring into the
falcon's eyes as though he thought he could thus discover its
character. " Tell me," he asked, addressing it, " whence thou
comest, and what thou really art ? "
But the bird, remained silent and motionless.
So the Prince determined to tame him through hunger, and
locking him up in a chest left him there for three months without
food.
When he was taken out at the end of that time, Loki told
who he was and begged to be set free.
At this the Thurse laughed so loud that he shook the hall and
the whole grange.
"At length," he exclaimed, "I have got what I have long
desired, a hostage of the Ases. I will not let thee go until thou
hast sworn a holy oath to bring me Thor, the Giant-killer, without
his hammer and girdle of strength, that I may fight him hand
to hand. I expect that I shall conquer him as easily as I would
a boy, and then I shall send him down to Hel's dark realm."
Loki promised with a holy oath to do as the giant bade, and
flew quickly away.
When the cunning Ase had recovered from his fatigue, he
remembered his oath. He told strong Thor that Geirod had
received him most hospitably, and that he had expressed a great
wish to see the unconquerable protector of Asgard face to face,
but without the terrible signs of his power, of which he was much
afraid. Loki went on to say that there were strange things to be
seen at the giant's house which were not to be seen elsewhere.
Thor listened to the tempter, and at once set out on his journey,
accompanied by Loki.
On his way to Geirods-gard he met the giantess Grid, by whom
Odin had once had a son named Widar, the silent. She told him
what the true character of Geirod was, and lent him her girdle
THOk'S JOURNEY TO GEIROD. U9
of strength, and her staff and iron glove as a defence against the
giant.
The day after this, he and Loki reached the broad river Wimur,
which stretched out before them like a sea, and was so wide that
the other shore was invisible. When Thor began to wade across,
steadying himself by means of his staff, the water rose, and the
waves beat wildly against his shoulders.
"Do not rise, Wimur," he cried, "for I must wade over to the
giant's house."
Then he saw Geirod's daughter, Gialp, standing in the cleft
of a rock and making the water rise. He forced her to flee by
throwing a great stone at her, and afterwards got safely over
to the other bank, which he managed to climb, swinging himself
up by means of a service tree. Loki also got safely over, for
he clung to Thor's girdle the whole way.
When the travellers saw the chimney with- the fire issuing
from it, and the castle high ' as a mountain just in front of
them, they knew that they had got to the end of their journey.
They went into the entrance hall. Thor seated himself wearily
upon the only chair that was to be seen. But he soon discovered
that it was rising higher and higher, so that he was in danger
of being crushed against the ceiling. He pressed the end of
his staff against the beams that ran across the- top of the hall,
and with all his Ase-strength tried to force the chair down again.
A terrible crack and a cry of pain told him that he had hurt
some living creature in his struggles. Gialp and Greip, Geirod's
daughters, had raised the chair on which he was sitting, and
they now lay under it with broken backs, victims of their own
cunning.
A monster serving-man now challenged Thor to a fencing
bout in the great hall. On entering it the Ase saw with
amazement that fires were burning all round the walls, the
ISO ASGAkD AND THE GODS.
flames and smoke of which rose through the chimney he had
seen before.
Instead of giving him courteous greeting, the Jotun king flung
an iron wedge at him, which he had taken red hot out of the
furnace with a pair of tongs. But Thor caught it in his iron glove
and threw it back with such impetus that it broke through the
brazen breastplate and body of the Jotun, and then crashed
through the wall, burying itself deep in the earth on the other
side of it. Thor looked down on the cowering giant who had
at once turned into stone. He set him up as a monument
of his victory, and there the petrified monster remained for
centuries, reminding succeeding generations of men of the great
deeds done by Asathor.
This is said to be another of the natural myths which tell
how the beneficent god of summer conquered the destructive
tempest with his own weapons ; the two daughters are supposed
to be personifications of the mountain torrents which caused rivers
to overflow.
According to some, however, this legend, like the last one,
describes a descent of the god into the Underworld, and there
is also a similar one related by Saxo Grammaticus, of which
Thorkill is the hero. .
But we are of opinion that it is far more likely to have been
in the volcanic island of Iceland that Thor was victorious over
the demon. The island was known to the skalds, from the
descriptions of bold sailors, long before its colonization by the
Northmen. Tales of volcanic eruptions and hot springs must
have excited the imagination of the poets extremely. Thus
perhaps arose the myth of Thor's journey to Geirods-gard, in
which the god conquers the demon of subterranean fire. This
view is supported by the shape of a rock near Haukadal, where,
within a circle of 900 feet, are geysers and strocks. The rock
THE HARBARD LAY. 15 ^
is said to resemble a gigantic man cowering down, his body broken
in the middle.
THE HARBARD LAY.
In this poem Odin acts the part of a ferryman, under the name
of Harbard, refuses to row Thor, the god of agriculture, over
the river, and sends him on his way with opprobrious words.
The reason was, that Odin was the god of the spirit and the
warlike courage which animated the nobles and their retainers
The proud warriors and skalds despised the peaceful peasantry
who remained quietly at home, lived upon herrings and oatmeal
porridge, and hated the devastation caused by war ; while they,
on the contrary, were , continually fighting for wealth and glory,
and hoped to rise to Odin's halls after death upon the field of
battle.
This contempt for the tiller of the soil is clearly shown in the
Lay, which makes the protector of agriculture play a very pitiful
part. The myth had its rise in later times, when the old faith
in the gods and deep reverence for them had already begun to
decay.
The bold Wikings did not hesitate to say that they trusted
more in their own good swords than in the help of Odin and
Asathor. The Lay was perhaps composed at that time, but
still, it rested on an older one, in which the myth of agriculture,
of the apparent dpath of Fiorgyn or Jord, mother of Thor, through
the devastation caused by war, and of the renewed life of the
Earth-goddess, were more clearly described.
IRMIN.
As we have before remarked, the Prince of the Ases was
worshipped as one of the holy ones by the Teutonic race ; it is
probable that he was also adored under the name of Irmin, and
152 ASGARD AND THE GODS.
that the different Irmixi-columns were dedicated to him. But
Irmin means universal, and it was to the universal, omnipotent
god that the Irmin-columns were erected. It was he who helped
the Teutons to victory in their battles against the Romans ; for
this reason the celebrated Irmin-column, which was destroyed
nearly 8oo years later by Charlemagne, was set up in his honour
at Osning (in the Teutoburg Forest). It also reminds us of
the hero Armin, who was held in great reverence, and whose
name and character were in process of time confounded with those
of the god.
Irmin was also supposed to be identical with the mythical
hero Iring, who, when the Franks and the Saxons were fighting
against the Thuringians, traitorously slew his lord, Irminfried,
and then killed the false-hearted ruler of the Franks. After this
he cut his way through the ranks of the enemy, sword in hand,
and did many other heroic deeds. If this hero was the same as
Irmin, he was very different from Thor, whose nature in all the
myths regarding him was always true-hearted, and never cunning.
But the legend also makes out the traitor to have been different
from the god, for, after their victory, the Saxons erected a pillar
to Irmin, and not to the Thuringian Iring.
Irmin was the common god of many tribes, and some philolo-
gists derive the name " German " from him. He was the guardian
deity of the Thuringians, Katti, and Cherusci, and showered
down his blessings upon them as he drove over the firmament of
heaven in the Irmin- wain (Great Bear or Charles' Wain). The
Milky- way, Iring or Irmin-road, the way of souls, was also sacred
to him, and thus he was the ruler of souls, and identical with
Aryama, the national god of all the Aryan races in the oldest
times. The Kelts worshipped the same god under the names of
Erimon and Erin, whence Ireland and the Irish are called after
him. The chariot in which he drove through the heavens showed"
CHAINING OF THE FENRIS WOLF.
CHAINING OF THE FENRIS WOLF. 155
his relationship to Thor according to the oldest ideas ; but still
Odin, the Leader of souls, had much in common with h*im. Tyr,
the ancient god of heaven, the sword-god, was, however, yet more
nearly kin to him, because he was depicted in warlike array, and
because the monuments of victory, the Irmin-columns, were called
after him. Several places have also derived their names from
him.
TYR OR ZIO.
Who is there, who, after a hard day's work, has not rejoiced to
see the approach of quiet Mother Night, when, wrapped in her
starry mantle, she brings back peace to the world which has been
robbed of it by restless Day ?
This feeling of peace has often been destroyed by a sound that
has something mysterious and strange about it. It is only the
long-drawn howl of a dog, a sound that is heard m^ost frequently
when the moon is. shining brightly ; but it has something grue-
some in it, and this accounts for the popular belief that it betokens
the death of the person who hears it.
A circumstance of this kind happened once upon a time within
the holy precincts of Asgard.
Mani (the moon) was following Mother Night merrily in his
chariot, when suddenly he started and his happy face became
clouded, for out of a great abyss there arose a howling noise which
quickly swelled to a dreadful roar, so that the whole earth
trembled as after a peal of thunder.
The Ases were awakened by it, and the Einheriar snatched at
their weapons, for they thought that Ragnarok had come.
Amongst them stood Tyr, tall and slender as a pine, and unmoved
by the terrors that they had expected.
" Fenris," he said, " has been wakened by the moon, and wants
something to eat ; I will go and feed him."
IS6 ASGARD AND THE GODS.
Then he set out in the night, laden with living and dead animals
with which to appease the iponster's rapacity. Once more the
terrible roar was heard, then it seemed that the monster was
quieted ; only the cracking and crunching of the bones of the
animals he devoured could now be heard.
In the morning the Ases held council as to what was to be
done; for the Wolf was slinking about, casting greedy looks at
Asgard, as though he were devising how to break into the castles
of the gods and carry off the spoil. They saw how gigantic he
had grown, and knew that he daily increased in size and strength.
Heimdal pointed at Thor's hammer, and at Gungnir, the death-
spear, in Odin's hand ; but Allfather said gravely :
" The black blood of the monster may not soil the sacred courts
of the gods. A chain must be made, so strong that it cannot be
broken ; then let him be bound with it, that his rage may be held
in check."
The word was spoken, the work must be done. The Ases
forged the chain Leuthing as quickly as they could, and took it to
the Lyngwi island, where the Wolf, enticed by Tyr, followed them
willingly.
The Wolf peacefully allowed himself to be bound, for he knew
his own strength. When he was fully chained, he twisted and
stretched himself, and the iron- ropes broke in pieces like weak
thread.
A second chain, called Droma, much stronger than the first,
was made, and he bore it for a moment ; then he shook himself
violently, and it fell clattering to the ground, broken to pieces.
The Ases stood round him silent and not knowing what to do,
while Fenris increased his strength by devouring the food that
had been thrown to him.
Wishfather now sent Skirnir, a young but wise and able servant
of Freyer, to the Home of the Black- Elves, to get the Elves, who
CHAINING OF THE FENRIS WOLF. IS7
were versed in magic lore, and who lived in the bowels of the
earth, to make fetters that should bind the Destroyer.
The underground people made a chain, small and slight as a
silken thread, which they called Gleipnir. They said that it
would grow stronger and stronger the more the prisoner strove to
free himself from it.
Skirnir took the chain to the Ases. The All-Devourer resisted,
and opened his mighty jaws threatening to swallow up all who
tried to bind him ; for he guessed that there was magic power
concealed in the slight fetters.
Then brave Tyr came forward, petted and stroked the monster,
and put his right hand into his jaws. Fenris thought this a sign
that no evil was meant, so he allowed the slender chain to be
bound around his neck and feet.
When this was done, he stretched himself violently, en-
deavouring to break his bonds, but they only became the stronger
and cut into his skin and flesh. He had already bitten off Tyr's
hand, and now he opened his blood-red jaws to seize the god
himself and the other Ases too. But they feared the wild beast
no longer ; they thrust a sharp sword into his gaping mouth till
the point penetrated the palate above and prevented him
biting.
Then they fastened Gleipnir to two great rocks, that the Wolf
might not get away. In vain the monster howled day and night
while the blood ran down between his jaws and collected in the
river Wan ; he could not break his bonds.
Thus is crime, which threatens to corrupt the human race, bound
by the apparently slight fetters of law, and as the power of the
Wolf was broken by the sword, that of crime is kept under by the
awards of justice. When a people no longer heeds the law, and
throws aside all civic order, crime frees itself from its fetters, and
the nation rushes to its ruin as surely as Gleipnir would be broken
158 ASGARD AND THE GODS.
in the Twilight of the Gods, as surely as the All-Devourer would
become freed from his chains and from the sword.
Tyr was called Tius by the Goths, Tio or Zio by the Anglo-
Saxons, and the same by the Suevi, a tribe of whom, the Jut-
hungen, lived beside the Lake of Constance. They were called
Zio^yari (servants of Zio), because they regarded this god as
their guardian deity ; the name of their chief town was Ziesburg
(now Augsburg). The rune that stands for it, and is called
after the god, is the sign of the sword. It bears the names of
Tius, Tio, in Old High-German Zio, and besides these; is known
as Eor, Erch, Erich, and in old Saxon Er, Eru, Heru or Cheru.
These different appellations were all borne by the god, whose
worship was so wide-spread.
Moreover the religion of the Suevi acknowledged a goddess Zisu,
as is proved from the fragment of a Latin chronicle. She had a
temple in Augsburg, and was of a warlike nature ; she must there-
fore have been the female representative of the god Zio or Tyr.
This god was the expression in ancient times of the impression
that nature as a whole made upon the minds of those who were
influenced by her. He was without form, and originally without a
a name. When the Romans first knew the Germanic race he had
already become a personality and was endowed with attributes,
for they compared him with their own Mars, and therefore recog-
nised him to be the god of war. Thus he had lost his original
signification.
Tyr or Tius, meant brightness, glory, then the shining firmament,
and was derived from the same root as the Hindu Djaus, the
Greek Zeus, and the Roman Jupiter (Diu-piter, Dies-pater). Rays
of sunlight and forked lightning both come from the sky, and
were typified in arrows and deadly missiles. In the middle ages
arrows were still called rays in German. Hence an arrow became
the attribute and also the symbol of the omnipotent god of
TYR, THE SWORD GOD.
HERU, CHERUj SAXNOT. i6i
heaven ; in later times a sword took the place of the arrow as it
was a stronger weapon in battle. This symbol remained to him
in the rune and also in the groves which were dedicated to him.
When his place was afterwards given to Wodan and Thor as the
ruling gods of heaven, Tyr was looked upon as the god of battles,
whose help must be entreated during the fight and whose rune
of victory was scratched on the handles and blades of swords while
ejaculating the name of the god.
Tyr was held in much less honour in the time of the skalds ;
he was then regarded as the son of Odin and the god of unnatural
warfare that could never be appeased. Odin, the god of the mind,
of martial courage and of poetic enthusiasm, had taken his place
as the ideal of Kings and brave Jarls. Thor also, the god of the
peasant, the benefactor of mankind, helped to force him into the
background and gained some of the devotion Tyr had lost.
HERU OR CHERU, SAXNOT.
Nearly related to the warlike Tyr, perhaps identical with him,
were Heru or Cheru and Saxnot. They were essentially German
sword-gods, and were not known to the northern skalds. Their
worship was wide-spread ; for the Alanes, Quades, Getes and
Markomanns paid divine honours to the sword, and even the
Scythians, as Herodotus tells us, planted it in a high pyramidal
heap of brush-wood, and called upon it as the symbol of the
divinity. Many legends are still in existence about it, one of
which we give as an example.
Cheru's sword was made in the mysterious smithy of the Dwarfs,
whose artistic workmanship was celebrated among Ases and men.
The sons of Iwaldi, who had made Odin's spear, and Sindri, who
had forged Miolnir, had united their efforts in making the mar-
vellous weapon on which the fate of kings and nations was to hang.
H
i62 ASGARD AND THE GODS.
The zealous master-smiths worked busily within the earth, when
Sokwabek was built under -the flowing river, until at length the
shining sword was completed, which Cheru the mighty god re-
ceived.
This sword shone every morning on the high-place of the
anctuary, sending forth its light afar when dawn arose, like a
flame of fire ; but one day its place was empty and the rosy light
of morning only shqne upon the altar from which the god had
disappeared.
The priests and nobles sought the advice of the wise woman.
This was the inscrutable answer they received.
" The Norns wandered on the ways of night ; the moon had
hidden his face ; they laced the threads, strong and powerful, of
gods and men, that none might break. One towards the east,
the other towards the west, and one towards the south ; the black
thread towards the north. They spake to Cheru : * Go, choose out
the ruler, the lord of the earth ; give him the two-edged sword to
his own hurt' He has it, he holds it in his hands ; but yet Cheru
the lord will bring it back after a time."
Startled at this dark oracle, the men begged for an explanation ;
but the maiden of the tower gave no reply. Meanwhile the story
relates the course of events, and throws the only light that is given
upon the riddle.
Vitellius, the Roman prefect of the Lower Rhine, was supping
past midnight in his house at Cologne, for he liked the pleasures
of the table better than all the glory and all the diadems in the
world.
When he was told that a stranger, bearing important news from
Germany, wanted to speak to him, he rose impatiently. He
desired to get rid of him as soon as possible ; but when he entered
the anteroom, he found himself in the presence of a man of such
distinguished appearance, that he could not treat him dis-
THE MAGtC SWORD OF CHERV. 163
courteously. He would have at once taken him for one of the
Immortals, if his self-indulgent life had not long ago destroyed
his faith iti the religion of his ancestors.
The stranger gave him a sword of beautiful workmanship, and
said :
" Take this weapon ; keep it carefully and use it well, and it
will bring thee glory and empire. All hail, Caesar Augustus ! "
The prefect examined the sword ; when he looked up, the
stranger was gone, and the guard had neither seen him come nor
go. He returned to the supper-room and told what had happened.
He drew the sword out of its sheath, and it was as though a flash
of lightning passed through the room.
Immediately a voice exclaimed, but whether in the room or not,
no one could say : " That is the sword of the divine Caesar ! All
hail, Vitellius ! All hail. Emperor ! "
The guests at the supper-table joined in the cry and spread
abroad the news ; next morning the legions greeted Vitellius as
Emperor. Messengers were despatched on horseback to the other
provinces, and Fortune seemed to have chosen him as her favourite.
His general conquered the army of his opponent, Rome opened
her doors to him and the whole East acknowledged his sway.
" It was the sword of the divine Caesar that made me master of
the world," said the Emperor, as he seated himself at table to
enjoy the delicacies which had been imported by land and water
from distant countries. He ceased to care for the sword ; he left
it standing in a corner of the peristylium, where a Teutonic soldier
of the body-guard found it and took it in exchange for his own
clumsy old weapon.
The new possessor of the sword watched the conduct of the
Emperor with displeasure, for Vitellius cared for nothing but the
pleasures of eating and drinking ; he paid no attention to the
affairs of the Empire, or to the wants of the soldiers ; he took no
i64 ASGARD AND THE GODS.
notice when far away in Asia brave Vespasian had been proclaimed
Caesar by his legions.
The German soldier left the Emperor's service and mixed
himself with the idle populace. Meanwhile one misfortune after
another befel the gluttonous Emperor. Provinces, generals, armies
forsook him ; the enemy's troops approached the capital ; then
Vitellius had recourse to the sword which had before brought him
victory ; but instead of it he found only an old and useless
weapon.
Now all his courage forsook him ; he wished to escape, and
crept away to bury himself in a corner of the palace. The populace
tore him from his hiding-place, dragged him through the streets,
and when he reached the foot of the Capitol, the German soldier
stabbed him to death with the sword of Cheru or of the divine
Caesar. In this manner was the prophecy of the wise woman
fulfilled : "to his own hurt."
Afterwards the German soldier left Rome and went to Pannonia,
where he re-entered the Roman service. He fought in many
battles and was victorious in all, and soon became so famous that
he was made centurion, and then tribune. When he grew old
and was incapable of further service, he made a hole on the bank
of the Danube, hid the good sword in it, and covered it up again
with earth. Then he built himself a hut and lived there until his
end. On his death-bed, he told the neighbours who had assembled
round him, of his battles, and how he had got possession of the
sword of Cheru ; but he did not betray the place where he had
hidden it, yet the saying that whoever should find the sword
would become ruler of the world, remained current among the
people from generation to generation.
Centuries came and went. The storm of the migration of races
swept over the Roman empire ; the Germanic races shared the
spoil amongst them ; the nomads of Asia, the wild Huns, made
THE MAGIC SWORD OF CHERU, i6s
their way over from the East, like the waves of a sea, in order to
have a share in the booty. Attila, or Etzel, raised his blood-
besprinkled banner in the desire for land and military fame, but
his efforts were fruitless for a long time.
As Attila was once riding with his troopers along the banks of
the Danube, he busied himself with framing in his own mind
gigantic plans of gaining for himself the empire of the world. He
happened to look up and saw a peasant driving a lame cow and
carrying a beautifully made sword under his arm. On being
questioned, the man replied that his cow had hurt her foot against
something sharp that was hidden in the grass, and that when he
sought for the cause of the injury he found and dug up the sword.
The king desired that the sword should be brought to him, and
drew it out of its sheath with joyful emotion ; its bright blade
shone fiery red in the evening light and all present stared at it in
amazement.
But Attila, holding up the shining weapon in his strong hand,
exclaimed :
" It is the sword of the war-god with which I shall conquer the
world."
Having said this, he galloped away to the camp, and soon after-
wards marched on to battles and victory. Whenever he drew the
sword of the war-god the earth trembled from the east to the very
west.
After his last campaign in Italy he married the beautiful Ildiko,
daughter of the King of Burgundy whom he had slain. The
youthful bride adorned herself unwillingly for the wedding she
hated.
An old woman came to her secretly, and gave her the sword
with which to revenge her father's death.
At length the king entered the bridal chamber in a state of in-
toxication and threw himself upon his couch. Ildiko now drew
i66 ASGARD AND THE GODS.
the weapon from under her dress and stabbed him to the heart
with its sharp blade.
The rule of the Huns came to an end with the death of Attila,
and the Germanic races chased these hordes back to the steppes
whence they came ; but tradition does not inform us whether these
later deeds of war were done with the help of the miraculous
sword. Yet it tells us of many strange things performed by
means of it in the middle ages, and of how Duke Alba buried it
in the earth after the battle of Miihlberg.
HEIMDAL (RIGER). .
Once upon a time, when there was peace in the worlds, Riger
arose and set out to visit his children of men, to see how they
lived and what they did.
He walked along the green road, and arrived at last at a badly
built house with a low roof. On the wooden bench beside the
hearth were seated a man and his wife.
Ai and Edda (great-grandfather and great-grandmother) were
their names, and they were very poorly clad. Riger addressed
them kindly, seated himself between them, and ate with them of
their coarse bran cakes, and their porridge in earthenware dishes.
The Ase remained in the cottage for three days and three nights,
giving good counsel to them, and then went on from the sea-sand
to the better ground for cultivation.
Nine moons after his departure a little boy was born to Ai and
Edda, whose skin was of a dark colour and whose forehead was
low. His parents called the lad Thrall He grew and flou-
rished, and soon learnt to use his strength. He tied up bundles
with his muscular arms, and carried heavy weights upon his back
all day long.
When he had grown to man's estate, he married a girl with black
ORIGIN OF CLASS-DISTINCTIONS. 167
feet and sunburnt hands, called Thyr, who worked with the great-
est diligence. From them are descended the race of Thralls.
Meanwhile Riger pursued his journey. He came to a roomy,
well-built house in the middle of a cultivated field. There he
found Afi and Amma (grandfather and grandmother) neatly
dressed and working busily. The husband was making a loom,
and the wife was spinning snowy linen thread on her wheel. A
pot of good food was bubbling on the fire. Amma soon filled the
plates, and at the same time gave her guest a cup of foaming beer
as was the custom of the free-born farmer. Riger gave them much
good advice regarding the management of house and land ; and
after remaining with them for three days and three nights, he set
out again along the road which ran through shady groves and
across green meadows.
Nine moons passed, arid then came a happy time, for a little
boy was born to the great delight of his parents. He was called
Karl (lad), and grew and flourished; rosy were his cheeks, and
bright and clear his eyes.
The boy soon learnt to drive the plough, to yoke the oxen and
make carts in the same way as his father. In course of time he
married Snor (cord), who was rich in keys and wore finely- woven
dresses ; and he broughl; her home to his new house. Sons and
daughters were born of this marriage ; all grew up active, merry,
and free, and dwelt upon their own land. ^
Meanwhile Riger walked on through beautiful fields and bloom-
ing gardens up to the manor house on the top of a sloping hill.
The door with its shining handle was not locked, so he entered the
richly furnished hall. The floors were carpeted, and the father and
mother were sitting on cushions, dressed in silken garments and
playing with delicate toys.
Then the master of the house tried his bow, made arrows and
whetted his sword, while his wife came out to watch him in a blue
i68 ASGARD AND THE GODS,
dress with a long train, and with a kerchief crossed over her white
neck and shoulders.
Riger seated himself between them. He knew how to advise
them for the glory and weal of their house.
Afterwards the lady spread the table with a beflowered linen
cloth ; she brought in well-cooked dishes of game and poultry,
and filled the golden beakers and jugs with sparkling wine. They
drank and talked till night-fall, and then Riger was shown his
comfortable bed.
He remained with his hosts for three days and three nights, and
then went away to continue his journey.
Nine moons passed, and a son was born in the manor house,
fair-haired, with beautiful rosy cheeks and eyes like shining stars.
He was called Jarl ; he grew and flourished, learnt to draw the
sword, to throw the spear, to bend the bow, to carry the shield, to
ride the horse, and to swim across the Sound. The boy learnt
even more than this as he grew older, for Riger came to him out of
the dark grove, and taught him to understand the runes, inspiring
him at the same time to do deeds which should bring him and his
house honour and glory.
Then Jarl went out to battle, conquered the enemy, and won for
himself renown and booty, castles and land, rewarding his com-
panions in arms generously with golden clasps and rings.
He became a great ruler, but still he felt sad and lonely in his
luxurious hall. So he sent messengers to ask for the hand of Lady
Erna, the slender- waisted. His offer was accepted, and the noble
maiden entered his shining halls where the Earl received her with
joy. They grew to love each other and lived together to a good
old age.
Sons and daughters came of this marriage, and increased the
number of the Jarls. The youngest son, Konur, understood the
runes, both of the present and the future, and also the language
LOKl STEALS FREYA'S NECKLACE. 169
of birds. Besides this, he was a mighty warrior, and afterwards
became the first King of Denmark. This is what the " Rigsmal,"
a poem of the Edda, teaches us of the beginning of class dis-
tinctions.
When Riger (or Heimdal) had finished his labours he mounted
his horse, Gulltop (golden-mane), and rode home to Himinbiorg
to fulfil his duty as watchman.
He drank sweet mead late each night, for all things in Asgard
and without it were sunk in sleep. At midnight he once heard a
noise of footsteps, but so faint was the sound that no ear but his
could have heard it. It came from Folkwang, where Freya, the
goddess of love and beauty, dwelt.
Heimdal cast a penetrating glance in the direction whence the
sound came, and saw the sleeping goddess resting upon her couch.
She was lying "on her side, one arm resting upon her shining neck-
lace, Brisingamen. Loki was standing beside her bed gazing
covetously at the ornament. He seemed in doubt as to how he
could get possession of it He murmured magic spells, and lo !
he grew visibly smaller and smaller. At last he became a tiny
little creature, with bristles and a sharp set of teeth, a creature that
thirsts for blood and attacks both gods and men ; in the form of
a flea he jumped upon the bed, and slipped beneath the sheets ; he
stung the sleeping goddess in the side so that she turned. The
necklace was now free, and the cunning Ase, regaining his natural
form, untied the ribbon that fastened it round her neck, and made
off with it.
The faithful watchman on the heavenly tower was very wroth
with the night-thief He drew his sharp sword, and, as he had his
seven-league boots on, came up with him in a few strides. He
struck out at the robber, but his sword only went through a pillar
of fire that towered up into the sky in which Loki's form t^d dis-
appeared.
I70 ASGARD AND THE GODS,
In a moment Heimdal rose in the shape of a cloud, from which
such a torrent of rain descended that it threatened to extinguish
the fire.
Loki immediately changed himself into a polar bear, that
opened its mouth and drank up the rain. Before he could escape
he was attacked by Heimdal as a still larger bear.
Loki fled from the deadly embrace in the form of a seal, but
his flight was useless, for he was caught by another larger seal.
The two creatures fought furiously ; they bit and scratched each
other till the waters were stained with their blood. After a long
and fierce struggle, Heimdal was victorious, and Loki slipped out
of his torn and mangled seal's skin ; but when Heimdal whirled
his sword round his head, he begged for mercy and gave up the
necklace to his opponent.
Heimdal stood leaning on his sword and holding Brisingamen in
his left hand, rejoicing in his victory in spite of the pain his
wounds caused him. But Iduna, Bragi's lovely wife, came to him
and gave him an apple of eternal youth. As soon as he had
tasted it, his wounds were healed and he ceased to suffer pain.
He bade the goddess take the necklace back to Freya.
Then he returned to Himinbiorg, mounted his good horse
GuUtop and rode down Iring's road, which men now call the
Milky Way; immediately the black storm-clouds vanished and
the shining stars lighted up the expanse of heaven in the same
way that Brisingamen did Asgard's halls, until day came and
called up gods and men to their work. For Heimdal is the same
as Heimdellinger for Heimdaglinger, he who brought day to the
home of the world. His name Riger shows that he was also
related to the German Erich, Erk, Heru or Cheru, the sword-god,
and consequently to Tyr or Zio. The Edda calls him the Sword-
Ase, and makes him wander on the green ways of earth, as Iring
did on the Milky Way, which was called after him. Certain roads
HEIMDAL, 171
bore the same name, such as those which ran through England
from south to north, and the Irmin-streets in Germany that led
to and from the Irmin-columns ; thus Riger resembled the
universal god, the giver of victory.
Riger's wanderings reminds us of Orwandil, whom Thor carried
through the ice-streams Eliwagar. He was identical with the
mythical hero Orendel, a son of King Eigel of Treves, whose
travels and adventures on every sea have much resemblance to
those of Odysseus. It is very doubtful whether these stories were
known to the Teutons at the time of Tacitus, as this author
mentions that the Hellenic hero had been in Germany, and had
founded the town of Asciburgum (Ase-burg). It was rather to
the poets of the middle ages that dark rumours of the Odyssee
came.
Heimdal was born of nine mothers (the wave- maidens), whose
names are taken from waves and cliffs ; he was nursed and
strengthened by Mother Earth, the cold sea and the rays of the
sun ; hence he appears as a god of heaven, raised aloft by the
waves of the sea, which afterwards fall to the earth as fruitful rain
or dew. This was his position in the natural myth. The skalds
made him out to be the watchman of Asgard, to whom wa
entrusted the care of Bifrost, the rambow-bridge, that all attacl^
of the giants might be prevented.
172
ASGARD AND THE GODS.
HRAGI AND HEIMDAL RECEIVING THE WARRIORS IN WALHALLA.
BRAGI AND IDUNA.
In the beginning the silence of death rested upon the immeasur-
able ocean, not a breath of wind stirred the air, not a wave rose on
the surface of the deep ; everything was motionless, dumb, with-
out breath or life.
A vessel, the ship of the Dwarfs, crossed the silent waste of
water, Bragi, the divine singer, was lying on the deck asleep,
sunk in the dream of life ; he was without spot or blemish, and
his golden-stringed harp lay at his side. When the vessel glided
over the threshold of Nain, the Dwarf of Death, the god awoke,
touched the strings of his harp and sang a song that echoed
throughout the nine worlds, describing the rapture of existence,
BRAGI AND IDUNA. 173
the rage of battle and the charm of victory, and the joy and
happiness of love. This song wakened dumb nature out of her
trance.
Whether the god of poetry were the son of Odin or not, we
cannot tell ; the skalds do not inform us. But poetry cannot die,
it always rises out of death to a new life and rejoices the hearts of
both gods and men.
Bragi landed on the shore, singing his noble song about the
awakening of nature and the blossoming of new life ; and he
wandered through the growing, budding woods as he sang. Then
Iduna rose before him from amongst the grasses, flowers and
foliage, the goddess of immortal youth, the youngest daughter of
Iwaldi, the Dwarf, who hid life in the deep and afterwards sent it
again to the upper world when the right time had come.
Iduna was beautiful in her crown of flowers and leaves ; she was
beautiful as the dawn. When the god saw her, his song of love
became more glowing and intense. He stretched out his arms
and she sank upon his breast, for the poet must needs marry youth
and beauty.
After they were united, they went to the blessed ever-green
heights of Asgard, where the Ases received them with joy. Then
Iduna gave them to eat of the apple of ever-renewed youth.
When the gods and Einheriar had eaten their fill of the flesh of
Sahrimnir, Bragi touched the strings of his harp and sang the
praises of the heroes. But this pleasant life in Asgard, and the
married happiness of the divine poet, were once broken by a severe
trial, as we shall presently see.
Odin, Honir and Loki were travelling about the world together
to see what were the joys and sorrows, works and labours of
the dwellers upon earth. They went a long way, and at length
came to a densely wooded mountain where there was nothing
to eat. They could find no hospitable house in which to take
174 ASGARD AND THE GODS.
shelter; could hear no friendly voice calling to them. The
autumn wind was blowing the tops of the oaks and firs.
When they reached the valley, they saw a herd of cattle grazing
in the meadow. They caught one of the animals and slaughtered
it ; they cut it up and prepared to cook it for their supper. The
fire, kindled by Loki, blazed up, and they thought the beef would
soon be cooked. But when they looked to see, it was still quite
raw. This happened a second and a third time ; the As6s were
astonished and wondered what to do.
Suddenly they heard a voice above them saying that he who
prevented the beef from cooking was sitting above them in a
branch of the tree. On looking up they saw a gigantic eagle
through the leaves of the oak, busily engaged in trying to put out
the fire by flapping his wings. He promised to allow them to
cook their supper if they would give him some of it. When they
had agreed to do so, he flew down, fanned the fire, and very soon
supper was ready.
They all sat down together, but the eagle ate so quickly that it
seemed as though he would devour the whole bullock. Loki was
dreadfully hungry, and getting into a rage, snatched up a stake
and stabbed at the gigantic bird with it. The eagle flew up into
the air when he felt the blow. The stake had fastened itself to
the feathers of the bird and Loki's hands were glued to the other
end.
The eagle flew so low that Loki's feet dragged along the ground
and hit against any stones and stumps that might be in the way,
ivhile his arms felt as if they were dislocated. He shrieked and
groaned and begged for mercy of the Storm-giant, who, as he
well knew, was hidden under the eagle's dress.
" Very well," said the giant, " I will set thee free if thou wilt
promise to bring me Iduna and her golden apples."
Loki swore to do so, and, as soon as he was set free, limped
THE GIANT THIASSI STEALS IDUNA. 175
back to his companions. Under the circumstances the travellers
determined to go home, and they must have been provided with
seven-league boots, for they arrived at Asgard on the following
day.
Beautiful Iduna was going about her household duties, dressed
in green and wearing a garland of leaves, the crown of unfading
youth. Bragi was away from home journeying as a minstrel.
She collected her apples, which she usually gave the Ases at
breakfast time.
At this moment Loki came up to her quickly, and looking
round to see that no one was near, whispered :
" Gentle and lovely goddess, follow me quickly out of the castle
gate, for I have discovered a strange tree covered with golden
fruit like thine."
This was a request the goddess could not decline. She put
some of her apples in a crystal dish and followed the traitor
through Asgard, and on into the dark wood.
All at once the Storm-wind roared through the trees ; and
Thiassi, the giant in the eagle's dress, rushed up, caught the
terrified goddess in his talons, and flew with her to dreary wintry
Thrymheim, where spring flowers cannot bloom, not yet can youth
survive.
Loki slunk back to Asgard, and quietly kept his secret about
Iduna to himself " The longer hence they notice it, the better,"
he cunningly thought to himself
The Ases for a long time did not know that Iduna had been
stolen ; they thought she had gone away on a journey. But when
days and weeks had passed their hair began to turn grey, the
colour left their cheeks and their faces showed the folds and
wrinkles of age. The goddesses, even Freya herself, discovered
signs of approaching old age, when they looked at their faces in
the mirror of a clear stream.
176 ASGARD AND THE GODS.
They all asked for Iduna and sought her high and low. The
last time she was seen, she was walking with Loki. The cunning
Ase was questioned ; his lies did not help him ; Thor threatened to
break all his limbs, and raised his hammer for the purpose : then
Loki confessed, and promised to bring back the giver of youth,
if Freya would lend him her falcon-dress.
The request was granted, and he flew away at once to Thrym-
heim, the dwelling of the Storm-giant Thiassi.
The giant was at sea, and Iduna was sitting lonely and sad in
an uncomfortable room, made of roughly hewn logs. 'Loki told
her to be of good courage and changed her into a nut.
Then he flew over rocks and chasms with his light burden
towards Asenheim.
Meanwhile the giant came home from his sea voyage. He had
always hitherto begged his prisoner in vain to give him a slice of
the apple of youth, that his horrible deformity might be trans-
formed into the beauty of youth. As soon as he discovered
Iduna's flight, he put on his eagle's dress and rushed after the
fugitives with the speed of the storm.
The Ases watched the wild chase anxiously. They collected
shavings and bits of wood before the fortress, and when the falcon
had reached the shelter of the wall with his charge, they set fire
to the wood, and the flames towered up into the air, singeing the
wings of the pursuing eagle and bringing him to the ground.
Thiassi was then slain, but Thor threw his eyes up into the
heavens where they shone henceforth as stars every night.
On his return, Bragi found his wife at home and heard from
her all that had happened. He saw how Skadi, daughter of the
Storm-giant, appeared in helmet and chain armour to avenge her
father's death. And he afterwards told the whole story, ending
with how Ogir, the god of the sea, had made expiation to the war-
like maiden.
THE GIANT THIASSl STEALS IDUNA. 177
It is interesting to see how the genius of Odin's skalds united
the god of poetry in marriage with the goddess of spring, the
giver of renewed youth, and interwove the changes of the seasons
into the myth. Bragi, who came out of the unknown distance,
awoke mental life and also nature out of their trances ; Iduna,
who brought spring and youth into the world, became his wife.
She gave the Ases the golden fruit of renewed youth, a fruit which
was perhaps identical with the golden fruit that the Grecian hero
Herakles carried away from the Hesperides.
In the same way as the autumn winds tear the leaves from the
trees, the Storm-giant stole Iduna, and as the green meadows are
covered with ice and snow in winter, so Iduna had to spend some
time in the giant's uncomfortable house, while the gods themselves
grew old and their hair turned grey.
Then Loki, probably the south wind, had to go and set Iduna
free. The Storm-giant had gone on a voyage to the north, where
his power lasted until the coming of spring. So the imprisoned
spring was delivered from its bonds, and when the giant made hif
way into Asgard he was slain ; uc^ the storms of winter were con^
fined within certain bounds.
ULLER.
Uller appears in the Edda as the cheery and sturdy god of
winter, who, cariqg nothing for wind or snowstorm, used to go out
on long journeys on his skates or show-shoes.
Whenever he reached a lake or fiord which was not frozen, he
transformed his shoes into a boat, and, making the winds and waves
obey him, passed over to the other side.
Snow-shoes, as they are still worn in Norway and Iceland, are
light shoes, very large and shaped like a boat turning up at the
ends. With their help it is easy to slide quickly down hill, and
N
178 ASGARD AND THE GODS,
they may have been the shoes alluded to in the stories of Uller ;
still, skates were also used at that time to glide over the frozen
lakes. These shoes were also compared with a shield ; thus the
shield is called Uller's ship in several places.
When the god skated over the ice, he always carried with him
his shield, deadly arrows, and bow made of the yew-tree. The
pliable wood of the yew was the most suitable for making bows
for use either in hunting or in war. Uller, therefore, lived in the
palace Ydalir, the yew-vale.
As he protected plants and seeds from the severe attacks of the
frosts of the north by covering the ground with a coating of snow,
he was regarded as the benefactor of mortal men. and was called
the friend of Baldur, the giver of every blessing and joy.
Once when out hunting, Uller saw beautiful Skadi, the bold
huntress, of whom we shall have more to tell further on. He fell
in love with her, and as she was by this time separated from her
first husband, Niorder, she willingly consented to marry him. At
the wedding the storms all played dance music in every tune, for
the time when the day and night were of equal length in autumn
was past, and winter, the happiest time for marriage, had begun.
Vulder with the Anglo-Saxons meant divine glory, or even God
himself, and it seems that the Northern god Uller was thus cha-
racterised in heathen times. This was perhaps a consequence of
the glory of the Northern winter night, which is often brilliantly
lighted by the snow, the dazzling ice, and the Aurora borealis, the
great Northern Light.
ULLER. THE BOWMAN.
PART SIXTH.
THE WANES,
TTXISUNION had shown itself amongst the gods, as on earth
^^ amongst men, for the sake of power and gold. The Wanes
came up against Asgard in numbers like the stars of heaven, and
crowded over the broken wall into the holy precincts.
The Ases had no Einheriar to help them as yet, for this was the
first war which was to decide the government of the world. Spears
hurtled through the air, swords rattled against helmets and coats-
of-mail. The fallen warriors felt the pang of their wounds, but not
the agony of death, for the wounds soon closed again, and they
stood up anew to do battle with the foe.
Weapons did not suffice ; the warriors broke off pieces of rock
and the tops of mountains, tore pines and oaks up by their roots
and flung them at each other. Thunder rolled ; the sun hid its
face ; universal destruction threatened to overwhelm the world, and
the Jotuns looked on at the battle with delight, holding themselves
ready to fall upon both victor and vanquished, and complete the
work of destruction.
Then AUfather appeared, mighty and glorious, wearing his
golden helmet, and swinging the spear of death, and commanded
that there should be a truce.
1^2 ASGARD AND THE GODS.
The fiery warriors obeyed his behest ; they bowed their stubborn
heads, and lowered their uplifted weapons, as they listened to the
words of the King : " Let there be peace henceforth in heaven and
upon earth, and let a treaty be made between the divine Powers,
that neither may in future interfere with the province of the other,
but that each race of gods may do its utmost for the weal and
happiness of mortal men, who offer sacrifices and gifts as be
seems them."
In this way a Milton would probably have described the con-
clusion of the battle of the gods ; but the Edda, in addition to
this, relates how the Ases and Wanes each gave hostages to the
other in token of good faith.
Honir, Odin's brother, who had in the olden time given man
mind and senses, was sent to the Wanes, who in their turn made
over to the Ases Niorder, the unspotted Prince of men, with his
children Freyer and Freya, who were held in equal reverence with
himself.
The wise Mimir accompanied Honir to Wanaheim. But the
Wanes slew him and sent his head to the Ases. Odin, however,
restored it to life with his magic runes, that it might always confer
with him about the Past and the riddles of the Future, as in the
old time when after pledging his eye to Mimir 'he was permitted to
drink of the fountain of wisdom. He did not return *evil with evil,
but included Niorder and his children amongst the ranks of the
Ases, so that they lived in honour whilst the rest of their race were
almost entirely forgotten.
The Wanes, of whose worship but few and uncertain traces
remain in German traditions, are supposed to have been the gods
of feeling and of the senses. Professor Simrock has shown that
very probably that they were not essentially different from the
Ases, but that they were worshipped by other tribes than the Ases,
presumably by those of the Suevi, who were dwellers by the sea,
THE WANES. 183
for the Aestyer and especially the Suiones, Suevian tribes, prin-
cipally adored Freyer, Freya, and Niorder. It is also supposed
that they may have been the gods of tribes which had been forced
back and partially subjected to the conqueror, who at length threw
off the yoke of the victor and in renewed battle broke down part
of the fortifications of Asgard, but afterwards came to reasonable
terms with the enemy. This uncertain hypothesis would quite,
explain the war with the Wanes, and show it to have been a war of
races.
Some writers explain the Wanes to have been the priestly class
and the war to have been a struggle between ecclesiastical and
temporal power, such as raged between Pope and Kaiser all through
the middle ages, and which is perhaps not even yet at an end.
This cannot be called an altogether unjustifiable hypothesis, for
in the Edda we find many references to the wise Wanes, and wis-
dom could not well be an attribute of the gods of sensuous impulse,
whilst it might quite easily be found amongst the priests. So much
only is certain, however, that with the exception of the three
Wanes received into Asenheim, no other gods of that race take
part in any of the mythical occurrences. It was not supposed that
Wanaheim would disappear in the universal destruction of nature;
for when the world was to be renewed, Honir would be allowed
to choose whether he would enter the blessed Gimil, or remain
in Wanaheim.
NIORDER AND SKADI.
The Prince of men, as Niorder was called, was, according to tradi-
tion, tall and stately and of matchless beauty.' He was as famous
for his wisdom and goodness as for his wealth. Therefore he
listened to those who prayed him to bless their labours, especially
attending to those who were engaged in seafaring and mercantile
pursuits.
i84 ASGARD AND THE GODS..
■\
He lived at Noatun (seaport)", where he delighted to hear the
dash of the waves and the song of swans. The swan, which only
sings when it is dying, was looked upon as the bird of the Under-
world divinities. Hence Niorder seems to have had some connec-
tion with them. Moreover, he was regarded as the ruler of the
calm, peaceful ocean. When wild Ogir excited the sea to rise
foaming and dashing against the ships, threatening to engulf them,
Niorder calmed its fury with magic spells, and sent a favourable
wind to the assistance of the mariners. He did not wear Ogir's
helmet, of which all living creatures were afraid, but a hat trimmed
mth shells, above which waved a heron's plume. A sea-green tunic
clothed his slender figure, leaving the lower part of his well-formed
legs uncovered. To this circumstance he owed his marriage to
his second wife, beautiful Skadi. His residence in Asenheim had
separated him from his first wife Nerthus, Mother Earth, who was
also his sister, and he therefore lived unmarried in remote Noatun,
until he was wed to Skadi.
Then, as we have already told, gentle Iduna was stolen away,
was set free by Loki, and the storm-giant Thiassi was slain by the
Ases.
After this, Skadi, the giant's warlike daughter, armed herself in
her native Thrymheim with helmet and chain-mail, with spear and
deadly arrows, and appeared before Asgard demanding vengeance.
She looked gloriously beautiful in her shining armour, and the
Ases did not wish to fight with the noble maiden, whose wrath
seemed just in their eyes. They offered her expiation for her
father's death, but she would not listen to their friendly words ;
she raised her spear to hurl it at one of those who had been accom-
plice in his death.
Then cunning, Loki came forward, bowed low before her, and
sprang now to the right hand, now to the left, and then danced
backwards and forwards, while a long-horned, long-bearded goat
SKADI, BLINDFOLD, CHOOSES A HUSBAND. 185
made the same movements behind him, for he had fastened the
creature to himself with an invisible cord. When at length he
threw himself on his knees before her like a lover, and the goat,
bleating moiurnfullyj followed his example, Skadi burst into a fit
of laughter. Her anger passed away, and she allowed herself to
listen to terms.
Meanwhile it had grown dark, and Odin said, as he pointed to
the sky, —
" Look, there are thy father's eyes which I have placed in the
firmament of heaven that they may henceforth look down upon
thee as stars. As for thee, thou shalt become one of us, and shalt
choose thyself a husband from amongst us, but thine eyes must be
so covered with a veil that thou mayest only see the feet of the
assembled gods."
She gazed about her in astonishment, and as she did so, her eyes
fell upon Baldur, who stood before her in his divine beauty, for he
shone amongst the Ases like the morning star amongst the paling
stars of night. She hoped to recognise him even if she only saw
the hem of his garment Her eyes were then partially bandaged,
and the gods formed a circle round her. She looked around her
on the ground, and perceived amongst them a foot of remarkable
beauty.
" I choose thee," she said, " thou art Baldur."
She tore the bandage from her eyes, and — it was not Baldur,
it was Niorder whom she had chosen ; and he was slender, stately,
gentle and pleasant to look upon.
The word was spoken ; the choice was made ; the marriage was
solemnized with much pomp. The great huntress found her life
with her husband in heavenly Asgard a very happy one. The
golden wood Glasir was full of melody as she walked through it ;
the Einheriar rose from their seats when she entered Walhalla ;
the goddesses gave her ornaments to wear, and the Ases delighted
i86 ASGARD AND THE GODS.
in doing her honour. Thus the honeymoon passed, and then she
followed her husband to Noatun, his castle by the sea.
She liked the life she led there at first, but soon she began to
long for her native Thrymheim, for the sounds of the forests, in
which she had been accustomed to hunt, and the frozen meres on
which she used to skate.
She hated to hear the beat of the waves upon the shore, the
groans and barking of the seals, and to see the fish leap ; while
the hoarse cries of the gulls often wakened her out of her sleep.
She could bear it no longer, and ^told her husband she must eithei
go back to Thrymheim or she must die.
Niorder listened to her kindly, and proposed that he should
spend nine nights with her at Thrymheim, and that she should
then live three nights with him at Noatun, and so on until Rag-
narok should come. She gladly consented, and this plan of life was
kept up for some time to the satisfaction of both.
But in course of time Niorder himself grew weary of Thrym-
heim. The howling of the wolves, the bellowing of the buffaloes,
and the growling of the bears were as hateful to him as the noises
of the sea-side were to his wife. They therefore had themselves
set free from the marriage tie> and each dwelt in his and her own
land.
Niorder was patron of the fisheries, and also of ships and trade.
Skadi continued to hunt as before, and ruled with her bow and
arrows over the beasts and birds that lived in the forest. Some
time after her separation from Niorder, she married wintry Uller,
who was much better suited to her in character.
Simrock rightly maintains with regard to the origin and inter-
pretation of this myth, that .Niorder was a beneficent summer god,
who helped the harvest to ripen, and was the giver of material
well-being, who taught men how to cultivate the vine and other
kinds of husbandry. He was perhaps the masculine counterpart
NIORDER AND SKADI ON THEIR WAY TO NOATUN.
BRIGHT FREYER. 189
of the Earth-goddess Nerthus, who, probably, was both his wife and
his sister in Wanaland. As he was also interested in commercial
undertakings and voyages, the Edda shows him to have been
essentially the ruler of the sea and peace-maker with the storms.
Skadi, too, was connected with the Earth-goddess, but only in her
wintry dress.
Winter, regarded in its pleasantest aspect, gained a form and
personality in the consciousness of the people ; and so beautiful
Skadi appeared in the songs of the skalds. This myth is a crea-
tion of Norse genius, not of that of any particular poets. It
proves that in these poems, the Giants, Ases and Wanes were not
inimical Powers diametrically opposed to one another, but that
they could at one time live on friendly and intimate terms to-
gether.
FREYER OR FRO.
The Edda informs us that Freyer was the son of Niorder. He
and his sister Freya left Wanaland with their father, and were
received amongst the number of the Ases.
It appears, however, that he was known in still older times than
that, having been held in great reverence as the sun-god by the
Scandinavians, and probably by the Southern Germans also ; as
such he made the fields fruitful, blessed households and marriage
and family life.
We learn in the Edda, as has been already related, that imme-
diately before the wager between Loki and the dwarf Brock, Freyer
received the ship Skidbladnir, which could sail in any wished-for
direction, and which, when no longer wanted, could be folded up
and put in the pocket And then he was given the boar GuUin-
bursti, one of the three works of art made by Sindri, brother of
Brock ; this boar drew the god's chariot, and was at times ridden
I90 ASGARD AND THE GODS.
by him ; it would bear him through woods and over meadows, its
golden bristles rendering the darkest night as light as day.
In the ship we recognise the clouds, which always have a favour-
able wind when they scurry across the sky, and in the boar we see
the sun's golden light. Blodhughofi, a horse swift as the wind, was
at his command whenever he rode to join the council of the Ases.
Yule-tide, which was sacred to this god, takes its name from the
wheel of the sun, for jul or ^iuli^ means wheel (hveohl). This fes-
tival, for which the sun-god awakes and lights up his wheel once
more, was kept by all the Teutonic races. The special dish that
appeared at these feasts was a boar's head, such as is still seen on
the dinner tables at Christmas time in the University of Oxford.
To Freyer was awarded the Home of the Light-Elves by the
gods as a fit gift on his cutting his first tooth, for the god of sun-
shine and fruitful harvests must necessarily rule over the kingdom
of the Light-Elves.
According to one legend, Freyer once took a human form, and
ruled over Sweden under the name of Fiolnir. At the invitation
of King Frodi, he went to Hledra (Zealand), to take part in a great
feast prepared in his honour. When there, he fell into an enormous
butt of mead, and was drowned, in like manner as the sun-god
sinks every evening ihto the rosy waves of the sea.
He appeared amongst the Danes as Fridleif (peace-giver), the son
or grandson of Hadding, and governed the people with a strong
hand. In vain he sent messengers to ask for the hand of fair
Freygerda, King Amund's daughter. As Amund received his
offer with scorn, Fridleif organized an expedition to force him
to consent to the marriage.
•One evening as the lover sat thinking beside a pond in a wood,
he heard the swans singing to the murmuring waters :
" I^eartless the robber has stolen thy lover ;
Tarry not, hasten the giant to slay
THE WONDERFUL QUERN STONES. 191
Lurking in caverns his treasure to cover ;
Gerda is mourning thy weary delay."
Scarcely was the song ended, when Fridleif perceived a giant
taller thanthe highest tree preparing to throw his stone club at him.
The battle immediately began ; and Fridleif first hewed ofif
one of the monster's l^s, and then, when he had fallen to the
ground, his three heads.
The victor found Freygerda and a great treasure of gold hidden
away in the cave the Jotun had inhabited.
Soon afterwards Fridleif married the princess, and on his way
home the hero succeeded in killing a terrible dragon, in whose
cavern he discovered a still greater hoard of gold.
A son was born of this marriage named Frodi. He succeeded
his father on the Danish throne, and bestowed blessings upon his
people, such as only a god can give to mortal man.
So great was the public safety in his reign that the king had
golden chains and jewels kept day and night in the open air,
and no one dared to touch them. The traveller then always
found a hearty welcome throughout the kingdom, for there was
no lack of food in the country: the fields bore double 'harvests,
and the king was ever willing to relieve want wherever his help
was needed. This peaceful state was accounted by all as the
greatest of blessings, and in honour of Frodi was ever afterwards
called the Peace of Frodi. The king felt very happy, whether
drinking sweet mead upon his high throne in the hall of his fathers,
or making inroads upon the neighbouring tribes, followed by his
retainers.
* Among his treasures were two quern stones ; nothing much
to look at, simply two common mill stones in appearance, and no
* The following legend is quoted from the charming book, entitled, " Won-
derful Stories froni Northern Lands," by Julia Goddard (London : Longmans,
1871),
192 ASGARD AND THE GODS.
one who did not know what they could do would think of taking
any notice of them. Nevertheless, these quern stones were of
more worth than anything that King Frodi had, for they could
produce anything that the grinder of the quern or hand mill wished
for. They would bring, gold, silver, precious stones, anything and
everything ; and besides this they could grind love, joy, peace ;
therefore it is not too much to say that these stones were worth
more than all the treasures of the king put together.
At least they would have been if he could have made use of
them, but they were so heavy that few ' could be found to turn the
quern, and just at the time of which I am speaking there was no one
at all in the land of Gotland able to work away at the quern handle.
Now the inore King Frodi pondered over his wonderful quern
stones, the greater became his desire to use them, and he sought
throughout the land from north to south, from east to west, if
perchance he might find some one strong enough to help him in
his need. But all to no purpose, and he was utterly in despair
when, by good luck, he happened to go on a visit to the King
of Sweden, and to hear of two slave- women of great size and
strength. "Surely," thought Frodi, "these are just the women
to grind at my quern Grotti " (for so it was called), and he asked
the king to be allowed to see them.
So the king ordered the slaves to be brought before Frodi, and
when Frodi saw them his spirits rose, for certainly Menia and
Fenia were strong-looking women. They were eight feet in
height, and broader across the shoulders than any of Frodi's
warriors, and the muscles of their arms stood out like cords. And
they lifted heavy weights, threw heavy javelins, and did so many
feats of strength that Frodi felt quite sure that they would be able
to turn the quefn handle.
" I will buy these slaves," said he, " and take them with me to
Gotland."
The wonderful quern stones. 193
Menia and Fenia stood with their arms folded and their
proud heads bowed down, whilst Frodi counted out the gold
to the seller. They were slaves ; with money had they been
bought, with money were they sold again. What cared Frodi
who was their father, or how they had come into the land of
Sweden ?
And he took them home with him afid bade tHem grind at the
quern. Now he should be able to test the power of the wonderful
stones.
" Grind, grind, Menia and Fenia, let me see whether ye have
strength for the work."
So spake King Frodi, and the huge women lifted the heavy
stones as though they had been pebbles.
" What shall we grind ? " asked the slaves.
" Gold, gold, peace and wealth for Frodi."
, Gold ! gold ! ,the land was filled with riches. Treasure in the
king's palace, treasure in the coffers of his subjects — gold ! gold !
There were no poor in the land, no beggars in the streets, no
chiklren crying for bread. All honour to the quern stones !
Peace 1 peace ! no more war in the land, Frodi is at peace with
every one. And more than that, there was peace in all countries
where Frodi's name was known, even to the far south ; and every-
one talked of Frodi's Peace. Praise be to the quern stones !
Wealth ! yes, everything went well. Not one of the counsels
of King Frodi failed. There was not a green field that did not
yield a rich crop ; not a tree but bent beneath its weight of fruit ;
not a stream that ran dry ; not a vessel that sailed from the
harbours of Gotland that came not back, after a fair voyage,
in safety to its haven. There was good luck everywhere.
" Grind on, grind on, Menia and Fenia ! good fortune is mine,'*
said King Frodi.
And the slaves ground on.
O
m ASGAkD AND THE GODS.
" When shall we rest, when may we rest, King Frodi ? It is
weary work toiling day and night."
" No longer than whilst the cuckoo is silent in the spring."
" Never ceasing is the cry of the cuckoo in the groves ; may we
not rest longer ? "
** Not longer," answered King Frodi, " than whilst the verse of
a song is sung."
'* That is but little ! " sighed Menia and Fenia, and they toiled
on. Their arms were weary, and their eyes heavy, they would
fain have slept ; but Frodi would not let them have any sleep.
They were but slaves who must obey their master, so they toiled
on, still grinding peace and wealth to Frodi^—
" To Frodi and his queen
Joy and peace —
May plenty in the land
Still increase,
Frodi and his queen
From dangers keep ;
May they on beds of down
Sweetly sleep.
No sword be drawn
In Gotland old,
By murderer bold.
No harm befall
The high or low —
To none be woe,
Good luck to all.
Good luck to all,
We grind, we grind '
No rest we find,
For rest we C7^\V*
Thus sang the two giant women ; then they begged again,
'• Give us rest, O Frodi ! "
But still Frodi answered, " Rest whilst the verse of a song is
sung, or as long as the cuckoo is silent in the spring."
THE WONDERFUL QUERN STONES. 195
No longer would the king give them.
Yet Frodi was deemed a good king, but gold and good luck
were hardening his heart.
Menia and Fenia went on grinding and their wrath grew
deeper and deeper, and thus at last they spoke.
First said Fenia, " Thou wert not wise, O Frodi. Thou didst
buy us because like giants we towered above the other slaves
because we were strong and hardy and could lift heavy burdens."
And Menia took up the wail : " Are we not of the race of the
mountain giants ? Are not our kindred greater than thine, O
Frodi } The quern had never left the grey fell but for the giants'
daughters. Never, never should we have ground as we have done,
had it not been that we remembered from what race we sprang."
Then answered Menia : " Nine long winters saw us training to
feats of strength, nine long winters of wearisome labour. Deep
down in the earth we toiled and toiled until we could move the
high mountain from it^ foundations. We are weird women, O
Frodi. We can see far into the future. Our eyes have looked
upon the quern before. In the giants' house we whirled it until
the earth shook, and hoarse thunder resounded through the
caverns. Thou art not wise, O Frodi. O Frodi thou art not
wise ! "
But Frodi heard them not ; he was sleeping the sweet sleep
that the quern stones had ground for him.
" Strong are we indeed," laughed Fenia, sorrowfully, "strong to
contend with the puny men. We, whose pastime in Sweden was
to tame the fiercest bears, so that they ate from our hands. We
who fought with mighty warriors and came off conquerors. We
who helped one prince and put down another. Well we fought,
and many were the wounds we received from sharp spears and
flashing swords. Frodi knows not our power, or he would scarce
have brought us to his palace to treat us thus Here no one has
196 ASGARD AND THE GODS.
compassion upon us. Cold are the skies above us, and the pitiless
wind beats upon our breast. Cold is the ground on which we
stand, and the keen frost bites our feet. Ah, there are none to
pity us. No one cares for the slaves. We grind for ever, an
enemy's quern, and he gives us no rest. Grind, grind ; I am
weary of grinding ; I must have rest."
" Nay," returned Menia, " talk not of rest until Frodi is content
with what we bring him."
Then Fenia started : " If he gives us no rest, let us take it
ourselves. Why should we any longer grind good for him who
only gives us evil ? We can grind what we please, let us revenge
ourselves."
Then Menia turned the handle quicker than ever, and in a
wild voice she sang :
" I see a ship come sailing
With warriors bold aboard,
There's many a one that in Danish blood
Would be glad to dip his sword.
Say shall we grmd them.hither?
Say shall they land to-night t
Say shall they set the palace a-fire ?
Say shall they win the fight 1 "
Then called Fenia in a voice of thunder through the midnight
air : " Frodi, Frodi, awake, awake ! Wilt thou not listen to us ?
Have mercy and let us rest our weary limbs."
But all was still, and Frodi gave no answer to the cry.
" Nay," answered Menia. " He will not hearken. Little he
cares for the worn-out slaves. Revenge, revenge ! "
And Frodi slept, not dreaming of the evil that was coming upon
him.
And again Fenia shouted : ** Frodi, Frodi, awake ! The beacon
is blazing. Danger is nigh. Wilt thou not spare ? "
But Frodi gave no answer, and the giant women toiled on.
-THE WONDERFUL QUERN STONES. 197
" O Frodi, Frodi, we cannot bear our weariness."
And still no answer came.
"Frodi, Frodi, danger is nigh thee. Well-manned ships are
gliding over the sea. Jt is Mysinger who comes, his white sail
flutters in the wind. His flag is unfurled. Frodi, Frodi, awake,
awake ! thou shalt be king no longer."
And as the giant women ground, the words they spake came to
pass ; they were grinding revenge for themselves, and brought the
enemy nearer and nearer.
" Ho ! hearken to the herald ! Frodi, Frodi, the town is on fire.
The palaces will soon be* ruined heaps. Grind, Menia, ever more
swiftly, until we grind death to Frodi."
And Menia and Fenia ground and ground till Mysinger and his
followers landed from the ships. They ground until they had
reached the palace.
"To arms, to arms," shouted the warders, but it was too
late. The Gotlanders armed themselves,; but who could stand
against the army that the slave women were grinding against
them }
Not long did the struggle last. Frodi and his Gotlanders fought
bravely, but the sea-king and his allies were mightier, for the
giantesses were in giant mood, and turned the handle faster and
faster, until down fell the quern stones. Then sank Frodi pierced
with wounds, and the fight was over. The army that Menia and
Fenia had ground to help Mysinger vanished , and Mysinger and
his men alone were left conquerors on the bloody field.
They loaded their ships with treasure, and Mysinger took with
him, Menia, Fenia, and the quern stones.
But, alas ! Mysinger was no wiser than King Frodi had been.
Gold, however, was not his first thought ; he had enough of
that, but he wanted something else that just then was more to him
than gold.
198 ASGARD AND THE GODS.
There was no salt on board the sea-king's vessels ; so he said,
" Grind salt."
And Menia and Fenia ground salt for Mysinger.
At midnight they asked if they had ground enough.
And Mysinger bade them grind on.
And so they ground and ground until the ship was so heavy
with salt that it sank, and the sea-king and all his men were
drowned.
Where the quern stones went down there is to this day a great
whirlpool, and the waters of the sea have been salt ever since.
SKTRNTR'S JOURNEY.
199
SKIRNIR CONJURES GERDA TO
FOLLOW HIM.
FREYER AND GERDA.
ll'/^ Once when Freyer, the sum-
mer god, had tried in vain to
melt the snow and ice of winter,
he ascended Hlidskialf to see
whether he could find out the
reason why his efforts were useless.
He looked towards the east, the west and the south ; at last he
turned to the north, and there he saw a maiden, taller and more
beautiful than any he had ever before beheld. Her arms shone
like the radiant beams of the sun, and heaven and earth were
resplendent with her beauty- But the vision did not last long, for
she opened the door of her dwelling, and soon had disappeared.
aoo ASGARD AND THE GODS,
In vain he hoped for her return, but she came not ; her image
only remained fixed in his soul, filling it with the pangs of hope-
less love.
He no more joined the merry feasts in Odin's joyous hall, nor
did he mingle with the other gods in their familiar talk ; he sought
solitude, and was ever gloomy and morose.
His father Niorder grieved to see his son's sad listless manner,
and wondered what was the cause of it. He entreated Skirnir,
Freyer s faithful servant, wisely to search out the source of his
master's gnawing grief.
So Skirnir went to his lord : " Tell me, O mighty ruler of
nations, what I fain would know, why thou thus lonesome and full
of sadness dost ever linger in the spacious hall } "
Freyer answered : " Thou art young in years and in experience ;
how then couldst thou fathom my grief.? The sun shines every
day on happy people, but his light can bring no joy to the sad at
heart."
Yet Skirnir did not cease in his efforts. He reminded Freyer of
their happy boyhood, of their merry games, and of the time when
they had never had a secret from each other.
Freyer was touched by his devotion and told him of his
undying love and of its hopelessness.
" Give me," said Skirnir, " thy good horse to bear me through
my journey ; give me thy trusty sword that fights of its own
accord against the Frost-giant's power, and I will woo the maiden
for thee. 1 foresee that my mission will be successful."
Soon afterwards Skirnir leaped into the saddle, the good sword
at his side.
"Up," he cried, "haste thee, Red horse, on thy way over the
steep mountain, for darkness approaches, that time which brings
help and comfort to the Jotuns. But we shall make our journey
safely if pnly w^ gan escape the clutches of the giant,"
SKIRNIR'S JOURNEY. 201
The good horse galloped swiftly over hill and dale, as the
eagle flies over the tops of the tall pines ; and Skirnir soon per-
ceived the wide demesne of the Frost-giant
A high hedge, guarded by fierce dogs, surrounded the bower of
the beautiful maiden, and within was a circle of flames that shot
all round the building. At one side was leaning the herdsman
who watched over the stately herd of cattle.
Skirnir turned to him and asked him how he was to pass the
dogs and the fire, and so reach the hall of the noble maiden.
" Art thou already dead ? " asked the herdsman ; " or dost thou
feel death in thy heart ? No living man is permitted to enter thf
dwelling."
" Boldness befits a traveller better than fear. The days of my
life are all numbered, and no one can shorten them against the
will of the Norns."
With these words Skirnir drove his spurs into his horse, which
thundered over the fierce dogs, the high hedge and the flames,
making the whole grange tremble to its foundations.
Gerda was sitting in her hall, and asked her women in startled
tones why Gymirsgard was quaking so strangely.
One of her maidens informed her that a man, who had just
ridden up to the door, demanded admittance.
Gerda bade her bring the man into her presence, and ordered
that sweet mead should be given her guest, although she had a
foreboding that he brought unwelcome tidings, or was perhaps the
murderer of her brother Beli.
When the stranger had drunk of the mead ofi"ered him, she
asked, —
'^ Art thou an Elf, or an Ase, or one of the wise Wanes, that
thou, mad rider that thou art, hast dared to force thy way through
Wafurlogi and thus enter our hails ?"
** I am no Elf, nor yet am I an Ase, nor do I belong to the race
202 ASGARD AND THE GODS,
of wise Wanes," replied the stranger. " I bring thee eleven apples
of pure gold as a bridal gift, in order that thou mayst own that
there is none so dear to thee as Freyer, who yearns for thy love
in return."
But she answered : " I will not take thy golden apples, nor shall
bonds of union ever link my fate to that of thy master, Freyer.
" Then I will add the golden ring that the Dwarfs made," he
continued ; " that ring from which eight new ones drop each ninth
night."
"Gymir's daughter needs no golden rings," she replied; "her
father's treasures are enough for her."
" Look, proud maiden," he cried in anger, " look at the shining
sword in my right hand ; with it will I strike if thou dost still
refuse him."
" Neither will I submit to force," she answered unabashed,
" nor will I accept the love of any man ; and I know that Gymir
is armed and ready to punish thy daring."
Then Skirnir rose from his seat in wrath, and replied to her in
these words :
" Maiden, seest thou this sword in my hand ? With it I shall
slay the old Jotun, thy father, if he dares offer me battle. But
thee I shall conquer by means of my magic wand. Hearken to
the words which I trace in runic staves : —
On an eagle's mount thou shalt early sit,
Looking and turned towards Hel.
Food shall to thee more loathsome be than is to any one
The glistening serpent among men.
Solitude, horror, bonds and impatience,
Shall thy tears with grief augment.
Sit thee down, and I will tell thee
Of a whelming flood of care, and dfa double grief.
Terrors shall bow thee down the live-long day
In the Jotun's courts, in^thj^ chamber lone;
To the Hrimthurses' halls thou shalt each day.
SKIRNIR'S JOURNEY. 203
Crawl exhausted, joyless crawl ;
Wail for pastime shalt thou have,
And tears and misery.
With three-headed Thurse thou shalt be ever bound,
Or be without a mate.
To the wold I have been, to the humid grove,
A magic wand to get ; a magic wand I got.
Wroth with thee shall Odin be, and wroth the Ase's Prince ;
And Freyer too shall loathe thee.
Flee, wicked maid, e'en ere thou shalt have felt
The gods' dire vengeance.
List, ye Jotuns, list, ye Thurses,
Sons of Suttung ! also ye, ye Ases* selves !
How I forbid, how I prohibit
Man's joy unto the damsel,
Man's converse to the damsel
Abridged from the '*• EddaP -
Skirnir ceased and took his knife to cut the runes from the
magic wand on which they were carved.
Gerda cried shudderingly :
" Turn away the fulfilment of thy curse, O hero ! Take from
m.y hand this icy cup filled with old mead ! I never thought that
it had been my lot to love one of the Ases' race. Listen to the
words I speak most grudgingly, —
* Barri the grove is named, which we both know,
The grove of tranquil paths :
Nine nights from now to Niord*s son
Gerd there will grant delight.'"
Overjoyed at his success, Skirnir mounted his horse, and hast-
ened to tell his master the good news.
Freyer rejoiced, yet cried, impatiently,
Long is one night, yet longer two will be ;
How shall I nine endure .'*
Often has a month to me seemed less
Than half a night of longing.
a«>4 ASGARD AND THE GODS.
Freyer met Gerda at the appointed time in the grove Barri, and
their wedding was solemnized, wakening the earth out of winter's
sleep, and dressing her in bridal raiment of spring blossoms.
This, as the pbem teaches us, happens every year ; the bright
god of summer slays Beli, the snow-covered giant of wintry storms,
and woos fair Gerda, the Earth, who, herself of the race of giants,
is held in bonds of ice by her father Gymir.
Gymir was the same as Hymir, the' Frost-giant conquered by
Thor ; he was also related to Ogir, god of the blustering, wintry
sea. Freyer gives his good sword, the ray of sunshine, to his
servant Skirnir, that he may force the unwilling Gerda to become
his bride. The messenger, in the oldest tradition the god himself,
offers the unwilling maiden the golden ring from which eight other
rings drop each ninth night, even as the corn that is sown late in
autumn grows and ripens in nine months. He threatens the hard-
hearted girl with runes which he carvQS on a magic^wand, and
which his curse makes powerful for evil. His curse dooms her to
marry Hrimgrimnir, or be buried alone under the ice of winter.
Just as he is about to cut off the runes, that his curse may be ful-
filled, fair Gerda yields to necessity and marries Freyer.
Skirnir's Journey is one of the most beautiful poems of the
Edda, and certainly the ideas to which it gave rise in the mind of
the poet are no less interesting. They are to be met with in other
myths, and they also occur in fairy-tales and the heroic epics : as,
for instance, in the story of the Sleeping Beauty in the Wood, who
is kept in the bondage of slumber by the chill embrace of winter,
and wakened to new life by the warm kiss of the sun-prince.
A similar tale is current in Denmark.
«
Young Swendal was playing with a ball, and , the ball flew out
of his hands far away into the ladies' chamber. He went after it ;
he came back again with love in his heart, for he had seen there
a lovely damsel, whose picture had fixed itself upon his soul.
YOUNG SWENDAL 205
Hark ! he heard voices calling to him ; he thought it was his
sister and his step-mother.
** Hark ye, young Swendal," they said ; *' fling not thy ball at
me ; fling it rather at the fair maiden whom thou dost love. Nor
shalt thou longer have peace or sleep, until thou hast released the
blooming girl, lying oppressed by heavy grief."
No sooner had he heard the words thin he donned his fur-cloak,
and entered the chamber where the court was assembled.
He told them he would go into the mountains to ask his mother
what he was to do, that he might free the grieving maiden
They praised his errand, and he set out, and reached the moun-
tain where his mother had been slumbering peacefully for many a
year.
As he entered, the walls and marble boulders burst asunder, the
earth opened, and a voice cried out :
" Who is it that wakens the weary sleeper ? Can I not rest in
peace beneath the dark ground .''"
" Mother," he answered, " it is thy son that comes to seek thy
counsel, as they told me that no longer should I have peace or
sleep until I should release the blooming maiden who has suffered
thraldom this many a long day."
Thereupon the voice spake, —
" Take, then, thy mother's last gifts, young Swendal, and set out
that thou mayst find that which thy heart is yearning for."
And suddenly there lay before him a sword, and without there
neighed a noble steed.
It was the sword that ever carries victory with it, and the
stallion that gallops over land and sea, and never wearies !
Young Swendal girt the sword around his waist, mounted the
steed, and rode away over the vast ocean, through green wood-
lands beyond, until he reached the castle where the maiden was
imprisoned and endured her bitter fate.
2o6 ASGARD AJND THE GODS.
He begged admittance of the surly keeper that sat outside the
gate, promising him courtly honours when he should be king.
The keeper replied morosely that the gate was of steel and the.
walls of solid marble, and inside a fierce lion and a grim bear
kept watch, to tear to pieces any intruding stranger, unless it were
young Swendal.
When the rider heard these words, his heart gladdened, and, set-
ting deep the spurs into his noble steed, he leaped right into the
court-yard. The ferocious beasts crouched humbly at his feet, and
the lime-tree with its golden leaves bent to the ground before him
for he was the long-awaited master.
The longing maiden heard the tinkling of the rider's spurs, and
awoke from her death-like slumber. Her heart was filled with the
thought of her bold redeemer ; she ran to the gate and sank into
the arms of young Swendal.
FREYA, FREA, OR FROUWA.
Through the shady forest once strode a powerful young hunts-
man. His eyes beamed with the fire of his soul, and his strong
manly frc^me was clad in a light hunting dress, decked with eagle's
feathers ; his broad, trusty sword clanked in its sheath as he went,
and in his right hand he bore a spear.
Several attendants followed him, and two large greyhounds
sprang round him with mighty bounds. Suddenly they stopped,
threw back their heads and began barking loudly, then disappeared
in the dense bushes hard by.
A loud, fearful roar came out from where the hounds had
entered the underwood, and the bushes creaked and groaned, as
though trampled under the foot of some enormous giant, and a
PREYA AND THB YOUNG HUNTSMAN. 207
monstrous wild ox of untold proportions rushed out, chasing the
hounds.
As soon as it reached the open space where the huntsman and
his followers stood, it lowered its monstrous head, and, catching
one of the dogs round the neck in its rounded horns, hurled it high
into the sky. But at the same moment the huntsman's spear
hissed through the air, and entered deep into the ox's fleshy neck.
The monster turned fiercely towards its new opponent, but the
huntsman did not budge from his place. All would have thought
him lost, so unequal did the chances seem, so terrible did the
giant ox appear.
Calm and collected, the bold youth awaited the onslaught of the
monster, then seized it by the horns, and, straining his whole
strength into his shoulders, with superhuman power, overthrew it
on its back. Before it could rise again the huntsman's foot pressed
heavily upon its, throat, and soon his trusty sword put an end to
the battle, a stifled roar telling that the life flame of the monstrous
ox had at length gone out.
The huntsman's followers had not shared in the fight, for they
knew their master and his mighty strength, and had no fear for
the result. They now went silently to their work, took off the wild
ox's skin from his steaming carcase, and bore it to their master's
castle. He, however, laid himself down under the shade of an oak-
tree close by, and sank into a deep reverie.
A rustling sound in the neighbouring ferns woke him from his
dreams, and, when he looked up, the tall figure of a woman stood
before him, encircled by an unearthly shimmering light.
A snowy, trailing garment, bound by a golden girdle, draped
her wondrous limbs ; her flaxen locks shone through the transpa-
rent web that covered her head, and rich golden ornaments decked
her neck and shoulders.
The young noble gazed in wonderment at his unknown visitor ;
2o8 ASCARi) AND THE CODS.
he knew not whether he was awake or whether he still slept, or
whether the figure was but a creation of his own unconscious mind.
But the more he looked at it the clearer did it become. It did not
vanish ; it was full of life.
" Hero of the Wolsings," Freya began, and her voice sounded
not of the earth, but rang clear as a silver bell : " offspring of the
Wolsing race, why dost thou discolour thy blade with mere ox
blood ? Rather should it be tinged with the dragon's blood., he
that lurks in Asgard's holy groves, and drains the mind and mar-
row of mankind with eager jaws. Dost thou not hear his coils
rattle t dost thou not see the ramparts he has erected } Go thou,
brave youth, and slay with thy strong arm the bane of Asgard that
defies the holy gods. Wodan ensures thee victory. A life ended
in glory is a life lived long enough."
The noble youth hearkened to her words in silent rapture, for
she gave utterance to what he had long craved to accomplish. He
looked up to the eagle as it hovered above his head on out-spread
wings ; but turning his eyes again to the vision of the fair woman,
lo ! she had vanished out of sight !
No longer did he doubt, Freya herself or one of her maidens
had brought to him great Wodan's behest.
He forthwith sped through the wood to the Meeting of the Wise
Men, and related all that he had heard and seen, and the task
that had been set him. The men struck their shields in token of
approval, and the quiet wood resounded again with the clash.
The crowd dispersed ; each man returned to his native hamlet,
and gathered together all the youths fit for war. In the third night
they assembled, and, led by the youthful hero, fell upon the host
of the Roman intruders, who were defeated in a bloody struggle
that lasted three days.
Thus was the Roman dragon, the bane of Asgard, slain, and the
people delivered by the hero, Arminius,
FRE YA. 209
Such was the conception of Freya among the Teutonic tribes.
She was the mighty goddess who sat by the side of Wodan on the
high throne above the worlds, ruling over heaven and earth, guid-
ing the fate of nations, allotting the issue of battles. Together
with the Walkyries, or at their head, she hovered over the battle-
field, and bestowed victory or a glorious death on the heroes. She
shared the fallen warriors with her spouse, great Wodan, and led
those of her portion to Folkwang (folk-meadow) and to her radiant
hall, Sessrumnir (room of seats), where she dealt out to them the
inspiring mead.
It seems also that she was more especially worshipped as
Mother- Earth, being identical with Nerthus, the Jord^ (Earth) of
Scandinavia, who drove among the people in her sacred chariot
adorning the earth with fresh green, with blossoms and blades,
making the seeds to" thrive, and blessing the fruits of the field.-
The Scandinavian myths made a decided distinction between
Freya and Frigg.- They held Frigg to be the highest amongst the
goddesses, whilst to Freya the second place was given ; nor was
she looked upon as the wife of Odin. She was the daughter of the
Wane-god, Niorder, and sister of loving Freyer, who each year
marries fair Gerda. As goddess of beauty and love, she blesses
all lovers who turn to her with prayers and sacrifices ; but when
marriage was solemnized it was great Frigg -whom the husband'
and wife were bound to invoke.
The South German races knew of no such distinction between
the goddesses ; so they regarded Friday, the day dedicated to
Freya, as the fittest for a wedding, and this custom was not given
up until the Christian priests convinced the people that the day on
which the Saviour was crucified must necessarily be an unlucky
one. Yet they could not change the name of Friday, which still
remains to this day.
At the time of King HaraM lived Rerir, son of Thorkill the
P
2IO ASGARD AND THE GODS.
Redbeard. In all his warlike strength he strove against the king ;
but the battle went against him, and he sought shelter on a lonely
isle.
Helga was his love ; but her father, the king's chief warrior and
his faithful vassal, despised the poor houseless outcast.
Rerir, full of longing to behold once more his loved Helga, built
a small, strong boat, and boldly landed near the castle where she
dwelt with her father.
She stood upon the beach, wistfully looking over the bounding
billows, which suddenly tossed at her feet a tiny craft ; Rerit
leapt upon the shore, and stood by her side.
Tearfully she told him how her cruel father was about to force
her into a marriage with a noble of the court, yet vowed to him
that none but he should ever have her love.
" Helga ! " he cried, " a lonely isle
There lies beyond the foaming sea —
Bold rovers know the safe retreat—
O be thou mine, and fly with me ! ^
Trembling, yet half-willing, she refused to go with him. Rerir,
full of grief and deadly pale, sank broken-hearted to her feet,
entreating her again in passionate words.
, No longer could she bear to look upon the anguish that she gave
her loved one, no longer could she withstand his glowing words
that spake of rapture shared by each :
Down she steppeth with the hero
To the foaming wave-washed strand ;
" Where thou wendest, my beloved,
Is alone my home, my land ! "
And the gaily- coloured vessel
Screens the youthful, loving pair ;
Swelling sails and guiding rudder
Save the hero and his fair.
RERIR AND HIS LOVE, HELGA, 211
Hastening after them the vessels
Of her father quick pursue ;
Far beyond them speed the lovers,
And the land is lost to view.
On the ocean's stormy bosom
Cast about, they fain would die ;
And they wither hke the blossom
That has met the Evil Eye.
Suddenly the piercing sunbeams
• Burst the clouds, illuming all ;
Lo ! from out the heaving billows
Rises Freya's blessed hall.
Peacefully, without a struggle,
Enter the twain lovers in,
Quitting earth and life's hard battle ;
Blessed they who Frey's hall win !
Freya always bears the radiant necklace Brisingamen, the
sparkling jewels of the heavens, the gaily-coloured flowers of
spring, when regarded as the goddess ol nature and ruler of the
world, or as Mother Earth. When the skalds dethroned her from
her lofty height, humanizing her nature and her attributes, the
myth arose which told how the necklace was gained.
Four skilful dwarfs made it, according to the legend, in their
underground smithy, and worked into it the most costly jewels that
the earth produced, so that it glanced and glittered like the sun
herself. * But Freya chanced to see it, and her eyes were almost
blinded at its wondrous splendour. In exchange for it the dwarfs
asked nothing but her- grace, which she extended to them, and
thus gained the necklace.
The goddess of beauty and love was described as a maiden in
* See note on page 24.
212 ASGARD AND THE GODS.
the Northern poems ; yet there is a myth according to which she
was married to Odur, a scion of divine ancestry. She lived happily
-with him, and several lovely daughters blessed their union.
But Freya was to learn that happiness is not eternal ; for Odur
left her, and with him all joy and gladness passed out of her
life.
All Nature sorrowed with her ; the flowers withered and faded,
the leaves fell from the trees, the earth looked waste and gloomy.
Freya moaned and wept day and night ; her tears shone like
golden drops of dew in the Autumn sunshine. And so she spent
the long winter miserable and alone in her deserted hall.
Then she could bear it no longer ; she set out in search of her
lost spouse, and wandered far and wide through distant lands and
amongst strange nations. She sought her lover diligently, and
found him at last in the evergreen fields where the golden fruit
ripens and the myrtle blooms. She clasped him lovingly in her
arms, arid tears of joy, golden as the blaze of the new spring sun,
fell from her eyes when he returned her love with love.
On their arrival home again on their native earth, they were
received with the thousand-voiced song of birds ; and the many-
coloured flowers and leafy trees whispered of love and of summer
time.
The beautiful goddess strove with all the force of love to keep
her husband by her side, that he should never leave her again ;
but all in vain, for when Virgo sank after the autumnal equinox, he
once more left her and again wandered to the far country in the
unknown distance.
In the Fiolswinn Lay the same idea underlies the whole poem.
Menglada (jewel-gladness) awaits her bridegroom in her castle,
which is guarded by grim wolf-hounds and encircled by a wall
of fire.
A watchman, Fiolswider (much-knower), stands at the entrance,
SWiPDAGEk RETURNS TO MENGLADA'S CASTLE. 213
and sees a stranger coming in the distance. He approaches, and
seeks admittance. The watchman cries —
" This is -no place for beggars ; seek thou the damp and foggy
highway, and begone."
To which the wanderer makes answer —
" What monster art thou, that guards the entrance ; of what
race canst thou be, who refusest hospitality to the weary
traveller > "
" Fiolswider is my name, in that I am wise in cautious counsel.
Therefore canst thou not enter this castle."
The wanderer cast a longing look towards the castle-window,
and replied —
" Unwillingly do I turn my eyes away, having once seen what I
seek. Here, where a glowing belt girds golden halls, could I find
peace."
Then the watchman demands of him his name and race, and
hears that he is Windkald (wind-cold), son of Warkald (spring-
cold). The stranger asks who is the owner of the castle, and is
informed that it belongs to Menglada ; he asks what is the girdle
that surrounds the castle like a wall of flame, and whether there
is no way to tanie the grim wolf-dogs that sit on guard ; he asks,
too, of the mountain on which the castle stands, of the nine
maidens who sit before Menglada's knee, and whether no man can
enter the golden hall and go to her.
To all his questions he receives enigmatical replies, but to the
last the watchman says that none, can ever cross the threshold but
young Swipdager, the expected bridegroom.
Thereupon he cries out —
" Throw open the gates, make way for the expected one ! Swip-
dager has arrived, and seeks admittance ! "
The watchman hastens to the hall of Menglada, and tells her
that a man has come who calls himself Swipdager, whom the wolf
U4 ASGARt) AND THE GODS.
'dogs have joyfully greeted, before whom the castle gates have
flung themselves wide open.
" May shining ravens tear out thine eyes if thou hast lied to
me that my long awaited lover has at last returned ! " cries the
maiden joyously, and hurries towards the entrance. As soon as
her eyes alight upon the stranger, she knows him as her lover, and
flings her arms around him.
" Whither hast thou been .? whence hast thou come } what art
thou called out there } "
He tells her that he has come upon the wind-cold (Windkald)
way, that the unalterable word of the Norns had taken him thither
and borne him thence.
And she responded —
" Welcome art thou back again ! my wish is fulfilled. Long have
I sat on the high hill, looking for thee by day, looking for thee by
night. All that I longed for has at length come to pass, for thou
art here again at my side."
WALKYRIES CONDUCTING THE FALLEN HEROES TO WALHALLA.
THE FATES.
217
WALKYRIES LEADING THE
WARRIORS ON TO BATTLE.
PART SEVENTH.
"T^HE old Greeks called the
-*- power which ruled over the
deeds, the suffering, the life and
struggles of man, Moira (Latin,
Fatunt)^ and were of opinion
that the gods, if not actually dependent on it, were at least
subordinate to it. Later, they held that there were three Fates
—Future, Present and Past, and connected them with the birth,
life and death of man. Their names and occupation are given in
the well-known verse :
" Klotho begins, Lachesis spins,
Atropos cuts the thread in two.'*
2i8 ASGARD AND THE GODS.
Tc these was added Nemesis, the avenger of human insolence
and of every evil deed. At length, when the old religion faded
away, they began to worship Tyche, blind chance or fortune,
erected altars to her, and offered sacrifices to her.
The Teutonic ideas were curiously similar to those of the people
of the south. Orlog or Urlak, Fate, the eternal law of the universe,
ruled over gods and men. The latter were powerless in its hands,
therefore the hero bore his fate with resignation after he had
striven his best to turn it aside ; the gods foresaw what was
to befal them, but even their divinity could not avert their
doom.
Orlog was neither created nor begotten, and was impersonal ;
he was of special significance in war, and even to this day a
German war-ship of the first magnitude is called an Orlog-ship.
This being, which ruled in secret, gained recognition and personal-
ity in AUfather, the Creator, Sustainer, Upholder and Ruler of
the world, who existed undefined in the consciousness of the
people. He was the unknown god who was to call the new world
into being after the Last Battle and the destruction of the
universe. He was the highest conception of Odin. Lastly, Orlog
reappears in the Regin, the Powers who ruled the world, and who,
seated on their judgment thrones by the Fountain of Urd, deter-
mined the fate of men, and judged their actions. Whenever they
showed themselves individually, they were Ases, but not such Ases
as those who ate, drank, slept, and had adventures like mortal
men ; they were mightier and nobler than those, although they
were likewise possessed of passions and affections similar to the
others.
The Regin come most prominently into view in the Starkad
legend where they determine the fate of the mythical hero
Starkad. This Wiking may with considerable resemblance be
compared with the Grecian Herakles ; just as Zeus and Hera
The LECEND OF STARK AD, 219
decide the destiny of the latter, so do Odin and Freya of the
other.
Starkad was of half-giant descent, and alreaay when a child,
like the Jotuns, of super-human stature, and furnished with eight
arms. Under the training and by the magic of his master. Horse-
hair Beard (Hroszharsgrani), he not only gained great learning
and heroic valour, but was also endowed with human form and
manly beauty.
When he grew up to be a youth, his master took a boat and
sailed away with him to an unknown island. A great crowd was
on the beach, and round the council-tree sat eleven grave men
of noble appearance upon thrones ; a twelfth and higher throne
remained unoccupied. Horse-hair Beard mounted it, and was
greeted by all as Great Odin.
Then the speaker arose — it was Asathor — and said, " Alfhild,
Starkad's mother, chose not Asathor as father for her child, but
a giant; therefore I decree that he be childless, the last of his
race."
"Yet I," said Odin, "grant him a life three times the length of
mortal man."
" Then," answered Asathor, " I destine him to do in each age
a grievous outrage that shall be a work of shame and dishonour
in the eyes of man."
Odin replied again, " And I bestow on him the stoutest armour
and most precious garments."
" I forbid him," said Asathor, " both house and home, nor shall
a piece of land be ever his."
" And I allot him gold and flocks in fullest plenty," answered
Odin.
" Then I doom him to ever-growing thirst for gold and wealth,
that he may never enjoy peace of mind."
226 ASGAkD AND THE GODS.
Odin returned, "I confer on him valour and prowess, and
victory in battle."
" Yet shall he from each combat bear a wound that reaches to
the very bone," was Thor's reply.
" The noble lore of the skalds shall be his," continued his
protector, " that he may sing ; and each of his words shall be
a song."
" His memory shall be cursed with forgetfulness of all that he
has sung."
" The noblest and the best among men shall love and honour
him," spake Odin.
*' But all his tribe shall shun and hate him," was Thor's last
curse.
The- assembled Regin entered into council, and decreed that all
should come to pass as Odin and Asathor had willed.
Thus ended the judgment, and Horse-hair Beard descended
from his high throne, and went to the boat with his foster-son.
Starkad grew to be one of the most famous of the mythical
heroes, and his name was handed down and celebrated even in
historical times throughout the northern countries.
Once when on a Wiking raid with King Wikar of Norway, the
fleet was overtaken by a tempest, and he had to seek shelter in a
protected creek. He had hoped for a rich booty, but the hurri-
cane continuing for many days prevented his starting. Vain were
all prayers and sacrifices. Odin demanded a human life.
Then it was resolved fo cast the fatal runes, and the lot fell to
the king himself. Nobody dared to pronounce the dire decree,
still less to put it into execution ; when, all on a sudden, a man in
a broad-brimmed hat appeared in the night before Starkad. He
saw at once that it was Horse-hair Beard ; he gave Starkad a
thin willow branch and a reed.
Starkad at once understood the will of the god, and the next
THE LEGEND OF STARKAD. 221
day presented himself before the king to show him these harmless
objects, telling him that the gods would be satisfied with the mere
show of a sacrifice : the king was to suffer the slender branch to
be laid around his neck ; they were then to tie him to the thin
bough of a tree, and touch him with the reed. Thus the sacrifice
would be accomplished, and Odin would again send them a pro-
pitious wind.
Wikar accepted this proposal ; but the thin bough of the tree
sprang upwards, the willow branch was changed into a rope, and
the reed which Starkad flung at the king was turned into a spear,
which pierced the victim to the heart.
Such was one of the shameful outrages that Starkad the Wiking
perpetrated, as Asathor had doomed he should, although the
myth does not point out that it was done with the aid of Odin.
The hero, reckless of his evil deed, went on his further adven-
tures, and performed marvellous and valorous feats in Sweden,
Denmark, Ireland and Esthonia among the various nations.
During the winter months, when at the courts of other kings, he
sang of his far-famed Wiking raids and combats, and princes and
Jarls listened to his lays in silent admiration of the mighty
champion, while the people dreaded and hated him for his devas-
tations.
Yet he received also many wounds, and once even fought with a
split head, his helmet alone keeping his head together. Moreover,
when an old man of a hundred years, he slew nine warriors,
although his bowels hung from his wounded side. In the memor-
able Battle of Brawalla he had his body cut open from the
shoulder to the chest, so that his very liver was laid bare. All
these wounds miraculously healed, for according to Odin's sentence
he had to live three ages.
Thus the Ases appear as Regin, forecasting the fate of man,
which cannot fail to come to pass.
222 ASGARD AND THE GODS,
King Fridleif of Denmark was rich in treasures, which he had
gathered together by bold deeds from the giants and the dragons
that he had slain. Once when on his adventures he entered the
cottage of a peasant, who received him hospitably. .There he won
the love of fair Juritha, the daughter of the honest cottager, and
took her home with him. She bore him a son, who was called
Olaf.
The ninth night after the birth of the child, Fridleif took him to
the temple of the three sisters of Fate, to ask them about the future
destiny of the boy. Before he entered the sacred grove, he read
prayers to the godhead that the decree should be propitious, and
made solemn pledges. Then he stepped into the temple, and saw
three maidens upon thrones in the holy place, and they looked
down upon him in silence as he approached.
The first goddess was grey with age, yet looked friendly and
happy, even as the joyous days of past youth ; the second raised
her hand aloft, like a Walkyrie, who, looking towards the enemy
on the field ' of battle, points out the way the heroes should
advance ; the third glanced darkly from under the veil which
covered her temples.
'* The noble youth shall be beautiful," said Urd of kindly heart,
" and shall gain the love and service of men."
" I grant him untold valour in combat and generosity towards
friends," continued Werdandi.
Thereto dark-frowning Skuld added, " Yet insatiable covetous-
ness shall stain his soul."
We have frequently spoken of the Norns in preceding portions
of the book. They are the Fatal Sisters who sit at the foot of the
World-Ash Yggdrasil by the fountain of Urd. They can foresee
the destiny of man, and make it known through the mouth of
prophetesses and priests, or utter it themselves. At the same
time they also make the fate of mortals to a certain extent, as is
THE NORNS, THE GODDESSES OF FATE. 223
seen from the above story. They hover over armies as they are
starting for the battle-field, and cast the deadly lots among the
warriors. They follow the blood-stained track of the murderer,
just as the Erinnyae of the Greeks did, and fall upon him with
their dire vengeance, no matter where or how he be hidden.
They finally show upon the nails of man their runes, that is the
white spots underneath the nail, which partly indicate good luck,
partly misfortune ; formerly people understood their meaning and
could read them, but in our days this art has been lost, because
with man's averted faith in the Fates, all fear and respect for
them also disappeared, so that they now manifest themselves in
all sorts of more horrible ways.
The name Norn has quite disappeared from Germany, if indeed
it was ever known there. The Anglo-Saxons called the Fatal
Sisters Mettena, i.e., the measurers, those who weighed in the
balance. In the oldest conception of them, the sisters were held
to be one, and were known as Wurd or Urd, in Anglo-Saxon
Wyrd. But at the same time they were also known as a trinity:
In heathen times the three sisters were worshipped in a sacred
grove. They were regarded as protectresses of the place, and in
Christian rrmes as saints who had erected chapels and shrines,
but who nevertheless perished in the ruins of their castle.
Another idea was that the three prophetesses lived on a hill
surrounded by water. They span and wove linen, which they
afterwards gave away to the people. They sang at christenings
and marriages, which betokened good luck, and for this reason
three ears of corn were offered up to them at the harvest. Thus
^he fear of the terrible Norns, who pursued the vile-doer and spun
the irremediable thread of man's destiny, awarding life and death
according to their pleasure, became softened in course of time ;
while, on the contrary, the idea of Hel, the goddess of the under-
world, grew ever more and more appalling.
224 ASGARD AND THE GODS.
We have already made the acquaintance of the goddess Hel
as a monster horrible to look upon, and the daughter of Loki ;
but the original conception of her was far different from this.
Death was not terrible in the oldest time. Mother Earth, who
bore the living, and took the dead back to her bosom, appeared
in no gruesome form to the ancients.
The patriarchs of Israel, after a long life of struggle, blessed
their sons and made their will known to them, and then laid their
heads down peacefully and quietly to take their eternal rest.
Similar ideas may have prevailed amongst the .Aryan races in
their native land. The shepherd princes who watched their flocks
and herds looked upon life and death calmly, and worshipped
Mother Earth as the author of birth and dissolution, without
fearing her.
But when the people began to distinguish spiritual life from the
merely corporeal, Hel became the Ruler and Judge of souls.
Meanwhile these conceptions of life after death were rather un-
satisfactory in some respects. Homer made the spirits of the
dead glide about like unconscious shadows moved by every breath
of wind ; in the poems of Ossian they whispered to the living in
the waving of the reeds, the murmuring of the billows, and in the
coming and going of the clouds, in which they appear to have had
their dwelling.
Homer tells us of the punishment borne by those spirits who
were condemned to Tartaros, and in the time of Tacitus the
Teutons appear to have already had ideas respecting reward and
punishment after death. They knew of Walhalla, where the
storm and war-god, Wodan, received the souls of fallen heroes,
But Hel was still the Earth-mother who dwelt in the depths, who
made the plants grow and rise in the light of day ; or she was
Nerthus, who, under the guidance of the priests, went out to greet
the people and wander through their land. The Edda only
THE GODDESS OF THE UNDER-WORLD. 225
contains scattered allusions to the great goddess of former days,
v/ho decked the earth with flowers and fruits, who gave life and
energy to man and beast, and who called her children back to her
bosom. Odin is there said to have given her power over the nine
worlds, or, according to another version, over the ninth world ; but
certainly the great goddess of life and death may be described
as having dominion over the nine worlds. She was represented
as half corpse-like, half of an ordinary colour, which showed her
power over life and death. The Brahmins described their goddess
of nature after much the same fashion.
Holda was the bright side of the goddess of nature. In contra-
distinction to her, the dark, black side of Hel came ever more
strongly prominent, the greater the horrors of death and the grave
appeared. The Edda teaches us that it took nine nights' ride
through dark valleys to reach the river Giol, which was spanned
by a gold-covered bridge, on the other side of which was the
high iron fence surrounding the dwelling of the goddess of the
Under-world. No living creature, were he even a god, could bear
to look upon that terrible face.
Her hall was called Misery, her dish Hunger, her knife Greed ;
Idleness was the name of her man. Sloth of her maid. Ruin of her
threshold, Sorrow of her bed, and Conflagration of her curtains.
Within her realm, Corpse-strand, a hall was set apart for assassins
and perjurers ; it was far from the sun and turned towards the
north, and was roofed with serpents, whose heads hung down and
spat their venom upon the floor, causing unspeakable torment tc
the wicked who were confined there. Still more horrible than this
was Hwergelmir, the roaring cauldron, where the dragon Nidhogg
devoured the corpses of the evil-doers. In front of Hel's dwelling
was the Gnypa cavern. The monstrous dog Garm lived there,
from whose jaws the blood constantly dripped as he gnashed his
teeth and growled at the new arrivals of the pilgrims of earth.
Q
226 ASGARD AND THE GODS.
These and other terrible pictures show the Northern Hel as
described in the later poems, but they w^re scarcely founded on
the conceptions of the old Teutons regarding her. Still there are
other places which prove that Hel also had a more kindly aspect,
and that she received with a joyous welcome the good and worthy
who might come to her.
When glorious Baldur was sent to her by insidious Loki's
perfidy, he found the halls gorgeously decorated, the thrones all
covered with spangles of gold, and goblets filled to the brim with
sweet mead. For the goddess had also halls of joy for the good
and brave who were not received in Walhalla.
In the Whispering Valley (Wisperthal), where lisping elf-maid-
ens invite the wanderer to deceptive joys, there lies on a low cone-
shaped hill the ruins of an ancient castle. In the underground
caverns beneath, a black-and-white spirit-maiden is said to guard
her hidden treasures. They say that many years ago she betrayed
the treasures of the abbey to the enemy for gold, for which crime
she was excommunicated by the Church at Rome ; her spirit will
not find rest, it is said, until the enemy has been conquered and
the stolen treasures restored. Formerly she was often seen by the
light of the full moon, weeping and bewailing as she wandered
among the ruins ; but of late years the spectre has not appeared.
Perhaps the unknown enemy has been conquered, thus obtaining
for her respite from her troubles.
The appearance of this black-and-white maiden reminds us of
the wicked goddess Hel, and she may also be compared with
Hilde, the Walkyrie who ever awakened up again the slain war-
riors in the strife between Hogni and Hedin, that the fight might
be continued.
STORY OF KING KRAKI. 227
THE WALKYRIES.
At Hledra, the proudest town in all the northern lands, sat
King Hrolf Kraki one yule-tide with his twelve warriors, and
together they emptied the goblets of sparkling wine. They vowed
eternal companionship, that they would ever stand side by side in
the fight, and if need be die together.
When summer came, they went out to battles and to wars, and
many a Jarl and many a king was made tributary to them.
" Odin is, with us," said Bodwar Biarki, one of the twelve.
" The Walkyries have protected us," said Hialti, another
warrior.
** May they always grant us victory," added a third, " and guide
us all in safety to Walhalla."
As they were thus speaking, Wogg, a young lad, came up to
them, and asked to be allowed to take service under the king.
Kraki gave him a golden ring.
As the boy fastened it on his left arm he said, " Now must ray
right arm be ashamed, lacking ornament."
Therefore th^ king, smiling, gave him a second ring.
Whereupon Wogg, laying his hand on Freyer's wild boar, vowed
that he would be the King's avenger, if he were ever slain by the
enemy.
King Hrolf Kraki once took his warriors to Upsala, where his
father Helgi had been slain, to demand of the avaricious Adil, the
spouse of Yrsa. his father's ring.
After a day's journey, he came to the peasant Hrany, who
greeted him kindly, and advised him to send some of his people
back as they would only be in the way during the fight.
The peasant wore a large hat, which cornpletely shaded his face ;
he had only one eye, but he spoke so wisely, that his advice was
followed. The next evening they came to the same house, in
front of which stood the same peasant.
228 ASGARD AND THE GODS.
Again they received the same advice, and King Hrolf now saw
clearly that this was a man versed in magic lore, and he dismissed
all the servants of his warriors.
The peasant looked pensively after the departing king ; then he
beckoned with his right hand, as though h-e were calling a servant,
and through the clouds and evening mists appeared seven maidens,
mounted on white steeds; armed with shields and clad in chain-
mail. They stopped before him.
" Hrist (storm) and Mist (cloud-grey), Thrud (power) and GoU
(herald), Gondul (she-wolf) and Skogul (carrier through), and thou,
bold Hilde (war), use your art with King Hrolf, that he may be
victorious."
Thus spoke the peasant, and the Walkyries hastened away to
carry out his behest.
Then followed, through the treachery of the false Adil^ fierce
frays, in all of which the heroes conquered, and they returned in
triumph to their home. They again sought lodging with Hrany,
and they found him more hospitable than before. He showed
Hrolf a shield, a sword, and a shirt of mail, saying, —
" Take the weapons, thou wilt have need of them."
But Hrolf refused to take such costly gifts from a peasant,
whereupon Hrany waxed wroth, his face grew dark as night, and
his eyes flashed fire.
" Then quit my house, rash sons of the Jotuns," he cried ; " the
Norn has beclouded your minds, she throws the thread north-
wards."
The ground shook ; the very house groaned and cracked,
as though the building would fall. The heroes, terrified, mount-
ed their stallions, and rode away. At last Biarki broke the
silence.
" I think," he said, " that we have been foolish. The peasant is
more than he seems."
STORY OF KING KRAKI. 229
" It is Odin himself,' the one-eyed god," answered Hrolf ; " let
us return and seek him."
But it was in vain, for both Hrany and his house had disap-
peared.
For some time the king remained quietly at Hledra with his
warriors ; for he was afraid that the Father of Victory was dis-
pleased with him The tributary princes and Jarls paid their taxes>
without daring to raise the banner against their victorious lord.
At last, however, Skuld^ Hrolf s sister, begged her husband,
Hiorward, to take up arms against the king. She used cunning
magic and baneful witchery in order to attain her end. Under the
pretext of paying the tribute, they both arrived in the castle with
many followers, leaving many mounted men concealed outside.
The king received them with great honour, and gave a festive
drinking-bout. But when he and his followers, overcome by sleep
and wine, lay resting in the halls, the troop of traitors silently crept
in and slaughtered many a sleeping hero Hialti, who was out-
side, came back, just as the fighting had begun. He wakened
Badwar Biarki. Both took their arms, and killing everybody who
came, in their way, they reached the king's sleeping hall^ where
the king armed himself amid his warriors.
Then Hrolf said, " Well, valiant comrades, dri]:k with me the
last cup to Odin, as wc are going the way of Death."
They all drank with great zeal, and Biarki said : " Do you see
the Walkyries above us, how they smile under their helmets and
beckon to us } We come to you, powerful maidens ; soon you
will bear us to Walhalla, where Freya herself brings to the heroes
foaming mead. But as long as life is granted to us, let us do
our duty faithfully, that we may die an honourable death and
show ourselves worthy of renown and skaldic song."
Thus spoke the undaunted hero, and the warriors following
closely on the king, pressed forward against the foe, and their
?30 ASGARD AND THE GODS.
swords clashed as if a whole army was fighting. The conspira-
tors fell under their blows and retreated from the halls and
castle, and the men of Hledra followed their brave lord as though
to victory.
In the meanwhile Hiorward brought fresh troops, and the per-
nicious Skuld stood in the midst of the battle, and by her magic
songs she revived the fallen warriors.
The heroes fell one after the other around their warlike king,
who towered in their midst. Shots whizzed round him, sword-
blows clashed on helmet and shield; but the traitors fell before
his mighty strokes. Only when his armour was utterly destroyed
did he fall pierced with lances on the bloody ground, profusely
strewed with armour and with broken weapons. Hialti lay dying
at his feet. Biarki stood still, but his colour was pale, his
helmet and shield broken, his breast-plate and heart pierced by a
lance.
The colour from his cheek is fled,
He speaks with quaking breath ;
All power has left my weary limb,
That burns the wound of death
Hialti lies upon the ground
Beside the dying king ;
The Hero-King grants rae to kiss
His lips ere life takes wing.
At his head will I gladly sink.
Without fear, without dismay ;
Walkyries above me beckoning
♦ Bless'd shield-maidens gray.
They call, inviting us above,
The heroes they bid speed
To Odin's glorious halls,
Where they deal out ale and mead.
Hiorward, the victor, and Skuld sat together in the festive hall
at the dnnking bout, laughing over their wicked cunning.
STORY OF KING KRAKL 231
Then the enchantress said, "My brother has died with all his
heroes as a Skioldung, a descendant of the noblest race of kings on
the whole earth."
" Then is none of his brave men left ? " asked the king. " I
would honour him highly, and seat him as the first under my
warriors."
Just as he had thus spoken a man covered with blood came up
to him without weapons, but on each arm a golden ring. All
knew him well, for he was Wogg, the same whom Hrolf had once
received into his company. He said he would like to serve his new
master faithfully ; but he had no sword, as he had broken his in
the fight. Then Hiorward handed him his own great sword ; but
Wogg said that Hrolf always held the sword at the point when he
gave it to a man. This the king did also ; but as soon as Wogg
had the handle in his h;»nd he dug the point deep into the king's
breast with the words :
** Go thou to the kingdom of Hel, false traitor, where thou shalt
walk through valleys of misery."
Then he. received innumerable mortal wounds by Hiorward's
warriors. With a dying struggle he dragged himself towards the
yet living Hrolf, and said :
" Now have I fulfilled my promise, and have avenged my mas-
ter. But I see them — the Walkyries. They have lifted the heroes
on their horses ; they wait for me. I follow ye ; I come from
blood and the pains of earth to share the joys of Asgard's glorious
hall ! "
The prophetesses who foretold victory to the people, or who
even took part in the battle, holding up the banner in their strong
hands, were "either distinguished by their great and healthy old
age or by their youth and beauty'. When the warriors saw them
standing amongst the chiefs and nobles filled with the enthusiastic
certainty of victory, issuing their commands and uttering words of
232 ASGARD AND THE GODS.
counsel which tended to ensure the victory they had prophesied,
they may well have regarded them as supernatural beings worthy
of all honour. It was the same with the Scandinavians. Many
a warrior-maiden fought in the famous Brawalla battle ; but yet
these Amazons were, on that occasion, unable to change the fate
of the day.
The existence of these Walas, or Amazons, formed the founda-
tion of the belief in Walkyries, and poetic fancy imagined, them to
be heavenly beings, who gave victory to him that deserved it, and
who took those mortals who had fallen bravely in the fight to
Walhalla, that they might be with the Father of Battles and the
blessed Einheriar. We have already met with them several times
in the course of our history, riding on white horses and dressed in
splendid armour, watching the fate of battles and of the heroes
who took part in them. There were generally seven, nine, or even
twelve choosers of the dead on such occasions, and Hilde (War)
and the youngest Norn Skuld, were often comprised in their ranks.
They rode on air and water, for their horses were, the clouds that
floated over the world of mortal men. They were possessed of
swan garments, wrapped in which they could fly in the guise of
swans to the place where heroes were contending for death or
victory.
The celebrated Brynhilde was a Walkyrie. She said on her
Hel ride that Agnar had stolen the swan garments belonging to
her and her sisters, and had thus forced her to give him the vic-
tory over Hialmgunnar against the will of Odin, for which reason
the god had cast her into a magic sleep. Swawa and Sigrun, like
Brynhilde, were of human extraction, and they used to hover pro-
tectingly round their favourite heroes during the fight ; but they
lost their Walkyrie power as soon as they married them. Maidens
alone could receive the divine nature, which they lost again if ever
they married a mortal hero,
WISE-WOMEN. 233
The Walkyries, Norns, and divine women reappear under the
name of Dises. This appellation connects them with the war and
sword-god Tins (Tyr, Zio). They were not his servants, however,
but were quite independent of him. Idises, or Dises, were known
and reverenced by the Teutons before the time of Tacitus. It
seems that inspired prophetesses and seers like Weleda were looked
upon as Idiges. We have already shown what influence they pos-
sessed in time of war ; but they used also to go about the land,
enter houses, and bring help in sickness, for they knew of remedies
which were of much avail to whomsover believed in their efficacy.
It is said in Latin accounts that one of these women went to
meet Drusus when he had advanced as far as the Elbe. She wore
the Teutonic costume, was of superhuman height, and commanded
the conqueror to withdraw from the sacred soil of the fatherland,
for death was approaching him. He was so terrified that he was
induced to retreat, and it is well known that he soon afterwards
died of a fall from his horse. This tale probably had its rise in
Teutonic tradition, but it shows what faith the ancients placed
in the greatness and power of these prophetesses, who were also
called Wise-Women. It was beautiful to see how these seers kept
the desire for the weal of their people in their hearts, incited them
to warlike deeds, carried their banner into the fray, bore the
wounded out of the fight, bound up their hurts, and nursed them
or brought help and healing to the sick. Very different was the
reverse side of this picture, when they accompanied wandering
hordes in their raids. Wild-looking figures with loosened hair,
they there mixed with the fighting men, joined in the fierce battle-
cry, and after victory had been attained they stood by the sacrifi-
cial altar, slew the prisoners, and foretold future events by their
witch-like incantations over the bodies of their victims.
Old authors tell us of other women whom the people held to be
Idises, One of these appeared to Attila by the Lech, and made
234 ASGARD AND THE GODS.
him afraid to cross the river. Some writers are of opinion that
they were called AHoruna, and prove their assertion by comparison
with Jornandes, who maintained that the mis-shapen Huns were
descended from the Aliorumnes. These beings were afterwards
called Alrunes or Alrauns.
' It was said that the Alraun was cut out of a root with a distant
resemblance to the human form. For a long time the well-known
climbing plant, bryony, was regarded in Germany as an Alraun.
But when the Germans invaded Italy in the tenth and eleventh
centuries, they found the mandrake which resembled what they
imagined much more nearly than the bryony.
According to tradition this plant only grew under the gallows
upon which some one had been hung. A wise woman dug there
at midnight while using horrible incantations. The moment to
enter on the search was at the time of the solstice, when the moon
in its last quarter was throwing its pale light around. The root
was disinterred with a low cry of pain. The woman, a look of
madness on her face, hastened away with her prize, which writhed
like a living thing in her arms. She took it home and laid it on
her soft bed. There the misshapen creature lay before her, pale as
death, without eyes, and on its thick skull a few bristly hairs were
visible. She felt bound to it with an overflowing love like a
mother to her child. She pressed two juniper berries into the
holes where its eyes should have been, and a third one into the
back of its head. These berries became real eyes, but were round,
not oval, like human eyes.
The earth-born creature grew rapidly under her care, but only
reached the height of a three-years child. He climbed roofs and
trees like a monkey, and laughed at his foster-mother's anxiety for
him. He found and dug for her treasures of silvfer and gold that
had lain hidden under the earth.,
Thus the family grew rich and respected, but the woman was not
THE MANDRAKE BOY.
235
happy. Her father, trusting in his riches, strove to gain princely-
power and was executed for high treason ; her lover and her
brother killed each other for the sake of her wealth. The Alraun
laughed at her tears ; he had a diabolical delight in plaguing her
until at last she died insane under the same gallows from beneath
which she had dug him up.
This story reminds us of Wodan, the hanging god, and of the
degrading influence of wealth on the human mind. It also leads
our thoughts on to the witches, who originally had no resemblance
to the barbaious women we mentioned before.
236
ASGARD AND THE GODS.
fingal's cave.
PART EIGHTH.
OGTR AND HIS FOLLOWERS.
N the Black Forest, a few miles
from Lake Mummel, whither
we have once already led our
reader, lay a village ; the inha-
bitants were wont to delight themselves on the merry May-
days with joyous game and dance.
To these festivities there often came ' a strange maiden, who
joined in the gay country dance. A string of pearls bound up
her hair, and another hung round her neck ; a green silken
MICHAEL AND THE IVATER-NIXJE. 237
robe draped her graceful figure. Her features were so exquisitely
lovely, that the hearts of the young fellows beat higher in their
breasts as they led the maiden to the dance.
She seemed to favour one Michael Stauf more than all the
rest. He was the strongest lad in wrestling and in boxing, and
the most expert dancer. The old folk, who watched the games
of the young people, said they had never seen a more comely
pair upon the dancing green ; however, when the clock struck
eleven, the young girl always left the dancers, and although
many a lad followed her eagerly, she had disappeared into the
darkness of the forest before he could come up with her.
Yet once, as Michael followed her, he discovered traces of
her footsteps ; he hastened after her, and overtook her. They
walked on together side by side, until she led him by a path
which he had never seen before, although the wood^ was fully
known to him, since he had been born in it.
After a while, they reached the lake. He asked her, if she
would return with him to his farm, and be his wife. She
answered, she would ask her father, who was a strict and severe
man, but she feared he would not allow such a union.
With these words she sprang into the water and disappeared
from his sight.
Michael now saw that she was a water-nixie; but his heart
still clung to her, and all his thoughts were how he should
make her his own.
The merry day of festivity was over ; work in the fields
began, and left Michael little time for pondering on marriage.
But when winter came, and his leisure hours were many, his
imagination was constantly engaged in picturing to himself
how happy he would be if he could only make the lovely maid
in the green robe the mistress of his farm. Day and night he
dreamed of her, and all the pleasure that he once had taken in
238 ASGARD AND THE GODS,
games of cards and dice forsook him, and he never now visited
the noisy company in the village inn, where formerly he had
rarely failed. And in the spinning room he was never seen,
and the spinsters were greatly troubled in their minds why the
rich Michael no more visited them.
Anxiously, full of longing, he awaited the month of May, and
when at last it came round he was the first upon the dancing-green.
His hopes were not deceived, the maiden of the lake appeared
as before, and danced and chatted with him ; when the hour of
eleven sounded from the bell, she accepted his company on the
l^omeward road. Yet when he spoke of his marriage plans she
became sad.
" My father," she said, '' will allow of no union with mortals,
and he is very strict ; he allows no disobedience."
" A woman shall leave father or mother, and cleave unto her
husband," he cried ; " if thou wilt, we will at once return, get
married, and when thou art in my home, we will see who can
take thee away against both our wills."
** Hush," she said, frightened, *' lest my father hear thy words.
Dost thou not see the springs and brooks around us } They are
all in his service ; they would swell up to furious torrents, and
overwhelm us, if he bade them. Do not arouse his anger. He
will have no connection with mortal men, for they have nicknamed
him Duck-bill, because he has a nose of horn, like all men with us.
Yet he is friendlily disposed towards thee, and sends thee this ring,
with a great carbuncle in it, which will indicate to thee where all
the treasures of the earth lie hid."
With these words she put the jewel on his finger. The stone
flashed like the rays of the sun, and when he turned it towards the
ground, he saw in the depths below his feet veins of gold and
silver, which ran through the earth like frozen brooks.
"A wonderful sight," he said, "but I desire no othe>' treasure
MICHAEL AND THE WATER-NIXtE. 239
than thee ; I am rich enough already for us two to live in peace
and plenty."
They had come to the shore of the lake, and after a hurried fare-
well, she disappeared into the flood.
Michael was a bold and fearless lad. If he got an idea into his
head, nothing could get it out again. He would have liked to have
had the water-kin^ before him, that he might fell him to the
■ground. As this was not possible, however, he had to content
himself with brooding on his way home over a plan by which he
might bring the beautiful girl to fall in with his ideas.
On the following day she came at the usual time, and was more
beautiful and more friendly to him than ever. Towards evening
he slunk away from the dancing-green and climbed up the church
spire, and there put the hands of the clock a whole hour back.
When he returned he hurled a young fellow away who was leading
the lake-damsel to the dance, and carried her off himself, as though
he would dance his life away. He did not become tired, and she
too seemed of like mood ; the pipers grew blue in the face, the
fiddlers' arms grew weary, but they dared not cease : he threat-
ened as he rushed past them, he promised a threefold reward.
At last the clock struck eleven. Then the maiden escaped from
his arms, and started off for the wood. He followed her, and they
had hardly gone a few paces when they heard the clock in a
neighbouring village strike twelve.
The maiden was horrified, and trembled in all her limbs. He
told her what he had done, and vowed that she should be his that
very night Yet all his pressure, all his arguing, was in vain ; she
only hurried her steps, weeping and lamenting.
At length they stood on the bank of the watery mirror, over
ivhich the full moon played. It was in vain that he sought to
hold her back ; she whispered only softly, —
" Take heed what happeneth ; if a milk-white flood ariseth from
240 ASGARD AND THE GODS.
the lake, I am saved, and will be thine ; but if a blood-stained
one, then I am lost."
Scarcely had she said these words than she sprang forward,
and sank beneath the waters. Where she had disappeared a
funnel-shaped cavity remained, from the edge of which wave- rings
extended over the whole lake.
Michael looked upon the surface of the water in breathless,
expectation, and now, now there rises up from the cavity not milk-
white but a blood-red stream, and a cry strikes his ear, entering
his heart like the thrust of a dagger.
** Fiendish Neck ! " he cried. " Murderer of thy child ! take
back thy magic ring, thou wicked Duck-bill ! "
And he threw the jewel against a rock in the lake, so that it
flew into a thousand pieces.
As soon as the fragments touched the water it began to foam
ind bubble, as if a subterranean fire were causing it to seethe. It
swelled and swelled, higher and higher, and in the middle a mon-
strous crested wave rose frothing up. The lake heaved, and its
depths raged fiercely. It overflowed its banks ; the monster wave
bore the struggling youth along with it, in spite of his frantic
efforts. Far and wide did the growing waters work devastation,
and never were either the rich Michael or the Maiden of the Lake
seen again.
Like this story, there are very numerous others, whose scenes
are laid by springs, brooks, rivers, and lakes. They are told in
England, Germany, in the Sclavonic, and in the Romance lands.
Also from classic antiquity we have received the Naiads, River-
gods, Sirens, etc.
Another legend, very popular in Germany, we give, translated
into verse. Every one who has travelled up the Rhine has been
shown the Loreley Rock, and been told the superstitions con-
nected with it
THE LORELEY. 241
LEGEND OF THE LORELEY.
Unearthly music floats upon the air.
The setting sun illumes th' impending crag,
The silent fishers watch their lurking nets,
^ Or from the deep their finny booty drag.
That is the siren-song of Loreley ;
In jewelled sheen she sits upon the height;
Swift o'er the lyre her magic fingers flit,
Her golden hair gleams in a flood of light.
See yonder bark by nervous arm impelled,
So swiftly shooting down the glassy stream !
Anon it creeps, borne onwards by the tide,
The youthful boatman rapt as in a dream.
That strange, weird melody enchains his soul,
Upon the oars his listless arms repose,
Spell-bound he gazes on the dizzy height.
With longings new and wild his bosom glows.
More swiftly glides the bark, the rock is near, .
He sees the siren beckon from the height,
Her song more thrilling, and more sweet her lyre,
Her locks more golden in the golden light.
The reef-rocks rise, alas ! he sees them not,
' Heeds not the warning shout from yonder shore,
The startled echoes sound from crag to crag,
But by that boatman they are ne'er heard more.
The story of the " Old Man of the Sea " is perhaps a recollec-
tion of the Northern Ogir, who, if not the king was at least
the highest and greatest of the water spirits.
Ogir, i.e. the Terrible, like his brothers Kari, ruler of the air, and
Logi, ruler of fire, was a son of the old giant Forniot Judging
from the etymology of the word, he seems to be identical with the
Grecian Okeanos, but possessing a more distinct personality, for
the Greeks probably only knew the ocean from the stories oi
Phoenician^ sailors, while the Northern skippers boldly faced the
R
24,2 ASGARD AND THE GODS.
mighty sea and its terrors in their weak vessels, which they called
dragons or snakes. Dreadful Qgir was married to Bar, who, like
her husband, used to drag men down into the deep and bury them
in the sand, or who, according to other accounts, received the souls
of those who died at sea,^s Hel did of those who died a "straw
death " on land. They had nine daughters who afterwards became
the mothers of Heimdal. The name of the Ogishelm, i.e. Helmet
of Terror, comes from the King of the ocean. It was believed that
the very sight of it filled the beholder with such terror that he
would let his weapons fall as though he were paralyzed by magic
art. The front of this helmet was adorned with a boar's head
which yawned open-mouthed at the enemy. The Anglo-Saxons
and Esthonians of the Baltic wore helmets of this sort, and the
latter people believed that these head-pieces made the wearer either
invisible or impervious to wounds. This reminds us of the dusk-
\ap in the Nibelungen Lay, whilst the boar's head puts us in mind
of Freyer's Gullinbursti. The Ogishelm, judging from the forma-
tion of the word and from its meaning, seems to have been iden-
tical with the Ogis shield of Zeus, for this was by no means a goat's
skin as people said later on, but was a weapon arousing feelings
of terror. Zeus sometimes lent it to his son Apollo, who showed
it to the enemy and made them fly in fear. The shield of Pallas
Athene with the Medusa's head had much the same effect.
Ogir, the terrible king of the ocean, did not appear armed
with the boar's helmet in the northern poems, but he must have
worn it in the old days, the records of which are lost. He was
milder of aspect than of yore, and although of giant race, he
lived in friendship with the Ases. He was also represented as
sitting on a rock, playing on a harp or a shell. No sooner was
Ogir's music heard than the waves piled themselves mountain
high, and flung themselves against each other with a wild roar,
so that the earth trembled and the heavens threatened to split
jt^
OGIR AND RAN.
THE WATER-SPIRIT AND THE BOYS. 245
in twain. The vassals of Ogir were numerous, mermaids and
sprits of all kinds were subject to him, and there are a great many
interesting tales regarding them in every land. The stories of
the magical music of the Necks are probably founded on the
melodious sounds made by the water when falling over rocks
or by the waves of the sea when confined within some cavern,
such as Fingal's cave, etc. Nixies also sought the love of man,
for thus and thus alone could they obtain the object of their
desire, a loving immortal soul. The tragic turn which these
stories generally take, almost seems to show that the possession
of a soul was not happiness. Fouque's "Undine" is one of
the most beautiful of these tales.
Although the water spirits had no souls, they yet were filled
with a longing for redemption and resurrection. There is a
Christian tale which is a good illustration of this idea. Two
children were once playing upon the sea-shore, A merry Neck
was seated on a rock in front of them surrounded by water, and
as he sat, he played on his harp so cheerily that it seemed to
the children as if the very waves were dancing to his tune.
Then the elder Loy called out to him jestingly : " Play on,
merry sprite, play on ; thou * hast no hope of redemption or of
resurrection."
" No hope ! " wailed the Neck, beginning to play such sad
music out of his sorrowful heart that t|ie waves ceased to dance
and the children felt quite miserable.
They went home and told their father, who was a Christian
priest, what had happened. He chid them for their forwardness,
bade them at once return to the Neck and tell him that there
was hope of redemption and resurrection for him, for the Saviour
had said : " T am not come into the world to judge the world,
but that the world through me might be saved."
The boys did as their father told them. They found the Neck
246
ASGARD AND THE GODS.
still weeping bitterly. But when he heard the message of glad
tidings, he smiled through his tears and touched the strings of
his harp making them play mighty chords, and it seemed as
though the heavenly hosts were singing to the music.
"The Saviour did not come to judge the world, but that the
world through Him might be saved."
In this simple legend we see the triumph of Christianity over
heathenism. It is sad that this aspect of Christianity is not
always recognised by those who are called upon to teach its
principles. But Charlemagne's Saxon war, the Inquisition, and
other more recent events show how mucli the fundamental idea
of its teaching has been misunderstood.
PART NINTH.
LOKI AND HIS RACE,
T T E stood with his peasant wife" and his two sons on the
-* ^ household hearth, and prayed to Odin that he would take
under his protection their eldest boy, whom the monster had
demanded.
Hardly had the prayer been offered up, when the king of
the Ases stood in the hall, and promised to hide the boy
securely, and to bring him back to them unharmed.
At his command the corn grew up in the night over many a
wide acre, so quickly that it was ready for harvesting. In the
middle of the field, he hid the boy, in a grain of an ear of corn.
But in the morning the giant stood in the field, and with his
sharp sword mowed down the corn. He shook with all his force
the ears, and lo ! there fell at last into his hand the very grain
which hid the boy. In his need, he called to Odin, and the
mighty god removed him from all danger, and took him back
to his parents, who were in great care about him.
'* I have fulfilled my promise," he said, " more ye must not
demand of me."
. With these words he disappeared ; but the peasaiit and his
248 ASGARD AND THE GODS.
wife were not yet free from care, for the giant stood threaten-
ing in a neighbouring field, and was now coming towards the
house, where he scented his victim.
They prayed Honir that he might guard their darling from
the monster; the beneficent god did not tarry; he took the
boy with him into the greenwood, where immediately two
silvery swans settled down before him, and he hid his little
charge in the form of a feather of down in the neck of one of
them.
However, the giant, who was called Skrymsli, strode onwards
to the greenwood ; he was powerful in magic, and enchanted
the right swan to him, and, bit his neck off. Yet the feather
of down was wafted from his mouth, and Honir caught it up,
and carried the terrified boy back to his anxious parents.
The peasant and his wife now called to Loki for his help
in their need ; for they saw the giant coming with angry strides
out of the wood. The god appeared at once, took the boy
to the strand, and rowed with him far out to sea. And he angled
and caught three large flounders.
After he had hidden the boy as the tinest ^^g in the roe
of one of them, he threw the fishes overboard, and turned again
towards land. Here he saw with astonishment, that Skrymsli
had prepared his boat to go out fishing ; he got into it with
the giant, and sought, but all in vain, to put a stop to the
voyage; the vessel flew on, driven by the powerful strokes of
the giant, hurrying over the sound into the open sea, where
the boatman sank his angle and stone into the water. He
caught at once three flounders, and amongst them the desired
Rogner.
" Give me that poor little fish," asked Loki insinuatingly.
" Hast thou an appetite then, Gaffer, hey } " snarled the
giant ; " thou wilt have to wait a long time I fancy ! "
LOKI OUTWITS THE GIANT SKRYMSLL 249
Thereupon he took the flounder between his knees, and
counted every ^%% in the roe, until he found the one he
wanted. But with a dexterous finger Loki snatched it up, and
told the boy, when they reached the land, to spring with a light
foot over the sand towards home.
Skrymsli saw the boy running, and hastened after him, but
with every step he sank knee-deep into the sand. He found
the door of the house shut ; when he threw himself against it
with great, force, it broke in two ; but, springing forwards, he
ran his head into an iron pole. Loki was at once at hand, and
cut off one of his legs, and then the other ; and so the monster
died ; and his body covered the field.
The peasant and his wife brought thank-offerings to the god
Loki, for their darling, whom the other gods had only hidden a
short time, and who now rested safely in their arms.
The above story is still told on the Faroe Islands, and in
fuller detail than we have been enabled to give it It shows
us an important fact, that Loki was not always looked upon
as the principle of evil, as the enemy of gods and men.
Originally he was the god of the indispensable household
fire, the god of the beneficent, kindly hearth ; therefore he
regularly appears in the trinity : thus the sons of the primeval
giant Ymir were called Kari (air), Ogir or Hler. (water), and
Logi (fire) ; and similarly on the creation of mankind the trinity
appears, Odin, Honir and Lodur. Loki also accompanied Odin
and Honir on their travels to the giant Thiassi.
The father of Loki was Farbauti and his mother was Laufey
(leafy isle). The former was probably the same as Bergel-
mir, the giant who escaped drowning in the Deluge by taking
refuge in a boat, as another name for his mother was Nal,
ship. Logi, the element of fire, was distinctly separated from
Loki, for we saw that when in the b-^lls of Skyrnir or Utgard-
25d ASGARD AND THE GODS,
Loki, the two were rivals in a wager as to which could consume
the greater quantity of food in a given time. At first Loki was
held in high honour as the giver of warmth and god of -the
domestic hearth, and was looked upon as the brother of Odin
and Honir, for the elements air, water and fire are intimately
connected. He therefore belonged to the Ases, sat in their
council,- and often helped them out of difficulties by means, of
his cunning. As fire is not always the friend of man, but is
also the element of destruction, the Loki of the myth developed
ever more and more the dark side of his character. He showed
himself as a cunning adviser, a false, traitorous comrade, and
lastly as the murderer of all that was pure and holy. He de-
stroyed innocence and righteousness, became the blasphemer of
the Ases or their evil conscience ; -and although he received
immediate punishment for his wickedness, he yet succeeded in
bringing about the universal destruction.
The name Loki has been derived from the old word "liuhan,"
to enlighten. It therefore has the same origin as the Latin lux^
light. Thus he was also related to Lucifer (light-bringer), a
title of honour which was given to the Prince of Darkness. In
like manner as the northern tempter was chained to a sharp
rock, Lucifer was believed in the middle ages to be chained
down in hell. Saxo Grammaticus describes his Utga;-thlocus
(Utgard-Loki) as laden with chains in Helheim, which proves
that the myth of Loki and his punishment was believed long
after the Christian era.
As has been said before, Loki had three wicked children by
the giantess Angurboda (bringer of anguish), Fenris, Hel and
Jormungander. But he also had a lawful wife, the faithful
Sigyn, who brought' him two sons, Wali and Narwi, and who
remained with him during all the misery his punishment brought
upon him. He had no servants or subjects, for the Salamanders
LOKI AND HIS RACE.
251
or Fire-spirits which played a part in Roman and Oriental
mythology were unknwvn in the north. But he had other mighty
relations, namely Surtur of the Flaming Sword and the sons of
Muspel, who helped him in the Last Battle when he had got rid
of his bonds. The Dwarfs and Black-Elves that needed fire for
their labours were in alliance with him, but were not subserv-
ient to. him ; indeed, as we have already seen, they were often
his enemies.
PART TENTH.
THE OTHER ASES,
WIDAR.
' I ^HE duel was over, Ases and Einheriar were seated in Wal-
■^ halla emptying horns of foaming mead. Steps were heard
approaching, and Widar came in, receiving a joyful greeting from
all.
" Hail, Widar," said Bragi, the divine singer, and Hermodur,
the bright herald of the gods, " hail, Widar, thou strong protection,
thou help in every time of danger ! Receive with this greeting the
golden drink which beseems thee."
He thanked them and drank. He looked very grave, and spoke
but little. Then Odin made him a sign to approach, and as he
walked up the hall, he looked great and noble in their eyes ; his
broad sword clanked at his side, and the sound made by the iron
shoe on his right foot rang musically through the immeasurable
hall.
" Widar, my silent son," said the Father of the gods, " in the
time to come thou shalt be Avenger, Victor and Restorer. Come,
follow me to the well of Mimir, that we may look into its depths
and see what is hidden from gods and men."
And now the god of armies rose and went away followed by
ODIN CONSULTS THE NORNS. 253
Widar the Silent. They crossed the Homes to Mimir's Well.
There, sat the three Fatal Sisters, and there the swans floated
noiselessly on their circling course.
Odin demanded a word of wisdom from the Norns.
Then they answered one after the other ;
"Early begun !"
•" Further spun."
"One day done!"
And Wurd said in conclusion :
'* With joy once more won ! "
After that the sisters rose and spoke together ; " The circling
ages roll on and change. Past and Future, passing and beginning
again, thus the ends of existence meet. If the Father falls on
the field of Wigrid, he reappears in Widar, the Avenger, the
Victor, new-born in the halls of blessedness."
When the Norns had finished, the leaves of the World-Tree
rustled melodiously, the eagle on its topmost bough sang aloud
some song of storm or of victory, flapping its wings the while, and*
the dragon Nidhogg looked up, and forgot to gnaw the roots of the
tree.
Meantime another witness had approached : it was Grid, the
Giantess, the mother of Widar, who had lent Thor her girdle
gloves and stafi" of strength when he was about to find the river
Wimur on his way to Geirod's-Gard.
"Happy mother!" said Odin solemnly, "who was once wedded
to me, thou also shalt rise again in thy son when the battle has
been fought out on the field of Wigrid and Surtur's flames have
been extinguished."
All three, their hearts filled with gladness, looked up at Yggdrasil,
the holy ash-tree, the leaves of which rustled melodiously, while all
creatures around were silent, as though they were listening to some
wondrous music which told, not of death, but of eternal change.
254 ASGARD AND THE GODS.
Widar went home through the long green grass and bushes that
never faded. He soon reached Landwidi, the house hidden in the
wood. He ascended his throne, twined with green garlands, and
sat there, silent as ever, thinking over the riddle of life. When and
how did the immeasurable come into being } Why does it go on t
How and when will it end } These are questions which the wise
of all ages have puzzled over, and which they have tried to solve
in divers ways, but without satisfying themselves, because there
are limits set here to the inquiring mind. They only find words
which they cannot explain, cannot understand : Eternal, Everlast-
ing, Immeasurable. How grand and glorious it sounds, and yet
the finite mind can have no conception of that yawning gulf with-
out beginning and without end ! The childlike faith alone, that
had its rise with the star of Bethlehem, like the beautiful dawn of
a new day, gives peace to the soul that thirsts after truth. For
"although everything circles in eternal change, yet even in that
change is preserved a quiet mind."
The myth does not inform us whether the silent Ase found a
solution to the riddle, for, as we have seen, he was silent as the
the grave ; but he went forth boldly to the battle on the field of
Wigrid, trusting to what the Norns and his father had told him.
In this god we see an emblem of the inexhaustible power of Nature
in making ever new shoots and flowers spring from what had
grown old and faded.
HRRMODUR THE SWIFT.
Odin, king of the Ases, was sitting on Hlidskialf weighing all
past and future -events. He saw blood flowing, noble blood ; but
all that was to come to pass looked indistinct and misty, like the
sea in a fog, and the Norns had been silent when he questioned -
them.
HERMODUR VISITS THE FINNISH ROBBER. 255
His son, Hermodur, the bright herald of the gods, was standing
before him, ready to be sent to make known kis decrees to the
people. The king signed to the Walkyries, who at once brought
helmet and coat of mail, spear and shield, and armed the brave
warrior for the battle.
" Up, my son," said the king, " saddle the good horse Sleipnir,
and ride along the wind-cold roads, over frozen lakes and rivers
and mountains, till thou cpmest to the land of the wild Finns.
There in a gloomy dwelling amongst the fens shalt thou find the
robber Rosstioph (horse thief), who entices travellers to come to
him by magic art, binds them with enchanted bonds, murders
them, and, after having robbed them, casts them] into the sea. He
knows what will happen in luture times ; force him with the Runic
staff to tell thee what will come to pass."
Then Hermodur laid aside his spear and seized Gambantrin, the
magic staff, instead. He saddled good Sleipnir, and hastened
away to the land of the. Finns, where Rosstioph lived in a gloomy
dwelling amongst the fens.
The robber saw the storm-compelling rider at a distance. He
used his magic arts to induce him to approach, and laid invisible
snares for him. Hermodur saw ghost-like airy monsters trying to
clutch at him with teeth and claws, but he beat them back with
his staff, and Sleipnir leapt over all the magic traps. When the
robber attacked him in giant form, Hermodur felled him with his
club, and bound him hand and foot with his own cords, tying his
throat so tight that he groaned out his readiness to tell what
Hermodur wished to know.
So the Ase let him go, and he immediately began his terrible
incantations. The sun lost its brightness and hid her face behind
dark clouds ; the earth shook to her foundations ; the storm-wind
shrieked, calling to mind now the howling of wolves, and now of
the moans and groans of dying men.
256 ASGARD AND THE GODS.
"See there," cried the Finn, pointing over at the fen, "the
answer to thy question is rising even at this very moment."
The Ase saw a stream of blood flowing that reddened the whole
ground. Then a beautiful woman appeared, and afterwards a little
boy rose close beside her ; he grew in one night, and was armed
with a bow and arrows.
" The king of the Ases shall offer his love to Rinda in the land
of the Ruthenes, and she shall bear him a son who will avenge
his brother's death."
Rosstioph ceased, and Hermodur returned to Allfather and told
him all that he had heard and seen.
Hermodur went on many other errands for Odin, and as these
errands were often of a warlike -nature, he was perhaps regarded as
a sword-god ; indeed, he was supposed to be connected with the
universal god Irmin, or Hermon. Amongst the Anglo-Saxons, on
the other hand, he was looked upon as identical with dark Hodur,
the Ase who brought the greatest misery upon Asgard.
WALI OR ALI, SKfeAF.
Wall or All was the son of Odin and Rinda, who, as Rosstioph
prophesied, should one day avenge the death of Baldur. We shall
meet with this god again when we treat of the beautiful poem of
Baldur's death, and will therefore merely remark in this place that
Rinda means the rind, the hard-frozen crust of the earth, whose
favour the god of heaven long woos in vain, in like manner as the
cold of winter takes a long time ere it gives way before the warmth
of spring, and it is only when summer's magic wand is brought
in requisition that the victory is complete. Thus the god tries in
vain to teach her that mild weather is the time for warlike deeds.
He offers her shining garlands of flowers and golden ears of corn,
LEGEND OF KING SKEAF, 257
but all to no purpose. He is at length obliged to use his divine
power before he can force her to marry him. Her son is called
Wali or Ali in the Edda ; according to Saxo, the Danish historian,
he is Bous, or Bui, also Beav, i.i. the peasant, who, after the victory
of the god of heaven, comes out of his dark hut and resumes his
labour of tilling the earth.
The myth of Wali has, to a considerable extent, passed into the
Hero-lays. We will now give one of the tales which owed their
origin to this source.
Once upon a time many people were assembled on the sea-
shore in the land of the Angles and not far from Schleswig.
They were watching a small vessel sailing over the crested waves
towards them. A gentle breeze filled out the white sails, but
neither helm nor helmsman, nor yet sailors were to be seen.
Bound to the mast-head was a shield, bright as the sun, though
not blood-red, which would have betokened the arrival of an
enemy.
The little vessel rounded the promontory at the mouth of
the harbour as cleverly as though a good pilot had been on board,
and made straight for the land. The people now saw a little
new-born child lying on a sheaf of corn (Schof, Skeaf) on the
deck, with ornaments of gold, silver and precious stones scattered
about it. The boy sat up and looked at the surrounding people
sc lovingly that all with one voice exclaimed :
" He is the child of some god ; we will take him and bring him
up, and he shall be our king."
They did so, and the boy grew strong and active, soon got the
better of his comrades in the lists, learnt to honour the laws and
ordinances of the free people who had adopted him, and gained
the hearts of all by his wisdom.
When he had grown to be a man, the free people of the land
raised him on a war-shield, and said ;
s
3S8 ASGARD AND THE GODS.
"Thou shalt be our king, for we shall be better off under thy
rule than were we to remain a republic, and thou shalt be called
Skeaf, because thou didst come to us lying upon a sheaf."
The new king governed the land wisely and justly, and the
favour of the gods was with him, set that the harvests were plen-
teous and the country visibly prospered. His judgments filled the
people with admiration, whether given in the law-courts or in the
assembly ; therefore he was loved and honoured as a father. His
fame spread over every land, and kings of foreign nations made
him umpire in their disputes. No ne-ighbouring people ventured
to declare war upon him, nor was any Wiking-raid made upon
his coasts. His subjects enjoyed peace and security of life and
property.
At length the time came for him to leave the world, and he
desired his faithful friends to lay him once more on the sheaf of
corn in the little vessel and scatter about him the jewels he had
brought with him, that he might return to the place whence he
came.
The corpse of the king, it^ head crowned with flowers, was
placed on a sheaf in the little vessel, and all the ornaments he had
brought with him were placed about him as before. Then a gentle
breeze arose and wafted the ship far away to the Home of the
Light-Elves, the land of spirits, from which Skeaf had been sent
when a child. Meanwhile his faithful friends stood on the shore
for a long time weeping for the loss of their good king, as men
always weep when a dear friend leaves them.
Before his departure Skeaf had promised his sorrowing people
that he would send his son from the happy home to rule over this
kingdom, and, as we learn from Danish and Anglo-Saxon tradi-
tions, he kept his word. His son, however, did not come to the
Angles, but to the warlike Danes.
^ALDUR AND HODUR STRIVE FOR NANNA. 25^
BALDUR AND HODUR.'
Baldur was bright and beautiful, and a radiance like that of the
sun proceeded from him. The camomile flower was called Bal-
dur's eye-brow, because of its bright purity. Kindness, innocence
and righteousness were the qualities by which he was known, and
he could win every heart by the eloquence of his words. In his
palace, Breidablick, nothing impure, nothing evil could ever take
place, nor could any injustice be done. It was a holy house.
The wife of Baldur the Beloved was Nanna, daughter of Nep,
according to Uhland, Blossom, daughter of the Bud. She also
was the joy of gods and men, and loved her husband ever after
his death.
In one tale Nanna was the daughter of King Gewar of Nor-
way, and Hodur was her foster-brother. They were brought up
together by Gewar. Once, when returning home from the marriage
of his friend King Helgi of Heligoland to Princess Thora of Finn-
land, Hodur lost his way in a fog, and while trying to find it again,
came to the dwelling of three wood-spirits, who greeted him by his
name, and gave him a suit of armour, adding that he must beware
of Baldur, son of Odin, and that he should first have victory, but
should afterwards be defeated.
When he got home he found that Baldur had seen Nanna, had
fallen in love with her, and had asked her hand in marriage. The
king had then replied that there could be no real bond between
Ases and mortals, and Baldur had gone away threatening ven-
geance.
On hearing this, Hodur said that he was not afraid of the Ase,
and entreated Gewar to give him Nanna to wife. The king
answered that he loved his foster-son, but that Baldur was in-
vincible ; if, however, Hodur could manage to gain possession of
2^ ASGARD AND THE GODS.
the magic sword of Mimring, the wood-demon, he might marry
Nanna, as the odds would not be then so great in the Ase's favour.
After infinite trouble and danger, Hodur succeeded in conquer-
ing the Hrimthurse and in carrying off his sword and a wonderful
bracelet, the thickness of whose gold increased every night.
The fame of this deed, and of the magic sword and bracelet,
spread through every land. Geldar, Duke of Saxony, heard of
it, and trusting in his men and ships, set out to try and gain posses-
sion of the treasures. Hodur sailed out to sea to meet him in battle
array. Before any mischief was done, Geldar hoisted the white shield
of peace, as a sign that he wished to treat with the Norwegians.
After a short parley, Geldar and Hodur concluded terms of peace,
and entered into alliance with each other. While they were feast-
ing together, news came that Baldur was sailing up to give them
battle and carry away beautiful Nanna. They hastened to her
defence, and on the way were joined by Helgi.
There was a terrible battle, and Mimring's sword flashed like
lightning in Hodur's hand. Hodur threw himself into the thick of
the fight, and his coat of mail, which had been given him by
the wood-spirits, kept him safe and sound. Man after man fell
dead under his blows. But the Ases, with strong Thor, were
amongst his opponents, and Geldar and many more were slain
by them. After a desperate struggle, Hodur succeeded in disarm-
ing Thor. No sooner was this the case than terror seized the
enemy, and Ases and warriors fled pell-mell. Even Baldur for-
sook the field in "cowardly fashion. Hodur then commanded that
a great funeral pile should be erected for friend and foe, but chief
of all, he placed the corpse of his faithful brother-in-arms, Geldar,
the Duke of Saxony, to whom a grave mound was built. Hodur
now pursued his victory and conquered Denmark and Sweden.
According to other versions, Hodur was already King of Denmark,
and the battle took place near Roesfild in Zealand, where
BALDUR AND HODUR STRIVE FOR NANNA. 261
Baldur's well, Baldur's haven, and Baldur's sound (the Baltic Sea),
still remind us of the circumstance. The Danish rhymed chronicle
indeed informs us that Baldur was killed here and was buried in the
Sound.
We see from this how the myths of Baldur and Hodur have been
formed by story-tellers and poets, and if these now given are much
more modern in their origin, they still give the battle between
sumnier and winter, in whjch the god of winter has the victory at
the end of autumn.
After this battle Hodur married Nanna, and they spent a happy
winter together.
When spring returned, Baldur once more raised his head, and
was filled with new courage. He again prepared to fight for the
lovely Nanna.
The battle raged night and day, and Hodur got the worst of
it, in spite of Mimring's magic sword. He had at length to fly
to Jutland and wait there till he had collected a new army.
One day, as he was wandering in a wood, he saw the three wood-
spirits who had given him the coat of mail. He now recognised
them to be Walkyries by their white horses and armour. He re-
proached them for having prophesied good fortune when he had had
evil fortune. But they replied : " First victory, then defeat, was what
we promised. But now the time of good fortune is returning to thee.
If thou canst only get hold of some of the food which increases thine
enemy's Ase strength, thou mayest yet wound his sacred body with.
Mimring's sword. Three women wrapped in the garments of
night, their heads hidden under dark veils, prepare and bring him
this strengthening food."
No sooner had they spoken these words than they and their
dwelling vanished from before his eyes.
The hero stood alone in the dark pine-wood ; his heart filled
with new hope. He went down into the valley and called upon
262 ASGARD AND THE GODS, , _
his faithful followers to rally around him, and they came in
crowds. He soon found himself at the head of a large army,
and when he went to seek out his foe, he found him ready to
receive him. Baldur was still dissatisfied in spite of his victory,
for he had not gained the lovely Nanna, he had not been abl«*
to carry her away, to her natural home the sunny south.
The battle lasted, as before, all day, and only ceased when it
was too dark to see to fight Hodui' could not sleep, so he got
up in the third night-watch and set out to see what was going
on in the enemy's camp. All at once he saw three women
dressed in garments of night, and with their faces hidden under
dark veils, walking rapidly through the wood. He followed
them and entered their house after them. He pretended to be-
a great skald. A harp was given him and he played marvel-
lous airs. While doing this he watched the women preparing
some gruel, and saw how they held snakes over it, making
them breathe into it after it was finished.
** That must be the food that increases Baldur's Ase strength,"
he thought, so he asked for some as payment for his music.
The women consulted together; one refused, but the others
were of opinion that it could do no harm to give the stranger
what he asked, maintaining that it would only make him a
better skald than before. They therefore granted his request.
He swallowed the plateful given him as rapidly as possible,
• and immediately he felt an unusual strength in all his limbs ;
he felt as if he could have challenged all the Ases to battle, he
was so strong.
The women sought vainly to prevent the skald leaving them.
He rushed out into the open air and found that a bitterly cold
north-wind was blowing. As he was hastening along in the dim
grey morning light, he unexpectedly met his deadly enemy.
Tiiey at once prepared to fight. Each thought only of attack
BALDUR AND HODUR MEET IN BATTLE. 263
neither of defence ; the one was protected by his coat of mail
the other by his divinity ; but at length Baldur received a
terrible blow on his hip, and Mimring's sword passed through
his body. Hodur hastened to the camp, told his people what
had happened, and led them on to battle.
Meanwhile, Baldur was only wounded, and not dead as Hodur
had supposed. He had himself laid upon a stretcher and carried
into- the dreadful battle, which raged undecided until night- fall.
In the night dark Hel- approached his couch. She told him
that he should enter her realm on the following day, and that
she had a feast ready to greet his arrival. Her prophecy was
fulfilled.
Baldur's sorrowing followers buried him with royal honours
under a mighty mound, which the gods ponsecrated and pro-
tected by miraculous signs.
Hodur regained possession of his kingdom, but he never re-
turned to his beloved Nanna, for Bous (Bui = peasant), son of Odin
and Rinda, took the field against him in the following spring
and slew him in the fight, for he had lost the coat of mail
given him by the wood-spirits and had vainly sought for the
women in the garments of night, to beg them to give him some
of their magic food.
We recognise the natural myth of the struggle between light
and darkness, summer and winter, in this story. Moreover,
Gewar means spring (from war, Latin, ver), and he was the father
of Nanna, blossom. In this tale the original signification of the
myth had been forgotten. The songs of the Edda regarding
Baldur were almost entirely concerned about the death of the
god of light and the love his wife bore him, about the changes
of the seasons and the coming of Ragnarok.
a64 ASGARD AND THE GODS.
FORSETI.
In the land of the Friesians twelve men, well known for their
wisdom and righteousness, were chosen as judges in the olden
time. These men, who were called Asegen, i.e. Elders, went
about from one district to another throughout the country decid-
ing difficult questions and settling disputes according to the
ancient laws and privileges. It was always said that it was
from Fosite, Baldur's son, that the Friesians and their first Elders
had learnt the laws by which the country was governed. The
place where he had taught them these righteous ordinances was
an island, which is now known as Heligoland or holy land,
whose skippers even yet show their Friesian descent in their
muscular and active forms.
According to the northern myth, Forseti was the son of Baldur
and Nanna ; for righteousness, whose representative Forseti was,
proceeds from clearness of judgment and immaculate purity. He
used to sit all day long in his hall Glitnir, whose silver roof rests
upon golden pillars, and settle all disputes and differences of
opinion. As he was only, as it were, an attribute of his father
personified, he seems to have vanished with him from the worlds of
Ases and men, after which the Wolf's time of power began, and
immoral, evil forces gained ever more and more the upper hand,
until at length Ragnarok, the Judgment of the gods, began and
the drama of the northern faith came to a close.
THE GOLDEN AGE.
26s
PART ELEVENTH.
SIGNS OF THE APPROACH-
ING DESTRUCTION OF
THE WORLD.
THE GOLDEN AGE.
THE poems of the skalds
^^ tell us of the Golden Age,
^"^^ that happy time of child-like
innocence. No human being lived then on the green earth, which
was inhabited by the Ases, who dwelt there without restrictions
of any kind, or any longing after the unattainable. They had no
past dimmed with tears, no difficulties in the present, nor did
266 ASGARD AND THE GODS.
the future threaten them with a grievous doom. They lived
for days and years in untroubled joy. They laid up stores of
food, made hammers, tongs, anvils and tools of all kinds for
themselves. They forged metals and carved wood, and what-
ever they did was beautiful to look upon. They had so much
gold that they used it for making their household utensils. Still
they did not know the value of the metal, and only liked it
because it was bright and pleasant to look upon. They called
this happy time the Golden Age, because life was then without
care or sorrow, and not because of their wealth. They built
houses and holy-places for themselves ; they played merry
games with golden disks in the court-yard and on the Field of
Ida. They felt neither love of money nor desire of gain, nor yet
did they ever wish to do themselves good to the injury of others.
Then they jestingly created the numerous race of Dwarfs, who
burrowed in the earth and brought its hidden treasures forth to the
light of day. The Ases looked covetously at the glittering hoard,
and then the Golden Age, the time of innocence, passed away.
After that Gullweig (golden step), the wicked enchantress, was
born. Three times the Ases thrust her into the smelting-pot, and
each time she rose again more wondrously entrancing than
before, so that their whole souls were filled with covetousness
and other evil desires.
SIN.
Gullweig was probably the cause of the first war, the war be-
tween the Ases and Wanes. She glided about from one camp to
the other stirring up dissension. But fortunately peace was soon
concluded. The eye^ of the gods were now opened, so that they
perceived the danger that threatened them. They saw the Moun-
THE GIANT SMITH BUILDS A WALL ROUND ASGARD. 267
tain-Giants and Hrimthurses far away over in Jotunheim, saw how
they had increased in numbers, how they had already made good
their entrance into Midgard, and were looking threateningly up at
beautiful Asgard, with its palaces, perfumed groves and flowery
meads.
Heimdal was a faithful watchman, but still the Ases feared lest
he should be taken unawares. So they assembled in their hall of
judgment, and took counsel together how best they might ensure
their safety. It seemed to them that their surest plan would be
to build a wall round Asgard, reaching to the skies, in which strong
doors should be placed.
While they were consulting as to the best way of carrying out
their plan, a tall, stately man, with a disagreeable expression of
countenance, came up and offered to complete the wall, without
help from any one, in three winters. He said that he was a smith,
a very skilful man, and that he thoroughly understood the art of
building. In payment for his work he demanded that divine
Freya should be given him to wife, and that he should also have
the sun and moon awarded him, as they would make such good
lights for him to work by. The Ases were undetermined ; but
Loki, the arch-scoundrel, whispered in their ears that they should
promise to grant the builder's request on condition that he finished
the work in the course of one winter. The man consented to these
terms, saying that he would wager his head he could finish the
work within the appointed time, if he were allowed to have the
help of his horse Swadilfari. Again the Ases hesitated, but Loki
strongly urged that they should consent, as an unreasoning animal
could not be of much use.
So the bargain was concluded, and each party swore holy oaths
by dark Hel, by the Leipter Flood and the primaeval icebergs, that
the conditions made on either side should be fulfilled faithfully and
truly.
268 ASGARD AND THE GODS.
The work was begun on the first day of winter. The Ases saw
what monstrous loads of rocks and stones the builder's horse carried,
swift as the wind, wherever his master desired. The wall grew
apace, and was strong and solid as an iceberg. It was as smooth
and shining as polished steel, and at the end of winter it was nearly-
finished.
The great gate of the fortress was now alone to be made, and
that could be easily done in the three days that were still to elapse
before the beginning of summer.
The Ases consulted together in their distress, for if the smith
were to carry Freya and the sun and moon away with him in
payment for his work, beauty and sweetness would vanish from
Asgard, and eternal night would overwhelm the world.
Many of the gods longed for the presence of strong Thor, who
had been far away waging war on monsters of all kinds when the
contract was made with the smith, and who had not yet returned.
They seated themselves on their thrones of judgment, and tried to
find a way out of their difficulty. They asked each other who it
was that had advised them to conclude the bargain with the smith.
Every one knew that it was the author of all evil — false, treacherous
Loki. Then they all crowded round him accusing and threatening
him.
''Let him die a shameful death," they cried, "if he does not
help us out of our difficulty."
Loki tremblingly promised, with a holy oath, that he would
prevent the builder finishing the wall, and would thus deprive him
of his reward.
The next day, when the smith went to the mountains with
Swadilfari, to fetch stones and wood for his work, a mare galloped
towards them whinnying. Immediately the horse rushed to meet
her, kicking the cart and harness in pieces. He followed the flying
mare through wood and meadow, pursued by the breathless smith.
LOKl TRICKS THE GIANT SMITH. 269
The pursuit lasted the whole day and night, and when the builder
at length succeeded in catching his horse they were both so ex-
hausted that they could do nothing next day.
That evening, as the man stood looking at the wall which he
knew he could not now finish in time, a giant's rage came over hi«m.
He accused the Ases of being false perjured gods, who had deprived
him of his just reward by cunning and by treachery. He threatened
to malce himself master of Asgard by force, and lifted huge rocks
and trunks of trees with which to destroy the place and its inhabi- ,
tants. And now the Ases perceived that he was a giant, and that
they had allowed one of their deadly enemies to enter their holy
city. They cried aloud for strong Thor to come and defend them
against the giant.
A thunder clap was heard, a flash of lightning lit up the dark-
ness, the earth trembled, and Thor was standing between the Ases
and the enraged giant. He at once recognised the Hrimthurse,
flung Miolnir and broke the giant's skull, which was as hard as a
stone, and bits of it went flying in all directions. The black soul
of the monster sank into Nifelhel, which was its proper habita-
tion.
In, course of time the mare that had enticed Swadilfari from his
work had an eight-legged foal, and this foal was Sleipnir, which
when it was grown became Odin's horse, and used to bear the
Father of the gods swift as the wind through the air and over the
waves of the sea. But the Ases had sinned, they had broken their
oath ; for they had sworn to fulfil the contract they had made
with the smith without trickery of any kind, and the Jotun had
justly charged them with perjury. Their tempter was Loki, and
he it was who in the form of the mare had enticed Swadilfari
away from his work, and had tnus prevented the completion of the
wall.
190 ASGARD AND THE GODS. "
IDUNA'S DEPARTURE.
Fair Iduna had made herself an airy dwelling amongst the
green branches of the world-tree Yggdrasil. There she received
her beloved husband, Bragi, every evening, and he rejoiced her
heart with his songs. The woodland birds joined their singing
to his, and the music they made was so sweet that even the
grave Norns were touched by it.
When all living things were sunk m sleep, the goddess sprinkled
the ash from the well into which the divine mead had flowed
that had been brought there by Odin, and so the World-tree
remained fresh and green. The well, like the mead, was called
Odrorir, and was that draught of inspiration which Gunlod had
once kept hidden in a mountain, but which Odin had rescued
for the needs of gods and men. Like Iduna's apples, it had the
power of making all who tasted it younger and more beautiful, and
was identical with the fountain of Urd, with the water of which
the Norns sprinkled Yggdrasil. Unnumbered years passed away ;
the World-tree flourished and remained young and strong as ever,
thanks to the care of the Norns and Iduna ; Bragi sang to his
wife and to the world ; but sin had defiled Ases and men, holy
oaths were broken, truth, faith and the fear of God had disap-
peared, murder and war were everywhere to be seen ; then it
was that the Destruction of the Universe came nearer, and the
Wolf rattled his chains preparatory to breaking them.
-Now it happened about this time that btie evening neither the
songs of Bragi nor of the birds were to be 'heard, that the branches
of Yggdrasil hung down sapless and withered, and that Odrorir
seemed to have dried up. Next morning, when the Ases, terrified
by these signs, asked for Iduna, they found that she had fallen
from the tree down into the deep valleys below -to the daughter of
IDUNA'S DEPARTURE, 271
Nx)rwi (night). The well was really dried up, and every green
thing threatened to fade and wither.
So Odin sent his raven, Hugin, away to find out the meaning of
these portents of evil. Quick as thought the messenger flew
through the wide heav^ens, and then sank down into the realm of
the Dwarfs, Dain (dead) and Thrain (stiff), both of whom knew
what should come to pass. But they were lying sunk in a heavy
trancef-like sleep, and in their sleep they moaned indistinctly some
few words about coming horrors and flames. The Ases, therefore,
knew not what to do, and watched all nature and Yggdrasil slowly
fading and dying. They stretched a wolf-skin, white and soft as
the winter's snow, over the abyss where Iduna lay sorrowing, that
she might no more see her happy home amongst the ash- boughs.
The Father of the Gods sent Heimdal, the faithful watchman,
cunning Loki, and sorrowful Bragi to question the fair goddess as
to the future. The messengers, after passing innumerable were-
wolves on their way, at last came to the place where Iduna was
lying, pale and sad. They asked her eagerly what she could tell
them of future events, but she only answered them with tears.
Heimdal and Loki returned full of sorrow, but Bragi stayed
with his wife, that she might not die of grief. After the return of
the messenger, the Ases consulted together as to what was to be
done next. But they were all weary and much in need of rest, so
the Father of the Ases dismissed the assembly until the morrow.
Next morning, when Odin awoke, he found- Frigga standing
weeping by his bed. Her lips trembled as she told him that her
son Baldur, the well-beloved, had dreamt that pale Hel had come
to him and had signed to him to follow her. Then the mighty
god arose in his strength. He had made up his mind what to do :
he ' would seek intelligence of the realm of the dead ; he must
know what was coming upon the world and the Asps.
This is what we learn from the lay called "Odin's Magic Raven"
272 ASGARD AND THE GODS.
(Hrafnagalder), which is a description of the beginning of autumn
or early winter. Would the goddess Iduna rise again in spring
and bring new life to the dead leaves and flowers, or was her
departure a sign that the Last Battle was about to be fought, and
that the flames of Surtur would soon begin their devastating work?
These questions filled the minds of the Ases.
One writer states that in his opinion the events mentioned in
this poem refer to an unusual drought in Osning, and to the long
cessation of the flow of the intermittent spring which, with other
brooks, forms the Bullerborn, and which has never once dried up
since 1630. Still, it must be remembered, while considering this-
interesting hypothesis, that a northern skald translated the origi*
nal Saxon poem, or rather worked the idea of it out anew, and
that as he did so he was filled with the thought that Iduna's
departure, and the fading and dying of all nature, portended the
approach of the Last Battle.
PART TWELFTH.
BALDUR'S DEATH.
HOW WALAWAS CONJURED UP.
nPHE m5^h tells us that when Mother Night sank as usual
^ into Nifelhel, Day followed her looking bright and glorious.
His golden-maned horse bore his glittering chariot across the
heavens. But soon a grey mist rose and hid the shining equip-
age. The sun looked down sadly upon Midgard and upon
Asgard, as though through a thick veil, and seemed as if mourn-
ing some dreadful catastrophe. A dense fog rested upon Breida-
blick, so that its golden roofs and battlements were invisible.
The gods and goddesses hastened to the assembly full of dismay
about the departure of Iduna and Baldur's dreams. They shook
and cast the runes, and those of death lay uppermost. Terror
seized the Ases, but Odin rose in all his majesty and said :
" I foresee only too clearly what is about to happen ; yet will
I call up Wala from the realm of the dead, and she shall give
me a sure answer to my questions as to what will come to
pass."
Then he saddled Sleipnir and rode off swift as an eagle, to
the north towards Nifelheim.
Meanwhile, the gods consulted together and proposed various
*73 rp
274 ASGARD AND THE GODS.
\__ .
plans. At last it seemed to them that the best thing they could
do would be to make all living creatures, and even by means
of magic power force every inanimate object, to swear to do
no hurt to Baldur's holy body.
Frigg, the anxious mother of the god of light, herself under-
took the task. She went through every country as quickly as
the sun passes over the sky. And all mortal men, the Hrim-
thurses, the Light- Elves, the Water-sprites, and even the Black-
Elves, that race which shuns the light, swore a solemn oath
not to harm the Well-beloved. Trees and plants, stones and
metals were also bound over to spare Baldur.
Meanwhile, Odin rode through dark glens down to Nifelheim.
A dog with gaping jaws came out to meet him from the king-
dom of Hel, and as he came drops of blood fell from his jaws
upon his neck and chest. He stood still and howled as the
god rode past. Odin hastened to the eastern gate of the dark
abode. There he found the mound of Wala who had long
been dead. The Father of the Gods dismounted. He stood on
the grave mound that was surmounted by a memorial stone,
and began his incantation, the song that awakened the dead.
" Awake, Wala, awake from thy death-sleep ! Arise from
out the grave wherein thou hast rested so long ! Three times
do I strike thy dwelling-place with my runic staff that thou
mayst know no more peace on thy bed of mould, until thou
hast given me a true answer- to my questions."
He then struck the grave thrice with his mighty staff, and
the ground shook, the stone sank down, the earth opened, and
pale Wala arose wrapped in her shroud.
" Who is it V she asked in a hollow voice, " that troubles my
repose.^ Sn§w has covered my bed, and the rains and dews
have watered it for many years. I have long been dead." "
Odin replied : " Wegtam (knower of the road) is my name, and
ODIN CONJURES UP IVALA. 275
I am the son of Waltam (knower of battles). Speak, for wham
has Hel prepared the benches with rings and the golden
beds?"
She answered : "A shining goblet is standing ready for
Baldur the good, which he must drink with Hel to the woe
of the Ases. If I am forced to speak I must make known the
coming evil ; grant me therefore silence."
" Thou shalt not be silent ! " cried the god, " until 1 know all
that I dimly foresee. Who is it that is to send the glorious
son of the Father of Battles down to Hel's dismal abode ? "
Then the prophetess said dejectedly: "The brother will send
his brother there, the god of darkness will send the god of
light, Hodur will send the son of the^Father of Battles down
to the realm of Hel. Forced to speak, I have to make known
the misfortune that was coming; grant me now silence."
The King of the Gods, who was accustomed to look future
* events in the face without fear, stood there drawn to his full
height, and went on questioning Wala. He asked who was to
avenge Baldur, and bring death upon the murderer. She toid
him that Odin would have a son by Rinda who would grow-
up in one night, who would not wash his hands nor comb his
hair until he had brought the murderer to the funeral pyre.
Th^n he asked the name of the woman who alone of all crea-
tures would not weep for Baldur the well -beloved.
** Thou art not Wegtam," she cried, " thou art Odin and
knowest all things. Go home now to Asgard. Thou hast
awakened the dead with thy mighty runes, and made her
speak with thee. None other will disturb my slumber until
Loki is free again and the gods are about to pass away."
We have given this ghastly but beautiful poem almost in its
entirety, and have only endeavoured to make some vague expres-
sions somewhat clearer, and to smooth away a few discrepancies.
276 ASGARD AND THE GODS.
The poet probably saw that the days were growing shorter, and
that the sun scarcely showed above the horizon in the far North,
while a cold frosty mist covered land and sea ; these were to him
the signs of the approach of winter, of the death of the god of
light. Odin had a foreboding of what was about to happen, but
could only gain certain intelligence in the realm of the dead. So
the poet let him descend there and question Wala who had long
been dead.
Joy had returned to the green home of the gods. Baldur's life
seemed to be secure now that all animate and inanimate things
had been bound by an oath to do him no harm. Who would hurt
the darling, the light of the world '^ The Ases laughed and
jested, played with golden balls, shot arrows, flung spears and
aimed blunt weapons at Baldur for fun, and not one of these
missiles struck his holy body. It was as though an invisible power
turned them aside as they approached him, for all, wood, metal
'and stones were sworn over to spare him.
The Ases then tried sharp weapons, and to their delight found
the result the same. Loud was the laughter when it was dis-
covered that the best aimed blow of a sword did not touch him,
that spears, stones and arrows missed him.
Frigg heard the shouts and cheers as she sat in her golden halls
of Fensaler, and longed to know what was the matter. , At this
moment an old woman limped past leaning on her crutch. The
queen signed to her to enter, and asked her what was going on. The
old woman immediately gave her a long description of what she
had seen, ending by saying that Baldur was standing smiUngin the
midst of the hail of weapons looking as if they were only flowers
with which he was being pelted. And Frigg's heart rejoiced within
her as she thought of the strength of the Ases, and of how she
had conquered the evil fate that was to have come upon her son.
" Yes," she said, " everything that is in heaven and earth and
DEATH OF BALDUR THE BRIGHT. 277
under the earth swore willingly to do no hurt to the giver of light
and joy, of growth and bloom."
" Thou must have had hard work," said the old woman, " but of
course thou didst not think it necessary to bind the grass and
flowers and other harmless things with an oath ?"
" No trouble was too great to take for our darling," answered the
goddess, " and the only thing I passed over was the little plant of
mistletoe growing on the great oak at the gate of Walhalla, and
that really does not matter, it is so soft and so weak a thing that it
could do no harm."
" Thou art a careful mother," said the old woman ; " it would
have been very unwise to have passed over the flowers, for in their
perfume a deadly poison is often hid. But as for the mistletoe,
that only grows and bears seed in the cold winter time, it could
not hurt the god of light."
With these words the old woman took leave of the queen, and
continued her walk down the lonely road that led to Walhalla.
When she reached the great oak at the gate on which the tiny
plant of mistletoe grew, she threw off the woman's dress, and
behold it was Loki, looking more diabolical than ever! Until now
he had only rejoiced in the misfortunes of the Ases, and had done
them injury now and then by his cunning, but had always been
forced by their threats to help them out of the scrapes he had got
them into ; now, however, envy and jealousy were driving him to
commit a horrible crime.
He drew circles, muttered many a magic spell, and touched the
tiny mistletoe twig with the end of his crooked stick, and im-
mediately it grew as long as the shaft of a spear^ Then he tore it
down from the tree, cut away the side branches and knots, and
made it resemble a spear in every respect.
" Thou seemest so young and weak," he said, with a scornful
laugh, " let us see whether thou art not stronger than all the
278 ASGARD AND THE GODS.
weapons of these foolish jesting Ases, stronger than that much be-
praised and famous Baldur."
He went to join the Ases, and found them still amusing them-
selves as before. Strong Hodur was standing outside the circle,
taking no part in the games.
"Why art thou so lazy .?" asked Loki, "thou art the strong-
est of all the Ases, so why dost thou not fling a spear in Baldur's
honour ? "
" I hav^ no weapon, and I am blind," answered Hodur ; " night
is all around me, before me and behind me."
" Here is a spear for thee," said the tempter, putting the mistle-
toe bough in his hand ; " I will direct it for thee ; now fling it
with all thy might."
Hodur did so, and — the sun lost its light, the earth quaked
— the murder, the patricide was committed — Baldur lay stabbed
to death on the ground, the blood flowing from his side on to
the darkening earth. Breathless and silent the gods stood
around ; they could not take in the monstrous, the terrible fact ;
it almost seemed as if they themselves had received a death-
wound. When they were able to move, some of them crowded
round the corpse and watered it with their tears, while others
asked eagerly who it was that had done the evil deed.
" Dark Hodur threw the spear," was shouted on every side.
Friendless Hodur stood alone as ever in the midst of the excited
Ases ; Loki had deserted him at once, as the tempter always
does, leaving his victim to bear his misery alone.
Darkness surrounded the luckless Ase, and darkness reigned
in his soul. He heard the curses and threats that echoed on
every side, and the clash of the swords and spears that were
turned against him. Suddenly Allfather appeared in the midst
of the Ases, grave and calm, and in all his divine majesty.
His own forebodings, and Wala's prophecy, had prepared hiip
DEATH OF BALDUR THE BRIGHT. 279
for what had happened. It was Orlog's will and neither gods
nor men could do aught to hinder it. So he, the Father ot
Heroes, bore his sorrow without cowardly cofnplaint ; in spirit he
saw the approach of Ragnarok and was determined to fight the
hopeless battle to the end, for even mortal heroes do not let the
sword fall from their dying hands until their last strength is
exhausted. He commanded his people to cease their clamorous
woe, to raise the corpse of the Well-beloved, to dress it in clean
garments, and prepare the funeral pyre.
Then came Frigg, Odin's faithful wife, her eyes red with weep-
ing. But now she checked her tears, for she thought she had
found a way to regain her darling.
"Which," she asked, "which of .you brave sons of the Ases
will ride down to Helheim' and will dare to entreat the goddess
of the Under-world to restore Baldur, the light of the world, to
Ase-heim } He who does this shall be held highest in my
esteem and in that of AUfather."
Hermodur, the swift, immediately offered to be her messenger
to the realm of shades. He at once saddled Sleipnir and set
out on his journey.
The myth of the sun-god Baldur and of his death and resurrec-
tion is very old. The Teutonic races brought it from their original
home, and formulated it in the northern lands to which they emi-
grated in accordance with the rude climate and the mode of life to
which they had there grown accustomed. The sun-god was wor-
shipped by all the Aryan nations, had costly sacrifices offered to him,
and prayers and songs made for him. The Semitic peoples also, the
Babylonians, Phoenicians, etc., regarded him as the god who blessed
arts and manufactures, trade and ships. The festival of Adonis
and the mysteries of Mithras, which the Romans brought into
Europe from the East, clearly have reference to the death of the sun-
god after the summer solstice, and to his resurrection after the winter
28o ASGARD AND THE GODS,
solstice, and traces are still to be found of the Mysteries of Mithras
in such parts of Germany as the Romans settled in.
The Ases were still standing about the corpse of Baldur. . The
body was dressed in its grave-clothes and laid upon Baldur's own
ship Hringhorn. By Odin's command the wood for the funeral
pyre was heaped high on the deck of the vessel, so that the flames
might be seen in every land.
Nanna was standing beside her dead husband. She had no
tears with which to weep for him, her low shuddering sobs alone
showed the intensity of her grief When the torch was lighted
with which the wood was to be set on fire, her heart burst with
sorrow and she sank down beside the corpse pale and lifeless, like
a broken flower.
So the sorrowing Ases laid her on the pyre by her husband, and
beside them they placed the horse of the god, which had to die
with its master. Then Odin added the golden ring Draupnir, from
which eight other rings dropped every ninth night. He also whis-
pered a word in the ear of his son, so low that none of the by-
standers could hear. Perhaps it was the comforting assurance of
resurrection to a new and better life.
Crowds had assembled to gaze upon the sad spectacle and join
the Ases in showing their respect for the darling and benefactor
of the world. The Walkyries were there leaning on their spears,
and the Discs wrapped in their dark veils ; the Light-Elves and
the Wood and Water-sprites were also there. Besides these came
the Mountain and Frost-giants, and even the Black-Elves.
Odin's ravens fluttered sadly round the ship; they knew well
what the gods and heaven and earth had lo.st. The ship had
been drawn up on the shore and placed upon rollers, that it
might be .pushed down into the water before being set on fire.
But it was so heavy, because of the quantity of wood and costly
gifts piled upon it, that it was impossible to move it. Then the
DEATH OF BALDUR THE BRIGHT. 281
Mountain-Giants said that a woman named Hyrrockin, who lived
in Jotunheim and who could move mountains unaided, would soon
shove the ship into the water if some one would go and fetch
her. So a Storm-giant started at once in search of her. She
soon came, but not borne on the wings of the messenger as they
had expected ; she was riding a monstrous wolf, whose bridU
was a horrible snake.
She dismounted and looked round her scornfully, as though
she regarded all present as a set of weaklings, after which she gave
her strange steed into the charge of four Berserkers whom Odin
sent to hold it. Whilst these managed to hold the wolf with in-
finite difficulty, the woman went up to the ship and pushed it into
the water with the first shove ; but the friction was so great that
the rollers caught fire. This enraged Thor so much that he swung
Miolnir preparatory to throwing it at the woman's head ; but all
the Ases entreated him to be calm, and to remember that Hyr-
rockin had come under their safe conduct, and that she had been
of service to them. He allowed himself to be appeased, and got
into the ship to bless it with his hammer. While doing this the
little dwarf Lit got into his way, and he kicked him into the fire,
so that he was burnt with the corpse. The flames mounted high
into the air and sky ; earth and sea were reddened with them.
They made known to the whole world that the god of innocence,
love and righteousness was dead, and that his blessings were lost
to them henceforth.
It was not at all uncommon for the dwellers on the sea-coast to
bury their dead on board their ships. It was a very ancient custom,
and still existed after grave-mounds and the burning of the dead
had been introduced. Even amongst the AUemannes by the Rhine
and Danube we find coffins carved like boats. There are many
stories about this mode of burial, amongst others that regarding
St. Emmeran.
282 ASGARD AND THE GODS.
Frigg alone of all the Ases still nourished hope of her son's
restoration. She believed that Hel would allow herself to be
moved by Hermodur's intercession, and would permit Baldur to
return to the Upper- world. The divine messenger set out on his
journey to the Under-world. Sleipnir bore him for nine nights
through dark valleys * and glens into which no ray of light pene
trated. The silence of death was all around, and the only sound to
be heard was that made by the horse's feet. At length Hermodur
reached the banks of the river Gioll, which divides the kingdom of
the dead from that of the living.
He was about to ride over the gold -covered bridge that spans
the Gioll, but the gigantic porteress Modgud (spiritual conflict)
came forward and asked him what he was doing there.
" Yesterday," she said, " crowds of dead rode over the bridge,
and yet they did not make as much noise as thou alone ; and be-
sides that, thou hast not the colour of death. Speak, what dost
thou, a living man, want with the dead } "
"I seek for Baldur, my dear brother, who was slain. For his
sake I have ridden down the Hel road that I may entreat the god-
dess to let him go free. If thou hast seen him, show me where I
may find him."
Hermodur ceased, and the porteress pointed to the north, as she
said that she had seen Baldur ride over the bridge, and he was
even now with Hel.
Then Hermodur continued his journey fearlessly, until at length
he reached the fence round Hel's abode, and there he could find no
mode of entrance.
It was a question of his brother's restoration, so he did not hesi-
tate. He dismounted, drew the girths tighter, and then remount-
ing set spurs to Sleipnir, and Odin's horse leapt high over the
fence and landed safely on the other side.
Hermodur was now in the realm of shades, and surrounded on
HERMODUR VISITS THE UNDER-WORLD. 283
every side by grey rocks which seemed to stare at him with hollow
eyes.
He felt as though in a dream, as he made his way to a house he
saw before him. He entered, and there he saw the queen of the
land, stern of aspect and adorned with gold and diamonds. She
was pale as death, and her eyes were fixed upon the ground. She
knew no mercy, for the golden light of the sun had never shone on
her. Near her was Baldur, seated on a throne, and looking wan as
the withered wreath of flowers on his head ; by his side was Nannaj
who had died for love of him. A golden goblet filled with sweet
mead stood before him untouched.
Hermodur approached him, and spoke to him of his return to
Ase-heim, which Hel would certainly permit, as every creature
longed for it. But Baldur shook his head and pointed at Nanna,
as if he wished to say, " Take her with thee, she is too young for
the world of shades." And she crept closer to him, whispering, so
low as to be almost inaudible, " Death and the grave cannot
destroy true love ; Nanna (blossom) remains with him who gave
her life and being. I will stay with thee for ever." So the three
talked together for a whole night. Next morning Hermodur asked
Hel to restore Baldur to the Ases, for not only the gods, but also
every one in heaven and on earth, mourned for him.
The goddess rose from her dark throne, the gold and diamonds
on her breast shone with an unearthly lustre, and the abyss
trembled.
She answered in a monotonous voice : " If all creatures mourn
for him, if everything that has life weeps for him, then, in accord-
ance with the eternal decree, Baldur may once more return to the
light of day ; but if one eye refuses to weep for him, he must
remain in Helheim. There is no other choice."
Hermodur knew that what the goddess had said was unalterable.
He took leave of his brother and Nanna. Both went with him to
284 ASGARD AND THE GODS.
the door, Baldur gave him the ring Draupnir to return to Odin, as
that symbol of plenty was worthless in the kingdom of the dead.
Nanna sent Frigg a veil and other gifts, while to Fulla she sent a
golden ring with which one day to adorn the blooming bride.
The divine messenger now set out on his return to the Upper-
world and Asgard, and when he got there he told all that he had
seen and heard. The Ases looked upon his news as good news,
and at once sent servants into all parts of the universe to call upon
every creature and every inanimate object that had life to weep for
Baldur.
Tears hung like pearls from every flower and plant, they dropped
like dew from the leaves and branches of the trees, and the very
metals and stones exuded moisture. On their road home the mes-
sengers passed by a dark cave, in which they found the giantess
Thock (darkness), who was as terrible to look upon as Hel herself
They asked the woman to shed a tear, so that Baldur, the god of
light, might return ; but the giantess answered :
** Thock can only weep with dry eyes for Baldur's death. He
was of no use to her living or dead, so Hel may keep what she has
got."
The messengers vainly strove to soften the hard heart of the
giantess ; but she vanished from their eyes into the black depths
of the cavern, and they could see her no more.
So they continued their journey sadly ; but one of them said
that he had recognised Loki in the woman's dress. And then
at once their eyes were opened and they said that he was
right. When they brought the sorrowful tidings to Asgard,
loud was the lamentation of the gods, for they knew that Baldur's
return was hopeless.
Days passed,. and every day made their loss appear greater.
Whenever the Ases assembled under the holy oak, the word
vengeance was on their lips. It was the first law, the highest
WALI A VENGES BALDUR THE BRIGHT. 285
duty, the oldest justice, and had been exercised from the earliest
times. But it was difficult to carry out, for Hodur avoided the
light of day; he only went out at. night, and his Ase strength
grew in the darkness. He was blind and could use neither
spear nor bow. It was known, however, that the Wood-demons
had given him a magic shield to protect him and also a terrible
magic sword, and every one feared to meet him in the dark night.
So Hbdur used to glide about through the lonely forest like a
ghost at midnight without fearing the avenger of blood, whose duty
it was to punish him for the crime of patricide.
One day, a lad with a child-like face and a strong, well-knit
figure walked in at the gate of Asgard. He pursued his \vay
as if he knew where he was going, and when he reached Walhalla,
he tried to enter, but the door-keeper stopped him, saying :
" No youth with uncombed hair and unwashed hands is allowed
to enter here."
The lad pushed him aside and went into the hall unannounced.
The Ases and Einheriar gazed with pleased surprise at the youthful
stranger, and Odin called to him to approach, adding in a loud
voice :
" This is Wali, my son by the lady Rinda,— this is he who is
called to the holy work of the avenger."
Then the Ases said amongst themselves : " How is it possible
for a youth like this to conquer strong Hodur.-* "
" It is true that I am young, that I am only one night old,"
cried the lad, " but still I shall conquer Hodur, in like manner as
young May conquers strong Winter."
Night came ; Hodur walked as usual along the dark paths he
knew so well. Sudden4y he heard a voice exclaim :
" Murderer of Baldur, beware, the avenger is nigh."
The god of darkness girded his magic shirt closer round him,
and advanced with his drawn sword towards the place from which
286
ASGARD AND THE GODS.
the voice had come. Then an arrow hissed through the air,
a second and a third followed, and the last struck the bhnd god
to the heart. The bowman's shout of triumph was so loud that
it echoed throughout Asgard, and all the gods and goddesses
hastened to the spot.
There is no doubt that this is the description of the victory of
Spring over Winter. As we learn from Saxo, it was originally
Baldur himself who conquered Hodur, the god of the long night of
winter ; but when the myth of Baldur became part of the great
universal year, the story of Wali, the god of spring, was added, and
he it was who aveng-ed his brother's murder.
^^^^
PART THIRTEENTH
LOKPS CONDEMJSIATION.
THE time of the flax harvest had come. The Ases were
about to celebrate the festival in Ogir's crystal halls. They
were still sorrowing for the loss of Baldur, and hoped to forget
their grief for a time in the flowing bowls of mead offered them by
the god of the ocean.
0dm was there with his golden helmet on his head, and Frigg,
the 'Queen of Heaven, with her circlet of stars, Freya wearing
the beautiful necklace Brisingamen, golden-haired Sif, Bragi,
Niorder and Skadi, Freyer, Heimdal, Widar and other Ases.
Strong Thor alone v/as absent ; he had gone to help his peasants
287
28S ASGAkD AND THE GOt>S.
till the ground and slay i^ny giants or oth^^r monsters who made
themselves obnoxious.
Sly Loki glided into the hall with his soft, cat-like step, hoping to
enjoy the golden mead that Ogir had provided for his guests. As he
, was advancing, however, he was stopped by Funafeng, who had
been stationed at the door to guard the entrance.
" No seat is prepared for thee in Ogir's halls," he said ;
" go, seek a place for thyself in the house of Angurboda, Fenris's
mother."
Loki was very angry when he heard these words, more especi-
ally as the Ases all joined in praising Funafeng for what he had'
said. He struck the man so that he fell down dead on the spot.
A great uproar ensued, for murder had been committed in a sacred
place. The Ases seized their weapons and would have rushed
upon Loki, but he had hidden himself in a wood that was close to
the palace.
Quiet was at last re-established. Beyggwir, and Bey la, the house-
keeper, served the guests. This task was made much easier for
them because the cans from which they poured the mead were so
cunningly devised that they refilled themselves as fast as they were
emptied.
Meanwhile Loki returned. He found Eldir guarding the door,
and spoke to him as if nothing had happened. He asked what the
gods of victory were talking about.
" Of arms and brave deeds," replied Eldir, " but they have not a
single good word for thee."
"Very well then, I will go and join them," said the villain ; "I
will so cover them with shame and guilt that none of them will
have a word to say in answer."
With these words he thrust Eldir aside and entered the hall
Suddenly all conversation ceased and was succeeded by a death-
like silence. Every eye was fixed on him who had sullied the
LOKI REVILES THE ASES. 289
sanctuary with murder. But Loki asked boldly if they were going
to refuse him, an Ase and their equal, a seat at the banquet and
a cup of mead. And Bragi answered that they would never again
consent to receive such a villain as one of themselves.
Then Loki turned to Odin, and thus addressed him :
" Hast thou forgotten how we in the olden time mixed our
blood, swore brotherhood, and promised never to drink a refresh-
ing draught that was not offered to the other ? "
He did not speak in vain ; Allfather remembered how he had
long ago entered into the bond of brotherhood with Loki. So
although his former friend was perjured and forsworn, he desired
Widar to make room for him and give him a bowl of mead.
This was done, arid Loki emptied the goblet, saying :
" All hail, holy gods and noble goddesses, but confusion to
Bragi, who denied me drink when I was thirsty."
The Prince of Song was silent for a few minutes, and then he
said that he would give his sword, horse and ring to ensure that
Loki did no more harm. -And Loki answered that Bragi was
not rich in treasures, and that his sword was of little use to him,
and that he only required his horse to escape from danger. Bragi
challenged the blasphemer to instant combat ; but Loki went on
quietly with his accusations, Overwhelming all, gods and goddesses
alike, with Kis aspersions. Even Odin and Frigg did not escape,
and the latter exclaimed :
" Oh that my son Baldur were here, he would soon have silenced
thy slanderous tongue."
" Ah well, great goddess," Loki went on, with a malicious sneer,
" shall I tell thee yet more of my misdeeds } Dost thou know
that it was I who gave the mistletoe bough to blind Hodur, that
he might send thy darling Baldur down to Hel's domain } "
The Queen of the Ases shrieked, and the gods caught up their
weapons. But before they had time to do more, a terrible clap
u
290 ASGARD AND THE GODS.
of thunder shook the house, and Thor stood before them swinging
Miolnir. The blasphemer turned upon him and sneered at him
for having hidden away in the thumb of Skrymir's glove. And
when Hlorridi (heat bringer) threatened him with his hammer,
he cried :
' I sang to the glory of the Ases in Ogir's halls, and that glory
will soon pass away when once the flames of destruction are seen.
They have drunk of cool mead here for the last time, for Ragnarok
is coming. I shall now hide myself from the fury of strong Thor,
who would willingly strike me down."
And immediately he took the form of a salmon and swam
away into the rushing waters that surrounded the crystal palace
of Ogir.
The Ases sought everywhere for Loki. They went through
Asgard and Midgard, they searched in Jotunheim and in the
Home of the Black-Elves, but he was nowhere to be found. They
were miserable at the thought that the author of evil might escape
their vengeance.
Odin seated himself on his throne Hlidskialf and looked down
upon the nine worlds ; he saw a lonely house situated on the other
side of a high mountain, and in this house was he whom they
sought. So Allfather descended from his throne, and calling the
.Ases about him, told them where they would find Loki.
The fugitive had made himself a peculiar dwelling in a cliff
overhanging a wild mountain torrent. This dwelling consisted of
one large room with four doors, all of which were kept open.
There he sat day and night gazing out at the four quarters of the
heavens to see whether his pursuers were on his track. He felt no
remorse, no pricks of conscience — he had long conquered all such
weaknesses — he only feared the vengeance that he had called down
upon himself. He often swam about in the stream in the form of
a salmon, comforting himself with the thought that no.ie could re-
LOKI IN CHAINS.
CAPTURE OF LOKt. 293
cognise him. And yet his fears gave him no rest ; he trusted no
one, not even his wife Sigyn, who loved him in spite of all his sins.
For whole days he sat in his airy dwelling, keeping a sharp look-
out in every direction, while he busied himself in making all sorts
of useful things, and amongst others, a fishing-net, which until then
was absolutely unknown. He grew so interested in making this
net that he quite forgot the danger that threatened him. Sud-
denly the flames of the fire on his hearth rose in a column, as
though to call his attention to something that was going on. He
looked up and saw the Ases marching towards him. He threw the
net into the fire, and hastened to the water-fall, where he hid himself.
Cunning and treachery are often caught in their own net. The
Ases did not find the slanderer in his airy dwelling. The fire had
burnt out. But the place where it had been was still warm, and
showed that some one had been there lately. One of the gods, who
was learned in wisdom and in the runes, examined the ashes, and
discovered what no human eye could have seen, the form and use
of the net.
"Found! " he exclaimed ; "the wily enchanter's thoughts have
been full of the idea of fish and fishing. He has been making a
net, then he burnt it, and is now hiding in the stream in the form
of a fish."
Gefion looked at the net, and soon found out how it was made,
and, with the help of the others, got a second net ready in a very
short time. This, they dipped into the water just under the fall.
Thor held one side and the rest of the Ases held the other, so that
the net stretched across the stream. After dragging the water for
some distance, a gigantic salmon was discovered and caught with
infinite difficulty. Thor held on by the fish's tail in spite of its
struggles, A blow, a knock with a stone, would have killed it ;
but it suddenly changed its form, and the blasphemer, the insti-
gator of murder, false Loki, was in the hands of Hlorridi.
^.94 ASGARD AND THE COt)S.
The Ases rejoiced to have their enemy in their power. They
bound the arch-fiend's legs and arms together and dragged him
away to a cave in the mountain. There they prepared for him the
bed of misery that had been foretold for him. Three sharp-pointed
masses of rock were placed, one between his shoulders, the second
under his loins, and the third under his knees. Then his two sons,
vVali and Narwi, were brought to him, followed by their weeping
mother, Sigyn. Wali was changed into a fierce wolf, and he im-
mediately tore his brother in pieces. The Ases now bound the
guilty father to the rock with the sinews of his murdered son, and
when this was done the bonds were converted into heavy iron
chains.
Skadi carried out the last part of the judgment that had been
pronounced upon Loki by fastening a poisonous adder over the
head of the evil-doer in such a way that the poison exuding from
its jaws should drop upon his face, and this caused him unspeak-
able torment. After this was done, the Ases returned to Asgard,
which was no longer the green home it used to be, for eternal
spring reigned there no more, and the mark of change was upon
everything.
One creature alone had compassion on the sinner, and that was
Sigyn, the wife he had so often treated with cruelty and contempt.
She would not desert him, but remained by his side, and, holding
a dish above his head, caught the poison as it dropped from the
adder. When the dish was full, and she had to remove it to empty
it, the horrible slime fell upon Loki's face, and made him howl with
agony, and turn and twist himself, till Mother Earth shook to her
foundations. That is what ignorant men call an earthquake.
The crime was now punished, and the gods, who here showed
themselves as moral powers, carried out the sentence pronounced
upon the criminal. But they themselves were not unsullied by sin.
Many of the accusations, with which the blasphemer had over-
LOKI, THE AUTHOR OF ALL EVIL. 295
whelmed them, were well-founded, and every sin brings down its
own punishment in heaven and on earth. And so the day of
destruction drew near, when the tempter, who was at the same
time the author of evil, should be freed from his bonds and the
world should come to an end.
In this myth Loki appears as the cause of all evil. He is the
tempter who makes the innocent fall into sin, although he knows
that he thereby destroys them. If in primaeval times he had
been the sworn brother of Odin and the god of the domestic fire, he
was now a consummate villain and threw the brand into the house
in which he was to be burnt together with the guilty and the
innocent. The principle of vengeance for bloodshed was deeply
rooted in ancient Scandinavia. " He who has injured me must pay
for it, even though I know that I shall perish with him," was
the idea on which both noble and serf acted.
In this tale we have smoothed over a good many discrepancies
that appear in the myth, but not all. We let Bragi and Iduna
appear, although they dwelt in the depth of the earth. Perhaps
they were allowed to rise once more that they might take part in
the festival. But we have left out about Kwasir, who, according to
the myth, discovered the net in the ashes, because his appearance
was unnecessary. It is very curious that Loki, the fire-god,
should have hidden in the water ; but the belief that fire takes
refuge in water is to be found amongst other nations, and is
perhaps founded on the reflection of the sun, moon and stars,
sunrise and sunset, that are to be seen in the water.
PART FOURTEENTH.
RAGNAROK, THE TWILIGHT OF THE GODS.
'T^HE tempter, the author of evil, was firmly bound to the cold
-*■ rock, but the evil seed he had sown grew and flourished,
and even the gods, the moral powers, whose duty it was to uphold
universal law, were no longer pure and free from guilt ; the
wholesome bonds of law were broken, and the destruction of the
world approached. Neither truth nor faith was. to be found in
heaven or on earth, and love, which had formerly bound friends,
parents, children, brothers and sisters to each other, had lost its
power. Self-seeking, self-interest and grasping covetousness
became the guiding principles of life ; murder, incendiarism and
bloodshed were everywhere to be found.
The sun still continued its course through the heavens, but it
shone mistily as through a veil, and gave no warmth in summer.
Winter set in early, and it was a Fimbul-Winter, a winter of horrors.
The snow-storms were such as had never been known before, and
the frost was terribly hard. Many houses and villages were buried
in the snow, and their inhabitants perished. The Fimbul-Winter
seemed as if it would never end ; it lasted for three years, without
any summer to break its fury. Trees and bushes, grass and
plants perished, men died of cold and hunger, and yet they did
296
DESTRUCTION OF THE UNIVERSE. 297
not cease from their lies and murders and other deeds of
violence.
Meanwhile Fenris's children, the wolves, grew into horrible
monsters, for the old giantess in the forest fed them with marrow
taken from the bones of murdered perjurers and breakers of the
marriage bond, and gave them to drink of the blood of dead
poisoners, parricides and fratricides, and there was abundance of
such food.
Wala, the prophetess, was asked what all this meant, and she
said, that the sun, moon and Mother Earth were sorrowing over
the fall of man, that the wolves and other hostile powers would
soon be free, and then the destruction of the universe would
begin.
Many signs and wonders were to be seen during that time, as
we read in the Lay of Wala.
The glory of the sun ^as darkened, wicked Idises were seen
flying through the air, Fjalar, the bright-red cock of Asgard, crowed
loudly, the dark-red cock in Helheim answered him, and all in the
Upper-world heard their crowing. The great wolves Skioll and
Hati rushed up to attack the sun and moon ; they seized and
swallowed them, and now darkness reigned in heaven and earth.
Then the earth itself shook to its very foundations, and all chains
were broken. Thus it happened that Loki was set free, that his
horrible son Fenris was able to shake off his bonds and hasten
with his children to join his father, and that Garm, Hel's dog, could
rise out of the Gnypa cave with the other dark followers of the
goddess, to take their share in the work of destruction. The sea
was stirred to its depths and overflowed the land. Out of its
abyss the Midgard-snake reared her frightful head, and flung her-
self about with a giant's rage, so much did she long for- the struggle
to begin.
Heimdal then blew a loud blast on the Giallarhorn that sounded
^98 ASGARD AND THE GODS.
through all the homes, wakening Ases and Einheriar, and warning
them to prepare for the Last Battle. Odin mounted Sleipnir as
soon as he was armed, and rode away to Mimir's Well. The
World-Ash was rustling and trembling in the storm, its leaves were
falling rapidly, and its roots threatened to snap. The Norns were
seated beside it, their heads hidden in their veils, ,Odin whispered
^o Mimir's head ; no one heard what he said or how he was
tnswered. *
Meanwhile Thrym, the king of the Jotuns, was steering his ship
Irom the east over the everlasting sea. The Hrimthurses, armed
with clubs and javelins, were on board. At the same time, Nagel-
fari, the ship of death, was set afloat, and was borne along on the
waves. It was built of the nails of the dead which love had not
caused to 'be cut. Love had died in the parricidal wars that pre-
vailed, and « the last offices were therefore denied to the dead.
Loki steered the vessel. With him were Surtur, swinging his
flaming sword, whose blade shone brighter than the sun, and all
the sons of Muspel dressed in fiery armour, which blinded all who
looked at it. They landed, mounted the horses they had brought
with them, and galloped over the bridge Bifrost, which broke
under their weight. Loki led his hosts to the plain of Wigrid, that
measured a hundred miles on every side. Odin also went there,
accompanied by his brave Ases and heroes.
Once more the Giallarhorn was sounded, and then the Last
Battle began. The Wolf howled, the Snake hissed and spat out
poison, which filled and infected the air. The sons of Muspel,
under Surtur's guidance, rushed on their enemies like flames of fire.
The Einheriar, headed by Freyer, withstood them bravely, and
they fell back. Thor fought gallantly, and slew numbers of the
Hrimthurses and other monsters. Odin sought out the Fenris-
wolf, and the battle between them began.
No seer or bard has made known to us how that terrible struggle
''it^;;:
THE LAST BATTLE. 301
between the Father of Victory and the Wolf was fought. Even
Wala covers the whole affair with the veil of silence ; she only
says that he, the omnipotent Father, was slain by the Wolf.
Freyer's fate was the same when he fought against the sons of
Muspel. He met black Surtur in their ranks and fell dead at a
blow from his flaming sword. Thor slew Jormungander, but died
himself from the pestiferous breath she had breathed upon him
when dying. Heimdal and Loki fought hand to hand, and each
slew the other. Fenris fell under the sword of Widar. Tyr and
Garm wrestled and struggled together, and at last Tyr was victo-
rious. The leaders of the Ases and their enemies were all dead,
but still the battle raged.
The earth quaked, mountains fell, abysses yawned, and reached
down even to the kingdom of Hel. The heavens split open and
threatened to fall. The ash Yggdrasit groaned and moaned like a
living creature. And now Surtur, the dark, the terrible, began to
draw himself up. He grew taller and taller, till he reached the
heavens
Before him and behind him was fire, and his flaming sword shone
in the darkness in which he was wrapped. He flung his fire-brand
over heaven, earth, and all the worlds, and at once everything that
existed, animate or inanimate, was plunged into a lake of fire.
The fire raged, Yggdrasil was surrounded by flames, the storm-
wind howled, heaven and earth and the nine homes were no more ;
Surtur's flames had destroyed them all.
When the fire went out, the unquiet sea overflowed the scene of
desolation. No creature, no life, moved in its depths ; no mer-
maid floated on the dark waves ; no star was reflected on its
surface.
Years passed, perhaps centuries — there was none to count them —
and again the morning star bathed its head in the calm waters.
Dawn once more flushed the sky. A new sun arose, the blooming,
302 AUGARD AND THE GODS.
glowing child of the old. At length a new earth appeared above the
waters. At first it was bare and desolate, but the rays of the sun
touched it, and soon it was covered with grass and herbs and the
well-flavoured leek. Trees and shrubs grew up, and flowers of
various colours filled the air -with their perfume. In the quiet
valley where the Fountain of Urd had flowed of old, and where
Odin used to talk with Mimir about the past and the riddles of the
future, a youth and a maiden, Lif and Lifthrasir, came out of
Hoddmimir's wood.
They were beautiful and loving, pure and innocent as the sweet
flowerets around them, and, like them, they had been awaked out
of a long dream by the rays of the sun. They had hidden them-
selves in the wood in the olden days and had lived on dew. Then
they had fallen asleep, and were sunk in childhood's dreams while
the Last Battle raged. Allfather had preserved them from Sur-
tur's flames by a last miracle.
Ignorant of the terrors that threatened them, as a sleeping child
borne in its mother's arms out of a burning house, they had rested
safely in the arms of Allfather, and now they looked in astonish-
ment at the new fair world in which they found themselves. They
were very happy. There was abundance of fruit ; the fields were
full of yellow corn ripe for the harvest, which no human hand had
sown, and the vines were laden with grapes. Animals of all kinds
were grazing in the fat pastures, and many-hued snakes glided
harmlessly in the grass, but none of Fenrir's race were to be seen.
Lif and Lifthrasir built themselves a roomy dwelling, and saw
children and grandchildren grow up about them, and then make
new homes for themselves. From these are descended the nume-
rous races of men that inhabit the earth.
Over the place where Asgard's glorious palaces had stood was a
wide plain. This was the Field of Ida, and it was far more beau-
tiful than the green home of the gods. There the holy Ases were
FREYA IN HER CHARIOT.
{See page 209.)
THE RENEWAL OF THE WORLD. 305
assembled ; for they, like the world, had been purified by fire, and
were now fitted to dwell in Ida in eternal peace. The bonds of
Hel could bind them no more, for the kingdom of evil had passed
away, and night had been changed into day. Baldur and Hodur
walked there arm in arm, reconciled to each other through love.
They were joined by Widar and Wali, the avenging Ases, who no
longer thought of vengeance. Surtur's flames had not destroyed
them, nor yet had the raging waters. There were also Magni and
Modi, the sons of Thor. They brought Miolnir with them, not as
a weapon of war, but as the instrument with which to consecrate
che new heavens and the new earth.
On the Field of Ida, the field of resurrection, the sons of the
highest gods assembled, and in them their fathers rose again.
They talked together of the Past and the Present, and remembered
the wisdom and prophecies of their ancestors which had all been
fulfilled. Near them, but unseen by them, was the strong, the mighty
One who rules all things, makes peace between those who are
angry with each other, and ordains the eternal laws that govern
the world. They all knew he was there, they felt his presence
and his power, but were ignorant of his name. At his command
the new earth rose out of the waters. To the south, above the
Field of Ida, he made another heaven called Audlang, and further
off, a third, known as Widblain. Over Gimil's cave a wondrous palace
was erected, which was covered with gold and shone brighter than
the sun. There the gods were enthroned as they used to be, and
they rejoiced in their restoration and in the better time.
From Gimil's heights they looked down upon the happy descend-
ants of Lif and signed to them to climb up higher, to rise in know-
ledge and wisdom, in piety and in deeds of love, step by step, from
one heaven to another, until they were at last fit to be united to the
divinities in the house of Allfather.
This was what our forefathers believed about Ragnarok, the
X
3o6 ASGARD AND THE GODS,
Twilight of the gods or the Divine Judgment ; it was no con-
temptible faith, and in our opinion it deserves more reverence
than the teaching of the Greeks and Romans, whose gods eternally
drank nectar and ambrosia on the heights - of Olympos, while
mortal men descended into dark Hades, or perhaps to the Elysian
Fields.
Ragnarok means the Darkening of the Regin, i.e., of the gods,
hence the Twilight of the Gods ; some, however, explain the word
Rok to mean Judgment, i.e., of the gods. The gods sinned, evil
gained the upper-hand amongst gods and men, and when the
god of holiness and righteousness was taken away, they all sank
into a deep abyss of guilt ; murder, fratricide and convulsions of
nature portended the destruction of the universe. Ragnarok fol-
lowed. Then a new and more beautiful world appeared, in which
Ases and men, purified by fire, could now live in peace and good-
will.
It is true that in the Younger Edda and in the Lay of Wala we
find allusions to places of punishment in the realms of Hel ; but,
in our opinion, these descriptions have been introduced from other
poems and are at variance with the leading idea which we have
just given.
The Aryans, like all other people living in a state of nature,
had at first a vague indefinite consciousness of God ; they felt
that there was a Being who had created everything and who
guided and governed the universe. In the ancient records, in
which this idea had already grown dim, this Being was called
Zerwana-Akarana, i.e, everlasting time and immeasurable space,
and was perhaps essentially Eternity. According to later concepts
this Being took no part in the direction of the world or in the
doings of man.
Two other beings, Ormuzd (Ahura-Mazda) and Ahriman
(Agramainyus) fought for the supreme power ; but neither they
TEUTONIC AND OTHER MYTHOLOGIES. 30?
♦ —
nor their spiritual hosts entered into personal collision with each
other ; instead of this, they sought to bring the human spirit and
earthly things under their dominion : the latter by cunningly
planned temptations, icy cold snow-storms and darkness ; and
the former by good deeds, fine weather, and especially by the
light that conquers darkness and evil. At the end of days
Ormuzd and all the righteous were to enjoy blessedness and
peace, while Ahriman had to undergo a painful purification by
fire before he could attain a similar condition.
The modern theory is that the belief in Zerwana-Akarana,
and the dogmas respecting the end of the world and the
purification of Agramainyus are of later origin, and that they
first arose through the influence of the Western Iranian and
Semitic races ; but traces of these beliefs are to be found in the
Zend-Avesta of Zoroaster and in the Indie Vedas, and the
relationship with the Norse belief in Allfather, the Last Battle,
and the Renewal of the World, seems to be founded on this
Aryan belief
We must allow something for the influence of Christianity on
the Germanic races especially with regard to Ragnarok, and the
Resurrection of the world, the Ases and men, and also in reference
to Allfather, to the description of the realm of Hel, and of the
places of reward and punishment. It is a mistake to deny this
influence, to make so much o( the fact that the heathen had a
foreboding of the existence of the one God, that the Edda possessed
a water-hell and the Christian myth a hell of fire^ and lastly to
maintain that a knowledge of the Christian faith was impossible
to the Scandinavians. Why may not the indefinite foreboding, the
misty conception of something divine, have first received a distinct
form in the consciousness of the heathen through Christian
influence } And if the Teutons had ever heard of the Christian
idea of punishment in hell, would they not have conceived this
3o8 ASGARD AND THE GODS.
hell after their own fashion and according to the conditions,
climatic and other, that surrounded thepi ? We have already
shown how not only the Germans, but also the Scandinavians, early
came in contact with Christianity, and this was the case even
before the Wiking raids of the ninth and tenth centuries. The
Jutes, and perhaps the Danes and Norwegians as well, went to
Christian Britain in the fifth century and conquered it after a
struggle that lasted for a hundred years. There these wild people
were brought into contact with the Britons and even with their
Christian priests, who gladly told the warlike and musical skalds
about their own faith. These seeds of a purer religion took form
and life in the poems of the skalds, which however retained their
old Northern colouring and were not changed into hymns of victory
in a foreign faith.
The myths exist in the present like the stately ruins of a past
time, which are no longer suitable for the use of man. Generations
come and go, their views, actions and modes of thought change ;
and yet as, the poet says :
" All things change ; they come and go ;
The pure unsullied soul alone remains in peace."
Thousands of years ago pur ancestors prayed to Waruna, i.e.
the Father in heaven ; thousands of years later the Romans entered
their sanctuary and worshipped Jupiter, the Father of heaven,
while the Germanic races worshipped Allfather. We, after the
lapse of centuries, now turn in all our sorrows and necessities to
Our Father which is in heaven. Other thousands of years may pass,
and we shall not have grown beyond this central point of religion.
But as everything that our forefathers added to this has passed
away, so the systems that we have built up round it may also pass
away. No man ever yet has seen the full truth, or can see it.
" For now we see through a glass darkly, but then face to face."
THE LAY OJF WALA. 30^
This " then " can never be on earth.
Our little systems have their day ,•
They have their day, and cease to be :
They are but broken lights of Thee,
And Thou, O Lord, art more than they.
We have but faith : we cannot know \
For knowledge is of things we see ;
And yet we trust it comes from Thee,
A beam in darkness : let it grow !
LAY OF WALA.
We here annex one of the most interesting poems of the Elder
Edda, the Woiuspa or Lay of Wala, the prophetess. It is the
translation given in Pfeiffer's " Visit to Iceland," and we think it
will be of value to our readers.
LAY OF WALA.
To attention I invite all the holy generations,
The sons of Heimdal, great and small ;
Of the Father of the Elect I would proclaim the mysteries,
The antique traditions of heroes which I have formerly learned.
I remember the Jotuns bom at the commencement ;
They formerly taught me.
I remember the new worlds, the new forests.
The great tree in the midst, upon the earth here below.
It was the commencement of the ages when Ymir established himself :
There was neither shore, nor sea, nor cool waves ;
Neither earth nor heaven above was found ;
There was the yawning gulf, but vegetation nowhere.
Then the sons of Burl raised the firmament ;
They formed the great enclosure of the middle ;
Sol will enlighten, from the south, the rocks of the Abode ;
The earth immediately became green with tufted verdure.
3t6 ASGARl) AND THE GOi>S,
Sol fecatters from the south her favours upon Mani,
On the right of the gate of the Celestial courser.
Sol knew not where she had her abodes,
The stars knew not where are their places,
Mani knew not what was his power.
Then the Great Powers all went to the elevated seats ;
The most holy Gods deliberated upon that ;
To the night, to the new moon they gave names ;
They designated the dawn and the middle of the day.
The twilight and the evening, to indicate the time*
The Ases met together in the Plain of Ida,
They built very high a sanctuary and a court ;
They placed furnaces, fashioned jewels,
Forged nails, and fabricated utensils.
They played at the tables in the enclosure ; they were joyous,
They were in want of nothing, and everything was in gold.
Then the three Ases of this band,
Full of power and of goodness, descended towards the sea
They found in the country some wretched beings.
Ask and Embla, needing destmy.
They had no soul, they had no understanding,
Neither blood, nor language, nor good exterior ;
Odin gave the soul, Honir gave understanding,
Lodur gave the blood and the good exterior.
Then arrived three Virgin Thurses
Very powerful from the land of the Jotun.
I knew an ash, it is called Yggdrasill,
A hairy tree, moistened by a brilliant cloud,
Whence proceeds the dew which falls in the valleys ;
It raises itself, always green, above the Fountain of Urd.
Thence arose the three Virgins with much knowledge,
From this lake which is below the tree ;
Urd one is called, the other Verdandi ;
They engraved upon tablets ; Skuld was the third j
They consulted the laws, they interrogated fate.
And proclaimed destiny to the children of men.
THE LAY OF WALA. 311
Then the Great Powers all went to the lofty seats,
The most holy Gods deliberated upon that ;
^ Who would form the chief of the Dvergues,
From the blood of Brimir, from the thighs of the Uvid giant.?^
Then Modsognir became the first
Of all the Dvergues, but Durin the second ;
They formed of earth the multitude of the Dvergues
In the human figure, as Durin proposed ;
Nyi and Nidi, Nordri and Sudri,
Austri and Vestri, Althiofr, Dwalin,
Nar and Nain, Nipingr, Dain,
Bifurr and Bafurr, Bumburr, Nori.
Anarr and Onarr. Ai, Miodvitnir,
Veigr, Gandalfr, Vindalfr, Thorinn,
Fill and Kih, Fimdinn, NaH,
Hepti, Vili, Hanarr, Sviorr.
Frar, Fornbogi, Froegr, Loni,
Thrar, and Thrainn, Thror, Vitr, Litr,
Nyr, and Nyradr. — Behold, I have enumerated exactly
The Dvergues powerful and intelligent.
It is time to enumerate the human race,
The Dvergues of the band of Dwalin, as far as Lofar ;
These latter have sought, far from the Abode,
Habitations at Aurvangar, as far as Joruvellir.
There was Draupnir and Dolgthrasir,
Har, Haugspori, Hlaevangr, Gloinn,
Skirvir and Virvir, Skafidr, Ai,
Alfr, and Yngvi, Eikinskialdi.
Fialarr and Frosti, Finnr and Ginnarr,
Heri, Haugstari, Hliodolfr, Noinn : —
As long as there shall be men, they will always exalt
The great number of the descendants of Lofar.
She knows that the horn of Heimdal is concealed
Under the sacred and majestic tree :
She sees that they drink with hasty draughts
In the pledge of the Father of the Elect — Know you it .' But what?
312 ASGARD AND THE GODS.
She was seated without, soHtary, when he came, the oldest,
The most circumspect of the Ases, and looked in her eyes : —
"Why sound me? why put me to the proof?
I know all, Odin ; I know where thou hast concealed thine eye, —
In that great fountain of Mimir ;
Every morning Mimir drinks the sweet beverage
In the pledge of the Father of the Elect." — Know you it ? But what ?
The Father of the Combatants chose for her rings and jewels,
The rich gift of wisdom, and the charms of vision : —
Then she saw far, very far into all the worlds.
She saw the Walkyries hastening from afar,
Eager to repair near the race of the Gods ;
Skuld held the buckler, Skogul followed her,
As well as Gunrr, Hildur, Gondul, Giruskogul :
There are enumerated the servants of the Combatant,
The Walkyries in haste to plunder the country.
She recollects this first war in the world,
When they had placed GuUweig upon the pikes,
And had burned her in the dwelling of the Most High ;
Three times had they burned her ; three times was she born again ;
Burned often, frequently, she lives, however, still.
Heidur is called to her in the houses she has entered ;
She despised the charm of the'visions of Wala ;
She knew magic, she magic abused ;
She was always the delight of the wicked race.
Then the Great Powers all went to their elevated seats.
The very holy Gods upon this deliberated :
" The Ases should they expiate their imprudence,
Or else shall all the Gods have authority?"
The exterior wall of the Ases was overthrown ;
The Wanes knew how, by stratagem, to break down the ramparts j
But Odin darted his arrow, and drew upon the enemy-
Such was. the first war in the world.
Then the Great Powers all went to their elevated seats ;
The very holy Gods deliberated upon this :
" Who had filled with disaster the plains of space,
And given up the affianced of Odur to the race of the Jotuns?"
THE LAY OF WALA. 313
Thor alone rose, inflamed with anger ;
Rarely does he remain seated when he learns such a thing : —
Oaths were violated, promises and assurances,
Every valid treaty that had passed on one side or the other.
I foresaw for Baldur, for that bloody victim.
For that son of Odin, the destiny reserved for him :
He was raising in a charming valley
A tender and beautiful mistleoe.
From that stalk, which appeared so tender, grew
The fatal arrow of bitterness which Hodur took upon himself to dart.
The brother of Baldur had only just been born ;
One night old, he was taken to fight against the son of Odin.
He neither washed his hands nor combed his hair.
Before that he carried to th6 funeral pile the murderer of Baldur ;
But Frigg wept in Fensal
For the misfortunes of Walhall. — Know you it ? But what ?
She sees lying down near Hveralund
A wicked creature, the ungrateful Loki ;
It is in vain he shakes the fatal bonds of Wall ;
They are too stiff, those cords of catgut.
There is seated Sigyn, who at the fate of her husband
Does not much rejoice. — Know you it ? But what .''
Towards the north, at NidafoU, was raised
The hall of gold of the race of Sindri ;
But another was built at Okolnir.
The drinking-hall of the Jotun who is named Brimir.
She s^w a hall situated far from the sun,
At Nastrendr ; its gates are turned to the north ; .
Drops of venom fall into it through the windows,
The hall is a tissue of serpents' backs.
A river rushes on the east into the venomous valleys,
A river of slime and mud ; it is called Shdur ;
Wala saw dragged in it in the muddy waters, '
Perjured men, the exiled for murder,
And him who seduced the partner of others : ^
There, Nidhogg sucked the bodies of the departed,
The wolf tore men. — Know you it ? But what ?
314 ASGARD AND THE GODS.
In the east she was seated, that aged woman, in jarnvid.
And there she nourished the posterity of Fenrir ;
He will be the most formidable of all, he,
Who, under the form of a monster, will swallow up the moon.
He gorges himself with the life-blood of cowardly men,
He stains with red drops the abode of the Great Powers ;
The rays of the sun are eclipsed in the summer following,
All the winds will become hurricanes. — Know you it ? But what ?
Seated quite near upon a height he tuned his harp,
The guardian of Gygur, the joyous Egdir :
Not far from him, in Gagalvid, crowed
The beautiful purple cock which is called Fialar.
Near the Ases crowed GuUinkambi ;
He awoke the heroes in the house of the Father of the Combatants ;
But another cock crowed below the earth,
A black-red cock, in the dwelling of Hel.
Garm howls frightfully before Gnypahall.
The chains are going to break ; Freki will escape :
She pauses much, the prophetess : I see from afar
The twilight of the Great Powers, the Fighting Gods.
Brothers are going to fight against each other, and become fratricides ;
Relations will break their alliances ;
Cruelty reigns in the world, and a great luxury ;
The age of axes, the age of lances, in which bucklers are cleft,
The age of north- winds, the age of fierce beasts succeed before the world
falls to pieces ;
Not one dreams of sparing his neighbour.
The sons of Mimir tremble, the tree in the middle takes fire
At the startling sounds of the noisy horn ;
Heimdal, horn in air, loudly sounds the alarm ;
Odin consults the head of Mimir.
Then the ash raised from Yggdrasil,
That old tree, shivers : the Jotun breaks his chains :
The shades shudder upon the roads to the lower region,
Until the ardour of Surtur has consumed the tree.
ttiE LAY OF WALA. ^1%
Hrym advances from the east, a buckler covers him :
jarmungander unfolds himself in his giant rage :
The serpent raises the waves, the eagle beats his wings,
The yellow beak tears the bodies of the dead : Xalhfar is pierced :
The ship sails from the east, the army of Muspel
Approaches over the sea, Loki holds the rudder :
The sons of Jotun sail all with Freki,
The brother of Bileist is on board with them.
Surtur starts from the south with disastrous swords ;
The sun gUtters upon the blades of the hero-gods :
The mountains of the rock are shaken, the giants tremble,
The shades press the road to hell. Heaven opens !
What are the Ases doing ? ' What do the Elves ?
All Jotunheim bellows ; the Ases are met together ;
At the gate of the caverns groan the Dvergues,
The sages of the sacred mountains. — Know you it .? But what ?
Then the affliction of Hline is renewed,
When Odin set out to combat the Wolf ;
Whilst the glorious murderer of Beli is going to oppose himself to
Surtur ;
Very soon the cherished hero of Frigg will fall
But he comes, the valiant son of the Father of Combats,
Widar, to struggle against the terrible monster :
He leaves in the mouth of the scion of Hvedrung
The steel plunged even to the heart. Thus the father is avenged.
Here comes the illustrious son pf Hlodune,
He goes, the descendant of Odin, to fight the Serpent ;
The defender of Midgard strikes him in his anger.
The heroes go all to stain with blood the column of the world.
He draws back with a new step, the son of Fiorgune,
Bitten by the adder, intrepid with rage. . . •
Behold coming the black flying Dragon,
The adder, soaring above NidafioU :
Nidhogg extends his wings, he flies over the plain,
Above the bodies of the dead. Now she will be swallowed up.
3i6 ASGARD AND THE GODS.
- i .. i
The sun begins to be dark ; the continent falls fainting into the Ocean ;
They disappear from the sky, the brilliant stars ;
The smoke eddies around the destroying fire of the world ;
The gigantic flames play against heaven itself.
She sees rising anew,
In the Ocean, an earth with a thick verdure.
Cascades fall there ; the eagle soars above it,
And from the summit of the rock he espies the fish.
The Ases are found again in the plain of Ida,
Under the tree of the world they sit as powerful judges :
They recal to mind the judgments of the gods,
And the antique mysteries of Fimbultyr.
Then the Ases found again upon the grass
The marvellous tables of gold.
Which the generations had, in the beginning of days,
The chief of the gods and the posterity Fiolnir.
_ The fields will produce without being sown :
^very evil will disappear : Baldur will return
To inhabit with Hodur the enclosure of Hropt,
The sacred abodes of the hero-gods. — Know you it .'* But what ?
Then Honir will be able to choose his part.
And the sons of the two brothers shall dwell in
The vast abode of the wind. — Know you it } But what ?
She sees a hall more brilliant than the sun
Arise, covered with, gold, in the magnificent Gimlir :
It is there that shall dwell the faithiul people.
And that they will enjoy an everlasting felicity.
Then there came from on high to preside at the judgments of the Great
Powers,
The powerful sovereign who governs the universe :
He tempers the decrees, he calms dissensions,
And gives sacred laws inviolable for ever.
INDEX.
Adil, 227.
Adonis, 279.
Aesir, 4.
Aestyer, 183.
Afi, 167.
Agnar, 83-85 ; 232.
Ahnfrau, 117.
Ahriman, 4, 306-7.
Ai, 166.
Air, V, Kari.
Ajo, 81.
Alanes, 161.
Alba, Duke, 166.
Alberich, 40.
Albrecht, Count, 118.
Alfhild, 219,
Ali, V. Wali.
Alioruna, 234.
Allfather (Odin), 6, 22, 23, 25, 26, 29,
30, 53, 64, 65, 66, 79, 84, 86, 93, 94,
181, 218, 256, 278, 289, 290, 302, 305,
307, 308-
Alraun, 234-5.
Alswider, 24, 121,
Alwis, 9, 128.
Alwismal, 128.
Ambri, 81.
Amma, 167.
Amund, 190.
Anglo-Saxons, 94, 95, 178, 223, 242,
256.
Angurboda, 53, 250.
Animal Worship, 30.
Apples of Youth, 10, 13, 172, 174, 175,
177-
Ann^e fiirieuse, 78.
Arminius, 96, 208.
Arthur, King, 78.
Arwaker, 24, 121.
Asathor, v. Thor.
Asciburgum, 171.
Ases, 4, 23, 58, 62, 87, 88, 94, 129, 142,
143, 172, 176, 181, 182, 189, 242
247, 250, 252, 264, 265-8, 273, 2 c ,
285, 287-90, 293, 298, 302-3.
Asgard, 3, 13, 18, 47, 48, 62, 93, 95
124, 138, 143, 172, 175, 176, 184
267, 273, 284, 290.
^sh, the World, v. YggdrasiL
Ask, 4, 25.
Assi, 81.
Attila, 165, 233.
3i8
INDEX.
Audlang, 305.
Brock, 126-8, 189.
Audumla, 4, 23.
Brynhilde, 96, 232.
Bui, 257.
Baldiir, 12, 14, 17, 48, 94, 95, ^78, 185,
BuUerborn, 272.
226, 259-63, 264, 271, 273-86, 305.
Buri, 4, 23.
Balshoff, 122.
Bar, 242.
Caesar Augustus, 163.
Barbarossa, 79.
Castle Neuhaus, 118.
Baugi, 89, 90.
Cauldron, Hymir's, 9, 141.
Beatrix of Cleve, 118.
Charlemagne, 21, 78, 119, 246.
Beav, 257.
Chasse de Cam, -jZ.
Beldegg, 95-
Chasse d'H^rode, -]%,
Bensocia, 104.
Cheru (Heru), 9, 161-66, 170.
Berchta, 6, 115-21.
Cherusci, 9, 18.
Bergelmir, 4, 23, 249.
Christianity, 29, 32, 33, '114, 209, 245,
Berlin, 115, u8.
307.
Berta, v. Berchta.
Christmas, 75, 190.
Bertha of Rosenberg, 118.
Class-distinctions, origin of, 166-8.
Bertrada, 119.
Cologne, 162.
Bestla, 23.
Constellations, 49, 50, 212.
Beyggwir, 288.
Creation of World, 22-4, z^.
Beyla, 288.
Biarki, 227-31.
Dain, 271.
Bifrost, 10, 21, 53, 55, 138, 171, 298.
Dainsleif, 104.
Bilskirnir, 48, 125.
Day, 4, 24, 93, 273-
Black- Dwarfs, 4.
Death, goddess of, v. HeL
Black-Elves, 40, 47, 251, 280, 290.
Deluge, 4, 23, 56, 249.
Blodhughofi, 190.
Discs, 233, 280, 297.
Boar's head, 190.
Donar, 123.
Boden, 88, 90.
Dragons, Z2>, 44, 208.
Bodwar, v, Biarki.
Draupnir, 72, 127, 202, 280, 284,
Bolwerker, 89, 9a
Drusus, 233.
Bor, 23, 56.
Durin, 38.
Bous, 257.
Duckbill, 238, 240.
Bragi, 10, 13, 18, 31, 70, 95, 172, 176,
Dwalin, 38.
177,252,270,271,289.
Dwarf of Death, 172.
Brand, 95.
Dwarfs, 4, 14, 25, 38, 40, 52, 88, 104
Brawalla, Battle of, 221, 232.
126, 128, 161, 172, 251, 266.
Breidablick, 48, 273.
Brisingamen, 169-70, 211, 287.
Earl, 168.
INDEX.
319
Earth personified, 6, 31, 55, 116, 119,
171, 189, 204, 209, 211, 224, 297, V.
also Jord, Nerthus.
Earthquake, origin of, 294.
Easter- eggs, 114.
Ebb-tide, cause of, 136.
Edda, 18, 26, -^^z, 48, 72, 86, 95, 123,
137, 166, 169, 177, 182, 189, 202-3,
224, 225, 263, 306, 307.
Eigel, King, 171.
Eikthymir, 26.
Einheriar, 11, 16, 69, 70, 76,94, 142,
172, 181, 185,232,252,285,298.
Elbegast, 40.
Elberich, 40.
Eldir, 288.
Elfheim, 126.
Eliwagar, 4, 22, 140, 141, 171.
Elli, 136.
Elves of Darkness, 4.
Elves of Light, 4.
Elves, 14, iZ, 41, 42, 129, 143.
Embla, 4, 25.
Eric, 69.
Erich, 170.
Erinnyae, 223.
Erk, 170.
Ema, 168.
Eros, 29.
Etzel, V. Attila.
Extern stones, 1 14,
Fafhir, 33.
Falcon-dress, 142.
Farbauti, 56, 249.
Fate (Orlog), la
Fates, V. Noms.
Fenia, 192-8.
Fenris-Wolf, 5, 9, 11, 12, 53, 54, 50, 72,
250, 264, 270, 297, 298, 301.
Fensal, or Fensaler, 6, 49, 96, 276.
Fimbul-Winter, 1 6,- 296.
Fingal, 236, 245.
Fiolnir, 190.
Fiolswider, 212-3.
Fiorgyn, 96.
Fire, v. Logi, Muspel, Surtur.
Fjalar, 88.
,, the cock, 297.
Folkwang, 49, 143, 169, 209.
Fontainebleau, grand veneur de, 78.
Forniot, 241.
Forseti, 12, 49, 95, 264,
Franks, 71, 94, 95.
Frea (Freya), 6.
Frealaf, 95.
Frey or Freya, 6, 9, 10, 31, 49, 81, 95,
120, 138, 143, 169, 182, 206, 211, 212,
267, 303, V also Frigg.
Freyer, 10, 95, 102, 126, 182, 189-91,
199-204, 209, 298.
Freygerda, 190-1.
Friday, 209.
Fridleif, 190-1, 222.
Frigg, or Frigga (Freya), 6, 7, 14, 31,
49, 83, 93, 95, 9^103, 271, 274, 276,
282, 287, V. also Freya.
Frisians, 12, 71, 264,
Fro, V. Freya.
Frodi, 190-8.
Frouwa, v. Frejra.
Frost-giants, v, Hrimthurses.
Frosti, 46.
Fulla, 6 99, 100.
Funafeng, 288.
Gaia, 29.
Galar, 88.
Gambach, 115,
Gambantrin, 255.
320
INDEX,
Gambara, 8i.
Gullfaxi, 138, 140.
Garm, 225, 297, 301.
GuUinbursti, 126, 189, 242.
Gangleri, 63-65.
Gulltop, 169, 170.
Gangrader, 93-4.
Gullweig, 13, 266.
Gaude, 103.
Gungnir, 5, 52, 72, loi.
Gefion, 58-61, 293.
Gunlod, 5, 89-91, 270.
Geirod, 9, 55, 83-5.
Gwodan, 71.
Geirodsgard, 9, 253.
Gylphi, King, '58-65.
Geldar, 260.
Gymir, 204.
Gerda, 199-204, 209.
Gymirsgard, 201.
Getes, 161.
Gewar, 259, 263.
Hadding, 190.
Giallarhom, 86, 297, 298.
Hahnir (Honir), 25.
Giants, 4, 5, 14, 16, 42, 44, 55, 5^, 67,
Hakelbarend, 74.
V. also Hrimthurses, Jotuns.
Hakelberg, 74.
Giantesses, 15, 88, 253.
Hakon, 69-70.
Gilling, 88.
Har, 64.
Gimil, 64, 183, 305.
Harald Harfager, 32, 209.
Ginnungagap, 22, 23.
Harbard Lay, 9.
Gimi, 54, 225, 282.
Harz Mountains, 43, 67.
Girdles, magic, 42.
Hat, Odin's broad-brimmed, 72,
74,
Giuli, 190.
-j-j, 84, 227.
Gladsheim, 48.
Hati, 297.
Glasir, 48, 51, 185,
Hedin, 104, 226.
Glitnir, 49, 264.
Heidrun, 26, 52.
Glowheim, 56.
Heimchen, 117.
Gna, 6, 99, 100.
Heimdaglinger, 170.
Gnypa cave, 225, 297.
Heimdal, 10, 48, 55, 95, 144, 166,
16^
Godan, 71, 103.
70, 171, 242, 267,271, 297, 301.
Gode, 6, 103.
Heimdellinger, 170.
Goldemar, 40.
Hel, 5, 10, II, 14, 26,37, 53, 54,
55,
Golden Age, 12, 265-6.
64, 78,94,202,224-6, 250,271,
275'
G611, 228.
282-4, 306.
Gondul, 69, 228.
Helga, 210.
Good and Evil, 55.
Helgi, 259, 260.
Gospel, V. Christianity.
Helheim, 11, 47, 54, 129, 250, 297.
Grimnir, 84, 139. ' ^
Hel-huntsman, 'jZ,
Groa, 140.
Hengist, 95.
Grotti, 192.
Hephaestos, 39.
Gudan, 71.
Her, 46.
INDEX,
321
Herakles, 57, 142, 177, 2 id.
Herlething, jj.
Hermon, 256.
Hermodur, 12, 14, 53, 70, 95, 254-6,
279, 262-4.
Herodotus, 161.
Hertha, 103.
Heru, 9, 161, 170.
Hialti, 227-31.
Hilde, 104, 226, 228, 232.
Hildesheim, 107.
Himinbiorg, 49, 169,-170.
Hindu idea of the world, 17.
Hiorward, 229.
Hledra, 61, 190, 226, 229, 230.
Hler(Ogir), 11,46,249.
Hlidskialf, 6, 48, 52, 54, 72, 83, 123,
199, 254, 290.
Hlin, 6, 99.
Hlora, 123.
Hlorridi, 122, 123, 290, 293.
Hoddmimir's Wood, 17, 302.
Hodur, 12, 14, 15, 17, 95, 249, 259-63,
278, 285, 305.
Hogni, 104, 226.
Holda, 6, 107-115, 120, 225.
Honir, 4, 10, 25, 30, 95, 173-4, 182,
183, 248,
Hood of darkness, 42, 242.
Hoof-flinger, 99.
Horleif, ^3-
Horsa, 95.
Horse-hair Beard, 219-20.
Horselberg. 113,
Hrafnagalder, 272.
Hrany, 227.
Hraudung, 83.
Hrimfaxi, 24.
Hrijangrimnir, 204.
Hrimthurses, 13, 23, 26, 43, 45, 53,
loi, 113, 122, 129, 137, 142, 174-6
189, 200-4, 267, 280, 298.
Hringhom, 280.
Hrist, 228.
Hrodso, 78.
Hrossharsgrani, 72, 219.
Hrungnir, 9, 55, 137-40.
Hugin, 52, 89, 271.
thejotun, 135, 136.
Hugrunes, 87,
Huld, 113.
Hulda, no, 113.
Huldra, 113.
HuUa, J 13.
Huns, 46, 164-6, 234.
Hwergelmir, 22, 225.
Hyniir, 9, I45-
Hyrrockin, 281.
Ibor, 81.
Ida, Plains of, 17, 266, 302, 305.
Idises, V. Discs.
Iduna, 10, 13, 114, 170, 172, 174-6, 177
184, 270-2.
Ifing, 47, 53, 143.
Ildiko, 165.
Indian Myths, 29.
Ingulf, 33.
Iring^s Road, 17a
Irmin, 171, 256.
Isa, 107.
Iwaldi, 161, 173,
Iwaldur, 126.
Jafenhar, 64.
Jarl, 168.
Jarnsaxa, 124.
Johann of Lichtenberg, 118.
Jord, 31, 95, 96, 122, 123, 209, V. also
Earth, Neithus.
322
INDEX,
Jormungander, 53, 54, 250, 301.
Loreley, 240-1.
Jotunheim, 26, 45, 47, 53, 89, 93,
143,
Lucifer, 250.
281, 290.
Jotuns, 5, 13,45, 58, 86, 89,90, 93,
129,
Maelar Lake, 62.
131, 137, 139, 200, 247-9,298,2/.
also
Magni, 17, 95, 124, i37, MO, 305-
Giants, Hrimthurses.
Maiden's Leap, 67.
Judges, Forseti's twelve, 12.
Maine, 119.
Judgment oi the gods (Ragnarok),
54,
Mandrake root, 234.
264, 305.
Mani, 24, 66, v. also Moon.
M 190.
Maria am Schnee, 107.
Juritha, 222.
Markomanns, 161.
May, 82, 236, 285.
Kari, 46, 56, 241, 249.
Mayence, 120.
Karl, 167.
Meeting of the Wise Mcti, 208.
Kobolds, 39, 113.
Meissner Gebirge, 115.
Konur, 168.
Menglada, 212-4. -
.
Kraki, King, 226-31.
Menia, 192-8.
Kunigunde, 118.
Mercury, 72.
Kwasir, 88-9, 295.
Mesnie, Hellequin, 78.
Kyffhauser, 79.
Mettena, 223.
Michael, Archangel, 21.
Lake-maiden, 236-40.
Midgard, 24, 26, 43, 47, 52, 124,
273.
Laudvvidi, 49, 254.
290.
Larad, 26.
Midgard Snake, 5, li, 53, 54, 56,
136,
Last Battle, 5, 16, 26, 33, 44, 49, 56
93,
297, V. also Jormungander.
272, 298, 307.
Milky Way, 104, 170.
Laufey, 56, 128, 144, 249.
Mimir, i, 10, 86, 87, 182, 302.
Lif, 17,302,305.
Mimir's Well, i, 93, 251, 298.
Lifthrasir, 17, 302.
Mimring, 260, 261, 263.
Light-Elves, 40, 47, 49, 190, 258, 280.
Mioll, 46.
Lit, 281.
Miolnir, 9, 17, 122, 124, 125-28,
131,
Lodur, 4, 25, 30, 249.
137, 139, 142, 143, 161, 269, 281,
305.
Lofar, 38.
Mist, 238.
Lofna, 6.
Mistletoe, 14, 277.
Logi, 43, 46, 56, 135, 136, 241, 249.
Mithras, 279.
Loki, II, 13, 14, 15, 16, 38, 53, 54,
56,
Mockerkalfi, 139.
95, 126, 129-37, 142, 143, 169-
-70,
Modgud, 282,
173-6, 184, 247-51, 267-9, 271, 277-
Modi, 17 95, 124, 305-
8, 287-95, 297, 298.
Modsognir, 38.
Longobards, 71, 81.
Moira, 217.
INDEX.
323
Moon, 4, 13, 16, 24, 30, 86, 102, 267,
Oberon, 40.
295, 297.
Odin, I, 4, 5, 9, 12, 14, 23, 25, 30, 52,
Mountain of Venus, 113.
53, 54, 55, 56, 66-95,71, 79, 9^, loi-
Mumel-King, 11.
2, N3, 126, 127, 138, 161, 173-4, 185,
Mumel, Lake, 86, 236.
219-21, 228-30, 247, 249,252-3,254,
Munin, 52, 89.
271, 273, 274-6, 287, 289, 298, 301,
Muot, 71, n-
302.
Muspel, 56, 57.
Odin, the Praise, 79, 102.
Muspel,. sons of, 5, 16, 44, 54, 5^, 11,
Odo, 71.
251,298.
Odrorir, 5, 88, 90, 93, 270.
Muspelheim, 22, 24, 47, 52, 56.
Odur,2i2.
Mysinger, 197-8.
Odysseus, 171.
Myths, formation of, 3, 29.
Ogir, II, 15, 56, 176, 184, 204, 236-461
^ 249, 287, 290.
Nain, 172.
Ogishelm, 242.
Nanna, 12, 14, 259-63, 264, 280, 283.
Okeanos, 241.
Narwi, 250, 294.
Okuthor, 122.
Necks, 1 1, 245, V. also Nixies, Water-
Olaf, 68.
sprites.
Orendel, 171.
Nehalennia, 107.
Orgelmir (Ymir), 27.
Nemesis, 218.
Orion, belt of, 99.
Nerthus, 31, 103, 184, 189, 209, v.
Ormuzd, 57, 306-7.
also Earth, Jord.
Orlog, 10, II, 218, 279.
Nidhogg, 26, 225, 253.
Orwandil, 140-1, 171.
Nifelheim, 11, 22, 47, 54.
Oski, 82.
Nifelhel, 64, 138, 269, 273.
Ossian, 73.
Niflung Lay, 95.
Ostara, 107, 114.
Niflungs, 33.
Oswald, 21, 77.
Night, 4, 24, 25, 66, 93, 271, 273.
Niorder, 10, 49, 93, 95, 103, 178, 182,
Palaces of the Gods, 47.
183, 185-7, 200, 209.
Pepin, 119.
Nixies, 11,245, v. also Necks, Water-
Pharaildis, 105.
sprites.
Phoenicians, 34, 39, 279.
Norns, 10, 11, 12, 13, 26,36-7, 94, 162,
Plassenburg, 118.
201, 214, 217-23, 233, 253, 298;
Poetry, god cA^v, Bragi
Noah, 23.
Polytheism, 30-1'.
Noatun, 49, 184. 186.
Number Nip, 40.
Quades, 161.
Quern-stones, 191-8.
Oanswald, 77. .
Quick-born, 113.
324
INDEX,
Raging Host, 67, 72, -Ji, 75, 76, 78.
Ragnarok, 16, 264, 290, 296-301, 306,
307.
Ran, II, 243.
Ravens, Odin's two, i, 52, 280.
Regin, 11, 80, 218-21, 306.
Reine pedauque, 120.
Renewal of the world, 16, 87, 301-2,
. 307.
Rerir, 99, 209.
Riesengebirge, 40, 43, 44.
Riger, v. Heimdal.
Rigsmal, 169.
Rinda, 12, 31, 95, 256, 263, 275, 285.
Rings, Magic, 4i> 42.
Roesfield, 260.
Rollo, 32.
Roskwa, 130, 137.
Rosstioph, 255-6.
Runes, 6, 33, 34, 59, 63, 86, 87, 104,
168, 202, 203, 255, 273, 274.
Saemund the Wise, 33. ,
Saga, I, 2, 10, 18, 19,48,49.
Sahrimnir, 52, 142, 173.
St, Emmeran, 281.
St. Gertrude, 107.
St. Martin, 21.
St. Oswald, 21, 77.
St Peter, 21.
Saming, 95.
Saxnot (Heru), 9, 123, 161.
Saxons, 71.
Scythians, 161.
Sea, God of the,- %i, Ogir.
Selke, 66.
Sessrumnir, 209.
Sif, 123, 125, 128, 137.
Sigi, 95, 99-
Sigmund, 95, 100.
Sigrun, 232.
Sigurd, 33, 95, 96, 100.
Sigyn, 16, 250, 293, 294.
Sin, 13, 15,266-9.
Sindri, 126, 161, 189.-
Si6fna,-6.
Skadi, 48, 176, 178, 183, 184-7.
Skeaf, 256-8.
Skidbladnir, 189.
Skinfaxi, 24.
Skiold, 61, 95.
Skioll,297.
Skirnir, 123, 200-4, 249.
Skogul, 69, 70, 228.
Skrymir, 13 1-7, 290.
Skrymsli, 248-9.
Skuld, 229.
, V. Norns.
Sleeping Beauty, 37, 204.
Sleeping Heroes, 78-80.
Sleipnir, 138, 255, 269, 273, 279, 2^i,
298.
Snar, 46.
Snor, 167.
Snorri Sturlason, 33.
Sokwabek, 48, 162.
Sol, 24.
Son, 88, 90.
Starkad, 218-21.
Stars, 74, 102, 176,295.
Suiones, 183.
Sun, 4, 13, 16, 24, 30, 86, 102, 267, 273,
295, 297.
Sun-god, 279.
Surtur, I, 5, 16, 44, 47, 48, 51, 52, 54,
57,251,253,272,298-301, 305.
Suttung, 88, 89, 90.
Swadilfari, 267, 269.
Swan-knight, 118.
Swawa, 232.
INDEX.
325
Swendal, 204.
Swipdager, 95, 213-4.
Sword- Gods, v. Tyr, Cheru, Heimdal
Tannhauser, 113.
Theodorick of Bern, 78.
Thialfi, 122, 130, 137, i39, HO.
Thiassi, 48, 55, 174-6, 184, 249.
Thock, 284.
Thof, 6, 9, 13, 15, 21, 55, 95, 121-61,
219-21, 260, 268-9, 281, 290, 298.
Thorkill, 210.
Thrain, 271.
Thrall, 166.
Thridi, 64.
Thrones, twelve, of the gods, 52.
Thrud, 124, 128, 140. y
a Walkyrie, 228.
Thrudheim, 48, 125, 1^7, 140.
Thrym, 9, 55, 143-46, 298.
Thrymheim, 9, 48, 142, i43, H4, 176,
184, 186.
Thunar (Thor), 6, 21, 121, 123.
Thurses, v. Hrimthurses.
Thusnelda, 96.
Thyr, 167.
Titania, 40.
Titans, 44.
Tius (Tyr), ^
Tooth-cracker, 123.
Tooth-gnasher, 123.
Trolls, 25, 58.
Twelfth Night, 75.
Twilight of the gods, 54, 72, 86, 296-
301, 305, V. also Ragnarok.
Tyche, 218.
Tyr, 9, 10, 31, 49, 53, 54, 95, io3, ^7©,
233, 301-
Uller, 48, 49, 95, 124, 177-9, 186.
Ulphilas, 34.
Upsala temple, 123.
Urd, Fountain of, 11, 26, 144, 222,
302.
Urd, V. Norns.
.Utgard, 47, 129.
Utgard-Loki, 9, 132-7, 249.
Utgarthlocus, 250.
Urlak, V. Orlog.
Venus, 113.
Vespasian, 164.
Vitellius, 162-4
Voden, 94.
VoUa, 99, V. also FuUa.
Vrouelden, 104.
Vulder, 178.
Wafthrudnir, 5, 93-/V
Wala, 14, 47. 66, 232, 273, 297, 301,
306, 309-16.
Walaskialf, 48.
Walcheren, 107.
Walhalla, ir, 26, 48, 51, 55, 60, 70, yG,
84, 138, 142, 185, 227, 232, 252, 277,
285.
Wall, 12, 15, 17,48,49, 95, 250, 256-8,
285, 294, 305-
Walkyries, 5, 10, 11, 51, 60, 66, 69, 70,
104, 209, 217, 226-33, 261, 280.
Wals, 95.
Walser Field, 80.
Waltam, 275.
Wanaheim, 47; 182.
Wanes, 10, 47, 88, 94, 95, 100, 102, 103,
129, 181-3, 189, 266.
Wara, 6.
Warkald, 213.
Water-sprites. 11, 241, 280, v. also
Lake-maiden and Ogir.
326
INDEX.
Waude, 77.
Waul, Tj.
Wave-maidens, 10, 171.
We, 4, 23, 30, 56.
Wegdegg, 95,
Wegtam, 274.
Werdandi, v. Norns.
White Lady, 1 16-18.
Widar, 12, 17, 49, 95, 252-4, 289, 301,
305-
Widblain, 305.
Wights, 42.
Wigrid, Field of, 16, 56, 253, 298.
Wikar, King, 220.
Wiking raids, 21, 32, 70, 104, 220, 258,
308.
Wikings, 26, 141, 218.
Wild Hunt, 5, 67, 72, 75, -JT, -jZ, 104.
Wild Huntsman, 73-78.
Wili, 4, 23, 30, 56.
Windkald, 213, 214.
vVingnir, 123.
Wingolf, 49, 64.
Wingthor, 122, 123, 129, 142, v, also
Thor.
Wise Women, 233.
Wish-father (Odin), 75.
Wish-maidens (Walkyries), n.
Woda, 71.
Wodan (Odin), 5, 31, 71-2, 76, 81^
103, 123, 161, 208, 209, 235.
Wode, 7^1,73, 74-
Wodel-beer, 76.
Wogg, 227-31.
Wold, 71, 76.
Wolf, V. Fenris-Wolf.
Wolves, Odin's two, 52
Wolsing, 100, 208.
Wood-demons, 260, 280, 285, v. also
Mimring.
Wood-maidens, 74.
Worlds of the gods, 4, 47.
Woensjager, 7^.
Woluspa, 33, 309-16.
Wuotan (Odin), 5, 71.
Wurdz/. Urd.
Ydalir, 48, 49, 178.
Yggdrasil, 11, 13, r6, 26, 27, '47, 84
222, 253, 270, 298, 301.
Ymir, 4, 22, 23, 24, 46, 55, 249.
Yngvvi, 95.
Yrsa, 227.
Yule- feast, 49.
Zealand, 61, 62.
Zend-Avesta, 2,^.
Zerwana-Arkana, 306-7.
Zio (Tyr), 9, 103, 170, 235.
THE ABERDEEN UNIVERSITY PRESS LIMITED
OK. riBCULATlON DEPARTMENT
HONVEUSE
^U BOOKS '^7"^e*ewTb7co' "^^^^^^^^^^ C.culonon Desk
Renewals ond^echo^es^^ rTT^S'SerOW
CBL Novi!_«zi
FORM NO. DD6,60m, 11/78
General Library
University of California
Berkeley
YC 30261
394293
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY
Live Music Archive
Librivox Free Audio
Metropolitan Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Internet Arcade
Console Living Room
Books to Borrow
Open Library
TV News
Understanding 9/11