{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_58830/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_58830","id":"gutenberg_58830","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/58830","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Legends -- Germany","Mythology, Germanic","Mythology, Norse"],"text":"Produced by Charlene Taylor and the Online Distributed\nProofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was\nproduced from images generously made available by The\nInternet Archive/American Libraries.)\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n                           Teutonic Mythology\n\n                           Gods and Goddesses\n                            of the Northland\n\n                                   IN\n                              THREE VOLUMES\n\n                        By VIKTOR RYDBERG, Ph.D.,\n      MEMBER OF THE SWEDISH ACADEMY; AUTHOR OF \"THE LAST ATHENIAN\"\n                            AND OTHER WORKS.\n\n                _AUTHORISED TRANSLATION FROM THE SWEDISH_\n\n                                   BY\n\n                       RASMUS B. ANDERSON, LL.D.,\n         EX-UNITED STATES MINISTER TO DENMARK; AUTHOR OF \"NORSE\n                    MYTHOLOGY,\" \"VIKING TALES,\" ETC.\n\n                 HON. RASMUS B. ANDERSON, LL.D., Ph.D.,\n                            EDITOR IN CHIEF.\n                           J. W. BUEL, Ph.D.,\n                            MANAGING EDITOR.\n\n                                VOL. III.\n\n                            PUBLISHED BY THE\n                            NORR\u0152NA SOCIETY,\n               LONDON COPENHAGEN STOCKHOLM BERLIN NEW YORK\n                                  1906\n\n                                _OF THE_\n\n                             Viking Edition\n\n      _There are but six hundred and fifty sets made for the world,\n                            of which this is_\n\n                                _No._ 99\n\n                         [Illustration: NORR\u0152NA]\n\n                               COPYRIGHT,\n                              T. H. SMART,\n                                  1905.\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration: THOR'S JOURNEY TO GIERRODSGARD.\n\n(_From an etching by Lorenz Fr\u00f6lich._)\n\nLoke, in the guise of a falcon, having been captured by Geirrod, promised\nif released to bring Thor into the power of the giant without his hammer,\nbelt or iron gloves. Thor being persuaded by the crafty Loke, started\nupon the journey. When he came to the river Vimer he attempted to ford\nit, though the stream had become a great torrent. As he reached the\ncenter the waters rose rapidly until they washed over his shoulders\nand he seemed to be in imminent danger of being carried away. At this\njuncture, looking toward the source of the river, he perceived Gjalp,\nGeirrod's daughter, who stood astride the stream and was causing its\nrapid growth. He thereupon seized a stone and threw it with his usual\nprecision at the offending woman, who retreated. But it was with much\nstruggling that Thor reached the bank which, however, he would have had\ngreat difficulty in ascending but for his fortune to seize a projecting\nshrub, by the aid of which he drew himself out of the raging waters.\n\nSee page 933.]\n\n\n\n\nTEUTONIC MYTHOLOGY.\n\n\n\n\nTABLE OF CONTENTS.\n\nVOLUME THREE\n\n\n                                                                   Page\n\n  Story of the Seven Sleepers                                       707\n\n  The Anthropology of the Mythology                                 729\n\n  Svipdag and Groa                                                  747\n\n  Menglad's Identity with Freyja                                    751\n\n  The Sword of Revenge                                              759\n\n  Orvandel, the Star-Hero                                           767\n\n  Svipdag Rescues Freyja from the Giants                            770\n\n  Svipdag in Saxo's Account of Hotherus                             781\n\n  Ericus Disertus in Saxo                                           793\n\n  Later Fortunes of the Volund Sword                                808\n\n  The Svipdag Epithet \"Skirnir\"                                     815\n\n  Transformation and Death of Svipdag                               819\n\n  Reminiscences of the Svipdag Myth                                 830\n\n  Orvandel, Egil and Ebbo                                           847\n\n  Frey Fostered in the Home of Orvandel                             865\n\n  Ivalde, Svipdag's Grandfather                                     870\n\n  Parallel Myths in Rigveda                                         874\n\n  Judgment Passed on the Ivalde Sons                                884\n\n  Olvalde and Ivalde Sons Identical                                 890\n\n  A Review of Thorsdrapa                                            932\n\n  Of Volund's Identity with Thjasse                                 952\n\n  The Worst Deed of Revenge                                         956\n\n  The Guard at Hvergelmer and the Elivagar                          968\n\n  Slagfin, Egil, and Volund                                         971\n\n  The Niflung Hoard left by Volund                                  975\n\n  Slagfin-Gjuke a Star-Hero                                         981\n\n  Slagfin's Appearance in the Moon Myth                             985\n\n  Review of the Synonyms of Ivalde's Sons                           991\n\n\n\n\nLIST OF PHOTOGRAVURES.\n\n\n                                                                   Page\n                                  VOL. III.\n\n  Thor's Journey to Geirrodsgard                           Frontispiece\n\n  Idun Brought Back to Asgard                                       807\n\n  Thor, Hymir, and the Midgard Serpent                              915\n\n  King Svafrlame Secures the Sword Tyrfing                         1003\n\n\n\n\nTHE MYTH IN REGARD TO THE LOWER WORLD.\n\n(_Part IV. Continued from Volume II._)\n\n\n94.\n\n    THE SEVEN SLEEPERS.\n\nV\u00f6luspa gives an account of the events which forebode and lead up to\nRagnarok. Among these we also find that _leika Mims synir_, that is, that\nthe sons of Mimer \"spring up,\" \"fly up,\" \"get into lively motion.\" But\nthe meaning of this has hitherto been an unsolved problem.\n\nIn the strophe immediately preceding (the 44th) V\u00f6luspa describes how it\nlooks on the surface of Midgard when the end of the world is at hand.\nBrothers and near kinsmen slay each other. The sacred bonds of morality\nare broken. It is the storm-age and the wolf-age. Men no longer spare\nor pity one another. Knives and axes rage. Volund's world-destroying\nsword of revenge has already been fetched by Fjalar in the guise of the\nred cock (str. 41), and from the Ironwood, where it hitherto had been\nconcealed by Angerboda and guarded by Egther; the wolf-giant Hate with\nhis companions have invaded the world, which it was the duty of the gods\nto protect. The storms are attended by eclipses of the sun (str. 40).\n\nThen suddenly the Hjallar-horn sounds, announcing that the destruction\nof the world is now to be fulfilled, and just as the first notes of this\ntrumpet penetrate the world, Mimer's sons spring up. \"The old tree,\"\nthe world-tree, groans and trembles. When Mimer's sons \"spring up\" Odin\nis engaged in conversation with the head of their father, his faithful\nadviser, in regard to the impending conflict, which is the last one in\nwhich the gods are to take a hand.\n\nI shall here give reasons for the assumption that the blast from the\nHjallar-horn wakes Mimer's sons from a sleep that has lasted through\ncenturies, and that the Christian legend concerning the seven sleepers\nhas its chief, if not its only, root in a Teutonic myth which in the\nsecond half of the fifth or in the first half of the sixth century was\nchanged into a legend. At that time large portions of the Teutonic\nrace had already been converted to Christianity: the Goths, Vandals,\nGepidians, Rugians, Burgundians, and Swabians were Christians.\nConsiderable parts of the Roman empire were settled by the Teutons or\ngoverned by their swords. The Franks were on the point of entering the\nChristian Church, and behind them the Alamannians and Longobardians.\nTheir myths and sagas were reconstructed so far as they could be adapted\nto the new forms and ideas, and if they, more or less transformed,\nassumed the garb of a Christian legend, then this guise enabled them to\ntravel to the utmost limits of Christendom; and if they also contained,\nas in the case here in question, ideas that were not entirely foreign to\nthe Greek-Roman world, then they might the more easily acquire the right\nof Roman nativity.\n\nIn its oldest form the legend of \"the seven sleepers\" has the following\noutlines (_Miraculorum Liber_, vii., i. 92):\n\n\"Seven brothers\"[1] have their place of rest near the city of Ephesus,\nand the story of them is as follows: In the time of the Emperor Decius,\nwhile the persecution of the Christians took place, seven men were\ncaptured and brought before the ruler. Their names were Maximianus,\nMalchus, Martinianus, Constantius, Dionysius, Joannes, and Serapion.\nAll sorts of persuasion was attempted, but they would not yield. The\nemperor, who was pleased with their courteous manners, gave them time\nfor reflection, so that they should not at once fall under the sentence\nof death. But they concealed themselves in a cave and remained there\nmany days. Still, one of them went out to get provisions and attend\nto other necessary matters. But when the emperor returned to the same\ncity, these men prayed to God, asking Him in His mercy to save them out\nof this danger, and when, lying on the ground, they had finished their\nprayers, they fell asleep. When the emperor learned that they were in\nthe above-mentioned cave, he, under divine influence, commanded that\nthe entrance of the cave should be closed with large stones, \"for,\"\nsaid he, \"as they are unwilling to offer sacrifices to our gods, they\nmust perish there.\" While this transpired a Christian man had engraved\nthe names of the seven men on a leaden tablet, and also their testimony\nin regard to their belief, and he had secretly laid the tablet in the\nentrance of the cave before the latter was closed. After many years, the\ncongregations having secured peace and the Christian Theodosius having\ngained the imperial dignity, the false doctrine of the Sadducees, who\ndenied resurrection, was spread among the people. At this time it happens\nthat a citizen of Ephesus is about to make an enclosure for his sheep on\nthe mountain in question, and for this purpose he loosens the stones at\nthe entrance of the cave, so that the cave was opened, but without his\nbecoming aware of what was concealed within. But the Lord sent a breath\nof life into the seven men and they arose. Thinking they had slept only\none night, they sent one of their number, a youth, to buy food. When he\ncame to the city gate he was astonished, for he saw the glorious sign\nof the Cross, and he heard people aver by the name of Christ. But when\nhe produced his money, which was from the time of Decius, he was seized\nby the vendor, who insisted that he must have found secreted treasures\nfrom former times, and who, as the youth made a stout denial, brought him\nbefore the bishop and the judge. Pressed by them, he was forced to reveal\nhis secret, and he conducted them to the cave where the men were. At\nthe entrance the bishop then finds the leaden tablet, on which all that\nconcerned their case was noted down, and when he had talked with the men\na messenger was despatched to the Emperor Theodosius. He came and kneeled\non the ground and worshipped them, and they said to the ruler: \"Most\naugust Augustus! there has sprung up a false doctrine which tries to turn\nthe Christian people from the promises of God, claiming that there is no\nresurrection of the dead. In order that you may know that we are all to\nappear before the judgment-seat of Christ according to the words of the\nApostle Paul, the Lord God has raised us from the dead and commanded us\nto make this statement to you. See to it that you are not deceived and\nexcluded from the kingdom of God.\" When the Emperor Theodosius heard this\nhe praised the Lord for not permitting His people to perish. But the men\nagain lay down on the ground and fell asleep. The Emperor Theodosius\nwanted to make graves of gold for them, but in a vision he was prohibited\nfrom doing this. And until this very day these men rest in the same\nplace, wrapped in fine linen mantles.\n\nAt the first glance there is nothing which betrays the Teutonic origin of\nthis legend. It may seemingly have had an independent origin anywhere in\nthe Christian world, and particularly in the vicinity of Ephesus.\n\nMeanwhile the historian of the Franks, Bishop Gregorius of Tours (born\n538 or 539), is the first one who presented in writing the legend\nregarding the seven sleepers. In the form given above it appears through\nhim for the first time within the borders of the christianised western\nEurope (see Gregorius' _Miraculorum Liber_, i., ch. 92). After him it\nreappears in Greek records, and thence it travels on and finally gets to\nArabia and Abyssinia. His account is not written before the year 571 or\n572. As the legend itself claims in its preserved form not to be older\nthan the first years of the reign of Theodosius, it must have originated\nbetween the years 379-572.\n\nThe next time we learn anything about the seven sleepers in occidental\nliterature is in the Longobardian historian, Paulus Diaconus (born\nabout 723). What he relates has greatly surprised investigators;\nfor although he certainly was acquainted with the Christian version\nin regard to the seven men who sleep for generations in a cave, and\nalthough he entertained no doubt as to its truth, he nevertheless relates\nanother--and that a Teutonic--seven sleepers' legend, the scene of which\nis the remotest part of Teutondom. He narrates (i. 4):\n\n\"As my pen is still occupied with Germany, I deem it proper, in\nconnection with some other miracles, to mention one which _there is on\nthe lips of everybody_. In the remotest western boundaries of Germany is\nto be seen near the sea-strand under a high rock a cave where seven men\nhave been sleeping no one knows how long. They are in the deepest sleep\nand uninfluenced by time, not only as to their bodies but also as to\ntheir garments, so that they are held in great honour by the savage and\nignorant people, since time for so many years has left no trace either\non their bodies or on their clothes. To judge from their dress they must\nbe Romans. When a man from curiosity tried to undress one of them, it\nis said that his arm at once withered, and this punishment spread such\na terror that nobody has since then dared to touch them. Doubtless it\nwill some day be apparent why Divine Providence has so long preserved\nthem. Perhaps by their preaching--for they are believed to be none other\nthan Christians--this people shall once more be called to salvation. In\nthe vicinity of this place dwell the race of the Skritobinians ('the\nSkridfinns').\"\n\nIn chapter 6 Paulus makes the following additions, which will be found\nto be of importance to our theme: \"Not far from that sea-strand which I\nmentioned as lying far to the west (in the most remote Germany), where\nthe boundless ocean extends, is found the unfathomably deep eddy which\nwe traditionally call the navel of the sea. Twice a-day it swallows the\nwaves, and twice it vomits them forth again. Often, we are assured, ships\nare drawn into this eddy so violently that they look like arrows flying\nthrough the air, and frequently they perish in this abyss. But sometimes,\nwhen they are on the point of being swallowed up, they are driven back\nwith the same terrible swiftness.\"\n\nFrom what Paulus Diaconus here relates we learn that in the eighth\ncentury the common belief prevailed among the heathen Teutons that in\nthe neighbourhood of that ocean-maelstrom, caused by Hvergelmer (\"the\nroaring kettle\"), seven men slept from time immemorial under a rock.\nHow far the heathen Teutons believed that these men were Romans and\nChristians, or whether this feature is to be attributed to a conjecture\nby Christian Teutons, and came through influence from the Christian\nversion of the legend of the seven sleepers, is a question which it is\nnot necessary to discuss at present. That they are some day to awake to\npreach Christianity to \"the stubborn,\" still heathen Teutonic tribes is\nmanifestly a supposition on the part of Paulus himself, and he does not\npresent it as anything else. It has nothing to do with the saga in its\nheathen form.\n\nThe first question now is: Has the heathen tradition in regard to the\nseven sleepers, which, according to the testimony of the Longobardian\nhistorian, was common among the heathen Teutons of the eighth century,\nsince then disappeared without leaving any traces in our mythic records?\n\nThe answer is: Traces of it reappear in Saxo, in Adam of Bremen, in Norse\nand German popular belief, and in V\u00f6luspa. When compared with one another\nthese traces are sufficient to determine the character and original place\nof the tradition in the epic of the Teutonic mythology.\n\nI have already given above (No. 46) the main features of Saxo's account\nof King Gorm's and Thorkil's journey to and in the lower world. With\ntheir companions they are permitted to visit the abodes of torture\nof the damned and the fields of bliss, together with the gold-clad\nworld-fountains, and to see the treasures preserved in their vicinity.\nIn the same realm where these fountains are found there is, says Saxo, a\n_tabernaculum_ within which still more precious treasures are preserved.\nIt is an _uberioris thesauri secretarium_. The Danish adventurers also\nentered here. The treasury was also an armoury, and contained weapons\nsuited to be borne by warriors of superhuman size. The owners and makers\nof these arms were also there, but they were perfectly quiet and as\nimmovable as lifeless figures. Still they were not dead, but made the\nimpression of being half-dead (_semineces_). By the enticing beauty\nand value of the treasures, and partly, too, by the dormant condition\nof the owners, the Danes were betrayed into an attempt to secure some\nof these precious things. Even the usually cautious Thorkil set a bad\nexample and put his hand on a garment (_amiculo manum inserens_). We are\nnot told by Saxo whether the garment covered anyone of those sleeping\nin the treasury, nor is it directly stated that the touching with the\nhand produced any disagreeable consequences for Thorkil. But further on\nSaxo relates that Thorkil became unrecognisable, because a withering or\nemaciation (_marcor_) had changed his body and the features of his face.\nWith this account in Saxo we must compare what we read in Adam of Bremen\nabout the Frisian adventurers who tried to plunder treasures belonging\nto giants who in the middle of the day lay concealed in subterranean\ncaves (_meridiano tempore latitantes antris subterraneis_). This account\nmust also have conceived the owners of the treasures as sleeping while\nthe plundering took place, for not before they were on their way back\nwere the Frisians pursued by the plundered party or by other lower-world\nbeings. Still, all but one succeeded in getting back to their ships.\nAdam asserts that they were such beings _quos nostri cyclopes appellant_\n(\"which among us are called cyclops\"), that they, in other words, were\ngigantic smiths, who, accordingly, themselves had made the untold amount\nof golden treasures which the Frisians there saw. These northern\ncyclops, he says, dwelt within solid walls, surrounded by a water, to\nwhich, according to Adam of Bremen, one first comes after traversing the\nland of frost (_provincia frigoris_), and after passing that _Euripus_,\n\"in which the water of the ocean flows back to its mysterious fountain\"\n(_ad initia qu\u00e6dam fontis sui arcani recurrens_), \"this deep subterranean\nabyss wherein the ebbing streams of the sea, according to report,\nwere swallowed up to return,\" and which \"with most violent force drew\nthe unfortunate seamen down into the lower world\" (_infelices nautos\nvehementissimo impetu traxit ad Chaos_).\n\nIt is evident that what Paulus Diaconus, Adam of Bremen, and Saxo here\nrelate must be referred to the same tradition. All three refer the scene\nof these strange things and events to the \"most remote part of Germany\"\n(cp. Nos. 45, 46, 48, 49). According to all three reports the boundless\nocean washes the shores of this saga-land which has to be traversed in\norder to get to \"the sleepers,\" to \"the men half-dead and resembling\nlifeless images,\" to \"those concealed in the middle of the day in\nsubterranean caves.\" Paulus assures us that they are in a cave under a\nrock in the neighbourhood of the famous maelstrom which sucks the billows\nof the sea into itself and spews them out again. Adam makes his Frisian\nadventurers come near being swallowed up by this maelstrom before they\nreach the caves of treasures where the cyclops in question dwell; and\nSaxo locates their tabernacle, filled with weapons and treasures, to a\nregion which we have already recognised (see Nos. 45-51) as belonging\nto Mimer's lower-world realm, and situated in the neighbourhood of the\nsacred subterranean fountains.\n\nIn the northern part of Mimer's domain, consequently in the vicinity of\nthe Hvergelmer fountain (see Nos. 59, 93), from and to which all waters\nfind their way, and which is the source of the famous maelstrom (see Nos.\n79, 80, 81), there stands, according to V\u00f6luspa, a golden hall in which\nSindre's kinsmen have their home. Sindre is, as we know, like his brother\nBrok and others of his kinsmen, an artist of antiquity, a cyclops, to\nuse the language of Adam of Bremen. The Northern records and the Latin\nchronicles thus correspond in the statement that in the neighbourhood of\nthe maelstrom or of its subterranean fountain, beneath a rock and in a\ngolden hall, or in subterranean caves filled with gold, certain men who\nare subterranean artisans dwell. Paulus Diaconus makes a \"curious\" person\nwho had penetrated into this abode disrobe one of the sleepers clad in\n\"Roman\" clothes, and for this he is punished with a withered arm. Saxo\nmakes Thorkil put his hand on a splendid garment which he sees there, and\nThorkil returns from his journey with an emaciated body, and is so lean\nand lank as not to be recognised.\n\nThere are reasons for assuming that the ancient artisan _Sindre_ is\nidentical with _Dvalinn_, the ancient artisan created by Mimer. I base\nthis assumption on the following circumstances:\n\n_Dvalinn_ is mentioned by the side of _D\u00e1inn_ both in Havam\u00e1l (43) and\nin Grimnersmal (33); also in the sagas, where they make treasures in\ncompany. Both the names are clearly epithets which point to the mythic\ndestiny of the ancient artists in question. _D\u00e1inn_ means \"the dead one,\"\nand in analogy herewith we must interpret _Dvalinn_ as \"the dormant one,\"\n\"the one slumbering.\" (cp. the Old Swedish _dvale_, sleep, unconscious\ncondition). Their fates have made them the representatives of death\nand sleep, a sort of equivalents of Thanatos and Hypnos. As such they\nappear in the allegorical strophes incorporated in Grimnersmal, which,\ndescribing how the world-tree suffers and grows old, make _D\u00e1inn_ and\n_Dvalinn_, \"death\" and \"slumber,\" get their food from its branches, while\nNidhog and other serpents wound its roots.\n\nIn Hyndluljod (6) the artists who made Frey's golden boar are called\n_D\u00e1inn_ and _Nabbi_. In the Younger Edda (i. 340-342) they are called\n_Brokkr_ and _Sindri_. Strange to say, on account of mythological\ncircumstances not known to us, the skalds have been able to use _D\u00e1inn_\nas a paraphrase for a rooting four-footed animal, and _Brokkr_ too has\na similar signification (cp. the Younger Edda, ii. 490, and Vigfusson,\nDict., under _Brokkr_). This points to an original identity of these\nepithets. Thus we arrive at the following parallels:\n\n  D\u00e1inn (-Brokkr) and Dvalinn made treasures together;\n  (D\u00e1inn-) Brokkr and Sindri made Frey's golden boar;\n  D\u00e1inn and Nabbi made Frey's golden boar;\n\nand the conclusion we draw herefrom is that in our mythology, in which\nthere is such a plurality of names, _Dvalinn_, _Sindri_, and _Nabbi_ are\nthe same person, and that _D\u00e1inn_ and _Brokkr_ are identical. I may have\nan opportunity later to present further evidence of this identity.\n\nThe primeval artist Sindre, who with his kinsmen inhabits a golden hall\nin Mimer's realm under the Hvergelmer mountains, near the subterranean\nfountain of the maelstrom, has therefore borne the epithet _Dvalinn_,\n\"the one wrapped in slumber.\" \"The slumberer\" thus rests with his\nkinsmen, where Paulus Diaconus has heard that seven men sleep from time\nout of mind, and where Adam of Bremen makes smithying giants, rich in\ntreasures, keep themselves concealed in lower-world caves within walls\nsurrounded by water.\n\nIt has already been demonstrated that _Dvalinn_ is a son of Mimer (see\nNo. 53). Sindre-Dvalin and his kinsmen are therefore Mimer's offspring\n(_Mims synir_). The golden citadel situated near the fountain of the\nmaelstrom is therefore inhabited by the sons of Mimer.\n\nIt has also been shown that, according to Solarljod, the sons of\n_Mimer-Nidi_ come from this region (from the north in Mimer's domain),\nand that they are in all seven:\n\n  Nordan s\u00e1 ek rida\n  Nidja sonu\n  ok v\u00e1ru sjau saman;\n\nthat is to say, that they are the same number as the \"economical months,\"\nor the changes of the year (see No. 87).\n\nIn the same region Mimer's daughter Nat has her hall, where she takes\nher rest after her journey across the heavens is accomplished (see No.\n93). The \"chateau dormant\" of Teutonic mythology is therefore situated\nin Nat's udal territory, and Dvalin, \"the slumberer,\" is Nat's brother.\nPerhaps her citadel is identical with the one in which Dvalin and his\nbrothers sleep. According to Saxo, voices of women are heard in the\n_tabernaculum_ belonging to the sleeping men, and glittering with weapons\nand treasures, when Thorkil and his men come to plunder the treasures\nthere. Nat has her court and her attendant sisters in the Teutonic\nmythology, as in Rigveda (_Ushas_). _Simmara_ (see Nos. 97, 98) is one of\nthe dises of the night. According to the middle-age sagas, these dises\nand daughters of Mimer are said to be twelve in number (see Nos. 45, 46).\n\nMimer, as we know, was the ward of the middle root of the world-tree.\nHis seven sons, representing the changes experienced by the world-tree\nand nature annually, have with him guarded and tended the holy tree\nand watered its root with _aurgom forsi_ from the subterranean horn,\n\"Valfather's pledge.\" When the god-clans became foes, and the Vans seized\nweapons against the Asas, Mimer was slain, and the world-tree, losing\nits wise guardian, became subject to the influence of time. It suffers\nin crown and root (Grimnersmal), and as it is ideally identical with\ncreation itself, both the natural and the moral, so toward the close of\nthe period of this world it will betray the same dilapidated condition as\nnature and the moral world then are to reveal.\n\nLogic demanded that when the world-tree lost its chief ward, the lord\nof the well of wisdom, it should also lose that care which under his\ndirection was bestowed upon it by his seven sons. These, voluntarily or\ninvoluntarily, retired, and the story of the seven men who sleep in the\ncitadel full of treasures informs us how they thenceforth spend their\ntime until Ragnarok. The details of the myth telling how they entered\ninto this condition cannot now be found; but it may be in order to point\nout, as a possible connection with this matter, that one of the older\nVanagods, Njord's father, and possibly the same as Mundilfore, had the\nepithet _Svafr_, _Svafrthorinn_ (Fj\u00f6lsvinnsmal). _Svafr_ means _sopitor_,\nthe sleeper, and _Svafrthorinn_ seems to refer to _svefnthorn_,\n\"sleep-thorn.\" According to the traditions, a person could be put to\nsleep by laying a \"sleep-thorn\" in his ear, and he then slept until it\nwas taken out or fell out.\n\nPopular traditions scattered over Sweden, Denmark, and Germany have to\nthis very day been preserved, on the lips of the common people, of the\nmen sleeping among weapons and treasures in underground chambers or\nin rocky halls. A Swedish tradition makes them equipped not only with\nweapons, but also with horses which in their stalls abide the day when\ntheir masters are to awake and sally forth. Common to the most of these\ntraditions, both the Northern and the German, is the feature that this\nis to happen when the greatest distress is at hand, or when the end of\nthe world approaches and the day of judgment comes. With regard to the\nGerman sagas on this point I refer to Jacob Grimm's _Mythology_. I simply\nwish to point out here certain features which are of special importance\nto the subject under discussion, and which the popular memory in certain\nparts of Germany has preserved from the heathen myths. When the heroes\nwho have slept through centuries sally forth, the trumpets of the last\nday sound, a great battle with the powers of evil (Antichrist) is to be\nfought, _an immensely old tree, which has withered, is to grow green\nagain_, and a happier age is to begin.\n\nThis immensely old tree, which is withered at the close of the present\nperiod of the world, and which is to become green again in a happier age\nafter a decisive conflict between the good and evil, can be no other than\nthe world-tree of Teutonic mythology, the Ygdrasil of our Eddas. The\nangel trumpets, at whose blasts the men who sleep within the mountains\nsally forth, have their prototype in Heimdal's horn, which proclaims the\ndestruction of the world; and the battle to be fought with Antichrist is\nthe Ragnarok conflict, clad in Christian robes, between the gods and the\ndestroyers of the world. Here Mimer's seven sons also have their task to\nperform. The last great struggle also concerns the lower world, whose\nregions of bliss demand protection against the thurs-clans of Nifelhel,\nthe more so since these very regions of bliss constitute the new earth,\nwhich after Ragnarok rises from the sea to become the abode of a better\nrace of men (see No. 55). The \"wall rock\" of the Hvergelmer mountain and\nits \"stone gates\" (V\u00f6luspa; cp. Nos. 46, 75) require defenders able to\nwield those immensely large swords which are kept in the sleeping castle\non Nat's udal fields, and Sindre-Dvalin is remembered not only as the\nartist of antiquity, spreader of Mimer's runic wisdom, enemy of Loke,\nand father of the man-loving dises (see No. 53), but also as a hero.\nThe name of the horse he rode, and probably is to ride in the Ragnarok\nconflict, is according to a strophe cited in the Younger Edda, _Modinn_;\nthe middle-age sagas have connected his name to a certain viking,\n_Sindri_, and to Sintram of the German heroic poetry.\n\nI now come back to the V\u00f6luspa strophe, which was the starting-point in\nthe investigation contained in this chapter:\n\n  Leika Mims synir\n  en mjotudr kyndisk\n  at hinu gamla\n  gjallarhorni;\n  h\u00e1tt bl\u00e6ss Heimdallr,\n  horn er \u00e1 lothi.\n\n\"Mimer's sons spring up, for the fate of the world is proclaimed by the\nold gjallar-horn. Loud blows Heimdal--the horn is raised.\"\n\nIn regard to _leika_, it is to be remembered that its old meaning,\n\"to jump,\" \"to leap,\" \"to fly up,\" reappears not only in Ulfilas, who\ntranslates _skirtan_ of the New Testament with _laikan_ (Luke i. 41, 44,\nand vi. 23; in the former passage in reference to the child slumbering in\nElizabeth's womb; the child \"leaps\" at her meeting with Mary), but also\nin another passage in V\u00f6luspa, where it is said in regard to Ragnarok,\n_leikr h\u00e1r hiti vid himin sjalfan_--\"high leaps\" (plays) \"the fire\nagainst heaven itself.\" Further, we must point out the preterit form\n_kyndisk_ (from _kynna_, to make known) by the side of the present form\n_leika_. This juxtaposition indicates that the sons of Mimer \"rush up,\"\nwhile the fate of the world, the final destiny of creation _in advance_\nand immediately beforehand, was proclaimed \"by the old gjallarhorn.\" The\nbounding up of Mimer's sons is the effect of the first powerful blast.\nOne or more of these follow: \"Loud blows Heimdal--the horn is raised;\nand Odin speaks with Mimer's head.\" Thus we have found the meaning of\n_leika Mims synir_. Their waking and appearance is one of the signs best\nremembered in the chronicles in popular traditions of Ragnarok's approach\nand the return of the dead, and in this strophe V\u00f6luspa has preserved the\nmemory of the \"chateau dormant\" of Teutonic mythology.\n\nThus a comparison of the mythic fragments extant with the popular\ntraditions gives us the following outline of the Teutonic myth concerning\nthe seven sleepers:\n\nThe world-tree--the representative of the physical and moral laws of the\nworld--grew in time's morning gloriously out of the fields of the three\nworld-fountains, and during the first epochs of the mythological events\n(_\u00e1r alda_) it stood fresh and green, cared for by the subterranean\nguardians of these fountains. But the times became worse. The feminine\ncounterpart of Loke, Gulveig-Heid, spreads evil runes in Asgard and\nMidgard, and he and she cause disputes and war between those god-clans\nwhose task it is to watch over and sustain the order of the world in\nharmony. In the feud between the Asas and Vans, the middle and most\nimportant world-fountain--the fountain of wisdom, the one from which\nthe good runes were fetched--became robbed of its watchman. Mimer was\nslain, and his seven sons, the superintendents of the seven seasons,\nwho saw to it that these season-changes followed each other within the\nlimits prescribed by the world-laws, were put to sleep, and fell into a\nstupor, which continues throughout the historical time until Ragnarok.\nConsequently the world-tree cannot help withering and growing old during\nthe historical age. Still it is not to perish. Neither fire nor sword can\nharm it; and when evil has reached its climax, and when the present world\nis ended in the Ragnarok conflict and in Surt's flames, then it is to\nregain that freshness and splendour which it had in time's morning.\n\nUntil that time Sindre-Dvalin and Mimer's six other sons slumber in that\ngolden hall which stands toward the north in the lower world, on Mimer's\nfields. Nat, their sister, dwells in the same region, and shrouds the\nchambers of those slumbering in darkness. Standing toward the north\nbeneath the Nida mountains, the hall is near Hvergelmer's fountain,\nwhich causes the famous maelstrom. As sons of Mimer, the great smith of\nantiquity, the seven brothers were themselves great smiths of antiquity,\nwho, during the first happy epoch, gave to the gods and to nature the\nmost beautiful treasures (Mjolner, Brisingamen, Slidrugtanne, Draupner).\nThe hall where they now rest is also a treasure-chamber, which preserves\na number of splendid products of their skill as smiths, and among these\nare weapons, too large to be wielded by human hands, but intended to be\nemployed by the brothers themselves when Ragnarok is at hand and the\ngreat decisive conflict comes between the powers of good and of evil.\nThe seven sleepers are there clad in splendid mantles of another cut than\nthose common among men. Certain mortals have had the privilege of seeing\nthe realms of the lower world and of inspecting the hall where the seven\nbrothers have their abode. But whoever ventured to touch their treasures,\nor was allured by the splendour of their mantles to attempt to secure any\nof them, was punished by the drooping and withering of his limbs.\n\nWhen Ragnarok is at hand, the aged and abused world-tree trembles, and\nHeimdal's trumpet, until then kept in the deepest shade of the tree, is\nonce more in the hand of the god, and at a world-piercing blast from this\ntrumpet Mimer's seven sons start up from their sleep and arm themselves\nto take part in the last conflict. This is to end with the victory of\nthe good; the world-tree will grow green again and flourish under the\ncare of its former keepers; \"all evil shall then cease, and Balder shall\ncome back.\" The Teutonic myth in regard to the seven sleepers is thus\nmost intimately connected with the myth concerning the return of the dead\nBalder and of the other dead men from the lower world, with the idea of\nresurrection and the regeneration of the world. It forms an integral\npart of the great epic of Teutonic mythology, and could not be spared.\nIf the world-tree is to age during the historical epoch, and if the\npresent period of time is to progress toward ruin, then this must have\nits epic cause in the fact that the keepers of the chief root of the tree\nwere severed by the course of events from their important occupation.\nTherefore Mimer dies; therefore his sons sink into the sleep of ages.\nBut it is necessary that they should wake and resume their occupation,\nfor there is to be a regeneration, and the world-tree is to bloom with\nnew freshness.\n\nBoth in Germany and in Sweden there still prevails a popular belief which\nputs \"the seven sleepers\" in connection with the weather. If it rains on\nthe day of the seven sleepers, then, according to this popular belief,\nit is to rain for seven weeks thereafter. People have wondered how a\nweather prophecy could be connected with the sleeping saints, and the\nmatter would also, in reality, be utterly incomprehensible if the legend\nwere of Christian origin; but it is satisfactorily explained by the\nheathen-Teutonic mythology, where the seven sleepers represent those very\nseven so-called economic months--the seven changes of the weather--which\ngave rise to the division of the year into the months--_gorm\u00e1nudr_,\n_frerm._, _hr\u00fatm._, _einm._, _s\u00f3lm._, _selm._, and _kornskurdarm\u00e1nudr_.\nNavigation was also believed to be under the protection of the seven\nsleepers, and this we can understand when we remember that the hall of\nMimer's sons was thought to stand near the Hvergelmer fountain and the\nGrotte of the skerry, \"dangerous to seamen,\" and that they, like their\nfather, were lovers of men. Thorkil, the great navigator of the saga,\ntherefore praises Gudmund-Mimer as a protector in dangers.\n\nThe legend has preserved the connection found in the myth between the\nabove meaning and the idea of a resurrection of the dead. But in the myth\nconcerning Mimer's seven sons this idea is most intimately connected\nwith the myth itself, and is, with epic logic, united with the whole\nmythological system. In the legend, on the other hand, the resurrection\nidea is put on as a trade-mark. The seven men in Ephesus are lulled into\ntheir long sleep, and are waked again to appear before Theodosius, the\nemperor, to preach a sermon illustrated by their own fate against the\nfalse doctrine which tries to deny the resurrection of the dead.\n\nGregorius says that he is the first who recorded in the Latin language\nthis miracle, not before known to the Church of Western Europe. As his\nauthority he quotes \"a certain Syrian\" who had interpreted the story\nfor him. There was also need of a man from the Orient as an authority\nwhen a hitherto unknown miracle was to be presented--a miracle that\nhad transpired in a cave near Ephesus. But there is no absolute reason\nfor assuming that Gregorius presents a story of his own invention.\nThe reference of the legend to Ephesus is explained by the antique\nsaga-variation concerning Endymion, according to which the latter was\nsentenced to confinement and eternal sleep in a cave in the mountain\nLatmos. Latmos is south of Ephesus, and not very far from there. This\nsaga is the antique root-thread of the legend, out of which rose its\nlocalisation, but not its contents and its details. The contents are\nborrowed from the Teutonic mythology. That Syria or Asia Minor was the\nscene of its transformation into a Christian legend is possible, and\nis not surprising. During and immediately after the time to which the\nlegend itself refers the resurrection of the seven sleepers, the time\nof Theodosius, the Roman Orient, Asia Minor, Syria, and Egypt were\nfull of Teutonic warriors who had permanent quarters there. A _Notitia\ndignitatum_ from this age speaks of hosts of Goths, Alamannians,\nFranks, Chamavians, and Vandals, who there had fixed military quarters.\nThere then stood an _ala Francorum_, a _cohors Alamannorum_, a _cohors\nChamavorum_, an _ala Vandilorum_, a _cohors Gothorum_, and no doubt\nthere, as elsewhere in the Roman Empire, great provinces were colonised\nby Teutonic veterans and other immigrants. Nor must we neglect to remark\nthat the legend refers the falling asleep of the seven men to the time of\nDecius. Decius fell in battle against the Goths, who, a few years later,\ninvaded Asia Minor and captured among other places also Ephesus.\n\n[1] For \"brothers\" the text, perhaps purposely, used the ambiguous word\n_germani_. This would, then, not be the only instance where the word is\nused in both senses at the same time. Cp. Quintil, 8, 3, 29.\n\n\n95.\n\n    ON THE ANTHROPOLOGY OF THE MYTHOLOGY.\n\nThe account now given of the myths concerning the lower world shows\nthat the hierologists and skalds of our heathendom had developed the\ndoctrine in a perspicuous manner even down to the minutest details.\nThe lower world and its kingdom of death were the chief subjects with\nwhich their fancy was occupied. The many sagas and traditions which\nflowed from heathen sources and which described Svipdag's, Hadding's,\nGorm's, Thorkil's, and other journeys down there are proof of this, and\nthe complete agreement of statements from totally different sources in\nregard to the topography of the lower world and the life there below\nshows that the ideas were reduced to a systematised and perspicuous\nwhole. Svipdag's and Hadding's journeys in the lower world have been\nincorporated as episodes in the great epic concerning the Teutonic\npatriarchs, the chief outlines of which I have presented in the preceding\npages. This is done in the same manner as the visits of Ulysses and \u00c6neas\nin the lower world have become a part of the great Greek and Roman epic\npoems.\n\nUnder such circumstances it may seem surprising that Icelandic records\nfrom the middle ages concerning the heathen belief in regard to the\nabodes after death should give us statements which seems utterly\nirreconcilable with one another. For there are many proofs that the dead\nwere believed to live in hills and rocks, or in grave-mounds where their\nbodies were buried. How can this be reconciled with the doctrine that\nthe dead descended to the lower world, and were there judged either to\nreceive abodes in Asgard or in the realms of bliss in Hades, or in the\nworld of torture?\n\nThe question has been answered too hastily to the effect that\nthe statements cannot be harmonised, and that consequently the\nheathen-Teutonic views in regard to the day of judgment were in this most\nimportant part of the religious doctrine unsupported.\n\nThe reason for the obscurity is not, however, in the matter itself, which\nhas never been thoroughly studied, but in the false premises from which\nthe conclusions have been drawn. Mythologists have simply assumed that\nthe popular view of the Christian Church in regard to terrestrial man,\nconceiving him to consist of two factors, the perishable body and the\nimperishable soul, was the necessary condition for every belief in a life\nhereafter, and that the heathen Teutons accordingly also cherished this\nidea.\n\nBut this duality did not enter into the belief of our heathen fathers.\nNor is it of such a kind that a man, having conceived a life hereafter,\nin this connection necessarily must conceive the soul as the simple,\nindissoluble spiritual factor of human nature. The division into two\nparts, _lif ok s\u00e1la_, _l\u00edkamr ok s\u00e1la_, body and soul, came with\nChristianity, and there is every reason for assuming, so far as the\nScandinavian peoples are concerned, that the very word soul, _s\u00e1la_,\n_s\u00e1l_, is, like the idea it represents, an imported word. In Old Norse\nliterature the word occurs for the first time in Olaf Trygveson's\ncontemporary Halfred, after he had been converted to Christianity. Still\nthe word is of Teutonic root. Ulfilas translates the New Testament\n_psyche_ with _saiwala_, but this he does with his mind on the Platonic\nNew Testament view of man as consisting of _three_ factors: spirit\n(_pneuma_), soul (_psyche_), and body (_soma_). Spirit (_pneuma_) Ulfilas\ntranslates with _ahma_.\n\nAnother assumption, likewise incorrect in estimating the\nanthropological-eschatological belief of the Teutons, is that they are\nsupposed to have distinguished between matter and mind, which is a result\nreached by the philosophers of the Occident in their abstract studies.\nIt is, on the contrary, certain that such a distinction never entered\nthe system of heathen Teutonic views. In it all things were _material_,\nan _efni_ of course or fine grain, tangible or intangible, visible or\ninvisible. The imperishable factors of man were, like the perishable,\n_material_, and a force could not be conceived which was not bound to\nmatter, or expressed itself in matter, or _was_ matter.\n\nThe heathen Teutonic conception of human nature, and of the factors\ncomposing it, is most like the Aryan-Asiatic as we find the latter\npreserved in the traditions of Buddhism, which assume more than three\nfactors in a human being, and deny the existence of a soul, if this is to\nmean that all that is not corporal in man consists of a single simple,\nand therefore indissoluble, element, the soul.\n\nThe anthropological conception presented in V\u00f6luspa is as follows: Man\nconsists of six elements, namely, to begin with the lower and coarser and\nto end with the highest and noblest:\n\n  (1) The earthly matter of which the body is formed.\n  (2) A formative vegetative force.\n  (3) and (4) Loder's gifts.\n  (5) Honer's gifts.\n  (6) Odin's gifts.\n\nV\u00f6luspa's words are these: The gods\n\n  fundu \u00e1 landi             found on the land\n  litt megandi              with little power,\n  Ask ok Embla              Ask and Embla\n  orlauglausa.              without destiny.\n  Aund thau ne \u00e1tto,        Spirit they had not,\n  \u00f3th thau ne haufdo,       \"\u00f3dr\" they had not,\n  la ne l\u00e6ti,               neither \"l\u00e1\" nor \"l\u00e6ti,\"\n  ne lito goda.             nor the form of the gods.\n\n  Aund gaf Odin,            Spirit gave Odin,\n  oth gaf Henir,            \"\u00f3dr\" gave Honer,\n  la gaf Lodur              \"l\u00e1\" gave Loder\n  ok lito goda.             and the form of the gods.\n\nThe two lowest factors, the earthly material and the vegetative force,\nwere already united in Ask and Embla when the three gods found them\n\"growing as trees.\" These elements were able to unite themselves simply\nby the course of nature without any divine interference. When the sun\nfor the first time shone from the south on \"the stones of the hall,\" the\nvegetative force united with the matter of the primeval giant Ymer, who\nwas filled with the seed of life from Audhumbla's milk, and then the\n\"ground was overgrown with green herbs.\"\n\nThus man was not created directly from the crude earthly matter, but had\nalready been organised and formed when the gods came and from the trees\nmade persons with blood, motion, and spiritual qualities. The vegetative\nforce must not be conceived in accordance with modern ideas, as an\nactivity separated from the matter by abstraction and at the same time\ninseparably joined with it, but as an _active matter_ joined with the\nearthly matter.\n\nLoder's first gift _l\u00e1_ with _l\u00e6ti_ makes Ask and Embla animal beings.\nEgilsson's view that _l\u00e1_ means blood is confirmed by the connection\nin which we find the word used. The _l\u00e6ti_ united with _l\u00e1_ (compare\nthe related Swedish word \"_later_,\" manners) means the way in which a\nconscious being moves and acts. The blood and the power of a motion which\nis voluntary were to the Teutons, as to all other people, the marks\ndistinguishing animal from vegetable life. And thus we are already\nwithin the domain of psychical elements. The inherited features, growth,\ngait, and pose, which were observed as forming race- and family-types,\nwere regarded as having the blood as _efni_ and as being concealed\ntherein. The blood which produced the family-type also produced the\nfamily-tie, even though it was not acquired by the natural process of\ngeneration. A person not at all related to the family of another man\ncould become his _bl\u00f3di_, his blood-kinsman, if they resolved _at blanda\nbl\u00f3di saman_. They thereby entered into the same relations to each other\nas if they had the same mother and father.\n\nLoder also gave at the same time another gift, _litr goda_. To understand\nthis expression (hitherto translated with \"good complexion\"), we must\nbear in mind that the Teutons, like the Hellenes and Romans, conceived\nthe gods in human form, and that the image which characterises man was\nborne by the gods alone before man's creation, and originally belonged to\nthe gods. To the hierologists and the skalds of the Teutons, as to those\nof the Greeks and Romans, man was created _in effigiem deorum_ and had in\nhis nature a divine image in the real sense of this word, a _litr goda_.\nNor was this _litr goda_ a mere abstraction to the Teutons, or an empty\nform, but a created _efni_ dwelling in man and giving shape and character\nto the earthly body which is visible to the eye. The common meaning\nof the word _litr_ is something presenting itself to the eye without\nbeing actually tangible to the hands. The Gothic form of the word is\n_wlits_, which Ulfilas uses in translating the Greek _prosopon_--look,\nappearance, expression. Certain persons were regarded as able to separate\ntheir _litr_ from its union with the other factors of their being, and\nto lend it, at least for a short time, to some other person in exchange\nfor his. This was called to _skipta litum_, _vixla litum_. It was done\nby Sigurd and Gunnar in the song of Sigurd Fafnersbane (i. 37-42). That\nfactor in Gunnar's being which causes his earthly body to present itself\nin a peculiar individual manner to the eyes of others is transmitted to\nSigurd, whose exterior, affected by Gunnar's _litr_, accommodates itself\nto the latter, while the spiritual kernel in Sigurd's personality suffers\nno change.\n\n  Lit hefir thu Gunnars\n  oc l\u00e6ti hans,\n  m\u00e6lsco thina\n  oc meginhyggior (Sig., i. 39).\n\nThus man has within him an inner body made in the image of the gods and\nconsisting of a finer material, a body which is his _litr_, by virtue of\nwhich his coarser tabernacle, formed from the earth, receives that form\nby which it impresses itself on the minds of others. The recollection\nof the belief in this inner body has been preserved in a more or less\ndistorted form in traditions handed down even to our days (see for\nexample, Hylt\u00e9n-Cavallius, _V\u00e4rend och Virdarne_, i. 343-360; R\u00e4\u00e4f in\nSm\u00e5land, _Beskr. \u00f6fver Ydre_, p. 84).\n\nThe appearance of the outer body therefore depends on the condition of\nthe _litr_, that is, of the inner being. Beautiful women have a \"joyous\nfair _litr_\" (Havam\u00e1l, 93). An emotion has influence upon the _litr_,\nand through it on the blood and the appearance of the outward body. A\nsudden blushing, a sudden paleness, are among the results thereof, and\ncan give rise to the question, _Hefir thu lit brugdit?_--Have you changed\nyour _litr_? (Fornald., i. 426). To translate this with, Have you changed\ncolour? is absurd. The questioner sees the change of colour, and does not\nneed to ask the other one who cannot see it.\n\nOn account of its mythological signification and application, it is very\nnatural that the word _litr_ should in every-day life acquire on the one\nhand the meaning of complexion in general, and on the other hand the\nsignification of _hamr_, guise, an earthly garb which persons skilled\nin magic could put on and off. _Skipta litum_, _vixla litum_, have in\nChristian times been used as synonymous with _skipta h\u00f6mum_, _vixla\nh\u00f6mum_.\n\nIn physical death the coarser elements of an earthly person's nature are\nseparated from the other constituent parts. The tabernacle formed of\nearth and the vegetative material united therewith are eliminated like\nthe animal element and remain on earth. But this does not imply that the\ndeceased descend without form to Hades. The form in which they travel\nin \"deep dales,\" traverse the thornfields, wade across the subterranean\nrivers, or ride over the gold-clad Gjallar-bridge, is not a new creation,\nbut was worn by them in their earthly career. It can be none other than\ntheir _litr_, their _umbra et imago_. It also shows distinctly what the\ndead man has been in his earthly life, and what care has been bestowed\non his dust. The washing, combing, dressing, ornamenting, and supplying\nwith Hel-shoes of the dead body has influence upon one's looks in Hades,\non one's looks when he is to appear before his judge.\n\nSeparated from the earthly element, from the vegetative material, and\nfrom the blood, the _lit_ is almost imponderable, and does not possess\nthe qualities for an intensive life, either in bliss or in torture. Five\nfylkes of dead men who rode over the Gjallar-bridge produced no greater\ndin than Hermod alone riding on Sleipner; and the woman watching the\nbridge saw that Hermod's exterior was not that of one separated from the\nearthly element. It was not _litr daudra manna_ (Gylfaginning). But the\n_litr_ of the dead is compensated for what it has lost. Those who in the\njudgment on _daudan hvern_ are pronounced worthy of bliss are permitted\nto drink from the horn decorated with the serpent-symbol of eternity, the\nliquids of the three world-fountains which give life to all the world,\nand thereby their _litr_ gets a higher grade of body and nobler blood\n(see Nos. 72, 73). Those sentenced to torture must also drink, but it is\na drink _eitri blandinn miok_, \"much mixed with venom,\" and it is _illu\nheilli_, that is, a warning of evil. This drink also restores their\nbodies, but only to make them feel the burden of torture. The liquid\nof life which they imbibe in this drink is the same as that which was\nthought to flow in the veins of the demons of torture. When Hadding with\nhis sword wounds the demon-hand which grasps after Hardgrep and tears her\ninto pieces (see No. 41), there flows from the wound \"more venom than\nblood\" (_plus tabi quam cruoris_--Saxo, _Hist._, 40).\n\nWhen Loder had given Ask and Embla _litr goda_, an inner body formed in\nthe image of the gods, a body which gives to their earthly tabernacle\na human-divine type, they received from Honer the gift which is called\n_\u00f3dr_. In signification this word corresponds most closely to the Latin\n_mens_, the Greek _nous_ (cp. Vigfusson's Lexicon), and means that\nmaterial which forms the kernel of a human personality, its ego, and\nwhose manifestations are understanding, memory, fancy, and will.\n\nVigfusson has called attention to the fact that the epithet _langif\u00f3tr_\nand _aurkonungr_, \"Longleg\" and \"Mire-king,\" applied to Honer, is\napplicable to the stork, and that this cannot be an accident, as the very\nname _H\u00e6nir_ suggests a bird, and is related to the Greek _kuknos_, and\nthe Sanscrit _sakunas_ (_Corpus Poet. Bor._, i. p. cii.).[2] It should\nbe borne in mind in this connection that the stork even to this day is\nregarded as a sacred and protected bird, and that among Scandinavians\nand Germans there still exists a nursery tale telling how the stork\ntakes from some saga-pond the little fruits of man and brings them to\ntheir mothers. The tale which now belongs to the nursery has its root\nin the myth, where Honer gives our first parents that very gift which\nin a spiritual sense makes them human beings and contains the personal\nego. It is both possible and probable that the conditions essential to\nthe existence of every person were conceived as being analogous with the\nconditions attending the creation of the first human pair, and that the\ngifts which were then given by the gods to Ask and Embla were thought\nto be repeated in the case of each one of their descendants--that Honer\nconsequently was believed to be continually active in the same manner as\nwhen the first human pair was created, giving to the mother-fruit the ego\nthat is to be. The fruit itself out of which the child is developed was\nconceived as grown on the world-tree, which therefore is called _manna\nmj\u00f6tudr_ (Fj\u00f6lsvinnsmal, 22). Every fruit of this kind (_aldin_) that\nmatured (and fell from the branches of the world-tree into the mythic\npond [?]) is fetched by the winged servants of the gods, and is born _\u00e1\neld_ into the maternal lap, after being mentally fructified by Honer.\n\n  Ut af hans (Mimameids) aldni\n  skal \u00e1 eld bera\n  fyr kelisj\u00fakar konur;\n  utar hverfa\n  thaz th\u00e6r innar skyli,\n  s\u00e1 er hann med m\u00f6nnum mj\u00f6tudr.\n\nAbove, in No. 83, it has been shown that _Lodurr_ is identical with\n_Mundilf\u00f6ri_, the one producing fire by friction, and that _H\u0153nir_\nand _Lodurr_ are Odin's brothers, also called _Vei_ and _Vili_. With\nregard to the last name it should be remarked that its meaning of \"will\"\ndeveloped out of the meaning \"desire,\" \"longing,\" and that the word\npreserved this older meaning also in the secondary sense of _cupido_,\n_libido_, sexual desire. This epithet of _Lodurr_ corresponds both\nwith the nature of the gifts he bestows on the human child which is to\nbe--that is, the blood and the human, originally divine, form--and also\nwith his quality of fire-producer, if, as is probable, the friction-fire\nhad the same symbolic meaning in the Teutonic mythology as in the\nRigveda. Like Honer, Loder causes the knitting together of the human\ngenerations. While the former fructifies the embryo developing on the\nworld-tree with _\u00f3dr_, it receives from Loder the warmth of the blood and\nhuman organism. The expression _Vilja byrdr_, \"_Vili's_ burden,\" \"that\nwhich _Vili_ has produced,\" is from this point of view a well-chosen and\nat the same time an ambiguous paraphrase for a human body. The paraphrase\noccurs in Ynglingatal (Ynglingasaga, 17). When Visbur loses his life in\nthe flames it is there said of him that the fire consumed his _Vilja\nbyrdi_, his corporal life.\n\nTo Loder's and Honer's gifts the highest Asa-god adds the best element\nin human nature, _\u00f6nd_, spirit, that by which a human being becomes\nparticipator in the divine also in an inner sense, and not only as to\nform. The divine must here, of course, be understood in the sense (far\ndifferent from the ecclesiastical) in which it was used by our heathen\nancestors, to whom the divine, as it can reveal itself in men, chiefly\nconsisted in power of thought, courage, honesty, veracity, and mercy,\nbut who knew no other humility than that of patiently bearing such\nmisfortunes as cannot be averted by human ingenuity.\n\nThese six elements, united into one in human nature, were of course\nconstantly in reciprocal activity. The personal kernel _\u00f3dr_ is on the\none hand influenced by _\u00f6nd_, the spirit, and on the other hand by the\nanimal, vegetative, and corporal elements, and the personality being\nendowed with will, it is responsible for the result of this reciprocal\nactivity. If the spirit becomes superior to the other elements then it\npenetrates and sanctifies not only the personal kernel, but also the\nanimal, vegetative, and corporal elements. Then human nature becomes a\nbeing that may be called divine, and deserves divine honour. When such\na person dies the lower elements which are abandoned and consigned to\nthe grave have been permeated by, and have become participators in, the\npersonality which they have served, and may thereafter in a wonderful\nmanner diffuse happiness and blessings around them. When Halfdan the\nBlack died different places competed for the keeping of his remains,\nand the dispute was settled by dividing the corpse between Hadaland,\nRingerike, and Vestfold (Fagerskinna, Heimskringla). The vegetative force\nin the remains of certain persons might also manifest itself in a strange\nmanner. Thorgrim's grave-mound in Gisle's saga was always green on one\nside, and Laugarbrekku-Einar's grave-mound was entirely green both winter\nand summer (Landn., ii. 7).\n\nThe elements of the dead buried in the grave continued for more or less\ntime their reciprocal activity, and formed a sort of unity which, if\npermeated by his _\u00f3dr_ and _\u00f6nd_, preserved some of his personality and\nqualities. The grave-mound might in this manner contain an _alter ego_\nof him who had descended to the realm of death. This _alter ego_, called\nafter his dwelling _haugb\u00fai_, hill-dweller, was characterised by his\nnature as a _draugr_, a branch which, though cut off from its life-root,\nstill maintains its consistency, but gradually, though slowly, pays\ntribute to corruption and progresses toward its dissolution. In Christian\ntimes the word _draugr_ acquired a bad, demoniacal meaning, which did not\nbelong to it exclusively in heathen times, to judge from the compounds\nin which it is found: _eldraugr_, _herdraugr_, _hirdidraugr_, which were\nused in paraphrases for \"warriors;\" _\u00f3daldraugr_, \"rightful owner,\"\n&c. The _alter ego_ of the deceased, his representative dwelling in\nthe grave, retained his character: was good and kind if the deceased\nhad been so in life; in the opposite case, evil and dangerous. As a\nrule he was believed to sleep in his grave, especially in the daytime,\nbut might wake up in the night, or could be waked by the influence\nof prayer or the powers of conjuration. Ghosts of the good kind were\n_hollar v\u00e6ttir_, of the evil kind _\u00fav\u00e6ttir_. Respect for the fathers and\nthe idea that the men of the past were more pious and more noble than\nthose of the present time caused the _alter egos_ of the fathers to be\nregarded as beneficent and working for the good of the race, and for this\nreason family grave-mounds where the bones of the ancestors rested were\ngenerally near the home. If there was no grave-mound in the vicinity, but\na rock or hill, the _alter egos_ in question were believed to congregate\nthere when something of importance to the family was impending. It\nmight also happen that the lower elements, when abandoned by _\u00f3dr_ and\n_\u00f6nd_, became an _alter ego_ in whom the vegetative and animal elements\nexclusively asserted themselves. Such an one was always tormented by\nanimal desire of food, and did not seem to have any feeling for or memory\nof bonds tied in life. Saxo (_Hist._, 244) gives a horrible account of\none of this sort. Two foster-brothers, Asmund and Asvid, had agreed that\nif the one died before the other the survivor should confine himself\nin the foster-brother's grave-chamber and remain there. Asvid died and\nwas buried with horse and dog. Asmund kept his agreement, and ordered\nhimself to be confined in the large, roomy grave, but discovered to his\nhorror that his foster-brother had become a _haugb\u00fai_ of the last-named\nkind, who, after eating horse and dog, attacked Asmund to make him a\nvictim of his hunger. Asmund conquered the _haugb\u00fai_, cut off his head,\nand pierced his heart with a pole to prevent his coming to life again.\nSwedish adventurers who opened the grave to plunder it freed Asmund from\nhis prison. In such instances as this it must have been assumed that the\nlower elements of the deceased consigned to the grave were never in his\nlifetime sufficiently permeated by his _\u00f3dr_ and _\u00f6nd_ to enable these\nqualities to give the corpse an impression of the rational personality\nand human character of the deceased. The same idea is the basis of belief\nof the Slavic people in the vampire. In one of this sort the vegetative\nelement united with his dust still asserts itself, so that hair and\nnails continue to grow as on a living being, and the animal element,\nwhich likewise continues to operate in the one buried, visits him with\nhunger and drives him in the night out of the grave to suck the blood of\nsurviving kinsmen.\n\nThe real personality of the dead, the one endowed with _litr_, _\u00f3dr_,\nand _\u00f6nd_, was and remained in the death kingdom, although circumstances\nmight take place that would call him back for a short time. The drink\nwhich the happy dead person received in Hades was intended not only to\nstrengthen his _litr_, but also to soothe that longing which the earthly\nlife and its memories might cause him to feel. If a dearly-beloved\nkinsman or friend mourned the deceased too violently, this sorrow\ndisturbed his happiness in the death kingdom, and was able to bring\nhim back to earth. Then he would visit his grave-mound, and he and his\n_alter ego_, the _haugb\u00fai_, would become one. This was the case with\nHelge Hundingsbane (Helge Hund., ii. 40, &c.). The sorrow of Sigrun, his\nbeloved, caused him to return from Valhal to earth and to ride to his\ngrave, where Sigrun came to him and wanted to rest in his arms during the\nnight. But when Helge had told her that her tears pierced his breast with\npain, and had assured her that she was exceedingly dear to him, and had\npredicted that they together should drink the sorrow-allaying liquids of\nthe lower world, he rode his way again, in order that, before the crowing\nof the cock, he might be back among the departed heroes. Prayer was\nanother means of calling the dead back. At the entrance of his deceased\nmother's grave-chamber Svipdag beseeches her to awake. Her ashes kept in\nthe grave-chamber (_er til moldar er komin_) and her real personality\nfrom the realm of death (_er \u00f3r ljodheimum er lidin_) then unite, and\nGroa speaks out of the grave to her son (Grogaldr., i. 2). A third means\nof revoking the dead to earth lay in conjuration. But such a use of\nconjuration was a great sin, which relegated the sinner to the demons.\n(Cp. Saxo's account of Hardgrep.)\n\nThus we understand why the dead descended to Hades and still inhabited\nthe grave-mounds. One died \"to Hel\" and \"to the grave\" at the same time.\nThat of which earthly man consisted, in addition to his corporal garb,\nwas not the simple being, \"the soul,\" which cannot be divided, but there\nwas a combination of factors, which in death could be separated, and of\nwhich those remaining on earth, while they had long been the covering of\na personal kernel (_\u00f3dr_), could themselves in a new combination form\nanother ego of the person who had descended to Hades.\n\nBut that too consisted of several factors, _litr_, _\u00f3dr_, and _\u00f6nd_, and\nthey were not inseparably united. We have already seen that the sinner,\nsentenced to torture, dies a second death in the lower world before he\npasses through the Na-gates, the death from Hel to Nifelhel, so that he\nbecomes a _n\u00e1r_, a corpse in a still deeper sense than that which _n\u00e1r_\nhas in a physical sense. The second death, like the first (physical),\nmust consist in the separation of one or more of the factors from the\nbeing that dies. And in the second death, that which separates itself\nfrom the damned one and changes his remains into a lower-world _n\u00e1r_,\nmust be those factors that have no blame in connection with his sins,\nand consequently should not suffer his punishment, and which in their\norigin are too noble to become the objects of the practice of demons\nin the art of torturing. The venom drink which the damned person has to\nempty deprives him of that image of the gods in which he was made, and\nof the spirit which was the noble gift of the Asa-father. Changed into a\n_monster_, he goes to his destiny fraught with misfortunes.\n\nThe idea of a regeneration was not foreign to the faith of the Teutonic\nheathens. To judge from the very few statements we have on this point,\nit would seem that it was only the very best and the very worst who\nwere thought to be born anew in the present world. Gulveig was born\nagain several times by the force of her own evil will. But it is only\nideal persons of whom it is said that they are born again--_e.g._, Helge\nHjorvardson, Helge Hundingsbane, and Olaf Geirstadaralf, of whom the\nlast was believed to have risen again in Saint Olaf. With the exception\nof Gulveig, the statements in regard to the others from Christian times\nare an echo from the heathen Teutonic doctrine which it would be most\ninteresting to become better acquainted with--also from the standpoint\nof comparative Aryan mythology, since this same doctrine appears in a\nhighly-developed form in the Asiatic-Aryan group of myths.\n\n[2] There is a story of the creation of man by three wandering gods, who\nbecome in medi\u00e6val stories Jesus and SS. Peter and Paul walking among\nmen, as in Champfleury's pretty apologue of the _bonhomme mis\u00e9re_, so\nbeautifully illustrated by Legros. In the eddic legend one of these\ngods is called _H\u0153ne_; he is the _speech-giver_ of Wolospa, and is\ndescribed in praises taken from lost poems as \"the long-legged one\"\n[_langifotr_], \"the lord of the ooze\" [_aurkonungr_]. Strange epithets,\nbut easily explainable when one gets at the etymology of H\u0153ne = _hohni_\n= Sansc. _sakunas_ = Gr. _kuknos_ = the white bird, swan, or stork,\nthat stalks along in the mud, lord of the marsh; and it is now easy to\nsee that this bird is the Creator walking in chaos, brooding over the\nprimitive mish-mash or tohu-bohu, and finally hatching the egg of the\nworld. Hohni is also, one would fancy, to be identified with Heimdal,\n_the walker_, who is also a creator-god, who sleeps _more lightly than a\nbird_, who is also the \"_fair Anse_,\" and _the \"whitest of the Anses,\"_\nthe \"waker of the gods,\" a celestial chanticleer as it were (Vigfusson,\n_Corpus Poeticum Boreale_, vol. i., Introduction, p. cii., quoted by the\ntranslator).\n\n\n\n\nV.\n\nTHE IVALDE RACE.\n\n\n96.\n\n    SVIPDAG AND GROA.\n\nGroa's son Svipdag is mentioned by this name in two Old Norse songs,\nGrogalder and Fj\u00f6lsvinnsmal, which as Bugge has shown, are mutually\nconnected, and describe episodes from the same chain of events.\n\nThe contents of Grogalder are as follows:\n\nGroa is dead when the event described in the song takes place. Svipdag is\nstill quite young. Before her death she has told him that he is to go to\nher grave and call her if he needs her help. The grave is a grave-chamber\nmade of large flat stones raised over a stone floor, and forming when\nseen from the outside a mound which is furnished with a door (str. 1, 15).\n\nSvipdag's father has married a second time. The stepmother commands her\nstepson to go abroad and find _Mengl\u00f6dum_, \"those fond of ornaments.\"\nFrom Fj\u00f6lsvinnsmal we learn that one of those called by this name is a\nyoung maid who becomes Svipdag's wife. Her real name is not given: she\nis continually designated as _Mengl\u00f6d_, Menglad, one of \"those fond of\nornaments,\" whom Svipdag has been commanded to find.\n\nThis task seems to Svipdag to exceed his powers. It must have been one of\ngreat adventures and great dangers, for he now considers it the proper\ntime to ask his deceased mother for help. He has become suspicious of\nhis stepmother's intentions; he considers her _l\u00e6vis_ (cunning), and her\nproposition is \"a cruel play which she has put before him\" (str. 3).\n\nHe goes to Groa's grave-chamber, probably in the night (_verda auflgari\nallir a nottum dauthir_--Helge Hund., ii. 51), bids her wake, and reminds\nher of her promise. That of Groa which had become dust (_er til moldar\ner komin_), and that of her which had left this world of man and gone to\nthe lower world (_er \u00f3r lj\u00f3dheimum lidin_), become again united under the\ninfluence of maternal love and of the son's prayer, and Svipdag hears out\nof the grave-chamber his mother's voice asking him why he has come. He\nspeaks of the errand on which he has been sent by his stepmother (str. 3,\n4).\n\nThe voice from the grave declares that long journeys lie before Svipdag\nif he is to reach the goal indicated. It does not, however, advise him to\ndisobey the command of his stepmother, but assures him that if he will\nbut patiently look for a good outcome of the matter, then the norn will\nguide the events into their right course (str. 4).\n\nThe son then requests his mother to sing protecting incantations over\nhim. She is celebrated in mythology as one mighty in incantations of the\ngood kind. It was Groa that sang healing incantations over Thor when with\na wounded forehead he returned from the conflict with the giant Hrungner\n(Gylfag.).\n\nGroa hears his prayer, and sings from the grave an incantation of\nprotection against the dangers which her prophetic vision has discovered\non those journeys that now lie before Svipdag: first, the incantation\nthat can inspire the despondent youth who lacks confidence in himself\nwith courage and reliance in his own powers. It is, Groa says, the same\nincantation as another mother before her sang over a son whose strength\nhad not yet been developed, and who had a similar perilous task to\nperform. It is an incantation, says Groa, which Rind, Vale's mother,\nsang over _R\u00e1nr_. This synonym of Vale is of saga-historical interest.\nSaxo calls Vale _Bous_, the Latinised form for Beowulf, and Beowulf's\ngrave-mound, according to the Old English poem which bears his name, is\nsituated on _Hrones n\u00e6ss_, _R\u00e1nr's_ ness. Here too a connection between\nVale and the name _R\u00e1nr_ is indicated.\n\nGroa's second incantation contains a prayer that when her son, joyless,\ntravels his paths and sees scorn and evil before his eyes, he may always\nbe protected by Urd's _lokur_ (an ambiguous expression, which may on the\none hand refer to the bonds and locks of the goddess of fate, on the\nother hand to Groa's own phrophetic magic song: _lokur_ means both songs\nof a certain kind and locks and prisons).\n\nOn his journey Svipdag is to cross rivers, which with swelling floods\nthreaten his life; but Groa's third incantation commands these rivers\nto flow down to Hel and to fall for her son. The rivers which have\ntheir course to Hel (_falla til Heljar hedan_--Grimnersmal, 28) are\nsubterranean rivers rising on the Hvergelmer mountain (59, 93).\n\nGroa's fourth and fifth incantations indicate that Svipdag is to\nencounter enemies and be put in chains. Her songs are then to operate\nin such a manner that the hearts of the foes are softened into\nreconciliation, and that the chains fall from the limbs of her son. For\nthis purpose she gives him that power which is called \"_Leifnir's_ fires\"\n(see No. 38), which loosens fetters from enchanted limbs (str. 9, 10).\n\nGroa's sixth incantation is to save Svipdag from perishing in a gale on\nthe sea. In the great world-mill (_ludr_) which produces the maelstrom,\nocean currents, ebb and flood tide (see Nos. 79-82), calm and war are to\n\"gang thegither\" in harmony, be at Svipdag's service and prepare him a\nsafe voyage.\n\nThe seventh incantation that comes from the grave-chamber speaks of a\njourney which Svipdag is to make over a mountain where terrible cold\nreigns. The song is to save him from becoming a victim of the frost there.\n\nThe last two incantations, the eighth and the ninth, show what was\nalready suggested by the third, namely, that Svipdag's adventurous\njourneys are to be crowned with a visit in the lower world. He is to\nmeet Nat _\u00e1 Niflvegi_, \"on the Nifel-way,\" \"in Nifel-land.\" The word\n_nifl_ does not occur in the Old Norse literature except in reference to\nthe northern part of the Teutonic Hades, the forecourt to the worlds of\ntorture there. _Niflhel_ and _Niflheim_ are, as we know, the names of\nthat forecourt. _Niflfarinn_ is the designation, as heretofore mentioned,\nof a deceased whose soul has descended to Nifelhel; _Niflg\u00f3dr_ is a\nnithing, one deserving to be damned to the tortures of the lower world.\nGroa's eighth incantation is to protect her son against the perilous\nconsequences of encountering a \"dead woman\" (_daud kona_) on his journey\nthrough Nifelhel. The ninth incantation shows that Svipdag, on having\ntraversed the way to the northern part of the lower world, crosses\nthe Hvergelmer mountain and comes to the realm of Mimer; for he is to\nmeet and talk with \"the weapon-honoured giant,\" Mimer himself, under\ncircumstances which demand \"tongue and brains\" on the part of Groa's son:\n\n  ef th\u00fa vid inn n\u00e1ddg\u00f6fga\n  ordum skiptir j\u00f6tun:\n  m\u00e1ls ok mannvits\n  s\u00e9 ther \u00e1 Mimis hjarta\n  gn\u00f3ga of getit.\n\nIn the poem Fj\u00f6lsvinnsmal, which I am now to discuss, we read with regard\nto Svipdag's adventures in the lower world that on his journey in Mimer's\ndomain he had occasion to see the _\u00e1smegir's_ citadel and the splendid\nthings within its walls (str. 33; cp. No. 53).\n\n\n97.\n\n    SVIPDAG OUTSIDE OF THE GATES OF ASGARD. MENGLAD'S IDENTITY WITH\n    FREYJA.\n\nIn the first stanzas of Fj\u00f6lsvinnsmal we see Svipdag making his way to a\ncitadel which is furnished with _forg\u00f6rdum_--that is to say, ramparts in\nfront of the gate in the wall which surrounds the place. On one of these\nramparts stands a watchman who calls himself _Fj\u00f6lsvinnr_, which is an\nepithet of Odin (Grimnersmal, 47).\n\nThe first strophe of the poem calls Svipdag _thursa thj\u00f3dar sj\u00f3lr_\n(_sj\u00f3li_), \"the leader of the Thurs people.\" The reason why he could be\ndesignated thus has already been given (see Nos. 24, 33): During the\nconflicts between the powers of winter and the sons of Ivalde, and the\nrace connected with them, on the one side, and the Teutonic patriarch\nHalfdan, favoured by the Asa-gods, on the other side, Svipdag opposed the\nlatter and finally defeated him (see No. 93).\n\nFrom the manner in which Fj\u00f6lsvin receives the traveller it appears that\na \"leader of the Thurs people\" need not look for a welcome outside of\nsuch a citadel as this. Fj\u00f6lsvin calls him a _flagd_, a _vargr_, and\nadvises him to go back by \"moist ways,\" for within this wall such a being\ncan never come. Meanwhile these severe words do not on this occasion\nappear to be spoken in absolute earnest, for the watchman at the same\ntime encourages conversation, by asking Svipdag what his errand is. The\nlatter corrects the watchman for his rough manner of receiving him,\nand explains that he is not able to return, for the burgh he sees is a\nbeautiful sight, and there he would be able to pass a happy life.\n\nWhen the watchman now asks him about his parents and family he answers in\nriddles. Himself \"the leader of the Thurs people,\" the former ally of the\npowers of frost, he calls Windcold, his father he calls Springcold, and\nhis grandfather Verycold (_Fj\u00f6lkaldr_). This answer gives the key to the\ncharacter of the whole following conversation, in which Svipdag is the\nquestioner, whose interrogations the watchman answers in such a manner\nthat he gives persons and things names which seldom are their usual ones,\nbut which refer to their qualities.\n\nWhat castle is this, then, before which Svipdag stopped, and within whose\nwalls he is soon to find Menglad, whom he seeks?\n\nA correct answer to this question is of the greatest importance to a\nproper understanding of the events of mythology and their connection.\nStrange to say, it has hitherto been assumed that the castle is the\ncitadel of a giant, a resort of thurses, and that Menglad is a giantess.\n\nSvipdag has before him a scene that enchants his gaze and fills him\nwith a longing to remain there for ever. It is a pleasure to the eyes,\nhe says, which no one willingly renounces who once has seen a thing so\ncharming. Several \"halls,\" that is to say, large residences or palaces,\nwith their \"open courts,\" are situated on these grounds. The halls\nglitter with gold, which casts a reflection over the plains in front\nof them (_gardar gloa mer thykkja af gullna sali_--str. 5). One of the\npalaces, a most magnificent one (an audrann), is surrounded by \"wise\nVaferflame,\" and Fj\u00f6lsvin says of it that from time immemorial there has\nbeen a report among men in regard to this dwelling. He calls it _H\u00fdrr_,\n\"the gladdening one,\" \"the laughing one,\" \"the soul-stirring one.\" Within\nthe castle wall there rises a hill or rock, which the author of the song\nconceived as decorated with flowers or in some other ravishing way, for\nhe calls it _a joyous rock_. There the fair Menglad is seen sitting\nlike an image (_thruma_), surrounded by lovely dises. Svipdag here sees\nthe world-tree, invisible on earth, spreading its branches loaded with\nfruits (_aldin_) over all lands. In the tree sits the cock _Vidofnir_,\nwhose whole plumage glitters like gold (str. 19, 22, 23, 31, 32, 35, 49).\n\nThe whole place is surrounded by a wall, \"so solid that it shall stand\nas long as the world\" (str. 12). It is built of Lerbrimer's (Ymer's)\nlimbs, and is called _Gastrofnir_, \"the same one as refuses admittance\nto uninvited guests.\" In the wall is inserted the gate skilfully made\nby Solblinde's sons, the one which I have already mentioned in No. 36.\nSvipdag, who had been in the lower world and had there seen the halls\nof the gods and the well-fortified castle of the _\u00e1smegir_ (see No.\n53), admires the wall and the gate, and remarks that no more dangerous\ncontrivances (for uninvited guests) than these were seen among the gods\n(str. 9-12).\n\nThe gate is guarded by two \"garms,\" wolf-dogs. Fj\u00f6lsvin explains that\ntheir names are _Gifr_ and _Geri_, that they are to live and perform\ntheir duty as watch-dogs to the end of the world (_unz rj\u00fafask regin_),\nand that they are the watchers of watchers, whose number is eleven\n(_vardir ellifu, er their varda_--str. 14).\n\nJust as the mythic personality that Svipdag met outside of the castle\nis named by the Odin-epithet _Fj\u00f6lsvidr_, so we here find one of the\nwatching dogs called after one of Odin's wolf-dogs, _Geri_ (Grimnersmal,\n19). Their duty of watching, which does not cease before Ragnarok,\nthey perform in connection with eleven mythic persons dwelling within\nthe citadel, who are themselves called _vardir_, an epithet for\nworld-protecting divinities. Heimdal is _v\u00f6rdr goda_, Balder is _v\u00f6rdr\nH\u00e1lfdanar jarda_. The number of the Asas is eleven after Balder descended\nto the lower world. Hyndluljod says: _Voru ellifu \u00e6sir taldir, Balldr er\nhne vid banathufu_.\n\nThese wolf-dogs are foes of giants and trolls. If a _v\u00e6ttr_ came there he\nwould not be able to get past them (str. 16--_ok kemt th\u00e1 v\u00e6ttr, ef th\u00e1\nkom_). The troll-beings that are called _gifr_ and _kveldridur_ (V\u00f6luspa,\n50; Helge Hjorv., 15), and that fly about in the air with _lim_ (bundles\nof sticks) in their hands, have been made to fall by these dogs. They\nhave made _gifr-lim_ into a \"land-wreck\" (_er gjordu g\u00edfrlim reka fyrir\nl\u00f6ndin_--str. 13). As one of the dogs is himself called _Gifr_, his\nability, like that of those chased by him, to fly in the air seems to be\nindicated. The old tradition about Odin, who with his dogs flies through\nthe air above the earth, has its root in the myth concerning the duty\ndevolving upon the Asa-father, in his capacity of lord of the heavens,\nto keep space free from _gifr_, _kveddridur_, _tunridur_, who \"_leika \u00e1\nlopti_,\" do their mischief in the air (cp. Havam\u00e1l, 155).\n\nThe hall in which Menglad lives, and that part of the wall-surrounded\ndomain which belongs to her, seems to be situated directly in front of\nthe gate, for Svipdag, standing before it, asks who is the ruler of\nthe domain which he sees before him, and Fj\u00f6lsvin answers that it is\nMenglad who there holds sway, owns the land, and is mistress of the\ntreasure-chambers.\n\nThe poem tells us in the most unmistakable manner that Menglad is an\nasynje, and that one of the very noblest ones. \"What are the names,\"\nasks Svipdag, \"of the young women who sit so pleasantly together at\nMenglad's feet?\" Fj\u00f6lsvin answers by naming nine, among whom are the\ngoddess of healing, _Eir_ (Prose Edda, i. 114), and the dises _Hlif_,\n\"the protectress,\" _Bj\u00f6rt_, \"the shining,\" _Blid_, \"the blithe,\" and\n_Frid_, \"the fair.\" Their place at Menglad's feet indicates that they\nare subordinate to her and belong to her attendants. Nevertheless they\nare, Fj\u00f6lsvin assures us, higher beings, who have sanctuaries and altars\n(str. 40), and have both power and inclination quickly to help men who\noffer sacrifices to them. Nay, \"no so severe evil can happen to the sons\nof men that these maids are not able to help them out of their distress.\"\nIt follows with certainty that their mistress Menglad, \"the one fond of\nornaments,\" must be one of the highest and most worshipped goddesses\nin the mythology. And to none of the asynjes is the epithet \"fond of\nornaments\" (Menglad) more applicable than to the fair owner of the first\namong female ornaments, Brisingamen--to Freyja, whose daughters _Hnoss_\nand _Gersami_ are called by names that mean \"ornaments,\" and of whose\nfondness for beautiful jewels even Christian saga authors speak. To the\ncourt of no other goddess are such dises as _Bj\u00f6rt_, _Blid_, and _Frid_\nso well suited as to hers. And all that Fj\u00f6lsvinnsmal tells about Menglad\nis in harmony with this.\n\nFreyja was the goddess of love, of matrimony, and of fertility, and for\nthis reason she was regarded as the divine ruler and helper, to whom\nloving maids, wives who are to bear children, and sick women were to\naddress themselves with prayers and offerings. Figuratively this is\nexpressed in Fj\u00f6lsvinnsmal with the words that every sick woman who\nwalks up the mountain on which Menglad sits regains her health. \"That\nmountain has long been the joy of the sick and wounded\" (str. 36). The\ngreat tree whose foliage spreads over Menglad's palace bears the fruits\nthat help _k\u00e9lisj\u00fakar konur_, so that _utar hverva that th\u00e6r innar\nskyli_ (str. 22). In the midst of the fair dises who attend Menglad the\npoem also mentions _Aurboda_, the giantess, who afterwards becomes the\nmother-in-law of Freyja's brother, and whose appearance in Asgard as a\nmaid-servant of Freyja, and as one of those that bring fruits from the\nworld-tree to _k\u00e9lisj\u00fakar konur_, has already been mentioned in No.\n35. If we now add that Menglad, though a mighty goddess, is married to\nSvipdag, who is not one of the gods, and that Freyja, despite her high\nrank among the goddesses, does not have a god for her husband, but, as\nGylfaginning expresses it, _giptist theim manni er \u00d3dr heitir_, and,\nfinally that Menglad's father is characterised by a name which refers\nto Freyja's father, Njord,[3] then these circumstances alone, without\nthe additional and decisive proofs which are to be presented as this\ninvestigation progresses, are sufficient to form a solid basis for the\nidentity of Menglad and Freyja, and as a necessary consequence for the\nidentity of Svipdag and _\u00d3dr_, also called _\u00d3ttarr_.\n\nThe glorious castle to which Svipdag travelled \"up\" is therefore Asgard,\nas is plain from its very description--with its gold-glittering palace,\nwith its wall standing until Ragnarok, with its artistic gate, with its\neleven watchers, with its Fj\u00f6lsvin-Odin, with its asynje _Eir_, with its\nbenevolent and lovely dises worshipped by men, with its two wolf-dogs who\nare to keep watch so long as the world stands, and which clear the air of\n_tunridur_, with its shady arbour formed by the overhanging branches of\nthe world-tree, and with its gold-feathered cock _Vidofnir_ (V\u00f6luspa's\n_Gullinkambi_).\n\nSvipdag comes as a stranger to Asgard's gate, and what he there sees he\nhas never before seen. His conversation with Fj\u00f6lsvin is a series of\ncurious questions in regard to the strange things that he now witnesses\nfor the first time. His designation as _thursa thjodar sj\u00f3lr_ indicates\nnot only that he is a stranger in Asgard, but also that he has been the\nfoe of the Asgards. That he under such circumstances was able to secure\nadmittance to the only way that leads to Asgard, the bridge Bifrost;\nthat he was allowed unhindered to travel up this bridge and approach\nthe gate unpunished, and without encountering any other annoyances than\na few repelling words from Fj\u00f6lsvin, who soon changes his tone and\ngives him such information as he desires--all this presupposes that the\nmythology must have had strong and satisfactory reasons for permitting a\nthing so unusual to take place. In several passages in Grogalder and in\nFj\u00f6lsvinnsmal it is hinted that the powers of fate had selected Svipdag\nto perform extraordinary things and gain an end the attaining of which\nseemed impossible. That the norns have some special purpose with him, and\nthat Urd is to protect him and direct his course with invisible bonds,\nhowever erratic it may seem, all this gleams forth from the words of his\nmother Groa in the grave-chamber. And when Svipdag finally sees Menglad\nhasten to throw herself into his arms, he says himself that it is Urd's\nirresistible decree that has shaped things thus: _Urdar ordi kvedr engi\nmadr_. But Urd's resolve alone cannot be a sufficient reason in the epic\nfor Svipdag's adoption in Asgard, and for his gaining, though he is not\nof Asa-birth, the extraordinary honour and good luck of becoming the\nhusband of the fairest of the asynjes and of one of the foremost of the\ngoddesses. Urd must have arranged the chain of events in such a manner\nthat Menglad _desires_ to possess him, that Svipdag has deserved her\nlove, and that the Asa-gods deem it best for themselves to secure this\nopponent of theirs by bonds of kinship.\n\n[3] In strophe 8 Fjolsvin says of Menglad:\n\n  _Mengl\u00f6d of heitir,\n  en hana m\u00f3dir of gat\n  vid Svafrthorins syni._\n\n_Svafr_ alone, or as a part of a compound, indicates a Vana-god.\nAccording to an account narrated as history in Fornaldersaga (i. 415), a\ndaughter of Thjasse was married to \"king\" _Svafrlami_. In the mythology\nit is Freyja's father, the Vana-god Njord, who gets Thjasse's daughter\nfor his wife. The Sun-song (str. 79, 80) mentions Njord's daughters\ntogether with _Svafr_ and _Svafrlogi_. The daughters are nine, like\nMenglad and her dises.\n\n\n98.\n\n    SVIPDAG BRINGS TO ASGARD THE SWORD OF REVENGE FORGED BY VOLUND.\n\nThe most important question put to Fj\u00f6lsvin by Svipdag is, of course,\nthe one whether a stranger can enter. Fj\u00f6lsvin's answer is to the effect\nthat this is, and remains, impossible, unless the stranger brings with\nhim a certain sword. The wall repels an uninvited comer; the gate holds\nhim fast if he ventures to lay hands on it; of the two wolf-dogs one is\nalways watching while the other sleeps, and no one can pass them without\npermission.\n\nTo this assurance on the part of Fj\u00f6lsvin are added a series of questions\nand answers, which the author of the poem has planned with uncommon\nacumen. Svipdag asks if it is not, after all, possible to get past the\nwatching dogs. There must be something in the world delicate enough to\nsatisfy their appetite and thus turn away their attention. Fj\u00f6lsvin\nadmits that there are two delicacies that might produce this effect,\nbut they are pieces of flesh that lie in the limbs of the cock Vidofner\n(str. 17, 18). He who can procure these can steal past the dogs. But the\ncock Vidofner sits high in the top of the world-tree and seems to be\ninaccessible. Is there, then, asks Svipdag, any weapon that can bring\nhim down dead? Yes, says Fj\u00f6lsvin, there is such a weapon. It was made\noutside of Na-gate (_nagrindr_). The smith was one _Loptr_. He was robbed\n(_r\u00fainn_) of this weapon so dangerous to the gold-glittering cock, and\nnow it is in the possession of _Sinmara_, who has laid it in a chest of\ntough iron beneath nine _njard_-locks (str. 25, 26).\n\nIt must have been most difficult and dangerous to go to the place where\n_Sinmara_ has her abode and try to secure the weapon so well kept.\nSvipdag asks if anyone who is willing to attempt it has any hope of\nreturning. Fj\u00f6lsvin answers that in Vidofner's ankle-bones (_v\u00f6lum_) lies\na bright, hook-shaped bone. If one can secure this, bring it to _Ludr_\n(the place of the lower-world mill), and give it to _Sinmara_, then she\ncan be induced to part with the weapon in question (str. 27-30).\n\nIt appears from this that the condition on which Svipdag can get into the\ncastle where Menglad dwells is that he shall be in possession of a weapon\nwhich was smithied by an enemy of the gods, here called _Loptr_, and thus\nto be compared with Loke, who actually bears this epithet. If he does\nnot possess this weapon, which doubtless is fraught with danger to the\ngods, and is the only one that can kill the gold-glittering cock of the\nworld-tree, then the gate of the citadel is not opened to him, and the\nwatching wolf-dogs will not let him pass through it.\n\nBut Fj\u00f6lsvin also indicates that under ordinary circumstances, and for\none who is not particularly chosen for this purpose by Fate, it is\nutterly impossible to secure possession of the sword in question. Before\nSinmara can be induced to lend it, it is necessary to bring Vidofner dead\ndown from the branches of the world-tree. But to kill the cock that very\nweapon is needed which Sinmara cannot otherwise be induced to part with.\n\nMeanwhile the continuation of the poem shows that what was impossible\nfor everybody else has already been accomplished by Svipdag. When he\nstands at the gate of the castle in conversation with Fj\u00f6lsvin he has\nthe sword by his side, and knows perfectly well that the gate is to be\nopened so soon as it pleases him to put an end to the talk with Fj\u00f6lsvin\nand pronounce his own name. The very moment he does this the gate swings\non its hinges, the mighty wolf-dogs welcome (_fagna_) him, and Menglad,\ninformed by Fj\u00f6lsvin of his arrival, hastens eagerly to meet him (str.\n42, &c.). Fj\u00f6lsvinnsmal, so far as acumen in plot and in execution is\nconcerned, is the finest old poem that has been handed down to our time,\nbut it would be reduced to the most absurd nonsense if the sword were not\nin Svipdag's possession, as the gate is never to be opened to anyone else\nthan to him who brings to Menglad's castle the sword in question.\n\nSo far as the sword is concerned we have now learned:\n\nThat it was made by an artist who must have been a foe of the gods, for\nFj\u00f6lsvin designates him by the Loke-epithet _Loptr_;\n\nThat the place where the artist dwelt when he made the weapon was\nsituated _fyr n\u00e1grindr nedan_;\n\nThat while he dwelt there, and after he had finished the sword, he was\nrobbed of it (_Loptr r\u00fainn fyr n\u00e1grindr nedan_);\n\nThat he or they who robbed him of it must have been closely related to\nNat and the night dises, for the sword was thereafter in the keeping of\nthe night-being _Sinmara_;\n\nThat she regarded it as exceedingly precious, and also dangerous if it\ncame into improper hands, since she keeps it in a \"tough iron chest\"\nbeneath nine magical locks;\n\nThat the eleven guards that dwell in the same castle with Menglad regard\nit as of the greatest importance to get the sword within their castle\nwall;\n\nThat it has qualities like no other weapon in the world: this sword, and\nit alone, can kill the golden cock on the world-tree--a quality which\nseems to indicate that it threatens the existence of the world and the\ngods.\n\nIt is evident that the artist who made this incomparable and terrible\nweapon was one of the most celebrated smiths in mythology. The question\nnow is, whether the information given us by Fj\u00f6lsvinnsmal in regard to\nhim is sufficient to enable us to determine with certainty who he is.\n\nThe poem does not name him by any of his names, but calls him by the\nLoke-epithet _Loptr_, \"the airy.\" Among the ancient smiths mentioned in\nour mythic fragments there is one who refers to himself with the epithet\n_Byrr_, \"Wind,\" suggesting to us the same person--this one is Volund.\nAfter he in his sleep had been made prisoner by Mimer-_Nidadr_ and his\nNjarians (see No. 87), he says when he awakes:\n\n  Hverir 'ro iofrar\n  their er a laugdo\n  besti Byr s\u00edma\n  oc mic bundo?\n\n\"Who are the mighty, who with bonds (_besti_, dative of _b\u00f6str_) bound\nthe wind (_laugdo sima a Byr_) and fettered me?\" The expression implies\nthat it is as easy to bind the wind as Volund. He was also able to secure\nhis liberty again in spite of all precautions.\n\nAccording to the Norse version of the Volund saga, one of the precautions\nresorted to is to sever the sinews of his knees (str. 17 and the prose).\nIt is _Nidadr's_ queen who causes this cruel treatment. In Fj\u00f6lsvinnsmal\nthe nameless mythic personality who deprived the \"airy one\" of his\nweapon has left it to be kept by a feminine person, _Sinmara_. The\nname is composed of _sin_, which means \"sinew,\" and _mara_, which\nmeans \"the one that maims.\" (_Mara_ is related to the verb _merja_, \"to\nmaim\"--see Vigfusson's Dict.) Thus _Sinmara_ means \"the one who maims\nby doing violence to the sinews.\" The one designated by this epithet in\nFj\u00f6lsvinnsmal has therefore acted the same part as Mimer-_Nidadr's_ queen\nin the Volundarkvida.\n\nMimer-_Nidadr_, who imprisons Volund and robs him of his sword and\nthe incomparable arm-ring, is the father of Nat and her sisters (see\nNo. 85). He who robs \"the airy one\" of his treasures must also have\nbeen intimately related to the dises of night, else he would not have\nselected as keeper of the weapon Sinmara, whose quality as a being of\nnight is manifested by the meaning _incubus nocturnes_ which is the name\n_Mara_ acquired. In Fj\u00f6lsvinnsmal (str. 29) Sinmara is called _hin f\u00f6lva\ngygr_, \"the ashes-coloured giantess\"--a designation pointing in the same\ndirection.\n\nShe is also called _Eir aurglasis_ (str. 28), an expression which, as\nI believe, has been correctly interpreted as \"the dis of the shining\narm-ring\" (cp. Bugge Edda, p. 348). In Volundarkvida the daughter of\nMimer-_Nidadr_ receives Volund's incomparable arm-ring to wear.\n\nAccording to Fj\u00f6lsvinnsmal \"the airy one\" makes his weapon _fyr n\u00e1grindr\nnedan_. The meaning of this expression has already been discussed in\nNo. 60. The smith has his abode in the frost-cold and foggy Nifelheim,\nwhile he is at work on the sword. Nifelheim, the land _fyr n\u00e1grindr\nnedan_, as we already know, is the northern subterranean border-land of\nMimer's domain. The two realms are separated by Mount Hvergelmer, on\nwhich the Na-gates are set, and where the world-mill, called _Eyl\u00fadr_\nand _L\u00fadr_ have their foundation-structure (see Nos. 59, 60, 79, 80). In\nits vicinity below the southern slope of the Hvergelmer mountain Nat has\nher hall (Nos. 84, 93). According to Fj\u00f6lsvinnsmal Sinmara also dwells\nhere. For Fj\u00f6lsvin says that if Svipdag is to borrow the sword which she\nkeeps, he must carry the above-mentioned hooked bone \"to _L\u00fadr_ and give\nit to Sinmara\" (_lj\u00f3san lj\u00e1 skaltu i L\u00fadr bera Sinm\u00f6ra at selja_--str.\n30). L\u00fadr, the subterranean world-mill, which stands on the Nida mountain\nabove Nat's hall, has given its name to the region where it stands.\nIn Volundarkvida Mimer-_Nidadr_ suddenly appears with his wife and\ndaughter and armed Njarians in the remote cold Wolfdales, where Volund\nthinks himself secure, and no one knows whence these foes of his come.\nThe explanation is that the \"Wolfdales\" of the heroic saga were in the\nmythology situated in Nifelheim, the border-land of Mimer's realm. Like\n\"the airy one,\" Volund made his sword _fyr n\u00e1grindr nedan_; the latter,\nlike the former, was robbed of the weapon as soon as it was finished by\na lower-world ruler, whose kinswomen are dises of the night; and in the\nsaga of the one, as of the other, one of these night dises has caused a\nmaiming by injuring the sinews.\n\nThus we can also understand why Svipdag must traverse Nifelheim, \"meet\nNat on Nifelway,\" visit the world-mill, wade across Hel-rivers, and\nencounter Mimer himself, \"the weapon-honoured.\" If Svipdag wants the\nsword made by _Loptr_, he must risk these adventures, since the sword is\nkept in the lower world by a kinswoman of Mimer.\n\nThe heroic saga about Volund is therefore identical with the myth\nconcerning the maker of the sword which opens Asgard for Svipdag. The\nformer, produced in Christian times, is only a new version of the latter.\nVolund is a foe of the gods, an elf-prince who was deeply insulted by\nbeings more powerful than himself (No. 87). \"The airy one\" must likewise\nbe a foe of the gods, since the weapon he has made is dangerous to the\ngolden cock of the world-tree, and is bought by \"the eleven wards\"\nwith the opening of Asgard's gate and the giving of Menglad as wife\nto Svipdag. Its danger to Asgard must also be suggested by Fj\u00f6lsvin's\nstatement, that the splendid hall, called _H\u00fdrr_, \"the gladdener,\" \"the\nsoul-stirring,\" that hall which is situated within the castle wall,\nwhich is encircled by vaferflames, and which from time out of mind has\nbeen celebrated among men--that this hall has already long trembled _\u00e1\nbrodds oddi_, \"on the point of the sword\" (str. 32). No other weapon can\nhere be meant than one which was fraught with the greatest danger to the\nsafety of the gods, and which filled them with anxiety; and unless we\nwish to deny that there is sense and connection in the poem, this sword\ncan be no other than that which Svipdag now has with him, and which,\nhaving been brought to Asgard, relieves the gods of their anxiety. And to\nrepeat the points of similarity, Volund, like \"Loptr,\" makes his weapon\nin the northern border-land of Mimer's domain; and when the sword is\nfinished he is surprised by subterranean powers. In Loptr's saga, as in\nVolund's, a magnificent arm-ring is mentioned, and in both a dis of night\nreceived this ring to wear. In Loptr's saga, as in Volund's, a night-dis\nis mentioned who injures sinews. And Volund himself calls himself _Byrr_,\n\"the wind,\" which is a synonym of _Loptr_.\n\nThus Svipdag has made a journey to the lower world to get possession of\nthe sword of Volund, and he has been successful.\n\n\n99.\n\n    SVIPDAG'S FATHER ORVANDEL, THE STAR-HERO. EXPLANATION OF HIS\n    EPITHET S\u00d3LBJARTR.\n\nThe conversation between Fj\u00f6lsvin and Svipdag ends when the latter gives\nhis name, and requests the former to ask Menglad if she wishes to possess\nhis love. Menglad then hastens to meet him, but before she shows what she\nfeels for him, he must confirm with his own name and that of his father's\nthat he really is the one he pretends to be--the one she has long been\nlonging for. The young hero then says: _Svipdagr ek heitir, S\u00f3lbjartr h\u00e9t\nminn fadir_ (str. 47).\n\nWhen Fj\u00f6lsvin asked Svipdag what the name of his father was, he\nanswered: Springcold, _V\u00e1rkaldr_ (str. 6); and I have already stated\nthe reason why he was so called. Now he gives another name of his\nfather--_S\u00f3lbjartr_--which also is a mere epithet, but still, as Svipdag\nmust here speak plainly, it has to be such a name as can refer to his\nfather in a distinct and definite manner.\n\nSvipdag's mother, Groa, was married to _\u00d6rvandill hinn fr\u00e6kni_ (Younger\nEdda, 276-278). The epithet _S\u00f3lbjartr_, \"he who has a brightness like\nthat of the sun,\" if it really refers to Orvandel, must be justified\nand explained by something that the mythology had to report of him. Of\nOrvandel, we know from the Younger Edda that he and Groa had at least\nfor a time been good friends of Thor; that on one of his expeditions in\nJotunheim, north of the Elivagar rivers, the latter had met Orvandel and\nhad carried him in his provision-basket across the water to his home;\nthat Orvandel there froze his toe; that Thor broke this off, and, in\nhonour of Orvandel, threw it up into the heavens, where it became that\nstar which is called _Orvandel's toe_. Of ancient Teutonic star-names\nbut very few have been handed down to our time, and it is natural that\nthose now extant must be those of constellations or separate stars, which\nattracted attention on account of their appearance, or particularly on\naccount of the strength of their light. One of them was \"Orvandel's toe.\"\nBy the name Orvandel (_Earendel_) a star was also known among the Teutons\nin Great Britain. After being converted to Christianity they regarded the\n_Earendel_ star as a symbol of Christ. The Church had already sanctified\nsuch a view by applying to Christ the second epistle of Peter i. 19: \"We\nhave also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take\nheed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn,\nand the day-star arise in your hearts.\" The morning star became, as we\nread in a Latin hymn, \"typus Christi.\"\n\nBut it would be a too hasty conclusion to assume that Orvandel's star and\nthe morning star were identical in heathen times. All that we can assert\nwith certainty is that the former must have been one of the brightest,\nfor the very name _Earendel_ gradually became in the Old English an\nabstract word meaning \"splendour.\"\n\nCodex Exoniensis has preserved a hymn to Christ, the introductory stanzas\nof which appear to be borrowed from the memory of the heathen hymn to\nOrvandel, and to have been adapted to Christ with a slight change:\n\n  Eala Earendel           O Orvandel,\n  engla beorhtast,        brightest shining of angels,\n  ofer Middangeard        thou who over Midgard\n  monnum sended           art sent to men,\n  and sodi\u00e4sta            thou true\n  sunnan leoma,           beam of the sun\n  tohrt ofer tunglas      shining above\n  thu tida gehvane        the lights of heaven,\n  of sylfum the           thou who always\n  symle inlihtes.         of thyself\n                          givest light.\n\nFrom this Old English song it appears as if the Orvandel epithet\n_S\u00f3lbjartr_ was in vogue among the Saxon tribes in England. We there\nfind an apparent interpretation of the epithet in the phrases adapted to\nEarendel, \"brightest (_beorhtast_) of angels\" and \"true beam of the sun.\"\nThat Svipdag's name was well known in England, and that a Saxon royal\ndynasty counted him among their mythical forefathers, can be demonstrated\nby the genealogy of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. That Svipdag with\nsufficient distinctness might characterise his father as _S\u00f3lbjartr_ is\naccordingly explained by the fact that Orvandel is a star-hero, and that\nthe star bearing his name was one of the \"brightest\" in the heavens, and\nin brilliancy was like \"a beam from the sun.\"\n\n\n100.\n\n    SVIPDAG RESCUED FREYJA FROM THE HANDS OF THE GIANTS. SAXO ON\n    OTHARUS AND SYRITHA. SVIPDAG IDENTICAL WITH OTHARUS.\n\nWhen Menglad requests Svipdag to name his race and his name, she does\nso because she wants _jartegn_ (legal evidence; compare the expression\n_med vitnum ok jartegnum_) that he is the one as whose wife she had been\ndesignated by the norns (_ef ek var ther kv\u00e1n of kvedin_--str. 46), and\nthat her eyes had not deceived her. She also wishes to know something\nabout his past life that may confirm that he is Svipdag. When Svipdag had\ngiven as a _jartegn_ his own name and an epithet of his father, he makes\nonly a brief statement in regard to his past life, but to Menglad it is\nan entirely sufficient proof of his identity with her intended husband.\nHe says that the winds drove him on cold paths from his father's house\nto frosty regions of the world (str. 47). That word used by him, \"drove\"\n(_reka_), implies that he did not spontaneously leave his home, a fact\nwhich we also learn in Grogalder. On the command of his stepmother, and\ncontrary to his own will, he departs to find Menglads, \"the women fond of\nornaments.\" His answer further shows that after he had left his father's\nhouse he had made journeys in frost-cold regions of the world. Such\nregions are Jotunheim and Nifelheim, which was in fact regarded as a\nsubterranean part of Jotunheim (see Nos. 59, 63).\n\nMenglad has eagerly longed for the day when Svipdag should come. Her\nmood, when Svipdag sees her within the castle wall sitting on \"the\njoyous mount\" surrounded by asynjes and dises, is described in the poem\nby the verb _thruma_, \"to be sunk into a lethargic, dreamy condition.\"\nWhen Fj\u00f6lsvin approaches her and bids her \"look at a stranger who may be\nSvipdag\" (str. 43), she awakes in great agony, and for a moment she can\nscarcely control herself. When she is persuaded that she has not been\ndeceived either by Fj\u00f6lsvin's words or by her own eyes, she at once seals\nthe arrival of the youth with a kiss. The words which the poem makes her\nlips utter testify, like her conduct, that it is not the first time she\nand Svipdag have met, but that it is a \"meeting again,\" and that she long\nere this knew that she possessed Svipdag's love. She speaks not only of\nher own longing for him, but also of his longing and love for her (str.\n48-50), and is happy that \"he has come again to her halls\" (_at thu est\naptr komin, m\u00f6gr, til minna sala_--str. 49). This \"again\" (back), which\nindicates a previous meeting between Menglad and Svipdag, is found in all\nthe manuscripts of Fj\u00f6lsvinnsmal, and that it has not been added by any\n\"betterer\" trying to mend the metres of the text is demonstrated by the\nfact that the metre would be improved by the absence of the word _aptr_.\n\nMeanwhile it appears with certainty from Fj\u00f6lsvinnsmal that Svipdag\nnever before had seen the castle within whose walls Menglad has _r\u00edki,\neign ok auds\u00f6lum_ (str. 7, 8). He stands before its gate as a wondering\nstranger, and puts question after question to Fj\u00f6lsvin in regard to the\nremarkable sights before his eyes. It follows that Menglad did not have\nher halls within this citadel, but dwelt somewhere else, at the time when\nshe on a previous occasion met Svipdag and became assured that he loved\nher.\n\nIn this other place she must have resided when Svipdag's stepmother\ncommanded him to find _Mengl\u00f6dum_, that is to say, Menglad, but also\nsome one else to whom the epithet \"ornament-glad\" might apply. This is\nconfirmed by the fact that this other person to whom Grogalder's words\nrefer is not at all mentioned in Fj\u00f6lsvinnsmal. It is manifest that many\nthings had happened, and that Svipdag had encountered many adventures,\nbetween the episode described in Grogalder, when he had just been\ncommanded by his stepmother to find \"those loving ornaments,\" and the\nepisode in Fj\u00f6lsvinnsmal, when he seeks Menglad again in Asgard itself.\n\nWhere can he have met her before? Was there any time when Freyja did\nnot dwell in Asgard? V\u00f6luspa answers this question, as we know, in the\naffirmative. The event threatening to the gods and to the existence of\nthe world once happened that the goddess of fertility and love came into\nthe power of the giants. Then all the high-holy powers assembled to\nconsider \"who had mixed the air with corruption and given Od's maid to\nthe race of giants.\" But none of our Icelandic mythic records mentions\nhow and by whom Freyja was liberated from the hands of the powers of\nfrost. Under the name Svipdag our hero is mentioned only in Grogalder\nand Fj\u00f6lsvinnsmal; all we learn of him under the name _\u00d3dr_ and _\u00d3ttarr_\nis that he was Freyja's lover and husband (V\u00f6luspa, Hyndluljod); that\nhe went far, far away; that Freyja then wept for him, that her tears\nbecame gold, that she sought him among unknown peoples, and that she in\nher search assumed many names: _Mard\u00f6ll_, _H\u00f6rn_, _Gefn_, _Syr_ (Younger\nEdda, 114). To get further contributions to the Svipdag myth we must turn\nto Saxo, where the name Svipdag should be found as Svipdagerus, _\u00d3ttar_\nas Otharus or Hotharus, and _\u00d3dr_ as Otherus or Hotherus.[4]\n\nThere cannot be the least doubt that Saxo's Otharus is a figure borrowed\nfrom the mythology and from the heroic sagas therewith connected, since\nin the first eight books of his _History_ not a single person can be\nshown who is not originally found in the mythology. But the mythic\nrecords that have come down to our time know only one _Ottarr_, and he\nis the one who wins Freyja's heart. This alone makes it the duty of the\nmythologist to follow this hint here given and see whether that which\nSaxo relates about his Otharus confirms his identity with Svipdag-Ottar.\n\nThe Danish king Syvaldus had, says Saxo, an uncommonly beautiful\ndaughter, Syritha, who fell into the hands of a giant. The way this\nhappened was as follows: A woman who had a secret understanding with the\ngiant succeeded in nestling herself in Syritha's confidence, in being\nadopted as her maidservant, and in enticing her to a place where the\ngiant lay in ambush. The latter hastened away with Syritha and concealed\nher in a wild mountain district. When Otharus learned this he started out\nin search of the young maiden. He visited every recess in the mountains,\nfound the maiden and slew the giant. Syritha was in a strange condition\nwhen Otharus liberated her. The giant had twisted and pressed her locks\ntogether so that they formed on her head one hard mass which hardly could\nbe combed out except with the aid of an iron tool. Her eyes stared in an\napathetic manner, and she never raised them to look at her liberator. It\nwas Otharus' determination to bring a pure virgin back to her kinsmen.\nBut the coldness and indifference she seemed to manifest toward him was\nmore than he could endure, and so he abandoned her on the way. While\nshe now wandered alone through the wilderness she came to the abode of\na giantess. The latter made the maiden tend her goats. Still, Otharus\nmust have regretted that he abandoned Syritha, for he went in search of\nher and liberated her a second time. The mythic poem from which Saxo\nborrowed his story must have contained a song, reproduced by him in Latin\nparaphrases, and in which Otharus explained to Syritha his love, and\nrequested her, \"whom he had suffered so much in seeking and finding,\" to\ngive him a look from her eyes as a token that under his protection she\nwas willing to be brought back to her father and mother. But her eyes\ncontinually stared on the ground, and apparently she remained as cold\nand indifferent as before. Otharus then abandoned her for the second\ntime. From the thread of the story it appears that they were then not\nfar from that border which separates Jotunheim from the other realms\nof the world. Otharus crossed that water, which in the old records is\nprobably called the Elivagar rivers, on the opposite side of which was\nhis father's home. Of Syritha Saxo, on the other hand, says cautiously\nand obscurely that \"she in a manner that sometimes happened in antiquity\nhastened far away down the rocks\"--_more pristino decursis late scopulis_\n(_Hist._, 333)--an expression which leads us to suppose that in the\nmythic account she had flown away in the guise of a bird. Meanwhile fate\nbrought her to the home of Otharus' parents. Here she represented herself\nto be a poor traveller, born of parents who had nothing. But her refined\nmanners contradicted her statement, and the mother of Otharus received\nher as a noble guest. Otharus himself had already come home. She thought\nshe could remain unknown to him by never raising the veil with which\nshe covered her face. But Otharus well knew who she was. To find out\nwhether she really had so little feeling for him as her manners seemed\nto indicate, a pretended wedding between Otharus and a young maiden was\narranged, whose name and position Saxo does not mention. When Otharus\nwent to the bridal bed, Syritha was probably near him as bridesmaid, and\ncarried the candle. The light or the flame burnt down, so that the fire\ncame in contact with her hand, but she felt no pain, for there was in\nher heart a still more burning pain. When Otharus then requested her\nto take care of her hand, she finally raised her gaze from the ground,\nand their eyes met. Therewith the spell resting on Syritha was broken:\nit was plain that they loved each other and the pretended wedding was\nchanged into a real one between Syritha and Otharus. When her father\nlearned this he became exceedingly wroth; but after his daughter had made\na full explanation to him, his anger was transformed into kindness and\ngraciousness, and he himself thereupon married a sister of Otharus.\n\nIn regard to the person who enticed Syritha into the snare laid by the\ngiant, Saxo is not quite certain that it was a woman. Others think, he\nsays, that it was a man in the guise of a woman.\n\nIt has long since attracted the attention of mythologists that in this\nnarrative there are found two names, Otharus and Syritha, which seem to\nrefer to the myth concerning Freyja. Otharus is no doubt a Latinised\nform of Ottar, and, as is well known, the only one who had this name in\nthe mythology is, as stated, Freyja's lover and husband. Syritha, on the\nother hand, may be a Latinised form of Freyja's epithet Syr, in which\nSaxo presumably supposed he had found an abbreviated form of Syri (Siri,\nSigrid). In Saxo's narrative Syritha is abducted by a giant (_gigas_),\nwith the aid of an ally whom he had procured among Freyja's attendants.\nIn the mythology Freyja is abducted by a giant, and, as it appears from\nV\u00f6luspa's words, likewise by the aid of some ally who was in Freyja's\nservice, for it is there said that the gods hold council as to who it\ncould have been who \"gave,\" delivered Freyja to the race of the giants\n(_hverr hefdi \u00e6tt j\u00f6tuns \u00d3ds mey gefna_). In Saxo Otharus is of lower\ndescent than Syritha. Saxo has not made him a son of a king, but a youth\nof humble birth as compared with his bride; and his courage to look up to\nSyritha, Saxo remarks, can only be explained by the great deeds he had\nperformed or by his reliance on his agreeable manners and his eloquence\n(_sive gestarum rerum magnitudine sive comitatis et facundi\u00e6 fiducia\naccensus_). In the mythology _\u00d3dr_ was of lower birth than Freyja: he did\nnot by birth belong to the number of higher gods; and Svipdag had, as we\nknow, never seen Asgard before he arrived there under the circumstances\ndescribed in Fj\u00f6lsvinnsmal. That the most beautiful of all the goddesses,\nand the one second in rank to Frigg alone, she who is particularly\ndesired by all powers, the sister of the harvest god Frey, the daughter\nof Njord, the god of wealth, she who with Odin shares the privilege of\nchoosing heroes on the battlefield--that she does not become the wife of\nan Asa-god, but \"is married to the man called _Odr_,\" would long since\nhave been selected by the mythologist as a question both interesting and\nworthy of investigation had they cared to devote any attention to epic\ncoherence and to premises and _d\u00e9nouement_ in the mythology in connection\nwith the speculations on the signification of the myths as symbols of\nnature or on their ethical meaning. The view would then certainly have\nbeen reached that this _Odr_ in the epic of the mythology must have\nbeen the author of exploits which balanced his humbler descent, and the\nmythologists would thus have been driven to direct the investigation\nfirst of all to the question whether Freyja, who we know was for some\ntime in the power of the giants, but was rescued therefrom, did not find\nas her liberator this very _Odr_, who afterwards became her husband,\nand whether _Odr_ did not by this very act gain her love and become\nentitled to obtain her hand. The adventure which Saxo relates actually\ndovetails itself into and fills a gap in that chain of events which are\nthe result of the analysis of Grogalder and Fj\u00f6lsvinnsmal. We understand\nthat the young Svipdag is alarmed, and considers the task imposed on him\nby the stepmother to find Menglad far too great for his strength, if\nit is necessary to seek Menglad in Jotunheim and rescue her thence. We\nunderstand why on his arrival at Asgard he is so kindly received, after\nhe has gone through the formality of giving his name, when we know that\nhe comes not only as the feared possessor of the Volund sword, but also\nas the one who has restored to Asgard the most lovely and most beautiful\nasynje. We can then understand why the gate, which holds fast every\nuninvited guest, opens as of itself for him, and why the savage wolf-dogs\nlick him. That his words: _thadan_ (from his paternal home) _r\u00e1kumk vinda\nkalda vegu_, are to Menglad a sufficient answer to her question in regard\nto his previous journeys can be understood if Svipdag has, as Ottar,\nsearched through the frost-cold Jotunheim's eastern mountain districts to\nfind Menglad; and we can then see that Menglad in Fj\u00f6lsvinnsmal can speak\nof her meeting with Svipdag at the gate of Asgard as a \"meeting again,\"\nalthough Svipdag never before had been in Asgard. And that Menglad\nreceives him as a husband to whom she is already married, with whom she\nis now to be \"united for ever\" (Fj\u00f6lsvinnsmal, 58), is likewise explained\nby the improvised wedding which Otharus celebrated with Syritha before\nshe returns to her father.\n\nThe identity of Otharus with the _Ottarr-Odr-Svipdagr_ of the mythology\nfurther appears from the fact that Saxo gives him as father an Ebbo,\nwhich a comparative investigation proves to be identical with Svipdag's\nfather Orvandel. Of the name Ebbo and the person to whom it belongs I\nshall have something to say in Nos. 108 and 109. Here it must be remarked\nthat if Otharus is identical with Svipdag, then his father Ebbo, like\nSvipdag's father, should appear in the history of the mythic patriarch\nHalfdan and be the enemy of the latter (see Nos. 24, 33). Such is also\nthe case. Saxo produces Ebbo on the scene as an enemy of Halfdan Berggram\n(_Hist._, 329, 330). A woman, Groa, is the cause of the enmity between\nHalfdan and Orvandel. A woman, Sygrutha, is the cause of the enmity\nbetween Halfdan and Ebbo. In the one passage Halfdan robs Orvandel of\nhis betrothed Groa; in the other passage Halfdan robs Ebbo of his bride\nSygrutha. In a third passage in his _History_ (p. 138) Saxo has recorded\nthe tradition that Horvendillus (Orvandel) is slain by a rival, who takes\nhis wife, there called Gerutha. Halfdan kills Ebbo. Thus it is plain that\nthe same story is told about Svipdag's father Orvandel and about Ebbo\nthe father of Otharus and that Groa, Sygrutha, and Gerutha are different\nversions of the same dis of vegetation.\n\nAccording to Saxo, Syritha's father was afterwards married to a sister of\nOtharus. In the mythology Freyja's father Njord marries Skade, who is the\nfoster-sister and _systrunga_ (sister's child) of Ottar-Svipdag (see Nos.\n108, 113, 114, 115).\n\nFreyja's surname _H\u00f6rn_ (also _Horn_) may possibly be explained by what\nSaxo relates about the giant's manner of treating her hair, which he\npressed into one snarled, stiff, and hard mass. With the myth concerning\nFreyja's locks, we must compare that about Sif's hair. The hair of both\nthese goddesses is subject to the violence of the hands of giants, and it\nmay be presumed that both myths symbolised some feature of nature. Loke's\nact of violence on Sif's hair is made good by the skill and goodwill of\nthe ancient artists Sindre and Brok (Younger Edda, i. 340). In regard to\nFreyja's locks, the skill of a \"dwarf\" may have been resorted to, since\nSaxo relates that an iron instrument was necessary to separate and comb\nout the horn-hard braids. In V\u00f6luspa's list of ancient artists there is a\nsmith by name _Hornbori_, which possibly has some reference to this.\n\nReasons have already been given in No. 35 for the theory that it was\nGulveig-Heid who betrayed Freyja and delivered her into the hands of the\ngiants. When Saxo says that this treachery was committed by a woman, but\nalso suggests the possibility that it was a man in the guise of a woman,\nthen this too is explained by the mythology, in which Gulveig-Heid,\nlike her fellow culprit, has an androgynous nature. Loke becomes \"the\npossessor of the evil woman\" (_kvidugr af konu illri_). In Fj\u00f6lsvinnsmal\nwe meet again with Gulveig-Heid, born again and called Aurboda, as one of\nFreyja's attendants, into whose graces she is nestled for a second time.\n\n[4] In Saxo, as in other sources of about the same time, aspirated\nnames do not usually occur with aspiration. I have already referred to\nthe examples Handuuanus, Andvani, Helias, Elias, Hersbernus, Esbj\u00f6rn,\nHevindus, Eyvindr, Horvendillus, Orvandill, Hestia, Estland, Holandia,\nOland.\n\n\n101.\n\n    SVIPDAG IN SAXO'S ACCOUNT OF HOTHERUS.\n\nFrom the parallel name Otharus, we must turn to the other parallel name\nHotherus. It has already been shown that if the Svipdag synonym _Odr_\noccurs in Saxo, it must have been Latinised into Otherus or Hotherus.\nThe latter form is actually found, but under circumstances making an\nelaborate investigation necessary, for in what Saxo narrates concerning\nthis Hotherus, he has to the best of his ability united sketches and\nepisodes of two different mythic persons, and it is therefore necessary\nto separate these different elements borrowed from different sources.\nOne of these mythic persons is _H\u00f6dr_ the Asa-god, and the other is\n_Odr_-Svipdag. The investigation will therefore at the same time contain\na contribution to the researches concerning the original records of the\nmyth of Balder.\n\nSaxo's account of Hotherus (_Hist._, 110, &c.), is as follows:\n\nHotherus, son of Hothbrodus (H\u00f6dbrodd), was fostered in the home of\nNanna's father, King Gevarus (Gevarr; see Nos. 90-92), and he grew up to\nbe a stately youth, distinguished as a man of accomplishments among the\ncontemporaries of his age. He could swim, was an excellent archer and\nboxer, and his skill on various musical instruments was so great that he\nhad the human passions under his control, and could produce, at pleasure,\ngladness, sorrow, sympathy, or hate. Nanna, the daughter of Gevarus, fell\nin love with the highly gifted youth and he with her.\n\nMeanwhile, fate brought it to come to pass that Balder, the son of the\nidol Odin, also fell in love with Nanna. He had once seen her bathing,\nand had been dazzled by the splendour of her limbs. In order to remove\nthe most dangerous obstacle between himself and her, he resolved to slay\nHotherus.\n\nAs Hotherus on a foggy day was hunting in the woods he got lost and came\nto a house, where there sat three wood-nymphs. They greeted him by name,\nand in answer to his question they said they were the maids who determine\nthe events of the battle, and give defeat or success in war. Invisible\nthey come to the battlefield, and secretly give help to those whom they\nwish to favour. From them Hotherus learned that Balder was in love with\nNanna, but they advised him not to resort to weapons against him, for he\nwas a demigod born of supernatural seed. When they had said this, they\nand the house in which Hotherus had found them disappeared, and to his\njoy he found himself standing on a field under the open sky.\n\nWhen he arrived home, he mentioned to Gevarus what he had seen and heard,\nand at once demanded the hand of his daughter. Gevarus answered that it\nwould have been a pleasure to him to see Hotherus and Nanna united, but\nBalder had already made a similar request, and he did not dare to draw\nthe wrath of the latter down upon himself, since not even iron could harm\nthe conjured body of the demigod.\n\nBut Gevarus said he knew of a sword with which Balder could be slain, but\nit lies locked up behind the strongest bars, and the place where it is\nfound is scarcely accessible to mortals. The way thither--if we may use\nthe expression where no road has been made--is filled with obstacles, and\nleads for the greater part through exceedingly cold regions. But behind\na span of swift stags one ought to be able to get safe across the icy\nmountain ridges. He who keeps the sword is the forest-being Mimingus, who\nalso has a wonderful wealth-producing arm-ring. If Hotherus gets there,\nhe should place his tent in such a manner that its shadow does not fall\ninto the cave where Mimingus dwells, for at the sight of this strange\neclipse the latter would withdraw farther into the mountain. Observing\nthese rules of caution, the sword and arm-ring might possibly be secured.\nThe sword is of such a kind that victory never fails to attend it, and\nits value is quite inestimable.\n\nHotherus, who carefully followed the advice of Gevarus, succeeded in\nsecuring the sword and the ring, which Mimingus, surprised and bound by\nHotherus, delivered as a ransom for his life.\n\nWhen Gelder, the king of Saxony, learned that the treasure of Mimingus\nhad been robbed, he resolved to make war against Hotherus. The\nforeknowing Gevarus saw this in advance, and advised Hotherus to receive\nthe rain of javelins from the enemy patiently in the battle, and not\nto throw his own javelins before the enemy's supply of weapons was\nexhausted. Gelder was conquered, and had to pray for peace. Hotherus\nreceived him in the most friendly manner, and now he conquered him with\nhis kindness as he had before done with his cunning as a warrior.\n\nHotherus also had a friend in Helgo, the king of Halogaland. The\nchieftain of the Finns and of the Bjarmians, Cuso (Guse), was the father\nof Thora, whose hand Helgo sought through messengers. But Helgo had so\nugly a blemish on his mouth that he was ashamed to converse, not only\nwith strangers, but also with his own household and friends. Cuso had\nalready refused his offer of marriage, but as he now addressed himself to\nHotherus asking for assistance, the latter was able to secure a hearing\nfrom the Finnish chieftain, so that Helgo secured the wife he so greatly\ndesired.\n\nWhile this happened in Halogaland, Balder had invaded the territory of\nGevarus with an armed force, to demand Nanna's hand. Gevarus referred him\nto his daughter, who was herself permitted to determine her fate. Nanna\nanswered that she was of too humble birth to be the wife of a husband\nof divine descent. Gevarus informed Hotherus of what had happened, and\nthe latter took counsel with Helgo as to what was now to be done. After\nhaving considered various things, they finally resolved on making war.\n\nAnd it was a war in which one should think men fought with gods. For\nOdin, Thor, and the hosts sanctified by the gods fought on Balder's side.\nThor had a heavy club, with which he smashed shields and coats-of-mail,\nand slew all before him. Hotherus would have seen his retreating army\ndefeated had he not himself succeeded in checking Thor's progress. Clad\nin an impenetrable coat-of-mail, he went against Thor, and with a blow\nof his sword he severed the handle from Thor's club and made it unfit\nfor use. Then the gods fled. Thereupon the warriors of Hotherus rushed\nupon Balder's fleet and destroyed and sank it. In the same war Gelder\nfell and his body was laid in his ship on a pile of his fallen warriors\nand burned, but his ashes were afterwards deposited with great solemnity\nin a magnificent grave-mound by Hotherus who then returned to Gevarus,\ncelebrated his wedding with Nanna, and made great presents to Helgo and\nThora.\n\nBut Balder had no peace. Another war was declared, and this time Balder\nwas the victor. The defeated Hotherus took refuge with Gevarus. In this\nwar a water-famine occurred in Balder's army, but the latter dug deep\nwells and opened new fountains for his thirsty men. Meanwhile Balder was\nafflicted in his dreams by ghosts which had assumed Nanna's form. His\nlove and longing so consumed him that he at last was unable to walk, but\nhad to ride in a chariot on his journeys.\n\nHotherus had fled to Sweden, where he retained the royal authority;\nbut Balder took possession of Seeland, and soon acquired the devotion\nof the Danes, for he was regarded as having martial merits, and was a\nman of great dignity. Hotherus again declared war against Balder, but\nwas defeated in Jutland, and was obliged to return to Sweden alone and\nabandoned. Despondent on account of his defeats, weary of life and the\nlight of day, he went into the wilderness and traversed most desolate\nforests, where the fall of mortal feet is seldom heard. Then he came to\na cave in which sat three strange women. From such women he had once\nreceived the impenetrable coat-of-mail, and he recognised them as those\nvery persons. They asked him why he had come to these regions, and he\ntold them how unsuccessful he had been in his last battle. He reproached\nthem, saying that they had deceived him, for they had promised him\nvictory, but he had a totally different fate. The women responded that\nhe nevertheless had done his enemies great harm, and assured him that\nvictory would yet perch on his banners if he should succeed in finding\nthe wonderful nourishment which was invented for the increasing of\nBalder's strength. This was sufficient to encourage him to make another\nwar, although there were those among his friends who dissuaded him\ntherefrom. From different sides men were gathered, and a bloody battle\nwas fought, which was not decided at the fall of night. The uneasiness\nof Hotherus hindered him from sleeping, and he went out in the darkness\nof the night to reconnoitre the condition and position of the enemy.\nWhen he had reached the camp of the enemy he perceived that three dises,\nwho were wont to prepare Balder's mysterious food, had just left. He\nfollowed their footprints in the bedewed grass and reached their abode.\nAsked by them who he was, he said he was a player on the cithern. One of\nthem then handed him a cithern, and he played for them magnificently.\nThey had three serpents, with whose venom Balder's food was mixed. They\nwere now engaged in preparing this food. One of them had the goodness\nto offer Hotherus some of the food; but the eldest said: \"It would be\ntreason to Balder to increase the strength of his foe.\" The stranger said\nthat he was one of the men of Hotherus, and not Hotherus himself. He was\nthen permitted to taste the food.[5] The women also presented him with a\nbeautiful girdle of victory.\n\nOn his way home Hotherus met his foe and thrust a weapon into his side,\nso that he fell half-dead to the ground. This produced joy in the camp\nof Hotherus, but sorrow in the Danish camp. Balder, who knew that he was\ngoing to die, but was unwilling to abide death in his tent, renewed the\nbattle the following day, and had himself carried on a stretcher into the\nthickest of the fight. The following night Proserpina (the goddess of\ndeath) came to him and announced to him that he should be her guest the\nnext day. He died from his wound at the time predicted, and was buried in\na mound with royal splendour. Hotherus took the sceptre in Denmark after\nBalder.\n\nMeanwhile it had happened that King Gevarus had been attacked and burned\nin his house by a jarl under him, by name Gunno. Hotherus avenged the\ndeath of Gevarus, and burnt Gunno alive on a funeral pyre as a punishment\nfor his crime.\n\nRinda and Odin had a son by name Bous. The latter, to avenge the death\nof his brother Balder, attacked Hotherus, who fell in the conflict. But\nBous himself was severely wounded and died the following day from his\nwounds. Hotherus was followed on the Danish throne by his son R\u00f6ricus.\n\nIn the examination of this narrative in Saxo there is no hope of arriving\nat absolutely positive results unless the student lays aside all current\npresuppositions and, in fact, all notions concerning the origin and age\nof the Balder-myth, concerning a special Danish myth in opposition to a\nspecial Norse-Icelandic, &c. If the latter conjecture based on Saxo is\ncorrect, then this is to appear as a result of the investigation; but the\nconjecture is not to be used as a presupposition.\n\nThat which first strikes the reader is that the story is not homogeneous.\nIt is composed of elements that could not be blended into one harmonious\nwhole. It suffers from intrinsic contradictions. The origin of these\ncontradictions must first of all be explained.\n\nThe most persistent contradiction concerns the sword of victory of which\nHotherus secured possession.[6] We are assured that it is of immense\nvalue (_ingens pr\u00e6mium_), and is attended with the success of victory\n(_belli fortuna comitaretur_), and Hotherus is, in fact, able with the\nhelp of this sword to accomplish a great exploit: put Thor and other gods\nto flight. But then Hotherus is conquered again and again by Balder,\nand finally also defeated by Bous and slain, in spite of the fact that\nGevarus had assured him that this sword should always be victorious. To\nbe sure, Hotherus succeeds after several defeats in giving Balder his\ndeath-wound, but this is not done in a battle, and can hardly be counted\nas a victory; and Hotherus is not able to commit this secret murder by\naid of this sword alone, but is obliged to own a belt of victory and to\neat a wonderful food, which gives Balder his strength, before he can\naccomplish this deed.\n\nThere must be some reason why Saxo fell into this contradiction,\nwhich is so striking, and is maintained throughout the narrative. If\nHotherus-_H\u00f6dr_ in the mythology possessed a sword which always gives\nvictory and is able to conquer the gods themselves, then the mythology\ncan _not_ have contained anything about defeats suffered by him after he\ngot possession of this sword, nor can he then have fallen in conflict\nwith Odin's and Rind's son. The only way in which this could happen\nwould be that Hotherus-_H\u00f6dr_, after getting possession of the sword of\nvictory, and after once having used it to advantage, in some manner was\nrobbed of it again. But Saxo has read nothing of the sort in his sources,\notherwise he would have mentioned it, if for no other reason than for\nthe purpose of giving a cause for the defeat suffered by his hero, and\nit is doubtless his opinion that the sword with which Balder is mortally\nwounded is the same as the one Hotherus took from Mimingus. Hence, either\n_H\u00f6dr_ has neither suffered the defeats mentioned by Saxo nor fallen by\nthe sword of the brother-avenging son of Odin and Rind, or he has never\npossessed the sword of victory here mentioned. It is not necessary to\npoint out in which of these alternatives we have the mythological fact.\n_H\u00f6dr_ has never possessed the irresistible sword.\n\nBut Saxo has not himself invented the episode concerning the sword of\nvictory, nor has he introduced this episode in his narrative about\nHotherus without thinking he had good reason therefor.\n\nIt follows with certainty that the episode belongs to the saga of another\nhero, and that things were found in that saga which made it possible for\nSaxo to confound him with _H\u00f6dr_.\n\nThe question then arises who this hero was. The first thread the\ninvestigation finds, and has to follow, is the name itself, Hotherus,\nwithin which Latin form Oder can lie concealed as well as _H\u00f6dr_.\n\nIn the mythology _Odr_, like _H\u00f6dr_, was an inhabitant of Asgard, but\nnevertheless, like _H\u00f6dr_, he has had hostile relations to Asgard, and in\nthis connection he has fought with Thor (see No. 103). The similarity of\nthe names and the similarity of the mythological situation are sufficient\nto explain the confusion on the part of Saxo. But there are several\nother reasons, of which I will give one. The weapon with which Hoder\nslew Balder in the mythology was a young twig, _Mistelteinn_. The sword\nof victory made by Volund, with hostile intentions against the gods,\ncould, for the very reason that it was dangerous to Asgard, be compared\nby skalds with the mistletoe, and be so called in a poetic-rhetorical\nfigure. The fact is, that both in Skirnersmal and in Fj\u00f6lsvinnsmal\nthe Volund sword is designated as a _teinn_; that the _mistletoe_ is\nincluded in the list of sword-names in the Younger Edda; and that in the\nlater Icelandic saga-literature _mistelteinn_ is a sword which is owned\nin succession by Saming, _Thr\u00e1inn_, and Romund Greipson; and finally,\nthat all that is there said about this sword _mistelteinn_ is a faithful\necho of the sword of victory made by Volund, though the facts are more\nor less confused. Thus we find, for example, that it is _M\u00e1ni Karl_ who\ninforms Romund where the sword is to be sought, while in Saxo it is the\nmoon-god Gevar, Nanna's father, who tells Hotherus where it lies hid.\nThat the god _M\u00e1ni_ and Gevar are identical has already been proved\n(see Nos. 90, 91, 92). Already before Saxo's time the _mistelteinn_ and\nthe sword of victory of the mythology had been confounded with each\nother, and Hoder's and Oder's weapons had received the same name. This\nwas another reason for Saxo to confound Hoder and Oder and unite them\nin Hotherus. And when he found in some of his sources that a sword\n_mistelteinn_ was used by Oder, and in others that a _mistelteinn_ was\nwielded by Hoder, it was natural that he as a historian should prefer the\nsword to the fabulous mistletoe (see more below).\n\nThe circumstance that two mythical persons are united into one in\nHotherus has given Saxo free choice of making his Hotherus the son of\nthe father of the one or of the other. In the mythology Hoder is the\nson of Odin; Oder-Svipdag is the son of Orvandel. Saxo has made him a\nson of Hoddbrodd, who is identical with Orvandel. It has already been\ndemonstrated (see No. 29) that Helge Hundingsbane is a copy of the\nTeutonic patriarch Halfdan. The series of parallels by which this\ndemonstration was made clear at the same time makes it manifest that\nHelge's rival Hoddbrodd is Halfdan's rival Orvandel. The same place as is\noccupied in the Halfdan myth by Orvandel, Hoddbrodd occupies in the songs\nconcerning Helge Hundingsbane. What we had a right to expect, namely,\nthat Saxo, when he did not make Hotherus the son of Hoder's father,\nshould make him a son of Oder's, has actually been done, whence there can\nbe no doubt that Hoder and Oder were united into one in Saxo's Hotherus.\n\nWith this point perfectly established, it is possible to analyse Saxo's\nnarrative point by point, resolve it into its constituent parts, and\nrefer them to the one of the two myths concerning Hoder and Oder to\nwhich they belong.[7] It has already been noted that Saxo was unable to\nunite organically with his narration of Hoder's adventure the episode\nconcerning the sword of victory taken from Mimingus. The introduction of\nthis episode has made the story of Hotherus a chain of contradictions.\nOn the other hand, the same episode naturally adapts itself to the\nSvipdag-Oder story, which we already know. We have seen that Svipdag\ndescends to the lower world and there gets into possession of the Volund\nsword. Hence it is Svipdag-Oder, not Hoder, who is instructed by the\nmoon-god Gevar as to where the sword is to be found. It is he who crosses\nthe frost-mountains, penetrates into the _specus_ guarded by Mimingus,\nand there captures the Volund sword and the Volund ring. It is Svipdag,\nnot Hoder, who, thanks to this sword, is able as _thursar thj\u00f3dar sj\u00f3li_\nto conquer the otherwise indomitable Halfdan--nay, even more, compel\nHalfdan's co-father and protector, the Asa-god Thor, to yield.\n\nThus Saxo's accounts about Otharus and Hotherus fill two important gaps\nin the records preserved to our time in the Icelandic sources concerning\nthe Svipdag-myth. To this is also to be added what Saxo tells us about\nSvipdag under this very name (see Nos. 24, 33): that he carries on an\nimplacable war with Halfdan after the latter had first secured and then\nrejected Groa; that after various fortunes of war he conquers him and\ngives him a mortal wound; that he takes Halfdan's and Groa's son Gudhorm\ninto his good graces and gives him a kingdom, but that he pursues and\nwars against Halfdan's and Alveig-Signe's son Hadding, and finally falls\nby his hand.\n\nHotherus-Svipdag's perilous journey across the frosty mountains,\nmentioned by Saxo, is predicted by Groa in her seventh incantation of\nprotection over her son:\n\n  thann gel ek th\u00e9r in sjaunda,\n  ef thik s\u00e6kja kemr\n  frost \u00e1 fjalli h\u00e1\n  h\u00e1vetrar kuldi\n  megit thinu holdi fara,\n  ok haldisk \u00e6 lik at lidum.\n\n[5] According to Gheysmer's synopsis. Saxo himself says nothing of the\nkind. The present reading of the passage in Saxo is distinctly mutilated.\n\n[6] This Bugge, too, has observed, and he rightly assumes that the\nepisode concerning the sword has been interpolated from some other source.\n\n[7] This analysis will be given in the second part of this work in the\ntreatise on the Balder-myth.\n\n\n102.\n\n    SVIPDAG'S SYNONYM EIREKR. ERICUS DISERTUS IN SAXO.\n\nWe have not yet exhausted Saxo's contributions to the myth concerning\nSvipdag. In two other passages in his _Historia Danica_ Svipdag\nreappears, namely, in the accounts of the reigns of Frode III. and of\nHalfdan Berggram, in both under the name Ericus (_Eirekr_), a name\napplied to Svipdag in the mythology also (see No. 108).\n\nThe first reference showing that Svipdag and Erik are identical appears\nin the following analogies:\n\nHalfdan (Gram), who kills a Swedish king, is attacked in war by Svipdag.\n\nHalfdan (Berggram), who kills a Swedish king, is attacked in war by Erik.\n\nSvipdag is the son of the slain Swedish king's daughter.\n\nErik is the son of the slain Swedish king's daughter.\n\nSaxo's account of King Frode is for the greater part the myth about Frey\ntold as history. We might then expect to find that Svipdag, who becomes\nFrey's brother-in-law, should appear in some _r\u00f4le_ in Frode's history.\nThe question, then, is whether any brother-in-law of Frode plays a part\ntherein. This is actually the case. Frode's brother-in-law is a young\nhero who is his general and factotum, and is called Ericus, with the\nsurname _Disertus_, the eloquent. The Ericus who appears as Halfdan's\nenemy accordingly resembles Svipdag, Halfdan's enemy, in the fact that he\nis a son of the daughter of the Swedish king slain by Halfdan. The Ericus\nwho is Frode-Frey's general, again, resembles Svipdag in the fact that\nhe marries Frode-Frey's sister. This is another indication that Erik and\nSvipdag were identical in Saxo's mythic sources.\n\nLet us now pursue these indications and see whether they are confirmed\nby the stories which Saxo tells of Halfdan's enemy Erik and Frode-Frey's\nbrother-in-law, Erik the eloquent.\n\nSaxo first brings us to the paternal home of Erik the eloquent. In the\nbeginning of the narrative Erik's mother is already dead and his father\nis married a second time (_Hist._, 192). Compare with this the beginning\nof Svipdag's history, where his mother, according to Grogalder, is dead,\nand his father is married again.\n\nThe stepmother has a son, by name Rollerus, whose position in the\nmyth I shall consider hereafter. Erik and Roller leave their paternal\nhome to find Frode-Frey and his sister Gunvara, a maiden of the most\nextraordinary beauty. Before they proceed on this adventurous journey\nErik's stepmother, Roller's mother, has given them a wisdom-inspiring\nfood to eat, in which one of the constituent parts was the fat of three\nserpents. Of this food the cunning Erik knew how to secure the better\npart, really intended for Roller. But the half-brothers were faithful\nfriends.\n\nFrom Saxo's narrative it appears that Erik had no desire at all to make\nthis journey. It was Roller who first made the promise to go in search\nfor Frode and his sister, and it was doubtless Erik's stepmother who\nbrought about that Erik should assist his brother in the accomplishment\nof the task. Erik himself regarded the resolve taken by Roller as\nsurpassing his strength (_Hist._, 193).\n\nThis corresponds with what Grogalder tells us about Svipdag's\ndisinclination to perform the task imposed on him by his stepmother. This\nalso gives us the key to Grogalder's words, that Svipdag was commanded\nto go and find not only \"the one fond of ornaments,\" but \"_those_ fond\nof ornaments\" (_koma m\u00f3ti Mengl\u00f6dum_). The plural indicates that there\nis more than one \"fond of ornaments\" to be sought. It is necessary to\nbring back to Asgard not only Freyja, but also Frey her brother, the god\nof the harvests, for whom the ancient artists made ornaments, and who\nas a symbol of nature is the one under whose supremacy the forces of\nvegetation in nature decorate the meadows with grass and the fields with\ngrain. He, too, with his sister, was in the power of the giant-world in\nthe great fimbul-winter (see below).\n\nThe food to which serpents must contribute one of the constituent parts\nreappears in Saxo's account of Hotherus (_Hist._, 123; No. 101), and\nis there described with about the same words. In both passages three\nserpents are required for the purpose. That Balder should be nourished\nwith this sort of food is highly improbable. The serpent food in the\nstories about Hotherus and Ericus has been borrowed from the Svipdag-myth.\n\nThe land in which Frode and his beautiful sister live is difficult of\naccess, and magic powers have hitherto made futile every effort to get\nthere. The attendants of the brother and sister there are described as\nthe most savage, the most impudent, and the most disagreeable that can be\nconceived. They are beings of the most disgusting kind, whose manners are\nas unrestrained as their words. To get to this country it is necessary to\ncross an ocean, where storms, conjured up by witchcraft, threaten every\nsailor with destruction.\n\nGroa has predicted this journey, and has sung a magic song of protection\nover her son against the dangers which he is to meet on the magic sea:\n\n  thann gel ek th\u00e9r inn s\u00e9tta\n  ef th\u00fa \u00e1 sj\u00f3 kemr\n  meira en menn viti:\n  logn ok l\u00f6gr\n  gangi th\u00e9r i l\u00fadr saman\n  ok lj\u00e1i th\u00e9r \u00e6 friddrj\u00fagrar farar.\n\nWhen Erik and Roller, defying the storms, had crossed this sea and\nconquered the magic power which hindered the approach to the country,\nthey entered a harbour, near which Frode and Gunvara are to be sought.\nOn the strand they meet people who belong to the attendants of the\nbrother and sister. Among them are three brothers, all named Grep, and\nof whom one is Gunvara's pressing and persistent suitor. This Grep,\nwho is a poet and orator of the sort to be found in that land, at once\nenters into a discussion with Erik. At the end of the discussion Grep\nretires defeated and angry. Then Erik and Roller proceed up to the abode\nwhere they are to find those whom they seek. Frode and Gunvara are met\namid attendants who treat them as princely persons, and look upon them\nas their court-circle. But the royal household is of a very strange\nkind, and receives visitors with great hooting, barking of dogs, and\ninsulting manners. Frode occupies the high-seat in the hall, where a\ngreat fire is burning as a protection against the bitter cold. It is\nmanifest from Saxo's description that Frode and Gunvara, possibly by\nvirtue of the sorcery of the giants, are in a spiritual condition in\nwhich they have almost forgotten the past, but without being happy in\ntheir present circumstances. Frode feels unhappy and degraded. Gunvara\nloathes her suitor Grep. The days here spent by Erik and Roller, before\nthey get an opportunity to take flight with Gunvara, form a series of\ndrinking-bouts, vulgar songs, assaults, fights, and murders. The jealous\nGrep tries to assassinate Erik, but in this attempt he is slain by\nRoller's sword. Frode cannot be persuaded to accompany Erik, Roller, and\nGunvara on this flight. He feels that his life is stained with a spot\nthat cannot be removed, and he is unwilling to appear with it among other\nmen. In the mythology it is left to Njord himself to liberate his son.\nIn another passage (_Hist._, 266, 267) Saxo says that King Fridlevus\n(Njord) liberated a princely youth who had been robbed by a giant. In the\nmythology this youth can hardly be anyone else than the young Frey, the\nson of the liberator. Erik afterwards marries Gunvara.\n\nAmong the poetical paraphrases from heathen times are found some which\nrefer to Frey's and Freyja's captivity among the giants. In a song of\nthe skald Kormak the mead of poetry is called _jastrin fontanna S\u00fdrar\nGreppa_, \"the seething flood of the sea ranks (of the skerry) of Syr\n(of Freyja) of the Greps.\" This paraphrase evidently owes its existence\nto an association of ideas based on the same myth as Saxo has told in\nhis way. _S\u00fdr_, as we know, is one of Freyja's surnames, and as to\nits meaning, one which she must have acquired during her sojourn in\nJotunheim, for it is scarcely applicable to her outside of Jotunheim.\n_Greppr_, the poet there, as we have already seen, is Freyja's suitor. He\nhas had brothers also called _Greppr_, whence the plural expression _S\u00fdrs\nGreppa_ (\"Syr's Greps\"), wherein Freyja's surname is joined with more\nthan one Grep, receives its mythological explanation. The giant abode\nwhere Frode and Gunvara sojourn, is according to Saxo, situated not far\nfrom the harbour where Erik and Roller entered (_portum a quo Frotho non\nlonge deversabatur_--_Hist._, 198). The expression \"the Greps of Syr's\nskerries\" thus agrees with Saxo.\n\nA northern land uninhabited by man is by Eyvind Skaldaspiller called\n_utr\u00f6st Belja dolgs_, \"the most remotely situated abode of Bele's enemy\n(Frey).\" This paraphrase is also explained by the myth concerning Frey's\nand Freyja's visit in Jotunheim. _Beli_ is a giant-name, and means \"the\nhowler.\" Erik and Roller, according to Saxo, are received with a horrible\nhowl by the giants who attend Frey. \"They produced horrible sounds like\nthose of howling animals\" (_ululantium more horrisonas dedere voces_). To\nthe myth about how Frey fell into the power of the giants I shall come\nlater (see Nos. 109, 111, 112).\n\nErik is in Saxo called _disertus_, the eloquent. The Svipdag epithet\n_\u00d3dr_ originally had a meaning very near to this. The impersonal _\u00f3dr_\nmeans partly the reflecting element in man, partly song and poetry, the\nability of expressing one's self skilfully and of joining the words\nin an agreeable and persuasive manner (cp. the Gothic _weit-wodan_,\nto convince). Erik demonstrates the propriety of his name. Saxo makes\nhim speak in proverbs and sentences, certainly for the reason that his\nNorthern source has put them on the lips of the young hero. The same\nquality characterises Svipdag. In Grogalder his mother sings over him:\n\"Eloquence and social talents be abundantly bestowed upon you;\" and the\ndescription of him in Fj\u00f6lsvinnsmal places before our eyes a nimble and\nvivacious youth who well understands the watchman's veiled words, and\non whose lips the speech develops into proverbs which fasten themselves\non the mind. Compare _augna gamans_, &c. (str. 5), and the often quoted\n_Urdar ordi kvedr engi madr_ (str. 47).\n\nToward Gunvara Erik observes the same chaste and chivalrous conduct as\nOtharus toward Syritha (_intacta illi pudicitia manet_--p. 216). As to\nbirth, he occupies the same subordinate position to her as _\u00d3dr_ to\nFreyja, Otharus to Syritha, Svipdag to Menglad.\n\nThe adventures related in the mythology from Svipdag's journey, when he\nwent in search of Freyja-Menglad, are by Saxo so divided between Ericus\nDisertus and Otharus that of the former is told the most of what happened\nto Svipdag during his visit in the giant abode, of the latter the most of\nwhat happened to him on his way thence to his home.\n\nConcerning Erik's family relations, Saxo gives some facts which, from\na mythological point of view, are of great value. It has already been\nstated that Erik's mother, like Svipdag's, is dead, and that his father,\nlike Svipdag's, is married a second time where his saga begins. The\nfather begets with his second wife a son, whom Saxo calls Rollerus.\nWhen Erik's father also is dead, Roller's mother, according to Saxo,\nmarries again, and this time a powerful champion called Brac (_Hist._,\n217), who in the continuation of the story (p. 217, &c.) proves himself\nto be _Asa-Brage_, the god Thor (cp. No. 105), to whom she brings her\nson Roller. In our mythological records we learn that Thor's wife was\nSif, the goddess of vegetation, and that Sif had been married and had\nhad a son, by name _Ullr_, before she became the wife of the Asa-god,\nand that she brought with her to Asgard this son, who became adopted\namong the gods. Thus the mythic records and Saxo correspond in these\npoints, and it follows that Rollerus is the same as Uller, whom Saxo\nelsewhere (_Hist._, 130, 131; cp. No. 36) mentions as Ollerus. The forms\nOllerus and Rollerus are to each other as _Olfr_ to _Hr\u00f3lfr_. _Hr\u00f3lfr_\nis a contraction of _Hr\u00f3d-\u00falfr_; Rollerus indicates a contraction of\n_Hr\u00f3d-Ullr_, _Hr\u00edd-Ullr_. The latter form occurs in the paraphrase\n_Hr\u00eddullr hrotta_, \"the sword's storm-Ull,\" a designation of a warrior\n(Grett., 20, 1). It has already been pointed out that in the great war\nbetween Odin's clan and the Vans, Ull, although Thor's stepson, takes the\nside of the Vans and identifies his cause with that of Frey and Svipdag.\nSaxo also describes the half-brothers as faithfully united, and, in\nregard to Roller's reliable fraternity, makes Erik utter a sentence which\nvery nearly corresponds to the Danish:\n\n  \"End svige de Sorne\n  og ikke de Baarne\"\n\n(_Hist._, 207--_optima est affinium opera opis indigo_). Saxo's account\nof Erik and Roller thus gives us the key to the mythological statements,\nnot otherwise intelligible, that though Ull has in Thor a friendly\nstepfather (cp. the expression _gulli Ullar_--Younger Edda, i. 302),\nand in Odin a clan-chief who distinguishes him (cp. _Ullar hylli_,\n&c.--Grimnersmal, 42), nevertheless he contends in this feud on the same\nside as Erik-Svipdag, with whom he once set out to rescue Frey from the\npower of the giants. The mythology was not willing to sever those bonds\nof fidelity which youthful adventurers shared in common had established\nbetween Frey, Ull, and Svipdag. Both the last two therefore associate\nthemselves with Frey when the war breaks out between the Asas and Vans.\n\nIt follows that Sif was the second wife of Orvandel the brave before\nshe became Thor's and that Ull is Orvandel's son. The intimate relation\nbetween Orvandel on the one side and Thor on the other has already been\nshown above. When Orvandel was out on adventures in Jotunheim his first\nwife Groa visited Thor's halls as his guest, where the dis of vegetation\nmight have a safe place of refuge during her husband's absence.\nThis feature preserved in the Younger Edda is of great mythological\nimportance, and, as I shall show further on, of ancient Aryan origin.\nOrvandel, the great archer and star-hero, reappears in Rigveda and also\nin the Greek mythology--in the latter under the name Orion, as Vigfusson\nhas already assumed. The correctness of the assumption is corroborated by\nreasons, which I shall present later on.\n\n\n103.\n\n    THE SVIPDAG SYNONYM EIRIKR (_continued_).\n\nWe now pass to that Erik whom Saxo mentions in his narrative concerning\nHalfdan-Berggram, and who, like Svipdag, is the son of a Swedish king's\ndaughter. This king had been slain by Halfdan. Just as Svipdag undertakes\nan irreconcilable war of revenge against Halfdan-Gram, so does Erik\nagainst Halfdan-Berggram. In one of their battles Halfdan was obliged\nto take flight, despite his superhuman strength and martial luck. More\nthan this, he has by his side the \"champion Thoro,\" and Saxo himself\ninforms us that the latter is no less a personage than the Asa-god Thor,\nbut he too must yield to Erik. Thor's Mjolner and Halfdan's club availed\nnothing against Erik. In conflict with him their weapons seemed edgeless\n(_Hist._, 323, 324).\n\nThus not only Halfdan, but even Thor himself, Odin's mighty son, he\nwho alone outweighs in strength all the other descendants and clansmen\nof Odin, was obliged to retreat before a mythical hero; and that his\nlightning hammer, at other times irresistible, Sindre's wonderful work,\nis powerless in this conflict, must in the mythology have had particular\nreasons. The mythology has scarcely permitted its favourite, \"Hlodyn's\ncelebrated son,\" to be subjected to such a humiliation more than once,\nand this fact must have had such a motive, that the event might be\nregarded as a solitary exception. It must therefore be borne in mind\nthat, in his narrative concerning Hotherus, Saxo states, that after the\nlatter had acquired the sword of victory guarded by Mimingus, he meets\nthe Asa-god Thor in a battle and forces him to yield, after the former\nhas severed the hammer from its handle with a blow of the sword (_Hist._,\n118; see No. 101). It has already been shown that _\u00d3dr_-Svipdag,\nnot _H\u00f6dr_, is the Hotherus who captured the sword of victory and\naccomplished this deed (see No. 101). Erik accordingly has, in common\nwith Svipdag, not only those features that he is the daughter-son of a\nSwedish king whom Halfdan had slain, and that he persists in making war\non the latter, but also that he accomplished the unique deed of putting\nThor to flight.\n\nThus the hammer Mjolner is found to have been a weapon which, in spite of\nits extraordinary qualities, is inferior to the sword of victory forged\nby Volund (see Nos. 87, 98). Accordingly the mythology has contained two\nfamous judgments on products of the ancient artists. The first judgment\nis passed by the Asa-gods in solemn consultation, and in reference to\nthis very hammer, Mjolner, explains that Sindre's products are superior\nto those of Ivalde's sons. The other judgment is passed on the field of\nbattle, and confirms the former judgment of the gods. Mjolner proves\nitself useless in conflict with the sword of victory. If now the Volund\nof the heroic traditions were one of the Ivalde sons who fails to get the\nprize in the mythology, then an epic connection could be found between\nthe former and the latter judgment: the insulted Ivalde son has then\navenged himself on the gods and re-established his reputation injured by\nthem. I shall recur to the question whether Volund was a son of Ivalde or\nnot.\n\nThe wars between Erik and Halfdan were, according to Saxo, carried on\nwith changing fortunes. In one of these conflicts, which must have taken\nplace before Erik secured the irresistible sword, Halfdan is victorious\nand takes Erik prisoner; but the heart of the victor is turned into\nreconciliation toward the inexorable foe, and he offers Erik his life\nand friendship if the latter will serve his cause. But when Erik refuses\nthe offered conciliation, Halfdan binds him fast to a tree in order to\nmake him the prey of the wild beasts of the forest and abandons him to\nhis fate. Halfdan's desire to become reconciled with Erik, and also the\ncircumstance that he binds him, is predicted, in Grogalder (strs. 9, 10),\nby Svipdag's mother among the fortunes that await her son:\n\n  thann gel ek th\u00e9r inn fj\u00f3rda\n  ef thik fj\u00e1ndr standa\n  g\u00f6rvir \u00e1 galgvegi:\n  hugr theim hverfi\n  til handa ther m\u00e6tti,\n  ok snuisk theim til s\u00e1tta sefi.\n\n  thann gel ek p\u00e9r inn fimta\n  ef th\u00e9r fj\u00f6turr verdr\n  borinn at boglimum:\n  Leifnis elda l\u00e6t ek th\u00e9r\n  fyr legg of kvedinn,\n  ok st\u00f6kkr th\u00e1 l\u00e1ss af limum,\n  en af f\u00f3tum fj\u00f6turr.\n\nThe Svipdag synonyms so far met with are: \u00d3dr (Hotherus), \u00d3ttarr\n(Otharus), and Eirekr (Ericus).\n\n[Illustration: IDUN BROUGHT BACK TO ASGARD.\n\n(_From an etching by Lorenz Fr\u00f6lich._)\n\nIn pursuance of a promise made by Loke to secure his release, he beguiled\nIdun out of Asgard and into the power of giant Thjasse. Idun was keeper\nof the apples upon which the gods fed to renew their youth and her\ndisappearance from Asgard was, therefore, followed by rapid ageing, into\ndecrepitude, of the gods. They discovered that Loke was the scoundrel who\nhad caused Idun's betrayal and threatened him with death if he failed to\nbring her back. Accordingly Loke borrowed Freyja's falcon plumage and\nflew to Jotunheim--home of the giants. Thjasse was at sea fishing, so\nLoke quickly found Idun, whom he transformed into a nut and hastened with\nher to Asgard. Thjasse soon learned what had happened and on eagle wings\nhe pursued the fleeing Loke but his coming was seen by Heimdal, warder of\nAsgard's gate, and by his orders a fire was quickly made on the walls,\nwhich scorched Thjasse's wings as he flew over and he fell into the power\nof the gods who promptly slew him.\n\nSee pages 899, 959, 909, 960.]\n\nIt is remarkable, but, as we shall find later, easy to explain that this\nsaga-hero, whom the mythology made Freyja's husband, and whose career\nwas adorned with such strange adventures, was not before the ninth\ncentury, and that in Sweden, accorded the same rank as the Asa-gods, and\nthis in spite of the fact that he was adopted in Asgard, and despite\nthe fact that his half-brother Ull was clothed with the same dignity as\nthat of the Asa-gods. There is no trace to show that he who is Freyja's\nhusband and Frey's brother-in-law was generally honoured with a divine\ntitle, with a temple, and with sacrifices. He remained to the devotees\nof the mythology what he was--a brilliant hero, but nothing more; and\nwhile the saga on the remote antiquity of the Teutons made him a ruler\nof North Teutonic tribes, whose leader he is in the war against Halfdan\nand Hadding (see Nos. 33, 38), he was honoured as one of the oldest\nkings of the Scandinavian peoples, but was not worshipped as a god. As\nan ancient king he has received his place in the middle-age chronicles\nand genealogies of rulers now under the name Svipdag, now under the name\nErik. But, at the same time, his position in the epic was such that,\nif the Teutonic Olympus was ever to be increased with a divinity of\nAsa-rank, no one would have a greater right than he to be clothed with\nthis dignity. From this point of view light is shed on a passage in ch.\n26 of _Vita Ansgarii_. It is there related, that before Ansgarius arrived\nin Birka, where his impending arrival was not unknown, there came thither\na man (doubtless a heathen priest or skald) who insisted that he had a\nmission from the gods to the king and the people. According to the man's\nstatement, the gods had held a meeting, at which he himself had been\npresent, and in which they unanimously had resolved to adopt in their\ncouncil that King Erik who in antiquity had ruled over the Swedes, so\nthat he henceforth should be one of the gods (_Ericum, quondam regem\nvestrum, nos unanimes in collegium nostrum ascisimus, ut sit unus de\nnumero deorum_); this was done because they had perceived that the Swedes\nwere about to increase the number of their present gods by adopting a\nstranger (Christ) whose doctrine could not be reconciled with theirs,\nand who accordingly did not deserve to be worshipped. If the Swedes\nwished to add another god to the old ones, under whose protection the\ncountry had so long enjoyed happiness, peace, and plenty, they ought to\naccord to Erik, and not to the strange god, that honour which belongs\nto the divinities of the land. What the man who came to Birka with this\nmission reported was made public, and created much stir and agitation.\nWhen Ansgarius landed, a temple had already been built to Erik, in which\nsupplications and sacrifices were offered to him. This event took place\nat a time foreboding a crisis for the ancient Odinic religion. Its last\nbulwarks on the Teutonic continent had recently been levelled with the\nground by Charlemagne's victory over the Saxons. The report of the\ncruelties practised by the advocates of the doctrine, which invaded the\ncountry from the south and the west for the purpose of breaking the faith\nof the Saxon Odin worshippers towards their religion, had certainly found\nits way to Scandinavia, and doubtless had its influence in encouraging\nthat mighty effort made by the northern peoples in the ninth century to\nvisit and conquer on their own territory their Teutonic kinsmen who had\nbeen converted to Christianity. It is of no slight mythological interest\nto learn that zealous men among the Swedes hoped to be able to inspire\nthe old doctrine with new life by adopting among the gods Freyja's\nhusband, the most brilliant of the ancient mythic heroes and the one most\ncelebrated by the skalds. I do not deem it impossible that this very\nattempt made Erik's name hated among some of the Christians, and was the\nreason why \"Old Erik\" became a name of the devil. _Vita Ansgarii_ says\nthat it was the devil's own work that Erik was adopted among the gods.\n\nThe Svipdag synonym Erik reappears in the Christian saga about Erik\nVidforle (the far-travelled), who succeeded in finding and entering\n_Odainsakr_ (see No. 44). This is a reminiscence of Svipdag's visit in\nMimer's realm. The surname _Vidf\u00f6rli_ has become connected with two names\nof Svipdag: we have _Eirikr hinn vidf\u00f6rli_ and _\u00d3dr_ (_Oddr_) _hinn\nvidf\u00f6rli_ in the later Icelandic sagas.\n\n\n104.\n\n    THE LATER FORTUNES OF THE VOLUND SWORD.\n\nI have now given a review of the manner in which I have found the\nfragments of the myth concerning Svipdag up to the point where he obtains\nFreyja as his wife. The fragments dove-tail into each other and form a\nconsecutive whole. Now, a few words in regard to the part afterwards\nplayed by the Volund sword, secured by Svipdag in the lower world, in the\nmythology, and in the saga. The sword, as we have seen, is the prize for\nwhich Asgard opens its gate and receives Svipdag as Freyja's husband. We\nsubsequently find it in Frey's possession. Once more the sword becomes\nthe price of a bride, and passes into the hands of the giant Gymer and\nhis wife. It has already been demonstrated that Gymer's wife is the same\nAngerboda who, in historical times and until Ragnarok, dwells in the\nIronwood (see No. 35). Her shepherd, who in the woods watches her monster\nflocks, also keeps the sword until the fire-giant Fjalar shall appear in\nhis abode in the guise of the red cock and bring it to his own father\nSurt, in whose hand it shall cause Frey's death, and contribute to the\ndestruction of the world of gods.\n\nA historian, Priscus, who was Attila's contemporary, relates that the\nHun king got possession of a divine sword that a shepherd had dug out of\nthe ground and presented to him as a gift. The king of the Huns, it is\nadded, rejoiced in the find; for, as the possessor of the sword that had\nbelonged to the god \"Mars,\" he considered himself as armed with authority\nto undertake and carry on successfully any war he pleased (see Jordanes,\nwho quotes Priscus).\n\nOn the Teutonic peoples the report of this pretended event must have\nmade a mighty impression. It may be that the story was invented for\nthis purpose; for their myths told of a sword of victory which was\nowned by that god who, since the death of Balder, and since Tyr became\none-handed, was, together with Thor, looked upon as the bravest of the\nwarlike gods, which sword had been carried away from Asgard to the\nunknown wildernesses of the East, where it had been buried, not to be\nproduced again before the approach of Ragnarok, when it was to be exhumed\nand delivered by a shepherd to a foe of mankind. Already, before this\ntime, the Teutons had connected the appearance of the Huns with this\nmyth. According to Jordanes, they believed that evil troll-women, whom\nthe Gothic king Filimer had banished from his people, had taken refuge\nin the wildernesses of the East, and there given birth to children with\nforest giants (\"satyres\"), which children became the progenitors of\nthe Huns. This is to say, in other words, that they believed the Huns\nwere descended from Angerboda's progeny in the Ironwood, which, in the\nfulness of time, were to break into Midgard with the monster Hate as\ntheir leader. The sword which the god Frey had possessed, and which was\nconcealed in the Ironwood, becomes in Jordanes a sword which the god\n\"Mars\" had owned, and which, thereafter, had been concealed in the earth.\nOut of Angerboda's shepherd, who again brings the sword into daylight and\ngives it to the world-hostile Fjalar, becomes a shepherd who exhumes the\nsword and gives it to Attila, the foe of the Teutonic race.\n\nThe memory of the sword survived the victory of Christianity, and was\nhanded down through the centuries in many variations. That Surt at the\nend of the world was to possess the sword of course fell away, and\ninstead now one and then another was selected as the hero who was to\nfind and take it; that it was watched by a woman and by a man (in the\nmythology Angerboda and Eggther); and that the woman was an even more\ndisgusting being than the man, were features that the saga retained both\non the Continent and in England.\n\nThe Beowulf poem makes a monster, by name Grendel (\"the destroyer\"),\ndwell with his mother under a marsh in a forest, which, though referred\nto Denmark and to the vicinity of the splendid castle of a Danish\nking, is described in a manner which makes it highly probable that the\nprototype used by the Christian poet was a heathen skald's description of\nthe Ironwood. There is, says he, the mysterious land in which the wolf\nconceals himself, full of narrow valleys, precipices, and abysses, full\nof dark and deep forests, marshes shrouded in gloom, lakes shaded with\ntrees, nesses lashed by the sea, mountain torrents and bogs, which in the\nnight shine as of fire, and shelter demoniac beings and dragons in their\nturbid waves. The hunted game prefers being torn into pieces by dogs to\nseeking its refuge on this unholy ground, from which raging storms chase\nblack clouds until the heavens are darkened and the rain pours down in\ntorrents. The English poet may honestly have located the mythological\nIronwood in Denmark. The same old border-land, which to this very day is\ncalled \"D\u00e4nische wold,\" was still in the thirteenth century called by the\nDanes Jarnwith, the Ironwood. From his abode in this wilderness Grendel\nmakes nightly excursions to the Danish royal castle, breaks in there,\nkills sleeping champions with his iron hands, sucks out their blood, and\ncarries their corpses to the enchanted marsh in order to eat them there.\nThe hero, Beowulf, who has heard of this, proceeds to Denmark, penetrates\ninto the awful forest, dives, armed with Denmark's best sword, down into\nthe magic marsh to Grendel's and his mother's hall, and kills them after\na conflict in which the above-mentioned sword was found useless. But down\nthere he finds another which Grendel and his mother kept concealed, gets\npossession of it, and conquers with its aid.\n\nOf this remarkable sword it is said that it was \"rich in victory,\" that\nit hailed from the past, that \"it was a good and excellent work of a\nsmith,\" and that the golden hilt was the work of the \"wonder-smith.\" On\nthe blade was risted (engraved) \"that ancient war\" when \"the billows\nof the raging sea washed over the race of giants,\" and on a plate made\nof the purest gold was written in runes \"the name of him for whom this\nweapon was first made.\" The Christian poet found it most convenient\nfor his purpose not to name this name for his readers or hearers. But\nall that is here stated is applicable to the mythological sword of\nvictory. \"The Wonder-smith\" in the Old English tale is Volund (Weland).\nThe coat of mail borne by Beowulf is \"Welandes geweorc.\" \"Deor the\nScald's Complaint\" sings of Weland, and King Alfred in his translation\nof Boethius speaks of \"the wise Weland, the goldsmith, who, in ancient\ntimes, was the most celebrated.\" That the Weland sword was \"the work of a\ngiant\" corresponds with the Volund myth (see below); and as we here learn\nthat the blade was engraved with pictures representing the destructions\nof the ancient giant-artists in the waves of the sea (the blood of the\nprimeval giant Ymer), then this illustrates a passage in Skirnersmal\nwhere it is likewise stated that the sword was risted with images and\n\"that it fights of itself against the giant race\" (Skirnersmal, 8, 23,\n25; see No. 60). This expression is purposely ambiguous. One meaning\nis emphasised by Frey's words in Skirnersmal, that it fights of itself\n\"if it is a wise man who owns it\" (_ef s\u00e1 er horscr er hefir_). The\nother meaning of the expression appears from the Beowulf poem. The sword\nitself fights against the giant race in the sense that the \"wonder-smith\"\n(Weland), by the aid of pictures on the blade of the sword itself,\nrepresented that battle which Odin and his brothers fought against the\nprimeval giants, when the former drowned the latter in the blood of their\nprogenitor, the giant Ymer.\n\nGrendel is the son of the troll-woman living in the marsh, just as Hate\nis Angerboda's. The author identifies Grendel with Cain banished from the\nsight of his Creator, and makes giants, thurses, and \"elves\" the progeny\nof the banished one. Grendel's mother is a \"she-wolf of the deep\" and a\nmermaid (_merewif_). Angerboda is the mother of the wolf progeny in the\nIronwood and \"drives the ships into \u00c6gir's jaws.\" What \"Beowulf\" tells\nabout Grendel reminds us in some of the details so strongly of V\u00f6luspa's\nwords concerning Hate that the question may be raised whether the English\nauthor did not have in mind a strophe resembling the one in V\u00f6luspa which\ntreats of him. V\u00f6luspa's Hate _fyllisk fj\u00f6rvi feigra manna_, \"satiates\nhimself with the vital force of men selected for death.\" Beowulf's\nGrendel sucks the blood of his chosen victims until life ebbs out of\nthem. V\u00f6luspa's Hate _rydr ragna sj\u00f6t raudum dreyra_, \"colours the\nprincely abode with red blood from the wounds.\" Grendel steals into the\nroyal castle and stains it with blood. The expression here reappears\nalmost literally. V\u00f6luspa's _ragna sj\u00f6t_ and _dreyri_ correspond\nperfectly to \"Beowulf's\" _driht-sele_ and _dreor_.\n\nIn Vilkinasaga we read that Nagelring, the best sword in the world was\nconcealed in a forest, and was there watched by a woman and a man. The\nman had the strength of twelve men, but the woman was still stronger.\nKing Thidrek and his friend Hildebrand succeeded after a terrible combat\nin slaying the monster. The woman had to be slain thrice in order that\nshe should not come to life again. This feature is also borrowed from the\nmyth about Angerboda, the thrice slain.\n\n_Historia Pontificum_ (from the middle of the twelfth century) informs\nus that Duke Wilhelm of Angoul\u00eame (second half of the tenth century)\npossessed an extraordinary sword made by Volund. But this was not the\nreal sword of victory. From Jordane's history it was known in the middle\nage that this sword had fallen into Attila's hands, and the question\nwas naturally asked what afterwards became of it. Sagas answered the\nquestion. The sword remained with the descendants of the Huns, the\nHungarians. The mother of the Hungarian king Solomon gave it to one Otto\nof Bavaria. He lent it to the margrave of Lausitz, Dedi the younger.\nAfter the murder of Dedi it came into the hands of Emperor Henry IV., who\ngave it to his favourite, Leopold of Merseburg. By a fall from his horse\nLeopold was wounded by the point of the sword, and died from the wound.\nEven in later times the sword was believed to exist, and there were those\nwho believed that the Duke of Alba bore it at his side.\n\n\n105.\n\n    THE SVIPDAG EPITHET SKIRNER. THE VOLUND SWORD'S NAME GAMBANTEIN.\n\nAfter Svipdag's marriage with Freyja the saga of his life may be divided\ninto two parts--the time before his visit in Asgard as Freyja's happy\nhusband and Frey's best friend, and the time of his absence from Asgard\nand his change and destruction.\n\nTo the former of these divisions belongs his journey, celebrated in song,\nto the abode of the giant Gymer, whither he proceeds to ask, on Frey's\nbehalf, for the hand of Gerd, Gymer's and Aurboda's fair daughter. It has\nalready been pointed out that after his marriage with Gunvara-Freyja,\nErik-Svipdag appears in Saxo as Frotho-Frey's right hand, ready to help\nand a trusted man in all things. Among other things the task is also\nimposed on him to ask, on behalf of Frotho, for the hand of a young maid\nwhose father in the mythology doubtless was a giant. He is described as\na deceitful, treacherous being, hostile to the gods, as a person who had\nlaid a plan with his daughter as a bait to deceive Frotho and win Gunvara\nfor himself. The plan is frustrated by Svipdag (Ericus), Ull (Rollerus),\nand Thor (Bracus), the last of whom here appears in his usual _r\u00f4le_\nas the conqueror of giants. At the very point when Frotho's intended\nfather-in-law thinks he has won the game Thor rushes into his halls, and\nthe schemer is compelled to save himself by flight (_Hist._, 221, &c.).\nIn the excellent poem Skirnersmal, the Icelandic mythic fragments have\npreserved the memory of Frey's courtship to a giant-maid, daughter of\nAurboda's terrible husband, the giant-chief Gymer. Here, as in Saxo, the\nVana-god does not himself go to do the courting, but sends a messenger,\nwho in the poem is named by the epithet _Skirner_. All that is there\ntold about this Skirner finds its explanation in Svipdag's saga. The\nvery epithet Skirnir, \"the shining one,\" is justified by the fact that\nSolbjart-Orvandel, the star-hero, is his father. Skirner dwells in\nAsgard, but is not one of the ruling gods. The one of the gods with whom\nhe is most intimately united is Frey. Thus his position in Asgard is the\nsame as Svipdag's. Skirner's influence with Freyja's brother is so great\nthat when neither Njord nor Skade can induce the son to reveal the cause\nof the sorrow which afflicts him, they hope that Skirner may be able to\ndo so. Who, if not Svipdag, who tried to rescue Frey from the power of\nthe giants, and who is his brother-in-law, and in Saxo his all in all,\nwould be the one to possess such influence over him? Skirner also appeals\nto the fact that Frey and he have in days past had adventures together\nof such a kind that they ought to have faith in each other, and that\nFrey ought not to have any secret which he may not safely confide to so\nfaithful a friend (str. 5). Skirner is wise and poetic, and has proverbs\non his lips like Svipdag-Erik (cp. str. 13 in Skirnersmal with str. 47\nin Fj\u00f6lsvinnsmal). But the conclusive proof of their identity is the fact\nthat Skirner, like Svipdag, had made a journey to the lower world, had\nbeen in Mimer's realm at the foot of Ygdrasil, and there had fetched a\nsword called Gambantein, which is the same sword as the one Frey lays in\nhis hand when he is to go on his errand of courtship--the same sword as\nFrey afterwards parts with as the price paid to Gymer and Aurboda for the\nbride. When Gerd refuses to accept the courtship-presents that Skirner\nbrings with him, he draws his sword, shows its blade to Gerd, threatens\nto send her with its edge to Nifelhel, the region below the Na-gates, the\nHades-dwelling of Hrimner, Hrimgrimner, and of other giants of antiquity,\nthe abode of the furies of physical sicknesses (see No. 60), and tells\nher how this terrible weapon originally came into his possession:\n\n  Til holtz ec gecc\n  oc til hr\u00e1s vidar\n  gambantein at geta,\n  gambantein ec gat.\n\n  \"I went to Holt\n  And to the juicy tree\n  Gambantein to get,\n  Gambantein I got.\"\n\nThe word _teinn_, a branch, a twig, has the meaning of sword in all\nthe compounds where it occurs: _benteinn_, _bifteinn_, _eggteinar_,\n_h\u00e6vateinn_ (_homateinn_), _hj\u00f6rteinn_, _hr\u00e6teinn_, _s\u00e1rteinn_,\n_valteinn_. _Mistelteinn_ has also become the name of a sword (Younger\nEdda, i. 564; Fornald., i, 416, 515; ii. 371; cp. No. 101), and the\nsame weapon as is here called _gambanteinn_ is called _h\u00e6vateinn_,\n_homateinn_ (see further No. 116) in Fj\u00f6lsvinnsmal.\n\nIn the mythology there is only one single place which is called Holt.\nIt is _Mimis holt_, _Hoddmimis holt_, the subterranean grove, where the\nchildren who are to be the parents of the future race of man have their\nsecure abode until the regeneration of the world (see Nos. 52, 53),\nliving on the morning-dew which falls from the world-tree, _hr\u00e1r vidr_,\n\"the tree rich in sap\" (see No. 89). Mimer-Nidhad also comes from Holt\nwhen he imprisons Volund (Volund., 14). It has already been proved above\nthat, on his journey in the lower world, Svipdag also came to _Mimis\nholt_, and saw the citadel within which the _\u00e1smegir_ have their asylum.\n\nSaxo has known either the above-cited strophe or another resembling\nit, and when his Erik-Svipdag speaks of his journey in ambiguous words\n(_obscura umbage_), Saxo makes him say: _Ad trunca sylvarum robora\npenetravi ... ibi cuspis a robore regis excussa est_ (_Hist._, 206). With\nthe expression _ad robora sylvarum penetravi_ we must compare _til holtz\nec gecc_. The words _robur regis_ refer to the tree of the lower world\nking, Mimer _Mimameidr_, the world-tree. Erik-Svipdag's purpose with\nhis journey to this tree is to secure a weapon. Saxo calls this weapon\n_cuspis_. Fj\u00f6lsvinnsmal calls it, with a paraphrase, _broddr_. _Cuspis_\nis a translation of _broddr_.\n\nThus there can be no doubt concerning the identity of Skirner with\nSvipdag.\n\n\n106.\n\n    SVIPDAG'S LATER FORTUNES. HIS TRANSFORMATION AND DEATH.\n    FREYJA GOES IN SEARCH OF HIM. FREYJA'S EPITHET MARD\u00d6LL. THE\n    SEA-KIDNEY, BRISINGAMEN. SVIPDAG'S EPITHET HERM\u00d3DR.\n\nWhen the war between the Asas and the Vans had broken out, Svipdag, as we\nhave learned, espouses the cause of the Vans (see Nos. 33, 38), to whom\nhe naturally belongs as the husband of the Vana-dis Freyja and Frey's\nmost intimate friend. The happy issue of the war for the Vans gives\nSvipdag free hands in regard to Halfdan's hated son Hadding, the son of\nthe woman for whose sake Svipdag's mother Groa was rejected. Meanwhile\nSvipdag offers Hadding reconciliation, peace, and a throne among the\nTeutons (see No. 38). When Hadding refuses to accept gifts of mercy from\nthe slayer of his father, Svipdag persecutes him with irreconcilable\nhate. This hatred finally produces a turning-point in Svipdag's fortunes\nand darkens the career of the brilliant hero. After the Asas and Vans had\nbecome reconciled again, one of their first thoughts must have been to\nput an end to the feud between the Teutonic tribes, since a continuation\nof the latter was not in harmony with the peace restored among the gods\n(see No. 41), nevertheless the war was continued in Midgard (see No.\n41), and the cause is Svipdag. He has become a rebel against both Asas\nand Vans, and herein we must look for the reason why, as we read in the\nYounger Edda, he disappeared from Asgard (Younger Edda, 114). But he\ndisappears not only from the world of the gods, but finally also from the\nterrestrial seat of war, and that god or those gods who were to blame for\nthis conceal his unhappy and humiliating fate from Freyja. It is at this\ntime that the faithful and devoted Vana-dis goes forth to seek her lover\nin all worlds _med ukunnum thj\u00f3dum_.\n\nSaxo gives us two accounts of Svipdag's death--the one clearly converted\ninto history, the other corresponding faithfully with the mythology. The\nformer reports that Hadding conquered and slew Svipdag in a naval battle\n(_Hist._, 42). The latter gives us the following account (_Hist._, 48):\n\nWhile Hadding lived in exile in a northern wilderness, after his great\ndefeat in conflict with the Swedes, it happened, on a sunny, warm day,\nthat he went to the sea to bathe. While he was washing himself in the\ncold water he saw an animal of a most peculiar kind (_bellua inauditi\ngeneris_), and came into combat with it. Hadding slew it with quick blows\nand dragged it on shore. But while he rejoiced over this deed a woman put\nherself in his way and sang a song, in which she let him know that the\ndeed he had now perpetrated should bring fearful consequences until he\nsucceeded in reconciling the divine wrath which this murder had called\ndown upon his head. All the forces of nature, wind and wave, heaven and\nearth, were to be his enemies unless he could propitiate the angry gods,\nfor the being whose life he had taken was a celestial being concealed in\nthe guise of an animal, one of the super-terrestrial:\n\n  Quippe unum e superis alieno corpore tectum\n  Sacrileg\u00e6 necuere manus: sic numinis almi\n  Interfector ades.\n\nIt appears, however, from the continuation of the narrative, that Hadding\nwas unwilling to repent what he had done, although he was told that the\none he had slain was a supernatural being, and that he long refused to\npropitiate those gods whose sorrow and wrath he had awakened by the\nmurder. Not until the predictions of the woman were confirmed by terrible\nvisitations does Hadding make up his mind to reconcile the powers in\nquestion. And this he does by instituting the sacrificial feast, which is\ncalled Frey's offering, and thenceforth was celebrated in honour of Frey\n(_Fro deo rem divinam furvis hostiis fecit_).\n\nHadding's refusal to repent what he had done, and the defiance he\nshowed the divine powers, whom he had insulted by the murder he had\ncommitted, can only be explained by the fact that these powers were the\nVana-gods who long gave succour to his enemies (see No. 39), and that the\nsupernatural being itself, which, concealed in the guise of an animal,\nwas slain by him, was some one whose defeat gave him pleasure, and whose\ndeath he considered himself bound and entitled to cause. This explanation\nis fully corroborated by the fact that when he learns that Odin and the\nAsas, whose favourite he was, no longer hold their protecting hands\nover him, and that the propitiation advised by the prophetess becomes\na necessity to him, he institutes the great annual offering to Frey,\nSvipdag's brother-in-law. That this god especially must be propitiated\ncan, again, have no other reason than the fact that Frey was a nearer\nkinsman than any of the Asa-gods to the supernatural being, from whose\nslayer he (Frey) demanded a ransom. And as Saxo has already informed us\nthat Svipdag perished in a naval engagement with Hadding, all points to\nthe conclusion that in the celestial person who was concealed in the\nguise of an animal and was slain in the water we must discover Svipdag\nFreyja's husband.\n\nSaxo does not tell us what animal guise it was. It must certainly have\nbeen a purely fabulous kind, since Saxo designates it as _bellua inauditi\ngeneris_. An Anglo-Saxon record, which is to be cited below, designates\nit as _uyrm_ and _draca_. That Svipdag, sentenced to wear this guise,\nkept himself in the water near the shore of a sea, follows from the fact\nthat Hadding meets and kills him in the sea where he goes to bathe.\nFreyja, who sought her lost lover everywhere, also went in search for\nhim to the realms of _\u00c6gir_ and _R\u00e1n_. There are reasons for assuming\nthat she found him again, and, in spite of his transformation and the\nrepulsive exterior he thereby got, she remained with him and sought\nto soothe his misery with her faithful love. One of Freyja's surnames\nshows that she at one time dwelt in the bosom of the sea. The name is\n_Mard\u00f6ll_. Another proof of this is the fragment preserved to our time\nof the myth concerning the conflict between Heimdal and Loke in regard\nto Brisingamen. This neck- and breast-ornament, celebrated in song both\namong the Teutonic tribes of England and those of Scandinavia, one of\nthe most splendid works of the ancient artists, belonged to Freyja\n(Thrymskvida, Younger Edda). She wore it when she was seeking Svipdag\nand found him beneath the waves of the sea; and the splendour which her\nBrisingamen diffused from the deep over the surface of the sea is the\nepic interpretation of the name _Mard\u00f6ll_ from _marr_, \"sea,\" and _d\u00f6ll_,\nfeminine of _dallr_ (old English _deall_), \"glittering\" (compare the\nnames Heimdallr and Delling). _Mard\u00f6ll_ thus means \"the one diffusing\na glimmering in the sea.\" The fact that Brisingamen, together with its\npossessor, actually was for a time in \u00c6ger's realm is proved by its\nepithet _fagrt hafn\u00fdra_, \"the fair kidney of the sea,\" which occurs in\na strophe of Ulf Uggeson (Younger Edda, 268). There was also a skerry,\n_V\u00e1gasker, Singasteinn_, on which Brisingamen lay and glittered, when\nLoke, clad in the guise of a seal tried to steal it. But before he\naccomplished his purpose, there crept upon the skerry another seal, in\nwhose looks--persons in disguise were not able to change their eyes--the\nevil and cunning descendant of Farbaute must quickly have recognised his\nold opponent Heimdal. A conflict arose in regard to the possession of the\nornament, and the brave son of the nine mothers became the victor and\npreserved the treasure for Asgard.\n\nTo the Svipdag synonyms _\u00d3dr_ (Hotharus), _\u00d3ttar_ (Otharus), _Eirekr_\n(Ericus), and _Skirnir_, we must finally add one more, which is, perhaps,\nof Anglo-Saxon origin: _Hermodr_, _Heremod_.\n\nFrom the Norse mythic records we learn the following in regard to Hermod:\n\n(_a_) He dwelt in Asgard, but did not belong to the number of ruling\ngods. He is called Odin's _sveinn_ (Younger Edda, 174), and he was\nthe Asa-father's favourite, and received from him helmet and cuirass\n(Hyndluljod, 2).\n\n(_b_) He is called _enn hvati_ (Younger Edda, 174), the rapid. When Frigg\nasks if anyone desires to earn her favour and gratitude by riding to\nthe realm of death and offering Hel a ransom for Balder, Hermod offers\nto take upon himself this task. He gets Odin's horse Sleipner to ride,\nproceeds on his way to Hel, comes safely to that citadel in the lower\nworld, where Balder and Nanna abide the regeneration of the earth, spurs\nSleipner over the castle wall, and returns to Asgard with Hel's answer,\nand with the ring Draupner, and with presents from Nanna to Frigg and\nFulla (Younger Edda, 180).\n\nFrom this it appears that Hermod has a position in Asgard resembling\nSkirner's: that he, like Skirner, is employed by the gods as a messenger\nwhen important or venturesome errands are to be undertaken; and that\nhe, like Skirner, then gets that steed to ride, which is able to leap\nover vaferflames and castle-walls. We should also bear in mind that\nSkirner-Svipdag had made celebrated journeys in the same world to which\nHermod is now sent to find Balder. As we know, Svipdag had before his\narrival in Asgard travelled all over the lower world, and had there\nfetched the sword of victory. After his adoption in Asgard, he is sent by\nthe gods to the lower world to get the chain Gleipner.\n\n(_c_) In historical times Hermod dwells in Valhal, and is one of the\nchief einherjes there. When Hakon the Good was on the way to the hall of\nthe Asa-father, the latter sent Brage and Hermod to meet him:\n\n  Herm\u00f3dr ok Bragi\n  kvad Hroptat\u00fdr\n  gangit i gegn grami\n  thvi at konungr ferr\n  s\u00e1 er kappi thykkir,\n  til hallar hinnig (Hakonarmal).\n\nThis is all there is in the Norse sources about Hermod.\n\nFurther information concerning him is found in the Beowulf poem, which in\ntwo passages (str. 1747, &c., and 3419, &c.) compares him with its own\nunselfish and blameless hero, Beowulf, in order to make it clear that the\nlatter was in moral respects superior to the famous hero of antiquity.\nBeowulf was related by marriage to the royal dynasty then reigning in his\nland, and was reared in the king's halls as an older brother of his sons.\nThe comparisons make these circumstances, common to Beowulf and Hermod,\nthe starting-point, and show that while Beowulf became the most faithful\nguardian of his young foster-brothers, and in all things maintained their\nrights, Hermod conducted himself in a wholly different manner. Of Hermod\nthe poem tells us:\n\n(_a_) He was reared at the court of a Danish king (str. 1818, &c., 3421,\n&c.).\n\n(_b_) He set out on long journeys, and became the most celebrated\ntraveller that man ever heard of (_se w\u00e6s wreccena wide m\u00e6rost ofer\nwer-the\u00f3de_--str. 1800-1802).\n\n(_c_) He performed great exploits (str. 1804).\n\n(_d_) He was endowed with powers beyond all other men (str. 3438-39).\n\n(_e_) God gave him a higher position of power than that accorded to\nmortals (str. 3436, &c.).\n\n(_f_) But although he was reared at the court of the Danish king, this\ndid not turn out to the advantage of the Skjoldungs, but was a damage to\nthem (str. 3422, &c.), for there grew a bloodthirsty heart in his breast.\n\n(_g_) When the Danish king died (the poem does not say how) he left young\nsons.\n\n(_h_) Hermod, betrayed by evil passions that got the better of him, was\nthe cause of the ruin of the Skjoldungs, and of a terrible plague among\nthe Danes, whose fallen warriors for his sake covered the battlefields.\nHis table-companions at the Danish court he consigned to death in a fit\nof anger (str. 3426, &c.).\n\n(_i_) The war continues a very long time (str. 1815, &c., str. 3447).\n\n(_k_) At last there came a change, which was unfavourable to Hermod,\nwhose superiority in martial power decreased (str. 1806).\n\n(_l_) Then he quite unexpectedly disappeared (str. 3432) from the sight\nof men.\n\n(_m_) This happened against his will. He had suddenly been banished and\ndelivered to the world of giants, where \"waves of sorrow\" long oppressed\nhim (str. 1809, &c.).\n\n(_n_) He had become changed to a dragon (_wyrm_, _draca_).\n\n(_o_) The dragon dwelt near a rocky island in the sea _under harne stan_\n(beneath a grey rock).\n\n(_p_) There he slew a hero of the Volsung race (in the Beowulf poem\nSigemund--str. 1747, &c.).\n\nAll these points harmonise completely with Svipdag's saga, as we\nhave found it in other sources. Svipdag is the stepson of Halfdan the\nSkjoldung, and has been reared in his halls, and dwells there until his\nmother Groa is turned out and returns to Orvandel. He sets out like\nHermod on long journeys, and is doubtless the most famous traveller\nmentioned in the mythology; witness his journey across the Elivagar,\nand his visit to Jotunheim while seeking Frey and Freyja; his journey\nacross the frosty mountains, and his descent to the lower world,\nwhere he traverses Nifelheim, sees the Eylud mill, comes into Mimer's\nrealm, procures the sword of victory, and sees the glorious castle of\nthe _\u00e1smegir_; witness his journey over Bifrost to Asgard, and his\nwarlike expedition to the remote East (see also Younger Edda, i. 108,\nwhere Skirner is sent to _Svartalfaheim_ to fetch the chain Glitner).\nHe is, like Hermod, endowed with extraordinary strength, partly on\naccount of his own inherited character, partly on account of the songs\nof incantation sung over him by Groa, on account of the nourishment\nof wisdom obtained from his stepmother and finally on account of the\npossession of the indomitable sword of victory. By being adopted in\nAsgard as Freyja's husband, he is, like Hermod, elevated to a position of\npower greater than that which mortals may expect. But all this does not\nturn out to be a blessing to the Skjoldungs, but is a misfortune to them.\nThe hatred he had cherished toward the Skjoldung Halfdan is transferred\nto the son of the latter, Hadding, and he persecutes him and all those\nwho are faithful to Hadding, makes war against him, and is unwilling\nto end the long war, although the gods demand it. Then he suddenly\ndisappears, the divine wrath having clothed him with the guise of a\nstrange animal, and relegated him to the world of water-giants, where\nhe is slain by Hadding (who in the Norse heroic saga becomes a Volsung,\nafter Halfdan, under the name Helge Hundingsbane, was made a son of the\nVolsung Sigmund).\n\nHermod is killed on a rocky island _under harne stan_. Svipdag is\nkilled in the water, probably in the vicinity of the _V\u00e1gasker_ and the\n_Singasteinn_, where the Brisingamen ornament of his faithful Mardol is\ndiscovered by Loke and Heimdal.\n\nFreyja's love and sorrow may in the mythology have caused the gods\nto look upon Svipdag's last sad fate and death as a propitiation of\nhis faults. The tears which the Vana-dis wept over her lover were\ntransformed, according to the mythology, into gold, and this gold, the\ngold of a woman's faithfulness, may have been regarded as a sufficient\ncompensation for the sins of her dear one, and doubtless opened to\nSvipdag the same Asgard-gate which he had seen opened to him during his\nlife. This explains that Hermod is in Asgard in the historical time, and\nthat, according to a revelation to the Swedes in the ninth century, the\nancient King Erik was unanimously elevated by the gods as a member of\ntheir council.\n\nFinally, it should be pointed out that the Svipdag synonym _Odr_ has\nthe same meaning as _m\u00f4d_ in Herem\u00f4d, and as _ferhd_ in Svidferhd, the\nepithet with which Hermod is designated in the Beowulf strophe 1820.\n_Odr_ means \"the one endowed with spirit,\" _Herem\u00f4d_ \"the one endowed\nwith martial spirit,\" _Svidferhd_, \"the one endowed with mighty spirit.\"\n\nHeimdal's and Loke's conflict in regard to Brisingamen has undoubtedly\nbeen an episode in the mythic account of Svipdag's last fortunes and\nFreyja's abode with him in the sea. There are many reasons for this\nassumption. We should bear in mind that Svipdag's closing career\nconstituted a part of the great epic of the first world war, and that\nboth Heimdal and Loke take part in this war, the former on Hadding's,\nthe latter on Gudhorm-Jormunrek's and Svipdag's side (see Nos. 38, 39,\n40). It should further be remembered that, according to Saxo, at the\ntime when he slays the monster, Hadding is wandering about as an exile\nin the wildernesses, and that it is about this time that Odin gives him\na companion and protector in Liserus-Heimdal (see No. 40). The unnamed\nwoman, who after the murder had taken place puts herself in Hadding's\nway, informs him whom he has slain, and calls the wrath of the gods and\nthe elements down upon him, must be Freyja herself, since she witnessed\nthe deed and knew who was concealed in the guise of the dragon. So long\nas the latter lived Brisingamen surely had a faithful watcher, for it is\nthe nature of a dragon to brood over the treasures he finds. After being\nslain and dragged on shore by Hadding, his \"bed,\" the gold, lies exposed\nto view on Vagasker, and the glimmer of Brisingamen reaches Loke's\neyes. While the woman, in despair on account of Svipdag's death, stands\nbefore Hadding and speaks to him, the ornament has no guardian, and Loke\nfinds the occasion convenient for stealing it. But Heimdal, Hadding's\nprotector, who in the mythology always keeps his eye on the acts of\nLoke and on his kinsmen hostile to the gods, is also present, and he\ntoo has seen Brisingamen. Loke has assumed the guise of a seal, while\nthe ornament lies on a rock in the sea, _V\u00e1gasker_, and it can cause\nno suspicion that a seal tries to find a resting-place there. Heimdal\nassumes the same guise, the seals fight on the rock, and Loke must retire\nwith his errand unperformed. The rock is also called Singastein (Younger\nEdda, i. 264, 268), a name in which I see the Anglo-Saxon _Sincast\u00e2n_,\n\"the ornament rock.\" An echo of the combat about Brisingamen reappears in\nthe Beowulf poem, where Heimdal (not Hamdir) appears under the name H\u00e2ma,\nand where it is said that \"H\u00e2ma has brought to the weapon-glittering\ncitadel (Asgard) _Brosingamene_,\" which was \"the best ornament under\nheaven;\" whereupon it is said that H\u00e2ma fell \"into Eormenric's snares,\"\nwith which we should compare Saxo's account of the snares laid by Loke,\nJormenrek's adviser, for Liserus-Heimdal and Hadding.[8]\n\n\n107.\n\n    REMINISCENCES OF THE SVIPDAG-MYTH.\n\nThe mythic story about Svipdag and Freyja has been handed down in popular\ntales and songs, even to our time, of course in an ever varying and\ncorrupted form. Among the popular tales there is one about _M\u00e6rth\u00f6ll_,\nput in writing by Konrad Maurer, and published in _Modern Icelandic\nPopular Tales_.\n\nThe wondrous fair heroine in this tale bears Freyja's well-known surname,\nMardol, but little changed. And as she, like Freyja, weeps tears that\nchange into gold, it is plain that she is originally identical with the\nVana-dis, a fact which Maurer also points out.\n\nLike Freyja, she is destined by the norn to be the wife of a princely\nyouth. But when he courted her, difficulties arose which remind us of\nwhat Saxo relates about Otharus and Syritha.\n\nAs Saxo represents her, Syritha is bound as it were by an enchantment,\nnot daring to look up at her lover or to answer his declarations of love.\nShe flies over the mountains _more pristino_, \"in the manner usual in\nantiquity,\" consequently in all probability in the guise of a bird. In\nthe Icelandic popular tale Marthol shudders at the approaching wedding\nnight, since she is then destined to be changed into a sparrow. She is\nabout to renounce the embrace of her lover, so that he may not know\nanything about the enchantment in which she is fettered.\n\nIn Saxo the spell resting on Syritha is broken when the candle of the\nwedding night burns her hand. In the popular tale Marthol is to wear the\nsparrow guise for ever if it is not burnt on the wedding night or on one\nof the two following nights.\n\nBoth in Saxo and in the popular tale another maiden takes Mardol's place\nin the bridal bed on the wedding night. But the spell is broken by fire,\nafter which both the lovers actually get each other.\n\nThe original identity of the mythological Freyja-Mardol, Saxo's Syritha,\nand the _M\u00e6rth\u00f6ll_ of the Icelandic popular tale is therefore evident.\n\nIn Danish and Swedish versions of a ballad (in Syv, Nyerup, Arwidsson,\nGeijer and Afzelius, Grundtvig, Dybeck, Hofberg; compare Bugge's Edda,\np. 352, &c.) a young Sveidal (Svedal, Svendal, Svedendal, Silfverdal)\nis celebrated, who is none other than Svipdag of the mythology. Svend\nGrundtvig and Bugge have called attention to the conspicuous similarity\nbetween this ballad on the one hand, and Grogalder and Fj\u00f6lsvinnsmal on\nthe other. From the various versions of the ballad it is necessary to\nmention here only those features which best preserve the most striking\nresemblance to the mythic prototype. Sveidal is commanded by his\nstepmother to find a maiden \"whose sad heart had long been longing.\" He\nthen goes first to the grave of his deceased mother to get advice from\nher. The mother speaks to him from the grave and promises him a horse,\nwhich can bear him over sea and land, and a sword hardened in the blood\nof a dragon and resembling fire. The narrow limits of the ballad forbade\ntelling how Sveidal came into possession of the treasures promised by\nthe mother or giving an account of the exploits he performed with the\nsword. This plays no part in the ballad; it is only indicated that events\nnot recorded took place before Sveidal finds the longing maid. Riding\nthrough forests and over seas, he comes to the country where she has her\ncastle. Outside of this he meets a shepherd, with whom he enters into\nconversation. The shepherd informs him that within is found a young\nmaiden who has long been longing for a young man by name Sveidal, and\nthat none other than he can enter there, for the timbers of the castle\nare of iron, its gilt gate of steel, and within the gate a lion and a\nwhite bear keep watch. Sveidal approaches the gate; the locks fall away\nspontaneously; and when he enters the open court the wild beasts crouch\nat his feet, a linden-tree with golden leaves bends to the ground before\nhim, and the young maiden whom he seeks welcomes him as her husband.\n\nOne of the versions makes him spur his horse over the castle wall;\nanother speaks of seven young men guarding the wall, who show him the way\nto the castle, and who in reality are \"god's angels under the heaven, the\nblue.\"\n\nThe horse who bears his rider over the salt sea is a reminiscence of\nSleipner, which Svipdag rode on more than one occasion; and when it is\nstated that Sveidal on this horse galloped over the castle wall, this\nreminds us of Skirner-Svipdag when he leaps over the fence around Gymer's\nabode, and of Hermod-Svipdag when he spurs Sleipner over the wall to\nBalder's lower-world castle. The shepherds, who are \"god's angels,\"\nrefers to the watchmen mentioned in Fj\u00f6lsvinnsmal, who are gods; the wild\nbeasts in the open court to the two wolf-dogs who guard Asgard's gate;\nthe shepherd whom Sveidal meets outside of the wall to Fj\u00f6lsvin; the\nlinden-tree with the golden leaves to _Mimameidr_ and to the golden grove\ngrowing in Asgard. One of the versions makes two years pass while Sveidal\nseeks the one he is destined to marry.\n\nIn Germany, too, we have fragments preserved of the myth about Svipdag\nand Freyja. These remnants are, we admit, parts of a structure built, so\nto speak, in the style of the monks, but they nevertheless show in the\nmost positive manner that they are borrowed from the fallen and crumbled\narcades of the heathen mythology. We rediscover in them the old medieval\npoem about \"Christ's unsewed grey coat.\"\n\nThe hero of the poem is Svipdag, here called by his father's name\nOrendel, Orentel--that is, Orvandel. The father himself, who is said\nto be a king in Trier, has received another name, which already in the\nmost ancient heathen times was a synonym of Orvandel, and which I shall\nconsider below. This in connection with the circumstance that the younger\nOrentel's (Svipdag's) patron saint is called \"the holy Wieland,\" and thus\nhe has the name of a person who, in the mythology, as shall be shown\nbelow, was Svipdag's uncle (father's brother) and helper, and whose sword\nis Svipdag's protection and pledge of victory, proves that at least in\nsolitary instances not only the events of the myth but also its names and\nfamily relations have been preserved in a most remarkable and faithful\nmanner through centuries in the minds of the German people.\n\nIn the very nature of things it cannot in the monkish poem be the task\nof the young Svipdag-Orentel to go in search of the heathen goddess\nFreyja and rescue her from the power of the giants. In her stead appears\na \"Frau Breyde,\" who is the fairest of all women, and the only one\nworthy to be the young Orentel's wife. In the heathen poem the goddess\nof fate Urd, in the German medieval poem God Himself, resolves that\nOrentel is to have the fairest woman as his bride. In the heathen poem\nFreyja is in the power of giants, and concealed somewhere in Jotunheim\nat the time when Svipdag is commanded to find her, and it is of the\ngreatest moment for the preservation of the world that the goddess of\nlove and fertility should be freed from the hands of the powers of frost.\nIn the German poem, written under the influence of the efforts of the\nChristian world to reconquer the Holy Land, Frau Breyde is a princess who\nis for the time being in Jerusalem, surrounded and watched by giants,\nheathens, and knights templar, the last of whom, at the time when the\npoem received its present form, were looked upon as worshippers of the\ndevil, and as persons to be shunned by the faithful. To Svipdag's task\nof liberating the goddess of love corresponds, in the monkish poem,\nOrentel's task of liberating Frau Breyde from her surrounding of giants,\nheathens, and knights templar, and restoring to Christendom the holy\ngrave in Jerusalem. Orentel proceeds thither with a fleet. But although\nthe journey accordingly is southward, the mythic saga, which makes\nSvipdag journey across the frost-cold Elivagar, asserts itself; and as\nhis fleet could not well be hindered by pieces of ice on the coast of\nthe Holy Land, it is made to stick fast in \"dense water,\" and remain\nthere for three years, until, on the supplication of the Virgin Mary,\nit is liberated therefrom by a storm. The Virgin Mary's prayers have\nassumed the same place in the Christian poems as Groa's incantations\nin the heathen. The fleet, made free from the \"dense water,\" sails to\na land which is governed by one Belian, who is conquered by Orentel\nin a naval engagement. This Belian is the mythological _Beli_, one of\nthose \"howlers\" who surrounded Frey and Freyja during their sojourn in\nJotunheim and threatened Svipdag's life. In the Christian poem Bele\nwas made a king in Great Babylonia, doubtless for the reason that his\nname suggested the biblical \"Bel in Babel.\" Saxo also speaks of a naval\nbattle in which Svipdag-Ericus conquers the mythic person, doubtless a\nstorm-giant, who by means of witchcraft prepares the ruin of sailors\napproaching the land where Frotho and Gunvara are concealed. After\nvarious other adventures Orentel arrives in the Holy Land, and the angel\nGabriel shows him the way to Frau Breyde, just as \"the seven angels of\nGod\" in one of the Scandinavian ballads guide Sveidal to the castle where\nhis chosen bride abides. Lady Breyde is found to be surrounded by none\nbut foes of Christianity--knights templar, heathens, and giants--who,\nlike Gunvara's giant surroundings in Saxo, spend their time in fighting,\nbut still wait upon their fair lady as their princess. The giants and\nknights templar strive to take Orentel's life, and, like Svipdag, he must\nconstantly be prepared to defend it. One of the giants slain by Orentel\nis a \"banner-bearer.\" One of the giants, who in the mythology tries\nto take Svipdag's life, is Grep, who, according to Saxo, meets him in\nderision with a banner on the top of whose staff is fixed the head of an\nox.\n\nMeanwhile Lady Breyde is attentive to Orentel. As Menglad receives\nSvipdag, so Lady Breyde receives Orentel with a kiss and a greeting,\nknowing that he is destined to be her husband.\n\nWhen Orentel has conquered the giants he celebrates a sort of wedding\nwith Lady Breyde, but between them lies a two-edged sword, and they sleep\nas brother and sister by each other's side. A wedding of a similar kind\nwas mentioned in the mythology in regard to Svipdag and Menglad before\nthey met in Asgard and were finally united. The chaste chivalry with\nwhich Freyja is met in the mythology by her rescuer is emphasised by Saxo\nboth in his account of Ericus-Svipdag and Gunvara and in his story about\nOtharus and Syritha. He makes Ericus say of Gunvara to Frotha: _Intacta\nilli pudicitia manet_ (_Hist._, 126). And of Otharus he declares: _Neque\npuellam stupro violare sustinuit, nec splendido loco natam obscuro\nconcubitus genere macularet_ (_Hist._, 331). The first wedding of Orentel\nand Breyde is therefore as if it had not been, and the German narrative\nmakes Orentel, after completing other warlike adventures, sue for the\nhand of Breyde for the second time. In the mythology the second and real\nwedding between Svipdag and Freyja must certainly have taken place,\ninasmuch as he became reunited with her in Asgard.\n\nThe sword which plays so conspicuous a part in Svipdag's fortunes has\nnot been forgotten in the German medieval tale. It is mentioned as being\nconcealed deep down in the earth, and as a sword that is always attended\nby victory.\n\nOn one occasion Lady Breyde appears, weapon in hand, and fights by the\nside of Orentel, under circumstances which remind us of the above-cited\nstory from Saxo (see No. 102), when Ericus-Svipdag, Gunvara-Freyja,\nand Rollerus-Ull are in the abode of a treacherous giant, who tries\nto persuade Svipdag to deliver Gunvara to him, and when Bracus-Thor\nbreaks into the giant abode, and either slays the inmates or puts them\nto flight. Gunvara then fights by the side of Ericus-Svipdag, _muliebri\ncorpore virilem animum \u00e6quans_ (_Hist._, 222).\n\nIn the German Orentel saga appears a \"fisherman,\" who is called master\nYse. Orentel has at one time been wrecked, and comes floating on a plank\nto his island, where Yse picks him up. Yse is not a common fisherman. He\nhas a castle with seven towers, and eight hundred fishermen serve under\nhim. There is good reason for assuming that this mighty chieftain of\nfishermen originally was the Asa-god Thor, who in the northern ocean once\nhad the Midgard-serpent on his hook, and that the episode of the picking\nup of the wrecked Orentel by Yse has its root in a tradition concerning\nthe mythical adventure, when the real Orvandel, Svipdag's father, feeble\nand cold, was met by Thor and carried by him across the Elivagar. In the\nmythology, as shall be shown hereafter, Orvendel the brave was Thor's\n\"sworn\" man, and fought with him against giants before the hostility\nsprang up between Ivalde's sons and the Asa-gods. In the Orentel saga Yse\nalso regards Orentel as his \"thrall.\" The latter emancipates himself from\nhis thraldom with gold. Perhaps this ransom is a reference to the gold\nwhich Freyja's tears gave as a ransom for Svipdag.\n\nOrentel's father is called Eigel, king in Trier. In Vilkinasaga we\nfind the archer Egil, Volund's brother, mentioned by the name-variation\nEigill. The German Orentel's patron saint is Wieland, that is, Volund.\nThus in the Orentel saga as in the Volundarkvida and in Vilkinasaga we\nfind both these names Egil and Volund combined, and we have all the\nmore reason for regarding King Eigel in Trier as identical with the\nmythological Egil, since the latter, like Orvandel, is a famous archer.\nBelow, I shall demonstrate that the archer Orvandel and the archer Egil\nactually were identical in the mythology.\n\nBut first it may be in order to point out the following circumstances.\nTacitus tells us in his _Germania_ (3): \"Some people think, however, that\nUlysses, too, on his long adventurous journeys was carried into this\nocean (the Germanic), and visited the countries of Germany, and that he\nfounded and gave name to Asciburgium, which is situated on the Rhine, and\nis still an inhabited city; nay, an altar consecrated to Ulysses, with\nthe name of his father Laertes added, is said to have been found there.\"\nTo determine the precise location of this Asciburgium is not possible.\nPtolemy (ii. 11, 28), and after him Marcianus Heracleota (_Peripl._, 2,\n36), inform us that an Askiburgon was situated on the Rhine, south of and\nabove the delta of the river. _Tabula Peutingeriana_ locates Asceburgia\nbetween Gelduba (Gelb) and Vetera (Xanten). But from the history of\nTacitus it appears (iv. 33) that Asciburgium was situated between\nNeuss and Mainz (Mayence). Read the passage: _Aliis a Nov\u00e6sio, aliis a\nMogontiaco universas copias advenisse credentibus_.\n\nThe passage refers to the Roman troops sent to Asciburgium and there\nattacked--those troops which expected to be relieved from the nearest\nRoman quarters in the north or south. Its location should accordingly be\nlooked for either on or near that part of the Rhine, which on the east\nbordered the old archbishopric Trier.\n\nThus the German Orentel saga locates King Eigel's realm and Orentel's\nnative country in the same regions, where, according to Tacitus'\nreporter, Ulysses was said to have settled for some time and to have\nfounded a citadel. As is well known, the Romans believed they found\ntraces of the wandering Ulysses in well-nigh all lands, and it was\nonly necessary to hear a strange people mention a far-travelled mythic\nhero, and he was at once identified either as Ulysses or Hercules. The\nTeutonic mythology had a hero _\u00e0 la_ Ulysses in the younger Orentel,\nOdr-Svipdag-Heremod, whom the Beowulf poem calls \"incomparably the\nmost celebrated traveller among mankind\" (_wreccena wide m\u00e6rost ofer\nwer-the\u00f3de_). Mannhardt has already pointed out an episode (Orentel's\nshipwreck and arrival in Yse's land) which calls to mind the shipwreck of\nOdysseus and his arrival in the land of the Pheaces. Within the limits\nwhich the Svipdag-myth, according to my own investigations, proves itself\nto have had, other and more conspicuous features common to both, but\ncertainly not borrowed from either, can be pointed out, for instance\nSvipdag's and Odysseus' descent to the lower world, and the combat in\nthe guise of seals between Heimdal and Loke, which reminds us of the\nconflict of Menelaos clad in seal-skin with the seal-watcher Proteus\n(_Odyss._, iv., 404, &c.). Just as there are words in the Aryan languages\nthat in their very form point to a common origin, but not to a borrowing,\nso there are also myths in the Aryan religions which in their very form\nreveal their growth from an ancient common Aryan root, but produce no\nsuspicion of their being borrowed. Among these are to be classed those\nfeatures of the Odysseus and Svipdag myths which resemble each other.\n\nIt has already been demonstrated above, that _Germania's_ Mannus is\nidentical with Halfdan of the Norse sources, and that Yngve-Svipdag\nhas his counterpart in Ing\u00e6vo (see No. 24). That informer of Tacitus\nwho was able to interpret Teutonic songs about Mannus and his sons,\nthe three original race heroes of the Teutons, must also in those very\nsongs have heard accounts of Orvandel's and Svipdag's exploits and\nadventures, since Orvandel and Svipdag play a most decisive part in the\nfortunes of Mannus-Halfdan. If the myth about Svipdag was composed in\na later time, then Mannus-Halfdan's saga must have undergone a change\nequal to a complete transformation after the day of Tacitus, and for\nsuch an assumption there is not the slightest reason. Orvandel is not a\nmythic character of later make. As already pointed out, and as shall be\ndemonstrated below, he has ancient Aryan ancestry. The centuries between\nTacitus and Paulus Diaconus are unfortunately almost wholly lacking in\nevidence concerning the condition of the Teutonic myths and sagas; but\nwhere, as in Jordanes, proofs still gleam forth from the prevailing\ndarkness, we find mention of _Arpantala_, _Amala_, _Fridigernus_,\n_Vidigoia_ (Jord., v.). Jordanes says that in the most ancient times\nthey were celebrated in song and described as heroes who scarcely had\ntheir equals (_quales vix heroas fuisse miranda jactat antiquitas_).\nPrevious investigators have already recognized in Arpantala Orvandel,\nin Amala Hamal, in Vidigoia Wittiche, Wieland's son (Vidga Volundson),\nwho in the mythology are cousins of Svipdag (see No. 108). Fridigernus,\n_Fridgjarn_, means \"he who strives to get the beautiful one,\" an epithet\nto which Svipdag has the first claim among ancient Teutonic heroes, as\nFreyja herself has the first claim to the name _Frid_ (beautiful). In\nFj\u00f6lsvinnsmal it belongs to a dis, who sits at Freyja's feet, and belongs\nto her royal household. This is in analogy with the fact that the name\n_Hlin_ belongs at the same time to Frigg herself (V\u00f6luspa), and to a\ngoddess belonging to her royal household (Younger Edda, i. 196).\n\nWhat Tacitus tells about the stone found at Asciburgium, with the names\nof Ulysses and Laertes inscribed thereon, can of course be nothing but\na conjecture, based on the idea that the famous Teutonic traveller was\nidentical with Odysseus. Doubtless this idea has been strengthened by\nthe similarity between the names _Odr_, Goth., _Vods_, and Odysseus, and\nby the fact that the name Laertes (acc. Laerten) has sounds in common\nwith the name of Svipdag's father. If, as Tacitus seems to indicate,\nAsciburgium was named after its founder, we would find in _Asc-_ an\nepithet of Orvandel's son, common in the first century after Christ and\nlater. In that case it lies nearest at hand to think of _aiska_ (Fick.\niii. 5), the English \"ask,\" the Anglo-Saxon _ascian_, the Swedish\n_\u00e4ska_, \"to seek,\" \"search for,\" \"to try to secure,\" which easily adapted\nitself to Svipdag, who goes on long and perilous journeys to look for\nFreyja and the sword of victory. I call attention to these possibilities\nbecause they appear to suggest an ancient connection, but not for the\npurpose of building hypotheses thereon. Under all circumstances it is of\ninterest to note that the Christian medieval Orentel saga locates the\nTeutonic migration hero's home to the same part of Germany where Tacitus\nin his time assumed that he had founded a citadel. The tradition, as\nheard by Tacitus, did not however make the regions about the Rhine the\nnative land of the celebrated traveller. He came thither, it is said in\n_Germania_, from the North after having navigated in the Northern Ocean.\nAnd this corresponds with the mythology, which makes Svipdag an Ingu\u00e6on,\nand Svion, a member of the race of the Skilfing-Ynglings, makes him in\nthe beginning fight on the side of the powers of frost against Halfdan,\nand afterwards lead not only the north Teutonic (Ingu\u00e6onian) but also the\nwest Teutonic tribes (the Hermiones) against the east Teutonic war forces\nof Hadding (see Nos. 38-40).\n\nMemories of the Svipdag-myth have also been preserved in the story about\nHamlet, Saxo's Amlethus (Sn\u00e6bjorn's _Amlodi_), son of Horvendillus\n(Orvandel). In the medieval story Hamlet's father, like Svipdag's father\nin the mythology, was slain by the same man, who marries the wife of\nthe slain man, and, like Svipdag in the myth, Hamlet of the medieval\nsaga becomes the avenger of his father Horvendillus and the slayer of\nhis stepfather. On more than one occasion the idea occurs in the Norse\nsagas that a lad whose stepfather has slain his father broods over\nhis duty of avenging the latter, and then plays insane or half idiot\nto avoid the suspicion that he may become dangerous to the murderer.\nSvipdag, Orvandel's son, is reared in his stepfather's house amid all\nthe circumstances that might justify or explain such a hypocrisy.\nTherefore he has as a lad received the epithet _Amlodi_, the meaning of\nwhich is \"insane,\" and the myth having at the same time described him\nas highly-gifted, clever, and sharp-witted, we have in the words which\nthe mythology has attributed to his lips the key to the ambiguous words\nwhich make the cleverness, which is veiled under a stupid exterior,\ngleam forth. These features of the mythic account of Svipdag have been\ntransferred to the middle-age saga anent Hamlet--a saga which already\nin Saxo's time had been developed into an independent narrative. I\nshall return to this theme in a treatise on the heroic sagas. Other\nreminiscences of the Svipdag-myth reappear in Danish, Swedish, and\nNorwegian ballads. The Danish ballads, which, with surprising fidelity,\nhave preserved certain fundamental traits and details of the Svipdag-myth\neven down to our days, I have already discussed. The Norwegian ballad\nabout \"Hermod the Young\" (_Landstad Norske Folkeviser_, p. 28), and its\nSwedish version, \"Bergtrollet,\" which corresponds still more faithfully\nwith the myth (Arvidson, i. 123), have this peculiar interest in\nreference to mythological synonymics and the connection of the mythic\nfragments preserved, that Svipdag appears in the former as in the Beowulf\npoem and in the Younger Edda under the name Hermod, and that both\nversions have for their theme a story, which Saxo tells about his Otharus\nwhen he describes the flight of the latter through Jotunheim with the\nrediscovered Syritha. It has already been stated above (No. 100) that\nafter Otharus had found Syritha and slain a giant in whose power she was,\nhe was separated from her on their way home, but found her once more and\nliberated her from a captivity into which she had fallen in the abode of\na giantess. This is the episode which forms the theme of the ballad about\n\"Hermod the Young,\" and of the Swedish version of it. Brought together,\nthe two ballads give us the following contents:\n\nThe young Hermod secured as his wife a beautiful maiden whom he liberated\nfrom the hands of a giantess. She had fallen into the hands of giants\nthrough a witch, \"gigare,\" originally _g\u00fdgr_, a troll-woman, Aurboda,\nwho in a great crowd of people had stolen her out of a church (the\ndivine citadel Asgard is changed into a \"house of God\"). Hermod hastens\non skees \"through woods and caverns and recesses,\" comes to \"the wild\nsea-strand\" (Elivagar) and to the \"mountain the blue,\" where the giantess\nresides who conceals the young maiden in her abode. It is Christmas Eve.\nHermod asks for lodgings for the night in the mountain dwelling of the\ngiantess and gets it. Resorting to cunning, he persuades the giantess\nthe following morning to visit her neighbours, liberates the fair maiden\nduring her absence, and flies on his skees with her \"over the high\nmountains and down the low ones.\" When the old giantess on her return\nhome finds that they have gone she hastens (according to the Norwegian\nversion accompanied by eighteen giants) after those who have taken flight\nthrough dark forests with a speed which makes every tree bend itself\nto the ground. When Hermod with his young maiden had come to the salt\nfjord (Elivagar), the giantess is quite near them, but in the decisive\nmoment she is changed to a stone, according to the Norse version, by the\ninfluence of the sun, which just at that time rose; according to the\nSwedish version, by the influence of a cross which stood near the fjord\nand its \"long bridge.\"\n\nThe Swedish version states, in addition to this, that Hermod had a\nbrother; in the mythology, Ull the skilful skee-runner. In both the\nversions, Hermod is himself an excellent skee-man. The refrains in\nboth read: \"He could so well on the skees run.\" Below, I shall prove\nthat Orvandel, Svipdag's and Ull's father, is identical with Egil, the\nforemost skee-runner in the mythology, and that Svipdag is a cousin of\nSkade, \"the dis of the skees.\" Svipdag-Hermod belongs to the celebrated\nskee-race of the mythology, and in this respect, too, these ballads have\npreserved a genuine trait of the mythology.\n\nIn their way, these ballads, therefore, give evidence of Svipdag's\nidentity with Hermod, and of the latter's identity with Saxo's Otherus.\n\nFinally, a few words about the Svipdag synonyms. Of these, _Odr_ and\n_Hermodr_ (and in the Beowulf poem _Svidferhd_) form a group which, as\nhas already been pointed out above, refer to the qualities of his mind.\nSvipdag (\"the glimmering day\") and Skirner (\"the shining one\") form\nanother group, which refers to his birth as the son of the star-hero\nOrvandel, who is \"the brightest of stars,\" and \"a true beam from the sun\"\n(see above). Again, anent the synonym _Eirekr_, we should bear in mind\nthat Svipdag's half-brother Gudhorm had the epithet _Jormunrekr_, and the\nhalf-brother of the latter, Hadding, the epithet _th\u00f3drekr_. They are the\nthree half-brothers who, after the patriarch Mannus-Halfdan, assume the\ngovernment of the Teutons, and as each one of them has large domains,\nand rules over many Teutonic tribes, they are, in contradistinction to\nthe princes of the separate tribes, great kings or emperors. It is the\ndignity of a great king which is indicated, each in its own way, by all\nthese parallel names--_Eirekr_, _Jormunrekr_, and _th\u00f3drekr_.\n\n[8] As Jordanes confounded the mythological Gudhorm-Jormunrek with the\nhistorical Ermanarek, and connected with the history of the latter the\nheroic saga of Ammius-Hamdir, it lay close at hand to confound Hamdir\nwith Heimdal, who, like Hamdir, is the foe of the mythical Jormunrek.\n\n\n108.\n\n    SVIPDAG'S FATHER ORVANDEL. EVIDENCE THAT HE IS IDENTICAL WITH\n    VOLUND'S BROTHER EGIL. THE ORVANDEL SYNONYM EBBO (EBUR, IBOR).\n\nSvipdag's father, Orvandel, must have been a mortal enemy of Halfdan, who\nabducted his wife Groa. But hitherto it is his son Svipdag whom we have\nseen carry out the feud of revenge against Halfdan. Still, it must seem\nincredible that the brave archer himself should remain inactive and leave\nit to his young untried son to fight against Thor's favourite, the mighty\nson of Borgar. The epic connection demands that Orvandel also should take\npart in this war, and it is necessary to investigate whether our mythic\nrecords have preserved traces of the satisfaction of this demand in\nregard to the mythological epic.\n\nAs his name indicates, Orvandel was a celebrated archer. That _\u00d6r-_\nin Orvandel, in heathen times, was conceived to be the word _\u00f6r_,\n\"arrow\"--though this meaning does not therefore need to be the most\noriginal one--is made perfectly certain by Saxo, according to whom\n_\u00d6rvandill's_ father was named _Geirvandill_ (Gervandillus, _Hist._,\n135). Thus the father is the one \"busy with the spear,\" the son \"the one\nbusy with the arrow.\"\n\nTaking this as the starting point, we must at the very threshold of our\ninvestigation present the question: Is there among Halfdan's enemies\nmentioned by Saxo anyone who bears the name of a well-known archer?\n\nThis is actually the fact. Halfdan Berggram has to contend with two\nmythic persons, Toko and Anundus, who with united forces appear against\nhim (_Hist._, 325). Toko, _Toki_, is the well-known name of an archer. In\nanother passage in Saxo (_Hist._, 265, &c.) one Anundus, with the help of\nAvo (or Ano) _sagittarius_, fights against one Halfdan. Thus we have the\nparallels:\n\nThe archer Orvandel is an enemy of Halfdan.\n\nThe man called archer Toko and Anundus are enemies of Halfdan.\n\nThe archer Avo and Anundus are enemies of Halfdan.\n\nWhat at once strikes us is the fact that both the one called Toko (an\narcher's name) and the archer Avo have as comrade one Anundus in the war\nagainst Halfdan. Whence did Saxo get this Anundus? We are now in the\ndomain of mythology related as history, and the name Anund must have been\nborrowed thence. Can any other source throw light on any mythic person by\nthis name?\n\nThere was actually an Anund who held a conspicuous place in mythology,\nand he is none other than Volund. Volundarkvida informs us that Volund\nwas also called Anund. When the three swan-maids came to the Wolfdales,\nwhere the three brothers, Volund, Egil, and Slagfin, had their abode,\none of them presses Egil \"in her white embrace,\" the other is Slagfin's\nbeloved, and the third \"lays her arms around Anund's white neck.\"\n\n  enn in thrithia\n  theirra systir\n  varthi hvitan\n  hals Onondar.\n\nVolund is the only person by name Anund found in our mythic records. If\nwe now eliminate--of course only for the present and with the expectation\nof confirmatory evidence--the name Anund and substitute Volund, we get\nthe following parallels:\n\nVolund and Toko (the name of an archer) are enemies of Halfdan.\n\nVolund and the archer named Avo are enemies of Halfdan.\n\nThe archer Orvandel is an enemy of Halfdan.\n\nFrom this it would appear that Volund was very intimately associated with\none of the archers of the mythology, and that both had some reason for\nbeing enemies of Halfdan. Can this be corroborated by any other source?\n\nVolund's brothers are called _Egill_ and _Slagfidr_ (_Slagfinnr_)\nin Volundarkvida. The Icelandic-Norwegian poems from heathen times\ncontain paraphrases which prove that the mythological Egil was famous\nas an archer and skee-runner. The bow is \"Egil's weapon,\" the arrows\nare \"Egil's weapon-hail\" (Younger Edda, 422), and \"the swift herring\nof Egil's hands\" (_Har. Gr._, p. 18). A ship is called Egil's skees,\noriginally because he could use his skees also on the water. In\nVolundarkvida he makes hunting expeditions with his brothers on skees.\nVilkinasaga also (29, 30) knows Egil as Volund's brother, and speaks of\nhim as a wonderfully skilful archer.\n\nThe same Volund, who in Saxo under the name Anund has Toko (the name of\nan archer) or the archer Avo by his side in the conflict with Halfdan,\nalso has the archer Egil as a brother in other sources.\n\nOf an archer Toko, who is mentioned in _Hist._, 487-490, Saxo tells the\nsame exploit as Vilkinasaga attributes to Volund's brother Egil. In Saxo\nit is Toko who performs the celebrated masterpiece which was afterwards\nattributed to William Tell. In Vilkinasaga it is Egil. The one like the\nother, amid similar secondary circumstances, shoots an apple from his\nson's head. Egil's skill as a skee-runner and the serviceableness of his\nskees on the water have not been forgotten in Saxo's account of Toko. He\nruns on skees down the mountain, sloping precipitously down to the sea,\nKullen in Scania, and is said to have saved himself on board a ship.\nSaxo's Toko was therefore without doubt identical with Volund's brother\nEgil, and Saxo's Anund is the same Volund of whom the Volundarkvida\ntestifies that he also had this name in the mythology.\n\nThus we have demonstrated the fact that Volund and Egil appeared in the\nsaga of the Teutonic patriarch Halfdan as the enemies of the latter,\nand that the famous archer Egil occupied the position in which we\nwould expect to find the celebrated archer Orvandel, Svipdag's father.\nOrvandel is therefore either identical with Egil, and then it is easy\nto understand why the latter is an enemy of Halfdan, who we know had\nrobbed his wife Groa; or he is not identical with Egil, and then we know\nno motive for the appearance of the latter on the same side as Svipdag,\nand we, moreover, are confronted by the improbability that Orvandel does\nnothing to avenge the insult done to him.\n\nOrvandel's identity with Egil is completely confirmed by the following\ncircumstances.\n\nOrvandel has the Elivagar and the coasts of Jotunheim as the scene of\nhis exploits during the time in which he is the friend of the gods and\nthe opponent of the giants. To this time we must refer Horvendillus'\nvictories over Collerus (Kollr) and his sister Sela (cp. the name of\na monster _Selkolla_--Bisk S., i. 605) mentioned by Saxo (_Hist._,\n135-138). His surname _inn fr\u00e6kni_, the brave, alone is proof that the\nmyth refers to important exploits carried out by him, and that these\nwere performed against the powers of frost in particular--that is to\nsay, in the service of the gods and for the good of Midgard--is plain\nfrom the narrative in the Younger Edda (276, 277). This shows, as is\nalso demanded by the epic connection, that the Asa-god Thor and the\narcher Orvandel were at least for a time confidential friends, and that\nthey had met each other on their expeditions for similar purposes in\nJotunheim. When Thor, wounded in his forehead, returns from his combat\nwith the giant _Hrungnir_ to his home, _thr\u00fadv\u00e1ngr_ (_thr\u00fadv\u00e1ngar_,\n_thrudheimr_,) Orvandel's wife Groa was there and tried to help him with\nhealing sorcery, wherein she would also have succeeded if Thor could have\nmade himself hold his tongue for a while concerning a report he brought\nwith him about her husband, and which he expected would please her. And\nGroa did become so glad that she forgot to continue the magic song and\nwas unable to complete the healing. The report was, as we know, that, on\nthe expedition to Jotunheim from which he had now come home, Thor had met\nOrvandel, carried him in his basket across the Elivagar, and thrown a toe\nwhich the intrepid adventurer had frozen up to heaven and made a star\nthereof. Thor added that before long Orvandel would come \"home;\" that is\nto say, doubtless, \"home to Thor,\" to fetch his wife Groa. It follows\nthat, when he had carried Orvandel across the Elivagar, Thor had parted\nwith him somewhere on the way, in all probability in Orvandel's own home,\nand that while Orvandel wandered about in Jotunheim, Groa, the dis of\ngrowth, had a safe place of refuge in the Asa-God's own citadel. A close\nrelation between Thor and Orvandel also appears from the fact that Thor\nafterwards marries Orvandel's second wife Sif, and adopts his son Ull,\nSvipdag's half-brother (see No. 102), in Asgard.\n\nConsequently Orvandel's abode was situated south of the Elivagar\n(Thor carried him _nordan_ or _J\u00f6tunheimum_--Younger Edda, 276), in\nthe direction Thor had to travel when going to and from the land of\nthe giants, and presumably quite near or on the strand of that mythic\nwater-course over which Thor on this occasion carried him. When Thor\ngoes from Asgard to visit the giants he rides the most of the way in his\nchariot drawn by the two goats _Tanngnj\u00f3str_ and _Tanngrisnir_. In the\npoem Haustlaung there is a particularly vivid description of his journey\nin his thunder chariot through space when he proceeded to the meeting\nagreed upon with the giant Hrungner, on the return from which he met and\nhelped Orvandel across Elivagar (Younger Edda, 276). But across this\nwater and through Jotunheim itself Thor never travels in his car. He\nwades across the Elivagar, he travels on foot in the wildernesses of the\ngiants, and encounters his foe face to face, breast to breast, instead\nof striking from above with lightning. In this all accounts of Thor's\njourneys to Jotunheim agree. Hence south of the Elivagar and somewhere\nnear them there must have been a place where Thor left his chariot and\nhis goats in safety before he proceeded farther on his journey. And as\nwe already know that the archer Orvandel, Thor's friend, and like him\nhostile to the giants, dwelt on the road traveled by the Asa-god, and\nsouth of the Elivagar, it lies nearest at hand to assume that Orvandel's\ncastle was the stopping place on his journey, and the place where he left\nhis goats and car.\n\nNow in Hymerskvida (7, 37, 38) we actually read that Thor, on his way\nto Jotunheim, had a stopping-place, where his precious car and goats\nwere housed and taken care of by the host, who accordingly had a very\nimportant task, and must have been a friend of Thor and the Asa-gods in\nthe mythology. The host bears the archer name Egil. From Asgard to Egil's\nabode, says Hymerskvida, it is about one day's journey for Thor when he\nrides behind his goats on his way to Jotunheim. After this day's journey\nhe leaves the draught-animals, decorated with horns, with Egil, who takes\ncare of them, and the god continues his journey on foot. Thor and Tyr\nbeing about to visit the giant Hymer--\n\n  Foro drivgom\n  dag thann fram\n  Asgardi fra,\n  unz til Egils quomo;\n  hirdi hann hafra\n  horngaufgasta\n  hurfo at haullo\n  er Hymir \u00e1tti.\n\n(\"Nearly all the day they proceeded their way from Asgard until they\ncame to Egil's. He gave the horn-strong goats care. They (Thor and Tyr)\ncontinued to the great hall which Hymer owned.\")\n\nFrom Egil's abode both the gods accordingly go on foot. From what is\nafterwards stated about adventures on their way home, it appears that\nthere is a long distance between Egil's house and Hymer's (cp. str.\n35--_foro lengi_, _adr._, &c.). It is necessary to journey across the\nElivagar first--_byr fyr austan, Eliv\u00e1ga hundviss Hymir_ (str. 5). In\nthe Elivagar Hymer has his fishing-grounds, and there he is wont to\ncatch whales on hooks (cp. str. 17--_a v\u00e2g roa_); but still he does not\nventure far out upon the water (see str. 20), presumably because he has\nenemies on the southern strand where Egil dwells. Between the Elivagar\nand Hymer's abode there is a considerable distance through woody mountain\nrecesses (_holtrid_--str. 27) and past rocks in whose caverns dwell\nmonsters belonging to Hymer's giant-clan (str. 35). Thor resorts to\ncunning in order to secure a safe retreat. After he has been out fishing\nwith the giant, instead of making his boat fast in its proper place on\nthe strand, as Hymer requests him to do, he carries the boat with its\nbelongings all the difficult way up to Hymer's hall. He is also attacked\non his way home by Hymer and all his giant-clan, and, in order to be able\nto wield Mjolner freely, he must put down the precious kettle which he\nhas captured from the frost-giant and was carrying on his broad shoulders\n(str. 35, 36). But the undisturbed retreat across the Elivagar he has\nsecured by the above-mentioned cunning.\n\nEgil is called _hraunb\u00fai_ (str. 38), an epithet the ambiguous meaning\nof which should not be unobserved. It is usually translated with\nrock-dweller, but it here means \"he who lives near or at _Hraunn_\"\n(_Hr\u00f6nn_). _Hraunn_ is one of the names of the Elivagar (see Nos. 59, 93;\ncp. Younger Edda, 258, with Grimnersmal, 38).\n\nAfter their return to Egil's, Thor and Tyr again seat themselves in the\nthunder-chariot and proceed to Asgard with the captured kettle. But they\nhad not driven far before the strength of one of the horn-decorated\ndraught animals failed, and it was found that the goat was lame (str.\n37). A misfortune had happened to it while in Egil's keeping, and this\nhad been caused by the cunning Loke (str. 37). The poem does not state\nthe kind of misfortune--the Younger Edda gives us information on this\npoint--but if it was Loke's purpose to make enmity between Thor and his\nfriend Egil he did not succeed this time. Thor, to be sure, demanded a\nransom for what had happened, and the ransom was, as Hymerskvida informs\nus, two children who were reared in Egil's house. But Thor became\ntheir excellent foster-father and protector, and the punishment was\ntherefore of such a kind that it was calculated to strengthen the bond of\nfriendship instead of breaking it.\n\nGylfaginning also (Younger Edda, i. 142, &c.) has preserved traditions\nshowing that when Thor is to make a journey from Asgard to Jotunheim it\nrequires more than one day, and that he therefore puts up in an inn at\nthe end of the first day's travel, where he eats his supper and stops\nover night. There he leaves his goats and travels the next day eastward\n(north), \"across the deep sea\" (_hafit that hit dj\u00fapa_), on whose\nother side his giant foes have their abode. The sea in question is the\nElivagar, and the tradition correctly states that the inn is situated on\nits southern (western) side.\n\nBut Gylfaginning has forgotten the name of the host in this inn. Instead\nof giving his name it simply calls him a _buandi_ (peasant); but it knows\nand states on the other hand the names of the two children there reared,\nThjalfe and Roskva; and it relates how it happened that one of Thor's\ngoats became lame, but without giving Loke the blame for the misfortune.\nAccording to Gylfaginning the event occurred when Thor was on his way\nto Utgard-Loke. In Gylfaginning, too, Thor takes the two children as a\nransom, and makes Thjalfe (_thj\u00e1lfi_) a hero, who takes an honourable\npart in the exploits of the god.\n\nAs shall be shown below, this inn on the road from Asgard to Jotunheim\nis presupposed as well known in Eilif Gudrunson's Thorsdrapa, which\ndescribes the adventures Thor met with on his journey to the giant\nGeirrod. Thorsdrapa gives facts of great mythological importance in\nregard to the inhabitants of the place. They are the \"sworn\" helpers\nof the Asa-gods, and when it is necessary Thor can thence secure brave\nwarriors, who accompany him across Elivagar into Jotunheim. Among them an\narcher plays the chief part in connection with Thjalfe (see No. 114).\n\nOn the north side of Elivagar dwell accordingly giants hostile to gods\nand men; on the south side, on the other hand, beings friendly to the\ngods and bound in their friendship by oaths. The circumstance that they\nare bound by oaths to the gods (see Thorsdrapa) implies that a treaty has\nbeen made with them and that they owe obedience. Manifestly the uttermost\npicket guard to the north against the frost-giants is entrusted to them.\n\nThis also gives us an explanation of the position of the star-hero\nOrvandel, the great archer, in the mythological Epic. We can understand\nwhy he is engaged to the dis of growth, Groa, as it is his duty to\ndefend Midgard against the destructions of frost; and why he fights on\nthe Elivagar and in Jotunheim against the same enemies as Thor; and why\nthe mythology has made him and the lord of thunder friends who visit\neach other. With the tenderness of a father, and with the devotion of a\nfellow-warrior, the mighty son of Odin bears on his shoulders the weary\nand cold star-hero over the foggy Elivagar, filled with magic terrors, to\nplace him safe by his own hearth south of this sea after he has honoured\nhim with a token which shall for ever shine on the heavens as a monument\nof Orvandel's exploits and Thor's friendship for him. In the meantime\nGroa, Orvandel's wife, stays in Thor's halls.\n\nBut we discover the same bond of hospitality between Thor and Egil.\nAccording to Hymerskvida it is in Egil's house, according to Gylfaginning\nin the house in which Thjalfe is fostered, where the accident to one\nof Thor's goats happens. In one of the sources the youth whom Thor\ntakes as a ransom is called simply Egil's child; in the other he is\ncalled Thjalfe. Two different mythic sources show that Thjalfe was a\nwaif, adopted in Egil's house, and consequently not a real brother but\na foster-brother of Svipdag and Ull. One source is Fornaldersaga (iii.\n241), where it is stated that Groa in a _fl\u00e6darm\u00e1l_ found a little boy\nand reared him together with her own son. _Fl\u00e6darm\u00e1l_ is a place which a\npart of the time is flooded with water and a part of the time lies dry.\nThe other source is the Longobard saga, in which the mythological Egil\nreappears as Agelmund, the first king of the Longobardians who emigrated\nfrom Scandinavia (_Origo Longob._, Paulus Diac., 14, 15; cp. No. 112).\nAgelmund, it is said, had a foster-son, Lamicho (_Origo Longob._), or\nLamissio (Paulus Diac.), whom he found in a dam and took home out of\npity. Thus in the one place it is a woman who bears the name of the\narcher Orvandel's wife, in the other it is the archer Egil himself, who\nadopts as foster-son a child found in a dam or in a place filled with\nwater. Paulus Diaconus says that the lad received the name Lamissio to\ncommemorate this circumstance, \"since he was fished up out of a dam or\ndyke,\" which in their (the Longobardian) language is called _lama_ (cp.\n_lehm_, mud.) The name Thjalfe (_thj\u00e1lfi_) thus suggests a similar idea.\nAs Vigfusson has already pointed out, it is connected with the English\ndelve, a dyke; with the Anglo-Saxon _delfan_; the Dutch _delven_, to work\nthe ground with a spade, to dig. The circumstances under which the lad\nwas found presaged his future. In the mythology he fells the clay-giant,\n_M\u00f6kkr-kalfi_ (Younger Edda, i. 272-274). In the migration saga he is the\ndiscoverer of land and circumnavigates islands (Korm., 19, 3; Younger\nEdda, i. 496), and there he conquers giants (Harbards-ljod, 39) in order\nto make the lands inhabitable for immigrants. In the appendix to the\nGotland law he appears as Thjelvar, who lands in Gotland, liberates\nthe island from trolls by carrying fire, colonises it and becomes the\nprogenitor of a host of emigrants, who settle in southern countries.\nIn Paulus Diaconus he grows up to be a powerful hero; in the mythology\nhe develops into the Asa-god Thor's brave helper, who participates in\nhis and the great archer's adventures on the Elivagar and in Jotunheim.\nPaulus (ch. 15) says that when Agelmund once came with his Longobardians\nto a river, \"amazons\" wanted to hinder him from crossing it. Then\nLamissio fought, swimming in the river, with the bravest one of the\namazons, and killed her. In the mythology Egil himself fights with the\ngiantess Sela, mentioned in Saxo as an amazon; _piraticis exercita rebus\nac bellici perita muneris_ (_Hist._, 138), while Thjalfe combats with\ngiantesses on Hlessey (Harbardslj., 39), and at the side of Thor and the\narcher he fights his way through the river waves, in which giantesses try\nto drown him (Thorsdrapa). It is evident that Paulus Diaconus' accounts\nof Agelmund and Lamissio are nothing but echoes related as history of the\nmyths concerning Egil and Thjalfe, of which the Norse records fortunately\nhave preserved valuable fragments.\n\nThus Thjalfe is the archer Egil's and Groa's foster-son, as is apparent\nfrom a bringing together of the sources cited. From other sources we have\nfound that Groa is the archer Orvandel's wife. Orvandel dwells near the\nElivagar and Thor is his friend, and visits him on his way to and from\nJotunheim. These are the evidences of Orvandel's and Egil's identity\nwhich lie nearest at hand.\n\nIt has already been pointed out that Svipdag's father Orvandel appears in\nSaxo by the name Ebbo (see Nos. 23, 100). It is Otharus-Svipdag's father\nwhom he calls Ebbo (_Hist._, 329-333). Halfdan slays Orvandel-Ebbo, while\nthe latter celebrates his wedding with a princess Sygrutha (see No.\n23). In the mythology Egil had the same fate: an enemy and rival kills\nhim for the sake of a woman. \"Franks Casket,\" an old work of sculpture\nnow preserved in England, and reproduced in George Stephens' great work\non the runes,[9] represents Egil defending his house against a host of\nassailants who storm it. Within the house a woman is seen, and she is the\ncause of the conflict. Like Saxo's Halfdan, one of the assailants carries\na tree or a branched club as his weapon. Egil has already hastened out,\nbow in hand, and his three famous arrows have been shot. Above him\nis written in runes his name, wherefore there can be no doubt about\nhis identity. The attack, according to Saxo, took place, in the night\n(_noctuque nuptiis superveniens_--_Hist._, p. 330).\n\nIn a similar manner Paulus Diaconus relates the story concerning Egil\nAgelmund's death (ch. 16). He is attacked, so it is stated, in the night\ntime by Bulgarians, who slew him and carried away his only daughter.\nDuring a part of their history the Longobardians had the Bulgarians as\nneighbors, with whom they were on a war-footing. In the mythology it was\n\"Borgarians,\" that is to say, Borgar's son Halfdan and his men, who slew\nOrvandel. In history the \"Borgarians\" have been changed into Bulgarians\nfor the natural reason that accounts of wars fought with Bulgarians were\npreserved in the traditions of the Longobardians.\n\nThe very name Ebbo reappears also in the saga of the Longobardians. The\nbrothers, under whose leadership the Longobardians are said to have\nemigrated from Scandinavia, are in Saxo (_Hist._, 418) called Aggo and\nEbbo; in _Origo Longobardorum_, Ajo and Ybor; in Paulus (ch. 7), Ajo\nand Ibor. Thus the name Ebbo is another form for Ibor, the German Ebur,\nthe Norse _J\u00f6furr_, \"a wild boar.\" The Ibor of the Longobard saga, the\nemigration leader, and Agelmund, the first king of the emigrants, in the\nmythology, and also in Saxo's authorities, are one and the same person.\nThe Longobardian emigration story, narrated in the form of history,\nthus has its root in the universal Teutonic emigration myth, which\nwas connected with the enmity caused by Loke between the gods and the\nprimeval artists--an enmity in which the latter allied themselves with\nthe powers of frost, and, at the head of the Skilfing-Yngling tribes,\ngave the impetus to that migration southward which resulted in the\npopulating of the Teutonic continent with tribes from South Scandia and\nDenmark (see Nos. 28, 32).\n\nNor is the mythic hero Ibor forgotten in the German sagas. He is\nmentioned in Notker (about the year 1000) and in the Vilkinasaga. Notker\nsimply mentions him in passing as a saga-hero well known at that time.\nHe distinguishes between the real wild boar (Eber) roaming in the woods,\nand the Eber (Ebur) who \"wears the swan-ring.\" This is all he has to say\nof him. But, according to Volundarkvida, the mythological Ebur-Egil is\nmarried to a swan-maid, and, like his brother Volund, he wore a ring.\nThe signification of the swan-rings was originally the same as that of\nDraupner: they were symbols of fertility, and were made and owned for\nthis reason by the primeval artists of mythology, who, as we have seen,\nwere the personified forces of growth in nature, and by their beloved\nor wives, the swan-maids, who represented the saps of vegetation, the\nbestowers of the mythic \"mead\" or \"ale.\" The swan-maid who loves Egil is,\ntherefore, in Volundarvida called Olrun, a parallel to the name Olgefion,\nas Groa, Orvandel's wife, is called in Haustlaung (Younger Edda, i. 282).\nSaxo, too, has heard of the swan-rings, and says that from three swans\nsinging in the air fell a _cingulum_ inscribed with names down to King\nFridlevus (Njord), which informed him where he was to find a youth who\nhad been robbed by a giant, and whose liberation was a matter of great\nimportance to Fridlevus. The context shows that the unnamed youth was\nin the mythology Fridlevus-Njord's own son Frey, the lord of harvests,\nwho had been robbed by the powers of frost. Accordingly, a swan-ring has\nco-operated in the mythology in restoring the fertility of the earth.\n\nIn Vilkinasaga appears Villifer. The author of the saga says himself\nthat this name is identical with Wild-Ebur, wild boar. Villifer, a\nsplendid and noble-minded youth, wears on his arm a gold ring, and is the\nelder friend, protector, and saviour of Vidga Volundson. Of his family\nrelations Vilkinasaga gives us no information, but the part it gives him\nto play finds its explanation in the myth, where Ebur is Volund's brother\nEgil, and hence the uncle of his favourite Vidga.\n\nIf we now take into consideration that in the German Orentel saga, which\nis based on the Svipdag-myth, the father of the hero is called Eigel\n(Egil), and his patron saint Wieland (Volund), and that in the archer,\nwho in Saxo fights by the side of Anund-Volund against Halfdan, we\nhave re-discovered Egil where we expected Orvandel; then we here find\na whole chain of evidence that Ebur, Egil, and Orvandel are identical,\nand at the same time the links in this chain of evidence, taken as they\nare from the Icelandic poetry, and from Saxo, from England, Germany, and\nItaly, have demonstrated how widely spread among the Teutonic peoples\nwas the myth about Orvandel-Egil, his famous brother Volund, and his no\nless celebrated son Svipdag. The result gained by the investigation is\nof the greatest importance for the restoration of the epic connection of\nthe mythology. Hitherto the Volundarkvida with its hero has stood in the\ngallery of myths as an isolated torso with no trace of connection with\nthe other myths and mythic sagas. Now, on the other hand, it appears, and\nas the investigation progresses it shall become more and more evident,\nthat the Volund-myth belongs to the central timbers of the great epic of\nTeutonic mythology, and extends branches through it in all directions.\n\nIn regard to Svipdag's saga, the first result gained is that the\nmythology was not inclined to allow Volund's sword, concealed in the\nlower world, to fall into the hands of a hero who was a stranger to the\ngreat artist and his plans. If Volund forged the sword for a purpose\nhostile to the gods, in order to avenge a wrong done him, or to elevate\nhimself and his circle of kinsmen among the elves at the expense of\nthe ruling gods, then his work was not done in vain. If Volund and\nhis brothers are those Ivalde sons who, after having given the gods\nbeautiful treasures, became offended on account of the decision which\nplaced Sindre's work, particularly Mjolner, higher than their own, then\nthe mythology has also completely indemnified them in regard to this\ninsult. Mjolner is broken by the sword of victory wielded by Volund's\nnephew; Asgard trembles before the young elf after he had received the\nincomparable weapon of his uncle; its gate is opened for him and other\nkinsmen of Volund, and the most beautiful woman of the world of gods\nbecomes his wife.\n\n[9] _Runic Monuments_, by George Stephens.\n\n\n109.\n\n    FREY FOSTERED IN THE HOME OF ORVANDEL-EGIL AND VOLUND.\n    ORVANDEL'S EPITHET ISOLFR. VOLUND'S EPITHET AGGO.\n\nThe mythology has handed down several names of the coast region near the\nElivagar, where Orvandel-Egil and his kinsmen dwelt, while they still\nwere the friends of the gods, and were an outpost active in the service\nagainst the frost-powers. That this coast region was a part of Alfheim,\nand the most northern part of this mythic land, appears already from\nthe fact that Volund and his brothers are in Volundarkvida elf-princes,\nsons of a mythic \"king.\" The rule of the elf-princes must be referred to\nAlfheim for the same reason as we refer that of the Vans to Vanheim, and\nthat of the Asa-gods to Asgard. The part of Alfheim here in question,\nwhere Orvandel-Egil's citadel was situated, was in the mythology called\n_\u00dddalir_, _\u00ddsetr_ (Grimnersmal, 5; Olaf Trygveson's saga, ch. 21). This\nis also suggested by the fact that _Ullr_, elevated to the dignity of\nan Asa-god, he who is the son of Orvandel-Egil, and Svipdag's brother\n(see No. 102), according to Grimnersmal, has his halls built in _\u00dddalir_.\nDivine beings who did not originally belong to Asgard, but were adopted\nin Odin's clan, and thus became full citizens within the bulwarks of\nthe Asa-citadel, still retain possession of the land, realm, and halls,\nwhich is their udal and where they were reared. After he became a denizen\nin Asgard, Njord continued to own and to reside occasionally in the\nVana-citadel Noatun beyond the western ocean (see Nos. 20, 93). Skade, as\nan asynje, continues to inhabit her father Thjasse's halls in Thrymheim\n(Grimnersmal, 11). Vidar's grass and brush-grown realm is not a part of\nAsgard, but is the large plain on which, in Ragnarok, Odin is to fall in\ncombat with Fenrer (Grimnersmal, 17; see No. 39). When Ull is said to\nhave his halls in Ydaler, this must be based on a similar reason, and\nYdaler must be the land where he was reared and which he inherited after\nhis father, the great archer. When Grimnersmal enumerates the homes of\nthe gods, the series of them begins with Thrudheim, Thor's realm, and\nnext thereafter, and in connection with Alfheim, is mentioned Ydaler,\npresumably for the reason that Thor's land and Orvandel-Egil's were, as\nwe have seen, most intimately connected in mythology.\n\n  Land er heilact,\n  er ec liggia se\n  asom oc olfom n\u00e6r;\n  en i thrudheimi\n  scal th\u00f3rr vera,\n  unz um rivfaz regin.\n\n  Ydalir heita.\n  thar er Ullr hefir\n  ser \u00fam gorva sali;\n  Alfheim Frey\n  g\u00e1fo i \u00e1rdaga\n  tivar at tannf\u00e6.\n\n_\u00dddalir_ means the \"dales of the bow\" or \"of the bows.\" _\u00ddsetr_ is\n\"the chalet of the bow\" or \"of the bows.\" That the first part of these\ncompound words is _\u00fdr_, \"a bow,\" is proved by the way in which the\nlocal name _\u00ddsetr_ can be applied in poetical paraphrases, where the\nbow-holding hand is called Ysetr. The names refer to the mythical\nrulers of the region, namely, the archer Ull and his father the archer\nOrvandel-Egil. The place has also been called _Geirvadills setr_,\n_Geirvandills setr_, which is explained by the fact that Orvandel's\nfather bore the epithet Geirvandel (Saxo, _Hist._, 135). Hakon Jarl,\nthe ruler of northern Norway, is called (Fagrsk., 37, 4) _Geirvadills\nsetrs Ullr_, \"the Ull of Geirvandel's chalet,\" a paraphrase in which we\nfind the mythological association of Ull with the chalet which was owned\nby his father Orvandel and his grandfather Geirvandel. The Ydales were\ndescribed as rich in gold. _Ysetrs eldr_ is a paraphrase for gold. With\nthis we must compare what Volund says (Volundarkvida, 14) of the wealth\nof gold in his and his kinsmen's home. (See further, in regard to the\nsame passage, Nos. 114 and 115.)\n\nIn connection with its mention of the Ydales, Grimnersmal states that\nthe gods gave Frey Alfheim as a tooth-gift. _Tannf\u00e9_ (tooth-gift) was\nthe name of a gift which was given (and in Iceland is still given) to a\nchild when it gets its first tooth. The tender Frey is thus appointed by\nthe gods as king over Alfheim, and chief of the elf-princes there, among\nwhom Volund and Orvandel-Egil, judging from the mythic events themselves,\nmust have been the foremost and most celebrated. It is also logically\ncorrect, from the standpoint of nature symbolism, that the god of growth\nand harvests receives the government of elves and primeval artists, the\npersonified powers of culture. Through this arrangement of the gods,\nVolund and Orvandel become vassals under Njord and his son.\n\nIn two passages in Saxo we read mythic accounts told as history, from\nwhich it appears that Njord selected a foster-father for his son, or\nlet him be reared in a home under the care of two fosterers. In the\none passage (_Hist._, 272) it is Fridlevus-Njord who selects Avo the\narcher as his son's foster-father; in the other passage (_Hist._, 181)\nit is the tender Frotho, son of Fridlevus and future brother-in-law of\nEricus-Svipdag, who receives Isulfus and Aggo as guardians.\n\nSo far as the archer Avo is concerned, we have already met him above (see\nNo. 108) in combat by the side of Anundus-Volund against one Halfdan. He\nis a parallel figure to the archer Toko, who likewise fights by the side\nof Anundus-Volund against Halfdan, and, as has already been shown, he is\nidentical with the archer Orvandel-Egil.\n\nThe name Aggo is borne by one of the leaders of the emigration of the\nLongobardians, brother of Ebbo-Ibor, in whom we have already discovered\nOrvandel-Egil.\n\nThe name Isolfr, in the Old Norse poetic language, designates the bear\n(Younger Edda, i. 589; ii. 484). Vilkinasaga makes Ebbo (Wild-Ebur)\nappear in the guise of a bear when he is about to rescue Volund's son\nVidga from the captivity into which he had fallen. In his shield Ebbo has\nimages of a wild boar and of a bear. As the wild boar refers to one of\nhis names (Ebur), the image of the bear should refer to another (Isolfr).\n\nUnder such circumstances there can be no doubt that Orvandel-Egil and\none of his brothers, the one designated by the name Aggo (Ajo), be this\nVolund or Slagfin, were entrusted in the mythology with the duty of\nfostering the young Frey. Orvandel also assumes, as vassal under Njord,\nthe place which foster-fathers held in relation to the natural fathers of\ntheir prot\u00e9g\u00e9s.\n\nFrey, accordingly, is reared in Alfheim, and in the Ydales he is fostered\nby elf-princes belonging to a circle of brothers, among whom one,\nnamely, Volund, is the most famous artist of mythology. His masterpiece,\nthe sword of victory, in time proves to be superior to Sindre's chief\nwork, the hammer Mjolner. And as it is always Volund whom Saxo mentions\nby Orvandel-Egil's side among his brothers (see No. 108), it is most\nreasonable to suppose that it is Volund, not Slagfin, who appears here\nunder the name Aggo along with the great archer, and, like the latter,\nis entrusted with the fostering of Frey. It follows that Svipdag and Ull\nwere Frey's foster-brothers. Thus it is the duty of a foster-brother they\nperform when they go to rescue Frey from the power of giants, and when\nthey, later, in the war between the Asas and Vans, take Frey's side.\nThis also throws additional light on Svipdag-Skirner's words to Frey in\nSkirnersmal, 5:\n\n  ungir saman\n  varom i \u00e1rdaga,\n  vel m\u00e6ttim tv\u00e6ir truasc.\n\n\n110.\n\n    SVIPDAG'S GRANDFATHER IS IVALDE. ORVANDEL, VOLUND, AND SLAGFIN\n    THEREFORE IDENTICAL WITH IVALDE'S SONS.\n\nIn the mythology we read that elves smithied splendid treasures for Frey\n(Grimnersmal, 42; Younger Edda, i. 140, 340). Among these treasures\nwere the remarkable ship _Skidbladnir_ and the gold-glittering boar\n_Slidrugtanni_, also called Gullinbursti (Younger Edda, i. 176, 264,\n340-344), both clearly symbols of vegetation. The elves that smithied\nthese treasures are called Ivalde's sons, and constitute the same group\nof brothers whose gifts to the gods, at the instigation of Loke, are\nsubjected to a public examination by the Asas and by them found wanting\nas compared with Sindre's products. It would be most surprising, nay,\nquite incredible, if, when other artists made useful presents to Frey,\nthe elf-prince Volund and his brothers did not do likewise, inasmuch as\nhe is the chief smith of them all, and inasmuch as he, with his brother\nOrvandel-Egil, has taken upon himself the duties of a foster-father\ntoward the young harvest-god, among which duties one was certainly to\ncare for his good and enable him to perform the important task devolving\non him in the administration of the world.\n\nFrom this standpoint already it is more than probable that the same\nartist who in the heroic saga of the Teutonic tribes, under the name\nVolund, Wieland, Weland, by the side of Mimer, plays the part of the\nforemost smith that antiquity knew is the same one as in the mythology\nwas the most excellent smith; that is, the most skilful one among\nIvalde's sons. This view is perfectly confirmed as to its correctness by\nthe proofs which I shall now present.\n\nOf Ivalde, Fornspjallsljod says that he had two groups of children, and\nthat Idun, the goddess of vegetation, belonged to one of these groups:\n\n  \u00c1lfa \u00e6ttar\n  Ithunni heto\n  Ivallds ellri\n  \u00fdngsta barna.\n\nIdun is, therefore, a sister of the celebrated artists, the sons\nof Ivalde. In Volundarkvida, Volund and Slagfin are brothers or\nhalf-brothers of the dises of vegetation, who are together with them\nin the Wolfdales (see str. 2). According to Fornspjallsljod, Idun was\nfor a time absent from Asgard, and stayed in a winter-cold land near\nNarfe-Mimer's daughter Nat, and in company with persons whose names and\nepithets indicate that they were smiths, primeval artists (_R\u00f6gnir_\nand _Regin_; see Nos. 113, 115, and the epithet _viggiar_, a synonym\nof _smidar_--Younger Edda, i. 587). Thus we read precisely the same of\nIdun as of the swan-maids and vegetation-dises who dwelt for a time in\nthe Wolfdales with Volund and his brothers. Further on it shall be\ndemonstrated that the name of Volund's father in the introduction of\nVolundarkvida and the name given to the father of Volund's and Slagfin's\nswan-maids are synonyms, and refer to one and the same person. But if\nwe for the present leave this proof out, and confine ourselves to the\nevidences already presented, then the question concerning the identity\nof the Ivalde sons with the group of brothers Volund, Egil, and Slagfin\nassumes the following form:\n\n1. (_a_) There is in the mythology a group of brothers, the Ivalde sons,\nfrom whose hands the most wonderful works proceeded, works which were\npresented to the gods, and by the latter were compared with those of the\nprimeval artist Sindre.\n\n(_b_) In the heroic saga there is a group of brothers, to whom Volund\nbelongs, the most celebrated of the smiths handed down from the mythology.\n\n2. (_a_) Ivalde is an elf and his sons elves.\n\n(_b_) Volund, Egil, and Slagfin are elves (Volundarkvida, 32).\n\n3. (_a_) Ivalde's sons are brothers or half-brothers of the goddess of\nvegetation, Idun.\n\n(_b_) Volund, Egil, and Slagfin are brothers or half-brothers of\nswan-maids and dises of vegetation.\n\n4. (_a_) Of Idun, the sister of Ivalde's sons, it is stated that she was\nfor a time absent from the gods, and dwelt with the primeval artists in a\nwinter-cold land, near Nat, the daughter of _Narfi_-Mimer.\n\n(_b_) Volund and his brothers' swan-maids dwell for a time in a\nwinter-cold land, which, as my researches have already shown, is\nsituated _fyr n\u00e1grindr nedan_, consequently in the lower world, near the\nrealm of Nat.\n\n5. (_a_) Ivalde's sons were intimately associated with Frey and gave him\nprecious treasures.\n\n(_b_) Volund and Egil were intimately associated with Frey, and were his\nfosterers and wards.\n\n6. (_a_) Ivalde's sons were most deeply insulted by the gods.\n\n(_b_) Volund has been most deeply insulted by the Asas. He and Egil\nbecome their foes, and ally themselves with the powers of frost.\n\n7. (_a_) The insult given to Ivalde's sons consisted in the fact that\ntheir works were judged inferior as compared with the hammer Mjolner made\nby Sindre.\n\n(_b_) The best smith-work produced by Volund is a sword of such a quality\nthat it is to prove itself superior to Mjolner in battle.\n\nThese circumstances alone force us to assume the identity of Ivalde's\nsons with Volund and his brothers. We must either admit the identity, or\nwe are obliged to assume that the epic of the mythology contained two\nsuch groups of brothers, and made them identical in descent, functions,\nand fortunes. Besides, it must then have made the one group avenge not an\ninsult offered to itself, but an insult to the other. I have abstained\nfrom the latter assumption, because it is in conflict with the best\nrules for a logical investigation--_caus\u00e6 non sunt pr\u00e6ter necessitatem\nmultiplicand\u00e6_. And the identity gains confirmation from all sides as the\ninvestigation progresses.\n\n\n111.\n\n    THE RESULTS OF THE JUDGMENT PASSED ON THE WORKS OF ART PRODUCED\n    BY THE IVALDE SONS. PARALLEL MYTHS IN RIGVEDA.\n\nIn the Younger Edda, which speaks of the judgment passed by the gods\non the art works of the Ivalde sons (p. 340, &c.), there is nothing\nsaid about the consequences of the judgment; and the mythologists\nseem therefore to have assumed that no results followed, although it\nwas prepared by the \"father of misfortunes,\" the far-calculating and\nevil-scheming Loke. The judgment would in that case be an isolated event,\nwithout any influence on the future, and without any connection with the\nother mythic events. On the other hand, no possible explanation was found\nof Volund's words (Volundarkvida, 28), which he utters after he has taken\nhis terrible vengeance on Nidad and is prepared to fly away in eagle\nguise from his prison: _Nu hefi ec hefnt harma minna allra nema einna\nivithgjarnra_--\"Now I have avenged all the wrongs done to me, excepting\none, which demands a more terrible vengeance.\" The wrong here referred\nto by him is not done to him by Nidad, and did not happen to him while\nhe lived as an exile in the wilderness of the Wolfdales, but belongs to\nan earlier time, when he and his brothers and their kinsmen dwelt in the\nrealm rich in gold, where, according to Volundarkvida (14), they lived\na happy life. This wrong was not avenged when he and his brothers left\ntheir home abounding in gold, in order that far from his enemies he might\nperfect his plan of revenge by making the sword of victory. Volund's\nwords refer to the judgment passed on the art work of the Ivalde sons,\nand thus the mythic events unite themselves into a continuous chain.\n\nThis judgment was in its consequences too important not to be referred\nto in V\u00f6luspa, which makes all the danger-boding events of the mythology\npass one by one before our eyes in the order in which they happened, in\norder to show how this world from an innocent and happy beginning sank\ndeeper and deeper into the misery which attains its maturity in Ragnarok.\nThat is the plan and purpose of the poem. As I shall show fully and in\ndetail in another part of this work, its purpose is not to speak of\nValfather's \"art work,\" but of the treacherous deeds of Loke, \"the father\nof evil\" (_Vafodrs vel_--Cod. Hauk.); not to speak of \"the traditions\nof the past,\" but of \"the past events full of danger\" (_forn spj\u00f6ll\nfira_). The happy time during which the Asas _tefldu i t\u00fani_ and _teitir\nv\u00e1ru_ passes away for ever, and is followed by an epoch in which three\ndangerous thurs-maidens came from Jotunheim. These thurs-maidens are not\nthe norns, as has usually been assumed. Of the relation of the norns\nto the gods I have given a full account already. The three thurs-maids\nare the one who in her unity is triple and is thrice born of different\nparents. Her name is Heid-Gulveig-Angerboda, and, in connection with\nLoke, she constitutes the evil principle of Teutonic mythology, like\nAngra Mainyu, and Jahi in the Iranian mythology (Bundehesh, 3). The\nmisfortune-boding event which happens after the first hypostasis of \"the\nthree times born\" came from Jotunheim is mentioned in connection with\nits consequences in V\u00f6luspa (str. 8.) The Asas had not hitherto suffered\nfrom want of works of gold, but now came a time when such as might be of\nuse or pleasure to the gods were no longer to be had. Of the gold-metal\nitself the gods have never been in want. Their halls glitter with this\nmetal, and it grows in the bright wood _Glasir_, outside of Valhal\n(Younger Edda, i. 340). The poem, as the very words show, means golden\nworks of art, things made of gold, such as _Gungnir_, _Draupnir_, Sif's\nhair, Brisingamen, and _Slidrugtanni_, things the possession of which\nincreased the power of the gods and the wealth of Midgard. Such ceased\nto flow into the hands of the gods. The epoch in which Sindre's and the\nIvalde son's gifts increased Asgard's collection of world-protecting\nweapons and fertility-producing ornaments was at an end, when Loke,\nthrough Heid's arrival, found his other ego and when the evil principle,\nhitherto barren, could as man and woman give birth to evil deeds. The\nconsequence of the first deceitful act was, as we see, that hands skilful\nin art--hands which hitherto had made and given such treasures--refused\nto serve the gods any longer. The arrangement whereby Loke gained this\nend V\u00f6luspa does not mention, but it can be no other than the judgment\nbrought about by him, which insulted the sons of Ivalde, and, at the\nsame time, cheated the victorious Sindre out of the prize agreed on,\nLoke's head. Both the groups of artists must have left the divine court\nangry at the gods. When we remember that the primeval artists are the\ncreative forces of vegetation personified, then we can also understand\nthe significance of the conflict between them and the gods, whom they\nhitherto had served. The first part of V\u00f6luspa is interpolated partly\nwith strophes from an old song of creation of great mythological\nimportance, partly with its lists of names for the use of young poets.\nIf we remove these interpolations, there remains a chain of primeval\nmythological mishaps, the first link of which is the event which marks\nthe end of the first epoch during which the primeval artists, amicably\nunited with the gods, made splendid weapons, means of locomotion, and\nornaments for the latter. On this conflict followed the blending of the\nair with harmful elements--in other words, it was the beginning of the\ngreat winter. Freyja was betrayed into the hands of the giants; the\nblack art, sown by Heid, was disseminated among mankind; the murder was\ncommitted against the one thrice born contrary to promise and oath; there\nis war between the Asas and Vans; the first great war in the world breaks\nout, when Asgard is stormed and Midgard is covered with battlefields,\non which brothers slay each other; Balder is killed by the mistletoe;\nthe host of monsters are born who, in the Ironwood, await Ragnarok; on\naccount of the sins of men, it became necessary to make places of torture\nin the lower world. All these terrible events, which happened in time's\nmorning, are the cunning work of the father of misfortunes and of his\nfeminine counterpart. The seeress in V\u00f6luspa relates all these events and\ndeeds to show the necessity of the coming destruction and regeneration of\nthe world.\n\nAbove (see No. 54), it has already been shown that the fragments of\nold Aryan mythology, which Avesta, Zend, and Bundehesh have preserved,\nspeak of a terrible winter, which visited the world. To rescue that\nwhich is noblest and best among plants, animals, and men from the coming\ndestruction, Jima arranged in the lower world a separate enclosed domain,\nwithin which selected organisms live an uncontaminated life undisturbed\nby the events of this world, so that they may people a more beautiful\nand a happier earth in the regenerated world. I have shown that the same\nmyth in all important details reappears in the Teutonic doctrine anent\nMimer's grove and the _\u00e1smegir_ living there. In the Iranian records, we\nread that the great winter was the work of the evil spirit, but they do\nnot tell the details or the epic causes of the destruction by the cold.\nOf these causes we get information in Rigveda, the Indian sister of the\nIranian mythology.\n\nClothed with divine rank, there lives among Rigveda's gods an\nextraordinary artist, Tvashtar (Tvashtri), often mentioned and\naddressed in Rigveda's hymns. The word means \"the master-workman,\" \"the\nhandi-workman\" (Bergaigne, _Relig. Ved._, iii. 45; Darmesteter, Ormazd,\n63, 100). He is the one who forms the organisms in the maternal wombs,\nthe one who prepares and first possesses as his secret the strength-\nand inspiration-giving soma-drink (Rigv., ii. 53, &c.); it is he that\nsupports the races of men (Rigv., iii. 55, 19). Among the wonderful\nthings made by his hands are mentioned a goblet, which the gods drink\nfrom, and which fills itself with blessings (Rigv., iii. 55, 20; x. 53,\n9), and Indra's the Hindooic Thor's, thunderbolt, corresponding to Thor's\nMjolner.\n\nBut among mortals brothers have been reared, themselves mortals, and not\nof divine rank, but who have educated themselves into artists, whose\nskill fills the world with astonishment. They are three in number,\nusually called the _Ribhus_, but also _Anus_ and _Ayus_, names which\npossibly may have some original connection with the Volund names Anund\nand Ajo. Most clever and enterprising in successful artistic efforts is\nthe youngest of the three (Rigv., iv. 34). They are also soma-brewers,\nskalds, and heroes (Rigv., iv. 36, 5, 7), and one of them, like Volund's\nbrother Orvandel-Egil, is an unsurpassed archer (Rigv., iv. 36, 6).\nOn account of their handiwork, these mortal artists come in contact\nwith the gods (Rigv., iv. 35), and as Volund and Orvandel-Egil become\nThor's friends, allies, war-comrades, and servants, so the Ribhus become\nIndra's (Rigv., i. 51, 2; vii. 37, 7); \"with Indra, the helpful, allied\nthemselves the helpers; with Indra, the nimble, the Ribhus.\" They make\nweapons, coats-of-mail, and means of locomotion, and make wonderful\ntreasures for the gods. On earth they produce vegetation in the deserts,\nand hew out ways for the fertilising streams (Rigv., v. 42, 12; iv. 33,\n7). With Ivalde's sons, they, therefore, share the qualities of being\nat the same time creators of vegetation, and smiths at the hearth, and\nbestowers of precious treasures to the gods.\n\nBut some evil tongue persuaded the gods that the Ribhus had said\nsomething derogatory of the goblet made by Tvashtar. This made Tvashtar\nangry, and he demanded their death. The gods then sent the fire-god Agni\nto the Ribhus. The Ribhus asked: \"Why has the most excellent, the most\nyouthful one come to us? On what errand does he come?\" Agni told them\nthat it was reported that they had found fault with Tvashtar's goblet;\nthey declared that they had not said anything derogatory, but only\ntalked about the material of which it was made. Agni meanwhile stated\nthe resolution of the gods, to the effect that they were to make from\nTvashtar's goblet four others of the same kind. If they were unable to do\nthis, then the gods would doubtless satisfy Tvashtar's request and take\ntheir lives; but if they were able to make the goblets, then they should\nshare with the gods the right to receive offerings. Moreover, they were\nto give the following proof of mastership. They were to smithy a living\nhorse, a living chariot, a living cow, and they were to create a means\nof rejuvenation and demonstrate its efficacy on two aged and enfeebled\nbeings. The Ribhus informed the gods that they would do what was demanded\nof them. So they made the wonderful chariot or the chariot-ship, which\nthey gave to the Asvinians--the beautiful twin-gods--on which they\nride through the air and on the sea (cp. Skidbladner, Frey's ship, and\nHringhorne, Balder's, and probably also Hoder's means of locomotion\nthrough the air and on the sea). Of one horse they made two, and\npresented them to Indra. Out of an empty cow's hide they smithied a\ncow (cp. Sindre's work of art when he made the boar Slidringtanne out\nof an empty pig's skin). They made the remedy of rejuvenation, and\ntested it successfully on their aged parents. Finally, they do the\ngreat master-work of producing four goblets of equal excellence from\nTvashtar's. Thereupon they appear before the gods who, \"with insight,\"\ntest their works. Tvashtar himself could not help being astounded when he\nsaw the goblets. But the result of the test by the gods, and the judgment\npassed on the art-works of the Ribhus, were fraught with danger for\nthe future. Both Tvashtar and the Ribhus became dissatisfied. Tvashtar\nabandoned the gods and betook himself to the mountains with the dises of\nvegetation, in whose company he is often mentioned. The Ribhus refused to\naccept from the gods the proffered share in morning and noon sacrifices,\nand went away cursing their adversaries. They proceeded on long journeys,\nand the gods knew not where to find them (Rigv., i. 161, 1-13; iv. 33,\n1-11, &c.).\n\nThe result of this trouble between the primeval artists themselves, and\nbetween them and the gods, becomes clear from the significance which\nTvashtar, he who nourishes the world, and the Ribhus, they who deck the\ndeserts with vegetation, and irrigate the valleys, have as symbols of\nnature. The beneficent powers of nature, who hitherto had operated in the\nservice of the gods, abandon their work, and over the world are spread\nthat winter of which the Iranian mythology speaks, that darkness, and\nthat reign of giant-monsters which, according to Rigveda, once prevailed,\nand during which time Indra, at the head of the gods, fought valiantly to\nrestore order and to bring back the sun.\n\nHere we find remarkable points of contact, or rather contact surfaces,\nbetween the Asiatic-Aryan groups of myths and the Teutonic. The question\nis not as to similarity in special details. That kind of similarities\nmay be pointed out in nearly all mythic groups in the world, and, as a\nrule, altogether too bold hypotheses are built on the feeble foundations\nthey offer. The question here is in regard to identity in great,\ncentral, connected collections of myths. Such are: The myths concerning\nan original harmony between a divine clan on the one hand, and artists\nsubordinate to, and in the service of, the divine clan on the other hand.\nArtists who produce fertility, ornaments, and weapons for the gods, know\nhow to brew the strength- and inspiration-giving mead, and are closely\nconnected with dises of vegetation, who, as we shall show, appear as\nswan-maids, not only in the Teutonic mythology but also in the Hindooic;\nthe myths telling how this harmony was frustrated by a judgment in a\ncompetition, the contending parties being on the one hand he who in the\nHindooic mythology made Indra's thunderbolt, and in the Teutonic Thor's\nthundering Mjolner; and on the other hand three brothers, of whom one\nis an excellent archer; the myths concerning the consequences of the\njudgment, the destruction of nature by frost-powers and giant-monsters;\nthe myths (in the Iranian and Teutonic records of antiquity) concerning\nthe subterranean paradise, in which a selection of the best beings\nof creation are protected against annihilation, and continue to live\nuncorrupted through centuries; the myths (in the Iranian and Teutonic\nrecords of antiquity) of the destiny of these beings, connected with the\nmyths likewise common to the Iranian and Teutonic mythologies concerning\nthe destruction and regeneration of the world. Common to the Hindooic\nand Teutonic mythology is also the idea that a cunning, spying, being,\nin Rigveda Dadhyak (Dadhyank), in the Icelandic sources Loke, has lost\nhis head to an artist who smithied the bolt for Indra and the hammer for\nThor, but saves his wager through cunning.\n\nAn important observation should here be pointed out. A comparison\nbetween different passages in Rigveda shows, that of all the remarkable\nworks of art which were exhibited to the gods for their examination,\nthere was originally not one of metal. Tvashtar's goblet was not made\nof gold, but of fire and water and a third element. Indra's thunderbolt\nwas made of the bones of the head of Dadhyak's horse, and it is in a\nlater tradition that it becomes bronze. Common to the Aryan-Asiatic and\nthe Teutonic mythology is the ability of the primeval artists to make\nanimals from empty skins of beasts, and of making from _one_ work of art\nseveral similar ones (the goblet of the Ribhus, Sindre's Draupner). In\nthe Teutonic mythology, Thor's hammer was not originally of metal, but of\nstone, and the other works produced by Sindre and Ivalde's sons may in\nthe course of centuries have undergone similar changes. It should also be\nnoted that not a trace is to be found in the Asiatic groups of myths of\na single one to be compared with that concerning Svipdag and the sword\nof victory. In the Teutonic heroic saga, Geirvandel, the spear-hero,\nis the father of Orvandel, the archer, and of him is born Svipdag, the\nsword-hero (cp. No. 123). The myth concerning the sword of victory seems\nto be purely Teutonic, and to have sprung into existence during one of\nthe bronze or iron ages, while the myths concerning the judgment passed\non the primeval artists, and concerning the fimbul-winter following,\nmust hail from a time when metals were not yet used by the Aryans. In\nthe other event it would be most incredible to suppose that the judgment\nshould concern works of art, of which not a single one originally\nsuggested a product of metal.\n\n\n112.\n\n    THE CONSEQUENCES OF THE JUDGMENT PASSED ON THE IVALDE SONS\n    (_continued_). NJORD'S EFFORTS TO BRING ABOUT A RECONCILIATION.\n\nIt has already been stated that Fridlevus-Njord rescues a princely youth\nfrom the power of the giants. According to Saxo, the event was an episode\nin the feud between Fridlevus-Njord and Anundus (Volund), and Avo, the\narcher (Orvandel-Egil). This corroborates the theory that the rescued\nyouth was Frey, Volund's and Egil's foster-son. The first one of the gods\nto be seized by fears on account of the judgment passed on Ivalde's sons,\nought, naturally, to be Njord, whose son Frey was at that time in the\ncare and power of Volund and Egil (see No. 109). We also learn from Saxo\nthat Fridlevus took measures to propitiate the two brothers. He first\nsends messengers, who on his behalf woo the daughter of Anund-Volund,\nbut the messengers do not return. Anund had slain them. Thereupon\nFridlevus goes himself, accompanied by others, and among the latter was a\n\"mediator.\" The name of the mediator was Bjorno, and he was one of those\nchampions who constituted the defence of that citadel, which Fridlevus\nafterwards captured, and which we have recognised as Asgard (see No.\n36). Thus Bjorno is one of the Asas, and there are reasons, which I\nshall discuss later, for assuming him to be Balder's brother _H\u00f6dr_. The\ncontext shows that Fridlevus' journey to Ivalde's sons and meeting with\nthem takes place while there was yet hope of reconciliation, and before\nthe latter arrived in the inaccessible Wolfdales, which are situated\nbelow the Na-gates in the subterranean Jotunheim. On the way thither they\nmust have been overtaken by Fridlevus, and doubtless the event occurred\nthere which Saxo relates, and of which an account in historical form is\npreserved in the Longobardian migration saga.\n\nThe meeting did not lead to reconciliation, but to war. Avo, the\narcher (Orvandel-Egil; see Nos. 108, 109) appeared on the one side and\nchallenged Fridlevus-Njord to a duel. Bjorno became angry that a person\nof so humble descent as this Avo dared to challenge the noble-born\nFridlevus, and in his wrath he drew his bow to fell \"the plebeian\" with\nan arrow. Thus Bjorno also was an archer. But Avo anticipated him, and an\narrow from him severed Bjorno's bow-string from the bow. While Bjorno was\ntying the string again, there came from Avo a second arrow, which passed\nbetween his fingers without hurting him, and then there came a third\narrow, which shot away Bjorno's arrow just as he was placing it on the\nstring. Then the Ivalde sons continued their departure. Bjorno let loose\na _molossus_ he had with him to pursue them, probably the same giant-dog\nor giant wolf-dog which Saxo describes in a preceding chapter (_Hist._,\n260) as being in Bjorno's possession, and which before had guarded the\ngiant Offote's herds. But this _molossus_ was not able to prevent those\nfleeing from reaching their destination in safety. In all probability\nFrey had already been delivered by his wards to the giants when this\nhappened. This must have occurred on the way between the abode abounding\nin gold, where Ivalde's sons had formerly lived in happiness, and the\nWolfdales, and so within Jotunheim, where the gods were surrounded by\nfoes.\n\nThe story of this adventure on the journey of the emigrating Ivalde sons\nreappears in a form easily recognised in Paulus Diaconus, where he tells\nof the emigration of the Longobardians under Ibor (Orvandel-Egil; see\nNo. 108) and Ajo (Volund). In Saxo Avo-Egil, who belongs to the race of\nelves, becomes a low-born champion, while the Vana-god Njord becomes King\nFridlevus. In Paulus the saga is not content with making the great archer\nof the emigrants a plebeian, but he is made a thrall who challenges a\nchosen free-born warrior among the foes of the Longobardians. In the\nmythology and in Saxo the duel was fought with bows and arrows, and the\nplebeian was found to be far superior to his opponent. Paulus does not\nname the kind of weapons used, but when it had ended with the victory of\n\"the thrall,\" an oath was taken on an _arrow_ that the thralls were to be\nfreed from their chains by the Longobardians. Consequently the arrow must\nhave been the thrall's weapon of victory. In the mythology, the journey\nof the Ivalde sons to the Wolfdales was down to the lower world Jotunheim\nand northward through Nifelhel, inhabited by thurses and monsters.\nBoth in Saxo and Paulus this sort of beings take part in the adventures\ndescribed. In Saxo, Fridlevus' war-comrade Bjorno sends a monster in the\nguise of a dog against the sons of Ivalde. In Paulus, according to the\nbelief of their enemies, the emigrants had as their allies \"men with\ndog-heads.\"\n\nBjorno is an Asa-god; and he is described as an archer who had confidence\nin his weapon, though he proved to be inferior to Avo in the use of it.\nAmong the gods of Asgard only two archers are mentioned--_H\u00f6dr_ and\n_Ullr_. At the time when this event occurred Ull had not yet been adopted\nin Asgard. As has been shown above (see No. 102), he is the son of\nOrvandel-Egil and Sif. His abode is still with his parents when Svipdag,\nhis half-brother, receives instructions from Sif to seek Frey and Freyja\nin Jotunheim (see No. 102), and he faithfully accompanies Svipdag through\nhis adventures on this journey. Thus Ull is out of the question--the more\nso as he would in that case be opposing his own father. Hoder (_H\u00f6dr_)\nis mentioned as an archer both in the Beowulf poem, where he, under the\nname H\u00e6dcyn, shoots Balder-Herebeald accidentally with his \"horn-bow,\"\nand in Saxo (_arcus peritia pollebat_--_Hist._, 111), and in Christian\ntales based on myths, where he appears by the name _Hedinn_. That Bjorno,\nmentioned by Saxo as a beautiful youth, is Hoder is confirmed by another\ncircumstance. He is said to be _sequestris ordinis vir_ (_Hist._, 270),\nan expression so difficult to interpret that scholars have proposed to\nchange it into _sequioris_ or _equestris ordinis vir_. The word shows\nthat Bjorno in Saxo's mythological authorities belonged to a group of\npersons whose functions were such that they together might be designated\nas a _sequestris ordo_. _Sequester_ means a mediator in general, and\nin the law language of Rome it meant an impartial arbitrator to whom\na dispute might be referred. The Norse word which Saxo, accordingly,\ntranslated with _sequestris ordo_, \"the mediators,\" \"the arbitrators,\"\ncan have been none other than the plural _lj\u00f3nar_, a mythological word,\nand also an old legal term, of which it is said in the Younger Edda:\n_Lj\u00f3nar heita their menn, er ganga um s\u00e6ttir manna_, \"_lj\u00f3nar_ are called\nthose men whose business it is to settle disputes.\" That this word\n_lj\u00f3nar_ originally designated a certain group of Asa-gods whose special\nduty it was to act as arbitrators is manifest from the phrase _lj\u00f3na\nkindir_, \"the children of the peacemakers,\" an expression inherited from\nheathendom and applied to mankind far down in Christian times; it is an\nexpression to be compared with the phrase _megir Heimdallar_, \"Heimdal's\nsons,\" which also was used to designate mankind. In Christian times the\nphrase \"children of men\" was translated with the heathen expression\n_lj\u00f3na kindir_; and when the recollection of the original meaning of\n_lj\u00f3nar_ was obliterated, the word, on account of this usage, came to\nmean men in general (_viri_, _homines_), a signification which it never\nhad in the days of heathendom.\n\nThree Asa-gods are mentioned in our mythological records as\npeacemakers--Balder, Hoder, and Balder's son, Forsete. Balder\nis mentioned as judge in the Younger Edda (90). As such he is\n_liksamastr_--that is, \"the most influential peacemaker.\" Of Forsete,\nwho inherits his father's qualities as judge, it is said in Grimnersmal\n(15) that he _svefer allar sacir_, \"settles all disputes.\" Hoder, who\nboth in name and character appears to be a most violent and thoughtless\nperson, seems to be the one least qualified for this calling.\nNevertheless he performed the duties of an arbitrator by the side of\nBalder and probably under his influence. Saxo (_Hist._, 122) speaks\nof him as a judge to whom men referred their disputes--_consueverat\nconsulenti populo plebiscita depromere_--and describes him as gifted\nwith great talents of persuasion. He had _eloquenti\u00e6 suavitatem_, and\nwas able to subdue stubborn minds with _benignissimo sermone_ (_Hist._,\n116, 117). In V\u00f6luspa (60) the human race which peoples the renewed\nearth is called _burir brodra tvegia_, \"the sons of the two brothers,\"\nand the two brothers mentioned in the preceding strophe are Balder and\nHoder. Herewith is to be compared _lj\u00f3na kindir_ in V\u00f6luspa (14). In\nHarbardsljod (42) the insolent mocker of the gods, Harbard, refers to the\nmiserable issue of an effort made by _jafnendr_, \"the arbitrator,\" to\nreconcile gods with certain ones of their foes. I think it both possible\nand probable that the passage refers to the mythic event above described,\nand that it contains an allusion to the fact that the effort to make\npeace concerned the recovery of Frey and Freyja, who were delivered\nas \"brides\" to naughty giants, and for which \"brides\" the peacemakers\nreceived arrows and blows as compensation. Compare the expression _b\u00e6ta\nmundi baugi_ and Thor's astonishment, expressed in the next strophe, at\nthe insulting words, the worst of the kind he ever heard. Saxo describes\nthe giant in whose power Frey is, when he is rescued by his father, as a\ncowardly and enervated monster whose enormous body is a _moles destituta\nrubore_ (_Hist._, 268). In this manner ended the effort of the gods\nto make peace. The three sons of Ivalde continue their journey to the\nWolfdales, inaccessible to the gods, in order that they thence might send\nruin upon the world.\n\n\n113.\n\n    PROOFS THAT IVALDE'S SONS ARE IDENTICAL WITH OLVALDE'S.\n\nObservations made in the course of my investigations anent Ivalde and his\nsons have time and again led me to the unexpected result that Ivalde's\nsons, Slagfin, Egil, and Volund, are identical with Olvalde-Alvalde's\nsons, who, in the Grotte-song, are called _Idi_, _Urnir_ or _Aurnir_\n(_Ornir_), and _thjazi_, and in the Younger Edda (p. 214) _thjazi_,\n_Idi_, and _G\u00e1ngr_. This result was unexpected and, as it seemed to\nme in the beginning, improbable, for the reason that where Thjasse is\nmentioned in the Elder Edda, he is usually styled a giant, while Volund\nis called a prince or chief of elves in Volundarkvida. In Grimnersmal\n(11) Thjasse is designated as _inn am\u00e1tki iotunn_; in Harbardsljod\n(19) as _enn thrudmothgi iotunn_; in Hyndluljod (30) as a kinsman of\nGymer and Aurboda. The Grotte-song (9) says that Thjasse, Ide, and\nAurnir were brothers of those mountain giants who were the fathers of\nMenja and Fenja. In the Younger Edda he is also called a _j\u00f6tunn_. In\nthe beginning of my researches, and before Volund's position in the\nmythology was clear to me, it appeared to me highly improbable that a\nprince among the elves and one of the chief artists in the mythology\ncould be characterised as a giant. Indeed I was already then aware\nthat the clan-names occurring in the mythology--_\u00e1ss_, _vanr_, _\u00e1lfr_,\n_dvergr_, and _j\u00f6tunn_--did not exclusively designate the descent of\nthe beings, but could also be applied to them on account of qualities\ndeveloped or positions acquired, regardless of the clan to which they\nactually belonged by their birth. In Thrymskvida (15), so to speak in the\nsame breath, Heimdal is called both _\u00e1ss_ and _vanr_--\"_th\u00e1 quath that\nHeimdallr, hvitastr \u00e1sa, vissi han vel fram sem vanir \u00e1thrir_.\" And Loke\nis designated both as _\u00e1ss_ and _j\u00f6tunn_, although the Asas and giants\nrepresent the two extremes. Neither Heimdal nor Loke are of the Asa-clan\nby birth; but they are adopted in Asgard, that is, they are adopted Asas,\nand this explains the appellation. Elves and dwarfs are doubtless by\ndescent different classes of beings, but the word dwarf, which in the\nearliest Christian times became the synonym of a being of diminutive\nstature, also meant an artist, a smith, whence both Vans and elves, nay,\neven Fjalar, could be incorporated in the V\u00f6luspa dwarf-list. When,\nduring the progress of my investigations, it appeared that Volund and\nhis brothers in the epic of the mythology were the most dangerous foes\nof the gods and led the powers of frost in their efforts to destroy the\nworld, it could no longer surprise me that Volund, though an elf prince,\nwas characterised as _inn \u00e1m\u00e1tki iotunn, enn thrudmothgi iotunn_. But\nthere was another difficulty in the way: according to Hyndluljod and the\nGrotte-song, Thjasse and his brothers were kinsmen of giants, and must\ntherefore undoubtedly have had giant-blood in their veins. But there are\nkinsmen of the giants among the Asas too; and when in the progress of the\ninvestigation it appears that Thjasse's mother is a giantess, but his\nfather a _hapt_, a god of lower rank, then his maternal descent, and his\nposition as an ally and chief of the giants, and as the most powerful\nfoe of Asgard and Midgard, are sufficient to explain the apparent\ncontradiction that he is at the same time a giant and a kinsman of the\ngiants, and still identical with the elf-prince, Volund. It should also\nbe observed that, as shall be shown below, the tradition has preserved\nthe memory of the fact that Volund too was called a giant and had kinsmen\namong the giants.\n\nThe reasons which, taken collectively, prove conclusively at least to me,\nthat Ivalde's sons and Olvalde's are identical are the following:\n\n(1) In regard to the names themselves, we note in the first place that,\nas has already been pointed out, the name of the father of Ide, as\nAurnir-Gang, and of Thjasse appears with the variations _Allvaldi_,\n_\u00d6lvaldi_, and _Audvaldi_. To persons speaking a language in which the\nprefixes _I-_, _Id-_, and _All-_ are equivalents and are substituted for\none another, and accustomed to poetics, in which it was the most common\nthing to substitute equivalent nouns and names (for example, _Grj\u00f3tbj\u00f6rn_\nfor _Arinbj\u00f6rn_, _Fjallgyldir_ for _\u00c1s\u00f3lfr_, &c.), it was impossible to\nsee in _Ivaldi_ and _Allvaldi_ anything but names designating the same\nperson.\n\n(2) Anent the variation Olvalde we have already seen that its equivalents\nOlmodr and Sumbl (Finnakonungr, _phinnorum rex_) allude to Slagfin's,\nOrvandel-Egil's, and Volund's father, while Olvalde himself is said to be\nthe father of Ide, Aurnir, and Thjasse.\n\n(3) Ajo's and Ibor's mother is called _Gambara_ in _Origo Longobardorum_\nand in Paulus Diaconus. Aggo's and Ebbo's mother is called _Gambaruc_ in\nSaxo. In Ibor-Ebbo and Ajo-Aggo we have re-discovered Egil and Volund.\nThe Teutonic stem of which the Latinised Gambara was formed is in all\nprobability _gambr_, _gammr_, a synonym of _gripr_ (Younger Edda, ii.\n572), the German _Greif_. According to the Younger Edda (i. 314),\nThjasse's mother is the giantess _Greip_, daughter of _Geirr\u00f6dr_. The\nforms _grip_, neuter, and _greip_, feminine, are synonyms in the Old\nNorse language, and they surely grew out of the same root. While Gambara\nthus is Volund's mother, Thjasse's mother bears a name to which Gambara\nalludes.\n\n(4) The variation _Audvaldi_ means \"the one presiding over riches,\"\nand the epithet finds its explanation in the Younger Edda's account of\nthe gold treasure left by Thjasse's father, and of its division among\nhis sons (p. 214.) It is there stated that Thjasse's father was _mj\u00f6k\ngullaudigr_. Ivalde's sons, who gave the gods golden treasures, were\nlikewise rich in gold, and in Volundarkvida Volund speaks of his and his\nkinsmen's golden wealth in their common home.\n\n(5) Of the manner in which Thjasse and his brothers divided the\ngolden treasure the Younger Edda contains, in the above passage, the\nfollowing statement: \"When Olvalde died and his sons were to divide the\ninheritance, they agreed in the division to measure the gold by taking\ntheir mouths full of gold an equal number of times. Hence gold is called\nin poetry the words or speech of these giants.\"\n\nIt is both possible and assumable that in the mythology the brothers\ndivided the gold in silence and in harmony. But that it should have\nbeen done in the manner here related may be doubted. There is reason\nto suspect that the story of the division of the gold in the manner\nabove described was invented in Christian times in order to furnish\nan explanation of the phrase _thingskil thjaza_ in Bjarkamal, of\n_Idja glysm\u00e1l_ in the same source, and of _idja ord_, quoted in\n_Malskrudsfr\u00e6di_. More than one pseudo-mythic story, created in the same\nmanner and stamped by the same taste, is to be found in the Younger\nEdda. It should not be forgotten that all these phrases have one thing\nin common, and that is, a public deliberation, a judicial act. _M\u00e1l_\nand _ord_ do not necessarily imply such an allusion, for in addition to\nthe legal meaning, they have the more common one of speech and verbal\nstatements in general; but to get at their actual significance in the\nparaphrases quoted we must compare them with _thingskil_, since in these\nparaphrases all the expressions, _thingskil_, _glysm\u00e1l_, and _ord_,\nmust be founded on one and the same mythic event. With _thingskil_ is\nmeant that which can be produced before a court by the defendant in a\ndispute to clear up his case; and as gold ornaments are called Thjasse's\n_thingskil_ in Bjarkamal, it should follow that some judicial act was\nmentioned in the mythology, in which gold treasures made or possessed by\nThjasse were produced to clear up a dispute which, in some way or other,\ntouched him. From the same point of view Ide's _glysm\u00e1l_ and Ide's _ord_\nare to be interpreted. Ide's _glysm\u00e1l_ are Ide's \"glittering pleadings;\"\nhis _ord_ are the evidence or explanation presented in court by the\nornaments made by or belonging to him. Now, we know from the mythology a\ncourt act in which precious works of the smiths, \"glittering pleadings,\"\nwere produced in reference to the decision of a case. The case or dispute\nwas the one caused by Loke, and the question was whether he had forfeited\nhis head to Sindre or not. As we know, the decision of the dispute\ndepended on a comparison between Brok's and Sindre's works on the one\nhand, and those of the Ivalde sons on the other. Brok had appeared before\nthe high tribunal, and was able to plead his and his brother's cause.\nIvalde's sons, on the other hand, were not present, but the works done\nby them had to speak in their behalf, or rather for themselves. From\nthis we have, as it seems to me, a simple and striking explanation of\nthe paraphrases _thjaza thingskil_, _Idja glysm\u00e1l_, _Idja ord_. Their\nworks of art were the glittering but mute pleadings which were presented,\non their part, for the decision of the case. That gold carried in the\nmouth and never laid before the tribunal should be called _thingskil_\nI regard as highly improbable. From heathen poems we cannot produce a\nsingle positive proof that a paraphrase of so distorted and inadequate a\ncharacter was ever used.\n\n(6) Saxo relates that the same Fridlevus-Njord who fought with\nAnund-Volund and Avo-Egil wooed Anund's daughter and was refused, but was\nmarried to her after Anund's death. Thus it would seem that Njord married\na daughter of Volund. In the mythology he marries Thjasse's daughter\nSkade. Thus Volund and Thjasse act the same part as father-in-law of\nNjord.\n\n(7) Saxo further relates that Freyja-Syritha's father was married to the\n_soror_ of Svipdag-Otharus. _Soror_ means sister, but also foster-sister\nand playmate. If the word is to be taken in its strictest sense, Njord\nmarries a daughter of Volund's brother; if in its modified sense,\nVolund's daughter.\n\n(8) In a third passage (_Hist._, 50, 53), Skade's father appears under\nthe name Haquinus. The same name belongs to a champion (_Hist._, 323)\nwho assists Svipdag-Ericus in his combat with the Asa-god Thor and\nhis favourite Halfdan, and is the cause that Thor's and Halfdan's\nweapons prove themselves worthless against the Volund sword wielded\nby Svipdag-Ericus. There is, therefore, every reason for regarding\nHaquinus as one of Saxo's epithets for Volund. The name _H\u00e1kon_, of which\nHaquinus has been supposed to be the Latinised form, never occurs in the\nNorse mythic records, but Haquinus is in this case to be explained as\na Latinisation with the aspirate usual in Saxo of the Old German Aki,\nthe Middle German Ecke, which occurs in the compositions Eckenbrecht,\nEckehard, and Eckesachs. In \"Rosengarten,\" Eckenbrecht is a celebrated\nweapon-smith. In Vilkinasaga, Eckehard is, like Volund, a smith who\nworks for Mimer; and Eckesachs is a sword made by the three dwarfs, of\nwhich in part the same story is told as of Volund's sword of victory.\nThus while Haquinus and what is narrated of Haquinus refers to the smith\nVolund, a person who in Saxo is called Haquinus assumes the place which\nbelongs to Thjasse in his capacity of Skade's father.\n\n(9) In Lokasenna (17), Loke reproaches Idun that she has embraced the\nslayer of her own brother:\n\n  thic queth ec allra quenna\n  vergjarnasta vera,\n  sitztu arma thina\n  lagdir itrthvegna\n  um thinn brothurbana.\n\nIdun is a daughter of Ivalde (Forspjallsljod), and hence a sister or\nhalf-sister of the famous smiths, Ivalde's sons. From the passage it thus\nappears that one of Ivalde's sons was slain, and Loke insists that Idun\nhad given herself to the man who was the cause of his death.\n\nThere is not the slightest reason to doubt that in this instance, as in\nso many other cases, Loke boasts of the evil deeds he has committed,\nand of the successes he has had among the asynjes, according to his own\nassurances. With the reproaches cast on Idun we should compare what\nhe affirms in regard to Freyja, in regard to Tyr's wife, in regard to\nSkade and Sif, in reference to all of whom he claims that they have\nsecretly been his mistresses. Against Idun he could more easily and more\ntruthfully bring this charge, for the reason that she was at one time\nwholly in his power, namely, when he stole into Thjasse's halls and\ncarried her away thence to Asgard (Younger Edda, i. 210-214). Under such\ncircumstances, that slayer of Idun's brother, whom she is charged with\nembracing, can be none other than Loke himself. As a further allusion to\nthis, the author of the poem makes Loke speak of a circumstance connected\nwith the adventure--namely, that Idun, to sweeten the pleasure of the\ncritical hour, washed her arms shining white--a circumstance of which\nnone other than herself and her secret lover could know. Thus Loke is the\ncause of the slaying of one of the famous artists, Ivalde's sons. The\nmurders of which Loke boasts in the poem are two only, that of Balder\nand that of Thjasse. He says that he advised the killing of Balder, and\nthat he was the first and foremost in the killing of Thjasse (_fyrstr oc\nofstr_). Balder was not Idun's brother. So far as we can make out from\nthe mythic records extant, the Ivalde son slain must have been identical\nwith Thjasse, the son of Alvalde. There is no other choice.\n\n(10) It has already been shown above that Volund and the swan-maid\nwho came to him in the Wolfdales were either brother and sister or\nhalf-brother and half-sister. From what has been stated above, it follows\nthat Thjasse and Idun were related to each other in the same manner.\n\n(11) Thjasse's house is called _Brunn-akr_ (Younger Edda, i. 312). In\nVolundarkvida (9) Volund is called _Brunni_.\n\n(12) Idun has the epithet _Sn\u00f3t_ (Younger Edda, 306), \"the wise one,\"\n\"the intelligent one.\" Volund's swan-maid has the epithet _Alvitr_,\n\"the much-knowing one,\" \"the very intelligent one\" (Volundarkvida, 1).\nVolund has the epithet _\u00c1s\u00f3lfr_ (Hyndluljod; cp. No. 109). Thjasse has\nthe epithet _Fjallgylder_ (Younger Edda, 308), which is a paraphrase of\n_\u00c1s\u00f3lfr_ (_\u00e1ss = fj\u00f6ll_, _olfr = gyldir_).\n\n(13) One of Volund's brothers, namely Orvandel-Egil, had the epithet\n\"Wild boar\" (Ibor, Ebur). One of Thjasse's brothers is called _Urnir_,\n_Aurnir_. This name means \"wild boar.\" Compare the Swedish and Norwegian\npeasant word _orne_, and the Icelandic word _runi_ (a boar), in which the\nletters are transposed.\n\n(14) At least one of Alvalde's sons was a star-hero, viz., Thjasse, whose\neyes Odin and Thor fastened on the heavens (Harbardsljod, 18; Younger\nEdda, i. 318, 214). At least one of Ivalde's sons was a star-hero, viz.,\nOrvandel-Egil (Younger Edda, i. 276, &c.). No star-hero is mentioned\nwho is not called a son of Alvalde or is a son of Ivalde, and not a\nsingle name of a star or of a group of stars can with certainty be\npointed out which does not refer to Alvalde's or Ivalde's sons. From the\nNorse sources we have the names _\u00d6rvandilst\u00e1 thjaza augu Lokabrenna_\nand _Reid R\u00f6gnis_. Lokabrenna, the Icelandic name of Sirius, can only\nrefer to the _brenna_ (fire) caused by Loke when Thjasse fell into the\nvaferflames kindled around Asgard. In _Reid R\u00f6gnis_, Rogner's car, Rogner\nis, as shall be shown below, the epithet of a mythic person, in whom we\nrediscover both Volund and Thjasse. In Old English writings the Milky\nWay is called V\u00e6tlingastr\u00e6t, Watlingestr\u00e6t. The Watlings or V\u00e6tlings can\nonly be explained as a patronymic meaning Vate's sons. Vate is one of the\nnames of the father of Volund and his brothers (see No. 110). Another\nold English name of star-group is Eburthrung, Eburthring. Here Egil's\nsurname Ebur, \"wild boar,\" reappears. The name Ide, borne by a brother of\nThjasse, also seems to have designated a star-hero in England.\n\nAt least two of these figures and names are very old and of ancient Aryan\norigin. I do not know the reasons why Vigfusson assumes that Orvandel is\nidentical with Orion, but the assumption is corroborated by mythological\nfacts. Orion is the most celebrated archer and hunter of Greek mythology,\njust as Orvandel is that of the Teutonic. Like Orvandel-Egil, he has two\nbrothers of whom the one Lykos (wolf) has a Telchin name, and doubtless\nwas originally identical with the Telchin Lykos, who, like Volund, is a\ngreat artist and is also endowed with powers to influence the weather.\nOrion could, so it is said, walk on the sea as well as on the land.\nOrvandel-Egil has skees, with which he travels on the sea as well as on\nthe snow-fields, whence small ships are called _Egil's andrar_, Egil's\nskees (Kormak, 5). Orion wooes a daughter of Oinopion. The first part of\nthe word is _oinos_ (wine); and as Oinopion is the son of Bacchus, there\nis no room for doubt that he originally had a place in the Aryan myth in\nregard to the mead. Orvandel-Egil woos a daughter of Sumbl (Olvalde),\nthe king of the Finns, who in the Teutonic mythology is Oinopion's\ncounterpart. Orion is described as a giant, a tall and exceedingly\nhandsome man, and is said to be a brother of the Titans. His first wife,\nthe beautiful Sida, he soon lost by death; just as Orvandel lost Groa.\nSida, _Sida_ with its Dorian variation Rhoa, _Roa_, means fruit. The\nname Groa refers, like Sida, Rhoa, to vegetation, growth. After Sida's\ndecease, Orion woos Oinopion's daughter just as Orvandel-Egil woos the\ndaughter of the Finnish king Sumbl after Groa's death. He has a third\nerotic alliance with Eos. According to one record he is said to have\nbeen killed because, in his love of the chase, he had said that he would\nexterminate all game on earth. This statement may have its origin in\nthe myth preserved by the Teutons about Volund's and Orvandel-Egil's\neffort to destroy all life on the earth by the aid of the powers of\nfrost. Hesiod says that the Pleiades (which set when Orion rises above\nthe horizon) save themselves from Orion in the stream of the ocean. The\nabove-mentioned Old English name of a constellation Eburthrung may refer\nto the Pleiades, since the part _thrung_, _drying_, refers to a dense\ncluster of stars. The first part of the word, Ebur, as already stated,\nis a surname of Orvandel-Egil. It should be added that the points of\nsimilarity between the Orion and Orvandel myths are of such a nature that\nthey exclude all idea of being borrowed one from the other. Like the most\nof the Greek myths in the form in which they have been handed down to us,\nthe Orion myth is without any organic connection with any epic whole.\nThe Orvandel myth, on the other hand, dovetails itself as a part into a\nmythological epic which, in grand and original outlines, represents the\nstruggle between gods, patriarchs, ancient artists, and frost-giants for\nthe control of the world.\n\nThe name Thjasse, _thjazi_, in an older and uncorrupted form _thizi_,\nI regard to be most ancient like the person that bears it. According\nto my opinion, Thjasse is identical with the star-hero mentioned in\nRigveda, _Tishya_, the _Tistrya_ of the Iranians, who in Rigveda (x.\n64, 8) is worshipped together with an archer, who presumably was his\nbrother. The German middle-age poetry has preserved the name Thjasse\nin the form _Desen_ (which is related to _thjazi_ as _Delven_ is to\n_thialfi_). In \"Dieterichs Flucht\" Desen is a king, whose daughter\nmarries Dieterich-Hadding's father. In the Norse sources a sister of\nThjasse (Alveig-Signe, daughter of Sumbl, the king of the Finns) marries\nHadding's father, Halfdan. Common to the German and Norse traditions is,\ntherefore, that Hadding's father marries a near kinswoman of Thjasse.\n\n(15) In the poem Haustlaung Thjasse's adventure is mentioned, when he\ncaptured Loke with the magic rail. Here we get remarkable, hitherto\nmisunderstood, facts in regard to Thjasse's personality.\n\nThat they have been misunderstood is not owing to lack of attention or\nacumen on the part of the interpreters. On the contrary, acumen has\nbeen lavished thereon.[10] In some cases the scholars have resorted to\ntext-changes in order to make the contents intelligible, and this was\nnecessary on account of the form in which our mythology hitherto has been\npresented, and that for good reasons, since important studies of another\nkind, especially of accurate editions of the Teutonic mythological\ntexts, have claimed the time of scholars and compelled them to neglect\nthe study of the epic connection of the myths and of their exceedingly\nrich and abundant synonymics. As a matter of course, an examination of\nthe synonymics and of the epic connection could not fail to shed another\nlight than that which could be gained without this study upon a number of\npassages in the old mythological poems, and upon the paraphrases based on\nthe myths and occurring in the historical songs.\n\nIn Haustlaung Thjasse is called _fadir m\u00f6rna_, \"the father of the\nswords.\" Without the least reason it has been doubted that a mythic\nperson, that is so frequently called a giant, and whose connection\nwith the giant world and whose giant nature are so distinctly held\nforth in our mythic sources, could be an artist and a maker of swords.\nConsequently the text has been changed to _fadir mornar_ or _fadir\nmorna_, the father of consumption or of the strength-consuming diseases,\nor of the feminine thurses representing these diseases. But so far\nas our mythic records give us any information, Thjasse had no other\ndaughter than Skade, described as a proud, bold, powerful maid, devoted\nto achievements, who was elevated to the rank of an asynje, became the\nwife of the god of wealth, the tender stepmother of the lord of harvests\n(Skirnersmal), Frigg's _elja_, and in this capacity the progenitress\nof northern rulers, who boasted their descent from her. That Thjasse\nhad more daughters is indeed possible, but they are not mentioned, and\nit must remain a conjecture on which nothing can be built; and even if\nsuch were the case, it must be admitted that as Skade was the foremost\nand most celebrated among them, she is the first one to be thought of\nwhen there is mention of a daughter or of daughters of Thjasse. But that\nSkade should be spoken of as a _morn_, a consumption-witch, and that\nHakon Jarl should be regarded as descended from a demon of consumption,\nand be celebrated in song as the scion of such a person, I do not deem\npossible. The text, as we have it, tells us that Thjasse was the father\nof swords (_m\u00f6rnir_ = sword; see Younger Edda, i. 567; ii. 560, 620). We\nmust confine ourselves to this reading and remember that this is not the\nonly passage which we have hitherto met with where his name is put in\nconnection with works of a smith. Such a passage we have already met with\nin _thjaza thingskil_.\n\n(16) In the same poem, Haustlaung, Thjasse is called _hapta snytrir_,\n\"the one who decorated the gods,\" furnished them with treasures. This\nepithet, too, appeared unintelligible, so long as none of the artists\nof antiquity was recognised in Thjasse; hence text-changes were also\nresorted to in this case in order to make sense out of the passage.\n\nThe situation described is as follows: Odin and _H\u00e6nir_, accompanied by\nLoke are out on a journey. They have traversed mountains and wildernesses\n(Bragar\u00e6dur, 2), and are now in a region which, to judge from the\ncontext, is situated within Thjasse's domain, Thrymheim. The latter,\nwho is _margspakr_ and _l\u00f3mhugadr_ (Haustl., 3, 12), has planned an\nambush for Loke in the very place which they have now reached: a valley\n(Bragar\u00e6dur, 2) overgrown with oak-trees (Haustl., 6), and the more\ninviting as a place of refreshment and rest, inasmuch as the Asas are\nhungry after their long journey (Bragar\u00e6dur, 21), and see a herd of\n\"yoke-bears\" pasturing in the grass near by. Thjasse has calculated on\nthis and makes one of the bears act the part of a decoy (_t\u00e1lhreinn_\n= a decoy reindeer--Haustlaung, 3; see Vigfusson's Dict., 626), which\npermits itself to be caught by the travellers. That the animal belongs\nto Thjasse's herds follows from the fact that it (str. 6) is said to\nbelong to the \"dis of the bow-string,\" Skade, his daughter. The animal\nis slaughtered and a fire is kindled, over which it is to be roasted.\nNear the place selected for the eating of the meal there lies, as it were\naccidentally, a rail or stake. It resembles a common rail, but is in fact\none of Thjasse's smith-works, having magic qualities. When the animal is\nto be carved, it appears that the \"decoy reindeer was quite hard between\nthe bones for the gods to cut\" (_t\u00e1lhreinn var medal beina tormidladr\nt\u00edfum_--str. 3). At the same time the Asas had seen a great eagle flying\ntoward them (str. 2), and alighting near the place where they prepared\ntheir feast (str. 3). From the context it follows that they took it for\ngranted that the eagle guise concealed Thjasse, the ruler of the region.\nThe animal being found to be so hard to carve, the Asas at once guess\nthat Thjasse, skilled in magic arts, is the cause, and they immediately\nturn to him with a question, which at the same time tells him that they\nknow who he is:\n\n  Hvat, quotho, hapta snytrir\n  hj\u00e1lmfaldinn, thvi valda?\n\n\"They (the gods) said (_quotho_): Why cause this (_hvat thvi valda_) thou\nornament-giver of the gods (_hj\u00e1lmfaldinn hapta snytrir_), concealed in\na guise (eagle guise)?\" He at once answers that he desires his share of\nthe sacred meal of the gods, and to this Odin gives his consent. Nothing\nindicates that Odin sees a foe in Thjasse. There is then no difficulty\nin regard to the roast; and when it is ready and divided into four\nparts Thjasse flies down, but, to plague Loke, he takes so much that\nthe latter, angry, and doubtless also depending on Odin's protection if\nneeded, seizes the rail lying near at hand and strikes the eagle a blow\nacross the back. But Loke could not let go his hold of the rail; his hand\nstuck fast to one end while the other end clung to the eagle, and Thjasse\nflew with him and did not let go of him before he had forced him to swear\nan oath that he would bring Idun into Thjasse's hands.\n\nSo long as it was impossible to assume that Thjasse had been the friend\nof the gods before this event happened, and in the capacity of ancient\nartist had given them valuable products of his skill, and thus become\na _hapta snytrir_, it was also impossible to see in him, though he was\nconcealed in the guise of an eagle, the _hj\u00e1lmfaldinn_ here in question,\nsince _hj\u00e1lmfaldinn_ manifestly is in apposition to _hapta snytrir_,\n\"the decorator of the gods.\" (The common meaning of _hj\u00e1lmr_, as is\nwell known, is a covering, a garb, or which _hj\u00e1lmr_ in the sense of a\nhelmet is a specification.) It therefore became necessary to assume that\nOdin was meant by _hj\u00e1lmfaldinn_ and _hapta snytrir_. This led to the\nchanging of _quotho_ to _quad_, and to the insertion in the manuscripts\nof a _mun_ not found there, and to the exclusion of a _thvi_ found there.\nThe result was, moreover, that no notice was taken of the use made of\nthe expressions _hj\u00e1lmfaldinn_ and _snytrir_ in a poem closely related\nto Haustlaung, and evidently referring to its description of Thjasse.\nThis poem is Einar Skalaglam's \"Vellekla,\" which celebrates Hakon Jarl,\nthe Great. Hakon Jarl regarded himself as descended from Thjasse through\nthe latter's daughter, Skade (H\u00e1leygjatal), and on this account Vellekla\ncontains a number of allusions to the mythic progenitor. The task (from\na poetic and rhetorical point of view) which Einar has undertaken is in\nfact that of taking, so far as possible, the kernel of those paraphrases\nwith which he celebrates Hakon Jarl (see below) from the myth concerning\nThjasse, and the task is performed with force and acumen. In the\nexecution of his poem Einar has had before him that part of Thjodulf's\nHaustlaung which concerned Thjasse. In str. 6 he calls Thjasse's\ndescendant _thj\u00f3dar snytrir_, taking his cue from Haustlaung, which calls\nThjasse _hapta snytrir_. In str. 8 he gives Hakon the epithet _hj\u00e1lmi\nfaldinn_, having reference to Haustlaung, which makes Thjasse appear\n_hj\u00e1lm faldinn_. In str. 10 Hakon is a _gard-R\u00f6gnir_, just as Thjasse is\na _ving-R\u00f6gnir_ in Haustlaung. In str. 11 Hakon is a _midjungr_, just as\nThjasse is a _midjungr_ in Haustlaung. In str. 16 an allusion is made\nin the phrase _vildi Yggsnidr fridar bildja_ to Haustlaung's _m\u00e1lunautr\nhv\u00e1ts m\u00e1tti fridar bidja_. In str. 21 Hakon is called _hlym-Narfi_, just\nas Thjasse in Haustlaung is called _grj\u00f3t Nidadr_ (_Narfi_ and _Nidadr_\nare epithets of Mimer; see Nos. 85, 87). In str. 22 Hakon is called\n_fangs\u00e6ll_, and Thjasse has the same epithet in Haustlaung. Some of the\nparaphrases in Vellekla, to which the myth about Thjasse furnishes the\nkernel, I shall discuss below. There can, therefore, be no doubt whatever\nthat Einar in Haustlaung's _hj\u00e1lmfaldinn_ and _hapta snytrir_ saw\nepithets of Thjasse, and we arrive at the same result if we interpret the\ntext in its original reading and make no emendations.\n\nThus we have already found three paraphrases which inform us that Thjasse\nwas an ancient artist, one of the great smiths of mythology: (1) _thiaza\nthingskil_, golden treasures produced as evidence in court owned or made\nby Thjasse; (2) _hapta snytrir_, he who gave ornaments to the gods; (3)\n_fadir m\u00f6rna_, the father of the swords.\n\nThjasse's claim to become a table-companion of the gods and to eat\nwith them, _af helgu skutli_, points in all probability to an ancient\nmythological fact of which we find a counterpart in the Iranian\nrecords. This fact is that, as a compensation for the services he had\nrendered the gods, Thjasse was anxious to be elevated to their rank\nand to receive sacrifices from their worshippers. This demand from the\nTeutonic star-hero Thjasse is also made by the Iranian star-hero Tistrya,\nRigveda's Tishya. Tistrya complains in Avesta that he has not sufficient\nstrength to oppose the foe of growth, Apaosha, since men do not worship\nhim, Tistrya, do not offer sacrifices to him. If they did so, it is said,\nthen he would be strong enough to conquer. Tishya-Tistrya does not appear\nto have obtained complete rank as a god; but still he is worshipped in\nRigveda, though very seldom, and in cases of severe dry weather the\nIranians were commanded to offer sacrifices to him.\n\n(17) In Haustlaung Thjasse is called _ving-R\u00f6gnir vagna_, \"the Rogner of\nthe winged cars,\" and _fjardarblads leik-Regin_, \"the Regin of the motion\nof the feather-leaf (the wing).\" In the mythology Thjasse, like Volund,\nwears an eagle guise. In an eagle guise Volund flies away from his prison\nat Mimer-_Nidadr's_. When Thjasse, through Loke's deceit, is robbed of\nIdun, he hastens in wild despair, with the aid of his eagle guise, after\nthe robber, gets his wings burned in the vaferflames kindled around\nAsgard, falls pierced by the javelins of the gods, and is slain by Thor.\nThe original meaning of _Regin_ is maker, creator, arranger, worker. The\nmeaning has been preserved through the ages, so that the word _regin_,\nthough applied to all the creative powers (V\u00f6lsupa), still retained even\nin Christian times the signification of artist, smith, and reappears in\nthe heroic traditions in the name of the smith _Reginn_. When, therefore,\nThjasse is called \"the Regin of the motion of the feather-leaf,\" there\nis no reason to doubt that the phrase alludes not only to the fact\nthat he possessed a feather guise, but also to the idea that he was\nits \"smith;\" the less so as we have already seen him characterised as\nan ancient artist in the phrases _thiaza thingskil_, _hapta snytrir_,\nand _fadir m\u00f6rna_. Thus we here have a fourth proof of the same kind.\nThe phrase \"the Rognir of the winged cars\" connects him not only with a\nsingle vehicle, but with several. \"Wing-car\" is a paraphrase for a guise\nfurnished with wings, and enabling its owner to fly through the air. The\nexpression \"wing-car\" may be applied to several of the strange means used\nby the powers for locomotion through the air and over the sea, as, for\ninstance, the cars of Thor and Frey, Balder's ship Ringhorn, Frey's ship\nSkidbladner, and the feather garbs of the swan-maids. The mythology which\nknew from whose hands Skidbladner proceeded certainly also had something\nto say of the masters who produced Ringhorn and the above-mentioned cars\nand feather garbs. That they were made by ancient artists and not by the\nhighest gods is an idea of ancient Aryan birth. In Rigveda it was the\nRibhus, the counterparts of the Ivalde sons, who smithied the wonderful\ncar-ship of the Asvinians and Indra's horses.\n\nThe appellations _R\u00f6gnir_ and _Regin_ also occur outside of Haustlaung in\nconnection with each other, and this even as late as in the _Skida-Rima_,\ncomposed between 1400 and 1450, where Regin is represented as a smith\n(_R\u00f6gnir kallar Regin til s\u00edn: rammliga skaltu smida_--str. 102). In\nForspjallsljod (10) we read: _Galdr g\u00f3lo, gaundom ritho R\u00f6gnir ok Regin\nat ranni heimis_--\"Rogner and Regin sang magic songs at the edge of the\nearth and constructed magic implements.\" They who do this are artists,\nsmiths. In strophe 8 they are called _viggiar_, and _viggi_ is a synonym\nof _smidr_ (Younger Edda, i. 587). While they do this Idun is absent from\nAsgard (Forspjallsljod, str. 6), and a terrible cold threatens to destroy\nthe earth. The words in V\u00f6luspa, with which the terrible fimbul-winter\nof antiquity is characterised, _loptr l\u00e6vi blandinn_, are adopted by\nForspjallsljod (str. 6--_lopti med l\u00e6vi_), thus showing that the same\nmythic event is there described. The existence of the order of the world\nis threatened, the earth and the source of light are attacked by evil\ninfluences, the life of nature is dying, from the north (east), from the\nElivagar rivers come piercing, rime-cold arrows of frost, which kill men\nand destroy the vegetation of the earth. The southern source of the lower\nworld, whose function it is to furnish warming saps to the world-tree,\nwas not able to prevent the devastations of the frost. \"It was so\nordained,\" it is said in Forspjallsljod, str. 2, \"that Urd's _Odr\u00e6rir_\n(Urd's fountain) did not have sufficient power to supply protection\nagainst the terrible cold.\"[11] The destruction is caused by Rogner\nand Regin. Their magic songs are heard even in Asgard. Odin listens in\nLidskjalf and perceives that the song comes from the uttermost end of\nthe world. The gods are seized by the thought that the end of the world\nis approaching, and send their messengers to the lower world in order to\nobtain there from the wise norn a solution of the problem of the world\nand to get the impending fate of the world proclaimed.\n\nIn the dictionaries and in the mythological text-books _R\u00f6gnir_ is said\nto be one of Odin's epithets. In his excellent commentary on Vellekla,\nFreudenthal has expressed a doubt as to the correctness of this view. I\nhave myself made a list of all the passages in the Old Norse literature\nwhere the name occurs, and I have thereby reached the conclusion that\nthe statement in the dictionaries and in the text-books has no other\nfoundation than the name-list in _Eddubrott_ and the above-cited\n_Skidarima_, composed in the fifteenth century. The conceptions of\nthe latter in regard to heathen mythology are of such a nature that\nit should never in earnest be regarded as an authority anent this\nquestion. In the Old Norse records there cannot be found a single passage\nwhere _R\u00f6gnir_ is used as an epithet of Odin. It is everywhere used in\nreference to a mythic being who was a smith and a singer of magic songs,\nand regularly, and without exception, refers to Thjasse. While Thjodolf\ndesignates Thjasse as the Rogner of the wing-cars, his descendant Hakon\nJarl gets the same epithet in Einar Skalaglam's paraphrases. He is _hj\u00f6rs\nbrak-R\u00f6gnir_, \"the Rogner of the sword-din,\" and _Geirr\u00e1sargard-R\u00f6gnir_,\n\"the Rogner of the wall of the sword-flight (the shield).\" The Thjasse\ndescendant, Sigurd Hladejarl, is, in harmony herewith, called _fens\nfurs R\u00f6gnir_. _Thrym-R\u00f6gnir_ (Eg., 58) alludes to Thjasse as ruler in\nThrymheim. A parallel phrase to _thrym-R\u00f6gnir_ is _thrym-Regin_ (Younger\nEdda, i. 436). Thus, while Thjasse is characterised as _R\u00f6gnir_, Saxo\nhas preserved the fact that Volund's brother, Orvandel-Egil, bore the\nepithet Regin. Saxo Latinises Regin into Regnerus, and gives this name\nto Ericus-Svipdag's father (_Hist._, 192). The epithet _R\u00f6gnir_ confines\nitself exclusively to a certain group--to Thjasse and his supposed\ndescendants. Among them it is, as it were, an inheritance.\n\nThe paraphrases in Vellekla are of great mythological importance. While\nother mythic records relate that Thjasse carried away Idun, the goddess\nof vegetation, the goddess who controls the regenerating forces in\nnature, and that he thus assisted in bringing about the great winter of\nantiquity, we learn from Vellekla that it was he who directly, and by\nseparate magic acts, produced this winter, and that he, accordingly,\nacted the same part in this respect as Rogner and Regin do in\nForspjallsljod.\n\nThus, for example, the poem on Hakon Jarl, when the latter fought against\nthe sons of Gunhild, says: _Hj\u00f6rs brak-R\u00f6gnir sk\u00f3k bogna hagl or Hlakkar\nseglum_, \"the Rogner of the sword-din shook the hail of the bows from the\nsails of the valkyrie.\" The mythic kernel of the paraphrase is: _R\u00f6gnir\nsk\u00f3k hagl ur seglum_, \"Rogner shook hails from the sails.\" The idea is\nstill to be found in the sagas that men endowed with magic powers could\nproduce a hailstorm by shaking napkins or bags, filling the air with\nashes, or by untying knots. And in Christian records it is particularly\nstated of Hakon Jarl that he held in honour two mythic beings--Thorgerd\nand Irpa--who, when requested, could produce storms, rain, and hail. No\ndoubt this tradition is connected with Hakon's supposed descent from\nThjasse, the cause of hailstorms and of the fimbul-winter. By making\nRogner the \"Rogner of the sword-din,\" and the hail sent by him \"the hail\nof the bows,\" and the sails or napkins shook by him \"the sails of the\nvalkyrie\"--that is to say, the shields--the skald makes the mythological\nkernel pointed out develop into figures applicable to the warrior to the\nbattle.\n\nIn other paraphrases Vellekla says that the descendant of Thjasse, Hakon,\nmade \"the death-cold sword-storm grow against the life of udal men in\nOdin's storm,\" and that he was \"an elf of the earth of the wood-land\"\ncoming from the north, who, with \"murder-frost,\" received the warriors of\nthe south (Emperor Otto's army) at Dannevirke. Upon the whole Vellekla\nchooses the figures used in describing the achievements of Hakon from\nthe domain of cold and storm, and there can be no doubt that it does so\nin imitation of the Thjasse-myth.\n\nIn another poem to Hakon Jarl, of which poem there is only a fragment\nextant, the skald Einar speaks of Hakon's generosity, and says: _Verk\nR\u00f6gnis mer hogna_, \"Rogner's works please me.\" We know that Hakon\nJarl once gave Einar two gilt silver goblets, to which belonged two\nscales in the form of statuettes, the one of gold, the other of silver,\nwhich scales were thought to possess magic qualities, and that Hakon\non another occasion gave him an exceedingly precious engraved shield,\ninlaid between the engraved parts with gold and studded with precious\nstones. It was customary for the skalds to make songs on such gifts. It\nfollows, therefore, that the \"works of Rogner,\" with which Einar says\nhe was pleased, are the presents which Hakon, the supposed descendant\nof Rogner-Thjasse, gave him; and I find this interpretation the more\nnecessary for the reason that we have already found several unanimous\nevidences of Thjasse's position in the mythology as an artist of the\nolden time.\n\nForspjallsljod's Rogner \"sings magic songs\" and \"concocts witchcraft\" in\norder to encourage and strengthen by these means of magic the attack of\nthe powers of frost on the world protected by the gods. Haustlaung calls\nThjasse _ramman reimud J\u00f6tunheima_, \"the powerful _reimud_ of Jotunheim.\"\nThe word _reimud_ occurs nowhere else. It is thought to be connected with\n_reimt_ and _reimleikar_, words which in the writings of Christian times\nrefer to ghosts, supernatural phenomena, and _reimudr_. _J\u00f6tunheima_ has\ntherefore been interpreted as \"the one who made Jotunheim the scene of\nhis magic arts and ghost-like appearances.\" From what has been stated\nabove, it is manifest that this interpretation is correct.\n\n[Illustration: THOR, HYMIR, AND THE MIDGARD SERPENT.\n\n(_From an etching by Lorenz Fr\u00f6lich._)\n\nHymir, a giant and ruler of the winter sea, was the owner of a great\nkettle that brewed any quantity desired of the finest ale. The gods,\neager to posses the kettle, sent Thor to obtain it. Proceeding to the\nborders of heaven, where Hymir lived, Thor assumed the form of a young\nman and appearing before the giant, asked permission to accompany him\non a fishing excursion. The giant objected that so small a youth could\nnot endure the hardships of such a journey, but finally consented. Thor\nsecured necessary bait by tearing the head from a bull, and the two then\nset off to row far out to sea. Thor insisted upon going further until\nthey came near the borders of the world, and the two began to fish. Hymir\nsoon hooked and drew up two whales, which he boastfully showed as proof\nof his strength, but soon after Thor hooked the Midgard Serpent, which\nrose spouting floods of venom that greatly terrified Hymir. Thor pulled\nwith so much strength on the line that he broke through the bottom of the\nboat, but his feet stood upon the bottom of the sea and he raised his\nhammer to strike the serpent; Hymir was so alarmed, however, that he cut\nthe line and let the serpent escape. Thor then rowed back with Hymir to\nhis castle, where he slew Hymir and several other giants and secured the\nkettle.\n\nSee page 855.]\n\nA passage in Thorsdrapa (str. 3), to which I shall recur below, informs\nus that at the time when Thor made his famous journey to the fire-giant\nGeirrod, Rogner had not yet come to an agreement with Loke in regard to\nthe plan of bringing ruin on the gods. Rogner was, therefore, during a\ncertain period of his life, the foe of the gods, but during a preceding\nperiod he was not an enemy. The same is true of Thjasse. He was for a\ntime _hapta snytrir_, \"the one giving the gods treasures.\" At another\ntime he carried away Idun, and appeared as one changed into _d\u00f3lgr\nballastr vallar_, \"the most powerful foe of the earth\" (Haustl., 6), an\nexpression which characterises him as the cause of the fimbul-winter.\n\nThere still remain one or two important passages in regard to the correct\ninterpretation of the epithet Rogner. In Atlakvida (33) it is said of\nGudrun when she goes to meet her husband Atle, who has returned home,\ncarrying in her hand a golden goblet, that she goes to _reifa gj\u00f6ld\nR\u00f6gnis_, \"to present that requital or that revenge which Rogner gave.\"\nTo avenge her brothers, Gudrun slew in Atle's absence the two young sons\nshe had with him and made goblets of their skulls. Into one of these\nshe poured the drink of welcome for Atle. A similar revenge is told\nabout Volund. The latter secretly kills _Nidadr's_ two young sons and\nmakes goblets out of their skulls for their father. In the passage it\nis stated that the revenge of Gudrun against Atle was of the same kind\nas Rogner's revenge against some one whom he owed a grudge. So far as\nour records contain any information, Volund is the only one to whom the\nepithet Rogner is applicable in this case. Of no one else is it reported\nthat he took a revenge of such a kind that Gudrun's could be compared\ntherewith. In all other passages the epithet Rogner refers to \"the father\nof the swords,\" to the ancient artist Thjasse, the son of Alvalde. Here\nit refers to the father of the most excellent sword, to the ancient\nartist Volund, the son of Ivalde.\n\nThe strophe in Vellekla, which compares the Thjasse descendant Hakon\nJarl with the hail-producing Rogner, also alludes to another point in\nthe myth concerning him by a paraphrase the kernel of which is: _Varat\nsvangl\u00fdjadi at fr\u00fdja ofbyrjar n\u00e8 drifu_, \"it was impossible to defy the\nswan-pleaser in the matter of storm and bad weather.\" The paraphrase is\nmade applicable to Hakon by making the \"swan-pleaser\" into the \"pleaser\nof the swan of the sword's high-billowing fjord\"--that is to say, the\none who pleases the bird of the battlefield, that is, the raven. The\nstorm is changed into \"the storm of arrows,\" and the bad weather into\nthe \"bad weather of the goddess of the battle.\" The mythological kernel\nof this paraphrase, and that which sheds light on our theme, is the fact\nthat Rogner in the mythology was \"one who pleased the swans.\" In the\nheroic poem three swan-maids are devoted in their love to Volund and his\nbrothers. Volundarkvida says that the third one lays her arms around\nVolund-Anund's white neck.\n\nWe will now combine the results of this investigation concerning Rogner,\nand in so doing we will first consider what is said of him when the name\noccurs independently, and not connected with paraphrases, and then what\nis said of him in paraphrases in which his name constitutes the kernel.\n\nForspjallsljod describes Rogner as dwelling on the northern-most edge\nof the earth at the time when Idun was absent from Asgard. There he\nsings magic songs and concocts witchcraft, by which means he sends a\ndestructive winter out upon the world. He is a \"smith,\" and in his\ncompany is found one or more than one mythic person called Regin. (Regin\nmay be singular or plural.)\n\nEinar Skalaglam, who received costly treasures from Hakon Jarl, speaks in\nhis song of praise to the latter of the \"works of Rogner,\" which please\nhim, and which must be the treasures he received from the Jarl.\n\nIn Thorsdrapa, Eilif Gudrunson relates that Rogner had not yet\n\"associated himself\" with Loke when Thor made his expedition to Geirrod.\n\nAtlakvida states that he revenged himself on some one, with which revenge\nthe song compares Gudrun's when she hands to Atle the goblets made of the\nskulls of the two young sons of the latter.\n\nAll the facts presented in these passages are rediscovered in the myth\nconcerning Ivalde's sons--Volund, Egil, and Slagfin. There was a time\nwhen they were the friends of the gods and smithied for them costly\ntreasures, and there was another time when they had the same plans as\nLoke tried to carry out in a secret manner--that is, to dethrone the\ngods and destroy what they had created. They deliver their foster-son\nFrey, the young god of harvests, to the giants (see Nos. 109, 112)--an\nevent which, like Idun's disappearance from Asgard, refers to the coming\nof the fimbul-winter--and they depart to the most northern edge of the\nlower world where they dwell with swan-maids, dises of growth, who, like\nIdun in Forspjallsljod (str. 8), must have changed character and joined\nthe world-hostile plots of their lovers. (Of Idun it is said, in the\nstrophe mentioned, that she clothed herself in a wolf-skin given her\nby the smiths, and _lyndi breytti, lek at l\u00e6visi, litom skipti_.) The\nrevenge which Volund, during his imprisonment by Nidad, takes against\nthe latter explains why Atlakvida characterises Gudrun's terrible deed\nas \"Rogner's revenge.\" In regard to the witchcraft (_gand_) concocted\nby Rogner and Regin, it is to be said that the sword of victory made by\nVolund is a _gandr_ in the original sense of this word--an implement\nendowed with magic powers, and it was made during his sojourn in the\nWolfdales.\n\nOne passage in Volundarkvida (str. 5), which hitherto has defied every\neffort at interpretation, shows that his skill was occupied with other\nmagic things while he dwelt there. The passage reads: _Lucthi hann alla\nlindbauga vel_. The \"lind\"-rings in question, smithied of \"red gold\"\n(see the preceding lines in strophe 5), are, according to the prefix,\n_lind, linnr_, serpent-formed rings, which again are gand- (witchcraft)\nrings on account of the mysterious qualities ascribed to the serpent.\n_Lindbaugi_ is another form for _linnbaugi_, just as _lindb\u00f3l_ is\nanother form for _linnb\u00f3l_. The part played by the serpent in the\nmagic arts made it, when under the influence or in the possession of\nthe magician, a _gand_, whence _linnr_, a serpent, could be used as\na paraphrase of _gandr_, and _gandr_ could in turn, in the compound\n_J\u00f6rmungandr_, be used as an epithet for the Midgard-serpent. The rings\nwhich Volund \"closed well together\" are gand-rings. The very rope (_bast,\nb\u00f6str_--Volundarkvida, 7, 12) on which he hangs the seven hundred\ngand-rings he has finished seems to be a gand, an object of witchcraft,\nwith which Volund can bind and from which he can release the wind.\nWhen Nidad's men surprised Volund in his sleep and bound him with this\nrope, he asks ambiguously who \"had bound the wind\" with it (str. 12).\nIn two passages in Volundarkvida (str. 4, 8) he is called _vedreygr_,\n\"the storm-observer,\" or \"the storm-terrible.\" The word may have either\nmeaning. That Volund for his purposes, like Rogner, made use of magic\nsongs is manifest from Saxo (_Hist._, 323, 324). According to Saxo it was\nby means of Volund-Haquinus' magic song that the Volund-sword, wielded by\nSvipdag-Ericus, was able to conquer Thor's hammer and Halfdan's club.\n\nPassing now to the passages where the name Rogner occurs in paraphrases,\nI would particularly emphasize what I have already demonstrated: that\nHaustlaung with this name refers to Thjasse; that poems of a more recent\ndate than Haustlaung, and connected with the same celebrated song, apply\nit to the supposed descendants of Thjasse, Hakon Jarl and his kinsmen;\nthat all of these paraphrases represent Rogner as a producer of storm,\nsnow, and hail; and that Rogner made \"wind-cars,\" was a \"Regin of the\nmotion of the feather-leaf\" (the wing), and \"one who pleased the swans.\"\nTherefore (_a_) Rogner is an epithet of Thjasse, and at the same time it\ndesignates Volund; (_b_) all that is said of Rogner, when the name in the\nparaphrases is a Thjasse-epithet, applies to Volund; (_c_) all that is\nsaid of Rogner, independently of paraphrases, applies to Volund.\n\n(18) A usage in the Old Norse poetry is to designate a person by the name\nof his opponent, when, by means of an additional characterisation, it\ncan be made evident that the former and not the latter is meant. Thus,\na giant can be called _berg-th\u00f3rr_ or _grj\u00f3t-M\u00f3di_, because he once had\nThor or Thor's son Mode as an opponent, and these epithets particularly\napply to giants who actually fought with Thor or Mode in the mythology.\nIn contrast with their successors in Christian times, the heathen skalds\ntook great pains to give their paraphrases special justification and\nsupport in some mythological event. For the same reason that a giant\nwho had fought with Mode could be called _grj\u00f3t-M\u00f3di_, Volund, as\nNidad's foe, could be called _grj\u00f3t-Nidudr_. This epithet also occurs a\nsingle time in the Old Norse poetry, namely, in Haustlaung, and there\nit is applied to Thjasse. The paraphrase shows that the skald had in\nhis mind a corresponding (antithetic) circumstance between Thjasse and\n_Nidadr_ (_Nidudr_). What we are able to gather from our sources is, that\nVolund and _Nidadr_ had had an encounter, and that one of so decisive\na character, that the epithet _grj\u00f3t-Nidudr_ naturally would make the\nhearers think of Volund.\n\n(19) When Loke had struck Thjasse, who was in eagle guise, with the magic\npole, Thjasse flew up; and as Loke's hand was glued fast to one end of\nthe pole and the eagle held fast to the other end, Loke had to accompany\nthe eagle on its flight. Haustlaung says that Thjasse, pleased with\nhis prey, bore him a long distance (_of veg l\u00e1ngan_) through the air.\nHe directed his course in such a manner that Loke's body fared badly,\nprobably being dragged over trees and rocks (_sv\u00e1 at slitna sundr \u00falfs\nf\u00f6dor mundi_). Then follows in the poem the lines given below, which I\nquote from Codex Regius, with the exception of a single word (_midjungs_,\ninstead of _mildings_), which I cite from Codex Wormianus. Here, as\nelsewhere, I base nothing on text emendations, because even such, for\nwhich the best of reasons may be given, do not furnish sufficient\nfoundation for mythological investigation, when the changes are not\nsupported by some manuscript, or are in and of themselves absolutely\nnecessary.\n\n  th\u00e1 vard th\u00f3rs ofrunni,\n  th\u00fangr var Loptr, of spr\u00fanginn;\n  m\u00e1lunautr hvats m\u00e1tti\n  midjungs fridar bidja.\n\nThe contents of these lines, in the light of what has now been stated,\nare as follows:\n\nThjasse's pleasure in dragging Loke with him, and making his limbs come\nin disagreeable contact with objects on their way, was so great that\nhe did not abstain therefrom, before he felt that he had over-exerted\nhimself. Strong as he was, this could not but happen, for he had been\nflying with his burden very far from the place where he captured Loke in\nthe ambush he had laid; and, besides, Loke was heavy. The badly-hurt Loke\nhad during the whole time desired to beg for mercy, but during the flight\nhe was unable to do so. When Thjasse finally sank to the ground, Loke\nobtained a breathing space, so that he could sue for mercy.\n\nIn the four lines there are four paraphrases. Thjasse is called _th\u00f3rs\nofrunni_ or _th\u00f3rs ofr\u00fani_, \"he who made Thor run,\" or \"he who was\nThor's friend,\" and \"_midjungr_,\" a word the meaning of which it is\nof no importance to investigate in connection with the question under\nconsideration. Loke is called _Loptr_, a surname which is applied to\nhim many times, and _m\u00e1lunautr hvats midjungs_, \"he who had journeyed\nwith the female companion of the powerful Midjung (Thjasse).\" The female\ncompanion (_m\u00e1la_) of Thjasse is Idun, and the paraphrase refers to the\nmyth telling how Loke carried Idun away from Thjasse's halls, and flew\nwith her to Asgard.\n\nWith these preparatory remarks I am ready to present a literal\ntranslation of the passage:\n\n(Thjasse flew a long way with Loke, so that the latter came near being\ntorn into pieces), \"... thereupon (_th\u00e1_ = _deinde_) became he who\ncaused Thor to run (_vard Ih\u00f3rs ofrunni_)--or who became Thor's friend\n(_Ih\u00f3rs ofr\u00fani_)--tired out (_ofspr\u00fanginn_), (for) Lopt was heavy\n(_th\u00fangr var Loptr_). He (Loke) who had made a journey with the powerful\nMidjung's (Thjasse's) female companion (_m\u00e1lunautr hvats midjungs_) could\n(now finally) sue for peace (_m\u00e1tti fridar bidja_).\"\n\nIn the lines--\n\n  th\u00e1 vard th\u00f3rs ofrunni\n  th\u00fangr var Loptr, ofspr\u00fanginn--\n\n_th\u00fangr var Loptr_ clearly stands as an intermediate sentence, which, in\nconnection with what has been stated above, namely, that Thjasse had been\nflying a long way with his burden, will justify and explain why Thjasse,\nthough exceedingly strong, stronger than _Hrungnir_ (the Grotte-song),\nstill was at the point of succumbing from over-exertion. The skald has\nthus given the reason why Thjasse, \"rejoicing in what he had caught,\"\nsank to the earth with his victim, before Loke became more used up than\nwas the case. To understand the connection, the word _m\u00e1tti_ in the\nthird line is of importance. Hitherto the words _m\u00e1lunautr hvats m\u00e1tti\nmidjungs fridar bidja_ have been interpreted as if they meant that Loke\n\"was compelled\" to ask Thjasse for peace. _M\u00e1tti_ has been understood to\nmean _coactus est_. Finnur Jonsson (_Krit. Stud._, p. 48) has pointed\nout that not a single passage can with certainty or probability be found\nwhere the verb _mega, m\u00e1tti_, means \"to be compelled.\" Everywhere it can\nbe translated \"to be able.\" Thus the words _m\u00e1tti fridar bidja_ mean\nthat Loke _could_, was able to, ask Thjasse for peace. The reason why\nhe was able is stated above, where it is said that Thjasse got tired of\nflying with his heavy burden. Before that, and during the flight and the\ndisagreeable collisions between Loke's body and objects with which he\ncame in contact, he was not able to treat with his capturer; but when\nthe latter had settled on the ground, Loke got a breathing space, and\ncould beg to be spared. The half strophe thus interpreted gives the\nmost logical connection, and gives three causes and three results: (1)\nLoke was able to use his eloquent tongue in speaking to Thjasse, since\nthe latter ceased to fly before Loke was torn into pieces; (2) Thor's\n_ofrunni_ or _ofr\u00fani_ ended his air-journey, because he, though a very\npowerful person, felt that he had over-exerted himself; (3) he felt\nwearied because Loke, with whom he had been flying, was heavy. But from\nthis it follows with absolute certainty that the skald, with Thor's\n_ofrunni_ or _ofr\u00fani_, meant Thjasse and not Loke, as has hitherto been\nsupposed. The epithet Thor's _ofrunni_, \"he who made Thor run,\" must\naccordingly be explained by some mythic event, which shows that Thor at\none time had to take flight on account of Thjasse. A single circumstance\nhas come to our knowledge, where Thor retreats before an opponent, and\nit is hardly credible that the mythology should allow its favourite to\nretreat conquered more than once. On that occasion it is Volund's sword,\nwielded by Svipdag, which cleaves Thor's hammer and compels him to\nretire. Thus Volund was at one time Thor's _ofrunni_. In Haustlaung it is\nThjasse. Here, too, we therefore meet the fact which has so frequently\ncome to the surface in these investigations, namely, that the same thing\nis told of Volund and of Thjasse.\n\nBut by the side of _ofrunni_ we have another reading which must be\nconsidered. Codex Wormianus has _ofr\u00fani_ instead of _ofrunni_, and, as\nWis\u00e9n has pointed out, this runni must, for the sake of the metre, be\nread _r\u00fani_. According to this reading Thjasse must at some time have\nbeen Thor's _ofr\u00fani_, that is, Thor's confidential friend. This reading\nalso finds its support in the mythology, as shall be demonstrated further\non. I may here be allowed to repeat what I have remarked before, that\nof two readings only the one can be the original, while both may be\njustified by the mythology.\n\n(20) In the mythology are found characters that form a group by\nthemselves, and whose characteristic peculiarity is that they practise\nskee-running in connection with the use of the bow and arrow. This group\nconsists of the brothers Volund, Egil, Slagfin, Egil's son Ull, and\nThjasse's daughter Skade. In the introduction to Volundarkvida it is\nsaid of the three brothers that they ran on skees in the Wolfdales and\nhunted. We have already referred to Egil's wonderful skees, that could be\nused on the water as well as on the snow. Of Ull we read in Gylfaginning\n(Younger Edda, i. 102): \"He is so excellent an archer and skee-runner\nthat no one is his equal;\" and Saxo tells about his Ollerus that he could\nenchant a bone (the ice-shoe formed of a bone, the pendant of the skee),\nso that it became changed into a ship. Ull's skees accordingly have the\nsame qualities as those of his father Egil, namely, that they can also be\nused on the sea. Ull's skees seem furthermore to have had another very\nremarkable character, namely, that when their possessor did not need them\nfor locomotion on land or on sea, they could be transformed into a shield\nand be used in war. In this way we explain that the skalds could employ\n_skip Ullar_, _Ullar far_, _kn\u00f6rr \u00d6rva \u00e1ss_, as paraphrases for shields,\nand that, according to one statement in the Edda Lovasina, _Ullr \u00e1tti\nskip that, er Skj\u00f6ldr h\u00e9t_. So far as his accomplishments are concerned,\nUll is in fact the counterpart of his father Egil, and the same may be\nsaid of Skade. While Ull is called \"the god of the skees,\" Skade is\ncalled \"the goddess of the skees,\" \"the dis of the skees,\" and \"the dis\nof the sea-bone,\" _s\u00e6var beins dis_, a paraphrase which manifestly has\nthe same origin as Saxo's account of the bone enchanted by Ull. Thus\nThjasse's daughter has an attribute belonging to the circle of Volund's\nkinsmen.\n\nThe names also connect those whom we find to be kinsmen of Volund with\nThjasse's. Alvalde is Thjasse's father; Ivalde is Volund's. _\u00cdvaldi_\nis another form for _Idvaldi_. The long prefixed _\u00cd_ in _\u00cdvaldi_ is\nexplained by the disappearance of _d_ from _Idvaldi_. _Id_ reappears in\nthe name of Ivalde's daughter _Idunn_ and Thjasse's brother _Idi_, and\nthese are the only mythological names in which _Id_ appears. Furthermore,\nit has already been pointed out, that of Alvalde's (_\u00d6lvaldi's_) three\nsons there is one who has the epithet Wildboar (_Aurnir, Urnir_); and\nthat among Ivalde's three sons there is one--namely, Orvandel-Egil--who\nhas the same epithet (_Ibor, Ebur, Ebbo_); and that among Alvalde's sons\none--namely, Thjasse--has the epithet _Fjallgyldir_, \"mountain-wolf\"\n(Haustlaung); while among Ivalde-Olmod's sons there is one--namely,\nVolund--who has the epithet _\u00c1s\u00f3lfr_, which also means \"mountain-wolf.\"\n\nIn this connection it must not be forgotten that tradition has attached\nthe qualities of giants, not only to Thjasse, but also to Volund. That\nthis does not appear in the Elder Edda depends simply on the fact that\nVolund is not mentioned by this name in the genuine mythic songs, but\nonly in the heroic fragment which we have in Volundarkvida. The memory\nthat Volund, though an elf-prince in the mythology, and certainly not\na full-blooded giant on his father's side, was regarded and celebrated\nin song as an _i\u00f6tunn_,--the memory of this not only survives in\nVilkinasaga, but appears there in an exaggeration fostered by later\ntraditions, to the effect that his father Vade (see No. 110) is there\ncalled a giant, while his father's mother is said to have been a mermaid.\nIn another respect, too, there survives in Vilkinasaga the memory of a\nrelationship between Volund and the most famous giant-being. He and the\ngiants Etgeir (_Eggther_) and Vidolf are cousins, according to chapter\n175. If we examine the Norse sources, we find Vidolf mentioned in\nHyndluljod (53) as progenitor of all the mythological valas, and Aurboda,\nthe most notorious of the valas of mythology, mentioned in strophe 30\nas a kinswoman of Thjasse. Thus while Hyndluljod makes Thjasse, the\nVilkinasaga makes Volund, a kinsman of the giant Vidolf.\n\nThough in a form greatly changed, the Vilkinasaga has also preserved the\nmemory of the manner in which Volund's father closed his career. With\nsome smiths (\"dwarfs\") who lived in a remote mountain, Vade had made an\nagreement, according to which, in return for a certain compensation, his\nson Volund should learn their wonderful art as smiths. When, toward the\nclose of the time agreed upon, Vade appeared outside of the mountain,\nhe was, before entering, killed by an avalanche in accordance with the\ntreacherous arrangement of these smiths.\n\nIn the mythology Thjasse's father is the great drink-champion who, among\nhis many names and epithets, as we have seen, also has some that refer to\nhis position in the mythology in regard to fermented beverage; _Svigdir_\n(the great drinker) _\u00d6lvaldi_, _\u00d6lm\u00f3dr_, _Sumbl Finnakonungr_. In regard\nto _Svigdir's_ death, it has already been shown (see No. 89) that, on his\ncomplete disappearance from the mythology, he is outside of a mountain\nin which Suttung and Suttung's sons, descendants of Surt-Durinn, with\nMimer the most ancient smith (see No. 89), have their halls; that on his\narrival a treacherous dwarf, the doorkeeper of Suttung's sons, goes to\nmeet him, and that he is \"betrayed\" by the dwarf, never enters the rocky\nhalls, and consequently must have died outside.\n\nVilkinasaga's very late statements (probably taken from German\ntraditions), in regard to the death of Volund's father, thus correspond\nin the main features with what is related in the Norse records as to how\nThjasse's father disappeared from the scene of mythology.\n\nIn regard to the birth and rank of Thjasse's father among the mythic\npowers, the following statements in poems from the heathen time are to be\nobserved. When Haustlaung tells how Thjasse falls into the vaferflames\nkindled around Asgard, it makes use of the words _Greipar bidils son\nsvidnar_, \"the son of Greip's wooer is scorched.\" Thus Thjasse's mother\nis the giantess Greip, who, according to a stanza cited in the Younger\nEdda, i. 288, is a daughter of the giant _Geirr\u00f6dr_ and a sister of\nGjalp. One of these sisters, and, so far as we can see, Greip, is, in\nThorsdrapa, called _meinsvarans hapts arma farmr_, \"the embrace of the\narms of the perjurous _hapt_.\" _H\u00f6pt_, sing _hapt_, is like _b\u00f6nd_,\nmeaning the same, an appellation of lower and higher powers, _numina_\nof various ranks. If by the perjurous mistress of the _hapt_ Greip, and\nnot the sister Gjalp, is meant, then Thjasse's father is a being who\nbelonged to the number of the _numina_ of the mythology, and who, with a\ngiantess whose _bidill_ he had been, begat the son Thjasse, and probably\nalso the latter's brothers _Idi_ and _G\u00e1ngr_ (_Aurnir_). What rank this\nperjurous _hapt_ held among the powers is indicated in Vellekla, strophe\n9, which, like the foregoing strophe 8, and the succeeding strophes\n10, 11, treats of Hakon Jarl's conflicts at Dannevirke, whither he was\nsummoned, in the capacity of a vassal under the Danish king, Harald\nBlue-tooth, to defend the heathen North against Emperor Otto II.'s effort\nto convert Denmark to Christianity by arms. The strophe, which here, too,\nin its paraphrases presents parallels between Hakon Jarl and his mythic\nprogenitor Thjasse, says that the Danish king (_f\u00e9mildr konungr_) desired\nthat the Morkwood's Hlodyn's (Mork-wood's earth's, that is to say, the\nwoody Norway's) elf, he who came from the North (_myrkmarkar Hlodynjar\nalfs, thess er kom nordan_), was to be tested in \"murder-frost,\" that\nis to say, in war (_vid mord-frost freista_), when he (Denmark's king)\nangrily bade the cold-hard storm-watcher (_stirdan vedrhirdi_, Hakon\nJarl) of the Hordaland dwellers (of the Norsemen) defend Dannevirke\n(_Virki varda_) against the southland Njords of the shield-din (_fyr\nserkja-hlym-val-Nj\u00f6rdum_, \"the princes of the southland warriors\").\n\nHere, too, the myth about Thjasse and of the fimbul-winter forms the\nkernel out of which the paraphrases adapted to Hakon Jarl have grown.\nHakon is clothed with the mask of the cold-hard storm-watcher who comes\nfrom the North and can let loose the winter-winds. Emperor Otto and the\nchiefs who led the southern troops under him are compared with Njord and\nhis kinsmen, who, in the mythology, fought with Volund and the powers of\nfrost, and the battle between the warriors of the South and the North\nis compared with a \"murder-frost,\" in which Hakon coming from the North\nmeets the Christian continental Teutons at Dannevirke.\n\nThus the mythical kernel of the strophe is as follows: The elf of the\nMorkwood of Hlodyn, the cold-hard storm-watcher, tested his power with\nfrost-weather when he fought with Njord and his kinsmen.\n\nThe Hlodyn of the Morkwood--that is to say, the goddess of the Jotunheim\nwoods--is in this connection Thjasse's daughter Skade, who, in\nHaleygjatal, is called _J\u00e1rnvidja_ of _J\u00e1rnvidr_, the Ironwood, which is\nidentical with the Morkwood (Darkwood). Thjasse himself, whose father\nis called \"a perjurous _hapt_\" in Thorsdrapa, is here called an elf.\nAlone, this passage would not be sufficient to decide the question as\nto which class of mythical beings Thjasse and his father belonged, the\nless so as _\u00e1lfr_, applied in a paraphrase, might allude to any sort of\nbeing according to the characterisation added. But \"perjurous _hapt_\"\ncannot possibly be a paraphrase for a giant. Every divinity that has\nviolated its oath is \"a perjurous _hapt_,\" and the mythology speaks of\nsuch perjuries. If a god has committed perjury, this is no reason why\nhe should be called a giant. If a giant has committed perjury, this is\nno reason why he should be called a _hapt_, for it is nothing specially\ncharacteristic of the giant nature that it commits perjury or violates\nits oath. In fact, it seems to me that there should be the gravest\ndoubts about Thjasse's being a giant in the strictest and completest\nsense of the word, from the circumstances that he is a star-hero; that\ndistinguished persons considered it an honour to be descended from him;\nthat Hakon Jarl's skalds never tired of clothing him with the appearance\nof his supposed progenitor, and of comparing the historical achievements\nof the one with the mythical exploits of the other; and that he, Thjasse,\nnot only robbed Idun, which indeed a genuine giant might do, but that he\nalso lived with her many long years, and, so far as we can see, begat\nwith her the daughter Skade. It should be remembered, from the foregoing\npages, what pains the mythology takes to get the other asynje, Freyja,\nwho had fallen into the hands of giants, back pure and undefiled to\nAsgard, and it is therefore difficult to believe that Idun should be\nhumiliated and made to live for many years in intimacy with a real giant.\nIt follows from this that when Thjasse, in the above-cited mythological\nkernel of the strophe of Vellekla, is called an _\u00e1lfr_, and when his\nfather in Thorsdrapa is called a _hapt_, a being of higher or lower\ndivine rank, then _\u00e1lfr_ is a further definition of the idea _hapt_, and\ninforms us to which class of _numina_ Thjasse belonged--namely, the\nlower class of gods called elves. Thus, on his father's side, Thjasse is\nan elf. So is Volund. In Volundarkvida he is called a prince of elves.\nFurthermore, it should be observed that, in the strophe-kernel presented\nabove, Thjasse is represented as one who has fought with Njord and his\nallies. In Saxo it is Anund-Volund and his brother the archer who fight\nwith Njord-Fridlevus and his companions; and as Njord in Saxo marries\nAnund-Volund's daughter, while in the mythology he marries Thjasse's\ndaughter, then this is another recurrence of the fact which continually\ncomes to the surface in this investigation, namely, that whatever is told\nof Volund is also told of Thjasse.\n\n[10] See for example Th. Wis\u00e9n's investigations and Finnur Jonsson's\n_Krit. Stud._ (Copenhagen, 1884).\n\n[11] The editions have changed _Urdar_ to _Urdr_, and thereby converted\nthe above-cited passage into nonsense, for which in turn the author of\nForspjallsljod was blamed, and it was presented as an argument to prove\nthat the poem is spurious.\n\n\n114.\n\n    PROOFS THAT IVALDE'S SONS ARE OLVALDE'S (_continued_). A REVIEW\n    OF THORSDRAPA.\n\n(21) We now come to a mythic record in which Thjasse's brothers _Idi_ and\n_G\u00e1ngr_, and he too, in a paraphrase, are mentioned under circumstances\nwell suited to throw light on the subject before us, which is very\nimportant in regard to the epic connection of the mythology.\n\nOf Thor's expedition to Geirrod, we have two very different accounts. One\nis recorded by the author of Skaldskaparmal; the other is found in Eilif\nGundrunson's Thorsdrapa.\n\nIn Skaldskaparmal (Younger Edda, i. 284) we read:\n\nOnly for pleasure Loke made an expedition in Freyja's feather guise, and\nwas led by his curiosity to seat himself in an opening in the wall of\nGeirrod's house and peep in. There he was captured by one of Geirrod's\nservants, and the giant, who noticed from his eyes that it was not a\nreal falcon, did not release him before he had agreed so to arrange\nmatters that Thor should come to Geirrod's hall without bringing with\nhim his hammer and belt of strength. This Loke was able to bring about.\nThor went to Geirrod without taking any of these implements--not even\nhis steel gloves--with him. Loke accompanied him. On the way thither\nLoke visited the giantess whose name was _Gr\u00eddr_, and who was Vidar the\nSilent's mother. From her Thor learned the facts about Geirrod--namely,\nthat the latter was a cunning giant and difficult to get on with. She\nlent Thor her own belt of strength, her own iron gloves, and her staff,\n_Gr\u00eddarv\u00f6lr_. Then Thor proceeded to the river which is called Vimur,\nand which is the greatest of all rivers. There he buckled on his belt of\nstrength, and supported himself in the stream on the _Gr\u00eddarv\u00f6lr_. Loke\nheld himself fast to the belt of strength. When Thor reached the middle\nof the stream, the water rose to his shoulders. Thor then perceived\nthat up in a mountain chasm below which the river flowed stood Gjalp,\nGeirrod's daughter, with one foot on each side of the river, and it\nwas she who caused the rising of the tide. Then Thor picked up a stone\nand threw it at the giantess, saying: \"At its mouth the river is to be\nstopped.\" He did not miss his mark. Having reached the other bank of\nthe river, he took hold of a rowan, and thus gained the land. Hence the\nproverb: \"Thor's salvation, the rowan.\" And when Thor came to Geirrod a\ngoat-house was first given to him and Loke (according to Codex Regius;\naccording to the Upsala Codex a guest-house) as their lodgings. Then are\nrelated the adventures Thor had with Geirrod's daughters Gjalp and Greip,\nand how he, invited to perform games in Geirrod's hall, was met by a\nglowing iron which Geirrod threw against him with a pair of tongs, but\nwhich he caught with the iron gloves and threw back with so great force\nthat the iron passed through a post, behind which Geirrod had concealed\nhimself, and through Geirrod himself and his house wall, and then\npenetrated into the earth.\n\nThis narrative, composed freely from mythical and pseudo-mythical\nelements, is related to Thorsdrapa, composed in heathen times, about in\nthe same manner as Bragar\u00e6dur's account of Odin and Suttung is related\nto that of Havam\u00e1l. Just as in Bragar\u00e6dur _punctum saliens_ lies in the\ncoarse jest about how poor poetry originated, so here a crude anecdote\nbuilt on the proverb, \"A stream is to be stemmed at its mouth,\" seems\nto be the basis of the story. In Christian times the mythology had to\nfurnish the theme not only for ancient history, heroic poems, and popular\ntraditions, but also for comic songs.\n\nNow, a few words in regard to Thorsdrapa. This song, excellent from the\nstandpoint of poetry and important from a mythological point of view,\nhas, in my opinion, hitherto been entirely misunderstood, not so much\non account of the difficulties found in the text--for these disappear,\nwhen they are considered without any preconceived opinion in regard to\nthe contents--as on account of the undeserved faith in Skaldskaparmal's\naccount of Thor's visit to Geirrod, and on account of the efforts\nmade under the influence of this misleading authority to rediscover\nthe statements of the latter in the heathen poem. In these efforts the\npoetics of the Christian period in Iceland have been applied to the poem,\nand in this way all mythological names, whose real meaning was forgotten\nin later times, have received a general faded signification, which on a\nmore careful examination is proved to be incorrect. With a collection of\nnames as an armoury, in which the names of real or supposed \"dwarfs,\"\n\"giants,\" \"sea-kings,\" &c., are brought together and arranged as\nsynonyms, this system of poetics teaches that from such lists we may take\nwhatever dwarf name, giant name, &c., we please to designate whichever\n\"dwarf,\" \"giant,\" &c., we please. If, therefore, Thorsdrapa mentions\n\"_Idi's_ chalet\" and \"_G\u00e1ngr's_ war-vans,\" then, according to this system\nof poetics, _Idi_ and _G\u00e1ngr's_--though they in heathen times designated\nparticular mythic persons who had their own history, their own personal\ncareers--have no other meaning than the general one of \"a giant,\" for the\nreason that _Idi_ and _G\u00e1ngr_ are incorporated in the above-named lists\nof giant names. Such a system of poetics could not arise before the most\nof the mythological names had become mere empty sounds, the personalities\nto whom they belonged being forgotten. The fact that they have been\nadapted, and still continue to be adapted, to the poems of the heathen\nskalds, is one of the reasons why the important contributions which names\nand paraphrases in the heathen poetry are able to furnish in mythological\ninvestigations have remained an unused treasure.\n\nWhile Skaldskaparmal makes Loke and no one else accompany Thor to\nGeirrod, and represents the whole matter as a visit to the giant by\nThor, we learn from Thorsdrapa that this journey to Jotunheim is an\nexpedition of war, which Thor makes at the head of his warriors against\nthe much-dreaded chief of giants, and that on the way thither he had\nto fight a real battle with Geirrod's giants before he is able to\npenetrate to the destination of his expedition, Geirrod's hall, where\nthe giants put to flight in the battle just mentioned gather, and where\nanother battle is fought. Thorsdrapa does not mention with a single\nword that Loke accompanied Thor on this warlike expedition. Instead of\nthis, we learn that he had a secret understanding with one of Geirrod's\ndaughters, that he encouraged Thor to go, and gave him untruthful\naccounts of the character of the road, so that, if not Thor himself,\nthen at least the allies who went with him, might perish by the ambush\nlaid in wait for them. That Loke, under such circumstances, should\naccompany Thor is highly incredible, since his misrepresentations in\nregard to the character of the way would be discovered on the journey,\nand reveal him as a traitor. But since Skaldskaparmal states that Loke\nwas Thor's companion, the interpreters of Thorsdrapa have allowed him so\nto remain, and have attributed to him--the traitor and secret ally of\nthe giants--and to Thjalfe (who is not mentioned in the Skaldskaparmal\naccount) the exploits which Thor's companions perform against the giants.\nThat the poem, for instance, in the expression _Thj\u00e1fi med \u00fdta sinni_,\n\"Thjalfe with his companions,\" in the most distinct manner emphasises\nthe fact that a whole host of warriors had Thor as their leader on this\nexpedition, was passed over as one of the obscure passages in which the\npoem was supposed to abound, and the obscurity of which simply consists\nin their contradicting the story in Skaldskaparmal. Thorsdrapa does not\nmention with a single word that Thor, on his journey to Geirrod, stopped\nat the home of a giantess _Gridr_, and borrowed from her a staff, a belt\nof strength, and iron gloves; and I regard it as probable that this\nwhole episode in Skaldskaparmal has no other foundation than that the\nstaff which Thor uses as his support on wading across the rapid stream\nis in Thorsdrapa now called _gr\u00eddarv\u00f6lr_, \"the safety staff,\" and again,\n_brautar lids tollr_, \"the way-helping tree.\" The name _gr\u00eddarv\u00f6lr_,\nand such proverbs as _at \u00f3si skall \u00e1 stemma_ and _reynir er bj\u00f6rg\nth\u00f3rs_, appear to be the staple wares by the aid of which the story in\nSkaldskaparmal was framed. The explanation given in Skaldskaparmal of the\nproverb _reynir er bj\u00f6rg th\u00f3rs_, that, by seizing hold of a rowan growing\non the river bank, Thor succeeded in getting out of the river, is, no\ndoubt, an invention by the author of the story. The statement cannot\npossibly have had any support in the mythology. In it Thor is endowed\nwith ability to grow equal to any stream he may have to cross. The rowan\nmentioned in the proverb is probably none other than the \"way-helping\ntree,\" the \"safety staff,\" on which he supports himself while wading,\nand which, according to Thorsdrapa (19), is a _brotningr sk\u00f3gar_, a tree\nbroken or pulled up in the woods.\n\nI now pass to the consideration of the contents of Thorsdrapa:\n\n_Strophe 1._ The deceitful Loke encourages Thor to go from home and visit\nGeirrod, \"the master of the temple of the steep altars.\" The great liar\nassures him that green paths would take him to Geirrod's halls, that is\nto say, they were accessible to travellers on foot, and not obstructed by\nrivers.\n\nNOTE.--For Thor himself the condition of the roads might be of less\nimportance. He who wades across the Elivagar rivers and subterranean\nstreams did not need to be very anxious about finding water-courses\ncrossing his paths. But from the continuation of the poem we learn that\nthis expedition to Jotunheim was not a visit as a guest, or a meeting\nto fight a duel, as when Thor went to find Hrungner, but this time he\nis to press into Jotunheim with a whole army, and thus the character of\nthe road he was to travel was of some importance. The ambush laid in his\nway does not concern Thor himself, but the giant-foes who constitute his\narmy. If the latter perish in the ambush, then Geirrod and his giants\nwill have Thor alone to fight against, and may then have some hope of\nvictory.\n\n_Strophe 2._ Thor did not require much urging to undertake the\nexpedition. He leaves Asgard to visit Jotunheim. Of what happened on the\nway between Asgard and the Elivagar rivers, before Thor penetrated into\nJotunheim, the strophe says:\n\n  th\u00e1 er gjardvenjodr                When the belt-wearer (Thor the\n                                     possessor of the belt of strength)\n\n  endr (= iterum, rursus)            now, as on former occasions,\n\n  r\u00edkri Idja Gandvikr-setrs skotum   strengthened by the men of Ide's\n                                     chalet situated near Gandvik,\n\n  g\u00f6rdist fr\u00e1 thridia til Ymsa       was on his way from Odin to\n  kindar,                            Ymse's (Ymer's) race,\n\n  fystust their (Cod. Worm.)         it was to them (to Thor and to\n  f\u00fdrstuz (Cod. Reg.)                the men of Ide's chalet) a joy\n                                     (or they rushed thither)\n\n  at thrysta thorns nidjum           to conquer Thorn's (Bolthorn-Ymer's)\n                                     kinsmen.\n\nNOTE.--The common understanding of this passage is (1) that _endr_ has\nnothing to do with the contents, but is a complementary word which may\nbe translated with \"once upon a time,\" a part which _endr_ has to play\nonly too often in the interpretation of the old poems; (2) that Ide is\nmerely a general giant name, applicable, like every other giant name, in\na paraphrase _Idja setr_, which is supposed to mean Jotunheim; (3) that\n_rikri Idja setrs skotum_ or _rikri Gandvikr skotum_ was to give the\nhearers or readers of Thorsdrapa the (utterly unnecessary) information\nthat Thor was stronger than the giants; and (4) that they who longed to\nsubdue Ymer's kinsmen were Thor and Loke--the same Loke who, in secret\nunderstanding with the giant-chief and with one of his daughters (see\nbelow), has the purpose of enticing Thor and his companions in arms into\na trap!\n\n_Rikri ... skotum_ is to be regarded as an elliptical sentence in which\nthe instrumental preposition, as is often the case, is to be understood.\nWhen Thor came from Asgard to the chalet of Ide, situated near Gandvik,\nhe there gets companions in arms, and through them he becomes _rikri_,\nthrough them he gets an addition to his own powers in the impending\nconflicts. The fact that when Thor invades Jotunheim he is at the head of\nan army is perfectly evident from certain expressions in the poem, and\nfrom the poem as a whole. Whence could all these warriors come all of a\nsudden? They are not dwellers in Asgard, and he has not brought them with\nhim in his lightning chariot. They live near Gandvik, which means \"the\nmagic bay,\" the Elivagar. Gandvik was a purely mythological-geographical\nname before it became the name of the White Sea in a late Christian\ntime, when the sea between Greenland and America got the mythic name\nGinungagap. Their being the inhabitants on the coast of a bay gives the\nauthor of Thorsdrapa an occasion further on to designate them as vikings,\nbayings. We have already seen that it is a day's journey between Asgard\nand the Elivagar (see No. 108), and that on the southern coast Thor has\nan inn, where he stops, and where his precious team and chariot are taken\ncare of while he makes expeditions into Jotunheim. The continuation of\nthe poem shows that this time, too, he stopped at this inn, and that he\ngot his warriors there. Now, as always before, he proceeds on foot, after\nhaving reached Jotunheim.\n\n_Strophe 3_ first makes a mythic chronological statement, namely, that\nthe daughter of Geirrod, \"skilled in magic,\" had come to an understanding\nwith Loke, before Rogner became the ally of the latter. This mythic\nchronological statement shows (1) that there was a time when Rogner did\nnot share Loke's plans, which were inimical to the gods; (2) that the\nevents recounted in Thorsdrapa took place before Rogner became a foe of\nthe gods. Why Thorsdrapa thinks it necessary to give this information\nbecomes apparent already in the fourth strophe.\n\nThen the departure from Ide's chalet is mentioned. The host hostile to\nthe giants proceeds to Jotunheim, but before it gets thither it must\ntraverse an intermediate region which is called Endil's meadow.\n\nWe might expect that instead of speaking of a meadow as the boundary\nterritory which had to be traversed before getting into Jotunheim, the\npoem would have spoken of the body of water behind which Jotunheim lies,\nand mentioned it by one of its names--Elivagar, Gandvik, or Hraun. But\non a more careful examination it appears that Endil's meadow is only a\nparaphrase for a body of water. The proof of this is found in the fact\nthat \"Endil's skees,\" _Endils andrar_, _Endils itrskid_, is a common\nparaphrase for ship. So is _Endils eykr_, \"Endil's horse.\" The meadow\nwhich Endil crosses on such skees and on such a horse must therefore be\na body of water. And no other water can be meant than that which lies\nbetween Endil's chalet and Jotunheim, that is, Elivagar, Gandvik.\n\nThe name _Endill_ may be the same as _Vendill_, _Vandill_ (Younger Edda,\ni. 548), and abbreviation of _\u00d6rvandill_. The initial _V_ was originally\na semi-vowel, and as such it alliterated with other semi-vowels and\nwith vowels (compare the rhymes on an Oland runic stone, _Vandils\nj\u00f6rmungrundar urgrandari_). This easily-disappearing semi-vowel may\nhave been thrown out in later times where it seemed to obscure the\nalliteration, and thus the form Endil may have arisen from Vendil,\nVandil. \"\u00d6rvandel's meadow\" is accordingly in poetic language synonymous\nwith Elivagar, and the paraphrase is a fitting one, since Orvandel-Egil\nhad skees which bore him over land and sea, and since Elivagar was the\nscene of his adventures.\n\n_Strophe 4_ tells that after crossing \"Endil's meadow\" the host of\nwarriors invaded Jotunheim on foot, and that information about their\ninvasion into the land of the giants came to the witches there.\n\nTwo important facts are here given in regard to these warriors: they are\ncalled _G\u00e1ngs gunn-vanir_ and _Vargs fridar_, \"Gang's warrior-vans,\"\nand \"Varg's defenders of the land.\" Thus, in the first strophes of\nThorsdrapa, we meet with the names of Olvalde's three sons: _R\u00f6gnir_\n(Thjasse), _Idi_, and _G\u00e1ngr_. The poem mentions Rogner's name in\nstating that the expedition occurred before Rogner became the foe of\nthe gods; it names Ide's name when it tells that it was at his (Ide's)\nchalet near Gandvik that Thor gathered these warriors around him; and it\nnames _G\u00e1ngr's_ name, and in connection therewith _Vargr's_ name, when\nit is to state who the leaders were of those champions who accompanied\nThor against Geirrod. Under such circumstances it is manifest that\nThorsdrapa relates an episode in which Ide, Gang, and Thjasse appear\nas friends of Thor and foes of the giants, and that the poem locates\ntheir original country in the regions on the south coast of Elivagar,\nand makes _Idja setr_ to be situated near the same strand, and play\nin Thor's expeditions the same part as Orvandel-Egil's abode near\nthe Elivagar, which is also called chalet, _Geirvandil's setr_, and\n_\u00ddsetr_. The _Vargr_ who is mentioned is, therefore, so far as can be\nseen, Rogner-Thjasse himself, who in Haustlaung, as we know, is called\n_fjallgyldir_, that is to say, wolf.\n\nAll the warriors accompanying Thor were eager to fight Ymer's\ndescendants, as we have seen in the second strophe. But the last lines\nof strophe 4 represent one in particular as longing to contend with one\nof the warlike and terrible giantesses of giant-land. This champion is\nnot mentioned by name, but he is characterised as _bragdmildr_, \"quick\nto conceive and quick to move;\" as _br\u00e6div\u00e6ndr_, \"he who is wont to\noffer food to eat;\" and as _b\u00f6lkveitir_ or _b\u00f6lkvetir Loka_, \"he who\ncompensated Loke's evil deed.\" The characterisations fit Orvandel-Egil,\nthe nimble archer and skee-runner, who, at his chalet, receives Thor as\nhis guest, when the latter is on his way to Jotunheim, and who gave Thor\nThjalfe and Roskva as a compensation, when Loke had deceitfully induced\nThjalfe to break a bone belonging to one of Thor's slaughtered goats for\nthe purpose of getting at the marrow. If Thorsdrapa had added that the\nchampion thus designated also was the best archer of mythology, there\ncould be no doubt that Egil was meant. This addition is made further on\nin the poem, and of itself confirms the fact that Egil took part in the\nexpedition.\n\n_Strophe 5_, compared with strophes 6 and 7, informs us that Thor, with\nhis troop of champions, in the course of his march came into one of the\nwild mountain-regions of Jotunheim. The weather is bad and hail-showers\nfall. And here Thor finds out that Loke has deceived him in the most\ninsolent manner. By his directions Thor has led his forces to the place\nwhere they now are, and here rushes forth from between the mountains a\nriver into which great streams, swelling with hail-showers, roll down\nfrom the mountains with seething ice-water. To find in such a river a\nford by which his companions can cross was for Thor a difficult matter.\n\n_Strophe 6._ Meanwhile the men from Ide's chalet had confidently\ndescended into the river. A comparison with strophes 7 and 8 shows that\nthey cautiously kept near Thor, and waded a little farther up the river\nthan he. They used their spears as staffs, which they put down into the\nstony bottom of the river. The din of the spears, when their metallic\npoints came in contact with the stones of the bottom blended with the\nnoise of the eddies roaring around the rocks of the river (_Kn\u00e1tti hreggi\nh\u00f6ggvinn hlymthel vid m\u00f6l glymja, enn fjalla fellihryn thaut med Fedju\nstedja_).\n\n_Strophe 7._ In the meantime the river constantly rises and increases in\nviolence, and its ocean-like billows are already breaking against Thor's\npowerful shoulders. If this is to continue, Thor will have to resort to\nthe power inherent in him of rising equally with the increase of the\nwaves.\n\nNOTE.--But the warriors from Ide's s\u00e6ter, who do not possess this power,\nwhat are they to do? The plan laid between Loke and the witches of\nJotunheim is manifestly to drown them. And the succeeding strophes show\nthat they are in the most imminent danger.\n\n_Strophes 8_ and _9_. These bold warriors waded with firm steps; but the\nbillowing masses of water increased in swiftness every moment. While\nThor's powerful hands hold fast to the staff of safety, the current is\naltogether too strong for the spears, which the Gandvik champions have\nto support themselves on. On the mountains stood giantesses increasing\nthe strength of the current. Then it happened that \"the god of the bow,\ndriven by the violence of the billows, rushed upon Thor's shoulders\n(_kykva naudar \u00e1ss, blasinn hr\u00f6nnjardar skafls hvetvidri, thurdi haudrs\nrunn of herdi_), while Thjalfe with his comrades came, as if they\nhad been automatically lifted up, and seized hold of the belt of the\ncelestial prince\" (Thor) (_unnz thj\u00e1lfi med \u00fdta sinni kom sj\u00e1lflopta \u00e1\nhiminsj\u00f3la skaunar-seil_).\n\nNOTE.--Thus the plan laid by Loke and the giantesses to drown the men\nhostile to the giants, the men dwelling on the south coast of the\nElivagar, came near succeeding. They were saved by their prudence in\nwading higher up the stream than Thor, so that, if they lost their\nfoothold, they could be hurled by the eddies against him. One of the\nGandvik champions, and, as the continuation of the poems shows, the\nforemost one among them, here characterised as \"the god of the bow,\"\nis tossed by a storm-billow against Thor's shoulders, and there saves\nhimself. Thjalfe and the whole remaining host of the warriors of Ide's\ns\u00e6ter have at the same time been carried by the waves down against\n_Hlodyn's_ powerful son, and save themselves by seizing hold of his belt\nof strength. With \"the god of the bow\" on his shoulders, and with a\nwhole host of warriors clinging to his waist, Thor continues his wading\nacross the stream.\n\nIn strophe 8, the Gandvik champions are designated by two paraphrases.\nWe have already seen them described as \"Gang's warrior-vans\" and as\n\"Varg's land-defenders.\" Here they are called \"the clever warriors of\nthe viking-s\u00e6ter\" (_v\u00edkinga setrs snotrir gunnar runnar_) and \"Odin's\nland-defenders, bound by oaths\" (_Gauta eidsvara fridar_). That Ide's\ns\u00e6ter is called \"the vikings' s\u00e6ter\" is explained by the fact that it is\nsituated near Gand_vik_, and that these _bayings_ had the Elivagar as the\nscene of their conflicts with the powers of frost. That they are Odin's\nland-defenders, bound by oaths, means that they are mythical beings,\nwho in rank are lower than the Asas, and are pledged by oaths to serve\nOdin and defend his territory against the giants. Their s\u00e6ter (chalet)\nnear Gandvik is therefore an outpost against the powers of frost. It\nfollows that Ide, Gang, and Thjasse originally are _numina_, though of\na lower, serving rank; that their relation to the higher world of gods\nwas of such a character that they could not by their very nature be\nregarded as foes of the giants, but are bound to the cause of the gods\nby oaths; but on the other hand they could not be full-blooded giants\nof the race produced from Ymer's feet (see No. 86). Their original\nhome is not Jotunheim itself, but a land bordering on the home of the\ngiants, and this mytho-geographical locality must correspond with their\nmytho-genealogical position. The last strophe in Thorsdrapa calls the\ngiants slain by the Gandvik champions \"Alfheim's calves,\" Alfheim's\ncattle to be slaughtered, and this seems to indicate that these champions\nbelong to the third and lowest of those clans into which the divinities\nof the Teutonic mythology are divided, that is, the elves.\n\nThe Gandvik champion who rescues himself on Thor's shoulders, while the\nrest of them hold fast to his girdle, is a celebrated archer, and so well\nknown to the hearers of Thorsdrapa, that it was not necessary to mention\nhim by name in order to make it clear who he was. In fact, the epithet\napplied to him, \"the god of the bow\" (_\u00e1ss kykva naudar_, and in strophe\n18, _tv\u00edvidar T\u00fdr_), is quite sufficient to designate him as the foremost\narcher of mythology, that is, Orvandel-Egil, who is here carried on\nThor's shoulders through the raging waves, just as on another occasion he\nwas carried by Thor in his basket across the Elivagar. Already in strophe\n4 he is referred to as the hero nimble in thought and body, who is known\nfor his hospitality, and who made compensation for Loke's evil deed.\nThe foremost one next after him among the Gandvik champions is Thjalfe,\nEgil's foster-son. The others are designated as Thjalfe's _\u00fdta sinni_,\nhis body of men.\n\nThus we find that the two foremost among \"Gang's warrior-vans,\" who\nwith Thor marched forth from \"Ide's s\u00e6ter,\" before Rogner (Thjasse)\nbecame Loke's ally, are Volund's and Slagfin's brother Egil and Egil's\nfoster-son Thjalfe. We find that Egil and Thjalfe belong to the\ninhabitants of Ide's s\u00e6ter, where Thor on this occasion had stopped, and\nwhere he had left his chariot and goats, for now, as on other occasions,\nhe goes on foot to Jotunheim. And as in other sources Egil is mentioned\nas the one who on such occasions gives lodgings to Thor and his goats,\nand as Thorsdrapa also indicates that he is the hospitable host who had\nreceived Thor in his house, and had paid him a ransom for the damage\ncaused by Loke to one of his goats, then this must be a most satisfactory\nproof that Ide's s\u00e6ter is the same place as the _Geirvadils_ setr\ninhabited by Egil and his brothers, and that Orvandel-Egil is identical\neither with Ide or Gang, from which it follows, again, that Alvalde's\n(Olvalde's) sons, Ide, Gang, and Thjasse, are identical with Ivalde's\nsons, Slagfin, Egil, and Volund.\n\nThat Egil is identical with Gang and not with Ide is apparent from a\ncomparison with the Grotte-song. There Olvalde's sons are called _Idi_,\n_Aurnir_, and _Thjazi_, while in the Younger Edda they are called _Idi_,\n_G\u00e1ngr_, and _Thjazi_. Thus Aurnir is identical with _G\u00e1ngr_, and as\n_Aurnir_ means \"wild boar,\" and as \"wild boar\" (Ebur, Ibor, Ebbo) is an\nepithet of Egil, Orvandel-Egil must be identical with Gang.\n\nIn regard to the rest of Thorsdrapa I may be brief, since it is of less\ninterest to the subject under discussion.\n\n_Strophe 10._ In spite of the perilous adventure described above, the\nhearts of Thjalfe and the Gandvik champions were no more terrified than\nThor's. Here they are designated as _eids fiardar_, \"the men pledged by\noath,\" with which is to be compared _eidsvara fridar_ in strophe 8.\n\n_Strophes 11, 12_, show that Thor landed safely with his burden. Scarcely\nhad he and his companions got a firm foothold on the other strand before\nGeirrod's giant-clan, \"the world-tree-destroying folk of the sea-belt,\"\ncame to the spot, and a conflict arose, in which the attacks of the\ngiants were firmly repulsed, and the latter were finally forced to\nretreat.\n\n_Strophe 13._ After the victory Thor's terrible hosts pressed farther\ninto Jotunheim to open Geirrod's hall, and they arrived there amid the\ndin and noise of cave-dwellers.\n\nThe following strophes mention that Thor broke the backs of Geirrod's\ndaughters, and pressed with his warriors into Geirrod's hall, where he\nwas received with a piece of red-hot iron hurled by the latter, which,\nhurled back by Thor, caused the death of the giant-chief. Thor had given\nthe glowing javelin such a force that some one who stood near him,\nprobably Egil, \"drank so that he reeled in the air-current of the piece\nof iron the air-drink of Hrimner's daughter\" (_svalg hrapmunum \u00e1 siu\nlopti Hrimnis dr\u00f3sar lyptisylg_). Hrimner's daughter is Gulveig-Heid\n(Hyndluljod, 32), and her \"air-drink\" is the fire, over which the gods\nheld her lifted on their spears (V\u00f6luspa, 21).\n\nAs we see from the context, Geirrod's halls were filled with the men who\nhad fled from the battle near the river, and within the mountain there\narose another conflict, which is described in the last three strophes\nof the poem. Geirrod's hall shook with the din of battle. Thor swung\nhis bloody hammer. \"The staff of safety,\" \"the help-tree of the way,\"\nthe staff on which Thor supported himself in crossing the river, fell\ninto Egil's hands (_kom at tv\u00edvidar T\u00fdvi brautar lids tollr_), who did\nnot here have room to use his bow, but who, with this \"convenient tree\njerked (or broken) from the forest,\" gave death-blows to \"the calves of\nAlfheim.\" The arrows from his quiver could not be used in this crowded\nplace against the men of the mountain-chief.\n\nThe fact that the giants in Thorsdrapa use the sling is of interest to\nthe question concerning the position of the various weapons of mythology.\nGeirrod is called _vegtaugar thrj\u00f3tr_, \"the industrious applier of the\nsling\" (str. 17), and _\u00e1lmtaugar \u00c6gir_, \"the _\u00c6gir_ of the sling made of\nelm-bast.\"\n\nIn the last strophe Egil is said to be _helbl\u00f3tinn_ and _hneitir_,\n_undirfj\u00e1lfs bliku_, expressions to which I shall recur further on.\n\nLike the relation between Volund and his swan-maids in Volundarkvida,\nthe relation between Rogner-Thjasse and Idun in Forspjallsljod is not\nthat of the robber to his unwilling victim, but one of mutual harmony.\nThis is confirmed by a poem which I shall analyse when the investigation\nreaches a point that demands it, and according to which Idun was from\nher childhood tied by bonds of love and by oath to the highly-gifted but\nunhappy son of Ivalde, to the great artist who, by his irreconcilable\nthirst for revenge, became the Lucifer of Teutonic mythology, while\nLoke is its Mefisto. I presume that the means of rejuvenation, the\ndivine remedy against age (_ellilyf \u00e1sa_--Haustlaung), which Idun alone\nin Asgard knows and possesses, was a product of Thjasse-Volund's art.\nThe middle age also remembered Volund (Wieland) as a physician, and\nthis trait seems to be from the oldest time, for in Rigveda, too, the\ncounterparts of the Ivalde sons, that is, the Ribhus, at the request\nof the gods, invent means of rejuvenation. It may be presumed that the\nmythology described his exterior personality in a clear manner. From\nhis mother he must have inherited his giant strength, which, according\nto the Grotte-song, surpassed Hrungner's and that of the father of\nthe latter (_Hard var Hrungnir ok hans fadir, th\u00f3 var Thjazi theim\nauflgari_--str. 9). With his strength beauty was doubtless united.\nOtherwise, Volundarkvida's author would scarcely have said that his\nswan-maid laid her arms around Anund's (Volund's) \"white\" neck. That his\neyes were conceived as glittering may be concluded from the fact that\nthey distinguish him on the starry canopy as a star-hero, and that in\nVolundarkvida Nidhad's queen speaks of the threatening glow in the gaze\nof the fettered artist (_amon ero augu ormi theim enom fr\u00e1na_--str. 17).\n\nIvalde's sons--Thjasse-Volund, Aurnir-Egil, and Ide-Slagfin--are, as we\nhave seen, bastards of an elf and a giantess (Greip, Gambara). Ivalde's\ndaughters, on the other hand (see No. 113), have as mother a sun-dis,\ndaughter of the ruler of the atmosphere, Nokver. In other sources the\nstatement in Forspjallsljod (6) is confirmed, that Ivalde had two groups\nof children, and that she who \"among the races of elves was called\nIdun\" belonged to one of them. Thus, while Idun and her sisters are\nhalf-sisters to Ivalde's sons, these are in turn half-brothers to pure\ngiants, sons of Greip, and these giants are, according to the Grotte-song\n(str. 9), the fathers of Fenja and Menja. The relationship of the Ivalde\nsons to the gods on the one hand and to the giants on the other may be\nillustrated by the following scheme:\n\n  Ivalde begets (1)      (2) with the giantess   Greip bears with a giant\n  with a sun-dis                Greip--          ------------------------\n    ---------                  -------                 |          |\n        |                         |                  giant      giant\n  Idun and her sisters.     Thjasse-Volund and         |          |\n                              his brothers.          Fenja.     Menja.\n\n\n115.\n\n    REVIEW OF THE PROOFS OF VOLUND'S IDENTITY WITH THJASSE.\n\nThe circumstances which first drew my attention to the necessity of\ninvestigating whether Thjasse and Volund were not different names of\nthe same mythic personality, which the mythology particularly called\nThjasse, and which the heroic saga springing from the mythology in\nChristian times particularly called Volund, were the following: (1) In\nthe study of Saxo I found in no less than three passages that Njord,\nunder different historical masks, marries a daughter of Volund, while\nin the mythology he marries a daughter of Thjasse. (2) In investigating\nthe statements anent Volund's father in Volundarkvida's text and prose\nappendix I found that these led to the result that Volund was a son of\nSumbl, the Finn king--that is to say, of Olvalde, Thjasse's father. (3)\nMy researches in regard to the myth about the mead produced the result\nthat Svigder-Olvalde perished by the treachery of a dwarf outside of a\nmountain, where one of the smith-races of the mythology, Suttung's sons,\nhad their abode. In Vilkinasaga's account of the death of Volund's\nfather I discovered the main outlines of the same mythic episode.\n\nThe correspondence of so different sources in so unexpected a matter\nwas altogether too remarkable to permit it to be overlooked in my\nmythological researches. The fact that the name-variation itself, Alvalde\n(for Olvalde), as Thjasse's father is called in Harbardsljod, was in\nmeaning and form a complete synonym of Ivalde I had already observed, but\nwithout attaching any importance thereto.\n\nThe next step was to examine whether a similar proof of the identity of\nThjasse's and Volund's mother was to be found. In one Norse mythological\nsource Thjasse's mother is called Greip. Volund's and Egil's (Ayo's and\nIbor's, Aggo's and Ebbo's) mother is in Paulus Diaconus and in Origo\nLongobardorum called Gambara, in Saxo Gambaruc. The Norse stem in the\nLatinised name Gambara is _Gammr_, which is a synonym of Greip, the\nname of Thjasse's mother. Thus I found a reference to the identity of\nThjasse's mother and Volund's mother.\n\nFrom the parents I went to the brothers. One of Volund's brothers bore\nthe epithet Aurnir, \"wild boar.\" Aurnir's wife is remembered in the\nChristian traditions as one who forebodes the future. Ebur's wife is a\nmythological seeress. One of Thjasse's brothers, Ide, is the only one in\nthe mythology whose name points to an original connection with Ivalde\n(Idvalde), Volund's father, and with Idun, Volund's half-sister. Volund\nhimself bears the epithet Brunne, and Thjasse's home is Brunnsacre. One\nof Thjasse's sons is slain at the instigation of Loke, and Loke, who in\nLokasenna takes pleasure in stating this, boasts in the same poem that\nhe has caused the slaying of Thjasse.\n\nIn regard to bonds of relationship in general, I found that on the one\nside Volund, like Thjasse, was regarded as a giant, and had relations\namong the giants, among whom Vidolf is mentioned both as Volund's and\nThjasse's relative, and that on the other hand Volund is called an\nelf-prince, and that Thjasse's father belonged to the clan of elves, and\nthat Thjasse's daughter is characterised, like Volund and his nearest\nrelatives, as a skee-runner and hunter, and in this respect has the same\nepithet as Volund's nephew Ull. I found, furthermore, that so far as\ntradition has preserved the memory of star-heroes, every mythic person\nwho belonged to their number was called a son of Ivalde or a son of\nOlvalde. Orvandel-Egil is a star-hero and a son of Ivalde. The Watlings,\nafter whom the Milky Way is named, are descendants of Vate-Vade, Volund's\nfather. Thjasse is a star-hero and the son of Olvalde. Ide, too,\nThjasse's brother, \"the torch-bearer,\" may have been a star-hero, and, as\nwe shall show later, the memory of Volund's brother Slagfin was partly\nconnected with the Milky Way and partly with the spots on the moon;\nwhile, according to another tradition, it is Volund's father whose image\nis seen in these spots (see Nos. 121, 123).\n\nI found that Rogner is a Thjasse-epithet, and that all that is stated of\nRogner is also told of Volund. Rogner was, like the latter, first the\nfriend of the gods and then their foe. He was a \"swan-gladdener,\" and\nVolund the lover of a swan-maid. Like Volund he fought against Njord.\nLike Volund he proceeded to the northernmost edge of the world, and there\nhe worked with magic implements through the powers of frost for the\ndestruction of the gods and of the world. And from some one he has taken\nthe same ransom as Volund did, when the latter killed Nidhad's young sons\nand made goblets of their skulls.\n\nI found that while Olvalde's sons, Ide, Aurner (Gang), and Thjasse, still\nwere friends of the gods, they had their abode on the south coast of the\nElivagar, where Ivalde had his home, called after him _Geirvadils setr_,\nand where his son Orvandel-Egil afterwards dwelt; that Thor on his way to\nJotunheim visits Ide's _setr_, and that he is a guest in Egil's dwelling;\nthat the mythological warriors who dwell around Ide's _setr_ are called\n\"warrior-vans,\" and that these \"Gang's warrior-vans\" have these very\npersons, Egil and his foster-son Thjalfe, as their leaders when they\naccompany Thor to fight the giants, wherefore the _setr_ of the Olvalde\nsons Ide and Gang must be identical with that of the Ivalde sons, and\nIde, Gang, and Thjasse identical with Slagfin, Egil, and Volund.\n\nOn these foundations the identity of Olvalde's sons with Ivalde's sons\nis sufficiently supported, even though our mythic records had preserved\nno evidence that Thjasse, like Volund, was the most celebrated artist\nof mythology. But such evidence is not wanting. As the real meaning\nof _Regin_ is \"shaper,\" \"workman,\" and as this has been retained as a\nsmith-name in Christian times, there is every reason to assume that\nThjasse, who is called _fjadrar-blads leik-Regin_ and _vingvagna R\u00f6gnir_,\ndid himself make, like Volund, the eagle guise which he, like Volund,\nwears. The son of Ivalde, Volund, made the most precious treasures for\nthe gods while he still was their friend, and the Olvalde son Thjasse is\ncalled _hapta snytrir_, \"the decorator of the gods,\" doubtless for the\nreason that he had smithied treasures for the gods during a time when he\nwas their friend and Thor's _ofr\u00fani_ (Thor's confidential friend). Volund\nis the most famous and, so far as we can see, also the first sword-smith,\nwhich seems to appear from the fact that his father Ivalde, though a\nvaliant champion, does not use the sword but the spear as a weapon, and\nis therefore called _Geirvandill_. Thjasse was the first sword-smith,\notherwise he would not have been called _fadir m\u00f6rna_, \"the father of\nthe swords.\" Splendid implements are called _verk R\u00f6gnis_ and _Thjaza\nthingskil_, _Idja gl\u00fdsm\u00e1l_, _Idja ord_--expressions which do not find\ntheir adequate explanation in the Younger Edda's account of the division\nof Olvalde's estate, but in the myth about the judgment which the gods\nonce proclaimed in the contest concerning the skill of Sindre and the\nsons of Ivalde, when the treasures of the latter presented in court had\nto plead their own cause.\n\n\n116.\n\n    A LOOK AT THE MYTH CONCERNING THJASSE-VOLUND. HIS EPITHET\n    HLEBARDR. HIS WORST DEED OF REVENGE.\n\nWhat our mythic records tell us about the sons of Olvalde and the sons\nof Ivalde is under such circumstances to be regarded as fragments\nwhich come to us from one and the same original myth. When combined,\nthe fragments are found to dovetail together and form one whole.\nVolundarkvida (28) indicates that something terrible, something that in\nthe highest degree aroused his indignation and awakened his deep and\nsatanic thirst for revenge, had happened to Volund ere he, accompanied by\nhis brothers, betook himself to the wintry wilderness, where he smithied\nthe sword of revenge and the gand rings; and the poem makes Volund add\nthat this injustice remained to be avenged when he left the Wolf-dales.\nIt lies in the nature of the case that the saga about Volund did not end\nwhere the fragment of the Volundarkvida which we possess is interrupted.\nThe balance of the saga must have related what Volund did to accomplish\nthe revenge which he still had to take, and how the effort to take\nvengeance resulted. The continuation probably also had something to say\nabout that swan-maid, that dis of vegetation, who by the name Hervor\nAlvitr spends nine years with Volund in the Wolfdales, and then, seized\nby longing, departs with the other swan-maids, but of whose faithful\nlove Volund is perfectly convinced (Volundarkvida, 10). While Volund is\nNidhad's prisoner, the hope he has built on the sword of revenge and\nvictory smithied by him seems to be frustrated. The sword is in the power\nof Mimer-Nidhad, the friend of the gods. But the hope of the plan of\nrevenge must have awakened again when Svipdag, Volund's nephew, succeeded\nin coming up from the lower world with the weapon in his possession. The\nconflict between the powers of frost and the kinsmen of Ivalde, who had\ndeserted the gods, on the one side, and the gods and their favourite\nHalfdan, the Teutonic patriarch, on the other side, was kindled anew\n(see No. 33). Halfdan is repulsed, and finally falls in the war in which\nVolund got satisfaction by the fact that his sword conquered Thor's\nMjolner and made Thor retreat. But once more the hope based on the sword\nof revenge is frustrated, this time by the possessor of the sword itself,\nVolund's young kinsman, who--victor in the war, but conquered by the love\nhe cherished for Freyja, rescued by him--becomes the husband of the fair\nasynje and gives the sword of Volund to Frey, the god of the harvests.\nThat, in spite of this crossing of his plan of revenge, Volund still did\nnot give it up may be taken for granted. He is described not only as the\nmost revengeful, but also as the most persistent and patient person (see\n\"Doer the Scald's Complaint\"), when patience could promote his plans.\nTo make war on the gods with the aid of the giants, when the sword of\nvictory had fallen into the hands of the latter, could not give him the\nleast hope of success. After the mythology has given Volund satisfaction\nfor the despicable judgment passed on the products of his skill, it\nunites the chain of events in such a manner that the same weapon which\nrefuted the judgment and was to cause the ruin of the gods became their\npalladium against its own maker. What was Volund able to do afterwards,\nand what did he do? The answer to this question is given in the myth\nabout Thjasse. With Idun--the Hervor Alvitr of the heroic poem--he\nconfined himself in a mountain, whose halls he presumably decorated with\nall the wonders which the sagas of the middle ages, describing splendid\nmountain-halls and parks within the mountains, inherited from the\nmythology. The mountain must have been situated in a region difficult of\naccess to the gods--according to Bragar\u00e6dur in Jotunheim. At all events,\nThjasse is there secure against every effort to disturb him, forcibly, in\nhis retreat. The means against the depredations of time and years which\nIdun possesses have their virtue only when in her care. Without this\nmeans, even the gods of Asgard are subject to the influence of time, and\nare to grow old and die. And in the sense of a myth symbolising nature,\nthe same means must have had its share in the rejuvenation of creation\nthrough the saps rising every year in trees and herbs. The destruction\nof the world--the approach of which Volund wished to precipitate with\nhis sword of revenge--must come slowly, but surely, if Idun remains away\nfrom Asgard. This plan is frustrated by the gods through Loke, as an\ninstrument compelled by necessity--compelled by necessity (Haustlaung,\nstr. 11), although he delighted in the mischief of deceiving even his\nallies. Near Thjasse's mountain-halls is a body of water, on which he\noccasionally rows out to fish (Bragar\u00e6dur.) Once, when he rows out for\nthis purpose, perhaps accompanied by Skade, Idun is at home alone. Loke,\nwho seems to have studied his customs, flies in a borrowed feather guise\ninto the mountain and steals Idun, who, changed into a nut, is carried in\nhis claws through space to Asgard. But the robbing of Idun was not enough\nfor Loke. He enticed Thjasse to pursue. In his inconsiderate zeal, the\nlatter dons his eagle guise and hastens after the robber into Asgard's\nvaferflames, where he falls by the javelins of the gods and by Thor's\nhammer. Sindre's work, the one surpassed by Volund, causes his death, and\nis avenged. I have already pointed out that this event explains Loke's\nwords to Idun in Lokasenna, where he speaks of the murder of one of the\nIvalde sons, and insists that she, Idun, embraced the one who caused his\ndeath.\n\nThe fate of the great artist and his tragical death help to throw light\non the character of Loke and on the part he played in the mythology.\nIvalde's sons are, in the beginning, the zealous friends of the gods,\nand the decorators and protectors of their creation. They smithy\nornaments, which are the symbols of vegetation; and at their outpost by\nthe Elivagar they defend the domain of vegetation against Jotunheim's\npowers of frost. As I have already stated, they are, like the Ribhus, at\nthe same time heroes, promoters of growth, and artists of antiquity. The\nmythology had also manifestly endowed the sons of Ivalde with pleasing\nqualities--profound knowledge of the mysteries of nature, intelligence,\nstrength, beauty, and with faithfulness toward their beloved. We find\nthat, in time of adversity, the brothers were firmly united, and that\ntheir swan-maids love them in joy and in distress. For the powers of\nevil it was, therefore, of the greatest moment to bring about strife\nbetween the gods and these their \"sworn men.\" Loke, who is a _gedreynir_\n(Thorsdrapa), \"a searcher of the qualities of the soul,\" a \"tempter of\nthe character,\" has discovered in the great artist of antiquity the false\nbut hitherto unawakened qualities of his character--his ambition and\nirreconcilable thirst for revenge. These qualities, particularly the\nlatter, burst forth fully developed suddenly after the injustice which,\nat Loke's instigation, the gods have done to the sons of Ivalde. The\nthirst for revenge breaks out in Thjasse-Volund in a despicable misdeed.\nThere is reason for assuming that the terrible vengeance which, according\nto the heroic saga, he took against Nidhad, and which had its counterpart\nin the mythology itself, was not the worst crime which the epic of the\nTeutonic mythology had to blame him for. Harbardsljod (20) alludes to\nanother and worse one. Speaking of Thjasse (str. 19), _H\u00e1rbardr-Loke_[12]\nthere boasts that--\n\n  hardan jotun\n  ec hugda Hlebard vera,\n  gaf han mer gambantein,\n  en ec velta hann or viti.\n\nHarbard-Loke here speaks of a giant who, in his mind, was a valiant\none, but whose \"senses he stole,\" that is, whom he \"cunningly deprived\nof thought and reflection.\" There are two circumstances to which these\nwords might apply. The one concerns the giant-builder who built the\nAsgard-wall, and, angry on account of the trick by which Loke cheated\nhim out of the compensation agreed on, rushed against the gods and was\nslain by Thor. The other concerns Thjasse, who, seeing his beloved\ncarried away by Loke and his plan about to be frustrated, recklessly\nrushed into his certain ruin. The real name of the giant alluded to\nis not given, but it is indicated by the epithet _Hl\u00e9bardr_, which,\naccording to the Younger Edda, (ii. 484), is a synonym of _Vargr_ and\n_Gyldir_. It has already been shown above that _Vargr_ in Thorsdrapa\nand _Fjallgyldir_ in Haustlaung are epithets of Thjasse. Loke says\nthat this same giant, whose sense he cunningly robbed, had previously\ngiven him a _gambanteinn_. This word means a weapon made by Volund. His\nsword of revenge and victory is called _gambanteinn_ in Skirnersmal.\nBut _gambanteinn_ is, at the same time, a synonym of _mistelteinn_,\nhence, in an Icelandic saga from the Christian time, Volund's sword of\nvictory also reappears by the name _mistelteinn_ (see No. 60). Thus the\ngiant Hlebard gave Loke a weapon, which, according to its designation,\nis either Volund's sword of victory or the mistletoe. It cannot be the\nsword of victory. We know the hands to which this sword has gone and is\nto go: Volund's, Mimer-Nidhad's, the night-dis Sinmara's, Svipdag's,\nFrey's, Aurboda's and Eggther's, and finally Fjalar's and Surt's. The\nweapon which Thjasse's namesake Hlebard gives Loke must, accordingly,\nhave been the mistletoe. In this connection we must bear in mind what\nis said of the mistletoe. Unfortunately, the few words of V\u00f6luspa are\nthe only entirely reliable record we have on this subject; but certain\nfeatures of Gylfaginning's account (Younger Edda, i. 172-174) may be\nmythologically correct. \"Slender and fair\"--not dangerous and fair to\nbehold--grew, according to V\u00f6luspa, the mistletoe, \"higher than the\nfields\" (as a parasite on the trees); but from the shrub which seemed\ninnocent became \"a dangerous arrow of pain,\" which _H\u00f6dr_ hurled.\nAccording to a poetic fragment united with Vegtamskvida (\"Balder's\ndraumar\"), and according to Gylfaginning, the gods had previously\nexacted an oath from all things not to harm Balder; but, according to\nGylfaginning, they had omitted to exact an oath from one thing, namely,\nthe mistletoe. By cunning Loke found this out. He went and pulled up the\nmistletoe, which he was afterwards able to put into Hoder's hand, while,\naccording to Gylfaginning, the gods were amusing themselves by seeing\nhow every weapon aimed at Balder hit him without harming him. But that\nLoke should hand Hoder this shrub in the form in which it had grown on\nthe tree, and that Hoder should use it in this form to shoot Balder, is\nas improbable as that Hoder was blind.[13] We must take V\u00f6luspa's words\nto mean that the shrub became an arrow, and we must conceive that this\narrow looked like every other arrow, and for this reason did not awaken\nsuspicion. Otherwise the suspicion would at once have been awakened,\nfor they who had exacted the oath of things, and Frigg who had sent the\nmessengers to exact the oaths, knew that the mistletoe was the only thing\nin the whole world that had not been sworn. The heathen songs nowhere\nbetray such inconsistencies and such thoughtlessness as abound in the\naccounts of the Younger Edda. The former are always well conceived, at\ntimes incisive, but they always reveal a keen sense of everything that\nmay give even to the miraculous the appearance of reality and logic. The\nmistletoe was made into an arrow by some one who knew how to turn it into\na \"dangerous arrow of pain\" in an infallible manner. The unhappy shot\ndepended on the magic qualities that were given to the mistletoe by the\nhands that changed it into an arrow. The event becomes comprehensible,\nand the statements found in the various sources dovetail together and\nbear the test of sound criticism, if Loke, availing himself of the only\nthing which had not been bound by oath not to harm Balder, goes with\nthis shrub, which of itself was innocent and hardly fit for an arrow,\nto the artist who hated the gods, to the artist who had smithied the\nsword of revenge, and if the latter, with his magic skill as a smith,\nmakes out of the _mistelteinn_ a new _gambanteinn_ dangerous to the\ngods, and gives the weapon to Loke in order that he might accomplish\nhis evil purpose therewith. As Hlebard is a Thjasse-synonym, as this\nThjasse-synonym is connected with the weapon-name _gambanteinn_, which\nindicates a Thjasse-work, and as Loke has treated Thjasse as he says he\nhas treated Hlebard--by a cunning act he robbed him of his senses--then\nall accessible facts go to establish the theory that by Hlebard is meant\nthe celebrated ancient artist deceived by Loke. And as Hlebard has given\nhim a weapon which is designated by the name of the sword of revenge, but\nwhich is not the sword of revenge, while the latter, on the other hand\nand for corresponding reasons, also gets the name _mistelteinn_, then all\nthe facts go to show that the weapon which Hlebard gave to Loke was the\nmistletoe fraught with woes and changed to an arrow. If Gylfaginning's\nunreliable account, based on fragmentary and partly misunderstood mythic\nrecords presented in a disjointed manner, had not been found, and if we\nhad been referred exclusively to the few but reliable statements which\nare to be found in regard to the matter in the poetic songs, then a\ncorrect picture of this episode, though not so complete as to details,\nwould have been the result of a compilation of the statements extant.\nThe result would then have been: (1) Balder was slain by an arrow shot\nby Hoder (V\u00f6luspa, Vegtamskvida); (2) Hoder was not the real slayer, but\nLoke (Lokasenna, 28); (3) the material of which the arrow was made was a\ntender or slender (_mj\u00f3r_) mistletoe (V\u00f6luspa); (4) previously all things\nhad sworn not to harm Balder (\"Balder's draumar\"), but the mistletoe\nmust, for some reason or other, have been overlooked by the messengers\nsent out to exact the oaths, since Balder was mortally wounded by it; (5)\nsince it was Loke who arranged (_r\u00e9d_) matters so that this happened,\nit must have been he who had charge of the mistletoe for the carrying\nout of his evil purpose; (6) the mistletoe fell into the hands of a\ngiant-smith hostile to the gods, and mentioned under circumstances that\nrefer to Thjasse (Harbardsljod); (7) by his skill as a smith he gave such\nqualities to the mistletoe as to change it into \"a dangerous arrow of\npain,\" and then gave the arrow to Loke (Harbardsljod); (8) from Loke's\nhands it passed into Hoder's, and was shot by the latter (Lokasenna,\nV\u00f6luspa).\n\nIt is dangerous to employ nature-symbolism as a means of mythological\ninvestigation. It is unserviceable for that purpose, so long as it\ncannot be subjected to the rules of severe methodics. On the other hand,\nit is admissible and justifiable to consider from a natural symbolic\nstandpoint the results gained in a mythological investigation by the\nmethodological system. If, as already indicated, Hlebard is identical\nwith Thjasse-Volund, then he who was the cause of the fimbul-winter\nand sent the powers of frost out upon the earth, also had his hand in\nthe death of the sun-god Balder and in his descent to the lower world.\nThere is logic in this. And there is logic in the very fact that the\nweapon with which the sun-god is slain is made from the mistletoe,\nwhich blossoms and produces fruit in the winter, and is a plant which\nrather shuns than seeks the light of the sun. When we remember how the\npopular traditions have explained the appearance and qualities of various\nanimals and plants by connecting them with the figures of mythology or\nof legendary lore, then I suppose it is possible that the popular fancy\nsaw in the mistletoe's dread of light the effect of grief and shame at\nhaving been an instrument in evil hands for evil purposes. Various things\nindicate that the mistletoe originally was a sacred plant, not only among\nthe Celts, but also among the Teutons. The Hindooic Aryans also knew\nsacred parasitical plants.\n\nThe word _gamban_ which forms a part of _gambanteinn_ means\n\"compensation,\" \"ransom,\" when used as a noun, and otherwise\n\"retaliating.\" In the Anglo-Saxon poetry occurs (see Grein's Dictionary)\nthe phrase _gamban gyldan_, \"to compensate,\" \"to pay dues.\" In the\nNorse sources _gamban_ occurs only in the compounds _gambanteinn_\n(Skirnersmal, 33; Harbardsljod, 20), _gambanreidi_ (Skirnersmal, 33),\nand _gambansumbl_ (Lokasenna, 8). In the song of Skirner, the latter\nthreatens Gerd, who refused Frey's offer of marriage, that she shall\nbe struck by _gambanreidi goda_, the avenging wrath of the gods. In\nLokasenna, Loke comes unbidden into the banquet of the gods in \u00c6gir's\nhall to mix bitterness with their gladness, and he demands either a place\nat the banquet table or to be turned out of doors. Brage answers that\nthe gods never will grant him a seat at a banquet, \"since they well know\nfor whom among beings they are to prepare _gambansumbl_,\" a banquet of\nrevenge or a drink of revenge. This he manifestly mentions as a threat,\nreferring to the fate which soon afterwards happens to Loke, when he\nis captured and bound, and when a venom-spitting serpent is fastened\nabove his mouth. For the common assumption that _gamban_ means something\n\"grand,\" \"magnificent,\" \"divine,\" there is not a single shadow of reason.\n_Gambanteinn_ is accordingly \"the twig of revenge,\" and thus we have\nthe mythological reason why Thjasse-Volund's sword of revenge and the\nmistletoe arrow were so called. With them he desires to avenge the insult\nto which he refers in Volundarkvida, 28: _Nu hefi ec hefnt harma minna\nallra nema einna ivithgjarnra._\n\n[12] Holtzmann and Bergmann have long since pointed out that Harbard is\nidentical with Loke. The idea that Harbard, who in every trait is Loke\nin Lokasenna, and, like him, appears as a mocker of the gods and boasts\nof his evil deeds and of his success with the fair sex, should be Odin,\nis one of the proofs showing how an unmethodical symbolic interpretation\ncould go astray. In the second part of this work I shall fully discuss\nHarbardsljod. Proofs are to be found from the last days of heathendom in\nIceland that it was then well known that the Harbard who is mentioned in\nthis poem was a foe of the gods.\n\n[13] When I come to consider the Balder-myth in the second part of\nthis work, I shall point out the source from which the author of\nGylfaginning, misunderstandingly, has drawn the conclusion that the man\nof exploits, the warrior, the archer, and the hunter Hoder was blind. The\nmisunderstanding gave welcome support to the symbolic interpretation,\nwhich, in the blind Hoder, found among other things a symbol of night\n(but night has \"many eyes\").\n\n\n117.\n\n    THE GUARD AT HVERGELMER AND THE ELIVAGAR.\n\nIt has already been shown (see Nos. 59, 93) that the Elivagar have their\nsource in the subterranean fountain Hvergelmer, situated on a mountain,\nwhich separates the subterranean region of bliss (Hel) from Nifelhel.\nHere, near the source of the Elivagar, stands the great world-mill,\nwhich revolves the starry heavens, causes the ebb and flood of the\nocean and regulates its currents, and grinds the bodies of the primeval\ngiants into layers of mould on the rocky substrata (see Nos. 79, 80).\nFrom Hvergelmer, the mother of all waters, the northern root of the\nworld-tree draws saps, which rise into its topmost branches, evaporate\ninto _Eikthyrnir_ above Asgard, and flow thence as vafer-laden clouds\n(see No. 36), which emit fructifying showers upon Midgard, and through\nthe earth they return to their original source, the fountain Hvergelmer.\nThe Hvergelmer mountain (the Nida-mountains, _Nidafj\u00f6ll_) cannot have\nbeen left without care and protection, as it is of so vast importance\nin the economy of the world, and this the less since it at the same\ntime forms the boundary between the lower world's realm of bliss and\nNifelhel, the subterranean Jotunheim, whose frost-thurses sustain the\nsame relation to the inhabitants on the evergreen fields of bliss as the\npowers of frost in the upper Jotunheim sustain to the gods of Asgard and\nto the inhabitants of Midgard. There is no reason for assuming that the\nguard of brave sworn warriors of the Asgard gods, those warriors whom we\nhave already seen in array near the Elivagar, should have only a part\nof this body of water to keep watch over. The clan of the elves, under\ntheir chiefs, the three sons of Ivalde, even though direct evidence\nwere wanting, must be regarded as having watched over the Elivagar\nalong their whole extent, even to their source, and as having had the\nsame important duty in reference to the giants of the lower world as in\nreference to those of the upper. As its name indicates, Nifelheim is\nshrouded in darkness and mist, against which the peaks of the Hvergelmer\nmountain form the natural rampart as a protection to the smiling fields\nof bliss. But gales and storms might lift themselves above these peaks\nand enshroud even Mimer's and Urd's realms in mist. The elves are endowed\nwith power to hinder this. The last strophe in Thorsdrapa, so interesting\nfrom a mythological standpoint, confirms this view. Egil is there called\n_hneitir undir-fj\u00e1lfs bliku_, and is said to be _helbl\u00f3tinn_. _Blika_ is\na name for clouds while they are still near the horizon and appear as\npale vapours, which to those skilled in regard to the weather forbode\nan approaching storm (compare Vigfusson's Dict., 69). _Undir-fj\u00e1lfr_ is\nthought by Egilson to mean subterranean mountains, by Vigfusson \"the\ndeep,\" _abyssus_. _Hneitir undir-fjalfs bliku_ is \"he who conquers (or\nresolves, scatters) the clouds rising, storm-foreboding, from the abyss\n(or over the lower-world mountain).\" As Egil can be thus characterised,\nit is easy to explain why he is called \"_helbl\u00f3tinn_,\" \"he who receives\nsacrifices in the subterranean realm of bliss.\" He guards the Teutonic\nelysian fields against the powers of frost and the mists of Nifelheim,\nand therefore receives tokens of gratitude from their pious inhabitants.\n\nThe vocation of the sons of Ivalde, as the keepers of the Hvergelmer\nfountain and of the Elivagar, has its counterpart in the vocation which,\nin the Iranian mythology, is attributed to Thjasse's prototype, the\nstar-hero Tistrya (Tishya). The fountain Hvergelmer, the source of the\nocean and of all waters, has in the Iranian mythology its counterpart in\nthe immense body of water Vourukasha. Just as the Teutonic world-tree\ngrows from its northern root out of Hvergelmer, the Iranian world-tree\nGaokerena grows out of Vourukasha (Bundehesh, 18). Vourukasha is guarded\nby Tistrya, assisted by two heroes belonging to the class of mythological\nbeings that are called Yazatas (Izads; in the Veda literature Yajata),\n\"they who deserve offerings,\" and in the Iranian mythology they form the\nthird rank of divine beings, and thus correspond to the elves of the\nTeutonic mythology. Assisted by these two heroes and by the \"fevers of\nthe just,\" Tistrya defends Vourukasha, and occasionally fights against\nthe demon Apaosha, who desires to destroy the world (Bundehesh, 7).\nTistrya, as such, appears in three forms: as a youth with bright and\nglistening eyes, as a wild boar, and as a horse. Can it be an accident\nthat these forms have their counterparts in the Teutonic mythology in\nthe fact that one of Thjasse's brothers (Egil-Orvandel-Ebur) has the\nepithet \"wild boar,\" and that, as shall be shown below, his other brother\n(Slagfin) bears the epithet Hengest, and that Thjasse-Volund himself, who\nfor years was possessor of, and presumably invented, the \"remedy against\naging,\" which Idun, his beloved, has charge of--that Thjasse-Volund\nhimself was regarded as a youth with a \"white neck\" (Volundarkvida, 2)\nand with glittering eyes (Volundarkvida, 17), which after his death were\nplaced in the heavens as stars?\n\n\n118.\n\n    SLAGFIN. HIS IDENTITY WITH GJUKE. SLAGFIN, EGIL, AND VOLUND ARE\n    NIFLUNGS.\n\nI now come to the third Ivalde son, Slagfin. The name Slagfin\n(_Slagfidr_) occurs nowhere else than in Volundarkvida, and in the prose\nintroduction to the same. All that we learn of him is that, like Egil,\nhe accompanied his brother Volund to the Wolfdales; that, like them, he\nruns on skees and is a hunter; and that, when the swan-maids, in the\nninth year of their abode in the Wolfdales, are overcome by longing and\nreturn to the south, he goes away to find his beloved, just as Egil\ngoes to find his. We learn, furthermore, that Slagfin's swan-maid is a\nsister of Volund's and a kinswoman of Egil's, and that she, accordingly,\nis Slagfin's sister (half-sister). She is called _Hladgudr Svanhvit_,\nlikewise a name which occurs nowhere else. Her (and accordingly also\nthat of Volund's swan-maid) mother is called Swan-feather, _Svanfj\u00f6dr_\n(Slagfin's beloved is _Svanfjadrar dr\u00f3s_--str. 2). The name Svan-feather\nreminds us of the Svanhild Gold-feather mentioned in Fornm., ii. 7, wife\nof one Finalf. If Svanfeather is identical with Svanhild Goldfeather,\nthen Finalf must originally be identical with Ivalde, who also is an elf\nand bears the name _Finnakonungr_, _Sumblus Phinnorum rex_. But this then\nsimply confirms what we already know, namely, that the Ivalde sons and\ntwo of the swan-maids are brothers and sisters. It, however, gives us no\nclue by which we can trace Slagfin in other sources, and rediscover him\nbearing other names, and restore the myth concerning him which seems to\nbe lost. That he, however, played an important part in the mythology may\nbe assumed already from the fact that his brothers hold places so central\nin the great epic of the mythology. It is, therefore, highly probable\nthat he is mentioned in our mythic fragments, though concealed under some\nother name. One of these names, viz., Ide, we have already found (see\nNo. 114); and thereby we have learned that he, with his brother Egil,\nhad a citadel near the Elivagar, and guarded their coasts against the\npowers of frost. But of his fate in general we are ignorant. No extensive\nresearches are required, however, before we find circumstances which,\ncompared with each other, give us the result that Slagfin is Gjuke, and\ntherewith the way is open for a nearer acquaintance with his position\nin the heroic saga, and before that in the mythology. His identity with\nGjuke is manifest from the following circumstances:\n\nThe Gjukungs, famous in the heroic saga, are, according to the saga\nitself, the first ones who bear this name. Their father is Gjuke, from\nwhom this patronymic is derived. Through their father they belong to a\nrace that is called Hniflungs, Niflungs, Nebelungs. The Gjukungs form a\nbranch of the Niflung race, hence all Gjukungs are Niflungs, but not all\nNiflungs Gjukungs. The Younger Edda says correctly, _Af Niflunga \u00e6tt var\nGjuki_ (Younger Edda, i. 522), and Atlakvida (17) shows that the Gjukungs\nconstitute only a part of the Niflungs. The identity of the Gjukungs in\nthis relative sense with the Niflungs is known and pointed out in Atlamal\n(47, 52, 88), in Brot Sigurdarkvida (16), in Atlakvida (11, 17, 27), and\nin \"Drap Niflunga.\"\n\nWho the Niflung race are in the widest sense of the word, or what known\nheroes the race embraced besides Gjuke and his sons--to this question\nthe saga of Helge Hundingsbane (i. 48) gives important information,\ninasmuch as the passage informs us that the hostile race which Helge\nHundingsbane--that is to say, Halfdan Borgarson (see No. 29)--combats are\nthe Niflungs. Foremost among the Niflungs Hodbrod is mentioned in this\npoem, whose betrothed Helge (Halfdan Borgarson) gets into his power. It\nhas already been shown that, in this heroic poem, Hodbrod is the copy of\nthe mythological Orvandel-Egil (see Nos. 29, 32, 101). It follows that\nVolund, Orvandel-Egil, and Slagfin are Niflungs, and that Gjuke either is\nidentical with one of them or that he at all events is descended from the\nsame progenitor as they.\n\nThe great treasure of works smithied from gold and other precious things\nwhich the Gjukungs owned, according to the heroic traditions, are\ndesignated in the different sources in the same manner as inherited. In\nAtlakvida (11) the Gjukung treasure is called _arf Niflunga_; so also\nin Atlakvida (27). In Gudrunarkvida (ii. 25) the queen of the deceased\nGjuke promises her and Gjuke's daughter, Gudrun, that she is to have the\ncontrol of all the treasures \"after (_at_) her dead father (_fj\u00f6ld allz\nfjar at thin faudur daudan_),\" and we are told that those treasures,\ntogether with the halls in which they were kept and the precious carpets,\nare an inheritance after (_at_) _Hlaudver_, \"the fallen prince\" (_hringa\nrauda Hlaudves sali, arsal allan at jofur fallin_). From Volundarkvida\nwe gather that Volund's and Slagfin's swan-maids are daughters of\nHlaudver and sisters of their lovers. Thus Hlaudver is identical with\nIvalde, Volund's, Egil's, and Slagfin's father (see No. 123). Ivalde's\nsplendidly decorated halls, together with at least one son's share of\nhis golden treasures, have thus passed as an inheritance to Gjuke, and\nfrom Gjuke to his sons, the Gjukungs. While the first song about Helge\nHundingsbane tells us that Volund, Egil, and Slagfin were, like Gjuke,\nNiflungs, we here learn that Gjuke was the heir of Volund's, Egil's, and\nSlagfin's father. And while Thorsdrapa, compared with other sources,\nhas already informed us that Ide-Slagfin and Gang-Egil inhabited that\ncitadel near the Elivagar which is called \"Ide's chalet\" and Geirvadel's\n(Geirvandel's) chalet, and while Geirvandel is demonstrably an epithet\nof Ivalde,[14] and as Ivalde's citadel accordingly passed into the\npossession of Slagfin and Egil, we here find that Ivalde's citadel was\ninherited by Gjuke. Finally, we must compare herewith Bragar\u00e6dur (ch.\n2), where it is said that Ivalde (there called Olvalde) was survived by\nhis sons, who harmoniously divided his great treasures. Thus Gjuke is one\nof the sons of Ivalde, and inherited halls and treasures after Ivalde;\nand as he can be neither Volund nor Egil, whose fates we already know,\nhe must be Slagfin--a result confirmed by the evidence which we shall\ngradually present below.\n\n[14] In Saxo Gervandillus (_Geirvandill_) is the father of Horvandillus\n(_\u00d6rvandill_). Orvandel has been proved to be identical with Egil. And as\nEgil is the son of Ivalde, Geirvandel is identical with Ivalde.\n\n\n119.\n\n    THE NIFLUNG HOARD IS THE TREASURE LEFT BY VOLUND AND HIS\n    BROTHERS.\n\nWhen Volund and Egil, angry at the gods, abandoned Frey to the power\nof the giants and set out for the Wolfdales, they were unable to take\nwith them their immense treasures inherited from their father and\naugmented by themselves. Nor did they need them for their purposes.\nVolund carried with him a golden fountain in his wealth-bringing arm-ring\n(see Nos. 87, 98, 101) from which the seven hundred rings, that Nidhad\nto his astonishment discovered in his smithy, must have come. But the\nriches left by these brothers ought not to fall into the hands of the\ngods, who were their enemies. Consequently they were concealed. Saxo\n(_Hist._, 193) says of the father of Svipdag-Ericus, that is to say, of\nOrvandel-Egil, that he long had had great treasures concealed in earth\ncaves (_gaz\u00e6, quas diu claus\u00e6 telluris antra condiderant_). The same\nis true of Gjuke-Slagfin, who went with his brothers to the Wolfdales.\nVilkinasaga (see below) has rescued an account of a treasure which was\npreserved in the interior of a mountain, and which he owned. The same\nis still more and particularly applicable to Volund, as he was the most\nfamous smith of the mythology and of the heroic saga. The popular fancy\nconceived these treasures left and concealed by Volund as being kept in\nearth caves, or in mountain halls, guarded and brooded over by dragons.\nOr it conceived them as lying on the bottom of the sea, or in the bottom\nof deep rivers, guarded by some dwarf inhabiting a rocky island near\nby. Many of the songs and sagas of heathendom and of the older days of\nChristianity were connected with the refinding and acquisition of the\nNiblung hoard by some hero or other as the Volsung Sigmund, the Borgar\ndescendant Hadding-Dieterich, and Siegfried-Sigurd-Fafnersbane. The\nNiflung treasure, _hodd Niflunga_ (Atlakvida, 26), _Nibelunge Hort_,\nis in its more limited sense these Volund treasures, and in its most\ngeneral signification the golden wealth left by the three brothers. This\nwealth the saga represents as gathered again largely in the hands of\nthe Gjukungs, after Sigurd, upon the victory over Fafner, has reunited\nthe most important one of Volund's concealed treasures with that of\nthe Gjukung's, and has married the Gjukung sister Gudrun. The German\ntradition, preserved in middle-age poems, shows that the continental\nTeutons long remembered that the _Nibelunge Hort_ originally was owned by\nVolund, Egil, and Slagfin-Gjuke. In _Lied von Siegfried_ the treasure is\nowned by three brothers who are \"Niblungs.\" Only one of them is named,\nand he is called King Euglin, a name which, with its variation Eugel,\nmanifestly is a variation of Eigel, as he is called in the Orentel saga\nand in Vilkinasaga, and of Egil as he is called in the Norse records.\nKing Euglin is, according to _Lied von Siegfried_, an interpreter of\nstars. Siegfried bids him _Lasz mich deyner kunst geniessen, Astronomey\ngenannt_. This peculiar statement is explained by the myth according\nto which Orvandel-Egil is a star-hero. Egil becomes, like Atlas of\nthe antique mythology, a king versed in astronomy in the historical\ninterpretation of mythology. In _Nibelunge Noth_ the treasure is owned\nby \"the valiant\" Niblungs, Schilbunc and Niblunc. Schilbunc is the Norse\n_Skilfingr_, and I have already shown above that Ivalde-Svigder is the\nprogenitor of the Skilfings. The poem Biterolf knows that the treasure\noriginally belonged to _Nibel\u00f3t, der machet himele guld\u00een; selber wolt\ner got s\u00een_. These remarkable words have their only explanation in the\nmyths concerning the Niflung Volund, who first ornamented Asgard with\ngolden works of art, and subsequently wished to destroy the inhabitants\nof Asgard in order to be god himself. The Norse heroic saga makes the\ntreasures brooded over by Fafner to have been previously guarded by\nthe dwarf Andvare, and makes the latter (Sigurdarkvida Fafn., ii. 3)\nrefer to the first owner. The saga characterises the treasure guarded\nby him as _that gull, er Gustr \u00e1tti_. In the very nature of the case\nthe first maker and possessor of these works must have been one of the\nmost celebrated artists of the mythology; and as _Gustr_ means \"wind,\"\n\"breath of wind;\" as, again, Volund in the mythology is the only artist\nwho is designated by a synonym of _Gustr_, that is, by _Byrr_, \"wind\"\n(Volundarkvda, 12), and by _Loptr_, \"the airy one\" (Fj\u00f6lsvinnsmal,\n26); as, furthermore, the song cycle concerning Sigurd Fafnersbane is\nconnected with the children of Gjuke Volund's brother, and in several\nother respects strikes roots down into the myth concerning Ivalde's\nsons; and as, finally, the German tradition shows an original connection\nbetween _Nibelunge Hort_ and the treasures of the Ivalde sons, then every\nfact goes to show that in _Gustr_ we have an epithet of Volund, and that\nthe Niflung hoard, both in the Norse and in the German Sigurd-Siegfried\nsaga was the inheritance and the works of Volund and his brothers.\nVigfusson assumes that the first part of the compound Slagfin is _slagr_,\n\"a tone,\" \"a melody,\" played on a stringed instrument. The correctness\nof this opinion is corroborated by the fact that Slagfin-Gjuke's son,\nGunnar, is the greatest player on stringed instruments in the heroic\nliterature. In the den of serpents he still plays his harp, so that the\ncrawling venomous creatures are enchanted by the tones. This wonderful\nart of his is explained by the fact that his father is \"the stringed\ninstrument's\" Finn, that is, Slagfin. The horse Grane, who carries\nSigurd and the hoard taken from Fafner, probably at one time bore Volund\nhimself, when he proceeded to the Wolfdales. Grane at all events had\na place in the Volund-myth. The way traversed by Volund from his own\ngolden realm to the Wolfdales, and which in part was through the northern\nregions of the lower world (_fyr m\u00e1grindr nedan_--Fj\u00f6lsvinnsmal, 26)\nis in Volundarkvida (14) called Grane's way. Finally, it must here be\nstated that Sigurdrifva, to whom Sigurd proceeds after he has gotten\npossession of Fafner's treasure, (Griperssaga, 13-15), is a mythic\ncharacter transferred to the heroic saga, who, as shall be shown in\nthe second part of this work, held a conspicuous position in the myths\nconcerning the Ivalde sons and their swan-maids. She is, in fact, the\nheroic copy of Idun, and originally she had nothing to do with Budle's\ndaughter Brynhild. The cycle of the Sigurd songs thus attaches itself\nas the last ring or circle in the powerful epic to the myth concerning\nthe Ivalde sons. The Sigurd songs arch themselves over the fateful\ntreasures which were smithied and left by the fallen Lucifer of the\nTeutonic mythology, and which, like his sword of revenge and his arrow\nof revenge, are filled with curses and coming woe. In the heroic poems\nthe Ivalde sons are their owners. The son's son Svipdag wields the sword\nof revenge. The son's sons Gunnar and Hogne go as the possessors of the\nNiblung treasure to meet their ruin. The myth concerning their fathers,\nthe Ivalde sons, arches itself over the enmity caused by Loke between\nthe gods on the one hand, and the great artists, the elf-princes, the\nprotectors of growth, the personified forces of the life of nature, on\nthe other hand. In connection herewith the myth about Ivalde himself\nrevolves mainly around \"the mead,\" the _soma_, the strength-giving saps\nin nature. He too, like his sons afterwards, gets into conflict with the\ngods and rebels against them, seeks to deprive them of the _soma_ sap\nwhich he had discovered, allies himself with Suttung's sons, in whose\nkeeping the precious liquid is rediscovered, and is slain outside of\ntheir door, while Odin is within and carries out the plan by which the\nmead becomes accessible to gods and to men (see No. 89). This chain of\nevents thus continues through three generations. And interwoven with\nit is the chain of events opposed to it, which develops through the\ngenerations of the other great mythic race of heroes: that of the Heimdal\nson Borgar, of the Borgar son Halfdan, and of the Halfdan sons Hadding\nand Guthorm (Dieterich and Ermenrich). Borgar fights and must yield to\nthe assault of Ivalde, and subsequently of his sons from the North in\nalliance with the powers of frost (see Nos. 22, 28). Halfdan contends\nwith Ivalde's sons, recaptures for vegetation the Teutonic country as\nfar as to \"Svarin's mound,\" but is slain by Ivalde's grandson Svipdag,\narmed with the Volund sword (see Nos. 32, 33, 102, 103). In the conflict\nbetween Svipdag and Guthorm-Ermenrich on the one side, and Hadding on\nthe other, we see the champions divided into two camps according to the\nmythological antecedents of their families: Amalians and Hildings on\nHadding's side, the descendants of Ivalde on the other (see Nos. 42,\n43). Accordingly, the Gjukungs, \"the kings on the Rhine,\" are in the\nGerman tradition on Ermenrich's side. Accordingly, Vidga Volundson, in\nspite of his bond of friendship with Hadding-Dieterich, also fights under\nErmenrich's banner. Accordingly, Vildebur-Egil is again called to life\nin the heroic saga, and there appears as the protector and helper of\nthe Volund son, his own nephew. And accordingly, Vate-Walther, too (see\nNo. 123), identical with Ivalde, Volund's father, is reproduced in the\nheroic saga to bear the banner of Ermenrich in the battles (cp. No. 43).\n\n\n120.\n\n    SLAGFIN-GJUKE'S SYNONYMS DANKRAT (THAKKR\u00c1DR), IRUNG, ALDRIAN.\n    SLAGFIN A STAR-HERO LIKE HIS BROTHERS. ALDRIAN'S IDENTITY WITH\n    CHELDRICUS-GELDERUS.\n\nSlagfin-Gjuke has many names in the German traditions, as in the Norse.\nAlong with the name Gibich, Gibche (Gjuke), occur the synonyms Dankrat,\nIrung, and Aldrian. In the latter part of Nibelunge Noth Gibich is called\nDankrat (cp. \"Klage;\" Biterolf also has the name Dankrat, and speaks\nof it in a manner which shows that in some of the sources used by the\nauthor Dankrat was a synonym of Gibich). In Vilkinasaga Gjuke appears\nnow as Irung, now as Aldrian. Aldrian is (Vilkinasaga, 150) king of\nNiflungaland, and has the sons Hogne, Gunnar, Gernoz, and Gilzer. Irung\n(Vilkin., 15) is also king of Niflungaland, and has the sons Hogne,\nGunnar, Gudzorm, Gernoz, and Gisler. As Gjuke also is a Niflung, and has\nthe sons Hogne, Gunnar, and Guthorm, there can be no doubt that Gjuke,\nGibche, Dankrat, Irung, and Aldrian are synonyms, designating one and the\nsame person, namely, Volundarkvida's Slagfin, the Ide of the mythology.\nNibelunge Noth, too, speaks of Aldrian as the father of Hagen (Hogne).\nAldrian's wife is called Oda, Gibich's \"Frau Uote,\" Dankrat's \"Frau Ute.\"\n\nThe Norse form for Dankrat (Tancred) is _thakkr\u00e1dr_, Thakkrad. This\nname appears a single time in the Norse records, and then in connection\nwith Volund and Nidhad. In Volundarkvida (39) Thakkrad is mentioned as\nNidhad's chief servant, who still remains in his service when Volund,\nhis revenge accomplished, flies in an eagle's guise away from his\nprison. That this servant bears a name that belongs to Slagfin-Gjuke,\nVolund's brother, cannot be an accident. We must compare an account\nin Vilkinasaga, according to which Volund's other brother Egil was in\nNidhad's service when Volund flew away. It follows that the heroic saga\nmade not only Volund, but also Slagfin and Egil, fall into Nidhad's\nhands. Both in Volundarkvida itself and in its prose introduction we\nread that when the home-sick swan-maids had left the Wolfdales, Egil and\nSlagfin betook themselves thence, Egil going to the east to look for his\nswan-maid Olrun, Slagfin going south to find his Svanhvit (Volundarkvida,\n4), and that Nidhad thereupon learned--the song does not say how--that\nVolund was alone in the Wolfdales (Volundarkvida, 6). The assumption\nhere lies near at hand, that Nidhad found it out from the fact that\nSlagfin and Egil, though going away in different directions, fell into\nhis power while they were looking for their beloved. Whether this feature\nbelonged to the myth or not cannot be determined. At all events it is\nremarkable that we refind in Volundarkvida the Gjuke name Thakkrad, as in\nVilkinasaga we find Volund's brother Egil in Nidhad's environment.\n\nThe name Irung, Iring, as a synonym of Gjuke, is of more importance\nfrom a mythological point of view. Widukind of Corvei (about the year\n950) tells us in ch. 13 of his Saxon Chronicle that \"the Milky Way is\ndesignated by Iring's name even to this day.\" Just previously he has\nmentioned a Saxon warrior by this name, whom he believes to have been\nthe cause of this appellation (_ ... Iringi nomine, quem ita vocitant,\nlacteus c\u0153li circulus sit vocatus_; and in the Aursberg Chronicle,\naccording to J. Grimm, _... lacteus c\u00e6li circulus Iringis, nomine\nIringesstraza sit vocatus_). According to Anglo-Saxon glossaries, the\nMilky Way is called _Iringes uueg_. With this we should compare the\nstatements made above, that the Milky Way among the Teutonic population\nof England was called the way of the Watlings (that is, the descendants\nof Vate, _i.e._, Ivalde). Both the statements harmonize. In the one it is\nthe descendants of Ivalde in general, in the other it is Slagfin-Iring\nwhose name is connected with the Milky Way. Thus Slagfin, like Volund\nand Orvandel-Egil, was a star-hero. In \"Klage\" it is said of Iring and\ntwo other heroes, in whose company he appears in two other poems, that\nthey committed grave mistakes and were declared banished, and that they,\nin spite of efforts at reconciliation, remained under the penalty to the\nend of their lives. Biterolf says that they were exiles and threatened\nby their foes. Here we have a reverberation of the myth concerning the\nconflict between the gods and the Ivalde sons, of Frey's unsuccessful\neffort to reconcile the enemies, and of their flight to the extreme north\nof the earth. In the German poems they take flight to Attila.\n\nThe Gjuke synonym Aldrian is a name formed in analogy with Albrian,\nwhich is a variation of Elberich. In analogy herewith Aldrian should be\na variation of Elderich, Helderich. In Galfrid of Monmouth's British\nHistory there is a Saxon saga-hero Cheldricus, who, in alliance with a\nSaxon chief Baldulf, fights with King Artus' general Cador, and is slain\nby him. How far the name-forms Aldrian-Elderich have any connection\nwith the Latinised Cheldricus I think best to leave undetermined; but\nthere are other reasons which, independently of a real or apparent\nname-identity, indicate that this Cheldricus is the same person as\nAldrian-Gjuke. Bugge has already pointed out that Baldrian corresponds\nto Balder, Cador to _H\u00f6dr_; that Galfrid's account has points of contact\nwith Saxo's about the war between Balder and Hoder, and that Galfrid's\nCheldricus corresponds to Saxo's King Gelderus, _Geldr_, who fights with\nHoder and falls in conflict with him.\n\nThat which at once strikes us in Saxo's account of Gelderus (see No. 101)\nis that he takes arms against Hotherus, when he learns that the latter\nhas got possession of the sword of victory and the wealth-producing\nring--treasures that were smithied by Volund, and in that sense belonged\nto the Niblung hoard. That Saxo in this manner gave a reason for the\nappearance of Gelderus can only be explained by the fact that Gelderus\nhad been in some way connected with the Niblung hoard, and looked upon\nhimself as more entitled to it than Hotherus. This right could hardly be\nbased on any other reason than the fact that Gelderus was a Niflung, a\nkinsman of the maker and owner of the treasures. In the Vilkinasaga the\nkeeper and protector of the Niblung hoard, the one who has the key to\nthe rocky chambers where the hoard is kept bears the very name Aldrian,\nconsequently the very surname of Slagfin-Gjuke, Volund's and Egil's\nbrother. This of itself indicates that Gelderus is Slagfin-Aldrian.\n\n\n121.\n\n    SLAGFIN'S IDENTITY WITH HJUKE. HIS APPEARANCE IN THE MOON-MYTH\n    AND IN THE BALDER-MYTH. BIL'S IDENTITY WITH IDUN.\n\nFrom Slagfin-Gelderus' part in the war between the two divine brothers\nBalder and Hoder, as described both by Saxo and by Galfrid, we must draw\nthe conclusion that he is a mythic person historified, and one who had\ntaken an important part in the Balder-myth as Balder's friend, and also\nas Hoder's though he bore weapons against the latter. According to Saxo,\nHoder honours the dust of his slain opponent Gelderus in a manner which\nindicates a previous friendly relation between them. He first gives\nGelderus a most splendid funeral (_pulcherrimum funeris obsequium_), then\nhe builds a magnificent grave-mound for him, and decorates it with tokens\nof his respect (_veneratio_) for the dead one.\n\nThe position of Slagfin-Gelderus to the two contending divine brothers,\nhis brothership-in-arms with Balder, the respect and devotion he receives\nfrom his opponent Hoder, can only be explained by the fact that he had\nvery intimate relations with the two brothers and with the mythical\npersons who play a part in the Balder-myth. According to Saxo, Hoder\nwas fostered by _Gevarr_, the moon-god, Nanna's father. As Nanna's\nfoster-brother, he falls in love with her who becomes the wife of his\nbrother, Balder. Now the mythology actually mentions an individual who\nwas adopted by the moon-god, and accordingly was Hoder's foster-brother,\nbut does not in fact belong to the number of the real gods. This\nfoster-son inherits in the old Norse records one of the names with which\nthe moon-god is designated in the Anglo-Saxon poems--that is, _Hoce_, a\nname identical with the Norse _Hj\u00fake_. Hnaf (_Hn\u00e6fr_, _N\u00e6fr_, Nanna's\nfather) is also, as already shown, called Hoce in the Beowulf poem (see\nNos. 90, 91). From the story about Bil and Hjuke, belonging to the myth\nabout the mead and preserved in the Younger Edda, we know that the\nmoon-god took these children to himself, when they were to carry to their\nfather _Vidfinnr_, the precious burden which they had dipped out of the\nmead-fountain, Byrger (see Nos. 90, 91).\n\nThat this taking up was equivalent to an adoption of these children by\nthe moon-god is manifest from the position Bil afterwards got in the\ncircle of gods. She becomes an asynje (Younger Edda, i. 118, 556) and\ndistributes the Teutonic mythological _soma_, the creative sap of nature\nand inspiration, the same liquid as she carried when she was taken up\nby the moon-god. The skalds of earth pray to her (_ef unna itr vildi\nBil sk\u00e1ldi!_) and Asgard's skald-god, Brage, refreshes himself with her\nin Gevarr-Nokver's silver-ship (see Sonatorrek; cp. Nos. 90, 91). Odin\ncame to her every day and got a drink from the mead of the moon-ship,\nwhen the latter was sinking toward the horizon in the west. The ship\nis in Grimnersmal called _S\u00f6kkvabekkr_, \"the setting or sinking ship,\"\nin which Odin and Saga \"daily drink from golden goblets,\" while \"cool\nbillows in soughing sound flow over\" the place where they sit. The cool\nbillows that roar over Sokvabek are the waves of the atmospheric sea,\nin which Nokver's ship sails, and they are the waves of the ocean when\nthe silver-ship sinks into the sea. The epithet _Saga_ is used in the\nsame manner as _Bil_, and it probably has the same reason for its origin\nas that which led the skalds to call the bucket which Bil and Hjuke\ncarried _S\u00e6gr_. Bil, again, is merely a synonym of Idun. In Haustlaung,\nIdun is called _Byrgis \u00e1r-Gefn_, \"Byrger's harvest-giving dis;\" Thjasse\nis called _Byrgis \u00e1r-Gefnar bjarga-Tyr_, \"Byrger's harvest-giving dis,\nmountain-Tyr.\" Idun is thus named partly after the fountain from which\nBil and Hjuke fetched the mead, partly after the bucket in which it was\ncarried.\n\nThat Hjuke, like Bil-Idun, was regarded by the moon-god as a\nfoster-child, should not be doubted, the less so as we have already\nseen that he, in the Norse sources, bears his foster-father's name. As\nan adopted son of the moon-god, he is a foster-brother of Hoder and\nNanna. Hjuke must therefore have occupied a position in the mythology\nsimilar to that in which we find Gelderus as a brother-in-arms of Nanna's\nhusband, and as one who was held in friendship even by his opponent,\nHoder. As a brother of the Ivalde daughter, Bil-Idun, he too must be an\nIvalde son, and consequently one of the three brothers, either Slagfin,\nor Orvandel-Egil, or Volund. The mythic context does not permit his\nidentification with Volund or Egil. Consequently he must be Slagfin. That\nGelderus is Slagfin has already been shown.\n\nThis also explains how, in Christian times, when the myths were told as\nhistory, the Niflungs-Gjukungs were said to be descended from _N\u00e6fr_,\n_Nefir_, (_Nefir er Niflunger eru fr\u00e1 komnir_--Younger Edda, i. 520.) It\nis connected with the fact that Slagfin, like his brothers, is a Niflung\n(see No. 118) and an adopted son of the moon-god, whose name he bore.\n\nBil's and Hjuke's father is called _Vidfinnr_. We have already seen\nthat Slagfin's and his brothers' father, Ivalde, is called _Finnr_,\n_Finnakonungr_ (Introduction to Volundarkvida), and that he is identical\nwith _Sumbl Finnakonungr, and Finn\u00e1lfr_. In fact the name _Finnr_\nnever occurs in the mythic records, either alone or in compounds or in\nparaphrases, except where it alludes to Ivalde or his son, Slagfin. Thus,\nfor instance, the byrnie, _Finnzleif_, in Ynglingasaga, is borne by a\nhistorified mythic person, by whose name Saxo called a foster-son of\nGevarr, the moon-god. The reason why Ivalde got the name _Finnr_ shall be\ngiven below (see No. 123). And as Ivalde (_Sumbl Finnakonungr_--Olvalde)\nplays an important part in the mead-myth, and as the same is true of\nVidfin, who is robbed of Byrger's liquid, then there is every reason for\nthe conclusion that Vidfin's, Hjuke's, and Bil-Idun's father is identical\nwith _Finnakonungr_, the father of Slagfin and of his sister.\n\nGjuke and Hjuke are therefore names borne by one and the same person--by\nSlagfin, the Niflung, who is the progenitor of the Gjukungs. They also\nlook like analogous formations from different roots.\n\nThis also gives us the explanation of the name of the Asgard bridge,\n_Bilr\u00f6st_, \"Bil's way.\" The Milky Way is Bil-Idun's way, just as it is\nher brother Hjuke's; for we have already seen that the Milky Way is\ncalled Irung's way, and that Irung is a synonym of Slagfin-Gjuke. Bil\ntravelled the shining way when she was taken up to Asgard as an asynje.\nSlagfin travelled it as Balder's and Hoder's foster-brother. If we now\nadd that the same way was travelled by Svipdag when he sought and found\nFreyja in Asgard, and by Thjasse-Volund's daughter, Skade, when she\ndemanded from the gods a ransom for the slaying of her father, then we\nfind here no less than four descendants of Ivalde who have travelled\nover the Milky Way to Asgard; and as Volund's father among his numerous\nnames also bore that of Vate, Vade (see Vilkinasaga), then this explains\nhow the Milky Way came to be called Watling Street in the Old English\nliterature.[15]\n\nIn the mythology there was a circle of a few individuals who were\ncelebrated players on stringed instruments. They are Balder, Hoder,\nSlagfin, and Brage. In the heroic poems the group is increased with\nSlagfin-Gjuke's son, Gunnar, and with Hjarrandi, the Horund of the\nGerman poem \"Gudrun,\" to whom I shall recur in my treatise on the\nheroic sagas. Balder's playing is remembered by Galfrid of Monmouth.\nHoder's is mentioned in Saxo, and perhaps also in the Edda's _Hadarlag_,\na special kind of metre or manner of singing. Slagfin's quality as a\nmusician is apparent from his name, and is inherited by his son, Gunnar.\nHjarrandi-Horund appears in the Gudrun epic by the side of Vate (Ivalde),\nand there is reason for identifying him with Gevarr himself. All these\nnames and persons are connected with the myth concerning the _soma_\npreserved in the moon. While the first drink of the liquid of inspiration\nand of creative force is handed to Odin by Mimer, we afterwards find\na supply of the liquid preserved by the moon-god; and those mythic\npersons who are connected with him are the very ones who appear as the\ngreat harp-players. Balder is the son-in-law of the moon-god, Hoder and\nSlagfin are his foster-sons, Gunnar is Slagfin's son, Brage becomes the\nhusband of Bil-Idun, and Hjarrandi is no doubt the moon-god himself, who\nsings so that the birds in the woods, the beasts on the ground, and the\nfishes in the sea listen and are charmed (\"Gudrun,\" 1415-1418, 1523-1525,\n1555-1558).\n\nBoth in Saxo and in Galfrid Hoder meets Slagfin with the bow in his\nconflict with him (Cheldricus in Galfrid; Gelderus in Saxo). The bow\nplays a chief part in the relation between the gods and the sons of\nIvalde. Hoder also met Egil in conflict with the bow (see No. 112),\nand was then defeated, but Egil's noble-mindedness forbade his harming\nSlagfin's foster-brother. Hoder, as an archer, gets satisfaction for\nthe defeat in Saxo, when with his favourite weapon he conquers Egil's\nbrother, Slagfin (Gelderus), who also is an archer. And finally, with\nan arrow treacherously laid on Hoder's bow, Volund, in demoniac thirst\nfor revenge and at Loke's instigation, takes the life of Balder, Hoder's\nbrother.\n\n[15] Thus Vigfusson's opinion that the Asgard bridge is identical\nwith the Milky Way is correct. That the rainbow should be regarded as\nthe Bilrost with its bridge-heads is an invention by the author of\nGylfaginning.\n\n\n122.\n\n    REVIEW OF THE SYNONYMS OF THE SONS OF IVALDE.\n\nThe names by which Slagfin is found in our records are accordingly\n_Idi_, _Gj\u00faki_, Dankrat (_thakkr\u00e1dr_), Irung, Aldrian, Cheldricus,\nGelderus, _Hj\u00faki_. We have yet to mention one more, Hengest (_Hengist_),\nto which I shall return below. Of these names, Gelderus (_Geldr_),\nCheldricus, and Aldrian form a group by themselves, and they are possibly\nsimply variations of the same word. The meaning of the name Hengest,\n\"a gelding,\" is connected with the same group, and particularly to\nthe variation _Geldr_. The most important Slagfin epithets, from a\nmythological standpoint, are Ide, Gjuke, Hjuke, and Irung.\n\nThe names of Volund (Wieland, Veland) in the various records are, as we\nhave seen, _thjazi_, Ajo (Aggo), Anund (_\u00d6nundr_), _R\u00f6gnir_, _Brunni_,\n_\u00c1s\u00f3lfr_, _Vargr_, _Fjallgyldir_, _Hl\u00e9bardr_, _Byrr_, _Gustr_, _Loptr_,\nHaquinus (Aki, Ecke). Of these names and epithets _\u00c1s\u00f3lfr_, _Vargr_,\n_Fjallgyldir_, and _Hl\u00e9bardr_ form a group by themselves, and refer to\nhis animal-symbol, the wolf. The other brothers also have animal-symbols.\nEgil is symbolised as a wild boar and a bear by the names _Aurnir_,\n_Ebur_, _Is\u00f3lfr_. Slagfin is symbolised as a horse in Hengest, and also\nin the paraphrase _\u00f6ndr-J\u00e1lkr_, \"the gelding of the skees.\" Like his\nbrothers, he is a runner on skees. The Volund epithet, _Brunni_, also\nalludes to skee-running. _R\u00f6gnir_ and _Regin_ are names of Volund and his\nbrothers in their capacity of artists. The names Ajo, Anund, and Thjasse\n(the sparkling) may have their origin in ancient Aryan times.\n\nThe names of the third brother, Egil, are _Gangr_, _\u00d6rvandill_, _Egill_,\nAgelmund, Eigel, Euglin, _H\u00f6dbroddr_, Toko, and Avo, the archer; Ebur\n(Ibor, Wild-Ebur, Villefer, Ebbo), _Aurnir Is\u00f3lfr_. Of these names\n_Egill_, Agelmund, Egil, and Euglin form a separate group; _\u00d6rvandill_,\n_H\u00f6dbroddr_, Toko, and Avo sagittarius form another group, referring to\nhis fame as an archer; Ebur, Aurnir, and Isolfr a third, referring to his\nanimal-symbols.\n\n\n123.\n\n    IVALDE.\n\nIn the course taken by our investigation we have already met with and\npointed out several names and epithets by which Ivalde occurs in the\nmythology and in the heroic poems. Such are _Geirvandill_, with the\nvariation _Geirvadill_; _Vadi_ (Vate), _Allvaldi_, _Audvaldi_, _Olvaldi_,\n_Svigdir_ (_Svegdir_), _\u00d6lm\u00f3dr_, _Sumbl Finnakonungr_ (Sumblus Phinnorum\nrex), _Finnakonungr_, _Vidfinnr_, _Finn\u00e1lfr_, _Fin Folcvalding_,\n_Hlaudverr_.\n\nOf these names _\u00cdvaldi_, _Allvaldi_, _Audvaldi_, and _\u00d6lvaldi_ form\na group by themselves, inasmuch as they all have the part, _valdi_,\n_valdr_, \"mighty,\" an epithet preserved from the mythology in those\nheroic sagas which have treated distinct portions of the Ivalde-myth,\nwhere the hero reappears as Walther, Valthari, Valdere, Valtarius\nManufortis.\n\nAnother group is formed by _\u00d6lvaldi_, _\u00d6lmodr_, _Svidir_, _Sumbl\nFinnakonungr_. _Svigdir_ means, as already shown, \"the great drinker,\"\nand _Sumbl_ is a synonym of \"ale,\" \"mead.\" All the names in this group\nrefer to the quality of their bearer as a person belonging to the myth\nabout the mead.\n\nThe name _Sumbl Finnakonungr_ is at the same time connected with a\nthird group of names--_Finnakonungr_, _Finnr_, _Vidfinnr_, _Finn\u00e1lfr_,\n_Fin Folcvalding_. With this group the epithets _Vadi_ and _Vadill_ (in\n_Geirvadill_) have a real mythological connection, which shall be pointed\nout below.\n\nFinally, _Geirvadill_ is connected with the epithet _Geirvandill_ from\nthe fact that both belong to Ivalde on account of his place in the\nweapon-myth.\n\nAs has been shown above, Geirvandill means \"the one occupied with the\nspear,\" or, more accurately, \"the one who exhibits great care and skill\nin regard to the spear\" (from _geir_, spear, and _vanda_, to apply\ncare to something in order that it may serve its purpose). In Saxo,\nGervandillus-Geirvandel is the father of Horvendillus-Orvandel; the\nspear-hero is the father of the archer. It is evident that the epithets\nof the son and father are parallel formations, and that as the one\ndesignates the foremost archer in mythology, the other must refer to a\nprominent spear-champion. It is of no slight importance to our knowledge\nof the Teutonic weapon-myth that the foremost representatives of the\nspear, the bow, and the sword among the heroes are grandfather, father,\nand son. Svipdag, Ivalde's grandson, the son of Orvandel-Egil, is above\nall others the sword-champion, \"the sword-elf\" (_sverd\u00e1lfr_--see Olaf\nTrygv., 43, where Svipdag-Erik's namesake and supposed descendant, Erik,\nJarl Hakonson, is called by this epithet). It is he who from the lower\nworld fetches the best and most terrible sword, which was also probably\nregarded as the first of its kind in that age, as his uncle, who had\nmade it, was called \"the father of swords\" (see Nos. 113, 114, 115).\nSvipdag's father is the most excellent archer whose memory still survives\nin the story about William Tell. The grandfather, Ivalde, must have been\nthe most excellent marksman with the spear. The memory of this survives\nnot only in the epithets, _Geirvandill_ and _Geirvadill_, but also in\nthe heroic poem, \"Valtarius Manufortis,\" written before the year 950 by\nEckehard in St. Gallen, and in Vilkinasaga, which has preserved certain\nfeatures of the Ivalde-myth.\n\nClad in an armour smithied by Volund (_Vuelandia fabrica_), Valtarius\nappears as the great spear-champion, who despises all other weapons of\nattack--\n\n  Vualtarius erat vir maximus undique telis\n  Suspectamque habuit cuncto sibi tempori pugnam (v. 366-7).\n\nWith the spear he meets a sword-champion--\n\n  Hic gladio fidens hic acer et arduus hasta (v. 822);\n\nand he has developed the use of the spear into an art, all of whose\nsecrets were originally known by him alone, then also by Hagano, who\nlearned them from the former (v. 336, 367). Vilkinasaga speaks of\nValthari as an excellent spear-champion. Sure of success, he wagers his\nhead in a competitive contest with this weapon.\n\nIt has already been shown above (see No. 89) that _Svigdir_-Ivalde in the\nmythic saga concerning the race-heroes was the first ruler of the Swedes,\njust as his sons, Volund and Egil, became those of the Longobardians and\nSlagfin that of the Burgundians, and, as shall be shown below, also that\nof the Saxons. Even in the Ynglingasaga, compiled in the twelfth century,\nhe remains, by the name _Svegdir_ among the first kings of the Yngling\nrace, and in reality as the first hero; for his forerunners, _Fj\u00f6lnir_,\n_Freyr_, and _Odinn_, are prehuman gods (in regard to _Fj\u00f6lnir_, see\nV\u00f6luspa). That _Svidir_ was made the race-hero of the Swedes is explained\nby the fact that Ivalde, before his sons, before he had yet become the\nfoe of the gods and a \"perjured _hapt_,\" was the guardian of the northern\nTeutonic world against the powers of frost, and that the Sviones were the\nnorthernmost race of the Teutonic domain. The elf-citadel on the southern\ncoast of the Elivagar was _Geirvadill_-Ivalde's _setr_ before it became\nthat of his sons (see Nos. 109, 113-115, 117, 118). The continental\nTeutons, like their kinsmen on the Scandian peninsula, knew that north\nof the Swedes and in the uttermost north lived a non-Teutonic people who\nran on skees and practised hunting--the Finns. And as the realm that was\nsubject to the race-hero of the Swedes in the mythology extended to\nthe Elivagar, where his _setr_ was situated, even the Finns must have\nbeen subject to his sceptre. This explains his surname, _Finnakonungr_,\n_Finnr_, _Vidfinnr_, Fin Folcvalding, and also the fact that his\ndescendants form a group of skee-runners. To the location of the _setr_\nnear the Elivagar, at the point where Thor was wont to wade across this\nbody of water (see Nos. 109, 114), we have a reference in the Ivalde\nepithets, _Vadill Vadi_. They indicate his occupation as the keeper of\nthe ford. Vilkinasaga makes him a wader of the same kind as Thor, and\nmakes him bear his son, Volund, across a sound while the latter was still\na lad. Reasons which I may yet have an opportunity to present indicate\nthat Ivalde's mother was the mightiest amazon of Teutonic mythology,\nwhose memory survives in Saxo's account of Queen Rusila, Rusla (_Hist._,\n178, 365, 394-396), and in the German heroic-saga's R\u00fctze. This queen\nof the elves, dwelling south of the Elivagar, is also remembered by\nTactitus' informer. In _Germania_ (45) we read: _Svionibus Sitonum gentes\ncontinuantur. Cetera similes uno different quod femina dominatur.... Hic\nSuebi\u00e6 fines_--\"The Sviones are bounded by the Sitones. While they are\nlike each other in other things they differ in the one respect, that\na woman rules over the Sitones. Here the confines of Suebia end.\" The\nname Sitones does not occur elsewhere, and it would be vain to seek it\nin the domain of reality. Beyond the domain of the Sviones extended at\nthat time that of the mythic geography. The Sitones, who were governed\nby a queen, belonged to the Teutonic mythology, like the Hellusians\nand Oxionians, mentioned elsewhere in _Germania_. It is not impossible\nthat the name _Sitones_, of which the stem is sit, is connected with the\nNorse mythological name of the chief citadel in their country--_setr_\n(_Geirvadill's setr_, _Ide's setr_; cp. _setr-verjendr_ as a designation\nin Ynglingasaga [17] of the descendants of _Svigdir_-Ivalde). The word\n_setr_ is derived from _setja_, a causative form of _sitja_, the Gothic\n_sitan_.\n\nI now pass to the name _Hlaudverr_, in Volundarkvida. This poem does not\nstate directly who Volund's, Egil's, and Slagfin's father was, but it\ndoes so indirectly by mentioning the name of the father of Volund's and\nSlagfin's swan-maids, and by stating that these swan-maids were sisters\nof the brothers. Volund's swan-maid is called _theirra systir_ in str.\n2. Among the many uncalled-for \"emendations\" made in the text of the\nElder Edda is also the change of _theirra_ to _theirrar_, made for the\nreason that the student, forgetting that Volundarkvida was a poem born\nof mythology, regarded it as impossible for a brother and sister to be\nhusband and wife, and for the reason that it was observed in the prose\nintroduction to Volundarkvida that the father of the three brothers was\n_Finnakonungr_. _Hlaudverr_ is also found in a German source, \"Biterolf,\"\nas King Liutwar. There he appears in the war between Hadding-Dieterich\nand Gudhorm-Ermenrich, and the poem makes him a champion on the side\nwhere all who in the mythology were foes of the Asas generally got their\nplace, that is, on Ermenrich's. There he occupied the most conspicuous\nplace as Ermenrich's standard-bearer, and, with Sabene, leads his forces.\nThe same position as Ermenrich's standard-bearer occupies is held in\n\"Dieterich's Flucht\" by Vate, that is to say, _Vadi_-Ivalde, and in\nVilkinasaga by Valthari, that is to say again, Ivalde. Liutwar, Vate,\nand Valthari are originally one and the same person in these German\nrecords, just as Hlaudver (corresponding to Liutwar), Vade (corresponding\nto Vate), and Ivalde (corresponding to Valthari) are identical in the\nScandinavian Volundarkvida's statement, that Volund's and Slagfin's\nswan-maids are their sisters (half-sisters, as we shall see), and, like\nthem, daughters of Ivalde, is thus found to be correct by the comparison\nof widely-separated sources.\n\nWhile the father of these two swan-maids is called _Hlaudverr_ in\nVolundarkvida, the father of the third swan-maid, Egil's beloved, is\ncalled King _Kiarr_ in Valland. As Egil was first married to the dis\nof vegetation, Groa, whose father is Sigtryg in the heroic saga, and\nthen to Sif, his swan-maid must be one of these two. In Volundarkvida,\nwhere none of the swan-maids have their common mythological names,\nshe is called Olrun, and is said to be not a sister, but a kinswoman\n(_kunn_--str. 15) of both the others. _Hlaudverr_ (Ivalde) and _Kiarr_\nare therefore kinsmen. Who _Kiarr_ was in the mythology I cannot now\nconsider. Both these kings of mythological descent reappear in the cycle\nof the Sigurd songs. It has already been shown above (No. 118) that the\nGjukungs appear in the Sigurd saga as heirs and possessors of _Hlaudverrs\nhalls_ and treasures; it is added that \"they possess the whitest shield\nfrom _Kiarr's_ hall (Gudrunarkvida, ii. 25; Atlakvida, 7). Here we\naccordingly once more find the connection already pointed out between\nthe persons appearing in Volundarkvida and those in the Gjukungsaga. The\nfathers of the swan-maids who love Volund and his brothers reappear in\nthe Sigurd songs as heroes who had already left the scene of action, and\nwho had owned immense treasures, which after their death have passed by\ninheritance into the possession of the Gjukungs. This also follows from\nthe fact that the Gjukungs are descendants of Gjuke-Slagfin, and that\nSlagfin and his brothers are Niflungs, heirs of Hlaudver-Ivalde, who was\n_gullaudigr mj\u00f6k_ (Younger Edda).\n\nLike his sons, Ivalde originally stood in a friendly relation to the\nhigher reigning gods; he was their sworn man, and from his citadel near\nthe Elivagar, _Geirvadills setr_, he protected the creation of the gods\nfrom the powers of frost. But, like his sons, and before them, he fell\ninto enmity with the gods and became \"a perjured _hapt_.\" The features\nof the Ivalde-myth, which have been preserved in the heroic poems and\nshed light on the relation between the moon-god and him, are told partly\nin the account of Gevarus, Nanna's father, in Saxo, and partly in the\npoems about Walther (Valtarius, Walthari) and Fin Folcvalding. From these\naccounts it appears that Ivalde abducted a daughter of the moon-god; that\nenmity arose between them; that, after the defeat of Ivalde, Sunna's and\nNanna's father offered him peace, and that the peace was confirmed by\noath; that Ivalde broke the oath, attacked Gevar-Nokver and burnt him;\nthat, during the hostilities between them, Slagfin-Gjuke, though a son\nof Ivalde, did not take the side of his natural father, but that of his\nfoster-father; and that Ivalde had to pay for his own deeds with ruin and\ndeath.\n\nConcerning the point that Ivalde abducted a daughter of Gevar-Nokver\nand married her, the Latin poems Valtarius Manufortis, Nibelunge Noth,\nBiterolf, Vilkinasaga, and Boguphalus (Chronicon Poloni\u00e6) relate that\nWalther fled with a princess named Hildigund. On the flight he was\nattacked by Gjukungs, according to Valtarius Manufortis. The chief one\nof these (in the poem Gunthari, Gjuke's son) received in the battle a\nwound \"clean to the hip-bone.\" The statement anent the wound, which\nWalther gave to the chief one among the Gjukungs, has its roots in the\nmythology where the chief Gjukung, that is, Gjuke himself, appears\nwith surnames (Hengest, Geldr, _\u00f6ndr-J\u00e1lkr_) alluding to the wound\ninflicted. In the Anglo-Saxon heroic poem Fin Folcvalding is married\nto Hildeburh, a daughter of Hn\u00e6f-Hoce, and in Hyndluljod (cp. str. 17\nwith str. 15) _Hildigunnr_ is the mother of Halfdan's wife Almveig,\nand consequently the wife of _Sumbl Finnakonungr_, that is, Ivalde.\n_Hildigunnr's_ father is called S\u00e6konungr in Hyndluljod, a synonym of\n_N\u00f6kkver_ (\"the ship-captain,\" the moon-god), and Hildigun's mother is\ncalled _Sv\u00e1fa_, the same name as that by which Nanna is introduced in\nthe poem concerning Helge Hjorvardson. Hildeburh, Hn\u00e6f-Hoce's daughter,\nis identical with Hildigun, daughter of _S\u00e6konungr_. Compare furthermore\nstr. 20 in Hyndluljod, which speaks of Nanna as Nokver's daughter, and\nthus refers back to str. 17, where Hildigun is mentioned as the daughter\nof _S\u00e6konungr_. The phrase _Nanna vat n\u00e6st thor Nauckva dottir_ shows\nthat _N\u00f6kkver_ and another elder daughter of his were named in one of the\nimmediately preceding strophes. But in these no man's name or epithet\noccurs except _S\u00e6konungr_, \"the sea-king,\" which can refer to _N\u00f6kkver_,\n\"the ship-owner,\" or \"ship-captain,\" and the \"daughter\" last mentioned in\nthe poem is _Hildigunnr_.\n\nOf the names of Ivalde's wife the various records contain the following\nstatements:\n\n    Hlaudver-Ivalde is married to Svanfeather (_Svanfj\u00f6dr_,\n    Volundarkvida).\n\n    Finnalf-Ivalde is married to Svanhild Gold-feather, daughter of\n    Sol (Fornal. saga).\n\n    Fin Folcvalding-Ivalde is married to Hildeburh, daughter of\n    Hn\u00e6f-Hoce (Beowulf poem).\n\n    Walther-Ivalde is married to Hildigunt (German poems).\n\n    Sumbl-Finnakonungr is married to Hildigun, daughter of\n    S\u00e6konungr Nokver, the same as _Hn\u00e6fr_, _Hnefr_, Nanna's father\n    (Hyndluljod, compared with Saxo and other sources).\n\nShe who is called Svanfeather, the sun-daughter Svanhild Gold-feather,\nHildeburh, Hildigunt, and Hildigun is accordingly a sister of the\nmoon-dis Nanna, and a daughter of the ruler of the atmosphere and of the\nmoon. She is herself a sun-dis. In regard to the composition of the name,\nwe must compare Hildigun, _Hiltigunt_, with Nanna's surname _Sinhtgunt_.\nThe Teutonic, or at all events the Norse, mythology knew two divinities\nof the sun, mother and daughter. Grimnersmal (47) tells us that the older\none, _Alfraudull_, has a daughter, who, not at the present time, but in\nthe future, is to drive the car of the sun (_eina dottur berr Alfraudull\n..._). The elder is the wife of the moon-god. The younger one is the\nSunna mentioned in the Merseburg formula (see No. 92), Sinhtgunt-Nanna's\nsister. As a surname, Sunna also occurs in the Norse literature\n(Alvissmal, 17; Younger Edda, i. 472, and elsewhere).\n\nIn the Beowulf poem and in \"Battle of Furnesburg,\" we find Fin\nFolcvalding, Hildeburh's husband, as the foe of his father-in-law Hn\u00e6f,\nand conquered by him and Hengest. After a war ending unluckily for him,\nhe makes peace with his victors, breaks the peace, attacks the citadel\nin the night, and cremates the slain and wounded in an immense funeral\npyre. Hn\u00e6f is among those fallen, and Hildeburh weeps at his funeral\npyre; Hengest escapes and afterwards avenges Hn\u00e6f's death. Saxo confirms\nthe fact, that the historified person who in the mythology is the\nmoon-god is attacked and burnt by one of his \"satraps,\" and afterwards\navenged. This he tells of his Gevarus, Nanna's father (_Hist._, 131).\nThe correspondence on this point shows that the episode has its root in\nthe mythology, though it would be vain to try to find out the symbolic\nsignificance from a standpoint of physical nature of the fact that the\nmoon-god was attacked and burnt by the husband of his daughter, the\nsun-dis.\n\n[Illustration: KING SVAFRLAME SECURES THE SWORD TYRFING.\n\n(_From a painting by Lorenz Fr\u00f6lich._)\n\nIn the Icelandic Hervar's Saga is an account of the mythical sword\ncalled Tyrfing, which Odin commanded the dwarfs Durin and Dvalin to\nforge for his grandson, King Svafrlame. When, against their will, they\nwere compelled to deliver the sword to the king, the dwarfs pronounced a\ncurse upon it, declaring that it should never be drawn from its sheath\nwithout causing the death of some one. Soon after Svafrlame was killed\nby Arngrim and the sword passed to Angantyr, who, in turn, was slain by\nHjalmar and, to abate the curse, Tyrfing was buried with him. Angantyr's\ndaughter, Hervor, however, by a spell, exorcised the spirit of her father\nand obtained the sword, after which it had many owners in succession,\nbut the curse remained, for it brought death as before to every one who\nunsheathed it.]\n\nMeanwhile we obtain from these scattered mythic fragments preserved\nin the heroic poems, when compared with the statements found in the\nmythology itself, the following connected story as the myth about the\nmead:\n\nOriginally, the mead, the _soma_, belongs to Mimer alone. From an unknown\ndepth it rises in the lower world directly under the world-tree, whose\nmiddle root is watered by the well of the precious liquid. Only by\nself-sacrifice, after prayers and tears, is Odin permitted to take a\ndrink from this fountain. The drink increases his strength and wisdom,\nand enables him to give order to the world situated above the lower\nregions. From its middle root the world-tree draws liquids from the\nmead-fountain, which bless the einherjes of Asgard as a beverage, and\nbless the people of Midgard as a fructifying honey-dew. Still this mead\nis not pure; it is mixed with the liquids from Urd's and Hvergelmer's\nfountains. But somewhere in the Jotunheims, the genuine mead was\ndiscovered in the fountain Byrger. This discovery was kept secret. The\nkeeper of the secret was Ivalde, the sworn watchman near the Elivagar.\nIn the night he sent his son Slagfin (afterwards called after his\nadopted father Hjuke) and his daughter Bil (Idun) to dip liquid from the\nfountain Byrger and bring it to him. But the children never returned.\nThe moon-god had taken them and Byrger's liquids unto himself, and thus\nthe gods of Asgard were able to partake of this drink. Without the\nconsent of the moon-god, Ivalde on his part secured his daughter the\nsun-dis, and doubtless she bears to him the daughters Idun, Almveig, and\nother dises of growth and rejuvenation, after he had begotten Slagfin,\nEgil, and Volund with the giantess Greip. The moon-god and Ivalde have\naccordingly taken children from each other. The circumstance that the\nmead, which gives the gods their creative power and wisdom, was robbed\nfrom Ivalde--this find which he kept secret and wished to keep for\nhimself alone--makes him the irreconcilable foe of the moon-god, is the\ncause of the war between them, and leads him to violate the oath which he\nhad taken to him. He attacks Gevar in the night, kills and burns him, and\nrecaptures the mead preserved in the ship of the moon. He is henceforth\nfor ever a foe of the gods, and allies himself with the worst enemies\nof their world, the powers of frost and fire. Deep down in Hades there\nhas long dwelt another foe of the gods, Surt-Durin, the clan-chief of\nSuttung's sons, the father of Fjalar. In the oldest time he too was the\nfriend of the gods, and co-operated with Mimer in the first creation (see\nNo. 89). But this bond of friendship had now long been broken. Down into\nthe deep and dark dales in which this clan hostile to the gods dwells,\nIvalde brings his mead-treasure into safety. He apparently gives it as\nthe price of Fjalar's daughter Gunlad, and as a pledge of his alliance\nwith the world of giants. On the day of the wedding, Odin comes before\nhim, and clad in his guise, into Surt's halls, marries Gunlad, robs the\nliquids of Byrger, and flies in eagle guise with them to Asgard. On the\nwedding day Ivalde comes outside of Surt's mountain-abode, but never\nenters. A dwarf, the keeper of the halls, entices him into his ruin. It\nhas already been stated that he was probably buried beneath an avalanche.\n\nThe myth concerning the carrying of the mead to the moon, and concerning\nits fate there, has left various traces in the traditions of the Teutonic\npeople. In the North, Hjuke and Bil with their mead-burden were the\nobjects seen in the spots on the moon. In southern Sweden, according\nto Ling, it was still known in the beginning of this century, that\nthe bucket carried by the figures in the moon was a \"brewing kettle,\"\nconsequently containing or having contained a brewed liquid. According\nto English traditions, not the two children of Vidfin, but a drunken\ncriminal (Ritson's _Ancient Songs_; cp. J. Grimm, _Deut. Myth._, 681),\ndwelt in the full moon, and that of which he is charged in widely\ncirculated traditions is that he was gathering fagots for the purpose of\ncrime, or in an improper time (on the Sabbath). Both the statements that\nhe is drunk and that his crime consists in the gathering of fagots--lead\nus to suppose that this \"man in the moon\" originally was Ivalde, the\ndrink-champion and the mead-robber, who attacked and burnt the moon-god.\nHis punishment is that he will never get to heaven, but will remain in\nthe moon, and there he is for ever to carry a bundle of thorn-fagots\n(thus according to a German tradition, and also according to a tradition\ntold by Chaucer). Most probably, he has to carry the thorn-rod of the\nmoon-god burnt by him. The moon-god (see Nos. 75, 91) ruled over the\nTeutonic Erynnies armed with rods (_limar_), and in this capacity he bore\nthe epithet _Eylimi_. A Dutch poem from the fourteenth century says that\nthe culprit _in duitshe heet Ludergheer_. A variation which J. Grimm\n(_Deut. Myth._, 683) quotes is Lodeger. The name refers, as Grimm has\npointed out, to the Old High German Liutker, the L\u00fcdiger of the German\nmiddle-age poem. In \"Nibelunge Noth,\" L\u00fcdiger contends with the Gjukungs;\nin \"Dieterichs Flucht,\" he abandons Dieterich's cause and allies himself\nwith the evil Ermenrich. Like Liutwar, L\u00fcdiger is a pendant to the Norse\nHlaudver, in whom we have already rediscovered Ivalde. While, according\nto the Younger Edda, both the Ivalde children Hjuke and Bil appear in the\nmoon, according to the English and German traditions it is their criminal\nfather who appears on the scene of the fire he kindled, drunk with the\nmead he robbed, and punished with the rod kept by his victim.\n\nThe statement in Forspjallsljod, that Ivalde had two groups of children,\ncorresponds with the result at which we have arrived. By the giantess\nGreip he is the father of Slagfin, Egil, and Volund; by the sun-dis\nGevar, Nokver's daughter and Nanna's sister, he is the father of dises of\ngrowth, among whom are Idun, who first is Volund's beloved or wife, and\nthereupon is married to Brage. Another daughter of Ivalde is the beloved\nof Slagfin-Gjuke, Auda, the \"frau Ute\" of the German heroic saga. A third\nis Signe-Alveig, in Saxo the daughter of _Sumblus Phinnorum_ (Ivalde). At\nhis wedding with her, Egil is attacked and slain by Halfdan. Hadding is\nHalfdan's and her son.\n\nSeveral things indicate that, when their father became a foe of the gods,\nIvalde's sons were still their friends, and that Slagfin particularly\nwas on the side of his foster-father in the conflict with Ivalde. With\nthis corresponds also the conduct of the Gjukungs toward Valtarius, when\nhe takes flight with Hildigun. In the Anglo-Saxon heroic poetry, the\nname Hengest is borne by the person who there takes Slagfin's place as\nHn\u00e6f-Gevar's nearest man. The introduction to the Younger Edda has from\nits English authorities the statement that _Heingestr_ (Hengest) was a\nson of Vitta and a near kinsman of Svipdag. If, as previous investigators\nhave assumed, Vitta is Vade, then Hengest is a son of Ivalde, and this\nharmonises with the statement anent his kinship with Svipdag, who is a\ngrandson of Ivalde. The meaning of the word Hengest refers of itself to\nSlagfin-_Geldr_. The name _Geldr_ is a participle of _gelda_, and means\n_castratus_. The original meaning of Hengest is \"a gelding,\" _equus\ncastratus_ (in the modern German the word got for the first time its\npresent meaning). That the adjective idea _castratus_ was transferred to\nthe substantive _equus castratus_ is explained by the fact that _Gils_,\n_Gisl_, a mythic name for a horse (Younger Edda, i. 70, 482), was also\na Gjukung name. One of Hengest's ancestors in his genealogy in Beda and\nin the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle is called Vict-gils; one of Slagfin-Gjuke's\nsons is named _Gilser_. A neither mythic nor historic brother of\nHengest added in later times is named Horsa. The Ravenna geography\nsays that when the Saxons left their old abodes on the continent, they\nmarched _cum principe suo Anschis_, and with their chief _Ans-gisl_,\nwho therefore here appears in the place of Hengest. Synonymous with\nHengest is the Norse _J\u00e1lkr_, _equus castratus_, and that some member\nof the mythological group of skee-runners, that is, some one of the\nmale members of the Ivalde race, in the Norse version of the Teutonic\nmythology, bore this epithet is proved by the paraphrase _\u00f6ndr-J\u00e1lkr_,\n\"the _equus castratus_ of the skee-runners.\" The cause of the designation\nis found in the event described above, which has been handed down by the\npoem \"Valtarius Manufortis.\" The chief one of the Gjukungs, originally\nGjuke himself, there fights with Valtarius, who in the mythology was his\nfather, and receives in the conflict a wound \"clean to the thigh-bone.\"\nThis wound may have symbolic significance from the fact that the fight\nis between father and son. According to the English chronicler Nennius,\nHengest had two brothers, Ochta and Ebissa. In spite of their corruption\nthese names remind us of Slagfin's brothers, Aggo-Ajo (Volund) and\nIbor-Ebbo (Egil).\n\nAccording to the historified saga, Hengest was the leader of the first\nSaxon army which landed in Britain. All scholars have long since agreed\nthat this Hengest is a mythical character. The migration saga of the\nTeutonic mythology was transferred by the heathen Saxons to England,\nand survived there until Christian times. After the names of the real\nleaders of the Saxon immigration were forgotten, Hengest was permitted\nto take their place, because in the mythology he had been a leader of\nthe Saxon emigrants from their original country, the Scandian peninsula\n(see No. 16), and because this immigration was blended in Christian times\nwith the memory of the emigration from Germany to Britain. Thus, while\nthe Longobardians made Volund and Egil (Ajo and Ibor) the leaders of\ntheir emigration, the Saxons made Volund's and Egil's brother Slagfin\n(Hengest-Gjuke) their leader. The Burgundians also regarded Slagfin\n(Gjuke) as their emigration hero and royal progenitor. Of this there is\nevidence partly in _Lex Burgundionum_, the preface of which enumerates\nBurgundian kings who have Gjukung names; partly in a Middle High German\npoem, which makes the Gjukungs Burgundian kings. The Saxon migration saga\nand the Burgundian are therefore, like those of the other Teutonic races,\nconnected with the Ivalde race and with the fimbul-winter.\n\n\nTHE END.\n\n\n\n\nDICTIONARY OF PRINCIPAL PROPER NAMES IN TEUTONIC MYTHOLOGY,\n\n_with Explanations of the Character, Attributes and Significance of the\nGods, Goddesses, Giants, Dwarfs and associated creatures and places._\n\n\n\n\nDICTIONARY OF GODS AND GODDESSES.\n\n\nA\n\n\u00c6GIR. [Anglo-Sax., _eagor_, the sea]. The god who presides over the\nstormy sea. He entertains the gods every harvest, and brews ale for them.\n_\u00c6ger._\n\nAGNAR. A son of King Hraudung and foster-son of Frigg. _Agnar._\n\nAGNAR. A son of King Geirrod. He serves drink to Grimner (Odin). _Agnar._\n\nALFR. An elf, fairy; a class of beings like the dwarfs, between gods and\nmen. They were of two kinds: elves of light (_Ljosalfar_) and elves of\ndarkness (_Dokkalfar_). The abode of the elves is _Alfheimr_, fairy-land,\nand their king is the god Frey. _Elf._\n\nALFODR or ALFADIR [Father of all]. The name of Odin as the supreme god.\n_Allfather._\n\nALFHEIMR. Elf-land, fairy-land. Frey's dwelling. _Alfheim._\n\nALSVIDR. The all-wise. One of the horses of the sun. _Alsvid._\n\nALVISS. The dwarf who answers Thor's questions in the lay of Alvis.\n_Alvis._\n\nAMSVARTNIR. The name of the sea, in which the island was situated where\nthe wolf Fenrer was chained. _Amsvartner._\n\nANNARR or ONARR. Husband of night and father of Jord (_the earth_).\n_Annar._\n\nANDHRIMNIR. The cook in Valhal. _Andhrimner._\n\nANDVARI. The name of a pike-shaped dwarf; the owner of the fatal ring\ncalled _Andvaranautr_. _Andvare._\n\nANDVARAFORS. The force or waterfall in which the dwarf Andvare kept\nhimself in the form of a pike fish. _Andvare-Force._\n\nANDVARANAUTR. The fatal ring given Andvare (the wary spirit).\n_Andvarenaut._\n\nANGANTYR. He has a legal dispute with Ottar Heimske, who is favored by\nFreyja. _Angantyr._\n\nANGEYJA. One of Heimdal's nine mothers. The Elder Edda says in the Lay of\nHyndla: Nine giant maids gave birth to the gracious god, at the world's\nmargin. These are: Gjalp, Greip, Eistla, Angeyja, Ulfrun, Eyrgjafa, Imd,\nAtla, and Jarnsaxa. _Angeyja._\n\nANGRBODA [Anguish-creating]. A giantess; mother of the Fenris-wolf by\nLoke. _Angerboda._\n\nARVAKR [Early awake]. The name of one of the horses of the sun. _Aarvak._\n\nASS or AS; plural \u00c6sir. The _asas_, gods. The word appears in such\nEnglish names as _Os_born, _Os_wald, etc. With an _n_ it is found in\nthe Germ. _Ans_gar (Anglo-Sax. _Os_car). The term _\u00e6sir_ is used to\ndistinguish Odin, Thor, etc., from the _vanir_ (vans). _Asa._\n\nASA-LOKI. Loke, so called to distinguish him from Utgard-Loke, who is a\ngiant. _Asa-Loke._\n\nASA-THORR. A common name for Thor. _Asa-Thor._\n\nASGARDR. The residence of the gods (_asas_). _Asgard._\n\nASKR. The name of the first man created by Odin, H\u0153ner and Loder. _Ask._\n\nASYNJA; plural ASYNJUR. A goddess; feminine of _Ass_. _Asynje._\n\nATLA. One of Heimdal's nine mothers. _Atla._\n\nAUDHUMLA; also written AUDHUMBLA. The cow formed from the frozen vapors\nresolved into drops. She nourished the giant Ymer. _Audhumbla._\n\nAURBODA. Gymer's wife and Gerd's mother. _Aurboda._\n\nAURGELMIR. A giant; grandfather of Bergelmer; called also Ymer.\n_Aurgelmer._\n\nAUSTRI. A dwarf presiding over the east region. _Austre. East._\n\n\nB\n\nBALDR. God of the summer-sunlight. He was son of Odin and Frigg; slain\nby Hoder, at the instigation of Loke. He returns after Ragnarok. His\ndwelling is Breidablik. _Balder._\n\nBARREY. A pleasant grove in which Gerd agreed with Skirner to meet Frey.\n_Barey._\n\nBAUGI. A brother of Suttung, for whom (Baugi) Odin worked one summer in\norder to get his help in obtaining Suttung's mead of poetry. _Bauge._\n\nBELI. A giant, brother of Gerd, who was slain by Frey. _Bele._\n\nBERGELMIR. A giant; son of Thrudgelmer and grandson of Aurgelmer.\n_Bergelmer._\n\nBESTLA. Wife of Bur and mother of Odin. _Bestla._\n\nBEYLA. Frey's attendant; wife of Bygver. _Beyla._\n\nBIFROST. [To tremble; the trembling way]. The rainbow. _Bifrost._\n\nBILSKIRNIR. The heavenly abode of Thor, from the flashing of light in the\nlightning. _Bilskirner._\n\nBOLTHORN. A giant; father of Bestla, Odin's mother. _Bolthorn._\n\nBOLVERKR [Working terrible things]. An assumed name of Odin, when he went\nto get Suttung's mead. _Bolverk._\n\nBODN. One of the three vessels in which the poetical mead was kept. Hence\npoetry is called the wave of the _bodn_. _Bodn._\n\nBORR [_burr_, a son; Scotch _bairn_]. A son of Bure and father of Odin,\nVile and Ve. _Bor._\n\nBRAGI. The god of poetry. A son of Odin. He is the best of skalds.\n_Brage._\n\nBREIDABLIK. [Literally to gleam, twinkle]. Balder's dwelling.\n_Breidablik._\n\nBRISINGAMEN. Freyja's necklace or ornament. _Brisingamen._\n\nBURI. The father of Bor. He was produced by the cow's licking the stones\ncovered with rime, frost. _Bure._\n\nBYGGVIR. Frey's attendant; Beyla's husband. _Bygver._\n\nBYLEIPTR [Flame of the dwelling]. The brother of Loke. _Byleipt._\n\n\nD\n\nDAGR [Day]. Son of Delling. _Dag._\n\nDAINN. A hart that gnaws the branches of Ygdrasil. _Daain._\n\nDELLINGR [Dayspring]. The father of Day. _Delling._\n\nDIS; plural DISIR. Attendant spirit or guardian angel. Any female mythic\nbeing may be called Dis. _Dis._\n\nDRAUPNIR. Odin's ring. It was put on Balder's funeral-pile. Skirner\noffered it to Gerd. _Draupner._\n\nDROMI. One of the fetters by which the Fenris-wolf was chained. _Drome._\n\nDUNEYRR, DURAPROP. Harts that gnaw the branches of Ygdrasil. _Durathror._\n\nDURINN. A dwarf, second in degree. _Durin._\n\nDVALINN. A dwarf. _Dvalin._\n\nDVERGR. A dwarf. In modern Icelandic lore dwarfs disappear, but remain\nin local names, as Dverga-steinn, and in several words and phrases. From\nthe belief that dwarfs lived in rocks an echo is called _dwerg-mal_\n(dwarf talk), and _dwerg-mala_ means to echo. The dwarfs were skilled in\nmetal-working.\n\n\nE\n\nEDDA. The literal meaning of the word is great-grandmother, but the term\nis usually applied to the mythological collection of poems discovered by\nBrynjolf Sveinsson in the year 1643. He, led by a fanciful and erroneous\nsuggestion, gave to the book which he found the name S\u00e6mundar Edda,\nEdda of S\u00e6mund. This is the so-called _Elder Edda_. The _Younger Edda_,\nis a name applied to a work written by Snorre Sturleson, and contains\nold mythological lore and the old artificial rules for verse-making.\nThe ancients applied the name _Edda_ only to this work of Snorre. The\n_Elder Edda_ was never so called. And it is also uncertain whether Snorre\nhimself knew his work by the name of Edda. In the Rigsmal (Lay of Rig)\nEdda is the progenitrix of the race of thralls.\n\nEGDIR. An eagle that appears at Ragnarok. _Egder._\n\nEGILL. The father of Thjalfe; a giant dwelling near the sea. Thor left\nhis goats with him when on his way to the giant Hymer to get a vessel in\nwhich to brew ale.\n\nEIKTHYRNIR. A hart that stands over Odin's hall (Valhal). From his\nantlers drops water from which rivers flow. _Eikthyrner._\n\nEINHERI; plural EINHERJAR. The only (_ein_) or great champions; the\nheroes who have fallen in battle and been admitted into Valhal.\n_Einherje._\n\nEIR. [The word signifies _peace_, _clemency_]. An attendant of Menglod,\nand the most skillful of all in the healing art. _Eir._\n\nEISTLA. One of Heimdal's nine mothers. _Eistla._\n\nELDHRIMNIR. The kettle in which the boar S\u00e6hrimner is cooked in Valhal.\n_Eldhrimner._\n\nELDIR. The fire-producer; a servant of \u00c6ger. _Elder._\n\nELIVAGAR. The ice-waves; poisonous cold streams that flow out of\nNiflheim. _Elivagar._\n\nEMBLA. The first woman. The gods found two lifeless trees, the _ask_\n(ash) and the _embla_; of the ash they made _man_, of the embla, _woman_.\n\nEYRGJAFA. One of Heimdal's nine mothers. _Eyrgjafa._\n\n\nF\n\nFAFNIR. Son of Hreidmar. He kills his father to get possession of the\nAndvarenaut. He afterwards changes himself into a dragon and guards the\ntreasure on Gnitaheath. He is slain by Sigurd, and his heart is roasted\nand eaten. _Fafner._\n\nFALHOFNIR [Hollow-hoof]. One of the horses of the gods. _Falhofner._\n\nFARBAUTI [Ship-destroyer]. The father of Loke. _Farbaute._\n\nFENRIR or FENRISULFR. The monster-wolf. He is the son of Loke, who bites\nthe hand of Tyr. The gods put him in chains, where he remains until\nRagnarok. In Ragnarok he gets loose, swallows the sun and conquers Odin,\nbut is killed by Vidar. _Fenrer_ or _Fenris-wolf_.\n\nFENSALIR. The abode of Frigg. _Fensal._\n\nFJALAR. A misnomer for Skrymer, in whose glove Thor took shelter.\n_Fjalar._\n\nFJALAR. A dwarf, who slew Kvaser, and composed from his blood the poetic\nmead. _Fjalar._\n\nFJALAR. A cock that crows at Ragnarok. _Fjalar._\n\nFIMAFENGR. The nimble servant of \u00c6ger. He was slain by the jealous Loke.\n_Fimafeng._\n\nFIMBUL. It means _mighty great_. In the mythology it appears as:\n\nFIMBULFAMBI. A mighty fool. _Fimbulfambe._\n\nFIMBULTYR. The mighty god, great helper (Odin). _Fimbultyr._\n\nFIMBULVETR [_vetr_, winter]. The great and awful winter of three years'\nduration preceding the end of the world. _Fimbul-winter._\n\nFIMBULTHUL. A heavenly river. _Fimbulthul._\n\nFIMBULTHULR. The great wise man. _Fimbulthuler._\n\nFJOLNIR. One of Odin's many names. _Fjolner._\n\nFJORGYN. A personification of the earth; mother of Thor. _Fjorgyn._\n\nFOLKVANGR. [Paradise, a field]. The folk-field. Freyja's dwelling.\n_Folkvang._\n\nFORNJOTR. The most ancient giant. He was father of \u00c6ger, or Hler, the\ngod of the ocean; of Loge, flame or fire, and of Kaare, wind. His wife\nwas Ran. These divinities are generally regarded as belonging to an\nearlier mythology, probably to that of the Fins or Celts. _Fornjot._\n\nFORSETI [The fore-sitter, president, chairman]. Son of Balder and\nNanna. His dwelling is Glitner, and his office is that of a peacemaker.\n_Forsete._\n\nFRANANGRS-FORS. The force or waterfall into which Loke, in the likeness\nof a salmon, cast himself, and where the gods caught him and bound him.\n_Fraananger-Force._\n\nFREKI. One of Odin's wolves. _Freke._\n\nFREYJA [Feminine of Freyr]. The daughter of Njord and sister of Frey. She\ndwells in Folkvang. Half the fallen in battle belong to her, the other\nhalf to Odin. She lends her feather disguise to Loke. She is the goddess\nof love. Her husband is Oder. Her necklace is Brisingamen. She has a boar\nwith golden bristles. _Freyja._\n\nFREYR. He is son of Njord, husband of Skade, slayer of Bele, and falls in\nconflict with Surt in Ragnarok. Alfheim was given him as a tooth-gift.\nThe ship Skidbladner was built for him. He falls in love with Gerd,\nGymer's fair daughter. He gives his trusty sword to Skirner. _Frey._\n\nFRIGG. [Love]. She is the wife of Odin, and mother of Balder and queen of\nthe gods, and reigns with Odin in Hlidskjalf. She exacts an oath from all\nthings that they shall not harm Balder. _Frigg._\n\nFULLA [Fullness]. Frigg's attendant. She takes care of Frigg's toilette,\nclothes and slippers. Nanna sent her a finger-ring from Helheim. She is\nrepresented as wearing her hair flowing over her shoulders. _Fulla._\n\n\nG\n\nGALAR. One of two dwarfs who killed Kvaser. Fjalar was the other.\n_Galar._\n\nGAGNRADE. A name assumed by Odin when he went to visit Vafthrudner.\n_Gagnraad._\n\nGANGLERI. One of Odin's names in Grimner's Lay. _Ganglere._\n\nGANGLERI. A name assumed by King Gylfe when he came to Asgard. _Ganglere._\n\nGARDROFA. The goddess Gnaa has a horse by name Hofvarpner. The sire of\nthis horse is Hamskerper, and its mother is Gardrofa. _Gardrofa._\n\nGARMR. A dog that barks at Ragnarok. He is called the largest and best\namong dogs. _Garm._\n\nGEFJUN or GEFJON. A goddess. She is a maid, and all those who die maids\nbecome her maid-servants. She is present at \u00c6ger's feast. Odin says she\nknows men's destinies as well as he does himself. _Gefjun._\n\nGEIRRODR. A son of King Hraudung and foster-son of Odin; he becomes king\nand is visited by Odin, who calls himself Grimner. He is killed by his\nown sword. There is also a giant by name Geirrod, who was once visited by\nThor. _Geirrod._\n\nGEIRSKOGUL. A valkyrie. _Geirskogul._\n\nGEIRVIMUL. A heavenly river. _Geirvimul._\n\nGERDR. Daughter of Gymer, a beautiful young giantess; beloved by Frey.\n_Gerd._\n\nGERI. [_gerr_, greedy]. One of Odin's wolves. _Gere._\n\nGERSEMI. One of Freyja's daughters. _Gerseme._\n\nGJALLARBRU [_gjalla_, to yell, to resound]. The bridge across the river\nGjol, near Helheim. The bridge between the land of the living and the\ndead. _Gjallarrbridge._\n\nGJALLARHORN. Heimdal's horn, which he will blow at Ragnarok. _Gjallar\nhorn._\n\nGILLING. Father of Suttung, who possessed the poetic mead. He was slain\nby Fjalar and Galar. _Gilling._\n\nGIMLI [Heaven]. The abode of the righteous after Ragnarok. _Gimle._\n\nGJALP. One of Heimdal's nine mothers. _Gjalp._\n\nGINNUNGA-GAP. The great yawning gap, the premundane abyss, the chaos or\nformless void, in which dwelt the supreme powers before the creation. In\nthe eleventh century the sea between Greenland and Vinland (America) was\ncalled Ginnunga-gap. _Ginungagap._\n\nGJOLL. One of the rivers Elivagar that flowed nearest the gate of Hel's\nabode. _Gjol._\n\nGISL [Sunbeam]. One of the horses of the gods. _Gisl._\n\nGLADR [Clear, bright]. One of the horses of the gods. _Glad._\n\nGLADSHEIMR [Home of brightness or gladness]. Odin's dwelling. _Gladsheim._\n\nGLASIR. A grove in Asgard. _Glaser._\n\nGLEIPNIR. The last fetter with which the wolf Fenrer was bound.\n_Gleipner._\n\nGLER [The glassy]. One of the horses of the gods. _Gler._\n\nGLITNIR [The glittering]. Forsete's golden hall. _Glitner._\n\nGNA. She is the messenger that Frigg sends into the various worlds on her\nerrands. She has a horse called Hofvarpenr, that can run through air and\nwater. _Gnaa._\n\nGNIPAHELLIR. The cave before which the dog Garm barks. _The Gnipa-cave._\n\nGNITAHEIDR. Fafner's abode, where he kept the treasure called\nAndvarenaut. _Gnita-heath._\n\nGOINN. A serpent under Ygdrasil. _Goin._\n\nGOLL. A valkyrie. _Gol._\n\nGOMUL. A heavenly river. _Gomul._\n\nGONDUL. A valkyrie. _Gondul._\n\nGOPUL. A heavenly river. _Gopul._\n\nGRABAKR. One of the serpents under Ygdrasil. _Graabak._\n\nGRAD. A heavenly river. _Graad._\n\nGRAFVITNIR, GRAFVOLLUDR. Serpents under Ygdrasil. _Grafvitner_;\n_Grafvollud._\n\nGREIP. [Eng. _grip_]. One of Heimdal's nine giant mothers. _Greip._\n\nGRIMNIR. A kind of hood or cowl covering the upper part of the face.\nGrimner is a name of Odin from his traveling in disguise. _Grimner._\n\nGROA. The giantess mother of Orvandel. Thor went to her to have her charm\nthe flint-stone out of his forehead. _Groa._\n\nGUILLFAXI [Gold-mane]. The giant Hrungner's horse. _Goldfax._\n\nGULLINKAMBI [Gold-comb]. A cock that crows at Ragnarok. _Gullinkambe_ or\n_Goldcomb._\n\nGULLTOPPR [Gold-top]. Heimdal's horse. _Goldtop._\n\nGULLVEIG [Gold-thirst]. A personification of gold. Though pierced and\nthrice burnt, she yet lives. _Gulveig._\n\nGULLINBURSTI [Golden bristles]. The name of Frey's hog. _Gullinburste._\n\nGUNGNIR [To tremble violently]. Odin's spear. _Gungner._\n\nGUNNLOD [To invite]. One who invites war. She was daughter of the giant\nSuttung, and had charge of the poetic mead. Odin got it from her.\n_Gunlad._\n\nGYLFI. A king of Svithod, who visited Asgard under the name of Ganglere.\nThe first part of the Younger Edda is called Gylfaginning, which means\nthe Delusion of Gylfe. _Gylfe._\n\nGYLLIR [Golden]. One of the horses of the gods. _Gyller._\n\nGYMIR. A giant; the father of Gerd, the beloved of Frey. _Gymer._\n\nGYMIR. Another name of the ocean divinity \u00c6ger. _Gymer._\n\n\nH\n\nHALLINSKIDI. Another name of the god Heimdal. The possessor of the\nleaning (_halla_) way. _Hallinskid._\n\nHAMSKERPIR [Hide-hardener]. A horse; the sire of Hofvarpner, which was\nGnaa's horse. _Hamskerper._\n\nHAR. The High One, applied to Odin. _Haar._\n\nHARBARDR. The name assumed by Odin in the Lay of Harbard. _Harbard._\n\nHEIDRUNR [Bright-running]. A goat that stands over Valhal. _Heidrun._\n\nHEIMDALR. He was the heavenly watchman in the old mythology, answering\nto St. Peter in the medieval. According to the Lay of Rig (Heimdal),\nhe was the father and founder of the different classes of men, nobles,\nchurls and thralls. He has a horn called Gjallar-horn, which he blows at\nRagnarok. His dwelling is Himinbjorg. He is the keeper of Bifrost (the\nrainbow). Nine giantesses are his mothers. _Heimdal._\n\nHEL. [Anglo-Sax. and Eng. _hell_; to kill]. The goddess of death, born\nof Loke and Angerboda. She corresponds to Proserpina. Her habitation is\nHelheim, under one of the roots of Ygdrasil. _Hel._\n\nHELBLINDI. A name of Odin. _Helblinde._\n\nHELGRINDR. The gates of Hel. _Helgrind_ or _Helgate._\n\nHELHEIM. The abode of Hel. _Helheim._\n\nHERFODR, HERJAFODR. [The father of hosts]. A name of Odin. _Herfather._\n\nHERMODR [Courage of hosts]. Son of Odin, who gives him a helmet and a\ncorselet. He rode on Sleipner to Hel to bring Balder back. _Hermod._\n\nHILDISVINI [Means war]. Freyja's hog. _Hilde-svine._\n\nHIMINBJORG [Heaven, help, defense; hence heaven defender]. Heimdal's\ndwelling. _Himinbjorg._\n\nHIMINBRJOTR [Heaven-breaker]. One of the giant Hymer's oxen.\n_Himinbrjoter._\n\nHLESEY. The abode of \u00c6ger. _Hlesey._\n\nHLIDSKJALF. The seat of Odin, whence he looked out over all the worlds.\n_Hlidskjalf._\n\nHLIN. One of the attendants of Frigg; but Frigg herself is sometimes\ncalled by this name. _Hlin._\n\nHLODYN. A goddess; a name of the earth; Thor's mother. _Hlodyn._\n\nHLORIDI [Eng. _low_, to bellow, roar, and _reid_, thunder]. One of the\nnames of Thor; the bellowing thunderer. _Hloride._\n\nHNIKARR, HNIKUDR. Names of Odin, _Hnikar_ and _Hnikuder_.\n\nHNOSS [Anglo-Sax. to hammer]. A costly thing; the name of one of Freyja's\ndaughters. _Hnos._\n\nHODDMIMISHOLT. Hodmimer's holt or grove, where the two human beings Lif\nand Lifthraser were preserved during Ragnarok. _Hodmimer's forest._\n\nHODR. The slayer of Balder. He is blind, returns to life in the\nregenerated world. The Cain of the Norse mythology. _Hoder._\n\nHOENIR. One of the three creating gods. With Odin and Loder H\u0153ner creates\nAsk and Embla, the first human pair. _Hoener._\n\nHOFVARPNIR [Hoof-thrower]. Gnaa's horse. His father is Hamskerper and\nmother Gardrofa. _Hofvarpner._\n\nHRAESVELGR [Corpse-swallower]. A giant in an eagle's plumage, who\nproduces the wind. _Hraesvelger._\n\nHRAUDUNGR. Geirrod's father. _Hraudung._\n\nHREIDMARR. Father of Regin and Fafner. He exacts the blood-fine from the\ngods for slaying Otter. He is slain by Fafner. _Hreidmar_.\n\nHRIMFAXI [Rime-mane]. The horse of night. _Rimefax._\n\nHRIMTHURSAR [Eng. _rime_, hoar-frost]. Rime-giants or frost-giants, who\ndwell under one of Ygdrasil's roots. _Giants._\n\nHRODVITNIR. A wolf; father of the wolf Hate. _Hrodvitner._\n\nHROPTR. One of Odin's names. _Hropt._\n\nHRUNGNIR. A giant; friend of Hymer. Thor fought with him and slew him.\n_Hrungner._\n\nHRINGHORNI. The ship upon which Balder's body was burned. _Hringhorn._\n\nHROSSTHJOFR [Horse-thief]. A giant. _Hrosthjof._\n\nHUGINN [Mind]. One of Odin's ravens. _Hugin._\n\nHVERGELMIR [The old kettle]. The spring in the middle of Niflheim, whence\nflowed the rivers Elivagar. The Northern Tartaros. _Hvergelmer._\n\nHYMIR. A giant with whom Thor went fishing when he caught the\nMidgard-serpent. His wife was the mother of Tyr. Tyr and Thor went to him\nto procure a kettle for \u00c6ger in which to brew ale for the gods. _Hymer._\n\nHYNDLA. A vala visited by Freyja, who comes to her to learn the genealogy\nof her favorite, Ottar. _Hyndla._\n\n\nI\n\nIDAVOLLR. A plain where the gods first assemble, where they establish\ntheir heavenly abodes, and where they assemble again after Ragnarok. The\nplains of Ida. _Idavold._\n\nIDUNN. Daughter of the dwarf Ivald; she was wife of Brage, and the\ngoddess of early spring. She possesses rejuvenating apples of which the\ngods partake. _Idun._\n\nIFING. A river which divides the giants from the gods. _Ifing._\n\nIMD. One of Heimdal's nine giant mothers. _Imd._\n\nIMR. A son of the giant Vafthrudner. _Im._\n\nINGUNAR-FREYR. One of the names of Frey. _Ingun's Frey._\n\nINNSTEINN. The father of Ottar Heimske; the favorite of Freyja. _Instein._\n\nIVALDI. A dwarf. His sons construct the ship Skidbladner. _Ivald._\n\n\nJ\n\nJAFNHAR [Equally high]. A name of Odin.\n\nJALKR. A name of Odin (Jack the Giant-killer?). _Jalk._\n\nJARNSAXA [Iron-chopper]. One of Heimdal's nine giant mothers. _Jarnsaxa._\n\nJARNVIDR [Iron-wood]. A wood east of Midgard, peopled by giantesses\ncalled Jarnvids. This wood had iron leaves. _Jarnvid._\n\nJARNVIDIUR. The giantesses in the Iron-wood. _Jarnvids._\n\nJORD. Wife of Odin and mother of Thor. _Earth._\n\nJOTUNN. A giant. The giants were the earliest created beings. The gods\nquestion them in regard to Balder. Thor frequently contends with them.\nFamous giants are: Ymer, Hymer, Hrungner, Orvandel, Gymer, Skrymer,\nVafthrudner and Thjasse. _Giant._\n\nJOTUNHEIMAR (plural). The Utgaard; the home of the giants in the\noutermost parts of the earth. _Jotunheim._\n\n\nK\n\nKERLAUGAR (plural). Two rivers which Thor every day must cross. _Kerlaug._\n\nKORMT. Another river which Thor every day must pass. _Kormt._\n\nKVASIR. The hostage given by the vans to the asas. His blood, when slain,\nwas the poetical mead kept by Suttung. _Kvaser._\n\n\nL\n\nLAEDINGR. One of the fetters with which the Fenris-wolf was bound.\n_Laeding._\n\nLAERADR. A tree near Valhal. _Laerad._\n\nLANDVIDI [A mountain range overgrown with trees]. Vidar's abode. The\nprimeval forests. _Landvide._\n\nLAUFEY [Leafy island]. Loke's mother. _Laufey._\n\nLEIFTHRASIR, LIF. The two persons preserved in Hodmimer's grove during\nSurt's conflagration in Ragnarok; the last beings in the old and the\nfirst in the new world. _Lif_ and _Lifthraser_.\n\nLETTFETI [Light-foot]. One of the horses of the gods. _Lightfoot._\n\nLITR. A dwarf that Thor kicked into Balder's funeral pile. _Liter._\n\nLODDFAFNIR. A protege of Odin. _Lodfafner._\n\nLODURR [To flame]. One of the three gods (Odin, H\u0153nir and Loder) who\ncreate Ask and Embla, the first man and woman. He is identical with Loke.\n_Loder._\n\nLOKI [To end, finish; Loke is the end and consummation of divinity]. The\nevil giant-god of the Norse mythology. He steers the ship Naglfar in\nRagnarok. He borrows Freyja's feather-garb and accompanies Thor to the\ngiant Thrym, who has stolen Thor's hammer. He is the father of Sleipner;\nalso of the Midgard serpent, of the Fenris-wolf and of Hel. He causes\nBalder's death, abuses the gods in \u00c6ger's feast, but is captured in\nFraanangerforce and is bound by the gods. _Loke._\n\nLOPTR [The aerial]. Another name of Loke. _Lopter._\n\n\nM\n\nMAGNI [_megin_, strength]. A son of Thor. _Magne._\n\nMANI [Eng. _moon_]. Brother of Sol (the sun, feminine), and both were\nchildren of the giant Mundilfare. _Moon_ or _Maane_.\n\nMARDOLL or MARTHOLL. One of the names of Freyja. _Mardallar gratr_ (the\ntears of Mardal), gold. _Mardal._\n\nMANAGARMR [Moon-swallower]. A wolf of Loke's offspring. He devours the\nmoon. _Maanegarm_ or _Moongarm_.\n\nMANNHEIMAR (plural) [Homes of man]. Our earth. _Manheim._\n\nMEILI. A son of Odin. _Meile._\n\nMIDGARDR. [In Cumberland, England, are three farms: _High-garth_,\n_Middle-garth_, _Low-garth_.] The mid-yard, middle-town, that is,\nthe earth, is a mythological word common to all the ancient Teutonic\nlanguages. The Icelandic Edda alone has preserved the true mythical\nbearing of this old Teutonic word. The earth (Midgard), the abode of men,\nis situated in the middle of the universe, bordered by mountains and\nsurrounded by the great sea; on the other side of this sea is the Utgard\n(out-yard), the abode of the giants; the Midgard is defended by the yard\nor burgh Asgard (the burgh of the gods) lying in the middle (the heaven\nbeing conceived as rising above the earth). Thus the earth and mankind\nare represented as a stronghold besieged by the powers of evil from\nwithout, defended by the gods from above and from within. _Midgard._\n\nMIDGARDSORMR [The serpent of Midgaard]. The world-serpent hidden in the\nocean, whose coils gird around the whole Midgard. Thor once fishes for\nhim, and gets him on his hook. In Ragnarok Thor slays him, but falls\nhimself poisoned by his breath. _Midgard-serpent._\n\nMIMAMEIDR. A mythic tree; probably the same as Ygdrasil. It derives its\nname from Mimer, and means Mimer's tree. _Mimameider._\n\nMIMIR. The name of the wise giant keeper of the holy well Mimis-brunnr,\nthe burn of Mimer, the well of wisdom, at which Odin pawned his eye for\nwisdom; a myth which is explained as symbolical of the heavenly vault\nwith its single eye, the sun, setting in the sea.\n\nMJOLNIR. Thor's formidable hammer. After Ragnarok, it is possessed by his\nsons Mode and Magne. _Mjolner._\n\nMISTILTEINN [Eng. _mistletoe_]. The mistletoe or mistletwig, the fatal\ntwig by which Balder, the white sun-god, was slain. After the death\nof Balder, Ragnarok set in. Balder's death was also symbolical of the\nvictory of darkness over light, which comes every year at midwinter. The\nmistletoe in English households at Christmas time is no doubt a relic\nof a rite lost in the remotest heathendom, for the fight of light and\ndarkness at midwinter was a foreshadowing of the final overthrow in\nRagnarok. The legend and the word are common to all Teutonic peoples of\nall ages. _Mistletoe._\n\nMODI [Courage]. A son of Thor. _Mode._\n\nMODSOGNIR. The dwarf highest in degree or rank. _Modsogner._\n\nMOINN. A serpent under Ygdrasil. _Moin._\n\nMUNDILFARI. Father of the sun and moon. _Mundilfare._\n\nMUNINN [Memory]. One of Odin's ravens. _Munin._\n\nMUSPELL. The name of an abode of fire. It is populated by a host of\nfiends, who are to appear at Ragnarok and destroy the world by fire.\n_Muspel._\n\nMUSPELLSHEIMR. The abode of Muspel. This interesting word (_Muspell_)\nwas not confined to the Norse mythology, but appears twice in the old\nSaxon poem Heliand. In these instances _muspel_ stands for the _day of\njudgment_, _the last day_, and answers to Ragnarok of the Norse mythology.\n\nMOKKURKALFI [A dense cloud]. A clay giant in the myth of Thor and\nHrungner. _Mokkerkalfe._\n\n\nN\n\nNAGLFAR [Nail-ship]. A mythical ship made of nail-parings. It appears in\nRagnarok. _Naglfar._ _Nailship._\n\nNAL [Needle]. Mother of Loke. _Naal._\n\nNANNA. Daughter of Nep (bud); mother of Forsete and wife of Balder. She\ndies of grief at the death of Balder. _Nanna._\n\nNARI or NARFI. Son of Loke. Loke was bound by the intestines of Nare.\n_Nare_ or _Narfe_.\n\nNASTROND [The shore of corpses]. A place of punishment for the wicked\nafter Ragnarok. _Naastrand._\n\nNIDAFJOLL. The Nida-mountains toward the north, where there is after\nRagnarok a golden hall for the race of Sindre (the dwarfs). _Nidafell._\n\nNIDHOGGR. A serpent of the nether world, that tears the carcases of the\ndead. He also lacerates Ygdrasil. _Nidhug._\n\nNIFLHEIMR. The world of fog or mist; the nethermost of the rime worlds.\nThe place of punishment (Hades). It was visited by Odin when he went to\ninquire after the fate of Balder. _Niflheim._\n\nNJORDR. A van, vanagod. He was husband of Skade, and father of Frey and\nFreyja. He dwells in Noatun. _Njord._\n\nNOATUN [Place of ships]. Njord's dwelling; Njord being a divinity of the\nwater or sea. _Noatun._\n\nNORDRI [North]. A dwarf presiding over the northern regions. _Nordre_ or\n_North_.\n\nNOTT. Night; daughter of Norve. _Night._\n\nNORN; plural NORNIR. The weird sisters; the three heavenly norns Urd,\nVerdande, and Skuld (Past, Present, and Future); they dwelt at the\nfountain of Urd, and ruled the fate of the world. Three norns were also\npresent at the birth of every man and cast the horoscope of his life.\n_Norn._\n\n\nO\n\nODINN [Anglo-Sax. _Wodan_]. Son of Bor and Bestla. He is the chief of\nthe gods. With Vile and Ve he parcels out Ymer. With H\u0153ner and Loder he\ncreates Ask and Embla. He is the fountain-head of wisdom, the founder of\nculture, writing and poetry, the progenitor of kings, the lord of battle\nand victory. He has two ravens, two wolves and a spear. His throne is\nHlidskjalf, whence he looks out over all the worlds. In Ragnarok he is\ndevoured by the Fenris-wolf. _Odin._\n\nODR. Freyja's husband. _Oder._\n\nODROERIR [The spirit-mover]. One of the vessels in which the blood\nof Kvaser, that is, the poetic mead, was kept. The inspiring nectar.\n_Odroerer._\n\nOFNIR. A serpent under Ygdrasil. _Ofner._\n\nOKOLNIR. After Ragnarok the giants have a hall (_ale-hall_) called\nBrimer, at Okolner.\n\nOKU-THORR. So called from the Finnish thunder-god Ukko. _Akethor._\n\nOSKI [Wish]. A name of Odin. _Oske._ _Wish._\n\nOTR [Otter]. A son of Hreidmar; in the form of an otter killed by Loke.\n_Oter._\n\nOTTARR or OTTARR HEIMSKI [Stupid]. A son of Instein, a protege of Freyja.\nHe has a contest with Angantyr. Hyndla gives him a cup of remembrance.\n_Ottar._\n\n\nR\n\nRAGNAROK [Sentence, judgment, from _rekja_, is the whole development from\ncreation to dissolution, and would, in this word, denote the dissolution,\ndoomsday, of the gods; or it may be from _rokr_ (_reykkr_, smoke),\ntwilight, and then the word means the twilight of the gods]. The last\nday; the dissolution of the gods and the world. _Ragnarok._\n\nRAN [Rob]. The goddess of the sea; wife of \u00c6ger. _Ran._\n\nRATATOSKR. A squirrel that runs up and down the branches of Ygdrasil.\n_Ratatosk._\n\nRATI. An auger used by Odin in obtaining the poetic mead. _Rate._\n\nREGINN. Son of Hreidmar; brother of Fafner and Otter. _Regin._\n\nRINDR. A personification of the hard frozen earth. Mother of Vale.\nThe loves of Odin and Rind resemble those of Zeus and Europa in Greek\nlegends. _Rind._\n\nROSKVA. The name of the maiden follower of Thor. She symbolizes the ripe\nfields of harvest. _Roskva._\n\n\nS\n\nSAEHRIMNIR [Rime-producer]. The name of the boar on which the gods and\nheroes in Valhal constantly feed. _Saehrimner._\n\nSAGA [History]. The goddess of history. She dwells in Sokvabek.\n\nSESSRUMNIR. Freyja's large-seated palace. _Sesrumner._\n\nSIDHOTTR [Long-hood]. One of Odin's names, from his traveling in disguise\nwith a large hat on his head hanging down over one side of his face to\nconceal his missing eye. _Sidhat._\n\nSIDSKEGGR [Long-beard]. One of Brage's names. It is also a name of Odin\nin the lay of Grimner. _Sidskeg._\n\nSIF. The wife of Thor and mother of Uller. The word denotes affinity.\nSif, the golden-haired goddess, wife of Thor, betokens mother earth with\nher bright green grass. She was the goddess of the sanctity of the\nfamily and wedlock, and hence her name. _Sif._\n\nSIGFADIR [Father of victory]. A name of Odin. _Sigfather._\n\nSIGYN. Loke's wife. She holds a basin to prevent the serpent's venom from\ndropping into Loke's face. _Sigyn._\n\nSILFRINTOPPR. One of the horses of the gods. _Silvertop._\n\nSINDRI. One of the most famous dwarfs. _Sindre._\n\nSINIR [Sinew]. One of the horses of the gods. _Siner._\n\nSJOFN. One of the goddesses. She delights in turning men's hearts to\nlove. _Sjofn._\n\nSKADI [_scathe_, harm, damage]. A giantess; daughter of Thjasse and the\nwife of Njord. She dwells in Thrymheim, and hangs a venom serpent over\nLoke's face. _Skade._\n\nSKEIDBRIMIR [Race-runner]. One of the horses of the gods. _Skeidbrimer._\n\nSKIDBLADNIR. The name of the famous ship of the god Frey that could\nmove alike on land or sea and could be made small or great at will.\n_Skidbladner._\n\nSKINFAXI [Shining-mane]. The horse of Day. _Skinfax._\n\nSKIRNIR [The bright one]. Frey's messenger. _Skirner._\n\nSKRYMIR. The name of a giant; also the name assumed by Utgard-Loke.\n_Skrymer._\n\nSKULD [Shall]. The norn of the future. _Skuld._\n\nSKOGUL. A valkyrie. _Skogul._\n\nSLEIPNIR [The slipper]. The name of Odin's eight-footed steed. He is\nbegotten by Loke with Svadilfare. _Sleipner._\n\nSNOTRA [Neat]. The name of one of the goddesses. _Snotra._\n\nSOKKMIMIR [Mimer of the deep]. A giant slain by Odin. _Sokmimer._\n\nSOKKVABEKKR. A mansion where Odin and Saga quaff from golden beakers.\n_Sokvabek._\n\nSOL [Sun]. Daughter of Mundilfare. She drives the horses that draw the\ncar of the sun.\n\nSONR. One of the vessels containing the poetic mead. _Son._\n\nSUDRI [South]. A dwarf who presides over the south region. _Sudre._\n_South._\n\nSURTR. A fire-giant in Ragnarok who contends with the gods on the plain\nof Vigrid and guards Muspelheim. _Surt._\n\nSUTTUNGR. The giant possessor of the poetic mead. _Suttung._\n\nSVADILFARI. A horse; the sire of Sleipner. _Svadilfare._\n\nSVAFNIR. A serpent under Ygdrasil. _Svafner._\n\nSVALINN [Cooler]. The shield placed before the sun. _Svalin._\n\nSVASUDR [Delightful]. The name of a giant; the father of the sun.\n_Svasud._\n\nSYN. A minor goddess.\n\n\nT\n\nTYR. Properly the generic name of the highest divinity, and remains\nin many compounds. In mythology he is the one-armed god of war. The\nFenris-wolf bit one hand off him. He goes with Thor to Hymer to borrow a\nkettle for \u00c6ger. He is son of Odin by a giantess. _Tyr._\n\nTHJALFI. The name of the servant and follower of Thor. The word properly\nmeans a delver, digger. The names Thjalfe and Roskva indicate that Thor\nwas the friend of the farmers and the god of agriculture. _Thjalfe._\n\nTHJAZI [Thjassi]. A giant; the father of Njord's wife, Skade. His\ndwelling was Thrymheim; he was slain by Thor. _Thjasse._\n\nTHORR. The English _Thursday_ is a later form, in which the phonetic rule\nof the Scandinavian tongue has been followed. The god of thunder, keeper\nof the hammer, the ever-fighting slayer of trolls and destroyer of evil\nspirits, the friend of mankind, the defender of the earth, the heavens\nand the gods; for without Thor and his hammer the earth would become the\nhelpless prey of the giants. He was the consecrator, the hammer being\nthe cross or holy sign of the ancient heathen. Thor was the son of Odin\nand Fjorgyn (mother earth); he was blunt, hot-tempered, without fraud\nor guile, of few words but of ready stroke--such was Thor, the favorite\ndeity of our forefathers. The finest legends of the Younger Edda and the\nbest lays of the Elder Edda refer to Thor. His hall is Bilskirner. He\nslays Thjasse, Thrym, Hrungner, and other giants. In Ragnarok he slays\nthe Midgard-serpent, but falls after retreating nine paces, poisoned by\nthe serpent's breath. _Thor._\n\nTHRIDI [Third]. A name of Odin in Gylfaginning. _Thride._\n\nTHRUDGELMIR. The giant father of Bergelmer. _Thrudgelmer._\n\nTHRUDHEIMR or THRUDVANGR. Thor's abode. _Thrudheim; Thrudvang._\n\nTHRUDR. The name of a goddess; the daughter of Thor and Sif. _Thrud._\n\nTHRYMHEIMR. Thjasse's and Skade's dwelling. _Thrymheim._\n\nTHRYMR. The giant who stole Thor's hammer and demanded Freyja as a reward\nfor its return. _Thrym._\n\nTHOKK. The name of a giantess (supposed to have been Loke in disguise) in\nthe myth of Balder. _Thok._\n\n\nU\n\nULFRUN. One of Heimdal's nine giant mothers. _Ulfrun._\n\nULLR. The son of Sif and stepson of Thor. His father is not named. He\ndwells in Ydaler. _Uller._\n\nURDARBRUNNR. The fountain of the norn Urd. The Urdar-fountain. The weird\nspring.\n\nURDR [Eng. _weird_]. One of the three norns. The norn of the past. _Urd._\n\nUTGARDAR [The out-yard]. The abode of the giant Utgard-Loke. _Utgard._\n\nUTGARDA-LOKI. The giant of Utgard visited by Thor. He calls himself\nSkrymer. _Utgard-Loke._\n\n\nV\n\nVAFTHRUDNIR. A giant visited by Odin. They try each other in questions\nand answers. The giant is defeated and forfeits his life. _Vafthrudner._\n\nVALASKJALF. One of Odin's dwellings. _Valaskjalf._\n\nVALFODR [Father of the slain]. A name of Odin. _Valfather._\n\nVALGRIND. A gate of Valhal. _Valgrind._\n\nVALHOLL [The hall of the slain]. The hall to which Odin invited those\nslain in battle. _Valhal._\n\nVALKYRJA [The chooser of the slain]. A troop of goddesses, handmaidens of\nOdin. They serve in Valhal, and are sent on Odin's errands. _Valkyrie._\n\nVALI. Is a brother of Balder, who slays Hoder when only one night old. He\nrules with Vidar after Ragnarok. _Vale._\n\nVALI. A son of Loke. _Vale._\n\nVALTAMR. A fictitious name of Odin's father. _Valtam._\n\nVE. A brother of Odin (Odin, Vile and Ve). _Ve._\n\nVEGTAMR. A name assumed by Odin. _Vegtam._\n\nVANAHEIMAR. The abode of the vans. _Vanaheim._\n\nVANR; plural VANIR. Those deities whose abode was in Vanaheim, in\ncontradistinction to the asas, who dwell in Asgard: Njord, Frey and\nFreyja. The vans waged war with the asas, but were afterwards, by virtue\nof a treaty, combined and made one with them. The vans were deities of\nthe sea. _Van._\n\nVEORR [Defender]. A name of Thor. _Veor._\n\nVERDANDI [To become]. The norn of the present.\n\nVESTRI. The dwarf presiding over the west region. _Vestre._ _West._\n\nVIDARR. Son of Odin and the giantess Grid. He dwells in Landvide. He\nslays the Fenris-wolf in Ragnarok. Rules with Vale after Ragnarok.\n_Vidar._\n\nVIGRIDR [A battle]. The field of battle where the gods and the sons of\nSurt meet in Ragnarok. _Vigrid._\n\nVILI. Brother of Odin and Ve. These three sons of Bor and Bestla\nconstruct the world out of Ymer's body. _Vile._\n\nVIMUR. A river that Thor crosses. _Vimer._\n\nVINDSVALR. The father of winter. _Vindsval._\n\nVINDHEIMR. The place that the sons of Balder and Hoder are to inhabit\nafter Ragnarok. _Vindheim._ _Windhome._\n\nVIN-GOLF [The mansion of bliss]. The palace of the asynjes. _Vingolf._\n\nVINGTHORR. A name of Thor. _Vingthor._\n\nVOR. The goddess of betrothals and marriages. _Vor._\n\n\nY\n\nYDALIR. Uller's dwelling. _Ydaler._\n\nYGGR. A name of Odin. _Ygg._\n\nYGGDRASILL [The bearer of Ygg (Odin)]. The world-embracing ash tree. The\nwhole world is symbolized by this tree. _Ygdrasil._\n\nYMIR. The huge giant in the cosmogony, out of whose body Odin, Vile and\nVe created the world. The progenitor of the giants. He was formed out of\nfrost and fire in Ginungagap. _Ymer._\n\n\n\n\nINDEX OF PERSONS AND PLACES.\n\nTEUTONIC MYTHOLOGY.\n\nTranscriber's Note: This index doesn't use the accented letters found in\nthe rest of the text.\n\n\n    A\n\n    Achilles, 44, 192.\n\n    Achivians, 62.\n\n    Adalbert, 320.\n\n    Adam, 86, 132, 319, 338.\n\n    Adam of Bremen, 714.\n\n    Adriatic, 62.\n\n    Aeduans, 66.\n\n    Aegir, 43, 136, 235, 422, 575, 697, 813, 822, 967.\n\n    Aeneas, 44, 66, 81, 730.\n\n    African, 6.\n\n    Agelmund, 858.\n\n    Aggo, 104, 861, 893, 953, 1008.\n\n    Agni, 587, 605, 886.\n\n    Agrippa, 76, 86.\n\n    Ahriman, 817.\n\n    Ahura, 8.\n\n    Ahuramazda, 127, 381, 450.\n\n    Ai, 140.\n\n    Ajo, 100, 861, 992.\n\n    Alamannians, 53, 119, 708.\n\n    Alarik, 25.\n\n    Alba-Longa, 66.\n\n    Aldonus, 101.\n\n    Aldrian, 981, 991.\n\n    Alexander, 50, 55.\n\n    Alf, 167.\n\n    Alfather, 376, 220, 340.\n\n    Alfheim, 696, 865, 947.\n\n    Alfhild, 168.\n\n    Alfrandull, 1002.\n\n    Alfsol, 168.\n\n    Alps, 62.\n\n    Almveig, 1000.\n\n    Alvalde, 174, 584, 898, 953, 992.\n\n    Alveig, 173, 257, 263, 273.\n\n    Alveig-Signe, 793, 902.\n\n    Alvis, 437.\n\n    Alvism, 365, 376.\n\n    Alvismal, 436, 445.\n\n    Alvitr, 898.\n\n    Amala, 293.\n\n    Amalgort, 293.\n\n    Amalian, 147, 285, 293, 980.\n\n    Amazons, 168.\n\n    Ambri, 100.\n\n    Amelolt, 293.\n\n    Amelungs, 147, 293.\n\n    America, 940.\n\n    Amlethus, 317, 843.\n\n    Amlodi, 843, 568.\n\n    Amma, 140.\n\n    Ammianus, 58.\n\n    Amsvartner, 564.\n\n    Anarr, 157.\n\n    Anchises, 54, 112.\n\n    Andlanger, 706.\n\n    Andvare, a dwarf, 300, 977.\n\n    Angerboda, 226, 275, 558, 707, 809.\n\n    Angeyja, 597.\n\n    Angles, 55.\n\n    Anglo-Saxon, 86.\n\n    Angra-Mainyu, 127.\n\n    Angul, 89.\n\n    Animals, 23.\n\n    Anses, 738.\n\n    Ansgarius, 806.\n\n    Ansgis, 54, 112.\n\n    Antenor, 53, 62.\n\n    Anthaib, 101.\n\n    Anthropology, 729.\n\n    Anti-Christ, 722.\n\n    Anundus, 848, 884, 896, 932, 951.\n\n    Anus, 879.\n\n    Anzius, 147.\n\n    Apaosha, 970.\n\n    Apollo, 79.\n\n    Aquili, 553.\n\n    Are, 57, 425, 438.\n\n    Arinbjorn, 173, 464.\n\n    Aristarchus, 53.\n\n    Armenia, 3.\n\n    Arnulf, 54.\n\n    Artimis, 79.\n\n    Arvidson, 844.\n\n    Aryan, 3, 14, 30, 124, 188, 253, 380, 746.\n\n    Asa-Brage, 256, 801.\n\n    Asa-father, 746.\n\n    Asa-god, 147, 191, 210, 246, 740, 777, 793, 820.\n\n    Asaland, 33.\n\n    Asalfr, 926.\n\n    Asas, 34, 41, 83, 211, 235, 254, 275, 364, 376, 397, 436, 485,\n      580, 620, 720, 819, 838, 852, 875, 888, 946.\n\n    Asasynir (goddesses), 446.\n\n    Asbjorn, 245.\n\n    Asciburgium, 122, 839.\n\n    Asgard, 33, 41, 166, 218, 229, 245, 276, 376, 397, 423, 443,\n      467, 575, 601, 693, 724, 751, 772, 790, 806, 845, 865, 877,\n      909, 938, 959, 977, 989, 1004.\n\n    Asia-land, 45.\n\n    Asia Minor, 77.\n\n    Asiatic, 4, 14.\n\n    Ask, 127, 140, 604, 733.\n\n    Asmegir, 353, 436, 446, 827, 878.\n\n    Asmund, 265, 743.\n\n    Assi, 100.\n\n    Assyrians, 37.\n\n    Astrology, 71.\n\n    Asvid, 365, 743.\n\n    Asvinians, 880, 910.\n\n    Atlakvida, 512.\n\n    Atlantic, 87.\n\n    Atlas, 977.\n\n    Atle, 471, 915.\n\n    Attic, 53.\n\n    Attila, 286, 809, 983.\n\n    Audhumbla, 389, 574, 733, 433.\n\n    Augustus, 711.\n\n    Aurboda, 213, 242, 781, 815, 845, 962.\n\n    Aurgelner, 433, 570.\n\n    Aurnir, 899, 948, 992.\n\n    Austria, 28.\n\n    Ave, 140.\n\n    Avo, 848, 884, 896.\n\n    Avernians, 66.\n\n    Avesta, 8, 17, 30, 450, 878.\n\n    Azdingi, 159.\n\n\n    B\n\n    Baal, 37.\n\n    Babel, 37, 84.\n\n    Babylon, 37, 84.\n\n    Bacchus, 900.\n\n    Bactria, 9, 84.\n\n    B\u00e6rmagnis-Sogo, 310.\n\n    Bainaib, 101.\n\n    Balder, 36, 88, 191, 212, 248, 346, 368, 377, 400, 413, 436,\n      465, 622, 684, 726, 782, 796, 809, 833, 877, 888, 898, 963, 985.\n\n    Banings (destroyers), 297.\n\n    Barbarossa, 55.\n\n    Baugregin's Well, 577.\n\n    Beda, 55, 88.\n\n    Beistla, 624.\n\n    Bel, 836.\n\n    Beldegg, 40, 88.\n\n    Belgium, 28.\n\n    Beli, 836.\n\n    Benfey, 18.\n\n    Beowulf, 130, 191, 472, 605, 749, 811, 825, 844, 986, 1002.\n\n    Berchter, 591.\n\n    Berchtung, 146, 291.\n\n    Bergelmer, 434, 570, 626.\n\n    Bergio, 115.\n\n    Berggram, 848.\n\n    Berig, 116.\n\n    Berker, 146.\n\n    Bergtrollet, 844.\n\n    Berserks, 39.\n\n    Berther, 146.\n\n    Bessarabia, 25.\n\n    Bestla, 160, 389, 476.\n\n    Beyla, 575.\n\n    Bhrigu, 587.\n\n    Bifrost, 397, 415, 462, 534, 586, 693, 705, 758, 827, 989.\n\n    Bil, 676, 985, 1003.\n\n    Billing, 471, 698.\n\n    Birka, 806.\n\n    Biterolf, 359, 644, 977, 997.\n\n    Bjaef, 88.\n\n    Bjarmia, 563.\n\n    Bjorn, 245.\n\n    Bjorno, 884.\n\n    Bjort, 229, 756.\n\n    Blekingia, 104.\n\n    Blid, 229, 756.\n\n    Bodn, 331.\n\n    Bodvar, 530.\n\n    Boethius, 812.\n\n    Bolthorn, 361, 624.\n\n    Bor, 389, 434, 574, 603.\n\n    Borgar, 145, 255, 281, 293, 591, 847, 861, 976.\n\n    Bose Saga, 310.\n\n    Bosphorus, 48.\n\n    Bous, 787.\n\n    Bragar\u00e6dur, 959.\n\n    Brage, 43, 468, 675, 824, 967, 986.\n\n    Bravalla, 283.\n\n    Breidablik, 36.\n\n    Brimer, 643.\n\n    Brisingamen, 272, 364, 725, 819, 829, 876.\n\n    Britain, 55.\n\n    Brok, 361, 718, 895.\n\n    Brunnakr, 898, 953.\n\n    Brunnie, 898, 953.\n\n    Brutus, 66.\n\n    Brynhild, 491, 979.\n\n    Buddhism, 732.\n\n    Budlungs, 189.\n\n    Bundehash, 126.\n\n    Bure, 389.\n\n    Burgarus, 145.\n\n    Burgundaib, 101, 113.\n\n    Byggvir, 575.\n\n    Byleipt, 559.\n\n    Byrgir, 676, 986, 1003.\n\n    Byzantium, 48.\n\n\n    C\n\n    C\u00e6sar, 66, 283.\n\n    Cain, 813.\n\n    Capitoline Hill, 74.\n\n    Carthage, 58.\n\n    Cassiodorus, 114.\n\n    Cave of Punishment, 552.\n\n    Celts, 10, 25, 254.\n\n    Cerberus, 38, 413.\n\n    Ceres, 79.\n\n    Chald\u00e6ans, 72.\n\n    Cham, 85.\n\n    Chaos, 389.\n\n    Charlemagne, 53, 101, 807.\n\n    Cheldricus, 981, 990.\n\n    Cherson, 25.\n\n    Christ, 77, 284, 807.\n\n    Christianity, 50, 285.\n\n    Chus, 85.\n\n    Cimmerians, 76.\n\n    Cis-Alpine, 66.\n\n    Claudius, 114.\n\n    Claybrimer, 570.\n\n    Codex Regius, 233.\n\n    Codex Upsalensis, 353, 538.\n\n    Cool, 519.\n\n    Cosmogony, 157.\n\n    Cosmographic Review, 692.\n\n    Creator, 813.\n\n    Creation of Man, 126.\n\n    Crete, 38.\n\n    Crimea, 25.\n\n    Cum\u00e6an Prophetess, 75.\n\n    Curetians, 261.\n\n    Cuso, 784.\n\n    Cybile, 79.\n\n    Cyclops, 715.\n\n\n    D\n\n    Dacians, 129.\n\n    Dag, 366, 420, 433, 446, 602, 696.\n\n    Dainn, an elf artist, 240, 365, 717.\n\n    Dalmatia, 63.\n\n    Damkan, 386.\n\n    Dan, 137.\n\n    Danai, 56, 255.\n\n    Danes, 27, 56, 117, 178, 257.\n\n    Danische Wold, 811.\n\n    Danish Adventurers, 714.\n\n    Dankrat, 981.\n\n    Danmark, 89.\n\n    Dannevirke, 913, 927.\n\n    Danr Draupr, 142.\n\n    Danube, 62.\n\n    Dardanus, 38.\n\n    Darius, 3.\n\n    Darnanians, 58.\n\n    Dasyus, 596.\n\n    Decius, 710.\n\n    Delling, 356, 366, 377, 416, 461, 602, 696, 823.\n\n    Diaconus, 54, 101, 859.\n\n    Dictys, 59.\n\n    Dieterich, 285, 980.\n\n    Dis, sun goddess, 167.\n\n    Disertus, 794.\n\n    Ditevin, 109.\n\n    Dobrudscho, 25.\n\n    Domarr, 137.\n\n    Don, 113.\n\n    Doom of the Dead, 485.\n\n    Dore, 356.\n\n    Drauper, 361, 374, 427, 635.\n\n    Draupner, 725, 824, 862.\n\n    Drott, 143.\n\n    Duben, 29.\n\n    Dudo, 56, 67.\n\n    Dulsi, 608, 652.\n\n    Dunelmensis, 130.\n\n    Durin, 357, 653.\n\n    Durnir, 652.\n\n    Dutch, 27.\n\n    Dvalinn, a dwarf artist, 164, 244, 356, 461, 717.\n\n    Dwarfs, 445.\n\n    Dygve, 144, 621.\n\n\n    E\n\n    Earendel, 769.\n\n    East Goths, 25.\n\n    Ebbo, 104, 779, 847.\n\n    Ebur, 863, 953.\n\n    Eckenbrecht, 896.\n\n    Eckihard, 360.\n\n    Edda, 325, 354, 406, 562, 603, 647, 718, 791, 827, 851, 888,\n      927, 962.\n\n    Egil, 425, 463, 529, 838, 847, 863, 873, 884, 901, 926, 941,\n      969, 977, 990.\n\n    Egilsson, 733.\n\n    Eggther, sword guardian, 223, 707, 810, 962.\n\n    Egyptian, 94.\n\n    Eikthynir, a thunder cloud, 249, 968.\n\n    Eilif, 857.\n\n    Eilif Gudrunson, 331.\n\n    Einar, 372, 908, 914.\n\n    Einar Skalaglam, 330.\n\n    Einberges, gods, 824, 1003.\n\n    Eir, 229, 756.\n\n    Eirikr, 793, 803, 823, 847.\n\n    Elbe, 107.\n\n    Elderich, 984.\n\n    Elf Clans, 603.\n\n    Elivagar, 424, 519, 532, 695, 775, 827, 835, 846, 857, 911,\n      938, 960, 968, 1003.\n\n    Elivogs, 325, 379.\n\n    Elizabeth, 723.\n\n    Elves, 164, 445, 696.\n\n    Elysian Fields, 325.\n\n    Embla, 127, 143, 604, 733.\n\n    Emperor Theodosius, 710.\n\n    Endil, 941.\n\n    Endymion, 728.\n\n    Eomenric, 830.\n\n    Eos, 901.\n\n    Ephesus, 709, 728.\n\n    Epirus, 25.\n\n    Ericus, 793, 868.\n\n    Erik, 463, 620, 794, 807, 818, 828, 994.\n\n    Eriksmal, 472.\n\n    Erikvidforle's Saga, 306, 322.\n\n    Erinnyes, 493.\n\n    Ermenrich, 980, 998.\n\n    Erythreian Sibyl, 76.\n\n    Esculapians, 79.\n\n    Ethelwardus, 130.\n\n    Etgeir, 927.\n\n    Etruria, 83.\n\n    Etrurians, 58.\n\n    Euhemerists, 49.\n\n    Euripides, 716.\n\n    Europe, 76.\n\n    Eylud Mill, 827.\n\n    Eyludr, 568, 584.\n\n    Eystrasalt, the Baltic, 235.\n\n    Eyrbyggja, 478.\n\n    Eyrgjafa, 598.\n\n    Eyvind, 225, 469.\n\n\n    F\n\n    Fadir, 140.\n\n    Fafner, 977.\n\n    Fafnersbane, 191, 218, 260, 735.\n\n    Fafnersmal, 460, 693.\n\n    Fagerskinna, 741.\n\n    Fal, 87.\n\n    Falen, 89.\n\n    Fann, 522.\n\n    Farbaute, 823.\n\n    Fenja, 262, 567, 584, 890, 951.\n\n    Fenrer, 618, 705.\n\n    Fenris Wolf, 44, 215, 404, 448, 558, 618.\n\n    Fifel, 559.\n\n    Fimbulthul, 642.\n\n    Fimbul-Winter, 171, 585, 796.\n\n    Finalf, 971.\n\n    Finmark, 310.\n\n    Finnr, 988.\n\n    Finns, 118.\n\n    Fjalar, a giant sorcerer, 210, 224, 266, 317, 336, 513, 596,\n      647, 661, 707, 810, 891, 962, 1004.\n\n    Fjallgyldir, 926.\n\n    Fjolner, 499, 995.\n\n    Fjolsvinn, 354, 499, 571.\n\n    Fjolsvinsmal, 229, 238, 721, 747, 758, 772, 790, 817, 832, 978.\n\n    Fjorgyn, 155.\n\n    Fjorgyn-Frigg, 374.\n\n    Flatey-bok, 133, 306.\n\n    Floedarmal, 858.\n\n    Flying Serpents, 564.\n\n    Fornald, 363.\n\n    Fornaldr Saga, 858.\n\n    Fornmanna Saga, 96.\n\n    Forsets, 888.\n\n    Forspjallsljod, 196, 330, 447, 532, 553, 871, 911, 917, 1008.\n\n    Francis, 51.\n\n    Franks, 50, 60, 99, 708.\n\n    Frankish, 82.\n\n    Frankland, 40.\n\n    Frau Breyde, 834.\n\n    Frauenlob, 68.\n\n    Frea, 100.\n\n    Frey, 34, 137, 157, 230, 361, 426, 558, 575, 607, 661, 702,\n      718, 777, 796, 810, 820, 863, 884, 918, 958, 983.\n\n    Fredegar, 50, 60.\n\n    Freyja, 34, 100, 155, 166, 229, 327, 363, 607, 443, 461, 526,\n      684, 796, 819, 834, 843, 879, 887, 897, 931, 958, 989.\n\n    Freki, Odin's wolf dog, 249, 559.\n\n    Freyja Menglad, 250.\n\n    Frid, 229, 842.\n\n    Fridleif, 88.\n\n    Fridleifson, 567.\n\n    Fridigernus, 842.\n\n    Fridlevus, 245, 798, 863, 884.\n\n    Frigg, 34, 100, 155, 229, 607, 684, 824, 842, 903, 963.\n\n    Frigga, 55.\n\n    Frigida, 39.\n\n    Friesland, 320.\n\n    Frisian Adventurers, 715.\n\n    Frode, 135, 499, 565, 578, 794.\n\n    Froste, 225.\n\n    Frotho, 815, 837, 868.\n\n    Frotho-Frey, 274.\n\n    Fulda, 111.\n\n    Fulla, 685, 824.\n\n    Funen, 35.\n\n    Fylgies, 457.\n\n\n    G\n\n    Gabriel, 836.\n\n    Gaelic, 94.\n\n    Galfrid, 66, 984.\n\n    Gambanteinn, 427, 815, 964.\n\n    Gambara, 100, 893, 953.\n\n    Gambarac, 104.\n\n    Gambrivians, 155.\n\n    Gandaricus Magnus, 222.\n\n    Gandil, 468.\n\n    Gang, 946, 955, 974.\n\n    Ganges, 10.\n\n    Gangr, 932, 948.\n\n    Gang-Urmir, 196.\n\n    Gardarike, 15.\n\n    Garm, 440, 564.\n\n    Gastrofnir, 754.\n\n    Gaul, 26, 58, 66, 129.\n\n    Gauta, 505, 642.\n\n    Gaya-Maretan, 127.\n\n    Gayomert, 127.\n\n    Gehenna, 437, 549.\n\n    Gefion, 35.\n\n    Gefu, 773.\n\n    Geiger, 19, 131.\n\n    Geirrod, a fire giant, 106, 310, 432, 459, 535, 598, 915, 928,\n      949.\n\n    Geiter, 96, 536.\n\n    Geirvandil, 848, 867, 883, 948, 974, 993.\n\n    Geldr, 784, 984, 1000.\n\n    Gepaute, 116.\n\n    Gepidians, 708.\n\n    Gerd, a giantess, 192, 227, 241, 426, 437, 528, 815, 967.\n\n    Geri, 754.\n\n    German-Saga Cycle, 294.\n\n    Germans, 548.\n\n    Germany, 19, 27, 120.\n\n    Gernoz, 981.\n\n    Gersami, 756.\n\n    Gerutha, 779.\n\n    Geruthus, 312.\n\n    Gesta, 62.\n\n    Gevarr, 669, 792, 990, 1002.\n\n    Gevarr-Nokkue, 202.\n\n    Gevarus, 781, 836.\n\n    Ghosts, 742.\n\n    Giants, 39, 96, 175, 770, 836.\n\n    Gibich, 981.\n\n    Gifr, 754.\n\n    Gigas, a giant, 776.\n\n    Gillingr, 483.\n\n    Gilzer, 981.\n\n    Gimule, 561.\n\n    Ginungagap, 452, 940.\n\n    Gipties, 457.\n\n    Gisle, 684, 741.\n\n    Gisler, 981, 1007.\n\n    Gissur, 527.\n\n    Gjallahorn, 524.\n\n    Gjaller-bridge, 736.\n\n    Gjalp, 928, 933.\n\n    Gjoll, 328, 415, 448, 515.\n\n    Gjuke, 971, 981, 991, 999, 1009.\n\n    Gjukung, 515.\n\n    Gleipner, 565, 824.\n\n    Glenr, husband of the Sun Dis, 169.\n\n    Glitner, 827.\n\n    Glittering-fields, 309, 322, 418, 517, 636.\n\n    Gnipa-Cave, 440, 564.\n\n    Godan, Odin, 100.\n\n    Godmundr, 642.\n\n    Gods of the Week Days, 72.\n\n    Golaida, 101.\n\n    Gold-Comb, 449.\n\n    Gold-glittering Cock, 760.\n\n    Gorm, 312, 418, 432, 515, 534, 552, 641, 714.\n\n    Gosh, 382.\n\n    Got, Gotland, 89, 132.\n\n    Gothic, 23, 60, 99, 113, 178.\n\n    Goths, 708, 729.\n\n    Grafvitner, a giant wolf, 240.\n\n    Gragas, 430.\n\n    Gram, 147, 283, 794.\n\n    Grandvik, 832, 940.\n\n    Grane, 241, 978.\n\n    Great Babylonia, 836.\n\n    Greco, 10, 25.\n\n    Greeks, 59.\n\n    Greenland, 940.\n\n    Greip, a giantess, 551, 598, 893, 928, 1004.\n\n    Gregorius, 50, 81, 288, 711, 728.\n\n    Grendel, 811.\n\n    Grep, 797, 836.\n\n    Gridarvolr, 933.\n\n    Gridr, 933.\n\n    Grimhild, 516.\n\n    Grimm, 10, 298.\n\n    Grimm's Mythology, 721.\n\n    Grimner, 434.\n\n    Grimner's Lay, 139.\n\n    Grimnersmal, 423, 447, 564, 592, 644, 717, 802, 855, 866, 889.\n\n    Grimnismal, 105, 236, 251, 399.\n\n    Groa, 150, 196, 255, 268, 747, 776, 793, 819, 847, 858, 900,\n      998.\n\n    Gr\u0153dir, 566.\n\n    Grogalder, 151, 201, 354, 571, 747, 758, 770, 795, 805, 832.\n\n    Grotte, 727.\n\n    Grotte-mill, 565.\n\n    Grotte-Song, 181, 262, 584, 890, 951.\n\n    Grund, 310.\n\n    Gugnir, 876.\n\n    Gudheim, 36.\n\n    Gudhorm, 153, 255, 270.\n\n    Gudmund, 217, 309, 360, 393, 516, 636.\n\n    Gudmund-Mimer, 727.\n\n    Gudolf, 88.\n\n    Gudrun, 355, 915, 974, 989.\n\n    Gudrunarkvida, 138, 522.\n\n    Gudrundson, 138, 421, 452, 491, 516, 932.\n\n    Gudzorm, 981.\n\n    Gull, 231.\n\n    Gulltoppr, 592.\n\n    Gulveig, 165, 204, 230, 486.\n\n    Gulveig-Heid, 724, 746, 780.\n\n    Gunbjorn, 245.\n\n    Gunlad, 224, 648, 1004.\n\n    Gungner, a sword, 193, 268, 639.\n\n    Gunnar, 472, 502, 735, 978, 989.\n\n    Gunno, 787.\n\n    Gunvara, 795, 815.\n\n    Guod, a ship, 265.\n\n    Guritha, 150.\n\n    Guthmundus, 314.\n\n    Guthorm, 567.\n\n    Guthormus, 151.\n\n    Gutland, 104.\n\n    Gylder, 962.\n\n    Gygr, a troll woman, 845.\n\n    Gylfaginning, 41, 128, 138, 325, 344, 395, 425, 497, 524, 538,\n      552, 565, 607, 757, 856, 925, 962.\n\n    Gylfe, 35, 41, 93.\n\n    Gymer, 426, 536.\n\n    Gymir, a giant, 213, 227, 242.\n\n\n    H\n\n    Hadaland, 741.\n\n    Hadding, 255, 263, 273, 289, 317, 432, 449, 492, 517, 604, 729,\n      737, 793, 806, 819, 843, 902, 980, 997.\n\n    Hades, 123, 337, 392, 431, 482, 514, 577, 730, 817, 1004.\n\n    Hadingus, 159, 301.\n\n    Hadolaun, 107.\n\n    Hadugoto, 108.\n\n    Hagen, 298, 981.\n\n    Haguinus, 896.\n\n    Hakon, 370, 467, 500, 824, 867, 904, 913, 929.\n\n    Hakonarmal, 468.\n\n    Halfdan, 132, 185, 191, 202, 255, 318, 460, 489, 591, 741, 779,\n      792, 803, 819, 847, 896, 919, 958, 973, 1000.\n\n    Halfe, 256, 262.\n\n    Haliorun\u00e6, 22.\n\n    Halir, 446.\n\n    Hallfred, 407, 479.\n\n    Hallin, 115.\n\n    Halogaland, 312.\n\n    Ham, 85.\n\n    Hama, 830.\n\n    Hamal, 147, 192, 281.\n\n    Hamingjes, 457, 505.\n\n    Hamlet, 843.\n\n    Handuanus, 300.\n\n    Har, 42, 95.\n\n    Harald, 464.\n\n    Harald Blue Tooth, 929.\n\n    Harald Hardrade, 282.\n\n    Harald Hildetand, 282.\n\n    Harbard, 889, 961.\n\n    Harbardsljod, 276, 449, 953, 967.\n\n    Hardgrep, 260, 271, 492, 737.\n\n    Hartung, 289.\n\n    Hate, a monster, 558, 690, 707, 810.\n\n    Haustlaug, 416, 574, 853, 902, 987.\n\n    Havamal, 128, 259, 330, 361, 431, 476, 492, 642, 717, 735, 934.\n\n    Hedinn, 887.\n\n    Heid, 65, 351, 480, 876.\n\n    Heidrun, 644.\n\n    Heimdal, 36, 135, 170, 236, 272, 280, 298, 378, 425, 447, 586,\n      695, 705, 722, 738, 822, 830, 891.\n\n    Heimskringla, 32, 35, 47, 82, 94, 243, 370, 520, 606, 741.\n\n    Heingest, 88, 99, 970, 991, 1008.\n\n    Hektor, 38.\n\n    Hel, 400, 406, 420, 440, 447, 478, 614, 745, 824, 968.\n\n    Helblinde, 559, 599.\n\n    Helblottin, 414, 969.\n\n    Hel-dog, 564.\n\n    Helgakvida, 216.\n\n    Hel-gate, 702.\n\n    Helge, 147, 181, 310, 520, 571, 690, 744, 791, 973.\n\n    Helgo, 784.\n\n    Hel-horse, 480.\n\n    Heliand, 416, 456, 560.\n\n    Hellenic, 25.\n\n    Hellewite, 407.\n\n    Hel-rivers, 765.\n\n    Hel-shoes, 737.\n\n    Helvegir, 440.\n\n    Helvegum, 442.\n\n    Hel-way, 515.\n\n    Hengikjoptr, 566.\n\n    Henricus, 86.\n\n    Heph\u00e6stros, 189.\n\n    Hercynian, 1.\n\n    Herikon, 87.\n\n    Hermanaricus, 301.\n\n    Hermes, 70.\n\n    Hermes-Mercurius, 94.\n\n    Hermes-Trismegistus, 94.\n\n    Hermionians, 155, 301.\n\n    Hermod, 327, 374, 415, 465, 565, 737, 819, 845.\n\n    Hertrich, 359.\n\n    Herulians, 113.\n\n    Hesiodus, 127.\n\n    Hervor, 309, 335, 957.\n\n    Hieronymus, 51.\n\n    Hildebrand, 147, 814.\n\n    Hildeger, 147, 193.\n\n    Hildigun, 1000.\n\n    Hildings, 190.\n\n    Himalaya, 10.\n\n    Himinn, 445.\n\n    Himminbjorg, 36, 289, 705.\n\n    Hindoos, 4, 254.\n\n    Hindukush, 10.\n\n    Hjaller-horn, 708.\n\n    Hjardarholt, 592.\n\n    Hjarrandi, 989.\n\n    Hjorvardson, 746.\n\n    Hjuki, 676.\n\n    Hlandverr, 997.\n\n    Hlebardr, 956, 964.\n\n    Hler, 96.\n\n    Hlidskjolf, 696.\n\n    Hlif, 756.\n\n    Hlin, 842.\n\n    Hlodyn, 155, 599, 803, 930, 945.\n\n    Hnoss, 756.\n\n    Hoce, 986.\n\n    Hodd-Mimer, 342.\n\n    Hodbrod, 973.\n\n    Hodd-goda, 416.\n\n    Hoder, 415, 684, 791, 885, 963, 985, 880, 887.\n\n    Hodrofner's-horn, 624.\n\n    Hoenir, 739, 904.\n\n    Hofudlausn, 500.\n\n    Hogne, 979.\n\n    Hohni, 738.\n\n    Holt, 818.\n\n    Homer, 76, 268.\n\n    Honer, 34, 127, 243, 461, 505, 529, 603, 732.\n\n    Hordaland, 929.\n\n    Horn, 773.\n\n    Hornklofve, 674.\n\n    Horund, 989.\n\n    Horvendillus, 317, 843.\n\n    Hothbrodus, 781, 792.\n\n    Hother, 340.\n\n    Hothurus, 633, 773, 787, 823.\n\n    Hrabanus, 111.\n\n    Hraunbui, 855.\n\n    Hraunn, 424.\n\n    Hrimgrimner, 817.\n\n    Hrimner, a giantess, 218, 230, 817.\n\n    Hrolfr, 801.\n\n    Hromund-Greipson's Saga, 269.\n\n    Hroptatyr, 367.\n\n    Hrunger, 748, 852.\n\n    Hrutr-Heimdall, 286.\n\n    Huginn, 696.\n\n    Hunding's-bane, 184, 281, 744.\n\n    Huns, 11, 116, 222, 273.\n\n    Huyrvillus, 117.\n\n    Hoedrung, 489.\n\n    Hoergelmer, 402, 414, 423, 451, 519, 532, 562, 639, 702, 713,\n      749, 765, 968.\n\n    Hylten-Cavallius, 735.\n\n    Hymir, winter giant, 854.\n\n    Hymirskvida, 853.\n\n    Hyndla, 526.\n\n    Hyndley's Lay, 138.\n\n    Hyndluljod, 155, 223, 526, 694, 718, 755, 773, 824, 892, 1000.\n\n    Hypnos, 718.\n\n    Hyrr, 753.\n\n    Hyrroken, a giantess, 234.\n\n\n    I\n\n    Iberians, 24.\n\n    Ibor, 100, 119, 862, 1008.\n\n    Iceland, 48, 82.\n\n    Ida's Plains, 346.\n\n    Ide, 425, 890, 926, 944, 972, 991.\n\n    Idi, 197, 935.\n\n    Idun, 174, 871, 887, 906, 918, 931, 950, 958, 987, 1003.\n\n    Idunn, 197.\n\n    Ilium, 52.\n\n    Illyrian, 61.\n\n    India, 3.\n\n    Indo-Iranian, 14.\n\n    Indra, 360.\n\n    Indride, 88.\n\n    Ing, 265.\n\n    Ingjold, 457.\n\n    Irania, 3, 84, 126, 254.\n\n    Ire, 356.\n\n    Ireland, 66.\n\n    Ironwood, 216, 558, 707, 809, 877, 930.\n\n    Irpa, 913.\n\n    Irung, 281, 991.\n\n    Isodorus, 76.\n\n    Isolfr, 865.\n\n    Israel, 58.\n\n    Ist\u00e6vonians, 155.\n\n    Isung's Wood, 223.\n\n    Itrman, 88.\n\n    Ivalde, 172, 196, 361, 747, 804, 838, 870, 879, 897, 948, 956,\n      974, 999.\n\n    Ivalderson, 202.\n\n\n    J\n\n    Jafnhar, 42, 95.\n\n    Jarl Hakonson, 994.\n\n    Jarl Rig, 137.\n\n    Jat, 88.\n\n    Jaxartes, 9.\n\n    Jerusalem, 83, 835.\n\n    Jessen, 158.\n\n    Jewes, 71.\n\n    Jima (Grove), 381, 629, 878.\n\n    Jokull, 96, 166.\n\n    Jonsson, 114.\n\n    Jord, the earth, 68, 615.\n\n    Jordanes, 59, 113, 178, 301, 830.\n\n    Jormungander, 919.\n\n    Jormungrun, 601, 695.\n\n    Jormunrek, 270, 836, 847.\n\n    Jotunheim, home of the giants, 96, 223, 248, 310, 399, 425,\n      434, 580, 599, 675, 770, 827, 845, 876, 885, 914, 936, 947,\n      968, 1003.\n\n    Jupiter, 38, 87.\n\n    Jupiter's Temple, 74.\n\n    Jutland, 40, 785.\n\n\n    K\n\n    Kabulistan, 7.\n\n    Kari, 96.\n\n    Kark, 456.\n\n    Karl (Churl), 140.\n\n    Kiarr, 998.\n\n    King Englin, 976.\n\n    King Liutwar, 997.\n\n    Kirshipta, 386.\n\n    Kjalki, 267.\n\n    Klage, 981.\n\n    Klaproth, 9.\n\n    Kollr, 851.\n\n    Kon, 142.\n\n    Kormak, 210, 463, 530.\n\n    Kour-Rig, 137.\n\n    Kuhn, 17.\n\n    Kullen, 850.\n\n    Kvaser, 34.\n\n\n    L\n\n    Lactantius, 76.\n\n    Lake Maelar, 47.\n\n    Lamedon, 88.\n\n    Lamia, 92.\n\n    Lamissio, 859.\n\n    Langarbrekku-Einar, 741.\n\n    Lassen, 10.\n\n    Latham, 15.\n\n    Latin, 50, 87.\n\n    Latium, 58.\n\n    Latona, 79.\n\n    Laurin, 301.\n\n    Leifner's flames, 260, 299, 750.\n\n    Leifthraser, 353, 378, 442, 453, 530.\n\n    Legend of the Cross, 90.\n\n    Leika, 365.\n\n    Leikin, 476, 534, 705.\n\n    Leiptr, 420.\n\n    Lesso, 43, 265.\n\n    Lethe, 335.\n\n    Letto-Slavic, 14.\n\n    Liburnia, 61.\n\n    Libyan, 76.\n\n    Lidskjalfn, 356, 911.\n\n    Lif, 353, 378, 442, 453, 530.\n\n    Lif and Leifthraser, 341.\n\n    Lifthraser, 180.\n\n    Link, 7.\n\n    Liserus-Heimdal, 829.\n\n    Liutker, 1006.\n\n    Loder, 127, 732.\n\n    Lodr, 603.\n\n    Lodur, 601, 739.\n\n    Lofdung, 189.\n\n    Logi, 96, 662.\n\n    Logrin, 35, 40.\n\n    Loka-Senna, 155, 279, 428, 558, 575, 661, 897, 953, 965.\n\n    Loke, 43, 136, 171, 214, 269, 273, 428, 438, 448, 476, 548,\n      556, 575, 600, 697, 722, 761, 822, 840, 856, 876, 891, 904,\n      921, 936, 945, 960, 991.\n\n    Longobardians, 54, 156, 422, 708, 858, 995.\n\n    Longobardian Saga, 99, 322.\n\n    Longlegs, 738.\n\n    Loptr, 760.\n\n    Loride, 88.\n\n    Lothurus, 604.\n\n    Lower World Mill, 760.\n\n    Ludr, 760.\n\n    Luneburg, 100.\n\n    Lykoa, 900.\n\n    Lyngvi, Island of darkness, 278, 564, 705.\n\n    Lyrner, 445.\n\n    Lysir, the shining one, 272.\n\n\n    M\n\n    Macedonia, 45, 54.\n\n    Maeringaburg, 297.\n\n    Magne, 88, 441.\n\n    Malmesburiensis, 130.\n\n    Mane, 446, 580, 629, 698.\n\n    Manegarm, 564.\n\n    Mani, 690.\n\n    Mani-Karl, 791.\n\n    Manu, 387, 587.\n\n    Mannus, 68, 155, 841, 847.\n\n    Manufortis, 993, 1008.\n\n    Manus, 284.\n\n    Mardoll, 819, 830.\n\n    Marcellinus, 84.\n\n    Markomir, 62.\n\n    Marpessus, 76.\n\n    Mars, 809.\n\n    Mary, 723.\n\n    Mashia, Mashiena, 127.\n\n    Master Masons, 87.\n\n    Maurus, 111.\n\n    Mayence, 111.\n\n    Mead Myth, 644.\n\n    Mead Wells, 329.\n\n    Media, 7.\n\n    Memnor, 68.\n\n    Menelaus, 840.\n\n    Menglad, 202, 229, 368, 747, 757, 770, 836.\n\n    Menglodum, 747.\n\n    Menja, a giantess, 262, 567, 584, 890, 951.\n\n    Mennon, 39.\n\n    Mercury, 70.\n\n    Merv, 9.\n\n    Metals, 23.\n\n    Metz, 54.\n\n    Middle Ages Saga, 309.\n\n    Midgard, 127, 136, 166, 232, 255, 276, 325, 362, 377, 404, 417,\n      466, 558, 573, 707, 810, 819, 851, 877, 892, 968, 1003.\n\n    Midgard Serpent, 44, 438, 599, 704, 838.\n\n    Midjung, 922.\n\n    Midvitnir, 651.\n\n    Migration Saga, 32.\n\n    Miklagard (Constantinople), 307.\n\n    Miklagard Pison, 307.\n\n    Milky-way, 983.\n\n    Mime, 359.\n\n    Mimameidr, 833.\n\n    Mimer, 34, 180, 197, 203, 243, 326, 362, 389, 403, 423, 448,\n      505, 529, 577, 602, 628, 696, 707, 719, 751, 766, 808, 817,\n      871, 896, 909, 928, 962, 990.\n\n    Mimer's Grove, 353, 379, 439, 484, 878.\n\n    Mimingus, 635, 783, 804.\n\n    Mimisholt, 529.\n\n    Mimmung, 644.\n\n    Mistelteinn, 790.\n\n    Mistletoe, 963.\n\n    Mithra, 93.\n\n    Mitothian (Loke), 277.\n\n    Mjolner, Thor's Hammer, 172, 329, 428, 599, 803, 855, 869, 958.\n\n    Mode, 88, 441, 920.\n\n    Modinn, 723.\n\n    Modir, 140.\n\n    Modsognir, 357, 367, 642.\n\n    M\u0153otian, 52.\n\n    Mokkr-Kalfi, 859.\n\n    Moldgelmer, 570.\n\n    Molossus, a giant dog, 885.\n\n    Monasteriensis, 130.\n\n    Mongolian, 5, 11.\n\n    Moringia, 104.\n\n    Morkwood, 929.\n\n    Morn, 534.\n\n    Mount Ida, 76.\n\n    Muller, 13.\n\n    Mundilfore, 579, 607, 721.\n\n    Muspel, 441, 552, 705.\n\n    Muspelheim, 561.\n\n    Myrkwood, 558, 631.\n\n    Mysing, 568.\n\n    Mythology, 729.\n\n\n    N\n\n    Nabbi, 718.\n\n    Na-gates, 429, 478, 531, 564, 705, 745, 760, 817, 885.\n\n    Nagelfar, 438, 556.\n\n    Nanna, 43, 374, 466, 469, 782, 824, 986, 999.\n\n    Nar, 426, 430.\n\n    Narfi, 611.\n\n    Narfi-Mimer, 872.\n\n    Narve, 157, 612, 640.\n\n    Narvi, 612.\n\n    Nastrand, a place of torture, 328, 392, 405, 423, 535, 554.\n\n    Nat, mother of the gods (also night), 157, 367, 446, 470, 530,\n      602, 640, 719, 762, 871.\n\n    Nedan, 640.\n\n    Nef, 678.\n\n    Nennius, 88.\n\n    Neptune, 38.\n\n    Nero, 59.\n\n    Nerthus, 156.\n\n    Nestor, 87.\n\n    New Testament, 723.\n\n    Niblunc, 977.\n\n    Nibelungs, 972, 1000.\n\n    Nida Mountains, 423, 532, 608, 704, 725, 765, 968.\n\n    Nidad, 631, 634.\n\n    Nide, 392, 577.\n\n    Nidhad, 630, 763, 874, 915, 955, 975.\n\n    Nidhog, 392, 423, 517, 533, 555, 639, 718.\n\n    Nidi, 640.\n\n    Nine Giant Mothers of Heimdal, 598.\n\n    Nifelheim, 419, 532, 564, 764, 827, 969.\n\n    Nifelheim demon, 271.\n\n    Nifelhel, 328, 368, 399, 419, 431, 443, 478, 512, 694, 722,\n      745, 817, 887, 968.\n\n    Niflgodr, 533.\n\n    Niflungs, 678, 971.\n\n    Niflung hoard, 975.\n\n    Nimrod, 85.\n\n    Ninevah, 85.\n\n    Ninus, 85.\n\n    Nitherians, 323.\n\n    Njal, 458.\n\n    Njord, 34, 156, 203, 236, 244, 346, 470, 611, 640, 697, 721,\n      757, 777, 816, 863, 884, 930, 955.\n\n    Njorve, 613.\n\n    Noah, 37, 85, 570.\n\n    Noatun, 36, 136.\n\n    Nokkvi, 669.\n\n    Nokver, 987, 1000.\n\n    Normandy, 56.\n\n    Normans, 56.\n\n    Norns (fates), 186, 458.\n\n    Norse, 105.\n\n    Norse Sagas, 844.\n\n    Norwegians, 27.\n\n    Noth, 1000.\n\n    Numina, 353.\n\n    Ny, 640.\n\n\n    O\n\n    Ochta, 1008.\n\n    Od, 772.\n\n    Oda, 981.\n\n    Odainsaker, a place of joy, 300, 336, 389, 808.\n\n    Oder-Svipdag, 791.\n\n    Odin, 6, 33, 40, 48, 70, 81, 93, 134, 157, 177, 212, 235, 252,\n      273, 296, 326, 361, 368, 376, 410, 431, 444, 469, 585, 615,\n      645, 687, 732, 758, 777, 787, 821, 858, 866, 906, 934, 987.\n\n    Odlungs, 149.\n\n    Odoacer, 103, 296.\n\n    Odr, 758, 773, 823, 846.\n\n    Odr\u00e6rer, 362, 624.\n\n    Odysseus, 189, 840.\n\n    Offote, a giant, 249, 886.\n\n    Oinopion, 900.\n\n    Oland, 117.\n\n    Olaf, 407.\n\n    Olaf Trygveson, 310, 334, 731.\n\n    Old, 149.\n\n    Olgefion, 863.\n\n    Olgefu, 197.\n\n    Ollerus, 925.\n\n    Olympus, 73, 806.\n\n    Onar, 615.\n\n    Ope, 534.\n\n    Ore, 356.\n\n    Orentel, 834, 843, 863.\n\n    Origo Longobardarum, 156.\n\n    Orion, 802, 900.\n\n    Ormuzd, 8, 878.\n\n    Orosius, 60, 81.\n\n    Orvalde, 890, 932, 954, 988.\n\n    Orvandel, 151, 192, 255, 426, 767, 779, 802, 827, 843, 865,\n      900, 947, 975.\n\n    Otacher, 296.\n\n    Othale, 534.\n\n    Otharus, 770, 779, 805, 823, 831, 845.\n\n    Otto of Friesinger, 300.\n\n    Ottar, 296, 526, 773, 805.\n\n    Oxus, 9.\n\n\n    P\n\n    Padua, 61.\n\n    Pannonia, 50, 82, 100, 129.\n\n    Paradise, 307.\n\n    Parusha, 626.\n\n    Patavi, 64.\n\n    Paul, 711.\n\n    Paulus Diaconus, 288, 712, 887.\n\n    Peleid, 189.\n\n    Pendschab, 7.\n\n    Penka, 19.\n\n    Persians, 7, 84.\n\n    Petosiris, 71.\n\n    Ph\u0153nicians, 59.\n\n    Phrygians, 51, 76.\n\n    Pictet, 12.\n\n    Pindar, 59.\n\n    Pliny, 84.\n\n    Plutus, 38.\n\n    Pompey, 83.\n\n    Pomponius, 114.\n\n    Posche, 19.\n\n    Priam, 44, 55, 87.\n\n    Priamus, 38, 81.\n\n    Procopius, 117.\n\n    Prometheus, 189.\n\n    Prose Edda, 32, 48.\n\n    Proserpine, 79, 457, 787.\n\n    Psychopomps, 477.\n\n    Ptolemy, 114, 839.\n\n\n    Q\n\n    Queen Rusila, 996.\n\n\n    R\n\n    Rabenbattle, 303.\n\n    Race of Ivalde, 125.\n\n    Ragnaricii, 115.\n\n    Ragnarok, 44, 192, 224, 276, 340, 378, 390, 442, 466, 534, 556,\n      661, 701, 707, 721, 810, 866, 877.\n\n    Ragnvaldson, 513.\n\n    Ran, 422, 600, 822.\n\n    Rati, 596.\n\n    Raumaricii, 115.\n\n    Reidgothaland, 40.\n\n    Regin, 871, 909, 920.\n\n    Retzius, 29.\n\n    Rhetia, 58, 129.\n\n    Rhine, 51, 839.\n\n    Rhoa, 901.\n\n    Rhoda, 8.\n\n    Ribhuians, 639.\n\n    Ribhus, 360, 879, 960.\n\n    Rig, 137.\n\n    Rig-Heimdal, 377.\n\n    Rigsthula, 137.\n\n    Rig-Veda, 3, 30, 166, 360, 586, 639, 740, 802, 874, 883, 902.\n\n    Rimbegla, 585.\n\n    Rimfaxe, 530.\n\n    Rimgrimner, 434.\n\n    Rimner, 437.\n\n    Rim-Odin, 435.\n\n    Rind, 210, 471, 749, 789.\n\n    Rinda, 787.\n\n    Ringhorn, 910.\n\n    Risting, 472.\n\n    Ritta, 88.\n\n    Rogner, 871, 899, 909, 920, 943.\n\n    Rolf Krake's Saga, 183.\n\n    Roller, 795, 838.\n\n    Roman Mythology, 78.\n\n    Romans, 26, 49.\n\n    Romund Greipson, 791.\n\n    Roricus, 788.\n\n    Rosengarten, 288, 896.\n\n    Roskva, 943.\n\n    Rubhus, 363.\n\n    Rudbeck, 87.\n\n    Rudiger, 286.\n\n    Rudolph, 108.\n\n    Rugen, 104.\n\n    Rugians, 708.\n\n    Ruler of the Lower World, 312.\n\n    Runes, 163.\n\n    Ruther, 167, 283.\n\n    Rutze, 996.\n\n    Rymer, 438.\n\n\n    S\n\n    Saba, 90.\n\n    Sacredfire, 586.\n\n    Sacred Runes, 165.\n\n    S\u00e6ming, 40.\n\n    S\u00e6mund, 57.\n\n    Saga, 987.\n\n    Saga-Men, 1.\n\n    Saint Olaf, 746.\n\n    Salian, 64.\n\n    Sallust, 58.\n\n    Samian, 76.\n\n    Sanscrit, 6, 738.\n\n    Sardinia, 58.\n\n    Sarmatian, 129.\n\n    Saturnus, 38, 85.\n\n    Satyrs, 810.\n\n    Saviour, 90.\n\n    Saxo, 44, 49, 104, 211, 261, 360, 535, 546, 553, 607, 714, 773,\n      789, 801, 822, 850, 890, 952.\n\n    Saxland, 35, 97, 134.\n\n    Saxons, 55, 90, 98.\n\n    Scamandrius, 58.\n\n    Scandians, 2, 98, 131, 264.\n\n    Scandinavians, 2, 27, 49, 102.\n\n    Scandza, 115, 178.\n\n    Scania, 850.\n\n    Sceaf, 131.\n\n    Scedeland, 131.\n\n    Scef-Saga, 132.\n\n    Schelling, 11.\n\n    Schelt, 64.\n\n    Schildbunc, 977.\n\n    Schlegel, 7.\n\n    Schleicher, 13.\n\n    Schrader, 19.\n\n    Scoringia, 102.\n\n    Scritobinians, 102.\n\n    Scyld, 131.\n\n    Scythia, 58.\n\n    Sea-kidney, 819.\n\n    Seeland, 35, 785.\n\n    Sela, a giantess, 860.\n\n    Semitic, 18.\n\n    Servius, 59, 63, 75.\n\n    Seven Sleepers, 707.\n\n    Shem, 86.\n\n    Shield-Maids, 90, 283.\n\n    Shield-Song, 161.\n\n    Sib, 90.\n\n    Sibil Sibylla, 39, 55.\n\n    Sibylline Books, 74.\n\n    Sicily, 58.\n\n    Sicombria, 52.\n\n    Sida, 900.\n\n    Sigemund, 826, 828, 976.\n\n    Siege of Asgard, 235.\n\n    Siegfried, 976.\n\n    Sif, 39, 89, 780, 802, 852, 887, 897.\n\n    Sigge, 40.\n\n    Sigmundson, 181.\n\n    Signe, 149, 196.\n\n    Sigrdrifva, 49, 531.\n\n    Sigrun, 181, 520.\n\n    Sigtuna, 36, 40, 47.\n\n    Sigtrygg, 149, 198.\n\n    Sigurd, 191, 218, 241, 300, 319, 531.\n\n    Sigurd-sven, 360, 471, 735, 976, 998.\n\n    Sindre, 172, 361, 532, 704, 717, 723, 780, 865, 876, 883, 956.\n\n    Sinfjotle, 217.\n\n    Singasteinn, 828.\n\n    Sinmara, 720, 760, 962.\n\n    Sintram, 723.\n\n    Skade, 236, 309, 565, 691, 780, 816, 846, 896, 903, 925, 959,\n      989.\n\n    Skaden, 100, 203.\n\n    Skagul, 468.\n\n    Skalaglam, 917.\n\n    Skaldaspiller, 468, 500, 561, 799.\n\n    Skaldskaparmal, 200, 567, 616, 932.\n\n    Skallagrimson, 436, 500, 521, 566, 674.\n\n    Skidbladner, 36, 172, 556, 639, 870, 880, 910.\n\n    Skida-Rima, 916.\n\n    Skidfinna, 713.\n\n    Skidner, 241.\n\n    Skidnersmal, 426, 434, 447, 528, 562.\n\n    Skilfing-Yingling, 843, 862.\n\n    Skilfings, 154, 608, 977.\n\n    Skirner, 436, 815, 823, 846.\n\n    Skjold, 35, 132, 149, 604.\n\n    Skjoldun, 88, 154.\n\n    Skold, 88, 150, 322.\n\n    Skoldung, 827.\n\n    Skuld, 453, 621.\n\n    Slagfin, 849, 870, 890, 917, 947, 971, 982, 997, 1000.\n\n    Slavs, 10, 117.\n\n    Sleiper, 215, 241, 300, 327.\n\n    Sleipner, 737, 824.\n\n    Slesvik, 109, 482.\n\n    Slid, 535.\n\n    Slidrugtanne, 725, 880.\n\n    Smaland, 735.\n\n    Sn\u00e6bjorn, 568, 583.\n\n    Sno, 104, 322.\n\n    Sn\u0153r, 96.\n\n    Snot (Idun), 898.\n\n    Sokkvabekkar, 987.\n\n    Sokmimer, 651, 664.\n\n    Sol, 367, 446, 580, 641, 680, 697.\n\n    Solarjod, 719.\n\n    Solarljod, 534, 579.\n\n    Solbjartr, 767, 816.\n\n    Solblinde, 238.\n\n    Solon, 78.\n\n    Solomon, 86.\n\n    Sonatorrek, 340.\n\n    Sons of the world ruin, 220.\n\n    Speechrunes, 490.\n\n    Spiegel, 19.\n\n    St. Quentin, 56.\n\n    Sturlason, 47, 57.\n\n    Sughda-Sodiana, 8.\n\n    Sulpicius, 50.\n\n    Sumble, 901, 952.\n\n    Sumblus, 196.\n\n    Sunno, 53, 64, 656, 688, 999.\n\n    Sursons-Saga, 458.\n\n    Surt, 220, 226, 266, 345, 442, 561, 659, 701, 809, 928, 962,\n      1004.\n\n    Sutting, 224, 928, 934, 952, 979.\n\n    Suttung, 436, 552, 646.\n\n    Svafa, 1000.\n\n    Svafr, 757.\n\n    Svaldilfan, giant Horse, 215.\n\n    Svanhild, 301, 971.\n\n    Svarin, 98.\n\n    Svarin's Mound, 194.\n\n    Svartalfaheim, 827.\n\n    Svea, 37, 134.\n\n    Svedal, 832.\n\n    Svefuthorn, 721.\n\n    Svehaus, 115.\n\n    Sven, 89.\n\n    Svend, 832.\n\n    Svethidi, 118.\n\n    Svevian, 2.\n\n    Svider, 995.\n\n    Svidferhd, 628, 846.\n\n    Svidur, 651.\n\n    Svigder, 664, 928, 952.\n\n    Sviones, 2, 265.\n\n    Svipdag, 150, 200, 255, 283, 354, 368, 379, 640, 683, 729, 744,\n      747, 760, 770, 793, 803, 815, 827, 841, 870, 883, 919, 957,\n      975, 989.\n\n    Svithiod, 35, 178, 198, 475, 656.\n\n    Swabians, 708.\n\n    Swabian Saga, 107.\n\n    Swan Maids, 90.\n\n    Swedes, 27, 178.\n\n    Sweden, 33, 89, 134.\n\n    Switzerland, 28.\n\n    Sygin, 618.\n\n    Sygritha, 770, 831, 845.\n\n    Sygrutha, 779, 860.\n\n    Symbols of Nature, 73.\n\n    Syr, 776.\n\n    Syvaldus, 773.\n\n\n    T\n\n    Tabernaculum, 720.\n\n    Tacitus, 21, 68, 119, 193, 283, 475, 548.\n\n    Tadchiks, 10.\n\n    Tanais, 58, 82.\n\n    Tanakvisi, 33, 45.\n\n    Tanngnjostr, 853.\n\n    Tanngrisnir, 853.\n\n    Tarquin, 75.\n\n    Teutonic, 726.\n\n    Teutonic Mythology, 31, 38, 119, 173, 345.\n\n    Teutons, 10, 14, 26, 50, 58, 99, 188, 713.\n\n    Tertulianus, 93.\n\n    Thakkrod, 982.\n\n    Thanatos, 718.\n\n    Theodosius, 710.\n\n    Theodoric, 25, 295.\n\n    Thidrek, 814.\n\n    Thingstead, 485.\n\n    Thiudemer, 295.\n\n    Thjalfe, 857, 943.\n\n    Thjasse, 166, 176, 225, 236, 309, 757, 890, 897, 903, 921, 931,\n      943, 952, 970.\n\n    Thjaza, 956.\n\n    Thjelvar, 859.\n\n    Thor, 36, 45, 88, 151, 198, 240, 256, 276, 298, 316, 415, 425,\n      437, 470, 580, 599, 748, 784, 793, 809, 838, 852, 866, 889,\n      909, 920, 933, 943, 960, 996.\n\n    Thora, 784, 803.\n\n    Thorbjorn, 243.\n\n    Thord Sjarekson, 237.\n\n    Thorer wood-beard, 513.\n\n    Thorgerd, 913.\n\n    Thorkil, 278, 312, 335, 515, 537, 552, 714, 727.\n\n    Thorolf, 464.\n\n    Thorri, 166.\n\n    Thorsdraper, 270, 425, 447, 857, 915, 929, 947, 960.\n\n    Thracia, 39, 65.\n\n    Thraim, 791.\n\n    Thrand, 309.\n\n    Thride, 42.\n\n    Thridi, 95.\n\n    Thrudgelmer, 433, 570, 626.\n\n    Thrudheim, 39, 866.\n\n    Thruma, 753.\n\n    Thrundvang, 36.\n\n    Thrymheim, 237, 904.\n\n    Thrymskvida, 822, 891.\n\n    Thule, 117.\n\n    Thund, 692.\n\n    Thuringian, 108.\n\n    Thurs, 752.\n\n    Tiberius, 99.\n\n    Tiburtinian, 76.\n\n    Timavus, 61.\n\n    Tistrya, 970.\n\n    Tivi, 159.\n\n    Toko, 848.\n\n    Tope, 534.\n\n    Tours, 50.\n\n    Troy, 6, 39, 58, 397, 445.\n\n    Troy-Asgard, 32.\n\n    Trojans, 61, 76, 134.\n\n    Trol (thrall), 140.\n\n    Troy-Saga, 50.\n\n    Trykland, 655.\n\n    Tuisco, 155.\n\n    Tvashtar, 878.\n\n    Tyr, 74, 459, 809, 854, 897.\n\n    Tyrfing, 363.\n\n    Tysk, 3.\n\n    Tyskland, 3, 35, 45.\n\n\n    U\n\n    Udr Unnr, 157.\n\n    Ugarthilocus, 278, 552.\n\n    Uggarus, 274.\n\n    Uggeson, 592, 823.\n\n    Ulf, 823.\n\n    Ulfdale, 558.\n\n    Ulfilas, 723.\n\n    Ulixes (Ulysses), 43, 51.\n\n    Ull, 203, 236, 607, 846, 869, 925, 954.\n\n    Ullr, 801, 865, 887.\n\n    Ulysses, 730, 839.\n\n    Undensaker, 317.\n\n    Upregin, 446.\n\n    Upsala, 36, 49, 561.\n\n    Urd, a giantess, 136, 326, 397, 423, 448, 484, 523, 613, 660,\n      759, 611.\n\n    Urdr, 457.\n\n    Ure, 356.\n\n    Urner, 176, 890.\n\n    Utgard-Loke, a giant, 224, 477, 662, 857.\n\n\n    V\n\n    Vade, 927, 989.\n\n    Vadgelmer, 431.\n\n    Vaferflames, 753, 909, 959.\n\n    Vafthrudner, 434.\n\n    Vafthrudnersmal, 127, 325, 342, 353, 410, 417, 447, 569.\n\n    Vagasker, 823.\n\n    Vagn, 265.\n\n    Vagnholde, 256.\n\n    Vagoth, 114.\n\n    Vajush, 382, 389.\n\n    Valas, 228.\n\n    Valdere, 173.\n\n    Vale, 441, 620.\n\n    Valentinianus, 53, 82.\n\n    Valfather, 162, 441, 524, 720, 875.\n\n    Valhal, 95, 207, 327, 414, 462, 512, 623, 692, 824, 876.\n\n    Valkyries, 199, 457.\n\n    Valthari, 993, 999.\n\n    Vana-Child, 143.\n\n    Vana-God, 135, 213, 254, 436, 602, 702, 757.\n\n    Vanaheim, 607.\n\n    Vandals, 100, 708.\n\n    Vanlande, 477.\n\n    Vamod, 114.\n\n    Vans, 34, 49, 95, 157, 208, 275, 326, 441, 486, 603, 696, 720,\n      801, 819, 869, 891.\n\n    Var, 356, 367.\n\n    Vardir, 754.\n\n    Varg, 946, 962.\n\n    Varinians, 117.\n\n    Varro, 75.\n\n    Vate, 899, 954, 989.\n\n    Vaya-Vata, 383.\n\n    Ve, 34, 83.\n\n    Veda, 970.\n\n    Vegdrasil, 356.\n\n    Veggdegg, 40, 88.\n\n    Vegtamskvida, 328, 368, 410, 447.\n\n    Vei, 603, 739.\n\n    Veig, 231.\n\n    Velint, 360, 644.\n\n    Velleka, 370, 907.\n\n    Venetia, 58.\n\n    Venus, 79.\n\n    Vestfold, 741.\n\n    Vidar, 44, 193, 441, 933.\n\n    Vidblainn, 706.\n\n    Vidfin, 676, 986.\n\n    Vidforle, 517.\n\n    Vidga, 869, 980.\n\n    Vidofner, 449, 706, 758.\n\n    Vidolf, 927, 954.\n\n    Vidolt, Vitolphus, 170, 223.\n\n    Vifill, 177.\n\n    Vifir, 177.\n\n    Vigfusson, 94, 156, 264, 459, 499.\n\n    Vigrid, 441, 561.\n\n    Vildebur, 980.\n\n    Vile, 34, 83.\n\n    Vili, 603, 739.\n\n    Vilkinasaga, 223, 289, 300, 359, 644, 814, 839, 850, 863, 927,\n      952.\n\n    Villifer, 863.\n\n    Vimur, 424, 933.\n\n    Vindelicia, 58.\n\n    Vingthor, 88.\n\n    Vinnilians, 100.\n\n    Virchow, 28.\n\n    Virgil, 51, 75, 92.\n\n    Visburr, 144.\n\n    Visigoths, 25.\n\n    Vitrgils, 88.\n\n    Volsung, 826.\n\n    Volund, 289, 359, 630, 707, 763, 790, 804, 814, 849, 864, 874,\n      897, 909, 920, 947, 962, 978, 994.\n\n    Volund's Sword, 815.\n\n    Volunga Saga, 218.\n\n    Voluspa, 128, 166, 208, 243, 326, 356, 431, 440, 499, 524, 538,\n      555, 603, 707, 732, 758, 776, 875, 891.\n\n    Vorva, 499.\n\n    Vulcan, 300.\n\n    Vyrd, 455.\n\n\n    W\n\n    Wace, 56.\n\n    Walther, 993, 999.\n\n    Watlings, 899, 989.\n\n    Wayland, 289, 359.\n\n    Weapons, 24.\n\n    Weber, 17.\n\n    Welcker, 27.\n\n    Wessex, 133.\n\n    Westmonast, 133.\n\n    Westphalia, 40, 89.\n\n    Whitney, 17.\n\n    Widukind, 54, 107.\n\n    Wieland, 812, 839, 863, 991.\n\n    Wild Boar, 899.\n\n    Willehad, a saint, 321.\n\n    William Tell, 850, 994.\n\n    Wodan, 389.\n\n    Wolfdales, 631, 765, 849, 874, 885, 898, 957, 978.\n\n    Wolfdieterich, 292.\n\n    Wonder-smith, 812.\n\n    World-mill, 568, 586, 750.\n\n    World-tree, 708, 766.\n\n    World-war, 252.\n\n    Wurth, 455.\n\n\n    Y\n\n    Ybor, 861.\n\n    Ydaler, 865.\n\n    Ygdrasil, tree of life, 326, 366, 395, 421, 433, 451, 534, 556,\n      645, 704, 722, 817.\n\n    Yggr, 274.\n\n    Yingling-Saga, 231, 340, 475.\n\n    Ylfings, 154.\n\n    Ymer, 424, 433, 534, 569, 602, 733, 754, 812, 939, 946.\n\n    Ynglingatal, 454, 740, 995.\n\n    Ynglings, 37, 133.\n\n    Yngve, 40, 135, 195, 255, 277, 304, 468.\n\n    Younger Edda, 37, 82, 133, 242, 595.\n\n    Yse, 838.\n\n\n    Z\n\n    Zarathustra, 84, 382.\n\n    Zend, 6, 878.\n\n    Zend Avesta, 383.\n\n    Zeus, 73, 159.\n\n    Zodiac, 87.\n\n    Zoroaster, 3, 37, 84.","title":"Teutonic Mythology: Gods and Goddesses of the Northland, Vol. 3","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":93595}