{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_28497/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_28497","id":"gutenberg_28497","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/28497","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Mythology, Norse","Paganism"],"text":"Produced by the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at\nhttps://www.pgdp.net/\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n Myths of the Norsemen\n\n From the Eddas and Sagas\n\n By\n\n H. A. Guerber\n\n Author of \"The Myths of Greece and Rome\" etc.\n\n\n\n\n London\n George G. Harrap & Company\n 15 York Street Covent Garden\n\n 1909\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n Printed by Ballantyne & Co. Limited\n Tavistock Street, Covent Garden, London\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCONTENTS\n\n\n Chap. Page\n\n I. The Beginning 1\n II. Odin 16\n III. Frigga 42\n IV. Thor 59\n V. Tyr 85\n VI. Bragi 95\n VII. Idun 103\n VIII. Nioerd 111\n IX. Frey 117\n X. Freya 131\n XI. Uller 139\n XII. Forseti 142\n XIII. Heimdall 146\n XIV. Hermod 154\n XV. Vidar 158\n XVI. Vali 162\n XVII. The Norns 166\n XVIII. The Valkyrs 173\n XIX. Hel 180\n XX. AEgir 185\n XXI. Balder 197\n XXII. Loki 216\n XXIII. The Giants 230\n XXIV. The Dwarfs 239\n XXV. The Elves 246\n XXVI. The Sigurd Saga 251\n XXVII. The Frithiof Saga 298\n XXVIII. The Twilight of the Gods 329\n XXIX. Greek and Northern Mythologies--A Comparison 342\n\n\n\n\n\n\nLIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS\n\n\n Norsemen Landing in Iceland (Oscar Wergeland) Frontispiece\n\n To face page\n The Giant with the Flaming Sword (J. C. Dollman) 2\n The Wolves Pursuing Sol and Mani (J. C. Dollman) 8\n Odin (Sir E. Burne-Jones) 16\n The Chosen Slain (K. Dielitz) 18\n A Viking Foray (J. C. Dollman) 20\n The Pied Piper of Hamelin (H. Kaulbach) 28\n Odin (B. E. Fogelberg) 36\n Frigga Spinning the Clouds (J. C. Dollman) 42\n Tannhaeuser and Frau Venus (J. Wagrez) 52\n Eastre (Jacques Reich) 54\n Huldra's Nymphs (B. E. Ward) 58\n Thor (B. E. Fogelberg) 60\n Sif (J. C. Dollman) 64\n Thor and the Mountain (J. C. Dollman) 72\n A Foray (A. Malmstroem) 88\n The Binding of Fenris (Dorothy Hardy) 92\n Idun (B. E. Ward) 100\n Loki and Thiassi (Dorothy Hardy) 104\n Frey (Jacques Reich) 118\n Freya (N. J. O. Blommer) 132\n The Rainbow Bridge (H. Hendrich) 146\n Heimdall (Dorothy Hardy) 148\n Jarl (Albert Edelfelt) 152\n The Norns (C. Ehrenberg) 166\n The Dises (Dorothy Hardy) 170\n The Swan-Maiden (Gertrude Demain Hammond, R.I.) 174\n The Ride of the Valkyrs (J. C. Dollman) 176\n Brunhild and Siegmund (J. Wagrez) 178\n The Road to Valhalla (Severin Nilsson) 182\n AEgir (J. P. Molin) 186\n Ran (M. E. Winge) 190\n The Neckan (J. P. Molin) 194\n Loki and Hodur (C. G. Qvarnstroem) 202\n The Death of Balder (Dorothy Hardy) 206\n Hermod before Hela (J. C. Dollman) 210\n Loki and Svadilfari (Dorothy Hardy) 222\n Loki and Sigyn (M. E. Winge) 228\n Thor and the Giants (M. E. Winge) 230\n Torghatten 234\n The Peaks of the Trolls 244\n The Elf-Dance (N. J. O. Blommer) 246\n The White Elves (Charles P. Sainton, R.I.) 248\n Old Houses with Carved Posts 250\n The Were-Wolves (J. C. Dollman) 260\n A Hero's Farewell (M. E. Winge) 264\n The Funeral Procession (H. Hendrich) 268\n Sigurd and Fafnir (K. Dielitz) 274\n Sigurd Finds Brunhild (J. Wagrez) 278\n Odin and Brunhild (K. Dielitz) 280\n Aslaug (Gertrude Demain Hammond, R.I.) 282\n Sigurd and Gunnar (J. C. Dollman) 284\n The Death of Siegfried (H. Hendrich) 288\n The End of Brunhild (J. Wagrez) 290\n Ingeborg (M. E. Winge) 304\n Frithiof Cleaves the Shield of Helge (Knut Ekwall) 308\n Ingeborg Watches her Lover Depart (Knut Ekwall) 312\n Frithiof's Return to Framnaes (Knut Ekwall) 316\n Frithiof at the Shrine of Balder (Knut Ekwall) 318\n Frithiof at the Court of Ring (Knut Ekwall) 320\n Frithiof Watches the Sleeping King (Knut Ekwall) 324\n Odin and Fenris (Dorothy Hardy) 334\n The Ride of the Valkyrs (H. Hendrich) 344\n The Storm-Ride (Gilbert Bayes) 358\n\n\n\n\n\n\nINTRODUCTION\n\n\nThe prime importance of the rude fragments of poetry preserved in\nearly Icelandic literature will now be disputed by none, but there\nhas been until recent times an extraordinary indifference to the\nwealth of religious tradition and mythical lore which they contain.\n\nThe long neglect of these precious records of our heathen ancestors\nis not the fault of the material in which all that survives of\ntheir religious beliefs is enshrined, for it may safely be asserted\nthat the Edda is as rich in the essentials of national romance\nand race-imagination, rugged though it be, as the more graceful\nand idyllic mythology of the South. Neither is it due to anything\nweak in the conception of the deities themselves, for although\nthey may not rise to great spiritual heights, foremost students of\nIcelandic literature agree that they stand out rude and massive as the\nScandinavian mountains. They exhibit \"a spirit of victory, superior\nto brute force, superior to mere matter, a spirit that fights and\novercomes.\" [1] \"Even were some part of the matter of their myths\ntaken from others, yet the Norsemen have given their gods a noble,\nupright, great spirit, and placed them upon a high level that is all\ntheir own.\" [2] \"In fact these old Norse songs have a truth in them,\nan inward perennial truth and greatness. It is a greatness not of\nmere body and gigantic bulk, but a rude greatness of soul.\" [3]\n\nThe introduction of Christianity into the North brought with it the\ninfluence of the Classical races, and this eventually supplanted the\nnative genius, so that the alien mythology and literature of Greece\nand Rome have formed an increasing part of the mental equipment of the\nnorthern peoples in proportion as the native literature and tradition\nhave been neglected.\n\nUndoubtedly Northern mythology has exercised a deep influence upon\nour customs, laws, and language, and there has been, therefore,\na great unconscious inspiration flowing from these into English\nliterature. The most distinctive traits of this mythology are a\npeculiar grim humour, to be found in the religion of no other race,\nand a dark thread of tragedy which runs throughout the whole woof,\nand these characteristics, touching both extremes, are writ large\nover English literature.\n\nBut of conscious influence, compared with the rich draught of Hellenic\ninspiration, there is little to be found, and if we turn to modern\nart the difference is even more apparent.\n\nThis indifference may be attributed to many causes, but it was due\nfirst to the fact that the religious beliefs of our pagan ancestors\nwere not held with any real tenacity. Hence the success of the\nmore or less considered policy of the early Christian missionaries\nto confuse the heathen beliefs, and merge them in the new faith,\nan interesting example of which is to be seen in the transference\nto the Christian festival of Easter of the attributes of the pagan\ngoddess Eastre, from whom it took even the name. Northern mythology\nwas in this way arrested ere it had attained its full development,\nand the progress of Christianity eventually relegated it to the limbo\nof forgotten things. Its comprehensive and intelligent scheme, however,\nin strong contrast with the disconnected mythology of Greece and Rome,\nformed the basis of a more or less rational faith which prepared the\nNorseman to receive the teaching of Christianity, and so helped to\nbring about its own undoing.\n\nThe religious beliefs of the North are not mirrored with any\nexactitude in the Elder Edda. Indeed only a travesty of the faith of\nour ancestors has been preserved in Norse literature. The early poet\nloved allegory, and his imagination rioted among the conceptions of\nhis fertile muse. \"His eye was fixed on the mountains till the snowy\npeaks assumed human features and the giant of the rock or the ice\ndescended with heavy tread; or he would gaze at the splendour of the\nspring, or of the summer fields, till Freya with the gleaming necklace\nstepped forth, or Sif with the flowing locks of gold.\" [4]\n\nWe are told nothing as to sacrificial and religious rites, and\nall else is omitted which does not provide material for artistic\ntreatment. The so-called Northern Mythology, therefore, may be regarded\nas a precious relic of the beginning of Northern poetry, rather than\nas a representation of the religious beliefs of the Scandinavians,\nand these literary fragments bear many signs of the transitional stage\nwherein the confusion of the old and new faiths is easily apparent.\n\nBut notwithstanding the limitations imposed by long neglect it is\npossible to reconstruct in part a plan of the ancient Norse beliefs,\nand the general reader will derive much profit from Carlyle's\nilluminating study in \"Heroes and Hero-worship.\" \"A bewildering,\ninextricable jungle of delusions, confusions, falsehoods and\nabsurdities, covering the whole field of Life!\" he calls them,\nwith all good reason. But he goes on to show, with equal truth,\nthat at the soul of this crude worship of distorted nature was a\nspiritual force seeking expression. What we probe without reverence\nthey viewed with awe, and not understanding it, straightway deified\nit, as all children have been apt to do in all stages of the world's\nhistory. Truly they were hero-worshippers after Carlyle's own heart,\nand scepticism had no place in their simple philosophy.\n\nIt was the infancy of thought gazing upon a universe filled with\ndivinity, and believing heartily with all sincerity. A large-hearted\npeople reaching out in the dark towards ideals which were better than\nthey knew. Ragnarok was to undo their gods because they had stumbled\nfrom their higher standards.\n\nWe have to thank a curious phenomenon for the preservation of so much\nof the old lore as we still possess. While foreign influences were\ncorrupting the Norse language, it remained practically unaltered in\nIceland, which had been colonised from the mainland by the Norsemen\nwho had fled thither to escape the oppression of Harold Fairhair after\nhis crushing victory of Hafrsfirth. These people brought with them the\npoetic genius which had already manifested itself, and it took fresh\nroot in that barren soil. Many of the old Norse poets were natives\nof Iceland, and in the early part of the Christian era, a supreme\nservice was rendered to Norse literature by the Christian priest,\nSaemund, who industriously brought together a large amount of pagan\npoetry in a collection known as the Elder Edda, which is the chief\nfoundation of our present knowledge of the religion of our Norse\nancestors. Icelandic literature remained a sealed book, however,\nuntil the end of the eighteenth century, and very slowly since that\ntime it has been winning its way in the teeth of indifference, until\nthere are now signs that it will eventually come into its own. \"To\nknow the old Faith,\" says Carlyle, \"brings us into closer and clearer\nrelation with the Past--with our own possessions in the Past. For\nthe whole Past is the possession of the Present; the Past had always\nsomething true, and is a precious possession.\"\n\nThe weighty words of William Morris regarding the Volsunga Saga\nmay also be fitly quoted as an introduction to the whole of this\ncollection of \"Myths of the Norsemen\": \"This is the great story of\nthe North, which should be to all our race what the Tale of Troy was\nto the Greeks--to all our race first, and afterwards, when the change\nof the world has made our race nothing more than a name of what has\nbeen--a story too--then should it be to those that come after us no\nless than the Tale of Troy has been to us.\"\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER I: THE BEGINNING\n\n\nMyths of Creation\n\nAlthough the Aryan inhabitants of Northern Europe are supposed by some\nauthorities to have come originally from the plateau of Iran, in the\nheart of Asia, the climate and scenery of the countries where they\nfinally settled had great influence in shaping their early religious\nbeliefs, as well as in ordering their mode of living.\n\nThe grand and rugged landscapes of Northern Europe, the midnight\nsun, the flashing rays of the aurora borealis, the ocean continually\nlashing itself into fury against the great cliffs and icebergs of\nthe Arctic Circle, could not but impress the people as vividly as\nthe almost miraculous vegetation, the perpetual light, and the blue\nseas and skies of their brief summer season. It is no great wonder,\ntherefore, that the Icelanders, for instance, to whom we owe the most\nperfect records of this belief, fancied in looking about them that the\nworld was originally created from a strange mixture of fire and ice.\n\nNorthern mythology is grand and tragical. Its principal theme is the\nperpetual struggle of the beneficent forces of Nature against the\ninjurious, and hence it is not graceful and idyllic in character,\nlike the religion of the sunny South, where the people could bask\nin perpetual sunshine, and the fruits of the earth grew ready to\ntheir hand.\n\nIt was very natural that the dangers incurred in hunting and fishing\nunder these inclement skies, and the suffering entailed by the long\ncold winters when the sun never shines, made our ancestors contemplate\ncold and ice as malevolent spirits; and it was with equal reason that\nthey invoked with special fervour the beneficent influences of heat\nand light.\n\nWhen questioned concerning the creation of the world, the Northern\nscalds, or poets, whose songs are preserved in the Eddas and Sagas,\ndeclared that in the beginning, when there was as yet no earth, nor\nsea, nor air, when darkness rested over all, there existed a powerful\nbeing called Allfather, whom they dimly conceived as uncreated as\nwell as unseen, and that whatever he willed came to pass.\n\nIn the centre of space there was, in the morning of time, a great\nabyss called Ginnunga-gap, the cleft of clefts, the yawning gulf,\nwhose depths no eye could fathom, as it was enveloped in perpetual\ntwilight. North of this abode was a space or world known as Nifl-heim,\nthe home of mist and darkness, in the centre of which bubbled the\nexhaustless spring Hvergelmir, the seething cauldron, whose waters\nsupplied twelve great streams known as the Elivagar. As the water of\nthese streams flowed swiftly away from its source and encountered\nthe cold blasts from the yawning gulf, it soon hardened into huge\nblocks of ice, which rolled downward into the immeasurable depths of\nthe great abyss with a continual roar like thunder.\n\nSouth of this dark chasm, and directly opposite Nifl-heim, the realm\nof mist, was another world called Muspells-heim, the home of elemental\nfire, where all was warmth and brightness, and whose frontiers were\ncontinually guarded by Surtr, the flame giant. This giant fiercely\nbrandished his flashing sword, and continually sent forth great showers\nof sparks, which fell with a hissing sound upon the ice-blocks in\nthe bottom of the abyss, and partly melted them by their heat.\n\n\n \"Great Surtur, with his burning sword,\n Southward at Muspel's gate kept ward,\n And flashes of celestial flame,\n Life-giving, from the fire-world came.\"\n\n Valhalla (J. C. Jones).\n\n\n\nYmir and Audhumla\n\nAs the steam rose in clouds it again encountered the prevailing cold,\nand was changed into rime or hoarfrost, which, layer by layer, filled\nup the great central space. Thus by the continual action of cold and\nheat, and also probably by the will of the uncreated and unseen,\na gigantic creature called Ymir or Orgelmir (seething clay), the\npersonification of the frozen ocean, came to life amid the ice-blocks\nin the abyss, and as he was born of rime he was called a Hrim-thurs,\nor ice-giant.\n\n\n \"In early times,\n When Ymir lived,\n Was sand, nor sea,\n Nor cooling wave;\n No earth was found,\n Nor heaven above;\n One chaos all,\n And nowhere grass.\"\n\n Saemund's Edda (Henderson's tr.).\n\n\nGroping about in the gloom in search of something to eat, Ymir\nperceived a gigantic cow called Audhumla (the nourisher), which\nhad been created by the same agency as himself, and out of the same\nmaterials. Hastening towards her, Ymir noticed with pleasure that\nfrom her udder flowed four great streams of milk, which would supply\nample nourishment.\n\nAll his wants were thus satisfied; but the cow, looking about her for\nfood in her turn, began to lick the salt off a neighbouring ice-block\nwith her rough tongue. This she continued to do until first the hair of\na god appeared and then the whole head emerged from its icy envelope,\nuntil by-and-by Buri (the producer) stepped forth entirely free.\n\nWhile the cow had been thus engaged, Ymir, the giant, had fallen\nasleep, and as he slept a son and daughter were born from the\nperspiration under his armpit, and his feet produced the six-headed\ngiant Thrudgelmir, who, shortly after his birth, brought forth in\nhis turn the giant Bergelmir, from whom all the evil frost giants\nare descended.\n\n\n \"Under the armpit grew,\n 'Tis said of Hrim-thurs,\n A girl and boy together;\n Foot with foot begat,\n Of that wise Joetun,\n A six-headed son.\"\n\n Saemund's Edda (Thorpe's tr.).\n\n\n\nOdin, Vili, and Ve\n\nWhen these giants became aware of the existence of the god Buri, and\nof his son Boerr (born), whom he had immediately produced, they began\nwaging war against them, for as the gods and giants represented the\nopposite forces of good and evil, there was no hope of their living\ntogether in peace. The struggle continued evidently for ages, neither\nparty gaining a decided advantage, until Boerr married the giantess\nBestla, daughter of Bolthorn (the thorn of evil), who bore him three\npowerful sons, Odin (spirit), Vili (will), and Ve (holy). These three\nsons immediately joined their father in his struggle against the\nhostile frost-giants, and finally succeeded in slaying their deadliest\nfoe, the great Ymir. As he sank down lifeless the blood gushed from\nhis wounds in such floods that it produced a great deluge, in which\nall his race perished, with the exception of Bergelmir, who escaped\nin a boat and went with his wife to the confines of the world.\n\n\n \"And all the race of Ymir thou didst drown,\n Save one, Bergelmer: he on shipboard fled\n Thy deluge, and from him the giants sprang.\"\n\n Balder Dead (Matthew Arnold).\n\n\nHere he took up his abode, calling the place Joetunheim (the home of the\ngiants), and here he begat a new race of frost-giants, who inherited\nhis dislikes, continued the feud, and were always ready to sally\nforth from their desolate country and raid the territory of the gods.\n\nThe gods, in Northern mythology called AEsir (pillars and supporters\nof the world), having thus triumphed over their foes, and being no\nlonger engaged in perpetual warfare, now began to look about them,\nwith intent to improve the desolate aspect of things and fashion a\nhabitable world. After due consideration Boerr's sons rolled Ymir's\ngreat corpse into the yawning abyss, and began to create the world\nout of its various component parts.\n\n\n\nThe Creation of the Earth\n\nOut of the flesh they fashioned Midgard (middle garden), as the earth\nwas called. This was placed in the exact centre of the vast space,\nand hedged all round with Ymir's eyebrows for bulwarks or ramparts. The\nsolid portion of Midgard was surrounded by the giant's blood or sweat,\nwhich formed the ocean, while his bones made the hills, his flat\nteeth the cliffs, and his curly hair the trees and all vegetation.\n\nWell pleased with the result of their first efforts at creation, the\ngods now took the giant's unwieldy skull and poised it skilfully as\nthe vaulted heavens above earth and sea; then scattering his brains\nthroughout the expanse beneath they fashioned from them the fleecy\nclouds.\n\n\n \"Of Ymir's flesh\n Was earth created,\n Of his blood the sea,\n Of his bones the hills,\n Of his hair trees and plants,\n Of his skull the heavens,\n And of his brows\n The gentle powers\n Formed Midgard for the sons of men;\n But of his brain\n The heavy clouds are\n All created.\"\n\n Norse Mythology (R. B. Anderson).\n\n\nTo support the heavenly vault, the gods stationed the strong dwarfs,\nNordri, Sudri, Austri, Westri, at its four corners, bidding them\nsustain it upon their shoulders, and from them the four points of\nthe compass received their present names of North, South, East, and\nWest. To give light to the world thus created, the gods studded the\nheavenly vault with sparks secured from Muspells-heim, points of light\nwhich shone steadily through the gloom like brilliant stars. The most\nvivid of these sparks, however, were reserved for the manufacture of\nthe sun and moon, which were placed in beautiful golden chariots.\n\n\n \"And from the flaming world, where Muspel reigns,\n Thou sent'st and fetched'st fire, and madest lights:\n Sun, moon, and stars, which thou hast hung in heaven,\n Dividing clear the paths of night and day.\"\n\n Balder Dead (Matthew Arnold).\n\n\nWhen all these preparations had been finished, and the steeds Arvakr\n(the early waker) and Alsvin (the rapid goer) were harnessed to the\nsun-chariot, the gods, fearing lest the animals should suffer from\ntheir proximity to the ardent sphere, placed under their withers great\nskins filled with air or with some refrigerant substance. They also\nfashioned the shield Svalin (the cooler), and placed it in front of the\ncar to shelter them from the sun's direct rays, which would else have\nburned them and the earth to a cinder. The moon-car was, similarly,\nprovided with a fleet steed called Alsvider (the all-swift); but no\nshield was required to protect him from the mild rays of the moon.\n\n\n\nMani and Sol\n\nThe chariots were ready, the steeds harnessed and impatient to begin\nwhat was to be their daily round, but who should guide them along\nthe right road? The gods looked about them, and their attention was\nattracted to the two beautiful offspring of the giant Mundilfari. He\nwas very proud of his children, and had named them after the newly\ncreated orbs, Mani (the moon) and Sol (the sun). Sol, the Sun-maid,\nwas the spouse of Glaur (glow), who was probably one of Surtr's sons.\n\nThe names proved to be happily bestowed, as the brother and sister\nwere given the direction of the steeds of their bright namesakes. After\nreceiving due counsel from the gods, they were transferred to the sky,\nand day by day they fulfilled their appointed duties and guided their\nsteeds along the heavenly paths.\n\n\n \"Know that Mundilfaer is hight\n Father to the moon and sun;\n Age on age shall roll away,\n While they mark the months and days.\"\n\n Havamal (W. Taylor's tr.).\n\n\nThe gods next summoned Nott (night), a daughter of Norvi, one of the\ngiants, and entrusted to her care a dark chariot, drawn by a sable\nsteed, Hrim-faxi (frost mane), from whose waving mane the dew and\nhoarfrost dropped down upon the earth.\n\n\n \"Hrim-faxi is the sable steed,\n From the east who brings the night,\n Fraught with the showering joys of love:\n As he champs the foamy bit,\n Drops of dew are scattered round\n To adorn the vales of earth.\"\n\n Vafthrudni's-mal (W. Taylor's tr.).\n\n\nThe goddess of night had thrice been married, and by her first husband,\nNaglfari, she had had a son named Aud; by her second, Annar, a daughter\nJoerd (earth); and by her third, the god Dellinger (dawn), another son,\nof radiant beauty, was now born to her, and he was given the name of\nDag (day).\n\nAs soon as the gods became aware of this beautiful being's existence\nthey provided a chariot for him also, drawn by the resplendent white\nsteed Skin-faxi (shining mane), from whose mane bright beams of\nlight shone forth in every direction, illuminating all the world,\nand bringing light and gladness to all.\n\n\n \"Forth from the east, up the ascent of heaven,\n Day drove his courser with the shining mane.\"\n\n Balder Dead (Matthew Arnold).\n\n\n\nThe Wolves Skoell and Hati\n\nBut as evil always treads close upon the footsteps of good, hoping to\ndestroy it, the ancient inhabitants of the Northern regions imagined\nthat both Sun and Moon were incessantly pursued by the fierce wolves\nSkoell (repulsion) and Hati (hatred), whose sole aim was to overtake\nand swallow the brilliant objects before them, so that the world\nmight again be enveloped in its primeval darkness.\n\n\n \"Skoell the wolf is named\n That the fair-faced goddess\n To the ocean chases;\n Another Hati hight\n He is Hrodvitnir's son;\n He the bright maid of heaven shall precede.\"\n\n Saemuna's Edda (Thorpe's tr.).\n\n\nAt times, they said, the wolves overtook and tried to swallow their\nprey, thus producing an eclipse of the radiant orbs. Then the terrified\npeople raised such a deafening clamour that the wolves, frightened by\nthe noise, hastily dropped them. Thus rescued, Sun and Moon resumed\ntheir course, fleeing more rapidly than before, the hungry monsters\nrushing along in their wake, lusting for the time when their efforts\nwould prevail and the end of the world would come. For the Northern\nnations believed that as their gods had sprung from an alliance between\nthe divine element (Boerr) and the mortal (Bestla), they were finite,\nand doomed to perish with the world they had made.\n\n\n \"But even in this early morn\n Faintly foreshadowed was the dawn\n Of that fierce struggle, deadly shock,\n Which yet should end in Ragnarok;\n When Good and Evil, Death and Life,\n Beginning now, end then their strife.\"\n\n Valhalla (J. C. Jones).\n\n\nMani was accompanied also by Hiuki, the waxing, and Bil, the waning,\nmoon, two children whom he had snatched from earth, where a cruel\nfather forced them to carry water all night. Our ancestors fancied\nthey saw these children, the original \"Jack and Jill,\" with their pail,\ndarkly outlined upon the moon.\n\nThe gods not only appointed Sun, Moon, Day, and Night to mark the\nprocession of the year, but also called Evening, Midnight, Morning,\nForenoon, Noon, and Afternoon to share their duties, making Summer and\nWinter the rulers of the seasons. Summer, a direct descendant of Svasud\n(the mild and lovely), inherited his sire's gentle disposition, and\nwas loved by all except Winter, his deadly enemy, the son of Vindsual,\nhimself a son of the disagreeable god Vasud, the personification of\nthe icy wind.\n\n\n \"Vindsual is the name of him\n Who begat the winter's god;\n Summer from Suasuthur sprang:\n Both shall walk the way of years,\n Till the twilight of the gods.\"\n\n Vafthrudni's-mal (W. Taylor's tr.).\n\n\nThe cold winds continually swept down from the north, chilling all\nthe earth, and the Northmen imagined that these were set in motion\nby the great giant Hrae-svelgr (the corpse-swallower), who, clad in\neagle plumes, sat at the extreme northern verge of the heavens, and\nthat when he raised his arms or wings the cold blasts darted forth\nand swept ruthlessly over the face of the earth, blighting all things\nwith their icy breath.\n\n\n \"Hrae-svelger is the name of him\n Who sits beyond the end of heaven,\n And winnows wide his eagle-wings,\n Whence the sweeping blasts have birth.\"\n\n Vafthrudni's-mal (W. Taylor's tr.).\n\n\n\nDwarfs and Elves\n\nWhile the gods were occupied in creating the earth and providing\nfor its illumination, a whole host of maggot-like creatures had\nbeen breeding in Ymir's flesh. These uncouth beings now attracted\ndivine attention. Summoning them into their presence, the gods first\ngave them forms and endowed them with superhuman intelligence, and\nthen divided them into two large classes. Those which were dark,\ntreacherous, and cunning by nature were banished to Svart-alfa-heim,\nthe home of the black dwarfs, situated underground, whence they were\nnever allowed to come forth during the day, under penalty of being\nturned into stone. They were called Dwarfs, Trolls, Gnomes, or Kobolds,\nand spent all their time and energy in exploring the secret recesses\nof the earth. They collected gold, silver, and precious stones,\nwhich they stowed away in secret crevices, whence they could withdraw\nthem at will. The remainder of these small creatures, including all\nthat were fair, good, and useful, the gods called Fairies and Elves,\nand they sent them to dwell in the airy realm of Alf-heim (home of\nthe light-elves), situated between heaven and earth, whence they\ncould flit downward whenever they pleased, to attend to the plants\nand flowers, sport with the birds and butterflies, or dance in the\nsilvery moonlight on the green.\n\nOdin, who had been the leading spirit in all these undertakings,\nnow bade the gods, his descendants, follow him to the broad plain\ncalled Idawold, far above the earth, on the other side of the great\nstream Ifing, whose waters never froze.\n\n\n \"Ifing's deep and murky wave\n Parts the ancient sons of earth\n From the dwelling of the Goths:\n Open flows the mighty flood,\n Nor shall ice arrest its course\n While the wheel of Ages rolls.\"\n\n Vafthrudni's-mal (W. Taylor's tr.).\n\n\nIn the centre of the sacred space, which from the beginning of the\nworld had been reserved for their own abode and called Asgard (home of\nthe gods), the twelve AEsir (gods) and twenty-four Asynjur (goddesses)\nall assembled at the bidding of Odin. Then was held a great council,\nat which it was decreed that no blood should be shed within the limits\nof their realm, or peace-stead, but that harmony should reign there\nfor ever. As a further result of the conference the gods set up a\nforge where they fashioned all their weapons and the tools required\nto build the magnificent palaces of precious metals, in which they\nlived for many long years in a state of such perfect happiness that\nthis period has been called the Golden Age.\n\n\n\nThe Creation of Man\n\nAlthough the gods had from the beginning designed Midgard, or\nMana-heim, as the abode of man, there were at first no human beings to\ninhabit it. One day Odin, Vili, and Ve, according to some authorities,\nor Odin, Hoenir (the bright one), and Lodur, or Loki (fire), started\nout together and walked along the seashore, where they found either\ntwo trees, the ash, Ask, and the elm, Embla, or two blocks of wood,\nhewn into rude semblances of the human form. The gods gazed at first\nupon the inanimate wood in silent wonder; then, perceiving the use it\ncould be put to, Odin gave these logs souls, Hoenir bestowed motion\nand senses, and Lodur contributed blood and blooming complexions.\n\nThus endowed with speech and thought, and with power to love and to\nhope and to work, and with life and death, the newly created man and\nwoman were left to rule Midgard at will. They gradually peopled it\nwith their descendants, while the gods, remembering they had called\nthem into life, took a special interest in all they did, watched over\nthem, and often vouchsafed their aid and protection.\n\n\n\nThe Tree Yggdrasil\n\nAllfather next created a huge ash called Yggdrasil, the tree of the\nuniverse, of time, or of life, which filled all the world, taking\nroot not only in the remotest depths of Nifl-heim, where bubbled the\nspring Hvergelmir, but also in Midgard, near Mimir's well (the ocean),\nand in Asgard, near the Urdar fountain.\n\nFrom its three great roots the tree attained such a marvellous height\nthat its topmost bough, called Lerad (the peace-giver), overshadowed\nOdin's hall, while the other wide-spreading branches towered over the\nother worlds. An eagle was perched on the bough Lerad, and between\nhis eyes sat the falcon Vedfolnir, sending his piercing glances down\ninto heaven, earth, and Nifl-heim, and reporting all that he saw.\n\nAs the tree Yggdrasil was ever green, its leaves never withering,\nit served as pasture-ground not only for Odin's goat Heidrun, which\nsupplied the heavenly mead, the drink of the gods, but also for the\nstags Dain, Dvalin, Duneyr, and Durathor, from whose horns honey-dew\ndropped down upon the earth and furnished the water for all the rivers\nin the world.\n\nIn the seething cauldron Hvergelmir, close by the great tree, a\nhorrible dragon, called Nidhug, continually gnawed the roots, and\nwas helped in his work of destruction by countless worms, whose aim\nit was to kill the tree, knowing that its death would be the signal\nfor the downfall of the gods.\n\n\n \"Through all our life a tempter prowls malignant,\n The cruel Nidhug from the world below.\n He hates that asa-light whose rays benignant\n On th' hero's brow and glitt'ring sword bright glow.\"\n\n Viking Tales of the North (R. B. Anderson).\n\n\nScampering continually up and down the branches and trunk of the\ntree, the squirrel Ratatosk (branch-borer), the typical busybody\nand tale-bearer, passed its time repeating to the dragon below the\nremarks of the eagle above, and vice versa, in the hope of stirring\nup strife between them.\n\n\n\nThe Bridge Bifroest\n\nIt was, of course, essential that the tree Yggdrasil should be\nmaintained in a perfectly healthy condition, and this duty was\nperformed by the Norns, or Fates, who daily sprinkled it with the\nholy waters from the Urdar fountain. This water, as it trickled down\nto earth through branches and leaves, supplied the bees with honey.\n\nFrom either edge of Nifl-heim, arching high above Midgard, rose the\nsacred bridge, Bifroest (Asabru, the rainbow), built of fire, water,\nand air, whose quivering and changing hues it retained, and over which\nthe gods travelled to and fro to the earth or to the Urdar well, at\nthe foot of the ash Yggdrasil, where they daily assembled in council.\n\n\n \"The gods arose\n And took their horses, and set forth to ride\n O'er the bridge Bifrost, where is Heimdall's watch,\n To the ash Igdrasil, and Ida's plain.\n Thor came on foot, the rest on horseback rode.\"\n\n Balder Dead (Matthew Arnold).\n\n\nOf all the gods Thor only, the god of thunder, never passed over the\nbridge, for fear lest his heavy tread or the heat of his lightnings\nwould destroy it. The god Heimdall kept watch and ward there night\nand day. He was armed with a trenchant sword, and carried a trumpet\ncalled Giallar-horn, upon which he generally blew a soft note to\nannounce the coming or going of the gods, but upon which a terrible\nblast would be sounded when Ragnarok should come, and the frost-giants\nand Surtr combined to destroy the world.\n\n\n \"Surt from the south comes\n With flickering flame;\n Shines from his sword\n The Val-god's sun.\n The stony hills are dashed together,\n The giantesses totter;\n Men tread the path of Hel,\n And heaven is cloven.\"\n\n Saemund's Edda (Thorpe's tr.).\n\n\n\nThe Vanas\n\nNow although the original inhabitants of heaven were the AEsir,\nthey were not the sole divinities of the Northern races, who also\nrecognised the power of the sea- and wind-gods, the Vanas, dwelling\nin Vana-heim and ruling their realms as they pleased. In early times,\nbefore the golden palaces in Asgard were built, a dispute arose between\nthe AEsir and Vanas, and they resorted to arms, using rocks, mountains,\nand icebergs as missiles in the fray. But discovering ere long that\nin unity alone lay strength, they composed their differences and made\npeace, and to ratify the treaty they exchanged hostages.\n\nIt was thus that the Van, Nioerd, came to dwell in Asgard with his two\nchildren, Frey and Freya, while the Asa, Hoenir, Odin's own brother,\ntook up his abode in Vana-heim.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER II: ODIN\n\n\nThe Father of Gods and Men\n\nOdin, Wuotan, or Woden was the highest and holiest god of the\nNorthern races. He was the all-pervading spirit of the universe, the\npersonification of the air, the god of universal wisdom and victory,\nand the leader and protector of princes and heroes. As all the gods\nwere supposed to be descended from him, he was surnamed Allfather,\nand as eldest and chief among them he occupied the highest seat in\nAsgard. Known by the name of Hlidskialf, this chair was not only an\nexalted throne, but also a mighty watch-tower, from whence he could\noverlook the whole world and see at a glance all that was happening\namong gods, giants, elves, dwarfs, and men.\n\n\n \"From the hall of Heaven he rode away\n To Lidskialf, and sate upon his throne,\n The mount, from whence his eye surveys the world.\n And far from Heaven he turned his shining orbs\n To look on Midgard, and the earth, and men.\"\n\n Balder Dead (Matthew Arnold).\n\n\n\nOdin's Personal Appearance\n\nNone but Odin and his wife and queen Frigga were privileged to use\nthis seat, and when they occupied it they generally gazed towards\nthe south and west, the goal of all the hopes and excursions of the\nNorthern nations. Odin was generally represented as a tall, vigorous\nman, about fifty years of age, either with dark curling hair or with\na long grey beard and bald head. He was clad in a suit of grey, with\na blue hood, and his muscular body was enveloped in a wide blue mantle\nflecked with grey--an emblem of the sky with its fleecy clouds. In his\nhand Odin generally carried the infallible spear Gungnir, which was\nso sacred that an oath sworn upon its point could never be broken,\nand on his finger or arm he wore the marvellous ring, Draupnir, the\nemblem of fruitfulness, precious beyond compare. When seated upon\nhis throne or armed for the fray, to mingle in which he would often\ndescend to earth, Odin wore his eagle helmet; but when he wandered\npeacefully about the earth in human guise, to see what men were doing,\nhe generally donned a broad-brimmed hat, drawn low over his forehead\nto conceal the fact that he possessed but one eye.\n\nTwo ravens, Hugin (thought) and Munin (memory), perched upon his\nshoulders as he sat upon his throne, and these he sent out into the\nwide world every morning, anxiously watching for their return at\nnightfall, when they whispered into his ears news of all they had\nseen and heard. Thus he was kept well informed about everything that\nwas happening on earth.\n\n\n \"Hugin and Munin\n Fly each day\n Over the spacious earth.\n I fear for Hugin\n That he come not back,\n Yet more anxious am I for Munin.\"\n\n Norse Mythology (R. B. Anderson).\n\n\nAt his feet crouched two wolves or hunting hounds, Geri and Freki,\nanimals which were therefore considered sacred to him, and of good omen\nif met by the way. Odin always fed these wolves with his own hands\nfrom meat set before him. He required no food at all for himself,\nand seldom tasted anything except the sacred mead.\n\n\n \"Geri and Freki\n The war-wont sates,\n The triumphant sire of hosts;\n But on wine only\n The famed in arms\n Odin, ever lives.\"\n\n Lay of Grimnir (Thorpe's tr.).\n\n\nWhen seated in state upon his throne, Odin rested his feet upon a\nfootstool of gold, the work of the gods, all of whose furniture and\nutensils were fashioned either of that precious metal or of silver.\n\nBesides the magnificent hall Glads-heim, where stood the twelve seats\noccupied by the gods when they met in council, and Valaskialf, where\nhis throne, Hlidskialf, was placed, Odin had a third palace in Asgard,\nsituated in the midst of the marvellous grove Glasir, whose shimmering\nleaves were of red gold.\n\n\n\nValhalla\n\nThis palace, called Valhalla (the hall of the chosen slain), had five\nhundred and forty doors, wide enough to allow the passage of eight\nhundred warriors abreast, and above the principal gate were a boar's\nhead and an eagle whose piercing glance penetrated to the far corners\nof the world. The walls of this marvellous building were fashioned\nof glittering spears, so highly polished that they illuminated the\nhall. The roof was of golden shields, and the benches were decorated\nwith fine armour, the god's gifts to his guests. Here long tables\nafforded ample accommodation for the Einheriar, warriors fallen in\nbattle, who were specially favoured by Odin.\n\n\n \"Easily to be known is,\n By those who to Odin come,\n The mansion by its aspect.\n Its roof with spears is laid,\n Its hall with shields is decked,\n With corselets are its benches strewed.\"\n\n Lay of Grimnir (Thorpe's tr.).\n\n\nThe ancient Northern nations, who deemed warfare the most honourable\nof occupations, and considered courage the greatest virtue, worshipped\nOdin principally as god of battle and victory. They believed that\nwhenever a fight was impending he sent out his special attendants,\nthe shield-, battle-, or wish-maidens, called Valkyrs (choosers of the\nslain), who selected from the dead warriors one-half of their number,\nwhom they bore on their fleet steeds over the quivering rainbow bridge,\nBifroest, into Valhalla. Welcomed by Odin's sons, Hermod and Bragi,\nthe heroes were conducted to the foot of Odin's throne, where they\nreceived the praise due to their valour. When some special favourite\nof the god was thus brought into Asgard, Valfather (father of the\nslain), as Odin was called when he presided over the warriors, would\nsometimes rise from his throne and in person bid him welcome at the\ngreat entrance gate.\n\n\n\nThe Feast of the Heroes\n\nBesides the glory of such distinction, and the enjoyment of Odin's\nbeloved presence day after day, other more material pleasures awaited\nthe warriors in Valhalla. Generous entertainment was provided for\nthem at the long tables, where the beautiful white-armed virgins,\nthe Valkyrs, having laid aside their armour and clad themselves in\npure white robes, waited upon them with assiduous attention. These\nmaidens, nine in number according to some authorities, brought\nthe heroes great horns full of delicious mead, and set before them\nhuge portions of boar's flesh, upon which they feasted heartily. The\nusual Northern drink was beer or ale, but our ancestors fancied this\nbeverage too coarse for the heavenly sphere. They therefore imagined\nthat Valfather kept his table liberally supplied with mead or hydromel,\nwhich was daily furnished in great abundance by his she-goat Heidrun,\nwho continually browsed on the tender leaves and twigs on Lerad,\nYggdrasil's topmost branch.\n\n\n \"Rash war and perilous battle, their delight;\n And immature, and red with glorious wounds,\n Unpeaceful death their choice: deriving thence\n A right to feast and drain immortal bowls,\n In Odin's hall; whose blazing roof resounds\n The genial uproar of those shades who fall\n In desperate fight, or by some brave attempt.\"\n\n Liberty (James Thomson).\n\n\nThe meat upon which the Einheriar feasted was the flesh of the divine\nboar Saehrimnir, a marvellous beast, daily slain by the cook Andhrimnir,\nand boiled in the great cauldron Eldhrimnir; but although Odin's\nguests had true Northern appetites and gorged themselves to the full,\nthere was always plenty of meat for all.\n\n\n \"Andhrimnir cooks\n In Eldhrimnir\n Saehrimnir;\n 'Tis the best of flesh;\n But few know\n What the einherjes eat.\"\n\n Lay of Grimnir (Anderson's version).\n\n\nMoreover, the supply was exhaustless, for the boar always came to\nlife again before the time of the next meal. This miraculous renewal\nof supplies in the larder was not the only wonderful occurrence in\nValhalla, for it is related that the warriors, after having eaten and\ndrunk to satiety, always called for their weapons, armed themselves,\nand rode out into the great courtyard, where they fought against one\nanother, repeating the feats of arms for which they were famed on\nearth, and recklessly dealing terrible wounds, which, however, were\nmiraculously and completely healed as soon as the dinner horn sounded.\n\n\n \"All the chosen guests of Odin\n Daily ply the trade of war;\n From the fields of festal fight\n Swift they ride in gleaming arms,\n And gaily, at the board of gods,\n Quaff the cup of sparkling ale\n And eat Saehrimni's vaunted flesh.\"\n\n Vafthrudni's-mal (W. Taylor's tr.).\n\n\nWhole and happy at the sound of the horn, and bearing one another\nno grudge for cruel thrusts given and received, the Einheriar would\nride gaily back to Valhalla to renew their feasts in Odin's beloved\npresence, while the white-armed Valkyrs, with flying hair, glided\ngracefully about, constantly filling their horns or their favourite\ndrinking vessels, the skulls of their enemies, while the scalds sang\nof war and of stirring Viking forays.\n\n\n \"And all day long they there are hack'd and hewn\n 'Mid dust, and groans, and limbs lopped off, and blood;\n But all at night return to Odin's hall\n Woundless and fresh: such lot is theirs in heaven.\"\n\n Balder Dead (Matthew Arnold).\n\n\nFighting and feasting thus, the heroes were said to spend their days\nin perfect bliss, while Odin delighted in their strength and number,\nwhich, however, he foresaw would not avail to prevent his downfall\nwhen the day of the last battle should dawn.\n\nAs such pleasures were the highest a Northern warrior's fancy could\npaint, it was very natural that all fighting men should love Odin, and\nearly in life should dedicate themselves to his service. They vowed\nto die arms in hand, if possible, and even wounded themselves with\ntheir own spears when death drew near, if they had been unfortunate\nenough to escape death on the battlefield and were threatened with\n\"straw death,\" as they called decease from old age or sickness.\n\n\n \"To Odin then true-fast\n Carves he fair runics,--\n Death-runes cut deep on his arm and his breast.\"\n\n Viking Tales of the North (R. B. Anderson).\n\n\nIn reward for this devotion Odin watched with special care over his\nfavourites, giving them gifts, a magic sword, a spear, or a horse,\nand making them invincible until their last hour had come, when he\nhimself appeared to claim or destroy the gift he had bestowed, and\nthe Valkyrs bore the heroes to Valhalla.\n\n\n \"He gave to Hermod\n A helm and corselet,\n And from him Sigmund\n A sword received.\"\n\n Lay of Hyndla (Thorpe's tr.).\n\n\n\nSleipnir\n\nWhen Odin took an active part in war, he generally rode his\neight-footed grey steed, Sleipnir, and bore a white shield. His\nglittering spear flung over the heads of the combatants was the signal\nfor the fray to commence, and he would dash into the midst of the\nranks shouting his warcry: \"Odin has you all!\"\n\n\n \"And Odin donned\n His dazzling corslet and his helm of gold,\n And led the way on Sleipnir.\"\n\n Balder Dead (Matthew Arnold).\n\n\nAt times he used his magic bow, from which he would shoot ten arrows at\nonce, every one invariably bringing down a foe. Odin was also supposed\nto inspire his favourite warriors with the renowned \"Berserker rage\"\n(bare sark or shirt), which enabled them, although naked, weaponless,\nand sore beset, to perform unheard-of feats of valour and strength,\nand move about as with charmed lives.\n\nAs Odin's characteristics, like the all-pervading elements, were\nmultitudinous, so also were his names, of which he had no less than\ntwo hundred, almost all descriptive of some phase of his activities. He\nwas considered the ancient god of seamen and of the wind.\n\n\n \"Mighty Odin,\n Norsemen hearts we bend to thee!\n Steer our barks, all-potent Woden,\n O'er the surging Baltic Sea.\"\n\n Vail.\n\n\n\nThe Wild Hunt\n\nOdin, as wind-god, was pictured as rushing through mid-air on his\neight-footed steed, from which originated the oldest Northern riddle,\nwhich runs as follows: \"Who are the two who ride to the Thing? Three\neyes have they together, ten feet, and one tail: and thus they travel\nthrough the lands.\" And as the souls of the dead were supposed to be\nwafted away on the wings of the storm, Odin was worshipped as the\nleader of all disembodied spirits. In this character he was most\ngenerally known as the Wild Huntsman, and when people heard the\nrush and roar of the wind they cried aloud in superstitious fear,\nfancying they heard and saw him ride past with his train, all mounted\non snorting steeds, and accompanied by baying hounds. And the passing\nof the Wild Hunt, known as Woden's Hunt, the Raging Host, Gabriel's\nHounds, or Asgardreia, was also considered a presage of such misfortune\nas pestilence or war.\n\n\n \"The Rhine flows bright; but its waves ere long\n Must hear a voice of war,\n And a clash of spears our hills among,\n And a trumpet from afar;\n And the brave on a bloody turf must lie,\n For the Huntsman hath gone by!\"\n\n The Wild Huntsman (Mrs. Hemans).\n\n\nIt was further thought that if any were so sacrilegious as to join\nin the wild halloo in mockery, they would be immediately snatched up\nand whirled away with the vanishing host, while those who joined in\nthe halloo with implicit good faith would be rewarded by the sudden\ngift of a horse's leg, hurled at them from above, which, if carefully\nkept until the morrow, would be changed into a lump of gold.\n\nEven after the introduction of Christianity the ignorant Northern\nfolk still dreaded the on-coming storm, declaring that it was the\nWild Hunt sweeping across the sky.\n\n\n \"And ofttimes will start,\n For overhead are sweeping Gabriel's hounds,\n Doomed with their impious lord the flying hart\n To chase forever on aereal grounds.\"\n\n Sonnet (Wordsworth).\n\n\nSometimes it left behind a small black dog, which, cowering and\nwhining upon a neighbouring hearth, had to be kept for a whole year and\ncarefully tended unless it could be exorcised or frightened away. The\nusual recipe, the same as for the riddance of changelings, was to brew\nbeer in egg-shells, and this performance was supposed so to startle\nthe spectral dog that he would fly with his tail between his legs,\nexclaiming that, although as old as the Behmer, or Bohemian forest,\nhe had never before beheld such an uncanny sight.\n\n\n \"I am as old\n As the Behmer wold,\n And have in my life\n Such a brewing not seen.\"\n\n Old Saying (Thorpe's tr.)\n\n\nThe object of this phantom hunt varied greatly, and was either a\nvisonary boar or wild horse, white-breasted maidens who were caught\nand borne away bound only once in seven years, or the wood nymphs,\ncalled Moss Maidens, who were thought to represent the autumn leaves\ntorn from the trees and whirled away by the wintry gale.\n\nIn the middle ages, when the belief in the old heathen deities\nwas partly forgotten, the leader of the Wild Hunt was no longer\nOdin, but Charlemagne, Frederick Barbarossa, King Arthur, or some\nSabbath-breaker, like the Squire of Rodenstein or Hans von Hackelberg,\nwho, in punishment for his sins, was condemned to hunt for ever\nthrough the realms of air.\n\nAs the winds blew fiercest in autumn and winter, Odin was supposed to\nprefer hunting during that season, especially during the time between\nChristmas and Twelfth-night, and the peasants were always careful to\nleave the last sheaf or measure of grain out in the fields to serve\nas food for his horse.\n\nThis hunt was of course known by various names in the different\ncountries of Northern Europe; but as the tales told about it are\nall alike, they evidently originated in the same old heathen belief,\nand to this day ignorant people of the North fancy that the baying\nof a hound on a stormy night is an infallible presage of death.\n\n\n \"Still, still shall last the dreadful chase,\n Till time itself shall have an end;\n By day, they scour earth's cavern'd space,\n At midnight's witching hour, ascend.\n\n \"This is the horn, and hound, and horse\n That oft the lated peasant hears;\n Appall'd, he signs the frequent cross,\n When the wild din invades his ears.\n\n \"The wakeful priest oft drops a tear\n For human pride, for human woe,\n When, at his midnight mass, he hears\n The infernal cry of 'Holla, ho!'\"\n\n Sir Walter Scott.\n\n\nThe Wild Hunt, or Raging Host of Germany, was called Herlathing\nin England, from the mythical king Herla, its supposed leader; in\nNorthern France it bore the name of Mesnee d'Hellequin, from Hel,\ngoddess of death; and in the middle ages it was known as Cain's Hunt\nor Herod's Hunt, these latter names being given because the leaders\nwere supposed to be unable to find rest on account of the iniquitous\nmurders of Abel, of John the Baptist, and of the Holy Innocents.\n\nIn Central France the Wild Huntsman, whom we have already seen in\nother countries as Odin, Charlemagne, Barbarossa, Rodenstein, von\nHackelberg, King Arthur, Hel, one of the Swedish kings, Gabriel,\nCain, or Herod, is also called the Great Huntsman of Fontainebleau\n(le Grand Veneur de Fontainebleau), and people declare that on the\neve of Henry IV.'s murder, and also just before the outbreak of the\ngreat French Revolution, his shouts were distinctly heard as he swept\nacross the sky.\n\nIt was generally believed among the Northern nations that the soul\nescaped from the body in the shape of a mouse, which crept out of\na corpse's mouth and ran away, and it was also said to creep in and\nout of the mouths of people in a trance. While the soul was absent,\nno effort or remedy could recall the patient to life; but as soon as\nit had come back animation returned.\n\n\n\nThe Pied Piper\n\nAs Odin was the leader of all disembodied spirits, he was identified in\nthe middle ages with the Pied Piper of Hamelin. According to mediaeval\nlegends, Hamelin was so infested by rats that life became unbearable,\nand a large reward was offered to any who would rid the town of these\nrodents. A piper, in parti-coloured garments, offered to undertake\nthe commission, and the terms being accepted, he commenced to play\nthrough the streets in such wise that, one and all, the rats were\nbeguiled out of their holes until they formed a vast procession. There\nwas that in the strains which compelled them to follow, until at last\nthe river Weser was reached, and all were drowned in its tide.\n\n\n \"And ere three shrill notes the pipe uttered,\n You heard as if an army muttered;\n And the muttering grew to a grumbling;\n And the grumbling grew to a mighty rumbling;\n And out of the houses the rats came tumbling.\n Great rats, small rats, lean rats, brawny rats,\n Brown rats, black rats, grey rats, tawny rats,\n Grave old plodders, gay young friskers,\n Fathers, mothers, uncles, cousins,\n Cocking tails and pricking whiskers,\n Families by tens and dozens,\n Brothers, sisters, husbands, wives--\n Followed the Piper for their lives.\n From street to street he piped advancing,\n And step for step they followed dancing,\n Until they came to the river Weser,\n Wherein all plunged and perished!\"\n\n Robert Browning.\n\n\nAs the rats were all dead, and there was no chance of their returning\nto plague them, the people of Hamelin refused to pay the reward, and\nthey bade the piper do his worst. He took them at their word, and a\nfew moments later the weird strains of the magic flute again arose,\nand this time it was the children who swarmed out of the houses and\nmerrily followed the piper.\n\n\n \"There was a rustling that seemed like a bustling\n Of merry crowds justling at pitching and hustling;\n Small feet were pattering, wooden shoes clattering,\n Little hands clapping and little tongues chattering,\n And, like fowls in a farmyard when barley is scattering,\n Out came all the children running.\n All the little boys and girls,\n With rosy cheeks and flaxen curls,\n And sparkling eyes and teeth like pearls,\n Tripping and skipping, ran merrily after\n The wonderful music with shouting and laughter.\"\n\n Robert Browning.\n\n\nThe burghers were powerless to prevent the tragedy, and as they\nstood spellbound the piper led the children out of the town to the\nKoppelberg, a hill on the confines of the town, which miraculously\nopened to receive the procession, and only closed again when the last\nchild had passed out of sight. This legend probably originated the\nadage \"to pay the piper.\" The children were never seen in Hamelin\nagain, and in commemoration of this public calamity all official\ndecrees have since been dated so many years after the Pied Piper's\nvisit.\n\n\n \"They made a decree that lawyers never\n Should think their records dated duly\n If, after the day of the month and year,\n These words did not as well appear,\n 'And so long after what happened here\n On the Twenty-second of July,\n Thirteen hundred and seventy-six:'\n And the better in memory to fix\n The place of the children's last retreat,\n They called it the Pied Piper Street--\n Where any one playing on pipe or tabor\n Was sure for the future to lose his labour.\"\n\n Robert Browning.\n\n\nIn this myth Odin is the piper, the shrill tones of the flute are\nemblematic of the whistling wind, the rats represent the souls of\nthe dead, which cheerfully follow him, and the hollow mountain into\nwhich he leads the children is typical of the grave.\n\n\n\nBishop Hatto\n\nAnother German legend which owes its existence to this belief is\nthe story of Bishop Hatto, the miserly prelate, who, annoyed by the\nclamours of the poor during a time of famine, had them burned alive\nin a deserted barn, like the rats whom he declared they resembled,\nrather than give them some of the precious grain which he had laid\nup for himself.\n\n\n \"'I' faith, 'tis an excellent bonfire!' quoth he,\n 'And the country is greatly obliged to me\n For ridding it in these times forlorn\n Of rats that only consume the corn.'\"\n\n Robert Southey.\n\n\nSoon after this terrible crime had been accomplished the bishop's\nretainers reported the approach of a vast swarm of rats. These, it\nappears, were the souls of the murdered peasants, which had assumed the\nforms of the rats to which the bishop had likened them. His efforts\nto escape were vain, and the rats pursued him even into the middle\nof the Rhine, to a stone tower in which he took refuge from their\nfangs. They swam to the tower, gnawed their way through the stone\nwalls, and, pouring in on all sides at once, they found the bishop\nand devoured him alive.\n\n\n \"And in at the windows, and in at the door,\n And through the walls, helter-skelter they pour,\n And down from the ceiling, and up through the floor,\n From the right and the left, from behind and before,\n From within and without, from above and below,\n And all at once to the Bishop they go.\n They have whetted their teeth against the stones;\n And now they pick the Bishop's bones;\n They gnaw'd the flesh from every limb,\n For they were sent to do judgment on him!\"\n\n Robert Southey.\n\n\nThe red glow of the sunset above the Rat Tower near Bingen on the\nRhine is supposed to be the reflection of the hell fire in which the\nwicked bishop is slowly roasting in punishment for his heinous crime.\n\n\n\nIrmin\n\nIn some parts of Germany Odin was considered to be identical with\nthe Saxon god Irmin, whose statue, the Irminsul, near Paderborn, was\ndestroyed by Charlemagne in 772. Irmin was said to possess a ponderous\nbrazen chariot, in which he rode across the sky along the path which\nwe know as the Milky Way, but which the ancient Germans designated\nas Irmin's Way. This chariot, whose rumbling sound occasionally\nbecame perceptible to mortal ears as thunder, never left the sky,\nwhere it can still be seen in the constellation of the Great Bear,\nwhich is also known in the North as Odin's, or Charles's, Wain.\n\n\n \"The Wain, who wheels on high\n His circling course, and on Orion waits;\n Sole star that never bathes in the Ocean wave.\"\n\n Homer's Iliad (Derby's tr.).\n\n\n\nMimir's Well\n\nTo obtain the great wisdom for which he is so famous, Odin, in the\nmorn of time, visited Mimir's (Memor, memory) spring, \"the fountain\nof all wit and wisdom,\" in whose liquid depths even the future was\nclearly mirrored, and besought the old man who guarded it to let him\nhave a draught. But Mimir, who well knew the value of such a favour\n(for his spring was considered the source or headwater of memory),\nrefused the boon unless Odin would consent to give one of his eyes\nin exchange.\n\nThe god did not hesitate, so highly did he prize the draught, but\nimmediately plucked out one of his eyes, which Mimir kept in pledge,\nsinking it deep down into his fountain, where it shone with mild\nlustre, leaving Odin with but one eye, which is considered emblematic\nof the sun.\n\n\n \"Through our whole lives we strive towards the sun;\n That burning forehead is the eye of Odin.\n His second eye, the moon, shines not so bright;\n It has he placed in pledge in Mimer's fountain,\n That he may fetch the healing waters thence,\n Each morning, for the strengthening of this eye.\"\n\n Oehlenschlaeger (Howitt's tr.).\n\n\nDrinking deeply of Mimir's fount, Odin gained the knowledge he\ncoveted, and he never regretted the sacrifice he had made, but as\nfurther memorial of that day broke off a branch of the sacred tree\nYggdrasil, which overshadowed the spring, and fashioned from it his\nbeloved spear Gungnir.\n\n\n \"A dauntless god\n Drew for drink to its gleam,\n Where he left in endless\n Payment the light of an eye.\n From the world-ash\n Ere Wotan went he broke a bough;\n For a spear the staff\n He split with strength from the stem.\"\n\n Dusk of the Gods, Wagner (Forman's tr.).\n\n\nBut although Odin was now all-wise, he was sad and oppressed, for\nhe had gained an insight into futurity, and had become aware of the\ntransitory nature of all things, and even of the fate of the gods,\nwho were doomed to pass away. This knowledge so affected his spirits\nthat he ever after wore a melancholy and contemplative expression.\n\nTo test the value of the wisdom he had thus obtained, Odin went to\nvisit the most learned of all the giants, Vafthrudnir, and entered\nwith him into a contest of wit, in which the stake was nothing less\nthan the loser's head.\n\n\n \"Odin rose with speed, and went\n To contend in runic lore\n With the wise and crafty Jute.\n To Vafthrudni's royal hall\n Came the mighty king of spells.\"\n\n Vafthrudni's-mal (W. Taylor's tr.).\n\n\n\nOdin and Vafthrudnir\n\nOn this occasion Odin had disguised himself as a Wanderer, by Frigga's\nadvice, and when asked his name declared it was Gangrad. The contest of\nwit immediately began, Vafthrudnir questioning his guest concerning\nthe horses which carried Day and Night across the sky, the river\nIfing separating Joetun-heim from Asgard, and also about Vigrid,\nthe field where the last battle was to be fought.\n\nAll these questions were minutely answered by Odin, who, when\nVafthrudnir had ended, began the interrogatory in his turn, and\nreceived equally explicit answers about the origin of heaven and\nearth, the creation of the gods, their quarrel with the Vanas, the\noccupations of the heroes in Valhalla, the offices of the Norns, and\nthe rulers who were to replace the AEsir when they had all perished\nwith the world they had created. But when, in conclusion, Odin bent\nnear the giant and softly inquired what words Allfather whispered\nto his dead son Balder as he lay upon his funeral pyre, Vafthrudnir\nsuddenly recognised his divine visitor. Starting back in dismay, he\ndeclared that no one but Odin himself could answer that question,\nand that it was now quite plain to him that he had madly striven\nin a contest of wisdom and wit with the king of the gods, and fully\ndeserved the penalty of failure, the loss of his head.\n\n\n \"Not the man of mortal race\n Knows the words which thou hast spoken\n To thy son in days of yore.\n I hear the coming tread of death;\n He soon shall raze the runic lore,\n And knowledge of the rise of gods,\n From his ill-fated soul who strove\n With Odin's self the strife of wit,\n Wisest of the wise that breathe:\n Our stake was life, and thou hast won.\"\n\n Vafthrudni's-mal (W. Taylor's tr.).\n\n\nAs is the case with so many of the Northern myths, which are often\nfragmentary and obscure, this one ends here, and none of the scalds\ninforms us whether Odin really slew his rival, nor what was the answer\nto his last question; but mythologists have hazarded the suggestion\nthat the word whispered by Odin in Balder's ear, to console him for\nhis untimely death, must have been \"resurrection.\"\n\n\n\nInvention of Runes\n\nBesides being god of wisdom, Odin was god and inventor of runes,\nthe earliest alphabet used by Northern nations, which characters,\nsignifying mystery, were at first used for divination, although in\nlater times they served for inscriptions and records. Just as wisdom\ncould only be obtained at the cost of sacrifice, Odin himself relates\nthat he hung nine days and nights from the sacred tree Yggdrasil,\ngazing down into the immeasurable depths of Nifl-heim, plunged in deep\nthought, and self-wounded with his spear, ere he won the knowledge\nhe sought.\n\n\n \"I know that I hung\n On a wind-rocked tree\n Nine whole nights,\n With a spear wounded,\n And to Odin offered\n Myself to myself;\n On that tree\n Of which no one knows\n From what root it springs.\"\n\n Odin's Rune-Song (Thorpe's tr.).\n\n\nWhen he had fully mastered this knowledge, Odin cut magic runes upon\nhis spear Gungnir, upon the teeth of his horse Sleipnir, upon the\nclaws of the bear, and upon countless other animate and inanimate\nthings. And because he had thus hung over the abyss for such a long\nspace of time, he was ever after considered the patron divinity of\nall who were condemned to be hanged or who perished by the noose.\n\nAfter obtaining the gift of wisdom and runes, which gave him power over\nall things, Odin also coveted the gift of eloquence and poetry, which\nhe acquired in a manner which we shall relate in a subsequent chapter.\n\n\n\nGeirrod and Agnar\n\nOdin, as has already been stated, took great interest in the affairs\nof mortals, and, we are told, was specially fond of watching King\nHrauding's handsome little sons, Geirrod and Agnar, when they were\nabout eight and ten years of age respectively. One day these little\nlads went fishing, and a storm suddenly arose which blew their boat\nfar out to sea, where it finally stranded upon an island, upon which\ndwelt a seeming old couple, who in reality were Odin and Frigga in\ndisguise. They had assumed these forms in order to indulge a sudden\npassion for the close society of their proteges. The lads were warmly\nwelcomed and kindly treated, Odin choosing Geirrod as his favourite,\nand teaching him the use of arms, while Frigga petted and made much\nof little Agnar. The boys tarried on the island with their kind\nprotectors during the long, cold winter season; but when spring came,\nand the skies were blue, and the sea calm, they embarked in a boat\nwhich Odin provided, and set out for their native shore. Favoured by\ngentle breezes, they were soon wafted thither; but as the boat neared\nthe strand Geirrod quickly sprang out and pushed it far back into the\nwater, bidding his brother sail away into the evil spirit's power. At\nthat self-same moment the wind veered, and Agnar was indeed carried\naway, while his brother hastened to his father's palace with a lying\ntale as to what had happened to his brother. He was joyfully received\nas one from the dead, and in due time he succeeded his father upon\nthe throne.\n\nYears passed by, during which the attention of Odin had been claimed by\nother high considerations, when one day, while the divine couple were\nseated on the throne Hlidskialf, Odin suddenly remembered the winter's\nsojourn on the desert island, and he bade his wife notice how powerful\nhis pupil had become, and taunted her because her favourite Agnar had\nmarried a giantess and had remained poor and of no consequence. Frigga\nquietly replied that it was better to be poor than hardhearted,\nand accused Geirrod of lack of hospitality--one of the most heinous\ncrimes in the eyes of a Northman. She even went so far as to declare\nthat in spite of all his wealth he often ill-treated his guests.\n\nWhen Odin heard this accusation he declared that he would prove the\nfalsity of the charge by assuming the guise of a Wanderer and testing\nGeirrod's generosity. Wrapped in his cloud-hued raiment, with slouch\nhat and pilgrim staff,--\n\n\n \"Wanderer calls me the world,\n Far have I carried my feet,\n On the back of the earth\n I have boundlessly been,\"--\n\n Wagner (Forman's tr.).\n\n\nOdin immediately set out by a roundabout way, while Frigga, to outwit\nhim, immediately despatched a swift messenger to warn Geirrod to\nbeware of a man in wide mantle and broad-brimmed hat, as he was a\nwicked enchanter who would work him ill.\n\nWhen, therefore, Odin presented himself before the king's palace\nhe was dragged into Geirrod's presence and questioned roughly. He\ngave his name as Grimnir, but refused to tell whence he came or what\nhe wanted, so as this reticence confirmed the suspicion suggested\nto the mind of Geirrod, he allowed his love of cruelty full play,\nand commanded that the stranger should be bound between two fires,\nin such wise that the flames played around him without quite touching\nhim, and he remained thus eight days and nights, in obstinate silence,\nwithout food. Now Agnar had returned secretly to his brother's palace,\nwhere he occupied a menial position, and one night when all was still,\nin pity for the suffering of the unfortunate captive, he conveyed to\nhis lips a horn of ale. But for this Odin would have had nothing to\ndrink--the most serious of all trials to the god.\n\nAt the end of the eighth day, while Geirrod, seated upon his throne,\nwas gloating over his prisoner's sufferings, Odin began to sing--softly\nat first, then louder and louder, until the hall re-echoed with his\ntriumphant notes--a prophecy that the king, who had so long enjoyed\nthe god's favour, would soon perish by his own sword.\n\n\n \"The fallen by the sword\n Ygg shall now have;\n Thy life is now run out:\n Wroth with thee are the Disir:\n Odin thou now shalt see:\n Draw near to me if thou canst.\"\n\n Saemund's Edda (Thorpe's tr.).\n\n\nAs the last notes died away the chains dropped from his hands, the\nflames flickered and went out, and Odin stood in the midst of the hall,\nno longer in human form, but in all the power and beauty of a god.\n\nOn hearing the ominous prophecy Geirrod hastily drew his sword,\nintending to slay the insolent singer; but when he beheld the sudden\ntransformation he started in dismay, tripped, fell upon the sharp\nblade, and perished as Odin had just foretold. Turning to Agnar, who,\naccording to some accounts, was the king's son, and not his brother,\nfor these old stories are often strangely confused, Odin bade him\nascend the throne in reward for his humanity, and, further to repay\nhim for the timely draught of ale, he promised to bless him with all\nmanner of prosperity.\n\nOn another occasion Odin wandered to earth, and was absent so\nlong that the gods began to think that they would not see him in\nAsgard again. This encouraged his brothers Vili and Ve, who by some\nmythologists are considered as other personifications of himself,\nto usurp his power and his throne, and even, we are told, to espouse\nhis wife Frigga.\n\n\n \"Be thou silent, Frigg!\n Thou art Fioergyn's daughter\n And ever hast been fond of men,\n Since Ve and Vili, it is said,\n Thou, Vidrir's wife, didst\n Both to thy bosom take.\"\n\n Saemund's Edda (Thorpe's tr.).\n\n\n\nMay-Day Festivals\n\nBut upon Odin's return the usurpers vanished for ever; and in\ncommemoration of the disappearance of the false Odin, who had ruled\nseven months and had brought nothing but unhappiness to the world,\nand of the return of the benevolent deity, the heathen Northmen\nformerly celebrated yearly festivals, which were long continued\nas May Day rejoicings. Until very lately there was always, on that\nday, a grand procession in Sweden, known as the May Ride, in which a\nflower-decked May king (Odin) pelted with blossoms the fur-enveloped\nWinter (his supplanter), until he put him to ignominious flight. In\nEngland also the first of May was celebrated as a festive occasion,\nin which May-pole dances, May queens, Maid Marian, and Jack in the\nGreen played prominent parts.\n\nAs personification of heaven, Odin, of course, was the lover and spouse\nof the earth, and as to them the earth bore a threefold aspect, the\nNorthmen depicted him as a polygamist, and allotted to him several\nwives. The first among these was Joerd (Erda), the primitive earth,\ndaughter of Night or of the giantess Fiorgyn. She bore him his\nfamous son Thor, the god of thunder. The second and principal wife\nwas Frigga, a personification of the civilised world. She gave him\nBalder, the gentle god of spring, Hermod, and, according to some\nauthorities, Tyr. The third wife was Rinda, a personification of the\nhard and frozen earth, who reluctantly yields to his warm embrace,\nbut finally gives birth to Vali, the emblem of vegetation.\n\nOdin is also said to have married Saga or Laga, the goddess of history\n(hence our verb \"to say\"), and to have daily visited her in the crystal\nhall of Sokvabek, beneath a cool, ever-flowing river, to drink its\nwaters and listen to her songs about olden times and vanished races.\n\n\n \"Sokvabek hight the fourth dwelling;\n Over it flow the cool billows;\n Glad drink there Odin and Saga\n Every day from golden cups.\"\n\n Norse Mythology (R. B. Anderson).\n\n\nHis other wives were Grid, the mother of Vidar; Gunlod, the mother\nof Bragi; Skadi; and the nine giantesses who simultaneously bore\nHeimdall--all of whom play more or less important parts in the various\nmyths of the North.\n\n\n\nThe Historical Odin\n\nBesides this ancient Odin, there was a more modern, semi-historical\npersonage of the same name, to whom all the virtues, powers, and\nadventures of his predecessor have been attributed. He was the\nchief of the AEsir, inhabitants of Asia Minor, who, sore pressed by\nthe Romans, and threatened with destruction or slavery, left their\nnative land about 70 B.C., and migrated into Europe. This Odin is\nsaid to have conquered Russia, Germany, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden,\nleaving a son on the throne of each conquered country. He also built\nthe town of Odensoe. He was welcomed in Sweden by Gylfi, the king,\nwho gave him a share of the realm, and allowed him to found the city\nof Sigtuna, where he built a temple and introduced a new system of\nworship. Tradition further relates that as his end drew near, this\nmythical Odin assembled his followers, publicly cut himself nine\ntimes in the breast with his spear,--a ceremony called \"carving Geir\nodds,\"--and told them he was about to return to his native land Asgard,\nhis old home, where he would await their coming, to share with him\na life of feasting, drinking, and fighting.\n\nAccording to another account, Gylfi, having heard of the power\nof the AEsir, the inhabitants of Asgard, and wishing to ascertain\nwhether these reports were true, journeyed to the south. In due time\nhe came to Odin's palace, where he was expected, and where he was\ndeluded by the vision of Har, Iafn-har, and Thridi, three divinities,\nenthroned one above the other. The gatekeeper, Gangler, answered all\nhis questions, and gave him a long explanation of Northern mythology,\nwhich is recorded in the Younger Edda, and then, having finished his\ninstructions, suddenly vanished with the palace amid a deafening noise.\n\nAccording to other very ancient poems, Odin's sons, Weldegg, Beldegg,\nSigi, Skiold, Saeming, and Yngvi, became kings of East Saxony, West\nSaxony, Franconia, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, and from them are\ndescended the Saxons, Hengist and Horsa, and the royal families of the\nNorthern lands. Still another version relates that Odin and Frigga had\nseven sons, who founded the Anglo-Saxon heptarchy. In the course of\ntime this mysterious king was confounded with the Odin whose worship\nhe introduced, and all his deeds were attributed to the god.\n\nOdin was worshipped in numerous temples, but especially in the\ngreat fane at Upsala, where the most solemn festivals were held,\nand where sacrifices were offered. The victim was generally a horse,\nbut in times of pressing need human offerings were made, even the\nking being once offered up to avert a famine.\n\n\n \"Upsal's temple, where the North\n Saw Valhal's halls fair imag'd here on earth.\"\n\n Viking Tales of the North (R. B. Anderson).\n\n\nThe first toast at every festival here was drunk in his honour, and,\nbesides the first of May, one day in every week was held sacred to\nhim, and, from his Saxon name, Woden, was called Woden's day, whence\nthe English word \"Wednesday\" has been derived. It was customary for\nthe people to assemble at his shrine on festive occasions, to hear\nthe songs of the scalds, who were rewarded for their minstrelsy by\nthe gift of golden bracelets or armlets, which curled up at the ends\nand were called \"Odin's serpents.\"\n\nThere are but few remains of ancient Northern art now extant, and\nalthough rude statues of Odin were once quite common they have all\ndisappeared, as they were made of wood--a perishable substance, which\nin the hands of the missionaries, and especially of Olaf the Saint,\nthe Northern iconoclast, was soon reduced to ashes.\n\n\n \"There in the Temple, carved in wood,\n The image of great Odin stood.\"\n\n Saga of King Olaf (Longfellow).\n\n\nOdin himself is supposed to have given his people a code of laws\nwhereby to govern their conduct, in a poem called Havamal, or the\nHigh Song, which forms part of the Edda. In this lay he taught\nthe fallibility of man, the necessity for courage, temperance,\nindependence, and truthfulness, respect for old age, hospitality,\ncharity, and contentment, and gave instructions for the burial of\nthe dead.\n\n\n \"At home let a man be cheerful,\n And toward a guest liberal;\n Of wise conduct he should be,\n Of good memory and ready speech;\n If much knowledge he desires,\n He must often talk on what is good.\"\n\n Havamal (Thorpe's tr.).\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER III: FRIGGA\n\n\nThe Queen of the Gods\n\nFrigga, or Frigg, daughter of Fiorgyn and sister of Joerd, according to\nsome mythologists, is considered by others as a daughter of Joerd and\nOdin, whom she eventually married. This wedding caused such general\nrejoicing in Asgard, where the goddess was greatly beloved, that ever\nafter it was customary to celebrate its anniversary with feast and\nsong, and the goddess being declared patroness of marriage, her health\nwas always proposed with that of Odin and Thor at wedding feasts.\n\nFrigga was goddess of the atmosphere, or rather of the clouds, and as\nsuch was represented as wearing either snow-white or dark garments,\naccording to her somewhat variable moods. She was queen of the gods,\nand she alone had the privilege of sitting on the throne Hlidskialf,\nbeside her august husband. From thence she too could look over all\nthe world and see what was happening, and, according to the belief\nof our ancestors, she possessed the knowledge of the future, which,\nhowever, no one could ever prevail upon her to reveal, thus proving\nthat Northern women could keep a secret inviolate.\n\n\n \"Of me the gods are sprung;\n And all that is to come I know, but lock\n In my own breast, and have to none reveal'd.\"\n\n Balder Dead (Matthew Arnold).\n\n\nShe was generally represented as a tall, beautiful, and stately woman,\ncrowned with heron plumes, the symbol of silence or forgetfulness, and\nclothed in pure white robes, secured at the waist by a golden girdle,\nfrom which hung a bunch of keys, the distinctive sign of the Northern\nhousewife, whose special patroness she was said to be. Although she\noften appeared beside her husband, Frigga preferred to remain in her\nown palace, called Fensalir, the hall of mists or of the sea, where\nshe diligently plied her wheel or distaff, spinning golden thread or\nweaving long webs of bright-coloured clouds.\n\nIn order to perform this work she made use of a marvellous jewelled\nspinning wheel or distaff, which at night shone brightly in the sky as\na constellation, known in the North as Frigga's Spinning Wheel, while\nthe inhabitants of the South called the same stars Orion's Girdle.\n\nTo her hall Fensalir the gracious goddess invited husbands and wives\nwho had led virtuous lives on earth, so that they might enjoy each\nother's companionship even after death, and never be called upon to\npart again.\n\n\n \"There in the glen, Fensalir stands, the house\n Of Frea, honour'd mother of the gods,\n And shows its lighted windows and the open doors.\"\n\n Balder Dead (Matthew Arnold).\n\n\nFrigga was therefore considered the goddess of conjugal and\nmotherly love, and was specially worshipped by married lovers and\ntender parents. This exalted office did not entirely absorb her\nthoughts however, for we are told that she was very fond of dress,\nand whenever she appeared before the assembled gods her attire was\nrich and becoming, and her jewels chosen with much taste.\n\n\n\nThe Stolen Gold\n\nFrigga's love of adornment once led her sadly astray, for, in her\nlonging to possess some new ornament, she secretly purloined a piece\nof gold from a statue representing her husband, which had just been\nplaced in his temple. The stolen metal was entrusted to the dwarfs,\nwith instructions to fashion a marvellous necklace for her use. This,\nwhen finished, was so resplendent that it greatly enhanced her charms,\nand even increased Odin's love for her. But when he discovered the\ntheft of the gold he angrily summoned the dwarfs and bade them reveal\nwho had dared to touch his statue. Unwilling to betray the queen of\nthe gods, the dwarfs remained obstinately silent, and, seeing that\nno information could be elicited from them, Odin commanded that the\nstatue should be placed above the temple gate, and set to work to\ndevise runes which should endow it with the power of speech and enable\nit to denounce the thief. When Frigga heard these tidings she trembled\nwith fear, and implored her favourite attendant, Fulla, to invent some\nmeans of protecting her from Allfather's wrath. Fulla, who was always\nready to serve her mistress, immediately departed, and soon returned,\naccompanied by a hideous dwarf, who promised to prevent the statue\nfrom speaking if Frigga would only deign to smile graciously upon\nhim. This boon having been granted, the dwarf hastened off to the\ntemple, caused a deep sleep to fall upon the guards, and while they\nwere thus unconscious, pulled the statue down from its pedestal and\nbroke it to pieces, so that it could never betray Frigga's theft,\nin spite of all Odin's efforts to give it the power of speech.\n\nOdin, discovering this sacrilege on the morrow, was very angry indeed;\nso angry that he left Asgard and utterly disappeared, carrying away\nwith him all the blessings which he had been wont to shower upon gods\nand men. According to some authorities, his brothers, as we have\nalready seen, took advantage of his absence to assume his form and\nsecure possession of his throne and wife; but although they looked\nexactly like him they could not restore the lost blessings, and allowed\nthe ice-giants, or Jotuns, to invade the earth and bind it fast in\ntheir cold fetters. These wicked giants pinched the leaves and buds\ntill they all shrivelled up, stripped the trees bare, shrouded the\nearth in a great white coverlet, and veiled it in impenetrable mists.\n\nBut at the end of seven weary months the true Odin relented and\nreturned, and when he saw all the evil that had been done he drove\nthe usurpers away, forced the frost-giants to relax their grip of the\nearth and to release her from her icy bonds, and again showered all\nhis blessings down upon her, cheering her with the light of his smile.\n\n\n\nOdin Outwitted\n\nAs has already been seen, Odin, although god of wit and wisdom, was\nsometimes no match for his wife Frigga, who, womanlike, was sure to\nobtain her way by some means. On one occasion the august pair were\nseated upon Hlidskialf, gazing with interest upon the Winilers and\nVandals, who were preparing for a battle which was to decide which\npeople should henceforth have supremacy. Odin gazed with satisfaction\nupon the Vandals, who were loudly praying to him for victory; but\nFrigga watched the movements of the Winilers with more attention,\nbecause they had entreated her aid. She therefore turned to Odin\nand coaxingly inquired whom he meant to favour on the morrow; he,\nwishing to evade her question, declared he would not decide, as it\nwas time for bed, but would give the victory to those upon whom his\neyes first rested in the morning.\n\nThis answer was shrewdly calculated, for Odin knew that his couch\nwas so turned that upon waking he would face the Vandals, and he\nintended looking out from thence, instead of waiting until he had\nmounted his throne. But, although so cunningly contrived, this plan\nwas frustrated by Frigga, who, divining his purpose, waited until he\nwas sound asleep, and then noiselessly turned his couch so that he\nshould face her favourites. Then she sent word to the Winilers to dress\ntheir women in armour and send them out in battle array at dawn, with\ntheir long hair carefully combed down over their cheeks and breasts.\n\n\n \"Take thou thy women-folk,\n Maidens and wives:\n Over your ankles\n Lace on the white war-hose;\n Over your bosoms\n Link up the hard mail-nets;\n Over your lips\n Plait long tresses with cunning;--\n So war beasts full-bearded\n King Odin shall deem you,\n When off the grey sea-beach\n At sunrise ye greet him.\"\n\n The Longbeards' Saga (Charles Kingsley).\n\n\nThese instructions were carried out with scrupulous exactness, and\nwhen Odin awoke the next morning his first conscious glance fell upon\ntheir armed host, and he exclaimed in surprise, \"What Longbeards are\nthose?\" (In German the ancient word for long beards was Langobarden,\nwhich was the name used to designate the Lombards.) Frigga, upon\nhearing this exclamation, which she had foreseen, immediately cried\nout in triumph that Allfather had given them a new name, and was\nin honour bound to follow the usual Northern custom and give also a\nbaptismal gift.\n\n\n \"'A name thou hast given them,\n Shames neither thee nor them,\n Well can they wear it.\n Give them the victory,\n First have they greeted thee;\n Give them the victory,\n Yoke-fellow mine!'\"\n\n The Longbeards' Saga (Charles Kingsley).\n\n\nOdin, seeing he had been so cleverly outwitted, made no demur, and in\nmemory of the victory which his favour vouchsafed to them the Winilers\nretained the name given by the king of the gods, who ever after watched\nover them with special care, giving them many blessings, among others\na home in the sunny South, on the fruitful plains of Lombardy.\n\n\n\nFulla\n\nFrigga had, as her own special attendants, a number of beautiful\nmaidens, among whom were Fulla (Volla), her sister, according to\nsome authorities, to whom she entrusted her jewel casket. Fulla\nalways presided over her mistress's toilet, was privileged to put\non her golden shoes, attended her everywhere, was her confidante,\nand often advised her how best to help the mortals who implored\nher aid. Fulla was very beautiful indeed, and had long golden hair,\nwhich she wore flowing loose over her shoulders, restrained only by\na golden circlet or snood. As her hair was emblematic of the golden\ngrain, this circlet represented the binding of the sheaf. Fulla\nwas also known as Abundia, or Abundantia, in some parts of Germany,\nwhere she was considered the symbol of the fulness of the earth.\n\nHlin, Frigga's second attendant, was the goddess of consolation,\nsent out to kiss away the tears of mourners and pour balm into hearts\nwrung by grief. She also listened with ever-open ears to the prayers\nof mortals, carrying them to her mistress, and advising her at times\nhow best to answer them and give the desired relief.\n\n\n\nGna\n\nGna was Frigga's swift messenger. Mounted upon her fleet steed\nHofvarpnir (hoof-thrower), she would travel with marvellous rapidity\nthrough fire and air, over land and sea, and was therefore considered\nthe personification of the refreshing breeze. Darting thus to and fro,\nGna saw all that was happening upon earth, and told her mistress\nall she knew. On one occasion, as she was passing over Hunaland,\nshe saw King Rerir, a lineal descendant of Odin, sitting mournfully\nby the shore, bewailing his childlessness. The queen of heaven,\nwho was also goddess of childbirth, upon hearing this took an apple\n(the emblem of fruitfulness) from her private store, gave it to Gna,\nand bade her carry it to the king. With the rapidity of the element\nshe personified, Gna darted away, and as she passed over Rerir's head,\nshe dropped her apple into his lap with a radiant smile.\n\n\n \"'What flies up there, so quickly driving past?'\n Her answer from the clouds, as rushing by:\n 'I fly not, nor do drive, but hurry fast,\n Hoof-flinger swift through cloud and mist and sky.'\"\n\n Asgard and the Gods (Wagner-Macdowall).\n\n\nThe king pondered for a moment upon the meaning of this sudden\napparition and gift, and then hurried home, his heart beating high\nwith hope, and gave the apple to his wife to eat. In due season,\nto his intense joy, she bore him a son, Volsung, the great Northern\nhero, who became so famous that he gave his name to all his race.\n\n\n\nLofn, Vjofn, and Syn\n\nBesides the three above mentioned, Frigga had other attendants in her\ntrain. There was the mild and gracious maiden Lofn (praise or love),\nwhose duty it was to remove all obstacles from the path of lovers.\n\n\n \"My lily tall, from her saddle bearing,\n I led then forth through the temple, faring\n To th' altar-circle where, priests among,\n Lofn's vows she took with unfalt'ring tongue.\"\n\n Viking Tales of the North (R. B. Anderson).\n\n\nVjofn's duty was to incline obdurate hearts to love, to maintain peace\nand concord among mankind, and to reconcile quarrelling husbands and\nwives. Syn (truth) guarded the door of Frigga's palace, refusing to\nopen it to those who were not allowed to come in. When she had once\nshut the door upon a would-be intruder no appeal would avail to change\nher decision. She therefore presided over all tribunals and trials,\nand whenever a thing was to be vetoed the usual formula was to declare\nthat Syn was against it.\n\n\n\nGefjon\n\nGefjon was also one of the maidens in Frigga's palace, and to her\nwere entrusted all those who died unwedded, whom she received and\nmade happy for ever.\n\nAccording to some authorities, Gefjon did not remain a virgin herself,\nbut married one of the giants, by whom she had four sons. This same\ntradition goes on to declare that Odin sent her before him to visit\nGylfi, King of Sweden, and to beg for some land which she might call\nher own. The king, amused at her request, promised her as much land as\nshe could plough around in one day and night. Gefjon, nothing daunted,\nchanged her four sons into oxen, harnessed them to a plough, and began\nto cut a furrow so wide and deep that the king and his courtiers were\namazed. But Gefjon continued her work without showing any signs of\nfatigue, and when she had ploughed all around a large piece of land\nforcibly wrenched it away, and made her oxen drag it down into the sea,\nwhere she made it fast and called it Seeland.\n\n\n \"Gefjon drew from Gylfi,\n Rich in stored up treasure,\n The land she joined to Denmark.\n Four heads and eight eyes bearing,\n While hot sweat trickled down them,\n The oxen dragged the reft mass\n That formed this winsome island.\"\n\n Norse Mythology (R. B. Anderson).\n\n\nAs for the hollow she left behind her, it was quickly filled with water\nand formed a lake, at first called Logrum (the sea), but now known\nas Maelar, whose every indentation corresponds with the headlands of\nSeeland. Gefjon then married Skiold, one of Odin's sons, and became\nthe ancestress of the royal Danish race of Skioldungs, dwelling in\nthe city of Hleidra or Lethra, which she founded, and which became\nthe principal place of sacrifice for the heathen Danes.\n\n\n\nEira, Vara, Voer and Snotra\n\nEira, also Frigga's attendant, was considered a most skilful\nphysician. She gathered simples all over the earth to cure both wounds\nand diseases, and it was her province to teach the science to women,\nwho were the only ones to practise medicine among the ancient nations\nof the North.\n\n\n \"Gaping wounds are bound by Eyra.\"\n\n Valhalla (J. C. Jones).\n\n\nVara heard all oaths and punished perjurers, while she rewarded those\nwho faithfully kept their word. Then there were also Voer (faith),\nwho knew all that was to occur throughout the world, and Snotra,\ngoddess of virtue, who had mastered all knowledge.\n\nWith such a galaxy of attendants it is little wonder that Frigga was\nconsidered a powerful deity; but in spite of the prominent place she\noccupied in Northern religion, she had no special temple nor shrine,\nand was but little worshipped except in company with Odin.\n\n\n\nHolda\n\nWhile Frigga was not known by this name in Southern Germany, there\nwere other goddesses worshipped there, whose attributes were so exactly\nlike hers, that they were evidently the same, although they bore very\ndifferent names in the various provinces. Among them was the fair\ngoddess Holda (Hulda or Frau Holle), who graciously dispensed many\nrich gifts. As she presided over the weather, the people were wont to\ndeclare when the snowflakes fell that Frau Holle was shaking her bed,\nand when it rained, that she was washing her clothes, often pointing\nto the white clouds as her linen which she had put out to bleach. When\nlong grey strips of clouds drifted across the sky they said she was\nweaving, for she was supposed to be also a very diligent weaver,\nspinner, and housekeeper. It is said she gave flax to mankind and\ntaught them how to use it, and in the Tyrol the following story is\ntold about the way in which she bestowed this invaluable gift:\n\n\n\nThe Discovery of Flax\n\nThere was once a peasant who daily left his wife and children in the\nvalley to take his sheep up the mountain to pasture; and as he watched\nhis flock grazing on the mountain-side, he often had opportunity to\nuse his cross-bow and bring down a chamois, whose flesh would furnish\nhis larder with food for many a day.\n\nWhile pursuing a fine animal one day he saw it disappear behind a\nboulder, and when he came to the spot, he was amazed to see a doorway\nin the neighbouring glacier, for in the excitement of the pursuit he\nhad climbed higher and higher, until he was now on top of the mountain,\nwhere glittered the everlasting snow.\n\nThe shepherd boldly passed through the open door, and soon found\nhimself in a wonderful jewelled cave hung with stalactites, in the\ncentre of which stood a beautiful woman, clad in silvery robes, and\nattended by a host of lovely maidens crowned with Alpine roses. In his\nsurprise, the shepherd sank to his knees, and as in a dream heard the\nqueenly central figure bid him choose anything he saw to carry away\nwith him. Although dazzled by the glow of the precious stones around\nhim, the shepherd's eyes constantly reverted to a little nosegay of\nblue flowers which the gracious apparition held in her hand, and he\nnow timidly proffered a request that it might become his. Smiling with\npleasure, Holda, for it was she, gave it to him, telling him he had\nchosen wisely and would live as long as the flowers did not droop and\nfade. Then, giving the shepherd a measure of seed which she told him\nto sow in his field, the goddess bade him begone; and as the thunder\npealed and the earth shook, the poor man found himself out upon the\nmountain-side once more, and slowly wended his way home to his wife,\nto whom he told his adventure and showed the lovely blue flowers and\nthe measure of seed.\n\nThe woman reproached her husband bitterly for not having brought some\nof the precious stones which he so glowingly described, instead of the\nblossoms and seed; nevertheless the man proceeded to sow the latter,\nand he found to his surprise that the measure supplied seed enough\nfor several acres.\n\nSoon the little green shoots began to appear, and one moonlight\nnight, while the peasant was gazing upon them, as was his wont,\nfor he felt a curious attraction to the field which he had sown, and\noften lingered there wondering what kind of grain would be produced,\nhe saw a misty form hover above the field, with hands outstretched\nas if in blessing. At last the field blossomed, and countless little\nblue flowers opened their calyxes to the golden sun. When the flowers\nhad withered and the seed was ripe, Holda came once more to teach the\npeasant and his wife how to harvest the flax--for such it was--and from\nit to spin, weave, and bleach linen. As the people of the neighbourhood\nwillingly purchased both linen and flax-seed, the peasant and his\nwife soon grew very rich indeed, and while he ploughed, sowed, and\nharvested, she spun, wove, and bleached the linen. The man lived to\na good old age, and saw his grandchildren and great-grandchildren\ngrow up around him. All this time his carefully treasured bouquet\nhad remained fresh as when he first brought it home, but one day he\nsaw that during the night the flowers had drooped and were dying.\n\nKnowing what this portended, and that he too must die, the peasant\nclimbed the mountain once more to the glacier, and found again the\ndoorway for which he had often vainly searched. He entered the icy\nportal, and was never seen or heard of again, for, according to the\nlegend, the goddess took him under her care, and bade him live in\nher cave, where his every wish was gratified.\n\n\n\nTannhaeuser\n\nAccording to a mediaeval tradition, Holda dwelt in a cave in the\nHoerselberg, in Thuringia, where she was known as Frau Venus, and\nwas considered as an enchantress who lured mortals into her realm,\nwhere she detained them for ever, steeping their senses in all\nmanner of sensual pleasures. The most famous of her victims was\nTannhaeuser, who, after he had lived under her spell for a season,\nexperienced a revulsion of feeling which loosened her bonds over his\nspirit and induced anxious thoughts concerning his soul. He escaped\nfrom her power and hastened to Rome to confess his sins and seek\nabsolution. But when the Pope heard of his association with one of\nthe pagan goddesses whom the priests taught were nothing but demons,\nhe declared that the knight could no more hope for pardon than to\nsee his staff bear buds and bloom.\n\n\n \"Hast thou within the nets of Satan lain?\n Hast thou thy soul to her perdition pledged?\n Hast thou thy lip to Hell's Enchantress lent,\n To drain damnation from her reeking cup?\n Then know that sooner from the withered staff\n That in my hand I hold green leaves shall spring,\n Than from the brand in hell-fire scorched rebloom\n The blossoms of salvation.\"\n\n Tannhaeuser (Owen Meredith).\n\n\nCrushed with grief at this pronouncement, Tannhaeuser fled, and,\ndespite the entreaties of his faithful friend, Eckhardt, no great\ntime elapsed ere he returned to the Hoerselberg, where he vanished\nwithin the cave. He had no sooner disappeared, however, than the Pope's\nmessengers arrived, proclaiming that he was pardoned, for the withered\nstaff had miraculously bloomed, thus proving to all that there was\nno sin too heinous to be pardoned, providing repentance were sincere.\n\n\n \"Dashed to the hip with travel, dewed with haste,\n A flying post, and in his hand he bore\n A withered staff o'erflourished with green leaves;\n Who,--followed by a crowd of youth and eld,\n That sang to stun with sound the lark in heaven,\n 'A miracle! a miracle from Rome!\n Glory to God that makes the bare bough green!'--\n Sprang in the midst, and, hot for answer, asked\n News of the Knight Tannhaeuser.\"\n\n Tannhaeuser (Owen Meredith).\n\n\nHolda was also the owner of a magic fountain called Quickborn, which\nrivalled the famed fountain of youth, and of a chariot in which she\nrode from place to place when she inspected her domain. This vehicle\nhaving once suffered damage, the goddess bade a wheelwright repair it,\nand when he had finished told him to keep some chips as his pay. The\nman was indignant at such a meagre reward, and kept only a very few of\nthe number; but to his surprise he found these on the morrow changed\nto gold.\n\n\n \"Fricka, thy wife--\n This way she reins her harness of rams.\n Hey! how she whirls\n The golden whip;\n The luckless beasts\n Unboundedly bleat;\n Her wheels wildly she rattles;\n Wrath is lit in her look.\"\n\n Wagner (Forman's tr.).\n\n\n\nEastre, the Goddess of Spring\n\nThe Saxon goddess Eastre, or Ostara, goddess of spring, whose name has\nsurvived in the English word Easter, is also identical with Frigga,\nfor she too is considered goddess of the earth, or rather of Nature's\nresurrection after the long death of winter. This gracious goddess\nwas so dearly loved by the old Teutons, that even after Christianity\nhad been introduced they retained so pleasant a recollection of her,\nthat they refused to have her degraded to the rank of a demon, like\nmany of their other divinities, and transferred her name to their great\nChristian feast. It had long been customary to celebrate this day by\nthe exchange of presents of coloured eggs, for the egg is the type of\nthe beginning of life; so the early Christians continued to observe\nthis rule, declaring, however, that the egg is also symbolical of the\nResurrection. In various parts of Germany, stone altars can still be\nseen, which are known as Easter-stones, because they were dedicated\nto the fair goddess Ostara. They were crowned with flowers by the\nyoung people, who danced gaily around them by the light of great\nbonfires,--a species of popular games practised until the middle of\nthe present century, in spite of the priests' denunciations and of\nthe repeatedly published edicts against them.\n\n\n\nBertha, the White Lady\n\nIn other parts of Germany, Frigga, Holda, or Ostara is known by\nthe name of Brechta, Bertha, or the White Lady. She is best known\nunder this title in Thuringia, where she was supposed to dwell in\na hollow mountain, keeping watch over the Heimchen, souls of unborn\nchildren, and of those who died unbaptized. Here Bertha watched over\nagriculture, caring for the plants, which her infant troop watered\ncarefully, for each babe was supposed to carry a little jar for that\nexpress purpose. While the goddess was duly respected and her retreat\nunmolested, she remained where she was; but tradition relates that\nshe once left the country with her infant train dragging her plough,\nand settled elsewhere to continue her kind ministrations. Bertha\nis the legendary ancestress of several noble families, and she is\nsupposed to be the same as the industrious queen of the same name,\nthe mythical mother of Charlemagne, whose era has become proverbial,\nfor in speaking of the Golden Age in France and Germany it is customary\nto say, \"in the days when Bertha spun.\"\n\nAs this Bertha is supposed to have developed a very large and flat\nfoot, from continually pressing the treadle of her wheel, she is\noften represented in mediaeval art as a woman with a splay foot,\nand hence known as la reine pedauque.\n\nAs ancestress of the imperial house of Germany, the White Lady is\nsupposed to appear in the palace before a death or misfortune in\nthe family, and this superstition is still so rife in Germany, that\nthe newspapers in 1884 contained the official report of a sentinel,\nwho declared that he had seen her flit past him in one of the palace\ncorridors.\n\nAs Bertha was renowned for her spinning, she naturally was regarded\nas the special patroness of that branch of female industry, and was\nsaid to flit through the streets of every village, at nightfall,\nduring the twelve nights between Christmas and January 6, peering\ninto every window to inspect the spinning of the household.\n\nThe maidens whose work had been carefully performed were rewarded by\na present of one of her own golden threads or a distaff full of extra\nfine flax; but wherever a careless spinner was found, her wheel was\nbroken, her flax soiled, and if she had failed to honour the goddess\nby eating plenty of the cakes baked at that period of the year,\nshe was cruelly punished.\n\nIn Mecklenburg, this same goddess is known as Frau Gode, or Wode, the\nfemale form of Wuotan or Odin, and her appearance is always considered\nthe harbinger of great prosperity. She is also supposed to be a great\nhuntress, and to lead the Wild Hunt, mounted upon a white horse,\nher attendants being changed into hounds and all manner of wild beasts.\n\nIn Holland she was called Vrou-elde, and from her the Milky Way is\nknown by the Dutch as Vrou-elden-straat; while in parts of Northern\nGermany she was called Nerthus (Mother Earth). Her sacred car was\nkept on an island, presumably Ruegen, where the priests guarded it\ncarefully until she appeared to take a yearly journey throughout\nher realm to bless the land. The goddess, her face completely hidden\nby a thick veil, then sat in this car, which was drawn by two cows,\nand she was respectfully escorted by her priests. When she passed,\nthe people did homage by ceasing all warfare, and laying aside their\nweapons. They donned festive attire, and began no quarrel until\nthe goddess had again retired to her sanctuary. Then both car and\ngoddess were bathed in a secret lake (the Schwartze See, in Ruegen),\nwhich swallowed up the slaves who had assisted at the bathing, and\nonce more the priests resumed their watch over the sanctuary and\ngrove of Nerthus or Hlodyn, to await her next appearance.\n\nIn Scandinavia, this goddess was also known as Huldra, and boasted of\na train of attendant wood-nymphs, who sometimes sought the society of\nmortals, to enjoy a dance upon the village green. They could always\nbe detected, however, by the tip of a cow's tail which trailed from\nbeneath their long snow-white garments. These Huldra folk were the\nspecial protectors of the cattle on the mountain-sides, and were said\nto surprise the lonely traveller, at times, by the marvellous beauty\nof the melodies they sang to beguile the hours at their tasks.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IV: THOR\n\n\nThe Thunderer\n\nAccording to some mythologists, Thor, or Donar, is the son of Joerd\n(Erda) and of Odin, but others state that his mother was Frigga,\nqueen of the gods. This child was very remarkable for his great size\nand strength, and very soon after his birth amazed the assembled\ngods by playfully lifting and throwing about ten great bales of bear\nskins. Although generally good-tempered, Thor would occasionally fly\ninto a terrible rage, and as he was very dangerous at these times, his\nmother, unable to control him, sent him away from home and entrusted\nhim to the care of Vingnir (the winged), and of Hlora (heat). These\nfoster-parents, who are also considered as the personification of\nsheet-lightning, soon managed to control their troublesome charge, and\nbrought him up so wisely, that the gods entertained a very grateful\nrecollection of their kind offices. Thor himself, recognising all he\nowed them, assumed the names of Vingthor and Hlorridi, by which he\nis also known.\n\n\n \"Cry on, Vingi-Thor,\n With the dancing of the ring-mail and the smitten shields of war.\"\n\n Sigurd the Volsung (William Morris).\n\n\nHaving attained his full growth and the age of reason, Thor was\nadmitted to Asgard among the other gods, where he occupied one of the\ntwelve seats in the great judgment hall. He was also given the realm\nof Thrud-vang or Thrud-heim, where he built a wonderful palace called\nBilskirnir (lightning), the most spacious in all Asgard. It contained\nfive hundred and forty halls for the accommodation of the thralls,\nwho after death were welcomed to his home, where they received equal\ntreatment with their masters in Valhalla, for Thor was the patron\ngod of the peasants and lower classes.\n\n\n \"Five hundred halls\n And forty more,\n Methinketh, hath\n Bowed Bilskirnir.\n Of houses roofed\n There's none I know\n My son's surpassing.\"\n\n Saemund's Edda (Percy's tr.).\n\n\nAs he was god of thunder, Thor alone was never allowed to pass over\nthe wonderful bridge Bifroest, lest he should set it aflame by the\nheat of his presence; and when he wished to join his fellow gods by\nthe Urdar fountain, under the shade of the sacred tree Yggdrasil, he\nwas forced to make his way thither on foot, wading through the rivers\nKormt and Ormt, and the two streams Kerlaug, to the trysting place.\n\nThor, who was honoured as the highest god in Norway, came second in\nthe trilogy of all the other countries, and was called \"old Thor,\"\nbecause he is supposed by some mythologists to have belonged to an\nolder dynasty of gods, and not on account of his actual age, for he\nwas represented and described as a man in his prime, tall and well\nformed, with muscular limbs and bristling red hair and beard, from\nwhich, in moments of anger, the sparks flew in showers.\n\n\n \"First, Thor with the bent brow,\n In red beard muttering low,\n Darting fierce lightnings from eyeballs that glow,\n Comes, while each chariot wheel\n Echoes in thunder peal,\n As his dread hammer shock\n Makes Earth and Heaven rock,\n Clouds rifting above, while Earth quakes below.\"\n\n Valhalla (J. C. Jones).\n\n\nThe Northern races further adorned him with a crown, on each point\nof which was either a glittering star, or a steadily burning flame,\nso that his head was ever surrounded by a kind of halo of fire,\nhis own element.\n\n\n\nThor's Hammer\n\nThor was the proud possessor of a magic hammer called Mioelnir\n(the crusher) which he hurled at his enemies, the frost-giants,\nwith destructive power, and which possessed the wonderful property\nof always returning to his hand, however far away he might hurl it.\n\n\n \"I am the Thunderer!\n Here in my Northland,\n My fastness and fortress,\n Reign I forever!\n\n \"Here amid icebergs\n Rule I the nations;\n This is my hammer,\n Mioelnir the mighty;\n Giants and sorcerers\n Cannot withstand it!\"\n\n Saga of King Olaf (Longfellow).\n\n\nAs this huge hammer, the emblem of the thunderbolts, was generally\nred-hot, the god had an iron gauntlet called Iarn-greiper, which\nenabled him to grasp it firmly. He could hurl Mioelnir a great distance,\nand his strength, which was always remarkable, was doubled when he\nwore his magic belt called Megin-gioerd.\n\n\n \"This is my girdle:\n Whenever I brace it,\n Strength is redoubled!\"\n\n Saga of King Olaf (Longfellow).\n\n\nThor's hammer was considered so very sacred by the ancient Northern\npeople, that they were wont to make the sign of the hammer, as the\nChristians later taught them to make the sign of the cross, to ward\noff all evil influences, and to secure blessings. The same sign\nwas also made over the newly born infant when water was poured over\nits head and a name given. The hammer was used to drive in boundary\nstakes, which it was considered sacrilegious to remove, to hallow\nthe threshold of a new house, to solemnise a marriage, and, lastly,\nit played a part in the consecration of the funeral pyre upon which\nthe bodies of heroes, together with their weapons and steeds, and,\nin some cases, with their wives and dependents, were burned.\n\nIn Sweden, Thor, like Odin, was supposed to wear a broad-brimmed hat,\nand hence the storm-clouds in that country are known as Thor's hat, a\nname also given to one of the principal mountains in Norway. The rumble\nand roar of the thunder were said to be the roll of his chariot, for\nhe alone among the gods never rode on horseback, but walked, or drove\nin a brazen chariot drawn by two goats, Tanngniostr (tooth-cracker),\nand Tanngrisnr (tooth-gnasher), from whose teeth and hoofs the sparks\nconstantly flew.\n\n\n \"Thou camest near the next, O warrior Thor!\n Shouldering thy hammer, in thy chariot drawn,\n Swaying the long-hair'd goats with silver'd rein.\"\n\n Balder Dead (Matthew Arnold).\n\n\nWhen the god thus drove from place to place, he was called Aku-thor,\nor Thor the charioteer, and in Southern Germany the people, fancying\na brazen chariot alone inadequate to furnish all the noise they heard,\ndeclared it was loaded with copper kettles, which rattled and clashed,\nand therefore often called him, with disrespectful familiarity,\nthe kettle-vendor.\n\n\n\nThor's Family\n\nThor was twice married; first to the giantess Iarnsaxa (iron stone),\nwho bore him two sons, Magni (strength) and Modi (courage), both\ndestined to survive their father and the twilight of the gods,\nand rule over the new world which was to rise like a phoenix from\nthe ashes of the first. His second wife was Sif, the golden-haired,\nwho also bore him two children, Lorride, and a daughter named Thrud,\na young giantess renowned for her size and strength. True to the\nwell-known affinity of contrast, Thrud was wooed by the dwarf Alvis,\nwhom she rather favoured; and one evening, when this suitor, who,\nbeing a dwarf, could not face the light of day, presented himself in\nAsgard to sue for her hand, the assembled gods did not refuse their\nconsent. They had scarcely signified their approbation, however, when\nThor, who had been absent, suddenly appeared, and casting a glance of\ncontempt upon the puny lover, declared he would have to prove that his\nknowledge atoned for his small stature, before he could win his bride.\n\nTo test Alvis's mental powers, Thor then questioned him in the\nlanguage of the gods, Vanas, elves, and dwarfs, artfully prolonging\nhis examination until sunrise, when the first beam of light, falling\nupon the unhappy dwarf, petrified him. There he stood, an enduring\nexample of the gods' power, to serve as a warning to all other dwarfs\nwho might dare to test it.\n\n\n \"Ne'er in human bosom\n Have I found so many\n Words of the old time.\n Thee with subtlest cunning\n Have I yet befooled.\n Above ground standeth thou, dwarf\n By day art overtaken,\n Bright sunshine fills the hall.\"\n\n Saemund's Edda (Howitt's version).\n\n\n\nSif, the Golden-haired\n\nSif, Thor's wife, was very vain of a magnificent head of long golden\nhair which covered her from head to foot like a brilliant veil; and\nas she too was a symbol of the earth, her hair was said to represent\nthe long grass, or the golden grain covering the Northern harvest\nfields. Thor was very proud of his wife's beautiful hair; imagine\nhis dismay, therefore, upon waking one morning, to find her shorn,\nand as bald and denuded of ornament as the earth when the grain has\nbeen garnered, and nothing but the stubble remains! In his anger,\nThor sprang to his feet, vowing he would punish the perpetrator\nof this outrage, whom he immediately and rightly conjectured to be\nLoki, the arch-plotter, ever on the look-out for some evil deed to\nperform. Seizing his hammer, Thor went in search of Loki, who attempted\nto evade the irate god by changing his form. But it was all to no\npurpose; Thor soon overtook him, and without more ado caught him by\nthe throat, and almost strangled him ere he yielded to his imploring\nsigns and relaxed his powerful grip. When he could draw his breath,\nLoki begged forgiveness, but all his entreaties were vain, until he\npromised to procure for Sif a new head of hair, as beautiful as the\nfirst, and as luxuriant in growth.\n\n\n \"And thence for Sif new tresses I'll bring\n Of gold, ere the daylight's gone,\n So that she shall liken a field in spring,\n With its yellow-flowered garment on.\"\n\n The Dwarfs, Oehlenschlaeger (Pigott's tr.).\n\n\nThen Thor consented to let the traitor go; so Loki rapidly crept down\ninto the bowels of the earth, where Svart-alfa-heim was situated,\nto beg the dwarf Dvalin to fashion not only the precious hair, but\na present for Odin and Frey, whose anger he wished to disarm.\n\nHis request was favourably received and the dwarf fashioned the spear\nGungnir, which never failed in its aim, and the ship Skidbladnir,\nwhich, always wafted by favourable winds, could sail through the air\nas well as on the water, and which had this further magic property,\nthat although it could contain the gods and all their steeds, it\ncould be folded up into the very smallest compass and thrust in\none's pocket. Lastly, he spun the finest golden thread, from which\nhe fashioned the hair required for Sif, declaring that as soon as it\ntouched her head it would grow fast there and become as her own.\n\n\n \"Though they now seem dead, let them touch but her head,\n Each hair shall the life-moisture fill;\n Nor shall malice nor spell henceforward prevail\n Sif's tresses to work aught of ill.\"\n\n The Dwarfs, Oehlenschlaeger (Pigott's tr.).\n\n\nLoki was so pleased with these proofs of the dwarfs' skill that he\ndeclared the son of Ivald to be the most clever of smiths--words which\nwere overheard by Brock, another dwarf, who exclaimed that he was sure\nhis brother Sindri could produce three objects which would surpass\nthose which Loki held, not only in intrinsic value, but also in magical\nproperties. Loki immediately challenged the dwarf to show his skill,\nwagering his head against Brock's on the result of the undertaking.\n\nSindri, apprised of the wager, accepted Brock's offer to blow the\nbellows, warning him, however, that he must work persistently and\nnot for a moment relax his efforts if he wished him to succeed; then\nhe threw some gold in the fire, and went out to bespeak the favour\nof the hidden powers. During his absence Brock diligently plied the\nbellows, while Loki, hoping to make him pause, changed himself into\na gadfly and cruelly stung his hand. In spite of the pain, the dwarf\nkept on blowing, and when Sindri returned, he drew out of the fire\nan enormous wild boar, called Gullin-bursti, because of its golden\nbristles, which had the power of radiating light as it flitted across\nthe sky, for it could travel through the air with marvellous velocity.\n\n\n \"And now, strange to tell, from the roaring fire\n Came the golden-haired Gullinboerst,\n To serve as a charger the sun-god Frey,\n Sure, of all wild boars this the first.\"\n\n The Dwarfs, Oehlenschlaeger (Pigott's tr.).\n\n\nThis first piece of work successfully completed, Sindri flung some more\ngold on the fire and bade his brother resume blowing, while he again\nwent out to secure magic assistance. This time Loki, still disguised\nas a gadfly, stung the dwarf on his cheek; but in spite of the pain\nBrock worked on, and when Sindri returned, he triumphantly drew\nout of the flames the magic ring Draupnir, the emblem of fertility,\nfrom which eight similar rings dropped every ninth night.\n\n\n \"They worked it and turned it with wondrous skill,\n Till they gave it the virtue rare,\n That each thrice third night from its rim there fell\n Eight rings, as their parent fair.\"\n\n The Dwarfs, Oehlenschlaeger (Pigott's tr.).\n\n\nNow a lump of iron was cast in the flames, and with renewed caution not\nto forfeit their success by inattention, Sindri passed out, leaving\nBrock to ply the bellows as before. Loki was now in desperation\nand he prepared for a final effort. This time, still in the guise\nof the gadfly, he stung the dwarf above the eye until the blood\nbegan to flow in such a stream, that it prevented his seeing what\nhe was doing. Hastily raising his hand for a second, Brock dashed\naside the stream of blood; but short as was the interruption it had\nworked irreparable harm, and when Sindri drew his work out of the\nfire he uttered an exclamation of disappointment for the hammer he\nhad fashioned was short in the handle.\n\n\n \"Then the dwarf raised his hand to his brow for the smart,\n Ere the iron well out was beat,\n And they found that the haft by an inch was too short,\n But to alter it then 'twas too late.\"\n\n The Dwarfs, Oehlenschlaeger (Pigott's tr.).\n\n\nNotwithstanding this mishap, Brock was sure of winning the wager and\nhe did not hesitate to present himself before the gods in Asgard,\nwhere he gave Odin the ring Draupnir, Frey the boar Gullin-bursti,\nand Thor the hammer Mioelnir, whose power none could resist.\n\nLoki in turn gave the spear Gungnir to Odin, the ship Skidbladnir to\nFrey, and the golden hair to Thor; but although the latter immediately\ngrew upon Sif's head and was unanimously declared more beautiful than\nher own locks had ever been, the gods decreed that Brock had won\nthe wager, on the ground that the hammer Mioelnir, in Thor's hands,\nwould prove invaluable against the frost giants on the last day.\n\n\n \"And at their head came Thor,\n Shouldering his hammer, which the giants know.\"\n\n Balder Dead (Matthew Arnold).\n\n\nIn order to save his head, Loki fled precipitately, but was overtaken\nby Thor, who brought him back and handed him over to Brock, telling\nhim, however, that although Loki's head was rightfully his, he\nmust not touch his neck. Hindered from obtaining full vengeance,\nthe dwarf determined to punish Loki by sewing his lips together,\nand as his sword would not pierce them, he borrowed his brother's\nawl for the purpose. However, Loki, after enduring the gods' gibes\nin silence for a little while, managed to cut the string and soon\nafter was as loquacious as ever.\n\nIn spite of his redoubtable hammer, Thor was not held in dread as\nthe injurious god of the storm, who destroyed peaceful homesteads\nand ruined the harvest by sudden hail-storms and cloud-bursts. The\nNorthmen fancied he hurled it only against ice giants and rocky walls,\nreducing the latter to powder to fertilise the earth and make it\nyield plentiful fruit to the tillers of the soil.\n\nIn Germany, where the eastern storms are always cold and blighting,\nwhile the western bring warm rains and mild weather, Thor was supposed\nto journey always from west to east, to wage war against the evil\nspirits which would fain have enveloped the country in impenetrable\nveils of mist and have bound it in icy fetters.\n\n\n\nThor's Journey to Joetun-heim\n\nAs the giants from Joetun-heim were continually sending out cold\nblasts of wind to nip the tender buds and hinder the growth of the\nflowers, Thor once made up his mind to go and force them to behave\nbetter. Accompanied by Loki he set out in his chariot, and after\nriding for a whole day the gods came at nightfall to the confines of\nthe giant-world, where, seeing a peasant's hut, they resolved to stay\nfor rest and refreshment.\n\nTheir host was hospitable but very poor, and Thor, seeing that he\nwould scarcely be able to supply the necessary food to satisfy his\nby no means small appetite, slew both his goats, which he cooked and\nmade ready to eat, inviting his host and family to partake freely of\nthe food thus provided, but cautioning them to throw all the bones,\nwithout breaking them, into the skins of the goats which he had spread\nout on the floor.\n\nThe peasant and his family ate heartily, but his son Thialfi,\nencouraged by mischievous Loki, ventured to break one of the bones\nand suck out the marrow, thinking his disobedience would not be\ndetected. On the morrow, however, Thor, ready to depart, struck the\ngoat skins with his hammer Mioelnir, and immediately the goats sprang up\nas lively as before, except that one seemed somewhat lame. Perceiving\nthat his commands had been disregarded, Thor would have slain the whole\nfamily in his wrath. The culprit acknowledged his fault, however,\nand the peasant offered to compensate for the loss by giving the\nirate god not only his son Thialfi, but also his daughter Roskva,\nto serve him for ever.\n\nCharging the man to take good care of the goats, which he left there\nuntil he should return, and bidding the young peasants accompany\nhim, Thor now set out on foot with Loki, and after walking all day\nfound himself at nightfall in a bleak and barren country, which was\nenveloped in an almost impenetrable grey mist. After seeking for\nsome time, Thor saw through the fog the uncertain outline of what\nlooked like a strangely-shaped house. Its open portal was so wide and\nhigh that it seemed to take up all one side of the house. Entering\nand finding neither fire nor light, Thor and his companions flung\nthemselves wearily down on the floor to sleep, but were soon disturbed\nby a peculiar noise, and a prolonged trembling of the ground beneath\nthem. Fearing lest the main roof should fall during this earthquake,\nThor and his companions took refuge in a wing of the building, where\nthey soon fell sound asleep. At dawn, the god and his companions\npassed out, but they had not gone very far ere they saw the recumbent\nform of a sleeping giant, and perceived that the peculiar sounds\nwhich had disturbed their rest were produced by his snores. At that\nmoment the giant awoke, arose, stretched himself, looked about him\nfor his missing property, and a second later picked up the object\nwhich Thor and his companions had mistaken in the darkness for a\nhouse. They then perceived with amazement that this was nothing more\nthan a huge mitten, and that the wing in which they had all slept\nwas the separate place for the giant's great thumb! Learning that\nThor and his companions were on their way to Utgard, as the giants'\nrealm was also called, Skrymir, the giant, proposed to be their guide;\nand after walking with them all day, he brought them at nightfall to\na spot where he proposed to rest. Ere he composed himself for sleep,\nhowever, he offered them the provisions in his wallet. But, in spite\nof strenuous efforts, neither Thor nor his companions could unfasten\nthe knots which Skrymir had tied.\n\n\n \"Skrymir's thongs\n Seemed to thee hard,\n When at the food thou couldst not get,\n When, in full health, of hunger dying.\"\n\n Saemund's Edda (Thorpe's tr.).\n\n\n\nUtgard-loki\n\nAngry because of his snoring, which kept them awake, Thor thrice\ndealt him fearful blows with his hammer. These strokes, instead of\nannihilating the monster, merely evoked sleepy comments to the effect\nthat a leaf, a bit of bark, or a twig from a bird's nest overhead had\nfallen upon his face. Early on the morrow, Skrymir left Thor and his\ncompanions, pointing out the shortest road to Utgard-loki's castle,\nwhich was built of great ice blocks, with huge glittering icicles\nas pillars. The gods, slipping between the bars of the great gate,\npresented themselves boldly before the king of the giants, Utgard-loki,\nwho, recognising them, immediately pretended to be greatly surprised\nat their small size, and expressed a wish to see for himself what\nthey could do, as he had often heard their prowess vaunted.\n\nLoki, who had fasted longer than he wished, immediately declared\nhe was ready to eat for a wager with any one. So the king ordered\na great wooden trough full of meat to be brought into the hall, and\nplacing Loki at one end and his cook Logi at the other, he bade them\nsee which would win. Although Loki did wonders, and soon reached the\nmiddle of the trough, he found that, whereas he had picked the bones\nclean, his opponent had devoured both them and the trough.\n\nSmiling contemptuously, Utgard-loki said that it was evident they\ncould not do much in the eating line, and this so nettled Thor that\nhe declared if Loki could not eat like the voracious cook, he felt\nconfident he could drain the biggest vessel in the house, such was\nhis unquenchable thirst. Immediately a horn was brought in, and,\nUtgard-loki declaring that good drinkers emptied it at one draught,\nmoderately thirsty persons at two, and small drinkers at three,\nThor applied his lips to the rim. But, although he drank so deep\nthat he thought he would burst, the liquid still came almost up to\nthe rim when he raised his head. A second and third attempt to empty\nthis horn proved equally unsuccessful. Thialfi then offered to run\na race, but a young fellow named Hugi, who was matched against him,\nsoon outstripped him, although Thialfi ran remarkably fast.\n\nThor proposed next to show his strength by lifting weights, and was\nchallenged to pick up the giant's cat. Seizing an opportunity to\ntighten his belt Megin-gioerd, which greatly enhanced his strength,\nhe tugged and strained but was able only to raise one of its paws\nfrom the floor.\n\n\n \"Strong is great Thor, no doubt, when Megingarder\n He braces tightly o'er his rock-firm loins.\"\n\n Viking Tales of the North (R. B. Anderson).\n\n\nA last attempt on his part to wrestle with Utgard-loki's old nurse\nElli, the only opponent deemed worthy of such a puny fellow, ended\njust as disastrously, and the gods, acknowledging they were beaten,\nwere hospitably entertained. On the morrow they were escorted to the\nconfines of Utgard, where the giant politely informed them that he\nhoped they would never call upon him again, as he had been forced\nto employ magic against them. He then went on to explain that he\nwas the giant Skrymir, and that had he not taken the precaution\nto interpose a mountain between his head and Thor's blows, while\nhe seemingly lay asleep, he would have been slain, as deep clefts\nin the mountain side, to which he pointed, testified to the god's\nstrength. Next he informed them that Loki's opponent was Logi (wild\nfire); that Thialfi had run a race with Hugi (thought), than which no\nswifter runner exists; that Thor's drinking horn was connected with\nthe ocean, where his deep draughts had produced a perceptible ebb;\nthat the cat was in reality the terrible Midgard snake encircling the\nworld, which Thor had nearly pulled out of the sea; and that Elli,\nhis nurse, was old age, whom none can resist. Having finished these\nexplanations and cautioned them never to return or he would defend\nhimself by similar delusions, Utgard-loki vanished, and although Thor\nangrily brandished his hammer, and would have destroyed his castle,\nsuch a mist enveloped it that it could not be seen, and the thunder\ngod was obliged to return to Thrud-vang without having administered\nhis purposed salutary lesson to the race of giants.\n\n\n \"The strong-armed Thor\n Full oft against Jotunheim did wend,\n But spite his belt celestial, spite his gauntlets,\n Utgard-Loki still his throne retains;\n Evil, itself a force, to force yields never.\"\n\n Viking Tales of the North (R. B. Anderson).\n\n\n\nThor and Hrungnir\n\nOdin himself was once dashing through the air on his eight-footed steed\nSleipnir, when he attracted the attention of the giant Hrungnir,\nwho proposed a race, declaring that Gullfaxi, his steed, could\nrival Sleipnir in speed. In the heat of the race, Hrungnir did not\nnotice the direction in which they were going, until, in the vain\nhope of overtaking Odin, he urged his steed to the very gates of\nValhalla. Discovering then where he was, the giant grew pale with\nfear, for he knew he had jeopardised his life by venturing into the\nstronghold of the gods, his hereditary foes.\n\nThe AEsir, however, were too honourable to take even an enemy at a\ndisadvantage, and, instead of doing him harm, they asked him into their\nbanqueting-halls, where he proceeded to indulge in liberal potations\nof the heavenly mead set before him. He soon grew so excited that he\nbegan to boast of his power, declaring he would come some day and take\npossession of Asgard, which he would destroy, together with the gods,\nsave only Freya and Sif, upon whom he gazed with an admiring leer.\n\nThe gods, knowing he was not responsible, let him talk unmolested;\nbut Thor, coming home just then from one of his journeys, and\nhearing his threat to carry away the beloved Sif, flew into a\nterrible rage. He furiously brandished his hammer, with intent to\nannihilate the boaster. This the gods would not permit, however, and\nthey quickly threw themselves between the irate Thunderer and their\nguest, imploring Thor to respect the sacred rights of hospitality,\nand not to desecrate their peace-stead by shedding blood.\n\nThor was at last induced to bridle his wrath, but he demanded that\nHrungnir should appoint a time and place for a holmgang, as a Northern\nduel was generally called. Thus challenged, Hrungnir promised to meet\nThor at Griottunagard, the confines of his realm, three days later,\nand departed somewhat sobered by the fright he had experienced. When\nhis fellow giants heard how rash he had been, they chided him sorely;\nbut they took counsel together in order to make the best of a bad\nsituation. Hrungnir told them that he was to have the privilege of\nbeing accompanied by a squire, whom Thialfi would engage in fight,\nwherefore they proceeded to construct a creature of clay, nine\nmiles long, and proportionately wide, whom they called Mokerkialfi\n(mist wader). As they could find no human heart big enough to put in\nthis monster's breast, they secured that of a mare, which, however,\nkept fluttering and quivering with apprehension. The day of the duel\narrived. Hrungnir and his squire were on the ground awaiting the\narrival of their respective opponents. The giant had not only a flint\nheart and skull, but also a shield and club of the same substance,\nand therefore deemed himself well-nigh invincible. Thialfi came\nbefore his master and soon after there was a terrible rumbling and\nshaking which made the giant apprehensive that his enemy would come\nup through the ground and attack him from underneath. He therefore\nfollowed a hint from Thialfi and stood upon his shield.\n\nA moment later, however, he saw his mistake, for, while Thialfi\nattacked Mokerkialfi with a spade, Thor came with a rush upon the scene\nand flung his hammer full at his opponent's head. Hrungnir, to ward\noff the blow, interposed his stone club, which was shivered into pieces\nthat flew all over the earth, supplying all the flint stones thereafter\nto be found, and one fragment sank deep into Thor's forehead. As the\ngod dropped fainting to the ground, his hammer crashed against the\nhead of Hrungnir, who fell dead beside him, in such a position that\none of his ponderous legs was thrown over the recumbent god.\n\n\n \"Thou now remindest me\n How I with Hrungnir fought,\n That stout-hearted Jotun,\n Whose head was all of stone;\n Yet I made him fall\n And sink before me.\"\n\n Saemund's Edda (Thorpe's tr.).\n\n\nThialfi, who, in the meanwhile, had disposed of the great clay giant\nwith its cowardly mare's heart, now rushed to his master's assistance,\nbut his efforts were unavailing, nor could the other gods, whom he\nquickly summoned, raise the pinioning leg. While they were standing\nthere, helplessly wondering what they should do next, Thor's little\nson Magni came up. According to varying accounts, he was then only\nthree days or three years old, but he quickly seized the giant's\nfoot, and, unaided, set his father free, declaring that had he only\nbeen summoned sooner he would easily have disposed of both giant and\nsquire. This exhibition of strength made the gods marvel greatly,\nand helped them to recognise the truth of the various predictions,\nwhich one and all declared that their descendants would be mightier\nthan they, would survive them, and would rule in their turn over the\nnew heaven and earth.\n\nTo reward his son for his timely aid, Thor gave him the steed Gullfaxi\n(golden-maned), to which he had fallen heir by right of conquest,\nand Magni ever after rode this marvellous horse, which almost equalled\nthe renowned Sleipnir in speed and endurance.\n\n\n\nGroa, the Sorceress\n\nAfter vainly trying to remove the stone splinter from his forehead,\nThor sadly returned home to Thrud-vang, where Sif's loving efforts\nwere equally unsuccessful. She therefore resolved to send for Groa\n(green-making), a sorceress, noted for her skill in medicine and for\nthe efficacy of her spells and incantations. Groa immediately signified\nher readiness to render every service in her power to the god who had\nso often benefited her, and solemnly began to recite powerful runes,\nunder whose influence Thor felt the stone grow looser and looser. His\ndelight at the prospect of a speedy deliverance made Thor wish to\nreward the enchantress forthwith, and knowing that nothing could give\ngreater pleasure to a mother than the prospect of seeing a long-lost\nchild, he proceeded to tell her that he had recently crossed the\nElivagar, or ice streams, to rescue her little son Orvandil (germ) from\nthe frost giants' cruel power, and had succeeded in carrying him off\nin a basket. But, as the little rogue would persist in sticking one of\nhis bare toes through a hole in the basket, it had been frost-bitten,\nand Thor, accidentally breaking it off, had flung it up into the sky,\nto shine as a star, known in the North as \"Orvandil's Toe.\"\n\nDelighted with these tidings, the prophetess paused in her incantations\nto express her joy, but, having forgotten just where she left off,\nshe was unable to continue her spell, and the flint stone remained\nembedded in Thor's forehead, whence it could never be dislodged.\n\nOf course, as Thor's hammer always did him such good service, it was\nthe most prized of all his possessions, and his dismay was very great\nwhen he awoke one morning and found it gone. His cry of anger and\ndisappointment soon brought Loki to his side, and to him Thor confided\nthe secret of his loss, declaring that were the giants to hear of it,\nthey would soon attempt to storm Asgard and destroy the gods.\n\n\n \"Wroth waxed Thor, when his sleep was flown,\n And he found his trusty hammer gone;\n He smote his brow, his beard he shook,\n The son of earth 'gan round him look;\n And this the first word that he spoke:\n 'Now listen what I tell thee, Loke;\n Which neither on earth below is known,\n Nor in heaven above: my hammer's gone.\"\n\n Thrym's Quida (Herbert's tr.).\n\n\n\nThor and Thrym\n\nLoki declared he would try to discover the thief and recover the\nhammer, if Freya would lend him her falcon plumes, and he immediately\nhastened off to Folkvang to borrow them. His errand was successful and\nin the form of a bird he then winged his flight across the river Ifing,\nand over the barren stretches of Joetun-heim, where he suspected that\nthe thief would be found. There he saw Thrym, prince of the frost\ngiants and god of the destructive thunder-storm, sitting alone on a\nhill-side. Artfully questioning him, he soon learned that Thrym had\nstolen the hammer and had buried it deep underground. Moreover, he\nfound that there was little hope of its being restored unless Freya\nwere brought to him arrayed as a bride.\n\n\n \"I have the Thunderer's hammer bound\n Fathoms eight beneath the ground;\n With it shall no one homeward tread\n Till he bring me Freya to share my bed.\"\n\n Thrym's Quida (Herbert's tr.).\n\n\nIndignant at the giant's presumption, Loki returned to Thrud-vang,\nbut Thor declared it would be well to visit Freya and try to prevail\nupon her to sacrifice herself for the general good. But when the AEsir\ntold the goddess of beauty what they wished her to do, she flew into\nsuch a passion that even her necklace burst. She told them that she\nwould never leave her beloved husband for any god, much less to marry\na detested giant and dwell in Joetun-heim, where all was dreary in the\nextreme, and where she would soon die of longing for the green fields\nand flowery meadows, in which she loved to roam. Seeing that further\npersuasions would be useless, Loki and Thor returned home and there\ndeliberated upon another plan for recovering the hammer. By Heimdall's\nadvice, which, however, was only accepted with extreme reluctance,\nThor borrowed and put on Freya's clothes together with her necklace,\nand enveloped himself in a thick veil. Loki, having attired himself as\nhandmaiden, then mounted with him in the goat-drawn chariot, and the\nstrangely attired pair set out for Joetun-heim, where they intended to\nplay the respective parts of the goddess of beauty and her attendant.\n\n\n \"Home were driven\n Then the goats,\n And hitched to the car;\n Hasten they must--\n The mountains crashed,\n The earth stood in flames:\n Odin's son\n Rode to Joetun-heim.\"\n\n Norse Mythology (R. B. Anderson).\n\n\nThrym welcomed his guests at the palace door, overjoyed at the thought\nthat he was about to secure undisputed possession of the goddess\nof beauty, for whom he had long sighed in vain. He quickly led them\nto the banqueting-hall, where Thor, the bride elect, distinguished\nhimself by eating an ox, eight huge salmon, and all the cakes and\nsweets provided for the women, washing down these miscellaneous viands\nwith the contents of two barrels of mead.\n\nThe giant bridegroom watched these gastronomic feats with amazement,\nwhereupon Loki, in order to reassure him, confidentially whispered\nthat the bride was so deeply in love with him that she had not been\nable to taste a morsel of food for more than eight days. Thrym then\nsought to kiss the bride, but drew back appalled at the fire of her\nglance, which Loki explained as a burning glance of love. The giant's\nsister, claiming the usual gifts, was not even noticed; wherefore\nLoki again whispered to the wondering Thrym that love makes people\nabsent-minded. Intoxicated with passion and mead, which he, too,\nhad drunk in liberal quantities, the bridegroom now bade his servants\nproduce the sacred hammer to consecrate the marriage, and as soon as\nit was brought he himself laid it in the pretended Freya's lap. The\nnext moment a powerful hand closed over the short handle, and soon\nthe giant, his sister, and all the invited guests, were slain by the\nterrible Thor.\n\n\n \"'Bear in the hammer to plight the maid;\n Upon her lap the bruiser lay,\n And firmly plight our hands and fay.'\n The Thunderer's soul smiled in his breast;\n When the hammer hard on his lap was placed,\n Thrym first, the king of the Thursi, he slew,\n And slaughtered all the giant crew.\"\n\n Thrym's Quida (Herbert's tr.).\n\n\nLeaving a smoking heap of ruins behind them, the gods then drove\nrapidly back to Asgard, where the borrowed garments were given back\nto Freya, much to the relief of Thor, and the AEsir rejoiced at the\nrecovery of the precious hammer. When next Odin gazed upon that part\nof Joetun-heim from his throne Hlidskialf, he saw the ruins covered\nwith tender green shoots, for Thor, having conquered his enemy,\nhad taken possession of his land, which henceforth would no longer\nremain barren and desolate, but would bring forth fruit in abundance.\n\n\n\nThor and Geirrod\n\nLoki once borrowed Freya's falcon-garb and flew off in search of\nadventures to another part of Joetun-heim, where he perched on top\nof the gables of Geirrod's house. He soon attracted the attention\nof this giant, who bade one of his servants catch the bird. Amused\nat the fellow's clumsy attempts to secure him, Loki flitted about\nfrom place to place, only moving just as the giant was about to lay\nhands upon him, when, miscalculating his distance, he suddenly found\nhimself a captive.\n\nAttracted by the bird's bright eyes, Geirrod looked closely at it and\nconcluded that it was a god in disguise, and finding that he could\nnot force him to speak, he locked him in a cage, where he kept him\nfor three whole months without food or drink. Conquered at last by\nhunger and thirst, Loki revealed his identity, and obtained his release\nby promising that he would induce Thor to visit Geirrod without his\nhammer, belt, or magic gauntlet. Loki then flew back to Asgard, and\ntold Thor that he had been royally entertained, and that his host had\nexpressed a strong desire to see the powerful thunder-god, of whom\nhe had heard such wonderful tales. Flattered by this artful speech,\nThor was induced to consent to a friendly journey to Joetun-heim,\nand the two gods set out, leaving the three marvellous weapons at\nhome. They had not gone far, however, ere they came to the house of\nthe giantess Grid, one of Odin's many wives. Seeing Thor unarmed,\nshe warned him to beware of treachery and lent him her own girdle,\nstaff, and glove. Some time after leaving her, Thor and Loki came to\nthe river Veimer, which the Thunderer, accustomed to wading, prepared\nto ford, bidding Loki and Thialfi cling fast to his belt.\n\nIn the middle of the stream, however, a sudden cloud-burst and freshet\novertook them; the waters began to rise and roar, and although Thor\nleaned heavily upon his staff, he was almost swept away by the force\nof the raging current.\n\n\n \"Wax not, Veimer,\n Since to wade I desire\n To the realm of the giants!\n Know, if thou waxest,\n Then waxes my asa-might\n As high as the heavens.\"\n\n Norse Mythology (R. B. Anderson).\n\n\nThor now became aware of the presence, up stream, of Geirrod's daughter\nGialp, and rightly suspecting that she was the cause of the storm, he\npicked up a huge boulder and flung it at her, muttering that the best\nplace to dam a river was at its source. The missile had the desired\neffect, for the giantess fled, the waters abated, and Thor, exhausted\nbut safe, pulled himself up on the opposite bank by a little shrub, the\nmountain-ash or sorb. This has since been known as \"Thor's salvation,\"\nand occult powers have been attributed to it. After resting awhile\nThor and his companions resumed their journey; but upon arriving at\nGeirrod's house the god was so exhausted that he sank wearily upon\nthe only chair in sight. To his surprise, however, he felt it rising\nbeneath him, and fearful lest he should be crushed against the rafters,\nhe pushed the borrowed staff against the ceiling and forced the\nchair downward with all his might. Then followed a terrible cracking,\nsudden cries, and moans of pain; and when Thor came to investigate,\nit appeared that the giant's daughters, Gialp and Greip, had slipped\nunder his chair with intent treacherously to slay him, and they had\nreaped a righteous retribution and both lay crushed to death.\n\n\n \"Once I employed\n My asa-might\n In the realm of giants,\n When Gialp and Greip,\n Geirrod's daughters,\n Wanted to lift me to heaven.\"\n\n Norse Mythology (R. B. Anderson).\n\n\nGeirrod now appeared and challenged Thor to a test of strength and\nskill, but without waiting for a preconcerted signal, he flung a\nred-hot wedge at him. Thor, quick of eye and a practised catcher,\ncaught the missile with the giantess's iron glove, and hurled it\nback at his opponent. Such was the force of the god, that the missile\npassed, not only through the pillar behind which the giant had taken\nrefuge, but through him and the wall of the house, and buried itself\ndeep in the earth without.\n\nThor then strode up to the giant's corpse, which at the blow from his\nweapon had been petrified into stone, and set it up in a conspicuous\nplace, as a monument of his strength and of the victory he had won\nover his redoubtable foes, the mountain giants.\n\n\n\nThe Worship of Thor\n\nThor's name has been given to many of the places he was wont to\nfrequent, such as the principal harbour of the Faroe Islands, and to\nfamilies which claim to be descended from him. It is still extant\nin such names as Thunderhill in Surrey, and in the family names of\nThorburn and Thorwaldsen, but is most conspicuous in the name of one\nof the days of the week, Thor's day or Thursday.\n\n\n \"Over the whole earth\n Still is it Thor's day!\"\n\n Saga of King Olaf (Longfellow).\n\n\nThor was considered a pre-eminently benevolent deity, and it was for\nthat reason that he was so widely worshipped and that temples to his\nworship arose at Moeri, Hlader, Godey, Gothland, Upsala, and other\nplaces, where the people never failed to invoke him for a favourable\nyear at Yule-tide, his principal festival. It was customary on this\noccasion to burn a great log of oak, his sacred tree, as an emblem of\nthe warmth and light of summer, which would drive away the darkness\nand cold of winter.\n\nBrides invariably wore red, Thor's favourite colour, which was\nconsidered emblematical of love, and for the same reason betrothal\nrings in the North were almost always set with a red stone.\n\nThor's temples and statues, like Odin's, were fashioned of wood,\nand the greater number of them were destroyed during the reign of\nKing Olaf the Saint. According to ancient chronicles, this monarch\nforcibly converted his subjects. He was specially incensed against\nthe inhabitants of a certain province, because they worshipped a\nrude image of Thor, which they decked with golden ornaments, and\nbefore which they set food every evening, declaring the god ate it,\nas no trace of it was left in the morning.\n\nThe people, being called upon in 1030 to renounce this idol in favour\nof the true God, promised to consent if the morrow were cloudy;\nbut when after a whole night spent by Olaf in ardent prayer, there\nfollowed a cloudy day, the obstinate people declared they were not\nyet convinced of his God's power, and would only believe if the sun\nshone on the next day.\n\nOnce more Olaf spent the night in prayer, but at dawn, to his\ngreat chagrin, the sky was overcast. Nevertheless, he assembled the\npeople near Thor's statue, and after secretly bidding his principal\nattendant to smash the idol with his battle-axe if the people turned\ntheir eyes away but for a moment, he began to address them. Suddenly,\nwhile all were listening to him, Olaf pointed to the horizon, where\nthe sun was slowly breaking its way through the clouds, and exclaimed,\n\"Behold our God!\" The people one and all turned to see what he meant,\nand the attendant seized this opportunity for attacking the idol,\nwhich yielded easily to his blows, and a host of mice and other vermin\nscattered hastily from its hollow interior. Seeing now that the food\nplaced before their god had been devoured by noxious animals only,\nthe people ceased to revere Thor, and definitely accepted the faith\nwhich King Olaf had so long and vainly pressed upon them.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER V: TYR\n\n\nThe God of War\n\nTyr Tiu, or Ziu was the son of Odin, and, according to different\nmythologists, his mother was Frigga, queen of the gods, or a beautiful\ngiantess whose name is unknown, but who was a personification of the\nraging sea. He is the god of martial honour, and one of the twelve\nprincipal deities of Asgard. Although he appears to have had no\nspecial dwelling there, he was always welcome to Vingolf or Valhalla,\nand occupied one of the twelve thrones in the great council hall\nof Glads-heim.\n\n\n \"The hall Glads-heim, which is built of gold;\n Where are in circle, ranged twelve golden chairs,\n And in the midst one higher, Odin's Throne.\"\n\n Balder Dead (Matthew Arnold).\n\n\nAs the God of courage and of war, Tyr was frequently invoked by the\nvarious nations of the North, who cried to him, as well as to Odin,\nto obtain victory. That he ranked next to Odin and Thor is proved\nby his name, Tiu, having been given to one of the days of the week,\nTiu's day, which in modern English has become Tuesday. Under the name\nof Ziu, Tyr was the principal divinity of the Suabians, who originally\ncalled their capital, the modern Augsburg, Ziusburg. This people,\nvenerating the god as they did, were wont to worship him under the\nemblem of a sword, his distinctive attribute, and in his honour held\ngreat sword dances, where various figures were performed. Sometimes\nthe participants forming two long lines, crossed their swords, point\nupward, and challenged the boldest among their number to take a flying\nleap over them. At other times the warriors joined their sword points\nclosely together in the shape of a rose or wheel, and when this\nfigure was complete invited their chief to stand on the navel thus\nformed of flat, shining steel blades, and then they bore him upon it\nthrough the camp in triumph. The sword point was further considered\nso sacred that it became customary to register oaths upon it.\n\n\n \"... Come hither, gentlemen,\n And lay your hands again upon my sword;\n Never to speak of this that you have heard,\n Swear by my sword.\"\n\n Hamlet (Shakespeare).\n\n\nA distinctive feature of the worship of this god among the Franks and\nsome other Northern nations was that the priests called Druids or Godi\noffered up human sacrifices upon his altars, generally cutting the\nbloody- or spread-eagle upon their victims, that is to say, making a\ndeep incision on either side of the back-bone, turning the ribs thus\nloosened inside out, and tearing out the viscera through the opening\nthus made. Of course only prisoners of war were treated thus, and it\nwas considered a point of honour with north European races to endure\nthis torture without a moan. These sacrifices were made upon rude\nstone altars called dolmens, which can still be seen in Northern\nEurope. As Tyr was considered the patron god of the sword, it was\ndeemed indispensable to engrave the sign or rune representing him\nupon the blade of every sword--an observance which the Edda enjoined\nupon all those who were desirous of obtaining victory.\n\n\n \"Sig-runes thou must know,\n If victory (sigr) thou wilt have,\n And on thy sword's hilt rist them;\n Some on the chapes,\n Some on the guard,\n And twice name the name of Tyr.\"\n\n Lay of Sigdrifa (Thorpe's tr.).\n\n\nTyr was identical with the Saxon god Saxnot (from sax, a sword),\nand with Er, Heru, or Cheru, the chief divinity of the Cheruski,\nwho also considered him god of the sun, and deemed his shining sword\nblade an emblem of its rays.\n\n\n \"This very sword a ray of light\n Snatched from the Sun!\"\n\n Valhalla (J. C. Jones).\n\n\n\nTyr's Sword\n\nAccording to an ancient legend, Cheru's sword, which had been fashioned\nby the same dwarfs, sons of Ivald, who had also made Odin's spear,\nwas held very sacred by his people, to whose care he had entrusted it,\ndeclaring that those who possessed it were sure to have the victory\nover their foes. But although carefully guarded in the temple, where\nit was hung so that it reflected the first beams of the morning sun,\nit suddenly and mysteriously disappeared one night. A Vala, druidess,\nor prophetess, consulted by the priests, revealed that the Norns had\ndecreed that whoever wielded it would conquer the world and come\nto his death by it; but in spite of all entreaties she refused to\ntell who had taken it or where it might be found. Some time after\nthis occurrence a tall and dignified stranger came to Cologne, where\nVitellius, the Roman prefect, was feasting, and called him away from\nhis beloved dainties. In the presence of the Roman soldiery he gave\nhim the sword, telling him it would bring him glory and renown, and\nfinally hailed him as emperor. The cry was taken up by the assembled\nlegions, and Vitellius, without making any personal effort to secure\nthe honour, found himself elected Emperor of Rome.\n\nThe new ruler, however, was so absorbed in indulging his taste for\nfood and drink that he paid but little heed to the divine weapon. One\nday while leisurely making his way towards Rome he carelessly left it\nhanging in the antechamber to his pavilion. A German soldier seized\nthis opportunity to substitute in its stead his own rusty blade, and\nthe besotted emperor did not notice the exchange. When he arrived at\nRome, he learned that the Eastern legions had named Vespasian emperor,\nand that he was even then on his way home to claim the throne.\n\nSearching for the sacred weapon to defend his rights, Vitellius\nnow discovered the theft, and, overcome by superstitious fears, did\nnot even attempt to fight. He crawled away into a dark corner of his\npalace, whence he was ignominiously dragged by the enraged populace to\nthe foot of the Capitoline Hill. There the prophecy was duly fulfilled,\nfor the German soldier, who had joined the opposite faction, coming\nalong at that moment, cut off Vitellius' head with the sacred sword.\n\nThe German soldier now changed from one legion to another, and\ntravelled over many lands; but wherever he and his sword were found,\nvictory was assured. After winning great honour and distinction, this\nman, having grown old, retired from active service to the banks of the\nDanube, where he secretly buried his treasured weapon, building his hut\nover its resting-place to guard it as long as he might live. When he\nlay on his deathbed he was implored to reveal where he had hidden it,\nbut he persistently refused to do so, saying that it would be found\nby the man who was destined to conquer the world, but that he would\nnot be able to escape the curse. Years passed by. Wave after wave\nthe tide of barbarian invasion swept over that part of the country,\nand last of all came the terrible Huns under the leadership of Attila,\nthe \"Scourge of God.\" As he passed along the river, he saw a peasant\nmournfully examining his cow's foot, which had been wounded by some\nsharp instrument hidden in the long grass, and when search was made\nthe point of a buried sword was found sticking out of the soil.\n\nAttila, seeing the beautiful workmanship and the fine state of\npreservation of this weapon, immediately exclaimed that it was\nCheru's sword, and brandishing it above his head he announced that\nhe would conquer the world. Battle after battle was fought by the\nHuns, who, according to the Saga, were everywhere victorious, until\nAttila, weary of warfare, settled down in Hungary, taking to wife the\nbeautiful Burgundian princess Ildico, whose father he had slain. This\nprincess, resenting the murder of her kin and wishing to avenge it,\ntook advantage of the king's state of intoxication upon his wedding\nnight to secure possession of the divine sword, with which she slew\nhim in his bed, once more fulfilling the prophecy uttered so many\nyears before.\n\nThe magic sword again disappeared for a long time, to be unearthed once\nmore, for the last time, by the Duke of Alva, Charles V.'s general,\nwho shortly after won the victory of Muehlberg (1547). The Franks\nwere wont to celebrate yearly martial games in honour of the sword;\nbut it is said that when the heathen gods were renounced in favour\nof Christianity, the priests transferred many of their attributes to\nthe saints, and that this sword became the property of the Archangel\nSt. Michael, who has wielded it ever since.\n\nTyr, whose name was synonymous with bravery and wisdom, was also\nconsidered by the ancient Northern people to have the white-armed\nValkyrs, Odin's attendants, at his command, and they thought that\nhe it was who designated the warriors whom they should transfer to\nValhalla to aid the gods on the last day.\n\n\n \"The god Tyr sent\n Gondul and Skogul\n To choose a king\n Of the race of Ingve,\n To dwell with Odin\n In roomy Valhal.\"\n\n Norse Mythology (R. B. Anderson).\n\n\n\nThe Story of Fenris\n\nTyr was generally spoken of and represented as one-armed, just as Odin\nwas called one-eyed. Various explanations are offered by different\nauthorities; some claim that it was because he could give the victory\nonly to one side; others, because a sword has but one blade. However\nthis may be, the ancients preferred to account for the fact in the\nfollowing way:\n\nLoki married secretly at Joetun-heim the hideous giantess Angur-boda\n(anguish boding), who bore him three monstrous children--the wolf\nFenris, Hel, the parti-coloured goddess of death, and Ioermungandr,\na terrible serpent. He kept the existence of these monsters secret as\nlong as he could; but they speedily grew so large that they could no\nlonger remain confined in the cave where they had come to light. Odin,\nfrom his throne Hlidskialf, soon became aware of their existence,\nand also of the disquieting rapidity with which they increased in\nsize. Fearful lest the monsters, when they had gained further strength,\nshould invade Asgard and destroy the gods, Allfather determined to\nget rid of them, and striding off to Joetun-heim, he flung Hel into\nthe depths of Nifl-heim, telling her she could reign over the nine\ndismal worlds of the dead. He then cast Ioermungandr into the sea,\nwhere he attained such immense proportions that at last he encircled\nthe earth and could bite his own tail.\n\n\n \"Into mid-ocean's dark depths hurled,\n Grown with each day to giant size,\n The serpent soon inclosed the world,\n With tail in mouth, in circle-wise;\n Held harmless still\n By Odin's will.\"\n\n Valhalla (J. C. Jones).\n\n\nNone too well pleased that the serpent should attain such fearful\ndimensions in his new element, Odin resolved to lead Fenris to\nAsgard, where he hoped, by kindly treatment, to make him gentle\nand tractable. But the gods one and all shrank in dismay when they\nsaw the wolf, and none dared approach to give him food except Tyr,\nwhom nothing daunted. Seeing that Fenris daily increased in size,\nstrength, voracity, and fierceness, the gods assembled in council\nto deliberate how they might best dispose of him. They unanimously\ndecided that as it would desecrate their peace-steads to slay him,\nthey would bind him fast so that he could work them no harm.\n\nWith that purpose in view, they obtained a strong chain named Laeding,\nand then playfully proposed to Fenris to bind this about him as a test\nof his vaunted strength. Confident in his ability to release himself,\nFenris patiently allowed them to bind him fast, and when all stood\naside, with a mighty effort he stretched himself and easily burst\nthe chain asunder.\n\nConcealing their chagrin, the gods were loud in praise of his strength,\nbut they next produced a much stronger fetter, Droma, which, after\nsome persuasion, the wolf allowed them to fasten around him as\nbefore. Again a short, sharp struggle sufficed to burst this bond,\nand it is proverbial in the North to use the figurative expressions,\n\"to get loose out of Laeding,\" and \"to dash out of Droma,\" whenever\ngreat difficulties have to be surmounted.\n\n\n \"Twice did the AEsir strive to bind,\n Twice did they fetters powerless find;\n Iron or brass of no avail,\n Naught, save through magic, could prevail.\"\n\n Valhalla (J. C. Jones).\n\n\nThe gods, perceiving now that ordinary bonds, however strong, would\nnever prevail against the Fenris wolf's great strength, bade Skirnir,\nFrey's servant, go down to Svart-alfa-heim and bid the dwarfs fashion\na bond which nothing could sever.\n\nBy magic arts the dark elves manufactured a slender silken rope from\nsuch impalpable materials as the sound of a cat's footsteps, a woman's\nbeard, the roots of a mountain, the longings of the bear, the voice of\nfishes, and the spittle of birds, and when it was finished they gave\nit to Skirnir, assuring him that no strength would avail to break it,\nand that the more it was strained the stronger it would become.\n\n\n \"Gleipnir, at last,\n By Dark Elves cast,\n In Svart-alf-heim, with strong spells wrought,\n To Odin was by Skirnir brought:\n As soft as silk, as light as air,\n Yet still of magic power most rare.\"\n\n Valhalla (J. C. Jones).\n\n\nArmed with this bond, called Gleipnir, the gods went with Fenris to the\nIsland of Lyngvi, in the middle of Lake Amsvartnir, and again proposed\nto test his strength. But although Fenris had grown still stronger,\nhe mistrusted the bond which looked so slight. He therefore refused to\nallow himself to be bound, unless one of the AEsir would consent to put\nhis hand in his mouth, and leave it there, as a pledge of good faith,\nand that no magic arts were to be used against him.\n\nThe gods heard the decision with dismay, and all drew back except\nTyr, who, seeing that the others would not venture to comply with\nthis condition, boldly stepped forward and thrust his hand between\nthe monster's jaws. The gods now fastened Gleipnir securely around\nFenris's neck and paws, and when they saw that his utmost efforts to\nfree himself were fruitless, they shouted and laughed with glee. Tyr,\nhowever, could not share their joy, for the wolf, finding himself\ncaptive, bit off the god's hand at the wrist, which since then has\nbeen known as the wolf's joint.\n\n\n Loki.\n\n \"Be silent, Tyr!\n Thou couldst never settle\n A strife 'twixt two;\n Of thy right hand also\n I must mention make,\n Which Fenris from thee took.\n\n\n Tyr.\n\n I of a hand am wanting,\n But thou of honest fame;\n Sad is the lack of either.\n Nor is the wolf at ease:\n He in bonds must abide\n Until the gods' destruction.\"\n\n Saemund's Edda (Thorpe's tr.).\n\n\nDeprived of his right hand, Tyr was now forced to use the maimed arm\nfor his shield, and to wield his sword with his left hand; but such\nwas his dexterity that he slew his enemies as before.\n\nThe gods, in spite of the wolf's struggles, drew the end of the fetter\nGelgia through the rock Gioll, and fastened it to the boulder Thviti,\nwhich was sunk deep in the ground. Opening wide his fearful jaws,\nFenris uttered such terrible howls that the gods, to silence him,\nthrust a sword into his mouth, the hilt resting upon his lower jaw\nand the point against his palate. The blood then began to pour out\nin such streams that it formed a great river, called Von. The wolf\nwas destined to remain thus chained fast until the last day, when he\nwould burst his bonds and would be free to avenge his wrongs.\n\n\n \"The wolf Fenrir,\n Freed from the chain,\n Shall range the earth.\"\n\n Death-song of Hakon (W. Taylor's tr.).\n\n\nWhile some mythologists see in this myth an emblem of crime restrained\nand made innocuous by the power of the law, others see the underground\nfire, which kept within bounds can injure no one, but which unfettered\nfills the world with destruction and woe. Just as Odin's second\neye is said to rest in Mimir's well, so Tyr's second hand (sword)\nis found in Fenris's jaws. He has no more use for two weapons than\nthe sky for two suns.\n\nThe worship of Tyr is commemorated in sundry places (such as Tuebingen,\nin Germany), which bear more or less modified forms of his name. The\nname has also been given to the aconite, a plant known in Northern\ncountries as \"Tyr's helm.\"\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VI: BRAGI\n\n\nThe Origin of Poetry\n\nAt the time of the dispute between the AEsir and Vanas, when peace\nhad been agreed upon, a vase was brought into the assembly into which\nboth parties solemnly spat. From this saliva the gods created Kvasir,\na being renowned for his wisdom and goodness, who went about the\nworld answering all questions asked him, thus teaching and benefiting\nmankind. The dwarfs, hearing about Kvasir's great wisdom, coveted it,\nand finding him asleep one day, two of their number, Fialar and Galar,\ntreacherously slew him, and drained every drop of his blood into\nthree vessels--the kettle Od-hroerir (inspiration) and the bowls Son\n(expiation) and Boden (offering). After duly mixing this blood with\nhoney, they manufactured from it a sort of beverage so inspiring that\nany one who tasted it immediately became a poet, and could sing with\na charm which was certain to win all hearts.\n\nNow, although the dwarfs had brewed this marvellous mead for their own\nconsumption, they did not even taste it, but hid it away in a secret\nplace, while they went in search of further adventures. They had not\ngone very far ere they found the giant Gilling also sound asleep,\nlying on a steep bank, and they maliciously rolled him into the water,\nwhere he perished. Then hastening to his dwelling, some climbed on\nthe roof, carrying a huge millstone, while the others, entering,\ntold the giantess that her husband was dead. This news caused the\npoor creature great grief, and she rushed out of the house to view\nGilling's remains. As she passed through the door, the wicked dwarfs\nrolled the millstone down upon her head, and killed her. According to\nanother account, the dwarfs invited the giant to go fishing with them,\nand succeeded in slaying him by sending him out in a leaky vessel,\nwhich sank beneath his weight.\n\nThe double crime thus committed did not long remain unpunished, for\nGilling's brother, Suttung, quickly went in search of the dwarfs,\ndetermined to avenge him. Seizing them in his mighty grasp, the giant\nconveyed them to a shoal far out at sea, where they would surely have\nperished at the next high tide had they not succeeded in redeeming\ntheir lives by promising to deliver to the giant their recently\nbrewed mead. As soon as Suttung set them ashore, they therefore\ngave him the precious compound, which he entrusted to his daughter\nGunlod, bidding her guard it night and day, and allow neither gods\nnor mortals to have so much as a taste. The better to fulfil this\ncommand, Gunlod carried the three vessels into the hollow mountain,\nwhere she kept watch over them with the most scrupulous care, nor\ndid she suspect that Odin had discovered their place of concealment,\nthanks to the sharp eyes of his ever-vigilant ravens Hugin and Munin.\n\n\n\nThe Quest of the Draught\n\nAs Odin had mastered the runic lore and had tasted the waters of\nMimir's fountain, he was already the wisest of gods; but learning\nof the power of the draught of inspiration manufactured out of\nKvasir's blood, he became very anxious to obtain possession of the\nmagic fluid. With this purpose in view he therefore donned his\nbroad-brimmed hat, wrapped himself in his cloud-hued cloak, and\njourneyed off to Joetun-heim. On his way to the giant's dwelling he\npassed by a field where nine ugly thralls were busy making hay. Odin\npaused for a moment, watching them at their work, and noticing that\ntheir scythes seemed very dull indeed, he proposed to whet them,\nan offer which the thralls eagerly accepted.\n\nDrawing a whetstone from his bosom, Odin proceeded to sharpen the\nnine scythes, skilfully giving them such a keen edge that the thralls,\ndelighted, begged that they might have the stone. With good-humoured\nacquiescence, Odin tossed the whetstone over the wall; but as the\nnine thralls simultaneously sprang forward to catch it, they wounded\none another with their keen scythes. In anger at their respective\ncarelessness, they now began to fight, and did not pause until they\nwere all either mortally wounded or dead.\n\nQuite undismayed by this tragedy, Odin continued on his way, and\nshortly after came to the house of the giant Baugi, a brother\nof Suttung, who received him very hospitably. In the course of\nconversation, Baugi informed him that he was greatly embarrassed,\nas it was harvest time and all his workmen had just been found dead\nin the hayfield.\n\nOdin, who on this occasion had given his name as Bolwerk (evil doer),\npromptly offered his services to the giant, promising to accomplish\nas much work as the nine thralls, and to labour diligently all the\nsummer in exchange for one single draught of Suttung's magic mead when\nthe busy season was ended. This bargain was immediately concluded,\nand Baugi's new servant, Bolwerk, worked incessantly all the summer\nlong, more than fulfilling his contract, and safely garnering all the\ngrain before the autumn rains began to fall. When the first days of\nwinter came, Bolwerk presented himself before his master, claiming\nhis reward. But Baugi hesitated and demurred, saying he dared not\nopenly ask his brother Suttung for the draught of inspiration, but\nwould try to obtain it by guile. Together, Bolwerk and Baugi then\nproceeded to the mountain where Gunlod dwelt, and as they could find\nno other mode of entering the secret cave, Odin produced his trusty\nauger, called Rati, and bade the giant bore with all his might to\nmake a hole through which he might crawl into the interior.\n\nBaugi silently obeyed, and after a few moments' work withdrew the tool,\nsaying that he had pierced through the mountain, and that Odin would\nhave no difficulty in slipping through. But the god, mistrusting this\nstatement, merely blew into the hole, and when the dust and chips came\nflying into his face, he sternly bade Baugi resume his boring and not\nattempt to deceive him again. The giant did as he was told, and when\nhe withdrew his tool again, Odin ascertained that the hole was really\nfinished. Changing himself into a snake, he wriggled through with\nsuch remarkable rapidity that he managed to elude the sharp auger,\nwhich Baugi treacherously thrust into the hole after him, intending\nto kill him.\n\n\n \"Rati's mouth I caused\n To make a space,\n And to gnaw the rock;\n Over and under me\n Were the Joetun's ways:\n Thus I my head did peril.\"\n\n Havamal (Thorpe's tr.).\n\n\n\nThe Rape of the Draught\n\nHaving reached the interior of the mountain, Odin reassumed his usual\ngodlike form and starry mantle, and then presented himself in the\nstalactite-hung cave before the beautiful Gunlod. He intended to win\nher love as a means of inducing her to grant him a sip from each of\nthe vessels confided to her care.\n\nWon by his passionate wooing, Gunlod consented to become his wife,\nand after he had spent three whole days with her in this retreat,\nshe brought out the vessels from their secret hiding-place, and told\nhim he might take a sip from each.\n\n\n \"And a draught obtained\n Of the precious mead,\n Drawn from Od-hroerir.\"\n\n Odin's Rune-Song (Thorpe's tr.).\n\n\nOdin made good use of this permission and drank so deeply that he\ncompletely drained all three vessels. Then, having obtained all that\nhe wanted, he emerged from the cave and, donning his eagle plumes,\nrose high into the blue, and, after hovering for a moment over the\nmountain top, winged his flight towards Asgard.\n\nHe was still far from the gods' realm when he became aware of a\npursuer, and, indeed, Suttung, having also assumed the form of an\neagle, was coming rapidly after him with intent to compel him to\nsurrender the stolen mead. Odin therefore flew faster and faster,\nstraining every nerve to reach Asgard before the foe should overtake\nhim, and as he drew near the gods anxiously watched the race.\n\nSeeing that Odin would only with difficulty be able to escape, the\nAEsir hastily gathered all the combustible materials they could find,\nand as he flew over the ramparts of their dwelling, they set fire to\nthe mass of fuel, so that the flames, rising high, singed the wings\nof Suttung, as he followed the god, and he fell into the very midst\nof the fire, where he was burned to death.\n\nAs for Odin, he flew to where the gods had prepared vessels for\nthe stolen mead, and disgorged the draught of inspiration in such\nbreathless haste that a few drops fell and were scattered over the\nearth. There they became the portion of rhymesters and poetasters,\nthe gods reserving the main draught for their own consumption, and\nonly occasionally vouchsafing a taste to some favoured mortal, who,\nimmediately after, would win world-wide renown by his inspired songs.\n\n\n \"Of a well-assumed form\n I made good use:\n Few things fail the wise;\n For Od-hroerir\n Is now come up\n To men's earthly dwellings.\"\n\n Havamal (Thorpe's tr.).\n\n\nAs men and gods owed the priceless gift to Odin, they were ever ready\nto express to him their gratitude, and they not only called it by\nhis name, but they worshipped him as patron of eloquence, poetry,\nand song, and of all scalds.\n\n\n\nThe God of Music\n\nAlthough Odin had thus won the gift of poetry, he seldom made use of\nit himself. It was reserved for his son Bragi, the child of Gunlod,\nto become the god of poetry and music, and to charm the world with\nhis songs.\n\n\n \"White-bearded bard, ag'd\n Bragi, his gold harp\n Sweeps--and yet softer\n Stealeth the day.\"\n\n Viking Tales of the North (R. B. Anderson).\n\n\nAs soon as Bragi was born in the stalactite-hung cave where Odin had\nwon Gunlod's affections, the dwarfs presented him with a magical golden\nharp, and, setting him on one of their own vessels, they sent him out\ninto the wide world. As the boat gently passed out of subterranean\ndarkness, and floated over the threshold of Nain, the realm of the\ndwarf of death, Bragi, the fair and immaculate young god, who until\nthen had shown no signs of life, suddenly sat up, and, seizing the\ngolden harp beside him, he began to sing the wondrous song of life,\nwhich rose at times to heaven, and then sank down to the dread realm\nof Hel, goddess of death.\n\n\n \"Yggdrasil's ash is\n Of all trees most excellent,\n And of all ships, Skidbladnir;\n Of the AEsir, Odin,\n And of horses, Sleipnir;\n Bifroest of bridges,\n And of scalds, Bragi.\"\n\n Lay of Grimnir (Thorpe's tr.).\n\n\nWhile he played the vessel was wafted gently over sunlit waters, and\nsoon touched the shore. Bragi then proceeded on foot, threading his\nway through the bare and silent forest, playing as he walked. At the\nsound of his tender music the trees began to bud and bloom, and the\ngrass underfoot was gemmed with countless flowers.\n\nHere he met Idun, daughter of Ivald, the fair goddess of immortal\nyouth, whom the dwarfs allowed to visit the earth from time to time,\nwhen, at her approach, nature invariably assumed its loveliest and\ngentlest aspect.\n\nIt was only to be expected that two such beings should feel\nattracted to each other, and Bragi soon won this fair goddess for his\nwife. Together they hastened to Asgard, where both were warmly welcomed\nand where Odin, after tracing runes on Bragi's tongue, decreed that\nhe should be the heavenly minstrel and composer of songs in honour\nof the gods and of the heroes whom he received in Valhalla.\n\n\n\nWorship of Bragi\n\nAs Bragi was god of poetry, eloquence, and song, the Northern\nraces also called poetry by his name, and scalds of either sex were\nfrequently designated as Braga-men or Braga-women. Bragi was greatly\nhonoured by all the Northern races, and hence his health was always\ndrunk on solemn or festive occasions, but especially at funeral feasts\nand at Yuletide celebrations.\n\nWhen it was time to drink this toast, which was served in cups shaped\nlike a ship, and was called the Bragaful, the sacred sign of the hammer\nwas first made over it. Then the new ruler or head of the family\nsolemnly pledged himself to some great deed of valour, which he was\nbound to execute within the year, unless he wished to be considered\ndestitute of honour. Following his example, all the guests were then\nwont to make similar vows and declare what they would do; and as some\nof them, owing to previous potations, talked rather too freely of\ntheir intentions on these occasions, this custom seems to connect the\ngod's name with the vulgar but very expressive English verb \"to brag.\"\n\nIn art, Bragi is generally represented as an elderly man, with long\nwhite hair and beard, and holding the golden harp from which his\nfingers could draw such magic strains.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VII: IDUN\n\n\nThe Apples of Youth\n\nIdun, the personification of spring or immortal youth, who, according\nto some mythologists, had no birth and was never to taste death,\nwas warmly welcomed by the gods when she made her appearance in\nAsgard with Bragi. To further win their affections she promised them\na daily taste of the marvellous apples which she bore in her casket,\nand which had the power of conferring immortal youth and loveliness\nupon all who partook of them.\n\n\n \"The golden apples\n Out of her garden\n Have yielded you a dower of youth,\n Ate you them every day.\"\n\n Wagner (Forman's tr.).\n\n\nThanks to this magic fruit, the Scandinavian gods, who, because\nthey sprang from a mixed race, were not all immortal, warded off the\napproach of old age and disease, and remained vigorous, beautiful, and\nyoung through countless ages. These apples were therefore considered\nvery precious indeed, and Idun carefully treasured them in her magic\ncasket. No matter how many she drew out, the same number always\nremained for distribution at the feast of the gods, to whom alone she\nvouchsafed a taste, although dwarfs and giants were eager to obtain\npossession of the fruit.\n\n\n \"Bright Iduna, Maid immortal!\n Standing at Valhalla's portal,\n In her casket has rich store\n Of rare apples gilded o'er;\n Those rare apples, not of Earth,\n Ageing AEsir give fresh birth.\"\n\n Valhalla (J. C. Jones).\n\n\n\nThe Story of Thiassi\n\nOne day, Odin, Hoenir, and Loki started out upon one of their usual\nexcursions to earth, and, after wandering for a long while, they\nfound themselves in a deserted region, where they could discover no\nhospitable dwelling. Weary and very hungry, the gods, perceiving a\nherd of oxen, slew one of the beasts, and, kindling a fire, they sat\ndown beside it to rest while waiting for their meat to cook.\n\nTo their surprise, however, in spite of the roaring flames the carcass\nremained quite raw. Realising that some magic must be at work, they\nlooked about them to discover what could hinder their cookery, when\nthey perceived an eagle perched upon a tree above them. Seeing that he\nwas an object of suspicion to the wayfarers, the bird addressed them\nand admitted that he it was who had prevented the fire from doing its\naccustomed work, but he offered to remove the spell if they would give\nhim as much food as he could eat. The gods agreed to do this, whereupon\nthe eagle, swooping downward, fanned the flames with his huge wings,\nand soon the meat was cooked. The eagle then made ready to carry off\nthree quarters of the ox as his share, but this was too much for Loki,\nwho seized a great stake lying near at hand, and began to belabour\nthe voracious bird, forgetting that it was skilled in magic arts. To\nhis great dismay one end of the stake stuck fast to the eagle's back,\nthe other to his hands, and he found himself dragged over stones and\nthrough briers, sometimes through the air, his arms almost torn out\nof their sockets. In vain he cried for mercy and implored the eagle\nto let him go; the bird flew on, until he promised any ransom his\ncaptor might ask in exchange for his release.\n\nThe seeming eagle, who was the storm giant Thiassi, at last agreed\nto release Loki upon one condition. He made him promise upon the\nmost solemn of oaths that he would lure Idun out of Asgard, so that\nThiassi might obtain possession of her and of her magic fruit.\n\nReleased at last, Loki returned to Odin and Hoenir, to whom, however,\nhe was very careful not to confide the condition upon which he had\nobtained his freedom; and when they had returned to Asgard he began\nto plan how he might entice Idun outside of the gods' abode. A few\ndays later, Bragi being absent on one of his minstrel journeys, Loki\nsought Idun in the groves of Brunnaker, where she had taken up her\nabode, and by artfully describing some apples which grew at a short\ndistance, and which he mendaciously declared were exactly like hers,\nhe lured her away from Asgard with a crystal dish full of fruit,\nwhich she intended to compare with that which he extolled. No sooner\nhad Idun left Asgard, however, than the deceiver Loki forsook her,\nand ere she could return to the shelter of the heavenly abode the\nstorm giant Thiassi swept down from the north on his eagle wings,\nand catching her up in his cruel talons, he bore her swiftly away to\nhis barren and desolate home of Thrym-heim.\n\n\n \"Thrymheim the sixth is named,\n Where Thiassi dwelt,\n That all-powerful Joetun.\"\n\n Lay of Grimnir (Thorpe's tr.).\n\n\nIsolated from her beloved companions, Idun pined, grew pale and sad,\nbut persistently refused to give Thiassi the smallest bite of her\nmagic fruit, which, as he well knew, would make him beautiful and\nrenew his strength and youth.\n\n\n \"All woes that fall\n On Odin's hall\n Can be traced to Loki base.\n From out Valhalla's portal\n 'Twas he who pure Iduna lured,--\n Whose casket fair\n Held apples rare\n That render gods immortal,--\n And in Thiassi's tower immured.\"\n\n Valhalla (J. C. Jones).\n\n\nTime passed. The gods, thinking that Idun had accompanied her husband\nand would soon return, at first paid no heed to her departure, but\nlittle by little the beneficent effect of the last feast of apples\npassed away. They began to feel the approach of old age, and saw\ntheir youth and beauty disappear; so, becoming alarmed, they began\nto search for the missing goddess.\n\nClose investigation revealed the fact that she had last been seen in\nLoki's company, and when Odin sternly called him to account, he was\nforced to admit that he had betrayed her into the storm-giant's power.\n\n\n \"By his mocking, scornful mien,\n Soon in Valhal it was seen\n 'Twas the traitor Loki's art\n Which had led Idun apart\n To gloomy tower\n And Jotun power.\"\n\n Valhalla (J. C. Jones).\n\n\n\nThe Return of Idun\n\nThe attitude of the gods now became very menacing, and it was clear\nto Loki that if he did not devise means to restore the goddess,\nand that soon, his life would be in considerable danger.\n\nHe assured the indignant gods, therefore, that he would leave no\nstone unturned in his efforts to secure the release of Idun, and,\nborrowing Freya's falcon plumage, he flew off to Thrym-heim, where\nhe found Idun alone, sadly mourning her exile from Asgard and her\nbeloved Bragi. Changing the fair goddess into a nut according to\nsome accounts, or according to others, into a swallow, Loki grasped\nher tightly between his claws, and then rapidly retraced his way to\nAsgard, hoping that he would reach the shelter of its high walls ere\nThiassi returned from a fishing excursion in the Northern seas to\nwhich he had gone.\n\nMeantime the gods had assembled on the ramparts of the heavenly\ncity, and they were watching for the return of Loki with far more\nanxiety than they had felt for Odin when he went in search of\nOd-hroerir. Remembering the success of their ruse on that occasion,\nthey had gathered great piles of fuel, which they were ready to set\non fire at any moment.\n\nSuddenly they saw Loki coming, but descried in his wake a great\neagle. This was the giant Thiassi who had suddenly returned to\nThrym-heim and found that his captive had been carried off by a falcon,\nin whom he readily recognised one of the gods. Hastily donning his\neagle plumes he had given immediate chase and was rapidly overtaking\nhis prey. Loki redoubled his efforts as he neared the walls of Asgard,\nand ere Thiassi overtook him he reached the goal and sank exhausted in\nthe midst of the gods. Not a moment was lost in setting fire to the\naccumulated fuel, and as the pursuing Thiassi passed over the walls\nin his turn, the flames and smoke brought him to the ground crippled\nand half stunned, an easy prey to the gods, who fell ruthlessly upon\nhim and slew him.\n\nThe AEsir were overjoyed at the recovery of Idun, and they hastened\nto partake of the precious apples which she had brought safely\nback. Feeling the return of their wonted strength and good looks with\nevery mouthful they ate, they good-naturedly declared that it was\nno wonder if even the giants longed to taste the apples of perpetual\nyouth. They vowed therefore that they would place Thiassi's eyes as\na constellation in the heavens, in order to soften any feeling of\nanger which his kinsmen might experience upon learning that he had\nbeen slain.\n\n\n \"Up I cast the eyes\n Of Allvaldi's son\n Into the heaven's serene:\n They are signs the greatest\n Of my deeds.\"\n\n Lay of Harbard (Thorpe's tr.).\n\n\n\nThe Goddess of Spring\n\nThe physical explanation of this myth is obvious. Idun, the emblem of\nvegetation, is forcibly carried away in autumn, when Bragi is absent\nand the singing of the birds has ceased. The cold wintry wind, Thiassi,\ndetains her in the frozen, barren north, where she cannot thrive,\nuntil Loki, the south wind, brings back the seed or the swallow,\nwhich are both precursors of the returning spring. The youth, beauty,\nand strength conferred by Idun are symbolical of Nature's resurrection\nin spring after winter's sleep, when colour and vigour return to the\nearth, which had grown wrinkled and grey.\n\n\n\nIdun Falls to the Nether World\n\nAs the disappearance of Idun (vegetation) was a yearly occurrence,\nwe might expect to find other myths dealing with the striking\nphenomenon, and there is another favourite of the old scalds which,\nunfortunately, has come down to us only in a fragmentary and very\nincomplete form. According to this account, Idun was once sitting upon\nthe branches of the sacred ash Yggdrasil when, growing suddenly faint,\nshe loosed her hold and dropped to the ground beneath, and down to\nthe lowest depths of Nifl-heim. There she lay, pale and motionless,\ngazing with fixed and horror-struck eyes upon the gruesome sights\nof Hel's realm, trembling violently the while, like one overcome by\npenetrating cold.\n\n\n \"In the dales dwells\n The prescient Dis,\n From Yggdrasil's\n Ash sunk down,\n Of alfen race,\n Idun by name,\n The youngest of Ivaldi's\n Elder children.\n She ill brooked\n Her descent\n Under the hoar tree's\n Trunk confined.\n She would not happy be\n With Norvi's daughter,\n Accustomed to a pleasanter\n Abode at home.\"\n\n Odin's Ravens' Song (Thorpe's tr.).\n\n\nSeeing that she did not return, Odin bade Bragi, Heimdall, and another\nof the gods go in search of her, giving them a white wolfskin to\nenvelop her in, so that she should not suffer from the cold, and\nbidding them make every effort to rouse her from the stupor which\nhis prescience told him had taken possession of her.\n\n\n \"A wolf's skin they gave her,\n In which herself she clad.\"\n\n Odin's Ravens' Song (Thorpe's tr.).\n\n\nIdun passively allowed the gods to wrap her in the warm wolfskin,\nbut she persistently refused to speak or move, and from her strange\nmanner her husband sadly suspected that she had had a vision of great\nills. The tears ran continuously down her pallid cheeks, and Bragi,\novercome by her unhappiness, at length bade the other gods return\nto Asgard without him, vowing that he would remain beside his wife\nuntil she was ready to leave Hel's dismal realm. The sight of her\nwoe oppressed him so sorely that he had no heart for his usual merry\nsongs, and the strings of his harp were mute while he remained in\nthe underworld.\n\n\n \"That voice-like zephyr o'er flow'r meads creeping,\n Like Bragi's music his harp strings sweeping.\"\n\n Viking Tales of the North (R. B. Anderson).\n\n\nIn this myth Idun's fall from Yggdrasil is symbolical of the autumnal\nfalling of the leaves, which lie limp and helpless on the cold bare\nground until they are hidden from sight under the snow, represented\nby the wolfskin, which Odin, the sky, sends down to keep them warm;\nand the cessation of the birds' songs is further typified by Bragi's\nsilent harp.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VIII: NIOeRD\n\n\nA Hostage with the Gods\n\nWe have already seen how the AEsir and Vanas exchanged hostages after\nthe terrible war they had waged against each other, and that while\nHoenir, Odin's brother, went to live in Vana-heim, Nioerd, with his\ntwo children, Frey and Freya, definitely took up his abode in Asgard.\n\n\n \"In Vana-heim\n Wise powers him created,\n And to the gods a hostage gave.\"\n\n Lay of Vafthrudnir (Thorpe's tr.).\n\n\nAs ruler of the winds, and of the sea near the shore, Nioerd was\ngiven the palace of Noatun, near the seashore, where, we are told, he\nstilled the terrible tempests stirred up by AEgir, god of the deep sea.\n\n\n \"Nioerd, the god of storms, whom fishers know;\n Not born in Heaven--he was in Van-heim rear'd,\n With men, but lives a hostage with the gods;\n He knows each frith, and every rocky creek\n Fringed with dark pines, and sands where sea-fowl scream.\"\n\n Balder Dead (Matthew Arnold).\n\n\nHe also extended his special protection over commerce and fishing,\nwhich two occupations could be pursued with advantage only during\nthe short summer months, of which he was in a measure considered\nthe personification.\n\n\n\nThe God of Summer\n\nNioerd is represented in art as a very handsome god, in the prime\nof life, clad in a short green tunic, with a crown of shells and\nseaweed upon his head, or a brown-brimmed hat adorned with eagle or\nheron plumes. As personification of the summer, he was invoked to\nstill the raging storms which desolated the coasts during the winter\nmonths. He was also implored to hasten the vernal warmth and thereby\nextinguish the winter fires.\n\nAs agriculture was practised only during the summer months, and\nprincipally along the fiords or sea inlets, Nioerd was also invoked\nfor favourable harvests, for he was said to delight in prospering\nthose who placed their trust in him.\n\nNioerd's first wife, according to some authorities, was his sister\nNerthus, Mother Earth, who in Germany was identified with Frigga, as we\nhave seen, but in Scandinavia was considered a separate divinity. Nioerd\nwas, however, obliged to part with her when summoned to Asgard,\nwhere he occupied one of the twelve seats in the great council hall,\nand was present at all the assemblies of the gods, withdrawing to\nNoatun only when his services were not required by the AEsir.\n\n\n \"Noatun is the eleventh;\n There Nioerd has\n Himself a dwelling made,\n Prince of men;\n Guiltless of sin,\n He rules o'er the high-built fane.\"\n\n Lay of Grimnir (Thorpe's tr.).\n\n\nIn his home by the seashore, Nioerd delighted in watching the gulls\nfly to and fro, and in observing the graceful movements of the swans,\nhis favourite birds, which were held sacred to him. He spent many an\nhour, too, gazing at the gambols of the gentle seals, which came to\nbask in the sunshine at his feet.\n\n\n\nSkadi, Goddess of Winter\n\nShortly after Idun's return from Thrym-heim, and Thiassi's death within\nthe bounds of Asgard, the assembled gods were greatly surprised and\ndismayed to see Skadi, the giant's daughter, appear one day in their\nmidst, to demand satisfaction for her father's death. Although the\ndaughter of an ugly old Hrim-thurs, Skadi, the goddess of winter,\nwas very beautiful indeed, in her silvery armour, with her glittering\nspear, sharp-pointed arrows, short white hunting dress, white fur\nleggings, and broad snowshoes; and the gods could not but recognise\nthe justice of her claim, wherefore they offered the usual fine in\natonement. Skadi, however, was so angry that she at first refused\nthis compromise, and sternly demanded a life for a life, until Loki,\nwishing to appease her wrath, and thinking that if he could only make\nher cold lips relax in a smile the rest would be easy, began to play\nall manner of pranks. Fastening a goat to himself by an invisible cord,\nhe went through a series of antics, which were reproduced by the goat;\nand the sight was so grotesque that all the gods fairly shouted with\nmerriment, and even Skadi was forced to smile.\n\nTaking advantage of this softened mood, the gods pointed to the\nfirmament where her father's eyes glowed like radiant stars in the\nnorthern hemisphere. They told her they had placed them there to show\nhim all honour, and finally added that she might select as husband\nany of the gods present at the assembly, providing she were content\nto judge of their attractions by their naked feet.\n\nBlindfolded, so that she could see only the feet of the gods standing\nin a circle around her, Skadi looked about her and her gaze fell upon\na pair of beautifully formed feet. She felt sure they must belong to\nBalder, the god of light, whose bright face had charmed her, and she\ndesignated their owner as her choice.\n\nWhen the bandage was removed, however, she discovered to her chagrin\nthat she had chosen Nioerd, to whom her troth was plighted; but\nnotwithstanding her disappointment, she spent a happy honeymoon in\nAsgard, where all seemed to delight in doing her honour. After this,\nNioerd took his bride home to Noatun, where the monotonous sound of\nthe waves, the shrieking of the gulls, and the cries of the seals\nso disturbed Skadi's slumbers that she finally declared it was quite\nimpossible for her to remain there any longer, and she implored her\nhusband to take her back to her native Thrym-heim.\n\n\n \"Sleep could I not\n On my sea-strand couch,\n For screams of the sea fowl.\n There wakes me,\n When from the wave he comes,\n Every morning the mew.\"\n\n Norse Mythology (R. B. Anderson).\n\n\nNioerd, anxious to please his new wife, consented to take her to\nThrym-heim and to dwell there with her nine nights out of every twelve,\nproviding she would spend the remaining three with him at Noatun;\nbut when he reached the mountain region, the soughing of the wind in\nthe pines, the thunder of the avalanches, the cracking of the ice,\nthe roar of the waterfalls, and the howling of the wolves appeared\nto him as unbearable as the sound of the sea had seemed to his wife,\nand he could not but rejoice each time when his period of exile was\nended, and he found himself again at Noatun.\n\n\n \"Am weary of the mountains;\n Not long was I there,\n Only nine nights;\n The howl of the wolves\n Methought sounded ill\n To the song of the swans.\"\n\n Norse Mythology (R. B. Anderson).\n\n\n\nThe Parting of Nioerd and Skadi\n\nFor some time, Nioerd and Skadi, who are the personifications of summer\nand winter, alternated thus, the wife spending the three short summer\nmonths by the sea, and he reluctantly remaining with her in Thrym-heim\nduring the nine long winter months. But, concluding at last that their\ntastes would never agree, they decided to part for ever, and returned\nto their respective homes, where each could follow the occupations\nwhich custom had endeared to them.\n\n\n \"Thrym-heim it's called,\n Where Thjasse dwelled,\n That stream-mighty giant;\n But Skade now dwells,\n Pure bride of the gods,\n In her father's old mansion.\"\n\n Norse Mythology (R. B. Anderson).\n\n\nSkadi now resumed her wonted pastime of hunting, leaving her realm\nagain only to marry the semi-historical Odin, to whom she bore a son\ncalled Saeming, the first king of Norway, and the supposed founder of\nthe royal race which long ruled that country.\n\nAccording to other accounts, however, Skadi eventually married Uller,\nthe winter-god. As Skadi was a skilful marksman, she is represented\nwith bow and arrow, and, as goddess of the chase, she is generally\naccompanied by one of the wolf-like Eskimo dogs so common in the\nNorth. Skadi was invoked by hunters and by winter travellers, whose\nsleighs she would guide over the snow and ice, thus helping them to\nreach their destination in safety.\n\nSkadi's anger against the gods, who had slain her father, the storm\ngiant, is an emblem of the unbending rigidity of the ice-enveloped\nearth, which, softened at last by the frolicsome play of Loki (the\nheat lightning), smiles, and permits the embrace of Nioerd (summer). His\nlove, however, cannot hold her for more than three months of the year\n(typified in the myth by nights), as she is always secretly longing for\nthe wintry storms and for her wonted activities among the mountains.\n\n\n\nThe Worship of Nioerd\n\nNioerd was supposed to bless the vessels passing in and out of port,\nand his temples were situated by the seashore; there oaths in his\nname were commonly sworn, and his health was drunk at every banquet,\nwhere he was invariably named with his son Frey.\n\nAs all aquatic plants were supposed to belong to him, the marine sponge\nwas known in the North as \"Nioerd's glove,\" a name which was retained\nuntil lately, when the same plant has been popularly re-named the\n\"Virgin's hand.\"\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IX: FREY\n\n\nThe God of Fairyland\n\nFrey, or Fro, as he was called in Germany, was the son of Nioerd and\nNerthus, or of Nioerd and Skadi, and was born in Vana-heim. He therefore\nbelonged to the race of the Vanas, the divinities of water and air,\nbut was warmly welcomed in Asgard when he came thither as hostage\nwith his father. As it was customary among the Northern nations to\nbestow some valuable gift upon a child when he cut his first tooth,\nthe AEsir gave the infant Frey the beautiful realm of Alf-heim or\nFairyland, the home of the Light Elves.\n\n\n \"Alf-heim the gods to Frey\n Gave in days of yore\n For a tooth gift.\"\n\n Saemund's Edda (Thorpe's tr.).\n\n\nHere Frey, the god of the golden sunshine and the warm summer\nshowers, took up his abode, charmed with the society of the elves\nand fairies, who implicitly obeyed his every order, and at a sign\nfrom him flitted to and fro, doing all the good in their power,\nfor they were pre-eminently beneficent spirits.\n\nFrey also received from the gods a marvellous sword (an emblem of the\nsunbeams), which had the power of fighting successfully, and of its\nown accord, as soon as it was drawn from its sheath. Frey wielded\nthis principally against the frost giants, whom he hated almost as\nmuch as did Thor, and because he carried this glittering weapon,\nhe has sometimes been confounded with the sword-god Tyr or Saxnot.\n\n\n \"With a short-shafted hammer fights conquering Thor;\n Frey's own sword but an ell long is made.\"\n\n Viking Tales of the North (R. B. Anderson).\n\n\nThe dwarfs from Svart-alfa-heim gave Frey the golden-bristled boar\nGullin-bursti (the golden-bristled), a personification of the sun. The\nradiant bristles of this animal were considered symbolical either\nof the solar rays, of the golden grain, which at his bidding waved\nover the harvest fields of Midgard, or of agriculture; for the boar\n(by tearing up the ground with his sharp tusk) was supposed to have\nfirst taught mankind how to plough.\n\n\n \"There was Frey, and sat\n On the gold-bristled boar, who first, they say,\n Plowed the brown earth, and made it green for Frey.\"\n\n Lovers of Gudrun (William Morris).\n\nFrey sometimes rode astride of this marvellous boar, whose speed was\nvery great, and at other times harnessed him to his golden chariot,\nwhich was said to contain the fruits and flowers which he lavishly\nscattered abroad over the face of the earth.\n\nFrey was, moreover, the proud possessor not only of the dauntless steed\nBlodug-hofi, which would dash through fire and water at his command,\nbut also of the magic ship Skidbladnir, a personification of the\nclouds. This vessel, sailing over land and sea, was always wafted\nalong by favourable winds, and was so elastic that, while it could\nassume large enough proportions to carry the gods, their steeds,\nand all their equipments, it could also be folded up like a napkin\nand thrust into a pocket.\n\n\n \"Ivaldi's sons\n Went in days of old\n Skidbladnir to form,\n Of ships the best,\n For the bright Frey,\n Nioerd's benign son.\"\n\n Lay of Grimnir (Thorpe's tr.).\n\n\n\nThe Wooing of Gerda\n\nIt is related in one of the lays of the Edda that Frey once ventured\nto ascend Odin's throne Hlidskialf, from which exalted seat his gaze\nranged over the wide earth. Looking towards the frozen North, he saw\na beautiful young maiden enter the house of the frost giant Gymir,\nand as she raised her hand to lift the latch her radiant beauty\nilluminated sea and sky.\n\nA moment later, this lovely creature, whose name was Gerda, and who\nis considered as a personification of the flashing Northern lights,\nvanished within her father's house, and Frey pensively wended his\nway back to Alfheim, his heart oppressed with longing to make this\nfair maiden his wife. Being deeply in love, he was melancholy and\nabsent-minded in the extreme, and began to behave so strangely that\nhis father, Nioerd, became greatly alarmed about his health, and bade\nhis favourite servant, Skirnir, discover the cause of this sudden\nchange. After much persuasion, Skirnir finally won from Frey an account\nof his ascent of Hlidskialf, and of the fair vision he had seen. He\nconfessed his love and also his utter despair, for as Gerda was the\ndaughter of Gymir and Angur-boda, and a relative of the murdered\ngiant Thiassi, he feared she would never view his suit with favour.\n\n\n \"In Gymer's court I saw her move,\n The maid who fires my breast with love;\n Her snow-white arms and bosom fair\n Shone lovely, kindling sea and air.\n Dear is she to my wishes, more\n Than e'er was maid to youth before;\n But gods and elves, I wot it well,\n Forbid that we together dwell.\"\n\n Skirner's Lay (Herbert's tr.).\n\nSkirnir, however, replied consolingly that he could see no reason why\nhis master should take a despondent view of the case, and he offered\nto go and woo the maiden in his name, providing Frey would lend him his\nsteed for the journey, and give him his glittering sword for reward.\n\nOverjoyed at the prospect of winning the beautiful Gerda, Frey\nwillingly handed Skirnir the flashing sword, and gave him permission to\nuse his horse. But he quickly relapsed into the state of reverie which\nhad become usual with him since falling in love, and thus he did not\nnotice that Skirnir was still hovering near him, nor did he perceive\nhim cunningly steal the reflection of his face from the surface of the\nbrook near which he was seated, and imprison it in his drinking horn,\nwith intent \"to pour it out in Gerda's cup, and by its beauty win\nthe heart of the giantess for the lord\" for whom he was about to go\na-wooing. Provided with this portrait, with eleven golden apples, and\nwith the magic ring Draupnir, Skirnir now rode off to Joetun-heim, to\nfulfil his embassy. As he came near Gymir's dwelling he heard the loud\nand persistent howling of his watch-dogs, which were personifications\nof the wintry winds. A shepherd, guarding his flock in the vicinity,\ntold him, in answer to his inquiry, that it would be impossible to\napproach the house, on account of the flaming barrier which surrounded\nit; but Skirnir, knowing that Blodug-hofi would dash through any fire,\nmerely set spurs to his steed, and, riding up unscathed to the giant's\ndoor, was soon ushered into the presence of the lovely Gerda.\n\nTo induce the fair maiden to lend a favourable ear to his master's\nproposals, Skirnir showed her the stolen portrait, and proffered the\ngolden apples and magic ring, which, however, she haughtily refused\nto accept, declaring that her father had gold enough and to spare.\n\n\n \"I take not, I, that wondrous ring,\n Though it from Balder's pile you bring\n Gold lack not I, in Gymer's bower;\n Enough for me my father's dower.\"\n\n Skirner's Lay (Herbert's tr.).\n\n\nIndignant at her scorn, Skirnir now threatened to decapitate her with\nhis magic sword, but as this did not in the least frighten the maiden,\nand she calmly defied him, he had recourse to magic arts. Cutting\nrunes in his stick, he told her that unless she yielded ere the spell\nwas ended, she would be condemned either to eternal celibacy, or to\nmarry some aged frost giant whom she could never love.\n\nTerrified into submission by the frightful description of her cheerless\nfuture in case she persisted in her refusal, Gerda finally consented\nto become Frey's wife, and dismissed Skirnir, promising to meet her\nfuture spouse on the ninth night, in the land of Buri, the green grove,\nwhere she would dispel his sadness and make him happy.\n\n\n \"Burri is hight the seat of love;\n Nine nights elapsed, in that known grove\n Shall brave Niorder's gallant boy\n From Gerda take the kiss of joy.\"\n\n Skirner's Lay (Herbert's tr.).\n\n\nDelighted with his success, Skirnir hurried back to Alf-heim, where\nFrey came eagerly to learn the result of his journey. When he learned\nthat Gerda had consented to become his wife, his face grew radiant\nwith joy; but when Skirnir informed him that he would have to wait\nnine nights ere he could behold his promised bride, he turned sadly\naway, declaring the time would appear interminable.\n\n\n \"Long is one night, and longer twain;\n But how for three endure my pain?\n A month of rapture sooner flies\n Than half one night of wishful sighs.\"\n\n Skirner's Lay (Herbert's tr.).\n\n\nIn spite of this loverlike despondency, however, the time of waiting\ncame to an end, and Frey joyfully hastened to the green grove, where,\ntrue to her appointment, he found Gerda, and she became his happy wife,\nand proudly sat upon his throne beside him.\n\n\n \"Frey to wife had Gerd;\n She was Gymir's daughter,\n From Joetuns sprung.\"\n\n Saemund's Edda (Thorpe's tr.).\n\n\nAccording to some mythologists, Gerda is not a personification of the\naurora borealis, but of the earth, which, hard, cold, and unyielding,\nresists the spring-god's proffers of adornment and fruitfulness (the\napples and ring), defies the flashing sunbeams (Frey's sword), and\nonly consents to receive his kiss when it learns that it will else be\ndoomed to perpetual barrenness, or given over entirely into the power\nof the giants (ice and snow). The nine nights of waiting are typical\nof the nine winter months, at the end of which the earth becomes the\nbride of the sun, in the groves where the trees are budding forth\ninto leaf and blossom.\n\nFrey and Gerda, we are told, became the parents of a son called\nFiolnir, whose birth consoled Gerda for the loss of her brother\nBeli. The latter had attacked Frey and had been slain by him, although\nthe sun-god, deprived of his matchless sword, had been obliged to\ndefend himself with a stag horn which he hastily snatched from the\nwall of his dwelling.\n\nBesides the faithful Skirnir, Frey had two other attendants, a\nmarried couple, Beyggvir and Beyla, the personifications of mill\nrefuse and manure, which two ingredients, being used in agriculture\nfor fertilising purposes, were therefore considered Frey's faithful\nservants, in spite of their unpleasant qualities.\n\n\n\nThe historical Frey\n\nSnorro-Sturleson, in his \"Heimskringla,\" or chronicle of the ancient\nkings of Norway, states that Frey was an historical personage who bore\nthe name of Ingvi-Frey, and ruled in Upsala after the death of the\nsemi-historical Odin and Nioerd. Under his rule the people enjoyed such\nprosperity and peace that they declared their king must be a god. They\ntherefore began to invoke him as such, carrying their enthusiastic\nadmiration to such lengths that when he died the priests, not daring\nto reveal the fact, laid him in a great mound instead of burning his\nbody, as had been customary until then. They then informed the people\nthat Frey--whose name was the Northern synonym for \"master\"--had\n\"gone into the mound,\" an expression which eventually became the\nNorthman's phrase for death.\n\nNot until three years later did the people, who had continued paying\ntheir taxes to the king by pouring gold, silver, and copper coin\ninto the mound through three different openings, discover that Frey\nwas dead. As their peace and prosperity had remained undisturbed,\nthey decreed that his corpse should never be burned, and they thus\ninaugurated the custom of mound-burial, which in due time supplanted\nthe funeral pyre in many places. One of the three mounds near Gamla\nUpsala still bears this god's name. His statues were placed in the\ngreat temple there, and his name was duly mentioned in all solemn\noaths, of which the usual formula was, \"So help me Frey, Nioerd,\nand the Almighty Asa\" (Odin).\n\n\n\nWorship of Frey\n\nNo weapons were ever admitted in Frey's temples, the most celebrated\nof which were at Throndhjeim in Norway, and at Thvera in Iceland. In\nthese temples oxen or horses were offered in sacrifice to him, a heavy\ngold ring being dipped in the victim's blood ere the above-mentioned\noath was solemnly taken upon it.\n\nFrey's statues, like those of all the other Northern divinities,\nwere roughly hewn blocks of wood, and the last of these sacred images\nseems to have been destroyed by Olaf the Saint, who, as we have seen,\nforcibly converted many of his subjects. Besides being god of sunshine,\nfruitfulness, peace, and prosperity, Frey was considered the patron\nof horses and horsemen, and the deliverer of all captives.\n\n\n \"Frey is the best\n Of all the chiefs\n Among the gods.\n He causes not tears\n To maids or mothers:\n His desire is to loosen the fetters\n Of those enchained.\"\n\n Norse Mythology (R. B. Anderson).\n\n\n\nThe Yule Feast\n\nOne month of every year, the Yule month, or Thor's month, was\nconsidered sacred to Frey as well as to Thor, and began on the longest\nnight of the year, which bore the name of Mother Night. This month\nwas a time of feasting and rejoicing, for it heralded the return of\nthe sun. The festival was called Yule (wheel) because the sun was\nsupposed to resemble a wheel rapidly revolving across the sky. This\nresemblance gave rise to a singular custom in England, Germany, and\nalong the banks of the Moselle. Until within late years, the people\nwere wont to assemble yearly upon a mountain, to set fire to a huge\nwooden wheel, twined with straw, which, all ablaze, was then sent\nrolling down the hill, to plunge with a hiss into the water.\n\n\n \"Some others get a rotten Wheele, all worn and cast aside,\n Which, covered round about with strawe and tow, they closely hide;\n And caryed to some mountaines top, being all with fire light,\n They hurle it down with violence, when darke appears the night;\n Resembling much the sunne, that from the Heavens down should fal,\n A strange and monstrous sight it seemes, and fearful to them all;\n But they suppose their mischiefs are all likewise throwne to hell,\n And that, from harmes and dangers now, in safetie here they dwell.\"\n\n Naogeorgus.\n\n\nAll the Northern races considered the Yule feast the greatest of\nthe year, and were wont to celebrate it with dancing, feasting,\nand drinking, each god being pledged by name. The first Christian\nmissionaries, perceiving the extreme popularity of this feast, thought\nit best to encourage drinking to the health of the Lord and his twelve\napostles when they first began to convert the Northern heathens. In\nhonour of Frey, boar's flesh was eaten on this occasion. Crowned\nwith laurel and rosemary, the animal's head was brought into the\nbanqueting-hall with much ceremony--a custom long after observed,\nas the following lines will show:\n\n\n \"Caput Apri defero\n Reddens laudes Domino.\n The boar's head in hand bring I,\n With garlands gay and rosemary;\n I pray you all sing merrily,\n Qui estis in convivio.\"\n\n Queen's College Carol, Oxford.\n\n\nThe father of the family laid his hand on the sacred dish, which was\ncalled \"the boar of atonement,\" swearing he would be faithful to his\nfamily, and would fulfil all his obligations--an example which was\nfollowed by all present, from the highest to the lowest. This dish\ncould be carved only by a man of unblemished reputation and tried\ncourage, for the boar's head was a sacred emblem which was supposed\nto inspire every one with fear. For that reason a boar's head was\nfrequently used as ornament for the helmets of Northern kings and\nheroes whose bravery was unquestioned.\n\nAs Frey's name of Fro is phonetically the same as the word used in\nGerman for gladness, he was considered the patron of every joy,\nand was invariably invoked by married couples who wished to live\nin harmony. Those who succeeded in doing so for a certain length of\ntime were publicly rewarded by the gift of a piece of boar's flesh,\nfor which in later times, the English and Viennese substituted a\nflitch of bacon or a ham.\n\n\n \"You shall swear, by custom of confession,\n If ever you made nuptial transgression,\n Be you either married man or wife:\n If you have brawls or contentious strife;\n Or otherwise, at bed or at board,\n Offended each other in deed or word;\n Or, since the parish clerk said Amen,\n You wish'd yourselves unmarried again;\n Or, in a twelvemonth and a day\n Repented not in thought any way,\n But continued true in thought and desire,\n As when you join'd hands in the quire.\n If to these conditions, with all feare,\n Of your own accord you will freely sweare,\n A whole gammon of bacon you shall receive,\n And bear it hence with love and good leave:\n For this our custom at Dunmow well known--\n Though the pleasure be ours, the bacon's your own.\"\n\n Brand's Popular Antiquities.\n\n\nAt the village of Dunmow in Essex, the ancient custom is still\nobserved. In Vienna the ham or flitch of bacon was hung over the\ncity gate, whence the successful candidate was expected to bring\nit down, after he had satisfied the judges that he lived in peace\nwith his wife, but was not under petticoat rule. It is said that in\nVienna this ham remained for a long time unclaimed until at last\na worthy burgher presented himself before the judges, bearing his\nwife's written affidavit that they had been married twelve years and\nhad never disagreed--a statement which was confirmed by all their\nneighbours. The judges, satisfied with the proofs laid before them,\ntold the candidate that the prize was his, and that he only need\nclimb the ladder placed beneath it and bring it down. Rejoicing at\nhaving secured such a fine ham, the man speedily mounted the ladder;\nbut as he was about to reach for the prize he noticed that the ham,\nexposed to the noonday sun, was beginning to melt, and that a drop\nof fat threatened to fall upon his Sunday coat. Hastily beating a\nretreat, he pulled off his coat, jocosely remarking that his wife\nwould scold him roundly were he to stain it, a confession which made\nthe bystanders roar with laughter, and which cost him his ham.\n\nAnother Yuletide custom was the burning of a huge log, which had to\nlast through the night, otherwise it was considered a very bad omen\nindeed. The charred remains of this log were carefully collected,\nand treasured up for the purpose of setting fire to the log of the\nfollowing year.\n\n\n \"With the last yeeres brand\n Light the new block, and\n For good successe in his spending,\n On your psaltries play,\n That sweet luck may\n Come while the log is a-tending.\"\n\n Hesperides (Herrick).\n\n\nThis festival was so popular in Scandinavia, where it was celebrated in\nJanuary, that King Olaf, seeing how dear it was to the Northern heart,\ntransferred most of its observances to Christmas day, thereby doing\nmuch to reconcile the ignorant people to their change of religion.\n\nAs god of peace and prosperity, Frey is supposed to have reappeared\nupon earth many times, and to have ruled the Swedes under the name\nof Ingvi-Frey, whence his descendants were called Inglings. He also\ngoverned the Danes under the name of Fridleef. In Denmark he is said\nto have married the beautiful maiden Freygerda, whom he had rescued\nfrom a dragon. By her he had a son named Frodi, who, in due time,\nsucceeded him as king.\n\nFrodi ruled Denmark in the days when there was \"peace throughout\nthe world,\" that is to say, just at the time when Christ was born\nin Bethlehem of Judea; and because all his subjects lived in amity,\nhe was generally known as Peace Frodi.\n\n\n\nHow the Sea became salt\n\nIt is related that Frodi once received from Hengi-kiaptr a pair of\nmagic millstones, called Grotti, which were so ponderous that none\nof his servants nor even his strongest warriors could turn them. The\nking was aware that the mill was enchanted and would grind anything\nhe wished, so he was very anxious indeed to set it to work, and,\nduring a visit to Sweden, he saw and purchased as slaves the two\ngiantesses Menia and Fenia, whose powerful muscles and frames had\nattracted his attention.\n\nOn his return home, Peace Frodi led his new servants to the mill,\nand bade them turn the grindstones and grind out gold, peace, and\nprosperity, and they immediately fulfilled his wishes. Cheerfully\nthe women worked on, hour after hour, until the king's coffers were\noverflowing with gold, and prosperity and peace were rife throughout\nhis land.\n\n\n \"Let us grind riches to Frothi!\n Let us grind him, happy\n In plenty of substance,\n On our gladdening Quern.\"\n\n Grotta-Savngr (Longfellow's tr.).\n\n\nBut when Menia and Fenia would fain have rested awhile, the king,\nwhose greed had been excited, bade them work on. In spite of their\nentreaties he forced them to labour hour after hour, allowing them\nonly as much time to rest as was required for the singing of a verse\nin a song, until exasperated by his cruelty, the giantesses resolved\nat length to have revenge. One night while Frodi slept they changed\ntheir song, and, instead of prosperity and peace, they grimly began\nto grind an armed host, whereby they induced the Viking Mysinger to\nland with a large body of troops. While the spell was working the\nDanes continued in slumber, and thus they were completely surprised\nby the Viking host, who slew them all.\n\n\n \"An army must come\n Hither forthwith,\n And burn the town\n For the prince.\"\n\n Grotta Savngr (Longfellow's tr.).\n\n\nMysinger took the magic millstones Grotti and the two slaves and put\nthem on board his vessel, bidding the women grind salt, which was\na very valuable staple of commerce at that time. The women obeyed,\nand their millstones went round, grinding salt in abundance; but\nthe Viking, as cruel as Frodi, would give the poor women no rest,\nwherefore a heavy punishment overtook him and his followers. Such an\nimmense quantity of salt was ground by the magic millstones that in\nthe end its weight sunk the ship and all on board.\n\nThe ponderous stones sank into the sea in the Pentland Firth, or\noff the north-western coast of Norway, making a deep round hole,\nand the waters, rushing into the vortex and gurgling in the holes\nin the centre of the stones, produced the great whirlpool which is\nknown as the Maelstrom. As for the salt it soon melted; but such was\nthe immense quantity ground by the giantesses that it permeated all\nthe waters of the sea, which have ever since been very salt.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER X: FREYA\n\n\nThe Goddess of Love\n\nFreya, the fair Northern goddess of beauty and love, was the sister\nof Frey and the daughter of Nioerd and Nerthus, or Skadi. She was the\nmost beautiful and best beloved of all the goddesses, and while in\nGermany she was identified with Frigga, in Norway, Sweden, Denmark,\nand Iceland she was considered a separate divinity. Freya, having\nbeen born in Vana-heim, was also known as Vanadis, the goddess of\nthe Vanas, or as Vanabride.\n\nWhen she reached Asgard, the gods were so charmed by her beauty and\ngrace that they bestowed upon her the realm of Folkvang and the great\nhall Sessrymnir (the roomy-seated), where they assured her she could\neasily accommodate all her guests.\n\n\n \"Folkvang 'tis called,\n Where Freyja has right\n To dispose of the hall-seats.\n Every day of the slain\n She chooses the half,\n And leaves half to Odin.\"\n\n Norse Mythology (R. B. Anderson).\n\n\n\nQueen of the Valkyrs\n\nAlthough goddess of love, Freya was not soft and pleasure-loving only,\nfor the ancient Northern races believed that she had very martial\ntastes, and that as Valfreya she often led the Valkyrs down to the\nbattlefields, choosing and claiming one half the heroes slain. She\nwas therefore often represented with corselet and helmet, shield\nand spear, the lower part of her body only being clad in the usual\nflowing feminine garb.\n\nFreya transported the chosen slain to Folkvang, where they were duly\nentertained. There also she welcomed all pure maidens and faithful\nwives, that they might enjoy the company of their lovers and husbands\nafter death. The joys of her abode were so enticing to the heroic\nNorthern women that they often rushed into battle when their loved\nones were slain, hoping to meet with the same fate; or they fell upon\ntheir swords, or were voluntarily burned on the same funeral pyre as\nthe remains of their beloved.\n\nAs Freya was believed to lend a favourable ear to lovers' prayers,\nshe was often invoked by them, and it was customary to compose in\nher honour love-songs, which were sung on all festive occasions,\nher very name in Germany being used as the verb \"to woo.\"\n\n\n\nFreya and Odur\n\nFreya, the golden-haired and blue-eyed goddess, was also, at times,\nconsidered as a personification of the earth. As such she married Odur,\na symbol of the summer sun, whom she dearly loved, and by whom she\nhad two daughters, Hnoss and Gersemi. These maidens were so beautiful\nthat all things lovely and precious were called by their names.\n\nWhile Odur lingered contentedly at her side, Freya was smiling\nand perfectly happy; but, alas! the god was a rover at heart, and,\nwearying of his wife's company, he suddenly left home and wandered far\nout into the wide world. Freya, sad and forsaken, wept abundantly,\nand her tears fell upon the hard rocks, which softened at their\ncontact. We are told even that they trickled down to the very centre\nof the stones, where they were transformed to gold. Some tears fell\ninto the sea and were changed into translucent amber.\n\nWeary of her widowed condition, and longing to clasp her beloved in her\narms once more, Freya finally started out in search of him, passing\nthrough many lands, where she became known by different names, such\nas Mardel, Horn, Gefn, Syr, Skialf, and Thrung, inquiring of all she\nmet whether her husband had passed that way, and shedding everywhere\nso many tears that gold is to be found in all parts of the earth.\n\n\n \"And Freya next came nigh, with golden tears;\n The loveliest Goddess she in Heaven, by all\n Most honour'd after Frea, Odin's wife.\n Her long ago the wandering Oder took\n To mate, but left her to roam distant lands;\n Since then she seeks him, and weeps tears of gold.\n Names hath she many; Vanadis on earth\n They call her, Freya is her name in Heaven.\"\n\n Balder Dead (Matthew Arnold).\n\n\nFar away in the sunny South, under the flowering myrtle-trees,\nFreya found Odur at last, and her love being restored to her, she\nwas happy and smiling once again, and as radiant as a bride. It is\nperhaps because Freya found her husband beneath the flowering myrtle,\nthat Northern brides, to this day, wear myrtle in preference to the\nconventional orange wreath of other climes.\n\nHand in hand, Odur and Freya now gently wended their way home once\nmore, and in the light of their happiness the grass grew green, the\nflowers bloomed, and the birds sang, for all Nature sympathised as\nheartily with Freya's joy as it had mourned with her when she was\nin sorrow.\n\n\n \"Out of the morning land,\n Over the snowdrifts,\n Beautiful Freya came\n Tripping to Scoring.\n White were the moorlands,\n And frozen before her;\n Green were the moorlands,\n And blooming behind her.\n Out of her gold locks\n Shaking the spring flowers,\n Out of her garments\n Shaking the south wind,\n Around in the birches\n Awaking the throstles,\n And making chaste housewives all\n Long for their heroes home,\n Loving and love-giving,\n Came she to Scoring.\"\n\n The Longbeards' Saga (Charles Kingsley).\n\n\nThe prettiest plants and flowers in the North were called Freya's hair\nor Freya's eye dew, while the butterfly was called Freya's hen. This\ngoddess was also supposed to have a special affection for the fairies,\nwhom she loved to watch dancing in the moonbeams, and for whom she\nreserved her daintiest flowers and sweetest honey. Odur, Freya's\nhusband, besides being considered a personification of the sun,\nwas also regarded as an emblem of passion, or of the intoxicating\npleasures of love; so the ancients declared that it was no wonder\nhis wife could not be happy without him.\n\n\n\nFreya's Necklace\n\nBeing goddess of beauty, Freya, naturally, was very fond of the\ntoilet, of glittering adornments, and of precious jewels. One day,\nwhile she was in Svart-alfa-heim, the underground kingdom, she saw\nfour dwarfs fashioning the most wonderful necklace she had ever\nseen. Almost beside herself with longing to possess this treasure,\nwhich was called Brisinga-men, and was an emblem of the stars, or of\nthe fruitfulness of the earth, Freya implored the dwarfs to give it to\nher; but they obstinately refused to do so unless she would promise\nto grant them her favour. Having secured the necklace at this price,\nFreya hastened to put it on, and its beauty so enhanced her charms that\nshe wore it night and day, and only occasionally could be persuaded\nto lend it to the other divinities. Thor, however, wore this necklace\nwhen he personated Freya in Joetun-heim, and Loki coveted and would\nhave stolen it, had it not been for the watchfulness of Heimdall.\n\nFreya was also the proud possessor of a falcon garb, or falcon plumes,\nwhich enabled the wearer to flit through the air as a bird; and this\ngarment was so invaluable that it was twice borrowed by Loki, and\nwas used by Freya herself when she went in search of the missing Odur.\n\n\n \"Freya one day\n Falcon wings took, and through space hied away;\n Northward and southward she sought her\n Dearly-loved Odur.\"\n\n Frithiof Saga, Tegner (Stephens's tr.).\n\n\nAs Freya was also considered the goddess of fruitfulness, she was\nsometimes represented as riding about with her brother Frey in the\nchariot drawn by the golden-bristled boar, scattering, with lavish\nhands, fruits and flowers to gladden the hearts of mankind. She had a\nchariot of her own, however, in which she generally travelled. This\nwas drawn by cats, her favourite animals, the emblems of caressing\nfondness and sensuality, or the personifications of fecundity.\n\n\n \"Then came dark-bearded Nioerd, and after him\n Freyia, thin robed, about her ankles slim\n The gray cats playing.\"\n\n Lovers of Gudrun (William Morris).\n\n\nFrey and Freya were held in such high honour throughout the North\nthat their names, in modified forms, are still used for \"master\"\nand \"mistress,\" and one day of the week is called Freya's day,\nor Friday, by the English-speaking race. Freya's temples were very\nnumerous indeed, and were long maintained by her votaries, the last,\nin Magdeburg, Germany, being destroyed by order of Charlemagne.\n\n\n\nStory of Ottar and Angantyr\n\nThe Northern people were wont to invoke Freya not only for success\nin love, prosperity, and increase, but also, at times, for aid\nand protection. This she vouchsafed to all who served her truly,\nas appeared in the story of Ottar and Angantyr, two men who, after\ndisputing for some time concerning their rights to a certain piece of\nproperty, laid their quarrel before the Thing. That popular assembly\ndecreed that the man who could prove that he had the longest line of\nnoble ancestors should be declared the winner, and a special day was\nappointed to investigate the genealogy of each claimant.\n\nOttar, unable to remember the names of more than a few of his\nprogenitors, offered sacrifices to Freya, entreating her aid. The\ngoddess graciously heard his prayer, and appearing before him, she\nchanged him into a boar, and rode off upon his back to the dwelling of\nthe sorceress Hyndla, a most renowned witch. By threats and entreaties,\nFreya compelled the old woman to trace Ottar's genealogy back to\nOdin, and to name every individual in turn, with a synopsis of his\nachievements. Then, fearing lest her votary's memory should be unable\nto retain so many details, Freya further compelled Hyndla to brew a\npotion of remembrance, which she gave him to drink.\n\n\n \"He shall drink\n Delicious draughts.\n All the gods I pray\n To favour Ottar.\"\n\n Saemund's Edda (Thorpe's tr.).\n\n\nThus prepared, Ottar presented himself before the Thing on the\nappointed day, and glibly reciting his pedigree, he named so many\nmore ancestors than Angantyr could recollect, that he was easily\nawarded possession of the property he coveted.\n\n\n \"A duty 'tis to act\n So that the young prince\n His paternal heritage may have\n After his kindred.\"\n\n Saemund's Edda (Thorpe's tr.).\n\n\n\nThe Husbands of Freya\n\nFreya was so beautiful that all the gods, giants, and dwarfs longed for\nher love and in turn tried to secure her as wife. But Freya scorned\nthe ugly giants and refused even Thrym, when urged to accept him\nby Loki and Thor. She was not so obdurate where the gods themselves\nwere concerned, if the various mythologists are to be believed, for\nas the personification of the earth she is said to have wedded Odin\n(the sky), Frey (the fruitful rain), Odur (the sunshine), &c., until\nit seems as if she deserved the accusation hurled against her by the\narch-fiend Loki, of having loved and wedded all the gods in turn.\n\n\n\nWorship of Freya\n\nIt was customary on solemn occasions to drink Freya's health with\nthat of the other gods, and when Christianity was introduced in the\nNorth this toast was transferred to the Virgin or to St. Gertrude;\nFreya herself, like all the heathen divinities, was declared a demon\nor witch, and banished to the mountain peaks of Norway, Sweden,\nor Germany, where the Brocken is pointed out as her special abode,\nand the general trysting-place of her demon train on Valpurgisnacht.\n\n\n Chorus of Witches.\n\n \"On to the Brocken the witches are flocking--\n Merry meet--merry part--how they gallop and drive,\n Yellow stubble and stalk are rocking,\n And young green corn is merry alive,\n With the shapes and shadows swimming by.\n To the highest heights they fly,\n Where Sir Urian sits on high--\n Throughout and about,\n With clamour and shout,\n Drives the maddening rout,\n Over stock, over stone;\n Shriek, laughter, and moan,\n Before them are blown.\"\n\n Goethe's Faust (Anster's tr.).\n\n\nAs the swallow, cuckoo, and cat were held sacred to Freya in heathen\ntimes, these creatures were supposed to have demoniacal attributes,\nand to this day witches are always depicted with coal-black cats\nbeside them.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XI: ULLER\n\n\nThe God of Winter\n\nUller, the winter-god, was the son of Sif, and the stepson of Thor. His\nfather, who is never mentioned in the Northern sagas, must have been\none of the dreaded frost giants, for Uller loved the cold and delighted\nin travelling over the country on his broad snowshoes or glittering\nskates. This god also delighted in the chase, and pursued his game\nthrough the Northern forests, caring but little for ice and snow,\nagainst which he was well protected by the thick furs in which he\nwas always clad.\n\nAs god of hunting and archery, he is represented with a quiver full of\narrows and a huge bow, and as the yew furnishes the best wood for the\nmanufacture of these weapons, it is said to have been his favourite\ntree. To have a supply of suitable wood ever at hand ready for use,\nUller took up his abode at Ydalir, the vale of yews, where it was\nalways very damp.\n\n\n \"Ydalir it is called,\n Where Ullr has\n Himself a dwelling made.\"\n\n Saemund's Edda (Thorpe's tr.).\n\n\nAs winter-god, Uller, or Oller, as he was also called, was considered\nsecond only to Odin, whose place he usurped during his absence in\nthe winter months of the year. During this period he exercised full\nsway over Asgard and Midgard, and even, according to some authorities,\ntook possession of Frigga, Odin's wife, as related in the myth of Vili\nand Ve. But as Uller was very parsimonious, and never bestowed any\ngifts upon mankind, they gladly hailed the return of Odin, who drove\nhis supplanter away, forcing him to take refuge either in the frozen\nNorth or on the tops of the Alps. Here, if we are to believe the poets,\nhe had built a summer house into which he retreated until, knowing\nOdin had departed once more, he again dared appear in the valleys.\n\nUller was also considered god of death, and was supposed to ride in\nthe Wild Hunt, and at times even to lead it. He is specially noted\nfor his rapidity of motion, and as the snowshoes used in Northern\nregions are sometimes made of bone, and turned up in front like the\nprow of a ship, it was commonly reported that Uller had spoken magic\nrunes over a piece of bone, changing it into a vessel, which bore\nhim over land or sea at will.\n\nAs snowshoes are shaped like a shield, and as the ice with which he\nyearly enveloped the earth acts as a shield to protect it from harm\nduring the winter, Uller was surnamed the shield-god, and he was\nspecially invoked by all persons about to engage in a duel or in a\ndesperate fight.\n\nIn Christian times, his place in popular worship was taken by\nSt. Hubert, the hunter, who, also, was made patron of the first month\nof the year, which began on November 22, and was dedicated to him as\nthe sun passed through the constellation of Sagittarius, the bowman.\n\nIn Anglo-Saxon, Uller was known as Vulder; but in some parts of Germany\nhe was called Holler and considered to be the husband of the fair\ngoddess Holda, whose fields he covered with a thick mantle of snow,\nto make them more fruitful when the spring came.\n\nBy the Scandinavians, Uller was said to have married Skadi, Nioerd's\ndivorced wife, the female personification of winter and cold, and their\ntastes were so congenial that they lived in perfect harmony together.\n\n\n\nWorship of Uller\n\nNumerous temples were dedicated to Uller in the North, and on his\naltars, as well as on those of all the other gods, lay a sacred ring\nupon which oaths were sworn. This ring was said to have the power of\nshrinking so violently as to sever the finger of any premeditated\nperjurer. The people visited Uller's shrine, especially during the\nmonths of November and December, to entreat him to send a thick\ncovering of snow over their lands, as earnest of a good harvest; and\nas he was supposed to send out the glorious flashes of the aurora\nborealis, which illumine the Northern sky during its long night,\nhe was considered nearly akin to Balder, the personification of light.\n\nAccording to other authorities, Uller was Balder's special friend,\nprincipally because he too spent part of the year in the dismal depths\nof Nifl-heim, with Hel, the goddess of death. Uller was supposed to\nendure a yearly banishment thither, during the summer months, when\nhe was forced to resign his sway over the earth to Odin, the summer\ngod, and there Balder came to join him at Midsummer, the date of his\ndisappearance from Asgard, for then the days began to grow shorter, and\nthe rule of light (Balder) gradually yielded to the ever encroaching\npower of darkness (Hodur).\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XII: FORSETI\n\n\nThe God of Justice and Truth\n\nSon of Balder, god of light, and of Nanna, goddess of immaculate\npurity, Forseti was the wisest, most eloquent, and most gentle of all\nthe gods. When his presence in Asgard became known, the gods awarded\nhim a seat in the council hall, decreed that he should be patron of\njustice and righteousness, and gave him as abode the radiant palace\nGlitnir. This dwelling had a silver roof, supported on pillars of gold,\nand it shone so brightly that it could be seen from a great distance.\n\n\n \"Glitner is the tenth;\n It is on gold sustained,\n And also with silver decked.\n There Forseti dwells\n Throughout all time,\n And every strife allays.\"\n\n Saemund's Edda (Thorpe's tr.).\n\n\nHere, upon an exalted throne, Forseti, the lawgiver, sat day after\nday, settling the differences of gods and men, patiently listening\nto both sides of every question, and finally pronouncing sentences\nso equitable that none ever found fault with his decrees. Such were\nthis god's eloquence and power of persuasion that he always succeeded\nin touching his hearers' hearts, and never failed to reconcile even\nthe most bitter foes. All who left his presence were thereafter sure\nto live in peace, for none dared break a vow once made to him, lest\nthey should incur his just anger and be smitten immediately unto death.\n\n\n \"Forsete, Balder's high-born son,\n Hath heard mine oath;\n Strike dead, Forset', if e'er I'm won\n To break my troth.\"\n\n Viking Tales of the North (R. B. Anderson).\n\n\nAs god of justice and eternal law, Forseti was supposed to preside\nover every judicial assembly; he was invariably appealed to by all\nwho were about to undergo a trial, and it was said that he rarely\nfailed to help the deserving.\n\n\n\nThe Story of Heligoland\n\nIn order to facilitate the administration of justice throughout their\nland it is related that the Frisians commissioned twelve of their\nwisest men, the Asegeir, or elders, to collect the laws of the various\nfamilies and tribes composing their nation, and to compile from them\na code which should be the basis of uniform laws. The elders, having\npainstakingly finished their task of collecting this miscellaneous\ninformation, embarked upon a small vessel, to seek some secluded spot\nwhere they might conduct their deliberations in peace. But no sooner\nhad they pushed away from shore than a tempest arose, which drove\ntheir vessel far out to sea, first on this course and then on that,\nuntil they entirely lost their bearings. In their distress the twelve\njurists called upon Forseti, begging him to help them to reach land\nonce again, and the prayer was scarcely ended when they perceived, to\ntheir utter surprise, that the vessel contained a thirteenth passenger.\n\nSeizing the rudder, the newcomer silently brought the vessel round,\nsteering it towards the place where the waves dashed highest, and in\nan incredibly short space of time they came to an island, where the\nsteersman motioned them to disembark. In awestruck silence the twelve\nmen obeyed; and their surprise was further excited when they saw the\nstranger fling his battle-axe, and a limpid spring gush forth from\nthe spot on the greensward where it fell. Imitating the stranger, all\ndrank of this water without a word; then they sat down in a circle,\nmarvelling because the newcomer resembled each one of them in some\nparticular, but yet was very different from any one of them in general\naspect and mien.\n\nSuddenly the silence was broken, and the stranger began to speak in\nlow tones, which grew firmer and louder as he proceeded to expound\na code of laws which combined all the good points of the various\nexisting regulations which the Asegeir had collected. His speech\nbeing finished, the speaker vanished as suddenly and mysteriously as\nhe had appeared, and the twelve jurists, recovering power of speech,\nsimultaneously exclaimed that Forseti himself had been among them, and\nhad delivered the code of laws by which the Frisians should henceforth\nbe judged. In commemoration of the god's appearance they declared the\nisland upon which they stood to be holy, and they pronounced a solemn\ncurse upon any who might dare to desecrate its sanctity by quarrel\nor bloodshed. Accordingly this island, known as Forseti's land or\nHeligoland (holy land), was greatly respected by all the Northern\nnations, and even the boldest vikings refrained from raiding its\nshores, lest they should suffer shipwreck or meet a shameful death\nin punishment for their crime.\n\nSolemn judicial assemblies were frequently held upon this sacred isle,\nthe jurists always drawing water and drinking it in silence, in memory\nof Forseti's visit. The waters of his spring were, moreover, considered\nto be so holy that all who drank of them were held to be sacred, and\neven the cattle who had tasted of them might not be slain. As Forseti\nwas said to hold his assizes in spring, summer, and autumn, but never\nin winter, it became customary, in all the Northern countries, to\ndispense justice in those seasons, the people declaring that it was\nonly when the light shone clearly in the heavens that right could\nbecome apparent to all, and that it would be utterly impossible to\nrender an equitable verdict during the dark winter season. Forseti\nis seldom mentioned except in connection with Balder. He apparently\nhad no share in the closing battle in which all the other gods played\nsuch prominent parts.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XIII: HEIMDALL\n\n\nThe Watchman of the Gods\n\nIn the course of a walk along the sea-shore Odin once beheld nine\nbeautiful giantesses, the wave maidens, Gialp, Greip, Egia, Augeia,\nUlfrun, Aurgiafa, Sindur, Atla, and Iarnsaxa, sound asleep on the\nwhite sand. The god of the sky was so charmed with these beautiful\ncreatures that, as the Eddas relate, he wedded all nine of them,\nand they combined, at the same moment, to bring forth a son, who\nreceived the name of Heimdall.\n\n\n \"Born was I of mothers nine,\n Son I am of sisters nine.\"\n\n Saemund's Edda (Thorpe's tr.).\n\n\nThe nine mothers proceeded to nourish their babe on the strength of the\nearth, the moisture of the sea, and the heat of the sun, which singular\ndiet proved so strengthening that the new god acquired his full growth\nin a remarkably short space of time, and hastened to join his father\nin Asgard. He found the gods proudly contemplating the rainbow bridge\nBifroest, which they had just constructed out of fire, air, and water,\nthe three materials which can still plainly be seen in its long arch,\nwhere glow the three primary colours: the red representing the fire,\nthe blue the air, and the green the cool depths of the sea.\n\n\n\nThe Guardian of the Rainbow\n\nThis bridge connected heaven and earth, and ended under the shade of\nthe mighty world-tree Yggdrasil, close beside the fountain where Mimir\nkept guard, and the only drawback to prevent the complete enjoyment\nof the glorious spectacle, was the fear lest the frost-giants should\nmake their way over it and so gain entrance into Asgard.\n\nThe gods had been debating the advisability of appointing a trustworthy\nguardian, and they hailed the new recruit as one well-fitted to fulfil\nthe onerous duties of the office.\n\nHeimdall gladly undertook the responsibility and henceforth, night\nand day, he kept vigilant watch over the rainbow highway into Asgard.\n\n\n \"Bifroest i' th' east shone forth in brightest green;\n On its top, in snow-white sheen,\n Heimdal at his post was seen.\"\n\n Oehlenschlaeger (Pigott's tr.).\n\nTo enable their watchman to detect the approach of any enemy from afar,\nthe assembled gods bestowed upon him senses so keen that he is said\nto have been able to hear the grass grow on the hillside, and the\nwool on the sheep's back; to see one hundred miles off as plainly by\nnight as by day; and with all this he required less sleep than a bird.\n\n\n \"'Mongst shivering giants wider known\n Than him who sits unmoved on high,\n The guard of heaven, with sleepless eye.\"\n\n Lay of Skirner (Herbert's tr.).\n\nHeimdall was provided further with a flashing sword and a marvellous\ntrumpet, called Giallar-horn, which the gods bade him blow whenever he\nsaw their enemies approach, declaring that its sound would rouse all\ncreatures in heaven, earth, and Nifl-heim. Its last dread blast would\nannounce the arrival of that day when the final battle would be fought.\n\n\n \"To battle the gods are called\n By the ancient\n Gjallar-horn.\n Loud blows Heimdall,\n His sound is in the air.\"\n\n Saemund's Edda (Thorpe's tr.).\n\n\nTo keep this instrument, which was a symbol of the crescent moon,\never at hand, Heimdall either hung it on a branch of Yggdrasil above\nhis head or sank it in the waters of Mimir's well. In the latter it\nlay side by side with Odin's eye, which was an emblem of the moon at\nits full.\n\nHeimdall's palace, called Himinbiorg, was situated on the highest\npoint of the bridge, and here the gods often visited him to quaff\nthe delicious mead which he set before them.\n\n\n \"'Tis Himminbjorg called\n Where Heimdal, they say,\n Hath dwelling and rule.\n There the gods' warder drinks,\n In peaceful old halls,\n Gladsome the good mead.\"\n\n Norse Mythology (R. B. Anderson).\n\n\nHeimdall was always depicted in resplendent white armour, and he was\ntherefore called the bright god. He was also known as the light,\ninnocent, and graceful god, all of which names he fully deserved,\nfor he was as good as he was beautiful, and all the gods loved\nhim. Connected on his mothers' side with the sea, he was sometimes\nincluded with the Vanas; and as the ancient Northmen, especially the\nIcelanders, to whom the surrounding sea appeared the most important\nelement, fancied that all things had risen out of it, they attributed\nto him an all-embracing knowledge and imagined him particularly wise.\n\n\n \"Of AEsir the brightest--\n He well foresaw\n Like other Vanir.\"\n\n Saemund's Edda (Thorpe's tr.).\n\n\nHeimdall was further distinguished by his golden teeth, which\nflashed when he smiled, and won for him the surname of Gullintani\n(golden-toothed). He was also the proud possessor of a swift,\ngolden-maned steed called Gull-top, which bore him to and fro over\nthe quivering rainbow bridge. This he crossed many times a day, but\nparticularly in the early morn, at which time, as herald of the day,\nhe bore the name of Heimdellinger.\n\n\n \"Early up Bifroest\n Ran Ulfrun's son,\n The mighty hornblower\n Of Himinbioerg.\"\n\n Saemund's Edda (Thorpe's tr.).\n\n\n\nLoki and Freya\n\nHis extreme acuteness of hearing caused Heimdall to be disturbed\none night by the sound of soft, catlike footsteps in the direction\nof Freya's palace, Folkvang. Projecting his eagle gaze through the\ndarkness, Heimdall perceived that the sound was produced by Loki,\nwho, having stealthily entered the palace as a fly, had approached\nFreya's bedside, and was trying to steal her shining golden necklace,\nBrisinga-men, the emblem of the fruitfulness of the earth.\n\nHeimdall saw that the goddess was resting in her sleep in such a\nway that no one could possibly unclasp the necklace without awaking\nher. Loki stood hesitatingly by the bedside for a few moments, and\nthen began rapidly to mutter the runes which enabled the gods to\nchange their form at will. As he did this, Heimdall saw him shrivel\nup until he was changed to the size and form of a flea, when he crept\nunder the bed-clothes and bit Freya's side, thus causing her to change\nher position without being roused from sleep.\n\nThe clasp was now in view, and Loki, cautiously unfastening it,\nsecured the coveted treasure, and forthwith proceeded to steal away\nwith it. Heimdall immediately started out in pursuit of the midnight\nthief, and quickly overtaking him, he drew his sword from its scabbard,\nwith intent to cut off his head, when the god transformed himself into\na flickering blue flame. Quick as thought, Heimdall changed himself\ninto a cloud and sent down a deluge of rain to quench the fire;\nbut Loki as promptly altered his form to that of a huge polar bear,\nand opened wide his jaws to swallow the water. Heimdall, nothing\ndaunted, then likewise assumed the form of a bear, and attacked\nfiercely; but the combat threatening to end disastrously for Loki,\nthe latter changed himself into a seal, and, Heimdall imitating him,\na last struggle took place, which ended in Loki being forced to give\nup the necklace, which was duly restored to Freya.\n\nIn this myth, Loki is an emblem of drought, or of the baleful effects\nof the too ardent heat of the sun, which comes to rob the earth\n(Freya) of its most cherished ornament (Brisinga-men). Heimdall is a\npersonification of the gentle rain and dew, which after struggling\nfor a while with his foe, the drought, eventually conquers him and\nforces him to relinquish his prize.\n\n\n\nHeimdall's Names\n\nHeimdall has several other names, among which we find those of\nHallinskide and Irmin, for at times he takes Odin's place and is\nidentified with that god, as well as with the other sword-gods, Er,\nHeru, Cheru and Tyr, who are all noted for their shining weapons. He,\nhowever, is most generally known as warder of the rainbow, and god\nof heaven, and of the fruitful rains and dews which bring refreshment\nto the earth.\n\nHeimdall also shared with Bragi the honour of welcoming heroes to\nValhalla, and, under the name of Riger, was considered the divine\nsire of the various classes which compose the human race, as appears\nin the following story:\n\nThe Story of Riger\n\n\n \"Sacred children,\n Great and small,\n Sons of Heimdall!\"\n\n Saemund's Edda (Thorpe's tr.).\n\n\nHeimdall left his place in Asgard one day to wander upon the earth,\nas the gods were wont to do. He had not gone far ere he came to a poor\nhut on the seashore, where he found Ai (great grandfather) and Edda\n(great grandmother), a poor but worthy couple, who hospitably invited\nhim to share their meagre meal of porridge. Heimdall, who gave his\nname as Riger, gladly accepted this invitation, and remained with\nthe couple three whole days, teaching them many things. At the end of\nthat time he left to resume his journey. Some time after his visit,\nEdda bore a dark-skinned thick-set boy, whom she called Thrall.\n\nThrall soon showed uncommon physical strength and a great aptitude\nfor all heavy work; and when he had grown up he took to wife Thyr,\na heavily built girl with sunburnt hands and flat feet, who, like\nher husband, laboured early and late. Many children were born to\nthis couple and from them all the serfs or thralls of the Northland\nwere descended.\n\n\n \"They had children\n Lived and were happy;\n \n They laid fences,\n Enriched the plow-land,\n Tended swine,\n Herded goats,\n Dug peat.\"\n\n Rigsmal (Du Chaillu's version).\n\n\nAfter leaving the poor hut on the barren seacoast Riger had\npushed inland, where ere long he came to cultivated fields and a\nthrifty farmhouse. Entering this comfortable dwelling, he found Afi\n(grandfather) and Amma (grandmother), who hospitably invited him to\nsit down with them and share the plain but bountiful fare which was\nprepared for their meal.\n\nRiger accepted the invitation and he remained three days with\nhis hosts, imparting the while all manner of useful knowledge to\nthem. After his departure from their house, Amma gave birth to a\nblue-eyed sturdy boy, whom she called Karl. As he grew up he exhibited\ngreat skill in agricultural pursuits, and in due course he married\na buxom and thrifty wife named Snor, who bore him many children,\nfrom whom the race of husbandmen is descended.\n\n\n \"He did grow\n And thrive well;\n He broke oxen,\n Made plows;\n Timbered houses,\n Made barns,\n Made carts,\n And drove the plow.\"\n\n Rigsmal (Du Chaillu's version).\n\n\nLeaving the house of this second couple, Riger continued his journey\nuntil he came to a hill, upon which was perched a stately castle. Here\nhe was received by Fadir (father) and Modir (mother), who, delicately\nnurtured and luxuriously clad, received him cordially, and set before\nhim dainty meats and rich wines.\n\nRiger tarried three days with this couple, afterwards returning to\nHiminbiorg to resume his post as guardian of Asa-bridge; and ere long\nthe lady of the castle bore a handsome, slenderly built little son,\nwhom she called Jarl. This child early showed a great taste for the\nhunt and all manner of martial exercises, learned to understand runes,\nand lived to do great deeds of valour which made his name distinguished\nand added glory to his race. Having attained manhood, Jarl married\nErna, an aristocratic, slender-waisted maiden, who ruled his household\nwisely and bore him many children, all destined to rule, the youngest\nof whom, Konur, became the first king of Denmark. This myth well\nillustrates the marked sense of class among the Northern races.\n\n\n \"Up grew\n The sons of Jarl;\n They brake horses,\n Bent shields,\n Smoothed shafts,\n Shook ash spears\n But Kon, the young,\n Knew runes,\n Everlasting runes\n And life runes.\"\n\n Rigsmal (Du Chaillu's version).\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XIV: HERMOD\n\n\nThe Nimble God\n\nAnother of Odin's sons was Hermod, his special attendant, a bright\nand beautiful young god, who was gifted with great rapidity of motion\nand was therefore designated as the swift or nimble god.\n\n\n \"But there was one, the first of all the gods\n For speed, and Hermod was his name in Heaven;\n Most fleet he was.\"\n\n Balder Dead (Matthew Arnold).\n\n\nOn account of this important attribute Hermod was usually employed\nby the gods as messenger, and at a mere sign from Odin he was always\nready to speed to any part of creation. As a special mark of favour,\nAllfather gave him a magnificent corselet and helmet, which he\noften donned when he prepared to take part in war, and sometimes\nOdin entrusted to his care the precious spear Gungnir, bidding him\ncast it over the heads of combatants about to engage in battle,\nthat their ardour might be kindled into murderous fury.\n\n\n \"Let us Odin pray\n Into our minds to enter;\n He gives and grants\n Gold to the deserving.\n He gave to Hermod\n A helm and corselet.\"\n\n Saemund's Edda (Thorpe's tr.).\n\n\nHermod delighted in battle, and was often called \"the valiant in\nbattle,\" and confounded with the god of the universe, Irmin. It is\nsaid that he sometimes accompanied the Valkyrs on their ride to earth,\nand frequently escorted the warriors to Valhalla, wherefore he was\nconsidered the leader of the heroic dead.\n\n\n \"To him spake Hermoder and Brage:\n 'We meet thee and greet thee from all,\n To the gods thou art known by thy valour,\n And they bid thee a guest to their hall.'\"\n\n Owen Meredith.\n\n\nHermod's distinctive attribute, besides his corselet and helm, was a\nwand or staff called Gambantein, the emblem of his office, which he\ncarried with him wherever he went.\n\n\n\nHermod and the Soothsayer\n\nOnce, oppressed by shadowy fears for the future, and unable to obtain\nfrom the Norns satisfactory answers to his questions, Odin bade Hermod\ndon his armour and saddle Sleipnir, which he alone, besides Odin, was\nallowed to ride, and hasten off to the land of the Finns. This people,\nwho lived in the frozen regions of the pole, besides being able to\ncall up the cold storms which swept down from the North, bringing much\nice and snow in their train, were supposed to have great occult powers.\n\nThe most noted of these Finnish magicians was Rossthiof (the horse\nthief) who was wont to entice travellers into his realm by magic\narts, that he might rob and slay them; and he had power to predict\nthe future, although he was always very reluctant to do so.\n\nHermod, \"the swift,\" rode rapidly northward, with directions to seek\nthis Finn, and instead of his own wand, he carried Odin's runic staff,\nwhich Allfather had given him for the purpose of dispelling any\nobstacles that Rossthiof might conjure up to hinder his advance. In\nspite, therefore, of phantom-like monsters and of invisible snares\nand pitfalls, Hermod was enabled safely to reach the magician's abode,\nand upon the giant attacking him, he was able to master him with ease,\nand he bound him hand and foot, declaring that he would not set him\nfree until he promised to reveal all that he wished to know.\n\nRossthiof, seeing that there was no hope of escape, pledged himself\nto do as his captor wished, and upon being set at liberty, he began\nforthwith to mutter incantations, at the mere sound of which the sun\nhid behind the clouds, the earth trembled and quivered, and the storm\nwinds howled like a pack of hungry wolves.\n\nPointing to the horizon, the magician bade Hermod look, and the\nswift god saw in the distance a great stream of blood reddening the\nground. While he gazed wonderingly at this stream, a beautiful woman\nsuddenly appeared, and a moment later a little boy stood beside\nher. To the god's amazement, this child grew with such marvellous\nrapidity that he soon attained his full growth, and Hermod further\nnoticed that he fiercely brandished a bow and arrows.\n\nRossthiof now began to explain the omens which his art had conjured\nup, and he declared that the stream of blood portended the murder\nof one of Odin's sons, but that if the father of the gods should woo\nand win Rinda, in the land of the Ruthenes (Russia), she would bear\nhim a son who would attain his full growth in a few hours and would\navenge his brother's death.\n\n\n \"Rind a son shall bear,\n In the western halls:\n He shall slay Odin's son,\n When one night old.\"\n\n Saemund's Edda (Thorpe's tr.).\n\n\nHermod listened attentively to the words of Rossthiof and upon his\nreturn to Asgard he reported all he had seen and heard to Odin,\nwhose fears were confirmed and who thus definitely ascertained that\nhe was doomed to lose a son by violent death. He consoled himself,\nhowever, with the thought that another of his descendants would avenge\nthe crime and thereby obtain the satisfaction which a true Northman\never required.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XV: VIDAR\n\n\nThe Silent God\n\nIt is related that Odin once loved the beautiful giantess Grid, who\ndwelt in a cave in the desert, and that, wooing her, he prevailed\nupon her to become his wife. The offspring of this union between Odin\n(mind) and Grid (matter) was Vidar, a son as strong as he was taciturn,\nwhom the ancients considered a personification of the primaeval forest\nor of the imperishable forces of Nature.\n\nAs the gods, through Heimdall, were intimately connected with the\nsea, they were also bound by close ties to the forests and Nature\nin general through Vidar, surnamed \"the silent,\" who was destined to\nsurvive their destruction and rule over a regenerated earth. This god\nhad his habitation in Landvidi (the wide land), a palace decorated\nwith green boughs and fresh flowers, situated in the midst of an\nimpenetrable primaeval forest where reigned the deep silence and\nsolitude which he loved.\n\n\n \"Grown over with shrubs\n And with high grass\n In Vidar's wide land.\"\n\n Norse Mythology (R. B. Anderson).\n\n\nThis old Scandinavian conception of the silent Vidar is indeed\nvery grand and poetical, and was inspired by the rugged Northern\nscenery. \"Who has ever wandered through such forests, in a length of\nmany miles, in a boundless expanse, without a path, without a goal,\namid their monstrous shadows, their sacred gloom, without being filled\nwith deep reverence for the sublime greatness of Nature above all\nhuman agency, without feeling the grandeur of the idea which forms\nthe basis of Vidar's essence?\"\n\n\n\nVidar's Shoe\n\nVidar is depicted as tall, well-made, and handsome, clad in armour,\ngirded with a broad-bladed sword, and shod with a great iron or leather\nshoe. According to some mythologists, he owed this peculiar footgear\nto his mother Grid, who, knowing that he would be called upon to fight\nagainst fire on the last day, designed it as a protection against\nthe fiery element, as her iron gauntlet had shielded Thor in his\nencounter with Geirrod. But other authorities state that this shoe\nwas made of the leather scraps which Northern cobblers had either\ngiven or thrown away. As it was essential that the shoe should be\nlarge and strong enough to resist the Fenris wolf's sharp teeth at\nthe last day, it was a matter of religious observance among Northern\nshoemakers to give away as many odds and ends of leather as possible.\n\n\n\nThe Norn's Prophecy\n\nWhen Vidar joined his peers in Valhalla, they welcomed him gaily, for\nthey knew that his great strength would serve them well in their time\nof need. After they had lovingly regaled him with the golden mead,\nAllfather bade him follow to the Urdar fountain, where the Norns\nwere ever busy weaving their web. Questioned by Odin concerning his\nfuture and Vidar's destiny, the three sisters answered oracularly;\neach uttering a sentence:\n\n\"Early begun.\"\n\n\"Further spun.\"\n\n\"One day done.\"\n\nTo these their mother, Wyrd, the primitive goddess of fate, added:\n\"With joy once more won.\" These mysterious answers would have remained\ntotally unintelligible had the goddess not gone on to explain that time\nprogresses, that all must change, but that even if the father fell in\nthe last battle, his son Vidar would be his avenger, and would live to\nrule over a regenerated world, after having conquered all his enemies.\n\n\n \"There sits Odin's\n Son on the horse's back;\n He will avenge his father.\"\n\n Norse Mythology (R. B. Anderson).\n\n\nAs Wyrd spoke, the leaves of the world tree fluttered as if agitated\nby a breeze, the eagle on its topmost bough flapped its wings, and\nthe serpent Nidhug for a moment suspended its work of destruction\nat the roots of the tree. Grid, joining the father and son, rejoiced\nwith Odin when she heard that their son was destined to survive the\nolder gods and to rule over the new heaven and earth.\n\n\n \"There dwell Vidar and Vale\n In the gods' holy seats,\n When the fire of Surt is slaked.\"\n\n Norse Mythology (R. B. Anderson).\n\n\nVidar, however, uttered not a word, but slowly wended his way back to\nhis palace Landvidi, in the heart of the primaeval forest, and there,\nsitting upon his throne, he pondered long about eternity, futurity,\nand infinity. If he fathomed their secrets he never revealed them, for\nthe ancients averred that he was \"as silent as the grave\"--a silence\nwhich indicated that no man knows what awaits him in the life to come.\n\nVidar was not only a personification of the imperish-ability of Nature,\nbut he was also a symbol of resurrection and renewal, exhibiting\nthe eternal truth that new shoots and blossoms will spring forth to\nreplace those which have fallen into decay.\n\nThe shoe he wore was to be his defence against the wolf Fenris, who,\nhaving destroyed Odin, would direct his wrath against him, and open\nwide his terrible jaws to devour him. But the old Northmen declared\nthat Vidar would brace the foot thus protected against the monster's\nlower jaw, and, seizing the upper, would struggle with him until he\nhad rent him in twain.\n\nAs one shoe only is mentioned in the Vidar myths, some mythologists\nsuppose that he had but one leg, and was the personification of a\nwaterspout, which would rise suddenly on the last day to quench the\nwild fire personified by the terrible wolf Fenris.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XVI: VALI\n\n\nThe Wooing of Rinda\n\nBilling, king of the Ruthenes, was sorely dismayed when he heard\nthat a great force was about to invade his kingdom, for he was too\nold to fight as of yore, and his only child, a daughter named Rinda,\nalthough she was of marriageable age, obstinately refused to choose\na husband from among her many suitors, and thus give her father the\nhelp which he so sadly needed.\n\nWhile Billing was musing disconsolately in his hall, a stranger\nsuddenly entered his palace. Looking up, the king beheld a middle-aged\nman wrapped in a wide cloak, with a broad-brimmed hat drawn down\nover his forehead to conceal the fact that he had but one eye. The\nstranger courteously enquired the cause of his evident depression,\nand as there was that in his bearing that compelled confidence, the\nking told him all, and at the end of the relation he volunteered to\ncommand the army of the Ruthenes against their foe.\n\nHis services being joyfully accepted, it was not long ere Odin--for\nit was he--won a signal victory, and, returning in triumph, he asked\npermission to woo the king's daughter Rinda for his wife. Despite the\nsuitor's advancing years, Billing hoped that his daughter would lend\na favourable ear to a wooer who appeared to be very distinguished,\nand he immediately signified his consent. So Odin, still unknown,\npresented himself before the princess, but she scornfully rejected\nhis proposal, and rudely boxed his ears when he attempted to kiss her.\n\nForced to withdraw, Odin nevertheless did not relinquish his purpose to\nmake Rinda his wife, for he knew, thanks to Rossthiof's prophecy, that\nnone but she could bring forth the destined avenger of his murdered\nson. His next step, therefore, was to assume the form of a smith,\nin which guise he came back to Billing's hall, and fashioning costly\nornaments of silver and gold, he so artfully multiplied these precious\ntrinkets that the king joyfully acquiesced when he inquired whether\nhe might pay his addresses to the princess. The smith, Rosterus as\nhe announced himself, was, however, as unceremoniously dismissed by\nRinda as the successful general had been; but although his ear once\nagain tingled with the force of her blow, he was more determined than\never to make her his wife.\n\nThe next time Odin presented himself before the capricious damsel, he\nwas disguised as a dashing warrior, for, thought he, a young soldier\nmight perchance touch the maiden's heart; but when he again attempted\nto kiss her, she pushed him back so suddenly that he stumbled and\nfell upon one knee.\n\n\n \"Many a fair maiden\n When rightly known,\n Towards men is fickle;\n That I experienced,\n When that discreet maiden I\n Strove to win;\n Contumely of every kind\n That wily girl\n Heaped upon me;\n Nor of that damsel gained I aught.\"\n\n Soemund's Edda (Thorpe's tr.).\n\n\nThis third insult so enraged Odin that he drew his magic rune stick\nout of his breast, pointed it at Rinda, and uttered such a terrible\nspell that she fell back into the arms of her attendants rigid and\napparently lifeless.\n\nWhen the princess came to life again, her suitor had disappeared,\nbut the king discovered with great dismay that she had entirely lost\nher senses and was melancholy mad. In vain all the physicians were\nsummoned and all their simples tried; the maiden remained passive\nand sad, and her distracted father had well-nigh abandoned hope when\nan old woman, who announced herself as Vecha, or Vak, appeared and\noffered to undertake the cure of the princess. The seeming old woman,\nwho was Odin in disguise, first prescribed a foot-bath for the patient;\nbut as this did not appear to have any very marked effect, she proposed\nto try a more drastic treatment. For this, Vecha declared, the patient\nmust be entrusted to her exclusive care, securely bound so that she\ncould not offer the least resistance. Billing, anxious to save his\nchild, was ready to assent to anything; and having thus gained full\npower over Rinda, Odin compelled her to wed him, releasing her from\nbonds and spell only when she had faithfully promised to be his wife.\n\n\n\nThe Birth of Vali\n\nThe prophecy of Rossthiof was now fulfilled, for Rinda duly bore a son\nnamed Vali (Ali, Bous, or Beav), a personification of the lengthening\ndays, who grew with such marvellous rapidity that in the course of\na single day he attained his full stature. Without waiting even to\nwash his face or comb his hair, this young god hastened to Asgard,\nbow and arrow in hand, to avenge the death of Balder upon his murderer,\nHodur, the blind god of darkness.\n\n\n \"But, see! th' avenger, Vali, come,\n Sprung from the west, in Rinda's womb,\n True son of Odin! one day's birth!\n He shall not stop nor stay on earth\n His locks to comb, his hands to lave,\n His frame to rest, should rest it crave,\n Until his mission be complete,\n And Balder's death find vengeance meet.\"\n\n Valhalla (J. C. Jones).\n\n\nIn this myth, Rinda, a personification of the hard-frozen rind of the\nearth, resists the warm wooing of the sun, Odin, who vainly points\nout that spring is the time for warlike exploits, and offers the\nadornments of golden summer. She only yields when, after a shower (the\nfootbath), a thaw sets in. Conquered then by the sun's irresistible\nmight, the earth yields to his embrace, is freed from the spell (ice)\nwhich made her hard and cold, and brings forth Vali the nourisher,\nor Bous the peasant, who emerges from his dark hut when the pleasant\ndays have come. The slaying of Hodur by Vali is therefore emblematical\nof \"the breaking forth of new light after wintry darkness.\"\n\nVali, who ranked as one of the twelve deities occupying seats in the\ngreat hall of Glads-heim, shared with his father the dwelling called\nValaskialf, and was destined, even before birth, to survive the last\nbattle and twilight of the gods, and to reign with Vidar over the\nregenerated earth.\n\n\n\nWorship of Vali\n\nVali is god of eternal light, as Vidar is of imperishable matter;\nand as beams of light were often called arrows, he is always\nrepresented and worshipped as an archer. For that reason his month\nin Norwegian calendars is designated by the sign of the bow, and is\ncalled Lios-beri, the light-bringing. As it falls between the middle\nof January and of February, the early Christians dedicated this month\nto St. Valentine, who was also a skilful archer, and was said, like\nVali, to be the harbinger of brighter days, the awakener of tender\nsentiments, and the patron of all lovers.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XVII: THE NORNS\n\n\nThe Three Fates\n\nThe Northern goddesses of fate, who were called Norns, were in nowise\nsubject to the other gods, who might neither question nor influence\ntheir decrees. They were three sisters, probably descendants of the\ngiant Norvi, from whom sprang Nott (night). As soon as the Golden\nAge was ended, and sin began to steal even into the heavenly homes of\nAsgard, the Norns made their appearance under the great ash Yggdrasil,\nand took up their abode near the Urdar fountain. According to some\nmythologists, their mission was to warn the gods of future evil, to\nbid them make good use of the present, and to teach them wholesome\nlessons from the past.\n\nThese three sisters, whose names were Urd, Verdandi, and Skuld, were\npersonifications of the past, present, and future. Their principal\noccupations were to weave the web of fate, to sprinkle daily the sacred\ntree with water from the Urdar fountain, and to put fresh clay around\nits roots, that it might remain fresh and ever green.\n\n\n \"Thence come the maids\n Who much do know;\n Three from the hall\n Beneath the tree;\n One they named Was,\n And Being next,\n The third Shall be.\"\n\n The Voeluspa (Henderson's tr.).\n\n\nSome authorities further state that the Norns kept watch over\nthe golden apples which hung on the branches of the tree of life,\nexperience, and knowledge, allowing none but Idun to pick the fruit,\nwhich was that with which the gods renewed their youth.\n\nThe Norns also fed and tenderly cared for two swans which swam over\nthe mirror-like surface of the Urdar fountain, and from this pair of\nbirds all the swans on earth are supposed to be descended. At times,\nit is said, the Norns clothed themselves with swan plumage to visit\nthe earth, or sported like mermaids along the coast and in various\nlakes and rivers, appearing to mortals, from time to time, to foretell\nthe future or give them sage advice.\n\n\n\nThe Norns' Web\n\nThe Norns sometimes wove webs so large that while one of the weavers\nstood on a high mountain in the extreme east, another waded far out\ninto the western sea. The threads of their woof resembled cords,\nand varied greatly in hue, according to the nature of the events\nabout to occur, and a black thread, tending from north to south, was\ninvariably considered an omen of death. As these sisters flashed the\nshuttle to and fro, they chanted a solemn song. They did not seem to\nweave according to their own wishes, but blindly, as if reluctantly\nexecuting the wishes of Orlog, the eternal law of the universe, an\nolder and superior power, who apparently had neither beginning nor end.\n\nTwo of the Norns, Urd and Verdandi, were considered to be very\nbeneficent indeed, while the third, it is said, relentlessly undid\ntheir work, and often, when nearly finished, tore it angrily to shreds,\nscattering the remnants to the winds of heaven. As personifications\nof time, the Norns were represented as sisters of different ages\nand characters, Urd (Wurd, weird) appearing very old and decrepit,\ncontinually looking backward, as if absorbed in contemplating past\nevents and people; Verdandi, the second sister, young, active, and\nfearless, looked straight before her, while Skuld, the type of the\nfuture, was generally represented as closely veiled, with head turned\nin the direction opposite to where Urd was gazing, and holding a book\nor scroll which had not yet been opened or unrolled.\n\nThese Norns were visited daily by the gods, who loved to consult them;\nand even Odin himself frequently rode down to the Urdar fountain\nto bespeak their aid, for they generally answered his questions,\nmaintaining silence only about his own fate and that of his fellow\ngods.\n\n\n \"Rode he long and rode he fast.\n First beneath the great Life Tree,\n At the sacred Spring sought he\n Urdar, Norna of the Past;\n But her backward seeing eye\n Could no knowledge now supply.\n Across Verdandi's page there fell\n Dark shades that ever woes foretell;\n The shadows which 'round Asgard hung\n Their baleful darkness o'er it flung;\n The secret was not written there\n Might save Valhal, the pure and fair.\n Last youngest of the sisters three,\n Skuld, Norna of Futurity,\n Implored to speak, stood silent by,--\n Averted was her tearful eye.\"\n\n Valhalla (J. C. Jones).\n\n\n\nOther Guardian Spirits\n\nBesides the three principal Norns there were many others, far less\nimportant, who seem to have been the guardian spirits of mankind,\nto whom they frequently appeared, lavishing all manner of gifts\nupon their favourites, and seldom failing to be present at births,\nmarriages, and deaths.\n\n\n \"Oh, manifold is their kindred, and who shall tell them all?\n There are they that rule o'er men folk, and the stars that rise\n and fall.\"\n\n Sigurd the Volsung (William Morris).\n\n\n\nThe Story of Nornagesta\n\nOn one occasion the three sisters visited Denmark, and entered the\ndwelling of a nobleman as his first child came into the world. Entering\nthe apartment where the mother lay, the first Norn promised that the\nchild should be handsome and brave, and the second that he should be\nprosperous and a great scald--predictions which filled the parents'\nhearts with joy. Meantime news of what was taking place had gone\nabroad, and the neighbours came thronging the apartment to such a\ndegree that the pressure of the curious crowd caused the third Norn\nto be pushed rudely from her chair.\n\nAngry at this insult, Skuld proudly rose and declared that her\nsister's gifts should be of no avail, since she would decree that\nthe child should live only as long as the taper then burning near the\nbedside. These ominous words filled the mother's heart with terror,\nand she tremblingly clasped her babe closer to her breast, for the\ntaper was nearly burned out and its extinction could not be very long\ndelayed. The eldest Norn, however, had no intention of seeing her\nprediction thus set at naught; but as she could not force her sister\nto retract her words, she quickly seized the taper, put out the light,\nand giving the smoking stump to the child's mother, bade her carefully\ntreasure it, and never light it again until her son was weary of life.\n\n\n \"In the mansion it was night:\n The Norns came,\n Who should the prince's\n Life determine.\"\n\n Saemund's Edda (Thorpe's tr.).\n\n\nThe boy was named Nornagesta, in honour of the Norns, and grew up to\nbe as beautiful, brave, and talented as any mother could wish. When he\nwas old enough to comprehend the gravity of the trust his mother told\nhim the story of the Norns' visit, and placed in his hands the candle\nend, which he treasured for many a year, placing it for safe-keeping\ninside the frame of his harp. When his parents were dead, Nornagesta\nwandered from place to place, taking part and distinguishing himself\nin every battle, singing his heroic lays wherever he went. As he\nwas of an enthusiastic and poetic temperament, he did not soon weary\nof life, and while other heroes grew wrinkled and old, he remained\nyoung at heart and vigorous in frame. He therefore witnessed the\nstirring deeds of the heroic ages, was the boon companion of the\nancient warriors, and after living three hundred years, saw the\nbelief in the old heathen gods gradually supplanted by the teachings\nof Christian missionaries. Finally Nornagesta came to the court of\nKing Olaf Tryggvesson, who, according to his usual custom, converted\nhim almost by force, and compelled him to receive baptism. Then,\nwishing to convince his people that the time for superstition was\npast, the king forced the aged scald to produce and light the taper\nwhich he had so carefully guarded for more than three centuries.\n\nIn spite of his recent conversion, Nornagesta anxiously watched the\nflame as it flickered, and when, finally, it went out, he sank lifeless\nto the ground, thus proving that in spite of the baptism just received,\nhe still believed in the prediction of the Norns.\n\nIn the middle ages, and even later, the Norns figure in many a story\nor myth, appearing as fairies or witches, as, for instance, in the\ntale of \"the Sleeping Beauty,\" and Shakespeare's tragedy of Macbeth.\n\n\n\t\"1st Witch. When shall we three meet again,\n\t\t In thunder, lightning, or in rain?\n\n\t2nd Witch. When the hurlyburly's done,\n\t\t When the battle's lost and won:\n\n\t3rd Witch. That will be ere the set of sun.\"\n\n\t\t Macbeth (Shakespeare).\n\n\n\nThe Vala\n\nSometimes the Norns bore the name of Vala, or prophetesses, for they\nhad the power of divination--a power which was held in great honour\nby all the Northern races, who believed that it was restricted to\nthe female sex. The predictions of the Vala were never questioned,\nand it is said that the Roman general Drusus was so terrified by the\nappearance of Veleda, one of these prophetesses, who warned him not\nto cross the Elbe, that he actually beat a retreat. She foretold his\napproaching death, which indeed happened shortly after through a fall\nfrom his steed.\n\nThese prophetesses, who were also known as Idises, Dises, or Hagedises,\nofficiated at the forest shrines and in the sacred groves, and\nalways accompanied invading armies. Riding ahead, or in the midst\nof the host, they would vehemently urge the warriors on to victory,\nand when the battle was over they would often cut the bloody-eagle\nupon the bodies of the captives. The blood was collected into great\ntubs, wherein the Dises plunged their naked arms up to the shoulders,\nprevious to joining in the wild dance with which the ceremony ended.\n\nIt is not to be wondered at that these women were greatly\nfeared. Sacrifices were offered to propitiate them, and it was only in\nlater times that they were degraded to the rank of witches, and sent to\njoin the demon host on the Brocken, or Blocksberg, on Valpurgisnacht.\n\nBesides the Norns or Dises, who were also regarded as protective\ndeities, the Northmen ascribed to each human being a guardian spirit\nnamed Fylgie, which attended him through life, either in human or\nbrute shape, and was invisible except at the moment of death by all\nexcept the initiated few.\n\nThe allegorical meaning of the Norns and of their web of fate is too\npatent to need explanation; still some mythologists have made them\ndemons of the air, and state that their web was the woof of clouds,\nand that the bands of mists which they strung from rock to tree,\nand from mountain to mountain, were ruthlessly torn apart by the\nsuddenly rising wind. Some authorities, moreover, declare that Skuld,\nthe third Norn, was at times a Valkyr, and at others personated the\ngoddess of death, the terrible Hel.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XVIII: THE VALKYRS\n\n\nThe Battle Maidens\n\nOdin's special attendants, the Valkyrs, or battle maidens, were either\nhis daughters, like Brunhild, or the offspring of mortal kings,\nmaidens who were privileged to remain immortal and invulnerable as\nlong as they implicitly obeyed the god and remained virgins. They and\ntheir steeds were the personification of the clouds, their glittering\nweapons being the lightning flashes. The ancients imagined that they\nswept down to earth at Valfather's command, to choose among the slain\nin battle heroes worthy to taste the joys of Valhalla, and brave\nenough to lend aid to the gods when the great battle should be fought.\n\n\n \"There through some battlefield, where men fall fast,\n Their horses fetlock-deep in blood, they ride,\n And pick the bravest warriors out for death,\n Whom they bring back with them at night to Heaven\n To glad the gods and feast in Odin's hall.\"\n\n Balder Dead (Matthew Arnold).\n\n\nThese maidens were pictured as young and beautiful, with dazzling white\narms and flowing golden hair. They wore helmets of silver or gold,\nand blood-red corselets, and with spears and shields glittering,\nthey boldly charged through the fray on their mettlesome white\nsteeds. These horses galloped through the realms of air and over\nthe quivering Bifroest, bearing not only their fair riders, but the\nheroes slain, who after having received the Valkyrs' kiss of death,\nwere thus immediately transported to Valhalla.\n\n\n\nThe Cloud Steeds\n\nAs the Valkyrs' steeds were personifications of the clouds, it\nwas natural to fancy that the hoar frost and dew dropped down upon\nearth from their glittering manes as they rapidly dashed to and fro\nthrough the air. They were therefore held in high honour and regard,\nfor the people ascribed to their beneficent influence much of the\nfruitfulness of the earth, the sweetness of dale and mountain-slope,\nthe glory of the pines, and the nourishment of the meadow-land.\n\n\n\nChoosers of the Slain\n\nThe mission of the Valkyrs was not only to battlefields upon earth, but\nthey often rode over the sea, snatching the dying Vikings from their\nsinking dragon-ships. Sometimes they stood upon the strand to beckon\nthem thither, an infallible warning that the coming struggle would\nbe their last, and one which every Northland hero received with joy.\n\n\n \"Slowly they moved to the billow side;\n And the forms, as they grew more clear,\n Seem'd each on a tall pale steed to ride,\n And a shadowy crest to rear,\n And to beckon with faint hand\n From the dark and rocky strand,\n And to point a gleaming spear.\n\n \"Then a stillness on his spirit fell,\n Before th' unearthly train;\n For he knew Valhalla's daughters well,\n The chooser of the slain!\"\n\n Valkyriur Song (Mrs. Hemans).\n\n\n\nTheir Numbers and Duties\n\nThe numbers of the Valkyrs differ greatly according to various\nmythologists, ranging from three to sixteen, most authorities, however,\nnaming only nine. The Valkyrs were considered as divinities of the\nair; they were also called Norns, or wish maidens. It was said that\nFreya and Skuld led them on to the fray.\n\n\n \"She saw Valkyries\n Come from afar,\n Ready to ride\n To the tribes of god;\n Skuld held the shield,\n Skaugul came next,\n Gunnr, Hildr, Gaundul,\n And Geir-skaugul.\n Thus now are told\n The Warrior's Norns.\"\n\n Saemund's Edda (Henderson's tr.).\n\n\nThe Valkyrs, as we have seen, had important duties in Valhalla, when,\ntheir bloody weapons laid aside, they poured out the heavenly mead for\nthe Einheriar. This beverage delighted the souls of the new-comers,\nand they welcomed the fair maidens as warmly as when they had first\nseen them on the battlefield and realised that they had come to\ntransport them where they fain would be.\n\n\n \"In the shade now tall forms are advancing,\n And their wan hands like snowflakes in the moonlight are gleaming;\n They beckon, they whisper, 'Oh! strong Armed in Valour,\n The pale guests await thee--mead foams in Valhalla.'\"\n\n Finn's Saga (Hewitt).\n\n\n\nWayland and the Valkyrs\n\nThe Valkyrs were supposed to take frequent flights to earth in swan\nplumage, which they would throw off when they came to a secluded\nstream, that they might indulge in a bath. Any mortal surprising them\nthus, and securing their plumage, could prevent them from leaving the\nearth, and could even force these proud maidens to mate with him if\nsuch were his pleasure.\n\nIt is related that three of the Valkyrs, Olrun, Alvit, and Svanhvit,\nwere once sporting in the waters, when suddenly the three brothers\nEgil, Slagfinn, and Voelund, or Wayland the smith, came upon them,\nand securing their swan plumage, the young men forced them to remain\nupon earth and become their wives. The Valkyrs, thus detained,\nremained with their husbands nine years, but at the end of that time,\nrecovering their plumage, or the spell being broken in some other way,\nthey effected their escape.\n\n\n \"There they stayed\n Seven winters through;\n But all the eighth\n Were with longing seized;\n And in the ninth\n Fate parted them.\n The maidens yearned\n For the murky wood,\n The young Alvit,\n Fate to fulfil.\"\n\n Lay of Voelund (Thorpe's tr.).\n\n\nThe brothers felt the loss of their wives extremely, and two of them,\nEgil and Slagfinn, putting on their snow shoes, went in search of\ntheir loved ones, disappearing in the cold and foggy regions of\nthe North. The third brother, Voelund, however, remained at home,\nknowing all search would be of no avail, and he found solace in the\ncontemplation of a ring which Alvit had given him as a love-token,\nand he indulged the constant hope that she would return. As he was a\nvery clever smith, and could manufacture the most dainty ornaments of\nsilver and gold, as well as magic weapons which no blow could break,\nhe now employed his leisure in making seven hundred rings exactly\nlike the one which his wife had given him. These, when finished, he\nbound together; but one night, on coming home from the hunt, he found\nthat some one had carried away one ring, leaving the others behind,\nand his hopes received fresh inspiration, for he told himself that\nhis wife had been there and would soon return for good.\n\nThat selfsame night, however, he was surprised in his sleep, and\nbound and made prisoner by Nidud, King of Sweden, who took possession\nof his sword, a choice weapon invested with magic powers, which he\nreserved for his own use, and of the love ring made of pure Rhine\ngold, which latter he gave to his only daughter, Bodvild. As for the\nunhappy Voelund himself, he was led captive to a neighbouring island,\nwhere, after being hamstrung, in order that he should not escape, the\nking put him to the incessant task of forging weapons and ornaments\nfor his use. He also compelled him to build an intricate labyrinth,\nand to this day a maze in Iceland is known as \"Voelund's house.\"\n\nVoelund's rage and despair increased with every new insult offered\nhim by Nidud, and night and day he thought upon how he might obtain\nrevenge. Nor did he forget to provide for his escape, and during the\npauses of his labour he fashioned a pair of wings similar to those his\nwife had used as a Valkyr, which he intended to don as soon as his\nvengeance had been accomplished. One day the king came to visit his\ncaptive, and brought him the stolen sword that he might repair it;\nbut Voelund cleverly substituted another weapon so exactly like the\nmagic sword as to deceive the king when he came again to claim it. A\nfew days later, Voelund enticed the king's sons into his smithy and\nslew them, after which he cunningly fashioned drinking vessels out\nof their skulls, and jewels out of their eyes and teeth, bestowing\nthese upon their parents and sister.\n\n\n \"But their skulls\n Beneath the hair\n He in silver set,\n And to Nidud gave;\n And of their eyes\n Precious stones he formed,\n Which to Nidud's\n Wily wife he sent.\n But of the teeth\n Of the two\n Breast ornaments he made,\n And to Boedvild sent.\"\n\n Lay of Voelund (Thorpe's tr.).\n\n\nThe royal family did not suspect whence they came; and so these gifts\nwere joyfully accepted. As for the poor youths, it was believed that\nthey had drifted out to sea and had been drowned.\n\nSome time after this, Bodvild, wishing to have her ring repaired, also\nvisited the smith's hut, where, while waiting, she unsuspectingly\npartook of a magic drug, which sent her to sleep and left her in\nVoelund's power. His last act of vengeance accomplished, Voelund\nimmediately donned the wings which he had made in readiness for\nthis day, and grasping his sword and ring he rose slowly in the\nair. Directing his flight to the palace, he perched there out of reach,\nand proclaimed his crimes to Nidud. The king, beside himself with\nrage, summoned Egil, Voelund's brother, who had also fallen into his\npower, and bade him use his marvellous skill as an archer to bring\ndown the impudent bird. Obeying a signal from Voelund, Egil aimed\nfor a protuberance under his wing where a bladder full of the young\nprinces' blood was concealed, and the smith flew triumphantly away\nwithout hurt, declaring that Odin would give his sword to Sigmund--a\nprediction which was duly fulfilled.\n\nVoelund then went to Alf-heim, where, if the legend is to be believed,\nhe found his beloved wife, and lived happily again with her until\nthe twilight of the gods.\n\nBut, even in Alf-heim, this clever smith continued to ply his craft,\nand various suits of impenetrable armour, which he is said to have\nfashioned, are described in later heroic poems. Besides Balmung\nand Joyeuse, Sigmund's and Charlemagne's celebrated swords, he is\nreported to have fashioned Miming for his son Heime, and many other\nremarkable blades.\n\n\n \"It is the mate of Miming\n Of all swerdes it is king,\n And Weland it wrought,\n Bitterfer it is hight.\"\n\n Anglo-Saxon Poetry (Coneybeare's tr.).\n\n\nThere are countless other tales of swan maidens or Valkyrs, who are\nsaid to have consorted with mortals; but the most popular of all is\nthat of Brunhild, the wife of Sigurd, a descendant of Sigmund and\nthe most renowned of Northern heroes.\n\nWilliam Morris, in \"The Land East of the Sun and West of the Moon,\"\ngives a fascinating version of another of these Norse legends. The\nstory is amongst the most charming of the collection in \"The Earthly\nParadise.\"\n\n\n\nBrunhild\n\nThe story of Brunhild is to be found in many forms. Some versions\ndescribe the heroine as the daughter of a king taken by Odin to serve\nin his Valkyr band, others as chief of the Valkyrs and daughter of\nOdin himself. In Richard Wagner's story, \"The Ring of the Nibelung,\"\nthe great musician presents a particularly attractive, albeit a more\nmodern conception of the chief Battle-Maiden, and her disobedience\nto the command of Odin when sent to summon the youthful Siegmund from\nthe side of his beloved Sieglinde to the Halls of the Blessed.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XIX: HEL\n\n\nLoki's Offspring\n\nHel, goddess of death, was the daughter of Loki, god of evil, and of\nthe giantess Angurboda, the portender of ill. She came into the world\nin a dark cave in Joetun-heim together with the serpent Ioermungandr\nand the terrible Fenris wolf, the trio being considered as the emblems\nof pain, sin, and death.\n\n\n \"Now Loki comes, cause of all ill!\n Men and AEsir curse him still.\n Long shall the gods deplore,\n Even till Time be o'er,\n His base fraud on Asgard's hill.\n While, deep in Jotunheim, most fell,\n Are Fenrir, Serpent, and Dread Hel,\n Pain, Sin, and Death, his children three,\n Brought up and cherished; thro' them he\n Tormentor of the world shall be.\"\n\n Valhalla (J. C. Jones).\n\n\nIn due time Odin became aware of the terrible brood which Loki was\ncherishing, and resolved, as we have already seen, to banish them from\nthe face of the earth. The serpent was therefore cast into the sea,\nwhere his writhing was supposed to cause the most terrible tempests;\nthe wolf Fenris was secured in chains, thanks to the dauntless Tyr;\nand Hel or Hela, the goddess of death, was hurled into the depths of\nNifl-heim, where Odin gave her power over nine worlds.\n\n\n \"Hela into Niflheim thou threw'st,\n And gav'st her nine unlighted worlds to rule,\n A queen, and empire over all the dead.\"\n\n Balder Dead (Matthew Arnold).\n\n\n\nHel's Kingdom in Nifl-heim\n\nThis realm, which was supposed to be situated under the earth, could\nonly be entered after a painful journey over the roughest roads in the\ncold, dark regions of the extreme North. The gate was so far from all\nhuman abode that even Hermod the swift, mounted upon Sleipnir, had to\njourney nine long nights ere he reached the river Gioell. This formed\nthe boundary of Nifl-heim, over which was thrown a bridge of crystal\narched with gold, hung on a single hair, and constantly guarded by\nthe grim skeleton Moedgud, who made every spirit pay a toll of blood\nere she would allow it to pass.\n\n\n \"The bridge of glass hung on a hair\n Thrown o'er the river terrible,--\n The Gioell, boundary of Hel.\n Now here the maiden Moedgud stood,\n Waiting to take the toll of blood,--\n A maiden horrible to sight,\n Fleshless, with shroud and pall bedight.\"\n\n Valhalla (J. C. Jones).\n\n\nThe spirits generally rode or drove across this bridge on the horses\nor in the waggons which had been burned upon the funeral pyre with the\ndead to serve that purpose, and the Northern races were very careful to\nbind upon the feet of the departed a specially strong pair of shoes,\ncalled Hel-shoes, that they might not suffer during the long journey\nover rough roads. Soon after the Giallar bridge was passed, the spirit\nreached the Ironwood, where stood none but bare and iron-leafed trees,\nand, passing through it, reached Hel-gate, beside which the fierce,\nblood-stained dog Garm kept watch, cowering in a dark hole known as\nthe Gnipa cave. This monster's rage could only be appeased by the\noffering of a Hel-cake, which never failed those who had ever given\nbread to the needy.\n\n\n \"Loud bays Garm\n Before the Gnipa cave.\"\n\n Saemund's Edda (Thorpe's tr.).\n\n\nWithin the gate, amid the intense cold and impenetrable darkness,\nwas heard the seething of the great cauldron Hvergelmir, the rolling\nof the glaciers in the Elivagar and other streams of Hel, among which\nwere the Leipter, by which solemn oaths were sworn, and the Slid,\nin whose turbid waters naked swords continually rolled.\n\nFurther on in this gruesome place was Elvidner (misery), the hall of\nthe goddess Hel, whose dish was Hunger. Her knife was Greed. \"Idleness\nwas the name of her man, Sloth of her maid, Ruin of her threshold,\nSorrow of her bed, and Conflagration of her curtains.\"\n\n\n \"Elvidner was Hela's hall.\n Iron-barred, with massive wall;\n Horrible that palace tall!\n Hunger was her table bare;\n Waste, her knife; her bed, sharp Care;\n Burning Anguish spread her feast;\n Bleached bones arrayed each guest;\n Plague and Famine sang their runes,\n Mingled with Despair's harsh tunes.\n Misery and Agony\n E'er in Hel's abode shall be!\"\n\n Valhalla (J. C. Jones).\n\n\nThis goddess had many different abodes for the guests who daily came to\nher, for she received not only perjurers and criminals of all kinds,\nbut also those who were unfortunate enough to die without shedding\nblood. To her realm also were consigned those who died of old age\nor disease--a mode of decease which was contemptuously called \"straw\ndeath,\" as the beds of the people were generally of that material.\n\n\n \"Temper'd hard by frost,\n Tempest and toil their nerves, the sons of those\n Whose only terror was a bloodless death.\"\n\n Thomson.\n\n\n\nIdeas of the Future Life\n\nAlthough the innocent were treated kindly by Hel, and enjoyed a state\nof negative bliss, it is no wonder that the inhabitants of the North\nshrank from the thought of visiting her cheerless abode. And while\nthe men preferred to mark themselves with the spear point, to hurl\nthemselves down from a precipice, or to be burned ere life was quite\nextinct, the women did not shrink from equally heroic measures. In the\nextremity of their sorrow, they did not hesitate to fling themselves\ndown a mountain side, or fall upon the swords which were given them\nat their marriage, so that their bodies might be burned with those\nwhom they loved, and their spirits released to join them in the bright\nhome of the gods.\n\nFurther horrors, however, awaited those whose lives had been criminal\nor impure, these spirits being banished to Nastrond, the strand of\ncorpses, where they waded in ice-cold streams of venom, through a cave\nmade of wattled serpents, whose poisonous fangs were turned towards\nthem. After suffering untold agonies there, they were washed down\ninto the cauldron Hvergelmir, where the serpent Nidhug ceased for a\nmoment gnawing the root of the tree Yggdrasil to feed upon their bones.\n\n\n \"A hall standing\n Far from the sun\n In Nastroend;\n Its doors are northward turned,\n Venom-drops fall\n In through its apertures;\n Entwined is that hall\n With serpents' backs.\n She there saw wading\n The sluggish streams\n Bloodthirsty men\n And perjurers,\n And him who the ear beguiles\n Of another's wife.\n There Nidhog sucks\n The corpses of the dead.\"\n\n Saemund's Edda (Thorpe's tr.).\n\n\n\nPestilence and Famine\n\nHel herself was supposed occasionally to leave her dismal abode to\nrange the earth upon her three-legged white horse, and in times of\npestilence or famine, if a part of the inhabitants of a district\nescaped, she was said to use a rake, and when whole villages and\nprovinces were depopulated, as in the case of the historical epidemic\nof the Black Death, it was said that she had ridden with a broom.\n\nThe Northern races further fancied that the spirits of the dead were\nsometimes allowed to revisit the earth and appear to their relatives,\nwhose sorrow or joy affected them even after death, as is related\nin the Danish ballad of Aager and Else, where a dead lover bids his\nsweetheart smile, so that his coffin may be filled with roses instead\nof the clotted blood drops produced by her tears.\n\n\n \"'Listen now, my good Sir Aager!\n Dearest bridegroom, all I crave\n Is to know how it goes with thee\n In that lonely place, the grave.'\n\n \"'Every time that thou rejoicest,\n And art happy in thy mind,\n Are my lonely grave's recesses\n All with leaves of roses lined.'\n\n \"'Every time that, love, thou grievest,\n And dost shed the briny flood,\n Are my lonely grave's recesses\n Filled with black and loathsome blood.'\"\n\n Ballad of Aager and Else (Longfellow's tr.).\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XX: AEGIR\n\n\nThe God of the Sea\n\nBesides Nioerd and Mimir, who were both ocean divinities, the one\nrepresenting the sea near the coast and the other the primaeval ocean\nwhence all things were supposed to have sprung, the Northern races\nrecognised another sea-ruler, called AEgir or Hler, who dwelt either\nin the cool depths of his liquid realm or had his abode on the Island\nof Lessoe, in the Cattegat, or Hlesey.\n\n\n \"Beneath the watery dome,\n With crystalline splendour,\n In radiant grandeur,\n Upreared the sea-god's home.\n More dazzling than foam of the waves\n E'er glimmered and gleamed thro' deep caves\n The glistening sands of its floor,\n Like some placid lake rippled o'er.\"\n\n Valhalla (J. C. Jones).\n\n\nAEgir (the sea), like his brothers Kari (the air) and Loki (fire),\nis supposed to have belonged to an older dynasty of the gods, for he\nranked neither with the AEsir, the Vanas, the giants, dwarfs, or elves,\nbut was considered omnipotent within his realm.\n\nHe was supposed to occasion and quiet the great tempests which swept\nover the deep, and was generally represented as a gaunt old man,\nwith long white beard and hair, and clawlike fingers ever clutching\nconvulsively, as though he longed to have all things within his\ngrasp. Whenever he appeared above the waves, it was only to pursue and\noverturn vessels, and to greedily drag them to the bottom of the sea,\na vocation in which he was thought to take fiendish delight.\n\n\n\nThe Goddess Ran\n\nAEgir was mated with his sister, the goddess Ran, whose name means\n\"robber,\" and who was as cruel, greedy, and insatiable as her\nhusband. Her favourite pastime was to lurk near dangerous rocks,\nwhither she enticed mariners, and there spread her net, her most\nprized possession, when, having entangled the men in its meshes and\nbroken their vessels on the jagged cliffs, she would calmly draw them\ndown into her cheerless realm.\n\n\n \"In the deep sea caves\n By the sounding shore,\n In the dashing waves\n When the wild storms roar,\n In her cold green bowers\n In the Northern fiords,\n She lurks and she glowers,\n She grasps and she hoards,\n And she spreads her strong net for her prey.\"\n\n Story of Siegfried (Baldwin).\n\n\nRan was considered the goddess of death for all who perished at sea,\nand the Northern nations fancied that she entertained the drowned\nin her coral caves, where her couches were spread to receive them,\nand where the mead flowed freely as in Valhalla. The goddess was\nfurther supposed to have a great affection for gold, which was called\nthe \"flame of the sea,\" and was used to illuminate her halls. This\nbelief originated with the sailors, and sprang from the striking\nphosphorescent gleam of the waves. To win Ran's good graces, the\nNorthmen were careful to hide some gold about them whenever any\nspecial danger threatened them on the sea.\n\n\n \"Gold, on sweetheart ramblings,\n Pow'rful is and pleasant;\n Who goes empty-handed\n Down to sea-blue Ran,\n Cold her kisses strike, and\n Fleeting her embrace is--\n But we ocean's bride be-\n Troth with purest gold.\"\n\n Viking Tales of the North (R. B. Anderson).\n\n\n\nThe Waves\n\nAEgir and Ran had nine beautiful daughters, the Waves, or\nbillow-maidens, whose snowy arms and bosoms, long golden hair,\ndeep-blue eyes, and willowy, sensuous forms were fascinating in\nthe extreme. These maidens delighted in sporting over the surface\nof their father's vast domain, clad lightly in transparent blue,\nwhite, or green veils. They were very moody and capricious, however,\nvarying from playful to sullen and apathetic moods, and at times\nexciting one another almost to madness, tearing their hair and veils,\nflinging themselves recklessly upon their hard beds, the rocks,\nchasing one another with frantic haste, and shrieking aloud with joy\nor despair. But they seldom came out to play unless their brother,\nthe Wind, were abroad, and according to his mood they were gentle\nand playful, or rough and boisterous.\n\nThe Waves were generally supposed to go about in triplets, and were\noften said to play around the ships of vikings whom they favoured,\nsmoothing away every obstacle from their course, and helping them to\nreach speedily their goals.\n\n\n \"And AEger's daughters, in blue veils dight,\n The helm leap round, and urge it on its flight.\"\n\n Viking Tales of the North (R. B. Anderson).\n\n\n\nAEgir's Brewing Kettle\n\nTo the Anglo-Saxons the sea-god AEgir was known by the name of Eagor,\nand whenever an unusually large wave came thundering towards the shore,\nthe sailors were wont to cry, as the Trent boatmen still do, \"Look out,\nEagor is coming!\" He was also known by the name of Hler (the shelterer)\namong the Northern nations, and of Gymir (the concealer), because he\nwas always ready to hide things in the depths of his realm, and could\nbe depended upon not to reveal the secrets entrusted to his care. And,\nbecause the waters of the sea were frequently said to seethe and hiss,\nthe ocean was often called AEgir's brewing kettle or vat.\n\nThe god's two principal servants were Elde and Funfeng, emblems of\nthe phosphorescence of the sea; they were noted for their quickness\nand they invariably waited upon the guests whom he invited to his\nbanquets in the depths of the sea. AEgir sometimes left his realm to\nvisit the AEsir in Asgard, where he was always royally entertained, and\nhe delighted in Bragi's many tales of the adventures and achievements\nof the gods. Excited by these narratives, as also by the sparkling\nmead which accompanied them, the god on one occasion ventured to\ninvite the AEsir to celebrate the harvest feast with him in Hlesey,\nwhere he promised to entertain them in his turn.\n\n\n\nThor and Hymir\n\nSurprised at this invitation, one of the gods ventured to remind\nAEgir that they were accustomed to dainty fare; whereupon the god\nof the sea declared that as far as eating was concerned they need\nbe in no anxiety, as he was sure that he could cater for the most\nfastidious appetites; but he confessed that he was not so confident\nabout drink, as his brewing kettle was rather small. Hearing this,\nThor immediately volunteered to procure a suitable kettle, and set\nout with Tyr to obtain it. The two gods journeyed east of the Elivagar\nin Thor's goat chariot, and leaving this at the house of the peasant\nEgil, Thialfi's father, they wended their way on foot to the dwelling\nof the giant Hymir, who was known to own a kettle one mile deep and\nproportionately wide.\n\n\n \"There dwells eastward\n Of Elivagar\n The all-wise Hymir,\n At heaven's end.\n My sire, fierce of mood,\n A kettle owns,\n A capacious cauldron,\n A rast in depth.\"\n\n Saemund's Edda (Thorpe's tr.).\n\n\nOnly the women were at home, however, and Tyr recognised in the\nelder--an ugly old hag with nine hundred heads--his own grandmother;\nwhile the younger, a beautiful young giantess, was, it appeared,\nhis mother, and she received her son and his companion hospitably,\nand gave them to drink.\n\nAfter learning their errand, Tyr's mother bade the visitors hide under\nsome huge kettles, which rested upon a beam at the end of the hall,\nfor her husband Hymir was very hasty and often slew his would-be guests\nwith a single baleful glance. The gods quickly followed her advice, and\nno sooner were they concealed than the old giant Hymir came in. When\nhis wife told him that visitors had come, he frowned so portentously,\nand flashed such a wrathful look towards their hiding-place, that\nthe rafter split and the kettles fell with a crash, and, except the\nlargest, were all dashed to pieces.\n\n\n \"In shivers flew the pillar\n At the Joetun's glance;\n The beam was first\n Broken in two.\n Eight kettles fell,\n But only one of them,\n A hard-hammered cauldron,\n Whole from the column.\"\n\n Saemund's Edda (Thorpe's tr.).\n\n\nThe giant's wife, however, prevailed upon her husband to welcome\nTyr and Thor, and he slew three oxen for their refection; but\ngreat was his dismay to see the thunder-god eat two of these for\nhis supper. Muttering that he would have to go fishing early the\nnext morning to secure a breakfast for so voracious a guest, the\ngiant retired to rest, and when at dawn the next day he went down\nto the shore, he was joined by Thor, who said that he had come to\nhelp him. The giant bade him secure his own bait, whereupon Thor\ncoolly slew his host's largest ox, Himinbrioter (heaven-breaker),\nand cutting off its head, he embarked with it and proceeded to row\nfar out to sea. In vain Hymir protested that his usual fishing-ground\nhad been reached, and that they might encounter the terrible Midgard\nsnake were they to venture any farther; Thor persistently rowed on,\nuntil he fancied they were directly above this monster.\n\n\n \"On the dark bottom of the great salt lake,\n Imprisoned lay the giant snake,\n With naught his sullen sleep to break.\"\n\n Thor's Fishing, Oehlenschlaeger (Pigott's tr.).\n\n\nBaiting his powerful hook with the ox head, Thor angled for\nIoermungandr, while the giant meantime drew up two whales, which seemed\nto him to be enough for an early morning meal. He was about to propose\nto return, therefore, when Thor suddenly felt a jerk, and began pulling\nas hard as he could, for he knew by the resistance of his prey, and the\nterrible storm created by its frenzied writhings, that he had hooked\nthe Midgard snake. In his determined efforts to force the snake to rise\nto the surface, Thor braced his feet so strongly against the bottom\nof the boat that he went through it and stood on the bed of the sea.\n\nAfter an indescribable struggle, the monster's terrible venom-breathing\nhead appeared, and Thor, seizing his hammer, was about to annihilate\nit when the giant, frightened by the proximity of Ioermungandr, and\nfearing lest the boat should sink and he should become the monster's\nprey, cut the fishing-line, and thus allowed the snake to drop back\nlike a stone to the bottom of the sea.\n\n\n \"The knife prevails: far down beneath the main\n The serpent, spent with toil and pain,\n To the bottom sank again.\"\n\n Thor's Fishing, Oehlenschlaeger (Pigott's tr.).\n\n\nAngry with Hymir for his inopportune interference, Thor dealt him\na blow with his hammer which knocked him overboard; but Hymir,\nundismayed, waded ashore, and met the god as he returned to the\nbeach. Hymir then took both whales, his spoil of the sea, upon his\nback, to carry them to the house; and Thor, wishing also to show his\nstrength, shouldered boat, oars, and fishing tackle, and followed him.\n\nBreakfast being disposed of, Hymir challenged Thor to prove his\nstrength by breaking his beaker; but although the thunder-god\nthrew it with irresistible force against stone pillars and walls,\nit remained whole and was not even bent. In obedience to a whisper\nfrom Tyr's mother, however, Thor suddenly hurled the vessel against\nthe giant's forehead, the only substance tougher than itself, when it\nfell shattered to the ground. Hymir, having thus tested the might of\nThor, told him he could have the kettle which the two gods had come\nto seek, but Tyr tried to lift it in vain, and Thor could raise it\nfrom the floor only after he had drawn his belt of strength to the\nvery last hole.\n\n\n \"Tyr twice assayed\n To move the vessel,\n Yet at each time\n Stood the kettle fast.\n Then Modi's father\n By the brim grasped it,\n And trod through\n The dwelling's floor.\"\n\n Lay of Hymir (Thorpe's tr.)\n\n\nThe wrench with which he finally pulled it up did great damage to the\ngiant's house and his feet broke through the floor. As Tyr and Thor\nwere departing, the latter with the huge pot clapped on his head in\nplace of a hat, Hymir summoned his brother frost giants, and proposed\nthat they should pursue and slay their inveterate foe. Turning round,\nThor suddenly became aware of their pursuit, and, hurling Mioelnir\nrepeatedly at the giants, he slew them all ere they could overtake\nhim. Tyr and Thor then resumed their journey back to AEgir, carrying\nthe kettle in which he was to brew ale for the harvest feast.\n\nThe physical explanation of this myth is, of course, a thunder storm\n(Thor), in conflict with the raging sea (the Midgard snake), and the\nbreaking up of the polar ice (Hymir's goblet and floor) in the heat\nof summer.\n\nThe gods now arrayed themselves in festive attire and proceeded\njoyfully to AEgir's feast, and ever after they were wont to celebrate\nthe harvest home in his coral caves.\n\n\n \"Then Vans and AEsir, mighty gods,\n Of earth and air, and Asgard, lords,--\n Advancing with each goddess fair,\n A brilliant retinue most rare,--\n Attending mighty Odin, swept\n Up wave-worn aisle in radiant march.\"\n\n Valhalla (J. C. Jones).\n\n\n\nUnloved Divinities\n\nAEgir, as we have seen, ruled the sea with the help of the treacherous\nRan. Both of these divinities were considered cruel by the Northern\nnations, who had much to suffer from the sea, which, surrounding\nthem on all sides, ran far into the heart of their countries through\nthe numerous fiords, and often swallowed the ships of their vikings,\nwith all their warrior crews.\n\n\n\nOther Divinities of the Sea\n\nBesides these principal divinities of the sea, the Northern nations\nbelieved in mermen and mermaids, and many stories are related of\nmermaids who divested themselves for a brief while of swan plumage or\nseal-garments, which they left upon the beach to be found by mortals\nwho were thus able to compel the fair maidens to remain on land.\n\n\n \"She came through the waves when the fair moon shone\n (Drift o' the wave and foam o' the sea);\n She came where I walked on the sands alone,\n With a heart as light as a heart may be.\"\n\n L. E. R.\n\n\nThere were also malignant marine monsters known as Nicors, from whose\nname has been derived the proverbial Old Nick. Many of the lesser\nwater divinities had fish tails; the females bore the name of Undines,\nand the males of Stromkarls, Nixies, Necks, or Neckar.\n\n\n \"Where in the marisches boometh the bittern,\n Nicker the Soul-less sits with his ghittern,\n Sits inconsolable, friendless and foeless,\n Wailing his destiny, Nicker the Soul-less.\"\n\n From Brother Fabian's Manuscript.\n\n\nIn the middle ages these water spirits were believed sometimes to\nleave their native streams, to appear at village dances, where they\nwere recognised by the wet hem of their garments. They often sat\nbeside the flowing brook or river, playing on a harp, or singing\nalluring songs while combing out their long golden or green hair.\n\n\n \"The Neck here his harp in the glass castle plays,\n And mermaidens comb out their green hair always,\n And bleach here their shining white clothes.\"\n\n Stagnelius (Keightley's tr.).\n\n\nThe Nixies, Undines, and Stromkarls were particularly gentle and\nlovable beings, and were very anxious to obtain repeated assurances\nof their ultimate salvation.\n\nMany stories are told of priests or children meeting them playing by\na stream, and taunting them with future damnation, which threat never\nfailed to turn the joyful music into pitiful wails. Often priest or\nchildren, discovering their mistake, and touched by the agony of their\nvictims, would hasten back to the stream and assure the green-toothed\nwater sprites of future redemption, when they invariably resumed\ntheir happy strains.\n\n\n \"Know you the Nixies, gay and fair?\n Their eyes are black, and green their hair--\n They lurk in sedgy shores.\"\n\n Mathisson.\n\n\n\nRiver Nymphs\n\nBesides Elf or Elb, the water sprite who gave its name to the Elbe\nRiver in Germany, the Neck, from whom the Neckar derives its name,\nand old Father Rhine, with his numerous daughters (tributary streams),\nthe most famous of all the lesser water divinities is the Lorelei,\nthe siren maiden who sits upon the Lorelei rock near St. Goar, on\nthe Rhine, and whose alluring song has enticed many a mariner to\ndeath. The legends concerning this siren are very numerous indeed,\none of the most ancient being as follows:\n\n\n\nLegends of the Lorelei\n\nLorelei was an immortal, a water nymph, daughter of Father Rhine;\nduring the day she dwelt in the cool depths of the river bed, but\nlate at night she would appear in the moonlight, sitting aloft upon\na pinnacle of rock, in full view of all who passed up or down the\nstream. At times, the evening breeze wafted some of the notes of\nher song to the boatmen's ears, when, forgetting time and place in\nlistening to these enchanting melodies, they drifted upon the sharp\nand jagged rocks, where they invariably perished.\n\n\n \"Above the maiden sitteth,\n A wondrous form, and fair;\n With jewels bright she plaiteth\n Her shining golden hair:\n With comb of gold prepares it,\n The task with song beguiled;\n A fitful burden bears it--\n That melody so wild.\n\n \"The boatman on the river\n Lists to the song, spell-bound;\n Oh! what shall him deliver\n From danger threat'ning round?\n The waters deep have caught them,\n Both boat and boatman brave;\n 'Tis Loreley's song hath brought them\n Beneath the foaming wave.\"\n\n Song, Heine (Selcher's tr.).\n\n\nOne person only is said to have seen the Lorelei close by. This was\na young fisherman from Oberwesel, who met her every evening by the\nriverside, and spent a few delightful hours with her, drinking in her\nbeauty and listening to her entrancing song. Tradition had it that ere\nthey parted the Lorelei pointed out the places where the youth should\ncast his nets on the morrow--instructions which he always obeyed,\nand which invariably brought him success.\n\nOne night the young fisherman was seen going towards the river,\nbut as he never returned search was made for him. No clue to his\nwhereabouts being found, the credulous Teutons finally reported that\nthe Lorelei had dragged him down to her coral caves that she might\nenjoy his companionship for ever.\n\nAccording to another version, the Lorelei, with her entrancing\nstrains from the craggy rocks, lured so many fishermen to a grave in\nthe depths of Rhine, that an armed force was once sent at nightfall\nto surround and seize her. But the water nymph laid such a powerful\nspell upon the captain and his men that they could move neither hand\nnor foot. While they stood motionless around her, the Lorelei divested\nherself of her ornaments, and cast them into the waves below; then,\nchanting a spell, she lured the waters to the top of the crag upon\nwhich she was perched, and to the wonder of the soldiers the waves\nenclosed a sea-green chariot drawn by white-maned steeds, and the\nnymph sprang lightly into this and the magic equipage was instantly\nlost to view. A few moments later the Rhine subsided to its usual\nlevel, the spell was broken, and the men recovered power of motion,\nand retreated to tell how their efforts had been baffled. Since then,\nhowever, the Lorelei has not been seen, and the peasants declare that\nshe still resents the insult offered her and will never again leave\nher coral caves.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXI: BALDER\n\n\nThe Best Loved\n\nTo Odin and Frigga, we are told, were born twin sons as dissimilar\nin character and physical appearance as it was possible for two\nchildren to be. Hodur, god of darkness, was sombre, taciturn, and\nblind, like the obscurity of sin, which he was supposed to symbolise,\nwhile his brother Balder, the beautiful, was worshipped as the pure\nand radiant god of innocence and light. From his snowy brow and golden\nlocks seemed to radiate beams of sunshine which gladdened the hearts\nof gods and men, by whom he was equally beloved.\n\n\n \"Of all the twelve round Odin's throne,\n Balder, the Beautiful, alone,\n The Sun-god, good, and pure, and bright,\n Was loved by all, as all love light.\"\n\n Valhalla (J. C. Jones).\n\n\nThe youthful Balder attained his full growth with marvellous rapidity,\nand was early admitted to the council of the gods. He took up his\nabode in the palace of Breidablik, whose silver roof rested upon\ngolden pillars, and whose purity was such that nothing common or\nunclean was ever allowed within its precincts, and here he lived in\nperfect unity with his young wife Nanna (blossom), the daughter of Nip\n(bud), a beautiful and charming goddess.\n\nThe god of light was well versed in the science of runes, which were\ncarved on his tongue; he knew the various virtues of simples, one of\nwhich, the camomile, was called \"Balder's brow,\" because its flower\nwas as immaculately pure as his forehead. The only thing hidden from\nBalder's radiant eyes was the perception of his own ultimate fate.\n\n\n \"His own house\n Breidablik, on whose columns Balder graved\n The enchantments that recall the dead to life.\n For wise he was, and many curious arts,\n Postures of runes, and healing herbs he knew;\n Unhappy! but that art he did not know,\n To keep his own life safe, and see the sun.\"\n\n Balder Dead (Matthew Arnold).\n\n\n\nBalder's Dream\n\nAs it was so natural for Balder the beautiful to be smiling and\nhappy, the gods were greatly troubled when on a day they began to\nnotice a change in his bearing. Gradually the light died out of his\nblue eyes, a careworn look came into his face, and his step grew\nheavy and slow. Odin and Frigga, seeing their beloved son's evident\ndepression, tenderly implored him to reveal the cause of his silent\ngrief. Balder, yielding at last to their anxious entreaties, confessed\nthat his slumbers, instead of being peaceful and restful as of yore,\nhad been strangely troubled of late by dark and oppressive dreams,\nwhich, although he could not clearly remember them when he awoke,\nconstantly haunted him with a vague feeling of fear.\n\n\n \"To that god his slumber\n Was most afflicting;\n His auspicious dreams\n Seemed departed.\"\n\n Lay of Vegtam (Thorpe's tr.).\n\n\nWhen Odin and Frigga heard this, they were very uneasy, but declared\nthat nothing would harm their universally beloved son. Nevertheless,\nwhen the anxious parents further talked the matter over, they\nconfessed that they also were oppressed by strange forebodings, and,\ncoming at last to believe that Balder's life was really threatened,\nthey proceeded to take measures to avert the danger.\n\nFrigga sent her servants in every direction, with strict charge to\nprevail upon all living creatures, all plants, metals, stones--in\nfact, every animate and inanimate thing--to register a solemn vow\nnot to harm Balder. All creation readily took the oath, for there was\nnothing on earth which did not love the radiant god. So the servants\nreturned to Frigga, telling her that all had been duly sworn save\nthe mistletoe, growing upon the oak stem at the gate of Valhalla,\nand this, they added, was such a puny, inoffensive thing that no harm\ncould be feared from it.\n\n\n \"On a course they resolved:\n That they would send\n To every being,\n Assurance to solicit,\n Balder not to harm.\n All species swore\n Oaths to spare him;\n Frigg received all\n Their vows and compacts.\"\n\n Saemund's Edda (Thorpe's tr.).\n\n\nFrigga now resumed her spinning in great content, for she felt assured\nthat no harm could come to the child she loved above all.\n\n\n\nThe Vala's Prophecy\n\nOdin, in the meantime, had resolved to consult one of the dead Vala\nor prophetesses. Mounted upon his eight-footed steed Sleipnir, he rode\nover the tremulous bridge Bifroest and over the weary road which leads\nto Giallar and the entrance of Nifl-heim, where, passing through the\nHelgate and by the dog Garm, he penetrated into Hel's dark abode.\n\n\n \"Uprose the king of men with speed,\n And saddled straight his coal-black steed;\n Down the yawning steep he rode,\n That leads to Hela's drear abode.\"\n\n Descent of Odin (Gray).\n\n\nOdin saw to his surprise that a feast was being spread in this dark\nrealm, and that the couches had been covered with tapestry and rings of\ngold, as if some highly honoured guest were expected. But he hurried on\nwithout pausing, until he reached the spot where the Vala had rested\nundisturbed for many a year, when he began solemnly to chant a magic\nspell and to trace the runes which had the power of raising the dead.\n\n\n \"Thrice pronounc'd, in accents dread,\n The thrilling verse that wakes the dead:\n Till from out the hollow ground\n Slowly breath'd a sullen sound.\"\n\n Descent of Odin (Gray).\n\n\nSuddenly the tomb opened, and the prophetess slowly rose, inquiring\nwho had dared thus to trouble her long rest. Odin, not wishing her to\nknow that he was the mighty father of gods and men, replied that he\nwas Vegtam, son of Valtam, and that he had awakened her to inquire for\nwhom Hel was spreading her couches and preparing a festive meal. In\nhollow tones, the prophetess confirmed all his fears by telling him\nthat the expected guest was Balder, who was destined to be slain by\nHodur, his brother, the blind god of darkness.\n\n\n \"Hodur will hither\n His glorious brother send;\n He of Balder will\n The slayer be,\n And Odin's son\n Of life bereave.\n By compulsion I have spoken;\n Now I will be silent.\"\n\n Saemund's Edda (Thorpe's tr.).\n\n\nDespite the Vala's evident reluctance to speak further, Odin was not\nyet satisfied, and he prevailed upon her to tell him who would avenge\nthe murdered god and call his slayer to account. For revenge and\nretaliation were considered as a sacred duty by the races of the North.\n\nThen the prophetess told him, as Rossthiof had already predicted,\nthat Rinda, the earth-goddess, would bear a son to Odin, and that\nVali, as this child would be named, would neither wash his face nor\ncomb his hair until he had avenged upon Hodur the death of Balder.\n\n\n \"In the caverns of the west,\n By Odin's fierce embrace comprest,\n A wondrous boy shall Rinda bear,\n Who ne'er shall comb his raven hair,\n Nor wash his visage in the stream,\n Nor see the sun's departing beam,\n Till he on Hoder's corse shall smile\n Flaming on the fun'ral pile.\"\n\n Descent of Odin (Gray).\n\n\nWhen the reluctant Vala had thus spoken, Odin next asked: \"Who would\nrefuse to weep at Balder's death?\" This incautious question showed a\nknowledge of the future which no mortal could possess, and immediately\nrevealed to the Vala the identity of her visitor. Therefore, refusing\nto speak another word, she sank back into the silence of the tomb,\ndeclaring that none would be able to lure her out again until the\nend of the world was come.\n\n\n \"Hie thee hence, and boast at home,\n That never shall inquirer come\n To break my iron sleep again,\n Till Lok has burst his tenfold chain;\n Never, till substantial Night\n Has reassum'd her ancient right:\n Till wrapt in flames, in ruin hurl'd,\n Sinks the fabric of the world.\"\n\n Descent of Odin (Gray).\n\n\nOdin having learned the decrees of Orlog (fate), which he knew could\nnot be set aside, now remounted his steed, and sadly wended his\nway back to Asgard, thinking of the time, not far distant, when his\nbeloved son would no more be seen in the heavenly abodes, and when\nthe light of his presence would have vanished for ever.\n\nOn entering Glads-heim, however, Odin was somewhat reassured by\nthe intelligence, promptly conveyed to him by Frigga, that all\nthings under the sun had promised that they would not harm Balder,\nand feeling convinced that if nothing would slay their beloved son he\nmust surely continue to gladden gods and men with his presence, he cast\ncare aside and resigned himself to the pleasures of the festive board.\n\n\n\nThe Gods at Play\n\nThe playground of the gods was situated on the green plain of Ida,\nand was called Idavold. Here the gods would resort when in sportive\nmood, and their favourite game was to throw their golden disks, which\nthey could cast with great skill. They had returned to this wonted\npastime with redoubled zest since the cloud which had oppressed their\nspirits had been dispersed by the precautions of Frigga. Wearied at\nlast, however, of the accustomed sport, they bethought them of a new\ngame. They had learned that Balder could not be harmed by any missile,\nand so they amused themselves by casting all manner of weapons, stones,\netc., at him, certain that no matter how cleverly they tried, and\nhow accurately they aimed, the objects, having sworn not to injure\nhim, would either glance aside or fall short. This new amusement\nproved to be so fascinating that soon all the gods gathered around\nBalder, greeting each new failure to hurt him with prolonged shouts\nof laughter.\n\n\n\nThe Death of Balder\n\nThese bursts of merriment excited the curiosity of Frigga, who sat\nspinning in Fensalir; and seeing an old woman pass by her dwelling,\nshe bade her pause and tell what the gods were doing to provoke such\ngreat hilarity. The old woman was none other than Loki in disguise,\nand he answered Frigga that the gods were throwing stones and other\nmissiles, blunt and sharp, at Balder, who stood smiling and unharmed\nin their midst, challenging them to touch him.\n\nThe goddess smiled, and resumed her work, saying that it was quite\nnatural that nothing should harm Balder, as all things loved the light,\nof which he was the emblem, and had solemnly sworn not to injure\nhim. Loki, the personification of fire, was greatly chagrined upon\nhearing this, for he was jealous of Balder, the sun, who so entirely\neclipsed him and who was generally beloved, while he was feared and\navoided as much as possible; but he cleverly concealed his vexation,\nand inquired of Frigga whether she were quite sure that all objects\nhad joined the league.\n\nFrigga proudly answered that she had received the solemn oath of\nall things, a harmless little parasite, the mistletoe, which grew on\nthe oak near Valhalla's gate, only excepted, and this was too small\nand weak to be feared. This information was all that Loki wanted,\nand bidding adieu to Frigga he hobbled off. As soon as he was safely\nout of sight, however, he resumed his wonted form and hastened to\nValhalla, where, at the gate, he found the oak and mistletoe as\nindicated by Frigga. Then by the exercise of magic arts he imparted\nto the parasite a size and hardness quite unnatural to it.\n\nFrom the wooden stem thus produced he deftly fashioned a shaft with\nwhich he hastened back to Idavold, where the gods were still hurling\nmissiles at Balder, Hodur alone leaning mournfully against a tree the\nwhile, and taking no part in the game. Carelessly Loki approached\nthe blind god, and assuming an appearance of interest, he inquired\nthe cause of his melancholy, at the same time artfully insinuating\nthat pride and indifference prevented him from participating in\nthe sport. In answer to these remarks, Hodur pleaded that only his\nblindness deterred him from taking part in the new game, and when Loki\nput the mistletoe-shaft in his hand, and led him into the midst of the\ncircle, indicating the direction of the novel target, Hodur threw his\nshaft boldly. But to his dismay, instead of the loud laughter which\nhe expected, a shuddering cry of horror fell upon his ear, for Balder\nthe beautiful had fallen to the ground, pierced by the fatal mistletoe.\n\n\n \"So on the floor lay Balder dead; and round\n Lay thickly strewn swords, axes, darts, and spears,\n Which all the Gods in sport had idly thrown\n At Balder, whom no weapon pierced or clove;\n But in his breast stood fixed the fatal bough\n Of mistletoe, which Lok, the Accuser, gave\n To Hoder, and unwitting Hoder threw--\n 'Gainst that alone had Balder's life no charm.\"\n\n Balder Dead (Matthew Arnold).\n\n\nIn dire anxiety the gods crowded around their beloved companion,\nbut alas! life was quite extinct, and all their efforts to revive the\nfallen sun-god were unavailing. Inconsolable at their loss, they now\nturned angrily upon Hodur, whom they would there and then have slain\nhad they not been restrained by the law of the gods that no wilful\ndeed of violence should desecrate their peace-steads. The sound of\ntheir loud lamentation brought the goddesses in hot haste to the\ndreadful scene, and when Frigga saw that her darling was dead, she\npassionately implored the gods to go to Nifl-heim and entreat Hel to\nrelease her victim, for the earth could not exist happily without him.\n\n\n\nHermod's Errand\n\nAs the road was rough and painful in the extreme, none of the gods\nwould volunteer at first to go; but when Frigga promised that she\nand Odin would reward the messenger by loving him above all the AEsir,\nHermod signified his readiness to execute the commission. To enable\nhim to do so, Odin lent him Sleipnir, and the noble steed, who was\nnot wont to allow any but Odin upon his back, set off without demur\nupon the dark road which his hoofs had beaten twice before.\n\nMeantime, Odin caused the body of Balder to be removed to Breidablik,\nand he directed the gods to go to the forest and cut down huge pines\nwherewith to build a worthy pyre.\n\n\n \"But when the Gods were to the forest gone,\n Hermod led Sleipnir from Valhalla forth\n And saddled him; before that, Sleipnir brook'd\n No meaner hand than Odin's on his mane,\n On his broad back no lesser rider bore;\n Yet docile now he stood at Hermod's side,\n Arching his neck, and glad to be bestrode,\n Knowing the God they went to seek, how dear.\n But Hermod mounted him, and sadly fared\n In silence up the dark untravell'd road\n Which branches from the north of Heaven, and went\n All day; and daylight waned, and night came on.\n And all that night he rode, and journey'd so,\n Nine days, nine nights, toward the northern ice,\n Through valleys deep-engulph'd by roaring streams.\n And on the tenth morn he beheld the bridge\n Which spans with golden arches Giall's stream,\n And on the bridge a damsel watching, arm'd,\n In the straight passage, at the further end,\n Where the road issues between walling rocks.\"\n\n Balder Dead (Matthew Arnold).\n\n\n\nThe Funeral Pyre\n\nWhile Hermod was speeding along the cheerless road which led to\nNifl-heim, the gods hewed and carried down to the shore a vast amount\nof fuel, which they piled upon the deck of Balder's dragon-ship,\nRinghorn, constructing an elaborate funeral pyre. According to custom,\nthis was decorated with tapestry hangings, garlands of flowers,\nvessels and weapons of all kinds, golden rings, and countless objects\nof value, ere the immaculate corpse, richly attired, was brought and\nlaid upon it.\n\nOne by one, the gods now drew near to take a last farewell of their\nbeloved companion, and as Nanna bent over him, her loving heart broke,\nand she fell lifeless by his side. Seeing this, the gods reverently\nlaid her beside her husband, that she might accompany him even in\ndeath; and after they had slain his horse and hounds and twined\nthe pyre with thorns, the emblems of sleep, Odin, last of the gods,\ndrew near.\n\nIn token of affection for the dead and of sorrow for his loss, all\nhad lain their most precious possessions upon his pyre, and Odin,\nbending down, now added to the offerings his magic ring Draupnir. It\nwas noted by the assembled gods that he was whispering in his dead\nson's ear, but none were near enough to hear what word he said.\n\nThese sad preliminaries ended, the gods now prepared to launch the\nship, but found that the heavy load of fuel and treasures resisted\ntheir combined efforts and they could not make the vessel stir an\ninch. The mountain giants, witnessing the scene from afar, and noticing\ntheir quandary, now drew near and said that they knew of a giantess\ncalled Hyrrokin, who dwelt in Joetun-heim, and was strong enough to\nlaunch the vessel without any other aid. The gods therefore bade one of\nthe storm giants hasten off to summon Hyrrokin, and she soon appeared,\nmounted upon a gigantic wolf, which she guided by a bridle made of\nwrithing snakes. Riding down to the shore, the giantess dismounted and\nhaughtily signified her readiness to give the required aid, if in the\nmeantime the gods would take charge of her steed. Odin immediately\ndespatched four of his maddest Berserkers to hold the wolf; but,\nin spite of their phenomenal strength, they could not restrain the\nmonstrous creature until the giantess had thrown it down and bound\nit fast.\n\nHyrrokin, seeing that now they would be able to manage her refractory\nsteed, strode along the strand to where, high up from the water's edge,\nlay Balder's mighty ship Ringhorn.\n\n\n \"Seventy ells and four extended\n On the grass the vessel's keel;\n High above it, gilt and splendid,\n Rose the figure-head ferocious\n With its crest of steel.\"\n\n The Saga of King Olaf (Longfellow).\n\n\nSetting her shoulder against its stern, with a supreme effort she\nsent it with a rush into the water. Such was the weight of the mass,\nhowever, and the rapidity with which it shot down into the sea, that\nthe earth shook as if from an earthquake, and the rollers on which\nthe ship glided caught fire from the friction. The unexpected shock\nalmost caused the gods to lose their balance, and this so angered\nThor that he raised his hammer and would have slain the giantess\nhad he not been restrained by his companions. Easily appeased, as\nusual--for Thor's temper, although quickly roused, was evanescent--he\nnow boarded the vessel once more to consecrate the funeral pyre with\nhis sacred hammer. As he was performing this ceremony, the dwarf\nLit provokingly stumbled into his way, whereupon Thor, who had not\nentirely recovered his equanimity, kicked him into the fire, which\nhe had just kindled with a thorn, and the dwarf was burned to ashes\nwith the bodies of the divine pair.\n\nThe great ship now drifted out to sea, and the flames from the pyre\npresented a magnificent spectacle, which assumed a greater glory\nwith every passing moment, until, when the vessel neared the western\nhorizon, it seemed as if sea and sky were on fire. Sadly the gods\nwatched the glowing ship and its precious freight, until suddenly it\nplunged into the waves and disappeared; nor did they turn aside and\nreturn to Asgard until the last spark of light had vanished, and the\nworld, in token of mourning for Balder the good, was enveloped in a\nmantle of darkness.\n\n\n \"Soon with a roaring rose the mighty fire,\n And the pile crackled; and between the logs\n Sharp quivering tongues of flame shot out, and leapt\n Curling and darting, higher, until they lick'd\n The summit of the pile, the dead, the mast,\n And ate the shrivelling sails; but still the ship\n Drove on, ablaze above her hull with fire.\n And the gods stood upon the beach, and gazed;\n And while they gazed, the sun went lurid down\n Into the smoke-wrapt sea, and night came on.\n Then the wind fell with night, and there was calm;\n But through the dark they watch'd the burning ship\n Still carried o'er the distant waters, on\n Farther and farther, like an eye of fire.\n So show'd in the far darkness, Balder's pile;\n But fainter, as the stars rose high, it flared;\n The bodies were consumed, ash choked the pile.\n And as, in a decaying winter fire,\n A charr'd log, falling, makes a shower of sparks--\n So, with a shower of sparks, the pile fell in,\n Reddening the sea around; and all was dark.\"\n\n Balder Dead (Matthew Arnold).\n\n\n\nHermod's Quest\n\nSadly the gods entered Asgard, where no sounds of merriment or\nfeasting greeted the ear, for all hearts were filled with anxious\nconcern for the end of all things which was felt to be imminent. And\ntruly the thought of the terrible Fimbul-winter, which was to herald\ntheir death, was one well calculated to disquiet the gods.\n\nFrigga alone cherished hope, and she watched anxiously for the return\nof her messenger, Hermod the swift, who, meanwhile, had ridden over\nthe tremulous bridge, and along the dark Hel-way, until, on the tenth\nnight, he had crossed the rushing tide of the river Gioell. Here he was\nchallenged by Moedgud, who inquired why the Giallar-bridge trembled\nmore beneath his horse's tread than when a whole army passed, and\nasked why he, a living rider, was attempting to penetrate into the\ndreaded realm of Hel.\n\n\n \"Who art thou on thy black and fiery horse,\n Under whose hoofs the bridge o'er Giall's stream\n Rumbles and shakes? Tell me thy race and home.\n But yestermorn five troops of dead pass'd by,\n Bound on their way below to Hela's realm,\n Nor shook the bridge so much as thou alone.\n And thou hast flesh and colour on thy cheeks,\n Like men who live, and draw the vital air;\n Nor look'st thou pale and wan, like man deceased,\n Souls bound below, my daily passers here.\"\n\n Balder Dead (Matthew Arnold).\n\n\nHermod explained to Moedgud the reason of his coming, and, having\nascertained that Balder and Nanna had ridden over the bridge before\nhim, he hastened on, until he came to the gate, which rose forbiddingly\nbefore him.\n\nNothing daunted by this barrier, Hermod dismounted on the smooth ice,\nand tightening the girths of his saddle, remounted, and burying his\nspurs deep into Sleipnir's sleek sides, he put him to a prodigious\nleap, which landed them safely on the other side of Hel-gate.\n\n\n \"Thence on he journey'd o'er the fields of ice\n Still north, until he met a stretching wall\n Barring his way, and in the wall a grate.\n Then he dismounted, and drew tight the girths,\n On the smooth ice, of Sleipnir, Odin's horse,\n And made him leap the grate, and came within.\"\n\n Balder Dead (Matthew Arnold).\n\n\nRiding onward, Hermod came at last to Hel's banqueting-hall, where he\nfound Balder, pale and dejected, lying upon a couch, his wife Nanna\nbeside him, gazing fixedly at a beaker of mead, which apparently he\nhad no heart to quaff.\n\n\n\nThe Condition of Balder's Release\n\nIn vain Hermod informed his brother that he had come to redeem him;\nBalder shook his head sadly, saying that he knew he must remain in\nhis cheerless abode until the last day should come, but he implored\nHermod to take Nanna back with him, as the home of the shades was\nno place for such a bright and beautiful creature. But when Nanna\nheard this request she clung more closely to her husband's side,\nvowing that nothing would ever induce her to part from him, and that\nshe would stay with him for ever, even in Nifl-heim.\n\nThe long night was spent in close conversation, ere Hermod sought\nHel and implored her to release Balder. The churlish goddess listened\nin silence to his request, and declared finally that she would allow\nher victim to depart provided that all things animate and inanimate\nwould show their sorrow for his loss by shedding tears.\n\n\n \"Come then! if Balder was so dear beloved,\n And this is true, and such a loss is Heaven's--\n Hear, how to Heaven may Balder be restored.\n Show me through all the world the signs of grief!\n Fails but one thing to grieve, here Balder stops!\n Let all that lives and moves upon the earth\n Weep him, and all that is without life weep;\n Let Gods, men, brutes, beweep him; plants and stones.\n So shall I know the lost was dear indeed,\n And bend my heart, and give him back to Heaven.\"\n\n Balder Dead (Matthew Arnold).\n\n\nThis answer was full of encouragement, for all Nature mourned the\nloss of Balder, and surely there was nothing in all creation which\nwould withhold the tribute of a tear. So Hermod cheerfully made his\nway out of Hel's dark realm, carrying with him the ring Draupnir,\nwhich Balder sent back to Odin, an embroidered carpet from Nanna for\nFrigga, and a ring for Fulla.\n\n\n\nThe Return of Hermod\n\nThe assembled gods crowded anxiously round Hermod as soon as he\nreturned, and when he had delivered his messages and gifts, the AEsir\nsent heralds to every part of the world to bid all things animate\nand inanimate weep for Balder.\n\n\n \"Go quickly forth through all the world, and pray\n All living and unliving things to weep\n Balder, if haply he may thus be won!\"\n\n Balder Dead (Matthew Arnold).\n\n\nNorth, South, East and West rode the heralds, and as they passed tears\nfell from every plant and tree, so that the ground was saturated with\nmoisture, and metals and stones, despite their hard hearts, wept too.\n\nThe way at last led back to Asgard, and by the road-side was a dark\ncave, in which the messengers saw, crouching, the form of a giantess\nnamed Thok, whom some mythologists suppose to have been Loki in\ndisguise. When she was called upon to shed a tear, she mocked the\nheralds, and fleeing into the dark recesses of her cave, she declared\nthat no tear should fall from her eyes, and that, for all she cared,\nHel might retain her prey for ever.\n\n\n \"Thok she weepeth\n With dry tears\n For Balder's death--\n Neither in life, nor yet in death,\n Gave he me gladness.\n Let Hel keep her prey.\"\n\n Elder Edda (Howitt's version).\n\n\nAs soon as the returning messengers arrived in Asgard, the gods\ncrowded round them to learn the result of their mission; but their\nfaces, all aglow with the joy of anticipation, grew dark with despair\nwhen they heard that one creature had refused the tribute of tears,\nwherefore they would behold Balder in Asgard no more.\n\n\n \"Balder, the Beautiful, shall ne'er\n From Hel return to upper air!\n Betrayed by Loki, twice betrayed,\n The prisoner of Death is made;\n Ne'er shall he 'scape the place of doom\n Till fatal Ragnarok be come!\"\n\n Valhalla (J. C. Jones).\n\n\n\nVali the Avenger\n\nThe decrees of fate had not yet been fully consummated, and the final\nact of the tragedy remains to be briefly stated.\n\nWe have already seen how Odin succeeded after many rebuffs in securing\nthe consent of Rinda to their union, and that the son born of this\nmarriage was destined to avenge the death of Balder. The advent of\nthis wondrous infant now took place, and Vali the Avenger, as he\nwas called, entered Asgard on the day of his birth, and on that\nvery same day he slew Hodur with an arrow from a bundle which he\nseems to have carried for the purpose. Thus the murderer of Balder,\nunwitting instrument though he was, atoned for the crime with his\nblood, according to the code of the true Norseman.\n\n\n\nThe Signification of the Story\n\nThe physical explanation of this myth is to be found either in the\ndaily setting of the sun (Balder), which sinks beneath the western\nwaves, driven away by darkness (Hodur), or in the ending of the short\nNorthern summer and the long reign of the winter season. \"Balder\nrepresents the bright and clear summer, when twilight and daylight\nkiss each other and go hand in hand in these Northern latitudes.\"\n\n\n \"Balder's pyre, of the sun a mark,\n Holy hearth red staineth;\n Yet, soon dies its last faint spark,\n Darkly then Hoder reigneth.\"\n\n Viking Tales of the North (R. B. Anderson).\n\n\n\"His death by Hodur is the victory of darkness over light, the darkness\nof winter over the light of summer; and the revenge by Vali is the\nbreaking forth of new light after the wintry darkness.\"\n\nLoki, the fire, is jealous of Balder, the pure light of heaven, who\nalone among the Northern gods never fought, but was always ready with\nwords of conciliation and peace.\n\n\n \"But from thy lips, O Balder, night or day,\n Heard no one ever an injurious word\n To God or Hero, but thou keptest back\n The others, labouring to compose their brawls.\"\n\n Balder Dead (Matthew Arnold).\n\n\nThe tears shed by all things for the beloved god are symbolical of\nthe spring thaw, setting in after the hardness and cold of winter,\nwhen every tree and twig, and even the stones drip with moisture;\nThok (coal) alone shows no sign of tenderness, as she is buried deep\nwithin the dark earth and needs not the light of the sun.\n\n\n \"And as in winter, when the frost breaks up,\n At winter's end, before the spring begins,\n And a warm west wind blows, and thaw sets in--\n After an hour a dripping sound is heard\n In all the forests, and the soft-strewn snow\n Under the trees is dibbled thick with holes,\n And from the boughs the snow loads shuffle down;\n And, in fields sloping to the south, dark plots\n Of grass peep out amid surrounding snow,\n And widen, and the peasant's heart is glad--\n So through the world was heard a dripping noise\n Of all things weeping to bring Balder back;\n And there fell joy upon the Gods to hear.\"\n\n Balder Dead (Matthew Arnold).\n\n\nFrom the depths of their underground prison, the sun (Balder) and\nvegetation (Nanna) try to cheer heaven (Odin) and earth (Frigga)\nby sending them the ring Draupnir, the emblem of fertility, and the\nflowery tapestry, symbolical of the carpet of verdure which will\nagain deck the earth and enhance her charms with its beauty.\n\nThe ethical signification of the myth is no less beautiful, for Balder\nand Hodur are symbols of the conflicting forces of good and evil,\nwhile Loki impersonates the tempter.\n\n\n \"But in each human soul we find\n That night's dark Hoder, Balder's brother blind,\n Is born and waxeth strong as he;\n For blind is ev'ry evil born, as bear cubs be,\n Night is the cloak of evil; but all good\n Hath ever clad in shining garments stood.\n The busy Loke, tempter from of old,\n Still forward treads incessant, and doth hold\n The blind one's murder hand, whose quick-launch'd spear\n Pierceth young Balder's breast, that sun of Valhal's sphere!\"\n\n Viking Tales of the North (R. B. Anderson).\n\n\n\nThe Worship of Balder\n\nOne of the most important festivals was held at the summer solstice,\nor midsummer's eve, in honour of Balder the good, for it was\nconsidered the anniversary of his death and of his descent into\nthe lower world. On that day, the longest in the year, the people\ncongregated out of doors, made great bonfires, and watched the sun,\nwhich in extreme Northern latitudes barely dips beneath the horizon\nere it rises upon a new day. From midsummer, the days gradually grow\nshorter, and the sun's rays less warm, until the winter solstice,\nwhich was called the \"Mother night,\" as it was the longest night\nin the year. Midsummer's eve, once celebrated in honour of Balder,\nis now called St. John's day, that saint having entirely supplanted\nBalder the good.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXII: LOKI\n\n\nThe Spirit of Evil\n\nBesides the hideous giant Utgard-Loki, the personification of mischief\nand evil, whom Thor and his companions visited in Joetun-heim, the\nancient Northern nations had another type of sin, whom they called\nLoki also, and whom we have already seen under many different aspects.\n\nIn the beginning, Loki was merely the personification of the hearth\nfire and of the spirit of life. At first a god, he gradually becomes\n\"god and devil combined,\" and ends in being held in general detestation\nas an exact counterpart of the mediaeval Lucifer, the prince of lies,\n\"the originator of deceit, and the back-biter\" of the AEsir.\n\nBy some authorities Loki was said to be the brother of Odin, but\nothers assert that the two were not related, but had merely gone\nthrough the form of swearing blood brotherhood common in the North.\n\n\n \"Odin! dost thou remember\n When we in early days\n Blended our blood together?\n When to taste beer\n Thou did'st constantly refuse\n Unless to both 'twas offered?\"\n\n Saemund's Edda (Thorpe's tr.).\n\n\n\nLoki's Character\n\nWhile Thor is the embodiment of Northern activity, Loki represents\nrecreation, and the close companionship early established between\nthese two gods shows very plainly how soon our ancestors realised that\nboth were necessary to the welfare of mankind. Thor is ever busy and\never in earnest, but Loki makes fun of everything, until at last his\nlove of mischief leads him entirely astray, and he loses all love\nfor goodness and becomes utterly selfish and malevolent.\n\nHe represents evil in the seductive and seemingly beautiful form\nin which it parades through the world. Because of this deceptive\nappearance the gods did not at first avoid him, but treated him as one\nof themselves in all good-fellowship, taking him with them wherever\nthey went, and admitting him not only to their merry-makings, but also\nto their council hall, where, unfortunately, they too often listened\nto his advice.\n\nAs we have already seen, Loki played a prominent part in the creation\nof man, endowing him with the power of motion, and causing the blood\nto circulate freely through his veins, whereby he was inspired with\npassions. As personification of fire as well as of mischief, Loki\n(lightning) is often seen with Thor (thunder), whom he accompanies\nto Joetun-heim to recover his hammer, to Utgard-Loki's castle, and\nto Geirrod's house. It is he who steals Freya's necklace and Sif's\nhair, and betrays Idun into the power of Thiassi; and although he\nsometimes gives the gods good advice and affords them real help,\nit is only to extricate them from some predicament into which he has\nrashly inveigled them.\n\nSome authorities declare that, instead of making part of the creative\ntrilogy (Odin, Hoenir, and Lodur or Loki), this god originally\nbelonged to a pre-Odinic race of deities, and was the son of the\ngreat giant Fornjotnr (Ymir), his brothers being Kari (air) and Hler\n(water), and his sister Ran, the terrible goddess of the sea. Other\nmythologists, however, make him the son of the giant Farbauti, who\nhas been identified with Bergelmir, the sole survivor of the deluge,\nand of Laufeia (leafy isle) or Nal (vessel), his mother, thus stating\nthat his connection with Odin was only that of the Northern oath\nof good-fellowship.\n\nLoki (fire) first married Glut (glow), who bore him two daughters,\nEisa (embers) and Einmyria (ashes); it is therefore very evident\nthat Norsemen considered him emblematic of the hearth-fire, and when\nthe flaming wood crackles on the hearth the goodwives in the North\nare still wont to say that Loki is beating his children. Besides\nthis wife, Loki is also said to have wedded the giantess Angur-boda\n(the anguish-boding), who dwelt in Joetun-heim, and who, as we have\nalready seen, bore him the three monsters: Hel, goddess of death,\nthe Midgard snake Ioermungandr, and the grim wolf Fenris.\n\n\n \"Loki begat the wolf\n With Angur-boda.\"\n\n Saemund's Edda (Thorpe's tr.).\n\n\n\nSigyn\n\nLoki's third marriage was with Sigyn, who proved a most loving and\ndevoted wife, and bore him two sons, Narve and Vali, the latter a\nnamesake of the god who avenged Balder. Sigyn was always faithful\nto her husband, and did not forsake him even after he had definitely\nbeen cast out of Asgard and confined in the bowels of the earth.\n\nAs Loki was the embodiment of evil in the minds of the Northern races,\nthey entertained nothing but fear of him, built no temples to his\nhonour, offered no sacrifices to him, and designated the most noxious\nweeds by his name. The quivering, overheated atmosphere of summer was\nsupposed to betoken his presence, for the people were then wont to\nremark that Loki was sowing his wild oats, and when the sun appeared\nto be drawing water they said Loki was drinking.\n\nThe story of Loki is so inextricably woven with that of the other\ngods that most of the myths relating to him have already been told,\nand there remain but two episodes of his life to relate, one showing\nhis better side before he had degenerated into the arch deceiver,\nand the other illustrating how he finally induced the gods to defile\ntheir peace-steads by wilful murder.\n\n\n\nSkrymsli and the Peasant's Child\n\nA giant and a peasant were playing a game together one day (probably a\ngame of chess, which was a favourite winter pastime with the Northern\nvikings). They of course had determined to play for certain stakes,\nand the giant, being victorious, won the peasant's only son, whom he\nsaid he would come and claim on the morrow unless the parents could\nhide him so cleverly that he could not be found.\n\nKnowing that such a feat would be impossible for them to perform,\nthe parents fervently prayed to Odin to help them, and in answer to\ntheir entreaties the god came down to earth, and changed the boy into\na tiny grain of wheat, which he hid in an ear of grain in the midst\nof a large field, declaring that the giant would not be able to find\nhim. The giant Skrymsli, however, possessed wisdom far beyond what\nOdin imagined, and, failing to find the child at home, he strode\noff immediately to the field with his scythe, and mowing the wheat\nhe selected the particular ear where the boy was hidden. Counting\nover the grains of wheat he was about to lay his hand upon the right\none when Odin, hearing the child's cry of distress, snatched the\nkernel out of the giant's hand, and restored the boy to his parents,\ntelling them that he had done all in his power to help them. But as\nthe giant vowed he had been cheated, and would again claim the boy\non the morrow unless the parents could outwit him, the unfortunate\npeasants now turned to Hoenir for aid. The god heard them graciously\nand changed the boy into a fluff of down, which he hid in the breast\nof a swan swimming in a pond close by. Now when, a few minutes later,\nSkrymsli came up, he guessed what had occurred, and seizing the swan,\nhe bit off its neck, and would have swallowed the down had not Hoenir\nwafted it away from his lips and out of reach, restoring the boy safe\nand sound to his parents, but telling them that he could not further\naid them.\n\nSkrymsli warned the parents that he would make a third attempt to\nsecure the child, whereupon they applied in their despair to Loki,\nwho carried the boy out to sea, and concealed him, as a tiny egg,\nin the roe of a flounder. Returning from his expedition, Loki\nencountered the giant near the shore, and seeing that he was bent\nupon a fishing excursion, he insisted upon accompanying him. He felt\nsomewhat uneasy lest the terrible giant should have seen through his\ndevice, and therefore thought it would be well for him to be on the\nspot in case of need. Skrymsli baited his hook, and was more or less\nsuccessful in his angling, when suddenly he drew up the identical\nflounder in which Loki had concealed his little charge. Opening the\nfish upon his knee, the giant proceeded to minutely examine the roe,\nuntil he found the egg which he was seeking.\n\nThe plight of the boy was certainly perilous, but Loki, watching his\nchance, snatched the egg out of the giant's grasp, and transforming it\nagain into the child, he instructed him secretly to run home, passing\nthrough the boathouse on his way and closing the door behind him. The\nterrified boy did as he was told immediately he found himself on land,\nand the giant, quick to observe his flight, dashed after him into\nthe boathouse. Now Loki had cunningly placed a sharp spike in such a\nposition that the great head of the giant ran full tilt against it,\nand he sank to the ground with a groan, whereupon Loki, seeing him\nhelpless, cut off one of his legs. Imagine the god's dismay, however,\nwhen he saw the pieces join and immediately knit together. But Loki\nwas a master of guile, and recognising this as the work of magic, he\ncut off the other leg, promptly throwing flint and steel between the\nsevered limb and trunk, and thereby hindering any further sorcery. The\npeasants were immensely relieved to find that their enemy was slain,\nand ever after they considered Loki the mightiest of all the heavenly\ncouncil, for he had delivered them effectually from their foe, while\nthe other gods had lent only temporary aid.\n\n\n\nThe Giant Architect\n\nNotwithstanding their wonderful bridge Bifroest, the tremulous way,\nand the watchfulness of Heimdall, the gods could not feel entirely\nsecure in Asgard, and were often fearful lest the frost giants should\nmake their way into Asgard. To obviate this possibility, they finally\ndecided to build an impregnable fortress; and while they were planning\nhow this could be done, an unknown architect came with an offer to\nundertake the construction, provided the gods would give him sun, moon,\nand Freya, goddess of youth and beauty, as reward. The gods were wroth\nat so presumptuous an offer, but when they would have indignantly\ndriven the stranger from their presence, Loki urged them to make a\nbargain which it would be impossible for the stranger to keep, and\nso they finally told the architect that the guerdon should be his,\nprovided the fortress were finished in the course of a single winter,\nand that he accomplished the work with no other assistance than that\nof his horse Svadilfare.\n\n\n \"To Asgard came an architect,\n And castle offered to erect,--\n A castle high\n Which should defy\n Deep Jotun guile and giant raid;\n And this most wily compact made:\n Fair Freya, with the Moon and Sun,\n As price the fortress being done.\"\n\n Valhalla (J.C. Jones).\n\n\nThe unknown architect agreed to these seemingly impossible conditions,\nand immediately set to work, hauling ponderous blocks of stone by\nnight, building during the day, and progressing so rapidly that\nthe gods began to feel somewhat anxious. Ere long they noticed that\nmore than half the labour was accomplished by the wonderful steed\nSvadilfare, and when they saw, near the end of winter, that the work\nwas finished save only one portal, which they knew the architect\ncould easily erect during the night:\n\n\n \"Horror and fear the gods beset;\n Finished almost the castle stood!\n In three days more\n The work be o'er;\n Then must they make their contract good,\n And pay the awful debt.\"\n\n Valhalla (J. C. Jones).\n\n\nTerrified lest they should be called upon to part, not only with the\nsun and moon, but also with Freya, the personification of the youth\nand beauty of the world, the gods turned upon Loki, and threatened\nto kill him unless he devised some means of hindering the architect\nfrom finishing the work within the specified time.\n\nLoki's cunning proved once more equal to the situation. He waited until\nnightfall of the final day, when, as Svadilfare passed the fringe of a\nforest, painfully dragging one of the great blocks of stone required\nfor the termination of the work, he rushed out from a dark glade\nin the guise of a mare, and neighed so invitingly that, in a trice,\nthe horse kicked himself free of his harness and ran after the mare,\nclosely pursued by his angry master. The mare galloped swiftly on,\nartfully luring horse and master deeper and deeper into the forest\nshades, until the night was nearly gone, and it was no longer possible\nto finish the work. The architect was none other than a redoubtable\nHrim-thurs, in disguise, and he now returned to Asgard in a towering\nrage at the fraud which had been practised upon him. Assuming his\nwonted proportions, he would have annihilated the gods had not Thor\nsuddenly returned from a journey and slain him with his magic hammer\nMioelnir, which he hurled with terrific force full in his face.\n\nThe gods had saved themselves on this occasion only by fraud and by\nthe violent deed of Thor, and these were destined to bring great sorrow\nupon them, and eventually to secure their downfall, and to hasten the\ncoming of Ragnarok. Loki, however, felt no remorse for his part, and\nin due time, it is said, he became the parent of an eight-footed steed\ncalled Sleipnir, which, as we have seen, was Odin's favourite mount.\n\n\n \"But Sleipnir he begat\n With Svadilfari.\"\n\n Lay of Hyndla (Thorpe's tr.).\n\n\nLoki performed so many evil deeds during his career that he richly\ndeserved the title of \"arch deceiver\" which was given him. He was\ngenerally hated for his subtle malicious ways, and for an inveterate\nhabit of prevarication which won for him also the title of \"prince\nof lies.\"\n\n\n\nLoki's last Crime\n\nLoki's last crime, and the one which filled his measure of iniquity,\nwas to induce Hodur to throw the fatal mistletoe at Balder, whom he\nhated merely on account of his immaculate purity. Perhaps even this\ncrime might have been condoned had it not been for his obduracy when,\nin the disguise of the old woman Thok, he was called upon to shed a\ntear for Balder. His action on this occasion convinced the gods that\nnothing but evil remained within him, and they pronounced unanimously\nupon him the sentence of perpetual banishment from Asgard.\n\n\n\nAEgir's Banquet\n\nTo divert the gods' sadness and make them, for a short time, forget\nthe treachery of Loki and the loss of Balder, AEgir, god of the sea,\ninvited them to partake of a banquet in his coral caves at the bottom\nof the sea.\n\n\n \"Now, to assuage the high gods' grief\n And bring their mourning some relief,\n From coral caves\n 'Neath ocean waves,\n Mighty King AEgir\n Invited the AEsir\n To festival\n In Hlesey's hall;\n That, tho' for Baldur every guest\n Was grieving yet,\n He might forget\n Awhile his woe in friendly feast.\"\n\n Valhalla (J. C. Jones).\n\n\nThe gods gladly accepted the invitation, and clad in their richest\ngarb, and with festive smiles, they appeared in the coral caves at\nthe appointed time. None were absent save the radiant Balder, for\nwhom many a regretful sigh was heaved, and the evil Loki, whom none\ncould regret. In the course of the feast, however, this last-named\ngod appeared in their midst like a dark shadow, and when bidden to\ndepart, he gave vent to his evil passions in a torrent of invective\nagainst the gods.\n\n\n \"Of the AEsir and the Alfar\n That are here within\n Not one has a friendly word for thee.\"\n\n AEgir's Compotation, or Loki's Altercation (Thorpe's tr.).\n\n\nThen, jealous of the praises which Funfeng, AEgir's servant, had won\nfor the dexterity with which he waited upon his master's guests,\nLoki suddenly turned upon him and slew him. At this wanton crime,\nthe gods in fierce wrath drove Loki away once more, threatening him\nwith dire punishment should he ever appear before them again.\n\nScarcely had the AEsir recovered from this disagreeable interruption\nto their feast, and resumed their places at the board, when Loki\ncame creeping in once more, resuming his slanders with venomous\ntongue, and taunting the gods with their weaknesses or shortcomings,\ndwelling maliciously upon their physical imperfections, and deriding\nthem for their mistakes. In vain the gods tried to stem his abuse;\nhis voice rose louder and louder, and he was just giving utterance to\nsome base slander about Sif, when he was suddenly cut short by the\nsight of Thor's hammer, angrily brandished by an arm whose power he\nknew full well, and he fled incontinently.\n\n\n \"Silence, thou impure being!\n My mighty hammer, Mioellnir,\n Shall stop thy prating.\n I will thy head\n From thy neck strike;\n Then will thy life be ended.\"\n\n AEgir's Compotation, or Loki's Altercation (Thorpe's tr.).\n\n\n\nThe Pursuit of Loki\n\nKnowing that he could now have no hope of being admitted into Asgard\nagain, and that sooner or later the gods, seeing the effect of his\nevil deeds, would regret having permitted him to roam the world, and\nwould try either to bind or slay him, Loki withdrew to the mountains,\nwhere he built himself a hut, with four doors which he always left\nwide open to permit of a hasty escape. Carefully laying his plans,\nhe decided that if the gods should come in search of him he would\nrush down to the neighbouring cataract, according to tradition the\nFraananger force or stream, and, changing himself into a salmon,\nwould thus evade his pursuers. He reasoned, however, that although\nhe could easily avoid any hook, it might be difficult for him to\neffect his escape if the gods should fashion a net like that of the\nsea-goddess Ran.\n\nHaunted by this fear, he decided to test the possibility of making\nsuch a mesh, and started to make one out of twine. He was still\nengaged upon the task when Odin, Kvasir, and Thor suddenly appeared\nin the distance; and knowing that they had discovered his retreat,\nLoki threw his half-finished net into the fire, and, rushing through\none of his ever-open doors, he leaped into the waterfall, where, in the\nshape of a salmon, he hid among some stones in the bed of the stream.\n\nThe gods, finding the hut empty, were about to depart, when Kvasir\nperceived the remains of the burnt net on the hearth. After some\nthought an inspiration came to him, and he advised the gods to weave\na similar implement and use it in searching for their foe in the\nneighbouring stream, since it would be like Loki to choose such a\nmethod of baffling their pursuit. This advice seemed good and was\nimmediately followed, and, the net finished, the gods proceeded to\ndrag the stream. Loki eluded the net at its first cast by hiding\nat the bottom of the river between two stones; and when the gods\nweighted the mesh and tried a second time, he effected his escape by\njumping up stream. A third attempt to secure him proved successful,\nhowever, for, as he once more tried to get away by a sudden leap,\nThor caught him in mid-air and held him so fast, that he could not\nescape. The salmon, whose slipperiness is proverbial in the North,\nis noted for its remarkably slim tail, and Norsemen attribute this\nto Thor's tight grasp upon his foe.\n\n\n\nLoki's Punishment\n\nLoki now sullenly resumed his wonted shape, and his captors dragged\nhim down into a cavern, where they made him fast, using as bonds the\nentrails of his son Narve, who had been torn to pieces by Vali, his\nbrother, whom the gods had changed into a wolf for the purpose. One\nof these fetters was passed under Loki's shoulders, and one under\nhis loins, thereby securing him firmly hand and foot; but the gods,\nnot feeling quite satisfied that the strips, tough and enduring though\nthey were, would not give way, changed them into adamant or iron.\n\n\n \"Thee, on a rock's point,\n With the entrails of thy ice-cold son,\n The gods will bind.\"\n\n Saemund's Edda (Thorpe's tr.).\n\n\nSkadi, the giantess, a personification of the cold mountain stream,\nwho had joyfully watched the fettering of her foe (subterranean\nfire), now fastened a serpent directly over his head, so that its\nvenom would fall, drop by drop, upon his upturned face. But Sigyn,\nLoki's faithful wife, hurried with a cup to his side, and until the\nday of Ragnarok she remained by him, catching the drops as they fell,\nand never leaving her post except when her vessel was full, and she was\nobliged to empty it. Only during her short absences could the drops\nof venom fall upon Loki's face, and then they caused such intense\npain that he writhed with anguish, his efforts to get free shaking\nthe earth and producing the earthquakes which so frighten mortals.\n\n\n \"Ere they left him in his anguish,\n O'er his treacherous brow, ungrateful,\n Skadi hung a serpent hateful,\n Venom drops for aye distilling,\n Every nerve with torment filling;\n Thus shall he in horror languish.\n By him, still unwearied kneeling,\n Sigyn at his tortured side,--\n Faithful wife! with beaker stealing\n Drops of venom as they fall,--\n Agonising poison all!\n Sleepless, changeless, ever dealing\n Comfort, will she still abide;\n Only when the cup's o'erflowing\n Must fresh pain and smarting cause,\n Swift, to void the beaker going,\n Shall she in her watching pause.\n Then doth Loki\n Loudly cry;\n Shrieks of terror,\n Groans of horror,\n Breaking forth in thunder peals\n With his writhings scared Earth reels.\n Trembling and quaking,\n E'en high Heav'n shaking!\n So wears he out his awful doom,\n Until dread Ragnarok be come.\"\n\n Valhalla (J. C. Jones).\n\n\nIn this painful position Loki was destined to remain until the twilight\nof the gods, when his bonds would be loosed, and he would take part\nin the fatal conflict on the battlefield of Vigrid, falling at last\nby the hand of Heimdall, who would be slain at the same time.\n\nAs we have seen, the venom-dropping snake in this myth is the\ncold mountain stream, whose waters, falling from time to time\nupon subterranean fire, evaporate in steam, which escapes through\nfissures, and causes earthquakes and geysers, phenomena with which\nthe inhabitants of Iceland, for instance, were very familiar.\n\n\n\nLoki's Day\n\nWhen the gods were reduced to the rank of demons by the introduction of\nChristianity, Loki was confounded with Saturn, who had also been shorn\nof his divine attributes, and both were considered the prototypes of\nSatan. The last day of the week, which was held sacred to Loki, was\nknown in the Norse as Laugardag, or wash-day, but in English it was\nchanged to Saturday, and was said to owe its name not to Saturn but\nto Sataere, the thief in ambush, and the Teutonic god of agriculture,\nwho is supposed to be merely another personification of Loki.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXIII: THE GIANTS\n\n\nJoetun-heim\n\nAs we have already seen, the Northern races imagined that the giants\nwere the first creatures who came to life among the icebergs which\nfilled the vast abyss of Ginnunga-gap. These giants were from the\nvery beginning the opponents and rivals of the gods, and as the\nlatter were the personifications of all that is good and lovely,\nthe former were representative of all that was ugly and evil.\n\n\n \"He comes--he comes--the Frost Spirit comes! on the rushing\n northern blast,\n And the dark Norwegian pines have bowed as his fearful breath\n went past.\n With an unscorched wing he has hurried on, where the fires on\n Hecla glow\n On the darkly beautiful sky above and the ancient ice below.\"\n\n J. G. Whittier.\n\n\nWhen Ymir, the first giant, fell lifeless on the ice, slain by the\ngods, his progeny were drowned in his blood. One couple only, Bergelmir\nand his wife, effected their escape to Joetun-heim, where they took\nup their abode and became the parents of all the giant race. In the\nNorth the giants were called by various names, each having a particular\nmeaning. Joetun, for instance, meant \"the great eater,\" for the giants\nwere noted for their enormous appetites as well as for their uncommon\nsize. They were fond of drinking as well as of eating, wherefore they\nwere also called Thurses, a word which some writers claim had the\nsame meaning as thirst; but others think they owed this name to the\nhigh towers (\"turseis\") which they were supposed to have built. As the\ngiants were antagonistic to the gods, the latter always strove to force\nthem to remain in Joetun-heim, which was situated in the cold regions of\nthe Pole. The giants were almost invariably worsted in their encounters\nwith the gods, for they were heavy and slow-witted, and had nothing\nbut stone weapons to oppose to the AEsir's bronze. In spite of this\ninequality, however, they were sometimes greatly envied by the gods,\nfor they were thoroughly conversant with all knowledge relating to\nthe past. Even Odin was envious of this attribute, and no sooner had\nhe secured it by a draught from Mimir's spring than he hastened to\nJoetun-heim to measure himself against Vafthrudnir, the most learned\nof the giant brood. But he might never have succeeded in defeating\nhis antagonist in this strange encounter had he not ceased inquiring\nabout the past and propounded a question relating to the future.\n\nOf all the gods Thor was most feared by the Joetuns, for he was\ncontinually waging war against the frost and mountain giants,\nwho would fain have bound the earth for ever in their rigid bands,\nthus preventing men from tilling the soil. In fighting against them,\nThor, as we have already seen, generally had recourse to his terrible\nhammer Mioelnir.\n\n\n\nOrigin of the Mountains\n\nAccording to German legends the uneven surface of the earth was due\nto the giants, who marred its smoothness by treading upon it while\nit was still soft and newly created, while streams were formed from\nthe copious tears shed by the giantesses upon seeing the valleys made\nby their husbands' huge footprints. As such was the Teutonic belief,\nthe people imagined that the giants, who personified the mountains\nto them, were huge uncouth creatures, who could only move about in\nthe darkness or fog, and were petrified as soon as the first rays of\nsunlight pierced through the gloom or scattered the clouds.\n\nThis belief led them to name one of their principal mountain chains\nthe Riesengebirge (giant mountains). The Scandinavians also shared\nthis belief, and to this day the Icelanders designate their highest\nmountain peaks by the name of Jokul, a modification of the word\n\"Joetun.\" In Switzerland, where the everlasting snows rest upon the\nlofty mountain tops, the people still relate old stories of the time\nwhen the giants roamed abroad; and when an avalanche came crashing\ndown the mountain side, they say the giants have restlessly shaken\noff part of the icy burden from their brows and shoulders.\n\n\n\nThe First Gods\n\nAs the giants were also personifications of snow, ice, cold, stone, and\nsubterranean fire, they were said to be descended from the primitive\nFornjotnr, whom some authorities identify with Ymir. According to this\nversion of the myth, Fornjotnr had three sons: Hler, the sea; Kari, the\nair; and Loki, fire. These three divinities, the first gods, formed the\noldest trinity, and their respective descendants were the sea giants\nMimir, Gymir, and Grendel, the storm giants Thiassi, Thrym, and Beli,\nand the giants of fire and death, such as the Fenris wolf and Hel.\n\nAs all the royal dynasties claimed descent from some mythical being,\nthe Merovingians asserted that their first progenitor was a sea giant,\nwho rose out of the waves in the form of an ox, and surprised the\nqueen while she was walking alone on the seashore, compelling her to\nbecome his wife. She gave birth to a son named Meroveus, the founder\nof the first dynasty of Frankish kings.\n\nMany stories have already been told about the most important\ngiants. They reappear in many of the later myths and fairy-tales,\nand manifest, after the introduction of Christianity, a peculiar\ndislike to the sound of church bells and the singing of monks and nuns.\n\n\n\nThe Giant in Love\n\nThe Scandinavians relate, in this connection, that in the days\nof Olaf the Saint a giant called Senjemand, dwelt on the Island of\nSenjen, and he was greatly incensed because a nun on the Island of\nGrypto daily sang her morning hymn. This giant fell in love with a\nbeautiful maiden called Juterna-jesta, and it was long ere he could\nfind courage to propose to her. When at last he made his halting\nrequest, the fair damsel scornfully rejected him, declaring that he\nwas far too old and ugly for her taste.\n\n\n \"Miserable Senjemand--ugly and grey!\n Thou win the maid of Kvedfiord!\n No--a churl thou art and shalt ever remain.\"\n\n Ballad (Brace's tr.).\n\n\nIn his anger at being thus scornfully refused, the giant swore\nvengeance, and soon after he shot a great flint arrow from his bow\nat the maiden, who dwelt eighty miles away. Another lover, Torge,\nalso a giant, seeing her peril and wishing to protect her, flung\nhis hat at the speeding arrow. This hat was a thousand feet high\nand proportionately broad and thick, nevertheless the arrow pierced\nthe headgear, falling short, however, of its aim. Senjemand, seeing\nthat he had failed, and fearing the wrath of Torge, mounted his steed\nand prepared to ride off as quickly as possible; but the sun, rising\njust then above the horizon, turned him into stone, together with the\narrow and Torge's hat, the huge pile being known as the Torghatten\nmountain. The people still point to an obelisk which they say is the\nstone arrow; to a hole in the mountain, 289 feet high and 88 feet wide,\nwhich they say is the aperture made by the arrow in its flight through\nthe hat; and to the horseman on Senjen Island, apparently riding a\ncolossal steed and drawing the folds of his wide cavalry cloak closely\nabout him. As for the nun whose singing had so disturbed Senjemand, she\nwas petrified too, and never troubled any one with her psalmody again.\n\n\n\nThe Giant and the Church Bells\n\nAnother legend relates that one of the mountain giants, annoyed by\nthe ringing of church bells more than fifty miles away, once caught\nup a huge rock, which he hurled at the sacred building. Fortunately\nit fell short and broke in two. Ever since then, the peasants say\nthat the trolls come on Christmas Eve to raise the largest piece of\nstone upon golden pillars, and to dance and feast beneath it. A lady,\nwishing to know whether this tale were true, once sent her groom\nto the place. The trolls came forward and hospitably offered him a\ndrink from a horn mounted in gold and ornamented with runes. Seizing\nthe horn, the groom flung its contents away and dashed off with it\nat a mad gallop, closely pursued by the trolls, from whom he escaped\nonly by passing through a stubble field and over running water. Some\nof their number visited the lady on the morrow to claim this horn,\nand when she refused to part with it they laid a curse upon her,\ndeclaring that her castle would be burned down every time the horn\nshould be removed. The prediction has thrice been fulfilled, and now\nthe family guard the relic with superstitious care. A similar drinking\nvessel, obtained in much the same fashion by the Oldenburg family,\nis exhibited in the collection of the King of Denmark.\n\nThe giants were not supposed to remain stationary, but were said to\nmove about in the darkness, sometimes transporting masses of earth\nand sand, which they dropped here and there. The sandhills in northern\nGermany and Denmark were supposed to have been thus formed.\n\n\n\nThe Giants' Ship\n\nA North Frisian tradition relates that the giants possessed a colossal\nship, called Mannigfual, which constantly cruised about in the Atlantic\nOcean. Such was the size of this vessel that the captain was said\nto patrol the deck on horseback, while the rigging was so extensive\nand the masts so high that the sailors who went up as youths came\ndown as gray-haired men, having rested and refreshed themselves in\nrooms fashioned and provisioned for that purpose in the huge blocks\nand pulleys.\n\nBy some mischance it happened that the pilot once directed the immense\nvessel into the North Sea, and wishing to return to the Atlantic\nas soon as possible, yet not daring to turn in such a small space,\nhe steered into the English Channel. Imagine the dismay of all on\nboard when they saw the passage growing narrower and narrower the\nfarther they advanced. When they came to the narrowest spot, between\nCalais and Dover, it seemed barely possible that the vessel, drifting\nalong with the current, could force its way through. The captain,\nwith laudable presence of mind, promptly bade his men soap the sides\nof the ship, and to lay an extra-thick layer on the starboard, where\nthe rugged cliffs of Dover rose threateningly. These orders were no\nsooner carried out than the vessel entered the narrow space, and,\nthanks to the captain's precaution, it slipped safely through. The\nrocks of Dover scraped off so much soap, however, that ever since\nthey have been particularly white, and the waves dashing against them\nstill have an unusually foamy appearance.\n\nThis exciting experience was not the only one through which the\nMannigfual passed, for we are told that it once, nobody knows how,\npenetrated into the Baltic Sea, where, the water not being deep enough\nto keep the vessel afloat, the captain ordered all the ballast to be\nthrown overboard. The material thus cast on either side of the vessel\ninto the sea formed the two islands of Bornholm and Christiansoe.\n\n\n\nPrincess Ilse\n\nIn Thuringia and in the Black Forest the stories of the giants are\nlegion, and one of the favourites with the peasants is that about\nIlse, the lovely daughter of the giant of the Ilsenstein. She was so\ncharming that far and wide she was known as the Beautiful Princess\nIlse, and was wooed by many knights, of whom she preferred the Lord of\nWesterburg. But her father did not at all approve of her consorting\nwith a mere mortal, and forbade her to see her lover. Princess Ilse\nwas wilful, however, and in spite of her sire's prohibition she\ndaily visited her lover. The giant, exasperated by her persistency\nand disobedience, finally stretched out his huge hands and, seizing\nthe rocks, tore a great gap between the height where he dwelt and the\ncastle of Westerburg. Upon this, Princess Ilse, going to the cleft\nwhich parted her from her lover, recklessly flung herself over the\nprecipice into the raging flood beneath, and was there changed into\na bewitching undine. She dwelt in the limpid waters for many a year,\nappearing from time to time to exercise her fascinations upon mortals,\nand even, it is said, captivating the affections of the Emperor\nHenry, who paid frequent visits to her cascade. Her last appearance,\naccording to popular belief, was at Pentecost, a hundred years ago;\nand the natives have not yet ceased to look for the beautiful princess,\nwho is said still to haunt the stream and to wave her white arms to\nentice travellers into the cool spray of the waterfall.\n\n\n \"I am the Princess Ilse,\n And I dwell at the Ilsenstein;\n Come with me to my castle,\n And bliss shall be mine and thine.\n\n \"With the cool of my glass-clear waters\n Thy brow and thy locks I'll lave;\n And thou'lt think of thy sorrows no longer,\n For all that thou look'st so grave.\n\n \"With my white arms twined around thee,\n And lapped on my breast so white,\n Thou shalt lie, and dream of elf-land--\n Its loves and wild delight.\"\n\n Heine (Martin's tr.).\n\n\n\nThe Giantess's Plaything\n\nThe giants inhabited all the earth before it was given to mankind, and\nit was only with reluctance that they made way for the human race, and\nretreated into the waste and barren parts of the country, where they\nbrought up their families in strict seclusion. Such was the ignorance\nof their offspring, that a young giantess, straying from home, once\ncame to an inhabited valley, where for the first time in her life she\nsaw a farmer ploughing on the hillside. Deeming him a pretty plaything,\nshe caught him up with his team, and thrusting them into her apron,\nshe gleefully carried them home to exhibit to her father. But the\ngiant immediately bade her carry peasant and horses back to the place\nwhere she had found them, and when she had done so he sadly explained\nthat the creatures whom she took for mere playthings, would eventually\ndrive the giant folk away, and become masters of the earth.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXIV: THE DWARFS\n\n\nLittle Men\n\nIn the first chapter we saw how the black elves, dwarfs, or\nSvart-alfar, were bred like maggots in the flesh of the slain giant\nYmir. The gods, perceiving these tiny, unformed creatures creeping in\nand out, gave them form and features, and they became known as dark\nelves, on account of their swarthy complexions. These small beings\nwere so homely, with their dark skin, green eyes, large heads, short\nlegs, and crow's feet, that they were enjoined to hide underground,\nbeing commanded never to show themselves during the daytime lest they\nshould be turned into stone. Although less powerful than the gods,\nthey were far more intelligent than men, and as their knowledge was\nboundless and extended even to the future, gods and men were equally\nanxious to question them.\n\nThe dwarfs were also known as trolls, kobolds, brownies, goblins,\npucks, or Huldra folk, according to the country where they dwelt.\n\n\n \"You are the grey, grey Troll,\n With the great green eyes,\n But I love you, grey, grey Troll--\n You are so wise!\n\n \"Tell me this sweet morn,\n Tell me all you know--\n Tell me, was I born?\n Tell me, did I grow?\"\n\n The Legend of the Little Fay (Buchanan).\n\n\n\nThe Tarnkappe\n\nThese little beings could transport themselves with marvellous celerity\nfrom one place to another, and they loved to conceal themselves\nbehind rocks, when they would mischievously repeat the last words\nof conversations overheard from such hiding-places. Owing to this\nwell-known trick, the echoes were called dwarfs' talk, and people\nfancied that the reason why the makers of such sounds were never\nseen was because each dwarf was the proud possessor of a tiny red\ncap which made the wearer invisible. This cap was called Tarnkappe,\nand without it the dwarfs dared not appear above the surface of the\nearth after sunrise for fear of being petrified. When wearing it they\nwere safe from this peril.\n\n\n \"Away! let not the sun view me--\n I dare no longer stay;\n An Elfin-child, thou wouldst me see,\n To stone turn at his ray.\"\n\n La Motte-Fouque.\n\n\n\nThe Legend of Kallundborg\n\nHelva, daughter of the Lord of Nesvek, was loved by Esbern Snare,\nwhose suit, however, was rejected by the proud father with the scornful\nwords: \"When thou shalt build at Kallundborg a stately church, then\nwill I give thee Helva to wife.\"\n\nNow Esbern, although of low estate, was proud of heart, even as\nthe lord, and he determined, come what might, to find a way to win\nhis coveted bride. So off he strode to a troll in Ullshoi Hill,\nand effected a bargain whereby the troll undertook to build a fine\nchurch, on completion of which Esbern was to tell the builder's name\nor forfeit his eyes and heart.\n\nNight and day the troll wrought on, and as the building took shape,\nsadder grew Esbern Snare. He listened at the crevices of the hill\nby night; he watched during the day; he wore himself to a shadow\nby anxious thought; he besought the elves to aid him. All to no\npurpose. Not a sound did he hear, not a thing did he see, to suggest\nthe name of the builder.\n\nMeantime, rumour was busy, and the fair Helva, hearing of the evil\ncompact, prayed for the soul of the unhappy man.\n\nTime passed until one day the church lacked only one pillar,\nand worn out by black despair, Esbern sank exhausted upon a bank,\nwhence he heard the troll hammering the last stone in the quarry\nunderground. \"Fool that I am,\" he said bitterly, \"I have builded\nmy tomb.\"\n\nJust then he heard a light footstep, and looking up, he beheld his\nbeloved. \"Would that I might die in thy stead,\" said she, through\nher tears, and with that Esbern confessed how that for love of her\nhe had imperilled eyes and heart and soul.\n\nThen fast as the troll hammered underground, Helva prayed beside her\nlover, and the prayers of the maiden prevailed over the spell of the\ntroll, for suddenly Esbern caught the sound of a troll-wife singing\nto her infant, bidding it be comforted, for that, on the morrow,\nFather Fine would return bringing a mortal's eyes and heart.\n\nSure of his victim, the troll hurried to Kallundborg with the last\nstone. \"Too late, Fine!\" quoth Esbern, and at the word, the troll\nvanished with his stone, and it is said that the peasants heard at\nnight the sobbing of a woman underground, and the voice of the troll\nloud with blame.\n\n\n \"Of the Troll of the Church they sing the rune\n By the Northern Sea in the harvest moon;\n And the fishers of Zealand hear him still\n Scolding his wife in Ulshoi hill.\n\n \"And seaward over its groves of birch\n Still looks the tower of Kallundborg church,\n Where, first at its altar, a wedded pair,\n Stood Helva of Nesvek and Esbern Snare!\"\n\n J. G. Whittier\n\n\n\nThe Magic of the Dwarfs\n\nThe dwarfs, as well as the elves, were ruled by a king, who, in\nvarious countries of northern Europe, was known as Andvari, Alberich,\nElbegast, Gondemar, Laurin, or Oberon. He dwelt in a magnificent\nsubterranean palace, studded with the gems which his subjects had\nmined from the bosom of the earth, and, besides untold riches and the\nTarnkappe, he owned a magic ring, an invincible sword, and a belt of\nstrength. At his command the little men, who were very clever smiths,\nwould fashion marvellous jewels or weapons, which their ruler would\nbestow upon favourite mortals.\n\nWe have already seen how the dwarfs fashioned Sif's golden hair,\nthe ship Skidbladnir, the point of Odin's spear Gungnir, the ring\nDraupnir, the golden-bristled boar Gullin-bursti, the hammer Mioelnir,\nand Freya's golden necklace Brisinga-men. They are also said to\nhave made the magic girdle which Spenser describes in his poem of\nthe \"Faerie Queene,\"--a girdle which was said to have the power of\nrevealing whether its wearer were virtuous or a hypocrite.\n\n\n \"That girdle gave the virtue of chaste love\n And wifehood true to all that did it bear;\n But whosoever contrary doth prove\n Might not the same about her middle wear\n But it would loose, or else asunder tear.\"\n\n Faerie Queene (Spenser).\n\n\nThe dwarfs also manufactured the mythical sword Tyrfing, which could\ncut through iron and stone, and which they gave to Angantyr. This\nsword, like Frey's, fought of its own accord, and could not be\nsheathed, after it was once drawn, until it had tasted blood. Angantyr\nwas so proud of this weapon that he had it buried with him; but his\ndaughter Hervor visited his tomb at midnight, recited magic spells, and\nforced him to rise from his grave to give her the precious blade. She\nwielded it bravely, and it eventually became the property of another\nof the Northern heroes.\n\nAnother famous weapon, which according to tradition was forged by\nthe dwarfs in Eastern lands, was the sword Angurvadel which Frithiof\nreceived as a portion of his inheritance from his fathers. Its hilt\nwas of hammered gold, and the blade was inscribed with runes which\nwere dull until it was brandished in war, when they flamed red as\nthe comb of the fighting-cock.\n\n\n \"Quick lost was that hero\n Meeting in battle's night that blade high-flaming with runics.\n Widely renown'd was this sword, of swords most choice in the\n Northland.\"\n\n Tegner's Frithiof (G. Stephens's tr.).\n\n\n\nThe Passing of the Dwarfs\n\nThe dwarfs were generally kind and helpful; sometimes they kneaded\nbread, ground flour, brewed beer, performed countless household tasks,\nand harvested and threshed the grain for the farmers. If ill-treated,\nhowever, or turned to ridicule, these little creatures would forsake\nthe house and never come back again. When the old gods ceased to be\nworshipped in the Northlands, the dwarfs withdrew entirely from the\ncountry, and a ferryman related how he had been hired by a mysterious\npersonage to ply his boat back and forth across the river one night,\nand at every trip his vessel was so heavily laden with invisible\npassengers that it nearly sank. When his night's work was over, he\nreceived a rich reward, and his employer informed him that he had\ncarried the dwarfs across the river, as they were leaving the country\nfor ever in consequence of the unbelief of the people.\n\n\n\nChangelings\n\nAccording to popular superstition, the dwarfs, in envy of man's\ntaller stature, often tried to improve their race by winning human\nwives or by stealing unbaptized children, and substituting their\nown offspring for the human mother to nurse. These dwarf babies were\nknown as changelings, and were recognisable by their puny and wizened\nforms. To recover possession of her own babe, and to rid herself of\nthe changeling, a woman was obliged either to brew beer in egg-shells\nor to grease the soles of the child's feet and hold them so near the\nflames that, attracted by their offspring's distressed cries, the dwarf\nparents would hasten to claim their own and return the stolen child.\n\nThe troll women were said to have the power of changing themselves\ninto Maras or nightmares, and of tormenting any one they pleased;\nbut if the victim succeeded in stopping up the hole through which a\nMara made her ingress into his room, she was entirely at his mercy,\nand he could even force her to wed him if he chose to do so. A wife\nthus obtained was sure to remain as long as the opening through which\nshe had entered the house was closed, but if the plug were removed,\neither by accident or design, she immediately effected her escape\nand never returned.\n\n\n\nThe Peaks of the Trolls\n\nNaturally, traditions of the little folk abound everywhere throughout\nthe North, and many places are associated with their memory. The\nwell-known Peaks of the Trolls (Trold-Tindterne) in Norway are said\nto be the scene of a conflict between two bands of trolls, who in\nthe eagerness of combat omitted to note the approach of sunrise,\nwith the result that they were changed into the small points of rock\nwhich stand up noticeably upon the crests of the mountain.\n\n\n\nA Conjecture\n\nSome writers have ventured a conjecture that the dwarfs so often\nmentioned in the ancient sagas and fairy-tales were real beings,\nprobably the Phoenician miners, who, working the coal, iron, copper,\ngold, and tin mines of England, Norway, Sweden, etc., took advantage\nof the simplicity and credulity of the early inhabitants to make\nthem believe that they belonged to a supernatural race and always\ndwelt underground, in a region which was called Svart-alfa-heim,\nor the home of the black elves.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXV: THE ELVES\n\n\nThe Realm of Faery\n\nBesides the dwarfs there was another numerous class of tiny creatures\ncalled Lios-alfar, light or white elves, who inhabited the realms of\nair between heaven and earth, and were gently governed by the genial\ngod Frey from his palace in Alf-heim. They were lovely, beneficent\nbeings, so pure and innocent that, according to some authorities,\ntheir name was derived from the same root as the Latin word \"white\"\n(albus), which, in a modified form, was given to the snow-covered\nAlps, and to Albion (England), because of her white chalk cliffs\nwhich could be seen afar.\n\nThe elves were so small that they could flit about unseen while\nthey tended the flowers, birds, and butterflies; and as they were\npassionately fond of dancing, they often glided down to earth on a\nmoonbeam, to dance on the green. Holding one another by the hand,\nthey would dance in circles, thereby making the \"fairy rings,\" which\nwere to be discerned by the deeper green and greater luxuriance of\nthe grass which their little feet had pressed.\n\n\n \"Merry elves, their morrice pacing\n To aerial minstrelsy,\n Emerald rings on brown heath tracing,\n Trip it deft and merrily.\"\n\n Sir Walter Scott.\n\n\nIf any mortal stood in the middle of one of these fairy rings he\ncould, according to popular belief in England, see the fairies and\nenjoy their favour; but the Scandinavians and Teutons vowed that the\nunhappy man must die. In illustration of this superstition, a story is\ntold of how Sir Olaf, riding off to his wedding, was enticed by the\nfairies into their ring. On the morrow, instead of a merry marriage,\nhis friends witnessed a triple funeral, for his mother and bride also\ndied when they beheld his lifeless corpse.\n\n\n \"Master Olof rode forth ere dawn of the day\n And came where the Elf-folk were dancing away.\n The dance is so merry,\n So merry in the greenwood.\n\n \"And on the next morn, ere the daylight was red,\n In Master Olof's house lay three corpses dead.\n The dance is so merry,\n So merry in the greenwood.\n\n \"First Master Olof, and next his young bride,\n And third his old mother--for sorrow she died.\n The dance is so merry,\n So merry in the greenwood.\"\n\n Master Olof at the Elfin Dance (Howitt's tr.).\n\n\n\nThe Elf-dance\n\nThese elves, who in England were called fairies or fays, were also\nenthusiastic musicians, and delighted especially in a certain air known\nas the elf-dance, which was so irresistible that no one who heard it\ncould refrain from dancing. If a mortal, overhearing the air, ventured\nto reproduce it, he suddenly found himself incapable of stopping and\nwas forced to play on and on until he died of exhaustion, unless he\nwere deft enough to play the tune backwards, or some one charitably\ncut the strings of his violin. His hearers, who were forced to dance\nas long as the tones continued, could only stop when they ceased.\n\n\n\nThe Will-o'-the-wisps\n\nIn mediaeval times, the will-o'-the-wisps were known in the North as elf\nlights, for these tiny sprites were supposed to mislead travellers;\nand popular superstition held that the Jack-o'-lanterns were the\nrestless spirits of murderers forced against their will to return\nto the scene of their crimes. As they nightly walked thither, it\nis said that they doggedly repeated with every step, \"It is right;\"\nbut as they returned they sadly reiterated, \"It is wrong.\"\n\n\n\nOberon and Titania\n\nIn later times the fairies or elves were said to be ruled by the king\nof the dwarfs, who, being an underground spirit, was considered a\ndemon, and allowed to retain the magic power which the missionaries\nhad wrested from the god Frey. In England and France the king of\nthe fairies was known by the name of Oberon; he governed fairyland\nwith his queen Titania, and the highest revels on earth were held on\nMidsummer night. It was then that the fairies all congregated around\nhim and danced most merrily.\n\n\n \"Every elf and fairy sprite\n Hop as light as bird from brier;\n And this ditty after me\n Sing, and dance it trippingly.\"\n\n Midsummer-Night's Dream (Shakespeare).\n\n\nThese elves, like the brownies, Huldra folk, kobolds, etc., were\nalso supposed to visit human dwellings, and it was said that they\ntook mischievous pleasure in tangling and knotting horses' manes and\ntails. These tangles were known as elf-locks, and whenever a farmer\ndescried them he declared that his steeds had been elf-ridden during\nthe night.\n\n\n\nAlf-blot\n\nIn Scandinavia and Germany sacrifices were offered to the elves to\nmake them propitious. These sacrifices consisted of some small animal,\nor of a bowl of honey and milk, and were known as Alf-blot. They were\nquite common until the missionaries taught the people that the elves\nwere mere demons, when they were transferred to the angels, who were\nlong entreated to befriend mortals, and propitiated by the same gifts.\n\nMany of the elves were supposed to live and die with the trees and\nplants which they tended, but these moss, wood, or tree maidens, while\nremarkably beautiful when seen in front, were hollow like a trough\nwhen viewed from behind. They appear in many of the popular tales, but\nalmost always as benevolent and helpful spirits, for they were anxious\nto do good to mortals and to cultivate friendly relations with them.\n\n\n\nImages on Doorposts\n\nIn Scandinavia the elves, both light and dark, were worshipped\nas household divinities, and their images were carved on the\ndoorposts. The Norsemen, who were driven from home by the tyranny of\nHarald Harfager in 874, took their carved doorposts with them upon\ntheir ships. Similar carvings, including images of the gods and heroes,\ndecorated the pillars of their high seats which they also carried\naway. The exiles showed their trust in their gods by throwing these\nwooden images overboard when they neared the Icelandic shores and\nsettling where the waves carried the posts, even if the spot scarcely\nseemed the most desirable. \"Thus they carried with them the religion,\nthe poetry, and the laws of their race, and on this desolate volcanic\nisland they kept these records unchanged for hundreds of years,\nwhile other Teutonic nations gradually became affected by their\nintercourse with Roman and Byzantine Christianity.\" These records,\ncarefully collected by Saemund the learned, form the Elder Edda, the\nmost precious relic of ancient Northern literature, without which we\nshould know comparatively little of the religion of our forefathers.\n\nThe sagas relate that the first settlements in Greenland and Vinland\nwere made in the same way,--the Norsemen piously landing wherever\ntheir household gods drifted ashore.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXVI: THE SIGURD SAGA\n\n\nThe Beginning of the Story\n\nWhile the first part of the Elder Edda consists of a collection\nof alliterative poems describing the creation of the world, the\nadventures of the gods, their eventual downfall, and gives a complete\nexposition of the Northern code of ethics, the second part comprises a\nseries of heroic lays describing the exploits of the Volsung family,\nand especially of their chief representative, Sigurd, the favourite\nhero of the North.\n\n\n\nThe Volsunga Saga\n\nThese lays form the basis of the great Scandinavian epic, the Volsunga\nSaga, and have supplied not only the materials for the Nibelungenlied,\nthe German epic, and for countless folk tales, but also for Wagner's\ncelebrated operas, The Rhinegold, Valkyr, Siegfried, and The Dusk of\nthe Gods. In England, William Morris has given them the form which\nthey will probably retain in our literature, and it is from his great\nepic poem, by the courteous permission of his trustees, and of his\npublishers, Messrs. Longmans, Green and Co., that almost all the\nquotations in this section are taken in preference to extracts from\nthe Edda.\n\n\n\nSigi\n\nThe story of the Volsungs begins with Sigi, a son of Odin, a powerful\nman, and generally respected, until he killed a man from motives\nof jealousy, the latter having slain more game when they were out\nhunting together. In consequence of this crime, Sigi was driven from\nhis own land and declared an outlaw. But it seems that he had not\nentirely forfeited Odin's favour, for the god now provided him with\na well-equipped vessel, together with a number of brave followers,\nand promised that victory should ever attend him.\n\nThus aided by Odin, the raids of Sigi became a terror to his foes,\nand in the end he won the glorious empire of the Huns and for many\nyears reigned as a powerful monarch. But in extreme old age his\nfortune changed, Odin forsook him, his wife's kindred fell upon him,\nand he was slain in a treacherous encounter.\n\n\n\nRerir\n\nHis death was soon avenged, however, for Rerir, his son, returning\nfrom an expedition upon which he had been absent from the land at the\ntime, put the murderers to death as his first act upon mounting the\nthrone. The rule of Rerir was marked by every sign of prosperity, but\nhis dearest wish, a son to succeed him, remained unfulfilled for many\na year. Finally, however, Frigga decided to grant his constant prayer,\nand to vouchsafe the heir he longed for. She accordingly despatched\nher swift messenger Gna, or Liod, with a miraculous apple, which she\ndropped into his lap as he was sitting alone on the hillside. Glancing\nupward, Rerir recognised the emissary of the goddess, and joyfully\nhastened home to partake of the apple with his wife. The child who\nin due time was born under these favourable auspices was a handsome\nlittle lad. His parents called him Volsung, and while he was still\na mere infant they both died, and the child became ruler of the land.\n\n\n\nVolsung\n\nYears passed and Volsung's wealth and power ever increased. He was the\nboldest leader, and rallied many brave warriors around him. Full oft\ndid they drink his mead underneath the Branstock, a mighty oak, which,\nrising in the middle of his hall, pierced the roof and overshadowed\nthe whole house.\n\n\n \"And as in all other matters 'twas all earthly houses' crown,\n And the least of its wall-hung shields was a battle-world's renown,\n So therein withal was a marvel and a glorious thing to see,\n For amidst of its midmost hall-floor sprang up a mighty tree,\n That reared its blessings roofward and wreathed the roof-tree dear\n With the glory of the summer and the garland of the year.\"\n\n\nTen stalwart sons were born to Volsung, and one daughter, Signy,\ncame to brighten his home. So lovely was this maiden that when she\nreached marriageable age many suitors asked for her hand, among whom\nwas Siggeir, King of the Goths, who finally obtained Volsung's consent,\nalthough Signy had never seen him.\n\n\n\nThe Wedding of Signy\n\nWhen the wedding-day came, and the bride beheld her destined husband\nshe shrank in dismay, for his puny form and lowering glances contrasted\nsadly with her brothers' sturdy frames and open faces. But it was\ntoo late to withdraw--the family honour was at stake--and Signy so\nsuccessfully concealed her dislike that none save her twin brother\nSigmund suspected with what reluctance she became Siggeir's wife.\n\n\n\nThe Sword in the Branstock\n\nWhile the wedding feast was in progress, and when the merry-making was\nat its height, the entrance to the hall was suddenly darkened by the\ntall form of a one-eyed man, closely enveloped in a mantle of cloudy\nblue. Without vouchsafing word or glance to any in the assembly, the\nstranger strode to the Branstock and thrust a glittering sword up to\nthe hilt in its great bole. Then, turning slowly round, he faced the\nawe-struck and silent assembly, and declared that the weapon would be\nfor the warrior who could pull it out of its oaken sheath, and that\nit would assure him victory in every battle. The words ended, he then\npassed out as he had entered, and disappeared, leaving a conviction in\nthe minds of all that Odin, king of the gods, had been in their midst.\n\n\n \"So sweet his speaking sounded, so wise his words did seem,\n That moveless all men sat there, as in a happy dream\n We stir not lest we waken; but there his speech had end\n And slowly down the hall-floor, and outward did he wend;\n And none would cast him a question or follow on his ways,\n For they knew that the gift was Odin's, a sword for the world\n to praise.\"\n\n\nVolsung was the first to recover the power of speech, and, waiving\nhis own right first to essay the feat, he invited Siggeir to make the\nfirst attempt to draw the divine weapon out of the tree-trunk. The\nbridegroom anxiously tugged and strained, but the sword remained\nfirmly embedded in the oak and he resumed his seat, with an air of\nchagrin. Then Volsung tried, with the same result. The weapon was\nevidently not intended for either of them, and the young Volsung\nprinces were next invited to try their strength.\n\n\n \"Sons I have gotten and cherished, now stand ye forth and try;\n Lest Odin tell in God-home how from the way he strayed,\n And how to the man he would not he gave away his blade.\n\n\n\nSigmund\n\nThe nine eldest sons were equally unsuccessful; but when Sigmund,\nthe tenth and youngest, laid his firm young hand upon the hilt, the\nsword yielded easily to his touch, and he triumphantly drew it out\nas though it had merely been sheathed in its scabbard.\n\n\n \"At last by the side of the Branstock Sigmund the Volsung stood,\n And with right hand wise in battle the precious sword-hilt caught,\n Yet in a careless fashion, as he deemed it all for nought;\n When, lo, from floor to rafter went up a shattering shout,\n For aloft in the hand of Sigmund the naked blade shone out\n As high o'er his head he shook it: for the sword had come away\n From the grip of the heart of the Branstock, as though all loose\n it lay.\"\n\n\nNearly all present were gratified at the success of the young prince;\nbut Siggeir's heart was filled with envy, and he coveted possession of\nthe weapon. He offered to purchase it from his young brother-in-law,\nbut Sigmund refused to part with it at any price, declaring that it\nwas clear that the weapon had been intended for him to wear. This\nrefusal so offended Siggeir that he secretly resolved to exterminate\nthe proud Volsungs, and to secure the divine sword at the same time\nthat he indulged his hatred towards his new kinsmen.\n\nConcealing his chagrin, however, he turned to Volsung and cordially\ninvited him to visit his court a month later, together with his sons\nand kinsmen. The invitation was immediately accepted, and although\nSigny, suspecting evil, secretly sought her father while her husband\nslept, and implored him to retract his promise and stay at home,\nhe would not consent to withdraw his plighted word and so exhibit fear.\n\n\n\nSiggeir's Treachery\n\nA few weeks after the return of the bridal couple, therefore, Volsung's\nwell-manned vessels arrived within sight of Siggeir's shores. Signy\nhad been keeping anxious watch, and when she perceived them she\nhastened down to the beach to implore her kinsmen not to land,\nwarning them that her husband had treacherously planned an ambush,\nwhence they could not escape alive. But Volsung and his sons, whom\nno peril could daunt, calmly bade her return to her husband's palace,\nand donning their arms they boldly set foot ashore.\n\n\n \"Then sweetly Volsung kissed her: 'Woe am I for thy sake,\n But Earth the word hath hearkened, that yet unborn I spake;\n How I ne'er would turn me backward from the sword or fire of bale;\n --I have held that word till to-day, and to-day shall I change\n the tale?\n And look on these thy brethren, how goodly and great are they,\n Wouldst thou have the maidens mock them, when this pain hath\n passed away\n And they sit at the feast hereafter, that they feared the deadly\n stroke?\n Let us do our day's work deftly for the praise and glory of folk;\n And if the Norns will have it that the Volsung kin shall fail,\n Yet I know of the deed that dies not, and the name that shall\n ever avail.'\"\n\n\nIt befell as Signy had said, for on their way to the palace the\nbrave little troop fell into Siggeir's ambush, and, although they\nfought with heroic courage, they were so borne down by the superior\nnumber of their foes that Volsung was slain and all his sons were\nmade captive. The young men were led bound into the presence of the\ncowardly Siggeir, who had taken no part in the fight, and Sigmund\nwas forced to relinquish his precious sword, after which he and his\nbrothers were condemned to death.\n\nSigny, hearing the cruel sentence, vainly interceded for her brothers:\nall she could obtain by her prayers and entreaties was that they should\nbe chained to a fallen oak in the forest, to perish of hunger and\nthirst if the wild beasts should spare them. Then, lest she should\nvisit and succour her brothers, Siggeir confined his wife in the\npalace, where she was closely guarded night and day.\n\nEvery morning early Siggeir himself sent a messenger into the forest\nto see whether the Volsungs were still living, and every morning\nthe man returned saying a monster had come during the night and had\ndevoured one of the princes, leaving nothing but his bones. At last,\nwhen none but Sigmund remained alive, Signy thought of a plan, and\nshe prevailed on one of her servants to carry some honey into the\nforest and smear it over her brother's face and mouth.\n\nWhen the wild beast came that night, attracted by the smell of the\nhoney, it licked Sigmund's face, and even thrust its tongue into\nhis mouth. Clinching his teeth upon it, Sigmund, weak and wounded\nas he was, held on to the animal, and in its frantic struggles his\nbonds gave way, and he succeeded in slaying the prowling beast who\nhad devoured his brothers. Then he vanished into the forest, where\nhe remained concealed until the king's messenger had come as usual,\nand until Signy, released from captivity, came speeding to the forest\nto weep over her kinsmen's remains.\n\nSeeing her intense grief, and knowing that she had not participated\nin Siggeir's cruelty, Sigmund stole out of his place of concealment\nand comforted her as best he could. Together they then buried the\nwhitening bones, and Sigmund registered a solemn oath to avenge\nhis family's wrongs. This vow was fully approved by Signy, who,\nhowever, bade her brother bide a favourable time, promising to send\nhim aid. Then the brother and sister sadly parted, she to return to\nher distasteful palace home, and he to a remote part of the forest,\nwhere he built a tiny hut and plied the craft of a smith.\n\n\n \"And men say that Signy wept\n When she left that last of her kindred: yet wept she never more\n Amid the earls of Siggeir, and as lovely as before\n Was her face to all men's deeming: nor aught it changed for ruth,\n Nor for fear nor any longing; and no man said for sooth\n That she ever laughed thereafter till the day of her death\n was come.\"\n\n\n\nSigny's Sons\n\nSiggeir now took possession of the Volsung kingdom, and during the next\nfew years he proudly watched the growth of his eldest son, whom Signy\nsecretly sent to her brother when he was ten years of age, that Sigmund\nmight train up the child to help him to obtain vengeance if he should\nprove worthy. Sigmund reluctantly accepted the charge; but as soon\nas he had tested the boy he found him deficient in physical courage,\nso he either sent him back to his mother, or, as some versions relate,\nslew him.\n\nSome time after this Signy's second son was sent into the forest\nfor the same purpose, but Sigmund found him equally lacking in\ncourage. Evidently none but a pure-blooded Volsung would avail for\nthe grim work of revenge, and Signy, realising this, resolved to\ncommit a crime.\n\n\n \"And once in the dark she murmured: 'Where then was the ancient\n song\n That the Gods were but twin-born once, and deemed it nothing wrong\n To mingle for the world's sake, whence had the AEsir birth,\n And the Vanir and the Dwarf-kind, and all the folk of earth?\"\n\n\nHer resolution taken, she summoned a beautiful young witch, and\nexchanging forms with her, she sought the depths of the dark forest\nand took shelter in Sigmund's hut. The Volsung did not penetrate his\nsister's disguise. He deemed her nought but the gypsy she seemed,\nand being soon won by her coquetry, he made her his wife. Three days\nlater she disappeared from the hut, and, returning to the palace,\nshe resumed her own form, and when she next gave birth to a son,\nshe rejoiced to see in his bold glance and strong frame the promise\nof a true Volsung hero.\n\n\n\nSinfiotli\n\nWhen Sinfiotli, as the child was called, was ten years of age, she\nherself made a preliminary test of his courage by sewing his garment\nto his skin, and then suddenly snatching it off, and as the brave boy\ndid not so much as wince, but laughed aloud, she confidently sent him\nto the forest hut. Sigmund speedily prepared his usual test, and ere\nleaving the hut one day he bade Sinfiotli take meal from a certain\nsack, and knead it and bake some bread. On returning home, Sigmund\nasked whether his orders had been carried out. The lad replied by\nshowing the bread, and when closely questioned he artlessly confessed\nthat he had been obliged to knead into the loaf a great adder which\nwas hidden in the meal. Pleased to see that the boy, for whom he felt\na strange affection, had successfully stood the test which had daunted\nhis brothers, Sigmund bade him refrain from eating of the loaf, for\nalthough he was proof against the bite of a reptile, he could not,\nlike his mentor, taste poison unharmed.\n\n\n \"For here, the tale of the elders doth men a marvel to wit,\n That such was the shaping of Sigmund among all earthly kings,\n That unhurt he handled adders and other deadly things,\n And might drink unscathed of venom: but Sinfiotli was so wrought\n That no sting of creeping creatures would harm his body aught.\"\n\n\n\nThe Werewolves\n\nSigmund now began patiently to teach Sinfiotli all that a warrior\nof the North should know, and the two soon became inseparable\ncompanions. One day while ranging the forest together they came\nto a hut, where they found two men sound asleep. Near by hung two\nwolf-skins, which suggested immediately that the strangers were\nwerewolves, whom a cruel spell prevented from bearing their natural\nform save for a short space at a time. Prompted by curiosity, Sigmund\nand Sinfiotli donned the wolf-skins, and they were soon, in the guise\nof wolves, rushing through the forest, slaying and devouring all that\ncame in their way.\n\nSuch were their wolfish passions that soon they attacked each other,\nand after a fierce struggle Sinfiotli, the younger and weaker, fell\ndead. This catastrophe brought Sigmund to his senses, and he hung\nover his murdered companion in despair. While thus engaged he saw two\nweasels come out of the forest and attack each other fiercely until\none lay dead. The victor then sprang into the thicket, to return with\na leaf, which it laid upon its companion's breast. Then was seen a\nmarvellous thing, for at the touch of the magic herb the dead beast\ncame back to life. A moment later a raven flying overhead dropped a\nsimilar leaf at Sigmund's feet, and he, understanding that the gods\nwished to help him, laid it upon Sinfiotli, who was at once restored\nto life.\n\nIn dire fear lest they might work each other further mischief, Sigmund\nand Sinfiotli now crept home and patiently waited until the time of\ntheir release should come. To their great relief the skins dropped\noff on the ninth night, and they hastily flung them into the fire,\nwhere they were entirely consumed, and the spell was broken for ever.\n\n\n\nSigmund and Sinfiotli taken by Siggeir\n\nSigmund now confided the story of his wrongs to Sinfiotli, who swore\nthat, although Siggeir was his father (for neither he nor Sigmund\nknew the secret of his birth), he would aid him in his revenge. At\nnightfall, therefore, he accompanied Sigmund to the king's hall, and\nthey entered unseen, concealing themselves in the cellar, behind the\nhuge vats of beer. Here they were discovered by Signy's two youngest\nchildren, who, while playing with golden rings, which rolled into\nthe cellar, came suddenly upon the men in ambush.\n\nThey loudly proclaimed their discovery to their father and his guests,\nbut, before Siggeir and his men could take up arms, Signy took both\nchildren, and dragging them into the cellar bade her brother slay the\nlittle traitors. This Sigmund utterly refused to do, but Sinfiotli\nstruck off their heads ere he turned to fight against the assailants,\nwho were now closing in upon them.\n\nIn spite of all efforts Sigmund and his brave young companion soon\nfell into the hands of the Goths, whereupon Siggeir sentenced them to\nbe buried alive in the same mound, with a stone partition between them\nso that they could neither see nor touch each other. The prisoners were\naccordingly confined in their living grave, and their foes were about\nto place the last stones on the roof, when Signy drew near, bearing a\nbundle of straw, which she was allowed to throw at Sinfiotli's feet,\nfor the Goths fancied that it contained only a few provisions which\nwould prolong his agony without helping him to escape.\n\nWhen all was still, Sinfiotli undid the sheaf, and great was his\njoy when he found instead of bread the sword which Odin had given to\nSigmund. Knowing that nothing could dull or break the keen edge of\nthis fine weapon, Sinfiotli thrust it through the stone partition,\nand, aided by Sigmund, he succeeded in cutting an opening, and in\nthe end both effected their escape through the roof.\n\n\n \"Then in the grave-mound's darkness did Sigmund the king upstand,\n And unto that saw of battle he set his naked hand;\n And hard the gift of Odin home to their breasts they drew;\n Sawed Sigmund, sawed Sinfiotli, till the stone was cleft atwo,\n And they met and kissed together: then they hewed and heaved\n full hard\n Till, lo, through the bursten rafters the winter heavens bestarred!\n And they leap out merry-hearted; nor is there need to say\n A many words between them of whither was the way.\"\n\n\n\nSigmund's Vengeance\n\nAs soon as they were free, Sigmund and Sinfiotli returned to the king's\nhall, and piling combustible materials around it, they set fire to\nthe mass. Then stationing themselves on either side of the entrance,\nthey prevented all but the women from passing through. They loudly\nadjured Signy to escape ere it was too late, but she did not desire\nto live, and so coming to the entrance for a last embrace she found\nopportunity to whisper the secret of Sinfiotli's birth, after which\nshe sprang back into the flames and perished with the rest.\n\n\n \"And then King Siggeir's roof-tree upheaved for its utmost fall,\n And its huge walls clashed together, and its mean and lowly things\n The fire of death confounded with the tokens of the kings.\"\n\n\n\nHelgi\n\nThe long-planned vengeance for the slaughter of the Volsungs having\nthus been carried out, Sigmund, feeling that nothing now detained\nhim in the land of the Goths, set sail with Sinfiotli and returned to\nHunaland, where he was warmly welcomed to the seat of power under the\nshade of his ancestral tree, the mighty Branstock. When his authority\nwas fully established, Sigmund married Borghild, a beautiful princess,\nwho bore him two sons, Hamond and Helgi. The latter was visited by\nthe Norns as he lay in his cradle, and they promised him sumptuous\nentertainment in Valhalla when his earthly career should be ended.\n\n\n \"And the woman was fair and lovely and bore him sons of fame;\n Men called them Hamond and Helgi, and when Helgi first saw light,\n There came the Norns to his cradle and gave him life full bright,\n And called him Sunlit Hill, Sharp Sword, and Land of Rings,\n And bade him be lovely and great, and a joy in the tale of kings.\"\n\n\nNorthern kings generally entrusted their sons' upbringing to a\nstranger, for they thought that so they would be treated with less\nindulgence than at home. Accordingly Helgi was fostered by Hagal,\nand under his care the young prince became so fearless that at the\nage of fifteen he ventured alone into the hall of Hunding, with whose\nrace his family was at feud. Passing through the hall unmolested and\nunrecognised, he left an insolent message, which so angered Hunding\nthat he immediately set out in pursuit of the bold young prince,\nwhom he followed to the dwelling of Hagal. Helgi would then have been\nsecured but that meanwhile he had disguised himself as a servant-maid,\nand was busy grinding corn as if this were his wonted occupation. The\ninvaders marvelled somewhat at the maid's tall stature and brawny\narms, nevertheless they departed without suspecting that they had\nbeen so near the hero whom they sought.\n\nHaving thus cleverly escaped, Helgi joined Sinfiotli, and collecting an\narmy, the two young men marched boldly against the Hundings, with whom\nthey fought a great battle, over which the Valkyrs hovered, waiting\nto convey the slain to Valhalla. Gudrun, one of the battle-maidens,\nwas so struck by the courage which Helgi displayed, that she openly\nsought him and promised to be his wife. Only one of the Hunding race,\nDag, remained alive, and he was allowed to go free after promising not\nto endeavour to avenge his kinsmen's death. This promise was not kept,\nhowever, and Dag, having obtained possession of Odin's spear Gungnir,\ntreacherously slew Helgi with it. Gudrun, who in the meantime had\nfulfilled her promise to become his wife, wept many tears at his death,\nand laid a solemn curse upon his murderer; then, hearing from one of\nher maids that her slain husband kept calling for her from the depths\nof the tomb, she fearlessly entered the mound at night and tenderly\ninquired why he called and why his wounds continued to bleed after\ndeath. Helgi answered that he could not rest happy because of her\ngrief, and declared that for every tear she shed a drop of his blood\nmust flow.\n\n\n \"Thou weepest, gold-adorned!\n Cruel tears,\n Sun-bright daughter of the south!\n Ere to sleep thou goest;\n Each one falls bloody\n On the prince's breast,\n Wet, cold, and piercing,\n With sorrow big.\"\n\n Saemund's Edda (Thorpe's tr.).\n\n\nTo appease the spirit of her beloved husband, Gudrun from that time\nceased to weep, but they did not long remain separated; for soon after\nthe spirit of Helgi had ridden over Bifroest and entered Valhalla,\nto become leader of the Einheriar, he was joined by Gudrun who, as a\nValkyr once more, resumed her loving tendance of him. When at Odin's\ncommand she left his side for scenes of human strife, it was to seek\nnew recruits for the army which her lord was to lead into battle when\nRagnarok, the twilight of the gods, should come.\n\n\n\nThe Death of Sinfiotli\n\nSinfiotli, Sigmund's eldest son, also met an early death; for, having\nslain in a quarrel the brother of Borghild, she determined to poison\nhim. Twice Sinfiotli detected the attempt and told his father that\nthere was poison in his cup. Twice Sigmund, whom no venom could injure,\ndrained the bowl; and when Borghild made a third attempt, he bade\nSinfiotli let the wine flow through his beard. Mistaking the meaning\nof his father's words, Sinfiotli forthwith drained the cup, and fell\nlifeless to the ground, for the poison was of the most deadly kind.\n\n\n \"He drank as he spake the word, and forthwith the venom ran\n In a chill flood over his heart and down fell the mighty man\n With never an uttered death-word and never a death-changed look,\n And the floor of the hall of the Volsungs beneath his falling\n shook.\n Then up rose the elder of days with a great and bitter cry,\n And lifted the head of the fallen; and none durst come anigh\n To hearken the words of his sorrow, if any words he said\n But such as the Father of all men might speak over Baldur dead.\n And again, as before the death-stroke, waxed the hall of the\n Volsungs dim,\n And once more he seemed in the forest, where he spake with nought\n but him.\"\n\n\nSpeechless with grief, Sigmund tenderly raised his son's body in\nhis arms, and strode out of the hall and down to the shore, where he\ndeposited his precious burden in a skiff which an old one-eyed boatman\nbrought at his call. He would fain have stepped aboard also, but ere\nhe could do so the boatman pushed off and the frail craft was soon\nlost to sight. The bereaved father then slowly wended his way home,\ntaking comfort from the thought that Odin himself had come to claim\nthe young hero and had rowed away with him \"out into the west.\"\n\n\n\nHiordis\n\nSigmund deposed Borghild as his wife and queen in punishment for\nthis crime, and when he was very old he sued for the hand of Hiordis,\na fair young princess, daughter of Eglimi, King of the Islands. This\nyoung maiden had many suitors, among others King Lygni of Hunding's\nrace, but so great was Sigmund's fame that she gladly accepted him\nand became his wife. Lygni, the discarded suitor, was so angry at\nthis decision, that he immediately collected a great army and marched\nagainst his successful rival, who, though overpowered by superior\nnumbers, fought with the courage of despair.\n\nFrom the depths of a thicket which commanded the field of battle,\nHiordis and her maid anxiously watched the progress of the strife. They\nsaw Sigmund pile the dead around him, for none could stand against\nhim, until at last a tall, one-eyed warrior suddenly appeared, and\nthe press of battle gave way before the terror of his presence.\n\nWithout a moment's pause the new champion aimed a fierce blow\nat Sigmund, which the old hero parried with his sword. The shock\nshattered the matchless blade, and although the strange assailant\nvanished as he had come, Sigmund was left defenceless and was soon\nwounded unto death by his foes.\n\n\n \"But lo, through the hedge of the war-shafts, a mighty man\n there came,\n One-eyed and seeming ancient, but his visage shone like flame:\n Gleaming grey was his kirtle, and his hood was cloudy blue;\n And he bore a mighty twi-bill, as he waded the fight-sheaves\n through,\n And stood face to face with Sigmund, and upheaved the bill\n to smite.\n Once more round the head of the Volsung fierce glittered the\n Branstock's light,\n The sword that came from Odin; and Sigmund's cry once more\n Rang out to the very heavens above the din of war.\n Then clashed the meeting edges with Sigmund's latest stroke,\n And in shivering shards fell earthward that fear of worldly folk.\n But changed were the eyes of Sigmund, and the war-wrath left\n his face;\n For that grey-clad, mighty helper was gone, and in his place\n Drave on the unbroken spear-wood 'gainst the Volsung's empty hands:\n And there they smote down Sigmund, the wonder of all lands,\n On the foemen, on the death-heap his deeds had piled that day.\"\n\n\nAs the battle was now won, and the Volsung family all slain, Lygni\nhastened from the battlefield to take possession of the kingdom and\nforce the fair Hiordis to become his wife. As soon as he had gone,\nhowever, the beautiful young queen crept from her hiding-place in\nthe thicket, and sought the spot where Sigmund lay all but dead. She\ncaught the stricken hero to her breast in a last passionate embrace,\nand then listened tearfully while he bade her gather the fragments of\nhis sword and carefully treasure them for their son whom he foretold\nwas soon to be born, and who was destined to avenge his father's\ndeath and to be far greater than he.\n\n\n \"'I have wrought for the Volsungs truly, and yet have I known\n full well\n That a better one than I am shall bear the tale to tell:\n And for him shall these shards be smithied: and he shall be my son,\n To remember what I have forgotten and to do what I left undone.'\"\n\n\n\nElf, the Viking\n\nWhile Hiordis was mourning over Sigmund's lifeless body, her handmaiden\nsuddenly warned her of the approach of a band of vikings. Retreating\ninto the thicket once more, the two women exchanged garments, after\nwhich Hiordis bade the maid walk first and personate the queen, and\nthey went thus to meet the viking Elf (Helfrat or Helferich). Elf\nreceived the women graciously, and their story of the battle so\nexcited his admiration for Sigmund that he caused the remains of the\nslain hero to be reverentially removed to a suitable spot, where they\nwere interred with all due ceremony. He then offered the queen and\nher maid a safe asylum in his hall, and they gladly accompanied him\nover the seas.\n\nAs he had doubted their relative positions from the first, Elf took\nthe first opportunity after arriving in his kingdom to ask a seemingly\nidle question in order to ascertain the truth. He asked the pretended\nqueen how she knew the hour had come for rising when the winter days\nwere short and there was no light to announce the coming of morn,\nand she replied that, as she was in the habit of drinking milk ere\nshe fed the cows, she always awoke thirsty. When the same question\nwas put to the real Hiordis, she answered, with as little reflection,\nthat she knew it was morning because at that hour the golden ring\nwhich her father had given her grew cold on her hand.\n\n\n\nThe Birth of Sigurd\n\nThe suspicions of Elf having thus been confirmed, he offered marriage\nto the pretended handmaiden, Hiordis, promising to cherish her\ninfant son, a promise which he nobly kept. When the child was born\nElf himself sprinkled him with water--a ceremony which our pagan\nancestors scrupulously observed--and bestowed upon him the name of\nSigurd. As he grew up he was treated as the king's own son, and his\neducation was entrusted to Regin, the wisest of men, who knew all\nthings, his own fate not even excepted, for it had been revealed to\nhim that he would fall by the hand of a youth.\n\n\n \"Again in the house of the Helper there dwelt a certain man,\n Beardless and low of stature, of visage pinched and wan:\n So exceeding old was Regin, that no son of man could tell\n In what year of the days passed over he came to that land to dwell:\n But the youth of king Elf had he fostered, and the Helper's\n youth thereto,\n Yea and his father's father's: the lore of all men he knew,\n And was deft in every cunning, save the dealings of the sword:\n So sweet was his tongue-speech fashioned, that men trowed his\n every word;\n His hand with the harp-strings blended was the mingler of delight\n With the latter days of sorrow; all tales he told aright;\n The Master of the Masters in the smithying craft was he;\n And he dealt with the wind and the weather and the stilling of\n the sea;\n Nor might any learn him leech-craft, for before that race was made,\n And that man-folk's generation, all their life-days had he\n weighed.\"\n\n\nUnder this tutor Sigurd grew daily in wisdom until few could surpass\nhim. He mastered the smith's craft, and the art of carving all manner\nof runes; he learned languages, music, and eloquence; and, last but\nnot least, he became a doughty warrior whom none could subdue. When he\nhad reached manhood Regin prompted him to ask the king for a war-horse,\na request which was immediately granted, and Gripir, the stud-keeper,\nwas bidden to allow him to choose from the royal stables the steed\nwhich he most fancied.\n\nOn his way to the meadow where the horses were at pasture, Sigurd met\na one-eyed stranger, clad in grey and blue, who accosted the young\nman and bade him drive the horses into the river and select the one\nwhich could breast the tide with least difficulty.\n\nSigurd received the advice gladly, and upon reaching the meadow he\ndrove the horses into the stream which flowed on one side. One of the\nnumber, after crossing, raced round the opposite meadow; and, plunging\nagain into the river, returned to his former pasture without showing\nany signs of fatigue. Sigurd therefore did not hesitate to select this\nhorse, and he gave him the name of Grane or Greyfell. The steed was\na descendant of Odin's eight-footed horse Sleipnir, and besides being\nunusually strong and indefatigable, was as fearless as his master.\n\nOne winter day while Regin and his pupil were sitting by the fire,\nthe old man struck his harp, and, after the manner of the Northern\nscalds, sang or recited in the following tale, the story of his life:\n\n\n\nThe Treasure of the Dwarf King\n\nHreidmar, king of the dwarf folk, was the father of three sons. Fafnir,\nthe eldest, was gifted with a fearless soul and a powerful arm; Otter,\nthe second, with snare and net, and the power of changing his form\nat will; and Regin, the youngest, with all wisdom and deftness of\nhand. To please the avaricious Hreidmar, this youngest son fashioned\nfor him a house lined with glittering gold and flashing gems, and\nthis was guarded by Fafnir, whose fierce glances and AEgis helmet none\ndared encounter.\n\nNow it came to pass that Odin, Hoenir, and Loki once came in human\nguise, upon one of their wonted expeditions to test the hearts of men,\nunto the land where Hreidmar dwelt.\n\n\n \"And the three were the heart-wise Odin, the Father of the Slain,\n And Loki, the World's Begrudger, who maketh all labour vain,\n And Haenir, the Utter-Blameless, who wrought the hope of man,\n And his heart and inmost yearnings, when first the work began;--\n The God that was aforetime, and hereafter yet shall be\n When the new light yet undreamed of shall shine o'er earth\n and sea.\"\n\n\nAs the gods came near to Hreidmar's dwelling, Loki perceived\nan otter basking in the sun. This was none other than the dwarf\nking's second son, Otter, who now succumbed to Loki's usual love of\ndestruction. Killing the unfortunate creature he flung its lifeless\nbody over his shoulders, thinking it would furnish a good dish when\nmeal time came.\n\nLoki then hastened after his companions, and entering Hreidmar's\nhouse with them, he flung his burden down upon the floor. The moment\nthe dwarf king's glance fell upon the seeming otter, he flew into\na towering rage, and ere they could offer effective resistance the\ngods found themselves lying bound, and they heard Hreidmar declare\nthat never should they recover their liberty until they could satisfy\nhis thirst for gold by giving him of that precious substance enough\nto cover the skin of the otter inside and out.\n\n\n \"'Now hearken the doom I shall speak! Ye stranger-folk shall\n be free\n When ye give me the Flame of the Waters, the gathered Gold of\n the Sea,\n That Andvari hideth rejoicing in the wan realm pale as the grave;\n And the Master of Sleight shall fetch it, and the hand that\n never gave,\nAnd the heart that begrudgeth for ever, shall gather and give and rue.\n --Lo, this is the doom of the wise, and no doom shall be spoken\n anew.'\"\n\n\nAs the otter-skin developed the property of stretching itself to a\nfabulous size, no ordinary treasure could suffice to cover it, and the\nplight of the gods, therefore, was a very bad one. The case, however,\nbecame a little more hopeful when Hreidmar consented to liberate one\nof their number. The emissary selected was Loki, who lost no time in\nsetting off to the waterfall where the dwarf Andvari dwelt, in order\nthat he might secure the treasure there amassed.\n\n\n \"There is a desert of dread in the uttermost part of the world,\n Where over a wall of mountains is a mighty water hurled,\n Whose hidden head none knoweth, nor where it meeteth the sea;\n And that force is the Force of Andvari, and an Elf of the Dark\n is he.\n In the cloud and the desert he dwelleth amid that land alone;\n And his work is the storing of treasure within his house of stone.\"\n\n\nIn spite of diligent search, however, Loki could not find the dwarf,\nuntil, perceiving a salmon sporting in the foaming waters, it occurred\nto him that the dwarf might have assumed this shape. Borrowing Ran's\nnet he soon caught the fish, and learned, as he had suspected, that it\nwas Andvari. Finding that there was nothing else for it, the dwarf now\nreluctantly brought forth his mighty treasure and surrendered it all,\nincluding the Helmet of Dread and a hauberk of gold, reserving only a\nring which was gifted with miraculous powers, and which, like a magnet,\nattracted the precious ore. But the greedy Loki, catching sight of it,\nwrenched it from off the dwarf's finger and departed laughing, while\nhis victim hurled angry curses after him, declaring that the ring would\never prove its possessor's bane and would cause the death of many.\n\n\n \"That gold\n Which the dwarf possessed\n Shall to two brothers\n Be cause of death,\n And to eight princes,\n Of dissension.\n From my wealth no one\n Shall good derive.\"\n\n Saemund's Edda (Thorpe's tr.).\n\n\nOn arriving at Hreidmar's house, Loki found the mighty treasure none\ntoo great, for the skin became larger with every object placed upon it,\nand he was forced to throw in the ring Andvaranaut (Andvari's loom),\nwhich he had intended to retain, in order to secure the release of\nhimself and his companions. Andvari's curse of the gold soon began\nto operate. Fafnir and Regin both coveted a share, while Hriedmar\ngloated over his treasure night and day, and would not part with an\nitem of it. Fafnir the invincible, seeing at last that he could not\notherwise gratify his lust, slew his father, and seized the whole\nof the treasure, then, when Regin came to claim a share he drove him\nscornfully away and bade him earn his own living.\n\nThus exiled, Regin took refuge among men, to whom he taught the arts\nof sowing and reaping. He showed them how to work metals, sail the\nseas, tame horses, yoke beasts of burden, build houses, spin, weave,\nand sew--in short, all the industries of civilised life, which had\nhitherto been unknown. Years elapsed, and Regin patiently bided\nhis time, hoping that some day he would find a hero strong enough\nto avenge his wrongs upon Fafnir, whom years of gloating over his\ntreasure had changed into a horrible dragon, the terror of Gnitaheid\n(Glittering Heath), where he had taken up his abode.\n\nHis story finished, Regin turned suddenly to the attentive Sigurd,\nsaying he knew that the young man could slay the dragon if he wished,\nand inquiring whether he were ready to aid him to avenge his wrongs.\n\n\n \"And he spake: 'Hast thou hearkened, Sigurd? Wilt thou help a\n man that is old\n To avenge him for his father? Wilt thou win that treasure of Gold\n And be more than the Kings of the earth? Wilt thou rid the earth\n of a wrong\n And heal the woe and the sorrow my heart hath endured o'er long?'\"\n\n\n\nSigurd's Sword\n\nSigurd immediately assented, on the condition, however, that the curse\nshould be assumed by Regin, who, also, in order to fitly equip the\nyoung man for the coming fight, should forge him a sword, which no\nblow could break. Twice Regin fashioned a marvellous weapon, but twice\nSigurd broke it to pieces on the anvil. Then Sigurd bethought him of\nthe broken fragments of Sigmund's weapon which were treasured by his\nmother, and going to Hiordis he begged these from her; and either\nhe or Regin forged from them a blade so strong that it divided the\ngreat anvil in two without being dinted, and whose temper was such\nthat it neatly severed some wool floating gently upon the stream.\n\nSigurd now went upon a farewell visit to Gripir, who, knowing the\nfuture, foretold every event in his coming career; after which he\ntook leave of his mother, and accompanied by Regin set sail for the\nland of his fathers, vowing to slay the dragon when he had fulfilled\nhis first duty, which was to avenge the death of Sigmund.\n\n\n \"'First wilt thou, prince,\n Avenge thy father,\n And for the wrongs of Eglymi\n Wilt retaliate.\n Thou wilt the cruel,\n The sons of Hunding,\n Boldly lay low:\n Thou wilt have victory.'\"\n\n Lay of Sigurd Fafnicide (Thorpe's tr.).\n\n\nOn his way to the land of the Volsungs a most marvellous sight was\nseen, for there came a man walking on the waters. Sigurd straightway\ntook him on board his dragon ship, and the stranger, who gave his name\nas Feng or Fioellnir, promised favourable winds. Also he taught Sigurd\nhow to distinguish auspicious omens. In reality the old man was Odin\nor Hnikar, the wave-stiller, but Sigurd did not suspect his identity.\n\n\n\nThe Fight with the Dragon\n\nSigurd was entirely successful in his descent upon Lygni, whom he\nslew, together with many of his followers. He then departed from his\nreconquered kingdom and returned with Regin to slay Fafnir. Together\nthey rode through the mountains, which ever rose higher and higher\nbefore them, until they came to a great tract of desert which Regin\nsaid was the haunt of Fafnir. Sigurd now rode on alone until he met\na one-eyed stranger, who bade him dig trenches in the middle of the\ntrack along which the dragon daily dragged his slimy length to the\nriver to quench his thirst, and to lie in wait in one of these until\nthe monster passed over him, when he could thrust his sword straight\ninto its heart.\n\nSigurd gratefully followed this counsel, and was rewarded with complete\nsuccess, for as the monster's loathsome folds rolled overhead, he\nthrust his sword upward into its left breast, and as he sprang out\nof the trench the dragon lay gasping in the throes of death.\n\n\n \"Then all sank into silence, and the son of Sigmund stood\n On the torn and furrowed desert by the pool of Fafnir's blood,\n And the Serpent lay before him, dead, chilly, dull, and grey;\n And over the Glittering Heath fair shone the sun and the day,\n And a light wind followed the sun and breathed o'er the fateful\n place,\n As fresh as it furrows the sea-plain, or bows the acres' face.\"\n\n\nRegin had prudently remained at a distance until all danger was past,\nbut seeing that his foe was slain, he now came up. He was fearful\nlest the young hero should claim a reward, so he began to accuse him\nof having murdered his kin, but, with feigned magnanimity, he declared\nthat instead of requiring life for life, in accordance with the custom\nof the North, he would consider it sufficient atonement if Sigurd\nwould cut out the monster's heart and roast it for him on a spit.\n\n\n \"Then Regin spake to Sigurd: 'Of this slaying wilt thou be free?\n Then gather thou fire together and roast the heart for me,\n That I may eat it and live, and be thy master and more;\n For therein was might and wisdom, and the grudged and hoarded lore:\n --Or, else depart on thy ways afraid from the Glittering Heath.'\"\n\n\nSigurd was aware that a true warrior never refused satisfaction of\nsome kind to the kindred of the slain, so he agreed to the seemingly\nsmall proposal, and immediately prepared to act as cook, while Regin\ndozed until the meat was ready. After an interval Sigurd touched the\nroast to ascertain whether it were tender, but burning his fingers\nseverely, he instinctively thrust them into his mouth to allay the\nsmart. No sooner had Fafnir's blood thus touched his lips than he\ndiscovered, to his utter surprise, that he could understand the\nsongs of the birds, many of which were already gathering round the\ncarrion. Listening attentively, he found that they were telling how\nRegin meditated mischief against him, and how he ought to slay the\nold man and take the gold, which was his by right of conquest, after\nwhich he ought to partake of the heart and blood of the dragon. As\nthis coincided with his own wishes, he slew the evil old man with a\nthrust of his sword and proceeded to eat and drink as the birds had\nsuggested, reserving a small portion of Fafnir's heart for future\nconsumption. He then wandered off in search of the mighty hoard,\nand, after donning the Helmet of Dread, the hauberk of gold, and the\nring Andvaranaut, and loading Greyfell with as much gold as he could\ncarry, he sprang to the saddle and sat listening eagerly to the birds'\nsongs to know what his future course should be.\n\n\n\nThe Sleeping Warrior Maiden\n\nSoon he heard of a warrior maiden fast asleep on a mountain and\nsurrounded by a glittering barrier of flames, through which only the\nbravest of men could pass to arouse her.\n\n\n \"On the fell I know\n A warrior maid to sleep;\n Over her waves\n The linden's bane:\n Ygg whilom stuck\n A sleep-thorn in the robe\n Of the maid who\n Would heroes choose.\"\n\n Lay of Fafnir (Thorpe's tr.).\n\n\nThis adventure was the very thing for Sigurd, and he set off at\nonce. The way lay through trackless regions, and the journey was long\nand cheerless, but at length he came to the Hindarfiall in Frankland,\na tall mountain whose cloud-wreathed summit seemed circled by fiery\nflames.\n\n\n \"Long Sigurd rideth the waste, when, lo, on a morning of day,\n From out of the tangled crag-walls, amidst the cloudland grey,\n Comes up a mighty mountain, and it is as though there burns\n A torch amidst of its cloud-wreath; so thither Sigurd turns,\n For he deems indeed from its topmost to look on the best of\n the earth;\n And Greyfell neigheth beneath him, and his heart is full of mirth.\"\n\n\nSigurd rode up the mountain side, and the light grew more and more\nvivid as he proceeded, until when he had neared the summit a barrier\nof lurid flames stood before him. The fire burned with a roar which\nwould have daunted the heart of any other, but Sigurd remembered\nthe words of the birds, and without a moment's hesitation he plunged\nbravely into its very midst.\n\n\n \"Now Sigurd turns in his saddle, and the hilt of the Wrath\n he shifts,\n And draws a girth the tighter; then the gathered reins he lifts,\n And crieth aloud to Greyfell, and rides at the wildfire's heart;\n But the white wall wavers before him and the flame-flood rusheth\n apart,\n And high o'er his head it riseth, and wide and wild its roar\n As it beareth the mighty tidings to the very heavenly floor:\n But he rideth through its roaring as the warrior rides the rye,\n When it bows with the wind of the summer and the hid spears\n draw anigh;\n The white flame licks his raiment and sweeps through Greyfell's\n mane,\n And bathes both hands of Sigurd and the hilt of Fafnir's bane,\n And winds about his war-helm and mingles with his hair,\nBut nought his raiment dusketh or dims his glittering gear;\n Then it fails and fades and darkens till all seems left behind,\n And dawn and the blaze is swallowed in mid-mirk stark and blind.\"\n\n\nThe threatening flames having now died away, Sigurd pursued his\njourney over a broad tract of white ashes, directing his course to\na great castle, with shield-hung walls. The great gates stood wide\nopen, and Sigurd rode through them unchallenged by warders or men at\narms. Proceeding cautiously, for he feared some snare, he at last came\nto the centre of the courtyard, where he saw a recumbent form cased\nin armour. Sigurd dismounted from his steed and eagerly removed the\nhelmet, when he started with surprise to behold, instead of a warrior,\nthe face of a most beautiful maiden.\n\nAll his efforts to awaken the sleeper were vain, however, until he\nhad removed her armour, and she lay before him in pure-white linen\ngarments, her long hair falling in golden waves around her. Then as the\nlast fastening of her armour gave way, she opened wide her beautiful\neyes, which met the rising sun, and first greeting with rapture the\nglorious spectacle, she turned to her deliverer, and the young hero\nand the maiden loved each other at first sight.\n\n\n \"Then she turned and gazed on Sigurd, and her eyes met the\n Volsung's eyes.\n And mighty and measureless now did the tide of his love arise,\n For their longing had met and mingled, and he knew of her heart\n that she loved,\n And she spake unto nothing but him and her lips with the\n speech-flood moved.\"\n\n\nThe maiden now proceeded to tell Sigurd her story. Her name was\nBrunhild, and according to some authorities she was the daughter of\nan earthly king whom Odin had raised to the rank of a Valkyr. She\nhad served him faithfully for a long while, but once had ventured to\nset her own wishes above his, giving to a younger and therefore more\nattractive opponent the victory which Odin had commanded for another.\n\nIn punishment for this act of disobedience, she had been deprived\nof her office and banished to earth, where Allfather decreed she\nshould wed like any other member of her sex. This sentence filled\nBrunhild's heart with dismay, for she greatly feared lest it might be\nher fate to mate with a coward, whom she would despise. To quiet these\napprehensions, Odin took her to Hindarfiall or Hindfell, and touching\nher with the Thorn of Sleep, that she might await in unchanged youth\nand beauty the coming of her destined husband, he surrounded her with\na barrier of flame which none but a hero would venture through.\n\nFrom the top of Hindarfiall, Brunhild now pointed out to Sigurd her\nformer home, at Lymdale or Hunaland, telling him he would find her\nthere whenever he chose to come and claim her as his wife; and then,\nwhile they stood on the lonely mountain top together, Sigurd placed\nthe ring Andvaranaut upon her finger, in token of betrothal, swearing\nto love her alone as long as life endured.\n\n\n \"From his hand then draweth Sigurd Andvari's ancient Gold;\n There is nought but the sky above them as the ring together\n they hold,\n The shapen ancient token, that hath no change nor end,\n No change, and no beginning, no flaw for God to mend:\n Then Sigurd cried: 'O Brynhild, now hearken while I swear,\n That the sun shall die in the heavens and the day no more be fair,\n If I seek not love in Lymdale and the house that fostered thee,\n And the land where thou awakedst 'twixt the woodland and the sea!'\n And she cried: 'O Sigurd, Sigurd, now hearken while I swear\n That the day shall die for ever and the sun to blackness wear,\n Ere I forget thee, Sigurd, as I lie 'twixt wood and sea\n In the little land of Lymdale and the house that fostered me!'\"\n\n\n\nThe Fostering of Aslaug\n\nAccording to some authorities, the lovers parted after thus plighting\ntheir troth; but others say that Sigurd soon sought out and wedded\nBrunhild, with whom he lived for a while in perfect happiness until\nforced to leave her and his infant daughter Aslaug. This child, left\norphaned at three years of age, was fostered by Brunhild's father, who,\ndriven away from home, concealed her in a cunningly fashioned harp,\nuntil reaching a distant land he was murdered by a peasant couple for\nthe sake of the gold they supposed it to contain. Their surprise and\ndisappointment were great indeed when, on breaking the instrument open,\nthey found a beautiful little girl, whom they deemed mute, as she would\nnot speak a word. Time passed, and the child, whom they had trained\nas a drudge, grew to be a beautiful maiden, and she won the affection\nof a passing viking, Ragnar Lodbrog, King of the Danes, to whom she\ntold her tale. The viking sailed away to other lands to fulfil the\npurposes of his voyage, but when a year had passed, during which time\nhe won much glory, he came back and carried away Aslaug as his bride.\n\n\n \"She heard a voice she deemed well known,\n Long waited through dull hours bygone\n And round her mighty arms were cast:\n But when her trembling red lips passed\n From out the heaven of that dear kiss,\n And eyes met eyes, she saw in his\n Fresh pride, fresh hope, fresh love, and saw\n The long sweet days still onward draw,\n Themselves still going hand in hand,\n As now they went adown the strand.\"\n\n The Fostering of Aslaug (William Morris).\n\n\nIn continuation of the story of Sigurd and Brunhild, however, we are\ntold that the young man went to seek adventures in the great world,\nwhere he had vowed, as a true hero, to right the wrong and defend\nthe fatherless and oppressed.\n\n\n\nThe Niblungs\n\nIn the course of his wanderings, Sigurd came to the land of the\nNiblungs, the land of continual mist, where Giuki and Grimhild were\nking and queen. The latter was specially to be feared, as she was well\nversed in magic lore, and could weave spells and concoct marvellous\npotions which had power to steep the drinker in temporary forgetfulness\nand compel him to yield to her will.\n\nThe king and queen had three sons, Gunnar, Hoegni, and Guttorm,\nwho were brave young men, and one daughter, Gudrun, the gentlest\nas well as the most beautiful of maidens. All welcomed Sigurd most\nwarmly, and Giuki invited him to tarry awhile. The invitation was\nvery agreeable after his long wanderings, and Sigurd was glad to\nstay and share the pleasures and occupations of the Niblungs. He\naccompanied them to war, and so distinguished himself by his valour,\nthat he won the admiration of Grimhild and she resolved to secure him\nas her daughter's husband. One day, therefore, she brewed one of her\nmagic potions, and when he had partaken of it at the hand of Gudrun,\nhe utterly forgot Brunhild and his plighted troth, and all his love\nwas diverted unto the queen's daughter.\n\n\n \"But the heart was changed in Sigurd; as though it ne'er had been\n His love of Brynhild perished as he gazed on the Niblung Queen:\n Brynhild's beloved body was e'en as a wasted hearth,\n No more for bale or blessing, for plenty or for dearth.\"\n\n\nAlthough there was not wanting a vague fear that he had forgotten\nsome event in the past which should rule his conduct, Sigurd asked for\nand obtained Gudrun's hand, and their wedding was celebrated amid the\nrejoicings of the people, who loved the young hero very dearly. Sigurd\ngave his bride some of Fafnir's heart to eat, and the moment she\nhad tasted it her nature was changed, and she began to grow cold and\nsilent to all except him. To further cement his alliance with the two\neldest Giukings (as the sons of Giuki were called) Sigurd entered the\n\"doom ring\" with them, and the three young men cut a sod which was\nplaced upon a shield, beneath which they stood while they bared and\nslightly cut their right arms, allowing their blood to mingle in the\nfresh earth. Then, when they had sworn eternal friendship, the sod\nwas replaced.\n\nBut although Sigurd loved his wife and felt a true fraternal affection\nfor her brothers, he could not lose his haunting sense of oppression,\nand was seldom seen to smile as radiantly as of old. Giuki had now\ndied, and his eldest son, Gunnar, ruled in his stead. As the young\nking was unwedded, Grimhild, his mother, besought him to take a wife,\nsuggesting that none seemed more worthy to become Queen of the Niblungs\nthan Brunhild, who, it was reported, sat in a golden hall surrounded\nby flames, whence she had declared she would issue only to marry the\nwarrior who would dare brave the fire for her sake.\n\n\n\nGunnar's Stratagem\n\nGunnar immediately prepared to seek this maiden, and strengthened\nby one of his mother's magic potions, and encouraged by Sigurd, who\naccompanied him, he felt confident of success. But when on reaching\nthe summit of the mountain he would have ridden into the fire, his\nsteed drew back affrighted and he could not induce him to advance a\nstep. Seeing that his companion's steed did not show signs of fear,\nhe asked him of Sigurd; but although Greyfell allowed Gunnar to mount,\nhe would not stir because his master was not on his back.\n\nNow as Sigurd carried the Helmet of Dread, and Grimhild had given\nGunnar a magic potion in case it should be needed, it was possible\nfor the companions to exchange their forms and features, and seeing\nthat Gunnar could not penetrate the flaming wall Sigurd proposed to\nassume the appearance of Gunnar and woo the bride for him. The king\nwas greatly disappointed, but as no alternative offered he dismounted,\nand the necessary exchange was soon effected. Then Sigurd mounted\nGreyfell in the semblance of his companion, and this time the steed\nshowed not the least hesitation, but leaped into the flames at the\nfirst touch on his bridle, and soon brought his rider to the castle,\nwhere, in the great hall, sat Brunhild. Neither recognised the other:\nSigurd because of the magic spell cast over him by Grimhild; Brunhild\nbecause of the altered appearance of her lover.\n\nThe maiden shrank in disappointment from the dark-haired intruder,\nfor she had deemed it impossible for any but Sigurd to ride through\nthe flaming circle. But she advanced reluctantly to meet her visitor,\nand when he declared that he had come to woo her, she permitted him\nto take a husband's place at her side, for she was bound by solemn\ninjunction to accept as her spouse him who should thus seek her\nthrough the flames.\n\nThree days did Sigurd remain with Brunhild, and his bright sword lay\nbared between him and his bride. This singular behaviour aroused the\ncuriosity of the maiden, wherefore Sigurd told her that the gods had\nbidden him celebrate his wedding thus.\n\n\n \"There they went in one bed together; but the foster-brother laid\n 'Twixt him and the body of Brynhild his bright blue battle-blade;\n And she looked and heeded it nothing; but, e'en as the dead\n folk lie,\n With folded hands she lay there, and let the night go by:\n And as still lay that Image of Gunnar as the dead of life forlorn,\n And hand on hand he folded as he waited for the morn.\n So oft in the moonlit minster your fathers may ye see\n By the side of the ancient mothers await the day to be.\"\n\n\nWhen the fourth morning dawned, Sigurd drew the ring Andvaranaut from\nBrunhild's hand, and, replacing it by another, he received her solemn\npromise that in ten days' time she would appear at the Niblung court\nto take up her duties as queen and faithful wife.\n\n\n \"'I thank thee, King, for thy goodwill, and thy pledge of love\n I take,\n Depart with my troth to thy people: but ere full ten days are o'er\n I shall come to the Sons of the Niblungs, and then shall we part\n no more\n Till the day of the change of our life-days, when Odin and Freya\n shall call.'\"\n\n\nThe promise given, Sigurd again passed out of the palace, through the\nashes, and joined Gunnar, with whom, after he had reported the success\nof his venture, he hastened to exchange forms once more. The warriors\nthen turned their steeds homeward, and only to Gudrun did Sigurd reveal\nthe secret of her brother's wooing, and he gave her the fatal ring,\nlittle suspecting the many woes which it was destined to occasion.\n\n\n\nThe Coming of Brunhild\n\nTrue to her promise, Brunhild appeared ten days later, and solemnly\nblessing the house she was about to enter, she greeted Gunnar\nkindly, and allowed him to conduct her to the great hall, where sat\nSigurd beside Gudrun. The Volsung looked up at that moment and as he\nencountered Brunhild's reproachful eyes Grimhild's spell was broken and\nthe past came back in a flood of bitter recollection. It was too late,\nhowever: both were in honour bound, he to Gudrun and she to Gunnar,\nwhom she passively followed to the high seat, to sit beside him as\nthe scalds entertained the royal couple with the ancient lays of\ntheir land.\n\nThe days passed, and Brunhild remained apparently indifferent, but\nher heart was hot with anger, and often did she steal out of her\nhusband's palace to the forest, where she could give vent to her\ngrief in solitude.\n\nMeanwhile, Gunnar perceived the cold indifference of his wife to his\nprotestations of affection, and began to have jealous suspicions,\nwondering whether Sigurd had honestly told the true story of the\nwooing, and fearing lest he had taken advantage of his position to win\nBrunhild's love. Sigurd alone continued the even tenor of his way,\nstriving against none but tyrants and oppressors, and cheering all\nby his kindly words and smile.\n\n\n\nThe Quarrel of the Queens\n\nOn a day the queens went down together to the Rhine to bathe, and as\nthey were entering the water Gudrun claimed precedence by right of\nher husband's courage. Brunhild refused to yield what she deemed her\nright, and a quarrel ensued, in the course of which Gudrun accused\nher sister-in-law of not having kept her faith, producing the ring\nAndvaranaut in support of her charge. The sight of the fatal ring\nin the hand of her rival crushed Brunhild, and she fled homeward,\nand lay in speechless grief day after day, until all thought she must\ndie. In vain did Gunnar and the members of the royal family seek her\nin turn and implore her to speak; she would not utter a word until\nSigurd came and inquired the cause of her unutterable grief. Then,\nlike a long-pent-up stream, her love and anger burst forth, and she\noverwhelmed the hero with reproaches, until his heart so swelled\nwith grief for her sorrow that the tight bands of his strong armour\ngave way.\n\n\n \"Out went Sigurd\n From that interview\n Into the hall of kings,\n Writhing with anguish;\n So that began to start\n The ardent warrior's\n Iron-woven sark\n Off from his sides.\"\n\n Saemund's Edda (Thorpe's tr.).\n\n\nWords had no power to mend that woeful situation, and Brunhild\nrefused to heed when Sigurd offered to repudiate Gudrun, saying,\nas she dismissed him, that she would not be faithless to Gunnar. The\nthought that two living men had called her wife was unendurable to\nher pride, and the next time her husband sought her presence she\nimplored him to put Sigurd to death, thus increasing his jealousy\nand suspicion. He refused to deal violently with Sigurd, however,\nbecause of their oath of good fellowship, and so she turned to Hoegni\nfor aid. He, too, did not wish to violate his oath, but he induced\nGuttorm, by means of much persuasion and one of Grimhild's potions,\nto undertake the dastardly deed.\n\n\n\nThe Death of Sigurd\n\nAccordingly, in the dead of night, Guttorm stole into Sigurd's chamber,\nweapon in hand; but as he bent over the bed he saw Sigurd's bright\neyes fixed upon him, and fled precipitately. Later on he returned\nand the scene was repeated; but towards morning, stealing in for\nthe third time, he found the hero asleep, and traitorously drove his\nspear through his back.\n\nAlthough wounded unto death, Sigurd raised himself in bed, and seizing\nhis renowned sword which hung beside him, he flung it with all his\nremaining strength at the flying murderer, cutting him in two as\nhe reached the door. Then, with a last whispered farewell to the\nterrified Gudrun, Sigurd sank back and breathed his last.\n\n\n \"'Mourn not, O Gudrun, this stroke is the last\n of ill;\n Fear leaveth the House of the Niblungs on this breaking of\n the morn;\n Mayst thou live, O woman beloved, unforsaken, unforlorn!'\n \n 'It is Brynhild's deed,' he murmured, 'and the woman that loves\n me well;\n Nought now is left to repent of, and the tale abides to tell.\n I have done many deeds in my life-days; and all these, and my love,\n they lie\n In the hollow hand of Odin till the day of the world go by.\n I have done and I may not undo, I have given and I take not again:\n Art thou other than I, Allfather, wilt thou gather my glory\n in vain?'\"\n\n\nSigurd's infant son was slain at the same time, and poor Gudrun mourned\nover her dead in silent, tearless grief; while Brunhild laughed aloud,\nthereby incurring the wrath of Gunnar, who repented, too late, that\nhe had not taken measures to avert the dastardly crime.\n\nThe grief of the Niblungs found expression in the public funeral\ncelebration which was shortly held. A mighty pyre was erected, to\nwhich were brought precious hangings, fresh flowers, and glittering\narms, as was the custom for the burial of a prince; and as these sad\npreparations took shape, Gudrun was the object of tender solicitude\nfrom the women, who, fearing lest her heart would break, tried to open\nthe flood-gate of her tears by recounting the bitterest sorrows they\nhad known, one telling of how she too had lost all she held dear. But\nthese attempts to make her weep were utterly vain, until at length\nthey laid her husband's head in her lap, bidding her kiss him as if\nhe were still alive; then her tears began to flow in torrents.\n\nThe reaction soon set in for Brunhild also; her resentment was all\nforgotten when she saw the body of Sigurd laid on the pyre, arrayed\nas if for battle in burnished armour, with the Helmet of Dread at his\nhead, and accompanied by his steed, which was to be burned with him,\ntogether with several of his faithful servants who would not survive\nhis loss. She withdrew to her apartment, and after distributing her\npossessions among her handmaidens, she donned her richest array,\nand stabbed herself as she lay stretched upon her bed.\n\nThe tidings soon reached Gunnar, who came with all haste to his wife\nand just in time to receive her dying injunction to lay her beside the\nhero she loved, with the glittering, unsheathed sword between them,\nas it had lain when he had wooed her by proxy. When she had breathed\nher last, these wishes were faithfully executed, and her body was\nburned with Sigurd's amid the lamentations of all the Niblungs.\n\nIn Richard Wagner's story of \"The Ring\" Brunhild's end is more\npicturesque. Mounted on her steed, as when she led the battle-maidens\nat the command of Odin, she rode into the flames which leaped to heaven\nfrom the great funeral pyre, and passed for ever from the sight of men.\n\n\n \"They are gone--the lovely, the mighty, the hope of the ancient\n Earth:\n It shall labour and bear the burden as before that day of their\n birth:\n It shall groan in its blind abiding for the day that Sigurd\n hath sped,\n And the hour that Brynhild hath hastened, and the dawn that waketh\n the dead:\n It shall yearn, and be oft-times holpen, and forget their deeds\n no more,\n Till the new sun beams on Baldur and the happy sea-less shore.\"\n\n\nThe death scene of Sigurd (Siegfried) is far more powerful in the\nNibelungenlied. In the Teutonic version his treacherous assailant\nlures him from a hunting party in the forest to quench his thirst at\na brook, where he thrusts him through the back with a spear. His body\nwas thence borne home by the hunters and laid at his wife's feet.\n\n\n\nThe Flight of Gudrun\n\nGudrun, still inconsolable, and loathing the kindred who had\ntreacherously robbed her of all joy in life, fled from her father's\nhouse and took refuge with Elf, Sigurd's foster father, who, after the\ndeath of Hiordis, had married Thora, the daughter of King Hakon. The\ntwo women became great friends, and here Gudrun tarried several years,\nemploying herself in embroidering upon tapestry the great deeds of\nSigurd, and watching over her little daughter Swanhild, whose bright\neyes reminded her vividly of the husband whom she had lost.\n\n\n\nAtli, King of the Huns\n\nIn the meantime, Atli, Brunhild's brother, who was now King of the\nHuns, had sent to Gunnar to demand atonement for his sister's death;\nand to satisfy his claims Gunnar had promised that when her years of\nwidowhood had been accomplished he would give him Gudrun's hand in\nmarriage. Time passed, and Atli clamoured for the fulfilment of his\npromise, wherefore the Niblung brothers, with their mother Grimhild,\nwent to seek the long-absent princess, and by the aid of the magic\npotion administered by Grimhild they succeeded in persuading Gudrun\nto leave little Swanhild in Denmark and to become Atli's wife in the\nland of the Huns.\n\nNevertheless, Gudrun secretly detested her husband, whose avaricious\ntendencies were extremely repugnant to her; and even the birth of\ntwo sons, Erp and Eitel, did not console her for the death of her\nloved ones and the absence of Swanhild. Her thoughts were continually\nof the past, and she often spoke of it, little suspecting that her\ndescriptions of the wealth of the Niblungs had excited Atli's greed,\nand that he was secretly planning some pretext for seizing it.\n\nAtli at last decided to send Knefrud or Wingi, one of his servants,\nto invite the Niblung princes to visit his court, intending to slay\nthem when he should have them in his power; but Gudrun, fathoming this\ndesign, sent a rune message to her brothers, together with the ring\nAndvaranaut, around which she had twined a wolf's hair. On the way,\nhowever, the messenger partly effaced the runes, thus changing their\nmeaning; and when he appeared before the Niblungs, Gunnar accepted\nthe invitation, in spite of Hoegni's and Grimhild's warnings, and an\nominous dream of Glaumvor, his second wife.\n\n\n\nBurial of the Niblung Treasure\n\nBefore departing, however, Gunnar was prevailed upon to bury secretly\nthe great Niblung hoard in the Rhine, and he sank it in a deep hole\nin the bed of the river, the position of which was known to the royal\nbrothers only, who took a solemn oath never to reveal it.\n\n\n \"Down then and whirling outward the ruddy Gold fell forth,\n As a flame in the dim grey morning, flashed out a kingdom's worth;\n Then the waters roared above it, the wan water and the foam\n Flew up o'er the face of the rock-wall as the tinkling Gold\n fell home,\n Unheard, unseen for ever, a wonder and a tale,\n Till the last of earthly singers from the sons of men shall fail.\"\n\n\n\nThe Treachery of Atli\n\nIn martial array the royal band then rode out of the city of the\nNiblungs, which they were never again to see, and after many adventures\nthey entered the land of the Huns, and arrived at Atli's hall, where,\nfinding that they had been foully entrapped, they slew the traitor\nKnefrud, and prepared to sell their lives as dearly as possible.\n\nGudrun hastened to meet them with tender embraces, and, seeing that\nthey must fight, she grasped a weapon and loyally aided them in the\nterrible massacre which ensued. After the first onslaught, Gunnar kept\nup the spirits of his followers by playing on his harp, which he laid\naside only when the assaults were renewed. Thrice the brave Niblungs\nresisted the assault of the Huns, until all save Gunnar and Hoegni had\nperished, and the king and his brother, wounded, faint, and weary,\nfell into the hands of their foes, who cast them, securely bound,\ninto a dungeon to await death.\n\nAtli had prudently abstained from taking any active part in the\nfight, and he now had his brothers-in-law brought in turn before him,\npromising them freedom if they would reveal the hiding-place of the\ngolden hoard; but they proudly kept silence, and it was only after\nmuch torture that Gunnar spake, saying that he had sworn a solemn\noath never to reveal the secret as long as Hoegni lived. At the same\ntime he declared that he would believe his brother dead only when\nhis heart was brought to him on a platter.\n\n\n \"With a dreadful voice cried Gunnar: 'O fool, hast thou heard\n it told\n Who won the Treasure aforetime and the ruddy rings of the Gold?\n It was Sigurd, child of the Volsungs, the best sprung forth from\n the best:\n He rode from the North and the mountains, and became my summer\n guest,\n My friend and my brother sworn: he rode the Wavering Fire,\n And won me the Queen of Glory and accomplished my desire;\n The praise of the world he was, the hope of the biders in wrong,\n The help of the lowly people, the hammer of the strong:\n Ah, oft in the world, henceforward, shall the tale be told of\n the deed,\n And I, e'en I, will tell it in the day of the Niblungs' Need:\n For I sat night-long in my armour, and when light was wide o'er\n the land\n I slaughtered Sigurd my brother, and looked on the work of\n mine hand.\n And now, O mighty Atli, I have seen the Niblung's wreck,\n And the feet of the faint-heart dastard have trodden Gunnar's neck;\n And if all be little enough, and the Gods begrudge me rest,\n Let me see the heart of Hoegni cut quick from his living breast,\n And laid on the dish before me: and then shall I tell of the Gold,\n And become thy servant, Atli, and my life at thy pleasure hold.'\"\n\n\nUrged by greed, Atli gave immediate orders that Hoegni's heart should\nbe brought; but his servants, fearing to lay hands on such a grim\nwarrior, slew the cowardly scullion Hialli. The trembling heart\nof this poor wretch called forth contemptuous words from Gunnar,\nwho declared that such a timorous organ could never have belonged\nto his fearless brother. Atli again issued angry commands, and this\ntime the unquivering heart of Hoegni was produced, whereupon Gunnar,\nturning to the monarch, solemnly swore that since the secret now\nrested with him alone it would never be revealed.\n\n\n\nThe Last of the Niblungs\n\nLivid with anger, the king bade his servants throw Gunnar, with\nhands bound, into a den of venomous snakes; but this did not daunt\nthe reckless Niblung, and, his harp having been flung after him\nin derision, he calmly sat in the pit, harping with his toes, and\nlulling to sleep all the reptiles save one only. It was said that\nAtli's mother had taken the form of this snake, and that she it was\nwho now bit him in the side, and silenced his triumphant song for ever.\n\nTo celebrate his triumph, Atli now ordered a great feast, commanding\nGudrun to be present to wait upon him. At this banquet he ate and\ndrank heartily, little suspecting that his wife had slain both his\nsons, and had served up their roasted hearts and their blood mixed\nwith wine in cups made of their skulls. After a time the king and his\nguests became intoxicated, when Gudrun, according to one version of\nthe story, set fire to the palace, and as the drunken men were aroused,\ntoo late to escape, she revealed what she had done, and first stabbing\nher husband, she calmly perished in the flames with the Huns. Another\nversion relates, however, that she murdered Atli with Sigurd's sword,\nand having placed his body on a ship, which she sent adrift, she cast\nherself into the sea and was drowned.\n\n\n \"She spread out her arms as she spake it, and away from the earth\n she leapt\n And cut off her tide of returning: for the sea-waves over her\n swept,\n And their will is her will henceforward, and who knoweth the\n deeps of the sea,\n And the wealth of the bed of Gudrun, and the days that yet\n shall be?\"\n\n\nAccording to a third and very different version, Gudrun was not\ndrowned, but was borne by the waves to the land where Jonakur was\nking. There she became his wife, and the mother of three sons, Soerli,\nHamdir, and Erp. She recovered possession, moreover, of her beloved\ndaughter Swanhild, who, in the meantime, had grown into a beautiful\nmaiden of marriageable age.\n\n\n\nSwanhild\n\nSwanhild became affianced to Ermenrich, King of Gothland, who sent his\nson, Randwer, and one of his servants, Sibich, to escort the bride to\nhis kingdom. Sibich was a traitor, and as part of a plan to compass the\ndeath of the royal family that he might claim the kingdom, he accused\nRandwer of having tried to win his young stepmother's affections. This\naccusation so roused the anger of Ermenrich that he ordered his son to\nbe hanged, and Swanhild to be trampled to death under the feet of wild\nhorses. The beauty of this daughter of Sigurd and Gudrun was such,\nhowever, that even the wild steeds could not be induced to harm her\nuntil she had been hidden from their sight under a great blanket,\nwhen they trod her to death under their cruel hoofs.\n\nUpon learning the fate of her beloved daughter, Gudrun called her\nthree sons to her side, and girding them with armour and weapons\nagainst which nothing but stone could prevail, she bade them depart\nand avenge their murdered sister, after which she died of grief,\nand was burned on a great pyre.\n\nThe three youths, Soerli, Hamdir, and Erp, proceeded to Ermenrich's\nkingdom, but ere they met their foes, the two eldest, deeming Erp too\nyoung to assist them, taunted him with his small size, and finally\nslew him. Soerli and Hamdir then attacked Ermenrich, cut off his hands\nand feet, and would have slain him but for a one-eyed stranger who\nsuddenly appeared and bade the bystanders throw stones at the young\nmen. His orders were immediately carried out, and Soerli and Hamdir\nsoon fell slain under the shower of stones, which, as we have seen,\nalone had power to injure them.\n\n\n \"Ye have heard of Sigurd aforetime, how the foes of God he slew;\n How forth from the darksome desert the Gold of Waters he drew;\n How he wakened Love on the Mountain, and wakened Brynhild the\n Bright,\n And dwelt upon Earth for a season, and shone in all men's sight.\n Ye have heard of the Cloudy People, and the dimming of the day,\n And the latter world's confusion, and Sigurd gone away;\n Now ye know of the Need of the Niblungs and the end of broken\n troth,\n All the death of kings and of kindreds and the Sorrow of Odin\n the Goth.\"\n\n\n\nInterpretation of the Saga\n\nThis story of the Volsungs is supposed by some authorities to be\na series of sun myths, in which Sigi, Rerir, Volsung, Sigmund, and\nSigurd in turn personify the glowing orb of day. They are all armed\nwith invincible swords, the sunbeams, and all travel through the world\nfighting against their foes, the demons of cold and darkness. Sigurd,\nlike Balder, is beloved of all; he marries Brunhild, the dawn maiden,\nwhom he finds in the midst of flames, the flush of morn, and parts\nfrom her only to find her again when his career is ended. His body is\nburned on the funeral pyre, which, like Balder's, represents either\nthe setting sun or the last gleam of summer, of which he too is a\ntype. The slaying of Fafnir symbolises the destruction of the demon\nof cold or darkness, who has stolen the golden hoard of summer or\nthe yellow rays of the sun.\n\nAccording to other authorities, this Saga is based upon history. Atli\nis the cruel Attila, the \"Scourge of God,\" while Gunnar is Gundicarius,\na Burgundian monarch, whose kingdom was destroyed by the Huns, and who\nwas slain with his brothers in 451. Gudrun is the Burgundian princess\nIldico, who slew her husband on her wedding-night, as has already\nbeen related, using the glittering blade which had once belonged to\nthe sun-god to avenge her murdered kinsmen.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXVII: THE STORY OF FRITHIOF\n\n\nBishop Tegner\n\nProbably no writer of the nineteenth century did so much to awaken\ninterest in the literary treasures of Scandinavia as Bishop Esaias\nTegner, whom a Swedish author characterised as, \"that mighty Genie\nwho organises even disorder.\"\n\nTegner's \"Frithiof Saga\" has been translated once at least into every\nEuropean tongue, and some twenty times into English and German. Goethe\nspoke of the work with the greatest enthusiasm, and the tale, which\ngives a matchless picture of the life of our heathen ancestors in the\nNorth, drew similar praise from Longfellow, who considered it to be\none of the most remarkable productions of his century.\n\nAlthough Tegner has chosen for his theme the Frithiof saga only, we\nfind that that tale is the sequel to the older but less interesting\nThorsten saga, of which we give here a very brief outline, merely to\nenable the reader to understand clearly every allusion in the more\nmodern poem.\n\nAs is so frequently the case with these ancient tales, the story begins\nwith Haloge (Loki), who came north with Odin, and began to reign over\nnorthern Norway, which from him was called Halogaland. According to\nNorthern mythology, this god had two lovely daughters. They were\ncarried off by bold suitors, who, banished from the mainland by\nHaloge's curses and magic spells, took refuge with their newly won\nwives upon neighbouring islands.\n\n\n\nBirth of Viking\n\nThus it happened that Haloge's grandson, Viking, was born upon the\nisland of Bornholm, in the Baltic Sea, where he dwelt until he was\nfifteen, and where he became the biggest and strongest man of his\ntime. Rumours of his valour finally reached Hunvor, a Swedish princess,\nwho was oppressed by the attentions of a gigantic suitor whom none\ndared drive away, and she sent for Viking to deliver her.\n\nThus summoned, the youth departed, after having received from his\nfather a magic sword named Angurvadel, whose blows would prove fatal\neven to a giant like the suitor of Hunvor. A \"holmgang,\" as a duel\nwas termed in the North, ensued as soon as the hero arrived upon the\nscene, and Viking, having slain his antagonist, could have married\nthe princess had it not been considered disgraceful for a Northman\nto marry before he was twenty.\n\nTo beguile the time of waiting for his promised bride, Viking set\nout in a well-manned dragon ship; and cruising about the Northern and\nSouthern seas, he met with countless adventures. During this time he\nwas particularly persecuted by the kindred of the giant he had slain,\nwho were adepts in magic, and they brought upon him innumerable perils\nby land and sea.\n\nAided and abetted by his bosom friend, Halfdan, Viking escaped every\ndanger, slew many of his foes, and, after rescuing Hunvor, whom, in\nthe meantime, the enemy had carried off to India, he settled down in\nSweden. His friend, faithful in peace as well as in war, settled near\nhim, and married also, choosing for wife Ingeborg, Hunvor's attendant.\n\nThe saga now describes the long, peaceful winters, when the warriors\nfeasted and listened to the tales of scalds, rousing themselves to\nenergetic efforts only when returning spring again permitted them to\nlaunch their dragon ships and set out once more upon their piratical\nexpeditions.\n\n\n \"Then the Scald took his harp and sang,\n And loud through the music rang\n The sound of that shining word;\n And the harp-strings a clangour made,\n As if they were struck with the blade\n Of a sword.\n\n \"And the Berserks round about\n Broke forth into a shout\n That made the rafters ring:\n They smote with their fists on the board,\n And shouted, 'Long live the Sword,\n And the King!'\"\n\n Longfellow's Saga of King Olaf.\n\n\nIn the old story the scalds relate with great gusto every phase of\nattack and defence during cruise and raid, and describe every blow\ngiven and received, dwelling with satisfaction upon the carnage and\nlurid flames which envelop both enemies and ships in common ruin. A\nfierce fight is often an earnest of future friendship, however, and\nwe are told that Halfdan and Viking, having failed to conquer Njorfe,\na foeman of mettle, sheathed their swords after a most obstinate\nstruggle, and accepted their enemy as a third link in their close\nbond of friendship.\n\nOn returning home from one of these customary raids, Viking lost\nhis beloved wife; and, entrusting her child, Ring, to the care of a\nfoster father, after undergoing a short period of mourning, the brave\nwarrior married again. This time his marital bliss was more lasting,\nfor the saga tells that his second wife bore him nine stalwart sons.\n\nNjorfe, King of Uplands, in Norway, also rejoiced in a family of\nnine brave sons. Now, although their fathers were united in bonds of\nthe closest friendship, having sworn blood brotherhood according to\nthe true Northern rites, the young men were jealous of one another,\nand greatly inclined to quarrel.\n\n\n\nThe Game of Ball\n\nNotwithstanding this smouldering animosity, the youths often met;\nand the saga relates that they used to play ball together, and gives\na description of the earliest ball game on record in the Northern\nannals. Viking's sons, as tall and strong as he, were inclined to be\nrather reckless of their opponents' welfare, and, judging from the\nfollowing account, translated from the old saga, the players were\noften left in as sorry a condition as after a modern game.\n\n\"The next morning the brothers went to the games, and generally had\nthe ball during the day; they pushed men and let them fall roughly,\nand beat others. At night three men had their arms broken, and many\nwere bruised or maimed.\"\n\nThe game between Njorfe's and Viking's sons culminated in a\ndisagreement, and one of Njorfe's sons struck one of his opponents\na dangerous and treacherous blow. Prevented from taking his revenge\nthen and there by the interference of the spectators, the injured\nman made a trivial excuse to return to the ground alone; and, meeting\nhis assailant there, he slew him.\n\n\n\nThe Blood Feud\n\nWhen Viking heard that one of his sons had slain one of his friend's\nchildren, he was very indignant, and mindful of his oath to avenge all\nNjorfe's wrongs, he banished the young murderer. The other brothers,\non hearing this sentence, vowed that they would accompany the exile,\nand so Viking sorrowfully bade them farewell, giving his sword\nAngurvadel to Thorsten, the eldest, and cautioning him to remain\nquietly on an island in Lake Wener until all danger of retaliation\non the part of Njorfe's remaining sons should be over.\n\nThe young men obeyed; but Njorfe's sons were determined to avenge\ntheir brother, and although they had no boats to convey them over\nthe lake, they made use of a conjurer's art to bring about a great\nfrost. Accompanied by many armed men, they then stole noiselessly\nover the ice to attack Thorsten and his brothers, and a terrible\ncarnage ensued. Only two of the attacking party managed to escape,\nbut they left, as they fancied, all their foes among the dead.\n\nThen came Viking to bury his sons, and he found that two of them,\nThorsten and Thorer, were still alive; whereupon he secretly conveyed\nthem to a cellar beneath his dwelling, and in due time they recovered\nfrom their wounds.\n\nNjorfe's two surviving sons soon discovered by magic arts that their\nopponents were not dead, and they made a second desperate but vain\nattempt to kill them. Viking saw that the quarrel would be incessantly\nrenewed if his sons remained at home; so he now sent them to Halfdan,\nwhose court they reached after a series of adventures which in many\npoints resemble those of Theseus on his way to Athens.\n\nWhen spring came round Thorsten embarked on a piratical excursion,\nin the course of which he encountered Jokul, Njorfe's eldest son,\nwho, meanwhile, had taken forcible possession of the kingdom of Sogn,\nhaving killed the king, banished his heir, Bele, and changed his\nbeautiful daughter, Ingeborg, into the similitude of an old witch.\n\nThroughout the story Jokul is represented as somewhat of a coward,\nfor he resorted by preference to magic when he wished to injure\nViking's sons. Thus he stirred up great tempests, and Thorsten,\nafter twice suffering shipwreck, was only saved from the waves by\nthe seeming witch, whom he promised to marry in gratitude for her\ngood offices. Thorsten, advised by Ingeborg, now went in search of\nBele, whom he found and replaced upon his hereditary throne, having\nsworn eternal friendship with him. After this, the baleful spell was\nremoved, and Ingeborg, now revealed in her native beauty, was united\nto Thorsten, and dwelt with him at Framnaes.\n\n\n\nThorsten and Bele\n\nEvery spring Thorsten and Bele set out together in their ships; and,\nupon one of these expeditions, they joined forces with Angantyr,\na foe whose mettle they had duly tested, and proceeded to recover\npossession of a priceless treasure, a magic dragon ship named Ellida,\nwhich AEgir, god of the sea, had once given to Viking in reward for\nhospitable treatment, and which had been stolen from him.\n\n\n \"A royal gift to behold, for the swelling planks of its framework\n Were not fastened with nails, as is wont, but grown in together.\n Its shape was that of a dragon when swimming, but forward\n Its head rose proudly on high, the throat with yellow gold flaming;\n Its belly was spotted with red and yellow, but back by the rudder\n Coiled out its mighty tail in circles, all scaly with silver;\n Black wings with edges of red; when all were expanded\n Ellida raced with the whistling storm, but outstript the eagle.\n When filled to the edge with warriors, it sailed o'er the waters,\n You'd deem it a floating fortress, or warlike abode of a monarch.\n The ship was famed far and wide, and of ships was first in\n the North.\"\n\n Tegner, Frithiof Saga (Spalding's tr.).\n\n\nThe next season, Thorsten, Bele, and Angantyr conquered the Orkney\nIslands, which were given as a kingdom to the latter, he voluntarily\npledging himself to pay a yearly tribute to Bele. Next Thorsten and\nBele went in quest of a magic ring, or armlet, once forged by Voelund,\nthe smith, and stolen by Sote, a famous pirate.\n\nThis bold robber was so afraid lest some one should gain possession of\nthe magic ring, that he had buried himself alive with it in a mound\nin Bretland. Here his ghost was said to keep constant watch over it,\nand when Thorsten entered his tomb, Bele, who waited outside, heard\nthe sound of frightful blows given and returned, and saw lurid gleams\nof supernatural fire.\n\nWhen Thorsten finally staggered out of the mound, pale and bloody,\nbut triumphant, he refused to speak of the horrors he had encountered\nto win the coveted treasure, but often would he say, as he showed it,\n\"I trembled but once in my life, and 'twas when I seized it!\"\n\n\n\nBirth of Frithiof and Ingeborg\n\nThus owner of the three greatest treasures of the North, Thorsten\nreturned home to Framnaes, where Ingeborg bore him a fine boy, Frithiof,\nwhile two sons, Halfdan and Helge, were born to Bele. The lads played\ntogether, and were already well grown when Ingeborg, Bele's little\ndaughter, was born, and some time later the child was entrusted to\nthe care of Hilding, who was already Frithiof's foster father, as\nThorsten's frequent absences made it difficult for him to undertake\nthe training of his boy.\n\n\n \"Jocund they grew, in guileless glee;\n Young Frithiof was the sapling tree;\n In budding beauty by his side,\n Sweet Ingeborg, the garden's pride.\"\n\n Tegner, Frithiof Saga (Longfellow's tr.).\n\n\nFrithiof soon became hardy and fearless under his foster father's\ntraining, and Ingeborg rapidly developed the sweetest traits of\ncharacter and loveliness. Both were happiest when together; and as\nthey grew older their childish affection daily became deeper and more\nintense, until Hilding, perceiving this state of affairs, bade the\nyouth remember that he was a subject of the king, and therefore no\nmate for his only daughter.\n\n\n \"To Odin, in his star-lit sky,\n Ascends her titled ancestry;\n But Thorsten's son art thou; give way!\n For 'like thrives best with like,' they say.\"\n\n Tegner, Frithiof Saga (G. Stephens's tr.).\n\n\n\nFrithiof's Love for Ingeborg\n\nThese wise admonitions came too late, however, and Frithiof vehemently\ndeclared that he would win the fair Ingeborg for his bride in spite\nof all obstacles and his more humble origin.\n\nShortly after this Bele and Thorsten met for the last time, near the\nmagnificent shrine of Balder, where the king, feeling that his end was\nnear, had convened a solemn assembly, or Thing, of all his principal\nsubjects, in order to present his sons Helge and Halfdan to the people\nas his chosen successors. The young heirs were very coldly received\non this occasion, for Helge was of a sombre and taciturn disposition,\nand inclined to the life of a priest, and Halfdan was of a weak,\neffeminate nature, and noted for his love of pleasure rather than of\nwar and the chase. Frithiof, who was present, and stood beside them,\nwas the object of many admiring glances from the throng.\n\n\n \"But close behind them Frithiof goes,\n Wrapp'd in his mantle blue;\n His height a whole head taller rose\n Than that of both the two.\n\n He stands between the brothers there--\n As though the ripe day stood\n Atween young morning rosy-fair,\n And night within the wood.\"\n\n Tegner, Frithiof Saga (G. Stephens's tr.).\n\n\nAfter giving his last instructions and counsel to his sons, and\nspeaking kindly to Frithiof, for whom he entertained a warm regard,\nthe old king turned to his lifelong companion, Thorsten, to take\nleave of him, but the old warrior declared that they would not long\nbe parted. Bele then spoke again to his sons, and bade them erect his\nhowe, or funeral mound, within sight of that of Thorsten, that their\nspirits might commune over the waters of the narrow firth which would\nflow between them, that so they might not be sundered even in death.\n\n\n\nHelge and Halfdan\n\nThese instructions were piously carried out when, shortly after, the\naged companions breathed their last; and the great barrows having been\nerected, the brothers, Helge and Halfdan, began to rule their kingdom,\nwhile Frithiof, their former playmate, withdrew to his own place at\nFramnaes, a fertile homestead, lying in a snug valley enclosed by the\ntowering mountains and the waters of the ever-changing firth.\n\n\n \"Three miles extended around the fields of the homestead; on\n three sides\n Valleys and mountains and hills, but on the fourth side was\n the ocean.\n Birch-woods crowned the summits, but over the down-sloping\n hill-sides\n Flourished the golden corn, and man-high was waving the rye-field.\"\n\n Tegner, Frithiof Saga (Longfellow's tr.).\n\n\nBut although surrounded by faithful retainers, and blessed with much\nwealth and the possession of the famous treasures of his hero sire,\nthe sword Angurvadel, the Voelund ring, and the matchless dragon\nship Ellida, Frithiof was unhappy, because he could no longer see\nthe fair Ingeborg daily. All his former spirits revived, however,\nwhen in the spring, at his invitation, both kings came to visit him,\ntogether with their fair sister, and once again they spent long\nhours in cheerful companionship. As they were thus constantly thrown\ntogether, Frithiof found opportunity to make known to Ingeborg his\ndeep affection, and he received in return an avowal of her love.\n\n\n \"He sat by her side, and he pressed her soft hand,\n And he felt a soft pressure responsive and bland;\n Whilst his love-beaming gaze\n Was returned as the sun's in the moon's placid rays.\"\n\n Tegner, Frithiof Saga (Longfellow's tr.).\n\n\n\nFrithiof's Suit\n\nWhen the visit was ended and the guests had departed, Frithiof informed\nhis confidant and chief companion, Bjoern, of his determination to\nfollow them and openly ask for Ingeborg's hand. His ship was set free\nfrom its moorings and it swooped like an eagle over to the shore near\nBalder's shrine, where the royal brothers were seated in state on\nBele's tomb to listen to the petitions of their subjects. Straightway\nFrithiof presented himself before them, and manfully made his request,\nadding that the old king had always loved him and would surely have\ngranted his prayer.\n\n\n \"No king was my sire, not a jarl, ev'n--'tis true;\n Yet Scald-songs his mem'ry and exploits renew;\n The Rune-stones will tell\n On high-vaulted cairn what my race hath done well.\n\n \"With ease could I win me both empire and land;--\n But rather I stay on my forefathers' strand;\n While arms I can wield--\n Both poverty's hut and king's palace I'll shield.\n\n \"On Bele's round barrow we stand; each word\n In the dark deeps beneath us he hears and has heard;\n With Frithiof pleadeth\n The old Chief in his cairn: think! your answer thought needeth.\"\n\n Tegner, Frithiof Saga (G. Stephens's tr.).\n\n\nThen he went on to promise lifelong fealty and the service of his\nstrong right arm in exchange for the boon he craved.\n\nAs Frithiof ceased King Helge rose, and regarding the young man\nscornfully, he said: \"Our sister is not for a peasant's son; proud\nchiefs of the Northland may dispute for her hand, but not thou. As\nfor thy arrogant proffer, know that I can protect my kingdom. Yet if\nthou wouldst be my man, place in my household mayst thou have.\"\n\nEnraged at the insult thus publicly offered, Frithiof drew his\ninvincible sword; but, remembering that he stood on a consecrated spot,\nhe struck only at the royal shield, which fell in two pieces clashing\nto the ground. Then striding back to his ship in sullen silence,\nhe embarked and sailed away.\n\n\n \"And lo! cloven in twain at a stroke\n Fell King Helge's gold shield from its pillar of oak:\n At the clang of the blow,\n The live started above, the dead started below.\"\n\n Tegner, Frithiof Saga (Longfellow's tr.).\n\n\n\nSigurd Ring a Suitor\n\nAfter his departure came messengers from Sigurd Ring, the aged King\nof Ringric, in Norway, who, having lost his wife, sent to Helge and\nHalfdan to ask Ingeborg's hand in marriage. Before returning answer\nto this royal suitor, Helge consulted the Vala, or prophetess, and\nthe priests, who all declared that the omens were not in favour of the\nmarriage. Upon this Helge assembled his people to hear the word which\nthe messengers were to carry to their master, but unfortunately King\nHalfdan gave way to his waggish humour, and made scoffing reference\nto the advanced age of the royal suitor. These impolitic words\nwere reported to King Ring, and so offended him that he immediately\ncollected an army and prepared to march against the Kings of Sogn to\navenge the insult with his sword. When the rumour of his approach\nreached the cowardly brothers they were terrified, and fearing to\nencounter the foe unaided, they sent Hilding to Frithiof to implore\nhis help.\n\nHilding found Frithiof playing chess with Bjoern, and immediately made\nknown his errand.\n\n\n \"'From Bele's high heirs\n I come with courteous words and prayers\n Disastrous tidings rouse the brave;\n On thee a nation's hope relies.\n \n In Balder's fane, griefs loveliest prey,\n Sweet Ing'borg weeps the livelong day:\n Say, can her tears unheeded fall,\n Nor call her champion to her side?'\"\n\n Tegner, Frithiof Saga (Longfellow's tr.).\n\n\nWhile the old man was speaking Frithiof continued to play, ever and\nanon interjecting an enigmatical reference to the game, until at this\npoint he said:\n\n\n \"Bjoern; thou in vain my queen pursuest,\n She from childhood dearest, truest!\n She's my game's most darling piece, and\n Come what will--I'll save my queen!\"\n\n Tegner, Frithiof Saga (G. Stephens's tr.).\n\n\nHilding did not understand such mode of answering, and at length\nrebuked Frithiof for his indifference. Then Frithiof rose, and\npressing kindly the old man's hand, he bade him tell the kings that\nhe was too deeply offended to listen to their appeal.\n\nHelge and Halfdan, thus forced to fight without their bravest leader,\npreferred to make a treaty with Sigurd Ring, and they agreed to give\nhim not only their sister Ingeborg, but also a yearly tribute.\n\n\n\nAt Balder's Shrine\n\nWhile they were thus engaged at Sogn Sound, Frithiof hastened to\nBalder's temple, to which Ingeborg had been sent for security, and\nwhere, as Hilding had declared, he found her a prey to grief. Now\nalthough it was considered a sacrilege for man and woman to exchange a\nword in the sacred building, Frithiof could not forbear to console her;\nand, forgetting all else, he spoke to her and comforted her, quieting\nall her apprehensions of the gods' anger by assuring her that Balder,\nthe good, must view their innocent passion with approving eyes, for\nlove so pure as theirs could defile no sanctuary; and they ended by\nplighting their troth before the shrine of Balder.\n\n\n \"'Thou whisp'rest \"Balder,\"--His wrath fearest;--\n That gentle god all anger flies.\n We worship here a Lover, dearest!\n Our hearts' love is his sacrifice;\n That god whose brow beams sunshine-splendour,\n Whose faith lasts through eternity,--\n Was not his love to beauteous Nanna\n As pure, as warm, as mine to thee?\n\n \"'His image see!--himself broods o'er it--\n How mild, how kind, his bright eyes move!\n An off'ring bear I here before it,\n A warm heart full of purest love.\nCome, kneel with me! no altar incense\n To Balder's soul more grateful is\n Than two hearts, vowing in his presence\n A mutual faith as true as his!'\"\n\n Tegner, Frithiof Saga (G. Stephens's tr.).\n\n\nReassured by this reasoning, which received added strength from the\nvoice which spoke loudly from her own heart, Ingeborg could not refuse\nto see and converse with Frithiof. During the kings' absence the\nyoung lovers met every day, and they exchanged love-tokens, Frithiof\ngiving to Ingeborg Voelund's arm-ring, which she solemnly promised to\nsend back to her lover should she be compelled to break her promise\nto live for him alone. Frithiof lingered at Framnaes until the kings'\nreturn, when, yielding to the fond entreaties of Ingeborg the Fair,\nhe again appeared before them, and pledged himself to free them from\ntheir thraldom to Sigurd Ring if they would only reconsider their\ndecision and promise him their sister's hand.\n\n\n \"'War stands and strikes\n His glitt'ring shield within thy boundaries;\n Thy realm, King Helge, is in jeopardy:\n But give thy sister, and I'll lend mine arm\n Thy guard in battle. It may stead thee well.\n Come! let this grudge between us be forgotten,\n Unwilling bear I such 'gainst Ing'borg's brother.\n Be counsell'd, King! be just! and save at once\n Thy golden crown and thy fair sister's heart!\n Here is my hand: by Asa-Thor I swear\n Never again 'tis stretch'd in reconcilement!'\"\n\n Tegner, Frithiof Saga (G. Stephens's tr.).\n\n\n\nFrithiof Banished\n\nBut although this offer was received with acclamation by the assembled\nwarriors, Helge scornfully demanded of Frithiof whether he had spoken\nwith Ingeborg and so defiled the temple of Balder.\n\nA shout of \"Say nay, Frithiof! say nay!\" broke from the ring\nof warriors, but he proudly answered: \"I would not lie to gain\nValhalla. I have spoken to thy sister, Helge, yet have I not broken\nBalder's peace.\"\n\nA murmur of horror passed through the ranks at this avowal, and when\nthe harsh voice of Helge was raised in judgment, none was there to\ngainsay the justice of the sentence.\n\nThis apparently was not a harsh one, but Helge well knew that it\nmeant death, and he so intended it.\n\nFar westward lay the Orkney Islands, ruled by Jarl Angantyr, whose\nyearly tribute to Bele was withheld now that the old king lay in\nhis cairn. Hard-fisted he was said to be, and heavy of hand, and to\nFrithiof was given the task of demanding the tribute face to face.\n\nBefore he sailed upon the judgment-quest, however, he once more sought\nIngeborg, and implored her to elope with him to a home in the sunny\nSouth, where her happiness should be his law, and where she should\nrule over his subjects as his honoured wife. But Ingeborg sorrowfully\nrefused to accompany him, saying that, since her father was no more,\nshe was in duty bound to obey her brothers implicitly, and could not\nmarry without their consent.\n\nThe fiery spirit of Frithiof was at first impatient under this\ndisappointment of his hopes, but in the end his noble nature conquered,\nand after a heartrending parting scene, he embarked upon Ellida, and\nsorrowfully sailed out of the harbour, while Ingeborg, through a mist\nof tears, watched the sail as it faded and disappeared in the distance.\n\nThe vessel was barely out of sight when Helge sent for two witches\nnamed Heid and Ham, bidding them by incantations to stir up a tempest\nat sea in which it would be impossible for even the god-given vessel\nEllida to live, that so all on board should perish. The witches\nimmediately complied; and with Helge's aid they soon stirred up a\nstorm the fury of which is unparalleled in history.\n\n\n \"Helge on the strand\n Chants his wizard-spell,\n Potent to command\n Fiends of earth or hell.\n Gathering darkness shrouds the sky;\n Hark, the thunder's distant roll!\n Lurid lightnings, as they fly,\n Streak with blood the sable pole.\n Ocean, boiling to its base,\n Scatters wide its wave of foam;\n Screaming, as in fleetest chase,\n Sea-birds seek their island home.\"\n\n Tegner, Frithiof Saga (Longfellow's tr.).\n\n\n \"Then the storm unfetter'd wingeth\n Wild his course; in Ocean's foam\n Now he dips him, now up-swingeth,\n Whirling toward the God's own home:\n Rides each Horror-spirit, warning,\n High upon the topmost wave--\n Up from out the white, vast, yawning,\n Bottomless, unfathom'd grave.\"\n\n Tegner, Frithiof Saga (G. Stephens's tr.).\n\n\nThe Tempest\n\nUnfrighted by tossing waves and whistling blasts, Frithiof sang a\ncheery song to reassure his terrified crew; but when the peril grew\nso great that his exhausted followers gave themselves up for lost, he\nbethought him of tribute to the goddess Ran, who ever requires gold of\nthem who would rest in peace under the ocean wave. Taking his armlet,\nhe hewed it with his sword and made fair division among his men.\n\n\n \"Who goes empty-handed\n Down to sea-blue Ran?\n Cold her kisses strike, and\n Fleeting her embrace is.\"\n\n Tegner, Frithiof Saga (G. Stephens's tr.).\n\n\nHe then bade Bjoern hold the rudder, and himself climbed to the mast-top\nto view the horizon. While perched there he descried a whale, upon\nwhich the two witches were riding the storm. Speaking to his good\nship, which was gifted with power of understanding and could obey\nhis commands, he now ran down both whale and witches, and the sea was\nreddened with their blood. At the same instant the wind fell, the waves\nceased to threaten, and fair weather soon smiled again upon the seas.\n\nExhausted by their previous superhuman efforts and by the labour\nof baling their water-logged vessel, the men were too weak to land\nwhen they at last reached the Orkney Islands, and had to be carried\nashore by Bjoern and Frithiof, who gently laid them down on the sand,\nbidding them rest and refresh themselves after all the hardships they\nhad endured.\n\n\n \"Yet more wearied than their Dragon\n Totter Frithiof's gallant men;\n Though each leans upon his weapon,\n Scarcely upright stand they then.\n Bjoern, on pow'rful shoulder, dareth\n Four to carry to the land;\n Frithiof, all alone, eight beareth,--\n Sets them so round the upblaz'd brand.\n\n 'Nay! ye white-fac'd, shame not!\n Waves are mighty Vikings;\n Hard's the unequal struggle--\n Ocean's maids our foes.\n See! there comes the mead-horn,\n Wand'ring on bright gold-foot;\n Shipmates! cold limbs warm,--and\n Here's to Ingeborg!'\"\n\n Tegner, Frithiof Saga (G. Stephen's tr.).\n\n\nThe arrival of Frithiof and his men, and their mode of landing, had\nbeen noted by the watchman of Angantyr, who immediately informed his\nmaster of all he had seen. The jarl exclaimed that the ship which had\nweathered such a gale could be none but Ellida, and that its captain\nwas doubtless Frithiof, Thorsten's gallant son. At these words one\nof his Berserkers, Atle, caught up his weapons and strode from the\nhall, vowing that he would challenge Frithiof, and thus satisfy\nhimself concerning the veracity of the tales he had heard of the\nyoung hero's courage.\n\n\n\nAtle's Challenge\n\nAlthough still greatly exhausted, Frithiof immediately accepted\nAtle's challenge, and, after a sharp encounter with swords,\nin which Angurvadel was triumphant, the two champions grappled in\ndeadly embrace. Widely is that wrestling-match renowned in the North,\nand well matched were the heroes, but in the end Frithiof threw his\nantagonist, whom he would have slain then and there had his sword been\nwithin reach. Atle saw his intention, and bade him go in search of the\nweapon, promising to remain motionless during his absence. Frithiof,\nknowing that such a warrior's promise was inviolable, immediately\nobeyed; but when he returned with his sword, and found his antagonist\ncalmly awaiting death, he relented, and bade Atle rise and live.\n\n\n \"Then storm they, nothing yielded,\n Two autumn-billows like!\n And oft, with steel round shielded,\n Their jarring breasts fierce strike.\n\n \"All like two bears they wrestle,\n On hills of snow; and draw\n And strain, each like an eagle\n On the angry sea at war.\n The root-fast rock resisted\n Full hardly them between\n And green iron oaks down-twisted\n With lesser pulls have been.\n\n \"From each broad brow sweat rushes;\n Their bosoms coldly heave;\n And stones and mounds and bushes\n Dints hundred-fold receive.\"\n\n Tegner, Frithiof Saga (G. Stephens's tr.).\n\n\nTogether the appeased warriors now wended their way to Angantyr's hall,\nwhich Frithiof found to be far different from the rude dwellings of\nhis native land. The walls were covered with leather richly decorated\nwith gilt designs. The chimney-piece was of marble, and glass panes\nwere in the window-frames. A soft light was diffused from many candles\nburning in silver branches, and the tables groaned under the most\nluxurious fare.\n\nHigh in a silver chair sat the jarl, clad in a coat of golden\nmail, over which was flung a rich mantle bordered with ermine,\nbut when Frithiof entered he strode from his seat with cordial hand\noutstretched. \"Full many a horn have I emptied with my old friend\nThorsten,\" said he, \"and his brave son is equally welcome at my board.\"\n\nNothing loth, Frithiof seated himself beside his host, and after he\nhad eaten and drunk he recounted his adventures upon land and sea.\n\nAt last, however, Frithiof made known his errand, whereupon Angantyr\nsaid that he owed no tribute to Helge, and would pay him none; but\nthat he would give the required sum as a free gift to his old friend's\nson, leaving him at liberty to dispose of it as he pleased. Meantime,\nsince the season was unpropitious for the return journey, and storms\ncontinually swept the sea, the king invited Frithiof to tarry with\nhim over the winter; and it was only when the gentle spring breezes\nwere blowing once more that he at last allowed him to depart.\n\n\n\nFrithiof's Home-coming\n\nTaking leave of his kind host, Frithiof set sail, and wafted by\nfavourable winds, the hero, after six days, came in sight of Framnaes,\nand found that his home had been reduced to a shapeless heap of ashes\nby Helge's orders. Sadly Frithiof strode over the ravaged site of his\nchildhood's home, and as he viewed the desolate scene his heart burned\nwithin him. The ruins were not entirely deserted, however, and suddenly\nFrithiof felt the cold nozzle of his hound thrust into his hand. A\nfew moments later his favourite steed bounded to his master's side,\nand the faithful creatures were well-nigh frantic with delight. Then\ncame Hilding to greet him with the information that Ingeborg was\nnow the wife of Sigurd Ring. When Frithiof heard this he flew into a\nBerserker rage, and bade his men scuttle the vessels in the harbour,\nwhile he strode to the temple in search of Helge.\n\nThe king stood crowned amid a circle of priests, some of whom\nbrandished flaming pine-knots, while all grasped a sacrificial flint\nknife. Suddenly there was a clatter of arms and in burst Frithiof, his\nbrow dark as autumn storms. Helge's face went pale as he confronted the\nangry hero, for he knew what his coming presaged. \"Take thy tribute,\nKing,\" said Frithiof, and with the words, he took the purse from his\ngirdle and flung it in Helge's face with such force that blood gushed\nfrom his mouth and he fell swooning at Balder's feet.\n\nThe silver-bearded priests advanced to the scene of violence, but\nFrithiof motioned them back, and his looks were so threatening that\nthey durst not disobey.\n\nThen his eye fell upon the arm-ring which he had given to Ingeborg\nand which Helge had placed upon the arm of Balder, and striding up\nto the wooden image he said: \"Pardon, great Balder, not for thee\nwas the ring wrested from Voelund's tomb!\" Then he seized the ring,\nbut strongly as he tugged it would not come apart. At last he put\nforth all his strength, and with a sudden jerk he recovered the ring,\nand at the same time the image of the god fell prone across the altar\nfire. The next moment it was enveloped in flames, and before aught\ncould be done the whole temple was wreathed in fire and smoke.\n\n\n \"All, all's lost! From half-burned hall\n Th' fire-red cock up-swingeth!--\n Sits on the roof, and, with shrilly call\n Flutt'ring, his free course wingeth.\"\n\n Tegner's Frithiof Saga (G. Stephens's tr.).\n\n\nFrithiof, horror-stricken at the sacrilege which he had involuntarily\noccasioned, vainly tried to extinguish the flames and save the costly\nsanctuary, but finding his efforts unavailing he escaped to his ship\nand resolved upon the weary life of an outcast and exile.\n\n\n \"Thou may'st not rest thee,\n Thou still must haste thee,\n Ellida!--out\n Th' wide world about.\n Yes! rock on! roaming\n Mid froth salt-foaming\n My Dragon good!\n\n \"Thou billow bold\n Befriend me!--Never\n I'll from thee sever!--\n My father's Mound\n Dull stands, fast-bound,\n And self-same surges\n Chaunt changeless dirges;\n But blue shall mine\n Through foam-flow'rs shine,\n 'Mid tempests swimming,\n And storms thick dimming,\n And draw yet mo\n Down, down, below.--\n My Life-Home given,\n Thou shalt, far-driven!\n My Barrow be--\n Thou free broad Sea!\"\n\n Tegner, Frithiof Saga (G. Stephens's tr.).\n\n\n\nFrithiof an Exile\n\nHelge started in pursuit with ten great dragon-ships, but these had\nbarely got under way when they began to sink, and Bjoern said with a\nlaugh, \"What Ran enfolds I trust she will keep.\" Even King Helge was\nwith difficulty got ashore, and the survivors were forced to stand in\nhelpless inactivity while Ellida's great sails slowly sank beneath the\nhorizon. It was thus that Frithiof sadly saw his native land vanish\nfrom sight; and as it disappeared he breathed a tender farewell to\nthe beloved country which he never expected to see again.\n\nAfter thus parting from his native land, Frithiof roved the sea as a\npirate, or viking. His code was never to settle anywhere, to sleep on\nhis shield, to fight and neither give nor take quarter, to protect\nthe ships which paid him tribute and to plunder the others, and to\ndistribute all the booty to his men, reserving for himself nothing\nbut the glory of the enterprise. Sailing and fighting thus, Frithiof\nvisited many lands, and came at last to the sunny isles of Greece,\nwhither he would fain have carried Ingeborg as his bride; and the\nsights called up such a flood of sad memories that he was well-nigh\noverwhelmed with longing for his beloved and for his native land.\n\n\n\nAt the Court of Sigurd Ring\n\nThree years had passed away and Frithiof determined to return\nnorthward and visit Sigurd Ring's court. When he announced his\npurpose to Bjoern, his faithful companion reproached him for his\nrashness in thinking to journey alone, but Frithiof would not be\nturned from his purpose, saying: \"I am never alone while Angurvadel\nhangs at my side.\" Steering Ellida up the Vik (the main part of the\nChristiania Fiord), he entrusted her to Bjoern's care, and, enveloped in\na bear-hide, which he wore as a disguise, he set out on foot alone for\nthe court of Sigurd Ring, arriving there as the Yuletide festivities\nwere in progress. As if nothing more than an aged beggar, Frithiof sat\ndown upon the bench near the door, where he quickly became the butt\nof the courtiers' rough jokes. When one of his tormentors, however,\napproached too closely, the seeming beggar caught him in a powerful\ngrasp and swung him high above his head.\n\nTerrified by this exhibition of superhuman strength, the courtiers\nquickly withdrew from the dangerous vicinity, while Sigurd Ring,\nwhose attention was attracted by the commotion, sternly bade the\nstranger-guest approach and tell who thus dared to break the peace\nin his royal hall.\n\nFrithiof answered evasively that he was fostered in penitence, that\nhe inherited want, and that he came from the wolf; as to his name,\nthis did not matter. The king, as was the courteous custom, did not\npress him further, but invited him to take a seat beside him and the\nqueen, and to share his good cheer. \"But first,\" said he, \"let fall\nthe clumsy covering which veils, if I mistake not, a proper form.\"\n\nFrithiof gladly accepted the invitation thus cordially given, and when\nthe hairy hide fell from off his head and shoulders, he stood disclosed\nin the pride of youth, much to the surprise of the assembled warriors.\n\nBut although his appearance marked him as of no common race,\nnone of the courtiers recognised him. It was different, however,\nwith Ingeborg. Had any curious eye been upon her at that moment\nher changing colour and the quick heaving of her breast would have\nrevealed her deep emotion.\n\n\n \"The astonish'd queen's pale cheeks, how fast-changing rose-tints\n dye!--\n So purple Northlights, quiv'ring, on snow-hid meadows lie;\n Like two white water-lilies on storm-wave wild that rest,\n Each moment rising, falling,--so heaves her trembling breast!\"\n\n Tegner, Frithiof Saga (G. Stephens's tr.).\n\n\nFrithiof had barely taken his seat at the board when with flourish of\ntrumpets a great boar was brought in and placed before the king. In\naccordance with the Yule-tide custom of those days the old monarch\nrose, and touching the head of the animal, he uttered a vow that with\nthe help of Frey, Odin, and Thor, he would conquer the bold champion\nFrithiof. The next moment Frithiof, too, was upon his feet, and dashing\nhis sword upon the great wooden bench he declared that Frithiof was\nhis kinsman and he also would vow that though all the world withstood,\nno harm should reach the hero while he had power to wield his sword.\n\nAt this unexpected interruption the warriors had risen quickly\nfrom the oaken benches, but Sigurd Ring smiled indulgently at the\nyoung man's vehemence and said: \"Friend, thy words are overbold,\nbut never yet was guest restrained from uttering his thoughts in\nthis kingly hall.\" Then he turned to Ingeborg and bade her fill to\nthe brim with her choicest mead a huge horn, richly decorated, which\nstood in front of her, and present it to the guest. The queen obeyed\nwith downcast eyes, and the trembling of her hand caused the liquid\nto overflow. Two ordinary men could hardly have drained the mighty\ndraught, but Frithiof raised it to his lips, and when he removed the\nhorn not one drop of the mead remained.\n\nEre the banquet was ended Sigurd Ring invited the youthful stranger\nto remain at his court until the return of spring, and accepting the\nproffered hospitality, Frithiof became the constant companion of the\nroyal couple, whom he accompanied upon all occasions.\n\nOne day Sigurd Ring set out to a banquet with Ingeborg. They travelled\nin a sleigh, while Frithiof, with steel-shod feet, sped gracefully\nby their side, cutting many mystic characters in the ice. Their way\nlay over a dangerous portion of the frozen surface, and Frithiof\nwarned the king that it would be prudent to avoid this. He would\nnot listen to the counsel, however, and suddenly the sleigh sank\nin a deep fissure, which threatened to engulph it with the king and\nqueen. But like falcon descending upon its quarry, Frithiof was at\ntheir side in a moment, and without apparent effort he dragged the\nsteed and its burden on to the firm ice. \"In good sooth,\" said Ring,\n\"Frithiof himself could not have done better.\"\n\nThe long winter came to an end, and in the early spring the king and\nqueen arranged a hunting-party in which all the court were to take\npart. During the progress of the chase the advancing years of Sigurd\nRing made it impossible for him to keep up with the eager hunt, and\nthus it happened that he dropped behind, until at length he was left\nwith Frithiof as his sole companion. They rode slowly together until\nthey reached a pleasant dell which invited the weary king to repose,\nand he declared that he would lie down for a season to rest.\n\n\n \"Then threw Frithiof down his mantle, and upon the greensward\n spread,\n And the ancient king so trustful laid on Frithiof's knee his head;\n Slept, as calmly as the hero sleepeth after war's alarms\n On his shield, calm as an infant sleepeth in its mother's arms.\"\n\n Tegner, Frithiof Saga (Longfellow's tr.).\n\n\n\nFrithiof's Loyalty\n\nWhile the aged king was thus reposing, a bird sang to Frithiof from a\ntree near by, bidding him take advantage of his host's powerlessness\nto slay him, and recover the bride of whom he had been unfairly\ndeprived. But although Frithiof's hot young heart clamoured for his\nbeloved, he utterly refused to entertain the dastardly suggestion,\nbut, fearing lest he should be overcome by temptation, despite his\nhorror at the thought, he impulsively flung his sword far from him\ninto a neighbouring thicket.\n\nA few moments later Sigurd Ring opened his eyes, and informed Frithiof\nthat he had only feigned sleep; he told him also that having recognised\nhim from the first, he had tested him in many ways, and had found\nhis honour equal to his courage. Old age had now overtaken him and\nhe felt that death was drawing nigh. In but a short time, therefore,\nFrithiof might hope to realise his dearest hope, and Sigurd Ring told\nhim that he would die happy if he would stay by him until the end.\n\nA revulsion of feeling had, however, overtaken Frithiof, and he told\nthe aged king that he felt that Ingeborg could never be his, because\nof the wrath of Balder. Too long had he stayed; he would now go once\nmore upon the sea and would seek death in the fray, that so he might\nappease the offended gods.\n\nFull of his resolve, he quickly made preparations to depart, but when\nhe returned to the court to bid farewell to his royal hosts he found\nthat Sigurd Ring was at the point of death. The old warrior bethought\nhim that \"a straw death\" would not win the favour of Odin, and in\nthe presence of Frithiof and his court he slashed bravely the death\nrunes on his arm and breast. Then clasping Ingeborg with one hand,\nhe raised the other in blessing over Frithiof and his youthful son,\nand so passed in peace to the halls of the blessed.\n\n\n \"Gods all, I hail ye!\n Sons of Valhalla!\n Earth disappears; to the Asa's high feast\n Gjallar-horn bids me;\n Blessedness, like a\n Gold-helmet, circles their up-coming guest!\"\n\n Tegner, Frithiof Saga (G. Stephens's tr.).\n\n\n\nBetrothal of Frithiof and Ingeborg\n\nThe warriors of the nation now assembled in solemn Thing to choose a\nsuccessor to the throne. Frithiof had won the people's enthusiastic\nadmiration, and they would fain have elected him king; but he raised\nSigurd Ring's little son high on his shield when he heard the shout\nwhich acclaimed his name, and presented the boy to the assembly as\ntheir future king, publicly swearing to uphold him until he was of\nage to defend the realm. The lad, weary of his cramped position,\nboldly sprang to the ground as soon as Frithiof's speech was ended,\nand alighted upon his feet. This act of agile daring in one so young\nappealed to the rude Northmen, and a loud shout arose, \"We choose thee,\nshield-borne child!\"\n\n\n \"But thron'd king-like, the lad sat proud\n On shield-floor high;\n So the eaglet glad, from rock-hung cloud,\n The Sun will eye!\n\n At length this place his young blood found\n Too dull to keep;\n And, with one spring, he gains the ground--\n A royal leap!\"\n\n Tegner, Frithiof Saga (G. Stephens's tr.).\n\n\nAccording to some accounts, Frithiof now made war against Ingeborg's\nbrothers, and after conquering them, allowed them to retain their\nkingdom on condition that they paid him a yearly tribute. Then he and\nIngeborg remained in Ringric until the young king was able to assume\nthe government, when they repaired to Hordaland, a kingdom Frithiof\nhad obtained by conquest, and which he left to his sons Gungthiof\nand Hunthiof.\n\nBishop Tegner's conclusion, however, differs very considerably,\nand if it appears less true to the rude temper of the rugged days\nof the sea-rovers, its superior spiritual qualities make it more\nattractive. According to Tegner's poem, Frithiof was urged by the\npeople of Sigurd Ring to espouse Ingeborg and remain amongst them as\nguardian of the realm. But he answered that this might not be, since\nthe wrath of Balder still burned against him, and none else could\nbestow his cherished bride. He told the people that he would fare over\nthe seas and seek forgiveness of the god, and soon after, his farewells\nwere spoken, and once more his vessel was speeding before the wind.\n\nFrithiof's first visit was paid to his father's burial mound, where,\nplunged in melancholy at the desolation around, he poured out his soul\nto the outraged god. He reminded him that it was the custom of the\nNorthmen to exact blood-fines for kinsmen slain, and surely the blessed\ngods would not be less forgiving than the earth-born. Passionately\nhe adjured Balder to show him how he could make reparation for his\nunpremeditated fault, and suddenly, an answer was vouchsafed, and\nFrithiof beheld in the clouds a vision of a new temple.\n\n\n \"Then sudden, o'er the western waters pendent,\n An Image comes, with gold and flames resplendent,\n O'er Balder's grove it hovers, night's clouds under,\n Like gold crown resting on a bed of green.\n At last to a temple settling, firm 'tis grounded--\n Where Balder stood, another temple's founded.\"\n\n Tegner, Frithiof Saga (G. Stephens's tr.).\n\n\nThe hero immediately understood that the gods had thus indicated a\nmeans of atonement, and he grudged neither wealth nor pains until a\nglorious temple and grove, which far exceeded the splendour of the\nold shrine, rose out of the ruins.\n\n\n \"Finish'd great Balder's Temple stood!\n Round it no palisade of wood\n Ran now as erst;\n A railing stronger, fairer than the first,\n And all of hammer'd iron--each bar\n Gold-tipp'd and regular--\n Walls Balder's sacred House. Like some long line\n Of steel-clad champions, whose bright war-spears shine\n And golden helms afar--so stood\n This glitt'ring guard within the holy wood!\n\n \"Of granite blocks enormous, join'd with curious care\n And daring art, the massy pile was built; and there\n (A giant-work intended\n To last till time was ended,)\n It rose like Upsal's temple, where the north\n Saw Valhall's halls fair imag'd here on earth.\n\n \"Proud stood it there on mountain-steep, its lofty brow\n Reflected calmly on the sea's bright-flowing wave.\n But round about, some girdle like of beauteous flow'rs,\n Went Balder's Dale, with all its groves' soft-murmur'd sighs,\n And all its birds' sweet-twitter'd songs,--the Home of Peace.\"\n\n Tegner, Frithiof Saga (G. Stephens's tr.).\n\n\nMeantime, while the timbers were being hewed, King Helge was absent\nupon a foray amongst the Finnish mountains. One day it chanced that his\nband passed by a crag where stood the lonely shrine of some forgotten\ngod, and King Helge scaled the rocky summit with intent to raze the\nruined walls. The lock held fast, and, as Helge tugged fiercely at\nthe mouldered gate, suddenly a sculptured image of the deity, rudely\nsummoned from his ancient sleep, started from his niche above.\n\nHeavily he fell upon the head of the intruder, and Helge stretched\nhis length upon the rocky floor, nor stirred again.\n\nWhen the temple was duly consecrated to Balder's service, Frithiof\nstood by the altar to await the coming of his expected bride. But\nHalfdan first crossed the threshold, his faltering gait showing\nplainly that he feared an unfriendly reception. Seeing this,\nFrithiof unbuckled his sword and strode frankly to Halfdan with hand\noutstretched, whereupon the king, blushing deeply, grasped heartily\nthe proffered hand, and from that moment all their differences were\nforgotten. The next moment Ingeborg approached and the renewed amity\nof the long-sundered friends was ratified with the hand of the bride,\nwhich Halfdan placed in that of his new brother.\n\n\n \"Over the copper threshold Halfdan now,\n With pallid brow\n And fearful fitful glance, advanceth slow\n Tow'rds yonder tow'ring ever-dreaded foe--\n And, silent, at a distance stands,--\n Then Frithiof, with quick hands,\n The corslet-hater, Angurvadel, from his thigh\n Unbuckleth, and his bright shield's golden round\n Leaning 'gainst the altar, thus draws nigh;--\n\n While his cow'd enemy\n He thus accosts, with pleasant dignity.--\n 'Most noble in this strife will he be found\n Who first his right hand good\n Offers in pledge of peaceful brotherhood!'--\n Then Halfdan, deeply blushing, doffs with haste\n His iron-gauntlet and,--with hearty grasp embrac'd,--\n Each long, long, sever'd hand\n Its friend-foe hails, steadfast as mountain-bases stand!\n\n \"And as th' last deep accents\n Of reconcilement and of blessing sounded;\n Lo! Ing'borg sudden enters, rich adorn'd\n With bridal ornaments, and all enrob'd\n In gorgeous ermine, and by bright-ey'd maidens\n Slow-follow'd, as on heav'n's broad canopy,\n Attending star-trains guard the regent-moon!--\n But the young bride's fair eyes,\n Those two blue skies,\n Fill quick with tears,\n And to her brother's heart she trembling sinketh;--\n He, with his sister's fears\n Deep-mov'd, her hand all tenderly in Frithiof's linketh,\n His burden soft transferring to that hero's breast,\n Its long-tried faith fit place for Ing'borg's rest.\"\n\n Tegner, Frithiof Saga (G. Stephens's tr.).\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXVIII: THE TWILIGHT OF THE GODS\n\n\nThe Decline of the Gods\n\nOne of the distinctive features of Northern mythology is that the\npeople always believed that their gods belonged to a finite race. The\nAEsir had had a beginning; therefore, it was reasoned, they must have\nan end; and as they were born from a mixture of the divine and giant\nelements, being thus imperfect, they bore within them the germ of\ndeath, and were, like men, doomed to suffer physical death in order\nto attain spiritual immortality.\n\nThe whole scheme of Northern mythology was therefore a drama, every\nstep leading gradually to the climax or tragic end, when, with true\npoetic justice, punishment and reward were impartially meted out. In\nthe foregoing chapters, the gradual rise and decline of the gods have\nbeen carefully traced. We have recounted how the AEsir tolerated the\npresence of evil, personated by Loki, in their midst; how they weakly\nfollowed his advice, allowed him to involve them in all manner of\ndifficulties from which they could be extricated only at the price\nof part of their virtue or peace, and finally permitted him to gain\nsuch ascendency over them that he did not scruple to rob them of\ntheir dearest possession, purity, or innocence, as personified by\nBalder the good.\n\nToo late the gods realised how evil was this spirit that had found\na home among them, and too late they banished Loki to earth, where\nmen, following the gods' example, listened to his teachings, and were\ncorrupted by his sinister influence.\n\n\n \"Brothers slay brothers;\n Sisters' children\n Shed each other's blood.\n Hard is the world;\n Sensual sin grows huge.\n There are sword-ages, axe-ages;\n Shields are cleft in twain;\n Storm-ages, murder-ages;\n Till the world falls dead,\n And men no longer spare\n Or pity one another.\"\n\n Norse Mythology (R. B. Anderson).\n\n\n\nThe Fimbul-winter\n\nSeeing that crime was rampant, and all good banished from the earth,\nthe gods realised that the prophecies uttered of old were about to be\nfulfilled, and that the shadow of Ragnarok, the twilight or dusk of the\ngods, was already upon them. Sol and Mani grew pale with affright, and\ndrove their chariots tremblingly along their appointed paths, looking\nback with fear at the pursuing wolves which would shortly overtake and\ndevour them; and as their smiles disappeared the earth grew sad and\ncold, and the terrible Fimbul-winter began. Then snow fell from the\nfour points of the compass at once, the biting winds swept down from\nthe north, and all the earth was covered with a thick layer of ice.\n\n\n \"Grim Fimbul raged, and o'er the world\n Tempestuous winds and snowstorms hurled;\n The roaring ocean icebergs ground,\n And flung its frozen foam around,\n E'en to the top of mountain height;\n No warming air\n Nor radiance fair\n Of gentle Summer's soft'ning light,\n Tempered this dreadful glacial night.\"\n\n Valhalla (J. C. Jones).\n\nThis severe winter lasted during three whole seasons without a break,\nand was followed by three others, equally severe, during which all\ncheer departed from the earth, and the crimes of men increased with\nfearful rapidity, whilst, in the general struggle for life, the last\nfeelings of humanity and compassion disappeared.\n\n\n\nThe Wolves Let Loose\n\nIn the dim recesses of the Ironwood the giantess Iarnsaxa or Angur-boda\ndiligently fed the wolves Hati, Skoell, and Managarm, the progeny of\nFenris, with the marrow of murderers' and adulterers' bones; and\nsuch was the prevalence of these vile crimes, that the well-nigh\ninsatiable monsters were never stinted for food. They daily gained\nstrength to pursue Sol and Mani, and finally overtook and devoured\nthem, deluging the earth with blood from their dripping jaws.\n\n\n \"In the east she was seated, that aged woman, in Jarnrid,\n And there she nourished the posterity of Fenrir;\n He will be the most formidable of all, he\n Who, under the form of a monster, will swallow up the moon.\"\n\n Voluspa (Pfeiffer's tr.).\n\n\nAt this terrible calamity the whole earth trembled and shook, the\nstars, affrighted, fell from their places, and Loki, Fenris, and Garm,\nrenewing their efforts, rent their chains asunder and rushed forth to\ntake their revenge. At the same moment the dragon Nidhug gnawed through\nthe root of the ash Yggdrasil, which quivered to its topmost bough;\nthe red cock Fialar, perched above Valhalla, loudly crowed an alarm,\nwhich was immediately echoed by Gullin-kambi, the rooster in Midgard,\nand by Hel's dark-red bird in Nifl-heim.\n\n\n \"The gold-combed cock\n The gods in Valhal loudly crowed to arms;\n The blood-red cock as shrilly summons all\n On earth and down beneath it.\"\n\n Viking Tales of the North (R. B. Anderson).\n\n\n\nHeimdall Gives the Alarm\n\nHeimdall, noting these ominous portents and hearing the cock's\nshrill cry, immediately put the Giallar-horn to his lips and blew the\nlong-expected blast, which was heard throughout the world. At the first\nsound of this rally AEsir and Einheriar sprang from their golden couches\nand sallied bravely out of the great hall, armed for the coming fray,\nand, mounting their impatient steeds, they galloped over the quivering\nrainbow bridge to the spacious field of Vigrid, where, as Vafthrudnir\nhad predicted long before, the last battle was to take place.\n\n\n\nThe Terrors of the Sea\n\nThe terrible Midgard snake Ioermungandr had been aroused by the general\ndisturbance, and with immense writhings and commotion, whereby the\nseas were lashed into huge waves such as had never before disturbed\nthe deeps of ocean, he crawled out upon the land, and hastened to\njoin the dread fray, in which he was to play a prominent part.\n\n\n \"In giant wrath the Serpent tossed\n In ocean depths, till, free from chain,\n He rose upon the foaming main;\n Beneath the lashings of his tail,\n Seas, mountain high, swelled on the land;\n Then, darting mad the waves acrost,\n Pouring forth bloody froth like hail,\n Spurting with poisoned, venomed breath\n Foul, deadly mists o'er all the Earth,\n Thro' thundering surge, he sought the strand.\"\n\n Valhalla (J. C. Jones).\n\n\nOne of the great waves, stirred up by Ioermungandr's struggles, set\nafloat Nagilfar, the fatal ship, which was constructed entirely out\nof the nails of those dead folks whose relatives had failed, through\nthe ages, in their duty, having neglected to pare the nails of the\ndeceased, ere they were laid to rest. No sooner was this vessel\nafloat, than Loki boarded it with the fiery host from Muspells-heim,\nand steered it boldly over the stormy waters to the place of conflict.\n\nThis was not the only vessel bound for Vigrid, however, for out of a\nthick fog bank towards the north came another ship, steered by Hrym,\nin which were all the frost giants, armed to the teeth and eager for\na conflict with the AEsir, whom they had always hated.\n\n\n\nThe Terrors of the Underworld\n\nAt the same time, Hel, the goddess of death, crept through a crevice\nin the earth out of her underground home, closely followed by the\nHel-hound Garm, the malefactors of her cheerless realm, and the dragon\nNidhug, which flew over the battlefield bearing corpses upon his wings.\n\nAs soon as he landed, Loki welcomed these reinforcements with joy,\nand placing himself at their head he marched with them to the fight.\n\nSuddenly the skies were rent asunder, and through the fiery breach\nrode Surtr with his flaming sword, followed by his sons; and as\nthey rode over the bridge Bifroest, with intent to storm Asgard,\nthe glorious arch sank with a crash beneath their horses' tread.\n\n\n \"Down thro' the fields of air,\n With glittering armour fair,\n In battle order bright,\n They sped while seething flame\n From rapid hoofstrokes came.\n Leading his gleaming band, rode Surtur,\n 'Mid the red ranks of raging fire.\"\n\n Valhalla (J. C. Jones).\n\n\nThe gods knew full well that their end was now near, and that their\nweakness and lack of foresight placed them under great disadvantages;\nfor Odin had but one eye, Tyr but one hand, and Frey nothing but a\nstag's horn wherewith to defend himself, instead of his invincible\nsword. Nevertheless, the AEsir did not show any signs of despair, but,\nlike true battle-gods of the North, they donned their richest attire,\nand gaily rode to the battlefield, determined to sell their lives as\ndearly as possible.\n\nWhile they were mustering their forces, Odin once more rode down to\nthe Urdar fountain, where, under the toppling Yggdrasil, the Norns\nsat with veiled faces and obstinately silent, their web lying torn at\ntheir feet. Once more the father of the gods whispered a mysterious\ncommunication to Mimir, after which he remounted Sleipnir and rejoined\nthe waiting host.\n\n\n\nThe Great Battle\n\nThe combatants were now assembled on Vigrid's broad plain. On one side\nwere ranged the stern, calm faces of the AEsir, Vanas, and Einheriar;\nwhile on the other were gathered the motley host of Surtr, the grim\nfrost giants, the pale army of Hel, and Loki and his dread followers,\nGarm, Fenris, and Ioermungandr, the two latter belching forth fire and\nsmoke, and exhaling clouds of noxious, deathly vapours, which filled\nall heaven and earth with their poisonous breath.\n\n\n \"The years roll on,\n The generations pass, the ages grow,\n And bring us nearer to the final day\n When from the south shall march the fiery band\n And cross the bridge of heaven, with Lok for guide,\n And Fenris at his heel with broken chain;\n While from the east the giant Rymer steers\n His ship, and the great serpent makes to land;\n And all are marshall'd in one flaming square\n Against the Gods, upon the plains of Heaven.\"\n\n Balder Dead (Matthew Arnold).\n\n\nAll the pent-up antagonism of ages was now let loose in a torrent\nof hate, each member of the opposing hosts fighting with grim\ndetermination, as did our ancestors of old, hand to hand and face to\nface. With a mighty shock, heard above the roar of battle which filled\nthe universe, Odin and the Fenris wolf came into impetuous contact,\nwhile Thor attacked the Midgard snake, and Tyr came to grips with\nthe dog Garm. Frey closed with Surtr, Heimdall with Loki, whom he\nhad defeated once before, and the remainder of the gods and all the\nEinheriar engaged foes equally worthy of their courage. But, in spite\nof their daily preparation in the heavenly city, Valhalla's host was\ndoomed to succumb, and Odin was amongst the first of the shining\nones to be slain. Not even the high courage and mighty attributes\nof Allfather could withstand the tide of evil as personified in the\nFenris wolf. At each succeeding moment of the struggle its colossal\nsize assumed greater proportions, until finally its wide-open jaws\nembraced all the space between heaven and earth, and the foul monster\nrushed furiously upon the father of gods and engulphed him bodily\nwithin its horrid maw.\n\n\n \"Fenrir shall with impious tooth\n Slay the sire of rolling years:\n Vithar shall avenge his fall,\n And, struggling with the shaggy wolf,\n Shall cleave his cold and gory jaws.\"\n\n Vafthrudni's-mal (W. Taylor's tr.).\n\n\nNone of the gods could lend Allfather a helping hand at that critical\nmoment, for it was a time of sore trial to all. Frey put forth heroic\nefforts, but Surtr's flashing sword now dealt him a death-stroke. In\nhis struggle with the arch-enemy, Loki, Heimdall fared better, but his\nfinal conquest was dearly bought, for he, too, fell dead. The struggle\nbetween Tyr and Garm had the same tragic end, and Thor, after a most\nterrible encounter with the Midgard snake, and after slaying him with\na stroke from Mioelnir, staggered back nine paces, and was drowned in\nthe flood of venom which poured from the dying monster's jaws.\n\n\n \"Odin's son goes\n With the monster to fight;\n Midgard's Veor in his rage\n Will slay the worm;\n Nine feet will go\n Fioergyn's son,\n Bowed by the serpent\n Who feared no foe.\"\n\n Saemund's Edda (Thorpe's tr.).\n\n\nVidar now came rushing from a distant part of the plain to avenge the\ndeath of his mighty sire, and the doom foretold fell upon Fenris, whose\nlower jaw now felt the impress of that shoe which had been reserved\nfor this day. At the same moment Vidar seized the monster's upper\njaw with his hands, and with one terrible wrench tore him asunder.\n\n\n\nThe Devouring Fire\n\nThe other gods who took part in the fray, and all the Einheriar having\nnow perished, Surtr suddenly flung his fiery brands over heaven, earth,\nand the nine kingdoms of Hel. The raging flames enveloped the massive\nstem of the world ash Yggdrasil, and reached the golden palaces of\nthe gods, which were utterly consumed. The vegetation upon earth was\nlikewise destroyed, and the fervent heat made all the waters seethe\nand boil.\n\n\n \"Fire's breath assails\n The all-nourishing tree,\n Towering fire plays\n Against heaven itself.\"\n\n Saemund's Edda (Thorpe's tr.).\n\n\nThe great conflagration raged fiercely until everything was consumed,\nwhen the earth, blackened and scarred, slowly sank beneath the boiling\nwaves of the sea. Ragnarok had indeed come; the world tragedy was\nover, the divine actors were slain, and chaos seemed to have resumed\nits former sway. But as in a play, after the principals are slain and\nthe curtain has fallen, the audience still looks for the favourites\nto appear and make their bow, so the ancient Northern races fancied\nthat, all evil having perished in Surtr's flames, from the general\nruin goodness would rise, to resume its sway over the earth, and that\nsome of the gods would return to dwell in heaven for ever.\n\n\n \"All evil\n Dies there an endless death, while goodness riseth\n From that great world-fire, purified at last,\n To a life far higher, better, nobler than the past.\n\n Viking Tales of the North (R. B. Anderson).\n\n\n\nRegeneration\n\nOur ancestors believed fully in regeneration, and held that after a\ncertain space of time the earth, purged by fire and purified by its\nimmersion in the sea, rose again in all its pristine beauty and was\nillumined by the sun, whose chariot was driven by a daughter of Sol,\nborn before the wolf had devoured her mother. The new orb of day\nwas not imperfect, as the first sun had been, and its rays were no\nlonger so ardent that a shield had to be placed between it and the\nearth. These more beneficent rays soon caused the earth to renew its\ngreen mantle, and to bring forth flowers and fruit in abundance. Two\nhuman beings, a woman, Lif, and a man, Lifthrasir, now emerged from the\ndepths of Hodmimir's (Mimir's) forest, whence they had fled for refuge\nwhen Surtr set fire to the world. They had sunk into peaceful slumber\nthere, unconscious of the destruction around them, and had remained,\nnurtured by the morning dew, until it was safe for them to wander\nout once more, when they took possession of the regenerated earth,\nwhich their descendants were to people and over which they were to\nhave full sway.\n\n\n \"We shall see emerge\n From the bright Ocean at our feet an earth\n More fresh, more verdant than the last, with fruits\n Self-springing, and a seed of man preserved,\n Who then shall live in peace, as then in war.\"\n\n Balder Dead (Matthew Arnold).\n\n\n\nA New Heaven\n\nAll the gods who represented the developing forces of Nature were\nslain on the fatal field of Vigrid, but Vali and Vidar, the types of\nthe imperishable forces of Nature, returned to the field of Ida, where\nthey were met by Modi and Magni, Thor's sons, the personifications\nof strength and energy, who rescued their father's sacred hammer from\nthe general destruction, and carried it thither with them.\n\n\n \"Vithar's then and Vali's force\n Heirs the empty realm of gods;\n Mothi's thew and Magni's might\n Sways the massy mallet's weight,\n Won from Thor, when Thor must fall.\"\n\n Vafthrudni's-mal (W. Taylor's tr.).\n\n\nHere they were joined by Hoenir, no longer an exile among the Vanas,\nwho, as developing forces, had also vanished for ever; and out of\nthe dark underworld where he had languished so long rose the radiant\nBalder, together with his brother Hodur, with whom he was reconciled,\nand with whom he was to live in perfect amity and peace. The past\nhad gone for ever, and the surviving deities could recall it without\nbitterness. The memory of their former companions was, however, dear\nto them, and full often did they return to their old haunts to linger\nover the happy associations. It was thus that walking one day in the\nlong grass on Idavold, they found again the golden disks with which\nthe AEsir had been wont to sport.\n\n\n \"We shall tread once more that well-known plain\n Of Ida, and among the grass shall find\n The golden dice with which we play'd of yore;\n And that will bring to mind the former life\n And pastime of the Gods, the wise discourse\n Of Odin, the delights of other days.\"\n\n Balder Dead (Matthew Arnold).\n\nWhen the small band of gods turned mournfully towards the place\nwhere their lordly dwellings once stood, they became aware, to their\njoyful surprise, that Gimli, the highest heavenly abode, had not\nbeen consumed, for it rose glittering before them, its golden roof\noutshining the sun. Hastening thither they discovered, to the great\nincrease of their joy, that it had become the place of refuge for\nall the virtuous.\n\n\n \"In Gimli the lofty\n There shall the hosts\n Of the virtuous dwell,\n And through all ages\n Taste of deep gladness.\"\n\n Literature and Romance of Northern Europe (Howitt).\n\n\n\nOne too Mighty to Name\n\nAs the Norsemen who settled in Iceland, and through whom the\nmost complete exposition of the Odinic faith has come down to us\nin the Eddas and Sagas, were not definitely converted until the\neleventh century,--although they had come in contact with Christians\nduring their viking raids nearly six centuries before,--it is very\nprobable that the Northern scalds gleaned some idea of the Christian\ndoctrines, and that this knowledge influenced them to a certain\nextent, and coloured their descriptions of the end of the world and\nthe regeneration of the earth. It was perhaps this vague knowledge,\nalso, which induced them to add to the Edda a verse, which is generally\nsupposed to have been an interpolation, proclaiming that another God,\ntoo mighty to name, would arise to bear rule over Gimli. From his\nheavenly seat he would judge mankind, and separate the bad from the\ngood. The former would be banished to the horrors of Nastrond, while\nthe good would be transported to the blissful halls of Gimli the fair.\n\n\n \"Then comes another,\n Yet more mighty.\n But Him I dare not\n Venture to name.\n Few farther may look\n Than to where Odin\n To meet the wolf goes.\"\n\n Literature and Romance of Northern Europe (Howitt).\n\nThere were two other heavenly mansions, however, one reserved for\nthe dwarfs and the other for the giants; for as these creatures\nhad no free will, and but blindly executed the decrees of fate,\nthey were not thought to be responsible for any harm done by them,\nand were therefore held to be undeserving of punishment.\n\nThe dwarfs, ruled by Sindri, were said to occupy a hall in the Nida\nmountains, where they drank the sparkling mead, while the giants took\ntheir pleasure in the hall Brimer, situated in the region Okolnur\n(not cool), for the power of cold was entirely annihilated, and there\nwas no more ice.\n\nVarious mythologists have, of course, attempted to explain these myths,\nand some, as we have already stated, see in the story of Ragnarok the\ninfluence of Christian teachings, and esteem it only a barbaric version\nof the end of the world and the coming judgment day, when a new heaven\nand earth shall arise, and all the good shall enjoy eternal bliss.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXIX: GREEK AND NORTHERN MYTHOLOGIES\n\n\nComparative Mythology\n\nDuring the past fifty years learned men of many nations have\ninvestigated philology and comparative mythology so thoroughly that\nthey have ascertained beyond the possibility of doubt \"that English,\ntogether with all the Teutonic dialects of the Continent, belongs to\nthat large family of speech which comprises, besides the Teutonic,\nLatin, Greek, Slavonic, and Celtic, the Oriental languages of India\nand Persia.\" \"It has also been proved that the various tribes who\nstarted from the central home to discover Europe in the north,\nand India in the south, carried away with them, not only a common\nlanguage, but a common faith and a common mythology. These are facts\nwhich may be ignored but cannot be disputed, and the two sciences\nof comparative grammar and comparative mythology, though but of\nrecent origin, rest on a foundation as sound and safe as that of\nany of the inductive sciences.\" \"For more than a thousand years the\nScandinavian inhabitants of Norway have been separated in language\nfrom their Teutonic brethren on the Continent, and yet both have not\nonly preserved the same stock of popular stories, but they tell them,\nin several instances, in almost the same words.\"\n\nThis resemblance, so strong in the early literature of nations\ninhabiting countries which present much the same physical aspect and\nhave nearly the same climate, is not so marked when we compare the\nNorthern myths with those of the genial South. Still, notwithstanding\nthe contrast between Northern and Southern Europe, where these myths\ngradually ripened and attained their full growth, there is an analogy\nbetween the two mythologies which shows that the seeds from whence\nboth sprang were originally the same.\n\nIn the foregoing chapters the Northern system of mythology has been\noutlined as clearly as possible, and the physical significance of\nthe myths has been explained. Now we shall endeavour to set forth the\nresemblance of Northern mythology to that of the other Aryan nations,\nby comparing it with the Greek, which, however, it does not resemble\nas closely as it does the Oriental.\n\nIt is, of course, impossible in a work of this character to do more\nthan mention the main points of resemblance in the stories forming the\nbasis of these religions; but that will be sufficient to demonstrate,\neven to the most sceptical, that they must have been identical at a\nperiod too remote to indicate now with any certainty.\n\n\n\nThe Beginning of Things\n\nThe Northern nations, like the Greeks, imagined that the world\nrose out of chaos; and while the latter described it as a vapoury,\nformless mass, the former, influenced by their immediate surroundings,\ndepicted it as a chaos of fire and ice--a combination which is only\ntoo comprehensible to any one who has visited Iceland and seen the\nwild, peculiar contrast between its volcanic soil, spouting geysers,\nand the great icebergs which hedge it round during the long, dark\nwinter season.\n\nFrom these opposing elements, fire and ice, were born the first\ndivinities, who, like the first gods of the Greeks, were gigantic in\nstature and uncouth in appearance. Ymir, the huge ice giant, and his\ndescendants, are comparable to the Titans, who were also elemental\nforces of Nature, personifications of subterranean fire; and both,\nhaving held full sway for a time, were obliged to yield to greater\nperfection. After a fierce struggle for supremacy, they all found\nthemselves defeated and banished to the respective remote regions of\nTartarus and Joetun-heim.\n\nThe triad, Odin, Vili, and Ve, of the Northern myth is the exact\ncounterpart of Jupiter, Neptune, and Pluto, who, superior to the\nTitan forces, rule supreme over the world in their turn. In the Greek\nmythology, the gods, who are also all related to one another, betake\nthemselves to Olympus, where they build golden palaces for their use;\nand in the Northern mythology the divine conquerors repair to Asgard,\nand there construct similar dwellings.\n\n\n\nCosmogony\n\nNorthern cosmogony was not unlike the Greek, for the people imagined\nthat the earth, Mana-heim, was entirely surrounded by the sea, at\nthe bottom of which lay coiled the huge Midgard snake, biting its\nown tail; and it was perfectly natural that, viewing the storm-lashed\nwaves which beat against their shores, they should imagine these to\nbe caused by his convulsive writhing. The Greeks, who also fancied\nthe earth was round and compassed by a mighty river called Oceanus,\ndescribed it as flowing with \"a steady, equable current,\" for they\ngenerally gazed out upon calm and sunlit seas. Nifl-heim, the Northern\nregion of perpetual cold and mist, had its exact counterpart in the\nland north of the Hyperboreans, where feathers (snow) continually\nhovered in the air, and where Hercules drove the Ceryneian stag into\na snowdrift ere he could seize and bind it fast.\n\n\n\nThe Phenomena of the Sky\n\nLike the Greeks, the Northern races believed that the earth was\ncreated first, and that the vaulted heavens were made afterwards to\novershadow it entirely. They also imagined that the sun and moon were\ndaily driven across the sky in chariots drawn by fiery steeds. Sol,\nthe sun maiden, therefore corresponded to Helios, Hyperion, Phoebus,\nor Apollo, while Mani, the Moon (owing to a peculiarity of Northern\ngrammar, which makes the sun feminine and the moon masculine), was\nthe exact counterpart of Phoebe, Diana, or Cynthia.\n\nThe Northern scalds, who thought that they descried the prancing\nforms of white-maned steeds in the flying clouds, and the glitter\nof spears in the flashing light of the aurora borealis, said that\nthe Valkyrs, or battle maidens, galloped across the sky, while the\nGreeks saw in the same natural phenomena the white flocks of Apollo\nguarded by Phaetusa and Lampetia.\n\nAs the dew fell from the clouds, the Northern poets declared that\nit dropped from the manes of the Valkyrs' steeds, while the Greeks,\nwho observed that it generally sparkled longest in the thickets,\nidentified it with Daphne and Procris, whose names are derived from\nthe Sanskrit word which means \"to sprinkle,\" and who are slain by\ntheir lovers, Apollo and Cephalus, personifications of the sun.\n\nThe earth was considered in the North as well as in the South as\na female divinity, the fostering mother of all things; and it was\nowing to climatic difference only that the mythology of the North,\nwhere people were daily obliged to conquer the right to live by a\nhand-to-hand struggle with Nature, should represent her as hard and\nfrozen like Rinda, while the Greeks embodied her in the genial goddess\nCeres. The Greeks believed that the cold winter winds swept down from\nthe North, and the Northern races, in addition, added that they were\nproduced by the winnowing of the wings of the great eagle Hrae-svelgr.\n\nThe dwarfs, or dark elves, bred in Ymir's flesh, were like Pluto's\nservants in that they never left their underground realm, where they,\ntoo, sought the precious metals, which they moulded into delicate\nornaments such as Vulcan bestowed upon the gods, and into weapons\nwhich no one could either dint or mar. As for the light elves, who\nlived above ground and cared for plants, trees, and streams, they were\nevidently the Northern equivalents to the nymphs, dryads, oreades,\nand hamadryads, which peopled the woods, valleys, and fountains of\nancient Greece.\n\n\n\nJupiter and Odin\n\nJupiter, like Odin, was the father of the gods, the god of victory,\nand a personification of the universe. Hlidskialf, Allfather's lofty\nthrone, was no less exalted than Olympus or Ida, whence the Thunderer\ncould observe all that was taking place; and Odin's invincible spear\nGungnir was as terror-inspiring as the thunderbolts brandished by his\nGreek prototype. The Northern deities feasted continually upon mead\nand boar's flesh, the drink and meat most suitable to the inhabitants\nof a Northern climate, while the gods of Olympus preferred the nectar\nand ambrosia which formed their only sustenance.\n\nTwelve AEsir sat in Odin's council hall to deliberate over the wisest\nmeasures for the government of the world and men, and an equal number\nof gods assembled on the cloudy peak of Mount Olympus for a similar\npurpose. The Golden Age in Greece was a period of idyllic happiness,\namid ever-flowering groves and under balmy skies, while the Northern\nage of bliss was also a time when peace and innocence flourished on\nthe earth, and when evil was as yet entirely unknown.\n\n\n\nThe Creation of Man\n\nUsing the materials near at hand, the Greeks modelled their first\nimages out of clay; hence they naturally imagined that Prometheus had\nmade man out of that substance when called upon to fashion a creature\ninferior to the gods only. As the Northern statues were hewn out\nof wood, the Northern races inferred, as a matter of course, that\nOdin, Vili, and Ve (who here correspond to Prometheus, Epimetheus,\nand Minerva, the three Greek creators of man) made the first human\ncouple, Ask and Embla, out of blocks of wood.\n\nThe goat Heidrun, which supplied the heavenly mead, is like Amalthea,\nJupiter's first nurse, and the busy, tell-tale Ratatosk is equivalent\nto the snow-white crow in the story of Coronis, which was turned black\nin punishment for its tattling. Jupiter's eagle has its counterpart\nin the ravens Hugin and Munin, or in the wolves Geri and Freki,\nwhich are ever crouching at Odin's feet.\n\n\n\nNorns and Fates\n\nThe close resemblance between the Northern Orlog and the Greek Destiny,\ngoddesses whose decrees the gods themselves were obliged to respect,\nand the equally powerful Norns and Moerae, is too obvious to need\npointing out, while the Vanas are counterparts of Neptune and the\nother ocean divinities. The great quarrel between the Vanas and the\nAEsir is merely another version of the dispute between Jupiter and\nNeptune for the supremacy of the world. Just as Jupiter forces his\nbrother to yield to his authority, so the AEsir remain masters of all,\nbut do not refuse to continue to share their power with their conquered\nfoes, who thus become their allies and friends.\n\nLike Jupiter, Odin is always described as majestic and middle-aged,\nand both gods are regarded as the divine progenitors of royal\nraces, for while the Heraclidae claimed Jupiter as their father, the\nInglings, Skioldings, etc., held that Odin was the founder of their\nfamilies. The most solemn oaths were sworn by Odin's spear as well as\nby Jupiter's footstool, and both gods rejoice in a multitude of names,\nall descriptive of the various phases of their nature and worship.\n\nOdin, like Jupiter, frequently visited the earth in disguise, to\njudge of the hospitable intentions of mankind, as in the story of\nGeirrod and Agnar, which resembles that of Philemon and Baucis. The\naim was to encourage hospitality; therefore, in both stories, those\nwho showed themselves humanely inclined are richly rewarded, and in\nthe Northern myth the lesson is enforced by the punishment inflicted\nupon Geirrod, as the scalds believed in poetic justice and saw that\nit was carefully meted out.\n\nThe contest of wit between Odin and Vafthrudnir has its parallel in\nthe musical rivalry of Apollo and Marsyas, or in the test of skill\nbetween Minerva and Arachne. Odin further resembled Apollo in that\nhe, too, was god of eloquence and poetry, and could win all hearts\nby means of his divine voice; he was like Mercury in that he taught\nmortals the use of runes, while the Greek god introduced the alphabet.\n\n\n\nMyths of the Seasons\n\nThe disappearance of Odin, the sun or summer, and the consequent\ndesolation of Frigga, the earth, is merely a different version of\nthe myths of Proserpine and Adonis. When Proserpine and Adonis have\ngone, the earth (Ceres or Venus) bitterly mourns their absence, and\nrefuses all consolation. It is only when they return from their exile\nthat she casts off her mourning garments and gloom, and again decks\nherself in all her jewels. So Frigga and Freya bewail the absence of\ntheir husbands Odin and Odur, and remain hard and cold until their\nreturn. Odin's wife, Saga, the goddess of history, who lingered by\nSokvabek, \"the stream of time and events,\" taking note of all she saw,\nis like Clio, the muse of history, whom Apollo sought by the inspiring\nfount of Helicon.\n\nJust as, according to Euhemerus, there was an historical Zeus,\nburied in Crete, where his grave can still be seen, so there was an\nhistorical Odin, whose mound rises near Upsala, where the greatest\nNorthern temple once stood, and where there was a mighty oak which\nrivalled the famous tree of Dodona.\n\n\n\nFrigga and Juno\n\nFrigga, like Juno, was a personification of the atmosphere, the\npatroness of marriage, of connubial and motherly love, and the goddess\nof childbirth. She, too, is represented as a beautiful, stately\nwoman, rejoicing in her adornments; and her special attendant, Gna,\nrivals Iris in the rapidity with which she executes her mistress's\nbehests. Juno has full control over the clouds, which she can brush\naway with a motion of her hand, and Frigga is supposed to weave them\nout of the thread she has spun on her jewelled spinning wheel.\n\nIn Greek mythology we find many examples of the way in which Juno\nseeks to outwit Jupiter. Similar tales are not lacking in the Northern\nmyths. Juno obtains possession of Io, in spite of her husband's\nreluctance to part with her, and Frigga artfully secures the victory\nfor the Winilers in the Langobarden Saga. Odin's wrath at Frigga's\ntheft of the gold from his statue is equivalent to Jupiter's marital\ndispleasure at Juno's jealousy and interference during the war of\nTroy. In the story of Gefjon, and the clever way in which she procured\nland from Gylfi to form her kingdom of Seeland, we have a reproduction\nof the story of Dido, who obtained by stratagem the land upon which she\nfounded her city of Carthage. In both accounts oxen come into play,\nfor while in the Northern myth these sturdy beasts draw the piece\nof land far out to sea, in the other an ox hide, cut into strips,\nserves to enclose the queen's grant.\n\n\n\nMusical Myths\n\nThe Pied Piper of Hamelin, who could attract all living creatures\nby his music, is like Orpheus or Amphion, whose lyres had the same\npower; and Odin, as leader of the dead, is the counterpart of Mercury\nPsychopompus, both being personifications of the wind, on whose wings\ndisembodied souls were thought to be wafted from this mortal sphere.\n\nThe trusty Eckhardt, who would fain save Tannhaeuser and prevent his\nreturning to expose himself to the enchantments of the sorceress,\nin the Hoerselberg, is like the Greek Mentor, who not only accompanied\nTelemachus, but gave him good advice and wise instructions, and would\nhave rescued Ulysses from the hands of Calypso.\n\n\n\nThor and the Greek Gods\n\nThor, the Northern thunder-god, also has many points of resemblance\nwith Jupiter. He bears the hammer Mioelnir, the Northern emblem of the\ndeadly thunderbolt, and, like Jupiter, uses it freely when warring\nagainst the giants. In his rapid growth Thor resembles Mercury, for\nwhile the former playfully tosses about several loads of ox hides a\nfew hours after his birth, the latter steals Apollo's oxen before he\nis one day old. In physical strength Thor resembles Hercules, who also\ngave early proofs of uncommon vigour by strangling the serpents sent\nto slay him in his cradle, and who delighted, later on, in attacking\nand conquering giants and monsters. Hercules became a woman and took\nto spinning to please Omphale, the Lydian queen, and Thor assumed a\nwoman's apparel to visit Thrym and recover his hammer, which had been\nburied nine rasts underground. The hammer, his principal attribute,\nwas used for many sacred purposes. It consecrated the funeral pyre\nand the marriage rite, and boundary stakes driven in by a hammer were\nconsidered as sacred among Northern nations as the Hermae or statues\nof Mercury, removal of which was punishable by death.\n\nThor's wife, Sif, with her luxuriant golden hair, is, as we have\nalready stated, an emblem of the earth, and her hair of its rich\nvegetation. Loki's theft of these tresses is equivalent to Pluto's rape\nof Proserpine. To recover the golden locks, Loki must visit the dwarfs\n(Pluto's servants), crouching in the low passages of the underground\nworld; so Mercury must seek Proserpine in Hades.\n\nThe gadfly which hinders Jupiter from recovering possession of\nIo, after Mercury has slain Argus, reappears in the Northern myth\nto sting Brock and to endeavour to prevent the manufacture of the\nmagic ring Draupnir, which is merely a counterpart of Sif's tresses,\nas it also represents the fruits of the earth. The fly continues to\ntorment the dwarf during the manufacture of Frey's golden-bristled\nboar, a prototype of Apollo's golden sun chariot, and it prevents\nthe perfect formation of the handle of Thor's hammer.\n\nThe magic ship Skidbladnir, also made by the dwarfs, is like the\nswift-sailing Argo, which was a personification of the clouds sailing\noverhead; and just as the former was said to be large enough to\naccommodate all the gods, so the latter bore all the Greek heroes\noff to the distant land of Colchis.\n\nThe Germans, wishing to name the days of the week after their gods,\nas the Romans had done, gave the name of Thor to Jove's day, and thus\nmade it the present Thursday.\n\nThor's struggle against Hrungnir is a parallel to the fight between\nHercules and Cacus or Antaeus; while Groa is evidently Ceres, for she,\ntoo, mourns for her absent child Orvandil (Proserpine), and breaks\nout into a song of joy when she hears that it will return.\n\nMagni, Thor's son, who when only three hours old exhibits his\nmarvellous strength by lifting Hrungnir's leg off his recumbent father,\nalso reminds us of the infant Hercules; and Thor's voracious appetite\nat Thrym's wedding feast has its parallel in Mercury's first meal,\nwhich consisted of two whole oxen.\n\nThe crossing of the swollen tide of Veimer by Thor reminds us of\nJason's feat when he waded across the torrent on his way to visit\nthe tyrant Pelias and recover possession of his father's throne.\n\nThe marvellous necklace worn by Frigga and Freya to enhance their\ncharms is like the cestus or girdle of Venus, which Juno borrowed to\nsubjugate her lord, and is, like Sif's tresses and the ring Draupnir,\nan emblem of luxuriant vegetation or a type of the stars which shine\nin the firmament.\n\nThe Northern sword-god Tyr is, of course, the Greek war-god Ares,\nwhom he so closely resembles that his name was given to the day of\nthe week held sacred to Ares, which is even now known as Tuesday or\nTiu's day. Like Ares, Tyr was noisy and courageous; he delighted in\nthe din of battle, and was fearless at all times. He alone dared to\nbrave the Fenris wolf; and the Southern proverb concerning Scylla and\nCharybdis has its counterpart in the Northern adage, \"to get loose\nout of Laeding and to dash out of Droma.\" The Fenris wolf, also a\npersonification of subterranean fire, is bound, like his prototypes\nthe Titans, in Tartarus.\n\nThe similarity between the gentle, music-loving Bragi, with his harp,\nand Apollo or Orpheus, is very great; so is the resemblance between\nthe magic draught Od-hroerir and the waters of Helicon, both of which\nwere supposed to serve as inspiration to mortal as well as to immortal\npoets. Odin dons eagle plumes to bear away this precious mead, and\nJupiter assumes a similar guise to secure his cupbearer Ganymede.\n\nIdun, like Adonis and Proserpine, or still more like Eurydice, is also\na fair personification of spring. She is borne away by the cruel ice\ngiant Thiassi, who represents the boar which slew Adonis, the kidnapper\nof Proserpine, or the poisonous serpent which bit Eurydice. Idun is\ndetained for a long time in Joetun-heim (Hades), where she forgets all\nher merry, playful ways, and becomes mournful and pale. She cannot\nreturn alone to Asgard, and it is only when Loki (now an emblem of\nthe south wind) comes to bear her away in the shape of a nut or a\nswallow that she can effect her escape. She reminds us of Proserpine\nand Adonis escorted back to earth by Mercury (god of the wind), or\nof Eurydice lured out of Hades by the sweet sounds of Orpheus's harp,\nwhich were also symbolical of the soughing of the winds.\n\n\n\nIdun and Eurydice\n\nThe myth of Idun's fall from Yggdrasil into the darkest depths of\nNifl-heim, while subject to the same explanation and comparison as the\nabove story, is still more closely related to the tale of Orpheus and\nEurydice, for the former, like Bragi, cannot exist without the latter,\nwhom he follows even into the dark realm of death; without her his\nsongs are entirely silenced. The wolf-skin in which Idun is enveloped\nis typical of the heavy snows in Northern regions, which preserve the\ntender roots from the blighting influence of the extreme winter cold.\n\n\n\nSkadi and Diana\n\nThe Van Nioerd, who is god of the sunny summer seas, has his counterpart\nin Neptune and more especially in Nereus, the personification of the\ncalm and pleasant aspect of the mighty deep. Nioerd's wife, Skadi,\nis the Northern huntress; she therefore resembles Diana. Like her,\nshe bears a quiver full of arrows, and a bow which she handles with\nconsummate skill. Her short gown permits the utmost freedom of motion,\nalso, and she, too, is generally accompanied by a hound.\n\nThe story of the transference of Thiassi's eyes to the firmament,\nwhere they glow like brilliant stars, reminds us of many Greek star\nmyths, and especially of Argus's eyes ever on the watch, of Orion and\nhis jewelled girdle, and of his dog Sirius, all changed into stars\nby the gods to appease angry goddesses. Loki's antics to win a smile\nfrom the irate Skadi are considered akin to the quivering flashes of\nsheet-lightning which he personified in the North, while Steropes,\nthe Cyclops, typified it for the Greeks.\n\n\n\nFrey and Apollo\n\nThe Northern god of sunshine and summer showers, the genial Frey,\nhas many traits in common with Apollo, for, like him, he is beautiful\nand young, rides the golden-bristled boar which was the Northern\nconception of the sunbeams, or drives across the sky in a golden car,\nwhich reminds us of Apollo's glittering chariot.\n\nFrey has some of the gentle Zephyrus's characteristics besides, for\nhe, too, scatters flowers along his way. His horse Blodug-hofi is\nnot unlike Pegasus, Apollo's favourite steed, for it can pass through\nfire and water with equal ease and velocity.\n\nFro, like Odin and Jupiter, is also identified with a human king, and\nhis mound lies beside Odin's near Upsala. His reign was so happy that\nit was called the Golden Age, and he therefore reminds us of Saturn,\nwho, exiled to earth, ruled over the people of Italy, and granted\nthem similar prosperity.\n\n\n\nFreya and Venus\n\nGerda, the beautiful maiden, is like Venus, and also like Atalanta;\nshe is hard to woo and hard to win, like the fleet-footed maiden,\nbut, like her, she yields at last and becomes a happy wife. The golden\napples with which Skirnir tries to bribe her remind us of the golden\nfruit which Hippomenes cast in Atalanta's way, and which made her\nlose the race.\n\nFreya, the goddess of youth, love, and beauty, like Venus, sprang from\nthe sea, for she is a daughter of the sea-god Nioerd. Venus bestowed\nher best affections upon the god of war and upon the martial Anchises,\nwhile Freya often assumes the garb of a Valkyr, and rides rapidly\nto earth to take part in mortal strife and bear away the heroic\nslain to feast in her halls. Like Venus, she delights in offerings\nof fruits and flowers, and lends a gracious ear to the petitions\nof lovers. Freya also resembles Minerva, for, like her, she wears\na helmet and breastplate, and, like her, also, she is noted for her\nbeautiful blue eyes.\n\n\n\nOdur and Adonis\n\nOdur, Freya's husband, is like Adonis, and when he leaves her,\nshe, too, sheds countless tears, which, in her case, are turned\nto gold, while Venus's tears are changed into anemones, and those\nof the Heliades, mourning for Phaeton, harden to amber, which\nresembles gold in colour and in consistency. Just as Venus rejoices\nat Adonis's return, and all Nature blooms in sympathy with her joy,\nso Freya becomes lighthearted once more when she has found her husband\nbeneath the flowering myrtles of the South. Venus's car is drawn by\nfluttering doves, and Freya's is swiftly carried along by cats, which\nare emblems of sensual love, as the doves were considered types of\ntenderest love. Freya is appreciative of beauty and angrily refuses\nto marry Thrym, while Venus scorns and finally deserts Vulcan, whom\nshe has been forced to marry against her will.\n\nThe Greeks represented Justice as a goddess blindfolded, with scales\nin one hand and a sword in the other, to indicate the impartiality and\nthe fixity of her decrees. The corresponding deity of the North was\nForseti, who patiently listened to both sides of a question ere he,\ntoo, promulgated his impartial and irrevocable sentence.\n\nUller, the winter-god, resembles Apollo and Orion only in his love for\nthe chase, which he pursues with ardour under all circumstances. He\nis the Northern bowman, and his skill is quite as unerring as theirs.\n\nHeimdall, like Argus, was gifted with marvellous keenness of sight,\nwhich enabled him to see a hundred miles off as plainly by night as\nby day. His Giallar-horn, which could be heard throughout all the\nworld, proclaiming the gods' passage to and fro over the quivering\nbridge Bifroest, was like the trumpet of the goddess Renown. As he\nwas related to the water deities on his mother's side, he could,\nlike Proteus, assume any form at will, and he made good use of this\npower on the occasion when he frustrated Loki's attempt to steal the\nnecklace Brisinga-men.\n\nHermod, the quick or nimble, resembles Mercury not only in his\nmarvellous celerity of motion. He, too, was the messenger of the gods,\nand, like the Greek divinity, flashed hither and thither, aided not by\nwinged cap and sandals, but by Odin's steed Sleipnir, whom he alone\nwas allowed to bestride. Instead of the Caduceus, he bore the wand\nGambantein. He questioned the Norns and the magician Rossthiof, through\nwhom he learned that Vali would come to avenge his brother Balder and\nto supplant his father Odin. Instances of similar consultations are\nfound in Greek mythology, where Jupiter would fain have married Thetis,\nyet desisted when the Fates foretold that if he did so she would be\nthe mother of a son who would surpass his father in glory and renown.\n\nThe Northern god of silence, Vidar, has some resemblance to Hercules,\nfor while the latter has nothing but a club with which to defend\nhimself against the Nemean lion, whom he tears asunder, the former\nis enabled to rend the Fenris wolf at Ragnarok by the possession of\none large shoe.\n\n\n\nRinda and Danae\n\nOdin's courtship of Rinda reminds us of Jupiter's wooing of Danae,\nwho is also a symbol of the earth; and while the shower of gold in\nthe Greek tale is intended to represent the fertilising sunbeams, the\nfootbath in the Northern story typifies the spring thaw which sets in\nwhen the sun has overcome the resistance of the frozen earth. Perseus,\nthe child of this union, has many points of resemblance with Vali,\nfor he, too, is an avenger, and slays his mother's enemies just as\nsurely as Vali destroys Hodur, the murderer of Balder.\n\nThe Fates were supposed to preside over birth in Greece, and to\nforetell a child's future, as did the Norns; and the story of Meleager\nhas its unmistakable parallel in that of Nornagesta. Althaea preserves\nthe half-consumed brand in a chest, Nornagesta conceals the candle-end\nin his harp; and while the Greek mother brings about her son's death\nby casting the brand into the fire, Nornagesta, compelled to light\nhis candle-end at Olaf's command, dies as it sputters and burns out.\n\nHebe and the Valkyrs were the cupbearers of Olympus and Asgard. They\nwere all personifications of youth; and while Hebe married the great\nhero and demigod Hercules when she ceased to fulfil her office, the\nValkyrs were relieved from their duties when united to heroes like\nHelgi, Hakon, Voelund, or Sigurd.\n\nThe Cretan labyrinth has its counterpart in the Icelandic Voelundarhaus,\nand Voelund and Daedalus both effect their escape from a maze by a\ncleverly devised pair of wings, which enable them to fly in safety\nover land and sea and escape from the tyranny of their respective\nmasters, Nidud and Minos. Voelund resembles Vulcan, also, in that\nhe is a clever smith and makes use of his talents to work out his\nrevenge. Vulcan, lamed by a fall from Olympus, and neglected by Juno,\nwhom he had tried to befriend, sends her a golden throne, which is\nprovided with cunning springs to seize and hold her fast. Voelund,\nhamstrung by the suggestion of Nidud's queen, secretly murders her\nsons, and out of their eyes fashions marvellous jewels, which she\nunsuspectingly wears upon her breast until he reveals their origin.\n\n\n\nMyths of the Sea\n\nJust as the Greeks fancied that the tempests were the effect of\nNeptune's wrath, so the Northern races attributed them either to the\nwrithings of Ioermungandr, the Midgard snake, or to the anger of AEgir,\nwho, crowned with seaweed like Neptune, often sent his children,\nthe wave maidens (the counterpart of the Nereides and Oceanides),\nto play on the tossing billows. Neptune had his dwelling in the coral\ncaves near the Island of Euboea, while AEgir lived in a similar palace\nnear the Cattegat. Here he was surrounded by the nixies, undines,\nand mermaids, the counterpart of the Greek water nymphs, and by the\nriver-gods of the Rhine, Elbe, and Neckar, who remind us of Alpheus\nand Peneus, the river-gods of the Greeks.\n\nThe frequency of shipwrecks on the Northern coasts made the people\nthink of Ran (the equivalent of the Greek sea-goddess Amphitrite) as\ngreedy and avaricious, and they described her as armed with a strong\nnet, with which she drew all things down into the deep. The Greek\nSirens had their parallel in the Northern Lorelei, who possessed the\nsame gift of song, and also lured mariners to their death; while\nPrincess Ilse, who was turned into a fountain, reminds us of the\nnymph Arethusa, who underwent a similar transformation.\n\nIn the Northern conception of Nifl-heim we have an almost exact\ncounterpart of the Greek Hades. Moedgud, the guardian of the\nGiallar-bridge (the bridge of death), over which all the spirits of\nthe dead must pass, exacts a tribute of blood as rigorously as Charon\ndemands an obolus from every soul he ferries over Acheron, the river\nof death. The fierce dog Garm, cowering in the Gnipa hole, and keeping\nguard at Hel's gate, is like the three-headed monster Cerberus; and\nthe nine worlds of Nifl-heim are not unlike the divisions of Hades,\nNastrond being an adequate substitute for Tartarus, where the wicked\nwere punished with equal severity.\n\nThe custom of burning dead heroes with their arms, and of slaying\nvictims, such as horses and dogs, upon their pyre, was much the same\nin the North as in the South; and while Mors or Thanatos, the Greek\nDeath, was represented with a sharp scythe, Hel was depicted with a\nbroom or rake, which she used as ruthlessly, and with which she did\nas much execution.\n\n\n\nBalder and Apollo\n\nBalder, the radiant god of sunshine, reminds us not only of Apollo and\nOrpheus, but of all the other heroes of sun myths. His wife Nanna is\nlike Flora, and still more like Proserpine, for she, too, goes down\ninto the underworld, where she tarries for a while. Balder's golden\nhall of Breidablik is like Apollo's palace in the east; he, also,\ndelights in flowers; all things smile at his approach, and willingly\npledge themselves not to injure him. As Achilles was vulnerable only\nin the heel, so Balder could be slain only by the harmless mistletoe,\nand his death is occasioned by Loki's jealousy just as Hercules was\nslain by that of Deianeira. Balder's funeral pyre on Ringhorn reminds\nus of Hercules's death on Mount OEta, the flames and reddish glow of\nboth fires serving to typify the setting sun. The Northern god of sun\nand summer could only be released from Nifl-heim if all animate and\ninanimate objects shed tears; so Proserpine could issue from Hades\nonly upon condition that she had partaken of no food. The trifling\nrefusal of Thok to shed a single tear is like the pomegranate seeds\nwhich Proserpine ate, and the result is equally disastrous in both\ncases, as it detains Balder and Proserpine underground, and the earth\n(Frigga or Ceres) must continue to mourn their absence.\n\nThrough Loki evil entered into the Northern world; Prometheus's\ngift of fire brought the same curse upon the Greeks. The punishment\ninflicted by the gods upon the culprits is not unlike, for while\nLoki is bound with adamantine chains underground, and tortured by\nthe continuous dropping of venom from the fangs of a snake fastened\nabove his head, Prometheus is similarly fettered to Caucasus, and a\nravenous vulture continually preys upon his liver. Loki's punishment\nhas another counterpart in that of Tityus, bound in Hades, and in\nthat of Enceladus, chained beneath Mount AEtna, where his writhing\nproduced earthquakes, and his imprecations caused sudden eruptions\nof the volcano. Loki, further, resembles Neptune in that he, too,\nassumed an equine form and was the parent of a wonderful steed,\nfor Sleipnir rivals Arion both in speed and endurance.\n\nThe Fimbul-winter has been compared to the long preliminary fight under\nthe walls of Troy, and Ragnarok, the grand closing drama of Northern\nmythology, to the burning of that famous city. \"Thor is Hector;\nthe Fenris wolf, Pyrrhus, son of Achilles, who slew Priam (Odin);\nand Vidar, who survives in Ragnarok, is AEneas.\" The destruction of\nPriam's palace is the type of the ruin of the gods' golden halls;\nand the devouring wolves Hati, Skoell, and Managarm, the fiends of\ndarkness, are prototypes of Paris and all the other demons of darkness,\nwho bear away or devour the sun-maiden Helen.\n\n\n\nRagnarok and the Deluge\n\nAccording to another interpretation, however, Ragnarok and the\nconsequent submersion of the world is but a Northern version of the\nDeluge. The survivors, Lif and Lifthrasir, like Deucalion and Pyrrha,\nwere destined to repeople the world; and just as the shrine of Delphi\nalone resisted the destructive power of the great cataclysm, so Gimli\nstood radiant to receive the surviving gods.\n\n\n\nGiants and Titans\n\nWe have already seen how closely the Northern giants resembled the\nTitans. It only remains to mention that while the Greeks imagined\nthat Atlas was changed into a mountain, so the Northmen believed that\nthe Riesengebirge, in Germany, were formed from giants, and that the\navalanches which descended from their lofty heights were the burdens\nof snow which these giants impatiently shook from their crests as\nthey changed their cramped positions. The apparition, in the shape of\na bull, of one of the water giants, who came to woo the queen of the\nFranks, has its parallel in the story of Jupiter's wooing of Europa,\nand Meroveus is evidently the exact counterpart of Sarpedon. A faint\nresemblance can be traced between the giant ship Mannigfual and the\nArgo, for while the one is supposed to have cruised through the AEgean\nand Euxine Seas, and to have made many places memorable by the dangers\nit encountered there, so the Northern vessel sailed about the North\nand Baltic Seas, and is mentioned in connection with the Island of\nBornholm and the cliffs of Dover.\n\nWhile the Greeks imagined that Nightmares were the evil dreams which\nescaped from the Cave of Somnus, the Northern race fancied they were\nfemale dwarfs or trolls, who crept out of the dark recesses of the\nearth to torment them. All magic weapons in the North were said to\nbe the work of the dwarfs, the underground smiths, while those of the\nGreeks were manufactured by Vulcan and the Cyclopes, under Mount AEtna,\nor on the Island of Lemnos.\n\n\n\nThe Volsunga Saga\n\nIn the Sigurd myth we find Odin one-eyed like the Cyclopes, who, like\nhim, are personifications of the sun. Sigurd is instructed by Gripir,\nthe horse-trainer, who is reminiscent of Chiron, the centaur. He is\nnot only able to teach a young hero all he need know, and to give him\ngood advice concerning his future conduct, but is also possessed of\nthe gift of prophecy.\n\nThe marvellous sword which becomes the property of Sigmund and of\nSigurd as soon as they prove themselves worthy to wield it, and the\nsword Angurvadel which Frithiof inherits from his sire, remind us of\nthe weapon which AEgeus concealed beneath the rock, and which Theseus\nsecured as soon as he had become a man. Sigurd, like Theseus, Perseus,\nand Jason, seeks to avenge his father's wrongs ere he sets out in\nsearch of the golden hoard, the exact counterpart of the golden fleece,\nwhich is also guarded by a dragon, and is very hard to secure. Like\nall the Greek sun-gods and heroes, Sigurd has golden hair and bright\nblue eyes. His struggle with Fafnir reminds us of Apollo's fight with\nPython, while the ring Andvaranaut can be likened to Venus's cestus,\nand the curse attached to its possessor is like the tragedy of Helen,\nwho brought endless bloodshed upon all connected with her.\n\nSigurd could not have conquered Fafnir without the magic sword, just\nas the Greeks failed to take Troy without the arrows of Philoctetes,\nwhich are also emblems of the all-conquering rays of the sun. The\nrecovery of the stolen treasure is like Menelaus's recovery of Helen,\nand it apparently brings as little happiness to Sigurd as his recreant\nwife did to the Spartan king.\n\n\n\nBrunhild\n\nBrunhild resembles Minerva in her martial tastes, physical appearance,\nand wisdom; but her anger and resentment when Sigurd forgets her\nfor Gudrun is like the wrath of OEnone, whom Paris deserts to woo\nHelen. Brunhild's anger continues to accompany Sigurd through life,\nand she even seeks to compass his death, while OEnone, called to cure\nher wounded lover, refuses to do so and permits him to die. OEnone\nand Brunhild are both overcome by the same remorseful feelings when\ntheir lovers have breathed their last, and both insist upon sharing\ntheir funeral pyres, and end their lives by the side of those whom\nthey had loved.\n\n\nSun Myths\n\nContaining, as it does, a whole series of sun myths, the Volsunga Saga\nrepeats itself in every phase; and just as Ariadne, forsaken by the\nsun-hero Theseus, finally marries Bacchus, so Gudrun, when Sigurd has\ndeparted, marries Atli, the King of the Huns. He, too, ends his life\namid the flames of his burning palace or ship. Gunnar, like Orpheus\nor Amphion, plays such marvellous strains upon his harp that even\nthe serpents are lulled to sleep. According to some interpretations,\nAtli is like Fafnir, and covets the possession of the gold. Both are\ntherefore probably personifications \"of the winter cloud which broods\nover and keeps from mortals the gold of the sun's light and heat,\ntill in the spring the bright orb overcomes the powers of darkness\nand tempests, and scatters his gold over the face of the earth.\"\n\nSwanhild, Sigurd's daughter, is another personification of the sun,\nas is seen in her blue eyes and golden hair; and her death under the\nhoofs of black steeds represents the blotting out of the sun by clouds\nof storm or of darkness.\n\nJust as Castor and Pollux hasten to rescue their sister Helen when\nshe has been borne away by Theseus, so Swanhild's brothers, Erp,\nHamdir, and Soerli, hasten off to avenge her death.\n\nSuch are the main points of resemblance between the mythologies\nof the North and South, and the analogy goes far to prove that\nthey were originally formed from the same materials, the principal\ndifferences being due to the local colouring imparted unconsciously\nby the different races.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNOTES\n\n\n[1] \"Northern Mythology,\" Kauffmann.\n\n[2] Halliday Sparling.\n\n[3] Carlyle, \"Heroes and Hero Worship.\"\n\n[4] \"Northern Mythology,\" Kauffmann.","title":"Myths of the Norsemen: From the Eddas and Sagas","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":100359}