Myths of the Norsemen by H. A. Guerber

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Title: Myths of the Norsemen
From the Eddas and Sagas

Author: H. A. Guerber

Release Date: April 4, 2009 [EBook #28497]

Language: English

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Myths of the Norsemen

From the Eddas and Sagas

By

H. A. Guerber

Author of "The Myths of Greece and Rome" etc.




London
George G. Harrap & Company
15 York Street Covent Garden

1909








Printed by Ballantyne & Co. Limited
Tavistock Street, Covent Garden, London






CONTENTS


Chap. Page

I. The Beginning 1
II. Odin 16
III. Frigga 42
IV. Thor 59
V. Tyr 85
VI. Bragi 95
VII. Idun 103
VIII. Niörd 111
IX. Frey 117
X. Freya 131
XI. Uller 139
XII. Forseti 142
XIII. Heimdall 146
XIV. Hermod 154
XV. Vidar 158
XVI. Vali 162
XVII. The Norns 166
XVIII. The Valkyrs 173
XIX. Hel 180
XX. Ægir 185
XXI. Balder 197
XXII. Loki 216
XXIII. The Giants 230
XXIV. The Dwarfs 239
XXV. The Elves 246
XXVI. The Sigurd Saga 251
XXVII. The Frithiof Saga 298
XXVIII. The Twilight of the Gods 329
XXIX. Greek and Northern Mythologies--A Comparison 342






LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS


Norsemen Landing in Iceland (Oscar Wergeland) Frontispiece

To face page
The Giant with the Flaming Sword (J. C. Dollman) 2
The Wolves Pursuing Sol and Mani (J. C. Dollman) 8
Odin (Sir E. Burne-Jones) 16
The Chosen Slain (K. Dielitz) 18
A Viking Foray (J. C. Dollman) 20
The Pied Piper of Hamelin (H. Kaulbach) 28
Odin (B. E. Fogelberg) 36
Frigga Spinning the Clouds (J. C. Dollman) 42
Tannhäuser and Frau Venus (J. Wagrez) 52
Eástre (Jacques Reich) 54
Huldra's Nymphs (B. E. Ward) 58
Thor (B. E. Fogelberg) 60
Sif (J. C. Dollman) 64
Thor and the Mountain (J. C. Dollman) 72
A Foray (A. Malmström) 88
The Binding of Fenris (Dorothy Hardy) 92
Idun (B. E. Ward) 100
Loki and Thiassi (Dorothy Hardy) 104
Frey (Jacques Reich) 118
Freya (N. J. O. Blommér) 132
The Rainbow Bridge (H. Hendrich) 146
Heimdall (Dorothy Hardy) 148
Jarl (Albert Edelfelt) 152
The Norns (C. Ehrenberg) 166
The Dises (Dorothy Hardy) 170
The Swan-Maiden (Gertrude Demain Hammond, R.I.) 174
The Ride of the Valkyrs (J. C. Dollman) 176
Brunhild and Siegmund (J. Wagrez) 178
The Road to Valhalla (Severin Nilsson) 182
Ægir (J. P. Molin) 186
Ran (M. E. Winge) 190
The Neckan (J. P. Molin) 194
Loki and Hodur (C. G. Qvarnström) 202
The Death of Balder (Dorothy Hardy) 206
Hermod before Hela (J. C. Dollman) 210
Loki and Svadilfari (Dorothy Hardy) 222
Loki and Sigyn (M. E. Winge) 228
Thor and the Giants (M. E. Winge) 230
Torghatten 234
The Peaks of the Trolls 244
The Elf-Dance (N. J. O. Blommér) 246
The White Elves (Charles P. Sainton, R.I.) 248
Old Houses with Carved Posts 250
The Were-Wolves (J. C. Dollman) 260
A Hero's Farewell (M. E. Winge) 264
The Funeral Procession (H. Hendrich) 268
Sigurd and Fafnir (K. Dielitz) 274
Sigurd Finds Brunhild (J. Wagrez) 278
Odin and Brunhild (K. Dielitz) 280
Aslaug (Gertrude Demain Hammond, R.I.) 282
Sigurd and Gunnar (J. C. Dollman) 284
The Death of Siegfried (H. Hendrich) 288
The End of Brunhild (J. Wagrez) 290
Ingeborg (M. E. Winge) 304
Frithiof Cleaves the Shield of Helgé (Knut Ekwall) 308
Ingeborg Watches her Lover Depart (Knut Ekwall) 312
Frithiof's Return to Framnäs (Knut Ekwall) 316
Frithiof at the Shrine of Balder (Knut Ekwall) 318
Frithiof at the Court of Ring (Knut Ekwall) 320
Frithiof Watches the Sleeping King (Knut Ekwall) 324
Odin and Fenris (Dorothy Hardy) 334
The Ride of the Valkyrs (H. Hendrich) 344
The Storm-Ride (Gilbert Bayes) 358






INTRODUCTION


The prime importance of the rude fragments of poetry preserved in
early Icelandic literature will now be disputed by none, but there
has been until recent times an extraordinary indifference to the
wealth of religious tradition and mythical lore which they contain.

The long neglect of these precious records of our heathen ancestors
is not the fault of the material in which all that survives of
their religious beliefs is enshrined, for it may safely be asserted
that the Edda is as rich in the essentials of national romance
and race-imagination, rugged though it be, as the more graceful
and idyllic mythology of the South. Neither is it due to anything
weak in the conception of the deities themselves, for although
they may not rise to great spiritual heights, foremost students of
Icelandic literature agree that they stand out rude and massive as the
Scandinavian mountains. They exhibit "a spirit of victory, superior
to brute force, superior to mere matter, a spirit that fights and
overcomes." [1] "Even were some part of the matter of their myths
taken from others, yet the Norsemen have given their gods a noble,
upright, great spirit, and placed them upon a high level that is all
their own." [2] "In fact these old Norse songs have a truth in them,
an inward perennial truth and greatness. It is a greatness not of
mere body and gigantic bulk, but a rude greatness of soul." [3]

The introduction of Christianity into the North brought with it the
influence of the Classical races, and this eventually supplanted the
native genius, so that the alien mythology and literature of Greece
and Rome have formed an increasing part of the mental equipment of the
northern peoples in proportion as the native literature and tradition
have been neglected.

Undoubtedly Northern mythology has exercised a deep influence upon
our customs, laws, and language, and there has been, therefore,
a great unconscious inspiration flowing from these into English
literature. The most distinctive traits of this mythology are a
peculiar grim humour, to be found in the religion of no other race,
and a dark thread of tragedy which runs throughout the whole woof,
and these characteristics, touching both extremes, are writ large
over English literature.

But of conscious influence, compared with the rich draught of Hellenic
inspiration, there is little to be found, and if we turn to modern
art the difference is even more apparent.

This indifference may be attributed to many causes, but it was due
first to the fact that the religious beliefs of our pagan ancestors
were not held with any real tenacity. Hence the success of the
more or less considered policy of the early Christian missionaries
to confuse the heathen beliefs, and merge them in the new faith,
an interesting example of which is to be seen in the transference
to the Christian festival of Easter of the attributes of the pagan
goddess Eástre, from whom it took even the name. Northern mythology
was in this way arrested ere it had attained its full development,
and the progress of Christianity eventually relegated it to the limbo
of forgotten things. Its comprehensive and intelligent scheme, however,
in strong contrast with the disconnected mythology of Greece and Rome,
formed the basis of a more or less rational faith which prepared the
Norseman to receive the teaching of Christianity, and so helped to
bring about its own undoing.

The religious beliefs of the North are not mirrored with any
exactitude in the Elder Edda. Indeed only a travesty of the faith of
our ancestors has been preserved in Norse literature. The early poet
loved allegory, and his imagination rioted among the conceptions of
his fertile muse. "His eye was fixed on the mountains till the snowy
peaks assumed human features and the giant of the rock or the ice
descended with heavy tread; or he would gaze at the splendour of the
spring, or of the summer fields, till Freya with the gleaming necklace
stepped forth, or Sif with the flowing locks of gold." [4]

We are told nothing as to sacrificial and religious rites, and
all else is omitted which does not provide material for artistic
treatment. The so-called Northern Mythology, therefore, may be regarded
as a precious relic of the beginning of Northern poetry, rather than
as a representation of the religious beliefs of the Scandinavians,
and these literary fragments bear many signs of the transitional stage
wherein the confusion of the old and new faiths is easily apparent.

But notwithstanding the limitations imposed by long neglect it is
possible to reconstruct in part a plan of the ancient Norse beliefs,
and the general reader will derive much profit from Carlyle's
illuminating study in "Heroes and Hero-worship." "A bewildering,
inextricable jungle of delusions, confusions, falsehoods and
absurdities, covering the whole field of Life!" he calls them,
with all good reason. But he goes on to show, with equal truth,
that at the soul of this crude worship of distorted nature was a
spiritual force seeking expression. What we probe without reverence
they viewed with awe, and not understanding it, straightway deified
it, as all children have been apt to do in all stages of the world's
history. Truly they were hero-worshippers after Carlyle's own heart,
and scepticism had no place in their simple philosophy.

It was the infancy of thought gazing upon a universe filled with
divinity, and believing heartily with all sincerity. A large-hearted
people reaching out in the dark towards ideals which were better than
they knew. Ragnarok was to undo their gods because they had stumbled
from their higher standards.

We have to thank a curious phenomenon for the preservation of so much
of the old lore as we still possess. While foreign influences were
corrupting the Norse language, it remained practically unaltered in
Iceland, which had been colonised from the mainland by the Norsemen
who had fled thither to escape the oppression of Harold Fairhair after
his crushing victory of Hafrsfirth. These people brought with them the
poetic genius which had already manifested itself, and it took fresh
root in that barren soil. Many of the old Norse poets were natives
of Iceland, and in the early part of the Christian era, a supreme
service was rendered to Norse literature by the Christian priest,
Sæmund, who industriously brought together a large amount of pagan
poetry in a collection known as the Elder Edda, which is the chief
foundation of our present knowledge of the religion of our Norse
ancestors. Icelandic literature remained a sealed book, however,
until the end of the eighteenth century, and very slowly since that
time it has been winning its way in the teeth of indifference, until
there are now signs that it will eventually come into its own. "To
know the old Faith," says Carlyle, "brings us into closer and clearer
relation with the Past--with our own possessions in the Past. For
the whole Past is the possession of the Present; the Past had always
something true, and is a precious possession."

The weighty words of William Morris regarding the Volsunga Saga
may also be fitly quoted as an introduction to the whole of this
collection of "Myths of the Norsemen": "This is the great story of
the North, which should be to all our race what the Tale of Troy was
to the Greeks--to all our race first, and afterwards, when the change
of the world has made our race nothing more than a name of what has
been--a story too--then should it be to those that come after us no
less than the Tale of Troy has been to us."






CHAPTER I: THE BEGINNING


Myths of Creation

Although the Aryan inhabitants of Northern Europe are supposed by some
authorities to have come originally from the plateau of Iran, in the
heart of Asia, the climate and scenery of the countries where they
finally settled had great influence in shaping their early religious
beliefs, as well as in ordering their mode of living.

The grand and rugged landscapes of Northern Europe, the midnight
sun, the flashing rays of the aurora borealis, the ocean continually
lashing itself into fury against the great cliffs and icebergs of
the Arctic Circle, could not but impress the people as vividly as
the almost miraculous vegetation, the perpetual light, and the blue
seas and skies of their brief summer season. It is no great wonder,
therefore, that the Icelanders, for instance, to whom we owe the most
perfect records of this belief, fancied in looking about them that the
world was originally created from a strange mixture of fire and ice.

Northern mythology is grand and tragical. Its principal theme is the
perpetual struggle of the beneficent forces of Nature against the
injurious, and hence it is not graceful and idyllic in character,
like the religion of the sunny South, where the people could bask
in perpetual sunshine, and the fruits of the earth grew ready to
their hand.

It was very natural that the dangers incurred in hunting and fishing
under these inclement skies, and the suffering entailed by the long
cold winters when the sun never shines, made our ancestors contemplate
cold and ice as malevolent spirits; and it was with equal reason that
they invoked with special fervour the beneficent influences of heat
and light.

When questioned concerning the creation of the world, the Northern
scalds, or poets, whose songs are preserved in the Eddas and Sagas,
declared that in the beginning, when there was as yet no earth, nor
sea, nor air, when darkness rested over all, there existed a powerful
being called Allfather, whom they dimly conceived as uncreated as
well as unseen, and that whatever he willed came to pass.

In the centre of space there was, in the morning of time, a great
abyss called Ginnunga-gap, the cleft of clefts, the yawning gulf,
whose depths no eye could fathom, as it was enveloped in perpetual
twilight. North of this abode was a space or world known as Nifl-heim,
the home of mist and darkness, in the centre of which bubbled the
exhaustless spring Hvergelmir, the seething cauldron, whose waters
supplied twelve great streams known as the Elivagar. As the water of
these streams flowed swiftly away from its source and encountered
the cold blasts from the yawning gulf, it soon hardened into huge
blocks of ice, which rolled downward into the immeasurable depths of
the great abyss with a continual roar like thunder.

South of this dark chasm, and directly opposite Nifl-heim, the realm
of mist, was another world called Muspells-heim, the home of elemental
fire, where all was warmth and brightness, and whose frontiers were
continually guarded by Surtr, the flame giant. This giant fiercely
brandished his flashing sword, and continually sent forth great showers
of sparks, which fell with a hissing sound upon the ice-blocks in
the bottom of the abyss, and partly melted them by their heat.


"Great Surtur, with his burning sword,
Southward at Muspel's gate kept ward,
And flashes of celestial flame,
Life-giving, from the fire-world came."

Valhalla (J. C. Jones).



Ymir and Audhumla

As the steam rose in clouds it again encountered the prevailing cold,
and was changed into rime or hoarfrost, which, layer by layer, filled
up the great central space. Thus by the continual action of cold and
heat, and also probably by the will of the uncreated and unseen,
a gigantic creature called Ymir or Orgelmir (seething clay), the
personification of the frozen ocean, came to life amid the ice-blocks
in the abyss, and as he was born of rime he was called a Hrim-thurs,
or ice-giant.


"In early times,
When Ymir lived,
Was sand, nor sea,
Nor cooling wave;
No earth was found,
Nor heaven above;
One chaos all,
And nowhere grass."

Sæmund's Edda (Henderson's tr.).


Groping about in the gloom in search of something to eat, Ymir
perceived a gigantic cow called Audhumla (the nourisher), which
had been created by the same agency as himself, and out of the same
materials. Hastening towards her, Ymir noticed with pleasure that
from her udder flowed four great streams of milk, which would supply
ample nourishment.

All his wants were thus satisfied; but the cow, looking about her for
food in her turn, began to lick the salt off a neighbouring ice-block
with her rough tongue. This she continued to do until first the hair of
a god appeared and then the whole head emerged from its icy envelope,
until by-and-by Buri (the producer) stepped forth entirely free.

While the cow had been thus engaged, Ymir, the giant, had fallen
asleep, and as he slept a son and daughter were born from the
perspiration under his armpit, and his feet produced the six-headed
giant Thrudgelmir, who, shortly after his birth, brought forth in
his turn the giant Bergelmir, from whom all the evil frost giants
are descended.


"Under the armpit grew,
'Tis said of Hrim-thurs,
A girl and boy together;
Foot with foot begat,
Of that wise Jötun,
A six-headed son."

Sæmund's Edda (Thorpe's tr.).



Odin, Vili, and Ve

When these giants became aware of the existence of the god Buri, and
of his son Börr (born), whom he had immediately produced, they began
waging war against them, for as the gods and giants represented the
opposite forces of good and evil, there was no hope of their living
together in peace. The struggle continued evidently for ages, neither
party gaining a decided advantage, until Börr married the giantess
Bestla, daughter of Bolthorn (the thorn of evil), who bore him three
powerful sons, Odin (spirit), Vili (will), and Ve (holy). These three
sons immediately joined their father in his struggle against the
hostile frost-giants, and finally succeeded in slaying their deadliest
foe, the great Ymir. As he sank down lifeless the blood gushed from
his wounds in such floods that it produced a great deluge, in which
all his race perished, with the exception of Bergelmir, who escaped
in a boat and went with his wife to the confines of the world.


"And all the race of Ymir thou didst drown,
Save one, Bergelmer: he on shipboard fled
Thy deluge, and from him the giants sprang."

Balder Dead (Matthew Arnold).


Here he took up his abode, calling the place Jötunheim (the home of the
giants), and here he begat a new race of frost-giants, who inherited
his dislikes, continued the feud, and were always ready to sally
forth from their desolate country and raid the territory of the gods.

The gods, in Northern mythology called Æsir (pillars and supporters
of the world), having thus triumphed over their foes, and being no
longer engaged in perpetual warfare, now began to look about them,
with intent to improve the desolate aspect of things and fashion a
habitable world. After due consideration Börr's sons rolled Ymir's
great corpse into the yawning abyss, and began to create the world
out of its various component parts.



The Creation of the Earth

Out of the flesh they fashioned Midgard (middle garden), as the earth
was called. This was placed in the exact centre of the vast space,
and hedged all round with Ymir's eyebrows for bulwarks or ramparts. The
solid portion of Midgard was surrounded by the giant's blood or sweat,
which formed the ocean, while his bones made the hills, his flat
teeth the cliffs, and his curly hair the trees and all vegetation.

Well pleased with the result of their first efforts at creation, the
gods now took the giant's unwieldy skull and poised it skilfully as
the vaulted heavens above earth and sea; then scattering his brains
throughout the expanse beneath they fashioned from them the fleecy
clouds.


"Of Ymir's flesh
Was earth created,
Of his blood the sea,
Of his bones the hills,
Of his hair trees and plants,
Of his skull the heavens,
And of his brows
The gentle powers
Formed Midgard for the sons of men;
But of his brain
The heavy clouds are
All created."

Norse Mythology (R. B. Anderson).


To support the heavenly vault, the gods stationed the strong dwarfs,
Nordri, Sudri, Austri, Westri, at its four corners, bidding them
sustain it upon their shoulders, and from them the four points of
the compass received their present names of North, South, East, and
West. To give light to the world thus created, the gods studded the
heavenly vault with sparks secured from Muspells-heim, points of light
which shone steadily through the gloom like brilliant stars. The most
vivid of these sparks, however, were reserved for the manufacture of
the sun and moon, which were placed in beautiful golden chariots.


"And from the flaming world, where Muspel reigns,
Thou sent'st and fetched'st fire, and madest lights:
Sun, moon, and stars, which thou hast hung in heaven,
Dividing clear the paths of night and day."

Balder Dead (Matthew Arnold).


When all these preparations had been finished, and the steeds Arvakr
(the early waker) and Alsvin (the rapid goer) were harnessed to the
sun-chariot, the gods, fearing lest the animals should suffer from
their proximity to the ardent sphere, placed under their withers great
skins filled with air or with some refrigerant substance. They also
fashioned the shield Svalin (the cooler), and placed it in front of the
car to shelter them from the sun's direct rays, which would else have
burned them and the earth to a cinder. The moon-car was, similarly,
provided with a fleet steed called Alsvider (the all-swift); but no
shield was required to protect him from the mild rays of the moon.



Mani and Sol

The chariots were ready, the steeds harnessed and impatient to begin
what was to be their daily round, but who should guide them along
the right road? The gods looked about them, and their attention was
attracted to the two beautiful offspring of the giant Mundilfari. He
was very proud of his children, and had named them after the newly
created orbs, Mani (the moon) and Sol (the sun). Sol, the Sun-maid,
was the spouse of Glaur (glow), who was probably one of Surtr's sons.

The names proved to be happily bestowed, as the brother and sister
were given the direction of the steeds of their bright namesakes. After
receiving due counsel from the gods, they were transferred to the sky,
and day by day they fulfilled their appointed duties and guided their
steeds along the heavenly paths.


"Know that Mundilfær is hight
Father to the moon and sun;
Age on age shall roll away,
While they mark the months and days."

Hávamál (W. Taylor's tr.).


The gods next summoned Nott (night), a daughter of Norvi, one of the
giants, and entrusted to her care a dark chariot, drawn by a sable
steed, Hrim-faxi (frost mane), from whose waving mane the dew and
hoarfrost dropped down upon the earth.


"Hrim-faxi is the sable steed,
From the east who brings the night,
Fraught with the showering joys of love:
As he champs the foamy bit,
Drops of dew are scattered round
To adorn the vales of earth."

Vafthrudni's-mal (W. Taylor's tr.).


The goddess of night had thrice been married, and by her first husband,
Naglfari, she had had a son named Aud; by her second, Annar, a daughter
Jörd (earth); and by her third, the god Dellinger (dawn), another son,
of radiant beauty, was now born to her, and he was given the name of
Dag (day).

As soon as the gods became aware of this beautiful being's existence
they provided a chariot for him also, drawn by the resplendent white
steed Skin-faxi (shining mane), from whose mane bright beams of
light shone forth in every direction, illuminating all the world,
and bringing light and gladness to all.


"Forth from the east, up the ascent of heaven,
Day drove his courser with the shining mane."

Balder Dead (Matthew Arnold).



The Wolves Sköll and Hati

But as evil always treads close upon the footsteps of good, hoping to
destroy it, the ancient inhabitants of the Northern regions imagined
that both Sun and Moon were incessantly pursued by the fierce wolves
Sköll (repulsion) and Hati (hatred), whose sole aim was to overtake
and swallow the brilliant objects before them, so that the world
might again be enveloped in its primeval darkness.


"Sköll the wolf is named
That the fair-faced goddess
To the ocean chases;
Another Hati hight
He is Hrodvitnir's son;
He the bright maid of heaven shall precede."

Sæmuna's Edda (Thorpe's tr.).


At times, they said, the wolves overtook and tried to swallow their
prey, thus producing an eclipse of the radiant orbs. Then the terrified
people raised such a deafening clamour that the wolves, frightened by
the noise, hastily dropped them. Thus rescued, Sun and Moon resumed
their course, fleeing more rapidly than before, the hungry monsters
rushing along in their wake, lusting for the time when their efforts
would prevail and the end of the world would come. For the Northern
nations believed that as their gods had sprung from an alliance between
the divine element (Börr) and the mortal (Bestla), they were finite,
and doomed to perish with the world they had made.


"But even in this early morn
Faintly foreshadowed was the dawn
Of that fierce struggle, deadly shock,
Which yet should end in Ragnarok;
When Good and Evil, Death and Life,
Beginning now, end then their strife."

Valhalla (J. C. Jones).


Mani was accompanied also by Hiuki, the waxing, and Bil, the waning,
moon, two children whom he had snatched from earth, where a cruel
father forced them to carry water all night. Our ancestors fancied
they saw these children, the original "Jack and Jill," with their pail,
darkly outlined upon the moon.

The gods not only appointed Sun, Moon, Day, and Night to mark the
procession of the year, but also called Evening, Midnight, Morning,
Forenoon, Noon, and Afternoon to share their duties, making Summer and
Winter the rulers of the seasons. Summer, a direct descendant of Svasud
(the mild and lovely), inherited his sire's gentle disposition, and
was loved by all except Winter, his deadly enemy, the son of Vindsual,
himself a son of the disagreeable god Vasud, the personification of
the icy wind.


"Vindsual is the name of him
Who begat the winter's god;
Summer from Suasuthur sprang:
Both shall walk the way of years,
Till the twilight of the gods."

Vafthrudni's-mal (W. Taylor's tr.).


The cold winds continually swept down from the north, chilling all
the earth, and the Northmen imagined that these were set in motion
by the great giant Hræ-svelgr (the corpse-swallower), who, clad in
eagle plumes, sat at the extreme northern verge of the heavens, and
that when he raised his arms or wings the cold blasts darted forth
and swept ruthlessly over the face of the earth, blighting all things
with their icy breath.


"Hræ-svelger is the name of him
Who sits beyond the end of heaven,
And winnows wide his eagle-wings,
Whence the sweeping blasts have birth."

Vafthrudni's-mal (W. Taylor's tr.).



Dwarfs and Elves

While the gods were occupied in creating the earth and providing
for its illumination, a whole host of maggot-like creatures had
been breeding in Ymir's flesh. These uncouth beings now attracted
divine attention. Summoning them into their presence, the gods first
gave them forms and endowed them with superhuman intelligence, and
then divided them into two large classes. Those which were dark,
treacherous, and cunning by nature were banished to Svart-alfa-heim,
the home of the black dwarfs, situated underground, whence they were
never allowed to come forth during the day, under penalty of being
turned into stone. They were called Dwarfs, Trolls, Gnomes, or Kobolds,
and spent all their time and energy in exploring the secret recesses
of the earth. They collected gold, silver, and precious stones,
which they stowed away in secret crevices, whence they could withdraw
them at will. The remainder of these small creatures, including all
that were fair, good, and useful, the gods called Fairies and Elves,
and they sent them to dwell in the airy realm of Alf-heim (home of
the light-elves), situated between heaven and earth, whence they
could flit downward whenever they pleased, to attend to the plants
and flowers, sport with the birds and butterflies, or dance in the
silvery moonlight on the green.

Odin, who had been the leading spirit in all these undertakings,
now bade the gods, his descendants, follow him to the broad plain
called Idawold, far above the earth, on the other side of the great
stream Ifing, whose waters never froze.


"Ifing's deep and murky wave
Parts the ancient sons of earth
From the dwelling of the Goths:
Open flows the mighty flood,
Nor shall ice arrest its course
While the wheel of Ages rolls."

Vafthrudni's-mal (W. Taylor's tr.).


In the centre of the sacred space, which from the beginning of the
world had been reserved for their own abode and called Asgard (home of
the gods), the twelve Æsir (gods) and twenty-four Asynjur (goddesses)
all assembled at the bidding of Odin. Then was held a great council,
at which it was decreed that no blood should be shed within the limits
of their realm, or peace-stead, but that harmony should reign there
for ever. As a further result of the conference the gods set up a
forge where they fashioned all their weapons and the tools required
to build the magnificent palaces of precious metals, in which they
lived for many long years in a state of such perfect happiness that
this period has been called the Golden Age.



The Creation of Man

Although the gods had from the beginning designed Midgard, or
Mana-heim, as the abode of man, there were at first no human beings to
inhabit it. One day Odin, Vili, and Ve, according to some authorities,
or Odin, Hoenir (the bright one), and Lodur, or Loki (fire), started
out together and walked along the seashore, where they found either
two trees, the ash, Ask, and the elm, Embla, or two blocks of wood,
hewn into rude semblances of the human form. The gods gazed at first
upon the inanimate wood in silent wonder; then, perceiving the use it
could be put to, Odin gave these logs souls, Hoenir bestowed motion
and senses, and Lodur contributed blood and blooming complexions.

Thus endowed with speech and thought, and with power to love and to
hope and to work, and with life and death, the newly created man and
woman were left to rule Midgard at will. They gradually peopled it
with their descendants, while the gods, remembering they had called
them into life, took a special interest in all they did, watched over
them, and often vouchsafed their aid and protection.



The Tree Yggdrasil

Allfather next created a huge ash called Yggdrasil, the tree of the
universe, of time, or of life, which filled all the world, taking
root not only in the remotest depths of Nifl-heim, where bubbled the
spring Hvergelmir, but also in Midgard, near Mimir's well (the ocean),
and in Asgard, near the Urdar fountain.

From its three great roots the tree attained such a marvellous height
that its topmost bough, called Lerad (the peace-giver), overshadowed
Odin's hall, while the other wide-spreading branches towered over the
other worlds. An eagle was perched on the bough Lerad, and between
his eyes sat the falcon Vedfolnir, sending his piercing glances down
into heaven, earth, and Nifl-heim, and reporting all that he saw.

As the tree Yggdrasil was ever green, its leaves never withering,
it served as pasture-ground not only for Odin's goat Heidrun, which
supplied the heavenly mead, the drink of the gods, but also for the
stags Dain, Dvalin, Duneyr, and Durathor, from whose horns honey-dew
dropped down upon the earth and furnished the water for all the rivers
in the world.

In the seething cauldron Hvergelmir, close by the great tree, a
horrible dragon, called Nidhug, continually gnawed the roots, and
was helped in his work of destruction by countless worms, whose aim
it was to kill the tree, knowing that its death would be the signal
for the downfall of the gods.


"Through all our life a tempter prowls malignant,
The cruel Nidhug from the world below.
He hates that asa-light whose rays benignant
On th' hero's brow and glitt'ring sword bright glow."

Viking Tales of the North (R. B. Anderson).


Scampering continually up and down the branches and trunk of the
tree, the squirrel Ratatosk (branch-borer), the typical busybody
and tale-bearer, passed its time repeating to the dragon below the
remarks of the eagle above, and vice versa, in the hope of stirring
up strife between them.



The Bridge Bifröst

It was, of course, essential that the tree Yggdrasil should be
maintained in a perfectly healthy condition, and this duty was
performed by the Norns, or Fates, who daily sprinkled it with the
holy waters from the Urdar fountain. This water, as it trickled down
to earth through branches and leaves, supplied the bees with honey.

From either edge of Nifl-heim, arching high above Midgard, rose the
sacred bridge, Bifröst (Asabru, the rainbow), built of fire, water,
and air, whose quivering and changing hues it retained, and over which
the gods travelled to and fro to the earth or to the Urdar well, at
the foot of the ash Yggdrasil, where they daily assembled in council.


"The gods arose
And took their horses, and set forth to ride
O'er the bridge Bifrost, where is Heimdall's watch,
To the ash Igdrasil, and Ida's plain.
Thor came on foot, the rest on horseback rode."

Balder Dead (Matthew Arnold).


Of all the gods Thor only, the god of thunder, never passed over the
bridge, for fear lest his heavy tread or the heat of his lightnings
would destroy it. The god Heimdall kept watch and ward there night
and day. He was armed with a trenchant sword, and carried a trumpet
called Giallar-horn, upon which he generally blew a soft note to
announce the coming or going of the gods, but upon which a terrible
blast would be sounded when Ragnarok should come, and the frost-giants
and Surtr combined to destroy the world.


"Surt from the south comes
With flickering flame;
Shines from his sword
The Val-god's sun.
The stony hills are dashed together,
The giantesses totter;
Men tread the path of Hel,
And heaven is cloven."

Sæmund's Edda (Thorpe's tr.).



The Vanas

Now although the original inhabitants of heaven were the Æsir,
they were not the sole divinities of the Northern races, who also
recognised the power of the sea- and wind-gods, the Vanas, dwelling
in Vana-heim and ruling their realms as they pleased. In early times,
before the golden palaces in Asgard were built, a dispute arose between
the Æsir and Vanas, and they resorted to arms, using rocks, mountains,
and icebergs as missiles in the fray. But discovering ere long that
in unity alone lay strength, they composed their differences and made
peace, and to ratify the treaty they exchanged hostages.

It was thus that the Van, Niörd, came to dwell in Asgard with his two
children, Frey and Freya, while the Asa, Hoenir, Odin's own brother,
took up his abode in Vana-heim.






CHAPTER II: ODIN


The Father of Gods and Men

Odin, Wuotan, or Woden was the highest and holiest god of the
Northern races. He was the all-pervading spirit of the universe, the
personification of the air, the god of universal wisdom and victory,
and the leader and protector of princes and heroes. As all the gods
were supposed to be descended from him, he was surnamed Allfather,
and as eldest and chief among them he occupied the highest seat in
Asgard. Known by the name of Hlidskialf, this chair was not only an
exalted throne, but also a mighty watch-tower, from whence he could
overlook the whole world and see at a glance all that was happening
among gods, giants, elves, dwarfs, and men.


"From the hall of Heaven he rode away
To Lidskialf, and sate upon his throne,
The mount, from whence his eye surveys the world.
And far from Heaven he turned his shining orbs
To look on Midgard, and the earth, and men."

Balder Dead (Matthew Arnold).



Odin's Personal Appearance

None but Odin and his wife and queen Frigga were privileged to use
this seat, and when they occupied it they generally gazed towards
the south and west, the goal of all the hopes and excursions of the
Northern nations. Odin was generally represented as a tall, vigorous
man, about fifty years of age, either with dark curling hair or with
a long grey beard and bald head. He was clad in a suit of grey, with
a blue hood, and his muscular body was enveloped in a wide blue mantle
flecked with grey--an emblem of the sky with its fleecy clouds. In his
hand Odin generally carried the infallible spear Gungnir, which was
so sacred that an oath sworn upon its point could never be broken,
and on his finger or arm he wore the marvellous ring, Draupnir, the
emblem of fruitfulness, precious beyond compare. When seated upon
his throne or armed for the fray, to mingle in which he would often
descend to earth, Odin wore his eagle helmet; but when he wandered
peacefully about the earth in human guise, to see what men were doing,
he generally donned a broad-brimmed hat, drawn low over his forehead
to conceal the fact that he possessed but one eye.

Two ravens, Hugin (thought) and Munin (memory), perched upon his
shoulders as he sat upon his throne, and these he sent out into the
wide world every morning, anxiously watching for their return at
nightfall, when they whispered into his ears news of all they had
seen and heard. Thus he was kept well informed about everything that
was happening on earth.


"Hugin and Munin
Fly each day
Over the spacious earth.
I fear for Hugin
That he come not back,
Yet more anxious am I for Munin."

Norse Mythology (R. B. Anderson).


At his feet crouched two wolves or hunting hounds, Geri and Freki,
animals which were therefore considered sacred to him, and of good omen
if met by the way. Odin always fed these wolves with his own hands
from meat set before him. He required no food at all for himself,
and seldom tasted anything except the sacred mead.


"Geri and Freki
The war-wont sates,
The triumphant sire of hosts;
But on wine only
The famed in arms
Odin, ever lives."

Lay of Grimnir (Thorpe's tr.).


When seated in state upon his throne, Odin rested his feet upon a
footstool of gold, the work of the gods, all of whose furniture and
utensils were fashioned either of that precious metal or of silver.

Besides the magnificent hall Glads-heim, where stood the twelve seats
occupied by the gods when they met in council, and Valaskialf, where
his throne, Hlidskialf, was placed, Odin had a third palace in Asgard,
situated in the midst of the marvellous grove Glasir, whose shimmering
leaves were of red gold.



Valhalla

This palace, called Valhalla (the hall of the chosen slain), had five
hundred and forty doors, wide enough to allow the passage of eight
hundred warriors abreast, and above the principal gate were a boar's
head and an eagle whose piercing glance penetrated to the far corners
of the world. The walls of this marvellous building were fashioned
of glittering spears, so highly polished that they illuminated the
hall. The roof was of golden shields, and the benches were decorated
with fine armour, the god's gifts to his guests. Here long tables
afforded ample accommodation for the Einheriar, warriors fallen in
battle, who were specially favoured by Odin.


"Easily to be known is,
By those who to Odin come,
The mansion by its aspect.
Its roof with spears is laid,
Its hall with shields is decked,
With corselets are its benches strewed."

Lay of Grimnir (Thorpe's tr.).


The ancient Northern nations, who deemed warfare the most honourable
of occupations, and considered courage the greatest virtue, worshipped
Odin principally as god of battle and victory. They believed that
whenever a fight was impending he sent out his special attendants,
the shield-, battle-, or wish-maidens, called Valkyrs (choosers of the
slain), who selected from the dead warriors one-half of their number,
whom they bore on their fleet steeds over the quivering rainbow bridge,
Bifröst, into Valhalla. Welcomed by Odin's sons, Hermod and Bragi,
the heroes were conducted to the foot of Odin's throne, where they
received the praise due to their valour. When some special favourite
of the god was thus brought into Asgard, Valfather (father of the
slain), as Odin was called when he presided over the warriors, would
sometimes rise from his throne and in person bid him welcome at the
great entrance gate.



The Feast of the Heroes

Besides the glory of such distinction, and the enjoyment of Odin's
beloved presence day after day, other more material pleasures awaited
the warriors in Valhalla. Generous entertainment was provided for
them at the long tables, where the beautiful white-armed virgins,
the Valkyrs, having laid aside their armour and clad themselves in
pure white robes, waited upon them with assiduous attention. These
maidens, nine in number according to some authorities, brought
the heroes great horns full of delicious mead, and set before them
huge portions of boar's flesh, upon which they feasted heartily. The
usual Northern drink was beer or ale, but our ancestors fancied this
beverage too coarse for the heavenly sphere. They therefore imagined
that Valfather kept his table liberally supplied with mead or hydromel,
which was daily furnished in great abundance by his she-goat Heidrun,
who continually browsed on the tender leaves and twigs on Lerad,
Yggdrasil's topmost branch.


"Rash war and perilous battle, their delight;
And immature, and red with glorious wounds,
Unpeaceful death their choice: deriving thence
A right to feast and drain immortal bowls,
In Odin's hall; whose blazing roof resounds
The genial uproar of those shades who fall
In desperate fight, or by some brave attempt."

Liberty (James Thomson).


The meat upon which the Einheriar feasted was the flesh of the divine
boar Sæhrimnir, a marvellous beast, daily slain by the cook Andhrimnir,
and boiled in the great cauldron Eldhrimnir; but although Odin's
guests had true Northern appetites and gorged themselves to the full,
there was always plenty of meat for all.


"Andhrimnir cooks
In Eldhrimnir
Sæhrimnir;
'Tis the best of flesh;
But few know
What the einherjes eat."

Lay of Grimnir (Anderson's version).


Moreover, the supply was exhaustless, for the boar always came to
life again before the time of the next meal. This miraculous renewal
of supplies in the larder was not the only wonderful occurrence in
Valhalla, for it is related that the warriors, after having eaten and
drunk to satiety, always called for their weapons, armed themselves,
and rode out into the great courtyard, where they fought against one
another, repeating the feats of arms for which they were famed on
earth, and recklessly dealing terrible wounds, which, however, were
miraculously and completely healed as soon as the dinner horn sounded.


"All the chosen guests of Odin
Daily ply the trade of war;
From the fields of festal fight
Swift they ride in gleaming arms,
And gaily, at the board of gods,
Quaff the cup of sparkling ale
And eat Sæhrimni's vaunted flesh."

Vafthrudni's-mal (W. Taylor's tr.).


Whole and happy at the sound of the horn, and bearing one another
no grudge for cruel thrusts given and received, the Einheriar would
ride gaily back to Valhalla to renew their feasts in Odin's beloved
presence, while the white-armed Valkyrs, with flying hair, glided
gracefully about, constantly filling their horns or their favourite
drinking vessels, the skulls of their enemies, while the scalds sang
of war and of stirring Viking forays.


"And all day long they there are hack'd and hewn
'Mid dust, and groans, and limbs lopped off, and blood;
But all at night return to Odin's hall
Woundless and fresh: such lot is theirs in heaven."

Balder Dead (Matthew Arnold).


Fighting and feasting thus, the heroes were said to spend their days
in perfect bliss, while Odin delighted in their strength and number,
which, however, he foresaw would not avail to prevent his downfall
when the day of the last battle should dawn.

As such pleasures were the highest a Northern warrior's fancy could
paint, it was very natural that all fighting men should love Odin, and
early in life should dedicate themselves to his service. They vowed
to die arms in hand, if possible, and even wounded themselves with
their own spears when death drew near, if they had been unfortunate
enough to escape death on the battlefield and were threatened with
"straw death," as they called decease from old age or sickness.


"To Odin then true-fast
Carves he fair runics,--
Death-runes cut deep on his arm and his breast."

Viking Tales of the North (R. B. Anderson).


In reward for this devotion Odin watched with special care over his
favourites, giving them gifts, a magic sword, a spear, or a horse,
and making them invincible until their last hour had come, when he
himself appeared to claim or destroy the gift he had bestowed, and
the Valkyrs bore the heroes to Valhalla.


"He gave to Hermod
A helm and corselet,
And from him Sigmund
A sword received."

Lay of Hyndla (Thorpe's tr.).



Sleipnir

When Odin took an active part in war, he generally rode his
eight-footed grey steed, Sleipnir, and bore a white shield. His
glittering spear flung over the heads of the combatants was the signal
for the fray to commence, and he would dash into the midst of the
ranks shouting his warcry: "Odin has you all!"


"And Odin donned
His dazzling corslet and his helm of gold,
And led the way on Sleipnir."

Balder Dead (Matthew Arnold).


At times he used his magic bow, from which he would shoot ten arrows at
once, every one invariably bringing down a foe. Odin was also supposed
to inspire his favourite warriors with the renowned "Berserker rage"
(bare sark or shirt), which enabled them, although naked, weaponless,
and sore beset, to perform unheard-of feats of valour and strength,
and move about as with charmed lives.

As Odin's characteristics, like the all-pervading elements, were
multitudinous, so also were his names, of which he had no less than
two hundred, almost all descriptive of some phase of his activities. He
was considered the ancient god of seamen and of the wind.


"Mighty Odin,
Norsemen hearts we bend to thee!
Steer our barks, all-potent Woden,
O'er the surging Baltic Sea."

Vail.



The Wild Hunt

Odin, as wind-god, was pictured as rushing through mid-air on his
eight-footed steed, from which originated the oldest Northern riddle,
which runs as follows: "Who are the two who ride to the Thing? Three
eyes have they together, ten feet, and one tail: and thus they travel
through the lands." And as the souls of the dead were supposed to be
wafted away on the wings of the storm, Odin was worshipped as the
leader of all disembodied spirits. In this character he was most
generally known as the Wild Huntsman, and when people heard the
rush and roar of the wind they cried aloud in superstitious fear,
fancying they heard and saw him ride past with his train, all mounted
on snorting steeds, and accompanied by baying hounds. And the passing
of the Wild Hunt, known as Woden's Hunt, the Raging Host, Gabriel's
Hounds, or Asgardreia, was also considered a presage of such misfortune
as pestilence or war.


"The Rhine flows bright; but its waves ere long
Must hear a voice of war,
And a clash of spears our hills among,
And a trumpet from afar;
And the brave on a bloody turf must lie,
For the Huntsman hath gone by!"

The Wild Huntsman (Mrs. Hemans).


It was further thought that if any were so sacrilegious as to join
in the wild halloo in mockery, they would be immediately snatched up
and whirled away with the vanishing host, while those who joined in
the halloo with implicit good faith would be rewarded by the sudden
gift of a horse's leg, hurled at them from above, which, if carefully
kept until the morrow, would be changed into a lump of gold.

Even after the introduction of Christianity the ignorant Northern
folk still dreaded the on-coming storm, declaring that it was the
Wild Hunt sweeping across the sky.


"And ofttimes will start,
For overhead are sweeping Gabriel's hounds,
Doomed with their impious lord the flying hart
To chase forever on aëreal grounds."

Sonnet (Wordsworth).


Sometimes it left behind a small black dog, which, cowering and
whining upon a neighbouring hearth, had to be kept for a whole year and
carefully tended unless it could be exorcised or frightened away. The
usual recipe, the same as for the riddance of changelings, was to brew
beer in egg-shells, and this performance was supposed so to startle
the spectral dog that he would fly with his tail between his legs,
exclaiming that, although as old as the Behmer, or Bohemian forest,
he had never before beheld such an uncanny sight.


"I am as old
As the Behmer wold,
And have in my life
Such a brewing not seen."

Old Saying (Thorpe's tr.)


The object of this phantom hunt varied greatly, and was either a
visonary boar or wild horse, white-breasted maidens who were caught
and borne away bound only once in seven years, or the wood nymphs,
called Moss Maidens, who were thought to represent the autumn leaves
torn from the trees and whirled away by the wintry gale.

In the middle ages, when the belief in the old heathen deities
was partly forgotten, the leader of the Wild Hunt was no longer
Odin, but Charlemagne, Frederick Barbarossa, King Arthur, or some
Sabbath-breaker, like the Squire of Rodenstein or Hans von Hackelberg,
who, in punishment for his sins, was condemned to hunt for ever
through the realms of air.

As the winds blew fiercest in autumn and winter, Odin was supposed to
prefer hunting during that season, especially during the time between
Christmas and Twelfth-night, and the peasants were always careful to
leave the last sheaf or measure of grain out in the fields to serve
as food for his horse.

This hunt was of course known by various names in the different
countries of Northern Europe; but as the tales told about it are
all alike, they evidently originated in the same old heathen belief,
and to this day ignorant people of the North fancy that the baying
of a hound on a stormy night is an infallible presage of death.


"Still, still shall last the dreadful chase,
Till time itself shall have an end;
By day, they scour earth's cavern'd space,
At midnight's witching hour, ascend.

"This is the horn, and hound, and horse
That oft the lated peasant hears;
Appall'd, he signs the frequent cross,
When the wild din invades his ears.

"The wakeful priest oft drops a tear
For human pride, for human woe,
When, at his midnight mass, he hears
The infernal cry of 'Holla, ho!'"

Sir Walter Scott.


The Wild Hunt, or Raging Host of Germany, was called Herlathing
in England, from the mythical king Herla, its supposed leader; in
Northern France it bore the name of Mesnée d'Hellequin, from Hel,
goddess of death; and in the middle ages it was known as Cain's Hunt
or Herod's Hunt, these latter names being given because the leaders
were supposed to be unable to find rest on account of the iniquitous
murders of Abel, of John the Baptist, and of the Holy Innocents.

In Central France the Wild Huntsman, whom we have already seen in
other countries as Odin, Charlemagne, Barbarossa, Rodenstein, von
Hackelberg, King Arthur, Hel, one of the Swedish kings, Gabriel,
Cain, or Herod, is also called the Great Huntsman of Fontainebleau
(le Grand Veneur de Fontainebleau), and people declare that on the
eve of Henry IV.'s murder, and also just before the outbreak of the
great French Revolution, his shouts were distinctly heard as he swept
across the sky.

It was generally believed among the Northern nations that the soul
escaped from the body in the shape of a mouse, which crept out of
a corpse's mouth and ran away, and it was also said to creep in and
out of the mouths of people in a trance. While the soul was absent,
no effort or remedy could recall the patient to life; but as soon as
it had come back animation returned.



The Pied Piper

As Odin was the leader of all disembodied spirits, he was identified in
the middle ages with the Pied Piper of Hamelin. According to mediæval
legends, Hamelin was so infested by rats that life became unbearable,
and a large reward was offered to any who would rid the town of these
rodents. A piper, in parti-coloured garments, offered to undertake
the commission, and the terms being accepted, he commenced to play
through the streets in such wise that, one and all, the rats were
beguiled out of their holes until they formed a vast procession. There
was that in the strains which compelled them to follow, until at last
the river Weser was reached, and all were drowned in its tide.


"And ere three shrill notes the pipe uttered,
You heard as if an army muttered;
And the muttering grew to a grumbling;
And the grumbling grew to a mighty rumbling;
And out of the houses the rats came tumbling.
Great rats, small rats, lean rats, brawny rats,
Brown rats, black rats, grey rats, tawny rats,
Grave old plodders, gay young friskers,
Fathers, mothers, uncles, cousins,
Cocking tails and pricking whiskers,
Families by tens and dozens,
Brothers, sisters, husbands, wives--
Followed the Piper for their lives.
From street to street he piped advancing,
And step for step they followed dancing,
Until they came to the river Weser,
Wherein all plunged and perished!"

Robert Browning.


As the rats were all dead, and there was no chance of their returning
to plague them, the people of Hamelin refused to pay the reward, and
they bade the piper do his worst. He took them at their word, and a
few moments later the weird strains of the magic flute again arose,
and this time it was the children who swarmed out of the houses and
merrily followed the piper.


"There was a rustling that seemed like a bustling
Of merry crowds justling at pitching and hustling;
Small feet were pattering, wooden shoes clattering,
Little hands clapping and little tongues chattering,
And, like fowls in a farmyard when barley is scattering,
Out came all the children running.
All the little boys and girls,
With rosy cheeks and flaxen curls,
And sparkling eyes and teeth like pearls,
Tripping and skipping, ran merrily after
The wonderful music with shouting and laughter."

Robert Browning.


The burghers were powerless to prevent the tragedy, and as they
stood spellbound the piper led the children out of the town to the
Koppelberg, a hill on the confines of the town, which miraculously
opened to receive the procession, and only closed again when the last
child had passed out of sight. This legend probably originated the
adage "to pay the piper." The children were never seen in Hamelin
again, and in commemoration of this public calamity all official
decrees have since been dated so many years after the Pied Piper's
visit.


"They made a decree that lawyers never
Should think their records dated duly
If, after the day of the month and year,
These words did not as well appear,
'And so long after what happened here
On the Twenty-second of July,
Thirteen hundred and seventy-six:'
And the better in memory to fix
The place of the children's last retreat,
They called it the Pied Piper Street--
Where any one playing on pipe or tabor
Was sure for the future to lose his labour."

Robert Browning.


In this myth Odin is the piper, the shrill tones of the flute are
emblematic of the whistling wind, the rats represent the souls of
the dead, which cheerfully follow him, and the hollow mountain into
which he leads the children is typical of the grave.



Bishop Hatto

Another German legend which owes its existence to this belief is
the story of Bishop Hatto, the miserly prelate, who, annoyed by the
clamours of the poor during a time of famine, had them burned alive
in a deserted barn, like the rats whom he declared they resembled,
rather than give them some of the precious grain which he had laid
up for himself.


"'I' faith, 'tis an excellent bonfire!' quoth he,
'And the country is greatly obliged to me
For ridding it in these times forlorn
Of rats that only consume the corn.'"

Robert Southey.


Soon after this terrible crime had been accomplished the bishop's
retainers reported the approach of a vast swarm of rats. These, it
appears, were the souls of the murdered peasants, which had assumed the
forms of the rats to which the bishop had likened them. His efforts
to escape were vain, and the rats pursued him even into the middle
of the Rhine, to a stone tower in which he took refuge from their
fangs. They swam to the tower, gnawed their way through the stone
walls, and, pouring in on all sides at once, they found the bishop
and devoured him alive.


"And in at the windows, and in at the door,
And through the walls, helter-skelter they pour,
And down from the ceiling, and up through the floor,
From the right and the left, from behind and before,
From within and without, from above and below,
And all at once to the Bishop they go.
They have whetted their teeth against the stones;
And now they pick the Bishop's bones;
They gnaw'd the flesh from every limb,
For they were sent to do judgment on him!"

Robert Southey.


The red glow of the sunset above the Rat Tower near Bingen on the
Rhine is supposed to be the reflection of the hell fire in which the
wicked bishop is slowly roasting in punishment for his heinous crime.



Irmin

In some parts of Germany Odin was considered to be identical with
the Saxon god Irmin, whose statue, the Irminsul, near Paderborn, was
destroyed by Charlemagne in 772. Irmin was said to possess a ponderous
brazen chariot, in which he rode across the sky along the path which
we know as the Milky Way, but which the ancient Germans designated
as Irmin's Way. This chariot, whose rumbling sound occasionally
became perceptible to mortal ears as thunder, never left the sky,
where it can still be seen in the constellation of the Great Bear,
which is also known in the North as Odin's, or Charles's, Wain.


"The Wain, who wheels on high
His circling course, and on Orion waits;
Sole star that never bathes in the Ocean wave."

Homer's Iliad (Derby's tr.).



Mimir's Well

To obtain the great wisdom for which he is so famous, Odin, in the
morn of time, visited Mimir's (Memor, memory) spring, "the fountain
of all wit and wisdom," in whose liquid depths even the future was
clearly mirrored, and besought the old man who guarded it to let him
have a draught. But Mimir, who well knew the value of such a favour
(for his spring was considered the source or headwater of memory),
refused the boon unless Odin would consent to give one of his eyes
in exchange.

The god did not hesitate, so highly did he prize the draught, but
immediately plucked out one of his eyes, which Mimir kept in pledge,
sinking it deep down into his fountain, where it shone with mild
lustre, leaving Odin with but one eye, which is considered emblematic
of the sun.


"Through our whole lives we strive towards the sun;
That burning forehead is the eye of Odin.
His second eye, the moon, shines not so bright;
It has he placed in pledge in Mimer's fountain,
That he may fetch the healing waters thence,
Each morning, for the strengthening of this eye."

Oehlenschläger (Howitt's tr.).


Drinking deeply of Mimir's fount, Odin gained the knowledge he
coveted, and he never regretted the sacrifice he had made, but as
further memorial of that day broke off a branch of the sacred tree
Yggdrasil, which overshadowed the spring, and fashioned from it his
beloved spear Gungnir.


"A dauntless god
Drew for drink to its gleam,
Where he left in endless
Payment the light of an eye.
From the world-ash
Ere Wotan went he broke a bough;
For a spear the staff
He split with strength from the stem."

Dusk of the Gods, Wagner (Forman's tr.).


But although Odin was now all-wise, he was sad and oppressed, for
he had gained an insight into futurity, and had become aware of the
transitory nature of all things, and even of the fate of the gods,
who were doomed to pass away. This knowledge so affected his spirits
that he ever after wore a melancholy and contemplative expression.

To test the value of the wisdom he had thus obtained, Odin went to
visit the most learned of all the giants, Vafthrudnir, and entered
with him into a contest of wit, in which the stake was nothing less
than the loser's head.


"Odin rose with speed, and went
To contend in runic lore
With the wise and crafty Jute.
To Vafthrudni's royal hall
Came the mighty king of spells."

Vafthrudni's-mal (W. Taylor's tr.).



Odin and Vafthrudnir

On this occasion Odin had disguised himself as a Wanderer, by Frigga's
advice, and when asked his name declared it was Gangrad. The contest of
wit immediately began, Vafthrudnir questioning his guest concerning
the horses which carried Day and Night across the sky, the river
Ifing separating Jötun-heim from Asgard, and also about Vigrid,
the field where the last battle was to be fought.

All these questions were minutely answered by Odin, who, when
Vafthrudnir had ended, began the interrogatory in his turn, and
received equally explicit answers about the origin of heaven and
earth, the creation of the gods, their quarrel with the Vanas, the
occupations of the heroes in Valhalla, the offices of the Norns, and
the rulers who were to replace the Æsir when they had all perished
with the world they had created. But when, in conclusion, Odin bent
near the giant and softly inquired what words Allfather whispered
to his dead son Balder as he lay upon his funeral pyre, Vafthrudnir
suddenly recognised his divine visitor. Starting back in dismay, he
declared that no one but Odin himself could answer that question,
and that it was now quite plain to him that he had madly striven
in a contest of wisdom and wit with the king of the gods, and fully
deserved the penalty of failure, the loss of his head.


"Not the man of mortal race
Knows the words which thou hast spoken
To thy son in days of yore.
I hear the coming tread of death;
He soon shall raze the runic lore,
And knowledge of the rise of gods,
From his ill-fated soul who strove
With Odin's self the strife of wit,
Wisest of the wise that breathe:
Our stake was life, and thou hast won."

Vafthrudni's-mal (W. Taylor's tr.).


As is the case with so many of the Northern myths, which are often
fragmentary and obscure, this one ends here, and none of the scalds
informs us whether Odin really slew his rival, nor what was the answer
to his last question; but mythologists have hazarded the suggestion
that the word whispered by Odin in Balder's ear, to console him for
his untimely death, must have been "resurrection."



Invention of Runes

Besides being god of wisdom, Odin was god and inventor of runes,
the earliest alphabet used by Northern nations, which characters,
signifying mystery, were at first used for divination, although in
later times they served for inscriptions and records. Just as wisdom
could only be obtained at the cost of sacrifice, Odin himself relates
that he hung nine days and nights from the sacred tree Yggdrasil,
gazing down into the immeasurable depths of Nifl-heim, plunged in deep
thought, and self-wounded with his spear, ere he won the knowledge
he sought.


"I know that I hung
On a wind-rocked tree
Nine whole nights,
With a spear wounded,
And to Odin offered
Myself to myself;
On that tree
Of which no one knows
From what root it springs."

Odin's Rune-Song (Thorpe's tr.).


When he had fully mastered this knowledge, Odin cut magic runes upon
his spear Gungnir, upon the teeth of his horse Sleipnir, upon the
claws of the bear, and upon countless other animate and inanimate
things. And because he had thus hung over the abyss for such a long
space of time, he was ever after considered the patron divinity of
all who were condemned to be hanged or who perished by the noose.

After obtaining the gift of wisdom and runes, which gave him power over
all things, Odin also coveted the gift of eloquence and poetry, which
he acquired in a manner which we shall relate in a subsequent chapter.



Geirrod and Agnar

Odin, as has already been stated, took great interest in the affairs
of mortals, and, we are told, was specially fond of watching King
Hrauding's handsome little sons, Geirrod and Agnar, when they were
about eight and ten years of age respectively. One day these little
lads went fishing, and a storm suddenly arose which blew their boat
far out to sea, where it finally stranded upon an island, upon which
dwelt a seeming old couple, who in reality were Odin and Frigga in
disguise. They had assumed these forms in order to indulge a sudden
passion for the close society of their protégés. The lads were warmly
welcomed and kindly treated, Odin choosing Geirrod as his favourite,
and teaching him the use of arms, while Frigga petted and made much
of little Agnar. The boys tarried on the island with their kind
protectors during the long, cold winter season; but when spring came,
and the skies were blue, and the sea calm, they embarked in a boat
which Odin provided, and set out for their native shore. Favoured by
gentle breezes, they were soon wafted thither; but as the boat neared
the strand Geirrod quickly sprang out and pushed it far back into the
water, bidding his brother sail away into the evil spirit's power. At
that self-same moment the wind veered, and Agnar was indeed carried
away, while his brother hastened to his father's palace with a lying
tale as to what had happened to his brother. He was joyfully received
as one from the dead, and in due time he succeeded his father upon
the throne.

Years passed by, during which the attention of Odin had been claimed by
other high considerations, when one day, while the divine couple were
seated on the throne Hlidskialf, Odin suddenly remembered the winter's
sojourn on the desert island, and he bade his wife notice how powerful
his pupil had become, and taunted her because her favourite Agnar had
married a giantess and had remained poor and of no consequence. Frigga
quietly replied that it was better to be poor than hardhearted,
and accused Geirrod of lack of hospitality--one of the most heinous
crimes in the eyes of a Northman. She even went so far as to declare
that in spite of all his wealth he often ill-treated his guests.

When Odin heard this accusation he declared that he would prove the
falsity of the charge by assuming the guise of a Wanderer and testing
Geirrod's generosity. Wrapped in his cloud-hued raiment, with slouch
hat and pilgrim staff,--


"Wanderer calls me the world,
Far have I carried my feet,
On the back of the earth
I have boundlessly been,"--

Wagner (Forman's tr.).


Odin immediately set out by a roundabout way, while Frigga, to outwit
him, immediately despatched a swift messenger to warn Geirrod to
beware of a man in wide mantle and broad-brimmed hat, as he was a
wicked enchanter who would work him ill.

When, therefore, Odin presented himself before the king's palace
he was dragged into Geirrod's presence and questioned roughly. He
gave his name as Grimnir, but refused to tell whence he came or what
he wanted, so as this reticence confirmed the suspicion suggested
to the mind of Geirrod, he allowed his love of cruelty full play,
and commanded that the stranger should be bound between two fires,
in such wise that the flames played around him without quite touching
him, and he remained thus eight days and nights, in obstinate silence,
without food. Now Agnar had returned secretly to his brother's palace,
where he occupied a menial position, and one night when all was still,
in pity for the suffering of the unfortunate captive, he conveyed to
his lips a horn of ale. But for this Odin would have had nothing to
drink--the most serious of all trials to the god.

At the end of the eighth day, while Geirrod, seated upon his throne,
was gloating over his prisoner's sufferings, Odin began to sing--softly
at first, then louder and louder, until the hall re-echoed with his
triumphant notes--a prophecy that the king, who had so long enjoyed
the god's favour, would soon perish by his own sword.


"The fallen by the sword
Ygg shall now have;
Thy life is now run out:
Wroth with thee are the Dísir:
Odin thou now shalt see:
Draw near to me if thou canst."

Sæmund's Edda (Thorpe's tr.).


As the last notes died away the chains dropped from his hands, the
flames flickered and went out, and Odin stood in the midst of the hall,
no longer in human form, but in all the power and beauty of a god.

On hearing the ominous prophecy Geirrod hastily drew his sword,
intending to slay the insolent singer; but when he beheld the sudden
transformation he started in dismay, tripped, fell upon the sharp
blade, and perished as Odin had just foretold. Turning to Agnar, who,
according to some accounts, was the king's son, and not his brother,
for these old stories are often strangely confused, Odin bade him
ascend the throne in reward for his humanity, and, further to repay
him for the timely draught of ale, he promised to bless him with all
manner of prosperity.

On another occasion Odin wandered to earth, and was absent so
long that the gods began to think that they would not see him in
Asgard again. This encouraged his brothers Vili and Ve, who by some
mythologists are considered as other personifications of himself,
to usurp his power and his throne, and even, we are told, to espouse
his wife Frigga.


"Be thou silent, Frigg!
Thou art Fiörgyn's daughter
And ever hast been fond of men,
Since Ve and Vili, it is said,
Thou, Vidrir's wife, didst
Both to thy bosom take."

Sæmund's Edda (Thorpe's tr.).



May-Day Festivals

But upon Odin's return the usurpers vanished for ever; and in
commemoration of the disappearance of the false Odin, who had ruled
seven months and had brought nothing but unhappiness to the world,
and of the return of the benevolent deity, the heathen Northmen
formerly celebrated yearly festivals, which were long continued
as May Day rejoicings. Until very lately there was always, on that
day, a grand procession in Sweden, known as the May Ride, in which a
flower-decked May king (Odin) pelted with blossoms the fur-enveloped
Winter (his supplanter), until he put him to ignominious flight. In
England also the first of May was celebrated as a festive occasion,
in which May-pole dances, May queens, Maid Marian, and Jack in the
Green played prominent parts.

As personification of heaven, Odin, of course, was the lover and spouse
of the earth, and as to them the earth bore a threefold aspect, the
Northmen depicted him as a polygamist, and allotted to him several
wives. The first among these was Jörd (Erda), the primitive earth,
daughter of Night or of the giantess Fiorgyn. She bore him his
famous son Thor, the god of thunder. The second and principal wife
was Frigga, a personification of the civilised world. She gave him
Balder, the gentle god of spring, Hermod, and, according to some
authorities, Tyr. The third wife was Rinda, a personification of the
hard and frozen earth, who reluctantly yields to his warm embrace,
but finally gives birth to Vali, the emblem of vegetation.

Odin is also said to have married Saga or Laga, the goddess of history
(hence our verb "to say"), and to have daily visited her in the crystal
hall of Sokvabek, beneath a cool, ever-flowing river, to drink its
waters and listen to her songs about olden times and vanished races.


"Sokvabek hight the fourth dwelling;
Over it flow the cool billows;
Glad drink there Odin and Saga
Every day from golden cups."

Norse Mythology (R. B. Anderson).


His other wives were Grid, the mother of Vidar; Gunlod, the mother
of Bragi; Skadi; and the nine giantesses who simultaneously bore
Heimdall--all of whom play more or less important parts in the various
myths of the North.



The Historical Odin

Besides this ancient Odin, there was a more modern, semi-historical
personage of the same name, to whom all the virtues, powers, and
adventures of his predecessor have been attributed. He was the
chief of the Æsir, inhabitants of Asia Minor, who, sore pressed by
the Romans, and threatened with destruction or slavery, left their
native land about 70 B.C., and migrated into Europe. This Odin is
said to have conquered Russia, Germany, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden,
leaving a son on the throne of each conquered country. He also built
the town of Odensö. He was welcomed in Sweden by Gylfi, the king,
who gave him a share of the realm, and allowed him to found the city
of Sigtuna, where he built a temple and introduced a new system of
worship. Tradition further relates that as his end drew near, this
mythical Odin assembled his followers, publicly cut himself nine
times in the breast with his spear,--a ceremony called "carving Geir
odds,"--and told them he was about to return to his native land Asgard,
his old home, where he would await their coming, to share with him
a life of feasting, drinking, and fighting.

According to another account, Gylfi, having heard of the power
of the Æsir, the inhabitants of Asgard, and wishing to ascertain
whether these reports were true, journeyed to the south. In due time
he came to Odin's palace, where he was expected, and where he was
deluded by the vision of Har, Iafn-har, and Thridi, three divinities,
enthroned one above the other. The gatekeeper, Gangler, answered all
his questions, and gave him a long explanation of Northern mythology,
which is recorded in the Younger Edda, and then, having finished his
instructions, suddenly vanished with the palace amid a deafening noise.

According to other very ancient poems, Odin's sons, Weldegg, Beldegg,
Sigi, Skiold, Sæming, and Yngvi, became kings of East Saxony, West
Saxony, Franconia, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, and from them are
descended the Saxons, Hengist and Horsa, and the royal families of the
Northern lands. Still another version relates that Odin and Frigga had
seven sons, who founded the Anglo-Saxon heptarchy. In the course of
time this mysterious king was confounded with the Odin whose worship
he introduced, and all his deeds were attributed to the god.

Odin was worshipped in numerous temples, but especially in the
great fane at Upsala, where the most solemn festivals were held,
and where sacrifices were offered. The victim was generally a horse,
but in times of pressing need human offerings were made, even the
king being once offered up to avert a famine.


"Upsal's temple, where the North
Saw Valhal's halls fair imag'd here on earth."

Viking Tales of the North (R. B. Anderson).


The first toast at every festival here was drunk in his honour, and,
besides the first of May, one day in every week was held sacred to
him, and, from his Saxon name, Woden, was called Woden's day, whence
the English word "Wednesday" has been derived. It was customary for
the people to assemble at his shrine on festive occasions, to hear
the songs of the scalds, who were rewarded for their minstrelsy by
the gift of golden bracelets or armlets, which curled up at the ends
and were called "Odin's serpents."

There are but few remains of ancient Northern art now extant, and
although rude statues of Odin were once quite common they have all
disappeared, as they were made of wood--a perishable substance, which
in the hands of the missionaries, and especially of Olaf the Saint,
the Northern iconoclast, was soon reduced to ashes.


"There in the Temple, carved in wood,
The image of great Odin stood."

Saga of King Olaf (Longfellow).


Odin himself is supposed to have given his people a code of laws
whereby to govern their conduct, in a poem called Hávamál, or the
High Song, which forms part of the Edda. In this lay he taught
the fallibility of man, the necessity for courage, temperance,
independence, and truthfulness, respect for old age, hospitality,
charity, and contentment, and gave instructions for the burial of
the dead.


"At home let a man be cheerful,
And toward a guest liberal;
Of wise conduct he should be,
Of good memory and ready speech;
If much knowledge he desires,
He must often talk on what is good."

Hávamál (Thorpe's tr.).






CHAPTER III: FRIGGA


The Queen of the Gods

Frigga, or Frigg, daughter of Fiorgyn and sister of Jörd, according to
some mythologists, is considered by others as a daughter of Jörd and
Odin, whom she eventually married. This wedding caused such general
rejoicing in Asgard, where the goddess was greatly beloved, that ever
after it was customary to celebrate its anniversary with feast and
song, and the goddess being declared patroness of marriage, her health
was always proposed with that of Odin and Thor at wedding feasts.

Frigga was goddess of the atmosphere, or rather of the clouds, and as
such was represented as wearing either snow-white or dark garments,
according to her somewhat variable moods. She was queen of the gods,
and she alone had the privilege of sitting on the throne Hlidskialf,
beside her august husband. From thence she too could look over all
the world and see what was happening, and, according to the belief
of our ancestors, she possessed the knowledge of the future, which,
however, no one could ever prevail upon her to reveal, thus proving
that Northern women could keep a secret inviolate.


"Of me the gods are sprung;
And all that is to come I know, but lock
In my own breast, and have to none reveal'd."

Balder Dead (Matthew Arnold).


She was generally represented as a tall, beautiful, and stately woman,
crowned with heron plumes, the symbol of silence or forgetfulness, and
clothed in pure white robes, secured at the waist by a golden girdle,
from which hung a bunch of keys, the distinctive sign of the Northern
housewife, whose special patroness she was said to be. Although she
often appeared beside her husband, Frigga preferred to remain in her
own palace, called Fensalir, the hall of mists or of the sea, where
she diligently plied her wheel or distaff, spinning golden thread or
weaving long webs of bright-coloured clouds.

In order to perform this work she made use of a marvellous jewelled
spinning wheel or distaff, which at night shone brightly in the sky as
a constellation, known in the North as Frigga's Spinning Wheel, while
the inhabitants of the South called the same stars Orion's Girdle.

To her hall Fensalir the gracious goddess invited husbands and wives
who had led virtuous lives on earth, so that they might enjoy each
other's companionship even after death, and never be called upon to
part again.


"There in the glen, Fensalir stands, the house
Of Frea, honour'd mother of the gods,
And shows its lighted windows and the open doors."

Balder Dead (Matthew Arnold).


Frigga was therefore considered the goddess of conjugal and
motherly love, and was specially worshipped by married lovers and
tender parents. This exalted office did not entirely absorb her
thoughts however, for we are told that she was very fond of dress,
and whenever she appeared before the assembled gods her attire was
rich and becoming, and her jewels chosen with much taste.



The Stolen Gold

Frigga's love of adornment once led her sadly astray, for, in her
longing to possess some new ornament, she secretly purloined a piece
of gold from a statue representing her husband, which had just been
placed in his temple. The stolen metal was entrusted to the dwarfs,
with instructions to fashion a marvellous necklace for her use. This,
when finished, was so resplendent that it greatly enhanced her charms,
and even increased Odin's love for her. But when he discovered the
theft of the gold he angrily summoned the dwarfs and bade them reveal
who had dared to touch his statue. Unwilling to betray the queen of
the gods, the dwarfs remained obstinately silent, and, seeing that
no information could be elicited from them, Odin commanded that the
statue should be placed above the temple gate, and set to work to
devise runes which should endow it with the power of speech and enable
it to denounce the thief. When Frigga heard these tidings she trembled
with fear, and implored her favourite attendant, Fulla, to invent some
means of protecting her from Allfather's wrath. Fulla, who was always
ready to serve her mistress, immediately departed, and soon returned,
accompanied by a hideous dwarf, who promised to prevent the statue
from speaking if Frigga would only deign to smile graciously upon
him. This boon having been granted, the dwarf hastened off to the
temple, caused a deep sleep to fall upon the guards, and while they
were thus unconscious, pulled the statue down from its pedestal and
broke it to pieces, so that it could never betray Frigga's theft,
in spite of all Odin's efforts to give it the power of speech.

Odin, discovering this sacrilege on the morrow, was very angry indeed;
so angry that he left Asgard and utterly disappeared, carrying away
with him all the blessings which he had been wont to shower upon gods
and men. According to some authorities, his brothers, as we have
already seen, took advantage of his absence to assume his form and
secure possession of his throne and wife; but although they looked
exactly like him they could not restore the lost blessings, and allowed
the ice-giants, or Jotuns, to invade the earth and bind it fast in
their cold fetters. These wicked giants pinched the leaves and buds
till they all shrivelled up, stripped the trees bare, shrouded the
earth in a great white coverlet, and veiled it in impenetrable mists.

But at the end of seven weary months the true Odin relented and
returned, and when he saw all the evil that had been done he drove
the usurpers away, forced the frost-giants to relax their grip of the
earth and to release her from her icy bonds, and again showered all
his blessings down upon her, cheering her with the light of his smile.



Odin Outwitted

As has already been seen, Odin, although god of wit and wisdom, was
sometimes no match for his wife Frigga, who, womanlike, was sure to
obtain her way by some means. On one occasion the august pair were
seated upon Hlidskialf, gazing with interest upon the Winilers and
Vandals, who were preparing for a battle which was to decide which
people should henceforth have supremacy. Odin gazed with satisfaction
upon the Vandals, who were loudly praying to him for victory; but
Frigga watched the movements of the Winilers with more attention,
because they had entreated her aid. She therefore turned to Odin
and coaxingly inquired whom he meant to favour on the morrow; he,
wishing to evade her question, declared he would not decide, as it
was time for bed, but would give the victory to those upon whom his
eyes first rested in the morning.

This answer was shrewdly calculated, for Odin knew that his couch
was so turned that upon waking he would face the Vandals, and he
intended looking out from thence, instead of waiting until he had
mounted his throne. But, although so cunningly contrived, this plan
was frustrated by Frigga, who, divining his purpose, waited until he
was sound asleep, and then noiselessly turned his couch so that he
should face her favourites. Then she sent word to the Winilers to dress
their women in armour and send them out in battle array at dawn, with
their long hair carefully combed down over their cheeks and breasts.


"Take thou thy women-folk,
Maidens and wives:
Over your ankles
Lace on the white war-hose;
Over your bosoms
Link up the hard mail-nets;
Over your lips
Plait long tresses with cunning;--
So war beasts full-bearded
King Odin shall deem you,
When off the grey sea-beach
At sunrise ye greet him."

The Longbeards' Saga (Charles Kingsley).


These instructions were carried out with scrupulous exactness, and
when Odin awoke the next morning his first conscious glance fell upon
their armed host, and he exclaimed in surprise, "What Longbeards are
those?" (In German the ancient word for long beards was Langobarden,
which was the name used to designate the Lombards.) Frigga, upon
hearing this exclamation, which she had foreseen, immediately cried
out in triumph that Allfather had given them a new name, and was
in honour bound to follow the usual Northern custom and give also a
baptismal gift.


"'A name thou hast given them,
Shames neither thee nor them,
Well can they wear it.
Give them the victory,
First have they greeted thee;
Give them the victory,
Yoke-fellow mine!'"

The Longbeards' Saga (Charles Kingsley).


Odin, seeing he had been so cleverly outwitted, made no demur, and in
memory of the victory which his favour vouchsafed to them the Winilers
retained the name given by the king of the gods, who ever after watched
over them with special care, giving them many blessings, among others
a home in the sunny South, on the fruitful plains of Lombardy.



Fulla

Frigga had, as her own special attendants, a number of beautiful
maidens, among whom were Fulla (Volla), her sister, according to
some authorities, to whom she entrusted her jewel casket. Fulla
always presided over her mistress's toilet, was privileged to put
on her golden shoes, attended her everywhere, was her confidante,
and often advised her how best to help the mortals who implored
her aid. Fulla was very beautiful indeed, and had long golden hair,
which she wore flowing loose over her shoulders, restrained only by
a golden circlet or snood. As her hair was emblematic of the golden
grain, this circlet represented the binding of the sheaf. Fulla
was also known as Abundia, or Abundantia, in some parts of Germany,
where she was considered the symbol of the fulness of the earth.

Hlin, Frigga's second attendant, was the goddess of consolation,
sent out to kiss away the tears of mourners and pour balm into hearts
wrung by grief. She also listened with ever-open ears to the prayers
of mortals, carrying them to her mistress, and advising her at times
how best to answer them and give the desired relief.



Gna

Gna was Frigga's swift messenger. Mounted upon her fleet steed
Hofvarpnir (hoof-thrower), she would travel with marvellous rapidity
through fire and air, over land and sea, and was therefore considered
the personification of the refreshing breeze. Darting thus to and fro,
Gna saw all that was happening upon earth, and told her mistress
all she knew. On one occasion, as she was passing over Hunaland,
she saw King Rerir, a lineal descendant of Odin, sitting mournfully
by the shore, bewailing his childlessness. The queen of heaven,
who was also goddess of childbirth, upon hearing this took an apple
(the emblem of fruitfulness) from her private store, gave it to Gna,
and bade her carry it to the king. With the rapidity of the element
she personified, Gna darted away, and as she passed over Rerir's head,
she dropped her apple into his lap with a radiant smile.


"'What flies up there, so quickly driving past?'
Her answer from the clouds, as rushing by:
'I fly not, nor do drive, but hurry fast,
Hoof-flinger swift through cloud and mist and sky.'"

Asgard and the Gods (Wagner-Macdowall).


The king pondered for a moment upon the meaning of this sudden
apparition and gift, and then hurried home, his heart beating high
with hope, and gave the apple to his wife to eat. In due season,
to his intense joy, she bore him a son, Volsung, the great Northern
hero, who became so famous that he gave his name to all his race.



Lofn, Vjofn, and Syn

Besides the three above mentioned, Frigga had other attendants in her
train. There was the mild and gracious maiden Lofn (praise or love),
whose duty it was to remove all obstacles from the path of lovers.


"My lily tall, from her saddle bearing,
I led then forth through the temple, faring
To th' altar-circle where, priests among,
Lofn's vows she took with unfalt'ring tongue."

Viking Tales of the North (R. B. Anderson).


Vjofn's duty was to incline obdurate hearts to love, to maintain peace
and concord among mankind, and to reconcile quarrelling husbands and
wives. Syn (truth) guarded the door of Frigga's palace, refusing to
open it to those who were not allowed to come in. When she had once
shut the door upon a would-be intruder no appeal would avail to change
her decision. She therefore presided over all tribunals and trials,
and whenever a thing was to be vetoed the usual formula was to declare
that Syn was against it.



Gefjon

Gefjon was also one of the maidens in Frigga's palace, and to her
were entrusted all those who died unwedded, whom she received and
made happy for ever.

According to some authorities, Gefjon did not remain a virgin herself,
but married one of the giants, by whom she had four sons. This same
tradition goes on to declare that Odin sent her before him to visit
Gylfi, King of Sweden, and to beg for some land which she might call
her own. The king, amused at her request, promised her as much land as
she could plough around in one day and night. Gefjon, nothing daunted,
changed her four sons into oxen, harnessed them to a plough, and began
to cut a furrow so wide and deep that the king and his courtiers were
amazed. But Gefjon continued her work without showing any signs of
fatigue, and when she had ploughed all around a large piece of land
forcibly wrenched it away, and made her oxen drag it down into the sea,
where she made it fast and called it Seeland.


"Gefjon drew from Gylfi,
Rich in stored up treasure,
The land she joined to Denmark.
Four heads and eight eyes bearing,
While hot sweat trickled down them,
The oxen dragged the reft mass
That formed this winsome island."

Norse Mythology (R. B. Anderson).


As for the hollow she left behind her, it was quickly filled with water
and formed a lake, at first called Logrum (the sea), but now known
as Mälar, whose every indentation corresponds with the headlands of
Seeland. Gefjon then married Skiold, one of Odin's sons, and became
the ancestress of the royal Danish race of Skioldungs, dwelling in
the city of Hleidra or Lethra, which she founded, and which became
the principal place of sacrifice for the heathen Danes.



Eira, Vara, Vör and Snotra

Eira, also Frigga's attendant, was considered a most skilful
physician. She gathered simples all over the earth to cure both wounds
and diseases, and it was her province to teach the science to women,
who were the only ones to practise medicine among the ancient nations
of the North.


"Gaping wounds are bound by Eyra."

Valhalla (J. C. Jones).


Vara heard all oaths and punished perjurers, while she rewarded those
who faithfully kept their word. Then there were also Vör (faith),
who knew all that was to occur throughout the world, and Snotra,
goddess of virtue, who had mastered all knowledge.

With such a galaxy of attendants it is little wonder that Frigga was
considered a powerful deity; but in spite of the prominent place she
occupied in Northern religion, she had no special temple nor shrine,
and was but little worshipped except in company with Odin.



Holda

While Frigga was not known by this name in Southern Germany, there
were other goddesses worshipped there, whose attributes were so exactly
like hers, that they were evidently the same, although they bore very
different names in the various provinces. Among them was the fair
goddess Holda (Hulda or Frau Holle), who graciously dispensed many
rich gifts. As she presided over the weather, the people were wont to
declare when the snowflakes fell that Frau Holle was shaking her bed,
and when it rained, that she was washing her clothes, often pointing
to the white clouds as her linen which she had put out to bleach. When
long grey strips of clouds drifted across the sky they said she was
weaving, for she was supposed to be also a very diligent weaver,
spinner, and housekeeper. It is said she gave flax to mankind and
taught them how to use it, and in the Tyrol the following story is
told about the way in which she bestowed this invaluable gift:



The Discovery of Flax

There was once a peasant who daily left his wife and children in the
valley to take his sheep up the mountain to pasture; and as he watched
his flock grazing on the mountain-side, he often had opportunity to
use his cross-bow and bring down a chamois, whose flesh would furnish
his larder with food for many a day.

While pursuing a fine animal one day he saw it disappear behind a
boulder, and when he came to the spot, he was amazed to see a doorway
in the neighbouring glacier, for in the excitement of the pursuit he
had climbed higher and higher, until he was now on top of the mountain,
where glittered the everlasting snow.

The shepherd boldly passed through the open door, and soon found
himself in a wonderful jewelled cave hung with stalactites, in the
centre of which stood a beautiful woman, clad in silvery robes, and
attended by a host of lovely maidens crowned with Alpine roses. In his
surprise, the shepherd sank to his knees, and as in a dream heard the
queenly central figure bid him choose anything he saw to carry away
with him. Although dazzled by the glow of the precious stones around
him, the shepherd's eyes constantly reverted to a little nosegay of
blue flowers which the gracious apparition held in her hand, and he
now timidly proffered a request that it might become his. Smiling with
pleasure, Holda, for it was she, gave it to him, telling him he had
chosen wisely and would live as long as the flowers did not droop and
fade. Then, giving the shepherd a measure of seed which she told him
to sow in his field, the goddess bade him begone; and as the thunder
pealed and the earth shook, the poor man found himself out upon the
mountain-side once more, and slowly wended his way home to his wife,
to whom he told his adventure and showed the lovely blue flowers and
the measure of seed.

The woman reproached her husband bitterly for not having brought some
of the precious stones which he so glowingly described, instead of the
blossoms and seed; nevertheless the man proceeded to sow the latter,
and he found to his surprise that the measure supplied seed enough
for several acres.

Soon the little green shoots began to appear, and one moonlight
night, while the peasant was gazing upon them, as was his wont,
for he felt a curious attraction to the field which he had sown, and
often lingered there wondering what kind of grain would be produced,
he saw a misty form hover above the field, with hands outstretched
as if in blessing. At last the field blossomed, and countless little
blue flowers opened their calyxes to the golden sun. When the flowers
had withered and the seed was ripe, Holda came once more to teach the
peasant and his wife how to harvest the flax--for such it was--and from
it to spin, weave, and bleach linen. As the people of the neighbourhood
willingly purchased both linen and flax-seed, the peasant and his
wife soon grew very rich indeed, and while he ploughed, sowed, and
harvested, she spun, wove, and bleached the linen. The man lived to
a good old age, and saw his grandchildren and great-grandchildren
grow up around him. All this time his carefully treasured bouquet
had remained fresh as when he first brought it home, but one day he
saw that during the night the flowers had drooped and were dying.

Knowing what this portended, and that he too must die, the peasant
climbed the mountain once more to the glacier, and found again the
doorway for which he had often vainly searched. He entered the icy
portal, and was never seen or heard of again, for, according to the
legend, the goddess took him under her care, and bade him live in
her cave, where his every wish was gratified.



Tannhäuser

According to a mediæval tradition, Holda dwelt in a cave in the
Hörselberg, in Thuringia, where she was known as Frau Venus, and
was considered as an enchantress who lured mortals into her realm,
where she detained them for ever, steeping their senses in all
manner of sensual pleasures. The most famous of her victims was
Tannhäuser, who, after he had lived under her spell for a season,
experienced a revulsion of feeling which loosened her bonds over his
spirit and induced anxious thoughts concerning his soul. He escaped
from her power and hastened to Rome to confess his sins and seek
absolution. But when the Pope heard of his association with one of
the pagan goddesses whom the priests taught were nothing but demons,
he declared that the knight could no more hope for pardon than to
see his staff bear buds and bloom.


"Hast thou within the nets of Satan lain?
Hast thou thy soul to her perdition pledged?
Hast thou thy lip to Hell's Enchantress lent,
To drain damnation from her reeking cup?
Then know that sooner from the withered staff
That in my hand I hold green leaves shall spring,
Than from the brand in hell-fire scorched rebloom
The blossoms of salvation."

Tannhäuser (Owen Meredith).


Crushed with grief at this pronouncement, Tannhäuser fled, and,
despite the entreaties of his faithful friend, Eckhardt, no great
time elapsed ere he returned to the Hörselberg, where he vanished
within the cave. He had no sooner disappeared, however, than the Pope's
messengers arrived, proclaiming that he was pardoned, for the withered
staff had miraculously bloomed, thus proving to all that there was
no sin too heinous to be pardoned, providing repentance were sincere.


"Dashed to the hip with travel, dewed with haste,
A flying post, and in his hand he bore
A withered staff o'erflourished with green leaves;
Who,--followed by a crowd of youth and eld,
That sang to stun with sound the lark in heaven,
'A miracle! a miracle from Rome!
Glory to God that makes the bare bough green!'--
Sprang in the midst, and, hot for answer, asked
News of the Knight Tannhäuser."

Tannhäuser (Owen Meredith).


Holda was also the owner of a magic fountain called Quickborn, which
rivalled the famed fountain of youth, and of a chariot in which she
rode from place to place when she inspected her domain. This vehicle
having once suffered damage, the goddess bade a wheelwright repair it,
and when he had finished told him to keep some chips as his pay. The
man was indignant at such a meagre reward, and kept only a very few of
the number; but to his surprise he found these on the morrow changed
to gold.


"Fricka, thy wife--
This way she reins her harness of rams.
Hey! how she whirls
The golden whip;
The luckless beasts
Unboundedly bleat;
Her wheels wildly she rattles;
Wrath is lit in her look."

Wagner (Forman's tr.).



Eástre, the Goddess of Spring

The Saxon goddess Eástre, or Ostara, goddess of spring, whose name has
survived in the English word Easter, is also identical with Frigga,
for she too is considered goddess of the earth, or rather of Nature's
resurrection after the long death of winter. This gracious goddess
was so dearly loved by the old Teutons, that even after Christianity
had been introduced they retained so pleasant a recollection of her,
that they refused to have her degraded to the rank of a demon, like
many of their other divinities, and transferred her name to their great
Christian feast. It had long been customary to celebrate this day by
the exchange of presents of coloured eggs, for the egg is the type of
the beginning of life; so the early Christians continued to observe
this rule, declaring, however, that the egg is also symbolical of the
Resurrection. In various parts of Germany, stone altars can still be
seen, which are known as Easter-stones, because they were dedicated
to the fair goddess Ostara. They were crowned with flowers by the
young people, who danced gaily around them by the light of great
bonfires,--a species of popular games practised until the middle of
the present century, in spite of the priests' denunciations and of
the repeatedly published edicts against them.



Bertha, the White Lady

In other parts of Germany, Frigga, Holda, or Ostara is known by
the name of Brechta, Bertha, or the White Lady. She is best known
under this title in Thuringia, where she was supposed to dwell in
a hollow mountain, keeping watch over the Heimchen, souls of unborn
children, and of those who died unbaptized. Here Bertha watched over
agriculture, caring for the plants, which her infant troop watered
carefully, for each babe was supposed to carry a little jar for that
express purpose. While the goddess was duly respected and her retreat
unmolested, she remained where she was; but tradition relates that
she once left the country with her infant train dragging her plough,
and settled elsewhere to continue her kind ministrations. Bertha
is the legendary ancestress of several noble families, and she is
supposed to be the same as the industrious queen of the same name,
the mythical mother of Charlemagne, whose era has become proverbial,
for in speaking of the Golden Age in France and Germany it is customary
to say, "in the days when Bertha spun."

As this Bertha is supposed to have developed a very large and flat
foot, from continually pressing the treadle of her wheel, she is
often represented in mediæval art as a woman with a splay foot,
and hence known as la reine pédauque.

As ancestress of the imperial house of Germany, the White Lady is
supposed to appear in the palace before a death or misfortune in
the family, and this superstition is still so rife in Germany, that
the newspapers in 1884 contained the official report of a sentinel,
who declared that he had seen her flit past him in one of the palace
corridors.

As Bertha was renowned for her spinning, she naturally was regarded
as the special patroness of that branch of female industry, and was
said to flit through the streets of every village, at nightfall,
during the twelve nights between Christmas and January 6, peering
into every window to inspect the spinning of the household.

The maidens whose work had been carefully performed were rewarded by
a present of one of her own golden threads or a distaff full of extra
fine flax; but wherever a careless spinner was found, her wheel was
broken, her flax soiled, and if she had failed to honour the goddess
by eating plenty of the cakes baked at that period of the year,
she was cruelly punished.

In Mecklenburg, this same goddess is known as Frau Gode, or Wode, the
female form of Wuotan or Odin, and her appearance is always considered
the harbinger of great prosperity. She is also supposed to be a great
huntress, and to lead the Wild Hunt, mounted upon a white horse,
her attendants being changed into hounds and all manner of wild beasts.

In Holland she was called Vrou-elde, and from her the Milky Way is
known by the Dutch as Vrou-elden-straat; while in parts of Northern
Germany she was called Nerthus (Mother Earth). Her sacred car was
kept on an island, presumably Rügen, where the priests guarded it
carefully until she appeared to take a yearly journey throughout
her realm to bless the land. The goddess, her face completely hidden
by a thick veil, then sat in this car, which was drawn by two cows,
and she was respectfully escorted by her priests. When she passed,
the people did homage by ceasing all warfare, and laying aside their
weapons. They donned festive attire, and began no quarrel until
the goddess had again retired to her sanctuary. Then both car and
goddess were bathed in a secret lake (the Schwartze See, in Rügen),
which swallowed up the slaves who had assisted at the bathing, and
once more the priests resumed their watch over the sanctuary and
grove of Nerthus or Hlodyn, to await her next appearance.

In Scandinavia, this goddess was also known as Huldra, and boasted of
a train of attendant wood-nymphs, who sometimes sought the society of
mortals, to enjoy a dance upon the village green. They could always
be detected, however, by the tip of a cow's tail which trailed from
beneath their long snow-white garments. These Huldra folk were the
special protectors of the cattle on the mountain-sides, and were said
to surprise the lonely traveller, at times, by the marvellous beauty
of the melodies they sang to beguile the hours at their tasks.






CHAPTER IV: THOR


The Thunderer

According to some mythologists, Thor, or Donar, is the son of Jörd
(Erda) and of Odin, but others state that his mother was Frigga,
queen of the gods. This child was very remarkable for his great size
and strength, and very soon after his birth amazed the assembled
gods by playfully lifting and throwing about ten great bales of bear
skins. Although generally good-tempered, Thor would occasionally fly
into a terrible rage, and as he was very dangerous at these times, his
mother, unable to control him, sent him away from home and entrusted
him to the care of Vingnir (the winged), and of Hlora (heat). These
foster-parents, who are also considered as the personification of
sheet-lightning, soon managed to control their troublesome charge, and
brought him up so wisely, that the gods entertained a very grateful
recollection of their kind offices. Thor himself, recognising all he
owed them, assumed the names of Vingthor and Hlorridi, by which he
is also known.


"Cry on, Vingi-Thor,
With the dancing of the ring-mail and the smitten shields of war."

Sigurd the Volsung (William Morris).


Having attained his full growth and the age of reason, Thor was
admitted to Asgard among the other gods, where he occupied one of the
twelve seats in the great judgment hall. He was also given the realm
of Thrud-vang or Thrud-heim, where he built a wonderful palace called
Bilskirnir (lightning), the most spacious in all Asgard. It contained
five hundred and forty halls for the accommodation of the thralls,
who after death were welcomed to his home, where they received equal
treatment with their masters in Valhalla, for Thor was the patron
god of the peasants and lower classes.


"Five hundred halls
And forty more,
Methinketh, hath
Bowed Bilskirnir.
Of houses roofed
There's none I know
My son's surpassing."

Sæmund's Edda (Percy's tr.).


As he was god of thunder, Thor alone was never allowed to pass over
the wonderful bridge Bifröst, lest he should set it aflame by the
heat of his presence; and when he wished to join his fellow gods by
the Urdar fountain, under the shade of the sacred tree Yggdrasil, he
was forced to make his way thither on foot, wading through the rivers
Kormt and Ormt, and the two streams Kerlaug, to the trysting place.

Thor, who was honoured as the highest god in Norway, came second in
the trilogy of all the other countries, and was called "old Thor,"
because he is supposed by some mythologists to have belonged to an
older dynasty of gods, and not on account of his actual age, for he
was represented and described as a man in his prime, tall and well
formed, with muscular limbs and bristling red hair and beard, from
which, in moments of anger, the sparks flew in showers.


"First, Thor with the bent brow,
In red beard muttering low,
Darting fierce lightnings from eyeballs that glow,
Comes, while each chariot wheel
Echoes in thunder peal,
As his dread hammer shock
Makes Earth and Heaven rock,
Clouds rifting above, while Earth quakes below."

Valhalla (J. C. Jones).


The Northern races further adorned him with a crown, on each point
of which was either a glittering star, or a steadily burning flame,
so that his head was ever surrounded by a kind of halo of fire,
his own element.



Thor's Hammer

Thor was the proud possessor of a magic hammer called Miölnir
(the crusher) which he hurled at his enemies, the frost-giants,
with destructive power, and which possessed the wonderful property
of always returning to his hand, however far away he might hurl it.


"I am the Thunderer!
Here in my Northland,
My fastness and fortress,
Reign I forever!

"Here amid icebergs
Rule I the nations;
This is my hammer,
Miölnir the mighty;
Giants and sorcerers
Cannot withstand it!"

Saga of King Olaf (Longfellow).


As this huge hammer, the emblem of the thunderbolts, was generally
red-hot, the god had an iron gauntlet called Iarn-greiper, which
enabled him to grasp it firmly. He could hurl Miölnir a great distance,
and his strength, which was always remarkable, was doubled when he
wore his magic belt called Megin-giörd.


"This is my girdle:
Whenever I brace it,
Strength is redoubled!"

Saga of King Olaf (Longfellow).


Thor's hammer was considered so very sacred by the ancient Northern
people, that they were wont to make the sign of the hammer, as the
Christians later taught them to make the sign of the cross, to ward
off all evil influences, and to secure blessings. The same sign
was also made over the newly born infant when water was poured over
its head and a name given. The hammer was used to drive in boundary
stakes, which it was considered sacrilegious to remove, to hallow
the threshold of a new house, to solemnise a marriage, and, lastly,
it played a part in the consecration of the funeral pyre upon which
the bodies of heroes, together with their weapons and steeds, and,
in some cases, with their wives and dependents, were burned.

In Sweden, Thor, like Odin, was supposed to wear a broad-brimmed hat,
and hence the storm-clouds in that country are known as Thor's hat, a
name also given to one of the principal mountains in Norway. The rumble
and roar of the thunder were said to be the roll of his chariot, for
he alone among the gods never rode on horseback, but walked, or drove
in a brazen chariot drawn by two goats, Tanngniostr (tooth-cracker),
and Tanngrisnr (tooth-gnasher), from whose teeth and hoofs the sparks
constantly flew.


"Thou camest near the next, O warrior Thor!
Shouldering thy hammer, in thy chariot drawn,
Swaying the long-hair'd goats with silver'd rein."

Balder Dead (Matthew Arnold).


When the god thus drove from place to place, he was called Aku-thor,
or Thor the charioteer, and in Southern Germany the people, fancying
a brazen chariot alone inadequate to furnish all the noise they heard,
declared it was loaded with copper kettles, which rattled and clashed,
and therefore often called him, with disrespectful familiarity,
the kettle-vendor.



Thor's Family

Thor was twice married; first to the giantess Iarnsaxa (iron stone),
who bore him two sons, Magni (strength) and Modi (courage), both
destined to survive their father and the twilight of the gods,
and rule over the new world which was to rise like a phoenix from
the ashes of the first. His second wife was Sif, the golden-haired,
who also bore him two children, Lorride, and a daughter named Thrud,
a young giantess renowned for her size and strength. True to the
well-known affinity of contrast, Thrud was wooed by the dwarf Alvis,
whom she rather favoured; and one evening, when this suitor, who,
being a dwarf, could not face the light of day, presented himself in
Asgard to sue for her hand, the assembled gods did not refuse their
consent. They had scarcely signified their approbation, however, when
Thor, who had been absent, suddenly appeared, and casting a glance of
contempt upon the puny lover, declared he would have to prove that his
knowledge atoned for his small stature, before he could win his bride.

To test Alvis's mental powers, Thor then questioned him in the
language of the gods, Vanas, elves, and dwarfs, artfully prolonging
his examination until sunrise, when the first beam of light, falling
upon the unhappy dwarf, petrified him. There he stood, an enduring
example of the gods' power, to serve as a warning to all other dwarfs
who might dare to test it.


"Ne'er in human bosom
Have I found so many
Words of the old time.
Thee with subtlest cunning
Have I yet befooled.
Above ground standeth thou, dwarf
By day art overtaken,
Bright sunshine fills the hall."

Sæmund's Edda (Howitt's version).



Sif, the Golden-haired

Sif, Thor's wife, was very vain of a magnificent head of long golden
hair which covered her from head to foot like a brilliant veil; and
as she too was a symbol of the earth, her hair was said to represent
the long grass, or the golden grain covering the Northern harvest
fields. Thor was very proud of his wife's beautiful hair; imagine
his dismay, therefore, upon waking one morning, to find her shorn,
and as bald and denuded of ornament as the earth when the grain has
been garnered, and nothing but the stubble remains! In his anger,
Thor sprang to his feet, vowing he would punish the perpetrator
of this outrage, whom he immediately and rightly conjectured to be
Loki, the arch-plotter, ever on the look-out for some evil deed to
perform. Seizing his hammer, Thor went in search of Loki, who attempted
to evade the irate god by changing his form. But it was all to no
purpose; Thor soon overtook him, and without more ado caught him by
the throat, and almost strangled him ere he yielded to his imploring
signs and relaxed his powerful grip. When he could draw his breath,
Loki begged forgiveness, but all his entreaties were vain, until he
promised to procure for Sif a new head of hair, as beautiful as the
first, and as luxuriant in growth.


"And thence for Sif new tresses I'll bring
Of gold, ere the daylight's gone,
So that she shall liken a field in spring,
With its yellow-flowered garment on."

The Dwarfs, Oehlenschläger (Pigott's tr.).


Then Thor consented to let the traitor go; so Loki rapidly crept down
into the bowels of the earth, where Svart-alfa-heim was situated,
to beg the dwarf Dvalin to fashion not only the precious hair, but
a present for Odin and Frey, whose anger he wished to disarm.

His request was favourably received and the dwarf fashioned the spear
Gungnir, which never failed in its aim, and the ship Skidbladnir,
which, always wafted by favourable winds, could sail through the air
as well as on the water, and which had this further magic property,
that although it could contain the gods and all their steeds, it
could be folded up into the very smallest compass and thrust in
one's pocket. Lastly, he spun the finest golden thread, from which
he fashioned the hair required for Sif, declaring that as soon as it
touched her head it would grow fast there and become as her own.


"Though they now seem dead, let them touch but her head,
Each hair shall the life-moisture fill;
Nor shall malice nor spell henceforward prevail
Sif's tresses to work aught of ill."

The Dwarfs, Oehlenschläger (Pigott's tr.).


Loki was so pleased with these proofs of the dwarfs' skill that he
declared the son of Ivald to be the most clever of smiths--words which
were overheard by Brock, another dwarf, who exclaimed that he was sure
his brother Sindri could produce three objects which would surpass
those which Loki held, not only in intrinsic value, but also in magical
properties. Loki immediately challenged the dwarf to show his skill,
wagering his head against Brock's on the result of the undertaking.

Sindri, apprised of the wager, accepted Brock's offer to blow the
bellows, warning him, however, that he must work persistently and
not for a moment relax his efforts if he wished him to succeed; then
he threw some gold in the fire, and went out to bespeak the favour
of the hidden powers. During his absence Brock diligently plied the
bellows, while Loki, hoping to make him pause, changed himself into
a gadfly and cruelly stung his hand. In spite of the pain, the dwarf
kept on blowing, and when Sindri returned, he drew out of the fire
an enormous wild boar, called Gullin-bursti, because of its golden
bristles, which had the power of radiating light as it flitted across
the sky, for it could travel through the air with marvellous velocity.


"And now, strange to tell, from the roaring fire
Came the golden-haired Gullinbörst,
To serve as a charger the sun-god Frey,
Sure, of all wild boars this the first."

The Dwarfs, Oehlenschläger (Pigott's tr.).


This first piece of work successfully completed, Sindri flung some more
gold on the fire and bade his brother resume blowing, while he again
went out to secure magic assistance. This time Loki, still disguised
as a gadfly, stung the dwarf on his cheek; but in spite of the pain
Brock worked on, and when Sindri returned, he triumphantly drew
out of the flames the magic ring Draupnir, the emblem of fertility,
from which eight similar rings dropped every ninth night.


"They worked it and turned it with wondrous skill,
Till they gave it the virtue rare,
That each thrice third night from its rim there fell
Eight rings, as their parent fair."

The Dwarfs, Oehlenschläger (Pigott's tr.).


Now a lump of iron was cast in the flames, and with renewed caution not
to forfeit their success by inattention, Sindri passed out, leaving
Brock to ply the bellows as before. Loki was now in desperation
and he prepared for a final effort. This time, still in the guise
of the gadfly, he stung the dwarf above the eye until the blood
began to flow in such a stream, that it prevented his seeing what
he was doing. Hastily raising his hand for a second, Brock dashed
aside the stream of blood; but short as was the interruption it had
worked irreparable harm, and when Sindri drew his work out of the
fire he uttered an exclamation of disappointment for the hammer he
had fashioned was short in the handle.


"Then the dwarf raised his hand to his brow for the smart,
Ere the iron well out was beat,
And they found that the haft by an inch was too short,
But to alter it then 'twas too late."

The Dwarfs, Oehlenschläger (Pigott's tr.).


Notwithstanding this mishap, Brock was sure of winning the wager and
he did not hesitate to present himself before the gods in Asgard,
where he gave Odin the ring Draupnir, Frey the boar Gullin-bursti,
and Thor the hammer Miölnir, whose power none could resist.

Loki in turn gave the spear Gungnir to Odin, the ship Skidbladnir to
Frey, and the golden hair to Thor; but although the latter immediately
grew upon Sif's head and was unanimously declared more beautiful than
her own locks had ever been, the gods decreed that Brock had won
the wager, on the ground that the hammer Miölnir, in Thor's hands,
would prove invaluable against the frost giants on the last day.


"And at their head came Thor,
Shouldering his hammer, which the giants know."

Balder Dead (Matthew Arnold).


In order to save his head, Loki fled precipitately, but was overtaken
by Thor, who brought him back and handed him over to Brock, telling
him, however, that although Loki's head was rightfully his, he
must not touch his neck. Hindered from obtaining full vengeance,
the dwarf determined to punish Loki by sewing his lips together,
and as his sword would not pierce them, he borrowed his brother's
awl for the purpose. However, Loki, after enduring the gods' gibes
in silence for a little while, managed to cut the string and soon
after was as loquacious as ever.

In spite of his redoubtable hammer, Thor was not held in dread as
the injurious god of the storm, who destroyed peaceful homesteads
and ruined the harvest by sudden hail-storms and cloud-bursts. The
Northmen fancied he hurled it only against ice giants and rocky walls,
reducing the latter to powder to fertilise the earth and make it
yield plentiful fruit to the tillers of the soil.

In Germany, where the eastern storms are always cold and blighting,
while the western bring warm rains and mild weather, Thor was supposed
to journey always from west to east, to wage war against the evil
spirits which would fain have enveloped the country in impenetrable
veils of mist and have bound it in icy fetters.



Thor's Journey to Jötun-heim

As the giants from Jötun-heim were continually sending out cold
blasts of wind to nip the tender buds and hinder the growth of the
flowers, Thor once made up his mind to go and force them to behave
better. Accompanied by Loki he set out in his chariot, and after
riding for a whole day the gods came at nightfall to the confines of
the giant-world, where, seeing a peasant's hut, they resolved to stay
for rest and refreshment.

Their host was hospitable but very poor, and Thor, seeing that he
would scarcely be able to supply the necessary food to satisfy his
by no means small appetite, slew both his goats, which he cooked and
made ready to eat, inviting his host and family to partake freely of
the food thus provided, but cautioning them to throw all the bones,
without breaking them, into the skins of the goats which he had spread
out on the floor.

The peasant and his family ate heartily, but his son Thialfi,
encouraged by mischievous Loki, ventured to break one of the bones
and suck out the marrow, thinking his disobedience would not be
detected. On the morrow, however, Thor, ready to depart, struck the
goat skins with his hammer Miölnir, and immediately the goats sprang up
as lively as before, except that one seemed somewhat lame. Perceiving
that his commands had been disregarded, Thor would have slain the whole
family in his wrath. The culprit acknowledged his fault, however,
and the peasant offered to compensate for the